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Malan thrives in the rain as McCullum bows out at Lord's

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Lord’s was forced to wait through the rain for Brendon McCullum’s first and last appearance at the ground this season

Will Macpherson at Lord's23-Jun-2016

ScorecardJohn Simpson applied a speedy finish to Middlesex’s innings•Getty Images

Until last Thursday, when Sussex came to town, Middlesex had never had a Twenty20 at Lord’s in which the weather had prevented a ball being bowled. For much of this Thursday, it looked as though they would be treated to two in as many games. Lord’s, fascinatingly, were not insured for the washout. With each fixture costing some £100,000 to stage, those refunds burned even deep MCC pockets.These, of course, were to be Brendon McCullum’s only two games at Lord’s. This place had waited long enough to see McCullum in Middlesex colours. Since arriving, he has given cricket’s most notable speech of the year – at this very ground, and played plenty of shots in the process. He has rung the five-minute bell to kick off the Saturday of a Test match. He has played at two outgrounds – Radlett and Merchant Taylor’s – and even appeared across town at The Oval, smiting at least one vast six at each.When the clouds did eventually part – with another hearty crowd of 10,000 in attendance – to allow a nine-over thrash, McCullum’s opening partner Dawid Malan gave the game away, saying: “I think with McCullum playing, the MCC were pretty keen to get us on.” No one was up for another round of refunds. Everyone wanted to watch McCullum bat.Few appreciate the effort it takes just to get McCullum on a cricket field these days. His back is in pieces, and requires as much as three hours with a physiotherapist before playing – for the first time ever, Middlesex’s physio has been travelling to away games to get him up and running. Recently, McCullum was able to do little more than smile when Lord’s filmed a rather nice little video in which Middlesex players tried to replicate Albert Trott’s achievement – unsurpassed since 1899 – of smiting a ball over the Pavilion. His back prevented him having a go.The Malan and McCullum partnership took 21 from Tim Groenewald’s opening over, all but three of them the captain’s, including a magical flick to midwicket for six off his first ball and a drive over extra cover for six more. Thereafter, though, things became sticky, and they did not double those 21 until the penultimate ball of the sixth over, and they had lost three wickets by then. McCullum was caught behind, a ball after smiting Lewis Gregory through the covers for four. The following two overs featured a wicket each, with Paul Stirling caught well at cow off Max Waller, and James Franklin bowled without scoring by Roloef van der Merwe.John Simpson joined Malan to bookend the innings. Simpson hooked a six, cracked a four down the ground then headed to wide midwicket for six more. In the meantime, Malan had contented himself with singles until launching into Jamie Overton’s final over, driving down the ground for six, then taking four more with the deftest, classiest ramp, and – from the final ball – going inside-out over extra cover for six, which brought up his 50 from 28 balls and, more importantly, took Middlesex past 90, which looked par.Allenby flew out of the blocks, pulling his first ball – from Steven Finn – to midwicket for six, before James Fuller did him for pace and he miscued into the offside and was caught. Two balls later, Finn’s quite brilliant catch – running 30 metres to his right at long-on and diving – did for Johan Myburgh. Next ball, bowled by James Franklin, Mahela Jayawardene drove hard and uppish through point, where Paul Stirling dived to his right and took another outstanding catch.There were to be cameos, but little more, from Somerset. The following over Nathan Sowter, a gangly legspinner with a deep box of tricks, bowled Peter Trego with his googly, and another fine catch – McCullum, straight, this time – sent Lewis Gregory on his way. Van der Merwe held Middlesex up, with a marvellous ramped four and a brutal cover-driven six off Fuller.With 13 required off the last, bowled by Finn, Jamie Overton was caught at long on – that man McCullum again – before van der Merwe appeared to be caught and bowled next ball, only for the delivery to be adjudged a waist-high no-ball and a free hit – scrambled for two – given. With six needed from two, Finn conceded just one.Off, then, McCullum trots from Lord’s, with a final appearance of the season in Canterbury to come – he says he wants to come back next year, and is already leaving behind a team batting and fielding in his image. It is only a shame he could not stay longer, and we all know why that is.

