Somerset improved their chances of reaching the quarter finals of the Royal London Cup courtesy of a 33-run DLS victory over Glamorgan in Taunton

ECB Reporters Network24-Jul-2016
ScorecardPeter Trego top-scored with 80 for Somerset (file photo)•PA Photos

Somerset improved their chances of reaching the quarter finals of the Royal London Cup courtesy of a 33-run DLS victory over Glamorgan in Taunton. Peter Trego led the way with the bat, hitting 80 off 76 balls, before Roelof van der Merwe, Craig Overton and Lewis Gregory each took three wickets to guide Somerset to a third 50-over victory of the summer.Having been invited to bat first, Somerset made a decent start thanks to Johann Myburgh and captain Jim Allenby. The pair added 63 for the first wicket before the former holed out to David Lloyd off the bowling of Graham Wagg for 39.Undeterred by the loss of Myburgh, Allenby and Trego put Somerset on course for a healty total with 86 for the second wicket. Allenby passed 50 off 56 balls, with four fours, before running himself out for 53 at 149 for 2 in the 25th over. Trego continued to lead the way, reaching his half century off just 54 balls with four fours and one six. The veteran allrounder looked well on course for three figures when he picked out Michael Hogan at extra cover at 215 for 3.It might have been a significant turning point in the game. Eight runs later, Mahela Jayawardene was bowled by Hogan for 37 and in the 43rd over, Gregory and James Hildreth both departed, off the bowling of Australian seamer Hogan. Overton and Ryan Davies put on an unbeaten 42 for the eighth wicket to bolster Somerset’s total to 322 for 7.Just as Somerset had during the morning session, Glamorgan made a brisk start in reply. Lloyd and Jacques Rudolph looked well set, adding 67 inside 14 overs before the captain attempted a reverse sweep off van der Merwe. The South African could barely believe his misfortune as the ball ended up in the hands of James Hildreth at backward square.Will Bragg followed, attempting a similar shot, for 10, before Lloyd picked out Overton at deep square two runs later at 98 for 3 in the 18th over.With a sharp shower reducing the target by 10 off three fewer overs, teenager Aneurin Donald and Colin Ingram kept Glamorgan in the hunt with 69 for the fourth wicket. However, when Ingram chanced his arm against Overton, Myburgh took a straightforward catch on the cover boundary.Donald departed in the 31st over, brilliantly caught by Gregory on the rope, at deep midwicket and from that juncture, Glamorgan were always behind the required rate. Gregory the catcher became Gregory the wicket-taker when he snapped up Mark Wallace for 17, at 197 for 6 in the 36th over, and former Somerset allrounder Craig Meschede managed only 3 before he was stumped by Davies off the bowling of van der Merwe.Overton picked up the wicket of Wagg and though Andrew Salter hit 42 off 26 balls, with one four and three sixes, Glamorgan finished 34 runs short of their target.

India’s hopes of retaining the No. 1 Test ranking going into the home season suffered a setback as only 22 overs were possible on the first day in wet Port of Spain

The Report by Sidharth Monga18-Aug-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Ishant Sharma struck with the first ball he bowled•Associated Press

