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In the end England’s eight-wicket victory came with ease on the final afternoon at Lord’s as they comfortably chased down 160 following Steven Finn’s first five-wicket haul in Test cricket

The Bulletin by Andrew McGlashan31-May-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Steven Finn continued his outstanding match to secure a five-wicket haul on his home grund•Getty Images

In the end England’s eight-wicket victory came with ease on the final afternoon at Lord’s as they comfortably chased down 160 following Steven Finn’s first five-wicket haul in Test cricket. Andrew Strauss guided the pursuit with a confident 82 after the visitors’ last five wickets fell for 35 under cloudy skies against Finn and Tim Bresnan, yet they have done much to enhance their standing over the last five days.With the ball new and the morning overcast the odds were always against Bangladesh delaying England long enough to put the result in serious doubt. It took ten overs to make the breakthrough but they then chipped away regularly to wrap up the innings on the stroke of lunch. Strauss and Alastair Cook were gifted a 60-run start by some woeful bowling and negative fielding settings. The only tension was to see whether the win would come before tea. Despite Kevin Pietersen playing out a maiden from Shakib Al Hasan some scurrying from the umpires ensured it did.However, without Finn England would have had serious problems dismissing Bangladesh twice in this match. The 21-year-old has led the bowling effort in both innings, impressing with his maturity, accuracy and stamina. Strauss gave him an eight-over spell on the final morning and he responded with three further wickets to earn a place on the honours board in his first Test on his home ground.Junaid Siddique and Shakib fought hard to survive and, as often happens when pressure builds, it was one of worst deliveries that made the breakthrough when Shakib cut a wide ball straight to Eoin Morgan at point. Siddique had again resisted stubbornly while England tried to pepper him with the short ball and the tactic could well have played a part in his demise as he tried to drive with his feet planted in the crease and popped a catch to mid off.That gave Finn his fourth and this time he wasn’t going to be denied a place on the board when he produced a beauty that climbed and took Mushfiqur Rahim’s outside edge. However, he couldn’t quite claim the scalp that would have made him the first since Ian Botham in 1978 to claim a 10-wicket match haul at Lord’s.James Anderson endured a frustrating morning as his rhythm continued to improve but was unable to add to his collection. He produced a testing nine-over burst and regularly beat the outside edge, but the closest he came to a breakthrough was when Bresnan spilled a tough chance at third slip off Mahmudullah.Mahmudullah, who is batting far too low even taking into account the nightwatchman, continued the defiance shown by many of his team-mates. He and Rubel Hossain resisted for 10 overs until Bresnan found Rubel’s edge as the No. 10 tried to leave the ball. It’s been a difficult match for Bresnan, and he came in for some guarded criticism from Andy Flower on the fourth evening, but he closed the innings when Mahmudullah had a wild heave in the last over before lunch and ended with 3 for 93.While Bangladesh’s batting is making huge strides, there progress will be held back by the weak pace bowling. Shahadat Hossain’s opening over went for 11 as he sprayed the ball wide at Strauss, while Rubel and Robiul were given an over apiece before spin came on from both ends.Mahmudullah removed Cook as the left hander was given out lbw on the front foot and replays showed the ball would have gone over the stumps for the second time in the game. Strauss, though, eased to his second fifty of the match from 50 balls – nothing more than a gentle net for the captain – while Jonathan Trott eked along at his own sedate pace before Strauss was caught behind cutting with 13 needed.The final result was as expected, yet Bangladesh can take great heart from the way they took the game five days and made England dig deep. Strauss and Flower will expect their side to be far more commanding in the second, at Old Trafford, on Friday but the visitors will have ambitions to make a mark of their own.

The win was set up by the South Africa fast bowlers, who combined to stop Netherlands at 103 for 9

Shashank Kishore08-Jun-20242:46

Miller: I knew I had to finish the game

South Africa made heavy weather of a modest chase in New York before David Miller and Tristan Stubbs dug deep to save them from a third straight defeat at Netherlands’ hands at an ICC tournament.Miller and Stubbs added 65 for the fifth wicket to lift them from the pits of 12 for 4 on a pitch that didn’t play anywhere as badly as the scorecard suggested, even though there was enough in it for quick bowlers – 13 of the 15 wickets fell to them, while there were two run outs.As he walked out to bat, Miller might have had a flashback of Adelaide 2022, where his wicket, with 47 needed off 28 balls, shut the door on South Africa and gave Netherlands a 13-run win. On Saturday, Miller stayed the course and remained unbeaten on 59, flicking on his best six-hitting self in the penultimate over with South Africa needing 16 off 12.In the end, in a game where 209 runs were scored in 38.5 overs, South Africa won with enough to spare.Vivian Kingma struck twice in the powerplay•AFP/Getty Images

The South African meltdown

Quinton de Kock was run out without facing a ball. Reeza Hendricks got a peach from Logan van Beek that angled in and straightened to hit the top of off. Vivian Kingma had the first of a double when he strangled Aiden Markram down leg to leave South Africa 3 for 3. And when Heinrich Klaasen’s rush of blood had him picking out Tim Pringle attempting a pull off Kingma, Netherlands dared to dream – or maybe just expected the expected, considering the recent results between the two sides at ICC events.

