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The Sawai Mansingh Stadium continued to remain a fortress for Rajasthan Royals, though it came close to being breached by Pune Warriors during a high-scoring clash

The Report by Siddhartha Talya05-May-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Stuart Binny celebrates after scoring the winning runs in Jaipur•BCCI

The Sawai Mansingh Stadium continued to remain a fortress for Rajasthan Royals, though it came close to being breached by Pune Warriors during a high-scoring clash on Sunday. Royals moved to No. 4 in the IPL points table, their openers Rahul Dravid and Ajinkya Rahane guiding a challenging chase with half-centuries, and Stuart Binny and Sanju Samson chipping in with crucial cameos to help sneak their team home in the final over. The sixth straight win at home for Royals was a seventh consecutive loss for Warriors, who need to get their bowling in order to spoil a party or two this season.The dew was a factor in Jaipur, but Rahul Sharma’s long-hops in a game-changing 17th over could not be blamed on the environment alone. With 43 needed off 24 balls, he gifted a short ball outside off to Binny, who promptly slashed it past point. Two more short deliveries later, Binny pulled the next one over the deep midwicket boundary. Samson faced his first ball with 28 needed off 16, and began imperiously, showing no signs of nerves, driving Wayne Parnell on the up and then running him past third man for successive boundaries. Binny took charge, dispatching a length ball from Bhuvneshwar Kumar for six in the penultimate over and squeezing Parnell past mid-on for four to seal victory when one run was needed off two balls.Dravid surprised a few by walking out to open instead of Shane Watson during Royals’ chase of 179, but took the lead in delivering a brisk start that was the foundation for his team’s successful overhaul of Warriors’ score. He punched Bhuvneshwar for two boundaries through point in the opening over, then targeted Krishnakant Upadhyaya for three fours to three different parts of the ground. The best shot of his innings was an inside-out drive for four off Angelo Mathews, and he had a straight six up his sleeve off Rahul Sharma shortly before holing out for 58. It was part of a 98-run opening stand with Rahane, in 71 balls.Rahane will feel a little hard done to have missed out on a place in the Champions Trophy squad, and his latest knock ended an unsatisfactory run of scores over the last few matches for him. He played the supporting role to his captain, but took charge in the 14th over off Mathews, helping snatch 21, including two fours and a sweetly-timed six over extra cover. Not one to derive a lot of thrill playing cross-batted shots, Rahane dragged a couple from outside off stump against the Warriors seamers, one of them ending up as a flat six. When he fell, he left Binny with a task he’s become quite familiar with this season, as a finisher.On a good track to bat on, Robin Uthappa had given Warriors a real shot at victory with a second-successive half-century. He is known to have worked hard this season, having lost 17 kilos to get in shape. Together with Aaron Finch, with whom he added 97, Uthappa took advantage of some sloppy Royals bowling that included a series of wides down the leg side. He middled the ball, and Mitchell Marsh ended the innings on a high, cruising to an unbeaten 35 off 21 balls. It marked a second straight improved performance with the bat from Warriors, but wasn’t enough to rescue their bowlers.

Michael Clarke, Australia’s captain, has all but guaranteed Ricky Ponting his place in the team’s next Test assignment, at home against South Africa in November

