All posts by h716a5.icu

Trent Copeland again shone with the ball as he took four wickets on the second day of against Hampshire at Wantage Road.

30-May-2013
ScorecardTrent Copeland took four wickets to keep Hampshire in trouble•Getty ImagesTrent Copeland again shone with the ball as he took four wickets on the second day of against Hampshire at Wantage Road.After losing the toss and being made to bat by the Division Two leaders, Hampshire closed on 149 for 5 as bad light brought an early finish with Liam Dawson making an obdurate 57 not out off 179 balls. Australia paceman Copeland returned figures of 4 for 49 from 28 over to give Northamptonshire the upper hand in what is his penultimate Championship game before he returns home.After the first day was washed out without a ball being bowled, Northamptonshire won the toss and chose to bowl first in overcast conditions. And they made a breakthrough with just the fourth ball of the match when Hampshire captain Jimmy Adams was superbly taken by wicketkeeper David Murphy off David Willey for a duck.Fellow opener Michael Carberry only made 10 before he was caught at second slip by David Sales off Copeland. The visitors crawled to 30 for 2 off the 24 overs that were possible in the morning but they lost James Vince in the fourth over after lunch when he was trapped lbw by Copeland.Copeland switched to the pavilion end in the 39th over and, two balls in, pinned Sean Ervine lbw after the former Zimbabwe international had made 26. The fifth-wicket pair of Dawson and Adam Wheater then moved Hampshire on to 114 for 4 before bad light forced the players off.The delay meant an early tea and the loss of five overs, but only another five were possible before the light dimmed again early in the evening session. Five more overs were trimmed from proceedings as a result, but the latest stoppage did not affect Dawson’s concentration as he completed a watchful half-century off 165 balls.However, Copeland struck yet again when he took out the off stump of Wheater, who had batted brightly in making 40 off 54 deliveries. Bad light intervened yet again with 25 overs still scheduled, and after rain finally set in umpires Mark Benson and Steve Garratt decided to call it a day at 6:05pm.A result now looks unlikely, but Northamptonshire will still be looking for quick wickets tomorrow morning with Dawson now joined at the crease by Mike Roberts, who will resume on 2.

The first T20 international between South Africa and Pakistan in Durban was abandoned without a ball being bowled

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Mar-2013

Scorecard and updates
The first T20 international between South Africa and Pakistan in Durban was abandoned without a ball being bowled. It had been raining in Durban for more than five hours prior to the start of play, and the chances of a game going ahead were slim with puddles around the outfield and the showers not relenting. Even around half-an-hour after the scheduled time for the toss, the umpires said it would take at least two hours to get the ground in playable condition once the rain stopped. That didn’t happen and the umpires called off the game at 6.30pm, two hours and eight minutes before the cut-off time for a five-over fixture.The second T20 international will take place in Centurion on March 3.

Two of Australia’s finest fast bowlers, Glenn McGrath and Charlie Turner, will become the newest additions to the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame on Monday

