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ESPNcricinfo understands the fast bowler will undergo intense rehabilitation for about four weeks at the NCA before the selectors make a call on his fitness for the final two Tests

Nagraj Gollapudi and Sidharth Monga18-Jul-2018Bhuvneshwar Kumar will return to India to recuperate from the lower-back injury that has kept him out of the squad for the first three Tests in England. ESPNcricinfo understands Bhuvneshwar will undergo intense rehabilitation for about four weeks at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru before the selectors make an assessment on his fitness for the final two Tests.According to the BCCI release announcing the Test squad, Bhuvneshwar “aggravated” his lower-back issue while playing the third ODI against England. Apart from Bhuvneshwar, India’s fast-bowling group will also be without Jasprit Bumrah for the first Test at least. Bumrah has been out of action since suffering a thumb injury during the first match of India’s tour, the first T20I against Ireland in Dublin. Bumrah is part of the 18-member Test squad, but the BCCI has confirmed he will miss the first Test.An important member of the side, responsible for 42% of the wickets taken by seamers in their last Test series in England, Bhuvneshwar has been struggling with a back issue since the start of the IPL where his workload was managed. Even before the IPL, Bhuvneshwar sat out of the Nidahas Trophy and the one-off Test against Afghanistan to manage the injury. Bhuvneshwar had missed the first two ODIs, but was selected for the series decider in which he bowled seven overs for 49 runs and no wickets, and also dropped a catch.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

At the toss, Virat Kohli said the decision to bring Bhuvneshwar back for the decider was taken to given him some game time. “Some tactical some because the guys haven’t got a game so far,” Kohli explained the three changes to the XI. “So Bhuvi and Shardul Thakur come in for Umesh [Yadav] and Sid [Siddarth] Kaul. And KL Rahul misses out. Dinesh Karthik replaces him at No. 4. He has done well at that spot, and we just wanted to have a guy in the middle overs who can be versatile and improvise a little. Yeah Dinesh was tactical, and the other two guys because they haven’t got a game yet.”An official present in Leeds told ESPNcricinfo that Bhuvneshwar passed a fitness test before the team management decided to include him in the XI. Bhuvneshwar was the first player to enter Headingley on Tuesday morning and did stretching routines, under the observation of India trainer Shankar Basu. The fact that Bhuvneshwar was in the reckoning for the final ODI of the England series became clear after he bowled for about half an hour in India’s optional training session on Monday afternoon in Leeds.After India were sent in, Bhuvneshwar batted for nearly an hour, first in the company of MS Dhoni and then the tail, to take help raise a modest total of 256. He finished the match wicketless and also dropped a straightforward catch.The official present in Leeds pointed out that the team management had been guarding Bhuvneshwar until then, keeping in mind the freak injury that ruled out Bumrah. Although Bhuvneshwar passed the pre-match fitness test on Tuesday, the official said he was “probably a bit jaded” when he arrived in the UK after the IPL.In the future, the official said the team management had agreed to closely monitor the workloads of key players like Bhuvneshwar and Bumrah to keep them fresh for the World Cup.

Sussex’s third win in less than a week secured a knockout place but Middlesex gave them a fright before slumping to a last-place finish in South Group

ECB Reporters Network17-Aug-2018
ScorecardSussex were given a fright by Middlesex before reaching the quarter-finals of the Vitality Blast for the first time since 2015 with a 31-run win at Hove.Skipper Luke Wright, returning after missing two games with a back spasm, made 74 and fellow opener Phil Salt hit 66 from just 25 balls in their 215 for 5 after they had been put in.Rapid half-centuries by Paul Stirling and John Simpson, who shared 122 in 8.1 overs for the second wicket, had Middlesex on course for victory halfway through their reply, but leg-spinner Will Beer removed both in successive overs and Middlesex’s hopes of claiming only their second win of the season effectively ended when Eoin Morgan was run out in the 15th over. They lost their last seven wickets for 26 in 5.4 overs and were bowled out for 184 in 19.4 overs, finishing the group with just two wins.Sussex knew only victory would secure a last-eight place and Salt and Wright set the tone by smashing 80 in the powerplay. Salt matched the 19-ball 50 he made against Middlesex at Lord’s as James Fuller’s first two overs were taken for 38. Salt struck four sixes and eight fours before slicing a drive off James Harris to short third-man from the final ball of the sixth over.Eoin Morgan finds something to laugh about on another grim Middlesex night•Getty Images

