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A wrap of the second day’s play of the 8th round match between New South Wales and Tasmania

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Feb-2017
Scorecard
File photo – George Bailey was 93 not out at stumps•Getty Images

George Bailey was within sight of a century at stumps on the second day against New South Wales in Wollongong, where Tasmania had taken a first-innings lead. In reply to the Blues’ 253, the Tigers closed the day with an advantage of 41 runs, at 6 for 294, with Bailey on 93 and Simon Milenko on 18.Bailey already has one hundred this Shield campaign and is the competition’s leading scorer, and he was the anchor for Tasmania on a day when everyone made a start. No Tasmanian failed to reach double figures, but Bailey was the only one able to turn that into a half-century.Doug Bollinger picked up three wickets, including those of openers Alex Doolan for 37 and Jake Hancock for 28. Ben McDermott was second on the run list with 45, while Beau Webster managed 37 before he was caught behind off the bowling of Moises Henriques.

The win helped consolidate PNG’s second position in the ICC WCL table, while UAE, who slumped to their eighth loss in 10 matches, are placed seventh in the eight-team championship

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Apr-2017
Scorecard File photo: PNG displayed their bowling depth in an impressive win•Peter Della Penna

A middle-order collapse triggered by Assad Vala and John Reva strangled United Arab Emirates’ 233 chase as Papua New Guinea squeezed out a 26-run win to level the three-match series at 1-1.The win helped consolidate their second position in the ICC WCL table, while UAE, who slumped to their eighth loss in 10 matches, are placed seventh in the eight-team championship.UAE started in a confidently courtesy wicketkeeper Ghulam Shabber, who set up the chase with a 100-ball 70, before a collapse resulted in them slipping from 148 for 2 tto 161 for 7 in less than five overs.The collapse started with the dismissals of Shaiman Anwar and Shabber in the space of three deliveries. Anwar was run out after a 57-run third-wicket stand, while Shabber was dismissed by Vale. The offspinner went on to dismiss two more middle-order batsmen for ducks to take the game away from UAE, who were eventually skittled out in the 48th over.That PNG had a total to defend despite UAE chipping away was courtesy Vani Morea’s 52. Cameos from Dogodo Bau (46), Vala (23) and Lega Siaka (27) lower down the order added some teeth to the total, which eventually too much for the hosts.

Placed at the centre of the PSL spot-fixing scandal, Nasir Jamshed is threatening to take the PCB to court for maligning his name

Umar Farooq17-May-2017Placed at the centre of the PSL spot-fixing scandal, Nasir Jamshed is threatening to take the PCB to court for maligning his name.In a video message posted on his Twitter account – the second he has posted since being implicated in corruption allegations – Jamshed challenged the PCB’s anti-corruption unit to place whatever evidence they had in public domain. He also alleged that the board was pressurising players to testify against him.The PCB believes Jamshed is a central figure in the corruption allegations stemming from the second edition of the PSL. He was arrested by the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) on the same day that he was provisionally suspended by the PCB, though he was later released on bail.”PCB is being unfair with me as they are pressurising players and and asking them to testify against me,” Jamshed said. “Rather than maligning my name, I urge PCB to offer the evidence and I challenge them to bring all the evidence in public. There is something called professionalism and with all this my personal life is being affected. I have already consulted my lawyer and we want to challenge this and are willing to take PCB to court over this.”Earlier on Wednesday, the PCB banned left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz for two months after he admitted to the charge of failing to report a suspect approach. Nawaz was the seventh Pakistan player to come under the PCB’s scanner during the ongoing investigation. Six others are either facing charges of corruption, or have been banned, or were questioned by the PCB. Proceedings against Sharjeel Khan, Khalid Latif, Jamshed and Shahzaib Hasan are underway; Mohammad Irfan was suspended for a year; and Zulfiqar Babar was questioned.Days before the day-to-day hearing of the trio – Sharjeel, Khalid and Hasan –  began, audio messages allegedly between Khalid and Jamshed were leaked. The messages, heard by ESPNcricinfo, seem to focus on a bat deal one player is arranging for the other. The PCB believes the conversations are code for corrupt deals.Jamshed, who is based in Birmingham, had previously informed the PCB through his lawyer of his inability to travel to Pakistan because his passport had been confiscated by the NCA. Jamshed said that once the NCA investigation in England was over, he would present himself as and when required by the PCB.

