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Understanding the BCCI’s concerns and improving his relationship with the Indian board is one of Haroon Lorgat’s top priorities as he begins his tenure as chief executive of CSA

Firdose Moonda22-Jul-2013Understanding the BCCI’s concerns and improving his relationship with the Indian board is one of Haroon Lorgat’s top priorities as he begins his tenure as chief executive of CSA. Lorgat was appointed on Saturday and will officially take over the role on August 1 for a term of three years. His unveiling ends a nine-month period of uncertainty for the organisation which has been without a permanent boss since Gerald Majola’s sacking in October 2012.Although Lorgat was considered the frontrunner for the job even before he applied late last year, when CSA’s board restructure was completed, a major hurdle to his appointment was the BCCI’s objection. The Indian board is believed to harbour dissatisfaction with Lorgat from his time at the ICC, where they clashed with him over issues ranging from the FTP and DRS to the corporate governance review.They informed CSA of their unhappiness and there was even talk India would cancel its upcoming tour to South Africa. CSA’s president Chris Nenzani confirmed officials from South Africa met with the BCCI in February to discuss, among other things, Lorgat. The board is satisfied they have not put either the India tour or their relationship with the BCCI at risk despite giving Lorgat the top job.”We went to India and talked to the president of the BCCI and they raised their concerns about Haroon [Lorgat],” Nenzani said at a press conference at the Wanderers. “We told them, ‘We will not undermine your concerns but we will have to take decision based on the interests of CSA.’ We have a long history of friendship and a good relationship with the BCCI and we value that relationship. We have no reason to believe this appointment will jeopardise the relationship in any way.”Nenzani said he had received “no information the tour will not go ahead”, while Lorgat confirmed the two boards are still in talks about the itinerary. CSA released a schedule for two T20s, seven ODIs and three Tests to be played between November 21 and January 19 but the BCCI want some adjustments that could see the Tests played first.By the time India arrive in South Africa, Lorgat would have completed three months in office and hopes to have gleaned thorough knowledge of the BCCI’s reservations about him, reassured them and gained their trust. Lorgat admitted he is “not too sure” exactly what the BCCI’s point of contention is but conceded they bumped heads at the ICC and the ethics officer was called in to mediate. All complaints against Lorgat were dismissed thereafter and Lorgat thought the matter had been put to bed.”I am saddened by these inferences and I did not expect such a poor relationship to have formed. I don’t like to be out of favour with someone I thought was a friend. I will do my best to understand the concerns,” he said.

If I need to sit across a table, to go to India, whatever it takes to smooth things over, I have to put CSA first. When the issues come out, if it means I have offended someone and I need to apologise, I will.Haroon Lorgat

But it does not end there. Not only does Lorgat want to comprehend, he also wants to reconcile and he is willing to go the extra mile to ensue that happens. “If I need to sit across a table, to go to India, whatever it takes to smooth things over, I have to put CSA first. When the issues come out, if it means I have offended someone and I need to apologise, I will.”Lorgat’s deference to India may seem at odds with CSA’s bold decision to choose him despite India’s unhappiness, but Lorgat explained he is not seeking to further ruffle feathers. “We have to respect India and it’s up to me to fix up anything that needs patching,” he said.Asked if he thought India was too powerful and used that might to exert their will, Lorgat was diplomatic. “I think in anything too much dominance of one person is not good. But I also think we should not begrudge strong people. We should aspire to be as strong as they are.”Over the last two years, while South Africa’s Test team has gained the highest stature in world cricket, its administration has lagged far behind. The bonus scandal and revolving door of acting presidents and acting CEOs led to what ESPNCricinfo understands was a loss of respect at higher levels.Lorgat’s other aim is to restore the standing CSA once had, both in the eyes of other boards and its own public, whose trust was dented in the aftermath of the Majola affair. “What’s happened in the past was not what anybody wanted to see,” Lorgat said. “I am confident the reputation will improve. I am impressed by the new board and I think we have good people who will ensure corporate governance.”He also thanked his predecessor Majola, despite the manner in which he was dismissed, for “leading the organisation for almost a decade.” Under Majola, South Africa hosted ICC events such as the inaugural World T20 and 2009 Champions Trophy and even stood in to put on the IPL in season 2.Ironically, staging the Indian event led to Majola’s downfall. Bonus payments from that event which did not pass through the board were the main reason for him being fired. But that South Africa were willing to bail India out in their hour of need was indication of the closeness of their relationship and Lorgat hopes to begin restoring that as soon as he can.

