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Steven Croft’s second successive century and some devastating new-ball bowling helped Lancashire seize control of their Championship match against Worcestershire at Blackpool

17-Aug-2011
Scorecard
Steven Croft’s second successive century and some devastating new-ball bowling helped Lancashire seize control of their Championship match against Worcestershire at Blackpool. Returning to his home club, Croft made 107 off 111 balls as Glen Chapple’s batsmen scored 282 in their first innings. That total looked formidable as Worcestershire slumped to 21 for 5 before Aneesh Kapil and Gareth Andrew guided their side to 77 for 5 at the close.In a dramatic last 90 minutes of the day, Chapple took three wickets and Kyle Hogg two more as the visitors’ top order had no answer to late swing and sharp movement off the Stanley Park wicket. Matt Pardoe, Vikram Solanki and Alexei Kervezee all fell to slip catches while
Moeen Ali was lbw first ball and skipper Daryl Mitchell played on.The performance of the Lancashire seamers almost overshadowed the achievement
of 26-year-old Croft, who had come to the wicket with his side on 62 for 3. He soon lost Paul Horton before adding 87 with Farveez Maharoof, who made 29, and 90 in under 14 overs wicket with his sixth-wicket partner Gareth Cross.Croft dominated both stands, reaching his 50 in 60 balls and then hitting four big sixes as he reached his century off only 38 further deliveries. The Worcestershire spinners came in for rough treatment, Ali being dispatched for two leg-side sixes and Shaaiq Choudhry conceding 25 runs off two overs as Croft reached his hundred with a six over long on.Croft’s destruction of the Worcestershire bowling left Mitchell’s team deeply regretting the escape they had given him on 33 when the sun’s reflection off a window prevented substitute fielder Nick Harrison even getting a hand to a straightforward chance at long leg off Alan Richardson.The Worcestershire attack eventually got their man when Croft fended a vicious Kapil delivery straight to Mitchell at slip and that wicket sparked a collapse as Lancashire lost their last five wickets for 26 runs in just 53 balls. Richard Jones finished with 3 for 62 and Andrew 3 for 47.The afternoon’s rapid dramas were in sharp contrast to a tough morning session in which Mitchell’s bowlers had made reasonable use of winning the toss to reduce Lancashire to 97 for 4 at lunch. On a wicket offering the visitors’ attack plenty of early help, Horton made a watchful 47 but the opener was fourth out 10 minutes before lunch when he edged Ali to Mitchell at slip.The Worcestershire seamers had controlled the rest of the session, Jones taking two wickets and Richardson the other as the Red Rose top order sought to see off the new ball.

Vinod Kambli has announced his retirement from first-class cricket.

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Sep-2011Former India batsman Vinod Kambli has announced his retirement from first-class cricket. Kambli, 39, had earlier retired from international cricket in 2009.”Till the last year, I was raring to go [in domestic cricket]. I served Mumbai for long, but the selectors ignored me. I’m disappointed,” Kambli said. “I wanted to play alongside Sachin [Tendulkar] for one last time, wanted to play in IPL but unfortunately that did not happen.”Kambli made his first-class debut for Mumbai in 1989 and played 129 games, scoring 9965 runs at an average of 59.67 including 35 centuries. He last played senior domestic cricket in 2004-05.He made his international debut in 1993, and played 17 Tests, scoring 1084 runs at an average of 54.20 which included double-centuries in his third and fourth Tests. He also played 104 ODIs for India scoring 2477 runs, but erratic form and compounded by indiscipline problems meant he made as many as nine comebacks in the ODI team. He last played Test cricket in 1995 and wasn’t picked in the ODI team after October 2000. Since being out of the Indian and Mumbai teams, he has tried his hand at movies and reality shows on the small screen.Kambli indicated he would now most likely turn to coaching youngsters.