Daniel Brettig in Roseau22-Apr-2012Michael Clarke, Australia’s captain, has all but guaranteed Ricky Ponting his place in the team’s next Test assignment, at home against South Africa in November. Ponting has looked in good touch in the Caribbean despite not making many runs and Clarke, who is also a selector, indicated Ponting’s place would be safe for the first Test of the home summer, more than six months away.Having staved off a run of slim scores in Sri Lanka and South Africa before enjoying a storming series at home against India, Ponting joined the majority of his fellow batsmen in struggling to make a major score in the West Indies. Only one century was made in two Tests, by Shivnarine Chanderpaul in Barbados, and Clarke said Ponting was arguably the man most likely to make one should the Dominica pitch offer a little more encouragement to stroke play.”He’s hitting the ball well, probably hasn’t got that big score that he’d like but none of us have. Conditions haven’t been great for making big hundreds,” Clarke said of Ponting. “If you wanted to make runs here you had to bat for a hell of a long time, and need a bit of luck as well along the way. Ricky’s one of the guys that has put the team above himself and sacrificed his wicket or tried to take the game forward because we’ve needed to, to try and help us win the game.”If he continues to play the way he’s played throughout the last 12 months, he had a wonderful summer, then I see no reason he won’t be in the team come the first Test against South Africa. There’s a lot of cricket to be played from now until then. Ricky’s not currently in our one-day squad but we also have some first-class cricket leading up to that first Test so I’m confident Ricky’s batting well and he’s not far away from a big score. If we get a decent wicket here I wouldn’t be surprised if he finished the summer on a very high note.”For his part, Ponting has no thoughts of the finish line, proving it by staying on at Windsor Park for throw-downs from the assistant coach Justin Langer after the rest of the squad had returned to the hotel. “Not yet no, one more game here,” he said when asked about retirement thoughts. “We’ll wait and see how many I get this week, if I get 200 this week you probably won’t be asking me that question.”Seven months and 13 Tests since he led Australia onto the field in Sri Lanka, Clarke called for one final push from his men to ensure the series against West Indies was won. He also pointed to the fact that so many of his men will be going direct from the Caribbean to the IPL as a reminder that fatigue should not be a problem as they play at Roseau’s Windsor Park for the first time.For the first time, Clarke will be joining them, having signed with Sourav Ganguly’s Pune. The IPL will reduce the break available for those playing both Test and limited-overs cricket, before the Australians start travelling again on a 20-month odyssey that will take them to England and India twice each, either side of home Tests against South Africa and Sri Lanka, and rounded off by a home Ashes series in 2013-14.”I think the closer you get to the finish line the more excited you actually get. We know we’ve got no Test cricket now until the Australian summer after this last Test,” Clarke said. “I’m pretty sure all the boys will want to make this Test a good one for themselves personally and for the team because we’ve had a really good summer, we want to finish on a high before we get stuck into one-day cricket and the Twenty20 World Cup before Test cricket comes around.”And guys can’t be too fatigued. 95% of the blokes are going to the IPL, so we have no excuse not to come out and play our best cricket once again in this Test match and finish what has been a very good summer of Test cricket on a high.
I think we’ve done really well in these conditions. We’ve pushed hard to get results, it could have quite easily been two draws but I think our attitude has helped us win the first Test and we thought we’re going to win the second Test.”A lot of the guys hadn’t seen the West Indies conditions as well so it’s been a good eye opener for the guys who haven’t played Test cricket over here. Your No. 1 goal is to win every series you play, there’s no doubt about that, that’s what we plan to do in this third Test. In saying that we’re trying to win every Test as well.”

Moeen Ali, the Worcestershire batsman, has signed a new contract that will keep him at New Road until the end of the 2013 season

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Apr-2011Moeen Ali, the Worcestershire batsman, has signed a new contract that will keep him at New Road until the end of the 2013 season.Mooen, 23, scored 1,260 first-class runs last season having moved from Warwickshire in 2006.
”
I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here and have been looked after very well,” said Moeen.
“I am grateful for the opportunities I have had and I hope to progress further over the coming years.”Moeen was part of the Worcestershire side that won promotion back to County Championship Division One last summer.”Moeen played exceptionally well during 2010 and played a major part in our four-day promotion push,” said director of cricket Steve Rhodes.”The development of younger players is paramount to our future and I am delighted to have a talented all-round cricketer, such as Moeen, commit his future to the club.”

A round-up of the Clydesdale Bank 40 games between Hampshire and Warwickshire at Southampton, and Middlesex and Gloucestershire at Lord’s

