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Sean Williams’ fifty had made it seem like the game was Zimbabwe’s but Janak Prakash and Sidhant Singh sprung a surprise nobody expected

The Report by Sreshth Shah29-Sep-2019When Tony Munyonga cut teenager Sidhant Singh for only a single in the game’s final ball at the Indian Association Ground in Singapore, history was made as the home side beat a Full Member nation for the first time in international cricket.In a rain-hit 18-overs-a-side contest, Zimbabwe fell four short of the 182-run target despite Sean Williams’ 66, to lose their first game of the tri-nation series that now sees both teams (and the other side Nepal) tied on two points each.Singapore’s captain Amjad Mahboob was understandably proud of his team at the presentation: “I just spoke to my boys, ‘Just do your best, just fight until the last ball; just don’t care about the result and just give your best and see the result came in our favour’. Yesterday we lost. Yesterday I didn’t play [against Nepal who won the game by nine wickets]. Just today, I came and I told the boys pre-game that to play to our potential. To not be scared. We are a young side and it’s a great feeling to beat a Test nation. We are very happy.”It seemed victory was Zimbabwe’s when Williams was at the crease. He had struck five sixes and as many fours in his 35-ball stay, but fell in the 16th over with Zimbabwe still 19 away from the target. Only four down, they were still favourites to cross the line with Ryan Burl and Richmond Mutumbami in the middle, but a double-wicket over from medium-pacer Janak Prakash – which cost only seven runs – turned the scales in Singapore’s favour.With the big-hitting Burl gone and Zimbabwe’s lower order suddenly exposed, Mahboob brought back fast bowler Sidhant for the game’s final over, and he delivered, conceding only five when Zimbabwe needed ten.”I’ve been around for a while now and getting myself that close and not finishing the job is very disappointing for me and I take that to heart,” Williams said. “Obviously because I’m a leader of the side and I’ve got to be the one that stands up and finishing the job.”Zimbabwe’s innings was given an early impetus by their opener Regis Chakabva, who struck 48 in 19 balls. Chakabva was brutal, in particular, on Vinoth Baskaran, taking 18 runs in just one over. That put Zimbabwe ahead of the net run-rate early and with No. 3 Williams for company, they added 41 for the second wicket. Williams switched to big-hitting mode against Tim David, whacking him for 24 runs in the 12th over. And yet, somehow, Singapore stayed in the game with three tight overs that saw both set batsmen dismissed. Thereafter, it was a matter of holding their nerve, which they did, conceding only one boundary in the final two overs to complete a remarkable win.That Singapore made 181 for 9 was courtesy their wicketkeeper-batsman Manpreet Singh and allrounder David. Both struck 41 each, in 23 and 24 deliveries respectively, to lift Singapore to a challenging total. Singapore had earlier added over 60 in the Powerplay thanks to their openers Rohan Rangarajan (39) and Surendran Chandramohan (23) but Burl’s two wickets in his opening spell pegged Singapore’s progress back in the middle overs.It was then that David and Manpreet added a quickfire 38 for the fourth wicket, and when the former was dismissed in the 13th over, the latter hit the accelerator. Singapore added 59 off the last five overs, and that late burst, eventually, was the difference between the two sides.Williams, though, felt the game slipped away from Zimbabwe a little after that. “We lost Tino Mutombodzi there,” Williams said. “We were actually planning on going in that [14th] over. That could’ve been a turning point in the game and then we just lost a clutter of wickets again. Obviously having Timycen [Maruma] injured early on in the game wasn’t great for us. But, look, these things happen. The outfield and the weather conditions happen and we’ve got to deal with that and come up with some better plans and better mental conditions to win the game.”