Faf du Plessis was involved in two run-outs against India, first involving AB de Villiers and then David Miller, before he fell for 36 against India at The Oval

Nagraj Gollapudi at The Oval11-Jun-2017As soon as he dabbed Ravindra Jadeja towards point, Faf du Plessis set off immediately, saying “yes”, signalling partner AB de Villiers for a single. Hardik Pandya swiftly sent the throw down to MS Dhoni, who brushed off the bails even as de Villiers threw himself forward to complete the run.Five balls later, du Plessis found was involved in another run-out – this time with David Miller. Both batsmen found themselves at the same end after du Plessis responded to Miller’s call for a single, but quickly turned back to make his crease, leaving his partner in an embarrassing position. Those two run-outs were the “turning points” of the match which South Africa went on to lose by eight wickets, according to India captain Virat Kohli.Du Plessis was apologetic after the defeat and owned up to the fact that his call for a run with de Villiers was not wise. “I take full responsibility for AB’s run-out,” du Plessis said at the media briefing. “That’s my fault. Obviously he [de Villiers] is a big player for us and he was looking good and it was a crunch time in the game. Big mistake from my part running AB out.”Asked if he ventured running for a single that another batsman would, perhaps, avoid, de Villiers said he simply responded to du Plessis’ call. “You see, I just tried to take a one with my partner out there and it didn’t work. I wasn’t searching for runs, I wasn’t even facing. So I wouldn’t say it like that. There was a call out there, and I thought we could get through for the one.”According to du Plessis, India’s bowlers and fielders were mounting pressure quickly and with The Oval packed with fans, mostly Indian supporters, it was difficult to hear the calls in the cacophony. He conceded, however, that nothing could absolve him of his “error in judgment” which resulted in de Villiers’ wicket.”I suppose, after that moment, Dave [Miller] came in and we discussed that it is extremely loud out there and difficult to hear each other so the communication between the two of us was just for the next five overs, just play it as risk free as possible. Try and get the partnership going in, settle the partnership because the last thing you want to do is go wicket, wicket,” he said. “And then two or three balls later, obviously a miscommunication, and then Dave came down and ran. Not a great sight to see two guys standing in the crease.”Du Plessis said the run-outs distracted him from trying to focus on batting. Failing to read a slower ball from Pandya, du Plessis chopped on and lost his off stump for 36 runs. Within five overs, South Africa’s three most dangerous batsmen were back in the dressing room.Du Plessis summed up the day as an “average” one for South Africa and gave credit to India to force the mistakes. “That five overs, in a game like today, five overs like that is very, very big,” du Plessis said. “You either settle and get through the pressure. Or you absorb it or you don’t and we didn’t absorb those five overs. I thought India bowled well in the first 10 overs, there was an opportunity there for us to maybe put them under pressure which we didn’t do. It was a day where possibly India dominated us in all aspects and it shouldn’t happen.”He also pointed out that no amount of experience counts in such moments. “When India were batting they took the pressure, created momentum and then just ran with it. We had a similar opportunity where it was needed for someone, or, two guys to just put the pressure back on the Indian team and you run with it. We didn’t do that today. They put us under pressure and we made mistakes and we couldn’t get out of it.”According to Kohli, India were confident of restricting South Africa to a modest target once they had sent back de Villiers and du Plessis. “I think his [de Villiers’] run-out could be the turning point. And David Miller’s [too]. He is a very dangerous player as well. They can drag the team up to 260, 270 from any sort of situations. Those two run-outs were the turning point today.”

Mithali Raj’s world record and Punam Raut’s maiden World Cup century were mere footnotes on a day when Meg Lanning, Ellyse Perry and Australia’s spinners stamped their authority to seal a semi-final berth

The Report by Shashank Kishore12-Jul-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMeg Lanning’s half-century helped Australia make lightwork of a tricky target•Getty Images