India’s hopes of retaining the No. 1 Test ranking going into the home season suffered a setback as only 22 overs were possible on the first day in wet Port of Spain. Forecast for the second day wasn’t great either, and the facilities at the ground came under scrutiny too. The first day’s play began half an hour late despite no rain since the evening before the Test, and it was called off as early as 2pm. There is no super sopper at Queen’s Park Oval.Any team will be a tad disappointed with losing two wickets in the first session after choosing to bat on a slow track, but such has been the state of the West Indies batting that they might take this, with the rain being the bonus. Only once in the series have they lost their third wicket after reaching three figures. Kraigg Brathwaite, who has shown the willingness to buckle down, did that job, but he will be disappointed they lost two wickets especially after he and Leon Johnson had seen off the first spells of the opening bowlers.West Indies will be all the more disappointed because the pitch was really slow after having spent a lot of time under covers because of rain leading up to the Test. It had left the outfield wet enough to delay the start of the Test by half an hour. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who had cracked open the last Test for India, wasted little time, though, in creating opportunities. In his first four overs, he hit the outside edge of Brathwaite’s bat four times: twice the ball fell short, once it travelled in the gap in the slip cordon, and once Virat Kohli dropped it at second slip, seeming to suggest he expected third slip KL Rahul to go for it.That wasn’t the first disfavour he had done his bowlers: he had decided to play just the four bowlers so that both Cheteshwar Pujara and Rohit Sharma could be included. Also he dropped Shikhar Dhawan for M Vijay after an uncertain batting line-up had been reduced to 126 for 5 in the previous Test.After seeing off Bhuvneshwar and Mohammed Shami for a partnership of 31 runs, Johnson fell to the first ball bowled by Ishant Sharma. This was his second straight dismissal to short leg, and again straight off the bat. Ishant got it just high enough into the ribs, but Johnson could have left it alone.The second wicket didn’t take so much co-operation from the batsman. After Darren Bravo had picked R Ashwin for a two and a four at his home ground, the next ball was just a bit shorter, creating the distance between the pitch of the ball and the bat. Then it had enough time to turn from middle and leg and past the outside edge to hit the top of off stump. That in the first session of a Test is excellent for a spinner.Brathwaite, though, remained solid and in partnership with Marlon Samuels took West Indies to within 15 minutes of lunch when rain brought them early relief. As it turned out steady rain for the next hour or so was all it took for the day’s play to be called off.

Essex will require three runs with only one wicket in hand to avoid the follow on after reaching stumps on day three in Canterbury on 289 for 9

ECB Reporters Network22-Sep-2016
ScorecardDan Lawrence made 88 but Essex were still short of the follow-on target at the close•PA Photos

Essex will require three runs with only one wicket in hand to avoid the follow on after reaching stumps on day three in Canterbury on 289 for 9. Responding to Kent’s 441 all out, Essex lost wickets at regular intervals in this Specsavers Championship top-of-the-table clash, but a last-wicket stand worth 22 between David Masters and Matt Dixon has at least given the visitors a chance to avoid batting again on the final day of the campaign.Batting for the first time by 11.35am on day three, Essex lost two wickets in the short 15-over spell through to lunch as Kent maintained their grip on events despite a plucky knock from No. 4 Dan Lawrence, who rode his luck to score 88 having edged through the cordon when on 5 only to see Will Gidman down a chance at third slip on the same score.The visitors and second division champions elect, lost Varun Chopra, lbw for 25 to Kent’s man-of-the-moment, Darren Stevens, then Tom Westley, caught at square leg by Sean Dickson off the bowling of Mitch Claydon in the over before the interval.Kent maintained a check on the run rate in the afternoon session and also collected a further three wickets in the process as Nick Browne, Ravi Bopara and Adam Wheater all trooped back to the pavilion. Browne edged the 12th ball after the resumption to Sam Billings off Claydon then Bopara, digging down late on a full ball from Hardus Viljoen, also nicked through to the Kent keeper. Just before tea Wheater’s miscued pull against Matt Coles flew to deep square leg where Dickson took a comfortable catch.Viljoen continued to shine after tea by having Kishen Velani and Will Rhodes both caught at second slip by James Tredwell off successive overs.With 27 needed to avoid the follow-on and just 12 short of his fourth Championship hundred of the summer, Lawrence inexplicably holed out to long-on against the offspin of Tredwell. Masters, in his farewell appearance for Essex, was given a guard of honour by the Kent side as he walked to the middle, but Tredwell soon struck again by ripping an arm ball though Paul Walter’s defensive gate to peg back the left-hander’s off stump to leave Essex nine down.At the start of the day Kent had secured the second division runners-up spot upon reaching 400. Resuming on their overnight score of 387 for 7, the hosts motored past 400 with a fearsome back-foot cut by Coles that registered a fifth batting bonus point to clinch the ECB’s prize money cheque of almost £57,000 for finishing second behind Essex.In trying to repeat the stroke in the next over Coles nicked to Wheater to depart for 32 and give Masters, the former Kent seamer, his first wicket in the match. Masters struck again with a lifter that Viljoen could only glove to third slip then Stevens, on 136 and just four short of equalling his season’s best, clipped to deep backward square to give Dixon figures of 5 for 124.

