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Sri Lanka A have opened their campaign in England with a five-wicket win over the Unicorns in a 50-over warm-up, as slow-bowling allrounder Sachith Pathirana made significant contributions in both disciplines

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Jul-2014ScorecardDanushka Gunathilaka gave Sri Lanka A’s pace a good tempo•Manoj Ridimahaliyadda/ESPNcricinfoSri Lanka A have opened their campaign in England with a five-wicket win over the Unicorns in a 50-over warm-up, as slow-bowling allrounder Sachith Pathirana made significant contributions in both disciplines.Unicorns batted first at Gosford but despite a steady opening stand of 61, were hamstrung by the breakthroughs Sri Lanka A’s spinners regularly effected.Pathirana’s left-arm spin and Ramith Rambukwella’s offspin accounted for five scalps in total, including the top four, as Unicorns were reduced to 138 for 5 by the 34th over.The seam bowlers took wickets through the middle overs, with legspinner Seekkuge Prasanna also taking one scalp. Unicorns were all out for 237 in the 48th over. Rambukwella finished with the innings’ best figures of 3 for 34, and Tom Burton top scored with 44.Sri Lanka A began their chase with a 95-run opening stand, driven primarily by Danushka Gunathilaka’s 57 off 67 balls. Left-arm spinner Toby Bulcock turned that wicket into a mini-collapse – taking three of the four wickets that fell for 15 runs, but Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Pathirana were on hand to right Sri Lanka A’s course.Rajapaksa made 52 off 62, and though he fell with over 50 runs still to get, Pathirana’s 52 not out saw Sri Lanka A over the line in the penultimate over.Unicorns are a one-day outfit comprised of uncontracted players. They were part of England’s one-day domestic competition until this year.

MS Dhoni, the India captain, has said the guilty verdict against Ravindra Jadeja for his role in the incident involving James Anderson at Trent Bridge was hurtful and negligent

Sidharth Monga at Ageas Bowl26-Jul-2014MS Dhoni, the India captain, has said the guilty verdict against Ravindra Jadeja for his role in the incident involving James Anderson at Trent Bridge was hurtful and negligent.In his verdict, the match referee David Boon had said he was “not comfortably satisfied” that Jadeja’s role amounted to a Level 2 charge, and punished him for a Level 1 offence. The allrounder was found guilty of “conduct contrary to the spirit of the game” and fined 50% of his match fee.For the first time, one side’s account of the incident that occurred as the players were walking off for lunch on day two of the first Test has emerged. “To me, it is a very hurtful decision,” Dhoni, who was witness to the incident, said. “A lot of things were neglected in judging the case. If you see, what exactly happened, the umpires called for lunch and we started walking. I don’t want to take any other individual’s name. We started walking, and the other individual started using foul language against Jadeja. I had to step in the middle. And by the time we reached the ropes I thought the thing has diffused.”By the time we were going through the members’ area I was ahead of Jadeja. Jadeja was a couple of yards behind me. Again something happened. Something was told to him. And he just turned across to the individual, and after that he was pushed. And he barely gained his balance, and he turned to see as to what is happening. And on the basis of that he is fined.MS Dhoni has come out in strong support of his allrounder Ravindra Jadeja•Getty Images”It was said that it was against the spirit of the game, and everything. What we have to see is, we can’t ignore what has happened. If someone is saying something to you from behind and you just turn and you look, that is not aggressive. Especially the fact that the bat was under his armpit throughout – right from [calling of] lunch till he entered the dressing room. Not one word was spoken by him.”Dhoni insisted Jadeja had not been aggressive in his conduct. “So a lot of things were neglected,” he said. “It’s for you guys to decide the things I am saying and if I have not lied. When it comes to factual matter, Jadeja – whatever he did – was not aggressive. I don’t think there was even a little bit of aggression in that, and that is why I am very hurt by the verdict that has been given.”Dhoni was also unhappy about not being allowed an appeal because the first guilty verdict for a Level 1 offence does not have a provision for an appeal. “That’s the beauty of it,” he said. “Allegation is of Level 2, and Jadeja gets punished under Level 1. The beauty of Level 1 is you cannot appeal against it. But BCCI and legal are working things out. We are definitely not at all happy with the verdict. I have dictated what the facts were.”India had pressed Level 3 charges against Anderson, who will have his hearing on August 1. England’s response was a Level 2 charge against Jadeja. India’s accusation was that Jadeja had been abused and pushed by Anderson; England said Jadeja had turned around and approached Anderson in an aggressive manner.