'Not going to be a day-five pitch' – Law

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With Australia heading into the final day of the Pallekele Test needing 185 runs, and Sri Lanka requiring seven wickets, Australia’s batting coach Stuart Law believes the dry, hard surface could aid his batsmen

Andrew Fidel Fernando29-Jul-20162:10

‘We won’t play to draw’ – Law

In four completed Tests at the Pallekele Stadium, Sri Lanka have never been winners. In the only matches that reached a fourth innings, chasing sides have found no terrors on the pitch, particularly when Pakistan ran down 377 in the most recent Test at the venue.With 185 more runs to get and seven wickets in hand, Australia batting coach Stuart Law is hoping the trend continues. Both teams were shot out for relatively modest first-innings totals, but counter to what is usually believed about Asian surfaces, Law said batting had become easier since then.”It’s not going to be a day-five pitch,” he said. “We have played like three days thanks to the rain and light interruptions. History says that teams have chased big totals here before. Those pitches might have been prepared differently than for us, coming in.”This pitch doesn’t look like deteriorating a great deal. If you look at the footmarks, big Mitchell Starc has been bowling left-arm over, and has hardly broken the surface. It’s hard as concrete and it’s very dry. Overnight these conditions do tend to get the moisture back up into the surface. The first half-hour to an hour, can be tricky. But the wicket drying up shouldn’t be a problem. The first two days it was tacky in the mornings. But it’s progressively dried out, and is probably at its driest now.”But it is exactly that lack of moisture that Sri Lanka will hope their spinners will be able to exploit on day five. Several deliveries took sharp turn on day four – particularly Lakshan Sandakan’s stock ball to dismiss Joe Burns – and with three frontline spinners in his XI, Sri Lanka coach Graham Ford hoped the seven wickets would be forthcoming.”I think we’ve fought really hard to get ourselves into a situation when we can win this Test match,” he said. “Pleasingly, a few balls started to turn quite sharply before the players came off for bad light. Hoping tomorrow that a few things will go our way, and we’ll be able to press home.”Ford also said Sri Lanka would have been “in the driving seat” had the lbw decision against Adam Voges been upheld. Voges had been given out when rapped on the pad first ball by Dilruwan Perera, but projections showed that ball to be missing leg stump. Voges remains at the crease with Steven Smith, and the two are reputed to be Australia’s best players of spin.”They are class players and their records are outstanding,” Ford said. “The partnership is crucial and if we can break it in the morning – who knows what can happen? Day-five pitch – I know it hasn’t had a full four days on it, but it is a wearing wicket. One just has to misbehave, and that can break a partnership.”Law agreed that the overnight stand was a crucial one. “The two guys who are batting at the moment need to put up a good partnership,” he said. “Everyone else has to chip in where they can. We are still confident. We always want to play to win and not to draw.”

Patel a class apart as Warwickshire's gameplan pays off

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Jeetan Patel was hailed as ‘one of the best overseas players Warwickshire have ever had’ by Ian Bell a match-winning five-wicket haul

George Dobell at Edgbaston29-Aug-2016
ScorecardJeetan Patel claimed a five-wicket haul – all lbw – as Warwickshire earned a trip to Lord’s•Getty Images

