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Among the skills Dale Benkenstein is trying to teach his charges is to pick spinners out of the hand

Andrew Fidel Fernando27-Jul-2018South Africa’s batsmen had a rough time in the Tests, but when it comes to ODIs, there are few places better to be right now than Sri Lanka. That is what batting coach Dale Benkenstein is hoping anyway, and his thinking is this: with several top teams fielding wristspinners in their ODI attacks right now, South Africa’s batsmen need to be primed against high-quality spin ahead of next year’s World Cup. With the hosts likely to stack their attack with spin options, and with tracks on the island likely to take some turn, this is as good a place as any, for South Africa to hone their skills ahead of the World Cup.”It’s huge value for us to be here – we’re not in the subcontinent again for a while,” Benkenstein said. “Even though we’ve had a poor Test series, there’s been a lot of work done on spin for a lot of batters. There’s been a lot of learning going on. We’re seeing this as a great opportunity to just get better. Not only the guys who are playing, but some of the young guys who are with us now. We tell them to use these conditions. Use the nets. Ask people around you. Try and get as much out of it as you can, other than just in the matches that are going on.”Among the skills Benkenstein is trying to teach his charges is to pick spinners out of the hand. South Africa had struggled substantially against wristspin in their 5-1 home series defeat against India earlier in the year, when Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav took 33 wickets between them. Sri Lanka’s ODI spinners have been nowhere near as prolific as India’s wristpsinners, but they do pose unorthodox challenges as well. Akila Dananjaya is ostensibly an offspinner, but also delivers an accurate legbreak and a good googly. South Africa may also have to contend with left-arm wristspinner Lakshan Sandakan through the course of the series.”Picking the bowlers is massive,” Benkenstein said. “It’s something that’s fairly hard to coach. You’ve got to have a lot of experience. Now we are lucky – we’ve got some technology that you can go and watch bowlers, and try and pick up anything that can help you out. But ultimately, the guys have got to go out there and work it out for themselves.”One of the big things is trying to take out one form of dismissal. If you’re not sure which way the ball’s going, it’s always better to be covering your own stumps until you start to find that you’re picking him. Often with wristspinners, once you get one wicket, they get two or three. It’s just trying to prevent that. The senior guys have got no problem – they’ve been there before. It’s really for the younger guys who are trying to understand that you can’t actually face a ball that’s spinning both ways until you can actually read it. It’s really those first 10 balls – to make sure they’ve got a gameplan to cover one way. With spinners, if you face them longer, you start to pick up the changes the bowler has.”South Africa’s first spin challenge of the series is likely to be posed by Dananjaya, who took seven wickets in the SSC Test. Although he is unorthodox, South Africa’s top order can be confident of picking him, said Benkenstein. But just picking him doesn’t mean they will automatically play him well.”One of the impressive things is that Dananjaya is very consistent. Even though he bowls three different styles, he does tend to land the ball in the right place. He’s not a massive spinner of the ball. But I think it’s just his consistency that you have to be aware of. So I think it’s just [about] getting yourself in. Once you’ve got in, then I think it’s a lot easier. It’s just really [about] being calm and not panicking when you’re finding it a bit tough. That’s probably the key to our success.”

Moeen Ali starred with bat and ball and another outstanding spell from Pat Brown had held back Sussex’s innings

David Hopps15-Sep-20181:57

Social story: Worcestershire take Finals Day glory

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsThroughout the Blast season the refrain had gradually become louder: Sussex have the finest bowling attack in T20, certainly in England, perhaps in the world. But Worcestershire survived it, ultimately relished it, the youngest side in the tournament, the county that had never been to Finals Day, emerging victorious by five wickets with nine balls to spare.Worcestershire’s rush to victory came suddenly, perhaps unexpectedly. When Jofra Archer’s full toss accounted for the destructive left-handed hitter, Ross Whiteley, they needed 32 from 19 balls with five wickets left, on a pitch beginning to feel the exhaustion of an 11-hour day. It was not alone in that: this is an intoxicating day in more ways than one.But Ben Cox, one of the finest, most underrated wicketkeeper-batsmen in the country, saw Worcestershire through with an unbeaten 46 from 27 balls, challenging Sussex’s pace attack with innovative flicks and glances. He was helped on his way by a single, stray delivery by Archer – a no-ball beamer which flew for four byes as his attempted scoop turned into a duck for cover, a resulting free hit and a six over square leg to exact full retribution.For Moeen Ali, Worcestershire’s captain, a calming influence on a young side, satisfaction was immense. No recent summer has passed without suggestions he is leaving Worcestershire. He has stayed. And he has returned from a long England summer to guide them to glory.At the end, the team dashed on to celebrate, Moeen walked on, a captain seeking to do the right thing. “I’m not one for running on the field too much,” he said. “You have to win and lose with dignity and respect. You have to respect Sussex’s position. They had obviously lost a tough game. The guys were buzzing and they were allowed to run out but as a captain you have to lead the team in the right way.”