Left-arm spinner Elias Sunny has replaced Sohag Gazi in Bangladesh’s squad for the two-Test series in the West Indies

Mohammad Isam01-Sep-2014Left-arm spinner Elias Sunny has replaced Sohag Gazi in Bangladesh’s squad for the two-Test series in the West Indies. Sunny will leave Dhaka on Tuesday to join the team in St Vincent for the first Test, which starts on September 5.Gazi returned home from St Kitts along with Mohammad Mithun, Abdur Razzak, Mashrafe Mortaza and Taskin Ahmed. He had to submit documents to apply for a UK visa because he is required to be at the Cardiff Metropolitan University by September 19 to have his bowling action tested. Gazi was reported by the umpires after the second ODI against West Indies.Sunny will be the second specialist spinner in the squad along with uncapped left-armer Taijul Islam. Sunny has played four Tests, the last of which was against Sri Lanka in 2013. He took 6 for 94 against West Indies in 2011, the best figures by a Bangladesh spinner on Test debut. That record, however, was broken the very next year by Gazi, who claimed 6 for 74 against the same opponents.Sunny was among three bowlers the national selectors were considering to replace Gazi, along with seamer Muktar Ali and legspinner Jubair Hossain. Sunny’s experience at Test level, however, won him the spot.Sunny said he was surprised by the call-up as he had not had a particularly successful year, taking just 27 wickets in first-class matches this year, after claiming more than 50 every year from 2010 to 2013. The spinners Enamul Haque jr, Monir Hossain, Nazmul Islam, Nabil Samad and Suhrawadi Shuvo all picked up more first-class wickets than Sunny during the 2013-14 domestic season, and he was not even a part of the selectors’ initial plans for the Bangladesh A team, which will play Zimbabwe A later this month.”I was very surprised at first,” Sunny told . “Let alone the national team, I wasn’t even in the preliminary squad for Bangladesh A, though I was added later. I felt I had just fallen from the sky when some journalists called me on Friday evening telling me that I might be in the Test squad. I think I have recovered from the shock. I am feeling quite happy now.”Maybe I wasn’t getting the wickets, but I bowled well in the NCL and BCL. You need luck to do well in cricket, but I took 9 for 155 in the last BCL game. I think I did not do too badly in the only match I played in the West Indies for Bangladesh A in Barbados.”

Mitchell Marsh said Perth Scorchers were fortunate to pull off an improbable win over Dolphins

PTI20-Sep-20141:08

‘Knew I had to swing as hard as I could’ – Marsh

Having pulled off an improbable win by hitting two successive sixes off the last two deliveries, Perth Scorchers’ Mitchell Marsh has said that his team was lucky to be on the winning side as they defeated Dolphins in a CLT20 league encounter in Mohali. The team from Australia beat South Africa’s Dolphins by six wickets.Needing 12 off the last two deliveries, Marsh dispatched seamer Robbie Frylinck over deep midwicket and long-on to successfully chase down a target of 165 set up by the Dolphins.Marsh, who was adjudged Man of the Match for his 40 off 26 balls with three fours and two sixes, told reporters after the match that they were lucky to win in the end.Asked with two balls remaining, did he think there was any chance of hitting two sixes, he said his mind was racing to get the runs needed. “Lucky, we were on the winning side,” he said.Asked what was his thought after he hit the first six in the final over, Marsh said, “I knew we needed to hit the six. We had a big focus as a whole squad the whole batting unit to just have a clear mind and back ourselves, nothing changed in those last two balls. I tried to swing as hard I could and watch the ball.”Marsh gave credit to the Dolphins bowlers for the way they bowled and restricted the Scorchers despite the Aussies being well in control of the game earlier in the innings.Asked if stroke-making was difficult or was it the case of good bowling towards the end, Marsh said, “It’s a beautiful wicket to bat on. I thought they bowled really well in the end, to be honest. They bowled good yorkers and we did not get those boundaries when we needed them.” .Coach Justin Langer said he was also happy with the win but gave credit to the Dolphins for the way they batted after losing early wickets and then bowled tight towards the end barring the two hits which went for sixes.”I actually admired the way they batted, they lost some early wickets, but kept going really hard right throughout the innings. Rather than being surprised, I respect the way they did that under pressure, they kept coming back at us hard.After the runs we had, it was a great credit for that.”Asked if he thought the Scorchers bowlers lost the plot a bit or did he think 160-odd was a par score, Langer said, “I don’t think I would be using the word ‘lost the plot’ when I talked to them. I felt we did not finish very well with the ball, that scenario we need to get better. But we saw in our innings as well it is the hardest thing for any team to do to bowl at the in the end, but I thought Joel (Paris) bowled magnificently well, probably showed our senior players how to do it actually.”

