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World Series Cricket’s revered place in the history of the game and dressing room lore of its combatants is belatedly going to be backed up by official recognition of the players’ achievements in the Super Tests and One Day Cup matches

Daniel Brettig25-Nov-2015World Series Cricket’s revered place in the history of the game and dressing room lore of its combatants is belatedly going to be backed up by official recognition of the players’ achievements in the Super Tests and One Day Cup matches.To coincide with the day-night Test to be played in Adelaide from Friday, Cricket Australia’s board of directors have approved the inclusion of WSC statistics in the official playing records of Australian participants, including Ian and Greg Chappell, Dennis Lillee, Rod Marsh and Len Pascoe. CA is also in discussions with other member boards to do likewise for the players signed from the West Indies, England, South Africa, Pakistan and New Zealand.In addition to its enormous push towards the full professionalisation of the game, Kerry Packer’s breakaway competition also fast-tracked countless innovations during its two seasons, in 1977-78 and 1978-79. These included greatly enhanced television coverage, drop-in pitches and coloured clothing, but also night cricket, including floodlit “Super Tests” in the second season, an early forerunner of the match to be played at Adelaide Oval this week.

WSC Super Test statistics

• Barry Richards 5 matches, 554 runs, av 79.14

• Greg Chappell 14 matches, 1415 runs, av 56.60

• Ian Chappell 14 matches, 893 runs, av 35.72

• Len Pascoe 9 matches, 30 wickets, av 32.00

“I think it has got to be recognised, for the quality of cricket it was and for what it has done for cricket,” former Australia captain and WSC batsman Greg Chappell said. “The importance of it in the history of the game [means] it has got to be recognised. It’s a separate entry but it’s got to be there, it can’t be hidden away in the dark.”James Sutherland, the CA chief executive, said the recognition of WSC was well overdue. “World Series Cricket was clearly some of the most competitive, high-performing international cricket ever played,” he said. “Given the quality of the competition, players from that era regarded strong performances in WSC as career highlights.”Such was the impact that WSC had on the game, it has been unjust that records from that competition haven’t been formally recognised. So leading into this first day-night Test where we are thinking about the players who pioneered cricket under lights, we proposed adjusting our own statistical records to include performances from WSC.”Going forward, players from that era will have a standalone line-item in their career statistics recognising their efforts in WSC. Our board has now supported this proposal and we will have discussions with other cricket nations and the ICC in an effort to have them adopt the same position.”The competition, which began as Packer’s attempt to muscle into the world of cricket television rights and then bloomed into something far larger than first imagined, has been depicted in literature (The Cricket War) and on television (Kerry Packer’s War), but had previously been ignored by official records. The new category will not incorporate the matches into Test or first-class statistics, but instead let them stand alone.”I’ve heard people talk about when they’re involved in historical moments they’re not aware of it. I was very aware of it through the whole lot,” Chappell said. “It felt like it was a historical period, it was exciting, it was some of the best cricket I played, albeit on some of the worst cricket grounds i played on in that first year.”But the quality of the cricket and the quality of the commitment on both sides. Kerry had no idea what was coming when he signed up for it, he was hoping to sign the players and then go talk to the board and get an agreement, then all of a sudden he’s got to run a cricket season.”We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into, but all I knew was it had to happen. Cricket needed this jolt to drag it into the 20th century, and it certainly did that. I think most of what happened during that time was very positive, but it was a very exciting time to be around. The stuff that was going on around the cricket. Prior to that you’d just pick two teams, let’s put them at the MCG and that’s the promotion, whereas all this other stuff was going on around us, it was exciting.”It was an exciting era in Australia, apart from the cricket a lot was going on like the Vietnam War, the Dismissal and so on, all of a sudden people were questioning everything and we were questioning everything. We were a reflection of what was going on in society, not leading the charge. But it was just an amazing period, and we felt like we were doing something that was going to make a difference.”Barry Richards, who faced the first ball bowled under lights from Pascoe in a televised match at Waverley Park in Melbourne, described his thoughts at that moment. They will likely be mirrored when the night session of the Adelaide Test commences after dark on Friday, with the pink ball ushering in a new degree of difficulty for players but also a potentially larger audience for a more accessible game.”For a start the light wasn’t great so it was apprehension,” Richards said. “You don’t know what to expect, you go out there thinking let’s just try to get over the first 20 minutes and see what happens, because it was all quite new. the dusk period wasn’t great. Apprehension and survival were the things going through my mind – even if you do get out, make it look normal.”

