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In-form openers Sami Aslam and Imam-ul-Haq continued to pile up the runs to help Pakistan Under-19s crush Sri Lanka Under-19s in the quarter-finals

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Feb-2014
Scorecard
The Pakistan openers put together the second-highest stand of the tournament to give their side an unassailable advantage•ICCIn-form openers Sami Aslam and Imam-ul-Haq continued to pile up the runs to help Pakistan Under-19s crush Sri Lanka Under-19s in the quarter-finals in Sharjah. The pair put on 177, the second-highest partnership in the tournament, to set the base for a total which proved well out of Sri Lanka’s reach.Both Imam and Aslam preferred to bide their time, but ended their innings with strike-rates in the late 70s. No. 3 Kamram Ghulam hammered 52 off 44 balls to push Pakistan to 279. Imam’s 82 made him the tournament’s highest run-getter, and captain Aslam’s 95 put him third on the charts.Pakistan lost six wickets in the final 23 deliveries of the innings, but that didn’t prevent them from adding 32 in that stretch. For Sri Lanka, left-arm quick Binura Fernando went at over six an over, but struck four times to go to second on the list of the tournament’s highest wicket-takers.While Sri Lanka took 37 overs to get their first breakthrough, Pakistan got theirs in the first ball itself when opener Hashan Dumindu was bowled by Zia-ul-Haq. The chase went awry soon after, as two run-outs left Sri Lanka at 44 for 3.Opener Sadeera Samarawickrama and Priyamal Perera kept Sri Lanka in the game with half-centuries, but the dismissal of Samarawickrama in the 24th over sparked a collapse. None of the final six batsmen got into double figures as Sri Lanka went from 103 for 3 to 158 all out. The wickets were shared around, with four bowlers taking two each as Pakistan cruised into the semi-finals, setting up a clash with England on Monday.”We’ve been playing here in the UAE for quite some time,” Aslam said after the victory. “We played here for about two months before coming to the U19 Cricket World Cup, so I think we are very comfortable with the conditions, and we are gaining confidence at the right time.”We’ve won this match by a great margin, which will be good going into the semi-finals. We have played against England a lot, so we know each other quite well. It’s going to be an exciting match.”

New South Wales are effectively one day away from lifting the Sheffield Shield after most of the fourth day of the final against Western Australia was washed out in Canberra

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Mar-2014
ScorecardJason Behrendorff took the only wicket on day four•Getty ImagesNew South Wales are effectively one day away from lifting the Sheffield Shield after most of the fourth day of the final against Western Australia was washed out in Canberra.The Warriors began the day needing something miraculous from their bowlers to skittle the Blues cheaply and set up a chase. What they got instead was 1 for 13 from a dour 13.4 overs before the rain set in for the rest of the day.The only wicket to fall was that of Ben Rohrer, who edged behind off Jason Behrendorff for 27, and when the wet weather arrived New South Wales were 3 for 59 with captain Steven Smith on 31 and Kurtis Patterson yet to score.Their lead had moved along to 326 and as the hosts of the final, they had no need to push for a victory; a draw would be enough for them to claim the title.Even the most optimistic Western Australia fan would struggle to work out a way for them to win the match from this position. They would need to run through the remaining seven New South Wales wickets in the first hour of the final day to even attempt a chase.

Bangladesh pacer Mashrafe Mortaza has been ruled out of the side’s last match of the World T20 after suffering a knee injury in Sunday’s game against Pakistan

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Mar-2014Bangladesh fast bowler Mashrafe Mortaza has been ruled out of the side’s last match of the World T20 after suffering a knee injury in Sunday’s game against Pakistan.Mortaza had been struggling with injuries in the lead-up to the World T20. In February, he picked up a side strain during an Asia Cup match against India and was ruled out for the rest of the tournament. He then suffered a rib injury in the opening match of the first round of the World T20, against Afghanistan.Despite the injury, Mashrafe played five of the side’s six matches so far, although he struggled for form. The bowler conceded 142 runs, taking three wickets at an average of 47.33. Against Pakistan on Sunday, Mashrafe gave away 63 runs in four overs without a wicket, his worst bowling performance in T20 internationals.Mashrafe’s injury will further hamper an already struggling Bangladesh side ahead of the match against Australia on April 1. Like Australia, Bangladesh have three losses in as many games but are placed last in Group 2 due to a poorer run rate.

