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Rajasthan’s bowlers plugged away relentlessly at Baroda’s batsmen, and despite three half-centuries, the hosts were still trailing by 70 at stumps

The Bulletin by Abhishek Purohit at Moti Bagh13-Jan-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsLegspinner Vivek Yadav was the pick of the bowlers for Rajasthan•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Rajasthan’s bowlers plugged away relentlessly at Baroda’s batsmen, creating pressure through tight lines, and despite three half-centuries, the hosts were still trailing by 70 at stumps on the third day on a Moti Bagh wicket that played better than it did on Wednesday.Vivek Yadav persisted around off stump with his legbreaks, and though he did not get the sharp turn that the Baroda spinners had generated, his accuracy forced the inexperienced batsmen into mistakes. Jaykishan Kolsawala and Kedar Devdhar had begun positively, but Yadav came on in the eighth over of the day and the runs dried up. He bowled seven overs by the first drinks break, conceding just nine runs, and removed Kolsawala and Devdhar. They were harmless deliveries, but considering how the batsmen had been tied down, it was inevitable in a way that they succumbed to them. Kolsawala fished way outside off to a ball that was angled across him, and Devdhar looked to cut a half-tracker without much feet movement, and the inside edge rattled the stumps. Baroda had slipped from 110 for 1 to 113 for 3, and the onus was now on their big signing, Ambati Rayudu, to deliver.Rayudu was looking alright, and showed his class with two elegant cover-drives when the spinners pitched marginally fuller. But Deepak Chahar – who has been wearing a strap around his right arm throughout this game – came on six overs before lunch, and trapped Rayudu leg-before with his third delivery, which straightened after angling in on middle. It looked a marginal call, as Rayudu was struck on the thigh pad, but the fact that he was caught on the back foot, and was hit on the back leg, would have played on the umpire’s mind. Rayudu had been the beneficiary of a marginal decision a couple of overs ago, when Yadav hit the non-striker’s stumps from mid-on with the batsman struggling to make his ground. One replay showed his bat was just on the crease, while one from another angle showed Rayudu had just made his ground. The third umpire had then ruled in favour of Rayudu, but his eventual dismissal meant captain Pinal Shah was left alone to guide the remaining batsmen.Pinal fought back admirably in the company of Aditya Waghmode, who was playing his second first-class innings. Both didn’t make the mistake that Kolsawala and Devdhar had, and used their feet against the spinners to regularly pick up the singles. Waghmode was especially quick to put the loose deliveries away, flicking and slog-sweeping the spinners for boundaries. At the other end, Pinal was stepping out and lifting them over midwicket and long-on. The momentum seemed to be shifting as the pair added 90 runs at just under four an over, but Waghmode’s impatience after reaching his half-century brought about his downfall. He looked to whack Yadav through extra cover but was superbly snapped up by Hrishikesh Kanitkar, who dived to take a low catch.Rajasthan took the new ball, and the lower order needed to support Pinal, who was now looking to score off almost every delivery. But Swapnil Singh went for an injudicious pull off Pankaj Singh to be caught brilliantly by Vineet Saxena at extra-cover, who held on despite colliding with Yadav, running in from mid-off. Chahar was striving for impact from the other end, and getting some movement with the new ball. He soon removed Abhijit Karambelkar, and then got the big wicket of Pinal who walked across, looking to play the ball square, but was caught plumb in front.Murtuja Vahora and Sankalp Vohra showed the track did not hold much danger, with an unbeaten 36-run ninth-wicket stand, but Rajasthan need only two good deliveries tomorrow to take the lead, which could well prove decisive.