Jeetan Patel was hailed as “one of the best overseas players Warwickshire have ever had” by Ian Bell after his career-best one-day bowling performance guided his side to the final of the Royal London Cup.Patel, with the first five-wicket haul of a limited-overs career that stretches back to the previous century, expertly applied pressure on a Somerset batting order chasing a testing target on a slow, used surface. With some balls turning and some skidding on, Patel claimed all his dismissals with leg before shouts, punishing Somerset’s habit of playing across the line. Warwickshire will play Surrey in the final at Lord’s on September 17.When Patel signed for Warwickshire in 2009, he looked a modest addition. He was not the sort of star name that increased the gate and did not have the sort of record – he had a first-class bowling average above 40 – that suggested he would prove a match-winner.But a star he has been. He has taken at least 50 wickets in each of the last five first-class county seasons – he is the leading wicket-taker in Division One of the County Championship this year – improved his batting to the point where he averages 26.69 for Warwickshire in first-class cricket (with two centuries and 11 half-centuries) and proved himself indispensable. He deserves to be rated, alongside Allan Donald, Brian Lara, Rohan Kanhai and the rest, as the best Warwickshire have had.He has already agreed to return in 2017 and, if the club ask, will sign for 2018 as well. He insists he has not thought about qualifying for England (“wouldn’t I just be holding back a young fella?” was his typically no nonsense response to that question) but admitted it was an intriguing idea. Nobody in England bowls spin anywhere near this standard.Or New Zealand for that matter. But Patel turned down the last approach for a recall a couple of years ago reasoning that leaving in the middle of a county season may compromise his relatively secure day job with Warwickshire for two weeks of modestly-paid international cricket. He is, though, a far better bowler – and batsman, actually – than the man who last played international cricket in January 2013.He did not play a lone hand here, though. Oliver Hannon-Dalby, bowling with control and skill, produced his best Warwickshire performance of the season and gained movement off the seam that was largely absent to other seamers, while Warwickshire’s top three all batted with maturity and skill. Both teams felt their final total – 284 – was about 20 above par on this surface.The Warwickshire method is not fashionable. Whereas conventional wisdom insists that modern batsmen must blast the ball into the stands, Warwickshire have several accumulators who are more adept at finding gaps, rotating the strike and playing the percentages.Perhaps, on the perfect batting tracks that currently prevail in ODIs, such a tactic might be passé, but on county surfaces (this pitch had been used on T20 Finals Day) it is highly effective. You pretty much know what you’re going to get from them: they scored 283 in both their previous List A games and 284 here.Sam Hain, now the leading run-scorer in the competition this season, set the tone in an opening stand of 90 with Jonathan Trott. While Trott, who looks in sublime form, was deceived by a fine slower ball from Roelof van der Merwe, Bell judged the conditions expertly and produced his highest score in any format since the second week of April in ensuring they set a testing target. “You’re going to see a lot of Hain in the future,” Bell said afterwards.Warwickshire only managed one boundary from the end of the 33rd over to mid-way through the 45th (and only hit three fours in their last 10 overs) and, from a base of 149 for 1` after 30 overs, may have felt they finished 20 or so short of the total they wanted.But Bell provided some late acceleration. He took 16 off van der Merwe’s final three balls, rather denting his figures in the process, with one of the two sixes driven into the third tier of Warwickshire’s new pavilion. It is hard to recall a bigger hit since the redevelopment.With Tim Ambrose injured while batting – he appears to pull a hamstring, though Warwickshire say they are confident that he will be fit for their Championship match against Middlesex in mid-week – Somerset sportingly allowed Warwickshire to bring in Alex Mellor as a specialist substitute with the gloves.Mellor, who has been on loan with Derbyshire and had never before kept for Warwickshire in first team cricket, was just settling down for an afternoon in the sun of his Staffordshire garden when the phone went demanding his presence at Edgbaston, but he made good time and took the gloves a few overs into the Somerset reply.He took a key catch, too. Tom Abell, had batted beautifully in adding 75 with Peter Trego and appeared to have put Somerset on track. But with Hannon-Dalby’s tight first spell increasing the pressure, Abell attempted to hit one from Chris Wright through mid-on and somehow edged a high catch to young Mellor.When Trego missed an attempted pull off Patel, it precipitated a decline that saw four wickets fall – all to Patel and all leg before – for the addition of just 16 runs. Warwickshire supporters started booking their trains and hotels.But Ryan Davies, hitting the ball with a crispness that belied a previous List A best of just 14, had other ideas. He added 71 in 10 overs with James Hildreth, who survived a missed stumping off Josh Poysden when he had 17 and, even after the latter drove to mid-off and Davies became Patel’s final victim, Tom Groenewald and Max Waller continued the charge.But Hannon-Dalby wasn’t going to allow 16 required off the final over and it was Warwickshire who progressed to Lord’s.It is to be hoped it raises spirits around Edgbaston. There have been faces as long as Livery Street – as they say locally – round here of late with a disappointing T20 campaign followed by a decline in the Championship. This cup run does not make everything better – there were only three locally developed players in this Warwickshire side (Somerset fielded six) that remains uncomfortably reliant upon cricketers in their mid-30s – but it will perhaps prove enough of a boost to end talk of a clear-out.”We showed some character,” Matt Maynard, the Somerset coach said afterwards. “We looked dead and buried a few times there. But we let the rate get up when we batted and we let them score 20 too many when we bowled. It was only the second game we have lost all competition, but it’s in a semi-final.””Our fielding standards can improve,” Bell said. “But I’m very proud of the way we’ve played. Jeetan goes under the radar a bit, but he is one of the best overseas players Warwickshire have ever had. We’re lucky to have him.”

