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With the series at stake, West Indies saved face with a four-wicket win in Mirpur, set up by the spinners and a calm century by Marlon Samuels

The Report by Kanishkaa Balachandran05-Dec-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMarlon Samuels’ patient century kept West Indies alive•Associated PressWith the series at stake, West Indies saved face with a four-wicket win in Mirpur, set up by the spinners and a calm century by Marlon Samuels. West Indies were set 228, not a daunting target on paper, but with their recent batting collapses and struggles and spin, a comeback win for the visitors couldn’t be taken for granted. The spinners created chances and closed the gap between the two sides towards the end, but Samuels was the wicket Bangladesh wanted. They dismissed him, but a little too late, as West Indies were only six away from victory with four overs to spare.After their Khulna horror show in the second ODI, where they were let down in all departments, West Indies did well to bounce back. A significant factor in their comeback was the re-emergence of Sunil Narine, who revived a faltering tour with a four-wicket haul. He was back at his wicket-talking best, teasing the batsmen with his drift and turn, and getting the carom ball to beat the outside edge on several occasions. West Indies needed at least one batsman to lead the way and Samuels stepped up, contributing nearly 100 to the target. The failures of the rest, barring Kieran Powell, will worry West Indies.After West Indies lost an uncharacteristically tepid Chris Gayle cheaply, Samuels and Powell settled in to add 111 for the second wicket. They managed to get on top of the bowling because they used their feet well. A feature of Samuels’ knock was his willingness to play the ball late. He used the crease well, going back to slap it square on the off side or delicately dab it away to pick up singles. If the ball was tossed up wide outside off, he waited and crashed it off the front foot past cover. Brute power and bat speed stood out in the way he fetched his boundaries.Smart stats

Marlon Samuels’ 126 is his highest score and fourth century in ODIs. It is also his third century in the subcontinent.

Samuels’ century is the sixth by a West Indies batsman in ODIs against Bangladesh. The 126 is also the highest score by a West Indies batsman against Bangladesh.

The number of fours hit by Samuels (17) is the third-highest in an innings against Bangladesh. The record (19 fours) is held jointly by Herschelle Gibbs and Andrew Strauss.

Sunil Narine’s 4 for 37 is his third-best bowling performance in ODIs. It is the second-best bowling performance by a West Indian spinner in ODIs against Bangladesh.

The 111-run stand between Kieran Powell and Samuels is the joint highest second-wicket stand for West Indies against Bangladesh.

Samuels also cashed in on some wayward bowling by the seamers, slapping short and wide deliveries over backward point. Spin was Bangladesh’s best bet, as there was enough bite and turn to keep them interested. Samuels was hit on the pads on a few occasions with the turn and bounce getting the better off him. A bigger challenge for the spinners was the dew. They struggled to control their lengths, and the half trackers were duly punished to the boundary.Bangladesh had an opening when Powell and Darren Bravo fell cheaply, both perishing while trying to go over the top against the spinners. Abdur Razzak managed to sneak in two wickets as his quota came to an end, getting Dwayne Smith caught in the deep and bowling Kieron Pollard through the gate.At 182 for 5 in the 40th over, the game had opened up. West Indies had just come off an ordinary batting Powerplay, scoring just 17 runs for two wickets. Samuels ensured West Indies didn’t combust, guiding the inexperienced Devon Thomas, who showed good temperament in pushing for singles to give Samuels the strike. Samuels had a close call when he nearly chipped straight to backward point on 95 and was dropped at slip soon after. A tactical error cost Bangladesh when Rubel Hossain, the right-arm seamer, was given the 45th over, with West Indies needing 34. Mushfiqur Rahim decided not to continue with a spinner, and by the end of the over Samuels had ransacked 24, including three fours and two sixes. Bangladesh’s chances receded with every boundary.The win was set up by Narine, who gave West Indies the initiative by nipping out three wickets in nine balls to open the floodgates. Prior to the third one-dayer, Narine had taken only four wickets in as many matches on tour, disappointing returns for a mystery spinner who was identified as a threat before setting foot in Bangladesh. Narine struck in his third over, inducing an edge to send back Tamim Iqbal, who shaped to cut but was squared up by the extra bounce. Naeem Islam popped a leading edge to cover, before Anamul Haque was trapped lbw with one that turned as he went forward to work it across the line.Bangladesh had lost half their side for 116 by the 25th over, but Mushfiqur and Mahmudullah restored order with a half-century stand. Mahmudullah was the more aggressive of the two, using his feet to fetch a six over deep midwicket. Mushfiqur departed in the first over of the batting Powerplay, a period in which Bangladesh lost their way, scoring just 14 runs. Mahmudullah couldn’t accelerate nor bat through the innings as Bangladesh ended with a middling total which wasn’t enough to set up an unassailable series lead.

