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Nick Larkin and Scott Henry each scored a maiden first-class century that gave New South Wales a 256-run lead by stumps on the third day in Adelaide

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Nov-2014
ScorecardScott Henry scored his maiden first-class hundred•Getty Images and Cricket AustraliaNick Larkin and Scott Henry each scored a maiden first-class century that gave New South Wales a 256-run lead by stumps on the third day in Adelaide. At the close of play in the day-night game, Henry was unbeaten on 107 and had just lost his partner Daniel Hughes for 21, and the Blues had moved along to 4 for 319 having conceded a first-innings lead to South Australia.Opener Larkin completed an outstanding match in just his second first-class appearance, adding 130 to his first-innings 78. Born in Taree in country New South Wales, Larkin has an Irish passport owing to his Dublin-born grandfather and has played one-day games for Ireland in July this year, but is now making his name for his home state.He put on 77 with Ryan Carters for the first wicket before that stand ended with a brilliant catch by Chadd Sayers, who dived to his left at mid-on to give Adam Zampa his first wicket. Larkin was then joined by Henry, who has been well-regarded ever since scoring 207 for the Cricket Australia Chairman’s XI in a tour game against the Sri Lankans in December 2012.However, that game did not have first-class status and it was not until this game, his 23rd first-class match, that he reached his first century. The day had started with the Redbacks on 9 for 290 and they added only three to their overnight total before Gurinder Sandhu finished the innings by collecting his fourth wicket.

Brendan Taylor’s record 171, the highest score by a Zimbabwe Test captain, pushed the home side to a strong total against Bangladesh on the second day

The Report by Mohammad Isam18-Apr-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsBrendan Taylor made the highest Test score by a Zimbabwe captain•Associated PressA positive response from the Bangladesh batsmen livened up the first Test in Harare. Bangladesh batted freely in the 25 overs they had to face before the close of play, after Brendan Taylor’s 171 – the highest by a Zimbabwe Test captain – guided his team to a challenging score.With exactly 100 minutes left in the day and much to lose in that tricky period, openers Shahriar Nafees and Jahurul Islam chose to take the attack to the Zimbabwe bowlers, not through outrageous shot-making but attractive strokeplay amid a generous dose of half-volleys. Until Nafees’ dismissal in the 13th over, the pair dominated the home bowlers with drives through cover, mid-off and mid-on. Nafees also handled the short ball well, pulling through midwicket. However, he fell for 30 when a leading edge was easily caught at point by Timycen Maruma.Jahurul expressed himself better, using both his natural inclination to defend and his recently-acquired skill to find boundaries. He was dropped off the sixth ball of the innings, much like Zimbabwe opener Maruma had been on the opening day. Jahurul took advantage of that reprieve, striking seven boundaries in his short stay, most of them owing to excellent timing down the ground. He was also severe on balls offering width.Mohammad Ashraful played a couple of flashy cover drives, and there were some hits and misses. But how normal is an Ashraful innings without the odd flutter?The Test match progressed at a contrasting pace earlier in the day, as Zimbabwe took their time to put together a competitive total. Taylor went past Andy Flower’s 156, the previous highest for a Zimbabwe Test captain, made in 1995 against Pakistan at this venue. A few overs earlier, he reached the highest score by a Zimbabwe batsman against Bangladesh, going past Tatenda Taibu’s 153 in 2005. In the first session, he had overtaken his previous Test highest of 117.Taylor played a consummate captain’s knock, before it was ended by a top-edge that was snapped by his counterpart Mushfiqur Rahim. Taylor came to the crease just after the first hour on the first day and used switched gears depending on conditions, situations, and batting partners. He started off slowly with Hamilton Masakadza before letting Malcolm Waller’s energetic approach become the driving force of their 127-run fourth wicket stand. As soon as Waller got out for 55, Taylor restrained himself, only doing enough to reach his third Test hundred.On the second morning, Taylor was under greater pressure, after losing Elton Chigumbura and debutant Richmond Mutambami early. Along with Graeme Cremer, he slowed the pace down considerably, resisting the bowlers determinedly. Till lunch, the pair batted at 1.85 runs per over, before changing gears as soon as Taylor saw Cremer grow in confidence against spin. The two scored at four an over the hour after lunch. During this session, Taylor scored 36 at a run a ball, and his 171 comprised just eight fours and two sixes.Taylor survived two close calls. On 35, he was dropped at long-off by Nafees who ran in and dived to his left, only for the ball to pop out of his grasp. The second life came when he was on 116. Robiul Islam trapped him in front, but umpire Tony Hill rejected the call.Taylor and Cremer added 106 runs and it ended when Cremer was brilliantly caught at slip by Mahmudullah. That wicket was Sohag Gazi’s first in the innings, and he added one more.Enamul Haque jnr and Robiul Islam finished with three wickets each, but they were also made to toil. Robiul was the visitors’ best bowler on the first day, which he finished with two wickets. Mutumbami was his third. For the remainder of the day, he bowled with discipline and cut off the runs. Rubel Hossain took two wickets in his 30 overs and looked more disciplined than he did in his previous Test in Colombo.Enamul bowled 47 overs his left-arm spin seemed largely unthreatening. There was a period on the second afternoon when Cremer was happy to let his turning deliveries go to the wicketkeeper. Gazi was underused, but he, too, didn’t deliver what Mushfiqur would have been looking for. The Bangladesh captain even used Shakib Al Hasan for seven overs; Shakib was supposed to play this Test as a specialist batsman, recovering from an injury to his leg.

