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Islamabad United opener Sam Billings combined clean timing with explosive power-hitting to ensure the defending champions inflicted the season’s first defeat upon Quetta Gladiators

The Report by Danyal Rasool15-Feb-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsIn a nutshell
A blistering 78-run knock from Islamabad United opener Sam Billings neutralised Quetta Gladiators’ impressive spinners Mohammad Nawaz and Hasan Khan and ensured the defending champions inflicted the season’s first defeat upon Quetta. In the first game of this season’s PSL at the Sharjah Stadium, the 25-year-old England batsman combined clean timing with explosive power-hitting to keep his side on course throughout the chase.Quetta had earlier managed a slightly under-par 148, thanks to a disciplined bowling display from Misbah’s men. It centred around 18-year old legspinner Shadab Khan, who was extremely difficult to read as he spun the ball sharply both ways. Each of the bowlers bowled according to their strengths; Mohammad Sami consistently found the inswinging yorker – one of which accounted for Kevin Pietersen’s second successive golden duck – and Shane Watson’s short deliveries and pace variations were just as hard to dispatch as they have been all tournament. Quetta’s innings never really took off as wickets fell regularly and the scoring rate stayed below seven for much of the first 15 overs, before a late partnership between Mahmudullah and Thisara Perera took them near 150. It was to be competitive, but not match-winning.Where the match was won
Quetta’s middle-order pairing of Sarfraz Ahmed and Rilee Rossouw – the PSL’s top scorer thus far – got them over the line against Karachi in their last game. So when Ahmed Shehzad got off to a quick start with Pietersen and that duo lying in wait, Quetta might have looked set for a total nearer 200. However, they reckoned without a fiery Mohammad Sami having one of his better days. He beat Shehzad for pace, forcing him to pull right down midwicket’s throat, before a 146 kph yorker crashed into Pietersen’s pads and pinned him lbw.Shadab and Shane Watson then took charge of the middle overs, strangulating Quetta, and continuing to push the run rate down. In the ten overs that began with Shehzad’s dismissal, Quetta managed only 56 runs, and lost four wickets. Powerplays and death overs might make for better talking points, but these middle overs were what handed Islamabad the two points today.The men that won it
Billings seemed to be batting on a different surface to his fellow team-mates, finding the gaps regularly in the first six overs and clearing the ropes periodically thereafter. It wasn’t all guns blazing, either; he was content to show respect where it was due, taking the singles off left-arm spinners Nawaz and Hasan, while unleashing his ire on the pace attack. Perera bore the brunt of Billings’ buffeting, going for 40 in 3.1 overs. It was a mark of Billings’ dominance that by the end the 17th over of the Islamabad innings, no other batsman had a strike rate above 100. Billings, meanwhile, was coasting along at 150.Shane Watson removed Asad Shafiq and Rilee Rossouw•PCB

The drop v the missed stumping
When Rilee Rossouw was on 5 in the first innings, he charged down the track to the young Shadab, missing the ball completely. Haddin, however, fluffed an easy stumping chance, and must have feared the worst after reprieving the South African. Next over, however, Rossouw holed out to deep midwicket. In contrast, when Watson joined Billings with their side wobbling at 72 for 3, he nicked Mohammad Nawaz behind before he had got off the mark. It popped right out of Sarfraz’s hands, and from thereon, Quetta’s fate was sealed. The pair combined for what turned out to be a match-winning 63-run partnership, Watson contributing 36 in 27 balls. He, unlike Rossouw, made the opposition pay.The moment of the match
Hasan, singled out by Moin Khan as the most promising of Quetta’s youngsters, might have been on the losing side, but there was a moment the 18-year old is unlikely to forget. He had been bowling a tight line to opposition captain Misbah-ul-Haq, not hesitating to follow him when he attempted to make room. So when Misbah stepped inside the line to sweep the teenager over fine leg for four, Hasan appeared to be under pressure. Two balls later, he bowled a similar delivery, except he had slid it in with the arm. Misbah attempted the same shot, but he was too late. The ball struck him on the thigh and the umpire raised the finger. Hasan, more than 24 years his junior, had out-thought Pakistan’s most successful Test captain.Where they stand
This result means both Quetta and Islamabad now have two wins from three games. They occupy second and third position respectively on four points each, with Quetta ahead on net run rate.