Miller and Stubbs take over

Both Miller and Stubbs are instinctive batters who love taking the bowlers on. But the situation they walked out to was not for that sort of batting, it was a crisis. A mis-step could have meant curtains. So they chose caution, saw off the powerplay without any further damage, and hit only a further two boundaries until the ten-over mark to leave South Africa needing 72 off the last ten overs.Stubbs was on 9 off 21 at this point, struggling to force the pace, especially when the ball was dug in to the pitch. A hint of grip for the spinners also made it difficult for him to hit out. So when Bas de Leede came on in the 11th, Stubbs gave him the charge and enjoyed a massive slice of luck as a thick inside edge flew wide of the midwicket fielder.Miller, too, rode some luck. A big hit down the ground off left-arm spinner Pringle only just eluded the long-on fielder in the 12th over with South Africa still needing 57 off 50.Stubbs finally shrug off the pressure that had built around him with a hoick for six off Vikramjit Singh, and then launched van Beek down the ground three balls later to turn the tide South Africa’s way.David Miller and Tristan Stubbs put on a match-winning 65-run stand for the fifth wicket•ICC/Getty Images

Miller lands the finishing blows

It should have been a smooth ride from there, with South Africa needing 29 off 30. But there was another twist. First, Paul van Meekeren delivered a maiden over to Miller, and the pressure showed when Stubbs holed out to deep midwicket in the next, off Bas de Leede. Then, in the 18th, van Beek came back after being walloped for six by Miller to dismiss Marco Jansen.But, with South Africa needing 16 off 12, de Leede erred in line. Miller began the penultimate over by dispatching a half-tracker over fine leg, and then finished the game with a sequence of 2, 0, 4 and 6 – cue a roar and wild fist pumping.Miller had tamed the demons of Adelaide 2022.Sybrand Engelbrecht top-scored for Netherlands after walking out at a ricky time•ICC/Getty Images

Engelbrecht props up Netherlands

Sybrand Engelbrecht, who represented South Africa at the Under-19 World Cup in 2008 and only recently made his Netherlands’ debut, top-scored with a 45-ball 40 on surface where the next best among the top seven was 12.At the toss, Netherlands were put in to bat seemingly because South Africa wanted to exploit the morning conditions, and had them tottering at 32 for 4. South Africa’s four-pronged pace attack, led by Marco Jansen, was breathing fire at that stage, with pace and bounce off the pitch for assistance.South Africa’s hostility didn’t end there, with Ottneil Baartman and Anrich Nortje ensuring there weren’t any freebies. This resulted in Netherlands attempting to manufacture strokes, like Scott Edwards did when he executed a reverse scoop for six, but they simply didn’t have enough.It came down to Englebrecht’s patient knock and his 54-run association with van Beek to get them into three figures. It would have been inadequate on most days, but Netherlands can give themselves a pat on the back for making a match out of it to keep Group D very open.

The visitors restored some parity by inducing a collapse, picking seven wickets for 79 runs in the final session

Ashish Pant28-Feb-2023Aiden Markram celebrated his return to Test cricket in style notching up his sixth century but Alzarri Joseph’s pacy three-wicket burst helped West Indies storm back into the contest late in the day. South Africa ended day one of the first Test on 314 for 8.On a surface that had something in for the bowlers all day, Markram, playing his first Test since August 2022, put on a cover drive masterclass en route to 115. But West Indies restored some parity by inducing a collapse, picking seven wickets for 79 runs in the final session.Temba Bavuma won the toss in his first assignment as full-time Test captain and elected to bat first with the hosts getting in two debutants – top order batter Tony de Zorzi and fast bowler Gerald Coetzee. Kemar Roach came in for West Indies in place of Gutakesh Motie, who was out due to a back injury.Dean Elgar and Markram held their own in a near-perfect morning session for the hosts adding 99 runs in 28 overs. West Indies did have a chance to get that early wicket, with Elgar edging a straightforward catch to Jermaine Blackwood at third slip off Kyle Mayers, but the fielder made a mess of it.Shannon Gabriel troubled Elgar with the short ball, including a shoulder-high delivery that drew a top edge over the wicketkeeper’s head. There was also a leg-side trap in place for him, but the former captain survived all that and brought up his 23rd Test fifty off 84 balls.Markram, at the other end, back with renewed confidence after recently leading Sunrisers Eastern Cape at the SA20, played a couple of stunning cover drives to signal his intentions early. He was largely untroubled with whatever the West Indies bowlers threw at him as the duo went into the break unscathed.Markram started the second session from where he left off in the first driving Jason Holder in the gap through covers, which also brought up the hundred for South Africa in the 29th over. Gabriel continued with the short-ball ploy but Elgar, now more confident, brought out the ramp over the slip fielders.Alzarri Joseph’s scorching yorker knocked over Aiden Markram•AFP/Getty Images