Wright became the first Englishman to pass 7,000 T20 runs when he reached 12 and he went on to put on 106 in 11.1 overs for the second wicket with Laurie Evans, whose 36 took him to 492 runs in the group stages.Fuller pegged Sussex back by taking three wickets in four balls during the 16th over. Evans drove his slower ball to cover, Delray Rawlins was caught at short fine-leg off the next delivery and Wright mis-timed a drive to extra cover, having faced 48 balls and hit nine fours in his 44th half-century in the format.Morgan used seven bowlers but was unable to prevent Sussex from making their highest T20 total against Middlesex.Middlesex needed to score at nearly 11 an over but after losing George Scott in the first over Stirling and Simpson laid into some wayward bowling, outscoring Sussex by thrashing 90 in the powerplay. Rashid Khan was missing as he prepares for Afghanistan’s one-day series in Ireland next week and it was his replacement Beer who made the breakthrough when Stirling chopped on for 58 from 29 balls (3 sixes, 6 fours).Beer struck again in his next over when Simpson holed out to long off for 62, made off 29 balls with six sixes and four boundaries, but Sussex were only able to breath easily after taking two wickets in the 15th over. Danny Briggs ran out Eoin Morgan (16) off his own bowling when Morgan failed to make his ground going for a tight single and James Franklin was caught behind off a big top edge.Middlesex subsided thereafter and Chris Jordan finished things off when he yorked Nathan Sowter and Tom Barber with successive deliveries in the final over.Coach Dan Vettori was left to reflect on another poor Midedlesex season. “We’ve run the whole gamut of how to lose T20 games this season,” he said. “We were poor at the start with the ball tonight, but managed to drag it back on a small ground with a tiny boundary to defend.”When we batted we had it comfortably in control but losing four wickets in two overs when you have to face Mills, Jordan and Archer at the death… you almost have to kill the game before that happens and instead we killed the game for ourselves.”

Harvey Hosein’s gutsy fifty clawed Derbyshire to a thrilling one-wicket victory over Northamptonshire on an afternoon that ebbed and flowed at Wantage Road

ECB Reporters Network13-Sep-2018
ScorecardHarvey Hosein’s gutsy fifty clawed Derbyshire to a thrilling one-wicket victory over Northamptonshire on an afternoon that ebbed and flowed at Wantage Road.Set 233 to win, Derbyshire were in control at 94 for 1 through Wayne Madsen and Tom Lace but lost 4 for 24 in nine overs after lunch. Hosein then got together first with Alex Hughes and then Anuj Dal to reduce the target to 37 needed with four wickets in hand.But Luke Procter conjured up two wickets in two overs and when Nathan Buck cleaned up No. 10 Tony Palladino, Derbyshire needed nine runs with only one wicket in hand. Hosein dived across the off stump to paddle-sweep Ben Sanderson for four and worked singles to bring the target to within one boundary.Buck had one delivery at No. 11 Ravi Rampaul, who touched him off his hip to fine leg for four to seal a memorable victory with Hosein the hero, unbeaten on 54.It was the eighth time in their history that Derbyshire won by one wicket and the tenth time Northants have lost by the same margin.The day began in brilliant sunshine and a perfect start for the visitors as Palladino had Buck well caught by Gary Wilson at slip to the fourth ball of the day before he bowled Sanderson second ball to dismiss Northants for 199, adding only one run to their overnight total, leaving Derbyshire 233 to win in 93 overs.The chase got off to a poor start as Billy Godleman was bowled by Sanderson second ball, but Lace and Madsen managed to get through the rest of the session where a wicket looked likely every ball. But having survived countless plays and misses and a huge appeal each for lbw, the pair steered Derbyshire into a commanding position after lunch.Finally Northants broke through as Brett Hutton took out Tom Lace’s off stump after a stand of 94 in 37.2 overs and it prompted a collapse that left Derbyshire needing 111 with five wickets in hand and suddenly the home side were favourites.Sanderson was a big part of the turnaround, sending down 13 overs unchanged from the Wantage Road End after lunch, bowling three maidens and taking 2 for 21 – eventually trapping Madsen lbw for 62 and getting one to bounce on Matt Critchley and take the glove to be well held down low by Ricardo Vasconcelos at third slip. Wilson also ran himself out, sent back trying to take a single to mid-on that was never available.Enter Hosein, who helped add 36 for the sixth wicket to ease the tension before Hughes was caught well by Richard Levi at second slip for 28 in the second over after tea. Dal worked the target down further with Hosein but he was then brilliantly yorked by Procter who pinned Hardus Viljoen lbw in his next over.Palladino helped narrow the target into single figures but it took Rampaul, who survived one more play and miss against Sanderson, to flick the winning runs.

Canada wicketkeeper Hamza Tariq was only 20 years old when he could have fallen prey to bookies had he not reported it to the ACU. Here’s what happened

Hamza Tariq23-Oct-2018Canada’s wicketkeeper Hamza Tariq in action during practice at the 2011 World Cup•AFP