Rain held sway for a second day in a row as Sri Lanka’s A’s innings – the only one of the match so far – was limited to 34 overs in the day

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Oct-2014
ScorecardRain held sway for a second day in a row as Sri Lanka’s A’s innings – the only one of the match so far – was limited to 34 overs in the day.The first day was lost without a ball bowled, but on the second, West Indies A were able to reinforce their decision to bowl with regular wickets. Miguel Cummins broke the opening stand at 37 and fellow seamer Shannon Gabriel struck in successive overs to have the Sri Lanka A at 53 for 3.Ashan Priyanjan led a brief counterattack with a 51-ball 40, but he was among the two wickets claimed by offspinner Shane Shillingford. Kithuruwan Vithanage was unbeaten on 36 at stumps, while Tharindu Kaushal was yet to get off the mark.

South Africa’s Dane van Niekerk and Marizanne Kapp took four wickets each to restrict India to 114 runs, after which Chloe Tryon scored 50 to take South Africa to a close two-wicket win

The Report by Bishen Jeswant24-Nov-2014
scorecardSmart Stats

9 Runs conceded by Dane van Niekerk, while picking up four wickets in this game. This is the fewest runs conceded by a South African spinner when taking four or more wickets in an ODI.

17 Number of times that Jhulam Goswami has taken three or more wickets in an ODI; only Australia’s Cathryn Fitzpatrick has more such hauls (21). India’s Neetu David also has 17 hauls of three-plus wickets.

1 Number of times that two opposition bowlers have taken four or more wickets each in an ODI against India. South Africa’s Van Niekerk and Marizanne Kapp took four wickets each in this game, making it a first.

4/21 Kapp’s figures in this game, the best of her ODI career. This was her first four-wicket haul. Among South African pacers, Kapp, with 43 wickets, is the third-highest wicket-taker in ODIs.

50 Runs scored by Chloe Tryon, the highest by a South African in an ODI chase against India.

A strong bowling performance by South Africa women, led by twin four-fors from Marizanne Kapp and Dane van Niekerk, set up the side’s two-wicket win over India women in a low-scoring ODI in Bangalore.India won the toss and chose to bat but Kapp reduced India to 30 for 4 with an incisive spell of pace bowling, taking three wickets between the sixth and 11th overs. Jhulan Goswami walked in and attempted to rebuild the innings with a patient 33 off 81, hitting her first boundary off the 60th ball that she faced. Goswami and Harmanpreet Kaur (31 off 51 balls) put on a 63-run fifth-wicket partnership, but that was not enough to prevent India from folding for 114.Legspinner van Niekerk, South Africa’s second highest wicket taker in ODIs, dismissed both Goswami and Kaur on her way to figures of 4 for 9. Kapp came back to pick up the last wicket in the 39th over, and finished with career-best figures of 4 for 21.The early end to the India’s batting effort meant that the innings break was not taken immediately. Goswami opened the attack for India and bowled with pace, seeming to hurry the South Africans. She removed both openers early, reducing South Africa to 11 for 2 in six overs, before the players went in for a break.India continued to pick up wickets after the break and had South Africa teetering at 68 for 6. However, Chloe Tryon steadied the chase with a composed 50 and by the time she was dismissed she had taken South Africa to within two runs of victory. “It was challenging coming in at 29 for 4,” Tryon said. “I just had to play the situation. After being dropped on 0, I had to basically stay in there and play my shots, and that’s what I did.”The 20-year-old Tryon’s previous highest score in ODIs was 15*. “I look at myself as a bowling allrounder, but I consider myself a [reasonable] batter as well. I know I can come in and adapt to situations, either T20 or ODI. I definitely proved myself today and was very happy with my performance, though there are a couple of things that I can work on.”

Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting will take over as head coach of Mumbai Indians from the upcoming IPL season

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Dec-2014Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting will take over as head coach of Mumbai Indians from the upcoming IPL season. Ponting will replace former India and New Zealand coach John Wright, who has been given a new role of talent scouting in addition to creating a youth development organisation to be run by the franchise.Ponting, who retired from international cricket in 2012, was bought by Mumbai in 2013 for a base price of $400,000. He was appointed the captain immediately but decided to step down mid-way into the campaign owing to a poor run of form: 52 runs from six matches. Despite a weak first phase, Mumbai bounced back to win their maiden IPL title that year under Ponting’s successor – Rohit Sharma.However, Mumbai retained Ponting in an advisory role in IPL 2014 when he traveled with the team for a few matches. Mumbai finished fourth last season.In a press release, the franchise also said that former India captain Anil Kumble has been “elevated to the Owners Group and shall oversee the implementation of the Vision for Reliance Sports that currently has interests across multiple sports including Football, Basketball and Cricket.”

