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Pakistan slumped to 24 for six in the first four overs before finishing with 64 for nine

Danyal Rasool14-Nov-2024It was a shortened game at the Gabba, and Australia made short work of it. After persistent rain and lightning delayed the start by nearly three hours and reduced the game to a seven-over shootout, Australia inflicted a crushing 29-run defeat upon Pakistan. Glenn Maxwell, who struggled in the preceding ODI series, blasted his way through the innings with 43 off 19, before Pakistan slumped to 24 for six in the first four overs before finishing with 64 for nine.Mohammad Rizwan called correctly at the toss and unsurprisingly put Australia in. But the hosts had a clarity of purpose from the outset, looking to hit a boundary off every ball, aware that wickets didn’t really matter as much. Shaheen Shah Afridi was plundered for 16 off his first over to set the tone, and though Haris Rauf’s tight first over had Maxwell flailing, the tide would turn soon.Maxwell deployed the reverse slog expertly, using the bowlers’ pace to get his shots away. Afridi was spectacularly dismissed over third man for six, before he ripped into Rauf, his ODI tormentor, smashing 19 off his second over. When he holed out to Abbas Afridi, Tim David and Marcus Stoinis picked up the baton, with Stoinis’ 20 off Naseem in the final over seeing Australia surge to 93.Xavier Bartlett stuck twice in his first over back for Australia•Getty Images

Pakistan began the innings with Sahibzada Farhan biffing two boundaries off the first two balls, but that’s as good as the chase got for the visitors. Spencer Johnson got him two balls later. It began a remarkable passage of play where five wickets fell in 12 balls for eight runs. Mohammad Rizwan sliced Xavier Bartlett to backward point for a duck, and Usman Khan sent one down deep third man’s throat later in the over.Babar Azam – who came in at number three – miscued a half-volley down to long-off off Nathan Ellis’ first ball, with Irfan Khan joining him two balls later. When Salman Ali Agha, debutant and vice-captain, skied one off Ellis, Pakistan were staring down the barrel of an enormous defeat, despite the heavily curtailed nature of the game.But Pakistan managed to restore some respectability to the scoreline in the final three overs, primarily when Haseebullah Khan and Abbas managed 18 off the fifth over. Wickets would continue to fall, though, with Ellis snaring Haseebullah for his third wicket. When Adam Zampa came in to bowl the final over, Shaheen managed to smear one over long-on for six, but in an innings characterised by clumps of wickets falling quickly, that Zampa signed off with consecutive wickets of his final two balls was a fitting end.

Visitors had advanced smoothly through 70s to debutant Karun Nair and Emilio Gay

ECB Reporters Network10-Sep-2023Olly Hannon-Dalby yet again carried Warwickshire’s bowling attack as Northamptonshire gritted their way to 200 for 5 on a weather-affected opening day of their LV=Insurance County Championship match at Edgbaston.The visitors, put in, advanced smoothly to 171 for 2 as Emilio Gay, with 77 from 146 balls, and debutant Karun Nair (78 off 177) added 147 in 46 overs.But Hannon-Dalby powered his side back into the game after tea with bowling of sustained accuracy and menace. His 19-7-29-3 on a placid pitch was worth many a five-for harvested in more helpful conditions.The seamer’s excellence also nudged Northamptonshire towards Division Two in a match they desperately need to win to preserve their slender hopes of avoiding relegation.After choosing to bowl, Warwickshire made the anticipated early breakthroughs as both openers fell in the first 61 balls. With Ricardo Vasconcelos ruled out injured, Hassan Azad opened with Gay but perished in careless fashion in the second over when he lifted Chris Rushworth to cover.When Luke Procter edged Hannon-Dalby to second slip, Northamptonshire were 24 for 2. Warwickshire, themselves in desperate need of a lift after a wretched few weeks, hoped that a clatter would follow but Nair and Gay rebuilt patiently.Nair, recruited for the last three games to replace the departed Sam Whiteman, underlined his commitment to the cause by taking 23 balls to get off the mark. With Gay batting in composed fashion, the third-wicket pair added 100 before gathering drizzle, low cloud and bad light forced the players off for two hours.Led by the indefatigable Hannon-Dalby, Warwickshire fought back in the last session as the visitors’ batting fragility showed itself. The Yorkshireman shaped a perfect away-cutter which took Gay’s edge through to wicketkeeper Michael Burgess and had Richard Keogh dropped on nought in the slips then bowled him through a big drive.Ed Barnard added the big wicket of Nair, who had become becalmed for 13 balls on 78, when his concentration at last wavered and he feathered an attempted loft to third man. Saif Zaib and Lewis McManus avoided further damage but Northamptonshire’s lower order needs to shine with bat and ball tomorrow if their side’s cadaverous survival bid is not to expire completely.