Then it was Markram’s turn to bring up his half-century, his tenth in Test cricket, with a push through covers. Elgar ramped Joseph over slips again but the very shot brought about his downfall two balls later. Joseph moved the fielder to deep third and went for another bouncer, closer to Elgar’s body. He arched back, trying to ramp him again, but ended up hitting it straight to Blackwood who took a stunning catch after a bit of misjudgment.With de Zorzi in at No.3, West Indies would have harboured hopes of some sort of a comeback. The debutant, however, quickly put those thoughts to bed, adding 78 runs for the second wicket off 127 balls. South Africa went into tea 206 for 1 and eyeing a big first-innings with Markram unbeaten on 97 and de Zorzi largely comfortable on 22.Things, however, unravelled rather quickly in the final session. Markram had a scare on 99 when a caught-behind decision was sent upstairs but the on-field decision of not out was upheld. He did not waste much time, crashing Joseph’s short-of-a-length ball past point to bring up his first Test century since February 2021.However, a combination of an excellent piece of fielding and lazy running brought about de Zorzi’s wicket and opened the floodgates. De Zorzi’s cut was intercepted well at deep point by Tagenarine Chanderpaul. The duo ran two but for some reason, de Zorzi came back searching for a third only to be sent back. Chanderpaul fired in a wide throw that Joshua Da Silva palmed back onto the stumps, catching de Zorzi by surprise, who was found to be inches short.Two balls later Joseph pinned Bavuma bang in front of the stumps for a duck before a pinpoint yorker on the base of off stump left Markram’s stumps in a mess. From 206 for 1, the hosts had slipped to 236 for 5.Heinrich Klassen came out with an attacking intent even as Keegan Peterson, back after an injury, struggled for timing. Klaasen’s cameo did not last long, though, with Gabriel sending him back for 20 via a short ball that he pulled to Joseph at mid-on.The West Indies bowlers then stuck to a plan and got the ball to hoop around. Senuran Muthusamy was caught in front shouldering arms to a full-length Roach delivery, while Mayers ended Peterson’s struggle on 14.Coetzee struck two fours off his first two balls in Test cricket before bad light brought about an early close of play with only 82 overs possible on the opening day.

India now have 12 available players for the Uganda fixture, with five more players set to arrive in time for the quarter-finals

Sreshth Shah22-Jan-2022A day after India called up reinforcements in the form of five reserve players to be flown into the Caribbean for the Under-19 World Cup following a Covid-19 outbreak in the camp, the team has made an additional change to the squad: right-arm seamer Vasu Vats has been approved by the event technical committee as a temporary Covid replacement for right-arm fingerspinner Manav Parakh.The BCCI had originally named Vats in their 17-member squad for the tournament, but ESPNcricinfo understands that the group was divided into 15 main squad members and two travelling reserves. Vats was part of the second category, along with batter Aaradhya Yadav.Related

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Both Vats and Aaradhya were in the group of six that had isolated on Wednesday prior to the game against Ireland. But, while Aaradhya has since tested positive for Covid-19, Vats has returned negative tests. That made him the only available option to be added to the squad before India’s final group-stage game, against Uganda on Saturday. That has taken the number of available players for India to 12.Parakh, as well as designated captain Yash Dhull and vice-captain Shaik Rasheed, and Siddarth Yadav are currently in isolation. But, once he recovers, Parakh will be allowed to return in Vats’ place.In Dhull and Rasheed’s absence, India are being captained by allrounder Nishant Sindhu, and under him, India beat Ireland by 174 runs to secure qualification into the Super League quarter-finals. A win against Uganda will see India top Group B, which will then set up a quarter-final game in Antigua and Barbuda against either Bangladesh or UAE.On Friday, the BCCI had sent five players – Uday Saharan, Abishek Porel, Rishith Reddy, Ansh Gosai and Pushpendra Singh Rathore – as cover to the Caribbean, but they were not going to be available for the Uganda fixture since they have to serve mandatory quarantine after landing in the West Indies. However, they could be used as either temporary or permanent squad replacements if India so need ahead of their quarter-final on January 29.India are not the only team to be affected by Covid-19 in the competition. Four Zimbabwe players had tested positive before the tournament, and on Friday, the West Indies team, after the ICC’s approval, had two players temporarily replaced in the squad after Onaje Amory and Jaden Carmichael tested positive.India squad for Uganda fixture: Nishant Sindhu (capt), Harnoor Singh, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Aneeshwar Gautam, Dinesh Bana, Raj Angad Bawa, Kaushal Tambe, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Vicky Ostwal, Ravi Kumar, Garv Sangwan, Vasu Vats.

