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The organisation of the upcoming World Twenty20, scheduled for March next year, received a major logistical boost after the Bangladesh government granted land for an international stadium in the town of Cox’s Bazar

Mohammad Isam28-Feb-2013The organisation of the upcoming World Twenty20, scheduled for March next year, received a major logistical boost after the Bangladesh government granted land for an international stadium in the town of Cox’s Bazar.During an inter-ministerial meeting for the global event on Thursday, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina directed the civil aviation authority to hand over the coastal town’s golf course to the Bangladesh Cricket Board. Many BCB presidents have sought land in the country’s most popular tourist destination.”The decision to build a stadium in Cox’s Bazar was among the primary decisions taken during the meeting,” sports secretary Noor Mohammad said. “The land belongs to the civil aviation authority, so the BCB will sit with them to build the ground. They will understand the technical issues better. The sports ministry will also assist in whichever way necessary.”The BCB will be looking to host the women’s section of the World Twenty20 in Cox’s Bazar, particularly because of the number of hotels already existing in the town that is famous for having the longest sea beach in the world.The BCB has recently had to deal with hotel shortage in Khulna where three international matches and some BPL games were held since November last year. Bangladesh have traditionally used two cities during an international series at home, but with plans to develop the new stadium in Cox’s Bazar as a major venue, it could only help in the country’s cricket depicting a more exotic picture.

It was a match neither team seemed to want to win, and was low on quality but Royal Challengers Bangalore finally prevailed

The Report by Sidharth Monga16-Apr-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Royal Challengers Bangalore won the Super OverAB de Villiers’ two sixes in the Super Over arrested an almighty choke•BCCIIt was a match neither team seemed to want to win. Low on quality, it headed towards what looked like a natural result, a Royal Challengers Bangalore victory, for about 33 overs. Out of the other seven, two produced 30 runs for Delhi Daredevils at the end, two were a contest between Morne Morkel and Chris Gayle that the bowler won, and the other three featured an almighty choke from Royal Challengers that resulted in a tie despite a Ravi Rampaul six in the last over when they needed 12.Umesh Yadav nearly won it for Delhi in the Super Over with four yorkers or near-yorkers at the top, which went for three runs, but he missed the length on the last two, and AB de Villiers deposited both of them over deep midwicket for sixes. Royal Challengers, nursing their demons of ties and close matches, called upon Rampaul, who has demons of his own in Super Overs, but he had also bowled a maiden and hit that six over extra cover when it seemed Royal Challengers had seen a ghost and forgotten how to bat.Daredevils had a surprise in store too. Neither Virender Sehwag nor Mahela Jayawardene batted. David Warner found point first ball, and out came Irfan Pathan with two right gloves in hand. The glove changed, he picked up a length ball over square leg for four. Rampaul came back with a yorker, but Irfan pulled out an absolute rabbit by walking down to the fourth ball and ramping it over fine leg for a huge six.With six required off the last two, Rampaul dished out a full toss, and got lucky. Irfan flicked it nicely, but found square leg. Six feet either side, and it would have been over. That bullet bitten, Rampaul bowled full and straight, and bowled out IPL debutant Ben Rohrer.All this sporadic excitement, though, was like an old man out on a pacemaker at times. Except for a blinder of a return catch from R Vinay Kumar, that contest between Morkel and Gayle, and Rampaul’s six, it was all curiously unspectacular. On a flat skiddy pitch with a quick small outfield around it, no Daredevils batsman reached 30, no Royal Challengers Bangalore bowler extracted disconcerting movement or extraordinary fortune, but somehow Daredevils remained subdued throughout their innings to end up with a paltry total by Bangalore standards. Most strikingly, Jayawardene scratched around for 28 off 31.There was some spark to the Daredevils’ start, but it was short-lived. Sehwag and Warner seemed to have set up a good base with 42 off the first five overs, but then Vinay plucked an unbelievable catch when Warner smashed one back at him. In the next over, Sehwag chipped a gentle loosener from Andrew McDonald straight to midwicket. Just like that, Daredevils found themselves in the jail, and couldn’t find a way out.Over after over of steady bowling went by, but Jayawardene could neither find his touch nor get out. Jaydev Unadkat then worked Manprit Juneja over with bouncers, and the latter was eventually caught back for a length ball and holed out to long-on. Rohrer then found deep midwicket with a long hop. Just like that, Daredevils found themselves in solitary confinement.There were periods of mercy for Daredevils. Royal Challengers omitted to appeal on a run-out, gave one more last over to RP Singh, but Daredevils could still muster only 152.Daredevils’ bowling might not be the most rounded for Twenty20 environment, but it sure is exciting. The Powerplay of the chase was all drama. In the first over, Ashish Nehra was denied a plumb lbw of KL Rahul, but he came back to get him a second time and gave him a justified send-off.At the other end, Morkel went hard at Gayle, bowling 145kmph and upwards and short of a length. Gayle was equal to it, putting behind the plays-and-misses, and hitting two sixes off Morkel. Eventually the bowler prevailed with a thick edge flying all the way to third man. That, though, was only a third of the work done for Daredevils.Coming together at 26 for 2 in the fourth over, the other two-thirds turned it on, matching each other shot for shot before Kohli ran away with it when he targeted the left-arm spin of Shahbaz Nadeem in the middle overs. When Kolhi pulled a long hop from Irfan for four in the 14th over, he brought up yet another fifty, and also brought the asking rate down to a run a ball. And the two could have strolled the rest of the way through.When de Villiers was run out at the end of the 16th over, Royal Challengers needed 24 off 24 with seven wickets in hand. Daredevils didn’t do anything spectacular after that, just held their catches and saw Royal Challengers implode. McDonald chipped one back to Nadeem. Arun Karthik ran himself out when he didn’t want to take the third off the last ball of the 18th over because that would mean Kohli would be off strike at the start of the next over. Kohli disagreed.At any rate, Kohli didn’t have the strike, and J Syed Mohammad lobbed one straight to long-on. Kohli drove the next ball inside-out, and found Jayawardene. It was 15 off eight now. Irfan, though, began the next over with a wide half-volley, which Rampaul picked the bones out of. Irfan came back well in the rest of the over, and then almost got his own back at Rampaul in the Super Over, but after a twist or two the match did reach its natural conclusion.