Australia secured a semi-final berth as they overpowered India’s 226 for 7 with consummate ease on a slow turner in Bristol. India’s inability to bring to the fore their power-game at various stages during the course of the 157-run second-wicket stand between centurion Punam Raut and Mithali Raj, who became the leading run-getter in Women’s ODIs, left them shortchanged. They will now have to beat New Zealand in their final group game on Sunday to make it through to the semi-final of an ICC event for the first time since 2010.Beth Mooney and Nicole Bolton added 62 for the first wicket in 15.4 overs to set Australia up. After Bolton bottom-edged a sweep off Poonam Yadav to Sushma Verma, the wicketkeeper, Meg Lanning dug in. Batting with a strapped shoulder, she displayed nimble footwork to negate India’s spin troika of Ekta Bisht, Deepti Sharma and Poonam Yadav, to make 76 not out as Australia eased home with 29 balls to spare. She was complemented by the in-form Ellyse Perry, who finished with 60 not out, her fourth successive fifty to go with two wickets.Where Australia’s spinners wrested control – they combined to take 4 for 129 off 29 overs – partly due to India’s diffidence with the bat, India’s slower bowlers leaked a combined 183 in 34 overs. India’s slow scoring was largely due to the inability of Raj to hit the ball off the square; she consumed 82 deliveries and limped past the 34 she needed to eclipse Charlotte Edwards’ record.Jess Jonassen and Kristen Beams used angles and flight to cut off scoring options for Raut and Raj. Their protection of the leg-side boundary kept teasing the batsmen to work against the turn, making it difficult to maneuver the ball over the off side.Once the record was out of the way, Raj seemed a little more relaxed. The first sign of intent came three balls later as she waltzed down the pitch to hit a straight six to also become the first batsman in Women’s ODIs to cross 6000 runs. By then, Punam was in her 50s. From time-to-time, she resorted to sweeping against the turn and bringing out the delicate paddles to keep the runs ticking. Off the pacers, she was particularly punishing towards Megan Schutt, who she shovelled and lap-swept to pick off boundaries.Yet, at no stage did the pair give Australia any shivers. When Raj mistimed a lofted hit back to Beams in the 41st over, India had barely managed to cross the four-runs per over mark. Over the next six overs, Harmanpreet Kaur brought out the odd big hit to make a 22-ball 23, but Raut’s wicket in the 47th led to a total breakdown. India lost four wickets for 16, with Deepti Sharma, their second-highest run-getter of the tournament, not coming out to bat until the final over.Early in the chase, India kept things tight, conceding just 34 off the first 10. The situation was ripe for their spinners to mount a challenge. But Bisht’s first over that went for three boundaries led to opening of the floodgates. Poonam Yadav looped the ball up, but by not landing it right on a surface where the turn was slow, gave the batsmen enough time to rock back and pull.Lanning showed intent right from the time she walked out, lofting Yadav over her head for six off the fourth ball she faced. To compensate, the spinners resorted to bowling short and kept getting put away square of the wicket through cuts and sweeps. India didn’t help matters by fielding as poorly as they did, runs regularly conceded by letting the ball through their legs at the boundary. All of this meant, the chase went cold at the halfway mark. For large parts of the last 15 overs, it seemed as if an extended net session was on, the sense of helplessness in India’s ranks all too evident as what should’ve been a challenging chase turned into a cakewalk.

With one eye on how difficult it will be to bat in the fourth inning in Colombo, Zimbabwe coach Heath Streak is keen on securing a first-innings lead

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Colombo15-Jul-2017Concurring with Rangana Herath that batting will be tough in the fourth innings, Zimbabwe coach Heath Streak said his side would aim to have Sri Lanka chasing 200 at a minimum. With the hosts still 63 runs behind, Zimbabwe have a rare chance to take a first-innings lead.”I’d like to get 400 runs in front, but I don’t think that’s going to happen,” Streak said. “Anything over 200 to 250 runs is going to be really tough on the fourth and fifth days. Between 250 and 280 would be a really competitive target. But first we’ve got to get out the two batsmen at the crease at the moment [Asela Gunaratne and Rangana Herath]. They can both bat.”Pulling ahead in an away Test has been difficult for Zimbabwe in recent times. Since 2000, over a spell of 28 matches, they have earned a first-innings lead only four times – once in the West Indies and thrice in Bangladesh. Streak was hopeful of adding Colombo to that list.”It’s going to be a really interesting day’s play tomorrow,” he said. “Hopefully, we can pick up those last few wickets quickly, and if we do get a lead, that will be a bonus. Then it’s going to be an exciting few days.”Zimbabwe’s strong position has partly been delivered by their captain Graeme Cremer, who took 3 for 100 from 30 overs. He has turned the ball more than any other spinner in the match and produced two outstanding deliveries to dismiss Dinesh Chandimal and Kusal Mendis.”There are times where we just let things drift a little bit, but all in all I am very happy.” Streak said. “Cremer was outstanding today. He bowled some really dangerous balls and could easily have a five-for already. It’s nice to be in the position we are in, but its only two hard days and there’s lots more in the Test match if we are going to give ourselves a chance to challenge Sri Lanka.”Zimbabwe have lost 12 Tests and have never won a match against Sri Lanka. The most recent of those defeats came in October and November last year, when Sri Lanka dominated both matches. The series victory in the ODIs, however, has instilled new belief among the tourists.”We are making history on the tour so we would change that as well,” Streak said. “It’s about backing positive options – something we really encouraged the guys to do on this tour. We know we have to do that again. With Rangana and the other spinners, it’s going to be hard work.”