Gloucestershire clinging on at 63 for 8 as bad light intervenes

ECB Reporters Network24-Aug-2020Craig Overton and Josh Davey continued to wreak havoc with Gloucestershire’s batting as Somerset were defied by the weather on the third day of the Bob Willis Trophy match at Taunton.What little play there was saw the visitors stumble from 14 for 3 at the start of play to 63 for 8, chasing an unlikely 385 to win.Overton and Davey ended the day with identical figures of four for 25 and their team were clearly unhappy when umpires Ian Blackwell and Paul Baldwin deemed the light too pour to continue with a possible five overs remaining.While the Gloucestershire batsmen made for the sanctuary of the pavilion, Somerset’s fielders remained on the outfield and head coach Jason Kerr stood in lengthy conversation with the umpires. Clearly concerned that more rain is forecast tomorrow, Kerr and his players were desperate to complete victory, having been denied an almost certain win by the elements in their previous group match against Warwickshire.Heavy overnight rain followed by showers meant no play before tea. When the players finally emerged from the dressing rooms at 4pm, Somerset had a potential 39.4 overs to clinch victory with a day to spare.But at 5.25pm the rain returned, with Gloucestershire 61 for six, and a further ten overs were lost. When play restarted at 6.05pm, only eight remained in the day. With three of them bowled and with the floodlights on, the umpires made the ruling on the light to complete a day of intense frustration for Somerset.Craig Overton had made the first breakthrough of the day, comprehensively beating George Hankins’ defensive shot and uprooting two of his stumps in the first full over to make the score 23 for 4.Ryan Higgins confidently off-drove his first delivery for four and then top-edged a six over third-man off Overton, but soon it was 49 for five as Graeme van Buuren’s loose shot saw him caught behind off Davey.Gareth Roderick failed to trouble the scorers, carelessly chipping a catch to Eddie Byrom at mid-wicket off Davey and at 49 for six, a three-day finish looked in prospect.But the former Middlesex pairing of Higgins and George Scott survived for eight overs as Jamie Overton and Jack Brooks took up the attack.After 40 minutes more were lost to rain, Craig Overton struck with the sixth delivery of the resumption, pinning Higgins lbw for 21.But soon the light was not considered good enough to continue and Somerset will be praying overnight that there is sufficient play tomorrow to complete a dominant performance.

Essex carved out a first-innings lead but a draw looks the likeliest outcome after Surrey’s openers batted to the close

Alan Gardner at The Oval13-Apr-2019Surrey 395 and 68 for 0 lead Essex 448 (ten Doeschate 130, Lawrence 93) by 15 runs
The Championship season is only just stirring from its winter slumber but already Surrey have experienced the intrusion of a muffled alarm call. Ryan ten Doeschate’s propulsive hundred sent Essex into the ascendency just past the midpoint of this game and it needed some careful batting by the Surrey openers, Rory Burns and Mark Stoneman, to hit the snooze button again as they wrote off a 53-run deficit on the third evening.If Surrey are to build another trophy-laden dynasty to match those of previous eras in south London, they will have to take on all-comers. Being at the head of the pack comes with added challenges, opponents tooled up to knock you down – as in Mario Kart, sometimes a blue leader shell will hit you out of nowhere.Essex felt the heat themselves last season, when they quickly fell off the pace in their title defence, and came into this match off the back of a shellacking at Hampshire. But inspired by their captain they fought tenaciously to reach a position from which the only likely loser was Surrey – even if a benign pitch mitigated against a collapse.With only 20 wickets having fallen across three days a draw beckons, although it would have been interesting to note the effect if Jamie Porter, springing to his left in his follow through, had been able to grasp Burns’ leading edge from the first ball of the innings.Surrey may well end up being thankful for such a vigorous tussle in their first outing. They began the day hoping for a victory push but, with the pennant fluttering above the pavilion, having replaced the Union flag that flew on days one and two – rumour was Surrey’s scorer had been sleeping with it under his pillow – those windcheater-clad faithful who hunkered down beneath a patchwork of cloud cover had to endure a ten Doeschate masterclass as he took his first-class average against Surrey into the 80s with a first Oval hundred.It was ten Doeschate who rolled up his sleeves and got Essex over the line at this ground last year, an unbeaten 53 securing a one-wicket win that ended Surrey’s chances of going through the campaign unbeaten (as Essex had the year before). The captain set his jaw against the prevailing winds – whipped up principally by Morne Morkel – and made sure that the deposed champions would not achieve an unwanted record by losing on the back of a 410-run lead.Ten Doeschate may be approaching 39 and creaking a little more than he used to (he was unable to finish a solitary over of bowling on the first day of this match), but he can still summon bloody-minded belligerence for the cause. Essex’s last recognised batsman when he walked out at 168 for 4 on Friday afternoon, he helped fashion partnerships of 81 and 102 for the next two wickets, doing the bulk of the scoring himself.There were 20 fours in all, including a number of broad-beamed biffs through the off side, and one skip down the wicket to dump the spin of Freddie van den Bergh for six over long-on. No shot was finer than the straight drive off Morkel, armed with the second new ball, that took ten Doeschate to 99; the next delivery was dinked neatly into the covers for the scampered single that raised his 20th first-class hundred for Essex.Having been 20 not out overnight, ten Doeschate hustled another 110 from 140 balls to push Surrey on to the back foot – a turnaround that did not seem likely after Essex had been 20 for 2 in reply to 395. Other than the possibility of an inside edge on 66, with the ball ballooning up for a return catch to van den Bergh, he was as secure as a bank vault during almost four hours at the crease.Essex might have had two centurions but Dan Lawrence departed seven short, steering Rikki Clarke to slip having seen off the opening bursts from Morkel and Tom Curran. Middlesex loanee Robbie White was then neat and tidy in making 39 on his first Essex appearance.When ten Doeschate eventually fell, a first Surrey wicket for the persevering Liam Plunkett who came back well after a chastening start to his debut, Essex were still 10 runs in arrears. But Peter Siddle popped his collar to good effect at No. 9, while Porter got bravely into line against a peppering from Morkel, as the last two partnerships kept Surrey in the field for another 20 overs to secure a fifth batting point and a hard-won advantage.