Ahmed Amla, the Dolphins and KwaZulu-Natal batsman, has announced his decision to retire from all cricket

Firdose Moonda18-Apr-2013Ahmed Amla, the Dolphins and KwaZulu-Natal batsman, has announced his decision to retire from all cricket. His agent said Amla was retiring to focus on his studies and pursue business interests.Amla, 33, is the older brother of South African batsman Hashim Amla, although the two have had vastly different cricket careers. Ahmed never earned an international cap, although he hovered close to it through much of his career.He made his first-class debut in 1997, at the age of 18, for Natal B. That season, he was picked in the South African Development XI that toured Namibia, and in the next season for the South African under-19 team. That earned him a spot at the national academy and helped establish himself as a regular in the Kwa-Zulu Natal provincial, and later Dolphins, franchise team, which he also captained for some time.In the 2004-05 season, when the domestic franchise system was formed, his batting average reached 40 for the first time. He lifted it to 48.27 the next summer, when he was probably closest to playing for South Africa. With competition for places high, he had to settle for leading the South African A side, for whom he made numerous appearances.Amla career did not take off as his brother’s did and did not reach the highs of that season again. He remained an important part of the Dolphins batting, especially as he was one of their most senior players. His mentorship skills were also put to use in Mozambique, where he was a consultant for their national side.This season he struggled to make the franchise team and had to settle for playing in the second-tier provincial division. With the knowledge that he was keeping out younger players, Amla chose to pull down the curtain on his playing career.He may not be lost to the sport altogether. He has been on commentary stints with the national broadcaster, SABC, and may yet further his coaching ambitions. He is also studying towards a business degree.Hashim Amla led the tributes to his brother. “Special special congrats to my bro @ahmedamla retiring from all cricket today.wonderful player n more so an amazing person,” he tweeted. “@ahmedamla thx 4being a pillar of support throughout my entire career.will mis u on d field bro.time 4the backyard games 2resume.”