Moeen pays tribute to Rhodes

Moeen Ali paid tribute to Steve Rhodes, Worcestershire’s former coach, who left the county after 33 years after an internal dispute.
“It’s been a tough ten years. I want to give a special mention to Bumpy Rhodes who put this team together and unfortunately is not here to see it, but I’m sure he will be very proud that all these guys he brought through in the Academy are doing well and we are just reaping the rewards.
“To lead a great bunch of guys with no ego is very special. To get through the quarter-final broke a mental block for us. We are a young side and I’m sure we can get better.”

“He’s just a human being, same as the rest of us,” said Worcestershire’s head coach, Kevin Sharp, in the build-up the Vitality Blast Finals Day when asked how it was that Moeen integrated himself so successfully into the Worcestershire side when he returned from England.But Worcestershire must have yearned for something superhuman as Moeen organised their pursuit of Sussex’s 157 for 6. It was the sort of score that an army of data statisticians might have chosen to make the chase exactly 50-50, but Worcestershire had to contend with a T20 bowling attack which has had admiration thrust upon itNo England cricketer feels as embedded into his county side as Moeen. He will even play relegation matches for Worcestershire in the next fortnight. He reached 41 from 27, rocking back to haul the left-arm spin of Danny Briggs over midwicket, majestically driving legspinner Will Beer over extra, and finding a valuable ally in his opening partner, Joe Clarke, who made 33 from 27 in an opening stand of 61 in 6.5.Worcestershire were still reasonably comfortable at 80 for 2 at midway. Then a ball later Brett D’Oliveira was stumped, pushing forward at the left-arm spin of Briggs and the pressure again clamped down.When Moeen fell to a tumbling catch in the deep at long-off by Phil Salt off Beer, they still needed 68 from 47 with six wickets left, the job far from done. He was so caught up in the game that he almost wandered into Sussex’s dugout by mistake.Worcestershire can also celebrate one of the great nought-fors in Blast finals. Pat Brown’s unrewarded four-over spell cost only 15 runs, but his exceptional economy rate compressed Sussex’s innings every time he had the ball in his hand. Such is his trickery, honorary membership of the Magic Circle should await.Brown is slight figure for a fast bowler, barely 20, and looking as if you would want to know what time he would be back when he went out for his birthday celebration.But he is a master of deception already. His stock ball is his knuckle ball, but as a variation he bowls a decent offcutter and can also up his pace above 80mph. The Blast is drawing quality from England’s young cricketers and those who disparage it are not observing closely or kindly enough.He began the final with 31 wickets, four freshly gathered in Worcestershire’s semi-final defeat of Lancashire: only Danny Briggs, who took 31 for Hampshire in 2010, and Alfonso Thomas, 33 for Somerset in the same season, could rival that. Sussex saw him off, but when it came to formulating an attacking response they found him unfathomable.Luke Wright found himself nodding down the pitch in recognition of Brown’s quality. The highest score on T20 Finals Day – 92 in the semi-final victory against Somerset – and a judicious 33 from 25 in the final: for Wright it was a good day, the highest combined runs total ever achieved. But it was not just a judicious innings but slightly careworn.It took some strong blows down the ground – two fours and a six – off Ed Barnard to take Sussex to 78 for 2 by midway, but he was that second wicket, one ball before the end of the 10th over, when Moeen bowled him on the charge.At the end of the Powerplay, Sussex were only 43 for 1, Salt falling wastefully. Salt’s strokeplay can be as disdainful as any young player in the country, as two sixes quickly testified, but he was distraught at his carelessness when he jogged an easy single to backward point, had both feet beyond the crease, but had both in the air when D’Oliveira’s pinpoint throw broke the stumps.Moeen took wickets at vital times. Delray Rawlins, who had begun with consecutive sixes in D’Oliveira’s sole over of leg spin, smoothed over long-on and square leg in turn, holed out to Moeen off a leading edge at long-off, his balance all asunder; David Wiese chopped on to be bowled.Laurie Evans has held Sussex’s innings together all season, and his 52 from 44 balls followed a familiar pattern, but Sussex’s innings died away as it had in the semi-final. It was workable score but only such a fine attack, on a surface about to withstand its sixth innings of the day, could have had confidence that they could defend it. Cox ensured otherwise.