Earlier in the one-day series, the India captain batted according to the match situation, did just what his team needed. Now, with the result of the game holding little value, he had the licence to let himself go, and boy did he put on a show

Sidharth Monga in Centurion17-Feb-2018After sealing the series in Port Elizabeth, with the temptation of a clean sweep not alive, Virat Kohli suggested he might rest some of India’s key players, not least because there are players in that ODI squad who haven’t had a go in the series. Come game day in the dead rubber, India were full strength again. The only man missing out was Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who hasn’t been at his best and was showing signs of fatigue. Despite having played in every match on the tour, Jasprit Bumrah continued to play on.And so did captain Kohli. You could see sense if Kohli wanted to rest it out before the T20I series in two days’ time, but after having watched him bat, you are thankful he didn’t. How could he miss this? He had played tough, tense cricket on the tour so far; now was the time to celebrate, to show South Africa what he was truly capable of after having batted in a certain role through the series, mindful of a slightly weaker lower-middle order.Through the series, it has looked impossible to get Kohli out once he has batted for 10 to 15 balls. In Durban, he offered a catch second ball, which claimed Faf du Plessis’ finger on the way to the boundary. In Cape Town, he was given out lbw third ball only for DRS to save him. That’s about the only two times he has looked in trouble. Yet he has mostly batted within himself. In Cape Town, for example, he kept losing partners, which meant he had to delay his charge. The Durban chase didn’t need any big hitting but required one big innings, which meant he had to play within himself again. In Johannesburg, he fell just as he was hitting a higher gear. In Port Elizabeth, he was run out.On Friday night, though, Kohli had the licence to let himself go. The target was small, the pitch wasn’t demanding, and South Africa were in no mood to play the long game. They were going to gamble with attacking fields. If he hadn’t already done it, Kohli was going to dominate on this night. And dominate he did with joyful stroke-play, scoring 129 off just 96 balls. For a change, Kohli hit the ball in the air early on in the innings. For a change, he scored 88 of his runs in boundaries. In Cape Town, with the series alive and a wicket gone in the first over, it had been the opposite: hitting in the air only towards the end and running 100 of his 160 runs.This was as if to show the world he could bat much more aggressively, but, in the better interest of the team, in adjusting to match situations, he batted the way he did earlier in the series. He still managed a small matter of two centuries in five matches.Still, Kohli wasn’t done. He had another score to settle. After celebrations, he walked to the same press-conference room where he had a run-in with reporters even as he nursed his wounds from the Test series. He was hurting that day, and clearly hadn’t forgotten the unpleasant press conference or the reporting thereafter. “One month back we were a very bad team,” Kohli said when asked if this was the biggest ODI series win for him. “Now we are being asked these questions [which glorify the team]. We haven’t changed our mindset. We have just focused on our cricket.”I don’t want to get lost in such thoughts: whether this is the biggest win or no. Our work is to play the game, strive hard, our work is to perform and try to win every match. Now whether this is the biggest win or not, whoever wants to analyse, write, [they] will do so. For us as a team, our only motive is to give 120% effort, strive hard in practice, keep our mindset good on every day of the tour and prepare so well that we can go and win. We have achieved that this series, and that gives us most happiness. Creating these tags or headlines is not our work. We just wanted to play cricket, which we have executed perfectly this series.”I know for a fact that 90% of the people didn’t give us a chance after two Tests. I was sitting in the same room giving a press conference. So we understand where we’ve come from. I’m not going to live in a dreamland right now and accept all the praise and sit here and feel good about this because it doesn’t matter to me. Honestly, it doesn’t. It didn’t matter when we were 2-0 down [in the Tests], it doesn’t matter when we’re 5-1 up. Because what matters is the respect in the change room. What matters is what the management thinks about me, what I think about the players and what the players think about me. That’s all that matters to me. These things do not matter. I know the headlines change day in and day out. Tomorrow I play a bad shot and get out for zero, everyone will conveniently do what they want to do.”Sitting next to Kohli, coach Ravi Shastri was in no mood to see the series win in the light of a weakened South African opposition, which missed three gun players in two of the six matches, two in three and one in one. “One thing history tells me, I have been coming here since 1992, there is not one South African side in the world that anyone can say is a weak side,” he said. “You just look at their bilateral record, and they are one of the great sides in bilateral cricket. I have followed this game for a long time. I have been a broadcaster as well and covered a lot of South Africa games, and I know how they play. So I would like my boys to enjoy every bit of this series win. Whatever the scoreline is, they must enjoy because it doesn’t happen every day.””We had the same mindset when we played in Sri Lanka recently, we had the same mindset when we beat Australia,” Kohli said. “When we beat Sri Lanka 9-0, everyone said it’s a weak team. When we beat Australia, they still said Australia is not a good ODI side. Then we beat New Zealand, then we beat Sri Lanka again, and we’ve beaten South Africa here again. So the focus has always been on the team. It doesn’t matter who is playing, who is not playing. Whether the team is what it is supposed to be or it’s not, it’s not in our hands and it’s none of our concern.”