Shane Watson, who slammed 70 off 34 balls on a pitch that aided the seam bowlers to help Rajasthan Royals beat Chennai Super Kings, said he had “instinctively known” that offspinner R Ashwin was the one to go after during the chase

ESPNcricinfo staff13-May-2013Shane Watson, who slammed 70 off 34 balls on a pitch that aided the seam bowlers to help Rajasthan Royals beat Chennai Super Kings, said he had “instinctively known” that offspinner R Ashwin was the one to go after during the chase.After the match had gone three-fourths of its way without a single six being hit, and Super Kings’ pace bowlers had Royals in a tight corner needing 93 off 60 balls in a chase of 142, Ashwin came on only to be dispatched for 23 runs in one over by Watson and Stuart Binny. That over turned the match, and Royals eventually breezed home with 17 balls to spare.”We knew instinctively that Ashwin was going to be someone we have to really try and score runs off,” Watson told the IPL site after the match. “We had to get a big over through that period of time. We were struggling to find the boundary. It just worked out nicely that Ashwin came on and bowled a couple of balls that we were looking for. In the end I suppose it was about batting on instinct like myself and Stuey were doing, with the hope he bowls in the areas that were in our favour.”Batting earlier on was tough in the seamer-friendly conditions, Watson said, but when he went after the bowling everything just fell into place: “It took me a little while to get going. There was a little bit in the wicket early so initially I was a little bit hesitant to try and take any risk but in the end I knew I needed to as the run rate was getting up high. I knew we had to start to take a few risks and when I did, it started to come off nicely, so it was just one of those days you dream of when everything you try, every shot that you are hoping for, comes off.”Royals had crawled along in the first 10 overs of the chase, shackled by excellent pace bowling from Jason Holder, Mohit Sharma and Chris Morris. In that difficult period, they had promoted James Faulkner and Sanju Samson ahead of Watson, leaving the experts questioning their think-tank. The decision to play bowling allrounder Faulkner up the order, Watson said, was influenced by his being used to batting in such feisty conditions in Australia. “The thought was that there was going to be a bit of pace and bounce in the wicket and also maybe a little bit of seam with the new ball. Jimmy Faulkner certainly knows how to bat in those sort of conditions, batting where he does back in Australia. So we thought, that would have been a good option.”It didn’t work out but that’s okay, we knew the reason why we were doing it and what it could have provide for the team. But on other days it has worked, like having Sanju up at No. 3 has paid off. So we just wanted to give it a try and hope that it comes off, but unfortunately it didn’t.”

Geoff Cook, the Durham head coach, is in a critical but stable condition in hospital after suffering a heart attack on Thursday

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Jun-2013Geoff Cook, the Durham head coach, is in a critical but stable condition in hospital after suffering a heart attack on Thursday.Durham released an update of his condition on Friday morning and said the club had been inundated with messages of support for Geoff, his wide Judith and their family. Many of those came from players who took to Twitter on Thursday evening with their well wishes.Graham Onions, the Durham and England bowler, tweeted: “Sad day for Durham CCC! my thoughts are with Geoff and his family,lets hope for a speedy recovery.”Durham’s next fixture is on Saturday against Hampshire in the Yorkshire Bank 40 at Chester-le-Street. Jon Lewis, the 2nd XI coach, will take charge of the first team in an interim capacity and be helped by Dale Benkenstein during the Friends Life t20.Cook has been involved with Durham since their inception as a first-class county in 1991, being appointed head coach in 2007. That season he led the county to their first silverware, the Friends Provident Trophy, and a maiden Championship title followed a year later.Last season, Cook decided to replace captain Phil Mustard with Paul Collingwood half-way through the campaign. It proved an inspired decision as Durham hauled themselves off the bottom of the County Championship Division One table with a string of victories that saw them survive very comfortably.Cook enjoyed a long career as a player with Northamptonshire, for whom he scored 23,277 first-class runs between 1971 and 1990, and played seven Tests for England in 1982 and the New Year’s Test of 1983.