A round-up of the action from the second day of the second round of Division One matches of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Oct-2011Faisalabad recovered from a poor start on the first day against Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) in Sargodha by securing a 84-run lead on the second, and then building on it. WAPDA began the day on 33 for 3, pursuing Faisalabad’s 217, and slumped to 73 for 7. They lost two of those wickets with the score on 53. WAPDA’s wicketkeeper Ahmed Said top scored with 40 as wickets tumbled around him and the innings eventually ended on 133 in the 53rd over. Fast bowler Abdur Rauf took 3 for 40 for Faisalabad, while three others took two apiece. In their second innings Faisalabad’s openers, Farrukh Shehzad and Shahid Siddiq, made a solid start but both batsmen fell in the space of two runs to leave them at 75 for 2. Hasan Mahmood extended the lead to 188 by stumps with eight wickets intact.Abbottabad fast bowler Ikramullah Khan took 5 for 53 to help his team secure the first-innings lead against Habib Bank Limited (HBL) at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium. Ikramullah and his new-ball partner Mohammad Naeem dismissed HBL’s openers before a run had been scored and Ikramullah returned to dismiss Khaqan Asral and Hasan Raza, who scored 46 and 61. They were the only HBL batsmen to reach double digits as the innings ended on 156, conceding a lead of 116. Naeem finished with 3 for 45 while Ahmed Jamal took 2 for 34. Abbottabad ended the day on 24 for 1 in their second innings. They had begun the day on 252 for 8 in their first innings but overnight centurion Rameez Ahmed was dismissed early and they got only 272. HBL’s Sarmar Ahmed took 5 for 57 and Kamran Hussain took 4 for 52.Aqeel Anjum scored at unbeaten 80 at No. 8 to give National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) a slender first-innings lead after a top-order implosion against Islamabad at the Diamond Club Ground. At one stage, when NBP were tottering at 39 for 6, it was Islamabad who were primed to take a massive lead. NBP resumed the day on 25 for 3, after Islamabad had scored 198, and Nasrullah Khan continued to rip through the line-up, finishing with 5 for 53. It needed the 80 from Anjum, 38 from Kamran Akmal and 24 from extras to drag NBP to 211 before the last wicket fell. Islamabad had wiped out the deficit of 13 by stumps, reaching 108 for 2 at stumps.Javed Mansoor was the second batsman to score a century in the Karachi Blues innings, after Shahzaib Hasan on the first day, leading them to a formidable first-innings score before their bowlers wrecked Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) at the National Stadium. Mansoor converted his overnight 66 into 107 and had support from the tail as he took Karachi to 400 before they were dismissed. Fast bowler Mohammad Khalil took 101 for 6 for ZTBL. Karachi Blues’ new-ball attack of Mohammad Sami and Sohail Khan dismissed the top four ZTBL batsmen cheaply, reducing them to 45 for 4. Medium-pacer Tariq Haroon then took three wickets as ZTBL ended the day in deep trouble at 128 for 7.Half-centuries from two top-order batsmen and a generous number of extras allowed Sialkot to make a strong reply in their first innings against State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) at the Jinnah Stadium. Mohammad Yasin made 72 and Majid Jahangir was unbeaten on 54 as Sialkot reached 187 for 2 at stumps. They were also given 41 runs through extras in only 59 overs. Earlier in the day, SBP had extended their overnight score of 249 for 7 to 341. Most of their second-day runs were scored by Rameez Aziz, who was 72 overnight and finished on 121. Prince Abbas, one of nine bowlers used by Sialkot, took 5 for 106.Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) ended the second day with a strong chance of taking a first-innings lead against Rawalpindi at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. PIA were on 259 for 4 at the start of play but their overnight batsmen were out early. Fahad Iqbal was out for 136 after resuming on 112 and Shoaib Khan snr did not add to his 70. The tail made useful contributions to take PIA to 338. Mohammad Rameez, Nasir Malik and Babar Naeem took three wickets each for Rawalpindi. PIA’s Ali Imran, however, produced a three-wicket spell as well to jolt Rawalpindi. They were reduced to 89 for 5 before wicketkeeper Jamal Anwar clubbed 60 of 43 balls. He was out shortly before stumps and Rawalpindi ended on 168 for 6.