Karun Nair, the Karnataka batsman, was conservative to start with, but opened up in the second half of his innings to hit an unbeaten half-century to see Rajasthan Royals pull off a comfortable chase

The Report by Devashish Fuloria03-May-2014
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details7:57

Agarkar: Royals picked the right team for conditions

Rajasthan Royals produced one of their better batting performances this season to keep pace with the two table leaders and no, the starring roles didn’t feature Ajinkya Rahane or Shane Watson or Stuart Binny. There was one steadying hand from Sanju Samson to ensure the middling target was under control and a surprise promotion for Rajat Bhatia, but it was another young batsman, playing only his third game for the franchise, who reaffirmed Royals’ narrative of being a moneyball outfit. Karun Nair, the Karnataka batsman who had scores of 8 and 1 in his previous two outings, was conservative to start with, but opened up in the second half of his innings to hit an unbeaten half-century to sink Delhi Daredevils by seven wickets.A chase of 153 had tested Royals two years ago at the same ground when they had fallen a run short, but there were no such surprises this time as Royals built a solid foundation to set up the launch. In that first half, Nair had almost remained invisible in the shadow of Samson’s strokeplay. He was on 29 off the first 30 balls he faced despite hitting three crisp boundaries. Maybe it was the dismissal of Samson or maybe it was the need to be assertive in the company of Bhatia, who was sent to provide some thrust to the innings, Nair’s second half was in complete contrast to the first. His next 20 deliveries produced 44 runs that included five fours and two sixes, the second of which could have done Watson proud for its disdain.Watson joined Nair towards the end of the innings and hit a couple of sixes too, but his – or his team management’s – decision of sending Bhatia ahead of better batsmen proved to be one of his more effective strokes. Bhatia can bat, but he has never played as high as No. 4 in the IPL. His cross-batted slogs were not the most pleasing to the eye, but just like his bowling, his stand of 44 runs in five overs with Nair quickly deflated Daredevils bowling, especially with the danger of Watson looming.Unlike Royals, Daredevils batting had been a three-part story, all quite different from each other, but adding up in the end to a fighting total. After being asked to bat, Quinton de Kock and M Vijay were not really fussed by the frequent change of bowlers by Royals and added a confident 33 runs for the first wicket before Vijay was caught at mid-off. The fall of wicket or the distractions involving the square-leg umpire, who let Kevin Pietersen off the hook by not reviewing a run-out call, didn’t affect de Kock’s approach as he went about picking his boundaries at a regular pace.Daredevils were 68 for 1 when Pravin Tambe removed both de Kock, who was out caught and bowled, and Pietersen, who holed out at long-on, in the same over to signal the start of a period of Royals dominance. Only 32 runs came in the next six overs and it took an enterprising effort from JP Duminy and Kedar Jadhav to lift Delhi out from that hole.Jadhav may have been lucky to get his first six – a top edge off James Faulkner – but none of his later shots were mis-hits. He finished the innings with a flourish, hitting one of the biggest sixes of the match in the last over and was unbeaten on 28 off 14 balls. Duminy as usual had played his part too in helping Delhi add 58 off the last five overs. It gave their bowlers a chance, but on a pitch that was a far cry from some of the slower surfaces Delhi has dished out in the past, it was always going to be a tough one to defend.

Paul Marsh, chief executive of the Australian Cricketers Association, has called for a BBL amnesty after South Australia sacked Jamie Cox as CA conducted an investigation into his recruiting activities

