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Essex condemned Unicorns to their sixth Clydesdale Bank 40 defeat in as many matches as they coasted to an eight-wicket victory in today’s Group C match at Chelmsford

22-May-2011
ScorecardEssex condemned Unicorns to their sixth Clydesdale Bank 40 defeat in as many matches as they coasted to an eight-wicket victory in today’s Group C match at Chelmsford.After restricting their opponents to a modest 183 for 9, Essex triumphed with 14 balls to spare to preserve their season’s unbeaten record in the competition. An unbroken third-wicket partnership of 149 between opener Mark Pettini and Matt Walker, both of who scored half-centuries, saw the hosts home after Adam Wheater was caught at slip without scoring and Owais Shah fell victim to an unlucky dismissal with the total on 35.Shah, making his debut for the county following his return from the Indian Premier League, had made 13 when he was run out – bowler Dan Wheeldon deflecting a straight drive from Pettini onto the stumps with the batsman out of his ground.That was the last time the Unicorns had anything to celebrate, with Pettini and Walker underlining the gulf in class between the two sides. Pettini stroked his way to 88 runs from 106 balls, including nine fours and a six, while Walker’s 71 from 94 deliveries contained eight fours.Paceman Wheeldon was the pick of the Unicorns bowlers with figures of one for 25 from his eight overs, three of which were maidens. Former Hampshire batsman Chris Benham was the rock of the visitors’ innings, hitting an unbeaten 54 from 85 balls, an effort that contained just three fours. Mike Thornley and Glen Querl were the other main contributors with 36 and 23 respectively.Hopes of Unicorns setting Essex a testing challenge were dashed by Chris Wright, whose accuracy and hostility brought him figures of four wickets for 20 runs from eight overs. The pace bowler could have reaped a richer harvest, beating the bat without reward on several occasions.For good measure Wright also took a fine catch low down on the long-on boundary to remove Thornley and provide Lonwabo Tsotsobe with his only success at a cost of 39 runs. Left-arm spinner Tim Phillips picked up 2 for 33 from his eight overs, while 17-year-old Reece Topley and Graham Napier each finished with one wicket.As the game unfolded, Essex were able to celebrate victory by the same margin as when the sides met a fortnight ago.

New Zealand Cricket has said that it would like to resume cricketing ties with Zimbabwe, following a fruitful meeting between the sports ministers of the two countries

Cricinfo staff15-Jun-2010In what is another positive development for Zimbabwe as a host of sporting events, New Zealand Cricket has said that it would like to resume cricketing ties with the country, following a fruitful meeting between the sports ministers of the two countries in Wellington earlier this week.David Coltart, the Zimbabwe sports minister, met his New Zealand counterpart, Murray McCully and the positive result of the meeting was the change of stance by the New Zealand government regarding cricketing tours to the southern African nation. NZC chief executive Justin Vaughan confirmed that he later met Coltart at Christchurch and was convinced the climate was conducive to resuming ties.”I am aware that the Minister for Sport and Recreation, Murray McCully, had a positive meeting with Mr Coltart in Wellington earlier this week,” Vaughan said. “It is clear from that meeting that our government’s position is that they would not oppose the Black Caps touring Zimbabwe next year.”The tour by the Black Caps in May 2011 was the principal topic of my discussion with Mr Coltart, however we are also considering the possibility of other cricketing exchanges, such as the potential for a New Zealand A team to tour Zimbabwe at some stage in the near future.”New Zealand had been reluctant to send any of its teams to the country over the last few years, citing the unstable political and security situation. The side was due to tour last year but rescheduled the trip for June 2010. However, New Zealand wanted it to be postponed again to 2011 or play the series in a neutral venue after the New Zealand government assessed the security situation and gave a negative report.Though New Zealand have indicated a change of heart with regard to touring Zimbabwe, Vaughan said the standard protocol of security checks will be followed before confirming any tour.”It is important to stress that any tour by New Zealand cricket teams to Zimbabwe would need to be prefaced by full safety and security checks, which are standard practice for New Zealand Cricket,” Vaughan said.Cricket in Zimbabwe has undergone a facelift in recent months, with an improvement in the basic facilities and domestic structure. That has translated itself into better performances in the field, with recent victories against India and West Indies.Zimbabwe also successfully hosted the tri-series involving India and Sri Lanka and the sport got a big boost when the team made it to the final of the tournament. Zimbabwe Cricket is also optimistic of returning to Test cricket in 2011.