Round-up of the Faysal Bank T-20 Cup semi-finals held on December 8, 2012

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Dec-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAhmed Shehzad’s second T20 ton fired Lahore Lions to the final of the Faysal Bank T20 Cup with a 51-run win against first-timers Bahawalpur Stags at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Shehzad started the match at a rapid pace with a flurry of boundaries and by the time he lost his opening partner, he had scored 39 off 20 balls in a 41-run opening stand. He stayed dominant in a 96-run stand with Mohammad Hafeez and brought up his hundred off 54 balls. Once Shehzad was out, Hafeez lifted up the tempo, taking 24 runs off an Imranullah Aslam’s over, and took the team past 200. Kamran Hussain picked up four wickets, three of them in the last over.Chasing a big target, Bahawalpur were dented by Abdul Razzaq’s double-strike in the first over, Hamid Ali and Kashif Siddiq, both falling off their first balls. At the halfway mark, Bahawalpur had lost four wickets and the required rate had shot up to 14.20. As the wickets continued to tumble, the lower order flayed and got some runs, but it was all too late and Bahawalpur were knocked out after making a promising debut in the tournament.
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAfter being behind for the most part of their chase of 121, Faisalabad accelerated towards the end to complete a five-wicket win against Multan Tigers at the Gaddafi Stadium and qualify for the final. Their 21-year old No. 4 Asif Ali rescued them after they had been reduced to 78 for 5 in the 15th over, and eventually finished the game with an unbeaten 66 off 50 deliveries, with the help of seven fours and two sixes.After choosing to bat, Multan went slow for most part of their innings. After having lost their openers by the fifth over, Naved Yasin set about steadying the innings with Gulraiz Sadaf, and later with three other batsmen, but played slowly. He lasted till the 19th over, but scored only four boundaries in his run-a-ball knock of 46, as Multan limped to 120 for 7. Of the five bowlers used, only one bowler conceded more than 23 runs – seamer Ehsan Adil.Faisalabad, in their chase, were slow as well. They lost wickets regularly, and had scored only 46 runs when captain Misbah-ul-Haq was dismissed for a 16-ball 5, in the 11th over. But Ali stuck till the end, reducing the required run-rate by smashing a few needed boundaries and sixes, and took his side to victory in the 19th over.

West Indies batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s son, Tagenarine, will make his first-class debut at the age of 16

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Jan-2013West Indies batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s son, Tagenarine, will make his first-class debut at the age of 16, for Guyana against Leeward Islands in the regional four-day competition in Antigua from February 9.Tagenarine has been selected as an opener for Guyana, who are captained by spinner Veerasammy Permaul.Tagenarine, like his father, is said to be a patient batsman, hard to dislodge and capable of spending a lot of time at the crease.Shivnarine had also made his first-class debut for Guyana as a teenager, when he was 18. He is currently playing the Bangladesh Premier League and will be away during the course of his son’s debut.The competition has been dominated by Jamaica for the past five years. Guyana last won the title in the 1997-98 season.

Sunil Gavaskar’s speech explores the ideals which MAK Pataudi personified, and how they can best be applied to the modern game

