Category Uncategorized

Liam Dawson, an England matchwinner last week, rallied to his county’s cause as Hampshire enjoyed a welcome day of prosperity as they again try to find a way to preserve their Division One place

Jon Culley at Edgbaston10-Jul-2016
ScorecardLiam Dawson ensured Hampshire had the foundations to control the match•Getty Images

Liam Dawson, an England matchwinner last week, rallied to his county’s cause as Hampshire enjoyed a welcome day of prosperity as they again try to find a way to preserve their Division One place. The skills required to influence an international T20 differ hugely from those demanded by four-day Championship cricket but confidence is a transferable factor whatever the discipline.The 26-year-old allrounder made his mark with the ball as England beat Sri Lanka, taking 3 for 27 on his senior international debut on his home Southampton ground. His impact on the first day here was with the bat, where his first century of the season helped Hampshire reach a strong position. Called up for England Lions in between, it has been a good few days for him.Hampshire desperately need a win. They escaped relegation by two points last season and went into this match at the bottom of the Division One table, 23 points from safety. Win here, though, and they might have a chance of beating the drop again. Nottinghamshire, whom they meet at Trent Bridge next month, have played two matches more. Moreover, it was by winning at Trent Bridge on the last day that Hampshire clinched survival.On a flat pitch on which he may have an important role to play with the ball as the match progresses, Dawson encountered few difficult moments until he was out, struck in front by Keith Barker not long after Warwickshire had taken the second new ball, playing across one that shaped back in. Having faced precisely 200 balls, he had hit 13 fours and one six, coming out best in a prolonged battle with Jeetan Patel, Warwickshire’s canny offspinner.”It’s a pretty flat pitch but you still have to get the runs and I’m happy to have helped put us in with a chance of making a big score,” Dawson said.”Playing for England in a T20 is very different from four-day cricket and although you gain confidence from playing well in any format I find red-ball cricket harder, to be honest. It is a test of concentration over long periods so it is very pleasing to come out with a hundred today.”Dawson shared partnerships of 81 with 20-year-old Tom Alsop for the third wicket and 155 with Adam Wheater for the fourth. Wheater closed unbeaten on 89 and after pulling Barker for a meaty six and might have completed a century of his own had the dismissal of Dawson not forced him to switch to conservation mode for the day’s closing overs.The left-hander Alsop, playing in only his ninth first-class match, completed an attractive fifty before failing in his attempt to attack Josh Poysden, Warwickshire’s rookie legspinner, the ball flying off the top edge to Patel at mid-off as he tried to hit over midwicket.The runs added by the three combined made up for a somewhat stodgy start by Hampshire, who had crawled to just 63 from almost 28 overs after winning the toss and electing to bat first. Jimmy Adams, in particular, found it hard to make progress against Patel, who was bowling from as early as the sixth over and opened with four consecutive maidens.Adams had flicked a ball from Barker off his legs for four in the first over of the match but thereafter scored only two more runs from 76 deliveries. He then drew ironic applause from spectators by hitting consecutive boundaries off Patel, only to be out in the next over, driving straight to Ian Bell at midwicket.Like Hampshire, third-placed Warwickshire have gone in with two spinners in an unchanged side from the one that beat Surrey handsomely at Guildford last week, when Patel took five wickets in each innings.It was particularly unfortunate, then, that they should lose fast bowler Boyd Rankin after the Irishman was forced off the field with a back problem after bowling just one over, leaving Barker and Rikki Clarke as their only pace options. Warwickshire are hopeful that Rankin will be fit to bowl in the second innings.Hampshire have not many fast bowlers fit even to be considered for selection. Ryan McLaren has joined James Tomlinson, Reece Topley, Fidel Edwards, Chris Wood and Ryan Stevenson among six currently sidelined, while Tino Best has been left out to be kept fresh for the critical fixture against Surrey at the Ageas Bowl next week.

Ben Raine returned career-best figures of 5 for 48 in 18 overs as Leicestershire took the honours on a rain-affected day at Chelmsford.