Andhra completed their second victory in the fourth round of Group C while Jammu & Kashmir’s lower order ensured three points for the side

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Oct-2016Duvvarapu Siva Kumar and Bhargav Bhatt cleaned up Haryana‘s lower order to deliver a 77-run win for Andhra in Mumbai, their second of the tournament. Siva Kumar took 4 for 71 while Bhatt had returns of 3 for 82 as Haryana collapsed in their chase, crumbling from 242 for 4 to 293 all out. Opener Shubham Rohilla’s maiden first-class century was in vain. Haryana began the fourth day with Rohilla at the crease, batting on 75 alongside Yuzvendra Chahal. While Chahal fell early, Rohilla and Chaitanya Bishnoi kept Andhra at bay with 92-run partnership for the fifth wicket. Rohilla’s dismissal – for 118 off 274 balls with 10 fours – triggered Haryana’s collapse and they went on to lose their last six wickets for 51 runs. Bishnoi remained unbeaten on 69.Samiullah Beigh’s maiden first-class century and fifties from Parvez Rasool and Aamir Aziz helped Jammu & Kashmir walk away with three first-innings points from their match against Services in Jaipur. J&K began the final day trailing Services by 98 runs and lost both overnight batsmen, Rasool (70) and Ram Dayal, with the lead still 29 runs away. With only two wickets in hand, Samiullah and Aziz first ensured the lead for the side before going on to build an unbroken 163-run stand for the ninth wicket. Left-arm spinner Vikas Yadav picked up both J&K wickets on the fourth day to finish with 4 for 188.Opener Sahil Gupta’s 123 not out helped Chhattisgarh salvage one point against Kerala in Jamshedpur. Set a target of 328, Chhattisgarh, who resumed from an overnight score of 15 for 0, were on 249 for 6 when play ended.Kerala’s spinners, Iqbal Abdulla, Karaparambil Monish and Jalaj Saxena, took five wickets between them to prise out Chhattisgarh’s middle order but Gupta held steady, staving them off in a 334-ball knock which included 14 fours. Gupta had support from Ashutosh Singh, who struck 45 and shared an 88-run partnership for the fifth wicket.Bad light dented Hyderabad’s push for an outright win; they had to settle for three points in the end against Himachal Pradesh after ending the fourth day on 200 for 6 in pursuit of 212 in Guwahati. Balchander Anirudh and Kolla Sumanth struck fifties for Hyderabad, steadying the side after the openers had fallen with only 35 on the board. Balchander’s 100-ball 63 was his second half-century of the match. Earlier, Robin Bist’s unbeaten 84 shepherded Himachal to a second-innings score of 301, after they started the fourth day on 232 for 6. Bist stitched useful stands with Mayank Dagar and Shresth Nirmohi in his 171-ball knock which included seven fours and two sixes.Goa‘s middle order chipped in with fifties in the side’s drawn match against Tripura , who walked away with the first-innings honours, in Bhubaneswar. Having set Goa 343 to win, Tripura managed to dismiss eight batsmen but Saurabh Bandekar’s 55 not out steered Goa to stumps. Sagun Kamat top-scored with 78, while Snehal Kauthankar and Darshan Misal scored 63 and 59 respectively. Tripura began the day on 226 for 7 and the overnight pair of Rajat Dey and Gurinder Singh stretched their eighth-wicket partnership to 161 before Dey was dismissed for 82. Gurinder carried on and brought up his maiden first-class century, remaining unbeaten on 103 off 180 balls when Tripura declared on 328 for 9. His knock included 11 fours and a six. Gurinder then took two wickets in the second innings to take his match haul to 6 for 133 and claimed the Player-of-the-Match award.

Russell Domingo has been given the safety of a contract extension until the end of South Africa’s England tour next August