Sulakshan Kulkarni was supposed to take charge until an ad-hoc committee decided to change the terms of his contract, leading him to decline

Vishal Dikshit27-Aug-2019Mumbai have reappointed Vinayak Samant as their coach in controversial circumstances just before the start of the upcoming domestic season. Samant was retained after former Mumbai coach Sulakshan Kulkarni, who served them from 2011 to 2014, turned the offer down following disagreements with the Mumbai Cricket Association’s (MCA) ad-hoc committee, primarily over the remuneration offered to him.Kulkarni claims that when he was initially interviewed in May for the post by Dilip Vengsarkar, chairman of the MCA’s Cricket Improvement Committee (CIC), he was offered a remuneration of INR 24 lakh for one year, from June 1, 2019 to May 31, 2020, as posted on the MCA website. However, Kulkarni says, the MCA delayed his appointment and sent him a contract in mid-August with an offer of INR 14 lakh, valid from September 2019 to March 2020, which he turned down.”I told them I won’t accept the contract like this if you reduce the amount from 24 to 14 lakh, there’s no chance” Kulkarni told ESPNcricinfo. “It’s not my mistake because I was ready to take up the job on 1st June. The delay was from their side.”Kulkarni was also unhappy that the MCA made this and other changes in the contract without consulting the CIC. Karsan Ghavri, a member of the CIC, said this was unacceptable.”The ad-hoc committee [of the MCA] cannot overrule a decision which has already been made by the CIC,” Ghavri told . “They should have had a meeting with the CIC to discuss the issue [after Kulkarni did not agree to MCA’s contract terms]. If this is how MCA is going to function by taking their own cricketing decisions, then I don’t wish to be on the CIC. I am going to resign in a couple of days.”We [CIC] held several meetings, each lasting for nearly five hours, to interview coaches and support staff for the junior and senior teams. [By appointing Samant] they have not just treated CIC badly, but also the coaches and support staff.”Kulkarni said there were more changes in the contract he was eventually offered, which didn’t make sense to him.”When I was the Mumbai coach in 2011, the daily match allowance was INR 10,000,” he said. “Now, nearly 10 years later, they are offering only INR 5,000 per day. The amount should have actually gone up, there is no common sense in this.”According to Kulkarni, the MCA also reduced the number of leaves offered from 60 to 15 per year and changed “many other” terms and conditions which he “was not ready for”. Kulkarni said he turned the offer down on August 20.Last week, the MCA then went back to Samant, who had also applied for the post in May as he had been appointed only for the 2018-19 season last year. In that season, he helped Mumbai lift the Vijay Hazare Trophy but they then went downhill and failed to qualify for the Ranji Trophy quarter-finals, and couldn’t make the final in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.”Among the main drawbacks last season was that we didn’t have many pace bowlers and established spinners,” Samant told ESPNcricinfo. “We were banking on only a couple of bowlers out of whom Tushar Deshpande was unfit in the second match. To win matches outright, you need to take 20 wickets. And if you don’t have the bowlers to pick up those wickets, then you’re going to suffer. Then that adds further pressure to the batting which was not up to the mark.”Samant started working with the team in Mumbai on Tuesday and will travel with them to Nagpur on September 4 with a 15-man squad for the Bapuna Cup, a pre-season tournament for which they are trying several fringe players. They have named Suryakumar Yadav captain for the tournament as they want to groom him as a leader for whenever regular captain Shreyas Iyer is unavailable because of national duty. Mumbai are also going to try out 19-year-old Arjun Tendulkar, a left-arm quick, before the domestic season begins.”We want to try him and see how effective he is. I saw Arjun at the MPL (Mumbai Premier League), he bowls very well. He bowls quick and is very accurate,” Samant said.”We’re looking to make Surya the captain in Shreyas’ absence. He’s a very good captain. Surya has had some issues in the past but we’re backing him again and grooming him for captaincy.”

The wicketkeeper-batsman also said that Tamim Iqbal and Mahmudullah struggling for form meant there was greater pressure on the remaining players