Loughborough Lightning produced an upset in the Kia Super League when they defeated the previously unbeaten Surrey Stars by 81 runs at The Oval

ECB Reporters Network26-Aug-2017Elyse Villani plundered 71 off 39 balls•Getty Images

Loughborough Lightning produced an upset in the Kia Super League when they defeated the previously unbeaten Surrey Stars by 81 runs at The Oval.On the same pitch that Surrey had been knocked out of the quarter-finals of the NatWest T20 Blast the previous evening, the Surrey women were roundly outplayed, although they still progress to Finals Day at Hove on Friday.Surrey, needing 172, made a poor start when Tammy Beaumont was lbw to Kirsten Beams in the third over. And they suffered another big blow when their big-hitting South African opener Lizelle Lee, who had hit a 44-ball 72 in the previous game against Western Storm, was caught on the deep square-leg boundary for just one.When Marizanne Kapp lost her off stump to Ellyse Perry, Surrey were really up against it at 24 for 3 in the sixth over.Natalie Sciver showed some fight when she hit Georgia Elwiss for three successive fours. But then she played on to Sarah Glenn for 24 off 18, and when Sophia Dunkley was bowled by Beth Langston and Laura Marsh was caught at deep square-leg – the three wickets falling in three overs – it really was all over for Surrey at 65 for 7 in the 14th.Lightning, who had lost three of their previous four games, had elected to bat first and lost their first wicket to the fourth ball of the innings when Sarah Glenn skied Laura March to Rene Farrell at midwicket.But fine attack innings by first Elyse Villani and then Perry lifted them to a formidable 171 for 3.Villani hit ten fours and three sixes in her 39-ball 71, and then fellow Australian Perry took over with four fours and four sixes in her unbeaten 68 off 53 deliveries.Villani was particularly destructive at the top of the innings, with a strike rate of 182.05. She launched her innings by hitting Laura Marsh for a six and two fours in four deliveries, but her third boundary came after she was dropped just inside the rope.She reached her fifty when she jumped down the wicket to straight drive Alex Hartley for six, and then drove and reverse swept the next two balls for fours.Perry hit Sciver for two fours and two sixes in the penultimate over, which went for 22 runs.

West Indies coach Stuart Law wants his players to focus on learning their roles in ODI cricket, ahead of next year’s qualifying tournament to reach the 2019 World Cup

Andrew McGlashan22-Sep-2017West Indies coach Stuart Law has challenged his one-day squad to use the remainder of the series against England to prove they should be part of the team who will now need to contest the qualifying tournament next year to reach the 2019 World Cup.Defeat at Old Trafford in the opening match of the series condemned West Indies to the long route to a World Cup spot, with the qualifying tournament set to take place in Zimbabwe early next year. That leaves Law with the rest of the England tour and then three matches in New Zealand at the end of the year as their only scheduled ODIs to firm up their best one-day squad.”Our plan is to go to Zimbabwe next year with a settled team, a team where everyone knows their roles and what they want to achieve,” Law said. “It’s a balancing act because what some players bring is extraordinary and you don’t want to nullify that effect. We’ve still got some selectorial conversations to have, to understand if we have the best players to take this team forward.”There’s plenty of A-team cricket in the Caribbean – Sri Lanka are there and England are coming next year so there are opportunities – but I’d like to go to New Zealand with a team which is pretty settled before the qualifiers.”Chris Gayle, who tweaked a hamstring at Trent Bridge, and Marlon Samuels have returned to the side for this series. Other players could come back into the mix with Law saying that Sunil Narine would be a certain pick if he made himself available. Narine was Man of the Match in the T20 against England at Chester-le-Street, but said he wanted to play some domestic one-day cricket before returning to the format he last played nearly a year ago.The dates for West Indies’ domestic one-day tournament, the Regional Super50, have yet to be confirmed, but last year it began in late January so may not leave Narine much time to stake a claim for the squad to go to the qualifiers. Another player who may come back on the radar is Andre Russell, whose one-year ban for missed drugs tests finishes on January 31, 2018.”Most people would be excited to have a guy like Andre Russell champing at the bit to play international cricket,” Law said. “Sunil Narine showed his class in the T20. He stated he wanted to get some 50-over cricket in, which is fair enough, but if he decides he wants to give ODIs a go he’d be one of the first picks with the spin he provides.”Kyle Hope was brought into the side at Trent Bridge after Gayle’s injury, while Miguel Cummins replaced Devendra Bishoo as West Indies went with a different balance of side. While Law is aware of the players currently outside the squad, he is keen to put his faith in those currently on duty.”This group I feel has a lot of good, that’s why they are here,” he added. “We are just making sure they understand how they want to play, they are caught between T20 and Test cricket a little at the moment and need to find a tempo for this format.”

