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Pant or Vijay; Jadeja or Khaleel – final chance for MSK Prasad’s selection panel to firm up their World Cup probables

Nagraj Gollapudi14-Feb-2019Before the cricket world turns its gaze IPL-wards starting March 23, there is one key limited-overs series that India will play, at home, against Australia. Comprising two T20Is and five ODIS, it starts on February 23 and runs through March 13. India, as the senior selection committee chairman MSK Prasad said recently, have nearly sealed the 15 World Cup spots. There is “one odd” berth left to fill and plenty of players vying for it.On Friday, Prasad’s panel will meet in Mumbai to pick the squads for the Australian series, giving a possible hint at the player(s) that are likely to travel to England.Going by form and experience, 13 men pick themselves up: Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah. That leaves two spots to firm up.Specialist batsman or allrounder?If the selectors and the team management opt to go with a fourth specialist fast bowler – like Khaleel Ahmed – that leaves one seat vacant.Could it be KL Rahul’s? He was being looked at a back-up opener or, given his talent and ability to score quickly, a makeshift middle-order bat. Then came a dip in form and the suspension for his behavior on an Indian talk show.KL Rahul reverse pulls the ball•Associated Press

Rahul has since returned to playing and has scored two eighty-plus scores in the ongoing unofficial Tests against the England Lions. But will runs against an A team be enough to push him up the pecking order, especially considering Rishabh Pant and Vijay Shankar have been doing it in international cricket?Pant might have made his name with his explosive batting, but what has impressed the selectors and team management is his composure. Following a good run with India A last year, he struck a very polished hundred in the New Year’s Test against Australia in Sydney.The advantage of picking Pant is that he can be the floater in the line-up – a man for all situations. The one factor that goes against him is experience – he’s played only three ODIs – but as Prasad pointed out recently, his fearlessness makes him hard to ignore.If the selectors feel Pant is too big a gamble, the other batsman they are likely to consider is Vijay. He replaced Hardik Pandya, who too was suspended during the Australia series, and played the Melbourne ODI. Then, he featured in three of the five ODIs and all the three T20Is in New Zealand, where he was pushed up to the No. 3 position. Is that an indication the Indian team management see him as a batsman who, if needed, can bowl a bit?Vijay Shankar brings out a lofted shot•AFP/Getty

Vijay has a solid technique, plays with a high elbow and has the ability to clear the boundary without using a lot of muscle. During the final ODI of the New Zealand series, he played the lead role to pick India out of the pits from 18 for 4 with a 98-run fifth-wicket partnership with Rayudu. That performance, on a seaming track, when the opposition was on top, could prove pivotal. Not least because India won the game. Also man-to-man, Vijay is a better fielder than Pant.The one other batsman the selectors might just consider is Ajinkya Rahane, who helped Mumbai win the Vijay Hazare Trophy last year. But his strike-rate – 77 in 11 innings since being dropped from the Indian ODI side – is likely to work against him.Extra specialist fast bowler or bowling allrounder?Ravindra Jadeja and Khaleel Ahmed have been a regular part of the Indian ODI set-up since September 2018.Jadeja returned to the fold having sat out for more than year between the West Indies tour in 2017 and the Asia Cup last year. Since then, he has taken 16 wickets from 11 matches, including two four-wicket hauls. There was nothing spectacular with the bat, but Jadeja is the second-most experienced player behind Dhoni, having featured in seven ICC tournaments. He was integral to India’s Champions Trophy success in 2013, held in England, and finished as the tournament’s highest wicket-taker. If the English summer is anything like last year, Jadeja’s fingerspin will definitely prove an asset, especially as pitches become weary at the back-end of the World Cup.Khaleel Ahmed celebrates a wicket•Getty Images

The other option for the selectors is picking a fourth specialist fast bowler. Two contenders for that position right now are Khaleel and Umesh Yadav but it is not clear whether Umesh would be fit in time for the Australian series after being forced to skip the Irani Cup due to an injury sustained while playing the Ranji Trophy final.As a left-arm fast bowler, Khaleel brings a whole new dimension to the bowling attack. India have tried him out in each of their limited-overs assignments since the Asia Cup and he has done fairly well – 11 wickets from eight matches. If he can crank up his pace and keep it around 140 kph consistently, he’ll make the selectors job even harder.This Australia series gives Prasad’s panel – and indeed the players too – one last chance before April comes and India have to pick their World Cup 15.