I was probably the last player at the 2011 World Cup who would have expected to be approached by someone attempting to involve me in corrupt activity. I was only 20, had just played at the ICC U-19 World Cup a year earlier, and was not well established in the Canada team. I never thought someone would approach a Canada player, and if they did then, in my own mind, I thought they would want to go after a star instead of a reserve player like me.But it happened.When I’ve told people that I was approached, the first thing they ask is, ‘How much money did they offer you?’ No one is really worried about the entire story, how you get into it, and how you get out of it. That’s where a lot of players make mistakes. In my experience, one doesn’t have to be offered money for there to be an attempt at corruption.I was excited to be at the World Cup, only my third overseas tour with the men’s team. We began in Bangladesh for warm-up matches before taking on Sri Lanka in Hambantota for our first match of the tournament. In both places, there was nothing unusual. When we went to Nagpur for our next match against Zimbabwe, that was the first time I was introduced to a cricketer named ‘Raghav’.In November and December 2010, Canada had played 10 matches in India during a preparation tour. Several of the players of Pakistani origin, myself included, had missed the tour because of trouble securing visas. Raghav, who was from Nagpur, had played for one of the opposition sides during these matches and made friends with many of our team-mates.During the World Cup, we had seven days of downtime in Nagpur before the Zimbabwe match. One night Raghav met me and two of my team-mates at the hotel bar. He offered us drinks – I don’t drink – then invited us out to a club afterwards, which I also declined. But I remember him saying to us, ‘All the drinks are on me. You guys are guests. We’ll go out to another place and everything will be taken care of.’ He looked like a normal guy, friendly and treating us with a lot of respect. He was a cricketer and so were we, so there was nothing out of the ordinary about our chats.We lost our next two matches, to Zimbabwe in Nagpur and to Pakistan in Colombo, before returning to India for our fourth match against Kenya in Delhi. On March 6, the night before that match, one of my team-mates came to me and said, ‘Hamza, Raghav is coming with his three uncles. They want to meet us and take us out for dinner so I’ve asked them to come to the room for a few drinks.’I said sure. It was early in the evening and within half an hour they had arrived. They were very normal looking guys, in normal clothes – jeans, t-shirts and not too much jewellery. The first one’s name was Sunil. I don’t remember the second one’s name, though he said he ran a cricket academy in Hyderabad, and the third one barely spoke a word and never gave us his name.At one point, when I think back, they did ask a very specific question but I never looked at them with any suspicion. ‘Are you in the playing XI tomorrow?’, they asked, and I said, ‘No, I’m in the reserves and only come in if [captain] Ashish [Bagai] gets injured because I’m a wicketkeeper as well.’ That was it, their only question in the time while we were in the room.Soon afterwards, we headed out for dinner at a Hakka restaurant, a combination of Indian and Chinese food. It was me, two team-mates and Raghav in one taxi to the restaurant, and we met the three uncles there.I had no clue what any of the menu items were so the uncles called the waiter and said, ‘Just bring everything you have. You’re our guests right now but when we come to Canada, you make sure you treat us well.’We spent about an hour and a half in the restaurant, chatting normally with this nice guy and his three uncles who we thought just wanted to take care of us while we were in their city. My two team-mates then went back to the hotel in a taxi with Raghav. But I wanted to stop off to have , a street food wrapped in betel leaf, so I got in a second taxi with the three uncles.On this trip, they asked me if I knew what the playing XI would be, but not like a direct question. It was more like, ‘Hey, so who do you think is playing?’ Even then I was like, ‘I’m not sure. I’m just a junior player in the team and I don’t know these things.’ One of the uncles put his hand on my shoulder and said, ‘Hey Hamza. You’re young, you’ll be back. We’ll always be here for you.’ I was just enjoying my and didn’t really pay attention to what he said.As soon as we got back to the hotel, they said, ‘Go up to your room. We’ll call you in a bit. We have something for you.’ When I started walking into the hotel, I saw someone in a long trench-coat taking pictures. I didn’t think anything of it, I thought it was a reporter or something, and just went into my room.A good hour or so passed before they called. It was after 10.30pm. Sunil called me on my cell phone in my room and told me to come down to the lobby. When I got there, Sunil, the third uncle who didn’t speak much, and a girl were waiting for me. She was probably around the same age as me, very young, 18-21, and very beautiful. They said, ‘You can take this girl up to your room and after tomorrow, when you guys go to Mumbai [ahead of playing New Zealand on March 13], she’s going to stay with you there for the entire week and we’ll take care of everything.’At that point, it was a red flag. I had only met them a few hours earlier, but they were already offering me a girl to take up to bed, and now the questions they had asked earlier in the taxi were slowly coming back to me. But even then, I didn’t think they could be bookies or even bad people that I needed to stay away from. It was simply that they were offering me something and I had an option to take it or refuse, and I decided to refuse.I said to Sunil, ‘Hey, I’m not comfortable doing this. Thank you for the offer but I’ll pass.’ There was a lot of security in the hotel that night, as the Indian team had just arrived, and he said that if I was scared about being spotted, he knew a back staircase to my floor. He even offered to take us to a different hotel just down the street. I said, ‘No, I’m okay. I really appreciate the offer but I just don’t feel right doing it.’They weren’t aggressive, but they were definitely trying to find ways for me to accept her. But I told them, ‘Look, if I want a girl, I will definitely contact you so don’t worry.’ That’s when they backed away and said, ‘Okay, no problem.’ I was in the lobby for a good half-hour with the two uncles and the girl before they finally relented. We said goodbye and I went back up to my room.Hamza Tariq bats at the ICC World Twenty20 Americas Sub Regional Qualifier A in 2018•Peter Della Penna