On a hot Sunday afternoon, two bowling attacks got into a contest of who could get worse

The Report by Sidharth Monga21-Apr-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
That’s how you carve a win•BCCIOn a hot Sunday afternoon, two bowling attacks got into a contest of who could bowl worse. Mumbai Indians outdid their Delhi Daredevils counterparts by a comfortable margin, and handed Daredevils their first win in seven attempts this season.To give credit where it’s due, Daredevils were ordinary for a much shorter duration. They only let things go after they had reduced Mumbai to 24 for 2 in six overs, giving Rohit Sharma full toss after full toss to deposit into the stands, and conceding 161 runs. Mumbai’s Jasprit Bumrah and Munaf Patel, though, were poor from the start, letting the hitherto struggling Virender Sehwag and Mahela Jayawardene run away with the chase after which the duo regained their touch too.The match couldn’t have started more differently. After Mumbai finally split the faltering box-office opening combination of Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting, Daredevils’ left-arm bowlers stifled the top order on a slow pitch. Finally included, Roelof van der Merwe made the biggest difference, with the wicket of Dwayne Smith in the third over.Everything was going in Daredevils’ favour. They got the danger man Dinesh Karthik with a deflection from Umesh Yadav in his follow-through, and Tendulkar was struggling to strike at a run a ball. They somehow took Mumbai to 57 for 2 in 10 overs, but then the deluge started. Andre Russell, for some reason replacing Morne Morkel, began with a full toss for Rohit to hit a six. In the next over, Shahbaz Nadeem dropped Tendulkar.In between the odd classy shot and heave, Rohit kept getting his loose balls. In all, he was given five full tosses, off which he scored 20 runs and was holed out on the last. These were not yorkers gone wrong, these were knee-high full bungers. Around more ordinary fielding, Mumbai kept prospering, but this was nothing compared to what was to follow.Bumrah, of the strange action, might have been rescued by dodgy umpiring in the previous match he played, but his angle and his gentle pace and length bowling was fodder for the batsmen this time around. His first over finished, Bumrah went to short fine leg to drop Sehwag off Munaf Patel. It shouldn’t take away from how poor the delivery was: short, down the leg side, with the fine leg up in the circle.Munaf didn’t stop doing that in his first two-over spell, and was consistently picked away on the leg side past the short fine leg. While Bumrah paid for that wide angle, Munaf was penalised for not bowling to his fields, and their next overs yielded 17 each. At 50 for 0 after five overs, these two had smelled blood, and you don’t let Sehwag and Jayawardene smell blood. David Warner may have wondered why he didn’t face such bowling when he opened the innings.Matching each other shot for shot now, they carved through some of the better bowling, whipping Lasith Malinga, reverse-sweeping Harbhajan Singh, delighting the home crowd that has refused to stay away despite all the losses, becoming only the third combination in IPL to have registered two hundred-run opening stands.What chance did Dwayne Smith stand? In his second over, the 10th of the chase, Smith was carved away for four by Sehwag and paddled away for a six by Jayawardene. And that six, coming as early as it did, brought the asking rate down to a run a ball. No collapse, fashionable as it might be, followed and the remaining 63 were got in just 45 balls.