Joe Clarke put an unproductive England Lions tour of Sri Lanka behind him when he made 89 as the MCC struck 332 all out on the opening day of the Champion County clash against Middlesex in Abu Dhabi

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Mar-2017
ScorecardJoe Clarke was in good touch for MCC•Getty Images

Joe Clarke put an unproductive England Lions tour of Sri Lanka behind him when he made 89 as the MCC struck 332 all out on the opening day of the Champion County clash against Middlesex in Abu Dhabi.Clarke struck 11 fours to guide MCC past 300 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium before he fell lbw to the Middlesex fast-medium bowler James Harris. Harris also removed Tom Alsop for a sixth-ball duck and Liam Plunkett as MCC were dismissed shortly before the close.He gained support from another England Lions batsman who had an in-and-out Lions tour, Ben Duckett, who played with his usual enterprise in making 69 from 88 balls before falling lbw to
Middlesex’s off-spinner Ravi Patel.Three good wickets for Patel, who also removed MCC captain Alex Lees and Lewis Gregory, was encouraging for Patel who, at 25, will be anxious to make good the early promise that won him England Lions honours.

Sri Lanka coach Graham Ford has identified batting as Sri Lanka’s foremost strength and said flat tracks would give the team the best chance to put the opposition under pressure

Andrew Fidel Fernando17-May-2017Sri Lanka may have often hankered for spin on foreign pitches, and the island may still the home of low-scoring one dayers, but this time around, they would love some nice, flat batting tracks at the Champions Trophy, if English groundstaff don’t mind.That, at least, is the view of coach Graham Ford, who, in sizing up Sri Lanka’s attributes, has settled on batting as the team’s foremost strength. Sri Lanka have lost six of their last seven completed ODIs, but did breach 300 in two of their five most recent innings.”I think in one-day cricket, we have some exceptional strokemakers, and some really talented batsmen,” Ford said ahead of their departure for the UK. “That’s why if the batting pitches are good, I think we can really put bowling attacks under pressure. Perhaps with some of our younger players who are still learning to construct innings, the challenge is to make sure we’re in a position to put attacks under a lot of pressure at the end. But if you do construct an innings well, we have some of the best ball-strikers in world cricket. They can really take a bowling attack down.”Ford said turning tracks – which Sri Lanka have historically prospered on, both home and away – are not necessarily going to be helpful. Sri Lanka begin their campaign against South Africa at The Oval, before playing India at the same venue a few days later.”I’m not actually sure we want it to spin much, because Imran Tahir is a real weapon for South Africa, and R Ashwin and the Indian spinners will be a factor,” Ford said. “We’re looking for good cricket wickets – good one-day pitches.”Having coached Surrey before taking the job with Sri Lanka, The Oval is a ground Ford knows well. Though no team has passed 300 at the venue so far in this year’s Royal London One Day Cup, scores have gradually increased as the summer has worn on.”From what I’ve seen, it’s been a particularly dry start to the summer, and the scores have been really high. That should suit us. If you look at the scores of the domestic one-day competition on now in England, the scores have been really high. Hopefully, those are the kinds of pitches that we can perform well on. You never know with the weather – a wet spell could come in. But for now, it’s all looking really promising.”On the bowling front, Sri Lanka are desperate for Lasith Malinga to return in good health and fitness, in order to stem the leakage of runs in the slog overs, which has been a feature of their limited-overs cricket over the past two years. Malinga is the only player in the squad who did not take part in the recent training camp at Pallekele, with the board having reasoned that he was better off gaining match practice at the IPL.”If we can get the old guard of Malinga and Nuwan Kulasekara firing with their skills at the end of the innings, that probably takes 20-25 runs off the opposition score as well,” Ford said. “It’s a combination of finishing the innings off really well with the ball, and of course, setting ourselves up well with the bat.”Ford was philosophical about Sri Lanka’s prospects at the tournament. While he believed his team capable of lifting the trophy, he acknowledged Sri Lanka would be underdogs.”The Champions Trophy is a big ask, and recent results will tell you that. But the guys have shown talent, and they’ve worked extremely hard trying to improve their cricket. I think with us being a team that’s improving all the time, we’ve certainly got a chance of upsetting one of the other nations. It is a huge challenge, but one that we’re looking forward to.”

