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Yes, you read that right, the setting sun was at an awkward angle and straight in the batsmen’s eye

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Jan-20191:53

When a tiger and a pig stopped play

Ten overs into India’s chase, only one over after the dinner break, play was stopped for more than half an hour in the Napier ODI because of the sun. Yes, the sun. The setting sun was at an awkward angle and straight in the batsman’s eye.McLean Park has a previous for it with the angle of the sun at around 7pm making it unsafe to play cricket. Two years ago, a T20I between Bangladesh and New Zealand was held up because of the same issue. On January 19 this year, a Super Smash match between Central Districts and Canterbury was also stopped for a while. The organisers were actually hoping for some cloud cover during the ODI between India and New Zealand.

Which Law was applied to halt play because of the sun?

• 2.7.1: It is solely for the umpires together to decide whether either conditions of ground, weather or light or exceptional circumstances mean that it would be dangerous or unreasonable for play to take place. Conditions shall not be regarded as either dangerous or unreasonable merely because they are not ideal.

• 2.7.2: Conditions shall be regarded as dangerous if there is actual and foreseeable risk to the safety of any player or umpire.

• 2.7.3: Conditions shall be regarded as unreasonable if, although posing no risk to safety, it would not be sensible for play to proceed.

The reason this happens at McLean Park is because of the east-west alignment of the pitches at the ground. Most cricket grounds have pitches running north to south.ALSO READ: All the weird reasons that have stopped a cricket match feat. burnt toast, pigs and a car driven onto the pitch”There’s nothing we can really do, to be honest, and it’s not the first time it has happened,” Central Districts chief executive Pete de Wet told , alluding to the Bangladesh T20I. De Wet hoped the sun-strike would happen during the innings break, which it did, but the play that resumed at 7.15pm caught the end of it on a lovely summer’s day.South African umpire Shaun George said he had never seen such an occurrence in his 14-year umpiring career. “The setting sun is in the eyes of the players and we need to think of the safety of the players as well as umpires,” he said. He also said the move to go off was initiated by the umpires. “There was an awareness of it by the players but they didn’t appeal.”New Zealand captain Kane Williamson said at the press conference there was no other option but to wait in such a situation. “We haven’t had to deal with too many sun-strikes. But we knew that in some of the domestic T20 games that had been the case… and it’s fairly considerable so it did have to happen because it’s hard to move the sun and hard to move the grandstand. So we didn’t have any other option and we had to sit down for a bit.”

Akshdeep Nath and Rinku Singh rearguard help Uttar Pradesh stretch lead to 246 in see-saw day; Raina fails

Varun Shetty in New Delhi03-Nov-2017
ScorecardPTI

Akshdeep Nath followed up his fifty in the first innings with a century to rescue Uttar Pradesh after they had slipped and lost three wickets with only two on the board, after they pocketed a lead against Delhi. He was joined by left-hander Rinku Singh on 21 for 4 as the pair added 108 for the fifth wicket to swell UP’s lead to 246 with three wickets intact on a bizarre day at Palam grounds, where play ended after a man breached the security gates and drove on to the pitch.Delhi had begun the day on 228 for 6 in response to UP’s 291. Dhruv Shorey batting overnight on 65 did the bulk of the scoring on the morning, after Pulkit Narang was dismissed in the first over of the day. He made 33 of the 41 runs Delhi got and remained unbeaten on 98 as Imtiaz Ahmed cleaned out the tail. The medium-pacer finished with three wickets, while left-arm spinner Saurabh Kumar, who had snapped three wickets yesterday, added one more to his tally.Ishant Sharma, the Delhi captain, then ripped through UP’s top order. He rattled opener Shivam Chaudhary’s stumps off the first ball of the innings. In his next over, he had first-innings top-scorer Mohammad Saif caught in the slips. Suresh Raina came in at No. 5 when Navdeep Saini dismissed Albas Shaukat in the following over. He started off aggressively but couldn’t sustain it for longer than 17 deliveries, edging behind off Ishant.Nath started watchfully in the second innings, preferring to play straight on a track that offered bounce through the day. But as the fifth-wicket pair approached tea, they opened up. Rinku Singh, who got a second innings century in his previous match, struck a breezy 64 off 80, getting his fifty before Nath. He then failed to control a cut against a rising ball.Like in the first innings, Nath took a liking to the spinners. He directed Delhi’s fields against him with compulsive use of sweeps and reverse sweeps. There were at least three appeals of lbw against him as he employed those shots, including when was on 99, but at no point did he show signs of not being in control.With Upendra Yadav, Nath put on 86. But while he was successful in staving off – and attacking – Kulwant Khejroliya’s short ball strategy, Upendra couldn’t keep a hook down in the last hour of play. Nath was unbeaten at the end of the day after swelling UP’s lead.