Brydon Coverdale03-Feb-2013Two of Australia’s finest fast bowlers, Glenn McGrath and Charlie Turner, will become the newest additions to the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame on Monday. Turner and McGrath represented Australia a century apart but will together be inducted into the Hall of Fame at the Allan Border Medal ceremony in Melbourne, bringing the number of inductees to 37.The nomination of McGrath follows last year’s induction of his long-time team-mate Shane Warne, who bowed out from Test cricket alongside McGrath during the Sydney Ashes Test in the first week of 2007. The inaugural winner of the Allan Border Medal in 2000, McGrath took 563 Test wickets at 21.64 as well as 381 wickets at 22.02 in one-day internationals, and was inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame in December last year.”I’m very humbled but it’s a huge honour,” McGrath said. “I grew up in the country watching cricket and loving cricket from a young age and the thought of one day playing for Australia was such a dream.”To achieve that, but then to be lucky enough to have played for as long as I did in an amazing era, and now to be inducted into the Hall of Fame is a huge honour. To be alongside some of my heroes growing up, guys like Dennis Lillee, Rod Marsh, the Chappells, there are some incredible names there. To think that my name is alongside those is pretty amazing.”Just as McGrath was the pre-eminent Australian fast bowler of his era, Turner was Australia’s leading fast man during his international career, which spanned the years 1887 to 1895. Turner, known as the “Terror”, was the natural successor to Fred Spofforth, whose final Test was Turner’s debut, and in 17 Tests Turner collected 101 wickets at the average of 16.53.He remains the equal second-fastest man to the 100-wicket milestone in Tests; among Australians, only Clarrie Grimmett can match Turner’s record of reaching the mark in 17 matches. Turner, who played for New South Wales, also had a remarkable first-class record of 993 wickets at 14.25.”Glenn McGrath and Charlie Turner were each the outstanding Australian fast bowler of their era,” David Crow, the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame chairman, said. “Despite careers more than a century apart, they had much in common. Tall, right-arm fast bowlers, both men hailed from country New South Wales. Their superb records demonstrate the dominance each had over opposition batsmen over a prolonged period.”The Hall of Fame began in 1996 with the induction of ten players and a further 27 have been added in the years since.Hall of Fame inductees Warwick Armstrong, Richie Benaud, John Blackham, Allan Border, Sir Donald Bradman, Greg Chappell, Ian Chappell, Alan Davidson, George Giffen, Clarrie Grimmett, Neil Harvey, Lindsay Hassett, Ian Healy, Clem Hill, Bill Lawry, Dennis Lillee, Ray Lindwall, Charles Macartney, Rod Marsh, Stan McCabe, Glenn McGrath, Graham McKenzie, Keith Miller, Arthur Morris, Monty Noble, Bill O’Reilly, Bill Ponsford, Bob Simpson, Fred Spofforth, Mark Taylor, Hugh Trumble, Victor Trumper, Charlie Turner, Doug Walters, Shane Warne, Steve Waugh, Bill Woodfull.

The Pakistan Super League is set to be the latest money-spinning Twenty20 competition but English players have again be warned against participating by the player’s union

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Jan-2013The Pakistan Super League is set to become the latest money-spinning Twenty20 competition but English players have again be warned against participating.The PSL is scheduled to be launched on March 26 and could be worth more than $100 million according to organisers but the Professional Cricketers Association, England’s players’ union, is reported to have “grave concerns” about security in Pakistan. It has contacted each county asking them to refuse to issue No Objection Certificates – which would deny players permission to take part.”Our advice is that players should not take part in the PSL,” PCA chief executive, Angus Porter, told the “I’m certain England will not issue No Objection Certificates to their centrally contracted players.”The PCA also expressed apprehension over the Bangladesh Premier League but several English players have been involved in the first two editions. Worries over payment guarantees haven’t deterred the likes of Joe Denly, the Middlesex batsman, who had his county’s backing to take up an offer to join Barisal Burners earlier in the week. Ravi Bopara, Owais Shah and Phil Mustard are among other English players at the BPL.But counties have been less inclined to allow their players permission to play in the IPL, which clashes with the start of the English season. Alex Hales, Michael Lumb and Samit Patel were all told by Nottinghamshire they could not take part if they were bought by a franchise. Monty Panesar does have permission to enter the player auction from Sussex.

Mark Greatbatch, the former New Zealand coach, has called for NZC chairman Chris Moller to resign in the wake of Ross Taylor being dumped as captain

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Dec-2012Mark Greatbatch, the former New Zealand batsman and coach, has called for NZC chairman Chris Moller to resign in the wake of Ross Taylor being dumped as captain.Moller publically apologised to Taylor and his family for how the situation was handled after Mike Hesson, the New Zealand coach, told Taylor that he wanted a change of captain during the Sri Lanka tour but did not specify that he meant in limited-overs cricket only. However, Moller added that nobody in the NZC management would lose their jobs over the controversy.Greatbatch does not agree with that and believes the only way for New Zealand to move forward is for some drastic changes and hinted at other poorly handled situations over the years.”For me, the chairman of the board has been involved with too many underhand dealings in the last two or three years. I think it’s time for him to move on,” he told LiveSport, a New Zealand radio station, on Wednesday. “We’ve got to do something that is actually going to make us better and it’s got to start from the top.”Greatbatch had sympathy for Taylor who has opted out of the tour to South Africa following his demotion but aims to return to domestic cricket in January with a view to being available for the visit of England from February.”He’s been trying to play for his country while people have been at him behind his back,” he said. “It’s sad, he’s our best player. It doesn’t seem right, but I don’t blame him.”He showed as a player while he was captain that he was leading from the front, which is a huge part of leadership. He’s only captained 30-odd times for New Zealand, that’s not a lot of games.”I think the players have to get better. Ross Taylor, in the last 18 months, has got better with his performance. Maybe if half a dozen other guys had improved their game to that level we wouldn’t be in this mess.”If they think a change of captain in all forms is going to magically improve our game, they’re kidding themselves.”