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Feb-2013Mr. N Srinivasan (president, BCCI), Mr. Wally Edwards (chairman, Cricket Australia), David Richardson (chief executive, ICC), chief executives of the Australian and Sri Lankan Cricket boards, Michael Clarke and the Australian cricket team, Mahi [MS Dhoni] and the Indian team, some of my former team-mates and other former cricketers, ladies and gentlemen.That was the easy part. Now comes the difficult part. And the difficult part is that right till the Nawab of Pataudi jr passed away, I never knew how to address him. The first time I played under him was for the Vazir Sultan Colts XI in the Moin-ud-Dowla Gold Cup. The Vazir Sultan team used to comprise players who were doing well at school and inter-university level. We used to have the odd first-class player, but generally it was a team of young players trying to make their mark in first-class cricket in India. Some of them, like me, hadn’t even played first-class cricket. So we were all very excited to be playing under the captain of the Indian team.Nawab of Pataudi had been captaining the Vazir Sultan team for a couple of years. So, it was a huge excitement, and a great time for us to be there. On the eve of the match we had a cocktail party given by the chairman and the managing director of the Vazir Sultan Tobacco Company. We put on our best attire and went for the party, hoping to come across and meet our captain. Nawab did put in a brief appearance, had a quick drink with the chairman and the managing director and before we could introduce ourselves to him, he was gone. We were about 16 years old at that time, socially challenged, and so we were in one corner. All the executives of Vazir Sultan were in another corner, and we never got the opportunity to speak to Tiger.There were one or two who had played the previous year with Nawab of Pataudi and we were all in a bit of a dilemma as to what to call him. The ones who had played with him in the previous year were of no help as well. So eventually the team decided to get into a huddle in which we were debating and discussing as to how we should address the Nawab of Pataudi. None of us could zero in on how we should address him?So eventually we decided that whoever did well the next day – if you were a batsman and got a fifty, if you took a wicket or a catch – that person’s responsibility was to ask the Nawab what we should address him as.The Nawab came just 10 minutes before the toss was to take place and sat on the massage table. There was a masseur who came and gave him a massage and we were in one side of the dressing room, still waiting to be introduced to the Nawab of Pataudi. He wasn’t even sure who we were – who was the batsman? Who was the bowler?We lost the toss and went out on the field. As luck would have it, there was a run-out and I was the one who had affected it, so all the players fielding in the vicinity gathered together. The Nawab was sat on the ground tying his shoelaces. There were four-five of us around him. And suddenly I saw the eye-contact being made with me by them. I was pretending as if I didn’t know anything. Then of course, there was a bit of a whisper ‘ask, ask ask’. So it was my turn to ask him because that’s what we’d decided the previous evening.I gathered up enough courage and said, ‘What do we address you as? Nawab saab, captain, skipper, Pats, Tiger?’ These were all the names that we’d heard him being addressed as by various other people. But we were all kids. The Nawab finished tying his shoelaces, looked up at me, turned and went away. So, we were none the wiser.I met him several times after that. I spent a lot of time with him when I got into the Indian team. But I could never actually call him anything. Every time there was an opportunity to talk to him, I went directly to him, instead of calling him by any name. So that really is going to be the tough part today. I did manage to speak to saiba, Sharmila. She is unwell so she wasn’t able to come. But just because he’s addressed by just about everyone in their conversations, be it cricket or anything else, as Tiger, with your permission, I am going to address him as Tiger.Tiger was an extraordinary cricketer. To be able to play cricket with just one eye – and the splinter that went through his eye, you could actually see the scar in the eye when you were close to him – and score almost 3000 [2793] runs is something terrific. I mean, it’s hard enough to see the cricket ball with two eyes, and here was a man who played with just one!He used to bring the peak of his cap over his right eye almost as if taking the sun out of the equation, closing his eye, and he would play. He had a very wide two-eyed stand, not quite Shivnarine Chanderpaul, but almost there. And it was incredible how he could play shots on both sides of the wicket.The best thing about Tiger was that with his batting style and his approach to the game, he liberated Indian cricket. Till then Indian cricket was more about letting things drift than making things happen. Tiger changed the entire outlook and mindset. He stepped down the pitch to the spinners and lofted the quicker bowlers over the infield, which wasn’t done before.Yes, India started playing Test cricket in 1932-33 with two very aggressive players in Col. CK Nayudu and the one and only Lala Amarnath, who could hit the ball anywhere. But after that Indian cricket went into a state where it was about making sure things were pretty much status quo, rather than making things happen.Our batting cricketing upbringing was such that if you hit three balls six inches above the ground, your coaches would make you run a lap of the ground as punishment with the bat held high in the air. And therefore, caution was probably the watch-word rather than aggression. And Tiger changed all that. He changed all that by being bold, by taking on the bowlers rather than being dictated by them. And he changed the entire mindset.India was a team which was being run-over by just about every other team. But when Tiger came in, he gave the team the belief and the confidence that they could play against any opposition, do well, and even go on to win. His charisma was such. It was incredible. He was one of those cricketers that you could never take your eyes off. If he was standing at covers and the action was going on in the middle, you would be looking at Tiger Pataudi. Yes, to a peripheral vision you were watching the action but he had that magnetism.He was very good-looking as well. I keep saying that the 1960s has to be the most glamorous decade in Indian Cricket. We had some really good-looking guys and they were dating some gorgeous women. Tiger Pataudi himself was dating the leading film star of India – Sharmila Tagore. There was Salim Durani, who was a film star himself in his own right. There was Budhi Kunderan – he was short and dark, but he wore tight trousers on and off the field and dated models.Farokh Engineeer had a lot of exotic dates if I might say. Even now I think Farokh makes