A round-up of the Sunfoil Series matches played from October 5-8, 2016

Firdose Moonda07-Oct-2016It took Dolphins just 11.5 overs on the fourth morning to take the remaining three Warriors wickets and seal victory by an innings and 70 runs in East London. Fittingly, it was left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj who took the winning wicket to rack up career-best match figures of 13 for 157.The win was set up by a solid batting performance from the Dolphins on the first two days. After losing Imraan Khan on the first ball of the match, Dolphins rebounded strongly courtesy good returns from the rest of the top five. While No. 3 Daryn Smit top-scored with 121, he was well supported by Sarel Erwee (59), Vaughn van Jaarsveld (90) and Khaya Zondo (81). But, coming in at No. 9, it was Maharaj who made the difference between a decent first-innings total and a very good one. He struck 72 off 71, sharing a 108-run eighth-wicket partnership with Zondo, to help Dolphins up to a final score of 478.Then came the bowling heroics. In the first innings, Maharaj took 7 for 89 to spark a collapse from 132 for 1 to 230 all out. Edward Moore (62) and Colin Ackermann (68) scored fifties for the Warriors, but the next highest score was 29 by No. 9 Andrew Birch. Dolphins imposed the follow-on and there was no let-up in Warriors’ second innings. Maharaj collected 6 for 68 as the Warriors crumbled to 178 all out, handing the visitors an emphatic victory to start their season.Test opener Stephen Cook struck an unbeaten 97 in Lions’ successful chase of 160•Getty Images

Lions wrapped up a 10-wicket win against Cobras early on the third day in Johannesburg. Chasing a modest 160, Lions romped to victory, with Test opener Stephen Cook top-scoring with an unbeaten 97.On a spicy surface, Cobras, having been embroiled in off-field issues over the future of their coach Paul Adams, chose to bat and were quickly skittled for 102. None of their batsmen made more then 29 runs while wickets were shared between Lions’ four seamers. Debutant Wiaan Mulder, who will begin his final school examinations shortly, enjoyed the best returns with 3 for 10.Cobras then hit back by reducing Lions to 99 for 8. Dane Paterson and Vernon Philander made the early inroads but it was another youngster, former Under-19 World Cup squad member Jason Smith, who claimed the biggest haul – 4 for 24. Temba Bavuma, who made an unbeaten 76, with support from Nono Pongolo, ensured the Lions gained a 52-run first-innings advantage.Cobras were in danger of another embarrassment when they tumbled to 17 for 4 and then 113 for 7, at the hands of Hardus Viljoen and Mulder. Smith showed his value with 95 while Dane Piedt provided some tail wagging and made 41, batting at No.9. Viljoen finished with 6 for 75 as Cobras managed to eke over 200 in their second dig.It was late on day two that Lions’ chase began and they looked to end the match quickly. They faced 18 overs and racked up 117 runs but bad light dragged the match into a third day. None of the Cobras bowlers enjoyed any success as Cook and Rasssie van der Dussen reached the target to give Lions maximum points: 15.08.Marchant De Lange claimed career-best figures of 7 for 23 in Knights’ four-wicket win•Getty Images

Down the road at SuperSport Park, Mark Boucher’s coaching career did not get off to the start he would have wanted. Titans suffered a four-wicket defeat at the hands of Nicky Boje’s Knights, whose squad had been bolstered by a host of former Titans players.Marchant de Lange’s career-best 7 for 23 gave Knights just 171 to chase. Theunis de Bruyn then stayed unbeaten on 90 and took them to the target.De Lange did not do the early damage, though. That was down to Duanne Olivier and Mbulelo Budaza, who reduced Titans to 97 for 4 on the first morning. Among the early wickets was Dean Elgar, who was making a comeback after an ankle injury. He scored 33 off 71 balls, including five fours. Heinrich Klaasen and David Wiese shared a sixth-wicket stand of 142 to take Titans to a competitive 287, which was made to look even better when they bowled Knights out for 174.This meant Titans gained a first-innings lead of 113 runs, but then they slumped. In 14.2 overs on the second afternoon, de Lange and Olivier ran through them. Titans were bowled out for 57 with just three of their batsmen getting into double-figures. Knights closed the day on 41 for 1, with victory in sight.The third morning brought a thriller as Rowan Richards and Malusi Siboto kept the Knights in check. At 92 for 5, they still needed 79 runs and with a long tail, that was a tough ask. De Bruyn, though, held firm, and found support from Shadley van Schalkwyk, to steer his team home.