Warwickshire strike early but captain’s innings keeps rivals at bay

ECB Reporters Network09-Sep-2024Club captain Brett D’Oliveira struck his fourth successive half-century since returning from injury to inspire another Worcestershire recovery on the opening day of the Vitality County Championship derby with Warwickshire at Visit Worcestershire New Road.D’Oliveira had come to the wicket just over a week ago with Worcestershire 10 for 4 on the opening morning versus Essex at Chelmsford and his 68 helped his side rally to 266 all out on their way to a 43-run success. That followed his 97 during the home win over Kent and for good measure he hit another 51 in the second innings against Essex.Here, his side were struggling at 67 for 4 in testing conditions when he walked out to the middle and was again the cornerstone of a fightback with the top score of 76.D’Oliveira received excellent support from Adam Hose, fit again Matthew Waite and Logan van Beek in partnerships of 49, 76 and 43.He had missed the entire Metro Bank One-Day Cup campaign whilst having extensive rehab to a shoulder problem which has troubled him for the past year. But the treatment seems to have paid handsome dividends for the 32-year-old who has been in prime form since the Championship programme recommenced.Waite also made his mark with a fluent half-century on his return to action after nearly two months on the sidelines with a side strain.Oliver Hannon-Dalby, the leading wicket-taker in Division One, added three more scalps to take his tally for the season to 46 and again bowled impressively.Worcestershire gave a Championship debut to young Academy pace bowler Jack Home who last week signed a three-year contract after taking 16 wickets in five games in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup.Warwickshire made one change from the side which had defeated Kent with spinner Danny Briggs replacing Jacob Bethell.Warwickshire skipper Alex Davies put the home side into bat on a wicket where the bounce was variable, particularly when bowling from the New Road End, and Hannon-Dalby made the first breakthrough when Jake Libby pushed forward to a delivery which nipped away and was caught behind.Kashif Ali, who had scored two centuries in the corresponding game at Edgbaston, provided keeper Michael Burgess with another catch off former Worcestershire allrounder Ed BarnardGareth Roderick had his middle stump knocked back by Michael Rae and then Ethan Brookes, promoted to No. 4, was lbw to Hannon-Dalby on his return to the attack with a delivery which swung back in. Hose and D’Oliveira battled through to lunch at 77 for 4 from 30 overs.D’Oliveira pulled Rushworth for four to bring up the 100 in 39.3 overs. The fifth wicket pair extended their partnership to 49 but Hose, having battled for nearly two hours for 33, drove at Barnard and was pouched at second slipWaite was full of positive intent from the start and collected four boundaries at Barnard’s expense in two overs.He was the dominate figure in a half-century partnership with D’Oliveira and completed his own fifty from 71 balls with nine fours.The afternoon session produced 111 runs from 34 overs for the loss of one wicket. But Waite added only one more run before he was lbw to Rae after he switched ends to end a stand of 76.D’Oliveira reached another excellent half century from 115 balls when he late cut Briggs for his seventh boundary. He found another staunch ally in van Beek in adding 43 for the seventh wicket but on 76 was finally caught low down at first slip by Yates off Will Rhodes.The second new ball accounted for van Beek with a third scalp for Hannon-Dalby thanks to Yates again showing a safe pair of hands, this time at second slip.But Home, who hit Barnard for the first six of the game backward of square, and Tom Taylor earned Worcestershire a precious batting point before the close during an unbroken stand of 52.

Suryakumar, Wadhera hit fifties as Mumbai win with 21 balls and six wickets to spare

Shashank Kishore09-May-20232:29

Moody: RCB will be shattered as a bowling unit

If ever you needed an example of a team walking home in a 200 chase without any stress, this was it. And in doing so, Mumbai Indians fired their IPL 2023 campaign into orbit as they made a stunning climb from No. 8 to No. 3 after razing Royal Challengers Bangalore in another six-fest at the Wankhede.At the forefront of their march were Suryakumar Yadav and Nehal Wadhera, who put together 140 off just 64 balls in a sensational spell of on-demand boundary hitting that had seasoned bowlers such as Josh Hazlewood, Wanindu Hasaranga and Harshal Patel searching for answers.From 101 needed off 60, Suryakumar’s pyrotechnics that brought him his IPL best – a 35-ball 83 – brought the equation down to 8 off 26 when he walked off to a standing ovation. It was his fourth fifty-plus score in his last six outings, marking a sensational turnaround in fortunes after a cold first half.Suryakumar’s partner for much of that innings, Wadhera, made the most of his promotion up the order in Tilak Varma’s absence due to a niggle. The ferocity of their partnership had a deflating effect on RCB, who now join a cluttered mid-table that has four teams on 10 points with a possibility of a fifth joining there on Wednesday night.