A round-up of sixth-round matches of the Regional Four Day Competition

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Apr-2013
ScorecardJamaica cemented their spot at the top of the table and entered the semi-finals of the Regional Four Day Competition with a 214-run win over Guyana. The win – their fifth consecutive in the tournament – gives Jamaica 60 points and they have a chance to widen that gap when they take on Combined Campuses and Colleges in the last league match on April 25.Wicketkeeper Carlton Baugh and fast bowler Sheldon Cotterrell were the pillars of Jamaica’s win over Guyana. Batting first, Jamaica had slumped to 12 for 4 after fast bowler Keon Joseph ran through the top order. They were a precarious 88 for 6 before Baugh and Nikita Miller added 89 runs for the seventh wicket, taking Jamaica towards the 200-run mark. The side was eventually all out for 208. Joseph picked up four wickets for 53 runs while Devendra Bishoo took 3 for 51.In reply, Guyana crumbled to 96 all out. They were 10 for 5 at one stage and the pace-bowling pair of Cotterrell and Andrew Richardson dismissed as many as five batsmen for ducks. Fast bowler David Bernard then dismissed the lower order, the only resistance coming from captain Veerasammy Permaul who played a lone hand of 49.Baugh narrowly missed out on his 13th first-class hundred, caught short of the crease on 99, as Jamaica went about extending their 112-run lead in the second innings. He shared a 138-run, sixth-wicket partnership with Blackwood before Jamaica declared their innings at 257 for 8, setting Guyana a target of 370.The Jamaican bowlers dismissed Guyana for 155 to set up their side’s fifth win of the tournament. Except for a 70 from Leon Johnson, Guyana put up another dismal batting display and finish the competition fifth on the points table, after losing four of their six matches.
ScorecardA nine-wicket win over Leeward Islands helped Windward Islands qualify for the semi-final.
Put in to bat first, Leewards were a relatively safe 102 for 2 before they lost eight wickets for 27 runs. Shane Shillingford picked up six of those wickets to finish with figures of 7 for 45 off 17.5 overs. Kieran Powell was the only Leewards batsman to fire, scoring 51.In reply, Windwards recovered from a score of 58 for 5 to post 268. Captain Liam Sebastien led the recovery with an innings of 93 and received support from Lindon James (21) and Shillingford (42). Yannick Leonard was the most successful bowler for Leewards, picking up four wickets for 63 runs.With a lead of 139 to wipe out, the Leewards’ batsmen failed for the second time. Powell’s second fifty of the match was the only substantial innings, after the batsmen squandered their starts and the side were out for 158, narrowly avoiding an innings defeat. Sebastien followed up his half-century with a five-wicket haul, while Shillingford picked up three wickets to take his match haul to ten. Windwards strolled past their target of 20 for the loss of just one wicket.
ScorecardSplendid bowling efforts from Miguel Cummins and Sulieman Benn took Barbados to victory over Trinidad & Tobago in just two days at Port of Spain. Both teams have qualified for the semi-final. Barbados with 48 points are placed third in the league, while Trinidad and Tobago are fourth.T&T batted first, losing wickets at regular intervals. Cummins starred with the ball, taking 7 for 45, as T&T were scuttled out for 109 in 37 overs. The only real form of resistance came from batsman Imran Khan with his unbeaten 30.Barbados in reply posted 194 before being dismissed. Contributions from Kirk Edwards (29), Shane Dowrich (24), Benn (22) and an unbeaten 56 from Javon Searles ensured they had a slim 85-run lead going into the next innings.T&T in their second innings simply couldn’t muster enough runs as Benn, Searles and Cummins combined to blast them out for just 129. Imran Khan once again top-scored with 33, while contributions from Lendl Simmons (26) and Rayad Emrit (26) were not enough to create a significant advantage. Benn ran through the order with 5 for 49, with Searles complementing him with 3 for 26.This left just 45 runs for Barbados to chase for victory. The openers would see off the chase as Barbados won by 10 wickets. With this result they are tied on 48 points with Jamaica and Windward Islands, but Jamaica has played two less matches, while Windward has played one less. This means the points scenario could change in the next fixtures.