Daniel Brettig26-May-2014An amnesty is required to air all the recruiting “dirty laundry” accumulated over the first three seasons of the Twenty20 Big Bash League as Cricket Australia’s integrity unit seeks to clean up the competition’s fast and loose reputation for player dealings.Paul Marsh, chief executive of the Australian Cricketers Association, has called for a period of truth-telling after South Australia sacked Jamie Cox as CA conducted an investigation into his recruiting activities.Cox’s transgressions were believed to be the conducting of player negotiations and the reaching of agreements with players outside the BBL’s stipulated contracting period, the sort of offences that had gone routinely unpunished in the first three years of the BBL before the integrity unit was officially charged with keeping a tighter rein on things in December 2013. Showbiz must now be balanced by studiousness.Marsh, who was saddened by Cox’s dismissal having worked alongside him on the ACA executive in the past, told ESPNcricinfo that changing the culture of BBL recruiting and regulations required a more nuanced approach, allowing for a period of honest reflection before any punitive measures were taken.”There’s a culture that’s built up in the BBL that it’s ok to play outside these contracting rules,” Marsh said. “Teams have been doing it since the first year and nothing’s been done about it, and everyone knows it. You only have to look at day one of the contracting period, half the contracts get announced. How did that happen if they haven’t already been in discussions and reached at least a verbal agreement before the day of the contracting period starting?”Everyone knows it’s been going on. So what needs to happen I believe is an amnesty period so we come out and say ‘everyone bring forward your dirty laundry and say what happened in the first three years’. We put it all on the table and start with a clean slate. Anything that’s not disclosed then teams are liable to be sanctioned moving forward, but from this point the culture needs to shift to where everyone does play by the rules.”While understanding of the integrity unit’s desire to ensure that administrators followed the rules as diligently as the players on the field, Marsh said the “big stick” approach would create plenty of problems. “To be fair the resources of the integrity unit have only recently been beefed up so this is more a solution than a criticism,” he said.”It’s really hard on the teams and the players if you come in here with a big stick as we head into year four and teams have been behaving a certain way and getting away with it, then all of a sudden the big stick comes in and there are severe sanctions. I’m not saying CA are coming in with the big stick as we don’t know what their sanctions will be yet, but I do think we need to look at how we handle this change.”This year’s major BBL trading period ended last week with little player movement taking place. Marsh also reckoned the competition would benefit by pushing this phase forward to begin a matter of days, not three months, after the BBL itself had concluded. Players and teams would thus be allowed to shore up their futures rapidly, while also dissuading recruiters from trying to gain an advantage by breaking early from the starting blocks.”We should also bring the contracting period forward,” Marsh said. “It’s three months after the end of the BBL, the players need to know where they’re playing next year, where they might be living next year. It’s been de-linked from the state contracts so when they’re signing contracts it is very difficult and it also means teams can gain a competitive advantage by getting in first. We should start the contracting period straight after the tournament finishes and get on with it.”Cox’s sacking was the SACA board’s decision, with the outcome of the CA investigation still to be determined.

Leicestershire pulled off only their second NatWest T20 Blast success after Tom Wells hit Paul Collingwood for three sixes in the 19th over to set up a four-wicket victory at Chester-le-Street

Press Association20-Jun-2014
ScorecardGordon Muchall top-scored for Durham but his 43 was not enough•Getty ImagesLeicestershire pulled off only their second NatWest T20 Blast success after Tom Wells hit Paul Collingwood for three sixes in the 19th over to set up a four-wicket victory at Chester-le-Street.Collingwood had conceded only two runs off his previous over and removed Ned Eckersley for 43, but with 26 needed off two overs he began with a full toss which was driven over long on.Wells pulled two more sixes over the short leg-side boundary and also hit a four courtesy of a misfield on his way to an unbeaten 31.With only two required off the final over, Ben Raine scored the winning runs against his native county as the Foxes got home with five balls to spare.As well as the 19th, Durham also had a disastrous over in the 13th. Usman Arshad, previously impressive in this competition, bowled two waist-high no balls – one of which was hit for four – and had to be removed from the attack.Scott Borthwick took over and after his first ball went for four byes Eckersley hit him for four and six and the over ended up costing 26.After being put in on a glorious evening, Durham made their highest score in the competition this season of 177 for 7. Gordon Muchall led the way with 43 off 22 balls, while Callum MacLeod made 42 off 28 to take his aggregate in the competition to 250.Despite making four more runs than they had previously managed this season, Durham never quite hit top gear on a run-laden pitch. They had 52 on the board after the six overs of Powerplay, but then Mark Stoneman fell lbw trying to reverse sweep Jigar Naik’s first ball.The offspinner also held a fierce return drive to remove Phil Mustard, just when the wicketkeeper had got going for the first time in this season’s competition.MacLeod again played well but got out attempting unnecessary improvisation when he stepped across to the off side and was bowled when trying to flip Charlie Shreck to fine leg.A controversial incident in the 17th over could have been costly for Durham. In trying to catch Muchall at deep cover Rob Taylor appeared to knock the ball over the rope. He then knocked it back in again and in response to shouts from the crowd he raised his arms. Whether he was signalling six or merely shrugging was unclear.There could be no proof of what had actually happened, so Durham had to settle for three runs and appeared to be unsettled by the confusion as Ben Stokes was run out for 20 off the next ball, then John Hastings drove a catch straight to extra cover.Leicestershire skipper Josh Cobb said afterwards: “We’ve been playing good cricket without quite getting over the line, so it’s great that Tom Wells got us there tonight.”