Firdose Moonda26-Oct-20161:44

Firdose: Domingo gets another crack at an ICC event

From having his position as head coach under scrutiny seven months ago, Russell Domingo has now been given the safety of a contract extension until the end of South Africa’s England tour next August. Domingo, whose contract was due to expire at the end of April 2017, will be in charge for the next 13 Test matches and the Champions Trophy in June 2017. Team manager Mohammed Moosajee has been given the same extension.”As part of the domestic cricket review, we are currently evaluating the entire coaching framework in South Africa and the Board believed the best approach at present was to extend the tenure of Mr Domingo until the end of the England tour in 2017,” Haroon Lorgat, the CSA CEO said.”Naturally the performances of the Proteas was a key factor in the Board’s unanimous decision. The recent 1-0 Sunfoil Test Series win against New Zealand and the impressive 5-0 win in the Momentum ODI Series against world champions Australia, resulting in us being the first nation to achieve a clean sweep against them, were noted. In addition, the excellent Proteas discipline and the positive culture throughout the coaching team, the player leadership group and the rest of the players were viewed as exemplary.”The domestic review is separate from the abandoned but soon-to-be resurrected national team review, which was due to take place after South Africa’s World T20 exit. Former national rugby captain Francois Pienaar was the highest-profile person on the four-man panel that was due to begin work in May. When they failed to agree terms with CSA, the committee disbanded and the review was abandoned. However, another process is now underway, which will review the performances of all national teams, which is unconnected from the domestic review that was concluded earlier in the year.Among the domestic review’s recommendations was the formation of an eight-team T20 premier league to revamp the format in the country but, if that suggestion is implemented, it will only happen in the 2017-18 season. It was not known that Domingo’s position was also part of the domestic review panel’s scope; however, there was a pressing need for certainty over Domingo’s future because of the timing of the Champions Trophy.If Domingo’s contract was not going to be renewed at the end of April, South Africa’s new coach would not have enjoyed any game time with the team ahead of the ICC event in England. South Africa do not have any fixtures scheduled between the end of March, when they tour New Zealand, and the England tour in May. As a result, a decision on Domingo had to be made at the earliest opportunity and after South Africa failed to make the final of the Caribbean triangular tournament in June, it was being speculated his time was up.However, Domingo enjoyed the support of Test and ODI captain AB de Villiers and was given the chance to redeem himself in the home series against New Zealand and Australia. A team culture camp preceded those series in which South Africa plotted what they call a new path.Stand-in captain Faf du Plessis also revealed that the coaching staff had been a major part of the discussions over changing the direction and credited them with South Africa’s turnaround. Although they have only climbed to No. 5 on the Test rankings from slumping to No.7 at the end of last summer, they are up to No. 2 in ODIs and have managed that without de Villiers, who is out injured. Importantly, Domingo has embraced the transformation targets and South Africa have unearthed some depth, which has seen them get back on track and earned Domingo a contract extension.

Preston Mommsen, Scotland’s captain and one of their leading batsmen, has announced his retirement from international cricket to pursue a career outside of the game

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Nov-20160:53

Quick Facts: Preston Mommsen

Preston Mommsen, Scotland’s captain and one of their leading batsmen, has announced his retirement from international cricket to pursue a career outside of the game. Mommsen, who has been a vocal advocate of Associate nations being given greater support, said he had received “a very exciting and attractive opportunity in the corporate world”.Mommsen, 29, took on the captaincy in 2014 and led Scotland at the World Cup a year later. At the 2016 World T20, he oversaw Scotland’s first victory at a global ICC event, at the 21st attempt.His finest hour as a Scotland player came at the 2014 World Cup Qualifier, when he scored 520 runs at 86.66 on the way to being named Man of the Tournament. Having replaced the injured Kyle Coetzer as captain after the first two matches, he went on to lead Scotland to victory in the final, making 139 not out against UAE – his highest ODI score.Mommsen remained a key member of Scotland’s batting line-up and his retirement will leave them with a significant hole to fill in the middle order. In August, he scored 111 not out and 80 not out as Scotland beat UAE 2-0 in their WCL Championship fixtures, leaving them well placed to reach the 2018 World Cup Qualifier.During the first match against UAE, he passed 1000 ODI runs for Scotland and talked about becoming the first to reach 2000. However, he has now decided to step away from the game and take up a career in property investment.”After much thought and reflection, I have taken the decision to step down as the captain of Scotland and not renew my contract with Cricket Scotland, in order to pursue a very exciting and attractive opportunity in the corporate world,” Mommsen said. “It has been an incredibly difficult decision but one that I felt I had to make at this stage in my life.”I would like to thank everyone involved at Cricket Scotland, both past and present, for giving me the opportunity to fulfil my dreams and supporting me on my journey. I am enormously proud of what we have achieved over the last few years, and I have no doubt that the team and the organisation will continue to grow its presence on the global stage in the future.”I leave the team in a very healthy position with a world-class management setup and a group of players that are demonstrating the skill and hunger to push Scotland cricket into the top 12 in the world. I would like to wish both the team and the organisation all the very best.”Mommsen’s decision to step away from cricket is likely to have been influenced by scant opportunity to perform at the highest level. With the 2019 World Cup reduced to ten teams – and the top eight qualifying automatically – Scotland face a stiff task to reach the tournament in England. The 2018 qualifier would likely pit them against Afghanistan, Ireland, Zimbabwe and either Pakistan or West Indies for one of two spots.Scotland also took part in the last World T20 – although Mommsen was critical of the format, where the first round saw eight teams, including six Associates, compete to make it through to the Super 10s – but the next one is scheduled for 2020, with a proposed 2018 event still uncertain.At the 2015 World Cup, Mommsen was among several players from Associate nations to call on the ICC to help create a more level playing field, with increased fixtures against Full Members.He retires having played 146 times for Scotland, averaging 32.38 with the bat in ODIs and 34.91 in T20 internationals. Born in South Africa, where he played for the Under-19s, Mommsen moved to Edinburgh in 2006 and was first capped in 2010 after completing the qualification period.Scotland’s head coach, Grant Bradburn, said: “This is a bittersweet situation for our team and for Cricket Scotland. Above all we are very happy for Preston to be offered such an exciting opportunity. Preston is intelligent, well respected and ambitious, so for him to be moving into a corporate field that he is passionate about is just brilliant.”Preston Mommsen offers the team many qualities that will be difficult to replace, he will be a big loss. A quality experienced batsmen at the peak of his skills, consistently our fittest player, top fielder and of course our leader with a tough uncompromising attitude. Preston has proudly been a champion for the Associate game and a role model who has helped bring next tier nations to global attention, always striving to give Associate cricket the growing credit it deserves.”Preston should be very proud of his many achievements as an international player and we wish him every success in his new career.”