“Highlights package” is how the South Africa ‘A’ captain, Justin Ontong, described Shikhar Dhawan’s record-breaking 248 in the final league game of the A team tri-series

Firdose Moonda12-Aug-2013″Highlights package” is how the South Africa A captain, Justin Ontong, described Shikhar Dhawan’s record-breaking 248 in the final league game of the A team tri-series in Pretoria that put up an imposing target of 434 for the home side. Ontong said they were “butchered” by Dhawan’s batting, but added they could have won the game had someone batted through during the chase.”Dhawan summed up conditions quickly,” Ontong said. “Every shot he hit found the gap or went over the fielders. It was like watching a highlights package. He hit so many good shots, it’s hard to pick out one that stood out. There were a few sixes that went into the construction site.”It was probably the best one-day innings I’ve seen. But I am also really proud of the boys. We showed some character when we were batting and if someone batted through, we could have won the game.”India A won the toss and were 161 for 1 at the halfway stage. But on a flat pitch and on a ground with short boundaries, Dhawan seamlessly switched gears to tear into the bowling, reaching his double century with just over 10 overs still left to play.”There was nothing the bowlers could do,” Ontong said. “They were bowling the lines and lengths they wanted to be bowling and he just hit them off those lines and lengths.”Ontong conceded that the South Africa players were left in despair by the innings, but coach Vincent Barnes reminded the team of the match when South Africa had successfully chased down Australia’s 434 in Johannesburg.”There was a bit of humour at the lunch break, because that’s what you need in situations like that, ” he said. “Some of the boys had their heads down but the coach, Vincent Barnes, came and said a few words. He told us that he was part of that 438 game and that if we put on partnerships we could get there.”South Africa came close to the target after opening batsman Reeza Hendricks and Vaughn van Jaarsveld scored centuries to keep the team interested till the last few overs.”It was a flat wicket with nothing in it and for 80% of the time we chased really well. It’s not every day you get two guys scoring a hundred and the team is still on the losing side, Actually, its not everyday you get four hundreds in a one-day match.”Reeza and Vaughn scored two very special hundreds and our bowlers were exposed to international players of top quality. When you play ODI cricket, you will sometimes play on flat wickets, although this one was maybe a little flatter than you get elsewhere and the outfield was also very quick.”

David Warner has been dropped from Austalia’s squad for the ODIs against Scotland and England, while Mitchell Starc will also return to Australia due to lower back soreness

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Sep-2013David Warner has been dropped from Austalia’s squad for the ODIs against Scotland and England, while Mitchell Starc will return to Australia after complaining of lower back soreness. Steven Smith, who was part of the original 18-member limited-overs squad, has already flown back after a thigh injury.”David has been left out of the Australian ODI squad for this tour purely due to his recent lack of form in this format,” Darren Lehmann, the Australia coach, said. “By his own admission, David would acknowledge that unfortunately he hasn’t scored the weight of runs that he would like recently in one-day cricket for his country.”Warner was part of Australia’s Champions Trophy squad in England, but featured in just one match, scoring 9 against England, but was suspended from the team after a bar incident in Birmingham. He has only played three more ODIs this year, in January against Sri Lanka, and scored 10, 60 and 4. Warner scored a 42-ball 53 on Saturday in the second T20 against England, but that wasn’t enough to sway the selectors.”Like all selection matters, it was a tough decision, but like all players he understands the situation and knows he needs to get back to playing Ryobi Cup and making a heap of runs that we can’t ignore,” Lehmann said. “I spoke with David at length about what he needs to do and I’ve been impressed with his attitude since I’ve come into the Australian setup.”Australia kickstart the ODI leg of the tour with a one-off match against Scotland in Edinburgh on September 3 before taking on England for a five-match series that starts on September 6 in Leeds.Squad: Michael Clarke (capt), George Bailey, Fawad Ahmed, Nathan Coulter-Nile, James Faulkner, Aaron Finch, Josh Hazlewood, Phillip Hughes, Mitchell Johnson, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Clint McKay, Adam Voges, Matthew Wade (wk), Shane Watson.