Phil Simmons’ future as West Indies coach hangs in balance after the disciplinary hearing against him was deferred to next week

Nagraj Gollapudi04-Oct-2015Phil Simmons’ future as West Indies coach hangs in the balance after the disciplinary hearing against him was deferred to next week. ESPNcricinfo understands that Simmons had been asked to present himself on Saturday in front of a human resources panel from the West Indies Cricket Board. On September 30, the WICB had indicated that Simmons’s future would be sorted in a week.Surprised at the lack of notice period given to him, Simmons’ lawyers responded to the WICB, saying Simmons could not make himself available without an advance alert and requested the hearing be rescheduled to next week. It is learned that the WICB agreed, but no date has been set yet.Simmons was suspended on September 28 by the WICB, two days after his outburst on external factors affecting the selection of the ODI squad for the Sri Lanka series. Subsequently, Michael Muirhead, the WICB CEO, clarified that Simmons had not been fired but he would need to face a HR panel to explain the breaches in confidentiality and for bringing the WICB into disrepute.It is understood that although Simmons did issue an apology for putting the WICB in a difficult position, he never retracted or apologised for what he said. People close to Simmons have revealed he made it clear that his outbursts were not intentional and that is what he apologised for.At the end of the preparatory camp for the Sri Lanka tour, held in Barbados, Simmons, unprompted, revealed that he was disappointed at not getting the best one-day squad and blamed “interference from outside” as the main reason. Simmons has never revealed any name(s), but his concerns were received with gasps across the Caribbean with the chairman of CARICOM’s sub-committee on cricket governance, Keith Mitchell, calling them “highly disturbing.”

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.”

Michael Di Venuto, the former Australia batsman, has been named in the Italy squad for the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifiers to be held in the UAE