After impressing in his first Test series, Prithvi Shaw presented a case to be considered for the shorter formats but not without some luck

Saurabh Somani in Bengaluru17-Oct-2018AFP

After heavy rain ended the contest early, it was Mumbai who marched into the Vijay Hazare Trophy final by recording their ninth consecutive win in the competition, but Hyderabad, who weren’t even sure of their participation until 12 hours prior to their first fixture, can walk away a proud side.Rohit Rayudu, the younger cousin of Ambati Rayudu, displayed admirable composure to make 122 not out. Struggling on 52 off 95 at one stage with the lower order for company, he ensured Hyderabad almost doubled their score in the last 15 overs to post a competitive 246 for 8. It wasn’t enough, though, with Prithvi Shaw and Shreyas Iyer scoring half-centuries as Mumbai won by the VJD method. A drizzle that turned into a torrential downpour forced the players off the field with Mumbai 155 for 2 in 25 overs. They didn’t return.The spice in the contest was provided by two people who were part of India’s dressing room until four days ago.There are many who think Mohammed Siraj and Shaw ought to be in the mix for India in limited-overs cricket too, and not just Test cricket. Shaw, of course, announced his entry in Tests in grand style, with a Man-of-the-Series performance against West Indies on debut.Siraj was considered unlucky for not making his own debut against West Indies, with the team management ignoring his red-hot form and opting to give the cap to Shardul Thakur, who limped out of the attack with his Test career just 1.4 overs old.On Wednesday, both Shaw and Siraj showed why pitch-forking them to the top level in ODIs might be a good idea. Siraj finished with first-spell figures of 3-0-33-0, while Shaw hit a fifty off just 34 balls, but for anyone watching both were winners.Siraj was introduced in the fifth over, but the stage had been set in the third over itself. Shaw had just slogged Akash Bhandari’s legspin wide of long-on for a boundary when he pulled up clutching his right shoulder. Play was held up while the physio ran out to treat him, and Shaw resumed, but the shoulder was still troubling him.Siraj opted for a short-ball attack. It would perhaps have been his go-to tactic anyway, having seen that Shaw could be uncomfortable when the ball was climbing into his body, particularly against the West Indies quick Shannon Gabriel. With an injured right shoulder, it made sense to force Shaw to use his bottom hand more.Siraj had Shaw in some trouble in the first over, and the action peaked in his next. The first ball went to the long-on boundary, but off a toe-ended pull that just cleared mid-on. Siraj then got his bouncer on target, and Shaw got a top edge on a pull to fine-leg. M Ravi Kiran ran in, got both hands to the ball while tumbling forward, and saw it pop right out. Three balls later, there was a similar chance, but easier. Standing not as far back, Ravi Kiran reached another top-edged pull in time, but the ball popped in and out again.Siraj had handled the first drop reasonably calmly, but he was seething now, standing mid-pitch with hands on his hips and eyes that could bore a hole in the ground. Captain Ambati Rayudu gave vent to his feelings, staying mid-pitch after Siraj had walked off and glaring at the fielder.Ravi Kiran had to bowl the next over, and he had Rayudu and Siraj at mid-off and mid-on. Both put their anger aside to huddle with the bowler and offer words of encouragement, with Siraj patting him on the back. With shoulders almost visibly drooping, Ravi Kiran opted to play safe, bowling slower balls in the channel to get a quiet over in.Siraj came back for his third over. Perhaps expecting a shorter one, Shaw hung back to the second delivery. It thudded in full and it was ball hitting bat rather than the other way round. The bat flew out of Shaw’s hands, and he was clutching his shoulder again. If Siraj thought he had won, there was one final act left, and the over ended with three short balls going for 6, 6, 4. Siraj’s effort and fury should have got him Shaw’s wicket, now it worked against him, with Shaw ready to pounce, and the balls not rising quite as high either.The last shot took Shaw to his half-century, making it the fourth time in four innings in this tournament that he had passed the milestone.The scorecard will show that Shaw took 29 runs off the 14 balls he faced from Siraj. Scorecards don’t always capture the whole story – but perhaps the watching selectors might have.