16-May-2010Ian Bell’s fourth Clydesdale Bank 40 half-century of the season maintained Warwickshire’s 100% record with a convincing six-wicket victory over Kent at Edgbaston. The England batsman contributed a stylish 55 from 71 balls before the Group C leaders – unbeaten in 40-over cricket since August 2008 – wrapped up their fifth straight win in the competition. The margin would have been greater but for a substantial Kent recovery after 6ft 8in pace bowler Boyd Rankin had taken three wickets in five balls in their collapse to 73 for 7 after 19 overs.Scotland produced a stunning performance to send Leicestershire crashing to a four-wicket defeat in a nail-biting finish at Grace Road.Chasing a victory target of 218 the Saltires reached it with two balls to spare, helped by half-centuries from George Bailey and Richie Berrington. But it was Neil McCallum who clinched the victory for the Saltires in their opening game of the campaign, hitting 27 off 19 balls with two boundaries plus a massive six off Matthew Hoggard’s final ball of the 39th overStephen Moore returned to haunt his former county by hitting an undefeated century in Lancashire’s crushing nine-wicket win over Worcestershire at New Road. The 29-year-old made 105 not out and put on an unbeaten 191 in 31 overs with Paul Horton, who made an undefeated 78. Their combined efforts enabled Lancashire to easily reach their 209-run victory target with 5.3 overs to spare.Half-centuries by captain Keith Parsons and Josh Knappett set up a famous 58-run victory for the Unicorns over Glamorgan at Dene Park in Bournemouth. It was the part-timers’ first victory in the competition at their fourth attempt as a good all-round effort sent the Welsh county to an embarrassing defeat. The county side were bowled out for just 173 with five overs remaining in reply to the Unicorns’ 231 for 8, which came after Glamorgan captain Jamie Dalrymple put them in to bat.Samit Patel’s second limited-overs hundred of his career propelled Nottinghamshire to a 12-run victory over winless Hampshire. Former England one-day all-rounder Patel, 25, started slowly but accelerated in the later stages of the Nottinghamshire innings to finish unbeaten on 108, as the hosts posted a competitive total of 265 for 8, Alex Hales making 46.A fine innings by former England batsman Owais Shah counted for nothing when
rain arrived at Lord’s to wash out Middlesex’s clash
with the Netherlands. Shah had reached an unbeaten 74 from 89 balls with six fours
and a brace of sixes when persistent rain arrived for a second time with the
Middlesex score on 185 for 4 after 32.3 overs. Gareth Berg posted a 37-ball 50 with seven boundaries, fell lbw to what transpired to be the final ball of the game.

Assistant coach says it will take time for the young group to succeed as Bangladesh rebuild

Mohammad Isam29-Mar-2024Bangladesh’s young batters are in the early stages of their Test careers and those watching them will need to be patient, says assistant coach Nic Pothas who is standing infor the team’s head coach Chandika Hathurusinghe in the second Test against Sri Lanka in Chattogram.Bangladesh were thrashed by 328 runs in the first Test in Sylhet earlier this week. Only Mominul Haque made a half-century as the hosts were bowled out for under 200 in both innings for the second successive Test.”We have a very young and inexperienced group (of batters),” Pothas said. “There was a very elite group before this. Now we have to rebuild. The only thing that we request is that people are patient. These are very good young players, but they are young and they are playing against an experienced team and it will take time to learn lessons.Related

• What's ailing Bangladesh Test team, and what's the way forward?

• Kamindu Mendis' 92* drags Sri Lanka to 531

• Dhananjaya de Silva pleased with three-pacers' plan paying off in Sylhet

• Pothas in charge of Bangladesh for second SL Test as Hathurusinghe goes on leave

• Shakib boost for Bangladesh in spin-friendly Chattogram against buoyant Sri Lanka

“We wouldn’t expect any different from our children when we put them into new environments. We don’t expect our kids to suddenly be experts. That’s why they go to school. So they’re a fantastic group and let’s judge them in two years’ time rather than now.”Pothas said Bangladesh’s young players have the foundation in place for growth. They have created a happy dressing-room environment where everyone trusts each other.”From a hunger point of view, they want to do really well in the Test. They always really want to do well. They are a fantastic group. They get on very, very well. You can just see by smiles on their faces.”I think the important thing for us as a management group is to manage the mood of the group. As long as we are level[-headed], then we will learn, but we certainly aren’t an emotional group. It is not an emotional change room. The change room is very, very helpful.”Bangladesh were without Mushfiqur Rahim’s experience in Sylhet, and so the return of Shakib Al Hasan is a huge boost to the home side. He is recovering from an eye condition that had kept him out of the T20Is and ODIs earlier this month, but he did play the Bangladesh Premier League and also in three matches in the ongoing Dhaka Premier League.”I think any team that has Shakib in it is very fortunate,” Pothas said. “We welcome him back. It is always great to have him in the change room. His energy is very infectious. He has a lot of experience for the guys to learn from and whenever Shakib is back, he’s a giver. So we really enjoy having him around the group.”When Shakib comes into the group, it creates calmness. You know, it also supplies [captain Najmul Hossain] Shanto with an extra person he can get advice from. A very, very experienced person on the field. He just brings calm. He is a world-class cricketer.”Bangladesh will also hope for Litton Das to improve his form. His second-innings dismissal in Sylhet, a first-ball charge that resulted in a catch when Bangladesh were 37 for 4, was heavily criticised.”We have had conversations. Litton is in a good space,” Pothas said. “The trouble that we generally have is that the pressure on Litton comes from the outside. If we just leave Litton to be Litton, I think he’ll show you the best of him.”If we keep jumping on his back in the media and on social media, we forget that just because these guys are very able cricketers and they appear on television, at the root they’re still human beings. If we treat them like human beings and allow him to do what’s best for him, I promise you he’ll show you results.”