With his fifth century of the season – the most by a Gujarat batsman – Priyank Panchal dominated Jharkhand in the Ranji Trophy semi-final in Nagpur

The Report by Shashank Kishore in Nagpur01-Jan-2017
ScorecardPriyank Panchal is 151 runs shy of overtaking VVS Laxman’s record for most runs in a Ranji Trophy season•Sunny Shinde

On January 1, 2016, Priyank Panchal wrote in his diary – a habit he had inculcated at the age of 19 – “Need to learn to convert starts and not just be happy with 650-700 runs in a season.” On January 1, 2017 his entry could possibly read: “Aim to convert an unbeaten 144 into a double or possibly a triple-century and help Gujarat reach their first-ever Ranji Trophy final.”During the course of his fifth century of the season, the most by a Gujarat batsman, Panchal almost doubled his previous best aggregate of 665 runs in 2015-16. His innings had flair and grit in equal measure and helped Gujarat dominate on a green-tinged surface that belied expectations.As the day progressed, a wearing Jharkhand attack were ground down further by Parthiv Patel’s aggressive 62 in a third-wicket stand of 139 as Gujarat ended day one of the semi-final against Jharkhand on 283 for 3 at Nagpur’s old Civil Lines ground.During the course of his 252-ball vigil, Panchal also displaced Wasim Jaffer from fourth position in the list of highest run-getters in a Ranji season. With potentially another day’s batting and at least one more innings to come, the record books could have a fresh entry at the top. Panchal is only 151 runs short of VVS Laxman’s all-time record of 1415, achieved in 1999-2000.Jharkhand, without the injured Ashish Kumar, their best fast bowler this season, struggled for rhythm with the new ball. Waywardness in the first six overs, where six boundaries flowed, set the tone. Panchal began with two nonchalant flicks for four in the second over, off Vikash Singh, and his opening partner Samit Gohel, who made a record-breaking, unbeaten 359 in his previous innings, drove Ajay Yadav confidently at the other end.It took the introduction of Rahul Shukla, who impressed with deceptive pace and accuracy, to stall Gujarat. He hit Panchal on the box, induced an edge that flew past third slip and then beat him with a superb outswinger. Jharkhand finally broke through in the 19th over as Gohel jabbed at a length ball from Vikash to gully where Virat Singh completed a fine, low catch.Panchal, at the other end, was unaffected. So confident was he in his abilities that he played the cut shot even with two points in place. So good was his timing that he beat the man in the deep thrice. He got eight of his 21 fours with the cut shot. Panchal showed proper technique against the bouncers too – dropping his wrists and swaying out of the way or fully ducking under them with the bat nice and low. He did get in trouble when he stabbed at short balls away from the body and if Nagpur had provided a two-paced pitch, he may have been surprised by the one that reared up. But on this true-paced pitch, he was able to adjust. Still Jharkhand could have dismissed Panchal for 110 in the 59th over, but Ishank Jaggi gave him a reprieve.Gujarat’s No. 3 Bhargav Merai, as he’s often done this season, got off to a solid start but wasted it when he was caught behind off Vikash for 39. The delivery was good, but the catch even better – Ishan Kishan took a step or two to his right before diving full length to take the ball, one-handed and in front of first slip. Gujarat were 127 for 2 but with little support for Vikash from the other fast bowlers, Jharkhand’s hopes of building on that wicket were on left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem, who is also the season’s highest wicket-taker. However, there was hardly any turn for him on a surface where the ball slid on nicely. Parthiv’s swift footwork – both forward and back – made life even tougher for Nadeem, who toiled over 25 wicketless overs.Shortly before stumps Kaushal Singh, the part-time offspinner, got one to straighten from around the stumps to trap Parthiv lbw after a stylish half-century. But Manprit Juneja and Panchal saw off the final 45 minutes of play and Gujarat took the honours on New Year’s day.