India A go on top with two points from washout

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Rain caused the abandonment of the second match at Harrup Park in Mackay, between South Africa A and India A, giving the teams two points each

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Aug-2016Match abandoned
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details1:56

‘We’re at the peak of our game’ – Kedar Jadhav

Rain caused the abandonment of the second match at Harrup Park in Mackay, after South Africa A bowled 35.2 overs against India A. The first match there, between Australia A and National Performance Squad, had been abandoned without a ball bowled on Wednesday, due to a wet and unsafe outfield.South Africa opted to bowl on Thursday and had the India batsmen on a leash for the most part. Openers Mandeep Singh and Karun Nair put on 31 in eight overs before Nair was dismissed by Dwaine Pretorius for 15. Thereafter, No. 3 Shreyas Iyer handed a thick edge to first slip off Andile Phehlukwayo for 4, and Mandeep was bowled for 29 off 51 by medium-pacer Malusi Siboto. India were in trouble at 69 for 3 in the 20th over.They were rescued by a partnership of 70 between captain Manish Pandey and Kedar Jadhav. They batted together for 15.1 overs as Pandey scored 47 off 73 to continue his good form. The stand was broken when Pandey was bowled by Phehlukwayo in the 35th over. Jadhav was unbeaten on 41 off 53 and Sanju Samson on 0 off 4 when rain interrupted in the next over to put a premature end to proceedings, giving the teams two points each. Pretorius had bowled his 10 overs by then for 1 for 25 with two maidens.India A went on top of the points table with a total of 11 points from four matches, followed by NPS with 10, and South Africa A and Australia A with seven points each.

New Zealand 'positive' about Williamson's return

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On a day when BCCI’s old guard fought in the court for its existence, thousands saw the two Test teams practice with return of Kane Williamson and Gautam Gambhir likely for Indore’s debut Test

Sidharth Monga in Indore06-Oct-20161:58

Williamson likely to return for Indore Test – Jurgensen

By the time the New Zealand team arrived at the Holkar Stadium for an optional training session at around 10am, about 500 people were already in the stands. They cheered Kane Williamson, the New Zealand captain who had missed the last Test because of illness, on. They were happy Williamson was batting in the nets. If Williamson played a good shot or raised his bat to them, they clapped. If he missed, they ooh-ed and aah-ed. By the time the Indian team arrived in the afternoon this number had swollen to about 4000. Mostly students, they queued up patiently outside the ground, and proved to be no hindrance to the preparation of either the teams or the ground staff once they got in. They sat patiently in the stands and watched.The Holkar Stadium apparently has a tradition to let the fans enter the ground for even the practice sessions. This is a luxury in India. Other stadiums generally consider the fans an inconvenience; going by the BCCI ticketing practices these grounds would rather look after only the broadcasters and the VIPs, who are given complimentary passes. On a day when the old guard of the BCCI was fighting for its existence in the Supreme Court, a ground that was gearing up for its Test debut was showing the way.Out in the middle, preparations went on regardless. Williamson batting in the nets, and having a bit of a bowl was good news for New Zealand. “It’s looking positive,” Shane Jurgensen, New Zealand’s bowling coach, said. “Final confirmation on that will probably be tomorrow. We trained today, and he did some batting and had a decent hit and a run around. We’ll have another look at him tomorrow, but it looks positive.”India welcomed a senior face as well. Gautam Gambhir, who last played for India in 2014, was the first one to pad up for India. India’s batting coach Sanjay Bangar empathised with Gambhir’s situation; he gets one Test, and it is quite possible he is usurped by both the injured openers by the time England come. Bangar, however, refused to rule him out for the rest of the season. “Gautam Gambhir is a quality player; what he has done really for himself, for the time he was out of the Indian team he kept on performing for his franchise and state side,” Bangar said. “When he got an opportunity in the Duleep Trophy, he was one of the top scorers there. That too against the pink ball, which certain batsmen found was difficult to pick. Yes, he ticked all boxes. Untimely injury to KL Rahul Shikhar Dhawan made sure that there is a place for him. He is something of a quality performer. Proven record against spin bowling. And the number of Test matches we are going to play in India, he becomes an important player right at the top of the order.”Gautam Gambhir is set to play his first Test since August 2014•Getty Images