England Lions’ 22-run defeat flattered them. Were it not for a world-class knock from Jonny Bairstow, the margin of defeat would have been sizeable enough to worry about England’s ODI reserves.

Vithushan Ehantharajah at Bristol08-Aug-2014
ScorecardJonny Bairstow kept the Lions alive with a century but it wasn’t enough•Getty ImagesEngland Lions’ 22-run defeat flattered them. At no point during the chase were they in a position to avoid risk or push the ball about to maintain an effective rate. Were it not for a world-class knock from Jonny Bairstow, the margin of defeat would have been sizeable enough to worry about England’s ODI reserves.As it is, Bairstow’s 123 off 116 balls, which featured 14 boundaries and the addition of 212 runs from entrance to exit, is an unmistakable plus. While the New Zealand A attack were not challenging by ODI standards, they were a competent and calm unit until challenged by a brutal assault from a player who last played international 50-over cricket in September 2012.At 48 for 4, he and Jason Roy played smartly to put on 95 in 16.3 overs; pushing fielders around and occasionally beating them. Ten overs more between these two, with their ability to clear the rope, and who knows what might have happened.New Zealand A owe the win to a centurion of their own, Dean Brownlie. Without his contribution of 115 from 107 balls, they would have fallen well short of par. He held the innings together with a fairly simple approach that saw him wait for loose deliveries and ensure he used the quick outfield to put them away effectively. Even he must have been surprised by the extent of the looseness offered up.The Lions can also look back ruefully on a handful of opportunities to remove Brownlie that did not go their way. On 39, he was left stranded after playing a late cut and taking a few steps down the pitch, only for Jason Roy at backward point to pull off a brilliant diving stop. Roy then set himself and fired at the stumps in an instant, but missed by a matter of inches, with Brownlie scampering back to his crease.Two overs later, Craig Overton was sure he had trapped him in front for 45 but the umpire disagreed. The final reprieve, when Brownlie had already passed fifty, was the trickiest of the lot, as Tom Smith at midwicket dived and got one hand on a thumping pull shot that would have been a stunning catch.As it was, they had to wait until the end of the 42nd over for his wicket, by which time he had taken advantage of some wayward bowling to reach three figures. For the second time this week, England struggled to offer much control with the ball.Steven Finn came in for Boyd Rankin, having not made the Test XI at Old Trafford, and bowled briskly but was also guilty of not nailing his lengths. Only his Middlesex teammate Ravi Patel was able to regulate his overs, going wicketless but drastically improving on his economy rate at Taunton. Despite having gone for more than seven-an-over on Wednesday, he was not afraid to give the ball some air and imparted a good amount of drift that New Zealand, albeit worse players of spin than Sri Lanka, were unable to counter into runs.One other bright spot with the ball was David Willey, who returned 5 for 62. Not that you could tell from his demeanour at the end of the match; downcast and shoeless after what was a frustrating day at the office, despite his personal success. When he joined Bairstow at the crease, the ask was for just over eight runs in each of the remaining 10 overs. He certainly has the capacity to have seen his side home, especially in the mood Bairstow was in. But, as frank as ever, he reflected that his game, after a period of recovery from a back injury sustained away with the England Performance Programme in the winter, still needs work to get it back to what it was last year.He was also honest about his display with the ball. In the Northamptonshire dressing room he is revered for his direct approach. There will be times it will get him into trouble, but his knack of being direct with himself will only be of benefit to him as a player.”I didn’t really make them work for their boundaries which made it a bit easier for them,” he admitted. “It’s an area I need to work on. A couple of grabs at the end from skiers just happened to be off my bowling this week. I’ve got some work to do still, but five wickets in a one day game, I’ll take it.”In the end, it was not glamour that won it for New Zealand but an ingrained efficiency that was all too apparent in the field, where they tightened in the ring during the second Powerplay and held onto some tricky catches. The best of the lot saw Roy snared by Tom Latham – a diving grab at midwicket – before similar at cover did for Bairstow.