AB de Villiers has admitted for the first time that he has been overburdened by his demanding roles of batsman, wicketkeeper and captain after conceding the gloves for South Africa’s one-day series against New Zealand

Firdose Moonda18-Jan-2013AB de Villiers has, for the first time, admitted being overburdened by his roles as a batsman, wicket-keeper and part of South Africa’s leadership core. His acknowledgment comes after a policy change to the limited-overs squads which has seen the gloves taken away from de Villiers to allow him to focus on captaincy.”I have always felt a bit rushed trying to captain the side and keep wicket,” de Villiers said ahead of the first ODI against New Zealand in Paarl. “I will probably stand at mid-off and be able to communicate with my bowlers a lot better as well as get a better perspective of the game.”De Villiers latest statement contrasts with his assessment of his own handling of the triple task the last time South Africa played limited-overs cricket, at the World Twenty20 in September. De Villiers required three weeks rest after the tournament after he aggravated his chronic back condition during the tour of England and the ICC event.Despite the recurrence of the injury, de Villiers insisted he was not paying the price for taking on too much. “I don’t believe there is too much on my plate; I really enjoy the captaincy and batting and keeping. It’s what I am going to do,” he said, while even going as far as to say he would continue in all three roles irrespective of the effect it had. “If I miss out on a year of my career, so be it.”Since that tournament, de Villiers has played five Test matches for South Africa and one domestic 50-over match. De Villiers complained of a tired body after turning out for his franchise, the Titans in the one-day cup playoff. He scored a hundred in a losing cause that day but was so worn out from the cumulative effects of that match after a Test series that he to be rested from the three-match T20 series against New Zealand, a request which was granted.In that time, de Villiers also “changed his mind,” according to convenor of selectors Andrew Hudson about ‘keeping at Test level. When de Villiers was required to take over from Mark Boucher in and emergency situation in England, he was reluctant to become the permanent wicket-keeper. During the third Test against Australia in Perth in early December, Hudson spoke to de Villiers again and he asked if he could continue in the role. The selection panel and team management agreed.But de Villiers ‘keeping at Test level has widespread implications beginning with his own batting. Crouching behind the stumps for extended periods seemed to hinder de Villiers ability to bat with freedom, which South Africa needs him to do. As yet, that theory has not been completely disproved. The 169 he blazed at the WACA came after he was in the field for three overs more than an ODI. Even against New Zealand, where he scored two half-centuries, periods on the park were minimal thanks to the visitor’s short batting time.It has been enough to convince the powers that be, though and de Villiers will continue as Test wicket-keeper but in order do that, he has had to give up the gloves in shorter formats. Quinton de Kock did the job in the T20s and will do in the ODIs, to allow de Villiers time to develop his leadership style, 18 months after taking over the job.De Kock’s selection is also a means to ensure de Villiers’ back can be rested, although how much it will be questionable. Gary Kirsten revealed yesterday that de Villiers finds keeping in 50-overs “more intense,” than in a Test. Previously de Villiers went on record saying he found it harder on his body to be in the outfield – where he will now prowl – than to keep wicket.After the three ODIs, it may be clearer which discipline takes greater toll on de Villiers because his back can be compared to the way it felt after the World T20. Should de Villiers first guess be correct and he comes out worse, he may have to consider ‘keeping again which will require another rethink of South Africa’s limited-overs policy. Should he cope well with fielding again, it could open up another option for South Africa at Test level, the specialist wicket-keeper, should they require it.As a result, the debate over South Africa’s wicket-keeping options is far from closed. Life after Boucher was always going to be uncertain because of the poor planning that preceded it. Even as Boucher’s form dipped, no clear attempts were made to identify or groom a successor.At that time, de Villiers himself distanced himself from wicket-keeping permanently as he confirmed his career goal was simply to become the best batsman in the world. Recently, he has spoken of his desire to improve his wicket-keeping, to captain the side as best he can and to contribute with the bat.To change one’s mind or expand one’s goals is only natural, for the administrators to accommodate that if it works with their team plans is also understandable but it all points to an obvious question that must be asked soon: when does too much room for individual flexibility cause too much disruption to the team’s needs?