James Tredwell has asked Kent for permission to talk to other counties having become frustrated by his lack of first team opportunities

George Dobell20-Jun-2017James Tredwell has asked Kent for permission to talk to other counties having become frustrated by his lack of first team opportunities.Tredwell, England’s Test spinner as recently as April 2015, has been limited to just 32.4 overs so far in the Championship season as a combination of unhelpful surfaces and selection issues have minimised his opportunities.The final straw appears to have come with the signing of Pakistan legspinner Yasir Shah as Kent’s overseas player for four matches in mid-season. While Yasir’s pedigree is undoubted – he was the second fastest bowler in Test history to claim 100 wickets – so is Tredwell’s frustration. Having played five early-season Championship matches on unresponsive surfaces, the 35-year-old Tredwell could be forgiven for looking forward to playing in more helpful conditions in mid-season.Tredwell, who has been granted a benefit season this year, is out of contract with Kent in October. The club have another highly-rated offspinner, Adam Riley, on their staff. He has yet to play a first team game this season.Their fortunes could be used to illustrate the plight of the contemporary spinner in English cricket. With much of the Championship campaign played in early-season conditions where seamers are expected to do the bulk of the bowling, the opportunities for spin bowling in red ball cricket are diminishing by the year.Daniel Bell-Drummond and Sam Billings are also out of contract with Kent the end of the season. While Bell-Drummond is understood to have held talks with Warwickshire, who have made approaches to several players, Kent remain quietly confident of retaining his services. Not only do they have at least as good a chance of Warwickshire of playing Division One cricket next year, but Bell-Drummond emerged through the Kent system alongside the likes of Billings, Riley, Adam Ball and Sam Northeast and is immersed in the culture of the club.Kent have not ruled out the possibility of offering Tredwell a new contract.

Jacques Rudolph scored his first County Championship century for more than two years as Glamorgan turned the Specsavers County Championship clash with Worcestershire on its head at New Road

ECB Reporters Network10-Jun-2017
ScorecardJacques Rudolph has regained form with a century at Worcester•Getty Images

Jacques Rudolph scored his first County Championship century for more than two years as Glamorgan turned the Specsavers County Championship clash with Worcestershire on its head at New Road.Rudolph and Chris Cooke created a new seventh wicket record of 168 in 50 overs for Glamorgan in matches against Worcestershire.Then Andrew Salter and Lukas Carey piled on the misery for the promotion-chasing home side with a 124 partnership for the ninth wicket in 27.1 overs.Their efforts enabled Glamorgan to recover from 58-6 at one stage yesterday evening and total 381 all out in 101.5 overs – a lead of 114.It was in sharp contrast to the problems caused yesterday by Worcestershire paceman Josh Tongue with his five wickets in four overs although he still was able to return career best figures of 6-97 from 25 overs.Worcestershire suffered an early setback in reply when Daryl Mitchell on 18 nicked skipper Michael Hogan to Colin Ingram at first slip as they closed on 34-1 after bad lighted halted play with seven overs remaining.Rudolph reached three figures in the competition for the first time since his hundred against Leicestershire at Grace Road in April 2015.It was a welcome tonic for the 36-year-old after a poor run of form and having recently relinquished the captaincy of the Championship side to Hogan.Rudolph and Cooke batted in confident fashion in surpassing the previous seventh wicket record of 106 by Jonathan Hughes and current head coach Robert Croft at the same venue in 2002.Tongue was the only bowler to cause them any worries in his initial two spells and Rudolph completed his 51st first class hundred – off 158 balls with 13 fours – with a cut for four off Nathan Lyon.Cooke had a let off on 48 when Daryl Mitchell at first slip failed to hold onto a chance off Lyon.The stand was finally broken with Leach dismissing the pair in the same over.Cook, having made 93 off 113 balls with one six and 11 fours, was caught at short mid on and then Rudolph, whose 111 spanned 209 deliveries with 14 boundaries, was bowled after attempting a cut.Glamorgan were still 40 in arrears at that juncture but Salter and Carey earned them a sizeable advantage as they both posted career best scores.
Salter deliberately upper cut Tongue over third man for six to bring up the fourth batting point as the runs flowed against the second new ball.Tongue finally ended the stand when Carey (54) popped a simple catch up to Brett D’Oliveira at point and then Leach removed Hogan (13) to leave Salter unbeaten on 80.