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Feb-2012Michael Di Venuto, the former Australia batsman, has been named in the Italy squad for the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifiers to be held in the UAE between March 13-24, 2012. The ICC has finalised all 16 squads for the tournament, from which the top two teams will qualify for the ICC World Twenty20 to be held in Sri Lanka from September 18 to October 7, 2012. The other notable inclusion is that of Geraint Jones, the former England wicketkeeper, in the Papua New Guinea squad.The Hobart-born Di Venuto, who is of Italian origin, played nine one-dayers for Australia in 1997. When he left the Australian domestic scene he was Tasmania’s leading one-day run-scorer, was second to Jamie Cox on the state’s lists of Pura Cup-Sheffield Shield appearances and runs scored, and owned the most half-centuries in Pura Cup-Sheffield Shield history. He was also a prolific scorer in county cricket, representing Derbyshire and Durham.Afghanistan will be defending the title they had won in 2010, when the qualifying tournament was an eight-team event. They had beaten Ireland in the final in Dubai by eight wickets, and both sides qualified for the ICC World Twenty20 2010 in the West Indies.Ed Joyce, the left-handed batsman who has played limited-overs matches for England, returns to the Ireland squad. The squad also features the uncapped fast bowler Max Sorensen.Notable omissions from the squads include Netherlands’ Ryan ten Doeschate, who has opted out due to ‘other cricket commitments’, and Canada’s Ashish Bagai.Afghanistan – Nawroz Mangal (captain), Javed Ahmadi, Merwais Ashraf, Mohammad Nabi, Hamid Hassan, Mohammad Zamir Khan, Mohammad Shahzad, Gulbadin Naib, Shabir Ahmed Noori, Karim Khan Sadeq, Samiullah Shinwari, Dollat Zadran, Noor Ali Zadran, Shapoor ZadranBermuda – David Hemp (captain), Jason Anderson, Lional Cann, Fiqre Crockwell, Terryne Fray, Joshua Gilbert, Stefan Kelly, Kamau Leverock, Stephen Outerbridge, Josclyn Pitcher, Samuel Robinson, Curt Stovell, Rodney Trott, Janeiro TuckerCanada – Jimmy Hansra (captain),Manninder Aulakh, Harvir Baidwan, Rustam Bhatti, Rizwan Cheema, Khurram Chohan, Tyson Gordon, Ruvindu Gunasekera, Zahid Hussain, Nitish Kumar, Henry Osinde, Hiral Patel, Raza Rehman, Junaid SiddiqiDenmark – Michael Pedersen (captain), Aftab Ahmed, Shehzad Ahmed, Sair Anjum, Bobby Chawla, Basit Javed, Frederik Klokker, Jacob Larsen, Kamran Mahmood, Rizwan Mahmood, James Moniz, Martin Pedersen, Bashir Shah, Hamid ShahHong Kong – James Atkinson (captain), Irfan Ahmed, Muhammad Moner Ahmed, Nadeen Ahmed, Waqas Barkat, Babar Hayat, Asif Khan, Mohammad Aizaz Khan, Mohammad Nizakat Khan, Courtney Kruger, Roy Lamsam, Kinchit Shah, Daljeet Singh, Maxwell TuckerIreland – William Porterfield (captain), Alex Cusack, George Dockrell, Trent Johnston, Nigel Jones, Ed Joyce, Rory McCann, John Mooney, Kevin O’Brien, Boyd Rankin, Max Sorensen, Paul Stirling, Andrew White, Gary WilsonItaly – Alessandro Bonora (captain), Gareth Berg, Damian Crowley, Gayashan Munasinghe, Luis Di Giglio, Michael Di Venuto, Dilan S. Fernando, Damian C. K. Fernando, Andrew Northcote, Hayden Patrizi, Dell’agnello, Vincenzo Pennazza, Peter Petricola, Stanly H. J. Samaraweera, Carl SandriKenya – Collins Obuya (captain), Ragheb Aga, Duncan Allan, Tanmay Mishra, James Ngoche, Shem Ngoche, Alex Obanda, David Obuya, Nehemiah Odhiambo, Nelson Odhiambo, Elijah Otieno, Morris Ouma, Rakep Patel, Hiren VaraiyaNamibia – Craig Williams (captain), Sarel Burger, Merwe Erasmus, Hendrick Geldenhuys, Zhivago Groenwald, Louis Klazinga, Christiaan Opperman, Bernard Scholtz, Nicolaas Scholtz, Gerrie Snyman, Ewald Steenkamp, Louis Van Der Westhuizen, Raymond Van Schoor, Christoffel ViljoenNepal – Paras Khadka (captain), Pradeep Airee, Mahaboob Alam, Prithu Baskota, Amrit Bhattarai, Shakti Gauchan, Krishna Karki, Paresh Prasad Lohani, Gyanendra Malla, Anil Kumar Mandal, Basant Regmi, Sanjam Regmi, Chandra Sawad, Sharad VesawkarNetherlands – Peter Borren (captain), Wesley Barresi, Mudassar Bukhari, Atse Buurman, Tom Cooper, Tom De Grooth, Tim Gruijters, Timm Van Der Gugten, Tom Heggelman, Alexei Kervezee, Ahsan Malik, Stephan Myburgh, Pieter Seelaar, Michael SwartOman – Hemal Mehta (captain), Sultan Ahmed, Qais Bin Khalid Al Said, Syed Amir Ali, Adnan Ilyas,Syed Aamir Kaleem, Awal Khan, Farhan Afzal Khan, Ajay Lalcheta, Sufyan Mehmood, Rajeshkumar Ranpura, Zeeshan Ahmed Siddiqi, Jatinder Singh, Vaibhav WategaonkarPapua New Guinea – Rarua Dikana (captain), Geraint Jones, Jack Vare-Kevere, Jason Kila, Willie Gavera, Chris Amini, John Boge Reva, Tony Ura, Assadollah Vala, Chris Kent, Mahuru Dai, Vani Vagi Morea, Joel Tom, Hitolo AreniScotland – Gordon Drummond (captain), Richard Berrington, Kyle Coetzer, Joshua Davey, Ryan Flannigan, Gordon Goudie, Majid Haq, Calum Macleod, Preston Mommsen, Matthew Parker, Safayaan Sharif, Jan Stander, Craig Wallace, David WattsUganda – Davis Arinaitwe (captain), Arthur Kyobe, Brian Masaba, Deusdedit Muhumuza, Roger Mukasa, Benjamin Musoke, Frank Nsubuga, Jonathan Sebanja, Asadu Seiga, Ronald Semanda, Laurence Sematimba, Henry Ssenyondo, Charles Waiswa, Arthur ZirabaUnited States of America – Sushil Nadkarni (captain), Orlando Baker, Adil Bhatti, Ryan Corns, Muhammad Ghous, Elmore Hutchinson, Asif Mehmood Khan, Aditya Mishra, Azrudeen Mohammed, Nauman Mustafa, Abhimanyu Rajp, Gowkaran Roopnarine, Usman Shuja, Steven Taylor

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.”

