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Travis Dean completed the most memorable of debuts to guide Victoria to a first-up Sheffield Shield victory over Queensland with his second century of the day-night match

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Oct-2015
ScorecardTravis Dean completed the most memorable of debuts to guide Victoria to a first-up Sheffield Shield victory over Queensland with his second century of the day-night match.Only Arthur Morris among Australians had made a hundred in each innings of his state debut, in a non-Shield fixture during the Second World War, and only six batsmen had done the trick in all first-class matches.Dean’s performance was bettered by the fact he was on the field for every minute of the match, making 154 not out in the first innings then finishing unbeaten on 109 as the Bushrangers eased past a fourth-innings target of 229.That chase had been set up by an opportunistic declaration from the Bushrangers captain, Matthew Wade, who closed the hosts’ first innings 125 runs behind and then watched his bowlers rush through Queensland for 103 under the MCG lights on the third evening.Dean, 23, and Rob Quiney had negotiated the difficult 15 overs before stumps that night, before finding the job to be much more straightforward on Saturday afternoon. After Quiney was lbw to Ben Cutting for the second time in the match, Dean maintained his comfort at the crease in the company of Marcus Stoinis, and the target was whittled down quickly.For a panel of national selectors still searching for organised, prolific batsmen the likes of who shape international teams, Dean’s performance will be of considerable note. He was chosen ahead of Aaron Finch, a more conspicuously talented batsman who has nonetheless failed to become a consistent Shield run-maker.Over the past 12 months, Dean has been a dominant figure in second XI matches, amassing scores of 217*, 116 and 187* in his three most recent games before his Shield call-up. Many in Australian cricket will be hoping to see him maintain that sort of form.

Former Bangladesh player Mazharul Haque died of a heart attack on Wednesday at the age of 32

Mohammad Isam03-Apr-2013Former Bangladesh cricketer Mazharul Haque died of a heart attack on Wednesday. Mazharul, 32, collapsed while playing badminton in his hometown of Narayanganj, and died by the time he reached the hospital.One of his friends, Raju, had been with him at the time. He said that Mazharul had completed his evening exercise before getting ready to play badminton at nine ‘o’clock. “He was standing near the court where I was playing. Suddenly he collapsed… we took him to the hospital immediately, but the doctors declared him dead,” Raju said.Mazharul played just one ODI, against Australia in the 2002 Champions Trophy. He played first-class cricket till 2004, after which he worked in several areas, including the Bangladesh Cricket Board, where he was the tournament manager. Most recently he had worked for an education website.Known for his strong technique and powerful shots square of the wicket, Mazharul was one of the most talented batsmen of his generation. He was a hit in the age-group structure, as well as the Dhaka Premier League. He was one of the first Bangladeshi entrants in the Commonwealth Bank Cricket Academy in Australia in 1999.Mazharul is survived by his wife and four-year old daughter.

India allrounder Ravindra Jadeja fetched the highest bid in the IPL 2012 auction, being signed up by Chennai Super Kings for more than $2m after they beat Deccan Chargers in a secret tiebreaker

Siddarth Ravindran04-Feb-2012India allrounder Ravindra Jadeja fetched the highest bid in the IPL 2012 auction, being signed up by Chennai Super Kings for more than $2m after they beat Deccan Chargers in a secret tiebreaker. Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene went to Delhi Daredevils for $1.4m and India medium-pacer Vinay Kumar to Royal Challengers Bangalore for $1m. The auction was held under a cloud of controversy following the breaking news, an hour before its scheduled start, that Sahara was pulling out of its Pune franchise.Two other big buys on the day came from Kolkata Knight Riders: Brendon McCullum for $900,000 and the relatively low-profile West Indies offspinner, Sunil Narine, for $700,000.Once again England players weren’t in demand. Most West Indies players also missed out as they have Test series with Australia and England clashing with the IPL season. With their availability for the IPL restricted due to the home series against West Indies in May, none of them attracted a bid. VVS Laxman, with a base price of $400,000 and originally an icon player when the IPL launched in 2008, also went unsold.

