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A round-up of the second day of Ranji Trophy’s Group C matches on December 16, 2012

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Dec-2012
ScorecardRajat Paliwal scored his third century this season to provide Services with a handy first-innings lead against Jammu and Kashmir in Delhi, before their bowlers, led by Suraj Yadav, reduced their opponents to 136 for 6 at stumps, giving them the upper hand. The second day was not as rewarding as the first, on which 16 wickets had fallen, but batsmen didn’t flourish effortlessly either.Resuming at 150 for 6 after having bowled J&K out for 85 on the previous day, Paliwal and Sarabjit Singh stuck together for another 7.3 overs before Sarabjit was out, breaking a 138-run stand. The remaining batsmen couldn’t provide much resistance, and Paliwal struggled to find partners. After scoring 120, his was the final wicket to fall. J&K began positively as their openers put on 40 runs, but wickets started falling thereafter through seamers Suraj Yadav and Nishan Singh, punctuated by small partnerships. Opener Ian Dev Singh featured in four of those, and reached a half-century before being dismissed. At stumps, their team had erased the deficit, but at the cost of six wickets.
ScorecardKerala turned its screws on Tripura by piling a total of 400, led by captain Rohan Prem’s big century, and reducing them to 55 for 4 at stumps on the second day in Agartala. Prem added 65 runs to his overnight score of 105, striking three partnerships, the most prolific one worth 88 with comeback India seamer Sreesanth, who is returning from a rehabilitation following a toe surgery. The duo helped their team reach 400.Their bowlers built on the advantage of the big score by taking early wickets. By the 18th over, four top-order wickets had fallen, all claimed by seamer Unnikrishnan Manukrishnan in his third first-class game. Opener Shubhrajit Roy and Abhijit Dey added 34 runs before close of play.
ScorecardAndhra marginally held the advantage in their battle against Jharkhand, who were taken to a middling score of 257 by their middle-order batsman Saurabh Tiwary, and then milked for 45 overs so Andhra could end the day within 125 runs of the total. Tiwary, unbeaten on 73 overnight, scored a crucial century, and struck a productive stand of 74 with captain Shahbaz Nadeem, who scored a fifty.In reply, Andhra were four down for 54 in the 23rd over, but Amol Muzumdar and AG Pradeep set about rebuilding the innings.
ScorecardIn Porvorim, Goa laid the foundation for a strong first-innings total after bowling Himachal Pradesh out for 338. Their openers had added 58 runs 28.5 overs before the stand was broken, but Asnodkar went on to score a half-century in the company of No. 3 Amogh Sunil Desai, to take his team to 118 for 1 at close of play.This was after their bowlers toiled to end Himachal’s innings. Himachal’s lower order, especially, Rishi Dhawan, Karanveer Singh and No. 10 Rahul Singh stretched their total after they had been reduced to 243 for 8.

A round-up of the last round matches in the Zimbabwe Pro50 Championship

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Jan-2013
ScorecardThe match between the top two teams of the Pro50 Championship could not produce a result as it was abandoned to due to rain after 11.2 overs at the Kwekwe Sports Club. Matabeleland Tuskers chose to bat after winning the toss and lost their captain Keegan Meth on the first ball of the match. No. 3 Bilal Shafayat also departed soon, leaving them at 9 for 2. Craig Ervine steadied the innings from there along with the other opener Brian Chari before rain interrupted play. Both the teams got two points each and continued their lead at the top of the table which means the final on January 19 will be played between the same two teams.Not a single ball was bowled in the other match between the bottom two teams of the table which had to be played at the Triangle Country Club. Even the toss could not take place due to rains and the match was washed out.

The changes made to the 50-overs game’s fielding-restrictions rules could be the biggest challenge for the bowlers going into the New Zealand-England ODIs, fast bowler Kyle Mills believes