ECB/PA31-May-2015
ScorecardBen Raine claimed his career-best figures on a good day for Leicestershire•PA Photos

Ben Raine returned career-best figures of 5 for 48 in 18 overs as Leicestershire took the honours on a rain-affected day at Chelmsford. Taking full advantage of overcast conditions and a greenish pitch, the right-arm paceman posed problems to all the Essex batsmen to fully justify skipper Mark Cosgrave’s decision to insert his rivals.Raine’s main weapon was swing and he could have reaped a bigger harvest so often did he beat the bat, sometimes with deliveries that lifted awkwardly. He embarked upon his destructive course by removing Tom Westley and Jaik Mickleburgh in successive overs after the pair had shared in a second-wicket stand of 43 following the loss of Nick Browne, who was caught in the slip cordon in Clint McKay’s first over of the day.Westley was trapped lbw for 27 while Mickleburgh was bowled for 16 following resistance of just over an hour that spanned 40 deliveries. Raine later had Jesse Ryder well caught on the deep fine leg boundary by Ned Eckersley, the New Zealander making 38, the top-score of the home side’s innings. Ryan ten Doeschate and James Foster were his other victims as Essex, who gave a first-class debut to 20 year-old slow left-arm bowler Aron Nijjar, were left still seeking their first batting point of the season at Chelmsford in their third match on the ground.Ravi Bopara’s hopes of making an impact were quickly ended by McKay when a loose shot presented wicketkeeper Lewis Hill with an easy catch with just four runs to his name.Apart from Westley and Ryder, Graham Napier was the only other batsman to top 20. He struck five boundaries in his 29 before he was caught at second slip to give Charlie Shreck his solitary success. That was a wicket that ended a partnership of 54 with Ryder, the pair joining forces with their side deep in trouble at 67 for 6. McKay finished with 2 for 42 while offspinner Jigar Naik claimed the final two wickets at a cost of nine runs in 8.3 overs.On a day when 27 overs were lost to rain and bad light, Leicestershire’s openers Matt Boyce and Angus Robson reached the close on 28 without loss from seven overs to complete a rewarding day in their quest to end a sequence of 37 Championship matches without a victory.”I haven’t had many five-fors in my life, to be honest, coming from a batting background,” Raine said. “So it’s nice to get my first one for Leicestershire and I can only hope that it’s the first of many. I’d roll that pitch up and take it with me everywhere I went if I could. This morning, the constant drizzle kept that bit of life in it although in the afternoon it got a bit better to bat on.”Essex head coach Paul Grayson said: “It was certainly a good toss to win and we would have bowled first had we had the opportunity. Credit to Raine – he used the conditions well.”

Michael Clarke, after his unbeaten double-century in Adelaide, has said it’s his formula of “counter-attack, being positive, playing my natural game” that has helped him succeed