England captain Eoin Morgan says his bowlers were badly let down by their batsmen after a collapse of 8 for 8 sealed a 75-run defeat to India in the third T20I at Bangalore

Deivarayan Muthu in Bangalore01-Feb-20171:30

‘We fell away terribly towards the end’ – Morgan

England lost 10 for 83 in the last innings in the second Test in Visakhapatnam. They lost 5 for 70 in the first innings in the third Test in Mohali. They lost 7 for 54 in their second innings in the fourth Test in Mumbai. The visitors then suffered a more cataclysmic fall in their second innings in the fifth Test in Chennai, losing 10 for 104 after piling on 477 in their first dig.The limited-overs players then roused the side from its gloom after Christmas, pushing India in 50-over cricket and proceeded to go 1-0 up in the subsequent T20 series. England were then at the receiving end of two incorrect umpiring decisions and lost the second T20. In the series decider in Bangalore, they unravelled dramatically against legspinner Yuzvendra Chahal and left to head home empty-handed.England experienced a fair share of collapses on this gruelling tour, but losing 8 for 8 on Wednesday night was as chaotic as it could get. Their breezy start to the chase – they were 119 for 2 in the 14th over in pursuit of 203 – starkly contrasted with what was to follow. The two set batsmen – Joe Root and captain Eoin Morgan – were dismissed by Chahal in successive balls and England eventually suffered the second-worst eight-wicket collapse in international cricket to be rolled over for 127 with 21 balls to spare in their innings.England captain Eoin Morgan cut a sorry figure at the post-match press conference, but did not mince any words about his team’s batting performance.”It does hurt. Very disappointing,” Morgan said. “Maybe 60% of the game we were competitive and right in amongst it but fell away terribly in the end. Committed a cardinal sin of losing two in-players in one over and allowed India to build a little bit of pressure and we weren’t up to it at all.”So what really went wrong in the middle?”I can’t put a finger on it. We haven’t produced a batting performance as bad as that in two or two-and-a-half years,” Morgan said. “We pride ourselves on our batting, it has been a strong suit for a long time but this series our bowlers have outperformed our batsmen I think.”Morgan, who had played for Royal Challengers Bangalore for a season in the IPL in 2010, believed that England were on track to exploit the flat surface and the short boundaries at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium at the halfway mark of the chase. Root bedded himself in, and Morgan himself hinted at hitting full tilt with three sixes from Suresh Raina’s part-time offbreaks in three balls during the 12th over.”I thought we were going quite well,” Morgan said. “A majority of the runs at this ground are always scored in the last 10 overs. Bangalore have done it extremely well for a long period of time and India did well today. So, I think we needed 110 [sic 117] off the last 10 maybe with eight wickets in the shed.”Morgan said that England could have chased the target down had he or Root kicked on with contributions from the lower-middle order.”If a better performance from either me or Joe – a 70 or 80 from me or him and if the two of us seeing off – and a couple of guys batting around us could have made a huge difference,” Morgan said.England’s sharp nosedive began with Morgan galloping down the track, fetching a slog-sweep from outside off and skying a wrong’un to deep midwicket. He backed his intent but blamed the execution for the dismissal.”It wasn’t necessarily a big shot,” Morgan said. “It wasn’t executed that well, I didn’t mean to hit it in the air. The ball – it was a googly – held up a little bit. I wanted to hit down the ground, but hit it squarer.”Morgan also conceded that losing a close ODI series “hurt” more than losing the T20 series, but was confident of recovering from the setbacks.”We had performances in the one-day series that were potentially worthy of winning,” he said. “In this series probably the last game [in Nagpur] hurt us more. The game got away from us, we should have won. Today we underperformed and we weren’t good enough.”I don’t think [there will be a lingering feeling]. If there was a consistent run of performances like that it would hurt to fail again. But like I said, our batting has been outstanding for a long time and tonight it wasn’t anywhere near as it should be.”