A swashbuckling knock by Dwaine Pretorius helped Lions to their second win in the Ram Slam T20 Challenge as they comfortably overhauled Titans’ total in Johannesburg

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Feb-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
A swashbuckling knock by Dwaine Pretorius helped Lions to their second win in the Ram Slam T20 Challenge as they comfortably overhauled Titans’ total in Johannesburg. Pretorius walked in at the fall of Quinton de Kock’s wicket in the 14th over with 65 runs still needed. He waited just four ball before smashing first of his four sixes. In the 18th over, he took 14 runs off the four balls he faced off Marchant de Lange. By the time he was out in the 19th over, only three were needed. Jean Symes smashed his first ball to the boundary to complete the chase with seven balls to spare. Ethy Mbhalati picked up all three wickets.Lions were given a strong start by de Kock, who missed out his half-century by three runs. But Neil McKenzie stayed unbeaten on 32 to steer the chase.Titans, put into bat, lost a couple of wickets in the first three overs, but came back strong and were on 92 for 3 in the 13th over. But regular wickets from there on meant that Titans weren’t able to push beyond 150. Ferhaan Behardien and Henry Davids top-scored with 36. Sohail Tanvir, Aaron Phangiso and Hardus Viljoen shared two wickets each.

New Zealand A won their second consecutive one-dayer in the UAE when their pacers demolished Afghanistan for 99 for a 105-run win in Dubai

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Nov-2014
ScorecardFile photo: Mitchell McClenaghan scored a 24-ball 26 and took two wickets•AFPNew Zealand A won their second consecutive one-dayer in the UAE when their pacers demolished Afghanistan for 99 for a 105-run win in Dubai. Defending 204, New Zealand A were led by three wickets from Kyle Mills and two each from Mitchell McClenaghan and Doug Bracewell.New Zealand A were in a spot of bother after they opted to bat, being 81 for 4 and soon 117 for 6. Opener Anton Devcich led the top order with a 74-ball 55 as three wickets fell in front of him. He fell in the 21st over before Colin de Grandhomme (34) and Nathan McCullum (44) took them past 100 with a stand of 36. The lower order took them to 204 as Mills scored a patient 13 off 37 and McClenaghan an unbeaten 24-ball 26.Afghanistan were in trouble early at 7 for 3 after four overs. The pacers did not allow any substantial partnership to flourish as they were soon 35 for 6. Mirwais Ashraf (30) and Afsar Zazai (21) stalled the fall of wickets with a partnership of 56 for the the seventh wicket. Once that was broken by Grandhomme, the New Zealand A bowlers took 33 more deliveries to wrap them up within 39 overs.

A rapid half-century by Darren Maddy and three wickets in four deliveries by Chris Woakes overpowered the Unicorns as Warwickshire maintained their Clydesdale Bank 40 challenge with a 60-run victory at Edgbaston.