Daniel Brettig at Adelaide Oval22-Nov-2012As the 16,512 spectators at Adelaide Oval rose to honour Michael Clarke at the end of the day he became the first man in Test history to pass 200 four times in a year, one broadcast observer marvelled at the captain’s sense of timing, as records and milestones tumble to his bat at all the right moments. “It’s almost like he’s a news editor,” he gasped.This was indeed another note-perfect occasion for Clarke, a man and a cricketer growing in stature among the game’s greats with every day at the batting crease. He reached two major marks with the sort of timing once the exclusive preserve of his friend and mentor Shane Warne, smashing Morne Morkel for five boundaries in an over to go to 150, then reaching a double-hundred the ball before Michael Hussey passed his own century, cause for hugs and photos all round.But there is substance, thought and courage too behind a face at ease with the cameras. As in Brisbane, Clarke was rewarded for a tremendous attacking intent from a position of some uncertainty, this time 3 for 55, but here in Adelaide the innings had the added advantage of taking place on the first day to push Australia into a position in which they already appear the only side capable of victory.Clarke has not yet had the time or the inclination to ponder on the wider context of what he achieved on Thursday, or this year, but he is certain that the greatest source of his success is an aggressive attitude. In this he resembles the famed remark of the French General Ferdinand Foch who offered the following thought on his battlefield situation: “My centre is giving way, my right is retreating, situation excellent, I will attack.” Having twice had Australia three down for not many, South Africa have twice been turned back with impressive force.”Through my career that’s probably the only way I’ve had success, when you look at the innings I’ve made big scores, it’s exactly that – the counter-attack, being positive, playing my natural game,” Clarke said. “And there’s risk there. As Graeme [Smith] and AB [de Villiers] reminded me a lot of times today I had a lot of arse, there’s no doubt about that but you need it in this game. I remember playing England through the Australian summer a couple of years ago and I couldn’t make a run, so when you’re scoring runs you want to cash in.”It’s really nice to be making runs, and the down side to this great game is when you’re not, you find it really hard to find your next run, and that happens through your career. That’s happened a lot for me, and I’ve got dropped, and when I came back from getting dropped I said I want to make the most of the good days and that’s what I feel like I’m doing.”Apart from culture, intent is one of the buzz words for Australia’s cricketers these days. Clarke and David Warner resolved not to waste time trying to survive on an Adelaide pitch that offered true bounce and comfortable pace. Their bravery delighted the coach Mickey Arthur just as much as the assembled crowd. “The one thing Davey and I spoke about during the week was our intent, the way I tried to play in Brisbane and the way we were going to try to play today was exactly that, we wanted to be positive,” Clarke said. “We both took that approach today, we were going to see the ball and react and not worry too much about the result, if we get a good ball, we get a good ball.”Partnerships such as those with Warner and Hussey have been a critical element of Clarke’s success since he became captain. The one major innings in that time that was an entirely solo effort – the 151 against South Africa in Cape Town – was ultimately inconsequential because no one else was able to help Clarke, resulting in a middling team tally around a brilliant individual one.”A lot of credit needs to go to Huss and Davey as well, the way they played up the other end today made my life and my job a lot easier,” Clarke said. “If I didn’t score there was no stress. That gets forgotten a lot of the time: how important your partner is when you have success.”Another partnership that has helped Clarke is the one that he has established with his wife Kyly. They married in a lavish but secret ceremony during the winter, and the wry note made by Ed Cowan in Brisbane that Clarke does not have a Test batting average since becoming a husband remains true – he has now scored 483 runs for the series without being dismissed, and he gestured with passion in Mrs Clarke’s direction as he strode towards 200.”I know she’s supporting me, that’s the type of woman she is,” Clarke said. “She’s getting into her cricket and it’s great she can be here in Adelaide. It’s special for everybody [who] has thrown their support behind me, and the people that are close who’ve been there through good days and bad days, whether that’s on the field with cricket or off the field with my personal life and things that have happened through my life, especially with my family. I think when you perform well, my dedication is certainly to my team-mates first and foremost, but also through the people who’ve stood by me through good and bad days.”

England’s weakness against spin cost them for the third time in the series as they unravelled from a strong position to post an underwhelming total on a slow turning pitch

The Report by Abhishek Purohit23-Oct-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsVirat Kohli and Suresh Raina all but sealed the match with a 131-run stand for the fourth wicket•AFP