Firdose Moonda09-Jan-20170:40

Quick Facts – Farhaan Behardien

Farhaan Behardien will captain a new-look South African T20 outfit in their series against Sri Lanka later this month, which includes six new caps. The 13-man squad for the first two matches has only four members – Behardien, David Miller, Imran Tahir, Aaron Phangiso – who were part of South Africa’s last T20 matches at the World T20 in March 2016.Kyle Abbott, Rilee Rossouw and David Wiese were not considered because both have recently signed Kolpak deals to play in county cricket, thereby ending their international careers.The radical changes to the South Africa squad – including resting regular skipper Faf du Plessis and several senior players such as Hashim Amla, JP Duminy, Quinton de Kock and Kagiso Rabada – come as a result of a packed fixture list which has seen scant breaks since last November. South Africa had three weeks between their Tests in Australia to the home series against Sri Lanka and will only have four days between the end of that and their trip to New Zealand. They have identified the shortest format, which does not have a major tournament coming up until at least 2018, as the area they can afford to experiment in.

All change for SA T20

IN: Theunis de Bruyn, Reeza Hendricks, Heino Kuhn, Mangaliso Mosehle, Lungi Ngidi, Dane Paterson, Andile Phehlukwayo, Jon-Jon Smuts, Wayne Parnell
OUT: Faf du Plessis, Kyle Abbott, Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Chris Morris, Kagiso Rabada, Rilee Rossouw, Dale Steyn, David Wiese

“We have decided to rest some of our key senior players for this series,” Linda Zondi, convener of selector said. “This is the last chance we have to do this as the ODI series that follows is an important part of our build-up to the Champions Trophy tournament in England in the middle of the year.”Those senior players who are involved in the Indian Premier League will be playing non-stop from now until the end of August with the tours coming up to New Zealand and England in addition to the ICC event.”There are two veterans who may return for the final fixture, though. AB de Villiers and Morne Morkel, neither of whom have played since the CPL in June because of elbow and back injuries respectively, are both due to play a List A game for Northerns on January 22, three days before the final T20 in Cape Town. Should they come through that match unscathed, they will be considered for the last match and South Africa’s tour to New Zealand.Some of the new inclusions will also be eyeing that trip. Although South Africa play just one T20 in Auckland, they will know there are places up for grabs in the ODI squad, especially with the new ball. Andile Phehlukwayo, who was South Africa’s highest wicket-taker in the recent ODI series against Australia and is likely to make his T20 debut against Sri Lanka, could be in contention for that role.Dane Paterson, the Cobras quick, will also fancy his chances. Paterson took just six wickets from nine matches at 39.00 in this season’s T20 competition but was in the top ten in the 2014-15 and 2015-16 editions. Titans bowler Lungi Ngidi, 20, who played a pivotal role in their victory in the domestic T20 final with 2 for 27 in four overs, is the other new face in the bowling department.Among the batsmen, some established players have been rewarded for seasons of consistency. Jon-Jon Smuts from the Warriors, who topped the T20 competition run charts with 371 runs at 41.22, is among them. Heino Kuhn was seventh on the list and has the chance to add to his five T20 caps while Reeza Hendricks, who has played the same number of T20 internationals but did not perform particularly well for the Lions, was also included. Theunis de Bruyn, who is the reserve batsmen in the Test squad and only played half this season’s T20 matches but scored 195 runs at 48.75, has also been included.In the absence of de Kock and de Villiers, Mangaliso Mosehle is set to take the wicketkeeping gloves. Mosehle is also a handy middle-order batsman and finished eighth on the run list in the T20 tournament.Among those overlooked were Rassie van der Dussen, who was fourth on the batting charts, Andrew Birch, who finished as the second highest wicket-taker, and Sisanda Magala, who was third. Chris Morris could not be considered because he has yet to make a comeback from a knee injury that has sidelined him for the last three months. Morris was due to play for the Titans in a first-class match last week but the fixture was rained out.South Africa T20 squad: Farhaan Behardien (capt), Theunis de Bruyn, Reeza Hendricks, Imran Tahir, Heino Kuhn, David Miller, Mangaliso Mosehle, Lungi Ngidi, Wayne Parnell, Dane Paterson, Aaron Phangiso, Andile Phehlukwayo, Jon-Jon Smuts