heads turn, although I’m not sure if he’s able to turn himself. And then there was my hero, ML Jaisimha. He always had women around him.At that stage, when your hormones are raging, you say to yourself, ‘Wow! This game must be something’. So, for my generation, the incentive to take up cricket was that. I’m not too sure about what the current generation thinks – for them maybe it’s the IPL. But for our generation it was really the mere possibility that we could meet a film star, date her, take a model out. That was the incentive. Well, it didn’t quite happen that way. Of course, Ravi [Shastri] has been rather more successful in that regard.Tiger also was an outstanding fielder. I think in the history of Indian cricket, Tiger has to rank among the top-three Indian fielders ever. Tiger himself, Eknath Solkar, who is no more with us, and Mohammad Azharuddin – these three would be, in my view, the top-three fielders of India. Wherever they stood – close-in, in the outfield – they were outstanding.Tiger, with that one eye, could hit the stumps quite regularly – pretty much as regularly as a Jonty Rhodes or a Ricky Ponting did. Whenever the run-out opportunity was there, Tiger hit the stumps. And that is the crucial thing. If you hit the stumps and the run-out opportunity is not there, it doesn’t really mean much.And Tiger was a prankster. I think there would be many of my former team-mates who would stand up and put their hands up to say that they were the victims to his pranks. With the media he was always playing up. He went knocking on his team-mates’ doors wearing masks and scaring the living daylights out of them. And this is something you would not really expect of someone who was of royal lineage. Yes, he was a man of few words but he was a practical joker as well.I remember Vishy [GR Vishwanath] was one who suffered. When they went to play a match in Bhopal, they suddenly decided that they’d go on [hunting]. None of the guys had ever held a gun before in their lives apart from Tiger himself. But they all agreed to go.As they went into the jungle, suddenly they were surrounded by these dacoits. Everybody had a gun up their throats and it was quite scary. Vishy, till today, he sweats every time he thinks about it. Erapalli Prasanna tried to run from there and was shot. Tiger wasn’t able to control his laughter so the dacoits took him away into the bushes.They tied poor Vishy to a tree. Vishy was, of course, given by Tiger his silk kurta and all the brocades, etc. for the day. So the dacoits said, ‘no, no, you are the Nawab’. Vishy was trying to explain to them that he was just Gundappa Vishwanath and that the Nawab of Pataudi was somewhere else. They said, ‘no, look at your outfit. You are the Nawab’.There was another cricketer as well who was tied to a tree – I will not name him. Every time he said that he should be let off as he was an Indian Test cricketer, the gun came closer. It was quite an experience until I think the time when Tiger and Prasanna, who were supposed to have been shot dead, walked through the bushes. By that time the joke had gone on too much. The dacoits were actually Tiger’s servants who had dressed up and taken these people hostage.It was that aspect of his character that he brought to the game as well – the fun aspect.And I think that’s the aspect that perhaps, we could do more with in modern day cricket. Yes, the intensity and the passion has to be there when you’re representing your country or any team for that matter. But along with it if just a little fun element comes in, I think it will be fantastic for the game of cricket.Cricket today is in a very, very happy place. I think there are more people playing the game and in more countries of the world. There are also more millionaires playing the game today. Twenty20 cricket is helping to globalise the game, taking it to emerging countries like America, China and maybe Europe as well. And I think that is the format you should probably look at if you want to globalise the game. But I think – and this is what Tiger used to say as well – that we keep on tinkering with the game too much. We keep making changes in the game and that makes it difficult for the countries that are not cricket savvy to understand the game. The success of football, golf and tennis is because the rules are very simple. They’re very easy to understand and therefore, there’s no confusion in the minds of those who have never played the game before, or in whose country it’s not a primary sport. That’s something that cricket administrators need to look at.However, I still believe that Test Cricket is still the pinnacle of the game. It is, as all the players present here will readily acknowledge, the format by which they’re going to be recognised as good, great or ordinary players. Performances in the T20 and 50-over format are well and wonderful but at the end of the day it is Test cricket by which the players know they’re going to be rated.Administrators, particularly in the four or five major countries out of the ten Test playing countries, need to make sure that Test cricket is the pinnacle. For that you need to have pitches which are balanced rather than the ones which are one-sided. We need pitches on which the best are tested against the best because at the end of the day it’s not just the test of your technique or skill. It’s the test of your courage and temperament. I’ve always believed that it’s the temperament that separates the men from the boys and that can only be found out in the cauldron that is Test cricket. That is something I would request all the administrators to have a look at.Ravi Shastri and Mr. N Srinivasan already said that Tiger Pataudi was a man of few words. We are also in the age of T20. So, I’m not going to carry on.There’s a Test match to be played in a couple of days and it’s the beginning of a series that has always been an exciting one. I want to wish both teams plenty of luck – just a little bit more for the Indians as they need it a bit more than the Australians do. The Australians have been winning while the Indians have not.I hope and I know that it will be a wonderful series. India-Australia series has always been very well contested and well-fought. But just like Tiger did, let there be a bit of fun element as well in the game. When a batsman scores a fifty or a hundred or a bowler picks up a wicket, let there be a little smile. A little bit of a smile makes a huge difference. It makes the television viewers and everybody feel great, and the youngsters will like to take up the game as well.Once again, I wish both teams the very best. To Mr. Srinivasan and the BCCI, thank you so much for inviting me to speak at the inaugural MAK Pataudi Memorial Lecture. I guess, once an opening batsman always an opening batsman. Thank you so much everybody.And Tiger, if you’re up there and listening, just want to say a big thank you to you as well, for enriching this game and on behalf of all those who came in contact with you.Ladies and gentlemen, thank you so much.