The fast bowling duo was added after Dale Steyn picked up a heel injury that ruled him out of the series

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Jan-2018South Africa have added the fast bowling duo of Duanne Olivier and uncapped 21-year-old Lungi Ngidi to their squad for the second Test against India later this week. The changes came into place after Dale Steyn picked up a heel injury in the Cape Town Test that ruled him out of the series.Olivier has played five Tests – all of them in 2017 – and Ngidi made his international debut in a T20I against Sri Lanka last year but is yet to play the other two formats at the international stage.Olivier last played Tests in September-October against Bangladesh when he took five wickets in four innings before representing Knights in T20 and one-day cricket. He had made his Test debut against Sri Lanka a year ago in Johannesburg where he took five wickets in the match but has not been able to establish himself as a regular member of the side against strong competition. He also struggled with a knee injury this season, which kept him out of some domestic games.Ngidi, on the other hand, has played three T20Is in which he has collected six wickets with an impressive economy rate of 5.50. He played all those matches against Sri Lanka last year in January, and took 4 for 19 in Johannesburg. He was part of the ODI squad but withdrew with an abdominal muscle injury. He was then part of the South African A side that toured England where he suffered a back injury. It took Ngidi four months to recover and he has only played one first-class match since comeback and took nine wickets for 83 in the game, signaling his readiness for more game-time.Since then he has featured in domestic matches for Titans that featured his best T20 figures of 4 for 14 against Warriors in the Ram Slam T20 Challenge.Both Olivier and Ngidi are currently playing in the domestic one-day cup and will
compete with allrounders Chris Morris and Andile Phehlukwayo for one spot in the final XI, with conditions on the Highveld set to suit an attack of four seamers. However, with India’s bowlers challenging South Africa, they may opt to include a seventh specialist batsman in the XI and all of Olivier, Ngidi, Morris or Phehlukwayo could be benched.The second Test starts on January 13 in Centurion.Squad for second Test: Faf du Plessis (capt), Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma, Theunis de Bruyn, Quinton de Kock (wk), AB de Villiers, Dean Elgar, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Morne Morkel, Chris Morris, Andile Phehlukwayo, Vernon Philander, Kagiso Rabada, Duanne Olivier, Lungi Ngidi

Rob Andrew, the former England rugby union fly-half and long-term professional rugby director at the RFU, has been unveiled as the new chief executive of Sussex

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Nov-2016Rob Andrew, the former England rugby union fly-half and long-term professional rugby director at the RFU, has been unveiled as the new chief executive of Sussex.Andrew, 53, played first-class cricket for Cambridge University between 1982 and 1985, and also turned out for Yorkshire’s 2nd XI as a batsman and offspinner.His rugby career included 71 caps for England and five for the British and Irish Lions. He played in three World Cups between 1987 and 1995, before spending ten years at the RFU, eventually leaving at the end of last season.He succeeds Zac Toumazi as Sussex’s chief executive at a tricky period in the club’s long history. The club was relegated at the end of 2015, bringing to an end a period of unprecedented success including three County Championships between 2003 and 2007, and with the ECB turning its attention towards the new city-based league scheduled to be launched in 2020, Andrew’s high-profile appointment is intriguingly timed.He will take over at Sussex in January 2017, with a brief to build on Toumazi’s work in overseeing the integration of the professional club with the recreational board and its 245 affiliated league clubs.Commenting on the appointment, Jim May, chairman of Sussex said: “I am extremely pleased about the appointment of Rob Andrew. He has exceptional experience, both playing and administering sport which will be of great help to our cricket management delivering success.””I am thrilled and really excited to be joining Sussex,” Andrew said. “The structures that have been put in place under the Sussex Cricket Limited umbrella have laid a very strong foundation for the future.”I am looking forward to working with everyone connected with Sussex to help create success in professional cricket, recreational cricket and community programmes and ensuring that Hove remains a very special cricket ground.”I will be focusing on driving forward the strategy over the next few years and helping write the next chapter in the rich history of cricket in Sussex. These are exciting times for Sussex Cricket and cricket in general and I can’t wait to get started.”