Behrendorff’s powerplay act

Long before there was an inkling of what was to come, Jason Behrendorff set the stage alight at Wankhede by stinging his former team with the wickets of Virat Kohli and Anuj Rawat. Kohli was out giving him the charge off his fourth ball, nicking a heave that was overturned through DRS, while Rawat’s top edge to an attempted scoop landed in Cameron Green’s lap as he ran back from slip.Prior to the double-strike, Behrendorff could’ve also had du Plessis first ball if Wadhera hadn’t dropped him at midwicket. Du Plessis, though, made them pay along with Glenn Maxwell as the pair quickly offset RCB’s early losses to fire them from 16 for 2 to 56 for 2 after six overs.

The Maxwell-Faf show

RCB’s soft middle order has been a cause for concern all season, but Maxwell and du Plessis weren’t going to die wondering. In fact, du Plessis took two fours off Chawla and continued the attack against Green. On the other side of the powerplay, Maxwell welcomed Chris Jordan – Jofra Archer’s replacement in the XI – by pumping him for two sixes in his very first over to raise the half-century of the partnership off just 25 balls. As it turned out, it was just the start of the mayhem that was to follow.Du Plessis was all muscle, backing away to swing cleanly if he wasn’t lofting through the line on instinct. Maxwell was a mix of the inventive and the ridiculous, switch-hitting, slog-sweeping, scooping and reverse-ramping his way, treating the bowling with such disdain that you wondered if Mumbai were in for a target in the vicinity of 230. The pair had put on 120 off just 60 balls when Maxwell dragged one across the line to deep midwicket for a 33-ball 68.Suryakumar Yadav celebrates after bringing up his half-century off 26 balls•BCCI

The RCB slowdown

RCB would lose Mahipal Lomror and du Plessis, for a 45-ball 61, in the next two overs to expose that brittle lower middle order. It’s at this point that RCB decided to summon their Impact Player by bringing in Kedar Jadhav. It was now on him and Dinesh Karthik to give the finishing kick.Karthik struggled for rhythm, but flicked a switch from 8 off 7, to slam Kumar Kartikeya’s left-arm spin in the 18th over. But his dismissal with 11 balls left had RCB shortchanged. Akash Madhwal, the rookie seamer, delivered an excellent final over, only his second in the game, that went for six as RCB finished with 199; the last five had just brought them 48 runs.

The Kishan turbocharge

Five runs, four innings, two ducks.Rohit Sharma shredded that with a ferocious flat-bat off Hazlewood first ball. Ishan Kishan followed Rohit’s cue to take the attack to Mohammed Siraj, flicking and whipping his way to sixes. In trying to sustain his onslaught against spin, he was out to Hasaranga after hitting him for a four and six. Two balls later, Rohit was out lbw to a delivery he tried to nudge against the turn to one that didn’t turn as much as he expected. Mumbai were up against it at 52 for 2 in five overs.

SKY takes over

Over the next five overs, Suryakumar and Wadhera kept up with the asking rate by playing risk-free cricket, before the flick was well and truly switched on. Hasaranga’s return to deliver the 11th with Mumbai needing 101 more led to a torrent as both batters picked a six apiece.Du Plessis now went back to Hazlewood to stifle the scoring, especially with Harshal Patel struggling for rhythm. But Suryakumar’s grand hitting behind the V, where he used pace to takedown Hazlewood and Siraj for sixes behind square on either side, left everyone awestruck. He brought up his half-century off just 26 balls, and then raised the tempo even more by nonchalantly lofting a slot-ball from Siraj into the second tier down the ground.By now, Suryakumar was seeing it like a football, so big that even a beamer aimed at his body was swatted away for six like it was child’s play. His dismissal to Vyshak Vijaykumar in a double-wicket over was somewhat of an anti-climax at the end, but by then the result was a foregone conclusion.Wadhera fittingly finished it off with a lofted six over cover to bring up a second-straight fifty. By then, Mumbai had razed down the fastest 200 chase in IPL history – with 21 balls to spare – and the second-fastest overall.