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Jul-2019Mushfiqur Rahim said that while defeat against Sri Lanka in Bangladesh’s ongoing ODI series was disappointing, it didn’t mean that the progress Bangladesh had made in the past few years amounted to nothing. Bangladesh lost the second ODI, giving Sri Lanka an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.The loss comes on the back of a World Cup campaign that fizzled out after promising much at the start, with Bangladesh eventually finishing eighth on the table.Against Sri Lanka on Monday, the visiting team were in deep strife at 117 for 6, but Mushfiqur’s unbeaten 98 steered them to a competitive 238 for 8. Mushfiqur was a study in patience as he held back his shots for a long time, ensuring there was no collapse.”It is always disappointing to lose, no matter how many runs I score individually,” Mushfiqur said. “After our World Cup campaign, this series was an opportunity to prove that we are on the right path. Maybe we haven’t been able to do in the last two matches but that doesn’t mean our progress from the last five to seven years will vanish suddenly. We are certainly going through a struggling period, so the challenge is to turn it around quickly. We are all trying our best to make it happen. We have another opportunity in the next match.”Mushfiqur didn’t regret missing out on a century, though if his final-over plan of farming the strike and going big had worked, he might well have done so.”I was trying to get the team to the 250-mark, which wouldn’t have been easy to chase,” he said. “I was trying to keep strike in the last over so that I can retain strike with twos, fours or sixes. Ultimately it is not a problem [to not get to a hundred]. Our focus is to win the next game, because it is a matter of pride.”Mushfiqur agreed that the senior duo of Tamim Iqbal and Mahmudullah being out of form – their struggles have coincided with Bangladesh losing their last four ODIs – meant greater pressure on the other players. “Tamim and Riyad bhai have been performing for years but when they are not clicking, the pressure is a little more on the other players. Big players can soak up the pressure in big games, and counter-attack,” he said. “I think we are a little behind in that regard, but they are trying heart and soul. The quicker they can come back, it will be better for the team.”

England are without a couple of first-choice pace bowlers but bring a formidable batting line-up against a struggling home team

The Preview by Alan Gardner09-Oct-2018

Big picture

The contrast in fortunes between England and Sri Lanka in ODI cricket is so stark – and so unusual – that it could well form the subject of a body-swap comedy. Four years ago, on England’s last visit to the island, the wheels fell off their World Cup campaign before it had even begun: Alastair Cook was sacked at the end of the tour and they slid aimlessly through the subsequent tournament, axles throwing up sparks, to go straight out at the group stage (in which, let’s not forget, they were thrashed by nine wickets by Sri Lanka).However, then the fun began. England are now ranked the No. 1 ODI side in the world, while Sri Lanka, the original punk-rock aggressors in the format, have sunk to depths unimagined since their watershed victory at the 1996 World Cup. Of their most recent 40 ODIs, they have lost 30, with five different captains taking charge. The latest change took place a matter of weeks ago, with Dinesh Chandimal reinstated at the expense of Angelo Mathews – who was discarded from the squad entirely after the Asia Cup, amid concerns over his fitness and running between the wickets. For Sri Lankans, it’s a case of laughing else you’ll cry.While England have only triumphed once previously on the ODI leg of a Sri Lanka tour, bilateral series have become meat and drink for Eoin Morgan’s mean machine – they have won eight in a row, leaving aside a one-off defeat to Scotland in June. The World Cup, with the attendant pressures of knockout cricket, is a different proposition, but England are currently a rocket-propulsion unit with a locked-on target. Even a lack of practice, thanks to Sri Lanka’s monsoon season, is unlikely to have anyone thinking they aren’t favourites.For Chandimal and coach Chandika Hathurusingha, a short-term fix is probably more important than what might happen in seven months’ time. High-quality spin always has a chance of upsetting England (see Kuldeep Yadav’s turn during the early part of India’s recent tour) and Lasith Malinga has stalked back from the shadows, a ghost from Sri Lanka’s formidable past. The weather, too, could help level the playing field if it disrupts the visitors’ rhythm. But Mathews’ absence leaves a big hole in the batting (no jokes about his size), and it remains to be seen whether a struggling side can escape the heavy gravity of recent failures. How things have changed.Jason Roy shapes for the slog sweep•Getty Images

Form guide

Sri Lanka LLWLW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
England WWLWW

In the spotlight

Dinesh Chandimal has filled in as one-day captain before, but this series marks the start of his first official tenure. That he missed the Asia Cup debacle (through injury) was probably a good thing, but having also been suspended for the visit of South Africa in August, it is now nine months since he last played an ODI. His most recent fifty in the format came in March 2017 and he hasn’t reached three figures in more than two years. Hathurusingha has spoken of Chandimal regaining the aggression of his early career but it will be quite a job to turn around his own record as well as the form of a badly listing team.Plenty is different for England since their last visit, but Chris Woakes remains the focal point of the pace attack. His performances in 2014-15, when he took 14 wickets at 25.28, were a rare bright spot and he has developed into Morgan’s most trustworthy ODI seamer – although he missed the white-ball summer through injury. England have spoken in the build-up to the series about the importance of managing workloads for the quicks, and their ability to adapt quickly to conditions could be key. With Liam Plunkett and David Willey absent, Woakes’ experience will be all the more valuable.