A potent bowling attack and a strong team spirit developed through shared goals and experiences has taken Durham to the brink of a third County Championship title

George Dobell at Chester-le-Street18-Sep-2013
ScorecardGraham Onions wickets helped remove Nottinghamshire for a second time•Getty ImagesA potent bowling attack and a strong team spirit developed through shared goals and experiences has taken Durham to the brink of a third County Championship title.When the weather allows, Durham will resume on the third day of the match against Nottinghamshire requiring only 62 more runs for victory.They might have won in two days. The option of claiming an extra half-hour was discussed at the end of day two, before Durham, in consultation with the umpires, decided there was no need to hurry their second innings run chase of just 69. The weather forecast suggests that rain may prevent play until late in day three, but there is no reason to think it will do anything more than delay the inevitable.Any chance that Durham may be penalised for a poor pitch were scotched when Jack Birkenshaw, the ECB’s pitch liaison officer, left at lunch time having declared himself satisfied.It was the right decision. The manner in which Paul Collingwood, the Durham captain, helped add 49 runs for Durham’s final two wickets and reached his own highest score of the season suggested that, with proper care and attention, this pitch was demanding but not unfair. Nottinghamshire’s lowly first innings total owed as much to batsmen who were unwilling or unable to graft for their runs as it did the conditions.Most of all, it owed rather a lot to some mature and skilful bowling. Graham Onions, in particular, is a desperately tough proposition on such surfaces. His pace is no longer quite as sharp as it once was, but it is brisk and, allied to his remarkable consistency – it is doubtful than anyone in county cricket demands a batsman play a shot so often – is the ability to move the ball both ways in the air and off the pitch. It is a wonderful package of skills and, while it is surplus to demands for England, it is a precious asset for Durham. Averaging six wickets per game, he would, if he played a whole season – and he has missed only one game through a finger injury – come very close to 100 wickets.Nottinghamshire produced more fight second time around. Steven Mullaney, badly dropped on 14 and 59, generally showed the technique and discipline to prosper in such conditions, while David Hussey also prospered against the softer ball and support bowlers.But the fact that Andre Adams was caught at deep point, Luke Fletcher at mid-off and Samit Patel attempting a lavish drive underlines the impression that Nottinghamshire’s batsmen simply lack the stomach for the fight. It will not do to excuse their recklessness with ‘that is the way we play’ any more than it will excuse rash driving in fog. Sometimes you have to work for your runs and, too often, Nottinghamshire bat as if they can’t be bothered. They may escape relegation this year, but it will be an issue again next year unless they sharpen up significantly.Nottinghamshire’s faults should not deflect from Durham’s success. Ben Stokes, who had to leave the pitch twice to have a hole drilled in a toe nail to release pressure in it, bowled with pace and Chris Rushworth, something of an unsung hero, produced beauty that nipped back to punish James Taylor for a lack of balance and a shot aimed across the line. Michael Lumb was beaten by a beauty that nipped back and Chris Read by one that nipped away.There are some remarkable and revealing statistics associated with Durham’s success. For example:Durham have conceded only one batting bonus point at home all season at home. Warwickshire were the opposition.The highest opening partnership against Durham in the Championship all season is just 47.Since the end of 2008, when Ian Blackwell joined the club from Somerset, Durham have utilised just two new players from any nation that have not developed through their own academy system: Ruel Brathwaite and Shivnarine Chanderpaul. Neither are with the club now.Since Paul Collingwood took over captaincy and, presuming that Durham complete victory over Nottinghamshire, they will have won 14 Championship matches out of 21 and five in succession.Six of their 10 victories this season (presuming this game is won and bearing in mind there is one game remaining at Hove) have come at home, meaning they have also won four out of seven away from home.What do such statistics tell us?They tell us that Durham possess a remarkably good attack, that they have relied upon home-grown talent – the only man in the current side who did not develop through the club’s own academy system (or similar) is Will Smith, and he attended developed through what is now known as the Durham MCCU scheme – and that, since Collingwood took the helm, they have been united into a team worth more than the sum of its parts.While it is true that Durham may have made a virtue out of necessity – they did try to bring in new players ahead of this season, but lacked the finance to do so – they key point is that they did make a virtue of it. Other sides might have wilted.What such stats cannot show is the true value of shared experiences. As just about the entire team developed through the county’s system, they have all known the head coach and former academy director, Geoff Cook, since boyhood and owe much of their success to his ability to recognise their talents and his support of them.So when he experienced a serious heart attack in June, it shocked this tightly-knit squad. Knowing how much this club means to him, the team came together, discussed how they could help and used the experience to inspire them to redouble their efforts in tribute and in the knowledge it is what he would have wanted. When Stokes, at 22 developing into a senior player in this side, spoke at the end of play, his words had the ring of truth than no amount of press officers could ever supply.”We did if for Geoff,” Stokes said. “We were shocked when we heard what had happened. We sat down, we talked about it and we took those thoughts on to the field with us. We were doing it for him.”Kolpak signings, overseas players and big-name additions from other counties all have their place. But time and again the game shows us that there is no substitute for 11 good men playing with one purpose, with shared experiences and values, delighting in each other’s successes and in the knowledge of their role and responsibilities. There is much to admire in Durham’s success and much from which other sides could learn.