England’s injury crisis deepened as the team arrived in Perth ahead of the seventh and final ODI against Australia, as Paul Collingwood was officially ruled out of the series

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Feb-2011England’s injury crisis deepened as the team arrived in Perth ahead of the seventh and final ODI against Australia, as Paul Collingwood was officially ruled out of the match following the back spasm that prevented him from bowling during Wednesday’s two-wicket defeat at the SCG. He will return to the UK immediately, but is expected to be fit for the start of the World Cup, with the team setting off for Bangladesh on February 12.”He had a back spasm so he couldn’t walk very well and he certainly couldn’t bowl,” Strauss said in the aftermath of the Sydney defeat. “At the moment we are a bit short on bowlers full stop.”Collingwood is the fifth member of England’s one-day squad to finish the series back in England, with Tim Bresnan (calf) and Graeme Swann (back) already in the country, and Ajmal Shahzad (hamstring) and Chris Tremlett (side) currently flying back from Sydney.Stuart Broad, who tore his abdominal muscle during the second Ashes Test in December, is back with the squad but is unlikely to be passed fit for the Perth ODI, which means Durham’s Liam Plunkett, a recent arrival from the Lions tour in the Caribbean, is a near-certain starter for a match in which Australia already hold a 5-1 series lead.Plunkett, who was a part of the England team that unexpectedly won the CB Series on their last tour of Australia in 2006-07, arrived in Perth on Tuesday following a 40-hour journey, but believed he would be fresh and ready for action if called upon for the match.”I went from St Kitts to Miami and then Miami to Heathrow. I was there for 10 hours so I had a sleep there and then went to Singapore and here,” Plunkett said. “But I’ve been here two nights now. I’ve had plenty of time to rest and slept on the plane thanks to some sleeping tablets.”With 28 ODIs to his name already, Plunkett offers greater experience than either of England’s recent debutants Steven Finn and Chris Woakes, who along with Jimmy Anderson are the only three fit seamers still remaining with the squad. However, his most recent outing was a one-off fixture against Bangladesh in Chittagong back in March, having not been selected since the visit of West Indies in 2007.”I was [surprised to get selected].” he admitted. “But I’ve got the call-up, I’m here and hopefully I will play. I’ve got fresh legs. I feel strong and confident in my bowling so hopefully it goes well and we’ll see what happens from there.”

ESPNcricinfo previews the World Cup game between Canada and Kenya

The Preview by Abhishek Purohit06-Mar-2011

Match Facts

March 7, Delhi

Start time 14:30 local time (09:00 GMT)
Ashish Bagai feels that Balaji Rao, the legspinner, will be crucial for Canada on the Kotla pitch•AFP

Big Picture

Canada and Kenya usually don’t go in to a World Cup game expecting to win, and certainly aren’t expected to do so by others. Tomorrow’s encounter provides an exception. Despite having misfired in several areas in their previous three games, both sides know they are expected to win this time. Having given Pakistan a scare in Colombo, Canada would feel they are slightly ahead going in to this one, but their bowlers were helped by the cloud cover that hung over the Premadasa. Chances of getting that kind of assistance in Delhi are slim.There is not much that separates the sides. In fact, they have a lot in common. Both have conceded 300-plus totals, and while that may be in keeping with the trend this tournament, they haven’t managed to bat themselves past 150 in a single game. Kenya looked to be on their way to do that against Sri Lanka, but were blown away by Lasith Malinga’s yorkers.Kenya would like to think they have the better pedigree, but Canada have displayed more spirit and gumption so far. Jimmy Kamande, Kenya’s captain, has instead had to deny reports of a rift between the coach Eldine Baptiste and some players. He has admitted it is difficult to keep motivating a side that has consistently under-performed.Given how little there is to choose between the two, the odds are that there might not be a familiar batting collapse at the least.

Form guide

(Most recent completed games first)
Canada LLLLW
Kenya LLLWL

Pitch and conditions

If it’s the Kotla, turn and low bounce cannot be that far. The spinners will like the surface. Imran Tahir and Pieter Seelaar certainly did, when South Africa and Netherlands played here. The weather is expected to be moderately warm by Delhi’s hot standards.

Watch out for…

Collins Obuya laboured to a half-century against Sri Lanka. That was what his team needed after a couple of early wickets had fallen. He should find it easier against Canada. He has been Kenya’s most prolific batsman of late, and possesses a game that can be altered depending on the situation.Balaji Rao enjoyed his battle against Pakistan’s heavyweight middle order, and snapped up Misbah-ul-Haq and Umar Akmal. The legspinner was unafraid to flight the ball, and though he went for some runs, he tested a line-up that plays spin very well. Kenya don’t, and Balaji will be itching to have a go.