Hard-hitting Jesse Ryder scored a quickfire half-century to help Essex seal a home tie in the NatWest T20 Blast quarter-finals with a seven-wicket win over Glamorgan at Cardiff.

Press Association18-Jul-2014
ScorecardNew Zealander Jesse Ryder smashes 51 in only 28 balls to give Essex’s chase a flying start•Associated PressHard-hitting Jesse Ryder scored a quickfire half-century to help Essex seal a home tie in the NatWest T20 Blast quarter-finals with a seven-wicket win over Glamorgan at Cardiff.After winning the toss the in-form South Group leaders restricted the home side to 157 for 2 before knocking off the required runs with 12 balls to spare. It was a comprehensive defeat for the Welsh county who could yet need to beat Gloucestershire in their final game next week to make the last eight.After being put in to bat on a slow pitch Glamorgan looked to have posted a useful total with Murray Goodwin, who made 71, and Jacques Rudolph, 60, putting on 104 in 11.2 overs.But Glamorgan were undone by the start from Ryder and Mark Pettini who made a dent in their chase by reaching 73 from the opening 33 balls. Tom Westley, with 44, and Ravi Bopara, an unbeaten 32, shared in a 60-run partnership for the third wicket to help Essex across the winning line.After a slow start Glamorgan reached 43 for 0 at the end of the six overs of the Powerplay. But on a typically slow Cardiff pitch the openers struggled to reach the boundary rope for 22 balls before captain Jim Allenby was caught and bowled by Bopara to leave Glamorgan 53 for one in the ninth over.Glamorgan had only reached 61 for 1 at the halfway stage but Goodwin, who was promoted up the order, gave the innings some impetus by hitting Ryder for a six baseball style back over the bowler’s head.Goodwin reverse-swept spinner Tim Phillips for four which brought up the 100 before hitting the offspinner over midwicket for six. The former Sussex man continued to accelerate the Glamorgan score striking Bopara for three consecutive fours, while Rudolph, who dropped anchor, reached his 50 off 45 balls.Goodwin followed Rudolph with his 50 from 29 balls and struck a straight six from the penultimate ball before holing out of the final delivery of the innings.But Goodwin and Rudolph’s good work was undone as Essex made a flying start to their reply. Ryder did not hold back as he swept Michael Hogan for six and then struck Andrew Salter over long on. Ryder struck three consecutive fours off Hogan as 19 came from the fifth over.Pettini was caught at mid-off off Allenby but it mattered little to Essex who got to more than halfway to their total with 13.2 overs remaining. Ryder holed out to Salter for 51, which came from only 28 balls with two sixes and six fours, but Essex’s strong batting line-up was always too good for their hosts.

The lure of perfecting his cover drive has Paul Collingwood persuaded to delay retirement and sign a new, one-year contract with Durham at the age of 38