Aaron Finch opened for Australia in the UAE, but McDonald said he would be a better fit in the middle order, where he bats for Victoria

Alex Malcolm21-Nov-2018Victoria coach Andrew McDonald has declared that opener Marcus Harris is ready to play Test cricket and believes Aaron Finch, who like Harris also plays for Victoria, is more suited to the middle order.Harris, 26, put himself in contention for the first Test against India in Adelaide with a sparkling start to the Sheffield Shield season: he made 250 not out against New South Wales and two other half-centuries in his last three games. Finch made his Test debut on Australia’s two-Test series against Pakistan in the UAE in October, and made 62, 49, 39 and 31 at the top of the order.McDonald said Harris was ready to go after watching his development over the last two-and-a-half seasons.”He’s [Harris] ready,” McDonald told . “He’s matured. He knows his game better than previous seasons. The way he batted down (in Hobart) albeit he only got a 20-odd (22) and 67 in that run chase, it would have been nice to see him go on and get a bigger score, but the way he played, his batting movements are really, really repeatable, and his decision-making has been a lot better this year.”He scores runs quickly, generally speaking. He played an innings of 250 earlier in the season, which was sizeable, where he showed a lot more patience. So that was the moment where some people out there may have said the penny may start to be dropping.”We’ve seen him play some patient innings. But one of his traits is that against quality fast bowling he can score and put them under extreme pressure.”Harris had spoken about his own development this season, particularly in his decision-making. He had a lengthy conversation about the mental side of elite performance with Cathy Freeman, the Australian Olympic gold medallist and two-time World Champion 400m runner, during the off-season.McDonald also said he would likely bat Finch in the middle order for Victoria in the Sheffield Shield clash against Queensland starting next Tuesday – Finch’s only red-ball warm-up before the first Test against India.”We’ve picked him in the middle order in the last three seasons I’ve been coach, so that gives you some thought on where I believe he’s best suited,” McDonald said. “We’ve got a couple of really good openers that complement each other really nicely at the top of the order. But there’ll no doubt be some conversation around that depending on what the national selectors are going to do and the direction they’ll take.”McDonald said he had not spoken to either Australia coach Justin Langer or chairman of selectors Trevor Hohns regarding Finch’ batting position.”I don’t know their policy on that,” McDonald said. “Look, I think any sort of cricket or any batting in any position for both Finch and Glenn Maxwell to put their hand up for selection, if they get time in the middle from whatever position they bat, I think that’s probably fair preparation for the Test series. Albeit they may not be batting the specific position that they’re going to play in. But that’s not uncommon.”Finch had spoken about the challenge of having to switch between formats over the past month but McDonald said the change of position would be a greater challenge.”I think the preparation won’t be something that’s out of the ordinary for him because of the fact that he’s played county cricket, where they do shift between formats quite rapidly at times,” McDonald said. “He can go from red ball to white ball and white ball to red ball throughout that season quite comfortably. I don’t know where he’s going to bat in the Australian line-up. If he does open that’s probably going to be the big shift, marking centre, day one first up, as opposed to sitting down having a coffee and coming in in the middle order.”So that will be something they will be preparing him for if that’s where they’re going to bat him. If not then he’ll be pretty familiar with a middle order role if they go that direction as well.”

Shannon Gabriel’s four-wicket burst reduced the hosts to 235 for 7 before the lower order fought back

The Report by Mohammad Isam22-Nov-2018
Mominul Haque raises his bat after bringing up his hundred•AFP

A topsy-turvy day that consisted of a brilliant 120 by Mominul Haque and a blazing third spell from Shannon Gabriel, ended with Bangladesh’s ninth-wicket stand of Taijul Islam and debutant Nayeem Hasan resisting West Indies in the last hour and a half. Their unbroken 56-run stand staved off the visitors who had taken control early in the third session.