About 10 minutes later, I came back to the lobby to talk to my family in Canada (the reception was better downstairs than in my room) and I was approached by someone else who I thought was sketchy. He was offering equipment and said, ‘I’m part of a company. We want to support teams such as Canada. If you want to get some gear, cricket stuff, I’ll hook you up.’ For some reason, I thought he was the sketchier person.I was still on the phone when I noticed the man in the trench-coat who had been taking photos earlier on. Wherever I went, he would follow and sit as close to me as possible. Not right next to me, but within view so he could see what I was doing. At one point, I went to the reception desk to ask about sightseeing; the man immediately followed and asked the receptionist what we had been talking about.So I went to the man and said, ‘Hey, I saw you taking pictures of me when I came back from dinner. May I know who you are?’ He asked me who I was, and when I told him, he said he knew I played for Canada, and wondered why I was up so late. I told him I was just hanging out. That’s when he told me he was with the ICC Anti-Corruption Unit. At that point I was scared. He was straightforward and told me, ‘Go to bed’.Shortly before noon the next morning, we went down to the lobby to catch the bus for our match against Kenya. The Anti-Corruption officer was waiting to speak to us all. He said there had been some emails and messages regarding our match and added, ‘If there’s anything that any player wants to speak about, it’s best if you share it with us before the game starts rather than after the game.’I sought him out and said, ‘There was someone who approached me last night who was offering me equipment’. In my head, that was sketchier than the three uncles and the girl. A few other Canada players were approached by the guy offering equipment and they also reported it to the ACU officer. I remember him asking me, ‘Was there anyone else?’ I said no and he said okay, and that was it.We were at the ground, about to begin our warm-ups, when it hit me that the uncles might be suspicious too. I waved over to Johnny Bujan, our assistant team manager, and asked if I could talk to the Anti-Corruption Unit guy. It was about an hour before the match was due to start. Five minutes later, Johnny brought him over and the first thing the ACU officer said was, ‘I knew you would call me.’I said to him, ‘I met these three guys through someone. I don’t think there is anything wrong or suspicious there. We met him through a friend named Raghav.’ He asked me, ‘Do you know where they’re staying?’ I said, ‘Yeah, they said they’re staying down the road at another one of the hotels.’ But he said, ‘No. They’re staying at the same hotel as you guys are.’ That’s when I knew something was wrong.I told the ACU officer everything: how I had met Raghav through my team-mates; how Raghav took our players out for drinks ahead of the Zimbabwe match; how Raghav introduced us to the three uncles; how the three uncles had asked me questions about the Kenya match, how they took us out to dinner and how they had offered me the girl. The ACU officer asked me for the names of the uncles. When I told him I didn’t know the name of the third uncle who barely spoke, the ACU officer asked me to call them up.I told him, ‘Look, you can take my phone and call whoever you want. I don’t want to get involved in this.’ But he said, ‘No, you’ve got to call because you’ve been in contact with them.’ I said, ‘If I call, they will know something is up because they know I’m not supposed to have my phone on me once I’ve got to the ground and during the game.’ At this point the toss was not more than 10 minutes away. But he said, ‘You’re old enough. Figure something out.’So we went outside the stadium and he gave me my phone. I called Sunil’s phone number but it was Raghav who answered. I said, ‘Raghav, can I talk to Sunil?’ He asked why and I told him, ‘I just want to talk to him about something.’Raghav gave the phone to Sunil. I was supposed to get the phone number of the third uncle. I asked Sunil, ‘Hey, the guy who brought the girl last night with you. Can you give me his number so I can try to get that girl again for tonight?’ He said, ‘Is that why you’re calling me?’ I said, ‘Yeah’.He said, ‘Aren’t you supposed to be at the game?’ I said, ‘I went to bed late last night so I couldn’t get up on time and I’ve missed the bus. I’m actually in the lobby trying to get a taxi to get to the ground.’ He said, ‘Don’t worry. If you want a girl, call me after the game.’ I said, ‘Okay’. Everything was on speaker and the ACU officer was listening.Then Sunil asked, ‘Do you know who is opening today?’ That was the first time he had asked me a direct question. I told him, ‘I’m not sure. I’m a junior player and I don’t know such things in the team.’He followed up with another straightforward question. ‘Do you guys think you have a strong enough team to beat Kenya today? Should I put some money on it?’ We were speaking in Hindi. His exact words in Hindi were, ‘?’ At that point I was like, ‘I don’t know. It’s your money. You can take that decision yourself.’ He said, ‘Okay. Call me after the game.’I hung up and we went back inside the ground, where Canada beat Kenya by five wickets for our first win of the tournament. The Anti-Corruption officer joined us for the ride back to the hotel and, as soon as we pulled up at the hotel gates but before we got off the bus, he asked me to call Sunil. It was around 11pm. Sunil answered and I said, ‘Hey, I’m just calling you about the girl.’ He said, ‘So you’ve reached the hotel?’ I said yes and he replied, ‘I’ll call you back in a bit.’ It was a very short call, not even 30 seconds.I remained in the lobby with most of the Canada players, celebrating our win. But an hour had passed since the call from the team bus and Sunil still hadn’t called back. The ACU officer asked me to call him again. He picked up and said, ‘I’m at the temple. I’ll call you back.’ I didn’t even say anything before he hung up. The call lasted not even five seconds. I never heard from him again.At that point, I was very frustrated with how the whole day had gone. I told the ACU officer, ‘Listen, I’ve given you everything. I don’t know anything. You can take my phone if you want but I just want to go enjoy our win with the team.’ He told me to go ahead and enjoy the night and I went back to my team-mates in the bar. For rest of the World Cup, nothing unusual happened.Thinking back to the whole experience, I never thought as a younger player in the team that I would be approached by such people. I used to think that bigger players in the team or bigger teams would get approaches from people like Sunil, Raghav and his uncles.Associate games are definitely a target. Associates play a lot more cricket now, and a lot more cricket on TV. With that, the attraction and attention is there. A normal person would think that matches with bigger teams will be targeted but the reality is anything and everything that’s on TV can potentially be targeted.I’m more aware of my surroundings now when I’m on tour. One mistake then could have cost me my career. The moment you feel that something is wrong, report it right away. Never take that chance.