The pressure is on the BBL to get big-name players to revive the competition

Alex Malcolm22-Jun-2022After two years of planning and delays caused by Covid-19 the BBL has finally unveiled an overseas player draft for the upcoming season. Here is everything you need to know.What is the overseas draft?
BBL teams will no longer go out and search for their three overseas players privately. They will select a minimum of two or a maximum of three from a draft that will likely be held on a single day in August. The draft will only be for the overseas players. Domestic players will be contracted in the same way they always are.How do overseas players nominate?
Players get to nominate their price category and their availability in terms of the number of games they can play. The BBL will once again be a 14-game season plus finals and CA are realistic that not all overseas will be available for the whole competition. There will be a nomination window between June and August. Players will be put into four categories: Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze. The players themselves can choose to enter the Gold, Silver, or Bronze band. Platinum players will be decided by the BBL based off the nominations and will be paid an estimated $AUD340,000. A significant portion of that will sit outside the $AUD1.9 million salary cap, with Cricket Australia topping up the deal via a marquee payment. That money is a flat rate and will be paid regardless of whether the player makes themselves available for six games or for 14. There are no match payments in the BBL, as players are contracted with set retainers.Gold players will earn approximately $AUD260,000, Silver $AUD175,000 and Bronze $AUD100,000. Like the Platinum category, a portion will be paid by the club inside the cap and CA will contribute a bonus outside the cap, but the proportion of marquee payments from CA are not consistent across the categories, with Platinum receiving a greater bonus than Bronze. The categories only relate to price, not to availability. So players can nominate to be available for the whole tournament in the Bronze category, or for half the tournament in the Platinum category. Their availability is their currency and teams will have to decide whether a Platinum player with limited availability is worth selecting.What is the draft order?
There will be a weighted lottery to decide the order. The three teams who missed the finals last season – Melbourne Renegades, Brisbane Heat and Melbourne Stars – will enter a lottery for the first three draft picks. Renegades, who finished last, will get three chances to get the first draft pick, Heat two and Stars one. Here’s another way to think of it: there are six balls in the first lottery and three of them are Renegades’ giving them a 50% chance of first pick, whereas Stars, with one ball, only have 16.66% chance.The order of the next five picks will be selected from a second pot featuring the finalists from last season. Again, the lottery will be weighted. Fifth-placed Hobart Hurricanes will get five chances to get the fourth pick, Sydney Thunder four, Adelaide Strikers three, Sydney Sixers two, and defending champions Perth Scorchers will get one. Picks five to eight will be drawn the same way. Once the order is established via the two weighted lotteries, the first two rounds of the draft will run in order from one to eight. Round three will run in reverse order, so team eight will get two selections in a row (notionally pick 16 and 17). Round four will run in normal order again. So team one will get two selections in a row (picks 24 and 25).Cricket Australia

How does the draft work?
There will be four rounds of the draft with each team getting one pick per round. Clubs can pass if they don’t want to pick in certain rounds but must pick a minimum of two or a maximum of three players by the completion of round four. Round one is for Platinum players only. In round two, teams can pick Platinum or Gold players. In round three, teams can select Gold or Silver players. In round four, teams can pick Silver or Bronze players. Teams do not have to select a Platinum player.Can overseas players who are currently connected with BBL clubs be retained?
Yes, they can. But only one. This could be coined the “Rashid Khan rule”. For example, Rashid has played his entire BBL career with Strikers but is almost certainly going to be a Platinum player and available to everyone in the first round. If Renegades get the first pick in the lottery and select Rashid, Strikers have the option to use their retention pick to keep him. Strikers would have to pay the same amount of money and they have to use their pick in the first round to retain him. Renegades would then get the opportunity to pick again. Players such as Mujeeb-Ur-Rahman at Heat, Alex Hales at Thunder and Haris Rauf at Stars could be retention picks given their strong links to the teams if they nominate in the draft.Cricket Australia