Australian holds UK passport but will be registered as an overseas signing for 2023

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Jan-2023Northamptonshire have announced the signing of Western Australia opening batter Sam Whiteman on an a season-long deal for the 2023 summer.Whiteman, who was player of the final in WA’s 16th Sheffield Shield title in the 2021-22 season and is their current acting captain, will be available for the County Championship and Royal London One-Day Cup. Though he possesses a UK passport having been born in Doncaster, Yorkshire, he will be registered as an overseas signing.The 30-year-old has 4,652 first-class runs at an average of 37.90, with 10 centuries. He is currently Western Australia’s second top scorer in the ongoing campaign, which they lead, with 390 at 43.33, and scored a career-best 193 against South Australia in November.As a white-ball cricketer, Whiteman’s returns are comparatively weak – averages of 23.51 and 17.55 in List A and T20, respectively – though he was part of a successful Perth Scorchers outfit in the Big Bash League, and is now representing Sydney Thunder in the ongoing season. He has not yet been capped by Australia, having represented the country at “A” team and Under-19 level. This will be the left-hander’s first taste of professional cricket in the English system.Speaking on his deal with the Division One county, Whiteman said: “I’m really excited to have signed with Northamptonshire for the 2023 season. It’s always been an ambition of mine to play first-class cricket in the UK so to get that opportunity for a large chunk of the campaign is really pleasing. I’m looking forward to joining up with my new teammates in April.”Head coach John Sadler was delighted with Whiteman’s signing, as Northants look to build on their sixth-place in the County Championship and second-from-bottom finish in Group B of the Royal London Cup last year.”Sam comes very highly recommended and is someone we’ve watched closely in recent times.” Sadler said speaking to the club website. “I’m very confident that not only will he score plenty of runs, he’ll add value to us as a group in many ways both on and off the field.”Northamptonshire’s new Championship captain Luke Procter was also excited for what Whiteman could bring: “I’m really looking forward to having Sam with us this season.”He’s a quality bat but he’s also got that leadership experience with WA, they’re flying in the Shield so far so I’m sure he’ll bring a lot value on and off the field too.”

Balochistan remain in fifth place, after their third loss in four games

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Sep-2021

Northern vs Southern Punjab, Rawalpindi

Captain Sohaib Maqsood did his bit with a 47-ball 75 and left-arm spinner Hassan Khan returned 2 for 13 from three overs, but the contributions weren’t enough for Southern Punjab to turn their fortunes around, as they lost by five wickets to Northern to record their fourth defeat in as many games in the tournament. For the winners, fast bowler Muhammad Musa was the brightest spot with the ball, returning 3 for 40, while Mohammad Nawaz starred with the bat with a 35-ball 56 not out to go with 1 for 9 from two overs with the ball.Asked to bat first, Southern Punjab did well, with opener Sohaib stitching together useful partnerships for the second and third wickets with Agha Salman (24) and Khushdil Shah (20) respectively to take the total to 125 before he was dismissed in the 15th over. The captain’s innings included eight fours and four sixes.After Sohaib and Khushdil fell in quick succession, Azam Khan’s 12-ball 18 and Aamer Yamin’s impressive nine-ball 23 seemed to have done enough to put Southern Punjab in a position from where they could get on the points table.It was, however, not to be, even though they put up a fight.Nasir Nawaz took control of the chase early, scoring the bulk of the runs in a 26-run opening stand with Rohail Nazir, who had been moved to the top of the order after Umer Amin suffered an injury. But Nazir was run out for 2, and though Nasir was dismissed not long after for a 15-ball 24, Haider Ali (40 in 27) ensured Northern got to three figures in the 12th over.The big hand, though, came from Nawaz, who hit six fours and two sixes from No. 5 to drag Northern past the line. And captain Shadab Khan, who had moved himself down to No. 6, chipped in with a valuable 20-ball 30 during a 67-run stand for the fifth wicket. The target was breached with five balls in hand, helping Northern get to second spot on the table with their second win in three games.