Surendranath, the former India fast bowler, has died aged 75 following prolonged illness

ESPNcricinfo staff06-May-2012Surendranath, the former India fast bowler, has died aged 75 following prolonged illness. He played 11 Tests for India between 1959 and 1961, and also had a 15-year first-class career with Services that ended in 1969.The highlight of Surendranath’s career was the tour of England in 1959, during which he took 16 wickets at 26.62 though India were blanked in the five-match Test series. He was renowned for his ability to bowl long spells, as shown by his back-to-back five-wicket hauls in the England series during which he bowled 47 overs in an innings at Old Trafford and 51 at The Oval. He was the second highest wicket-taker in the first-class matches on that tour, with 79 scalps, only behind legspinner Subhash Gupte.”On that tour of England, he troubled the best of players – Peter May*, Colin Cowdrey, everyone,” Chandu Borde, the former India batsman who was his team-mate during the series, said. “He was mostly an inswing bowler, who got the odd one to move away. He bowled excellent medium-pace, and being a soldier he was also a fighter on the field. Along with Ramakant Desai, he formed a very good opening attack for India.”Surendranath was also a part of home series against West Indies, Australia and Pakistan. He had success in his first Test against Pakistan, in Kolkata in 1960-61, but his international career ended a fortnight later as he couldn’t make much of an impact in the next Test in Chennai.His first-class career extended for eight more years, and he ended with 278 wickets at 25.37. * May 07 2012, 04.20. The name of the player has been corrected

Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli took 204 runs off a Morne Morkel-less attack to lead Royal Challengers to the highest total of 2012, one that was ultimately a match-winning one

The Report by George Binoy17-May-2012Royal Challengers Bangalore 215 for 1 (Gayle 128*, Kohli 73*) beat Delhi Daredevils 194 for 9 (Taylor 55, Zaheer 3-38) by 21 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsChris Gayle and Virat Kohli’s 204-run partnership was the second-best effort in all Twenty20•AFPRoyal Challengers Bangalore needed to win at the Kotla, to draw level with Chennai Super Kings on 17 points, to move one ahead of Kings XI Punjab, and to pull further away from Rajasthan Royals, their closest competitors. Defeat against league leaders Delhi Daredevils, who had already secured a playoff spot, would have been debilitating to their campaign. So the time and place Chris Gayle chose to score his season’s first century – 128 off 62 balls with 13 sixes – was perfect. He and Virat Kohli took 204 runs, the second best Twenty20 partnership, off a Morne Morkel-less attack to lead Royal Challengers to the highest total of 2012, one that was ultimately a match-winning one.In the end, Royal Challengers were glad Gayle and Kohli gave them 215, because their profligate bowlers needed that many. Daredevils were without Virender Sehwag, who was unwell, but their batsmen were aggressive from the outset and sustained the attack for a considerable period. Several batsmen made small but explosive contributions but it was Ross Taylor, the one Daredevils wanted desperately to find form, who led the chase. His 55, scored at a strike-rate 211, kept the home side abreast with the asking-rate. Taylor, however, was dismissed in the 17th over. Gayle had stayed for all 20, and that made the difference.Believe it or not, Gayle had started slowly. He played out a maiden against Umesh Yadav, was scoreless for eight consecutive balls, and was one off nine deliveries. He let Kohli provide the initial propulsion after Tillakaratne Dilshan fell early. Royal Challengers were only 42 for 1 after six overs, when the fielding restrictions were lifted. Gayle had hit no sixes by then. At the end of the ninth over, both Gayle and Kohli were on 27, off 25 and 23 balls respectively. Kohli had been far more fluent than his partner, with his flicks through midwicket and drives off the back foot. Gayle was biding his time.In the 13th over Gayle decided it was time, heaving left-arm spinner Pawan Negi over the midwicket boundary before driving to long-off, where Yadav mis-fielded and allowed the four. Yadav and Daredevils’ fielding wasn’t as sharp as it had been against Kings XI Punjab.Thereafter, there was no respite. Gayle passed 50 off his 37th delivery and began to score through sixes. He hit three in the 14th over, from Irfan Pathan. The first just cleared long-off, where Negi leaped on the boundary but parried the ball over; the next two, off a long-hop and a full toss, went more than 100 metres over the leg side. Gayle hit three more, in a row this time, in the 16th over from Negi. While his favoured region was down the ground and over midwicket, Gayle also sliced Yadav and Varun Aaron over the point boundary. He got to his century, his third in the IPL, off 53 deliveries.Kohli was no slouch either, finishing with 73 off 53 balls. He had provided the initial thrust and raised the run-rate while Gayle settled in. He hit only one six, though, and eventually the show was only about Gayle.Faced with an asking-rate of over 10 from the start, Daredevils approached the chase in top gear. At the end of the 11th over, they were 105 for 3; Royal Challengers had been 83 for 1. Freed of pressure and with only one obvious way to play, Taylor slog-swept with abandon and made clean connection more often than not. He brought up his half-century, off 22 deliveries, by blitzing Muttiah Muralitharan over deep midwicket.The shot of the day, however, came from Andre Russell. He was facing his first delivery of the season, and Zaheer Khan had just bowled three tight deliveries in the 16th over before dismissing Naman Ojha with the fourth. The fifth crashed into the second tier behind the bowler’s head, more than 100 metres from the centre. Russell even held his front-foot pose with a straight bat for the cameras.Daredevils then needed 58 off 24 balls but Taylor was dismissed soon after, holing out to deep midwicket. And with runs coming from only Russell’s end, Daredevils quickly fell behind the asking-rate, never to recover.