The two spinners finished with match hauls of eight wickets each to clinch the unofficial Test series for Sri Lanka 2-1

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Oct-2017
ScorecardWICB Media/Athelstan Bellamy

Left-arm spinner Malinda Pushpakumara and offspinner Shehan Jayasuriya were at the forefront of Sri Lanka A’s series-clinching win in the third unofficial Test against West Indies A, with a match haul of eight wickets each. Their combined efforts meant West Indies A were limited to scores of 181 and 118 in their two innings, to hand Sri Lanka A a comfortable ten-wicket win within two days of play.Pushpakumara, who had a haul of 12 wickets in the second four-dayer, took 4 for 67 in the first innings, with support from Lahiru Kumara and Jayasuriya, who picked up two each. West Indies A’s innings of 181 was propped up single-handedly by Sunil Ambris, who scored his fifth first-class century, even as no other West Indies A batsman managed to score more than 20.Sri Lanka A then took a 92-run lead despite a few stutters with the bat. Captain Dhananjaya de Silva top-scored with 64, while Roshen Silva contributed 52 before retiring hurt.Jayasuriya then took centre stage, accounting for West Indies A’s top six for returns of 6 for 60. Like their first innings, only one West Indies A batsman managed a score of more than 20; in this instance captain Shamarh Brooks hit 52. Pushpakumara ran through the lower order, with 4 for 19, to leave Sri Lanka A with a target of 27 runs to win. The visitors needed only 5.5 overs to reach the target on the third evening.

Having established a massive first-innings lead, Karnataka pummeled UP with the bat again, as their openers played out an unbroken 262-run partnership

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Nov-2017R Samarth and Mayank Agarwal struck centuries on the final day, as a drawn game against Uttar Pradesh ensured Karnataka‘s place in the knockouts on the basis of first-innings points. The Karnataka openers put up an unbroken stand of 262, after their bowlers had established up a first-innings lead of 324. The three points they earned put them at the top of the Group A table with 26 points; with Delhi on 23, the massive lead the two teams have in points have ensured their passage to the knockouts.UP’s response to Karnataka’s mammoth 655 had floundered on the third day itself, as they lost five wickets by stumps. The overnight pair of Rinku Singh and wicketkeeper Upendra Yadav couldn’t go on to build a big partnership, with Rinku dismissed in the fifth over of the day for 73. Left to bat with the tail, Upendra stitched a useful ninth-wicket partnership of 40 with Ankit Rajpoot (19) to lift Uttar Pradesh over 300. Upendra was eventually unbeaten on 49, with UP dismissed for 331.Karnataka then put up another dominating show with the bat. Dismissed for 16 in the first innings, Samarth capitalized on the opportunity to bring up his third century of this Ranji season. His 126 came off 183 balls with 11 fours and two sixes. At the other end, Agarwal scored his third century in as many games, pairing a 90 in the first innings with 133 off 171 balls. The pair scored at close to 4.5 runs an over.Ambati Rayudu’s unbeaten 52 anchored Hyderabad‘s chase of 142 in their four-wicket win over Assam in Guwahati.Assam’s seamers, Arup Das and Rajjakuddin Ahmed had lifted the side’s hopes of defending a small total by rooting out Hyderabad’s top order for 18 within the first seven overs. Sixteen-year-old legspinner Riyan Parag’s two wickets then reduced Hyderabad to 69 for 5 before Rayudu and Akash Bhandari comfortably secured the win.Earlier, Assam had resumed their second innings from 300 for 7, and the overnight batsman Amit Sinha went on to complete his second first-class century. However, the lack of partners at the other end meant that Sinha could help Assam add only 31 runs to their overnight total.