Team news

Ashish Bagai has said that Parth Desai, the 20-year old left-arm spinner, could play tomorrow. That means one of the seamers could sit out. John Davison, the veteran opener, could also be back after a niggle made him miss the Pakistan game.Canada: (probable) 1 John Davison, 2 Nitish Kumar/Ruvindu Gunasekera, 3 Ashish Bagai (wk/capt), 4 Zubin Surkari, 5 Rizwan Cheema, 6 Jimmy Hansra, 7 Tyson Gordon, 8 Khurram Chohan, 9 Harvir Baidwan, 10 Balaji Rao, 11 Parth Desai.Kenya have no major injury concerns, and Thomas Odoyo should come back after missing the match against Sri Lanka.Kenya: (probable) 1 Maurice Ouma (wk), 2 Seren Waters, 3 Collins Obuya, 4 Steve Tikolo, 5 David Obuya, 6 Tanmay Mishra/Rakep Patel, 7 Thomas Odoyo, 8 Jimmy Kamande (capt), 9 Nehemiah Odhiambo, 10 Shem Ngoche, 11 Elijah Otieno..

Stats and trivia

• The Canada squad has scored a total of 4359 ODI runs. Steve Tikolo alone has made 3399.
• The sides have played against each other in 12 ODIs, Kenya winning seven of them, including their two encounters at the 2003 and 2007 World Cups.

Quotes

“This is our best chance of a win in the World Cup. If we get our batting right we should be competitive.”
.”I guarantee you tomorrow we are going to express much more than we did in the past matches.”
.

Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara praised his brittle middle-order batting for carrying his team to the final of the World Cup after they beat New Zealand

Sa'adi Thawfeeq30-Mar-2011Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara praised his brittle middle-order batting for carrying his team to the final of the World Cup after they beat New Zealand by five wickets in Colombo on Tuesday. Chasing New Zealand’s moderate total of 217, Sri Lanka were cruising to victory at 160 for 1 when a sudden top-order collapse – four wickets fell for 25 runs – left them looking vulnerable, before the experience of Thilan Samaraweera and the flair of Angelo Mathews (batting with a runner due to a thigh strain) saw Sri Lanka through.”The middle order won the match for us. I don’t think it’s anything to worry about,” an elated Sangakkara said. “I always said if you give them the opportunity they would deliver. They got it today in very tense circumstances. We are very happy what they’ve done.”Samaraweera and Mathews added 35 crucial runs for the sixth wicket to carry Sri Lanka to their second successive World Cup final. They will meet the winners of Wednesday’s second semi-final between India and Pakistan in the final on Saturday. Sangakkara blamed himself for not seeing Sri Lanka through to victory after the openers had got them off to a rapid start once again.”The responsibility should have been on me and [Tillakaratne] Dilshan. Dilhan did his job and I should have seen the match through. I played one shot too many and our dismissals put a lot of pressure on the middle order and they came out very well.”We got tensed in the end basically because Dilshan and I should have finished it off or got as close as possible at least to the 200 mark. We let that opportunity go and put the side under a bit of pressure. Dilshan batted brilliantly, he and Upul (Tharanga) gave us another great start. Upul was out to a fantastic catch by Jesse Ryder when he was batting beautifully.Sangakkara: The middle order won the match for us. I don’t think it’s anything to worry about.•AFP