Rest of Sri Lanka rode on an all-round performance from Nuwan Kulasekara to secure a second comprehensive victory in the List-A tri-series in Pallekele, defeating Sri Lanka A by 58 runs in a low-scoring match

ESPNcricinfo staff14-May-2013
ScorecardNuwan Kulasekara put up an all-round show with the bat and ball to set up Rest of Sri Lanka’s win•ICC/Getty

Rest of Sri Lanka rode on an all-round performance from Nuwan Kulasekara to secure a second comprehensive victory in the List-A tri-series in Pallekele, defeating Sri Lanka A by 58 runs in a low-scoring match. Both sides ran into trouble early on, against the fast bowlers on a seaming track. However, after having top-scored for Rest SL with 61, Kulasekara combined with Chanaka Welegedara to demolish Sri Lanka A’s top order within the first four overs of their innings, reducing them to 6 for 5 – a position from which they never recovered. They were eventually dismissed for 146 in the 38th over, chasing a target of 205.Kulasekara arrived at the crease with the score at 87 for 6 after Dinesh Chandimal fell, the only batsman to reach a score of 20 among the top five batsmen. Chamara Kapugedara and Rangana Herath were unable to assist Kulasekara in the recovery, but he found support in No.10 batsman Shaminda Eranga, who survived for 43 balls and contributed 33 to their 68-run partnership, the most substantial stand of the match. When Eranga fell with the score at 175, Kulasekara added 29 more with Chanaka Welegedara to take the score past 200, before falling to left-arm pacer Vimukthi Perera, who had also accounted for Shehan Jayasuriya, Lahiru Thirimanne and Milinda Siriwardene earlier in the innings. Right-armers Suranga Lakmal and Ishan Jayaratne shared five wickets between them.Welegedara struck for Rest of Sri Lanka before the opposition had scored a run. Kulasekara bowled a maiden in the first over and picked up Dilshan Munaweera and Kithuruwan Vithanage in the next. That double strike was followed by another wicket from Welegedara, and his consecutive wickets effectively sealed Sri Lanka A’s fate.Sri Lanka A captain Angelo Perera attempted to rebuild alongside a sedate Jayaratne, who hit 2 from 25 balls, but he lost his partner to a run-out before losing his own wicket to Shaminda Eranga, with the team score on 56.As in Rest SL’s innings, an ageing ball somewhat negated the threat of the seam bowlers as the innings wore on, and Seekkuge Prasanna and Suranga Lakmal hit 23 and 38 not out respectively coming in at No. 9 and 10. Vimukthi Perera combined with Lakmal to add 55 for the last wicket.

Tourists will use Pope-Buttler partnership as evidence their batting line-up can succeed in Australia

Matt Roller08-Dec-2021England have no choice but to cling to the positives. A chastening opening day of the Ashes series at the Gabba saw them bowled out for 147 in 50.1 overs, which represented a recovery of sorts from 11 for 3, 29 for 4 and 60 for 5, but they will use Ollie Pope’s partnership with Jos Buttler as evidence that their batting line-up can be successful in Australia, so long as their top order can make it through the new ball.Pope and Buttler combined for a 52-run stand for the sixth wicket, which represented the only hour of the first day during which England controlled the pace of the game. Pope was typically busy, making it hard for Australia’s seamers to set him up by scampering through for sharp singles, while Buttler’s innings encapsulated the “fearless” approach he had pledged to take in this series, lofting over the infield and capitalising on width.Neither batter kicked on, Buttler top-scoring with 39, but if England are to retain any hope of winning – or even drawing – this series then they must see the partnership as proof that there will be opportunities for big runs against the old ball and put their top order’s struggles down to poor preparation and opening-day nerves.Related