Mohit Sharma said he had no intention of letting Sachin Tendulkar ease into his stride in his farewell domestic match

Abhishek Purohit in Lahli27-Oct-2013Mohit Sharma, the Haryana fast bowler, said he had no intention of letting Sachin Tendulkar ease into his stride in his farewell domestic match. Mohit breached Tendulkar’s defences off the seventh ball faced by the Mumbai batsman, forcing a mass exit from the stands at Chaudhary Bansi Lal Stadium in Lahli, near Rohtak. The visitors had the upper hand though, having dismissed Haryana for 134 in an extended first session and ending the first day trailing by 34 runs, with six wickets in hand.”Not even for a fraction of a second. It was a huge opportunity in my life as well, you don’t get the chance to dismiss Sachin too many times,” Mohit said. “Personally, I did not feel bad. Any wicket you take gives you happiness, especially if it is sir’s wicket, you have no words to describe the moment.”Mohit said the plan was to make any new batsman play when he came in, and that is what he tried against Tendulkar. “It wasn’t as if I was thinking that it was his last match. I just bowled to my strengths, thought of bowling wicket to wicket, that will be good for me. At the start, they left well and we did bowl a bit wide. It feels nice [to have taken his wicket].”We wanted to make him play, as on this wicket it is difficult for any new batsman. Usually the old ball, with the seam raised a bit, it kicks after it pitches. That is what happened, it bounced a bit, hit his elbow and the stumps.”Haryana were aware that maintaining a disciplined length was key in luring a batsman to make mistakes on the Lalhi pitch. “If I had bowled it at the face, it would have become easier for the batsman. But if you bowled it just back of a length, it would go in the air on this wicket,” Mohit said. “That is what we were trying to achieve with the short cover point, short mid-off or short leg, that if it goes in the air, we had a chance.’Mohit denied his side had decided to try something different against Tendulkar. “It was not as if there was anything special about the day. It was just like any other day when you go to play a match. It is in every player’s mind that he is going to play a match with Sachin. You come to a match having thought something specific that you are going to bowl to him, what you will do, what you will not do. We all have seen how he bats.As captain Ajay Jadeja had mentioned, Haryana were not concentrating on the hype generated by this being Tendulkar’s final appearance in Indian domestic cricket and directed their energies on their own performance. “Everyone was normal in the dressing room,” Mohit said. “Even before the match we were told that do not think about who you are playing against, work on your strengths which you have been doing for the last eight to ten years. If we start looking at others’ strengths, then we might end up pulling ourselves down.’