Are there swapping of picks?
No, once the draft order is set, it will remain that way.What about replacement players?
Each team can contract up to four replacement overseas players (or five if they have only taken two players at the draft) if their picks in the draft become unavailable due to injury or international duty. There will be an additional $AUD50,000 replacement bonus available for clubs use outside of the salary cap to help recruit replacement players. However, replacement overseas players must have nominated for the draft and to be eligible for the $50,000 teams have to have selected a Platinum player. If a team picks two Platinum players they are eligible for $100,000 salary cap relief. Teams can’t tell overseas players privately not to nominate for the draft and then contract them as replacements. They must have been available to all teams initially in the draft before being available as a replacement.Are the list sizes the same?
Yes. Clubs will have contract lists of 18 players comprising of 15 domestic Australian players and three overseas, although teams can have 16 locals and a minimum of two overseas. Any replacement overseas players are on top of that.What about uncontracted Australian players?
There is a possibility that Australian international players will be available for large portions of the upcoming BBL. Australia’s limited-overs specialists will be available for the first half of the tournament and could be there throughout if the three-match ODI series against South Africa scheduled for January 12-17 does not go ahead. Australia’s Test players will miss the first part of the tournament but will be available from January 9 at the conclusion of the Sydney Test against South Africa.Multi-format internationals like David Warner, Pat Cummins, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc and Cameron Green are players who currently do not have BBL contracts with clubs. If they are available, and a club does not have a full list or needs an overseas replacement player, clubs can use the $50,000 replacement bonus, plus any space left in their salary cap, on Australian players to contract them for the back end of the tournament. This ensures that the farcical situation with Smith and Sixers last season will likely be avoided.Will the overseas draft be televised?
The BBL is in discussion with rights holders Channel Seven and Foxtel about televising the draft. Should neither of those networks opt to show it, the draft will likely be streamed online.

The northern beaches cluster has grown to 38 cases, forcing a lockdown of the region by the NSW government

Daniel Brettig19-Dec-2020David Warner and Sean Abbott flew into Melbourne ahead of schedule on Saturday as Cricket Australia worked to ensure they are not caught up in the growing web of restrictions around Sydney residents in the wake of the northern beaches Covid-19 outbreak.The northern beaches cluster grew to 38 cases on Saturday, forcing a lockdown of the region by the New South Wales government, and widening the net in terms of affected residents or recent visitors to Sydney being monitored by health officials in other states.Related

• Sydney and Brisbane Test switch among Cricket Australia contingency plans

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• Cricket Australia on alert after Sydney Covid-19 outbreak

CA quizzed broadcast and media personnel on Saturday morning about whether they had been present in a range of affected Sydney postcodes after December 11, with a number of NSW residents flying home early from their work on the Adelaide Test as a precaution.The decision to move Warner and Abbott south to Victoria was made similarly, to avoid the possibility of them being stranded in NSW in the event of the southern border being closed in coming days, should the current outbreak continue to grow. It is understood that Warner took a private jet from Sydney while Abbott went to Canberra for a commercial flight to Melbourne.Warner is no certainty to play in Melbourne as he continues his recovery from a groin strain, but is making decent progress. Abbott is on the way back from a calf strain he suffered while playing for Australia A against the Indian touring team in a Sydney warm-up game.”Hopefully I can get up and about and start running at a higher tempo,” Warner told SEN radio this week. “I managed to get up to 14kmh so I’ve got to work towards a max of 26 to 30kmh by next week. If I can run between wickets and move laterally and do some ground fielding by the end of next week, I should be ready to go. Fingers are crossed.”Speaking on Friday, CA interim CEO Nick Hockley remained confident of being able to navigate this new Covid-19 outbreak with plans still in place to stage the third Test in Sydney. However, further border restrictions, especially to Queensland where the fourth Test is currently due to be played, could force a change.”We’re monitoring the situation; we’re not panicking at all, staying calm,” Hockley told SEN radio. “Adelaide, a few weeks ago we had that pizza-shop outbreak and through that process we worked very calmly to get the players in Adelaide on a charter plane, out of Adelaide within 24 hours and that really saved the summer.”We’ve got the Sydney Test and the BBL in NSW after that, so the fact we’re here in Adelaide, we’ve got the next Test in Melbourne, it’s really watch, wait and see and I think the governments around the country have handled the pandemic so well, so we’ll watch, learn and stay in touch.”