Team news

The returns of Chandimal and Niroshan Dickwella are likely to be the major changes for Sri Lanka after their early exit from the Asia Cup, with Mathews and Kusal Mendis dropped. Amila Aponso could provide a third spin option, if required, while Nuwan Pradeep and Kasun Rajitha are the spare pace bowlers in the squad.Sri Lanka (possible): 1 Upul Tharanga, 2 Niroshan Dickwella (wk), 3 Kusal Perera, 4 Dinesh Chandimal (capt), 5 Dhananjaya de Silva, 6 Dasun Shanaka, 7 Thisara Perera, 8 Akila Dananjaya, 9 Lakshan Sandakan, 10 Dushmantha Chameera, 11 Lasith MalingaEngland’s main selection issue revolves around their third seamer: Tom and Sam Curran offer different angles of attack, while uncapped Olly Stone brings extra pace. Tom Curran’s greater experience perhaps puts him at the head of the queue. Jason Roy missed England’s most-recent ODI with a finger injury but is likely to open alongside Jonny Bairstow in preference to Alex Hales.England (possible): 1 Jason Roy, 2 Jonny Bairstow, 3 Joe Root, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 Ben Stokes, 6 Jos Buttler (wk), 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Adil Rashid, 10 Tom Curran, 11 Mark Wood

Pitch and conditions

The ground was looking lush on match eve, though the grass is likely to be trimmed further before the game begins. Rainfall interrupted Sri Lanka’s practice and the fact the covers have been on may mean there is some initial assistance for seamers, with spin also likely to play a part – but the pitch should still be decent for batting.

Stats and trivia

• Sri Lanka have lost their last seven completed ODIs in Dambulla. Their most-recent victory at the ground came against Pakistan in 2014.
• England’s last loss in a multi-match bilateral series came in India in 2016-17.
• Jonny Bairstow is 30 runs away from scoring 1000 in the calendar year. Only five England batsmen have previously managed the feat in ODIs, the most recent being Jonathan Trott in 2011.

Quotes

“Moeen [Ali] and [Adil] Rashid bowled really well in the practice game, we have a really good challenge from both of them. England have got more experience but we have got more mystery.””Obviously the World Cup is in the back of everyone’s mind, but there are very important series all along the way. It’s about trending in the right way and building a core group of players – a squad of 15/16/17 guys who we can hopefully call upon.”

The batsman, who formerly led Kolkata Knight Riders but was released ahead of the upcoming season, was bought by Daredevils for INR 2.8 crore at the auction

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Mar-20183:23

‘Batting is my primary job; captaining an added responsibility’ – Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir will return to the IPL franchise based in his home city of Delhi as their captain ahead of the 2018 season.”It is a huge honour to once again captain DD,” Gambhir said on his return to Daredevils, who had bought him for INR 2.8 crore (USD 437,500 approx.) at the auction in January. “To get this responsibility is a way for me to give back to the sport in the city. I firmly believe that with the players currently involved we have the makings of a very good side. The potential of this group of players is immense, and it is now up to us to turn that potential into consistent performances. It is also going to be great to work in unison with Ricky [Ponting, the Daredevils coach], an absolute champion himself.”Gautam Gambhir was appointed captain of Delhi Daredevils•Delhi Daredevils

Ponting was full of praise for the new captain. “Gauti has been a leader for a very long time,” he said. “He has always proven himself to be one of the top leaders during his stint with other sides in the IPL. He has a big personality, but it is the drive behind the outward confidence, which I think will inspire the rest of the team. He has the respect of the dressing room, and the franchise is proud to have him as our captain.”When he left Daredevils after 2010 – having led them that year – Gambhir was named Kolkata Knight Riders captain and led them to two IPL titles in seven years. Though he played only three seasons for Daredevils, Gambhir maintained an affinity for the side. Last year, even before any decisions on player retention were made, Gambhir had said he wanted to finish with a stint at Daredevils.”I think my heart is still with Delhi,” Gambhir said in 2017. “I played for three years for Delhi. Somewhere, deep within my heart, I’d love to finish with Delhi. Though I am the captain of Kolkata Knight Riders, and would want them to win it for the third time, but since I’m a Delhi boy too, I obviously want Delhi Daredevils to do well as well.”