The big surprises

• Vinay Kumar has been prolific in Indian domestic cricket but does not command a permanent spot in India’s XI. He was certainly not considered a candidate to hit the million-dollar mark.

• Sunil Narine was mystery bowler of the 2011 Champions League T20. But a player who has played only three internationals going from a base price of $50,000 to being one of the top-five most expensive buys was not on the radar.

• Last year Thisara Perera was bought by Kochi Tuskers for $80,000. This year the allrounder went from a base price of $50,000 to $650,000 – the sixth biggest buy at the auction.

• Tim Southee came into IPL 2011 as CSK’s replacement for an injured Jacob Oram, and impressed with his death bowling, especially against KKR. That, coupled with his big-hitting ability down the order, make his going unsold a huge surprise.

Among the most active franchises on the day was Mumbai Indians. They strengthened their bowling line-up by signing up the IPL’s highest all-time wicket-taker, RP Singh ($600,000), and three overseas allrounders: Sri Lanka’s Thisara Perera ($650,000), Australia’s Mitchell Johnson ($300,000) and South Africa’s Robin Peterson ($100,000). Mumbai also made one of the smartest buys of the day, by hiring experienced Twenty20 specialist Herschelle Gibbs for a paltry $50,000.The Rajasthan Royals also made five signings but, unlike Mumbai, they didn’t splash the cash. Their most expensive purchases were Australia’s Brad Hodge ($475,000) and India fast bowler Sreesanth ($400,000). They made three low-cost buys: $180,000 for left-arm spinner Brad Hogg – who turns 41 on Monday and had received an unlikely international recall for the Twenty20s against India, following his good run in the Big Bash League – and $50,000 apiece for Sri Lanka’s wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Chandimal and Trinidad & Tobago allrounder Kevon Cooper, whose medium pace proved hard to hit at the Champions League T20 last year.Another West Indies allrounder, Andre Russell, who impressed last year with his combination of fast bowling, big hitting, sharp fielding and made-for-IPL bling, was picked up by Delhi Daredevils for $450,000.Two players whose international days are behind them, Muttiah Muralitharan ($220,000 to Royal Challengers) and former Pakistan allrounder Azhar Mahmood ($200,000 to Kings XI Punjab) also earned contracts.For a full list of players who were bought at the auction, click here.

The Ashes were sealed with a pair of thumping victories at Melbourne and Sydney, but thereafter the tour descended into tedium and acrimony