Craig McDermott, Australia’s fast bowling coach, does not expect Shane Watson to be ready to bowl during the first Ashes Test in Brisbane as he recovers from a hamstring strain

Daniel Brettig16-Nov-2013Craig McDermott, Australia’s fast bowling coach, does not expect Shane Watson to be ready to bowl during the first Ashes Test in Brisbane, as he recovers from a hamstring strain, and based on what he’s seen of Mitchell Johnson, Ryan Harris and Peter Siddle, McDermott is in no rush to press the allrounder into premature service either.In his first sessions with Harris, Siddle and Johnson since resuming his duties as formal mentor for the pacemen, McDermott has been decidedly impressed by the rhythm, swing and speed of the three quick bowlers who are expected to shoulder the bulk of the bowling load at the Gabba.The collective impression they have made means there will be less pressure on Watson to return to the bowling crease without any time building into his work, lessening the chance of re-injuring his fragile hamstring. “We will wait until the day before the game to see where he is with his bowling,” McDermott said of Watson. “But he hasn’t bowled so far. To rip him straight into a Test match would be pretty difficult at this stage.”While Harris and Siddle are maintaining the high standards McDermott expects, he has been gratified to see Johnson bowling with high pace, decent control and late swing. “He’s in a really good space mentally, very confident about what he’s doing and that’s a great place for him to be at the moment,” McDermott said. “The last two days he’s bowled really well and really fast, so that’s one great thing.”We’ve got a great bowling attack – Ryan Harris is figures-wise the best bowler in Australia of all time almost, Sidds is in the top five in the world and you don’t get there by not bowling well, and Mitchell’s now back to his best, bowling fast and swinging the ball. That puts us in good stead for Thursday.”Among McDermott’s first orders of business upon resuming a role he relinquished in 2012, was to travel to Perth and meet with Johnson, resuming a relationship that will be vital to Australia’s Ashes fate this summer. He was delighted to find Johnson flushed with self-belief in both word and deed, and importantly considers the left-armer now capable of bowling in partnerships with others, rather than simply trying to win matches on his own.”I didn’t really go there to work with him, it was more to have a chat with him and watch him bowl in a game and see how everything was going for him,” McDermott said of the Perth visit. “I think Mitchell can be bowled in both ways, whether it be impact bowling and that depends on the game situation and who’s batting at the time, but I think he can be used in both ways.”Certainly his control has been very good the past two days, and with the new ball if we can get him swinging that new ball, which he’s shown he can do at training, 150km/h inswingers are pretty tough to keep out, and if he only swings the odd one even better, because then the batsman doesn’t know which one he has to play at.”Alongside Johnson, Siddle and Harris in the nets at Allan Border Field have been Jackson Bird and James Pattinson, both fast bowlers returning from back stress injuries. Their presence at the bowling crease is an encouraging sign for Australia’s future pace endeavours, but McDermott said neither Bird nor Pattinson will be in contention for a Test spot, as he attempts to re-shape their actions to reduce the twisting “counter-rotation” that is a harbinger of back problems.”Jackson’s progressing but he’s still been working on some technical things that I’m not 100% happy with at the moment,” McDermott said. “So we just want to keep working on those over the coming weeks and certainly don’t want to rush him in any shape or form from that point of view.”Patto’s rehab work and the couple of changes that we’ve made to his technique have come along nicely, he’s only off about six steps or so at the moment, so he’s got a fair way to go. I’m in no rush for him to be back, he’s in his early 20s and can be a 10-year bowler for Australia or more, so I’m not keen to rush him until we’ve got it exactly right … otherwise I haven’t done my job.”

A round-up of the first day’s play from Group B Ranji Trophy matches played on December 6, 2013