David Hussey’s entertaining innings and some late order fireworks have put Nottinghamshire’s noses in front

David Lloyd at Taunton03-Aug-2013
ScorecardMarcus Trescothick’s run of poor form continued with a 27-ball 2 against Nottinghamshire•Getty ImagesThese are tough old times for Marcus Trescothick. The batsman who has scored runs for fun throughout most of his career failed again as Somerset once more found themselves up against it in a Championship match.Almost unbelievably, the former England opener is still looking for his first first-class century of the season and his average, after 22 innings, is now down to 27.Trescothick must have come into this contest with high hopes. Not only did he confirm his recovery from an ankle injury, which saw him miss several T20 games, by playing for the seconds against MCC Universities on Wednesday and Thursday but he also indicated that his touch and timing were back in decent order by taking a double-hundred off the students.When it came to facing Nottinghamshire’s new-ball pair of Luke Fletcher and Harry Gurney, however, the now 37-year-old opener simply could not get going. He was watchful, gave himself a good ticking off after playing and missing on at least one occasion, but couldn’t find the one flowing drive that might have set him free.In fairness, Fletcher and Gurney deserved plenty of credit for keeping things so tight that only nine runs came from their first seven overs. And then, midway, through the eighth, left-armer Gurney forced Trescothick to push at one holding its line just outside off stump and the resulting edge was snaffled, low down, by Steven Mullaney at third slip.Off went the home captain to sympathetic applause. But a 27-ball, 29-minute innings of 2 had merely added to Trescothick’s string of low scores – a string that has seen him reach 50 on just four occasions this campaign.There are still five and a half Championship matches left, of course. And an on-song Trescothick could do a lot of damage in 11 innings. At the moment, though, there is no doubt he is struggling, and it doesn’t make pleasant viewing for anyone who has enjoyed seeing him at his commanding best.At least an early wicket did not prompt a Somerset collapse. That would have been a real sickener for home supporters who had already witnessed Notts’ last two wickets adding 108 highly damaging runs.Nick Compton and Chris Jones combined for an unbeaten 61 before the second of two heavy downpours resulted in play being abandoned for the day at 4pm. Jones, who scored a century against the Australians on this ground a few weeks ago, was the more fluent of the two although he was almost caught at short leg, off the face of the bat, for 32 soon after spinner Samit Patel entered the attack.Fletcher and Gurney had set the tone for Notts even before they got to work with the ball. The latter joined Fletcher during the first over of the day after Ajmal Shahzad had lost his off stump to Peter Trego when playing no shot.But if Somerset thought their job was done in the field with the ending of a 57-run stand, the visitors’ tenth-wicket pair made them think again. With Gurney looking anything but a rabbit at No. 11, Fletcher pulled and drove his way to a run-a-ball half-century (his second fifty of the season) and added eight more runs before gloving an attempted hook against Jamie Overton.With more rain forecast for Sunday, Somerset should not lose this game. But a team third from bottom wants to be thinking of winning matches at this stage of the season, not hanging on for draws.