England’s weakness against spin cost them for the third time in the series as they unravelled from a strong position to post an underwhelming total on a slow turning pitch in Mumbai. Their fast bowlers struck three early blows but Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina motored to a 131-run stand at close to seven an over, showcasing the difference between the sides and sparking another needless bout of words in the middle as England’s frustration overflowed.It was England’s own batsmen who had let down their ragged bowlers down when they caved in against spin in the afternoon. R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja took 5 for 79 in 20 overs between them after Jonathan Trott and Kevin Pietersen had built on England’s quickest start of the series.Vinay Kumar broke the 73-run stand between Trott and an uncharacteristically subdued Pietersen, then Jadeja and Ashwin worked their way through a clueless England middle order, striking three times in six overs. Tim Bresnan took the score past 200 with a run-a-ball 45, but England were dismissed with 23 deliveries remaining when fast bowler Varun Aaron bowled Bresnan to finish with three wickets on debut.Disciplined pace bowling led by the impressive Steven Finn kept England in with an outside chance at the start of the chase. Kohli and Raina kept the runs coming, though, not allowing the score of 46 for 3 to tie them down in a partnership that steadily at first, and then emphatically, pushed England out of the match, making a 5-0 whitewash ever more likely.Finn and Bresnan had started with testing spells that kept the India openers quiet. The first five overs produced only 17 runs, leading Parthiv Patel to whip across the line and lose his stumps to Finn. Finn struck again in his next over when Gautam Gambhir inside-edged onto his stumps. His opening spell of 5-0-10-2 was followed by a sharp burst from debutant Stuart Meaker that induced Ajinkya Rahane into a poke outside off stump only for wicketkeeper Craig Kieswetter to take a leaping one-handed blinder.Scott Borthwick, the young legspinner surprisingly chosen ahead of Grame Swann, bowled with heart, but it was unfair to expect him to have the same effect that the experienced Swann could have managed. Kohli and Raina continued almost unbothered, picking off the singles easily and finding the boundaries with crisp shots. The duo’s approach was in sharp contrast to England’s tottering line-up.Despite India being three down at the start of the bowling Powerplay, Raina took the chance and chipped Meaker just over mid-off for a boundary. His innings grew into a blur of scythes through extra cover and swings down the ground before Finn bowled him after a missed slog during a heated over. Raina had surged to 80 by then and with Kohli easing into elegant drives and cuts, India were runaway winners with almost ten overs remaining.England’s fate had virtually been sealed when their middle order tried to sweep and slog-sweep their way out of trouble. Pietersen was one of three batsmen to fall on the shots, though the substitute fielder Manoj Tiwary was responsible for sending him back with a diving catch after running across from deep midwicket.Ravi Bopara missed one from Jadeja to be caught in front and Jonny Bairstow’s disappointing series continued when he was bowled by a ripper that pitched on leg and turned to hit off stump. Samit Patel and Bresnan tried to salvage something from 145 for 6 but Patel slog-swept Ashwin straight to deep midwicket in another disappointing batting Powerplay for England.Aaron, who had consistently hovered above 140kph on debut, came back to run through the lower order, hitting the stumps three times, the last of which straightened past Bresnan’s outside edge to clip the top of off, with England well short of a challenging total on a turning pitch without Swann.Things hadn’t looked as gloomy for England when Pietersen and Trott accumulated solidly in a steady partnership that helped them recover after Alastair Cook and Kieswetter departed off successive deliveries. Though Pietersen went hard at deliveries and mistimed his strokes at times, Trott kept the runs flowing, cutting Jadeja three times to the deep point boundary. Trott welcomed Vinay’s second spell with a cracking drive that beat the cover sweeper easily but was dismissed two deliveries later. Pietersen continued to find the field and the India spinners soon got on top decisively, yet again.

MS Dhoni has asked for Tests to be played at venues that have a history of supporting Test cricket with big attendances