Andrew Miller09-Feb-2011At least the sun was shining, because there wasn’t much else to be cheerful about as England’s cricketers arrived back at Heathrow Airport, more than 100 days after their departure for Australia back in late October. In between their journeys through customs, the team found a perfect pitch around the 60-day mark of their tour, as the Ashes were sealed with a pair of thumping victories at Melbourne and Sydney, but thereafter it descended into tedium and acrimony, with Eoin Morgan’s World Cup fate providing the perfect bum note on which to end a peculiar odyssey.When Allan Border’s men regained the Ashes after a four-year hiatus in 1989, they were treated to a tickertape parade through the streets of Sydney, and as for England’s own exploits, the events of 2005 remain engrained on the retinas of fans of a certain age, with open-top buses and packed receptions in Trafalgar Square marking the end of a remarkable summer’s contest.Andrew Strauss was involved then, as he was now, but whereas 100,000 delirious fans had acclaimed the homecoming of the urn six years ago, this time England’s emergence at Heathrow was greeted by a smattering of gawping spectators, and a solitary burst of applause from a man who might conceivably have been taking the mickey, given how listless the team has been during the 6-1 drubbing in the one-dayers.It all felt distinctly unfair, to be honest. “I’m a little bit jaded because I’ve been on a plane for 24 hours,” admitted Strauss, as he faced the media, dressed in his best bib and tucker and with (an oversized) replica urn from the Lord’s gift shop perched on the table in front of him. Waxing about an event that culminated more than a month ago was hard enough in light of the travails that the team had encountered in the interim, but there was something rather absurd about the situation as well, given that the World Cup – of all immense contests – is looming quite so large, so soon.”The nature of international cricket is you always move onto the next thing,” said Strauss. “When we are old and grey we will sit down and look over the footage of that Ashes series, and we’ll still be very proud of what we’ve achieved, and it will go down as one of the highlights, if not the highlight, of our careers. But now is the time to look forward to the World Cup, and if we were to complete the double of the Ashes and the World Cup in space of six months, that really would be the highlight of our careers.”Strauss was half right. Now, in fact, is the time to go into hiding for 72 hours, and suck up as much family time as possible before reconvening on the soulless Bath Road in Hounslow on Saturday, ahead of a ten-hour flight to Dhaka. Although the Prime Minister, David Cameron, had expressed a desire to greet the squad at 10 Downing Street, as Tony Blair had famously done in 2005, all such fripperies are completely off England’s agenda. “I’m not going to go and knock on his door,” joked Strauss, adding that the one person he would most definitely not be speaking to in the coming days is his sidekick, Andy Flower, with whom he has been in daily cahoots since the last week of October.Whether or not England have a realistic chance in the World Cup, the loss of Morgan is a cruel blow – albeit one exacerbated by some unusually lax work from the management and medical team, who allowed him to play on through two ODIs before finally realising that his performances were being hindered by something more serious than bruising. Nevertheless, there was a clear note of frustration in Flower’s typically measured assessment, as he shifted the blame away from a player who had proved willing to push through the pain, and put it instead on an itinerary that allowed such an accident to occur so close to a major event.”We’ve played three-and-a-half months of high intensity cricket, so we will pick up injuries, that’s the nature of the sport,” said Flower. “To have the tour ending just before the World Cup starts doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. I think that’s the lesson to be learnt.”There are some positive aspects of England’s current situation. With positive news about the other five injury concerns in the squad, Strauss believed that the chance for rest and recuperation would ensure that they return to action with extra motivation – particularly the frontline bowlers, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann and Tim Bresnan, whose understanding of their roles and ability to work in tandem had been integral to England’s fortunes throughout their run of five ODI series wins in a row.”The atmosphere at a World Cup will be very intoxicating and motivating,” said Strauss. “All the best players in the world will be there, and ultimately only one team will walk away with that World Cup. Of course we would have liked to have won the one-day series as preparation, but a few of our guys haven’t been involved and have had an opportunity to have rest through being injured. They are going to come back into the fold and hopefully add a huge amount of impetus for us moving forward. They should be fit, but they need to find some rhythm pretty quickly, because I believe our attack is a match for anyone in the world.”Once a wide-ranging press conference had been completed, it was time for Strauss to step out into the sunshine, and pose with the urn with his back barely 50 metres from the perimeter fence of Heathrow Airport. The incongruity was impossible to ignore – almost as incongruous, in fact, as his earlier opening statement had been. “Without a doubt this is the best and most successful tour I’ve been on,” he had said, a fact that had rung so emphatically true in Sydney on January 8, but which felt wistfully hollow in London on February 8.All of which begged the ultimate question. What exactly has this past month been all about? Answers on a postcard, please. But make sure it’s addressed to the Sheraton in Dhaka. Because by the end of the week, there will be no-one at home to reply.

A round-up of the eighth round of games from the Stanbic Bank Twenty20 tournament in Zimbabwe