Gambhir has come back with runs in Duleep Trophy, and with an open stance, at least half the way to what Shivnarine Chanderpaul had. Gambhir has worked on it with Justin Langer and Langer’s personal coach Neil Holder. The need of the hour, though, might be a change for the New Zealand spinners to work on. Their batsmen have shown a lot of discipline to make India’s bowlers work hard, a fact R Ashwin has acknowledged in his interview with , but they have been undone by natural variation for the India bowlers. India exploit it more because their spinners bowl with the seam parallel to the ground whereas the New Zealand spinners – like others who visit Asia – bowl with the seam pointing to fine leg at 45 degrees.”It was certainly something we were working on before we came to India,” Jurgensen said. “It doesn’t come as naturally, we bowl a different way where we come from. But the boys have been working on it to get that natural variation. Every game we’ve improved.”It was refreshing to see the talk return to seam positions and India’s mindset of not even thinking of losing in crunch situations, thus, according to Bangar, being clear in their minds. It must not be easy for the players from either side to be clear in these times. India’s players are used to answering to the BCCI even though the money in cricket is public’s and generated because of them. They must be wondering what lies ahead. New Zealand’s players must be aware the BCCI is capable of carrying through with its threats of pulling out of a series, and would have spent the two days after the Kolkata Test in limbo. There was no information from their hosts, the BCCI.Once again, though, if the practice sessions and the response two days before Indore’s debut Test are anything to go by, on the field it is almost certain to be business as usual.

Cooper, Ferguson punish Western Australia

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Centuries from Callum Ferguson and Tom Cooper put South Australia in a dominant position as they ended the second day of their day-night Sheffield Shield match against Western Australia with a lead of 203

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Oct-2016
ScorecardTom Cooper headlined South Australia’s day of dominance with a rapid century•Getty Images

Callum Ferguson marked his 100th first-class match with a century to help South Australia establish a first-innings lead of 203 on the second day of their day-night Sheffield Shield match against Western Australia at the WACA.Ferguson was left with the unenviable task of pulling South Australia out of a spot, after they had been reduced to 2 for 16 at stumps on the opening day. South Australia ended the day on 8 for 474, after Western Australia had declared on 9 for 271, courtesy a half-century from Shaun Marsh, who returned from a hamstring injury. While Ferguson took the team close to the 200-mark, it was Tom Cooper who helped them surge ahead, scoring a century of his own and putting on 198 for the seventh wicket with wicketkeeper Alex Carey to frustrate Western Australia.Ferguson collected his runs at 79.52 per 100 balls, while Cooper was even more severe, striking at 89.61 as South Australia slammed 458 runs in 93 overs on the day. Ferguson added 60 more for the third wicket with overnight partner and nightwatchman Joe Mennie, who struck 32. Ferguson was then joined by South Australia captain Travis Head, and the duo added 122 for the fourth wicket at nearly a run a ball. Ferguson was dismissed by left-arm paceman Jason Behrendorff, who had rocked the visiting team late on the opening day. He had faced 127 balls for his 101 and struck 18 fours. Head fell three overs later for a 61-ball 66, 52 of which came through fours.Cooper started off by adding 55 for the sixth wicket with Jake Lehmann. After Lehmann’s dismissal for 29 – his strike rate of 59.18 was the lowest among all South Australia batsmen to record double figures – Cooper and Carey took charge and punished the home team’s bowlers for 38.5 overs, going at nearly five an over during their stand. The carnage ended with Cooper’s dismissal, bowled by Agar, for 138 off 154 balls, a knock that featured 10 fours and a six. Carey was dismissed by the same bowler, caught behind in his next over, for a more sedate 121-ball 79. A rare slow passage followed thereafter, with Kane Richardson and Chadd Sayers adding 12 unbeaten runs off 26 balls for the ninth wicket, before stumps were drawn.Benrendorff was the most successful bowler, with 3 for 70, and also the most economical of the main Western Australia bowlers. Marsh and Agar took two wickets each, but were both expensive, as was David Moody, the right-arm pacer, who accounted for Head.

Khulna go on top with six-wicket win

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Khulna Titans went to six wins off eight matches as they beat Barisal Bulls by six wickets

Mohammad Isam25-Nov-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMahmudullah’s 36* was his fourth 30-plus score in eight BPL matches•Raton Gomes/BCB