With their fairytale mission resting on the game, Afghanistan held their nerve to overcome a tenacious UAE side in a low-scoring thriller and take their place in the World Twenty20 that starts in May

Cricinfo staff13-Feb-2010
ScorecardNoor Ali’s unbeaten 38 won him the man-of-the-match award and took Afghanistan through to the World Twenty20 showpiece in the Caribbean•International Cricket Council

With their fairytale mission resting on the game, Afghanistan held their nerve to overcome a tenacious UAE side in a low-scoring thriller and take their place in the World Twenty20 that starts in May.Rarely has an Associate competition inspired so much emotion as people from around the world willed Afghanistan on through the tournament. Their defeat to the Netherlands yesterday brought back bitter memories of Afghanistan’s near-miss on qualification for the 50-over World Cup, but today there was no mistake.Their win was crafted on a number of useful contributions, rather than an outstanding individual but on a tired surface Noor Ali’s unbeaten 38, to guide his side home in a tense run chase, must be one of the most important innings in Afghanistan’s history.Asked to field first by home captain Khuuram Khan in front of a big crowd, Afghanistan settled into the contest immediately. The new-ball pair of Mirwais Ashraf and Shapoor Zadran have been important in giving Afghanistan control early and unlike yesterday, when they bowed under the pressure of the Netherlands’ batsmen, the pair responded well. Within four overs UAE were restricted to 11 for 3, with Ashraf claiming two wickets and Zadran getting the important scalp of Afran Haider, who after a couple of dot balls slashed one straight down the throat of third man.UAE have proved throughout the tournament that they are a resilient side and Abdul Rahman and Saqib Ali, who played so well against Ireland, set about undoing the early damage with 42-run stand. Having taken the score to 53 for 3 in just over 10 overs, Rahman got a grubber from Mohammed Nabi, that scuttled along the ground from a short length, straight into middle stump. Ali fell two overs later, having made a patient 24 and it was left to Naeemuddin Aslam to shepherd as many as he could from the tail. Nabi and Hamid Hassan, Afghanistan’s specialist death bowler, prevented any hopes UAE may have had of pushing beyond 100 with tight and penetrating bowling. Nabi ended with 3 for 17 and Hassan 2 for 23, as UAE posted what looked to be a below-par total.At this stage, Afghanistan would have backed themselves to coast home but they lost two wickets within the first four overs with only 16 on the board. Karim Sadiq and Mohammad Shahzad were both bowled by Shadeep Silva from deliveries that kept low and it was left to captain Nowroz Mangal to join Noor Ali to try and steady the ship. The pair carefully recovered the situation, running hard to add 32 important runs in six overs. When Mangal was out, trying to slog Fayyaz Ahmed over long on, for 14, his side needed 53 in 10 overs and the game was Afghanistan’s to lose.Ali continued to work the ball around well and found a willing partner in Asghar Stanikzai. They calmly pushed the score to 88, before Stanikzai needlessly tried to smash Ahmed over long off and was caught. It set nerves fluttering but in the 19th over, with 13 still needed, Ali swatted a short ball through midwicket for his only boundary of the innings, and followed it up with a two and another single. Nabi was bowled, deceived by a slower ball, but Samiullah Shenwari swept his first ball for four to leave just one needed from the final over.Fittingly, it was Ali who secured the winning moment, chipping over mid off to cue celebrations that will continue all the way to the Caribbean.He was named man of the match and is now eagerly looking forward to testing his skills against the top sides. “It has always been our dream to qualify and play in a World Cup. We missed out on the 50-over Cricket World Cup last year, so I am very happy we will play in the Twenty20 event,” he said. “It is our dream to play against the best teams and have the chance to play against fast bowlers like Dale Steyn or Ishant Sharma. We will prepare ourselves very well for this event and we need to keep on getting better ahead of the World Twenty20.”