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Feb-2013The changes made to the 50-overs game’s fielding-restrictions rules could be the biggest challenge for the bowlers going into the New Zealand-England ODIs, fast bowler Kyle Mills believes.As per the new rules that took effect from October 30, 2012, only four fielders can be placed beyond the 30-yards circle even outside of the Powerplay overs. This, Mills said, made things particularly difficult for the fielding team at the compact New Zealand grounds.”That [four fielders outside the circle] is pretty hard to bowl to,” Mills told the . “And I imagine even more so on New Zealand grounds. Having only four out at Eden Park [Auckland], Hamilton and even Napier is going to be a real test of bowlers’ skills. It’s going to be a huge challenge for all the bowlers in the series.”New Zealand are coming off a 2-1 defeat to England in the Twenty20 series, but Mills said that will not have a negative impact on the hosts. He pointed to New Zealand’s one-day series victory in South Africa last month, which followed a thrashing in the Tests, as evidence that previous results hold no sway over the team’s mindset. “I guess we didn’t have the battle scars from what happened in the Tests. The nature of international cricket now is, when you’re chopping from series to series, and different formats, you can often put things that happened previously to bed quite quickly.”Captain Brendon McCullum also said he expected his team to recover quickly from the loss. “We expected to win the T20 series coming in to it. So to lose it, we are obviously disappointed about that,” he said. “But I thought we bounced back straightaway in the second T20 [after losing the first] and I expect us to bounce back strongly in the first game of the one-dayers too.”That’s a characteristic of this team at the moment, our ability to bounce back, and we are going to have to do so in that little while because England will obviously be reasonably confident after the T20 performance, albeit with a new squad of theirs coming in.”The one-day format, McCullum said, suited New Zealand best. “Given our recent results, I think it is [our best format]. I think it’s a form that’s not so frenetic as well. You can actually play okay in periods of the game, but you’re never necessarily out of it.”In one-day cricket, because it lasts a fraction longer, you are able to fight your way back in to the game. I think we’ve got a reasonable game plan in one-day cricket as well, especially with our batting.”New Zealand play the first ODI of their three-match series against England on Sunday in Hamilton.

After Karachi Blues beat Sialkot to win the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, their captain Khurram Manzoor credited the all-round effort of his side, which wasn’t too formidable on paper, for the victory

Umar Farooq in Lahore28-Feb-2013The Quaid-e-Azam Trophy is back in Karachi after two seasons, as Karachi Blues outclassed Sialkot in a one-sided contest to win Pakistan’s premium first-class tournament. Blues captain Khurram Manzoor credited the all-round effort of his side, which wasn’t too formidable on paper, for the winning the title.Although there were no fireworks or cheers in the deserted stands of Gaddafi Stadium, there was jubilant celebration by the players. When Manzoor lofted the ball to the midwicket boundary to score the winning runs, the Blues players, who were waiting at the boundary rope, erupted screaming onto the field to embrace their captain. They had another reason for joy: the team had remained unbeaten over the course of ten matches and two months.”It was the moment we have been waiting for,” Manzoor said while standing in front of a sombre Sialkot dressing room. “This is a result of the hard work put in by all of our players and the coaching staff. I am very happy as a player and as a captain – this is a significant achievement for me. They are all happy and want people to know that. I can’t explain in words how happy I am and that’s why we are screaming loud. This is all about the victory.”We didn’t have big names on paper but we played like a family. Sometime there were heated arguments, differences, we quarrelled on various occasions, but it was merely on how to attain the best result on the field. It was all teamwork. In the end, it is the result that matters, and so it’s a moment of joy. I love to be a part of such a talented side.”The key was the planning of our short-term goals instead of setting a big goal. We had a plan for each hour, each session to keep the players on their toes and didn’t burden them to achieve bigger goal. The motto is to win every day to keep the momentum on, and this helped us against complacency. We knew if the plan worked the title wouldn’t be far from us. If we have strong belief, we can win.”One of the key men who contributed to the win was Akbar-ur-Rehman, who topped the run-charts with 986 runs in ten games, with three fifties and three centuries, one of which was a double. He scored a century in the final, too; his 178 in the first innings helped his side gain a decisive 199-run lead.”I simply call him a one-man army and I am proud of him,” Manzoor said. “He played his role and his presence in the middle was a relief for me. He was the backbone of our batting and performed well when it matters and I wish him very best of luck for his future.”

Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim said that his side’s progress can be measured by their performance in the forthcoming tour to Zimbabwe

Mohammad Isam03-Apr-2013Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim said that his side’s progress can be measured by their performance in the forthcoming tour to Zimbabwe. This is the first time that Mushfiqur will lead the side against the lesser-ranked opposition and he stressed on the importance of the tour for the team.”How far we have improved as a team can be determined in Zimbabwe,” Mushfiqur said after Bangladesh arrived after their tour of Sri Lanka. “We are ready to take up the challenge. We don’t have a good record in Harare where we lost the Test match in 2011. It is our duty to change the record, by taking forward the consistency that we have found in Sri Lanka.”Bangladesh play two Tests, three ODIs and two Twenty20s in a month-long tour which starts on April 17. There will be a short camp ahead of the tour, although no practice matches have been scheduled so far. Bangladesh have never won a Test in Zimbabwe, losing four of the five matches played there. The defeat in Harare in 2011 cost Shakib Al Hasan his captaincy. Their ODI record is better with 12 wins in 27 matches played in Zimbabwe.The team was given a warm welcome on their return to Dhaka – a reaction to the drawn Test in Galle and the 1-1 draw in the ODI series – and the results look significant given the number of players who have suffered injuries since February. Mushfiqur said the absence of key players spurred on those who were fit to play.”We lost players at the start of the series and were told that we hardly have a chance of doing well, with a second-string side,” he said. “We were keen to do well as a result. So we were doubly motivated.”

Steven Crook claimed four wickets and captain Stephen Peters cracked a half-century to put Northamptonshire in a strong position at the end of the first day in Cardiff.

10-Apr-2013
ScorecardSteven Crook took 4 for 30 as Glamorgan’s first innings lasted just 50 overs•Getty Images

Steven Crook claimed four wickets and captain Stephen Peters cracked a half-century to put Northamptonshire in a strong position at the end of the first day in Cardiff.After being put into bat Glamorgan were bowled out for 134 in 50 overs with the last nine wickets accruing only 76. Crook took 4 for 30 in 12 overs. Northamptonshire responded with 108 for 3, a deficit of 26, with 20.3 overs of the day remaining when rain brought a premature close with Peters on 60 not out.Glamorgan, who gave debuts to Murray Goodwin, the former Sussex batsman, and Australian Michael Hogan, struggled to 74 for 4 at lunch. Ben Wright was caught behind by wicketkeeper David Murphy off David Willey in the third over before opener Will Bragg and Stewart Walters looked as if they had weathered the threat of the new ball putting on 51 in 20 overs before Northamptonshire struck to take three wickets in the space of 17 balls.Bragg was caught at square leg by Kyle Coetzer off Crook before Walters was trapped lbw by Andrew Hall, who pulled off a sharp catch at first slip to remove Marcus North to give Crook his second victim.It did not get much better after lunch as they slumped further to 117 for 7. Much had been expected of Goodwin but he went for just eight in the sixth over after the break, caught behind off Willey. Jim Allenby lasted only another six balls before he was trapped leg before by Trent Copeland.Some positive batting from Mark Wallace gave Glamorgan brief respite before the captain was bowled not offering a shot to Crook. Dean Cosker hung around for 18 balls without scoring, acting as a foil to the hard-hitting Wagg, before he was bowled by Hall. Wagg was Glamorgan’s last hope of posting a half-respectable score but after reaching 26 from 36 balls he edged to Copeland at third slip to give Crook his fourth victim and Hogan was last man out.In reply, Northamptonshire had reached 17 when they lost their first wicket when Kyle Coetzer was bowled by Hogan and after tea Reed claimed two wickets in two balls. David Sales was caught in the gully before Alex Wakely was trapped lbw.

Ryan Harris, the Kings XI Punjab fast bowler, has returned to Australia from the IPL after being diagnosed with an Achilles tendon injury

Amol Karhadkar25-Apr-2013Ryan Harris, the Kings XI Punjab fast bowler, has returned to Australia from the IPL after being diagnosed with an Achilles tendon injury. Harris left India on Tuesday, the night before he was named in Australia’s squad for the Ashes in England this summer.Harris, 33, had played in Kings XI’s first three games of the season before sustaining the injury. Once the nature of his injury was ascertained the Kings XI management, in consultation with Cricket Australia’s medical team, deemed it fit for Harris to return to Australia.If Harris’ rehabilitation goes as planned, he could recover well in time for the Ashes. “Harris has been ruled out for six to eight weeks, so it was best for him to be released and recover at home,” Arvinder Singh, the Kings XI chief operating officer, told ESPNcricinfo. “We will name his replacement in a day or two.”Harris has a history of injuries and this latest setback is unlikely to go down well in Australia. After missing most of the domestic season, Harris had recovered in time play three Sheffield Shield games. His haul of 19 wickets in those matches for Queensland earned him a place in the Ashes squad, which is being touted as Australia’s weakest since the 1980s.