Cricket Ireland’s CEO Warren Deutrom confirmed the decision to part ways with Bracewell was ‘mutual’

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Jul-2017John Bracewell has decided to step down as the head coach of Ireland at the end of his contract in December. Having been appointed at the end of the 2015 World Cup, he had helped the team qualify for the World T20 in 2016, then attain Test status in 2017 and now is looking for “a new goal.””Having been down the full-on Full Member road before with New Zealand Cricket, it is not my desire to do so again,” he said. “Whilst my wife and I have immersed ourselves into Ireland and Irish culture we feel it is now time to return home to New Zealand and our families. I have therefore agreed with Cricket Ireland to finish up at the conclusion of my contract.”I took on the role as head coach because I believed in the little guy getting a fair break and the cause of attaining Test status appealed to my underdog psyche. That having been achieved, albeit by an unexpected turn of events, has left me looking for a new goal and challenge.”Bracewell’s tenure coincided with a dip in limited-overs fortunes for Ireland – they could win only one out of 14 completed matches against Full Members from March 2015. There were signs of this dip in form in July 2015, when Papua New Guinea broke Ireland’s 21-match unbeaten streak at the World T20 qualifier. They would also lose to Hong Kong and Netherlands as the tournament went on.Another cause for concern was Ireland’s record against Afghanistan. They lost five straight T20 contests earlier this year, were beaten 2-3 in ODIs as well, and perhaps most disturbingly, were thumped by an innings and 172 runs in a first-class match, leading to their losing the top spot on the Intercontinental Cup points table. At the time only the winner of the competition would have got a shot at playing Tests, before the decision to grant both teams Full Member status in June.Cricket Ireland Performance Director Richard Holdsworth agreed that there had been hiccups for Ireland under Bracewell, but defended the out-going coach saying, “The last two years have been a difficult period of transition and rebuilding in which John has tried to nurture inexperienced talent against the best teams in the world.”His last five months remain a very important period where I look forward to working with him to further invest in our key priority areas with new full member status now in place, and continue to lay down important foundations for our future.”Cricket Ireland’s CEO Warren Deutrom confirmed the decision to part ways with Bracewell was “mutual.”

A fourth-wicket stand of 246 gave West Indies control at Headingley, Shai Hope making an unbeaten 147 – his maiden Test hundred – on a memorable day for the visitors alongside Kraigg Brathwaite’s sixth Test century