“My job was to hang around with Dilshan and build a partnership, but with two down and 60 runs to go on hindsight it was good for the middle order to show us what they can do as well. Thilan did exactly what was expected of him, Chamara Silva chipped in and Angelo Mathews as usual finished it up for us.”It was the second time in successive knockout matches that Sri Lanka had chased and won under lights. “We won two matches chasing because we lost the toss not because of anything else. If we had won the toss we would have batted first,” Sangakkara said. “Chasing and winning does a lot more for your confidence than batting first and defending because you got the bowling attack to defend. You just need to see off ourselves how well we do in a chase especially in two crunch games. I thought New Zealand adapted to the conditions a lot better.”They always have the variety to trouble us at home because they have the bits and pieces cricketers and quality spinners. But today the wicket was really great it didn’t take a huge amount of spin and actually the seam bowlers were a bit more difficult to attack than spin.”Reaching a World Cup final was the culmination of a long journey and careful planning, Sangakkara said. “We planned for it for over two years. We missed a great opportunity in 2007. Ours was to recreate those opportunities in 2011 and to be there is very special for us. If we had not won the World Cup in 1996 we wouldn’t have come to this level. We must thank players like Murali [Muralitharan], Vaasy [Chaminda Vaas], Sanath [Sanath Jayasuriya], Aravinda de Silva and Arjuna [Ranatunga].”From that winning side only one member is with us and that is Murali. The amount of input he has given to us we cannot measure. If you take his bowling and his character he has played a big part in our cricket. Not only the players but the rest of Sri Lanka look at him as someone special.”The game was Muralitharan’s final appearance in an ODI at home and he was rightfully given a lap of honour at the end of the match. “It was a bit emotional because it was the last game we were playing in front of our home crowd. The next match is not going to be here. It was a very special moment for us and even more so because it is the last time Murali will ever play an ODI. When the magnitude of that occasion hits you it kind of overwhelms you.”In his farewell Test against India last year, Muralitharan took his 800th wicket with the last ball he bowled in Test cricket. Against New Zealand, he again took a wicket off the final ball he bowled in his final ODI appearance at home.”The good thing about Murali is he has no ego and he is a great team man,” Sangakarra said. “Why these kind of fairytale endings keep happening to him is because he is a great human being. He has a great heart, he is an honest hardworking guy and he has no pretenses about it. When he is such a nice guy good things happen to him.”Looking ahead at the final on Saturday, Sangakkara said, “Kicking off from here it is easy to get carried away. We won a semi-final but we haven’t won a final. We are in the final, we need to keep our heads down and keep playing good cricket. There is a lot of work to do in the next three days to play in the biggest match of our lives.”It means a great deal especially in a new future that is envisioned for Sri Lanka. For us to be in this position, to host a World Cup and for the Sri Lankan team to get into a final it bodes well for the future of our country. Cricket’s always been the panacea that’s healed all wounds in Sri Lanka. Whenever cricket is played it seems as if life was back to normal. We carry that responsible job and it has been with us whenever we played. We understand the gravity of work but we also understand what privilege it is to be able to represent our country.”Every single match we play is for our country. What people outside don’t see is the greatest pride we have when we don our national colours. You go to the dressing room and there is a national flag with every player above their seat before we go out to play.”

Zimbabwe spinner Ray Price has joined Mumbai Indians’ squad in the Indian Premier League

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Apr-2011Zimbabwe spinner Ray Price has joined the Mumbai Indians squad for the remainder of the 2011 IPL season as a replacement for Australian allrounder Moises Henriques, who did not travel to India after having surgery in March for an adductor muscle injury.Price was unsold at the original IPL player auction in January and Mumbai have now bought him at his reserve price of $50,000. He joined the squad a day before their eight-run win over Chennai Super Kings at the Wankhede Stadium.Price was Zimbabwe’s leading wicket-taker during the World Cup with nine wickets at an average of 18.77 and economy-rate of 3.44. He becomes the second Zimbabwean to be involved with the IPL after Tatenda Taibu, who was part of the Kolkata Knight Riders squad in the first season of the tournament.Price has built a reputation as a canny and bellicose limited-overs bowler and has risen to second place in the ICC’s ODI bowler rankings after his performance at the World Cup. “Obviously you learn more as you get older and I think that has been the case with me and I’m very happy with the way things have been going for me at the moment,” he had told after regaining the No. 2 spot.”When I started playing international cricket, one of my goals was to finish at the top and being ranked No. 2 in the world is nice but my goal now is to move up to No. 1. The busier season ahead will be a good opportunity for us to do well against the top-ranked teams and we have some time to prepare for that.”In addition to Zimbabwe’s upcoming series against Bangladesh, Australia A and Pakistan, Price has an IPL stint in which to hone his skills.