Australia Under-19 began their tour of New Zealand on a good note, posting a convincing seven-wicket win over New Zealand under-19 in the first Youth ODI

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Apr-2013
ScorecardAustralia Under-19 began their tour of New Zealand on a good note, with a convincing seven-wicket win over New Zealand Under-19 in the first Youth ODI.The hosts, who were put in to bat, were struggling at 3 for 31 after fast bowler Matthew Fotia took quick wickets. A 79-run fourth-wicket stand between Shawn Hicks and Ken McClure helped New Zealand recover. The pair scored half-centuries but were two among only three batsmen to score in double figures as New Zealand folded for 182. Fotia finished with figures of 4 for 44 off his ten overs.In reply, Australia brushed aside a few stutters to complete a confident chase. Captain Damien Mortimer, opening the innings, guided the chase with an unbeaten 87 off 126 balls, which included six fours and a six. Jake Doran, who arrived at 67 for 3, shared an unbeaten stand of 116 with his captain, scoring a run-a-ball 53 to take Australia to victory.

Ben Hilfenhaus cut through Queensland’s top order and Luke Butterworth followed up to hand Tasmania a resounding 163-run victory in the Sheffield Shield match at the Gabba

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Mar-2013
ScorecardOpener Luke Pomersbach scored 61 in Queensland’s chase, but didn’t get much support from the other batsmen•Getty ImagesBen Hilfenhaus cut through Queensland’s top order and Luke Butterworth followed up to hand Tasmania a resounding 163-run victory in the Sheffield Shield match at the Gabba.The Tigers’ win leaves all six states still in contention for the Shield final with one round remaining. They began the day hoping to build on a 190-run lead, and quick runs from Tim Paine and James Faulkner achieved this goal, setting the Bulls 307 to win in a little more than two sessions.The Tigers took a definitive grasp of the contest on either side of lunch, dismissing the first four Bulls batsmen for eight runs and leaving a varied seam attack to work through the rest. Only Luke Pomersbach and Nathan Reardon offered resistance.Hilfenhaus’ eight wickets for the match showed he is finding strong form after missing the India Test tour due to his recovery from a side strain.