The Hagley Oval pitch was fairly green two days out from the Boxing day Test. New Zealand Batting coach Craig McMillan said it will help the quicks, but added that his side was equipped to handle Sri Lanka’s seamers

Andrew Fidel Fernando24-Dec-2014The tourism ads sell New Zealand as being clean, green and pristine. With so many unspoilt vistas and arresting landscapes, that is not a difficult task.There are minor scratches on that perception. Some conservationists argue that parts of the Waikato river is swimming with farming effluent, while plenty also believe the country doesn’t take its climate change responsibilities seriously enough.But at least New Zealand’s Test grounds champion the national reputation wholeheartedly, and perhaps none do it better than the newly-accredited Hagley Oval. From the periphery which is flush deciduous trees, to the grass bank whose verdant circuit is interrupted only briefly by the single-story pavilion and three makeshift marquees, Christchurch’s new ground is alluringly green. As Sri Lanka are the touring side, perhaps it’s only natural that the pitch is a similar hue, two days before the match.”It’s fair to say it’s going to favour the quicks,” Craig McMillan, the New Zealand batting coach, said. “The fast bowlers have certainly got a smile on their faces. Coming from the UAE, where there was no bounce and the ball turned, now we’re going to turn up here where there’s going to be seam and swing, plus some extra bounce. Everyone is pretty excited about this Boxing Day. There’s been a lot of hype around it, so it’s going to be a special occasion.”New Zealand cricket’s thinking appears to be to provide pace-friendly surfaces everywhere, to make optimum use of home conditions, just as Sri Lanka prepare dustbowls in Galle.The pitch to be used in the match is one of five strips on the square built from Kakanui soil, which is especially conducive to pace and bounce. There is visible excitement in the New Zealand camp about the nature of the surface, but they have also not allowed themselves to forget other strategic concerns. New Zealand can field both Neil Wagner and Doug Bracewell in addition to Trent Boult and Tim Southee, but McMillan suggested the team were wary of selecting an all-pace attack.”Playing four seamers is an option, and it’s something we’ll discuss,” he said. “But there’s also a lot of left-handers in that Sri Lankan batting line up, so the offspinner Mark Craig becomes quite important.”I don’t think anyone is ahead in the Bracewell-Wagner race. It’s going to be a tough call, whichever way the selectors decide to go. Both players have done the job beautifully when they’ve been asked, and it’s unfortunate that someone will probably have to miss out.”McMillan said New Zealand were also wary of Sri Lanka, whom he described as “underrated, especially when they tour overseas,” but backed his batsmen to deal with the seam and swing Sri Lanka’s bowlers would generate from the pitch.”This pitch doesn’t look any different to what we had against India and West Indies last season,” he said. “From memory we didn’t win too many tosses in those two series. We batted first in most of those conditions, and if that happens again, we know we’ve done it before and we can do it again. Having just returned from the UAE, we’ve talked to the batters a lot about making subtle adjustments, over the past two days. Hopefully they will make those and come out on Boxing Day.”The Test is also Christchurch’s first in eight years, with the last match also having featured the same teams, in 2006. The hiatus, since 2010, is a result of former venue Lancaster Park having suffered irreparable damage in the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes. McMillan, a Canterbury local, spoke on how much the return of Test cricket means to the city.”Christchurch has missed international cricket over the last four or five years. As a young kid growing up, I spent a lot of time at Lancaster Park watching international cricket, and was lucky enough to play international cricket at Lancaster Park. To have our own cricket ground now in the middle of the city, and for it to be so picturesque – that’s fantastic. We’ve got a sell out on Boxing Day and the weather is going to be good – you couldn’t have set it up any better. It makes you very proud to be a Cantabrian when you see what we have in the middle of the city.”