David Boon flies home after mother’s death

David Boon, the match referee for the first Test between Bangladesh and West Indies in Chittagong, will leave for Hobart on Friday, following the death of his mother Lesley Boon. Shipar Ahmed, a Bangladeshi who is a part of the ICC’s international panel of match referees, will stand in for Boon.
Shipar is a former cricketer himself, having played club cricket professionally for 16 years, before becoming a referee following his retirement. Andy Pycroft will serve as match referee for the second Test in Dhaka.

After going swimmingly well for the first two sessions, Bangladesh collapsed from 222 for 3 to 235 for 7 in the space of 4.2 overs. Gabriel picked all four wickets – Mominul, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah and Shakib Al Hasan.Mominul edged a waft outside the off stump. Mushfiqur, fresh from an unbeaten 219 in his last Test, lasted two balls before Gabriel jagged one back into his pads and trapped him in front. In his next over, Gabriel got another one to nip back between Mahmudullah’s bat and pad and knock his stumps. Shakib was the fourth wicket to fall in that Gabriel spell, another inswinger that took the inside edge on its way to clipping middle stump.On many days, such a blazing spell would have spelled the end of the Bangladesh innings, with the tailenders at the crease. But Mehidy Hasan, Taijul and 17-year-old Nayeem batted a combined 148 balls together. The Taijul-Nayeem ninth-wicket stand has so far lasted 95 balls.The stand had its moments: Taijul survived two leg-before decisions through reviews, while also seeing Jomel Warrican dropping the throw that would have run him out after he slipped on the turn when being rejected a third run by Nayeem.However, the day should be remembered for Mominul’s hundred. He made 120 off 167 balls with ten fours and a six. This was his eighth hundred in Tests, equaling Tamim’s record for most centuries for Bangladesh. It was also Mominul’s fourth century in 2018, equal with Virat Kohli; the fourth hundred also meant he now holds the record for most hundreds in a calendar year for Bangladesh.Despite losing Soumya Sarkar and Imrul Kayes on either end of the first session, Mominul ensured Bangladesh made a strong start. After Soumya was out third ball of the match edging a Kemar Roach delivery, Mominul struck Gabriel for three fours and generally dominated a 104-run second-wicket partnership with Kayes, who survived two chances on his way to 44.Roston Chase had dropped him at second slip on 3, and Warrican had overstepped as Kayes slogged him to deep square leg on 16. Mominul struck Warrican for three fours in the 16th over and reached his fifty off 69 balls. But West Indies would have been relieved to get Kayes in the last over before lunch, as he hit Warrican straight to short leg.Soon after the lunch break, Shane Dowrich dropped Mominul on 67 off Devendra Bishoo, before the wicketkeeper took Mohammad Mithun’s skier, after an unnecessary slog against the same bowler. It was the second time in his three Test innings that Mithun had fallen in that manner.Mominul remained solid as he and Shakib rebooted Bangladesh’s innings during their fourth-wicket stand. Mominul slammed a six over midwicket to reach 98 before reaching his hundred in the following over, with a four through point. The game unraveled swiftly, however, as Bangladesh first collapsed and then resisted. Through it all, both teams would have noticed just how much the ball was turning, even when Kraigg Brathwaite bowled his part-time offspin.

Netherlands will play a T20I quadrangular series in Oman from 8 to 18 February next year before travelling to India to play a number of first-class sides

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Dec-2018Netherlands have included uncapped offspinner Leon Turmaine and seamer Sebastiaan Braat in their squad for their tour of India in February-March next year. Netherlands will play a T20I quadrangular series, involving Oman, Ireland, and Scotland in Oman, from 8 to 18 February before travelling to India to play a number of first-class sides.

Squads

For Oman tour: Pieter Seelaar (capt), Wesley Barresi, Ben Cooper, Ryan ten Doeschate, Scott Edwards, Timm van der Gugten, Fred Klaassen, Paul van Meekeren, Stephan Myburgh, Max O’Dowd, Shane Snater, Roelof van der Merwe, Tobias Visée, Sikander Zulfiqar
For India tour: Pieter Seelaar (capt), Wesley Barresi, Sebastiaan Braat, Ben Cooper, Bas de Leede, Scott Edwards, Vivian Kingma, Stephan Myburgh, Max O’Dowd, Hidde Overdijk, Leon Turmaine, Tobias Visée, Saqib Zulfiqar, Sikander Zulfiqar