Vernon Philander said South Africa have got used to AB de Villiers’ absence from the Test side, winning their last four series without him

Firdose Moonda04-Jul-2017AB de Villiers left the South Africa camp 10 days ago but that does not mean he is far from the opposition minds. With the Test series looming, English crowds will have to do without among one of the world’s most entertaining batsmen but they can be reassured South Africa have learned to cope without him.Asked whether South Africa had “moved on” from de Villiers, Vernon Philander referred to recent results as evidence that they have found a way to do just that. “We’ve made adjustments in order to move on,” Philander said. “I think that’s a personal decision. It’s entirely up to him what he wants to play. We’re a settled unit now. The boys have moved on, the boys have obviously done well over the last 12 months. Our focus is not on one particular player. Our focus is on the team and getting the team to do well.”Since de Villiers’ elbow injury and subsequent sabbatical from the longest format, South Africa have played four Test series and won them all, including away series in Australia and New Zealand. The Test captaincy has been taken over by Faf du Plessis but South Africa will also be without him for the series opener.Du Plessis has remained in South Africa following the birth of his daughter and opening bat Dean Elgar will lead in his absence. Although that leaves South Africa with a fairly inexperienced top order – Heino Kuhn will debut while Theunis de Bruyn has only one Test cap – South Africa still have a fair amount of experience in the ranks, Philander among them. He confirmed their support for Elgar.”It’s an opportunity for someone else to step up and lead the country,” Philander said. “We’ve got all the faith in Dean. If you have the support of the other ten guys on the field, his job will be easier. It’s a big miss losing Faf but we understand his circumstances.”And among their younger crop, South Africa are excited by the potential they possess. Philander’s new-ball partner Kagiso Rabada will play his first Test series in England and expectation is high that he will prove tough to face.”He is just a phenomenal talent. Every time he gets the ball in hand he seems to want to run in and bowl faster and get wickets,” Philander said. “He has got a never-say-die attitude about him which is exciting to have. He is not shy of bowling the overs and giving it to the batters as well. Hopefully he will have a good Test series.”

The Adelaide Oval turf for the first pink-ball Test has been micromanaged in consultation between CA, the oval’s curator Damian Hough, the broadcasters, ball manufacturers, and the players themselves

Daniel Brettig25-Nov-2015Make no mistake, Adelaide has been the scene of concerted pitch doctoring this week. In departing from more than 140 years of history by scheduling a day-night Test, Cricket Australia have veered away from another tradition down under – letting the ground staff have full control over the preparation of the wicket.The Adelaide Oval turf for Friday’s Test has been micromanaged in consultation between CA, the oval’s curator Damian Hough, the broadcasters, ball manufacturers, and the players themselves. Faced with the reality of using a pink ball that lacks the durability of its red equivalent, the board, the venue and the players have agreed upon a surface offering more grass than usual in Adelaide, helping the ball to be preserved while also offering more movement to bowlers.Its qualities were tested when near-identical pitches were prepared for two Sheffield Shield matches in Adelaide earlier this season, the first a day-night affair between South Australia and New South Wales in which the likes of Steven Smith, David Warner, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon all took part. There were some raised eyebrows about the way the pitch preparation has been decided more or less by committee, but positive feedback by the players about the way the surface played has allayed much of the earlier anxiety.”This match is three years in the making from an Australian cricket perspective,” CA’s head of operations Sean Cary told ESPNcricinfo. “We’ve had the three rounds of Sheffield Shield cricket, and we’ve tried to come up with the best conditions that are going to not impact the balance between bat and ball.”We don’t want either the bat or the ball to be in favour, but what we’ve done with Damian Hough, and he’s worked diligently in his wicket preparation, is to make sure the surrounds are favourable to the ball not being scuffed up as much.”We’re confident that what he’s learned from the last two Shield rounds, one day-night, one natural-light Shield round, the feedback he’s got from the captains, including Steve Smith the current Australian captain, is that they’ve been really complimentary towards his wickets, and they’ve said ‘we’d love to have this sort of wicket for a Test match’.”