Derbyshire’s decision to make Shivnarine Chanderpaul the marquee signing of their return to First Division cricket could not have been demonstrated more amply as he put himself forward with all his customary patience and obstinacy as the cornerstone of a

Jon Culley at Derby24-Apr-2013
ScorecardStuart Broad took four wickets in his first action of the season•Getty ImagesDerbyshire’s decision to make Shivnarine Chanderpaul the marquee signing of their return to First Division cricket could not have been demonstrated more amply as he put himself forward with all his customary patience and obstinacy as the cornerstone of a recovery.Chanderpaul, the 38-year-old left-hander with the most recognisable stance in international cricket, last year became only the second West Indian batsman to pass 10,000 Test match runs. Here he passed another milestone when his first-class aggregate rolled over 22,000. He would have supplemented that with his 67th first-class century, you imagine, had he not run out of partners, which might be a recurrent theme of his latest spell in county cricket.Chanderpaul was left stranded on 87 not out but at one stage it looked likely that it would be a good deal fewer as Nottinghamshire, whose visit to the Racecourse has been eagerly awaited since the champagne corks popped on their winning of Division Two title last September, threatened to inflict more embarrassment on the newcomers, less than a week after they were dismissed for 60 by Middlesex at Lord’s.Able to call on Stuart Broad to bolster an attack that under-performed in an opening-round defeat, Notts overcame the loss of Andre Adams to injury early in the day to have their neighbours from along the A52 in serious trouble at 75 for 6, in grave danger of suffering another feeble surrender.Such a fate would have risked significant damage to morale among a set of largely inexperienced players. Broad, moreover, was not of a mind to take pity on them. His first spell was a little erratic, with a sprinkling of no-balls and leg-byes, but he found his rhythm more readily than is sometimes the case at this time of year and his four wickets were a suitable reward. Derbyshire’s younger batsmen were reminded of the potency of his bouncer just often enough to keep their focus sharp but on a green, seaming pitch he bowled a fuller length effectively, getting good swing and finding the edge of the bat with reassuring frequency.He dealt the first blow to Derbyshire in his third over as Wayne Madsen, the skipper, fell into a delivery that umpire Martin Bodenham thought about for a few moments before raising the finger. Billy Godleman, who was beginning to look set after surviving a chance to Ed Cowan at third slip on 10, was then caught in two minds about whether to play or not, thin-edging a catch to wicketkeeper Chris Read as he tried to withdraw the bat.Dan Redfern didn’t help himself with a loose drive taken at gully and Jonathan Clare poked at one outside off stump but the wickets were earned. “He usually takes wickets for us,” Mick Newell, Nottinghamshire’s director of cricket, said afterwards. “I thought he bowled a good length, a bit fuller than in the past. He is swinging the ball and inducing the edges and I think it is important for him that he is that kind of bowler, who pitches the ball up and who has the bouncer as the surprise.”Broad’s appearances for Nottinghamshire have been rare ever since he moved from Leicestershire, his elevation to international cricket coming sooner than Newell anticipated. This is only his 12th appearance in the Championship for Notts, yet his return in those is 58 wickets at 24.27 runs each, which reflects well not only on his ability but his eagerness to serve his county.It is good news from Nottinghamshire’s point of view that there will be another opportunity for him next week, when Durham visit Trent Bridge and Graeme Swann, who had a net at Derby, will make his competitive comeback. Newell knows already that Adams, who has a suspected torn calf muscle, will not play.”He is going for a scan but the physio is pretty sure there is a tear in there and he won’t bowl again in this match or play against Durham,” Newell said. “We haven’t got another Championship game until the middle of May but if there is a tear it will be at least two to three weeks to heal.”Adams missed the end of last season with a similar injury and at 37 his powers of recovery are not what they were. After relying heavily on his wickets in the last three seasons – 189 of them in total – Nottinghamshire’s title ambitions would undoubtedly suffer should he have a prolonged absence.Broad bowled in five spells, which was probably more than would have been the case had Adams remained on the field. It was a wicket, moreover – one that pitch inspector David Capel will take a second look at – that would have suited Adams ideally, which only reinforces the merits of Chanderpaul’s four-hour vigil. The conditions prompted Nottinghamshire to pick Harry Gurney, a left-armer who bowls a fuller length, ahead of Ajmal Shahzad, who might not have been so effective.As the ball softened, Chanderpaul found support eventually from Clare, who perished frustratingly on 49, and Tony Palladino, who made 39 before becoming a fourth victim for Gurney. Their partnerships with Chanderpaul added 96 and 68.