Sidharth Monga at the Chinnaswamy Stadium13-Oct-2010MS Dhoni has asked for Tests to be played at venues that have a history of supporting the format with big attendances, and has appreciated the support received from the Bangalore crowd during the course of India’s victory against Australia. Of India’s 10 Test venues – Hyderabad being the newest – Nagpur, Ahmedabad, Mohali and to an extent Delhi are known for their lukewarm response to Test cricket.”Maybe some of these centres where people come up to see Test matches can be given preference over some other centres where people don’t come in large numbers to watch Test matches,” Dhoni said. “After all, if taken in the right sense, we are the performers in the circus, but you need the circus to be full. It [this comment] should be taken in the right sense.”Dhoni and his men liked what they saw in Bangalore. Three of the days – the weekend and the final day – were almost sold out. “It really helps the players who are on the field,” Dhoni said. “Frankly speaking, in the 45th or 50th over, when the fast bowler comes for his second or third spell, it’s the crowd that gets him going, apart from the fact that he is supposed to do well for the team and the country. You need some kind of a motivation, and especially because we’re used to playing IPL and ODIs in front of 30000 or 40000 or 50000 people, you want that kind of a crowd.”Throughout the last five days, the spectators have been India’s 12th man. They cheered every special effort by the Indians, appealed when the bowler appealed, got off their seats when Sachin Tendulkar and other batsmen played good strokes, and appreciated every good effort by the fielders. Some of them booed the Australians, but many were appreciative.”It was a remarkable crowd,” Dhoni said. “Throughout the five days there were good crowds, and on the final day it was literally house full. You could see as many people in the stands as in a Twenty20 or ODI match. They supported good cricket more than anything else.”They did get their money’s worth. Not only did they watch their home side complete a clean sweep against Australia, they saw Tendulkar go level with Virender Sehwag as the Indian with the most double-centuries; they saw Cheteshwar Pujara, the debutant, play an innings he wouldn’t mind as his epitaph; they saw M Vijay, a stylish batsman, add substance to his game at Test level; they saw Ricky Ponting bat beautifully but fall disappointingly short; they saw Zaheer Khan and Ben Hilfenhaus create wickets on flat pitches. The Indian team thanked the crowd with a deserved lap of the ground.

Ryan Harris, the former one-day international, will play his first match of the season for Queensland

Cricinfo staff07-Dec-2009Ryan Harris, the former one-day international, will play his first match of the season for Queensland in Wednesday’s FR Cup game against New South Wales at the Gabba. Harris had knee surgery before the season and will join Chris Swan, who is back after a nagging groin problem, as the Bulls attempt to increase their competition lead.The return of the fast bowlers is a boost for the side, which is on a run of five consecutive wins and sits eight points ahead of Victoria. Ben Laughlin has been ruled out with a side strain while Wade Townsend has been dropped. “It’s in a different place to the last injury and not as painful so hopefully the scans will deliver positive news,” Laughlin said. “I can look at being back in time for the Twenty20 Big Bash after Christmas.”New South Wales have a couple of changes to the side that lost to Tasmania on Saturday. Mitchell Starc, the left-arm fast bowler, has come in for the spinner Stephen O’Keefe while Simon Keen was left out after his late call-up for a debut against the Tigers. The Blues are desperate to find form after three losses in their four games this summerMatthew Hayden, the retired opener, will host a session at the Gabba on Tuesday with his old Queensland team-mates on Twenty20 batting techniques as they prepare for the domestic tournament that starts on December 28. Andrew Symonds is playing for the Bulls in that event and will warm-up for it by being one of Queensland’s three over-23 players in the Cricket Australia Futures League T20 series in Melbourne next week.Queensland squad Chris Hartley (wk), James Hopes, Lee Carseldine, Nathan Reardon, Nick Kruger, Craig Philipson, Chris Simpson (capt), Ryan Harris, Ben Cutting, Nathan Rimmington, Chris Swan, Scott Walter.New South Wales squad Phillip Hughes, David Warner, Phil Jaques, Moises Henriques, Ben Rohrer, Steven Smith, Usman Khawaja, Daniel Smith (wk), Stuart Clark (capt), Josh Hazlewood, Grant Lambert, Mitchell Starc.

Only Bert Sutcliffe has higher individual scores than Bruce in New Zealand’s first-class history

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Mar-2025Tom Bruce has made the third-highest score in New Zealand first-class history with 345 for Central Stags against Auckland in the Plunket Shield.Bruce, who has played 17 T20Is, faced 401 balls and hit 36 fours alongside six sixes. Only one player, Bert Sutcliffe, has higher scores than Bruce in the New Zealand game with 355 and 385 for Otago.”I don’t think it’s really sunk in, to be fair, at the moment,” Bruce said at the end of play. “It’s obviously pretty special and something I’m incredibly proud of, and will certainly look back, probably after this game and probably once I’ve done my career, to think that it was pretty special and yeah, pretty proud of that achievement.”Having been unbeaten on 212 after the first day, he brought up his triple-century with a dab into the leg side from his 379th delivery.