The Report by Andrew McGlashan26-Aug-2017
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAt Edgbaston, two completed innings from West Indies mustered 305 runs and neither lasted even 50 overs. On the second day at Headingley, one West Indies partnership added 246 runs in 68 overs as Kraigg Brathwaite and Shai Hope turned a promising revival with the ball into a full-blown resurgence.Brathwaite’s 134 was his sixth Test century, brought up from 189 balls with a six off Tom Westley in the final over before tea, while for Shai Hope – who took 159 deliveries – it was his first. After a lean start to his Test career, Hope’s century came three matches after his previous best of 90 and offered, dare we say, hope that the investment in him will bring long-term returns. The pair had come together inside the first hour of the day with West Indies 35 for 3 and the memories still fresh of the 19-wicket day last week.By the time England broke through, deep in the final session, when Broad burst through Brathwaite’s defence with the second new ball, West Indies were in the lead – the first time they had been ahead on first innings in England since Old Trafford in 2004 – and the partnership was West Indies’ biggest in England for more than 30 years, since Gordon Greenidge and Larry Gomes famously made David Gower regret his declaration at Lord’s in 1984.At the close, the lead stood at 71 with five wickets in hand. Ben Stokes had removed Roston Chase, edging a short delivery to first slip and there was the prospect of the fantastic work being undone. However, Jermaine Blackwood – whose idea of playing for the close was to continue to attack – ensured the day ended on a strong note. Hope’s unbeaten 147 was West Indies’ highest individual innings in England since Brian Lara’s 179 at The Oval in 1995.Until the new ball defeated him, Brathwaite’s 249-ball stay was a chanceless affair although he was twice grateful for DRS. On 34 he was given lbw to Broad but there had been an inside edge, while on 46 he was given the same way against Moeen Ali but was outside the line – one ball later he deposited Moeen into the stands for his fifty, the shot he would repeat a couple of hours later for the century.The team performance at Edgbaston brought much ridicule, but West Indies’ previous away Test had been a victory over Pakistan in Sharjah in which Brathwaite carried his bat for 142 in the first innings before marshalling the chase with an unbeaten 60 in the second.As the only member of the current squad with over 2000 Test runs, Brathwaite had already established his credentials at this level. The same could not said of Shai Hope who started this innings with an average under 20. However, he has been highly rated in the Caribbean since before his debut against England in 2015 and here that promise shone through.His fifty came from 72 balls with a strong straight drive against Chris Woakes and he came through Stokes’ attempts to unsettle him which included a hefty blow on the back of the helmet from a slippery bouncer. Ten minutes before tea, on 72, he flicked a delivery from Moeen to short leg but Mark Stoneman couldn’t cling on – it would have been an unfortunate way to go and West Indies’ effort deserved a few things to go their way.Whereas Brathwaite generally fed off short-of-a-length deliveries – of which England’s quicks offered up too many – Hope was eye-catching off the front foot (although his one-legged pull off Stokes to reach 99 was a reverse image of Lara). But for both the century-makers it was the early work in the morning session, when there was cloud cover and a new ball zipping around, that was most important to back up West Indies’ talk between matches that they had the batsmen to stand up to England in their conditions.England were off-colour with the ball; Broad struggled to consistently hit a full length (the sort that eventually dismissed Brathwaite) and after a promising first seven-over spell where he was unlucky not to pick up a wicket, Woakes looked more like a man making his way back into Test cricket after a lengthy lay-off.James Anderson was the pick of England’s bowlers and another bounty looked on the cards in the early forays of the day. He removed nightwatchman Devendra Bishoo in the fifth over of the day and then gave Kyle Hope another tough examination early in his Test career. A series of outswingers was followed by the inswinger, which brought the outside edge and Joe Root took a sharp catch at second slip. But for the rest of the day, Anderson remained stalled on 495 Test wickets, as did England’s hopes of forging a position from which they could take control of the match. That control, at least overnight, belonged to West Indies.

It has looked likely for quite some time, but defeat at Old Trafford confirmed that West Indies will have to progress through next year’s qualifying tournament to reach the 2019 World Cup

The Report by Andrew McGlashan19-Sep-2017England 210 for 3 (Bairstow 100*, Root 54) beat West Indies 204 for 9 (Holder 41*, Stokes 3-43) by seven wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsIt has looked likely for quite some time, but defeat at Old Trafford confirmed that West Indies will have to progress through next year’s qualifying tournament to reach the 2019 World Cup. Barring some early striking from Chris Gayle it was an insipid performance as England secured their 13th victory in the last 14 completed ODIs between the teams.Jonny Bairstow, who had retained his place at the top of the order having replaced Jason Roy in the Champions Trophy semi-final, took his opportunity in commanding style with a maiden ODI century from 97 balls, celebrated with a skip of delight when he completed a three with just a handful of runs needed for victory. He and Joe Root added 125 in 19 overs for the second wicket to ensure a canter for England in their first ODI since the semi-final defeat against Pakistan at Cardiff.West Indies limped to 204 for 9 in their 42 overs – the match trimmed after a two-hour delay due to a damp outfield which threatened to become a significant issue as the sun shone in Manchester – and even those heights required Jason Holder’s unbeaten 41. Gayle, playing his first ODI since the 2015 World Cup, was dropped third ball by Root at second slip and plundered three sixes in the first four overs but that was deceptive: from 43 without loss after five overs, West Indies made 161 for 9 in the remaining 37.Jonny Bairstow brought up his maiden ODI hundred•Getty Images