M Vijay, who bludgeoned 42 off 19 deliveries, hailed Tamil Nadu’s “never-say-die” spirit after they nearly hunted down a target of 146 in 13 overs on a track he described as “turning” and “two-paced”

Siddarth Ravindran13-Nov-2011Tamil Nadu came within five runs of pulling off an amazing heist in their Ranji Trophy match against Haryana at the Chidambaram Stadium. M Vijay, who bludgeoned 42 off 19 deliveries, hailed Tamil Nadu’s “never-say-die” spirit after they nearly hunted down a target of 146 in 13 overs on a track he described as “turning” and “two-paced”.That chase came on the back of a career-best 6 for 47 from fast bowler Yo Mahesh which opened up the slim possibility of a result in the game by knocking over Haryana for 200, after they had been 114 for 0 midway through the first session.”It’s an unbelievable team effort, being a part of this game was an honour,” Vijay told ESPNcricinfo. “It was a great experience, and to do so well in what is basically our first match of the tournament (their first round Ranji match was almost entirely rained out) gives us a lot of confidence.”Tamil Nadu’s strong showings in recent years has been due to their formidable batting unit, which includes the likes of Vijay, Abhinav Mukund and Dinesh Karthik but Vijay said he was initially uncertain about the possibility of winning the game. “I never really thought 146 in 13 overs was chaseable,” he said, “but then Dinesh gave us the sort of start we needed.”Karthik provided the early momentum during the course of a 32-ball 55, but Vijay says the belief began to grow after Haryana captain Amit Mishra was taken for 27 runs in the ninth over. Karthik started the over with a six, before Vijay hammered three more to propel Tamil Nadu to 99 for 3 – 47 adrift with four overs to go. “Me and Dinesh just wanted to stay there, we knew we could clear the boundaries, so we just decided to back our instincts and go for the shots.”Tamil Nadu lost two wickets, including that of Karthik, in the next two overs, leaving any chance of a victory in Vijay’s hands. “We needed 23 in the final two overs. I knew if I stayed till the end we could chase it down.” It boiled down to six off the final three deliveries, but Mahesh fell lbw to medium-pacer Sachin Rana, before Vijay was run out trying to get the strike for the final delivery. That left No. 10 Baba Aparajith needing to hit a six off the final ball, much like his team-mate Arun Karthik did in the Champions League Twenty20 last month for Royal Challengers Bangalore, but he could only get a single, and Tamil Nadu ended on 141 for 8.Vijay said the finale was a great “adrenaline rush” but rued that Tamil Nadu could not get the five points they wanted, and had to settle for the three they get for a first-innings lead. “The real pleasure would have been if we won, but the match was a great learning experience for the entire team.” He praised L Balaji’s leadership, particularly in the morning when a dull draw seemed the most likely result. “All the credit has to go Bala. He kept pushing us, telling us to go for as many wickets as we could,” Vijay said. “He told us to not get desperate for wickets, and to just give it a try. We hung in there and things started to happen.”Balaji and Tamil Nadu’s decision to attempt an improbable chase is even more noteworthy as it comes a week after Goa captain Swapnil Asnodkar decided to back out of a pursuit of 130 in about 20 overs, a decision for which he was dropped for two matches.