John Ward19-Feb-2010Ray Price scythed through Mountaineers’ strong batting line-up, taking five wickets in less than three overs to bowl Mashonaland Eagles to a resounding 82-run win at Harare Sports Club. Chasing a target of 142, which had been built around Greg Lamb’s 40, Mountaineers surrendered for a dismal 59 all out to hand Eagles the bragging rights ahead of the tournament final tomorrow.Mountaineers were in trouble right from the start of their chase and Eagles quickly had the match in the bag. Hamilton Masakadza, after surviving a close lbw appeal, showed good form again, scoring 16 off 11 balls. But the crucial dismissal of the innings came when he tried to sweep Price, who bowled the second over, and misread an arm ball which went straight on and trapped him lbw.Prince Masvaure then produced an absolute jaffa that came back off the pitch and bowled Tatenda Taibu first ball, and after that Mountaineers showed little fight. Stuart Matsikenyeri briefly tried to rally the team, scoring 10 before driving a catch to mid-off. When he fell the match was as good as over at 41 for 5 in the seventh over.The tail certainly did themselves little credit, hitting out indiscriminately, and the side crumbled for 59 in less than 12 overs. Even allowing for the difficult pitch, it was the poorest batting display of the tournament. Price, the main beneficiary, had Natsai Mushangwe stumped to wrap up the game, and finished the remarkable figures of 5 for 12 off just 17 deliveries.There had been heavy rains overnight, and when Mountaineers won the toss they decided to field, believing the pitch would have retained enough moisture to make batting first a trial. Eagles did lose early wickets, the first being Doug Marillier for 2, skying an attempted pull. Cephas Zhuwawo and Forster Mutizwa were both out to brilliant boundary catches by Shingi Masakadza, but Masvaure and Lamb soon had the score galloping along, with the fifty coming up in the seventh over.Masvaure was stumped on 24, carelessly running down the wicket to Mushangwe, and for once Elton Chigumbura failed, making only 7 before he was out to a third brilliant catch by Masakadza, leaping high at long on to catch what had appeared to be a certain six. With his wicket Eagles were tottering at 82 for 5 in the 13th over.Lamb and Regis Chakabva put the innings back on track with a useful partnership, before Lamb went for 40 off 34 balls, slicing a drive to extra cover. Chakabva fell to a sharp run out for 24, and Trevor Garwe to another brilliant catch near the boundary. With the ball was not coming on to the bat reliably after the rain, Greg Smith picked up 5 for 27 with his medium pacers as Eagles totalled 141 for 9, which seemed a good effort under the conditions, and proved to be a match-winning one. With this result, Eagles overtake Mountaineers in the log for the first time, and the same two teams will meet in the final tomorrow – weather permitting.The chance to play Matabeleland Tuskers for third place in the tournament was at stake in the second match of the day between Desert Vipers and Mid West Rhinos. A dashing finish to the Vipers’ innings took them to 141 for 7 and gave Rhinos a target to chase. They looked likely to achieve it at the halfway stage of their innings, but then began a fatal middle-order slide, allowing Vipers to take control of the match and eventually win by 8 runs.Rhinos won the toss and took the cautious route after this morning’s match, deciding to field. Vipers, equally uncertain of the pitch, were wary at first, scoring just 4 runs in the first two overs. They were also pegged back by the loss of Raymond van Schoor, caught short by a fine throw from Vusi Sibanda. His partner, Gerrit Rudolph, soon followed in the same way. Tobias Verwey, promoted to number three, hit a valuable 21 off 17 balls, while Craig Williams played a restrained innings of 15 before holing out at deep midwicket. After 15 overs, the score was a mediocre 83 for 5.It was the rather unlikely pairing of opening bowlers Christi Viljoen and Louis Klazinga that finally did the trick for the Vipers, hammering 45 runs together in just over four overs. Both hit two sixes, Viljoen’s in successive balls off Graeme Cremer.Riki Wessels got Rhinos’ chase off to a blazing start, as 16 came off Klazinga’s opening over – with 12 of those runs from Wessels. He hammered 32 off 15 balls, with six fours, before being yorked by Viljoen with the first ball of the fourth over. He had already lost Sibanda, who hammered a catch straight to extra cover, but Darren Stevens and Brendan Taylor consolidated for a while before Stevens broke free with two driven sixes in an over off Bernard Scholtz, the first clearing the pavilion. After ten overs Rhinos were well on course for victory at 79 for 2.It all changed when first Taylor and then Stevens lofted catches to the deep in quick succession. Malcolm Waller soon followed suit for 16 and Ollie Rayner was dismissed lbw without scoring, hitting across the line. Suddenly, with five overs left, Rhinos’ last four wickets needed to score 35 to win. Hard as Friday Kasteni tried, he could not reach the boundary, and with wickets continuing to tumble, Vipers sealed a comfortable consolatory win.