Punjab recover from 80 for 5 to end the opening day on 248 for 8 at Green Park in Kanpur

The Report by Vishal Dikshit in Kanpur23-Nov-2015
ScorecardFile photo: Gitansh Khera (in pic) and Mayank Sidhana revived Punjab with a 138-run stand after UP pacers ran riot in the opening session on Day 1 in Kanpur•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

There isn’t much going on in Kanpur to suggest a match involving international stars such as Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh and Praveen Kumar is underway. You could experience a mash-up of several DJs in the evenings as marriages take place in wholesale amounts. You could also inadvertently be involved in arguments in tea shops over what the newly-elected government will do, or not do, in neighbouring state Bihar. Or you could try to estimate the size of the massive hoardings that have been up all over the city to celebrate Mulayam Singh Yadav’s birthday that was on Sunday.Amidst all this, low-profile batsmen Mayank Sidhana and Gitansh Khera led Punjab’s fight back at Green Park, where Uttar Pradesh had reduced the visitors to 80 for 5 just after lunch on the opening day. The pair combined to revive Punjab with a 138-run stand that saved the side from being bundled out for another paltry score. Sidhana was playing a first-class match for the first time in nearly two years, but his batting showed otherwise.

Sidhana makes hay in Gurkeerat’s absence

Punjab’s top-scorer Mayank Sidhana (85) last played a first-class match in December 2013 and would have sat out of today’s match it not been for one of his team-mates’ injury. Punjab had to make one change once allrounder Gurkeerat Singh was called up to join India’s Test squad, but his original replacement was not Sidhana.
“Now you can call it fate or anything that the player who was going to play had a stiff back and only five minutes before the toss I came to know that I had to play,” Sidhana said after the match.
“Taruwar Kohli was going to play initially. He was not in the squad originally but Gurkeerat Mann left to join the Indian team so Kohli was brought in. He bats and bowls some medium-pace, but he got a stiff back just before the toss.”

Punjab’s wickets fell thick and fast once they were put in on a green pitch. The UP bowlers made full use of the conditions early on by making the batsmen play most of the deliveries, even if they conceded the odd boundary. Praveen swung the ball both ways in trademark fashion with four slips, and Ankit Rajpoot used the corridor with back-of-length deliveries that reaped benefits.Even though Praveen started with a huge lbw appeal against Manan Vohra on the first ball of the match, it was Rajpoot who removed the openers. Rajpoot trapped Jiwanjot Singh lbw with an inswinger, and had Vohra caught behind with an outswinger off his next over. Praveen then got into the act and was rewarded after a brief stand of 35 runs between Uday Kaul and Mandeep Singh. Uday had nudged the ball around for his 16 runs, but lost his off stump when he played down the wrong line in Praveen’s second spell.The Kanpur crowd was then treated to a short bout between Praveen and Yuvraj. Praveen sent down a bouncer to welcome Yuvraj before the left-handed batsmen unleashed his symbolic flamingo flick to the midwicket boundary that drew big cheer. Praveen then resorted to an outside-off-stump line and the crowd “oooh”ed when an outside edge from Yuvraj fell just short of first slip. Four overs later, Praveen erred on the pads again and Yuvraj was happy to flick one more for four.Like a replay of the first edge, Praveen went back to outside off and Yuvraj got a faint edge for the wicketkeeper this time. Mandeep Singh had survived till now by defending plenty and pulling Imtiaz Ahmed for fours when he pitched the ball short. But the same bowler accounted for Mandeep off the 12th ball after lunch when he reached out for a widish delivery outside off to be caught behind.That brought together Sidhana and Khera. The two batsmen played out the rest of the second session with hardly any trouble. The ball was nearly 40 overs old, the sun was out and the pitch was being labelled a ” (fake) green top” by the locals. Sidhana and Khera are very similar batsmen – both are tall, right-handed, play the ball late and use the pace of the ball to steer it into gaps.In the second session they took minimal risk and started by pushing the ball for singles and doubles, did not hesitate to put away the loose balls for fours, and punished the spinners with hardly any turn on offer. Unlike the batsmen who preceded them, they scored at more than three runs per over and grew in confidence after tea. Soon after Sidhana brought up his ninth first-class fifty, Khera danced down the track to launch left-arm spinner Saurabh Kumar over long-on to reach 50, and take the stand past 100. Sidhana also joined in by dispatching Piyush Chawla for six from the other end to approach the 80s.UP finally got some relief when part-time medium-pacer Akshdeep Nath broke the stand. Sidhana, too, paid the price for poking outside off and gave wicketkeeper Eklavya Dwivedi his fourth catch of the day. Two overs later Saurabh held on to an excellent catch running backwards from mid-on to dismiss Harbhajan. UP took the second new ball immediately and Rajpoot drew an edge from Khera’s bat but he was dropped on 61 at first slip. Two overs later, Rajpoot trapped Siddharth Kaul lbw and Punjab ended on 248 for 8 with Khera on 73 as bad light cut the day short by three overs.