The New Zealand coach John Wright has challenged Doug Bracewell to keep aiming high after he bowled his side to victory over Australia in Hobart

Brydon Coverdale14-Dec-2011The New Zealand coach John Wright has challenged Doug Bracewell to keep aiming high after he bowled his side to victory over Australia in Hobart. Wright believes Bracewell can become a consistent world-class player following his strong performance at Bellerive Oval, which came after another match-winning effort against Zimbabwe last month.In his third Test, Bracewell collected match figures of 9 for 60, including three important middle-order breakthroughs in the space of nine deliveries as he curved the ball in the air and accounted for Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke and Michael Hussey. On debut, Bracewell had taken five wickets in Bulawayo to rescue New Zealand when it appeared Zimbabwe would achieve their chase of 366.”A lot of credit goes to Doug Bracewell and Timmy Southee, particularly Doug,” Wright said after arriving home in New Zealand following the Hobart victory. “He’s done some special things. We’ve been here before. We were in a similar situation against Zimbabwe going in to the last session of the game and Doug stood up in that match and he’s done it again.”He could be [something special], but there’s a few like that in this team. There’s a few young players who haven’t had much experience, they’ll take some time. I think our Test team will take some time. He’s one of a number that, you look at him and think he should be wanting to be world-ranked, not just a good player for New Zealand but he should be a world-class player.”Wright has the distinction of being the only man with a direct involvement in all three of New Zealand’s Test wins in Australia, having opened the batting in their victories at the Gabba and the WACA in 1985. He instilled a fighting mentality into his side and it was apparent in the way they played on the final day in Hobart that they never felt out of the game, even when Australia’s chase was on track early.”I’ve always enjoyed victories over Australia,” Wright said. “I’ve had some battles with them as a player and then with India we had some great tussles. It’s nice to go back there again. You always know that they’re just like any other opposition: if you get them under pressure they can succumb to that.”The success in Hobart means that under the leadership of Wright and the captain Ross Taylor, New Zealand have won two of their past three Tests, having previously had only two wins from 21 matches before the Zimbabwe trip. A one-off Test against Zimbabwe at home in late January gives them a strong chance to keep that form going, but Wright talked down the idea of New Zealand being on the cusp of a special era.”It’s a bit early to tell,” he said. “People tend to get a little bit carried away with victory. We’ll let the dust settle. We’ll pick our best side and try to get another win against Zimbabwe. Then we’ve got South Africa coming, who are very formidable opponents. Let’s hope we can show some of the fighting qualities that people saw.”

Daniel Christian’s chances of making his Test debut on Boxing Day could be boosted by Australia’s desire to have five bowling options against a powerful India batting line-up