A move to No. 3 may help end Lahiru Thirimanne’s lean trot, Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews has said ahead of the first Test against West Indies in Galle

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Galle13-Oct-2015A move to No. 3 may help end Lahiru Thirimanne’s lean trot, Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews has said ahead of the first Test against West Indies in Galle. Thirimanne has been groomed for that role over the past two years and is now free to come in at first drop, following the axing of Upul Tharanga from the Test squad, as well as the retirements of high-profile batsmen.He has continued to be effective in the limited-overs formats despite his Test-match woes. Thirimanne averages 47.81 at No. 3 in ODIs, and Mathews said the team trusts his Test returns will begin to improve as well.”Because of Kumar Sangakkara batting at No. 3 we couldn’t really accommodate Lahiru in the top three,” Mathews said. “Your best batter always has to bat at No. 3. Now that Sangakkara has gone, Lahiru is pretty much the candidate to bat at No. 3.”Thirimanne’s poor Test form has been particularly apparent in Sri Lanka’s recent home Tests. He averaged 21.09 across the six Tests against Pakistan and India, hitting only one fifty in that period.”Lahiru’s form was a bit of a concern in the recent past, but we continue to have faith in him,” Mathews said. “We know he’s a very good player. He’s played the game for quite a long time, so we’re pretty much sure he’ll come good and deliver for us in this series.”Thirimanne’s form had been only one of the several top-order problems Sri Lanka faced, against India in August. The hosts failed to cross 210 in half of their innings that tour, and found themselves battling a first-innings deficit in each of the three games. Mathews suggested a more positive approach with the bat could see his side to bigger totals.”We need to adjust the mindset with our batting,” Mathews said. “It’s all about trying to score runs – and that’s been the talking point for our batters over the last two months. It’s just that any given day you get a good ball and you tend to get out, and that’s the fate of the batsman. But I think you need to just try and score runs all the time and grab opportunities that the bowlers give you – try and score off the loose balls. Hopefully we can get everything right this series.”Sri Lanka’s bowlers have largely done well in the home series this year, but they have also been occasionally guilty of letting the opposition tail score cheap runs. In the most recent Test at the SSC, Amit Mishra and R Ashwin both hit fifties from No. 9. In the previous series, Zulfiqar Babar had hit a fifty in Galle from No. 10.”We’ve talked about getting lower-order wickets a lot in our meetings,” Mathews said. “It’s just that we have to bowl at them thinking they are batters. The batters play a lot different than the bowlers – the bowlers throw their bats around and get a few runs, and a few nicks. When that happens, in the next minute the whole scenario changes. Hopefully we can rectify that this series.”Mathews also all but confirmed that Tharindu Kaushal will play in Galle, ahead of Dilruwan Perera, despite Kaushal’s doosra having been recently banned by the ICC. “We trust that PHT Kaushal will be someone who serves Sri Lanka for a long time, given the way he’s bowled in the past. As a team, and as a captain, I can give him that trust and play him. I have no issues with playing him in this match.”

Blessed with a God-given talent bequeathed to only the chosen
few, Brian Lara became the finest batsman of his time, and one of
the finest of all time