Alastair Cook retired an England record-breaker in September but could be in line for even higher honours after being proposed for an early knighthood

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Nov-20181:10

What was it like when England last played a Test without Cook?

Arise, Sir Alastair? He was England’s hero in whites for more than a decade, a record-breaking run-scorer and distinguished former captain, but Alastair Cook could be in line for even higher honours after being proposed for an early knighthood.Cook retired from England duty in September, having amassed 12,472 Test runs and 33 hundreds – both records for England. In his final Test, against India at The Oval, he signed off with innings of 71 and 147 amid widespread acclaim for his impact on the game.Now the wheels have been set in motion that could one day see him knighted. Last month, a member of the House of Lords tabled a parliamentary question, “to ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to recomending Alastair Cook for knighthood”.Lord Tyrie has also written to the authorities in charge of the honours list, according to a report in the newspaper. “It is not just that Alastair Cook is unquestionably the best batsman England have produced in recent years but that he can make a massive contribution as an ambassador for cricket at home and abroad,” Tyrie said. “Nobody would be more deserving.”Ian Botham is currently the only living English cricketer in possession of a knighthood – although his was awarded for services to charity – while the likes of West Indians Garry Sobers and Viv Richards, and New Zealander Richard Hadlee have received the honour.The government has unsurprisingly remained tight-lipped about the possibility – but if 33-year-old Cook were to be singled out, it might raise an eyebrow in Yorkshire, where many believe Geoffrey Boycott is long overdue a knighthood for his services to the game as a player and commentator.

Australia’s first international match under the new terms of the broadcast rights agreement with Fox Sports will not take place entirely behind the paywall due to the fact the network’s flagship sports streaming app has not yet launched

Daniel Brettig04-Nov-2018Australia’s first international match under the new terms of the broadcast rights agreement with Fox Sports will not take place entirely behind the paywall due to the fact the network’s flagship sports streaming app has not yet launched.One of the key planks of the $A1.18 billion deal with Fox Sports and the Seven network was that all of Australia’s home ODIs and Twenty20 matches would be exclusive to the pay TV provider, meaning that a subscription would be required to watch these matches.However, this was also contingent on streaming being provided via a new digital sports streaming app, aimed at being considerably cheaper than the prices of sport packages on Foxtel’s existing digital box and streaming services.Due to the fact this app has not yet been launched, viewers are able to watch Sunday’s Perth ODI between Australia and South Africa for free on Cricket Australia’s Cricket Live app, requiring only to sign up to the app – without paying a fee – to do so. It is not yet clear how long this arrangement will last, depending on when the Foxtel sports app is launched.After that time, users of the CA live app will have to subscribe to Foxtel’s streaming serve to be able to watch those same pictures via the app. Under the previous deal with Nine and Ten, users paid CA directly for this streaming service.CA has faced criticism for taking a significant portion of international and Big Bash League cricket behind the paywall, but the outgoing chief executive James Sutherland has argued that the decision was based around a combination of changing viewing habits among fans and the need to reach a desired level of broadcast rights funding for the game in coming years.”The significance of it is more to do with the way of the world and the way people are consuming media today than anything else,” Sutherland told ESPNcricinfo on his final day in the job. “It’s also a reflection of the way in which the landscape’s changing and perhaps the economics of free-to-air television and all of that, but through other means we’re continuing to try to broaden the access to the game, or to complement that access with digital media platforms and other access.”It’ll certainly be a change, but by and large it’ll be a huge positive for the game, because of the way Fox will provide huge bandwidth and promotion of cricket that we haven’t been able to enjoy previously to that same extent, and the way that AFL and NRL have enjoyed for a number of years now.”The deal struck in April essentially doubled the amount of money being paid by broadcasters when lined up against the A$590 million deal signed by the Nine and Ten networks in 2013.”I was very open throughout the process talking publicly and to our media partners that the preferred outcome was to land in a free-to-air environment and that we were prepared to take a significant discount for everything to be on FTA,” Sutherland said. “But there was a point there where that discount became too great, and as a Board we talked about that, and the Board gave us guidance as to what premium we needed in order to go down a slightly different path, where we were on FTA but some went behind the paywall.”So it wasn’t a conscious decision to say this is where we’re going, it was just how it turned out. We were very close to a different outcome, but it never quite got there.”

The pair’s 162-run stand gave New Zealand a solid platform from which they can think of batting just once in the Test

The Report by Shashank Kishore16-Dec-2018One of Sri Lanka’s two Test wins in New Zealand has come at the Basin Reserve. At the end of the second day’s play, it looks increasingly possible that they are unlikely to reprise that stunning win from 2006, after Kane Williamson and Tom Latham deflated them on a batting day as New Zealand nudged ahead by 29, with eight wickets in hand.In that Test, Sri Lanka had Chaminda Vaas, Muttiah Muralitharan and Lasith Malinga to call upon after posting close to the 282 they managed here. On Sunday, barring Lahiru Kumara’s bristling pace and bounce, there was little bite in the bowling. This meant a party for large parts of a three-hour passage in the afternoon for Williamson, who put together 162 with Latham at more than four runs per over.