Japan’s captain Masaomi Kobayshi looks ahead to the Pepsi ICC World Cricket League Division 7 that begins in Botswana next week

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Apr-2011How has the side been preparing for WCL Div. 7?
We have been looking forward to this tournament since the completion of our previous tournament in Guernsey in 2009. We have undergone regular camps and established high standard domestic competitions to develop the players as a group and as individuals. The squad was narrowed down in January, and we have had two camps a month and individual training on other weekends. Unfortunately, as a result of the devastating earthquake and tsunami on March 11 this year, we were not able to have our scheduled camps or overseas tour that month. However, in April, we have been able to hold our scheduled camps and I believe that this is the best prepared that we have been for an international tournament. I’m delighted that we will compete at the tournament at our best. We have improved individually and as a group in fitness, technique, and tactically and we are all very much looking forward to the tournament.What do you know about the conditions in Gaborone and do you think your side will be well suited to those conditions?
We understand the pitches are permanent hard wickets, which is what we are used to playing on in Japan. We also understand that the altitude is extremely high which is why we have been working hard on our fitness levels. We will be learning more about the conditions when we arrive, but this will not change how we want to play. Whatever the conditions, we will just believe in ourselves, express ourselves and play to the best of our abilities.There are only four expatriate players in the Japan side while the rest are all native Japanese – how does your development programme work to have such a strong native Japanese element?
In the last 10 years, Japanese cricket has come a long way. New grounds, sponsors, junior development initiatives, and better coaches have all contributed to the development of cricket in Japan. The JCA has worked very hard for its fantastic achievements and that has inspired the players to work hard at training and performing well at tournaments. Encouraging youngsters to take up the sport as well as excellent coaches and improved facilities have contributed to our development and we are seeing players such as Raheel Kano who is amongst the first generation of players coming through the whole participation pathway established 10 years ago. The new generation of young talented players have created a dynamic team environment and we are all very excited get out onto the field and play.Who are the players to watch in your side for this event? We`ve heard good things about Raheel Kano from the U19s, what does he bring to the side?
Yes Raheel is an exciting young leg spinner who has come through the participation programme. Like the other youngsters in the team he plays the game in an exciting way and expresses himself out on the field which is great. A number of youngsters have come into the side in recent times and have gelled really well with the experienced players. However, I believe that we are a well balanced team where everyone contributes, all 14 players and team management. Team work has been an essential weapon for us. Japan is not a team of one star player, but of a great group of players who are proud to represent their country, play as hard as they can, and bring the best out of each other.You`ve obviously faced Nigeria before but what is your knowledge of the other sides in the tournament and have you played any of them recently?
We played Norway and Nigeria in the World Cricket League Division 5 in 2008. Our match against Botswana in that tournament was washed out, but we did see them play. We have heard about Germany and Kuwait from the Vanuatu players who played them in Division 8. All countries have good teams, but we will concentrate on our game plan and do our best.Finally, the JCA have set up `Cricket for Smiles` – can you tell us a little bit about this initiative and also about what it means to you as a captain of the national cricket team and its importance?
As a group we were all upset and touched by the events of 11 March. Some of our players had family in the area and it was a very emotional time for them. We wanted to do something as a group and as an organisation to contribute to the people of the Sendai region in a positive way. A lot of schools have been wiped out and the kids involved have nothing. The idea of the initiative is to introduce cricket to over 200 schools that have been badly affected and provide them with cricket equipment.It is upsetting to watch your county men struggle at a time like this and if we can help in anyway and use cricket to allow the children to smile again then I think it is great! We are looking for sponsorship for `Cricket for Smiles` and your support would be greatly appreciated. For more information of how to donate to this worthy cause log in online www.cricket.or.jp/cricketforsmilesAll sports people dream to represent their country in their chosen sport and I was no different. The fact that I am now seen as a leader is even better. I am lucky enough to have done it before and every time I walk out onto the field as captain of Japan is a special moment for me.

Alex Wakely came within a whisker of a century on the second day of Northamptonshire’s finely-poised County Championship match against Leicestershire at Wantage Road