Tony Cozier22-Feb-2013Blessed with a God-given talent bequeathed to only the chosen
few, Brian Lara became the finest batsman of his time, and one of
the finest of all time.He created individual scores higher than anyone has ever reached
in either Test or first-class cricket and fashioned innings of
such dazzling brilliance they brought applause from even the
most cynical of wizened old players.He earned fortune and fame, was accorded his nation’s highest
honour, and was elevated to the most exalted post available to
any West Indian cricketer, the captaincy of the Test team.Such is the stuff of which the wildest dreams are made but, for
Lara, they were repeatedly transformed into the reality of
dreadful nightmares.Now 31, he should be at the height of the exceptional powers that
were first manifested when he was a boy in short pants at Fatima
College in Port-of-Spain, in his native Trinidad.Instead, he has been overpowered by the enormous pressures to
which every international celebrity is subjected. They have
drained him of the enthusiasm and the yearning without which not
even the greatest artists can perform. Now he cannot even bring
himself to hold the bat that he had wielded with such devastating
effect.Lara had the world at his feet when, within six weeks of each
other in 1994, he set the new standards of 375 in a Test against
England in Antigua and 501 not out for English county,
Warwickshire, against Durham. It was an incredible double and
brought gifts and adulation from his grateful countrymen and fat
contracts from eager sponsors.A friend warned him at the time that his headaches had just
begun. He soon came to realise what he meant. Within a year, it
had all become too much.On the West Indies tour of England in 1995, Lara complained to
manager Wes Hall that ‘cricket is ruining my life’, announced his
retirement and left the team. Only sympahetic persuasion from
then president of the West Indies Board, Captain Peter Short,
influenced him to return, but things would never be the same.Time and again, the mercurial temperament of a genius has been
since exposed with upsetting consequences.He withdrew from the tour of Australia in 1995-96 two days before
the team was scheduled to leave. When he returned from the
subsequent World Cup in India and Pakistan, he was censured by
the board for his biting criticism of the team management that
was picked up by the tape recorder of a snooping reporter and for
an open spat with team trainer Dennis Waight. In the Caribbean,
he was fined, not for the first time, for turning up a day late
prior to a Test against Sri Lanka.Not only did he seem to be self-destructing. He was also causing
chaos within West Indies cricket itself.When the board overruled the selectors’ recommendation that they
replace Courtney Walsh with him as captain for the 1997 tour of
Pakistan, the Trinidad and Tobago Board charged there was ‘a
calculated plot’ against ‘its captain, its national hero and its
world-class performer’ and that it was ‘sowing the seeds of
destruction’.Jamaicans, on the other hand, accused Lara of deliberately
undermining Walsh as all three Tests were lost in Pakistan.For all his unpredictability, two things remained constant about
Lara. He was a very special player and he had an understanding of
the game that made him the obvious, if not only, choice for the
captaincy, a post for which he had been prepared since he led the
West Indies team to the first Youth World Cup in Australia.Inevitably, if belatedly, Lara was installed in his predetermined role as captain against England in 1998, replacing the
admirable Walsh, and proceeded to lead the West Indies to a
double triumph, 3-1 in the Tests and 4-1 in the One-Day
Internationals.His boyhood dream, it appeared, had finally come true.In less than a year, it had again turned sour. On the way to a
tour of South Africa as eagerly anticipated as much for its
social and political significance as for its cricket, the players
chose London’s Heathrow Airport as the venue for an unexpected
strike to air their grievances against the board.Lara, and his vice-captain Carl Hooper, were immediately
dismissed, only to be reinstated after a settlement was reached.
What followed was the shame of a 5-0 whitewash in the Tests and a
6-1 thrashing in the One-Day Internationals.Lara returned home with his captaincy in jeopardy and his public
status as low as it had ever been. Had there been a clear
alternative, there is little doubt he would have been sacked.As it was, he was retained, yet castigated, by the board for his
‘weakness in leadership’, told he had to make ‘significant
improvements in his leadership skills’ and placed on probation as
captain for two Tests.What happened next beggared belief and revealed a strength of
character in Lara not previously obvious.When the West Indies were bowled out for their all-time low 51 to
lose the first Test to the dominant Australians by 314 runs,
there was justifiable reason to fear the absolute worse. Instead,
the crisis seemed to light a fire in Lara’s belly.He had not scored a hundred for 13 Tests. Now he successively
reeled off three of his most magnificent. His 213 in Jamaica and
153 not out in Barbados inspired remarkable victories.If his even 100 in Antigua could not prevent Australia from
levelling the series and retaining the Frank Worrell Trophy, at
least he had almost single-handledly restored West Indian pride
and self-esteem and his own reputation and credibility as
leader.Once more, the euphoria was short-lived. Exit from the first
round of the World Cup followed immediately and a succession of
limp performances in later short-game tournaments in Toronto and
Sharjah presaged a new crisis in the life of Lara and of West
Indies cricket.It came in December and January on the tour of New Zealand where
both Tests and all five One-Day Internationals were surrendered
to unified, committed but hardly intimidating opponents.It was the last straw.