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If New Zealand were to be a little critical of their efforts, they would rue gifting both wickets to Sri Lanka. Jeet Raval’s wait for a maiden Test century continues as he was out to an ill-advised pull to a delivery that just didn’t come on, and took the toe-end off a Kumara short ball, as he played early, to wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella.Williamson missed his 20th Test century by just nine runs shortly after tea when he swept an innocuous Dhananjaya de Silva delivery to backward square leg. But Latham carried on, in his own industrious way, overcoming pockets of struggle and a hint of luck early in his innings, to bring up his seventh Test century, thereby breaking a three-figure deadlock that eluded him for 11 Tests since his marathon 177 in Wellington against Bangladesh in January last year.If these two efforts weren’t enough, Ross Taylor came in to replace Williamson and helped himself to a buffet spread against a tired attack to eke out a half-century, surpassing Brendon McCullum along the way to become New Zealand’s second-highest run-scorer in Test history. Like Latham, Taylor too was a recipient of Sri Lanka’s generosity when Dhananjaya put down a wild slash at first slip on 23 off Lakmal. With the fields largely spread out on the face of Dinesh Chandimal’s defensive captaincy, this was a perfect recipe to build a lead. This meant New Zealand were in a position where they could entertain thoughts of batting just once in this Test.It seemed as if Williamson was on pause-play mode, continuing from where he left off in Abu Dhabi 10 days ago, where he made a remarkable Test century against Yasir Shah and company on a crumbly surface. In comparison, Sri Lanka’s attack was much milder here, with the three-man pace pack struggling to sustain any kind of pressure, first with the new ball and then later in the day even as there was a hint of reverse swing. Dilruwan Perera, a force on dry subcontinent turners, also went wicketless.Where New Zealand employed spin for just three overs, Chandimal bowled Dilruwan and Dhanajaya for a combined 21 overs, for the cost of 89 runs and Williamson’s wicket, much against the run of play. But while he was at the crease, he profited from punchy strokes on the up, his first three scoring shots coming off boundaries as he quickly matched Latham, who had taken 74 balls to make just three runs more.The first of those boundaries was off a genuine outside edge that raced past second slip. It would be the only streaky boundary from Williamson’s bat. The second and third were trademark back-foot punches that pierced the off-side ring. At the end of the first session, it was amply clear which side felt the heat, as Williamson raced past his 29th Test fifty with the promise of much more.All along, Latham kept soldiering along at a steady pace without actually being noticed at the other end. That he managed to stave off Suranga Lakmal’s late inswing from around the stumps was largely due to his tight technique and the shelving of loose drives. He survived early in the innings too, because of poor field placement. Jabbing at a late inswinger from Lakmal, the ball popped off a thick inside edge to where a short leg would’ve been.Sri Lanka’s frustration increased when they lost a review in the third over after lunch, the 26th of the innings, when they referred an lbw appeal against Latham off Lakmal. The ball would’ve smashed into the stumps, but for the line – it pitched outside leg. From there on, there was hardly any noise or intensity created by the bowlers, who largely went through the motions.After a brief spell in the morning session, Mathews wasn’t given a bowl for the remainder of the day when it seemed as if Sri Lanka could do with his relentless plugging away around the off stump. It’s also possible this could’ve been part of his workload management, given this was the first time he was bowling in a Test since January 2017 because of a spate of injuries. With more pace on the ball courtesy Kumara and the erratic Kasun Rajitha, Williamson treated the Sunday crowd to an array of dazzling off-side play.This stand was built upon a solid foundation laid by the openers – Raval and Latham putting on 59, nine more than their highest stand in six innings on the UAE tour against Pakistan.Earlier in the day, Dickwella played a trademark scoop to begin proceedings, but Sri Lanka added just seven to their overnight 275 for 9 before last man Kumara was dismissed. He was superbly caught at leg slip by Colin de Grandhomme, off a thick inside edge that flew in between the batsman’s legs. Dickwella was stranded on 80, three short of his highest Test score, as Tim Southee finished with 6 for 68 – his eighth five-for in Tests. This was also his maiden five-for at the Basin Reserve.

They put on an unbroken 201 runs for the fourth wicket to deflate Karnataka, who at one stage had reduced Saurashtra to 23 for 3 in their chase of 279