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Rory Burns’ tally of ducks in 2021 – six, the record for an opening batter in a calendar year – reflects the fact he is vulnerable early in his innings but he would surely expect to clip Mitchell Starc’s leg-stump half-volley away for four more often than not, but for the pressure of the first session of an Ashes series. Dawid Malan’s success in the 2017-18 series indicates that he should adapt to the extra bounce on Australian pitches once he has had the chance to bat on them, while Joe Root and Ben Stokes are their two best batters and will not fail consistently throughout the series.India’s top order demonstrated in 2020-21 that batting for long periods to set the game up for an attacking middle order is a method that works for touring teams in Australia, not least against a side that relies heavily on three frontline quicks. England lost their fifth wicket after 26.4 overs on Wednesday; at the same stage last winter, India lost more than two wickets only twice in eight innings, one of them in their freak 36 all out at Adelaide.”If we had managed to get through that first two hours one down, for example, I think we could have made the most of it with a softer ball and a slower pitch,” Pope said. “We’ve just got to execute better, particularly in the first two hours of the game.”Personally I like to come out with a lot of intent. I always want to move the scoreboard along, especially if the ball is in my area, and a situation like that lends itself to that as well. You need to get your runs on the board. The ball got a little bit softer – the seam wasn’t quite as pronounced, so maybe the ball didn’t nip around as much.”Jos came in and took the pressure off. Obviously it’s frustrating that neither of us could go on and push for a bigger score. It would have been nice for us to both extend our innings and make 70s, 80s or 100s, but we weren’t able to today. At the time, he took the pressure off nicely, took the pressure off me and suddenly the scoreboard was ticking along pretty well. He’s ridiculously talented and reads the situation of the game and if he feels that he puts his best foot forward by doing that, that’s what he’ll do.”Jos Buttler and Ollie Pope counter-attacked after lunch•AFP/Getty Images

There is too much on the line for England in this series for them to rip up their blueprint after a single innings, however poorly they batted: Root has accepted that it will “define my captaincy” while Chris Silverwood highlighted winning back the urn as his top priority when he was appointed two years ago.There is no doubt that their confidence will have been hit, but Pope insisted that a tough start would not be a “massive dent”. Instead, he stressed that the crucial question was how they will react to a disappointing day, and whether their seamers can make early inroads on a helpful pitch.”We’re going to keep fighting,” Pope said. “We’ve got to see both sides bat on this wicket. We don’t know how it’s going to react tomorrow but we’re going to come back stronger and hopefully get a good score on the board second dig after knocking them over.”Our preparation from the mental side has gone well. We’ve spoken about everything, obviously we haven’t performed as well as we would have wanted today but both teams have got to bat on it. We’re not going to get too down about today now and we’ll come back hard tomorrow.”

Teenager Huraira became the first player to top the run charts in his debut Quaid-e-Azam season

Danyal Rasool30-Dec-2021No one would have begrudged 19-year-old Mohammad Huraira finishing the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy with the title, and that was precisely what made defeat such a bitter pill to swallow for the teenager.Over the course of a remarkable three months, the Northern opener became the first player to top the run charts in his debut QeA season, accumulating 986 runs at an average of 58, with three hundreds and five half-centuries – including 51 and 57 in the final against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.Instead, it was the well-oiled machine of KP – joint winners of last year’s tournament – who came out on top once more as Huraira’s Northern fell short by 169 runs.”Of course, it’s personally satisfying to be the top scorer but it would have been much nicer if it was in a winning cause,” Huraira said after the game. “But hats off to KP; they outplayed us in all three departments. I didn’t have a huge goal of finishing as the highest scorer, but I had small goals from game to game. Whenever I get a chance I give it my best shot. It came off thankfully. Last year, I didn’t get a chance and I was off-colour after the U-19 World Cup. I just worked hard.”In Pakistan, domestic success, particularly for younger players, is seen as something of a stepping stone to international stardom, epitomised by what Hurraira went on to say. “My next target is to represent Pakistan in all three formats, and to give match-winning performances for my country.”With Pakistan struggling for runs at the top of the order of late, their woes exacerbated by the heart condition that Abid Ali is currently ailing from, Huraira has timed his purple patch to perfection.