22-Jul-2012
ScorecardA rapid half-century by Darren Maddy and three wickets in four deliveries by Chris Woakes overpowered the Unicorns as Warwickshire maintained their Clydesdale Bank 40 challenge with a 60-run victory at Edgbaston.The county side kept up the pressure on Group C leaders Sussex by making 228 for 9 and this proved to be beyond the part-timers despite an impressive knock by veteran captain Keith Parsons. Now aged 39 and playing Minor Counties cricket for Cornwall, Parsons made 58 from 77 balls and put on 71 with ex-Leicestershire wicketkeeper Tom New (31) as the Unicorns replied with 168 for 7.Warwickshire’s patchy batting display was initially underpinned by Varun Chopra’s measured progress to 69 and then set alight by Maddy’s first half century in the competition for two years. He settled in during a stand of 57 with Chopra and despite losing a string of partners during a spirited response by the Unicorn’s bowlers, he accelerated to an unbeaten 79 from 56 balls.Warren Lee, a pace bowler who played two List A games for Kent in 2009, gave the visitors an early lift with wickets in successive overs. William Porterfield (24) put up a simple chance to mid-off and Jim Troughton drove the first ball he received to extra cover. The Unicorns’ rotation of their left-arm spinners paid off to an extent with Tim Ambrose (28) lbw to Bradley Wadlan’s second delivery and Chopra bowled in the first over of a second spell by Luke Beaven.Former Lancashire seamer Steven Cheetham later removed Rikki Clarke and Woakes in the space of seven balls but the lower order stayed long enough for Maddy to inflict maximum damage. In all he hit eight fours and two sixes.Lee had Keith Barker caught at short third man for a final return of 3 for 50, and Wadlan (2 for 37) bowled a good final over in which Paul Best was stumped and Jeetan Patel run out.The Unicorns’ response was all but extinguished as Woakes blew a hole in the top order in his opening spell of 3 for 15 in six overs. It was the ex-county professionals who averted the danger of a complete collapse, although Parsons, who hit five fours and a six, was dropped twice before Warwickshire regained their momentum.Clarke eventually ran out New from mid-off and Troughton comfortably caught Parsons at deep midwicket in the final over from left-arm spinner Best.

Legal proceedings have been initiated by FICA against the BCB and the franchise involved in the BPL for failure to pay the players

George Dobell08-Jun-2012Legal proceedings have been initiated by the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA) against the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and the franchises involved in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) following a widespread failure to pay players.The first edition of the BPL ended in February but, despite repeated assurances and deadlines, FICA has been informed that many players have yet to receive full payment. As a result, the players’ organisation has instructed lawyers in Dhaka to file a claim against the relevant franchises and the BCB.”This is a black and white matter,” Tim May, the chief executive of FICA, told ESPNcricinfo. “It was stipulated by contract how much the players would be paid and the date by which they would receive payment. It was also stipulated that, if the franchises couldn’t pay,then the BCB would act as guarantors and would make the payments.”We have been waiting for four months. Deadlines have come and gone and all we have had is a litany of excuses. It has come to the stage where all avenues of dialogue have dried up and the BCB have stopped responding to FICA.”If it was not such a serious matter, some of the excuses they are coming up with would be amusing. They have said there are foreign currency issues, for example, but even some of the Bangladesh players have not been paid. They keep saying the payments will be made tomorrow, or next week, or the week after, but it has never happened.”May derided the behaviour of the Bangladesh board as “amateurish” and even questioned the integrity of some of those involved in the organisation of the tournament which attracted such diverse overseas players as Chris Gayle, Shahid Afridi, Stuart MacGill and Peter Trego. Afridi, who topped the auction at $700,000, was reported last month as saying that he had been paid.”We don’t know if they have the funds available to make payments,” he said. “If we had a relationship based on trust we could understand their issues and agree a timeline for payments, as we did with the Sri Lanka board when they had some cash flow difficulties. But they have behaved in an amateurish manner and we have no confidence in them or their integrity.”Mustafa Kamal, the BCB president, has ambitions to become a president of the ICC, but May suggested that the continued impasse could harm his candidature.”The integrity of people involved in the leadership of Bangladesh cricket is spiralling downwards uncontrollably,” he said. “We have had continued assurances from Mustafa Kamal – a man touted as the next ICC president – but the continued non-payment does not reflect him in a particularly good light.”The episode presents a serious threat to the second edition of the BPL, which is due to begin in January 2013. FICA will take a more uncompromising line when it comes to advice they give players about payment.”Our advice to players is not to get involved in future unless they are either paid, or they receive bank guarantees, before they board the plane,” May continued. “The BPL will probably say that is unreasonable, but they have brought this on themselves. We have been trying to resolve this for months and legal action – which will take money that we could better spend on developing the game – is a last resort.”Our recommendation this year was for players not to travel until they had received 25% of their payment, but some went anyway. If you have a situation where players don’t receive that upfront payment, it is a sure sign that things are likely to go pear-shaped. We have major worries about the administration of the BPL.”