The Report by Saurabh Somani at the Chinnaswamy27-Jan-2019The sub-plot of a second caught-behind appeal against Cheteshwar Pujara not given by the on-field umpire threatened to overshadow an exemplary partnership between him and Sheldon Jackson, but at the end of the fourth day’s play, Saurashtra had marched inexorably towards the Ranji Trophy 2018-19 final.Saurashtra were in a deep hole at 3 for 2, and then 23 for 3, when Jackson joined Pujara. Both men ground Karnataka to dust, and stayed unseparated for the rest of the day to take Saurashtra to 224 for 3 at stumps, just 55 runs away from victory.Pujara was batting on a serene 108, with Jackson on 90 in a partnership that’s been worth 201 runs so far. Pujara’s concentration and deft use of hands was the calm pillar around which Saurashtra built their chase, while Jackson showed equal composure in dealing with the Karnataka bowlers.ALSO READ: Left-arm wristspin to left-arm orthodox: the other Jadeja finally gets it rightTheir partnership wasn’t without incident though. A passionate 1000-plus strong crowd at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium made its displeasure vocal, as Pujara’s fifty was greeted with boos. When both batsmen walked in for lunch, tea and stumps, there was a vociferous chant of “Cheater, cheater”. It stemmed from a caught-behind decision that was turned down by umpire Saiyed Khalid in the 25th over, the second over after lunch. Vinay Kumar got one to shape away from Pujara, and the batsman was drawn into a push. On replays, there was an audible sound as the ball passed bat, though it was impossible to say without the aid of technology if that was indeed a sound made by ball hitting bat.Pujara, on 34 then, appeared unmoved even as Vinay and the Karnataka fielders almost pleaded with the umpire, but to no avail. Saurashtra were still on their lunch score of 68 for 3 at that stage. This followed from Saurashtra’s first innings, where too a confident appeal for caught behind had been turned down against Pujara.ALSO READ: Pujara gets unexpected gift on 31st birthday That moment apart, Pujara was in supreme control during his innings. He nudged and pushed the ball into gaps as is his wont, played close to his body, and capitalised on anything too full with leg-side flicks. Even when he pushed at the ball he did so with soft hands, ensuring that the rare edge didn’t carry. He had started with a more attacking mindset. Getting the shine off the ball and riding out the first session has been key in this match, and Pujara’s initial aggression could have been an attempt to counter that. Once Harvik Desai became the third wicket to fall, caught brilliantly by KV Siddharth diving to his right at gully, Pujara reverted to caution.In Jackson, he found the perfect ally. He has been Saurashtra’s leading run-getter this season, with his tally at 828 runs now, and he showed excellent temperament. He didn’t try to rush the spinners, even when their bowling wasn’t particularly threatening, and had a straight bat to the seamers, keeping the ball out. As he settled, he did play a few more shots, but kept the ball along the ground. His judgment of length held him in good stead, as he cut and drove with precision.The same pair had put on an unbroken 136 in Saurashtra’s quarter-final win against Uttar Pradesh, when the team chased down a Ranji record 372 in the fourth innings.At the start, left-arm spinner Dharmendrasinh Jadeja had wrapped up Karnataka’s innings in his first over, the second of the day. Shreyas Gopal couldn’t add to his overnight 61 and was caught off a leading edge, while last man Ronit More was trapped in front as Karnataka were bowled out for 239, setting Saurashtra 279 to win.It wasn’t going to be an easy chase on a fourth-day pitch that had already seen uneven bounce on the first three days, but Saurashtra had the confidence of their quarter-final chase, albeit on a much truer surface. That confidence didn’t count for much when three wickets fell in the first six overs, but the team’s two most pedigreed batsmen then rose to the occasion to put them on the brink of a third Ranji final in six years.

Spinning allrounder played a key role in Perth Scorchers’ recent title wins in the Big Bash

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Mar-2019Ashton Agar, the Australia left-arm spinner, has joined Birmingham Bears for the entirety of this season’s Vitality Blast campaign, including the knockout stages should the team progress.Agar, 25, has played 15 T20Is for Australia, and was a key member of the Perth Scorchers teams that won the Big Bash League in 2014-15 and 2016-17.He is best remembered in England for his remarkable Test debut at Trent Bridge, in the opening match of the 2013 Ashes, when he made 98 from No.11.”I’m thrilled to sign for Birmingham Bears for this year’s Vitality Blast and to make Birmingham my home for July, August and hopefully September!” said Agar.”Whilst they missed out on qualification last year, the Bears have been one of the top teams in the Blast over the last five years and I would love to play a lead role in bringing them back home to Edgbaston for Finals Day this year.”Having played at Edgbaston for Australia in last summer’s IT20 against England, I’ve certainly experienced its atmosphere and know just how passionate the supporters can be. I’m certainly looking forward to having them behind us when we start our Blast campaign in July.”Agar will join up with the Bears squad ahead of their opening Blast fixture on July 19, against local rivals, and reigning champions, Worcestershire Rapids. He will then remain available throughout the campaign as they seek to make a fourth appearance at Finals Day in six seasons.”Ashton has won major T20 trophies and possesses quality international experience,” said Jim Troughton, Birmingham Bears’ first-team coach.”Securing him for the entire Vitality Blast campaign bolsters our bowling attack and gives us an excellent spin pairing with Jeetan Patel. However, Ashton has also proven himself to be a very capable and powerful batsman who can clear the ropes, whilst also being an excellent fielder.”In addition to having excellent cricketers, it’s important that we have the right characters taking to the field for the Bears and, having played alongside Ian Bell during Perth Scorchers victorious Big Bash campaign in 2016-17, we have no doubt that he’ll wear the Bear with pride and be a great addition to the dressing room.”Having now agreed terms with Ashton, as a club we would like to thank New Zealand international Colin de Grandhomme for his attitude and commitment to the Bears in our last two Vitality Blast campaigns and we wish him every success in the game moving forward.”

Kolkata Knight Riders made several comebacks in a game full of ebbs and flows, but Delhi Capitals managed to hold their nerves in the Super Over to pick up their second win of the season