Zimbabwe remained on course for their first Test win in nearly two years, ending the third day with at 187 for 7 with a convincing lead of 442 as Brendan Taylor took charge on a bowler-dominated day

The Report by Mohammad Isam19-Apr-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsShingirai Masakadza took his first four-wicket haul in Test cricket in his second game•AFPZimbabwe remained on course for their first Test win in nearly two years, ending the third day at 187 for 7 with a convincing lead of 442, as Brendan Taylor took charge on a bowler-dominated day.He was unbeaten on 80 in the second innings, to add to his 171 that shaped Zimbabwe’s 389. Taylor, however, didn’t find any help from the top or middle-order, which was dismantled single-handedly by Robiul Islam. The pace bowler took the first six Zimbabwe wickets to fall, his maiden Test five-for and the first by any Bangladeshi pace bowler since June 2010.But Robiul’s 6 for 55 didn’t take away any advantages from Zimbabwe. Graeme Cremer once again offered resistance before he was run out for 43, bettering his previous highest Test score from the first innings. He and Taylor added 79 for the seventh wicket, rounding off a very good day for the hosts.Zimbabwe began the day by triggering a massive collapse in the visitors’ batting line-up. Bangladesh went on to lose nine wickets for just 32 runs, giving away their last five wickets without scoring a run. They ended their first innings on 134 runs, trailing by 255, but Taylor didn’t enforce the follow-on.Instead, he let his young pace attack put their feet up for some time, after their efforts in the morning put Zimbabwe ahead. Kyle Jarvis and Shingirai Masakadza picked up four wickets each, while debutant Keegan Meth took two in a lengthy spell.It was Meth’s medium-paced seam bowling that struck first. He ended Jahurul Islam’s promising 43 although the batsman had slowed down considerably on the third morning. He had added just five runs off 35 balls before he was trapped leg-before in the 11th over of the day. Mahmudullah prodded needlessly at an away-going delivery and dragged it back onto his stumps to give Meth his second wicket. Bangladesh’s good work from the previous evening was coming undone.Bangladesh’s over-reliance on a defensive approach, although it looked sensible at the onset, cost them dearly. The second-wicket pair between Ashraful and Jahurul added only seven runs in 10.5 overs on the third morning and soon after, the batting imploded. As soon as Jahurul and Mahmudullah fell, Shakib Al Hasan tried to up the ante but wasn’t successful.Ashraful’s poor shot was not much of a surprise with his career in mind, but in the context of his 88-ball innings it was actually a shock that he had actually pulled that ball in the same over of Shakib’s dismissal. Mushfiqur Rahim and Nasir Hossain have been Bangladesh’s saviour in many a collapse over the last two years, but it was a day when nothing worked and whenever the ball was pitched up, the Bangladeshi batsmen succumbed. The timidity goes completely against their recent approaches of solidity this season, but it was a reminder that they are still prone of collapsing in a mighty heap.Masakadza, playing his second Test, was the most successful bowler as he removed three top batsmen in the space of four overs. Shakib couldn’t keep a bouncing delivery down, guiding a simple catch to Vusi Sibanda at gully. Ashraful was out a ball later, giving an easy catch to Malcolm Waller at square-leg. It was a waste of diligence after he had batted well for more than two hours. He was dismissed for 38, the last Bangladesh batsman to get to double figures in the first innings.Mushfiqur was trapped leg-before by Masakadza, before he finished off Bangladesh’s misery with the wicket of Sohag Gazi just after lunch.Meth and Masakadza reaped the rewards of Jarvis’ superb first spell. Giving away just one run in six overs, the young pace bowler kept the Bangladesh batsmen either leaving or using the forward defence regularly. Neither Ashraful nor Jahurul could force him off the square, though they had played the same bowler with much ease in his first eight overs the evening before.Jarvis returned after lunch to remove Nasir Hossain with an away-going delivery after sucking him in with fuller balls. He added the wickets of Enamul Haque jnr and Rubel Hossain to finish with 4 for 40 from his 16 overs.Bangladesh’s reaction to the collapse came through Robiul, who took the first six wickets. He bowled a beautiful full delivery to bowl Sibanda for the second time in the match. Hamilton Masakadza gave Robiul a simple return catch in his next over, before he got rid of Timycen Maruma with another full delivery. He took three wickets in successive overs before he added Waller’s wicket an over later as Zimbabwe slipped to 27 for four.After the tea break, Robiul had Elton Chigumbura caught at gully by Jahurul Islam to give him a first five-for at this level. Wicketkeeper Richmond Mutumbami missed a late-moving inswinger and was adjudged out leg-before off the next ball. But the Taylor-Cremer partnership rescued Zimbabwe from 85 for 6.Zimbabwe had lost their last five Tests before this match but against Bangladesh they turned into a competitive unit. The lead is handsome and should be more than enough to give them a well-deserved win but Bangladesh’s collapse said a lot about overcompensating on an approach that is relatively new to them.