Seamer wrecks MIddlesex top-order with five wickets after Livingstone half-century

Paul Edwards16-Sep-2019
At just after 4.30 on the first day of this game at Emirates Old Trafford Adam Rossington was caught by Alex Lees for 82 off the bowling of Matt Salisbury. The dismissal took place at Wantage Road, which is 135 miles from Emirates Old Trafford, but news travels fast in cyberspace and it confirmed what had long been virtually certain in any case: that Lancashire would end this season as the champions of Division Two. Northamptonshire’s haul of one bonus point, combined with the two Dane Vilas’s side picked up in their first innings against Middlesex, decided the matter.Lancashire knew they had won the division after they had posted 259 but before they went out to bowl. They celebrated not by larking around but by ripping the heart out of Middlesex’s batting and reducing the visitors to 39 for 6 by the close. Ripper-in-Chief was Tom Bailey, whose accurate medium-quick bowling with all the variations of his craft helped him take five wickets in 24 balls and finish with 5 for 16 from nine overs with power to add on the morrow. Nick Gubbins and Dawid Malan were caught behind; Martin Andersson and Miguel Cummins were lbw; Max Holden was brilliantly caught and bowled, low to Bailey’s left. If Vilas scorns the current fashion and opts to enforce the follow-on, a two-day finish cannot be discounted. This is a pitch which repays tight lines and it was the failure of the Middlesex attack to string enough good balls together that partly explains the strife they are in now.To be sure, Lancashire’s Liam Livingstone batted well for his 84 and would have got a century had he not fallen lbw when playing across the line to a ball of full length from Ethan Bamber; Steven Croft then played cannily with the tail and scored the fourth first-class fifty of what has been a lovely season for him. But both batsmen knew that if they gutsed it out long enough, a half-volley or a wide long hop would come along in due course. Not many, mark you; this Middlesex attack had Lancashire 129 for 5 when Vilas pushed all too firmly at Cummins and edged to Malan at slip for a duck. But there were enough loose ones to sustain the batsmen’s patience and Lancashire’s ability to double that total may well have decided this match.The reaction of Lancashire’s supporters to their side’s success could be gauged almost immediately. Old Trafford’s PA announcer, John Gwynne, is still a newsman to his fingertips and he announced the side’s success to the crowd. There was a warm round of applause although warmth of a slightly different nature may be apparent at the Members’ Forum which is being held after today’s play. We shall see; or rather, we shall hear.But what even the most stubborn curmudgeon surely cannot doubt is that Lancashire have been by far the best side in Division Two this year. They rested Richard Gleeson for this match and have not been able to call on James Anderson since the game against Durham at Sedbergh. But their seam attack is the equal of any in Division One. Their young batsmen, most obviously Josh Bohannon and Rob Jones, are improving with every month. Yes, this is Lancashire’s third promotion in seven seasons. Yet they can go up with greater optimism than in any of the others.And on a day when one issue was finally resolved it was curious to recall the occasion in April when these sides last met in the Championship, nothing at all was decided and optimism was on tap at all counties. That game took place at Lord’s in April and a few saw it as a top of the table clash in the first fortnight of the season. Well, so much for hubris. Northamptonshire and Gloucestershire have a short way with such careless arrogance. Lancashire won that game and did so partly because Jones made a patient century.But another Lancashire batsman also reached three figures at Lord’s and batted outstandingly well. That, of course, was Haseeb Hameed, who was released by Old Trafford last month. Hameed’s hundred against Middlesex was thus his last for the county of his birth. It is sometimes difficult to accept such simple facts; and for those who saw the young batsmen in the wonderful springtime of his career, it is even more poignant this autumn to write them down and know them for the truth.

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.

Both India and West Indies have had on- and off-field issues of late. The visitors are still favourites, provided their batsmen adjust to the slow, low Caribbean tracks

The Preview by Nikhil Kalro22-Jun-2017

Match Facts

June 23, 2017
Start time 0900 local (1300 GMT)