Sindh vs Balochistan, Rawalpindi

Zahid Mahmood celebrates a wicket with Anwar Ali and Shan Masood•PCB

Sindh made it three-in-three in Pakistan’s National T20 Cup with an enormous victory over Balochistan in their latest fixture, topping their opponents by 77 runs after bowling them out for just 98. While the batting was led by captain Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shahnawaz Dahani, Danish Aziz and Zahid Mahmood, the Player of the Match, shared nine wickets between them in a spectacular display to finish off the Balochistan resistance in just 16.4 overs.Batting first after winning the toss, Sindh got off to a good start courtesy Shan Masood (31) and Sharjeel Khan (34), the two putting on 52 in 6.2 overs before Sharjeel, the aggressor, fell. Khurram Manzoor couldn’t quite get going, but after Masood fell in the 11th over, Saud Shakeel (32) and Sarfaraz (41*) took control of the game, scored quickly, and set the stage for Anwar Ali to come in at the close and wallop an unbeaten 12-ball 22.That gave Sindh a score Sarfaraz would have expected his bowling line-up to defend without much fuss, and that’s exactly what happened.Imam-ul-Haq, the big name in the line-up, scored his 19 runs in 18 balls, and Abdul Bangalzai hit 29 in 23, neither quite able to wrest the initiative. The 46-run first-wicket stand was the best period with the bat for Balochistan, as the wickets tumbled after the openers were sent back by the end of the eighth over. Abdullah Shafique, who has moved from Central Punjab to Balochistan, made his much-anticipated debut on the day but only managed a 12-ball 8.Legspinner Zahid was the pick of the bowlers, with 3 for 18, while left-arm spinner Danish and medium-pacer Dahani struck key blows to never allow the batters to get on top.

England’s highest wicket-taker may have a novel way of confounding batsmen with his wrist position

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Jul-2020Fast bowlers are widely known to use three different methods to get the ball to swerve through the air: conventional swing, contrast swing, reverse swing. James Anderson, however, can lay claim to a fourth method: reverse reverse swing.What’s that?According to no less an authority than Sachin Tendulkar, who faced him in 14 Test matches and was dismissed by him a record nine times, Anderson has a way of confounding batsmen with his wrist position while delivering the outswinger with the reverse-swinging ball.The conventionally swinging ball swings towards the rough side, and the reverse-swinging ball towards the shiny side. The ball’s orientation for the conventional inswinger, therefore, is the same as the one for the reverse outswinger. The two deliveries usually involve different wrist positions, but Anderson, Tendulkar noted in a chat with Brian Lara on the app, had the ability to deliver a reverse outswinger with the wrist position of a conventional inswinger. “With reverse swing, Jimmy Anderson was possibly the first bowler who bowled reverse swing also reverse,” he said. “What I experienced, over a period of time, [is] that he would hold the ball as if he was bowling [a reverse] outswinger, but [at] the release point, he would try and bring the ball back in, and [a] number of batters would look at the wrist position, and what he has actually done, he’s shown you that he’s bowling inswing, but the imbalance between both sides of the ball would take the ball away from you.”What he has done is, he’s got you to commit to play, for an [inswinger], and the ball, after covering almost three-fourths of the length of the pitch, starts leaving you. But you had already committed [to play], because you’ve seen that inswing position, and that is something which was new to me. Nobody had done that.”Now, [a] number of guys, you see their shine, and what they’re trying to do – I spotted even Stuart Broad trying to do that at some stage, but Anderson started this [a] long time ago. So I rate him very very highly. One of the best exponents of reverse swing.”One of Anderson’s best spells in reverse-swinging conditions came in Kolkata in 2012, when he took three wickets in each innings to help England take a 2-1 series lead. Anderson had Tendulkar caught behind for 76 in the first innings with a reverse outswinger, but it’s unclear whether that ball was a reverse-reverse outswinger.Nonetheless, if other bowlers can master Anderson’s seeming ability to deliver reverse reverse swing, it gives batsmen one more thing to worry about, particularly when the ball is at that stage of its lifespan when it’s transitioning from swinging conventionally to reversing.