Victoria captain Matthew Wade has been suspended for one Sheffield Shield match for pitch tampering during his side’s win over Tasmania at Bellerive Oval

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Nov-2013Victoria captain Matthew Wade has been suspended for one Sheffield Shield match for pitch tampering during his side’s win over Tasmania at Bellerive Oval. Wade, who scored 119 during Victoria’s first innings on Thursday and Friday was found guilty of breaching the Cricket Australia Code of Behaviour while batting, after the umpires Ian Lock and Sam Nogajski reported him for “unfair play”.”While batting during Victoria’s first innings, umpires determined that Wade had tampered with the pitch,” Cricket Australia said in a statement. “Both umpires considered the change to the pitch, which resulted in the creation of a long valley within the protected area, had been created by means other than natural wear and tear.”Wade denied the charge and a full disciplinary hearing was held, led by Daryl Harper, the match referee and former Test umpire. Harper upheld the guilty verdict and Wade was penalised 50% of his match fee and received two suspension points, which will result in him missing Victoria’s match against Western Australia in Perth starting on Friday.However, Wade has the right to appeal the decision, which would have to be lodged within the next 48 hours. Tony Dodemaide, the chief executive of Cricket Victoria, said the state would review the finding against Wade before deciding on its course of action.”We are currently reviewing the events in their entirety before deciding whether to lodge an appeal and will not comment further until that decision has been made,” Dodemaide said.

Parthiv Patel will lead the Rest of India squad in the Irani Cup match against Ranji trophy winners Rajasthan in October

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Sep-2011Wicketkeeper-batsman Parthiv Patel will lead Rest of India in the Irani Cup match against Ranji Trophy winners Rajasthan in October. Legspinner Rahul Sharma, who was ruled out of the recent Emerging Player’s Tournament in Australia due to a back injury, has been included in the squad.Delhi batsman Shikhar Dhawan was named Rest of India’s vice-captain. The squad included Mumbai’s Ajinkya Rahane, who made his international debut in the ODI series in England, where he opened with Parthiv. Rahane scored 158 runs in five ODIs, averaging 31.60 with one half-century on the tour. He had a strong domestic season in 2010-11, making 609 runs at an average of 87 in the Ranji Trophy.Tamil Nadu’s Abhinav Mukund, who scored 620 runs in the Ranji Trophy and made his Test debut for India on the West Indies tour earlier this year, was in the squad as was Manish Pandey, Karnataka’s second-highest scorer in the previous domestic season. Jharkand fast bowler Varun Aaron, who was part of the ODI squad in England but didn’t play, was also included.The Irani Cup, the fixture that begins India’s domestic first-class season, will be played in Jaipur from October 1 to 5.Rest of India squad: Parthiv Patel (capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Abhinav Mukund, Ajinkya Rahane, Manish Pandey, Ravindra Jadeja, Mandeep Singh, Pragyan Ojha, Rahul Sharms, Umesh Yadav, Varun Aaron, Prashant Parmeshwaran, Pawan Suyal, Jalaj Saxena, C Gautham.