Big Picture

Take out India’s 20-7 win-loss record since the start of their home season last year, and you have a team on very shaky ground. Misunderstandings between captain and coach which led to the coach quitting even as the squad was mid-flight to the Caribbean, a thumping in a very high-profile global final just last weekend, and two middle-order superstars on the wane.West Indies, in the past few years, have seen coaches sacked and players banned. Successes have been scarce – they have won two of nine ODIs this year, and slumped to ninth on the ICC ODI rankings. Both teams’ mindset off the field must be rather similar. Except, they aren’t.The negative forces currently surrounding India are strong enough to destabilise any team, but winning is the most impactful nullifying factor in sports. Despite their issues, in terms of personnel, skills, confidence and form, India have the edge, no doubt. They just made the final of the Champions Trophy; West Indies did not qualify for the Champions Trophy, and while it was in progress they lost an ODI to Afghanistan at home.In the five-match series against West Indies, India’s biggest stumbling block could be the slow nature of the Caribbean pitches. Apart from the occasional turner, India have played their ODI cricket on predominantly high run-scoring surfaces. They last played an ODI in the West Indies four years ago. Here, hitting through the ball or swinging across the line may not be viable options. Instead, opening the face of the bat late and nudging accurate bowling into gaps could be the best alternatives. How effectively will India adapt?West Indies have honed their ODI cricket on such surfaces in the recent past. The lower the scores, the higher are West Indies’ chances. A series win against India is a must as they aim to climb the rankings and get direct qualification for the 2019 World Cup.

Form guide

West Indies WLLLW (completed matches, most recent first)
India LWWLW

In the spotlight

Spinning allrounders may be the most productive asset on low, slow pitches. West Indies picked Roston Chase for the series against Afghanistan, albeit on Test form. He didn’t quite deliver, but still has the best resume for the job. A quick, flat and accurate modus operandi with the ball is well supplemented by his boundary-hitting ability.Virat Kohli will be pleased to get back on the field, given the distractions off it. Fingers have been pointed and focus was temporarily shifted away from the game. All eyes will be on how Kohli leads his team in the wake of the biggest controversy of his captaincy tenure. He is also India’s best and most capable batsman in challenging conditions. A determined Kohli is not what West Indies will want to come up against.

Team news

With Shannon Gabriel unavailable due to injury, West Indies named an unchanged 13-man squad for the first two ODIs. Fast bowler Kesrick Williams and legspinner Devendra Bishoo may miss out.West Indies (probable): 1 Evin Lewis, 2 Kieran Powell, 3 Shai Hope (wk), 4 Jonathan Carter, 5 Jason Mohammed, 6 Roston Chase, 7 Rovman Powell, 8 Jason Holder (capt), 9 Ashley Nurse, 10 Alzarri Joseph, 11 Miguel CumminsRohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah are the two exclusions from India’s squad from the Champions Trophy. Wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant and left-arm wristspinner Kuldeep Yadav were picked in their place, but they may not make the XI initially. Ajinkya Rahane is likely to take Rohit’s opening spot, and Umesh Yadav could be brought in for Bumrah.India (probable): 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 Ajinkya Rahane, 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 MS Dhoni (wk), 6 Kedar Jadhav, 7 Hardik Pandya, 8 Ravindra Jadeja, 9 R Ashwin, 10 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 11 Umesh Yadav

Pitch and conditions

In the three T20s played between West Indies and Pakistan at the Queen’s Park Oval – the venue for the first two ODIs – earlier this year, the highest score was 138 for 3 in a successful chase. Run-making is unlikely to get any easier, which could mean both teams’ batsmen face a trial of slow bowling. There is no rain forecast.

Stats and trivia

• The previous ODI played at Queen’s Park Oval was between India and Sri Lanka in 2013
• India have lost three of their last four away ODIs against West Indies

Quotes

“We see [Rahane] more powerful at the opening slot and that’s where he can play his game the best, so during the course of all these five games, Ajinkya will definitely open with Shikhar.”
Virat Kohli

Rising Pune Supergiants coach Stephen Fleming did not mince words when he said he was “angry” and disappointed by a two-wicket defeat to Kolkata Knight Riders