25-May-2011
Scorecard
Alex Wakely came within a whisker of a century on the second day of Northamptonshire’s finely-poised County Championship match against Leicestershire at Wantage Road. After the league leaders slumped to 70 for 5, Wakely made 98 off 165 balls as his side were bowled out for 312 – one run short of their opponents’ first innings total.Wayne White and Australia international Andrew McDonald took three wickets each before Leicestershire closed on 52 for 0 with the match very much in the balance.Northants began the day 281 runs behind their opponents, with their openers, Stephen Peters and Ben Howgego, resuming on 26 and 6 respectively. But Peters was to last just two balls before he was well caught at third slip by Matthew Boyce off the bowling of Leicestershire captain Matthew Hoggard.And Howgego was removed on 10 when he edged White (3 for 92) to wicketkeeper Paul Dixey and Rob White soon followed when he nudged Nadeem Malik to the same player. McDonald (3 for 51) then took the wicket of David Sales (15) with his first over of the day when he was slashed to Will Jefferson at second slip.Northants captain Andrew Hall made just five before going cheaply by nudging McDonald’s wide delivery to Dixey to leave the hosts reeling. James Middlebrook survived a huge scare when he was dropped at mid-off by Malik off White, but went two balls later after cracking 42 off 48 balls by edging the same bowler to Dixey.But Wakely stuck around to complete his half-century off 92 balls as he and Chaminda Vaas stabilised their side’s innings with a seventh-wicket stand of 96. Wakely was to agonisingly fall two runs short of a deserved century when McDonald’s delivery went through his defences and took out his leg stump in the third over before tea.Hoggard took the second new ball as soon as it became available and with the second delivery, he forced Northants wicketkeeper David Murphy (22) to edge to Jefferson at second slip. Vaas was to depart on 46 in the next over when he launched White to Hoggard at midwicket before Malik ended the innings by taking out David Lucas’ (24) off stump.Leicestershire managed to get off to a better start in their second innings than they did with their first, where they were reduced to 15 for 3. Their openers, Jefferson and Boyce, comfortably survived 18 overs and will resume on 15 and 36 respectively.

The PCB will support the recommendation to implement the Decision Review System (DRS) in international matches at the ICC annual conference in Hong Kong, its chairman Ijaz Butt has said

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Jun-2011The PCB will support the recommendation to implement the Decision Review System (DRS) in international matches at the ICC’s annual conference in Hong Kong, its chairman Ijaz Butt has said. However, the board will oppose the proposal to end the rotational system for ICC presidents and the planned amendment to the ICC’s constitution which will allow the governing body to suspend a member in the event of governmental interference in the running of a national cricket board.Those two issues, along with the Associate participation in the 2015 World Cup, form the crux of the conference but they were not debated on the opening day. The meetings began on June 26 with discussions on playing conditions and the rankings system. The headline issues were kept for the upcoming days.One board that has vehemently opposed the DRS is the BCCI, but the PCB was satisfied with the system. “We really don’t know why India is opposing the DRS,” Butt had said prior to his departure for Hong Kong. “They must have their reasons but as far as we are concerned, we are satisfied with the impact it has had so far in Test and ODI cricket, and we felt the World Cup was a good example of this system working and getting better in future.”We support India where we agree with their viewpoint. But generally we have our own independent views on decisions. I think the fact that we are not in favor of ending the rotation system of electing the ICC chairman, or having amendments in the ICC constitution to prevent complete government interference in member board affairs, is testimony to this.”With regards to the proposed amendment to prevent government interference, the PCB issued a legal notice to the ICC. It is among the boards that could, in the event of any interference from the government, be directly affected by the amendment, since the patron-in-chief of the PCB is the president of Pakistan.Pakistan and Bangladesh are next in line to nominate the ICC president and vice-president as per the rotational system. The Bangladesh Cricket Board said it is not against the proposed change in the process for the nomination and election of the ICC president, but wants the amendment to come into effect only after the completion of a full cycle of the current rotational system.”The board, in principle, agrees on the proposed amendment of ICC Article of Association regarding abolishing the present rotation system for the post of president of the ICC,” the Bangladesh board said. “However, the BCB feels that an equal and fair opportunity should be given to all existing Full Member countries to avail the privileges of the current rotation system.”The ICC annual conference begins with a meeting of the chief executives committee on June 26 and 27, followed by the executive board meeting – June 28 and 29 – and the full council meeting on June 30.