Khulna Titans took sole lead of the BPL after their six-wicket win over Barisal Bulls. Khulna’s bowling returned to its parsimonious ways, rattling Barisal with early wickets and remaining disciplined as they notched up their sixth win in eight games. Junaid Khan, Shafiul Islam and Mosharraf Hossain took a wicket each, and their fielding was mostly tight.Barisal lost their openers by the fifth over before Shahriar Nafees and Mushfiqur Rahim added 42 runs for the third wicket. But once Nafees fell lbw to Mosharraf, Barisal further lost Nadif Chowdhury and Mushfiqur to run-outs, with Nadif falling to a cheeky bit of work by Khulna wicketkeeper Nicholas Pooran.It could have been worse had Junaid latched on to an easy chance at long-on, offered by Thisara Perera who, along with Enamul Haque, helped Barisal eke out 38 runs in the last five overs.Khulna’s first chase in the tournament started poorly after they lost two wickets cheaply. Mohammad Hasanuzzaman and Rikki Wessels were both unlucky, having been bowled by deliveries that kept low.Taibur Rahman and Shuvagata Hom got the chase on track with a 33-run third-wicket stand, before Shuvagata and Mahmudullah got them closer to the target with their 57-run fourth-wicket partnership.Shuvagata’s 40 off 34 balls was his highest score in the BPL. His boundaries came mostly on the leg side, pulling fours over mid-on and fine leg, while hammering Monir Hossain for a big six over long-on. Mahmudullah struck a four over cover apart from hitting two beautiful straight sixes. The win was achieved with eight balls to spare.

Morgan 'comfortable' over Bangladesh pullout

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Eoin Morgan has said he remains ‘comfortable’ with his decision not to take part in England’s tour of Bangladesh due to his concerns over the security situation

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Dec-2016Eoin Morgan has said he remains “comfortable” with his decision not to take part in England’s tour of Bangladesh due to his concerns over the security situation.Morgan and Alex Hales made themselves unavailable for the tour following the terror attacks in the country earlier this year despite the unprecedented levels of security the team were granted for the visit.Andrew Strauss, the managing director of England cricket, who gave the players the right to choose, said an individual’s decision would not be held against them in future selection. Morgan, who is currently in Australia for a spell at the Big Bash for Sydney Thunder, has been recalled to captain the limited-overs squads in India next month. Hales has also been included with Ben Duckett, who made two half-centuries in the one-day series win over Bangladesh, losing his place.”I wasn’t comfortable travelling because of security concerns and I weighed up the question ‘would I be able to perform as a captain and as a player given the security concerns in Bangladesh?'” Morgan said. “I’m still comfortable with it. It is something I considered before confirming my decision to the ECB. I tried to imagine all the different circumstances and didn’t feel comfortable enough in my mind to go and be able to perform.”I have had a great deal of support, everyone who I trust in a tight-knit circle has supported me, everyone within the game that I trust has supported me, players ex and current who I lean on for big decisions. It’s been really good, it was a difficult decision to make and I don’t think a lot of people would have made it but I am certainly happy with the decision that I have made.”Shortly before Morgan confirmed his decision not to tour he cited being involved in previous security scares in both Bangladesh, when he played domestic cricket 2013-14, and India, during the 2010 IPL, as a factor that was weighing heavily on his mind. He has since returned to India on both international and IPL duty but explained that his concerns over Bangladesh also stemmed from the fact that England were the first western team to tour there since the attacks in Dhaka on July 1.”I think one thing that had changed from 2010 in India was that other teams had travelled there and security had increased, also since then there had been no terrorist attacks or sightings or threats in regard to either a tournament or a national team,” he said. “I think going to Bangladesh and being the first western team to travel there since the terrorist attack and the fact that Australia had pulled out even before the terrorist attack happened, was another reason.”England’s three-match one-day series begins in Pune on January 15 and is followed by a three-match T20 series. The first half of 2017 is entirely one-day focused for England with a short tour to West Indies followed by series against Ireland and South Africa in May ahead of the Champions Trophy.

Rahul 199 leads strong India reply

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KL Rahul fell one short of a maiden double-hundred after leading India’s response to England’s 477 in excellent batting conditions at the MA Chidambaram Stadium

The Report by Karthik Krishnaswamy18-Dec-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details2:11