Net bowler pinged on the head

A net bowler has been treated for a lacerated ear after being struck on the head during Australia’s training on Wednesday night. Mitchell Marsh batted in the nets and launched the pink ball straight back at the bowler, who was struck on the side of the head. Training was briefly halted and the bowler was treated for a lacerated ear by Australia’s team doctor, Peter Brukner.

For Hough’s part, he was less eager to paint this as a pitch prepared entirely to suit a cricket ball, but admitted its composition was out of step with Adelaide’s usual fare. “Leaving a bit of grass on it, we’re hoping it will assist the quicks, and the ball will come onto the bat nicely,” Hough said. “But having a bit of a coarse, thatchy grass should hopefully, going on the two games we have had so far and the pink ball Shield matches, it should be able to bite into that grass and get some spin.”As a former member of Hough’s ground staff, Lyon is uniquely placed to discuss the vagaries of the surface. He and his NSW spin bowling offsider Steve O’Keefe were pleasantly surprised by the amount of spin on offer via the even covering of grass, while also noting that pacemen and batsmen alike were able to prosper at times – although with the added possible difficulty of facing a brand new ball under lights.The presence of only two evenly grassed drop-in pitches alongside the Test strip has made for a decidedly lush square and outfield, meaning the game is unlikely to see much in the way of reverse swing. Adelaide is thus about to witness a very different Test match to what the Oval’s faithful are used to, both underfoot and overhead.”It’s a little bit different, a little bit more grass on it, a more even coverage and a thick bed of grass. There’s a little bit more there for everyone, it won’t be a typical flat Adelaide pitch that we are used to,” Lyon said. “In saying that we played here a couple of weeks ago and it was the perfect wicket.”Damian Hough is a great curator and produced that wicket for the Shield game and spoke to myself, Dave Warner and Steve Smith before and after the Shield game to get our feedback. I know we all gave positive feedback to Damian. The ball held up pretty well when we played here a few weeks ago, it doesn’t have that abrasive effect and it will be quite hard to get it to reverse. I dare say it will look after it pretty well.”As much as this match is a contest between Australia and New Zealand to decide the outcome of this series, it is also devised as a piece of advertising for the concept of day-night Tests. Cary noted the presence of a wide variety of cricket luminaries and administrators at the ground, with Pakistan already believed to be in talks with CA about taking part in another day-night match down under next summer.”We’re breaking the ice so to speak,” Cary said. “There’s going to be plenty of interest from other member boards around the world, we’ve got a number of CEOs from other countries here to witness this event, and I’m sure if they can see the positives, a full house at Adelaide Oval for the duration of the match and great viewing audiences at home, then I’m sure this will be a product other countries will be really interested in.”So it is that the Adelaide Oval wicket has been doctored by committee, though not for the usual reasons of trying to engineer a victory for the home side. Where usually such a practice would be cause for howls of derision from those Australians who believe each groundsman should be left to do his job in peace, this time around the endgame is more commercial than parochial.

England were bowled out for 289, setting Australia 412 to win as the first Test of the Investec Ashes moved swiftly on