Mohammad Azharuddin, the former India captain, has been offered the post of Jammu & Kashmir coach

Amol Karhadkar16-Aug-2013Mohammad Azharuddin, the former India captain whose life ban for indulging in match-fixing was overturned last year by the Andhra Pradesh High Court, has been offered the post of Jammu & Kashmir coach.Farooq Abdullah, president of the Jammu & Kashmir Cricket Association, confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that Azharuddin, now a Member of Parliament from Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh, was offered the position that has been vacant since Bishan Singh Bedi’s exit after the end of last season. “We still haven’t reached the final decision,” Abdullah said.Mujeeb Khan, Azharuddin’s secretary, said the former batsman hadn’t made up his mind. “He has been offered the post of coach by JKCA but he hasn¹t decided whether to take it or not,” Mujeeb said. “They want to avail of whatever services he could render. He is seriously considering it since he is desperate to give back to the game that has been so close to his heart.”Even if Azharuddin accepts the offer, his return to the cricket field, albeit as a coach, won’t be easy. When the BCCI banned Azharuddin for life in 2000, he was barred from participating in any cricketing activity. Though the ban was deemed illegal by the Andhra Pradesh High Court in November 2012, a BCCI official said Azharuddin cannot return to cricket in any role without the board’s permission since the ruling has been challenged.”The High Court verdict was based on a technicality. Nowhere did the court say he is not guilty of indulging in fixing,” the board official said. “Since the proceedings to challenge the verdict have been initiated, as far as the BCCI is concerned, any association that wants to appoint him in any capacity cannot do so without the board’s consent.”Since being banned, Azharuddin, 50, has had no involvement in cricket-related matters. Besides Azharuddin, Ajay Sharma was also banned for life and hasn’t been active in cricket. Ajay Jadeja, whose five-year ban was overturned by the BCCI, returned to domestic cricket for a couple of seasons before becoming a cricket expert on television. Manoj Prabhakar, who was also banned for five years, turned a coach after serving his ban and was the bowling coach of Delhi.

Chris Gayle, fresh off leading Jamaica to the first Caribbean Premier League title, has indicated he is eyeing a long rest after a hectic season of continuous cricket

Renaldo Matadeen30-Aug-2013Chris Gayle, fresh off leading Jamaica to the first Caribbean Premier League title, has indicated he is eyeing a long rest after a hectic season of continuous cricket. In the last 12 months, Gayle has featured in 71 matches across different formats, 35 of them for five domestic T20 leagues around the world.”It’s been a long road, and I am very, very tired mentally,” Gayle said. “It was a challenging time batting-wise in the Tri-nation series (against India and Sri Lanka) and then against Pakistan, and to have come and played a captain’s part in the CPL has been really, really, stressing.”Gayle, whose captain’s knock of 47 not out in the final earned Jamaica the CPL trophy, started the year with a stint with Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash League in Australia. He flew back to the West Indies to play two T20s for Jamaica in the Caribbean T20, scoring 85 and 122 not out .Gayle then travelled back to Australia on West Indies duty for the limited-overs series in February before joining the Dhaka Gladiators in the Bangladesh Premier League. He played only one match in the BPL and hit a century that helped Gladiators make it to the final of the tournament. He then returned home for the series against Zimbabwe.This was a precursor to his stint with Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL. The ICC Champions Trophy in England ensued in May before the Tri-nation in the Caribbean. West Indies then played five ODIs and two T20s against Pakistan and Gayle featured in every match of the series.”It’s been quite a lot, and I am really, really happy that it is over now. No more cricket for me until the next three months,” he said.Gayle’s form took a dip after he scored a century in the first match of the Tri-nation series against Sri Lanka, but he managed to finish fourth in the batting charts of the CPL with 234 runs from nine games at an average of 29.25.West Indies are slated to tour New Zealand starting in December. They are due to play three Tests, five ODIs and two T20s.

Just 21 overs were possible on day two in Dublin as Ireland were robbed of the chance to build a solid first innings lead over Scotland.

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Sep-2013
ScorecardJust 21 overs were possible on day two in Dublin as Ireland were robbed of the chance to build a solid first innings lead over Scotland.They are in an excellent place to do so with Paul Stirling unbeaten on fifty and John Anderson combining to share an unbroken partnership of 50. Stirling went to his half-century in 73 balls with a single in what proved to be the final over of the day.Rain arrived just after lunch and came and went throughout the afternoon. The umpires gave the ground every chance to dry up but the showers proved too persistent and play was eventually called off at 5pm.