Chopra: Signs of a ‘very, very special’ player in Rahul

KL Rahul fell one short of a maiden double-hundred after leading India’s response to England’s 477 in excellent batting conditions at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. India dominated the first and third sessions of day three, thanks to two big partnerships involving Rahul: 152 for the first wicket with Parthiv Patel, and 161 for the fourth with Karun Nair. At stumps, India trailed by 86 with six wickets in hand, with Nair batting on 71. With him on 17 was M Vijay, who came in at No. 6 rather than his customary position at the top of the order because of a shoulder injury sustained while fielding.Having been at the crease for more than 100 overs, Rahul fell with stumps imminent. He walked off distraught, after reaching for a loopy, wide ball from Adil Rashid and spooning a catch to cover point, but by then he had ensured India were the likeliest of the two sides to force a win over the last two days.The draw, though, still seemed the likeliest result. It took until the 102nd over of India’s innings for England to call for their first review (another followed in the very next over; both were unsuccessful), indicating how friendly conditions were to bat in. But given the skill of India’s spinners, they may yet coax more life out of the Chepauk soil than their England counterparts.Rahul has had a stop-start series, missing the first and third Tests with injury, and had only made a top score of 24 in his three previous innings. He had been out to loose shots in all three innings, and he made at least one noticeable adjustment here, standing with his feet either side of the crease against the seamers rather than outside it. Perhaps the extra time this gave him allowed him to judge his off stump better, and he was far more certain when tested in the corridor.But his best work came against the spinners, against whom he laid down an early statement of intent, hitting Liam Dawson for sixes in the third and fifth overs of the morning. He continued to use his feet decisively thereafter, and reverse-swept with authority. Rahul’s mastery of the spinners played a big part in Rashid and Moeen Ali ending day three with a combined economy rate of 4.19 across 41 overs. Dawson, who offered more control but less of a wicket threat, bowled 23 overs, getting through more work than Alastair Cook may have wanted from his left-arm spinner.Nair joined his Karnataka team-mate Rahul at 211 for 3, after India had lost three wickets for 59 runs. This mini-slump began before lunch, with the wicket of Parthiv. Both openers had scored freely – at a run-rate of 3.63 overall, and at 4.21 on the third morning – and had looked in no trouble, with Parthiv playing some stunning straight and on-drives, showing the full face of his bat, off Stuart Broad. Then, having entered the 70s for the first time in his Test career, he fell in a moment of overconfidence. Having stepped out and whipped Moeen Ali over wide mid-on two balls previously, Parthiv left his crease again. This time, the ball drifted in a touch further, making him aim squarer and close his bat face. It also turned more, and looped to cover off the leading edge.On a pitch that offered them little help, England’s seamers took the key wickets of Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli. Pujara had begun ominously, hitting Adil Rashid for two fours in one over, but fell to an uncharacteristic shot in the third over after lunch, poking at a shortish, fifth-stump ball from Ben Stokes and edging to slip.Then Stuart Broad sent back Kohli, who hadn’t been dismissed for under 40 in his seven previous innings in this series, for 15. With Broad moving around the wicket and slanting the ball across him, Kohli had looked intent on putting bat to ball, leaving only occasionally, more often moving across his stumps to defend punchily into the off side. Then Broad slipped in a full, wide slower legcutter. Failing to spot the change of pace, Kohli drove early and into the lap of short cover.Rahul, who had by then moved to his fourth Test hundred, made a strategic retreat once Kohli fell, quietly picking up the runs offered to him by England’s defensive fields and cutting out the reverse-sweep entirely. Every now and then, he reminded England of his range of strokes: an inside-out drive through the covers off Rashid, a ramp over the slips when Stokes banged it short, and a beautifully placed flick off the legs, off Joe Root, when he deigned to bowl to him without a deep square leg.That shot brought up Rahul’s 150, in the 83rd over of India’s innings. England took the new ball two overs later, and the runs flowed quicker. Both batsmen sent edges flying through the slips – a loose drive from Nair was edged close enough to Cook at first slip to count as a half-chance – but there were also some pretty shots: a square-cut from Rahul off Broad, and a straight drive from Nair, also off the same bowler. This was the second time he had hit him in that direction, though this time it was the full-faced version rather than the wristy whip that had brought him his first boundary, before tea.India scored 35 runs in the eight overs that Broad and Jake Ball bowled with the second new ball, and continued to score quickly when the spinners returned. Nair reverse-slapped Moeen to the point boundary, then Rahul launched him for a straight six. A swept four off Rashid took him to 199, before he played, as he later put it, “a horrible shot”.

Quetta Gladiators look to replicate last season's form

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Quetta Gladiators started off strongly last year, losing only two games during their run to the final – but eventually fell short against Islamabad. Can a refurbished side go one better?

Danyal Rasool08-Feb-20170:48

Will Quetta Gladiators fight their way to the top?