Brydon Coverdale20-Dec-2011Daniel Christian’s chances of making his Test debut on Boxing Day could be boosted by Australia’s desire to have five bowling options against a powerful India batting line-up. Australia’s selectors will name the squad for the Melbourne Test on Wednesday and it could be a larger-than-usual group as they wait on the fitness of key players, including Shane Watson and Shaun Marsh.The possible permutations to be considered by the selectors were complicated on Tuesday when opener Ed Cowan made his case with 109 against the Indians for Cricket Australia Chairman’s XI in Canberra. In the same match, the incumbent opener Phillip Hughes, certain to be axed for Boxing Day, scored 20 batting at No.4, Usman Khawaja made 25 and David Warner scored 2.The rest of Australia’s Test batsmen converged on Melbourne for a batting camp after their struggles in the series against New Zealand. The allrounder Christian, who was 12th man in the loss to New Zealand in Hobart, will join the group on Wednesday after he plays for the Brisbane Heat in Tuesday night’s T20 match against the Melbourne Stars at the Gabba.Christian has been one of the leading Sheffield Shield run scorers this summer but it is his bowling that will appeal the most to the selectors, with Watson unlikely to bowl if he plays at all in Melbourne as he continues to recover from a hamstring injury. The Australians did not play an allrounder against New Zealand, whose top order struggled, but the coach Mickey Arthur said the team’s needs might change against India on flatter pitches.”We played on two pretty helpful wickets against New Zealand to be honest, so we didn’t need a huge amount from that fifth bowler, we got through that easily,” Arthur said. “But when you’re playing at the MCG and at the SCG and there’s back-to-back Test matches, it does become hard when you’ve got four bowlers.”I see the spinner bowling a huge amount more, though. We need to be able to fiddle some overs from some of our batters. That’s how we’ll look at it. If we think our allrounder is in our best six batters at the present time then he’ll get a game.”Asked if Christian had done enough to be considered a top-six Test batsman for the India series, Arthur pointed to his first-class form this summer. In five Shield games, Christian has made 475 runs at 59.37, including two centuries.”He’s got an unbelievable record this year,” Arthur said. “He’s done superbly well for South Australia. Stats will tell you that he could possibly be in our top six batters. The fitness of our other players will also possibly determine that down the line. We’ll have a squad and work out the certain permutations in terms of fitness and then settle on an 11 closer to the time.”The national selector, John Inverarity, will announce the squad at 1pm Melbourne time on Wednesday, but the size of the group remains to be seen. Watson is expected to be named after missing the New Zealand series due to a hamstring problem he picked up in South Africa, but his chances took a blow when he did not bat on the first day of the batting camp.Marsh has less of a chance to make the starting line-up but could be named with a view to giving him as much time as possible before the Test to prove his fitness. He has battled a back problem since the first Test in South Africa and while he was at the Melbourne batting camp on Tuesday, Arthur said it was an issue that Marsh had not played a match in more than a month.”It is a concern,” he said. “Ideally you want guys to be playing. Whenever you’re playing a game your intensity goes up 20% from a practice session, the competitive juices kick in and the guys are put through a lot more in a game. We would have liked him to play more cricket but it hasn’t been possible. He is a class act. We’ve got to give him every opportunity. Time will tell.”Guys like Watson and Marsh, if ultimately selected, we’ll probably give them as much time as they need to get themselves ready to play. So it might be a slightly enlarged squad for this one but our preference is always to be decisive and name a 12. I guess we’ll know tonight once we put the finishing touches to our squad.”There is less uncertainty surrounding Australia’s attack, with Arthur declaring there were “no concerns whatsoever” about the fitness of the fast men James Pattinson and Peter Siddle. Both men had minor niggles after the New Zealand series but were in the MCG nets on Tuesday to bowl to Australia’s batsmen, and neither is considered in doubt for Boxing Day.Mitchell Starc, who was adequate without really grabbing his opportunity against New Zealand appears likely to retain his place, with Ryan Harris facing a near impossible ask to prove his fitness for Boxing Day. Harris has had a hip problem since the first Test in South Africa and was named to play for the Brisbane Heat on Tuesday night. However, the injury-prone Harris will struggle to prove to the selectors that he can last through a Test match with no first-class cricket in which to test himself.Possible squad: David Warner, Shane Watson, Ed Cowan, Usman Khawaja, Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke (capt), Michael Hussey, Daniel Christian, Brad Haddin (wk), Peter Siddle, James Pattinson, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon

ESPNcricinfo previews the second Twenty20 international between Australia and India in Melbourne

The Preview by Brydon Coverdale02-Feb-2012

Match facts

February 3, Melbourne
Start time 1935 (0835 GMT)Can Matthew Wade further push Brad Haddin for top honours with a solid showing in Melbourne?•Getty Images

Big Picture

A change of formats seems to have not helped India, who struggled in the first Twenty20 at Stadium Australia on Wednesday night. Again it was a case of the top order failing to give the side a good start, and the batting will need to improve if they are to avoid a 2-0 defeat. Australia’s new-look outfit, which has more of a Twenty20 specialist feel than any side they have previously fielded, displayed enthusiasm and talent, and they worked well together under the captain, George Bailey. The second and final Twenty20 at the MCG gives Bailey an opportunity to secure a series win in his first series as Australia’s leader.Australia relied heavily on spin in Sydney, and it was a ploy that slowed India’s scoring to the point that they were unable to fight their way back into the chase. The MCG might offer a little more for the fast men, and it also offers the chance for an enormous crowd after a Sydney record of 59,659 turned out for the first game. A Friday night game in Melbourne means people can wander down to Jolimont after work and take in the action, and far more will be expected at this match than at the first ODI that follows on Sunday, also at the MCG.