A round-up of matches from the sixth match-day of the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifiers

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Mar-2012Group ADawlat Zadran’s five-wicket haul helped Afghanistan demolish Hong Kong by nine wickets in Sharjah and confirm their place in the knockout rounds. Zadran took 5 for 14, and along with Izatullah Dawlatzai, who took 2 for 19, dismantled Hong Kong’s batting line-up with only two batsmen getting into double figures. Irfan Ahmed scored 54 off 52 balls to provide some respectability to the total as Hong Kong finished on 103. Afghanistan’s opener Karim Sadiq did not waste any time as he hit 20 runs off the first over during the chase. After Sadiq’s dismissal for 22, Javed Ahmadi’s 38 and Mohammad Shahzad’s 43 prevented any further damage and finished the game in the 12th over.In another low-scoring game, Netherlands beat Nepal by six wickets in Dubai, also sealing a berth in the knockouts. Nepal, who were put in to bat, had no answers to Netherlands’ bowling as they were reduced to 25 for 5 after 11 overs. Michael Swart took 2 for 13 and Mudassar Bukhari took 1 for 9 to stifle Nepal. That was followed by similar spells by other bowlers as only one boundary was hit in the first 17 overs. Some frantic shots by Gyanendra Malla, who scored 32, and Basanta Regmi took Nepal to 85. While chasing, Netherlands lost four wickets, three of them to Regmi, but maintained a healthy scoring-rate to win the game inside 14 overs.”I think Nepal has played some reasonable cricket in this competition, so we weren’t taking them lightly,” Netherlands captain Peter Borren said. “We bowled pretty well and they were always going to struggle to defend 86. It is going to be really difficult for us. The format of the tournament means, having lost to Afghanistan, if you are first in your group you have a huge advantage here.”Janeiro Tucker’s hat-trick of sixes in the last over helped Bermuda steal a win against Papua New Guinea by five wickets in Dubai. Sixteen runs were required off the last six balls, but Tucker only needed three, the last six bringing up his half-century as well. The chase was setup by Dion Stovell’s 31 off 24 balls and David Hemp’s 30. However, when Rarva Dikana, who had given away 18 runs in his previous three overs, was given the ball in the last over, PNG looked favourites. But Tucker’s last-minute violence earned Bermuda their first win in the tournament. Earlier, PNG had set Bermuda a competitive target of 156, courtesy a 31-ball 49 from Vani Morea. At one stage, PNG were tottering at 105 for 5 after 16.2 overs. But, 46 runs came off the last three to give PNG bowlers a defendable score. A victory for PNG would have given them an outside chance of making it to the knockouts, but this result means that both teams have failed to make it to the next stage.”My personal performance was really outstanding today,” Tucker said. “I haven’t really had a good last four or five games, but today all came together.”Hitting that last ball was amazing. That was always my intention to try to get us to victory in the last over. I guess our strategy for the last couple of games will be pretty much the same as today. We got a victory so I guess we’ve done something right.”Ruvindu Gunasekera scored a 65-ball 95 in Canada‘s 55-run win over bottom-placed Denmark in Abu Dhabi. With the heavy win, Canada are in a strong position to become the third team from the group to qualify for the next stage. Opting to bat first, the team was bolstered by a 109-run second wicket partnership between Gunasekera and Hiral Patel to post 178. In response, Denmark’s Rizwan Mahmood hit 65 and Freddie Klokker scored 40 in a third-wicket partnership worth 84 runs. But Canada bowlers, led by Henry Osinde’s 2 for 16 kept the scoring rate under control as Denmark finished on 123. Canada play Nepal in their last league game and barring a heavy defeat, they should finish third in the table.Group BTwenty20 is a tough format to be consistent in but Namibia have made victory a habit, winning their sixth game in row to stay on top of Group B. Despite being restricted to 120 for 7, Namibia beat Oman by 36 runs in Sharjah. Their total was set up by the captain, Sarel Burger, who made 53 off 44 balls. The defence was headed by Christi Viljoen, who took 4 for 8 in 3.4 overs, and Burger, who claimed 3 for 14 to cap a terrific all-round performance. Oman were dismissed for 84 in 18.4 overs.A half-century by Richie Berrington helped Scotland ease to a seven-wicket win against Italy in Dubai. Italy were restricted to 136, thanks to a combined bowling effort. The Italy top order failed to convert their starts, with Gareth Berg top-scoring with 29. Majid Haq, the offspinner, finished with the best figures: 2 for 16 off four overs. Scotland lost Calum MacLeod early, but the stand of 76 between Berrington and Preston Mommsen put them on course for victory. Berrington’s 67 contained six fours and three sixes. Scotland are currently third in Group B, and a win in their final group game, against United States of America, will guarantee them a place in the next round.”The boys played very well today and bounced back after yesterday’s game against Ireland. It takes a lot of character to come back and win today,” Berrington said. “So, we’re just focusing right now on every game and taking each game as it comes.”It was very nice to spend a bit of time in the middle today and bat through most of the innings. I would have liked to have seen it through to the end, but the boys managed to put a few away.”United States of America slid to their fifth defeat in six games after they were demolished by nine wickets by Kenya in Abu Dhabi. The USA scorecard was littered with single-digit scores, with only their captain, Sushil Nadkarni, passing double figures. Nadkarni made 41 as opener and when he departed, USA were 73 for 6 in the 14th over. Ragheb Aga and and Nelson Odhiambo took three wickets each to dismiss USA in 18.2 overs. Kenya reached the target in ten overs, with Duncan Allan and Alex Obanda scoring 34 each. They will need to beat Uganda in their final group game, and hope other results go their way, to qualify for the next phase.Ireland trounced Uganda by 82 runs in Dubai to put them in the playoff stages of the World Cup qualifiers. Read the full report here.