South Africa’s players have asked for their board to be restructured in accordance with the recommendations of a government inquiry into the payment of unauthorised bonuses

Firdose Moonda11-Mar-2012South Africa’s players have asked for their board to be restructured in accordance with the recommendations of a government inquiry into the payment of unauthorised bonuses. The committee, chaired by Judge Chris Nicholson, suggested that CSA appoint a smaller board with a majority of independent directors. It also found chief executive Gerald Majola had breached the Companies Act in a manner serious enough to merit referral to the National Prosecuting Authority.Majola and 39 other staff members received a collective R4.7 million (US $671, 428) in bonuses after the hosting of the 2009 IPL and Champion Trophy. This was in addition to bonuses they had already been paid, through the board, and the second payment was not declared through official channels. Following an internal and external inquiry, the South African sports ministry intervened and set up a separate commission to re-investigate.The national team have been largely unaffected by the drama, even as it has unfolded over the course of two summers, and have finally spoken out through their association. “The players have been patient throughout a long and unhappy period of instability, but now that there are clear recommendations we expect the CSA Board to act immediately and decisively,” Tony Irish, chief executive of the South African Cricketers’ Association, said. “We want the administration of the game in the best hands and, at the heart of that process is getting the composition of the board of directors right.”Irish was clear that the players wanted to get the message out that they are in support of restricting the board and wanted it happen as soon as possible. “The appointment of suitable directors cannot happen overnight, but the process should start immediately. We believe that is the most important recommendation of the inquiry.”The Nicholson report had made negative conclusions about the conduct of Majola and the board as a whole, suggesting that CSA’s structures need a complete overhaul. Nicholson has recommended that Majola be put on 180 days leave – in accordance with his contract, with full pay to prepare his defence for a possible court case – and a process of cleaning-out begin.The only on-field implication of the saga so far has been the struggle for CSA to find sponsors. The Twenty20 and ODI series against Australia were without corporate backing, as was the domestic one-day cup. The domestic 20-over competition only secured a sponsor in the same week as the first match was played.