County players Ryan ten Doeschate, Paul van Meekeren, Roelof van der Merwe and Timm van der Gugten were all named in the T20I squad for the Oman tour, while Michael Rippon and Logan van Beek, who represent Otago and Wellington respectively in New Zealand’s domestic circuit, were left out.The decision is likely to have resulted from a scheduling clash with the Plunket Shield, New Zealand’s premier first-class competition, which is slated to run until March 20. While Rippon had played two ODIs for Netherlands, against Nepal, in August this year, van Beek hasn’t represented Netherlands in two years, having last played in a T20I against Bangladesh in the 2016 World T20.However, Netherlands will be bolstered by the presence of the county quartet, each of whom is seasoned in the limited-overs formats.None among ten Doeschate, van Meekeren, van der Merwe, van der Gugten, van Beek and Rippon was selected for the India tour, though. Travelling alongside the Braat-Turmaine duo are Hidde Overdjik (1 T20I), Saqib Zulfiqar (2 T20Is), and Sikander Zulfiqar (5 T20Is). Left-arm spinner Pieter Seelaar will captain both squads.In preparation for the twin assignments, a number of players will travel to La Manga in Spain for a training camp in January 2019.

The Sylhet Sixers captain switched stance midway through the 19th over to smash 6, 4, 4 on the way to a half-century

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Jan-2019Ever since his involvement in the sandpaper scandal at Cape Town last year, not much has gone right for David Warner in his year spent in exile from the Australian team on the T20 franchise circuit. That is until the left-hand batsman went right. Literally.Warner turned heads when he took guard right-handed against Chris Gayle midway through the 19th over of the Sylhet Sixers innings against Rangpur Riders on Wednesday. Judging by the resulting performance, he may be tempted to do it more often.
The Australian captain of Sylhet was on 45 off 32 balls at the time and had started the over on strike to Gayle with a two, but then couldn’t get either of the next two balls away. Ahead of the fourth ball, he swapped stance at the crease and, with Gayle coming around the wicket, smashed the fourth ball with a golf-style straight drive over Gayle’s head for six to bring up his half-century.Gayle countered by going over the wicket but Warner stayed right-handed for the fifth ball and reached out to sweep a low full toss behind square for four. For the last ball, Warner reverse-swept Gayle, not middling it but still getting enough of it to go to the boundary. Warner celebrated during the sequence by doing a hip-shimmy dance and appeared to exchange a few words with Gayle at the end of the over. Warner ended the innings unbeaten on 61 off 36 balls.”It was one of those things [batting right-handed] at the back of my mind as I couldn’t get Chris [Gayle] away because of his height and the lengths that he was bowling,” Warner said at the post-match presentation. “I play golf right-handed, so I thought I might as well come and swing and clear the ropes. It came off.”Warner, who is naturally right-handed with his throwing arm and initially batted right-handed as a child, has made a habit at training sessions of spending time batting right-handed. Gayle perhaps should not have been totally surprised at Warner’s method since the Australian attempted to employ the right-handed stance in a T20I against the Gayle-captained West Indies in 2010.However, Warner was denied by the on-field umpires, who allegedly told him at the time that it was against the spirit of the game and that it could produce a lengthy stall because the fielding side would need to adjust their field settings to comply with regulations. But Warner would not be denied in Sylhet, as he pulled out all the stops in an effort to get the Sixers out of last place on the BPL table.

Ganesh Satish and Atharwa Taide play game-changing innings as Rest of India go down