Scotland’s development programme has been named the best in Europe at the ICC Development Programme Awards for 2010

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Jan-2011Scotland’s development programme has been named the best in Europe at the ICC Development Programme Awards for 2010. Scotland won the ‘Best Overall Cricket Development Programme’ award for significant achievements in all aspects of the game – in junior cricket, women’s cricket, in new strategies and the creation of new pathways.”This award is a tremendous endorsement of what we have been striving to achieve over the past few years,” said Steve Paige, Head of Community Development for Cricket Scotland. “It also recognises the important value of the contributions volunteers play in developing cricket at grassroots level.”Last year, we saw some fantastic achievements within our community programmes: 468 schools competed in our schools cups. We had 56 primary schools festivals. We educated more than 300 teachers in introductory programmes and 110 umpires attended introductory courses, with 58 taking Level 1 exams. We delivered courses to 134 physical education students and now we have over 450 active UKCC coaches.”And our development team around the country have been doing a splendid job in growing the game and ensuring we have sustainable structures in the clubs, so they can support all the children and adults that want to play the game.””These very well deserved awards are in recognition of the great work which is ongoing in our Associate and Affiliate member countries; all involved should be very proud of themselves,” added ICC Regional Development Manager Richard Holdsworth.The Pepsi ICC Development Programme Annual Awards promote excellence in cricket development and recognise exceptional performance and service to the game in the ICC’s 95 Associate and Affiliate Member countries. Nominations were received from national bodies, clubs, associations, teams, schools and individuals. The European regional winners will now be put forward for the Global Pepsi ICC Development Programme Awards.