Kane Williamson and Peter Fulton were comfortably dealing with the Bangladesh spinners, until they found their mojo in the final hour as New Zealand went to stumps on 280 for 5

The Report by Mohammad Isam09-Oct-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Kane Williamson’s fourth Test century had put New Zealand in the ascendancy until the last two overs•AFPKane Williamson and Peter Fulton were looking quite comfortable, until the Bangladesh spinners found their mojo in the final hour. New Zealand went to stumps on 280 for 5, having lost their last three wickets in 10.1 overs in the first Test in Chittagong.After controlled batting had kept all three spinners out of the game on a newly-laid pitch, the fourth and the fifth wickets came in the last two overs, when Williamson, having made 114, and captain Brendon McCullum were adjudged leg-before to Shakib Al Hasan and Abdur Razzak respectively.The visitors’ progress throughout the day was a fair reflection of the conditions. There was no pace in the wicket even at its freshest, and it didn’t change much throughout the day. But the two batsmen, as well as Hamish Rutherford and later Ross Taylor, made friends with the straw-coloured surface quicker than the bowlers would have hoped.Bangladesh included Abdur Razzak for his first Test match in more than two years in hopes of fielding a more rounded attack and just after the first hour, all three spinners had been brought in. But the wickets did not materialise.The swiftness with which the New Zealand top four acclimatised must have been encouraging for the next batsmen. Williamson was the most impressive, adjusting quickly as if he suddenly remembered how he had scored his first ODI hundred in Dhaka. Even then, his timing was noticeable.Today he was as tight in defence as he was forceful when the ball was off line. Coming at the back of a first wicket which was needlessly given away by Rutherford, Williamson avoided rash strokeplay. A backfoot dab through mid-on off the first ball he faced, from Shakib Al Hasan, was perhaps the most elegant shot of the day, but the best one of his 12 boundaries came four balls later – another light punch off the back foot to turn the ball past mid-wicket. The two shots set him up for the rest of the innings, as the Bangladesh spinners struggled to push the ball through, or use the slow nature of the wicket to their benefit.Williamson’s next seven boundaries were all examples of how a batsman’s patience is more often than not rewarded. A majority of them were off short balls, as the bowlers lost their discipline, and soon he reached his half-century off 94 balls.Fulton struggled early on when he repeatedly tried to work the ball in front of the leg side. But after surviving some close calls, he too reached his first fifty since his twin centuries against England in Auckland. His 73 came off 198 balls, with seven fours and a six as he became increasingly comfortable knocking the spinners around, finding the gaps and bringing out the sweep shot once in a while. It was a slow innings, but one that laid the foundation for New Zealand’s dominance on the day.Their 126-run stand – New Zealand’s highest for the second wicket in Bangladesh – wasn’t exactly unexpected because the hosts are used to being on the backfoot when bowling first. But given their attack, it was expected that the pair would be forced into a mistake, which eventually came off Nasir Hossain’s part-time off spin. Fulton had a century in his sights when he smashed a half-tracker straight to cover and walked off the field looking very distraught.Williamson reached his century off 175 balls, a confident knock that was pleasing to the eyes, particularly when he punched the ball off either foot. But it was his strong-willed defence that contributed to his innings the most.Along with Ross Taylor, he added 61 runs for the third wicket, which ended when Taylor’s flick found a leading edge and fell safely into cover’s hands while Rutherford, the day’s first wicket, was another batsman being defeated by his own impetuousness.Williamson was dismissed for 114, having batted more than four hours. His forward prod at Shakib missed the bat, and he was given out leg-before in the penultimate over of the day. McCullum fell in the final over, having played back while trying to flick a ball off Razzak, who was bowling quicker than he had done all day.Despite the five wickets, the day’s play promises much for New Zealand looking ahead in the series. They started off quite well on a new surface, which might not impress their pace bowlers much. The plan from the home side would be to diminish the pace and movement of Trent Boult and Doug Bracewell, and hope the wicket gets better as the match progresses.