Attritional contest reaches third and final game, with hopes of livelier surface in store

Andrew Miller23-Mar-2022

Big Picture

So far, England’s tour of the Caribbean has been one for the purists. Ten days of attritional cricket, interspersed with flashes of hopeful flamboyance, and nothing yet to show in the series ledger for either side’s efforts. Could that be about to change, as Grenada prepares to host a Test match for only the fourth time in the ground’s 23-year international history? The rumours from the Spice Island are of spicier times in store … but it’s probably prudent to temper one’s expectations in light of what we’ve witnessed so far.Whatever happens in this final Test, both sides can already take heart from the competitive spirit that they’ve shown in this series. West Indies remain without a Test victory in 10 attempts since February 2021, while England’s current record reads one win in 16, so for neither team to have yet racked up another loss has to count as progress on both fronts.For West Indies, their captain, Kraigg Brathwaite, has personified the competitive zeal that the region seeks to reignite in their Test cricket. His extraordinary refusal to buckle in Barbados has bagged him a place in the pantheon of batting barnacles – Geoffrey Boycott and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, among others, would have been proud of his indefatigable performance, even if Boycott, in his Telegraph column, was rightly concerned about the tedious nature of the Bridgetown pitch – an anti-competitive mud-strip that did little to elevate the contest beyond a grim pursuit of statistics.Even so, England showed, with a final-day flourish in each of the first two games, a willingness to break the deadlock – first with some sparky declaration batting, led on each occasion by Dan Lawrence’s unconventional strokeplay, then backed up with an early flurry of wickets as West Indies’ inherent brittleness briefly came to the fore.It was a fleeting glimpse on both occasions, however. Despite Saqib Mahmood’s impressive debut in Barbados, and some lively turn and bounce for Jack Leach when armed with the new ball, England haven’t yet shown they have the weapons to transcend pitches of such tedium – unlike, say, the startling inroads that Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins have been able to make on similarly flat decks in Pakistan.For that reason, while it’s true that a handful of bore-draws in themselves cannot threaten the future of an inherently insecure format – one whose death has been predicted for 145 years and counting – the issue of substandard Test pitches is not one that should be allowed to be brushed off as an anomaly.By all accounts these are not the surfaces that CWI ordered – coming into the series, after all, West Indies arguably had the more threatening roster of fast bowlers in their ranks and therefore would have wished for more pace and bounce to work with. It appears that the final decision was left in the hands of the local boards in Antigua and Barbados, both of whom valued the guarantee of five full days of Barmy Army patronage over the guarantee of a result. If the Grenada authorities can be persuaded to place more value on the spectacle than the bottom line, then who knows, they might also lure a few disenchanted supporters over to their shores next time around.Away from the pitch politics, there’s plenty at stake as England’s tentative rebuild reaches its first of what will surely have to be many mini-peaks. In Lawrence and Zak Crawley, they have two young guns who can stride into the 2022 home season with renewed confidence after last year’s challenges; in Joe Root and Ben Stokes, the team’s most important batting pillars are looking sturdy once more after their wobbles in the Ashes, while Jonny Bairstow’s renewed red-ball focus looks here to stay as well.Kraigg Brathwaite was West Indies’ mainstay in Barbados•Getty Images

But there’s plenty about this team that isn’t yet where it needs to be. Alex Lees could do with at least a medium-sized innings to firm up his status at the top of the order, while Chris Woakes’ series-long toothlessness has done little but reaffirm the overseas suspicions that have dogged him for most of his career. With Ollie Robinson’s fitness issues resurfacing again, and Mark Wood’s elbow injury leaving England more bereft of 90mph/145kph options than at any time since the 2017-18 Ashes, there’s been little about their seam attack that will have ushered James Anderson and Stuart Broad into an early retirement.And then there’s the spin issue. Leach has been diligent without threatening to tear through West Indies, while the legspinner Matt Parkinson remains on the fringes, waiting for the moment to be trusted. It’s possible that chance has been and gone, however – Barbados was where England needed his ability to rip it past well-set defences, but as the management proved in Brisbane and Adelaide last winter, they are perfectly capable of picking the right team for the wrong Test. They confirmed their side on Wednesday afternoon, with Craig Overton replacing Matthew Fisher as the only change.West Indies, meanwhile, will surely be content with more of the same. Brathwaite stole the show in Barbados, but it’s been far from a one-man mission from his team. Nkrumah Bonner may have endured a rare quiet game in the second Test, but a week before that he was producing a similarly indomitable display in Antigua, and Jermaine Blackwood’s gutsy, and largely out-of-character, hundred at Bridgetown personified the extent to which West Indies raise their game when England are in town.Given half a chance, West Indies’ quicks are surely gagging to show similar devotion to the cause. Both Kemar Roach and Jayden Seales have had their moments, most particularly on the first morning of the series, while the talismanic Jason Holder has had, by his standards, a quiet series against his favoured foes. If he can rediscover even a modicum of the form he showed in 2019, there’s no reason to assume that a 0-0 lockout is the upper limit of West Indies’ ambitions.