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Aug-2014The lure of perfecting his cover drive has persuaded Paul Collingwood to delay retirement and sign a new, one-year contract with Durham at the age of 38.Collingwood, who captained Durham to an unexpected Championship triumph last season and continues to lead the four-day side, joked earlier this year that he had finally learned how to play a shot at odds with his favoured leg-side nurdling but his bowling in limited-overs cricket has also been evergreen, leading the wicket-taker’s list for his county.Durham will play Yorkshire this week in the quarter-finals of the Royal London Cup, in which the former England captain has made 344 runs at 68.80, to go with 10 wickets and an economy of less than four runs per over. He has also made 620 runs in the Championship, where Durham find themselves in the bottom two and facing a fight to avoid relegation from Division One, a position similar to when Collingwood took the captaincy in 2012.Collingwood had taken the first steps towards a coaching career over the winter, helping Scotland qualify for the 2015 World Cup and joining England on their Caribbean tour and at the World T20. He was also touted for a role in the new set-up under Peter Moores.”I had presumed this was going to be my last season but I’m really enjoying my cricket and feel as though I’m still contributing to the team,” Collingwood said. “You’re a long time retired and I’ve still got ambitions to take this team forward. It really is a special group of guys to be involved with and I don’t want to give that up too early.”We’ve got a lot to play for in the back end of the season with the quarter-finals and trying to avoid relegation, which would be a huge achievement. There is a bigger picture as well which is about having another year to continue to create a culture that will hopefully be around for another five to ten years. I’m certain that the backbone of this side, with the youngsters coming through, will be strong for years to come.”Having won the title with a young, largely homegrown side in 2013, Durham have struggled with a restricted budget and injuries to their formidable bowling attack, most significantly Graham Onions. They are currently eighth in Division One, having played a game less than Lancashire in seventh, and will hope for a similar run to two years ago, when they won five of their last six games after Collingwood replaced Phil Mustard as captain.Durham’s head coach, Jon Lewis, added: “Everyone at the club is delighted that Paul will be continuing his career. His contribution as a player, leader and character in the dressing room is difficult to measure. It is a big lift for everyone knowing that he will be with us next year”

Adam Lyth added the Professional Cricketers’ Association player of the year award to his collection of trophies from the 2014 season with team-mate Alex Lees named young player of the year.

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Oct-2014Adam Lyth added the Professional Cricketers’ Association player of the year award to his collection of trophies from the 2014 season with team-mate Alex Lees named young player of the year.A day earlier, Lyth, 27, was honoured by the Cricket Writers’ Club as their Championship player of the season after scoring 1489 runs at 67.68 in Yorkshire’s first title success since 2001. He was the leading first-class runscorer in the country and has been called up for the England Performance Programme’s trip to Sri Lanka.”It’s a very proud moment to be voted for by your peers who you’ve played against all year,” Lyth said of the PCA accolade at the annual PCA awards at Old Billingsgate in London. “It’s been a fantastic season for both Yorkshire and me and I’ll never forget the feeling on that Friday when we took the final wicket against Notts at Trent Bridge to clinch the title.”Lees, 21, ensured a Yorkshire double of the top awards, voted for by county cricketers. His opening partnership with Lyth was a cornerstone of the White Rose success. Lees was also similarly crowned by the Cricket Writers’ Club.”To join such a long list of illustrious players is very humbling,” Lees said. “I’ve thoroughly enjoyed batting with Adam and we’ve thrived on each other’s successes. But we couldn’t have played how we did without the support of our bowling attack and the rest of the team.”Angus Porter, chief executive of the players’ union, added: “Many congratulations to Adam and Alex. The list of past winners bears testament to the fact that the people best placed to judge outstanding performances are fellow professionals.”The team of the year featured Lyth and three other Yorkshiremen, Joe Root, Gary Ballance and Jack Brooks, who led the county’s attack with 68 wickets at 28.02 – the third-best haul in the country. Kent’s Darren Stevens, who was also named NatWest T20 Blast player of the year, was included, along with Jeetan Patel, who was the most successful spinner in the country and played a key part in Warwickshire reaching both one-day finals.Full awards
Reg Hayter Cup for the PCA Player of the Year Adam Lyth (Yorkshire)
John Arlott Cup for the PCA Young Player of the Year Alex Lees (Yorkshire)
ECB Special Award David Collier
PCA Special Merit Award Micky Stewart
NatWest T20 Blast Player of the Year Darren Stevens (Kent)
Royal London One-Day Cup Player of the Year Paul Collingwood (Durham)
Sky Sports Sixes Award Luke Wright (Sussex)
England FTI MVP of the Summer James Anderson (Lancashire)
Waitrose Women’s Player of the Summer Charlotte Edwards
Investec Test Player of the Summer James AndersonTeam of the Year
Adam Lyth (Yorkshire)
Daryl Mitchell (Worcestershire, capt)
Alex Hales (Nottinghamshire and England)
Joe Root (Yorkshire and England)
Gary Ballance (Yorkshire and England)
Tom Smith (Lancashire)
Darren Stevens (Kent)
Jos Buttler (Lancashire and England)
Jack Brooks (Yorkshire)
Jeetan Patel (Warwickshire)
James Anderson (Lancashire and England)