Nagraj Gollapudi in Pune24-Apr-20161:15

Our spinners didn’t create enough pressure – Fleming

Rising Pune Supergiants coach Stephen Fleming did not mince words when he said he was “angry” and disappointed by a two-wicket defeat to Kolkata Knight Riders which he called “very poor.” The defeat, Supergiants’ second successive home loss and fourth in a row, has put the Supergiants second to last on the IPL table after five matches – equal with Kings XI Punjab on two points but above them on net run rate.”We are not playing winning cricket and that’s all matters,” Fleming said in an appraisal of his team’s performance on Sunday when the Supergiants failed to defend 160 on a pitch that was slow and taking turn. “I thought today’s performance was poor, performance in the field was I thought very poor.”According to Fleming, his bowlers failed to dominate the Knight Riders especially after the opposition had lost their opening pair of Robin Uthappa and captain Gautam Gambhir inside the first three overs. Instead Suryakumar Yadav and Yusuf Pathan rebuilt the Knight Riders innings, creating a winning platform that was able to withstand a late wobble.”160 was a good to very good score on this surface,” Fleming said. “We saw there was a lot of assistance for the slow bowlers, but we still did not adjust. We did not use that spin to create enough pressure. We kept Kolkata in the game. They hit well at crucial times, but our fielding and the bowling… the slow bowling in particular towards the middle overs was left wanting and that is disappointing. 161 was easily defendable.”Even in the batting, the Supergiants were circumspect during the field restrictions, finishing at 31 for 1 in six overs. In contrast, the Knight Riders were 59 for 2 after the powerplay. Fleming said the Supergiants top order was cautious and tentative about the pitch which was taking turn straightaway and that was one reason for the contrasting approaches to the powerplay.”Their six overs was a mixture of poor bowling and some good strokeplay,” Fleming said. “But apart from that, as I said, at a time they were going 10 an over, and on a ground where it should have been a tight tussle, we gave away too many free runs. And when you are in a positon when you need to win a game, it is unacceptable.”On the eve of the previous match against Royal Challengers Bangalore, Fleming had said that he was not fussed about losing as being a new franchise everyone was getting used to the new environment. After four defeats, clearly the Supergiants are in disarray. So how does Fleming intend to raise the morale of the dressing room? At the moment, he is in no mood to be sympathetic.”I was pretty angry with the way things went today so my morale needs a bit of boost,” Fleming said with a wry smile. “I’ve been in the IPL long enough to know that we have to sleep on it, tomorrow we’ve got to travel down and then we are back into it.”So it’s becoming pretty clear that whilst we don’t want to put the onus on getting victories, we have to get victories. We’re using up all those free lives. Even the last two games, we have a good chance of winning. We’ve just got to move on but there’s no doubt as a new team, trying to develop some culture and some camaraderie, but it does take a little bit of work.”Another problem is that Dhoni’s key lieutenant, R Ashwin, is going through a period of low form. The senior India offspinner has just one wicket so far in five matches. Curiously he has not been able to finish his quota of four overs in the last two matches and three of the five on the season. Against Royal Challengers, Ashwin still had one over left and on Sunday, after Yadav hit a six each in Ashwin’s first two overs which went for 21 runs during the powerplay, Dhoni did not throw the ball back to Ashwin. Fleming conceded that Ashwin’s dip in form was affecting the team.”I thought today was disappointing,” Fleming said. “I would have thought that he could have played a key role. But in terms of that line in the first six overs, he just struggled to get to grips with the pace and line he wanted to bowl. So we have to look at that but if we get conditions like that again I think he himself would concede he can be better.”Ashwin got exaggerated turn as soon as he started and even delivered wides spinning down leg in each of his two overs. Yadav said that seeing Ashwin getting adjusted to the pitch and the lines allowed him to settle down. That he managed to dominate the opposition’s lead spinner was not intended but happened as he found balls that he could hit. But Fleming said he would not blame Ashwin for the Supergiants getting off to a poor start in the field.”There were lots of turning points,” Fleming said. “You can look at a lot of scenarios like that where we just let the pressure off. We would bowl two or three balls okay and the next two were not good enough. On a pitch [like this] you should really shut the team down.”You saw the amount of turn and how difficult it was with the pace of the ball. With that knowledge, I would have expected us to shut that side down. With three spinners and a slow bowler like [Rajat] Bhatia we were well suited to do well. But the fact that we didn’t do that is very disappointing.”

The county career of Phil Jaques, the former Australia batsman, appears to have come to an end after Yorkshire decided to not renew his contract.