Form guide

(Last five matches; most recent first)
West Indies DDLLL
England DDLDL

In the spotlight

After his extraordinary feats of endurance in Barbados, it’s hard to look beyond Kraigg Brathwaite for a West Indies focal-point this week. When you’ve batted for a notch shy of 16 hours across two innings, to rack up 216 runs from 673 balls in a single Test match, it’s fair to presume your eye is in. Brathwaite demurred, however, when asked if West Indies would be looking to pick up their tempo going into the series decider. He’s quite happy letting England come to him, asking questions that their bowlers struggled to answer as they were kept in the field for 187.5 overs in the first innings last week. And on his watch, West Indies have given themselves every chance of extending their proud unbeaten record at home against England.Related

• Joe Root praises England progress as Kraigg Brathwaite takes pride in resilience

• West Indies name unchanged squad for third Test against England

• Dan Lawrence shaping up as the homespun hero of Root's new England

• Jack Leach seeks attacking mindset after growing back into England role

Jack Leach will have been a Test cricketer for almost exactly four years by the time this Test ends, having made his debut in New Zealand in March 2018. But by his own admission, he’s still feeling his way in the role, after a rollercoaster year in 2021 that started and ended with some fearful treatment against India in Chennai and Australia in Brisbane, and encompassed a home summer in which he didn’t feature in a single Test. Leach’s efforts in the series to date have been admirable – with 11 wickets at 26.36, he’s the only bowler on either side to reach double figures, while his tally of 168.3 overs is almost 100 more than the next busiest bowler (Stokes with 77). But the sense persisted in both Tests that he could have been braver with his flight and loop, and sought to bowl West Indies out rather than wait for the mistakes that never came. Now that he’s feeling more valued within the set-up, and with a diet of Graeme Swann YouTube clips to fall back on, perhaps his attacking instincts can start to materialise.

Team news

West Indies have stuck with the same 13-man squad for the third match running, which is a vote of confidence from Desmond Haynes, the convenor of selectors, after a series in which the batters – Brathwaite in particular – have been willing to dig deep for the cause. There’s a possibility of a rejig for this final match, however, with Kyle Mayers on hand to step in for Shamarh Brooks, whose top-score in a bat-dominated series has been 39. There’s also the thorny issue of workload to consider. Jayden Seales, for instance, has ploughed through 65 overs for his seven wickets in the series. Given the rapid turnaround between Tests, and that he is still a work in progress at the age of 20, it may be prudent to give him a rest and hand a debut to Anderson Phillip, the uncapped Trinidad fast bowler.West Indies (possible) 1 Kraigg Brathwaite (capt), 2 John Campbell, 3 Nkrumah Bonner, 4 Kyle Mayers/Shamarh Brooks, 5 Jermaine Blackwood, 6 Jason Holder, 7 Joshua da Silva (wk), 8 Alzarri Joseph, 9 Kemar Roach, 10 Veerasammy Permaul, 11 Jayden Seales/Anderson PhillipThere was plenty to ponder for England in the bowling stakes, after a series of flux in which injury and illness has forced their hand in both Tests, and maybe taught them more about their personnel than they might have anticipated learning. Robinson missed each of the first two Tests with a back spasm, and despite optimistic noises, another flare-up has ended his participation here too. As a consequence, there has been a stay of execution for Woakes, whose role in overseas Tests would surely otherwise be at an end. Overton, too, has recovered from the bout of sickness that afflicted him in Barbados. He returns in place of Fisher, who let no-one down on debut and whose chance will come again before long.England 1 Alex Lees, 2 Zak Crawley, 3 Joe Root (capt), 4 Dan Lawrence, 5 Ben Stokes, 6 Jonny Bairstow, 7 Ben Foakes (wk), 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Craig Overton, 10 Saqib Mahmood, 11 Jack Leach

Pitch and conditions

No-one is quite expecting the sort of snorter that was served up in St Lucia for the third Test of England’s last tour in 2019 – on which Mark Wood touched speeds of 96mph in one of the fastest bowling displays in English history – but the omens are good for the fast bowlers on both sides, with a surface that appears to have a tinge of green on top, and the prospect of a bit more pace and carry than was in evidence in Antigua and Barbados. The weather this week is expected to be cloudy but with no real prospect of disruption from rain. “It looks like a good cricket wicket,” Phil Simmons, West Indies’ head coach, said.