Jyotiraditya Scindia has said N Srinivasan must step down in the wake of his son-in-law and Chennai Super Kings official Gurunath Meiyappan’s alleged involvement in betting, for which he has been arrested

ESPNcricinfo staff28-May-2013Jyotiraditya Scindia, a member of the BCCI and of its disciplinary committee, has said board president N Srinivasan must step down following the arrest of his son-in-law and Chennai Super Kings official Gurunath Meiyappan on charges of betting. Early this week, Punjab Cricket Association president IS Bindra publicly called for Srinivasan’s resignation, undermining the latter’s assertion that the entire board was united behind him.”Let me say this that I am not assuming or saying that anyone is guilty. But considering the environment that is around cricket today, considering the fact that we do need to cleanse the sport in every single meaning of the word, I do believe that it would be in the fitness of things if Mr. Srinivasan did step aside until this matter reached a conclusive end in terms of an inquiry,” Scindia, president of the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association and a federal minister, told the television channel .”If he and his family members, or rather his son-in-law, is absolved then surely he can come back. But considering the environment that cricket is in today, I do think that if you combine the fact of a conflict of interest and his own family member being involved in an ongoing investigation, it is in the fitness of things and more from a spirit point of view and propriety point of view, I do believe that he should step aside.”Scindia’s statement was the first from any of the politicians – including some of the country’s most high-profile leaders – who sit on the BCCI to criticize Srinivasan’s stand. It came amid growing public outrage over silence within the BCCI leadership over questions relating to Srinivasan’s apparently conflicted position on the issue. It came on a day when Kirti Azad, a BJP member of parliament, and a senior official of the Communist Party both criticized the board’s silence. Scindia is also the president of the state association to which Sanjay Jagdale, the BCCI secretary, belongs.Scindia said the issue of Gurunath’s exact role in Super Kings wasn’t relevant to the issue of his father-in-law’s continuance in office. “There’s a committee that’s going to be set up that’s going to look into this, I don’t believe that the nitty-gritty is important at this point of time. I believe propriety is important and, in the sense of propriety, I do believe that he should step down. I do believe he should step down, not only for himself but also for Chennai Super Kings and for the spirit of cricket per se.”Asked whether the BCCI was planning to follow an alternative route to convince Srinivasan to step down, Scindia replied by saying it’s what he would have done if he were in that situation. “The fact that he has not done so, I think it is time now for BCCI as a collective to see what the future course of action should be. In the fitness of things one should step aside, whether or not we believe we are guilty or not. If we are not guilty, then we will surely be reinstated. That example has to come from the top.”On a similar theme, he said that “a fair share” of the responsibility to clean up cricket lay with the BCCI. “I believe we must take the assistance of other stakeholders on board to ensure that such incidents don’t recur, and there is a very strict – and strictly enforced – due process.”On Sunday, Bindra, a former BCCI president himself, was unambiguous in his stand.”I demand that he should step down from the BCCI President’s position forthwith and not cause anymore damage to Indian cricket,” Bindra said. “His statement in Mumbai is shocking. It shows that he has not learnt anything from this episode. He continues to remain defiant as if nothing has happened.”

Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews has underscored the spunk in Sri Lanka’s Champions Trophy campaign, and marked their spirit a vital asset as they attempt to topple India, who have been the form team of the competition