A round-up of the Ranji Trophy Group A matches played on February 8, 2014

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Feb-2015
ScorecardFile photo – Piyush Chawla scored 73 and followed up with a five-wicket haul•BCCIA five-wicket haul from Piyush Chawla brightened Uttar Pradesh’s hopes of beating Railways and dragging themselves off the bottom of the group table. Chawla, who had added 20 runs to his overnight 53 to help UP narrow their first-innings deficit to 53, ran through Railways with his legspin to help bowl them out for 189 in their second innings. Chasing 243, UP’s openers saw out the last 10 overs of the day and added an unbroken 25.Having taken the last three UP wickets for 26 runs in the morning, with Ranjit Mali picking up a five-for, Railways made a strong start to their second innings, with their openers adding 63. Wickets fell steadily, thereafter, and even though five of their batsmen went past 20, their top score was Anustup Majumdar’s 40. At 125 for 3, Railways were still in a position to set UP a 300-plus target, but they fell well short of that, and lost their last seven wickets for 64 runs.
ScorecardA half-century from Swapnil Singh steered Baroda out of trouble and helped them set Tamil Nadu a 200-plus target at the Moti Bagh Stadium. Swapnil walked in with Baroda 100 for 6, their lead a mere 61 at that stage, and built fighting stands with the lower order before he was last out for 83. Chasing 207, Tamil Nadu lost Abhinav Mukund after an opening stand of 38, and were 51 for 1 at stumps with M Vijay batting on 26.Tamil Nadu could go through to the quarterfinals even if they lose, depending on other results, but Baroda will almost certainly have to win to go through, given the likelihood of Mumbai, MP and Railways going past their points total were they to lose.Tamil Nadu’s seam attack began the morning with a flurry of wickets, removing three Baroda batsmen for the addition of 27 runs to their overnight 73 for 3. Swapnil added 58 with captain Aditya Waghmode for the seventh wicket, 30 with Gagandeep Singh for the ninth wicket and 46 with Sagar Mangalorkar for the final wicket before he became L Balaji’s third victim. Swapnil’s 178-ball innings contained 10 fours and a six.
ScorecardA five-wicket haul from Yogesh Rawat helped Madhya Pradesh bowl Bengal out for 219 and enforce the follow-on in Indore. Bengal, who conceded a 295-run first-innings lead, made a strong start to their second innings, with their openers Abhishek Das and Abhimanyu Easwaran putting on 91. MP dismissed Easwaran close to stumps but the debutant Das was still at the crease, batting on 69 off 119 balls, having struck seven fours and three sixes. With him was Sudip Chatterjee, the first-innings half-centurion.Chatterjee hadn’t added to his overnight 58 when Rawat had him lbw in the second over of the morning. Bengal lost four more wickets in quick time and were 146 for 8 before Amit Banerjee stitched useful partnerships with Veer Pratap Singh and Ashok Dinda to drag their score past 200. Rawat, playing his fifth first-class game, picked up his second five-wicket haul with his medium-pace.

Andre Russell, whose all-round performance helped West Indies to a thumping win over Pakistan, believes the conditions were ideal for his late flourish, as he thumped 42 off 13 balls

Brydon Coverdale21-Feb-20152:18

‘Ireland loss was a big wake-up call’ – Russell

4lb 4 1 6 1 6 6 2 4 . 6 4 2That was Andre Russell’s performance in the 13 balls he faced at the end of the West Indies innings in Christchurch. Had he got a tickle on those four leg byes, and had the dot been called a wide as it might well have been – it was a high bouncer – he might have been on track for the fastest fifty in ODI history.As it was, he had to settle for an unbeaten 42 off 13 balls as West Indies plundered 89 in their final six overs. Russell followed that up with three wickets in his team’s record 150-run victory over Pakistan, and not surprisingly, he was named Man of the Match for the fifth time in his 45-match one-day international career.”It’s a very good feeling to contribute big to the team and getting the Man-of-the-Match award,” Russell said after the match. “At the end of the day, it’s the other contributions from the other guys. The way we batted we didn’t get the start we wanted.”But the guys in the middle kept it together and set the innings perfect for me to come and do my thing. It just goes to show we’re a good team, and playing as a team you’re always going to get the job done if everyone contributes.”Pakistan’s bowlers had no way of restricting Russell, whose four sixes flew off the bat at serious speed, and a flat crunch down the ground for four off Wahab Riaz was also struck fiercely. When he came in, West Indies were 259 for 5; when he finished they were 310 for 6. Russell said the circumstances were almost ideal for his style.”It has a lot to do with the situation,” Russell said. “I can bat if there’s 20 overs still left to go, but I think I really enjoy when there’s five overs or 10 overs left. I can come out and just play my natural game. It’s not like I have to be cagey. Especially being over 250 runs. I can just come and play my natural game from there.”The win has placed West Indies in a much stronger position after losing their opening game to Ireland, and they will hope to build their confidence further when they take on Zimbabwe in Canberra on Tuesday. Russell said the mood in the camp was encouraging after their first win of the tournament.”It’s very good. Everyone is laughing, happy,” he said. “It’s just always a fun dressing room, and I think from the last game things didn’t go well for us, and we just turned up today and wanted to show the world that we are not just a pushover. We are always a good team and we can fight. It happened today, so it was a very good performance.”