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Dec-2013 scores level
ScorecardFile photo: Pankaj Singh finished with 5 for 30•Rajasthan Cricket AssociationRajasthan seamer Pankaj Singh’s 19th five-wicket haul in first-class matches helped the team bundle Madhya Pradesh out for 115 and take control of their match in Gwalior.Pankaj dismissed the opener Satyam Choudhary for 27 in the 23rd over, to instigate a batting collapse that MP were ultimately unable to recover from. MP were comfortable at 67 for 0, but from there, lost all their wickets for just 48 runs. Jalaj Saxena top-scored with 39, but MP’s final eight batsmen all fell for single digits, as Pankaj eventually finished with 5 for 30. He received ample support from Rituraj Singh and Deepak Chahar, who picked up five wickets between them to bowl the hosts out in 50 overs.Rajasthan, in reply, lost their opener Vineet Saxena for 13 in the 11th over, but recovered with a second-wicket stand of 55 between Siddharth Saraf and Hrishikesh Kanitkar. MP, however, delivered two late blows towards the end of the day when medium-pacer Anand Rajan dismissed the pair off successive overs.Rajasthan eventually finished the day at 115 for 3, level with MP’s first-innings total.
ScorecardRP Singh and Piyush Chawla played their part for Uttar Pradesh in Ghaziabad, picking up six wickets between them to restrict Services to 164 on the first day.Services, put in to bat, failed to produce any meaningful scores or partnerships. Anshul Gupta, Yashpal Singh and Suraj Yadav all made starts, but failed to convert them into big totals, as the team were eventually bowled out in 45.2 overs.RP and Piyush shared three wickets between them, with the former the more economical one, going for just 38 runs from his 13 overs, while Amit Mishra chipped in with 2 for 27.UP began solidly, as the openers Mukul Dagar and Digvijay Singh made 44, but Services clawed their way back into the game with three quick wickets. Medium-pacer Shadab Nazar accounted for two of them- getting Dagar caught behind and bowling Mohammad Kaif- before Nishan Singh dismissed Prashant Gupta for 4, leaving the hosts in trouble at 59 for 3.Digvijay and Parvinder Singh added 27 for the fourth wicket and batted out the last nine overs of the day without suffering any more casualties.
ScorecardTamil Nadu’s spinners enjoyed a highly productive day, as Baroda slipped, stumbled and were finally bowled out for 162 in Chennai. Left-arm spinner Rahil Shah earned his first Ranji cap since last December and benefited on a pitch that offered turn and bounce right from the first session, as he went on to finish with a career-best 4 for 49. Read the full report here.

Manojit Ghosh, the Bengal medium-pacer whose action has come under scrutiny, has been barred from playing BCCI-organised tournaments

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Dec-2013Manojit Ghosh, the 30-year-old Bengal medium-pacer whose action has come under scrutiny, has been barred from playing BCCI-organised tournaments. In a letter addressed to the Cricket Association of Bengal, BCCI CEO Ratnakar Shetty said the BCCI’s suspect action review committee found Ghosh was straightening his elbow beyond permissible levels.”He is barred from playing BCCI tournaments till his action is cleared,” Shetty wrote.Ghosh made his first-class debut in a Ranji Trophy match against Rajasthan in Jaipur last month, and took a wicket in each innings. On-field umpires BK Ravi and K Srinath reported him during the match, and Ghosh hasn’t featured since.Ashok Malhotra, the Bengal coach, told PTI that he would help Ghosh with his rehabilitation at the end of the season. “I came to know of the decision today,” Malhotra said. “I will sit with the pacer as soon as the Ranji ties are over.”Last month, the Maharashtra fast bowler Sachin Chaudhari was called for an illegal action during a Ranji Trophy match against Hyderabad, and has been barred from BCCI matches till his action is cleared.