New Zealand have retained their 14-man Twenty20 squad for the first two matches against South Africa this weekend

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Feb-2012Squad

Brendon McCullum (capt & wk), Michael Bates, Doug Bracewell, Andrew Ellis, Colin de Grandhomme, James Franklin, Martin Guptill, Ronnie Hira, Nathan McCullum, Kyle Mills, Rob Nicol, Jacob Oram, Tim Southee, Kane Williamson

New Zealand have retained their 14-man Twenty20 squad for the first two matches against South Africa this weekend. Ross Taylor remains sidelined with a calf injury, though he is hopeful of recovering in time for the one-dayers.Brendon McCullum continues to lead the side in Taylor’s absence, while the new faces like Colin de Grandhomme, Ronnie Hira and Michael Bates get more time in the national squad.New Zealand have been in top form in the current series against Zimbabwe, sweeping them aside in the only Test, the three ODIs and the first T20. The series ends with the second T20 in Hamilton on Tuesday.

A round-up of the action from the third day of the third round of matches in the Ranji Trophy Plate Division 2011-12

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Nov-2011Kerala thrashed Tripura by an innings and 53 runs at the Nehru Stadium in Kochi. Kerala had taken a first-innings lead on the second day and proceeded to make 316, thanks to Sony Cheruvathur’s 77. Offspinner Udit Patel took 5 for 75 but Tripura were staring at a difficult task trying to stay alive in the game. As it turned out, they were bowled out for 124, worse than their first-innings performance. Kaushal Acharjee top-scored with 47 and the others capitulated; Cheruvathur, Prasanth Parameswaran and Padmanabhan Prasanth grabbed three wickets each to inflict a third straight defeat on Tripura.Himachal Pradesh remained in a strong position against Andhra Pradesh at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in Vijaywada. A century from Paras Dogra had helped them go past Andhra’s score on day two, and Varun Sharma held one end up on day three, reaching his own ton. Himachal, however, only managed to add 74 to their overnight score, getting bowled out for 341, a lead of 76. Andhra scored fluently in their second innings, opener G Shankara Rao leading the way with an unbeaten 96, but lost four wickets by the close. Vishal Bhatia grabbed two wickets and Abhinav Bali removed a set Venugopal Rao, who had added 94 with Shankara. At stumps, Andhra led by 100 with six wickets in hand, a tricky situation to be in heading into the final day.A collective batting performance from Hyderabad put them in control against Assam at the Nehru Stadium in Guwahati. Centuries from opener Akshath Reddy and Syed Qadri helped them gain a first-innings lead of 247, with support from T Suman, who made 88, and cameos from Hanuman Vihari and Ibrahim Khaleel. Reddy added 145 for the second wicket with Suman, taking Hyderabad past the Assam score and Qadri built important stands with the rest to take his team to 474 for 6 declared during his unbeaten 107. Assam were dealt an early blow in their second innings, Amit Sinha falling in the first over.Goa extended their advantage over Jammu and Kashmir at the Gandhi Memorial Science College Ground in Jammu. Having gained a lead of 21 in the first innings, they stretched it to 397 at stumps on the third day. Opener Sher Yadav made 118, striking 18 boundaries, and there were half-centuries from Reagan Pinto and wicketkeeper Rahul Keni. Goa were 268 for 7 at one stage and there was still an opening for J&K, but Keni added 51 with Amit Yadav for the eighth wicket and an unbeaten 56 for the last wicket. The two most likely results are a Goa win or a draw, with the visitors taking three points.Maharashtra dominated the third day against Jharkhand at the Anant Kanhere Maidan in Nasik, putting themselves in an excellent position to win the game. In a combined bowling effort, they bowled out Jharkhand for 283 in the first innings, though the tail wagged – the last three wickets added 99. It wasn’t enough to prevent Jharkhand from following on, however, and they slipped to 218 for 6 by stumps, only 44 ahead. Opener Manish Vardhan made a patient 88, adding 73 for the first wicket, but the Maharashtra bowlers struck at frequent intervals, cutting short any threatening partnership. Seamer Domnic Joseph picked up three wickets, including Vardhan and wicketkeeper SP Gautam, who made 39.Vidarbha were in an excellent position to take a first-innings lead against Services at the Harbax Singh Stadium in Delhi. In response to Vidarbha’s 508 for 6 declared, Services were struggling at 238 for 8 at stumps on the third day. Opener Jasvir Singh made 74 and Soumyaranjan Swain made 70 but Shrikant Wagh, Sandeep Singh and Ravi Jangid each grabbed two wickets to peg back Services, and take their team closer to a minimum of three points.