Rubel Hossain led a spirited charge by the Bangladesh attack that Had New Zealand in trouble before Brendon McCullum and Martin Guptill rescued them to 258 for 5 on the first day in Hamilton

The Bulletin by Andrew Fernando14-Feb-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outMartin Guptill stood tall, even as his batting mates failed, and carried New Zealand’s hopes in Hamilton, along with Brendon McCullum•Getty Images

An unbroken 100-run partnership between Martin Guptill and Brendon McCullum helped New Zealand stage a comeback on the first day in the one off Test at Seddon Park. The pair combined with the home side struggling at 158 for 5, but batted with assurance till stumps to rescue them from a dodgy position.New Zealand were pushed to a corner by the Bangladesh seamers who made good use of a green, seaming wicket after a rain-delayed start. Shafiul Islam bowled an immaculate line and length throughout his first spell, beating the bats of both New Zealand openers repeatedly before getting one to seam slightly away from Tim McIntosh who edged to Imrul Kayes at second slip.Rubel Hossain then took over, bowling at a lively pace and finding consistency in the afternoon session to trouble the New Zealand top order with a barrage of short-pitched deliveries. He was the pick of the visiting bowlers, ending with 3 for 86. After accounting for opener BJ Watling, Rubel added the scalps of debutant Peter Ingram and Ross Taylor, who both promised a lot in their aggressive knocks.Ingram’s announced his arrival, following McIntosh’s departure, with a flurry of powerfully hit boundaries through the off side while Watling struggled to an unconvincing 13 at the other end. Ingram eventually holed out to mid on, attempting to pull Rubel from wide outside off stump, ending a 47-ball innings that included an enormous straight six off Shakib Al Hasan.In the afternoon session, Taylor continued to bat as aggressively as he has done throughout the tour, dealing in boundaries through point and mid wicket, but was again unable deliver a big innings that would have given his side the advantage. A fuller Rubel delivery was to be his demise, as he edged behind leaving the team total on 126 for 4.Daniel Vettori, batting at six in the absence of Jesse Ryder and Grant Elliott, was unable to make an impression, getting to 10 before dancing past a Shakib Al Hasan delivery that clipped the top of the off stump. His dismissal left the hosts teetering at 158 for 5, and in desperate need of rescue mission.Martin Guptill led the recovery, continuing his sparkling form from the ODIs to end unbeaten on 80 at stumps. After being dropped on 4 by Shafiul, attempting to complete a sharp return chance, Guptill batted impeccably, keeping out a menacing Bangladesh attack, and driving handsomely down the ground and through the covers on a regular basis to keep the scoreboard ticking over. The pull shot was also used to good effect towards the end of the day, as the Bangladesh seamers’ short deliveries became less effective as the bounce got steadily lower.New Zealand’s highest partnership of the day between Guptill and Brendon McCullum, who ended on an unbeaten 58 from just 71 deliveries, revived their hopes of a sizeable first innings total. The unbroken century stand, a New Zealand record against Bangladesh for the sixth wicket, looked set to resuscitate the innings before bad light stopped play. Bangladesh will be pleased with the way they have competed, but will need to make early breakthroughs tomorrow to stand any chance of pulling off an unexpected victory.

Surenkumar makes fighting fifty in rain-affected run-chase at Edgbaston Community Ground

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay07-Sep-2025Essex secured some belated joy from their disappointing Metro Bank Women’s One-Day Cup campaign with a 31-run (DLS) victory over Warwickshire at the Edgbaston Community Sports Ground.Put in, the visitors totalled 235 for seven from 32 overs either side of a long rainstorm which arrived in the 13th over. Jo Gardner top-scored with 47 (34 balls) while Bears captain Georgia Davis took four for 35.Facing a revised DLS target of 232 from 32 overs, Warwickshire mustered only 204 for eight in murky light despite an accomplished maiden half-century from 18-year-old Amu Surenkumar (56, 54). Her team-mates were unpicked by an attack led by Abtaha Maqsood (three for 34) and Esmae MacGregor (three for 38) as Essex recorded only their second win in 12 50-over games this season.On a gloomy morning at Portland Road, Essex got off to a flier as opening batters Ariana Dowse (36, 44) and Grace Scrivens added 67 from 61 balls before falling in successive overs just before the rain. Scrivens chipped Phoebe Brett to mid off before Dowse nicked a waft at Davis to wicketkeeper Nat Wraith.After a lengthy interruption, Essex resumed with only 32 overs now at their disposal and again lost wickets in consecutive overs. Sophia Smale lifted Hannah Baker to long off and Fiona Miller missed a sweep and was lbw to Davis.Jodi Grewcock (39, 34) and Gardner restored some momentum with a stand of 69 in 49 balls before Davis hit Grewcock’s middle stump through an attempted cut. Six balls later, Warwickshire’s captain was at long off to take a catch sent up by Gardner off Surenkumar who repaid her skipper in the next over by catching Eva Gray at long off to supply Davis’ fourth wicket.Essex needed some late impetus and Sophie Munro (36, 19) and Amara Carr (17, 12) provided it with a punchy unbroken stand of 55 from the last 29 balls.Warwickshire’s reply began briskly with a stand of 40 in six overs between Meg Austin and Bethan Ellis but they both fell, bowled and lbw respectively, to lovely, flighted deliveries by Maqsood. Munro quickly followed up with the big wicket of Davina Perrin who chopped to backward point.Surenkumar and Abbey Freeborn added 52 in 50 balls before the latter walked across her stumps to sweep MacGregor who hit the exposed timber. Much depended on Surenkumar who hit a six and five fours on her way to a run-a-ball half-century but when she swung Maqsood to deep mid-wicket, Warwickshire’s lower order needed to find 73 from 44 balls. The departure of Issy Wong, who lifted Munro to long leg, left Essex to ease home to a rare victory.