M Vijay, who missed the Bengaluru Test with a shoulder injury, kept his place in a 15-man squad chosen for the final two matches against Australia

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Mar-2017M Vijay, the India opener, has kept his place in the squad for the final two Tests against Australia. He had picked up an injury to his left shoulder while fielding in Pune and had to miss the Bengaluru Test, but with a week left until the start of the next one in Ranchi, he appears to have time to recover and become the 29th Indian to 50 Test caps.

India squad

Virat Kohli (capt), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Abhinav Mukund, Karun Nair, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, KL Rahul, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ishant Sharma, M Vijay, Jayant Yadav, Umesh Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav
Out: Hardik Pandya

Allrounder Hardik Pandya, who has shoulder troubles of his own, was the only player to be cut from the 16-man squad chosen at the start of the tour.Rohit Sharma and Mohammed Shami, who have recovered from protracted thigh and knee problems respectively, have played List A cricket over the past week but they are yet to prove their fitness over the course of a first-class match; that could perhaps be the reason they have not been picked here.Head coach Anil Kumble had stressed on a protocol by which first-choice picks could walk back into the XI after injury provided they play the same format in domestic cricket and prove their fitness. Rohit made 4 and 16 for Mumbai in one-day cricket while Shami picked up 0 for 36 for Bengal and practiced with the Indian team at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, though he mostly bowled off a short run-up.India retained Abhinav Mukund as the third opener despite his underwhelming returns in the second Test; he made 0 and 16 in his first international game in over five years. The extra opener is especially needed given the recent niggles for their top-order batsmen – apart from Vijay’s injury, Rahul’s left shoulder caused him some concern in Pune and Cheteshwar Pujara said he had to fight a sore neck during his match-winning 92 in Bengaluru.India’s bowling line-up was unchanged. Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav and Bhuneshwar Kumar were the seamers. R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, both No. 1 on the ICC rankings for Test bowlers, led the spin department which also includes offspinner Jayant Yadav and left-arm wristspinner Kuldeep Yadav.The series is square at 1-1 and is set to resume on March 16 with the first Test ever to be played in Ranchi. Then Dharamsala makes its debut on March 25.

English legspinner Mason Crane and fast bowler Trent Copeland were also among the wickets for New South Wales on the opening day

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Mar-2017
ScorecardPat Cummins dismissed Sam Raphael and Jake Lehmann on the first day•Getty Images

Pat Cummins claimed two wickets for New South Wales in his first Sheffield Shield appearance since 2011 but Callum Ferguson held South Australia’s first innings together on a rain-blighted opening day at the SCG.Overcast skies and a green-tinged pitch expected to spin later made it a tricky decision at the toss and, after South Australia captain Travis Head chose to bat, Trent Copeland was quickly into rhythm to claim Jake Weatherald lbw in the second over of the morning.Cummins followed up by defeating Sam Raphael, and when Copeland accounted for Head, the Redbacks were in some trouble. However Ferguson formed a series of useful stands with Jake Lehmann, Tom Cooper and finally the wicketkeeper Alex Carey to frustrate the Blues, even as Cummins added a second wicket to his day.The English legspinner Mason Crane deceived Cooper to fetch a wicket on his debut for NSW. The hosts must win the match outright to remain in contention for the Shield final.