‘The way my form is going, it feels like I’ll play for a long time’ – Iftikhar

At the other end of the emotions and experience spectrum, KP captain and Player of the Match Iftikhar Ahmed was beaming.”I’m feeling very proud because where you go and win a trophy, it makes you proud,” Iftikhar, 31, said. “Winning five consecutive trophies is a testament to all the hard work of our players. They work hard in the field and give their all, which gives them success.”Iftikhar’s form with the bat in this tournament has been pivotal to KP’s success whenever he has been available. Despite absences from the competition because of his involvement with the national side, he amassed 461 runs in ten innings at an average of 51.22. Two of his four half-centuries came in the last league game against Central Punjab, but he saved his best for last. In the final, a glorious 102 in the first innings set up a decisive lead for his side, before he chipped in with two top-order wickets in the fourth innings to put KP on course.The victorious Khyber Pakhtunkhwa team with the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy•PCB

“I was thrilled to get a hundred and perform in such a big match,” he said. “I was thinking before the final that I’ll go out and help my team win. The way my form is going, it feels like I’ll play for a long time. Our team has a lot of young players and senior players, and everyone pulls their own weight. Our young players perform really well. The juniors take as much responsibility as the seniors.”

Our domestic structure ‘incentivises positive cricket’ – Amin

His opposite number, Umar Amin, has been in this position before. Two years ago, he was part of a young Northern side that defied the odds and made it all the way to the final against a star-studded Central Punjab side, and found themselves blown away by an innings. In 2021, despite himself being near the top of the run charts – in fourth place with 811 runs at 50.68 – he found his side up against an equally relentless juggernaut.”Of course, it’s disappointing if you don’t get over the line after playing two consecutive QeA finals,” he said. “When we moved to Karachi, we won four matches on the bounce to qualify for the final. It would have been nice to win to cap our season and the efforts we put in. Unfortunately, we didn’t do it this time but if we ever get a chance again, we’ll try and get over the line.”This points system is very exciting; the tournament remains wide open till late in the tournament. Even Sindh, who didn’t qualify, only fell short by about two or three points. It’s fun till the end and gives all six teams a fair chance. It encourages teams to play aggressive cricket. Overall, this is good for both our domestic and international cricket that we have a system in our domestic structure that incentivises positive cricket.”

A round-up of the Caribbean T20 matches played at Queen’s Park Oval, Trinidad on January 8

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Jan-2013
ScorecardCarlos Brathwaite and Ryan Hinds took seven wickets between them to help rout Jamaica for 72 at Queen’s Park Oval, and set up Barbados’ second victory of the Caribbean T20.After winning the toss, Jamaica’s openers added 38 in four overs before the collapse began. They then lost ten wickets for 34 runs and were dismissed in 17.3 overs. Only three batsmen made it past single figures, with Nkrumah Bonner’s 21 being the top score. Carlos Brathwaite’s 4 for 23 were his career-best figures.Barbados also had a shaky period in their small chase, when they lost four wickets for ten runs and slipped to 40 for 5. Opening batsman Justin Brathwaite had scored most of the runs, making 23 off 10 balls. Shane Dowrich and Kyle Mayers, however, ensured Barbados got home in 11.2 overs without further damage.
ScorecardIn another low-scoring game in Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago (T&T) earned their first victory of the tournament by beating Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC) by seven wickets.T&T’s bowlers were economical and incisive after their captain Denesh Ramdin won the toss. Only four CCC batsmen made it into double figures but Chadwick Walton’s 19 was the top score. The slow bowlers Kevon Cooper and Sunil Narine took 3 for 17 and 2 for 14, while Dwayne Bravo had figures of 1 for 8 in his four-over spell. CCC managed only 94 for 8 in 20 overs.T&T did not hurry to victory, reaching the target in 17.2 overs. Dwayne Bravo was the top scorer, making an unbeaten 36 off 42 balls.

The only cricketer to score a century and take a five-for on Test debut, Taylor died aged 77, on Saturday morning

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Feb-2021Bruce Taylor, the former New Zealand allrounder, who remains the only cricketer to score a century and take a five-for on Test debut, died aged 77 on Saturday morning.According to , Taylor “had suffered from ill health” and “had a leg amputated in March 2016 to fight gangrene”. New Zealand Cricket confirmed his passing on Twitter.