The Report by David Hopps10-Jul-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsWelcome to Wales, land of rain and anxiety. Cambridge scientists recently concluded that it is here where the United Kingdom is at its most neurotic. And it is here where Australia did their utmost to prey on those nerves and insist against all logic that even though they must embark upon a seemingly impossible pursuit of 412 on the fourth morning, and the pitch is both turning sharply and bouncing irregularly, they are not quite dead in the Cardiff Test. They are. They must be.Pessimism can cling to a side with recent memories of an Ashes whitewash. England initially made rapid headway as they sought to turn a formidable first-innings lead of 122 into a bridgehead for victory and a 1-0 lead in the Investec Ashes series. The impetus from bundling out Australia in their morning spread into the batting of Ian Bell and, less obviously, Joe Root in the afternoon. And even as the lead built, millions of England supporters looked on and spoke of “only”.The lead was only 200, 300, and 20 minutes from the close, with great relief, 400, as England’s No. 10, Mark Wood, swung the offspin of Nathan Lyon towards the River Taff for six and then reverse lapped him for four to applause from the England balcony. The wickets remaining slipped to only eight, four, two. But by the close of the third day, an awkward spell in which Bell, Root and Ben Stokes had their wicket struck in turn and Australia felt a glimmer of hope, Wood, a tail-ender with a sense of fun, had an unbeaten 32 from 18 balls and England were out of sight. Finally, there was not an “only” to be heard.Australia like to speak of the highest Test run chase ever pulled off in England, of Headingley 1948, of Don Bradman and of 404 for 3. Even that would not be enough now. The forecast for Sunday is indifferent, but as the Welsh have it, it is not expected to rain old women and sticks. This excellent game deserves a winner and logic suggests that it is England.Four wickets for Lyon were deserving of respect, if an expected reward on a dry pitch offering considerable turn. Australia’s bonus was Mitchell Starc. When he left the field for the last time, the clock had gone beyond six o’clock and a bowler whose first ball of the day had seen this lissom left-armer hop gingerly through the crease in mistrust of an ankle injury had got through 16 overs, logged Alastair Cook and Stokes in the wickets column and, at 92.8mph, had clocked the fastest ball of the match. Impressive stuff – but he might miss the Lord’s Test as a consequence.Australia were not averse to playing on England’s insecurity. New ICC regulations might make sledging a risky business, and not before time, but nobody said anything about mind games. Lyon and David Warner more than once held conversations at the point in the crease where Stokes, idiosyncratically, likes to sweep the crease in a semicircle. Brad Haddin had more appeals than the Salvation Army.It would be tempting to term the pitch treacherous, but considering its particular difficulty to Australia, whose batsmen are brought up with pace and bounce, perhaps it was actually suffering from excessive loyalty. It has also produced magnificent entertainment from the outset.It had taken England only 14.5 overs to polish off the last five Australian wickets, 44 runs added in the process, and although the stand-out performer was James Anderson, who provided a brief exhibition of new-ball bowling to log 3 for 43, every England bowler took a wicket in what had been a consistently focused display.The sense that batting might remain a taxing business was encouraged when Alastair Cook, England’s captain, failed for the second time in the match, driving at a gentle, wide outswinger from Starc which was well picked up by Lyon, low at backward point. He seems, perhaps temporarily, to have abandoned his habitual insistence of making bowlers bowl at him in a desire to buy into England’s much-vaunted commitment to enterprising batting.If Cook could rue a puff of dust from the footholes, Gary Ballance had more reason for frustration. Two excellent swinging deliveries from Starc left him fortunate to reach lunch unbeaten – but still on nought. Ballance might have reached the interval, but that first run never came as soon after the resumption he received a climbing delivery from Josh Hazlewood and gloved to the wicketkeeper.Bell’s three hundreds won him the Man of the Series award the last time the Ashes were contested in England, but who had been bereft of form with six scores of 0 or 1 in his last nine Test innings. It was a timely moment for him to regain form. He drove sublimely through the off side from the outset, two early boundaries against Starc setting the tone from a half-century of elegant ambition. There were 11 boundaries in his 60 before he became Mitchell Johnson’s first victim, expecting inswing but beaten by one that seamed away.Bell’s authority briefly rubbed off on Adam Lyth, whose slog-swept six against Lyon summed up his rising ambition. Lyon, though, gradually unravelled his game and outdid his defensive poke for Michael Clarke to hold a wonderful springing catch to his left at slip.At 207 for 4, England’s lead was already 329, but the loss of Root, bowled by a nip-backer from Hazlewood, was the start of an uncomfortable period in which four wickets fell for 38 in nine overs. Jos Buttler might have regretted this reverse sweep more than most as Lyon had him caught at the wicket; Stokes’ controlled 42 ended with a drag-on as Starc scudded one through; Broad flung his head skywards and reached deep mid-off, running in. Wood banished the nerves.Australia had begun the morning at 264 for 5 and might have shrugged off the loss the nightwatchman, Lyon, as he fell lbw to Wood, immaculate in line throughout, but the dismissal of Shane Watson that preceded it was drainingly familiar as he played across his front pad against Broad. For Watson, it was another Test match 30 and a striking record of 28 lbw dismissals in 108 innings, unmatched for a player of such longevity. He left with mournful, pursed lips, as if he could not believe that fate had conspired against him once more.Haddin was a danger, memories of his productive last series against England still fresh, but Anderson found prodigious movement both ways and it was not long before Haddin edged an outswinger to the wicketkeeper. Johnson clipped Broad to midwicket and Australia’s innings came to a close when Anderson had Starc expertly held by Root, diving to his left, one of five England slips stationed for a catch, an attacking flourish they clung to, refusing whatever the doubts around them to let the talk of “only” enter their thoughts.