Vice-captain Pope said that the issue was the result of “the amount he’s pushed his body” during this series but insisted he’d be fit to bowl on Saturday

Matt Roller25-Jul-20254:14

Manjrekar: ‘Serious chance’ for Root to break Tendulkar’s record

England played down concerns over Ben Stokes’ workload after he was forced to retire hurt for the first time in his international career in Manchester due to cramp in his left leg. Ollie Pope, Stokes’ vice-captain, said that the issue was the result of “the amount he’s pushed his body” during this series but insisted that he would be fit to bowl on Saturday.Stokes had scored 66, his highest score of the series, when he retired hurt on Friday evening, as England built a substantial first-innings lead over India. He returned after the fall of three further wickets, reaching 77 not out overnight, but appeared to be in some discomfort while running between the wickets.While Stokes was fit enough to resume his innings, the fact that he retired hurt will sound alarm bells, particularly after a heavy bowling workload. Stokes dedicated five months to his rehabilitation from surgery on his left hamstring this year and has bowled 129 overs against India, the most that he has bowled in a Test series.Related

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“I think he’s okay,” Pope said. “He’s just cramping down his leg, and it managed to spread to his whole leg. It’s probably just a build-up of the amount he’s pushed his body over the last four or five weeks. He’s obviously pushed himself to some serious limits so far, and that was probably just a build-up of it. I think he will be good to go tomorrow, I’m sure, with bat and ball.”Ben Stokes retired hurt on 66 before coming back at the fall of the seventh wicket•Getty Images

Pope has previously said that he considers helping Stokes to manage his workload to be one of his responsibilities as vice-captain but conceded: “That doesn’t always go my way.” He said: “Everyone knows what a competitor he is, and the lengths he’s prepared to push his body to get the job in hand done… There’s times where you can’t take the ball off him.”Stokes clutched the back of his left leg while playing a reverse-sweep off Washington Sundar during the evening session, and suffered cramp while taking a single off Mohammed Siraj. He briefly consulted England’s physio before batting on, but retired hurt at the end of the following over, grimacing as he walked off the field.Stokes became the second player to retire hurt during the fourth Test, after Rishabh Pant was forced off with a foot injury on the first day. Pant later returned to the crease on the second day to score a further 17 runs but was unable to keep wicket and is unlikely to feature in the fifth Test at The Oval next week.Pope stood in for England’s media duties on Friday night because Joe Root – like Stokes – was suffering from cramp, but said that Root would be fit to field on Saturday. “He just didn’t fancy the media tonight,” Pope said, laughing. “He’ll be here in the morning.”

Spinner says the delay in being granted his visa made his debut “more memorable”

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Feb-2024Shoaib Bashir, England’s debutant offspinner, has described the dismissal of Rohit Sharma for his first Test wicket in Visakhapatnam as “very, very special” – and said that the lengthy delay in being granted his visa had made his debut “more memorable”.Bashir bowled 28 overs on his first day as a Test cricketer, returning figures of 2 for 100. He dismissed Rohit in his fourth over, caught at leg slip, and had Axar Patel caught at backward point in the final session as India closed the opening day of the second day on 336 for 6.”If you were to tell me that two years ago, I would laugh,” Bashir told , asked about becoming a Test cricketer at the age of 20 with only six previous first-class appearances to his name. “It was a very special moment receiving my Test cap and for me to get Rohit Sharma as my first wicket was very, very special.”He’s a great player of spin as well. I’m just so grateful to God and my family. They’ve supported me through thick and thin. I had a lot of ups and downs in my journey, so I just want to thank them as well.”Bashir only arrived in India on the fourth day of the first Test in Hyderabad after a delay in receiving his visa caused by his parents’ Pakistani heritage. It meant he had to fly back to the UK after England’s training camp in Abu Dhabi.”I always knew I’d get the visa,” he said. “I did have a few troubles with it, but look, we’re here now and I got to make my debut and it’s such a special day. It makes it more memorable, yeah. I had a bit of trouble, bit of hassle with it but to come out to India now and make my Test debut is unbelievable.”Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum told Bashir he was playing at training on Thursday, and Jack Leach, his Somerset team-mate, presented him with his Test cap on the morning of the game. “He had some nice words to say,” Bashir said. “Me and him get on really well.”We’re very tight and he’s the one that saw me on the scene when I was playing for Somerset 2s. He was just talking about how proud everyone is of me, and my family and my journey. It was just so special receiving it from him as well.”Assessing England’s day, Bashir said: “It was a tough pitch to bowl on. It didn’t offer too much, but I thought the way the boys went about it was awesome for us to pick up six wickets… we’ll get again tomorrow, hopefully get a breakthrough and get batting out there.”