The contracts of Ravi Shastri and his coaching staff, who were appointed in July 2017, will expire after the World Cup

Nagraj Gollapudi19-Mar-2019With the World Cup fast approaching, the question of whether Ravi Shastri and the rest of the Indian coaching staff will get an extension is becoming significant. The contracts of Shastri and his deputies, who were appointed in July 2017, will expire after the World Cup.ESPNcricinfo understands that the BCCI will advertise for the job soon, with the interview process likely to be conducted during the two-week window after the World Cup, which ends on July 14, and before India’s tour of West Indies which is scheduled to start late July.It is believed that based on the review of the pool of candidates, the BCCI will take a call on whether to appoint an interim coaching staff for the West Indies tour or whether to allow an extension to Shastri and his team comprising Sanjay Bangar (assistant coach), Bharat Arun (bowling coach) and R Sridhar (fielding coach).It is also understood that the BCCI will once again approach the three-man Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) comprising Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman to shortlist the candidates, carry out the interviews and make the final choice. It is likely that Shastri will be a direct entry into the final pool of candidates, assuming the BCCI follows the exact process put in place in 2017, when Anil Kumble’s one-year tenure as Indian coach came to an end.Back then, the Committee of Administrators (CoA), which has been overseeing the BCCI, stated that Kumble would be a “direct entry” into the final shortlist, but he still re-applied. The CAC said Kumble remained their preferred choice, but he resigned in controversial circumstances after being told by the BCCI that India’s captain Virat Kohli had “reservations” over his “style” and did not want him “to continue” as head coach.Shastri then entered into the fray and emerged as the winner from a five-man shortlist which also included former India batsman Virender Sehwag. Under his watch, Shastri has seen India climb to No. 1 in the Test rankings including winning an epic Test series in Australia recently, an achievement he considers to be greater than winning the 1983 World Cup. Kohli has credited Shastri for playing a significant role in his growth both as a batsman and as a captain.

A 19-run win ensured UAE pipped Canada and Namibia to second place on the basis of net run rate

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Feb-2018Half-centuries from Shaiman Anwar and Muhammad Usman laid the platform for UAE to beat Namibia by 19 runs and qualify for the World Cup Qualifier in Windhoek by the narrowest of margins. UAE ended their WCL Division Two campaign with six points, the same as Canada – who narrowly lost their last match to Nepal – and Namibia, but with a better net run rate than either.Sent in to bat, UAE initially struggled to force the pace and were 97 for 4 in the 31st over when Usman joined Shaiman. They proceeded to transform the mood of the innings, putting on 120 in 103 balls before being dismissed in the slog overs. Usman made 59 off 57 balls, with three fours and two sixes, while Shaiman struck five fours and three sixes in his 77 off 59. JJ Smit was Namibia’s most successful bowler with figures of 3 for 57.Set 248 to win, Namibia slipped to 48 for 3 before Lohan Louwrens (43) and Craig Williams steadied them with a 50-run stand for the fourth wicket. Williams then put on 47 for the sixth wicket with Gerhard Erasmus before falling for 54 off 79 balls. It left Namibia six down and quite a way off the pace, with 94 still to get in 73 balls. They lost Smit soon after, too, but the in-form Erasmus and captain Sarel Burger (21) kept them in the hunt. When the offspinner Rohan Mustafa dismissed Erasmus for a 63-ball 58, Namibia needed 28 from 14.They had only two wickets left, however, and Amir Hayat and Mustafa – who finished with three wickets apiece – ended their innings in a hurry, Namibia eventually bowled out for 228.