Spin played an important part with Moeen Ali breaking the opening stand when brought on in the sixth over – albeit with a long hop – and Adil Rashid claiming 2 for 31 in nine overs. Ben Stokes was the leading wicket-taker with 3 for 43 and the disappointment that his figures were dented somewhat by a 15-run final over, which included two full-toss no-balls, will have been tempered by the fact that Marlon Samuels was among his successes. Stokes had not taken Samuels’ advice to go and “field on the boundary”, standing at slip to the spinners, but kept his thoughts to himself.The main hope for West Indies was that, as in the T20 at Chester-le-Street, spin and pace off the ball could leave stroke-making tricky for England’s dashing batting line-up. That was not the case, though, and they could not push the required rate into anything bordering a challenging situation. Alex Hales was again quickly out of the blocks before driving Jerome Taylor to backward point, but Bairstow and Root didn’t need to do anything more than bat properly.Bairstow has been desperate for a run in the one-day side and has been the poster boy for the depth England now have, because whenever called on he has usually delivered. The opportunity has come at opener after Jason Roy’s lean year in one-day cricket and he doesn’t appear to have designs on wasting it. Roy will be pondering what it means and it probably leaves him needing injury or rotation to get his place back during the tours of Australia and New Zealand.Root was just Root, moving along in unfussy fashion to a 49-ball half-century, against a side whose interest in the contest quickly waned as the target was hauled in, until he chopped on against Kesrick Williams, who added a second wicket when Eoin Morgan edged behind. But it made no difference. The main interest was whether Stokes would leave Bairstow enough runs to play with for his hundred. There was no stealing his thunder.For a handful of overs, it looked as though England may be tested and made to rue a dropped catch. Having waited for the action, the crowd were greeted with some heavy-hitting from Gayle after he thick-edged his third delivery from Chris Woakes only for it to burst through Root’s hands. The combination would have their redemption, when Root took a spectacular chance over his shoulder running backwards from cover.Ben Stokes struck in consecutive covers•AFP

After the early chance, Gayle had launched Woakes over long-on and taken two further sixes off David Willey in the space of three balls. With Evin Lewis at the other end, it felt much like the T20 on Saturday. However, Gayle’s mobility – never great at the best of times – appeared hindered with a leg problem (although he was able to field later on) and jogged singles became walks. The early momentum was being sucked out of the innings when Gayle tried to clear the off side and Root made amends. With the openers gone and Shai Hope struggling to get his innings going, England regained control.It took Hope and Samuels, who did not find the boundary during his 46-ball stay, 14 overs to add their 50-run stand which was broken when Hope was well caught at deep square leg by Bairstow to give Stokes his first wicket.The one Stokes really wanted, however, came in his next over when England successfully reviewed for a glove down the leg side by Samuels after the delivery had originally been called wide. There were no fireworks when the decision was confirmed although Stokes managed a smile in the huddle and appeared to enjoy watching Samuels walk off.Jason Mohammed and Rovman Powell managed a six apiece – Powell’s a wonderful straight drive off Liam Plunkett – but the pair fell in consecutive overs when looking to kick on. Mohammed picked out deep midwicket off Rashid and Powell sent a leading edge to mid-on. Not for the first time, Holder was left to try and repair the damage and his fine strike rate – 124.24 – was second only to Gayle, but it didn’t prove anywhere near enough.