Stats and trivia

• Grenada has not hosted a Test match since England’s tour of the Caribbean in 2015, when the visitors won comfortably, by nine wickets, on the back of an unbeaten 182 from a certain Joe Root.
• West Indies have yet to win a Test match in three attempts at St George’s. The ground’s inaugural Test, against New Zealand in 2002, was a high-scoring draw (dominated by a Chris Gayle double-century), while their other fixture in 2009 was famous for a rare Bangladesh overseas series win – albeit it came against a third-choice West Indies side, weakened by a row with the team sponsors, Digicel.
• Joe Root is within striking distance of becoming the 14th man, and the first since Younis Khan in 2017, to reach 10,000 Test runs. He is currently 116 runs short, on 9,884 runs, and having made a century in each of the previous two Tests, he is in the form to chalk them off. If he does so, he will also be the first of the so-called Big Four to reach the mark.
  

  Quotes

  “Ollie wasn’t as good as we would have liked or he was expecting himself. It’s just frustrating for him as it is for me. He’s working very hard but there’s something that’s nagging away at him. I’m not sure exactly of the medical prognosis.”
  
  Joe Root, England’s captain, confirms that Robinson is unable for selection once again.“In both Test matches so far, it was necessary to make sure that we got to the 350-400 mark in the first innings. The situation will dictate how we up the tempo, because so far we have been happy with the fact that we’ve had big partnerships, and three hundreds in the two Test matches.”
  
  Phil Simmons, West Indies’ head coach, wants more of the same application from his batters.

RCB physio Evan Speehcly hopeful of getting him ready “soon”

Shashank Kishore26-Oct-2020Navdeep Saini, the Royal Challengers Bangalore fast bowler, has suffered a split webbing in his right hand while bowling in the match against the Chennai Super Kings on Sunday. He got hit on the right thumb while fielding off his own bowling, forcing him to immediately leave the field after the 18th over of the Super Kings’ chase in Dubai.A plastic surgeon was instantly called to stitch his right webbing. This puts him in considerable doubt for the Royal Challengers’ next game against the Mumbai Indians on October 28, even though Evan Speechly, the team physio, says he’d be working overtime to get him ready.”Saini has split his webbing in the last ball there,” Speechly told after the match. “He obviously got hit on the right thumb. Fortunately, we had a good hand surgeon who stitched up nicely. We will monitor overnight and check whether he can ready for next match. I cannot be sure when he is good to go but hoping he will play next match.”The injury is similar to what Virat Kohli suffered in the 2016 season. At the time, Kohli had nine stiches on his right hand but continued to play. He finished that season with 973 runs, the most by a batsman in a single edition.”Virat four-five years ago had it in Kolkata. We managed to stop the bleeding and he smashed a 100 [113, against the Kings XI Punjab] after we got a plastic surgeon who had stitched it. Unfortunately, you cannot compare the two injuries,” Speechly explained. “Some people manage it and some can’t.”It’s also because Saini’s injury is on his bowling hand, so it puts a lot of pressure on him. I cannot be sure when he will be good to go. I am hoping that he will be good to play in the next game and the rest of the tournament.”Saini has been key to the Royal Challengers’ turnaround this season. He has so far played in all 11 games, and while he has only picked up five wickets, he has been among the most economical pacers in the team, conceding just 7.95 runs an over.If Saini isn’t fit enough to take the field, the Royal Challengers’ have Umesh Yadav as a like-for-like replacement. Yadav, however, has struggled for consistency, featuring in just two games so far. They also have a spin-bowling allrounder in Shahbaz Ahmed on the bench.Only their net run rate separates third-placed Royal Challengers with table-toppers Mumbai. They’ve won seven out of their 11 games and are primed to make the playoffs for the first time since 2016, when they finished runners-up. The Royal Challengers play two of the top three – Mumbai and the Delhi Capitals – to round off the league stages.

Follow our live report for updates, stats, trivia, colour and discussion during the second Test of the 2019 Ashes from Lord’s.

Valkerie Baynes14-Aug-2019

Shoaib Malik’s unbeaten 49, coupled with Usman Khan’s two wickets propelled Pakistan towards a series win against Scotland, thumping the hosts by 84 runs in the second T20I