Middlesex continued their impressive start to the season when half-centuries from Gareth Berg and Ollie Rayner carried them to a thrilling three-wicket victory at Derby

23-Apr-2011
Scorecard
Middlesex continued their impressive start to the season when half-centuries from Gareth Berg and Ollie Rayner carried them to a thrilling three-wicket victory at Derby.Derbyshire looked favourites when Middlesex slipped to 197 for 6 chasing 328, but Berg and Rayner turned the game with a stand of 97 in 24 overs.
Berg became Tony Palladino’s fourth victim when he had made 80 from 115 balls but Rayner hit an unbeaten 58 to secure Middlesex’s second LV= County
Championship Second Division win.It was an impressive recovery by the visitors after Derbyshire had struck twice in the opening two overs. Middlesex had added only four runs to their overnight total of 145 for 2 when Dawid Malan pushed forward at the fifth ball of the morning from Tim Groenewald and was caught behind.Groenewald had been expensive in his opening spell on the previous evening but there were no cheap runs on offer on his return and the home side celebrated another success in the next over. Neil Dexter had scored only 2 when he was beaten by Palladino and trapped leg before to reduce the visitors to 154 for 4 and shift the balance towards Derbyshire.Dan Housego had shown composure and sound temperament in the first innings and he was again proving a considerable obstacle as he and John Simpson began rebuilding the innings. The scoring rate had dropped considerably which was an indication of the accuracy of the attack and the tension out in the middle and it was a tentative shot that finally ended Housego’s stubborn innings.He had faced 110 balls for his 27 when he prodded at Palladino and edged into the gloves of Tom Poynton. Derbyshire’s celebrations showed just how important that wicket was and they had another one before lunch when Simpson became a victim of the growing pressure.He and Berg had scored 21 in 12 overs when Simpson went for a big cut at Ross Whiteley but hit it straight to short cover where Dan Redfern held on to give the seamer his first Championship wicket.At lunch, Middlesex were 216 for 6, 112 short of their target, and Berg came out determined to break the stranglehold of the bowlers who had sent down 15 maiden overs in the morning.He drove Wes Durston’s off-spin for six and when Derbyshire claimed the new
ball, he cut the first delivery from Greg Smith past point to the boundary.Berg had taken his side to within 34 runs of victory when he cut Palladino to backward point to give the seamer his ninth victim in the match. But Rayner shut the door firmly in Derbyshire’s face and drove Whiteley for two
consecutive fours to win a pulsating contest shortly after 3pm.

Shoaib Malik, the former Pakistan captain who was left out of the World Cup squad, has been named captain of Punjab’s team for the upcoming Pentangular first-class tournament in Pakistan

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Jan-2011Shoaib Malik, the former Pakistan captain who was left out of the World Cup squad, has been named captain of Punjab’s team for the upcoming Pentangular first-class tournament in Pakistan. Federal Areas, Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are the other four teams that will participate in a tournament that pits the top 75 players of the country against one another as provincial, rather than city-based or departmental sides.Malik was in prime form through the domestic season, scoring 799 runs at an average of 88.77 for Pakistan International Airlines in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. He has been appointed captain ahead of Kamran Sajid, under whom he played in the PIA side. Sajid is also in the Punjab squad.Punjab have surprisingly left out Lahore Shalimar batsman Usman Salahuddin, the leading run-getter in Division Two of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy during the 2010-11 season, as well as his team-mate, offspinner Saad Nasim, who was the leading wicket-taker in the recently concluded One Day National Cup Division Two. The two have been named in Punjab’s reserves.Former Pakistan captain Mohammad Yousuf, and Imran Farhat, who hit a century for Habib Bank Limited in their Faysal Bank One Day National Cup Division One match on Friday, are also in a strong Punjab side.Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have named Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited legspinner Yasir Shah as their captain, while Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited seamer Iftikhar Anjum will captain Federal Areas.Balochistan and Sindh are yet to name their captains.