Plays of the Day from the second day of the first Test between England and India at Lord’s

Andrew McGlashan at Lord's22-Jul-2011Not-out of the day
There has been a huge amount of debate about whether the various pieces of technology are good enough for the DRS, but it has long been clear TV replays are no good for judging whether a catch has carried. The latest example came when Kevin Pietersen flicked Praveen Kumar towards Rahul Dravid (who has been followed by the ball in this Test) at leg slip. Dravid didn’t appear to claim the catch initially, but the two umpires went to the third official and from there the decision was always set to be not-out even though Dravid could well have got his fingers under the ball.Graft of the day

Pietersen had to work extremely hard, but was duly rewarded. Overnight he was on 22 off 73 balls and he’d barely middled a shot, but the signs were much better today as he played two early on-drives. Still, his fifty took 134 deliveries which made it the slowest of his career. As the saying goes, though, good things come to those who wait and Pietersen’s diligence paid off with a hundred from 216 deliveries which again was his slowest landmark. It was his first ton on home soil since South Africa, at The Oval, in 2008, in his first game as captain, and just the second in his last 37 Test innings. He wasn’t finished. His fourth fifty, to bring up his third Test double hundred, took just 25 balls.Bowling change of the day

India needed someone to help fill in Zaheer Khan’s missing overs so who do they turn to but none other than the captain, MS Dhoni. As the players came out after lunch Dravid was wearing the wicketkeeping equipment and Dhoni marked out his run at the Pavilion End. Right on cue he had an lbw appeal first ball, but the real excitement came in his second over when Pietersen needed to use the DRS to save himself from being given out caught behind.Non-review of the day

Despite being shorn of their main bowler India kept themselves in the contest with two quick wickets during the afternoon session. The second of those was Eoin Morgan who was given caught behind third ball and left the crease without hesitation. However, when replays didn’t appear to show an edge there was confusion as to why Morgan hadn’t reviewed it. Did he think he was lbw? Had he forgotten the DRS was allowed for edges? In the end a more prosaic explanation emerged. He thought he’d hit it.Duck of the day

Stuart Broad is under pressure having been given a vote of confidence for this match ahead of Tim Bresnan. His main job is to take wickets, but the first chance he had to take part in the contest didn’t go very well. Facing up to Praveen he played right across an inswinger and was quickly given lbw. Broad often likes to use the DRS but, of course, couldn’t here. He’ll hope that by the end of the third day he still hasn’t got a zero by his name. For Praveen, though, it was a moment to savour as he secured a place on the honours board.Exercise of the day
A murmur went through the crowd as Zaheer made his way around the boundary with a couple of backroom staff. He went to the indoor school by the Nursery Ground where he was spotted testing his injured hamstring with a stint on an exercise bike. Whether he takes any further part in this match with the ball remains to be seen, but he should be the first to give Praveen a pat on the back after his day’s work carrying the India attack.

The New Zealand A team has greatly benefited from being part of the recently-concluded Emerging Players Tournament in Queensland, according to A-team manager Grant Bradburn

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Aug-2011New Zealand A have greatly benefited from being part of the Emerging Players Tournament in Queensland, according to team manager Grant Bradburn. New Zealand failed to win a game in the Twenty20 format of the tournament, and won only one three-day match, but Bradburn said the experience would help the players once the home domestic season started.”Playing competitive international cricket at this time of year in those conditions is just absolute gold for their preparation leading into our summer,” Bradburn, who also coaches Northern Districts, told .”All those guys that got experience there will be that much better off for our domestic season.”The EPT also featured teams from Australia, India and South Africa. New Zealand won one of the three T20 games played and finished last on run-rate. They fared better in the three-day format, as they lost one game and drew two, finishing third in the standings. “There were different challenges for us,” Bradburn said. “It was a three-day concept with no first-innings points, so it really created some urgency in terms of thinking about where we wanted to be positioned in the game.”The whole concept gets a big plus in terms of the opportunities players were presented with,” Bradburn said. “There’s clearly opportunities at the Black Caps level and some guys have advanced their standing and taken the chance to put themselves further forward towards that recognition.”Allrounder Doug Bracewell was the standout performer for New Zealand in the T20 format with 91 runs and five wickets from three games. In the three-day format, Dean Brownlie was the second highest run-scorer of the tournament, making 413 runs from three games at an average of 103.25, with one century and two half-centuries.”His technique was impressive, he was very consistent on tour,” Bradburn said of Brownlie. “He’s well equipped to score runs at a higher level.”