The SCG’s 100th Test has won the Sports Event of the Year Award, beating other major events such as Super Bowl XLVI, the London Olympics’ “Super Saturday” and the 2012 NBA All-Star game

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Jun-2013The SCG’s 100th Test has won the Sports Event of the Year Award, beating other major events such as Super Bowl XLVI, the London Olympics’ “Super Saturday” and the 2012 NBA All-Star game. The prize, which is for the best sporting event held at a stadium, arena or major sports venue in 2012, was announced at the 2013 Stadium Business Awards in Manchester on Friday.The SCG became only the third venue to host 100 Tests when Australia thrashed India by an innings and 68 runs in January 2012. The match was also notable for Michael Clarke’s unbeaten 329 and centuries to Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey.The judging panel, in delivering its decision, said: “Proving that it’s not just new venues – or one-off events – that define a venue’s ‘greatness’ but fundamentally it’s about longevity. When we talk about stadiums have a lifespan of 20-30 years these days, it took SCG 130 years to reach its landmark 100th Test – a milestone event (shared by very few other venues) that’s a deserved winner.”The SCG is in good company, for the past two winners of the same award were the FIFA World Cup final in South Africa and the UEFA Champions League final at Wembley Stadium.

Chris Adams has been sacked as Surrey’s team director while his assistant, Ian Salisbury, has also lost his job

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Jun-2013Chris Adams has been sacked as Surrey’s team director while his assistant, Ian Salisbury, has also lost his job as the club launch a radical shake-up following their poor start to 2013 season.Adams joined Surrey amid much fanfare in 2008 but under his leadership there has only been one piece of silverware – the CB40 in 2011.He has presided over the controversial approach of signing a host of ageing players to try and bring some stability to the club following the traumatic events of 2012 in which Tom Maynard, Surrey’s England Lions batsman, lost his life in a tube accident, the captain, Rory Hamilton-Brown sought a fresh start at Sussex and there was criticism of behavioural standards in the squad.It was an exhausting task for Adams to hold the club together during one of the most difficult periods in its history.Surrey’s recent Championship match against Sussex, at Arundel, was their sixth draw of the season and they are seventh in the Division One table just eight points clear of the relegation spots. In the YB40 the team are second bottom in Group B, only ahead of Scotland, with two wins.The county made a host of big-name signings over the winter, notably Graeme Smith and Ricky Ponting, but Smith was forced to leave due to an ankle injury.Alec Stewart, the former England captain, will take temporary charge of the first-team while Stuart Barnes, the bowling coach, will be given an expanded role in the weeks ahead. Stewart’s first match will be the County Championship game against Yorkshire which is also set to be Kevin Pietersen’s return to action following his knee injury.Richard Gould, Surrey’s chief executive, said: “Chris and Ian have worked really hard for the club and we appreciate their endeavours during the past five seasons. The club has decided it is now time to make a change in order to progress further.”