Inaugural season results
Quetta Gladiators were the form team of the group stages last year, demonstrating what could be achieved with savvy recruitment as opposed to throwing money at the big names. After six wins in their eight group-stage games, they eked out a thrilling one-run victory against Peshawar to qualify for the final. That was as good as it got, the Gladiators finding themselves outplayed by an Islamabad side which was flying by that stage, ending a dynamic first season somewhat meekly.Team assessmentOf the five franchises in the format last year, Quetta Gladiators had, by far, the lowest profile. However, their 2016 results mean they won’t be flying under anyone’s radar this time around. They are led by Sarfraz Ahmed, who looks like the clear favourite to take over Pakistan’s limited-overs captaincy, and whose chances were certainly done no harm by his ability to make an unassuming Quetta side click last season.Quetta have retained their biggest foreign stars Kevin Pietersen and Luke Wright, as well as a large number of local players who exceeded expectations 12 months ago. But a number of new players have been drafted in, including Sri Lankan allrounder Thisara Perera, South Africa’s Rilee Rossouw, and Bangladesh’s Mahmudullah Riyad.Exciting English quick Tymal Mills, who can comfortably exceed speeds of 90mph in addition to possessing a devilishly disguised slower ball, has also been brought in. With Umar Gul well past his prime and David Willey replaced by Nathan McCullum, proven fast bowling resources are scant for Quetta, meaning Mills is almost guaranteed a starting berth.Opener Ahmed Shehzad is another concern for the team from Balochistan. When recruited last year, he was one of Pakistan’s most valuable limited-overs players, and ended up being the fourth highest run-scorer of the tournament. But his stock has fallen sharply since. He has lost his place in the national team, having played almost no international cricket since last year’s PSL. Should he struggle this time around, it could put a lot of pressure on the likes of Mohammad Nawaz and Anwar Ali, last year’s brightest local boys, to simply pick up where they left off last February.Ahmed Shehzad was the tournament’s fourth-highest scorer last season with 290 runs at a strike rate of over 140•Chris Whiteoak

Key foreign player
It would be neither informative nor original to say Kevin Pietersen’s performance will be important to Quetta Gladiators’ success this tournament, but his countryman Tymal Mills’ T20 performances have also begun to catch the eye. In the recently concluded Super Smash, a T20 competition in New Zealand, Mills was among the top ten wicket-takers, and, at 6.61 per over, had the best economy rate of anyone who bowled more than 16 overs. After a pair of impressive games for Brisbane Heat during the Big Bash, he was called up by England for the T20 series against India. He mixes express pace with cunning slower deliveries, making him a useful asset at both top and tail of an innings. With the Gladiators looking rather thin in the fast bowling department, Mills could quickly establish himself as leader of the pace attack.Under the radar local lad
Not much is known about 18-year old slow left arm bowler Hasan Khan, and the numbers aren’t particularly impressive. But ask Quetta Gladiators head coach Moin Khan which player fans should watch out for, the response is immediate: Hasan Khan. He’s an Under-19 Pakistan international who Moin thinks has potential to go all the way. On paper, his brand of cricket – left-arm spin bowling – is well suited to the slow wickets of Sharjah and Dubai. Just ask his teammate Mohammad Nawaz.Availability
Carlos Brathwaite and Rovman Powell of the West Indies will miss the tournament, after the WICB made it mandatory for players seeking national selection to play in the Reigional Super 50, the domestic one-day cup. Moeen Ali was initially drafted, but he withdrew to undertake the Umrah pilgrimage, so Mahmudullah Riyad and Thisara Perera have been called up to replace the West Indian duo. International commitments mean Mohammad Nabi misses out, replaced by Rilee Rossouw. In addition, David Willey was dropped in favour of Black Caps allrounder Nathan McCullum.Coaches and Staff
Moin Khan (head coach), Sir Vivian Richards (batting coach/mentor), Abdul Razzaq (bowling coach), Julien Fountain (fielding coach)Quetta Gladiators squad
Sarfraz Ahmed (c, wk), Kevin Pietersen, Ahmed Shehzad, Luke Wright, Anwar Ali, Tymal Mills, Umar Gul, Zulfiqar Babar, Mohammad Nawaz, Rilee Rossouw, Mahmudullah, Asad Shafiq, Saad Nasim, Umer Amin, Hassaan Khan, Noor Ali.
Supplementary players: Nathan McCullum, Thisara Perera, Bismillah Khan, Mir Hamza