The first-ever Twenty20 at the Queens Sports Club ground in Bulawayo was a thriller with the home team squeezing home by six runs

The Report by Mohammad Isam11-May-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Shakib Al Hasan was superb with bat and ball, but it wasn’t enough for Bangladesh•AFP

The first-ever Twenty20 at the Queens Sports Club ground in Bulawayo was a thriller with the home team squeezing home by six runs. Zimbabwe fought back mightily when it mattered and Bangladesh imploded just when they could smell the win. The visitors collapsed from 120 for 1 in the 15th over to being kept down to 162 for 8. Tinashe Panyangara bowled a terrific final over, giving away just three runs as the Bangladesh lower-order failed to play smartly.Zimbabwe had earlier made 168 for 5 after deciding to bat first. Hamilton Masakadza struck his seventh fifty while captain Brendan Taylor made a quickfire 40 as they put Zimbabwe on course for a big total. Bangladesh were brought back into the game by their spinners after the Taylor-Masakadza partnership ended, with Shakib Al Hasan getting both wickets and bowling economically in between.Shakib was doing the job with the bat too, hammering 65 off 40 balls and helping add 118 for the second wicket with Shamsur Rahman. He struck eight disdainful fours and two sixes while Shamsur ended up with his maiden fifty, after a slow start.The pair had taken Bangladesh to within 49 of the target with 34 balls to go, but the moment Shakib was dismissed, the Bangladesh batsmen started to make a meal of the chase.Shamsur fell two balls later and it was down to the Bangladesh captain, Mushfiqur Rahman, to steer the chase. He began badly though, involved in two mix-ups that ended in run-outs of Nasir Hossain and Mahmudullah in the 16th over. Nasir was inches short of safety as Tinotenda Mutombodzi broke the stumps. Mahmudullah was far from the crease at the other end after he got mixed calls from Mushfiqur; Mutombodzi swooped on the ball to his left and scored a direct-hit.Then the pressure got to Ziaur Rahman, the Twenty20 specialist who had a torrid time connecting bat on ball. He frustrated Mushfiqur, with whom he almost had a collision, before falling to Panyangara’s clever length in the 18th over. This wicket, and the eight runs from the over, perhaps swayed Taylor into picking Panyangara to bowl the last over.Mushfiqur hit two sixes in the melee of wickets, before holing out to deep square-leg off the first ball of the final over when 10 runs were required. Panyangara was more resourceful in his last two overs than his first two, keeping it full to choke the runs. Sohag Gazi has some batting credentials but looked out of his depth towards the end of the chase while Abdur Razzak missed everything even though he was given room to swing.Panyangara took three wickets while Prosper Utseya broke the Shakib-Shamsur partnership, taking both wickets. Brian Vitori was also excellent, giving away just 24 from his four overs and picking up the wicket of Tamim Iqbal in the first over.This, after the Bangladesh spinners brought them back into the game with some control over the big-hitting in the last seven overs. Taylor and Masakadza put on 74 for the second wicket with the Zimbabwe captain severe on anything pitched on legstump. He made 40 off 25 balls with six fours and a paddle-swept six. He fell in the ninth over, after which Masakadza tried to up the run-rate but wasn’t too successful.He was dismissed after making 59 off 48 balls with four boundaries and a six. They failed to get the big hits away in the last five overs, with Shakib taking 2 for 20 and one wicket apiece for Gazi, Shafiul Islam and Mahmudullah.Bangladesh now have a final shot at redeeming the tour on Sunday. Mushfiqur will be under some pressure as he was in charge after the Shakib-Shamsur partnership broke, but couldn’t see the team through.