A round-up of the Ram Slam T20 Challenge matches played on January 17, 2014

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Jan-2014Lundi Mbane’s four wickets in the final over helped Warriors tie their match against Dolphins at Port Elizabeth. This result would have gone a long way in making amends for Wayne Parnell’s error in the Warriors’ previous match against Titans, when he had overstepped to cede the high-scoring thriller. The Warriors batted first, with Ashwell Prince guiding the team to 69 for 1 inside eight overs. Once Prince was bowled by Daryn Smit for 40, the rest of the Warriors line-up failed to post meaningful scores, with Parnell hammering 22 off 14 to help take Warriors to 152 for 7.Dolphins began their chase brightly, with Cameron Delport and Morne van Wyk putting on 49 for the first wicket. Once Delport was dismissed, Cody Chetty (39) entered the fray, and with Vaughn van Jaarsveld added a further 57 to the total to take Dolphins to a strong position of 115 for 2 after 14.2 overs.With just 38 more to get off 34 balls, it looked a walk in the park for Dolphins, but things began to take a sinister turn. First van Jaarsveld holed out to Simon Harmer off Mbane in the 18th over, then the wickets really began to tumble as Dolphins lost their last five wickets in the space of just ten deliveries as Mbane bowled the perfect last over to eke out four further wickets, including a run out, as Dolphins capitulated at the close, effectively ending the match as a tie.Richard Levi’s barnstorming 113 helped Cobras dismantle Knights by 80 runs in Bloemfontein.The Cobras won the toss and elected to bat first, which proved to be the right decision as Levi and Hashim Amla blasted the Knights bowlers to the tune of 171 runs in 15 overs. Levi’s innings came to an end when he was bowled through the gate by Ryan McLaren. Amla would fall just a few overs later when he was caught by Dillon du Preez on 65, off the bowling of Johan van der Wath. Their twin innings helped prop the team’s score to an imposing 208 for 3.The Knights never really had a chance at making a decent stab at the chase, as despite from Reeza Hendricks, who hit 64 off 50 to carry his bat till the end, the rest of the order failed to produce. Robin Peterson, Beuran Hendricks, Sunil Narine and JP Duminy all picked up two wickets as Knights faltered to 128 for 8 at the end of their quota of overs.Some tight bowling at the death helped Titans edge Lions by just 10 runs in their encounter at Potchefstroom. Titans batted first, and despite losing two quick wickets to be reduced to 14 for 2 inside of four overs, Henry Davids (36) and Graeme van Buuren (55) ensured Titans were in the match with a productive stand of 72 runs by the midway mark. Farhaan Behardien chipped in with a vital 34 as the rest of the tail failed to wag to leave Titans on 158 for 9.The Lions chase was bolstered by an 84-run opening stand between Quinton de Kock (52) and Gulam Bodi (36). However, once both batsmen fell by the 13th over, the Lions began to falter against the slowly rising required rate. Some tight bowling, which was constantly shuffled by their captain, Henry Davids, ensured the Lions batsmen never got comfortable with one particular bowler, as they failed to get to the target by just 10 runs as they wound their way to 148 for 3.

Shakib Al Hasan has said Bangladesh’s bowling attack has the ability to trouble Sri Lanka if the pitch for the first Test offers them help

Mohammad Isam in Mirpur25-Jan-2014Shakib Al Hasan wants a sporting pitch at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in the first Test against Sri Lanka. He said Bangladesh are now capable of handling such conditions, and not just playing on featherbeds.The home side has never won a Test match in Mirpur. They have lost eight times and drawn twice, both against New Zealand. The pitch has tended to be on the slower side over the last three years, with bowlers getting less assistance as the match progresses. This has been true for both seamers and spinners, with the playing surface not prone to deteriorating.Shakib said that an even contest between bat and ball would help the home side.”In my opinion, sporting wickets are good,” Shakib said. “Sri Lanka are not the sort of team who play spin poorly or don’t have spinners. Sporting wickets give good value to runs and wickets. We are an experienced side, and have played well as a team and individually. I think we can handle a sporting wicket.”Our bowling attack is good, but a lot will depend on the wicket. It becomes difficult to bowl on a flat wicket. But I believe that if it is a sporting wicket, we have the ability as a bowling unit.”Shakib has asked the pace bowlers and the newcomers in the side to step up, saying they have a role to play if the team is to win. “Everyone has to contribute,” he said. “Even if someone takes a five-wicket haul, the others have to take a wicket each, at least. The fast bowlers have a big role to play; they have to take up responsibility. The spinners will continue to bowl according to their ability.”Our team is not selected but among the batsmen, Marshall [Ayub] has played a few Tests, Shamsur Rahman is new while Imrul Kayes has played Tests in the past. It is not as if they are new so they have any less of a responsibility. The best 14 players in Bangladesh are in this team. They have all performed, and deserve a place. We can win very few matches if we have only one or two performers.”Bangladesh will try to break up the day into small sessions, according to Shakib, who said they would chase a positive result at all times rather than look to draw. In 2013, they lost two Tests, won one and drew three.”We always play to win,” Shakib said. “The days of Bangladesh playing a match just to do well or to draw are long gone. We have to divide it into small sessions, if we do well in those, we can get a good result overall.”Bangladesh played well against Sri Lanka on the last occasion. We will have some home advantage. We have played well at home in the last two years, so if we can continue on that, we can shorten the difference between the two sides.”