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Cardiff19-Jun-2013Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews has underscored the spunk in Sri Lanka’s Champions Trophy campaign, and marked their spirit a vital asset as they attempt to topple India, who have been the form team of the competition. Sri Lanka did not arrive in England as one of the favourites, but are now set to play their sixth semi-final in the last eight global tournaments.Their two victories, over England and Australia, have ultimately been comfortable, but there were tense moments in both matches, where things might have easily gone awry for Sri Lanka. England set Sri Lanka 294 at The Oval, thanks in part to a 28-run final over. Sri Lanka rode down their target in the 48th over, thanks largely to an unbeaten 134 from Kumar Sangakkara, but also to Nuwan Kulasekara’s 58 from 38, which made light work of a challenging required run rate.The victory against Australia was no less dramatic. Mahela Jayawardene’s 81-ball 84 first saw the side overcome the loss of two wickets inside the first four overs, and later, it took a stunning Tillakaratne Dilshan return take to end a 41-run last wicket stand that had brought substantial anxiety in a must-win match. The closest game of the lot was the one-wicket loss against New Zealand, which might have turned Sri Lanka’s way if all the umpiring decisions late in the match had been correct.”Especially after the New Zealand game, we had to do it the hard way,” Mathews said. “We had to beat England in English conditions and also the Australians, who have played well recently. All three games went down to the wire, and we had to fight really hard to win. The team confidence is very high. We know that we are a fighting team, and we fight to the last moment. Hopefully we can once again have a good performance.”Sri Lanka have relied on their three experienced batsmen so far in the tournament, with Sangakkara, Dilshan and Jayawardene topping the run-scoring lists for the side. Only Lahiru Thirimanne among the other batsmen has a half-century to his name, but Mathews was confident Sri Lanka’s batting order was not top-heavy.”I would say Mahela and Sanga are the backbone of the batting line-up, but we’ve got a few youngsters in Dinesh Chandimal, Thirimanne who can take the bowling apart,” he said. “We are not just depending on certain people in the team because all seven are good batters. Whoever gets set on that day has to continue for a long spell and try and get the team into a good total.”Sri Lanka have faced India regularly in ODIs in the last three years, but have not fared well in comparison to their exploits against other teams. Since 2010, Sri Lanka have lost 12 matches and won only eight, with one game having ended in a tie. Part of the reason for that record has been spearhead Lasith Malinga’s poor form against India, which some Indian batsmen have credited to their familiarity with his bowling in the IPL. Malinga has not trained with the team on days immediately preceding matches during the tournament, but ahead of the semi-final, he sent down several overs in the nets as well as doing specialised work with bowling coach Chaminda Vaas. Mathews said the extra effort was due to desire on Malinga’s part to overcome an average of 40.88 – his worst against any team.”Lasith takes every game seriously, but it’s just that he wants to do a little bit more for tomorrow,” Mathews said. “We play against India a lot, as well, not only in the IPL. Whoever is playing against anyone all the time gets used to them. Lasith is a very good bowler and he’s an experienced bowler and I’m sure he will come into those situations and have a few different ideas for tomorrow.”

Gareth Batty will miss the Friends Life t20 Finals Day after being handed a two-match suspension following the on-pitch spat with Peter Trego during Surrey’s quarter-final against Somerset at The Oval

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Aug-2013Gareth Batty will miss Friends Life t20 Finals Day after being handed a two-match suspension for “appalling” behaviour following the on-pitch spat with Peter Trego during Surrey’s quarter-final against Somerset at The Oval.Batty, the Surrey captain, was found guilty of two level two breaches of the ECB’s code of conduction relating to “inappropriate and deliberate physical contact” and “using language or a gesture that is obscene or of a serious insulting nature”.It means Surrey will be without their captain and frontline one-day spinner for Finals Day on August 17 at Edgbaston, where they have been drawn to face the holders, Hampshire, in the semi-finals. Batty was already fulfilling the captaincy role on an interim basis following the injury that ruled Graeme Smith out for the season and Surrey will now have to scour the team for another leader. Steven Davies and Vikram Solanki are likely to be the leading candidates.The incident in the quarter-final occurred when Trego was bowled by Batty and began walking back to the pavilion, which took him towards Surrey’s celebrating players. Batty was then seen to shove Trego while also mouthing obscenities towards him.Gerard Elias QC, the chairman of the cricket discipline commission (CDC), described Batty’s behaviour as “appalling” and said he did consider whether further action should be taken along with the immediate suspension but decided not to refer the matter to a disciplinary panel.Elias said: “This was a high profile televised match with much at stake for both sides. In these circumstances, the Cricket Discipline Commission expects players to have regard to the image of the game and their place as role models, and to control their emotions accordingly.”Gareth Batty was not merely a player but was the Surrey captain. His conduct as such was appalling. Not only was he involved in deliberately and inappropriately physically confronting a batsman he had just dismissed, he subsequently engaged in a foul-mouthed tirade at the batsman.”Plainly, he acted contrary to the spirit of the game and in a way which brings cricket into disrepute and failed to set the leadership example expected.”The ECB statement continued: “The CDC takes this opportunity to remind players and captains of their duties and responsibilities as ambassadors for the game. So called ‘high pressure’ matches will not be regarded as any excuse for playing the game other than in accordance with the discipline regulations and in the proper spirit.”The penalty for a first level two offence is three points and the penalty for a second level two offence within 24 months is six points. Batty has therefore received a total of nine penalty points, triggering an automatic suspension for a period of two matches. This penalty will remain on his record for a period of two years.