“The game is moving forward and so fast these days from the batters, so when you are not on top of your game [as a bowler], it’s hard,” says RCB captain

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Apr-20242:28

Why did RCB open the bowling with Will Jacks?

After losing their fifth game in a row, this time out-hit at the Chinnaswamy as Sunrisers Hyderabad’s smashed a record 287 for 3, Royal Challengers Bengaluru captain Faf du Plessis admitted that such results could take a mental toll.Even though RCB scored an impressive 262 for 7 in response, the runs conceded in the first innings were simply too many to overhaul, and he put it down to a lack of confidence in the bowling group. RCB came into this match having leaked 199 in 15.3 overs against Mumbai Indians in their last outing but started the match with only five bowlers, with Mohammed Siraj on the bench.”It’s tough, we tried quite a few things, a few different things, and they weren’t quite working,” du Plessis said after the match. “So it’s a sign of confidence in the other group. When your confidence is low, there’s nowhere to hide in the game.Related

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“The game is moving forward and so fast these days from the batters, so when you are not on top of your game [as a bowler], it’s hard. Obviously, with five bowlers, it’s tough on a wicket like that. We are going to keep trying different things.”Du Plessis said taking a break to reset might be the best thing for his side before their next game on Sunday against Kolkata Knight Riders. As it stands, RCB have very slim qualification chances; even if they win each of their remaining seven games, it may not be enough.”One thing really important is you need to go away and freshen your mind, it’s such a mental game,” he said. “Sometimes when we have a couple of back-to-back defeats, it feels like your mind is going to explode.”It’s important to stay away from it and make sure that we do get back to the next challenge – which is obviously a little bit of an uphill task for us at the moment – but when we do get back to the contest, we show full commitment 100%.”Faf du Plessis made 62•BCCI

‘Proud to see the boys fought tonight’

After being stunned into silence by Sunrisers’ assault, the home fans at the Chinnaswamy did get to enjoy their own side putting up the season’s fourth-highest score of 262.It was set up by du Plessis’ 28-ball 62, Virat Kohli’s 20-ball 42 and a 35-ball 83 from Dinesh Karthik, who together took RCB to a score only one short of the franchise’s highest IPL score of 263 for 5 from IPL 2013. Du Plessis said he was most pleased with how the team did not “fall like a deck of cards” in the chase.”Great effort from the team to get closer to the target,” he said. “Similarly from the batting perspective, we need to work on a few areas. There were some errors we need to address as a batting unit, there was a little bit of dip after the powerplay, [that] is something we want to work on. Need to make sure the run rate doesn’t go down and we keep going because the game has evolved and changed with the scores the teams are putting now.”But really proud to see the boys fought tonight and put up their hand and never gave up. In a big chase like this, you often see teams falling like a deck of cards. Great to see the fight tonight. But from a bowling perspective, 30-40 runs too much.”