The Report by Sreshth Shah in Nagpur16-Feb-2019Hanuma Vihari may have struck two magnificent centuries in the Irani Cup tie, but it was overshadowed by Vidarbha’s collective effort, which helped them trump Rest of India and lift the trophy for the second season in a row.When the two teams shook hands with Vidarbha needing only 11 runs to win the match – they had five wickets in hand – they not only won the trophy on offer, but also completed the double of winning the Ranji Trophy and the Irani Cup for the second season in a row, much to the delight of a sizeable Saturday crowd at Nagpur’s VCA Stadium.Vidarbha started the day on 37 for one, still 243 runs adrift on a final-day pitch that wasn’t getting any easier to bat on. But in 18-year-old Atharva Taide – a late injury replacement for Wasim Jaffer – they found the right man to anchor the innings through the first session. His 72, together with R Sanjay’s 42, ensured Vidarbha stayed rock solid early on, and then under the baking sun that took a lot out of the RoI bowlers, they cashed in. Their 116-run stand for the second wicket wiped out a large chunk of the target.Taide carried on to score 72, and Ganesh Satish, the only professional in the side in Jaffer’s absence, then steered the chase to the end, falling for 87 with Vidarbha inches short of the target – the teams agreed to call off the game at that point – and walked off to raucous applause. Wicketkeeper-batsman Akshay Wadkar remained unbeaten when the contest ended.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Earlier, Sanjay and Taide displayed patience as well as skill to help Vidarbha dominate proceedings. Taide struck two boundaries off fast bowler Ankit Rajpoot – one a measured tickle down to fine-leg, the other a tentative push through the slip cordon – to begin the day’s boundary count. Sanjay, at the other end, bunted whatever was aimed at the stumps, while happily leaving the ones that were not.The first six of the innings came just before the first drinks break, when Taide came down the track to play legspinner Rahul Chahar with the turn. After the break, Sanjay joined in, smacking left-arm pacer Tanveer-ul-Haq through the covers for four and then, when left-arm spinner Dharmendrasingh Jadeja was introduced, smashed one straight into the sightscreen.Ajinkya Rahane, the RoI captain, brought in an attacking field for the spinners thereafter, hoping, perhaps, for the batsmen to err in judgment and play a false shot, but that spell of play was carefully negated too. And in the 41st over of the innings, a single to long-off brought up Taide’s second first-class half-century.It was important for the young Taide not to lose his focus after reaching the landmark, and he didn’t, continuing to offer the straight bat to the full deliveries from the spinners, and padding away the ones that pitched outside leg stump. But Sanjay, the senior partner, couldn’t carry on as he was trapped lbw eight runs short of his half-century when a quicker one from Chahar slid into his pads.Taide and Satish then added 30 more runs before the youngster fell lbw to Chahar, and Satish proceeded to put up 83 more for the fourth wicket in the company of Mohit Kale in the afternoon. The two looked set to finish the session unseparated, but Kale was dismissed off the final ball before tea.After the break, Wadkar held up one end while Satish opened up, perhaps with an eye on a possible century. Two boundaries off Chahar brought the target down to only 11 but Satish fell trying to pull part-timer Vihari over the midwicket boundary, only to hole out to substitute fielder Sandeep Warrier in the deep. Though there was enough time left for Vidarbha to record an outright win, the two teams agreed to call it off.The chase wasn’t supposed to be easy. On the fourth evening, Vidarbha had lost their captain Faiz Fazal for a duck after Vihari – together with Ajinkya Rahane and Shreyas Iyer – had helped get to a declaration on 374 for three – a lead of 279.That Vidarbha had nearly a 100-run advantage after the first-innings exchanges was thanks to allrounder Akshay Karnewar, later named the Man of the Match. He struck the team’s only century of the match to rescue Vidarbha after they were 168 for five in response to RoI’s first-innings score of 330. Wadkar, too, struck a crucial 73 while Sanjay chipped in with 65 to take them to 425, and Vidarbha were assured of victory if the game ended in a draw.RoI had to push for a result in their favour after that, but it wasn’t to be. In the absence of offspinner K Gowtham, who didn’t bowl after the second day because of a shoulder injury, their largely inexperienced attack could not find the purchase from the pitch they would have hoped for. Add to that some smart batting from Vidarbha’s top order on the final day, and only one result was possible.

A rapid fifty from Matt Critchley and Alex Hughes’ four-for set up a comfortable 53-run win