The Report by Danyal Rasool13-Jun-2018Leask 3-31) beat Scotland 82 (MacLeod 25, Faheem 3-5) by 84 runsAnother T20I masterclass from Pakistan veteran Shoaib Malik propelled Pakistan towards a series win against Scotland, thumping the hosts by 84 runs in the second T20I at the Grange. Under overcast conditions with a light drizzle threatening to interrupt the game for most of the match, Shoaib exploded – much like the first game – in the last few overs, smashing five sixes as he blitzed 49 off 22 to help Pakistan surge to 166.Unlike Tuesday, Scotland were never quite in the hunt for this one, losing George Munsey off the third ball, and never quite managing any momentum that might suggest a real contest could be on the cards. They were untidy with their running, rushed with their strokeplay and generally uncomfortable in the face of a sensational Pakistan in the field. It was a much improved bowling performance from the visitors, spearheaded by Usman Khan, who came in for Mohammad Amir, and registered figures of 2-0-4-2. Scotland began to fall away rather dramatically towards the end, with no less than three players run out as Kyle Coetzer’s men were bundled out for 82.There was some drama before the start, with Cricket Scotland officials and the television production team locked in an argument over using a fresh pitch for this game. The TV crew were concerned their cameras couldn’t be in line with the bowler at one end of the pitch, the result being a slightly askew broadcast angle from the Pavilion End. It’s the sort of drama people associate, sometimes patronisingly, with cricket on the Associate landscape.But Scotland wouldn’t have wanted the haphazardness to extend to their on-field performance. Pakistan got off to a flying start again, though Scotland were unfortunate not to have Fakhar Zaman out in the first over. Chris Sole extracted both an outside and an inside edge in the first six deliveries, the former put down in the slips, the latter narrowly missing the stumps. Both went for four. Sole had bowled an excellent first over, and conceded 12 runs.Shehzad and Zaman put on 60 for the first wicket, but Scotland, just as they had done in the first game, struck back in the middle overs. The runs were restricted right up until the last two overs, with batsmen unable to kick on from starts in the face of tight, disciplined bowling from Scotland’s bowlers, particularly Mark Watt and Michael Leask.Peter Della Penna

But Shoaib Malik came to Pakistan’s rescue once more, with a whirlwind last two overs, scoring 32 of Pakistan’s 34 runs as they turned a slightly below-par score into an imposing one of 166. He was put down at the end of the 19th over on the long-off boundary, a simple catch that Leask failed to hold on to. Just as Tuesday, the drops cost Scotland dear in the field as Shoaib went on to score 14 in the final over, leaving Scotland to ponder how to improve their fielding against a quality opposition like the one they faced today.The pitch looked no worse than the one used on Tuesday, where 200 seemed about par. But the change of pitch today meant the long-on/ midwicket boundary from one side of the ground was 10 meters larger, and shots that would have comfortably carried over the ropes on Tuesday were being caught inside the boundary on the field, including a spectacular tag-team catch and relay effort from Dylan Budge and Watt to claim Sarfraz at deep square leg. That restricted Pakistan to the relatively modest 166, and made it arguably a more searching chase than the previous one might have been.However, at no stage of the Scottish innings did their batsmen begin to establish any sort of relationship with the boundary rope. Pakistan circled around them in the infield, and the pitch looked a fair bit faster when the Pakistan bowlers were operating on it. Usman isn’t a regular starter for Pakistan, but when in form, almost always seems to make a match-winning difference. He hurried on to the batsmen, and as the rain began to get slightly heavier, the Scottish mood began to match the Edinburgh weather. They could do little more than shuffle around for ones and twos and get the odd boundary, but it was never nearly enough to challenge the ever-rising asking rate.It was unfortunate to see the home side losing their heads towards the end, with a couple of unnecessary run-outs easing Pakistan’s way to an inevitable win they didn’t need any help with. Calum MacLeod was the man at the other end for all three of Scotland’s run-outs, but you’d be hard-pressed to blame him for any of them, what with the Pakistan fielders prowling, looking to save every run as the asking rate bounded out of sight. Faheem Ashraf came back to polish off the last two wickets, giving his figures a shiny new look by the end, having taken three wickets for five runs.By the end, Pakistan’s dominance was so absolute, it was easy to forget the strides Scotland have made over the past few years. It would be harsh to focus on the manner of the defeat, and more prudent to reflect on the professionalism with which Pakistan have moved on from a Test series against England to a T20I series in Edinburgh, never letting their focus waver, and fielding a full-strength team when several others might have chosen to rest players. It was apt respect to pay to a side that has very much earned it over the last week.

Faf du Plessis said New Zealand were unfortunate that the final day’s play was washed out, denying them a chance to level the Test series