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Oct-2013The county career of Phil Jaques, the former Australia batsman, appears to have come to an end after Yorkshire decided to not renew his contract.Jaques’s deal at Headingley expired at the end of the season, following Yorkshire’s draw at The Oval, and he will now take up a coaching role back in Australia with club side Sutherland in Sydney. But he may return to play for Yorkshire for part of a season should an opportunity arise.Jaques, 34, had eight fruitful seasons in county cricket for Northamptonshire, Worcestershire and in two stints at Yorkshire, for whom he was most productive with over 4,000 first-class runs at 51.12.His father was a Yorkshireman and Jaques embraced the family connection, scoring over 1,000 runs for the White Rose in 2004 and 2005. He returned to Headingley in 2012 playing as a British passport holder and made 792 runs at 44.00 to help Yorkshire win Division Two of the County Championship and scored 770 runs at 36.66 this season as they finished runners up in Division One.At the time, his decision to play for Yorkshire with a British passport was a big commitment, changing his status to overseas in Australia. But the tweak made to the eligibility of domestic players by Cricket Australia, the “Robson rule”, means Jaques could now return to Australia as a home-qualified player.”He’s been a great asset to the club during the two spells that he had with us,” Yorkshire director of cricket Martyn Moxon said. “He’s been invaluable not only on the field but off it as well with our younger players; that was one of the reasons we brought him back to help with our young batsmen in particular.”Phil talked about batting and passed on his experience, and the lads picked up bits here and there from him. He talked to us about what he saw technically and whether things needed to change, and I think he fed off us as well with regards to his future career.”Jaques will maintain a link with Yorkshire, with second XI batsman Jack Leaning joining up with Jaques’ club side in Sydney in November. Leaning made his first-class debut this summer and played four matches in the Yorkshire Bank 40.”Phil’s been instrumental in getting that sorted,” Moxon added. “It’s nice to have that connection in Sydney for our young players to get some experience playing over there. I don’t think Phil’s completely given up on the thought of playing, but he doesn’t want to come back to England for a full season. If he does come back it would be for part of a season. Obviously that depends if an opportunity ever arises.”He’s looking to get more into coaching himself. He started last winter back in Australia doing his club side and in the Big Bash. That was a great challenge and experience for him. He learnt a bit from us and he gave our young batsmen some help as well. His nickname is The Pro – and he is. He’s the ultimate professional.”

In-form Durham finished their campaign with a fifth win in six games after beating Sussex by five wickets with a day to spare.

13-Sep-2012
ScorecardMichael Richardson’s half-century saw Durham home•PA Photos

In-form Durham finished their campaign with a fifth win in six games after beating Sussex by five wickets with a day to spare. Michael Richardson struck 58 and Ben Stokes a quickfire 45 as Durham chased down their victory target of 165 after dismissing Sussex for 180 in their second innings.Despite their superb form at the end of the season, Durham had to settle for a sixth-placed finish in Division One after a miserable start to the campaign which saw them fail to win any of their first 10 matches. Sussex, meanwhile, remain 10 points ahead of them and will hang on to the fourth-place prize money unless Nottinghamshire win tomorrow.Durham skipper Paul Collingwood, who took over the four-day captaincy in mid-season, hailed the spirit in his side: “I couldn’t have asked for anything more in the second half of the season. We were in a dire situation but the players have shown a lot of pride and determination. Every single one of them has made a crucial contribution at some point.”Durham seamer Chris Rushworth took the last four Sussex wickets in the morning to achieve career-best figures for the third time this season, finishing with 5 for 38. Luke Wells failed to add to his overnight 51, falling to the 16th ball of the day when he edged Stokes to Phil Mustard, who claimed his 500th first-class victim. Rushworth did the rest, swinging the ball both ways to claim two lbw verdicts and a gully catch before last man Monty Panesar lobbed a catch to mid-on.Durham needed 165 to win and Mark Stoneman got them off to a fluent start, but Keaton Jennings made only one before fending a steeply-rising ball from Lewis Hatchett to second slip. Hatchett also skidded one through Stoneman’s back-foot defensive shot to bowl him for 24 before Stokes emerged at 34 for 2 and immediately cracked him for three fours.Stokes made 45 off 49 balls before lifting Panesar to long-on, then Richardson took over. He pulled Hatchett for his fifth four to reach 50 off 123 balls just before Dale Benkenstein was bowled by Panesar with 27 needed.The target was down to 15 when Hatchett straightened one off the pitch to have Richardson lbw, but previous captain Mustard easily picked off the remaining runs in partnership with his successor Collingwood.”We had a bit of a chuckle as we came off,” Collingwood said. “Phil has been magnificent and the struggle in the first half of the season was not down to his captaincy. It was a blip and it was a shock to us all, but I think the future is very bright.”