Form guide

Australia WLWLL (Most recent first)
India LLLWW

In the spotlight

Matthew Wade could hardly have timed his Man-of-the-Match performance better. At a time when an out-of-form Brad Haddin has been told to rest by Cricket Australia, Wade has the Twenty20s and at least the first three ODIs to push his case for greater honours. He played some fine shots in his 72 from 43 balls in Sydney, and will be looking to build on that with another strong display on Friday.It is hard not to feel for Rohit Sharma, who toured for a month with the Test squad without getting an opportunity, and then fell for a golden duck when he was given a chance in the first Twenty20. If anyone could use rust as an excuse, it was him. It will be interesting to see how he responds should he be given another opportunity.

Team news

Selectors are generally reluctant to change a winning side, but with so few matches before the World Twenty20 later this year, they are also keen to see as many players in action as possible. Aaron Finch did not play the first game and could come in at his home ground, as may Clint McKay. Shaun Marsh is a known quantity and the selectors may prefer to leave him on the sidelines and give Travis Birt another chance. It is, of course, all conjecture: the selectors might aim for a strong 2-0 series win by choosing the same XI.Australia (possible) 1 David Warner, 2 Matthew Wade (wk), 3 Travis Birt, 4 David Hussey, 5 George Bailey (capt), 6 Aaron Finch, 7 Mitchell Marsh, 8 Daniel Christian, 9 Brad Hogg, 10 Brett Lee, 11 Clint McKay.Who knows what India’s selectors will do after the loss in Sydney. Irfan Pathan looms as one potential inclusion, perhaps for Ravindra Jadeja, but with such a big squad, anything is possible. Given the MCG’s long boundaries, they are likely to persist with two spinners.India (possible) 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Gautam Gambhir, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Suresh Raina, 5 Rohit Sharma, 6 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 7 Irfan Pathan, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Praveen Kumar, 10 Vinay Kumar, 11 Rahul Sharma.

Pitch and conditions

The drop-in pitches at the MCG are not renowned for pace, but the local batsman David Hussey expects “a very good batting wicket, a fast wicket”. The forecast for Melbourne is a sunny day with a high temperature of 27C.

Stats and trivia

• Matthew Wade has played three Twenty20s for Australia and already has a Man-of-the-Match award, but is yet to take a catch behind the stumps – mainly because none have come his way.
• Should India lose at the MCG it will equal their longest losing streak in Twenty20 internationals – four.

Quotes

“I thought the Indians came out and fielded and bowled particularly well early. I just thought our bowling and fielding trumped theirs.”

Duronto Rajshahi have finished top of the Bangladesh Premier League table after winning what ended up being a tense match against Dhaka Gladiators in Mirpur

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Feb-2012
ScorecardDwayne Smith’s 103 not out is the second-highest score, so far, in the BPL•BPL T20

Dwayne Smith scored the third hundred of the Bangladesh Premier League, setting up an easy win for Khulna Royal Bengals against Sylhet Royals in Mirpur, in the tournament’s final group match. The victory places Khulna at No. 2 on the points table, meaning they will play the third-placed Dhaka Gladiators in the semi-finals on Tuesday.Khulna was asked to bat and faced an early set-back, losing opener Shivnarine Chanderpaul early. From there on, though, they dominated, first through Herschelle Gibbs – who made 41 off 28 – and then Smith. Smith, batting at No 3, finished the innings unbeaten on 103 off 73 balls with six fours and six sixes, splitting his West Indies team-mate Chris Gayle’s tournament-record scores of 101 not out and 116.That meant Khulna set Sylhet a stiff target of 187, and they never really seemed to seriously threaten it. Sylhet slipped to their eighth loss in ten matches, with no one scoring more than No. 8 Sohail Tanvir’s 26 not out. Eventually Sylhet folded for 117 in 16 overs, handing Khulna a 69-run win. While the Khulna bowlers rather evenly shared the wickets around, left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak finished with the best figures of 2 for 8 in two overs.