Firdose Moonda in Hamilton29-Mar-20171:23

Moonda: An intriguing series decided by one hour

When the first drops of rain began falling in the early hours of Wednesday morning, it woke Kane Williamson up.”I was hoping it might stop or it might come a little bit early and fine up,” he said.Faf du Plessis did not say whether he was disturbed or not but if he was, it would have been a pleasant interruption. He knew it was probably the only thing that could save South Africa from defeat.”Everyone would say New Zealand can count themselves very unlucky. The rain has come at a terrible time for them,” du Plessis said. “They dominated this Test match and deserved to have a crack at us today. It’s a real fair assessment to say we’ve been saved by the rain.”The rest of the South African squad would probably also have settled into their sleep a little easier. Although they had high hopes on du Plessis, who had told JP Duminy that he was “going to block for two days,” they knew their resistance would likely end with him too. Quinton de Kock was the only recognised batsmen left and, talented as he is, few expected him to have the restraint to bat out the day.”You can’t expect Quinny to do exactly the same because he will possibly get out doing something like that but he will put pressure on the opposition by scoring like that,” du Plessis said. “If New Zealand had got a wicket early doors it would have been tough for us to get through that.”New Zealand were thinking the same thing. Having had South Africa’s line-up on the ropes in the last two matches, they were finally ready to deliver the knockout punch, despite being without their two premier bowlers. Tim Southee and Trent Boult both sat out injured and, with Ross Taylor also sidelined, New Zealand’s fight over the last four days went down as “one of our best performances of the home summer,” according to Williamson.”The guys picked up the roles they were given with a number of players out and ran with it. There was a great buzz amongst the group, although fairly inexperienced and young, the guys really took it on and had a good time and enjoyed themselves,” Williamson said. “It’s not easy to do at times in Test cricket, against one of the best nations and the contributions from all the boys throughout this match were fantastic.”What could have been has been the theme of the series – the fifth day of the first Test in Dunedin also washed out – and du Plessis wished there could have been another match. “This series has been series of what-ifs,” he said. “You feel like even after this match, there could have been more, because the teams are playing some competitive cricket and for most of the series its been 50-50.”Ultimately it was one hour in Wellington, which Williamson described as a “bad day, but a game-defining day,” that distinguished the victors from the vanquished. A single hour that du Plessis admitted was “similar to what we had yesterday,” when South Africa lost 5 for 46 in Hamilton.There was no play on the final day in Hamilton, just like Dunedin•AFP

For South Africa to have won so narrowly was not ideal, even though it allowed them to accomplish their goal of getting to No.2 on the Test rankings, from No.7 nine months ago. “We didn’t play great cricket but we still won,” du Plessis said. “We had a roadmap of how we can get there and visualised getting there, and we are here today. Although I am disappointed with this Test, it doesn’t take away the unbelievable achievements we’ve had this season.”The form of their top six is a concern, which left them playing with their “backs against the wall most of the time,” as du Plessis put it. They would like to channel more of the opposition captain Williamson.”New Zealand played some good cricket, especially Kane,” du Plessis said. “I would like to congratulate him on a good series. Two hundreds out of three games is extraordinary.”New Zealand also learnt from South Africa. They wanted to be able to take small opportunities and turn them into big results so that they can set the agenda instead of having to fight against it.”You give a team like South Africa an inch and they run with it. That was perhaps a little frustrating but a good learning curve,” Williamson said. “We have the belief and what it takes. It would be nice to not have to bounce back. We do want to be more consistent in that area.”Both teams could be proud of the show they put on in a series played in good spirits despite the weather. Shortly after du Plessis and Williamson passed each other in the corridor and made arrangements for post-series drinks, the drizzle drifted away. For a few minutes, there was sunshine over Seddon Park. Oh, what could have been

Lancashire have signed Neil Wagner as their overseas player for the majority of their 2016 first-class season

George Dobell15-Jan-2016Lancashire have signed Neil Wagner as their overseas player for the majority of their 2016 first-class season.Wagner, the New Zealand left-arm seamer, will be available from the start of the County Championship season and will feature primarily in that competition. He will be available until at least the end of July and could be available for the entire season if not required for New Zealand’s tour of South Africa.He has currently taken 67 wickets from his 18 Tests. He has previously had a brief spell in county cricket with Northamptonshire – he came into a struggling side in 2014 and took only 10 first-class wickets in five matches at a cost of 72.80 apiece – and has also played club cricket in the region for Ormskirk in 2008. He claimed five wickets in an over while playing for Otago against Wellington in April 2011.His aggression, stamina and commitment should render him a useful addition to a Lancashire side that was promoted back to Division One at the end of last year. With the top division almost certain to shrink to eight teams (from nine) at the end of 2016, Lancashire will have little opportunity to consolidate.”We are delighted to have brought in Neil Wagner to strengthen our bowling attack,” Lancashire coach, Ashley Giles, said. “Neil is a world class bowler with a tremendous pedigree and having him available for such an extended period will give our Division One campaign a real boost.””I am extremely excited to play for such a great club,” Wagner said. “I have always admired Lancashire, ever since playing in the Liverpool Lancashire league for Ormskirk in 2008.”