The Report by Varun Shetty30-Mar-20191:41

Credit to Russell for batting and bowling despite bruised shoulder- Karthik

Prithvi Shaw’s free-flowing knock was stopped at 99. Delhi Capitals needed only 12 runs for their second win when it happened, and they had six wickets and nine balls left to get them. But true to the theme of their fluctuating fortunes on the night, they allowed the game to meander into a Super Over, where a world-class over from Kagiso Rabada was required to seal the win. Kolkata Knight Riders had come back from being 61 for 5, and then defended six off the last over, but they couldn’t muster a third miracle in Delhi.Both teams hit only a boundary each in the Super Over, but Rabada kept Knight Riders to only three off their last five balls. Andre Russell had struck a 28-ball 62 and Dinesh Karthik a 36-ball 50 to shift the control halfway into the game, but they were both powerless against Rabada in the tie-breaker.Knight Riders blindsidedShreyas Iyer admitted that batting first Chennai Super Kings on Tuesday was a mistake. Here, they decided to bowl and made four changes. Two of the replacements, Sandeep Lamichhane and Harshal Patel, made immediate impacts.Nikhil Naik, a batsman known for his power-hitting and, on the night, replacement for the injured Sunil Narine, got a boundary first ball against Rabada via an inside edge, but his next three runs cost Knight Riders 15 deliveries as Lamichhane, Rabada, and Chris Morris piled the pressure on him with straight lines. He was out lbw, reviewing because he thought he had inside-edged Lamichhane’s googly. Knight Riders’ unproductive Powerplay ended with Uthappa missing an offcutter in front of middle against Harshal.Off the next seven balls, Capitals picked up two wickets with short balls; Lynn grabbed down leg side to Rishabh Pant and Nitish Rana ramping a short ball to Rabada’s right at fine leg off Harshal. The two combined again two overs later. Rabada slid to his left from sweeper to parry the ball to a backtracking Harshal, whose throw caught Shubman Gill short on a lazy third-run attempted at the non-striker’s end. Knight Riders fell to 61 for 5 at this point.

We’ll attack, thanksBut Knight Riders finished with 185, a staggering 124 runs off their last 10.5 overs, despite having only one recognised batting pair left. It was reminiscent of their game against Super Kings last season, where they made 202 after being 89 for 5 in 10 overs. The protagonists were the same, and the turnaround began in the 12th over.Lamichhane began the over with figures of 3-0-12-1, and had gotten into four balls of his final over with only a boundary scored by Karthik. His last two balls, however, were dispatched over midwicket and long-off by Russell from a low base.There was a brief lull in the overs after that, particularly in the 14th when Russell was hit on the left shoulder by a Harshal beamer, and the over following that when Morris twisted his ankle in his delivery stride. But both players were back to business after treatment, but Russell’s belligerence was umatchable.It began with lofting Morris over his head soon after the treatment, and took full swing against the man who had hit him: Harshal’s next over went for 20, 12 of them coming over wide long-on from Russell’s bat. By the time his blitzkrieg ended – in a flurry of boundaries before he top-edged Morris – Knight Riders had full control. Karthik brought up his fifty, and even Chawla and Kuldeep had their fun.But Knight Riders didn’t have Narine, and fifth bowler, Russell, wasn’t a hundred percent.Boy geniusShikhar Dhawan fell for a crisp 8-ball 16, but Shaw made scoring look simple with his languid strokeplay off the back foot even as Shreyas Iyer struggled for rhythm. At the end of the Powerplay, Capitals had 45 for 1, with Shaw flat-batting three fours and a six, and Iyer on 4 off 11.But Knight Riders’ weakend bowling attack was going to be shown up soon, particularly because Shaw and Iyer went after their No. 1 bowler Kuldeep Yadav, who conceded 33 off his first two. Their decision to replace Narine with a pure batsmen would have stung even more, as a visibly hurt Russell conceded three boundaries in an over. He eventually had Iyer, who picked out midwicket, but Capitals had caught up with the asking rate at 116 for 2 in 12 overs.The depleted bowling became even more apparent when Nitish Rana bowled the over immediately after the wicket. Shaw enjoyed himself through the middle overs – he punished any width, going square on the off side, and in front of square on the leg side. Full deliveries kept going over the bowlers’ heads and for poetry’s sake, he even brought out some scrumptious inside-out shots over the covers.But on 98, he under-edged a bouncer onto his right shoulder cap and was clutching it before taking guard on 99 against. It turned out to be another short ball and this time he got the top-edge, to be taken at short third man. Knight Riders haven’t conceded a century in the second innings since 2011.Before that, however, Kuldeep had redeemed himself, going around the wicket to Pant and having him drag a length ball to deep midwicket in an 18th over that went for only three.He began the 20th from around the wicket as well, to the left-handed Colin Ingram who went with the turn but couldn’t find runs off the back foot in the off side. Kuldeep kept going slow, untill he went seam-up against Hanuma Vihari, playing his first IPL game since 2015, and got him to toe-end a pull to deep midwicket off the penultimate ball. This left Capitals needing two off the last ball. Ingram had crossed over, but his decision to sweep meant he couldn’t make a reasonable attempt at completing the second run as Robin Uthappa threw in on the bounce from deep backward square.Holding onCapitals opted to open with Iyer and Pant and Prasidh Krishna dug three slower balls into the pitch. After Iyer fell following a four to fine leg, Pant’s attempt at swatting and reverse-ramping got Delhi five off the last three.Rabada’s first ball immediately put Knight Riders ahead. With 11 needed, Russell clipped his miscued first-ball yorker to the midwicket boundary. But an inch-perfect yorker took out Russell’s middle stump two balls later with no runs being added.Karthik had one ball to face in the over and, predicting Rabada’s length, promptly went down for the ramp. But Iyer had fine leg placed very fine, specifically for that shot and 6 off 2 became 5 off 1. Uthappa went straight batted against the final yorker – a four would have meant a Knight Riders win by virtue of making more runs off the last ball of the Super Over. But he couldn’t get it past mid-off.