ECB Reporters Network19-Apr-2019Matt Critchley played another match-changing one-day innings to set up a 53-run victory for Derbyshire over Northamptonshire in the Royal London Cup match at Derby.Critchley made an unbeaten 64 from 51 balls, his first List A fifty for Derbyshire, as the Falcons recovered from 137 for 5 to 268 for 6 with skipper Billy Godleman top-scoring with 87. Despite an unbeaten 50 from Luke Proctor, the Steelbacks never threatened to chase that down and Alex Hughes’ best List A figures of 4 for 44 saw the visitors bowled out for 215 with 37 balls to spare, their second North Group defeat.The Falcons began badly when Luis Reece nicked the third ball of the innings but Wayne Madsen and Godleman took the score to 50 before two wickets in successive overs checked the scoring rate.Madsen cut Jason Holder for consecutive fours before he edged Ben Sanderson and Hughes quickly followed when he was caught behind driving at the West Indies captain.South African batsman Leus du Plooy – signed this week on a Kolpak deal – impressed on his debut until he chopped Blessing Muzarabani into his stumps and when Tom Lace steered the Zimbabwe paceman into the hands of third man, the Falcons were in trouble..But although Godleman struggled to time the ball, he anchored the innings while Critchley provided the momentum in a stand that added 84 in 13 overs. Godleman whipped Nathan Buck over midwicket for the only six of the innings but played on to the next ball as he tried to run it to third man.The Steelbacks had prevented the Falcons from getting away until the last over of the innings, which cost 17 as Critchley moved around the crease to hit Sanderson for three fours.Even so, the total looked below par but that changed as the Falcons blew away the top order in the first nine overs with Hughes taking two outstanding slip catches.Josh Cobb edged a drive at Logan van Beek in the second over and the dangerous Richard Levi went in the next when he tried to run Ravi Rampaul and was snared by Hughes diving to his right at second slip.Hughes swooped in front of first to remove Alex Wakeley and the Steelbacks were in disarray when Rob Newton was run out in a mix up over a second with Adam Rossington.Hughes spilled another sharp chance when Rossington edged van Beek and that threatened to prove expensive when he drove the next two balls to the boundary. Rossington pulled Reece just over the head of deep midwicket for six but Hughes struck in his first over when he found just enough away movement to bowl him for 21.Any chance the Steelbacks had now rested with Holder but after hitting six fours in a 24-ball 30, he missed a big drive at Hughes and although Proctor and Sanderson added 73, it only delayed the inevitable.

Virat Kohli said cracking in pressure moments has been the story of his team’s season

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Apr-20190:51

Siraj’s no-ball in the 18th over was the turning point – Negi

Kolkata Knight Riders’ win on Friday was the ninth instance of a team winning an IPL game when more than 90 were needed off the last seven overs. On six of those occasions, Royal Challengers Bangalore were the bowling side. It’s become a painfully familiar tale for Royal Challengers, who possess a batting line-up that seems to constantly carry the team. Captain Virat Kohli said as much after his team recorded a fifth consecutive loss in the season.”If we bowl like that, [and] we don’t show composure in pressure moments, we deserve to be where we are in the table,” Kohli said at the post-match presentation. “There’s no rocket science behind it. We haven’t played the kind of cricket we should be playing at the level of the IPL and if you bowl like that, with not enough bravery in the crunch moments, then it’s always going to be difficult when you have power-hitters like [Andre] Russell in the opposition.”I think we needed to be more clinical in the last four overs. That was just one-dimensional in the end and nothing came off. We cracked a little under pressure and that’s been the story of the season.”Russell has been on a streak that is far removed from the type Royal Challengers are having. He’s made scores of 48* off 13, 62 off 28, 48 off 17, and 49* of 19, with a combined 22 sixes in four games. Almost each time, he has single-handedly turned the match for his team, whether they have batted first or second. On Friday, the total being chased – 206 – was the highest Knight Riders have ever chased, and the highest they had been set this season.Kohli reckoned Royal Challengers could have added 20-25 more to the total, but didn’t let hindsight come in the way of the glaring problem at hand.”I wasn’t really happy getting out that moment [in the 18th over],” he said. “[We] could have added 20-25 more had we gone on. And then AB [de Villiers] didn’t get much strike in the end as well. He lost a bit of momentum too. In hindsight they [scores] are never good, but if you can’t defend 75 in four overs then you don’t know how many are enough. You can’t have 100 in the last over to defend. You have to look at things in hindsight but I thought the runs were enough on the board. If you saw the ball, the way it spun and stuck in the wicket, it wasn’t that easy. But we just didn’t have composure.”Royal Challengers have a day to recover, before they host Delhi Capitals on Sunday, which means little time to think about major changes. He suggested the best way to go about such a break was to give the players some space.”We have a bit of a chat about what went wrong and what happened in the game,” he said of the immediate response to the loss. “But apart from that there’s not much to say. You can talk as much as you want but you’ve got to go on the field and actually do the job. [I don’t think] talking enough helps all the time, you just need to give the guys a little bit of space, try to come back stronger in the next game, try to get on a roll on a winning note. It’s been a difficult season for us so far but we’re still optimistic about our chances and we just have to believe that we can turn things around.”