Yorkshire have signed Travis Head, the South Australia, Adelaide Strikers and Australia batsman, for the second half of the English season

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Feb-2016Yorkshire have signed Travis Head, the South Australia, Adelaide Strikers and Australia batsman, for the second half of the English season.Head, 22, who made his debut for Australia in the T20 series against India last month, will replace Kane Williamson from July 18 when he returns to international duty.The move will reunite Head with Jason Gillespie who was the Strikers coach during the 2015-16 Big Bash where Head excelled with 299 runs at a strike-rate of 154.92 runs. His standout innings was an unbeaten 101 against Sydney Sixers when he took 51 runs off the last three overs to win the match for the Strikers.His returns in the current Sheffield Shield season are not as eye-catching with 322 runs in seven matches at an average 24.76, but Gillespie expects him to play a key role in all three formats.”Travis is a great signing for us,” Gillespie said. “He has had a terrific season in Australia and is eager to develop his skills in England.”The fact that he can adapt to all formats is beneficial to us. He will add something different to the squad with his aggressive batting style and his ability with the ball as a genuine spinner.”He has a lot of maturity for a young man and his cricket intelligence is improving with every match. He will fit in nicely to our system.”Head said: “To play across all formats is important to me and playing in English conditions will be a good challenge. I can’t wait to get over and make an impact.”

Tim Southee won New Zealand a thriller the last time they met Australia in a T20I six years ago, but now, the stakes are almost as high as the altitude as they face off in a crucial encounter in Dharamsala

The Preview by Brydon Coverdale17-Mar-2016

Match facts

Friday, March 18, 2016
Start time 1500 local (0930 GMT)

Big picture

Six years ago, Australia and New Zealand played a highly entertaining T20 match at Lancaster Park in Christchurch. Brendon McCullum blasted a 56-ball 116 and scooped audaciously off Shaun Tait, New Zealand racked up 214, Australia matched them in the chase, and Tim Southee kept things tight in the Super Over to seal a memorable win for the home team. And they haven’t met in a T20 match since.Strange as it seems, February 28, 2010 was the last time these Trans-Tasman neighbours played each other in T20 cricket. Now they finally reconnect in the shortest format and the stakes are almost as high as the altitude. Dharamsala is the venue for Australia’s opening match of this World T20, but New Zealand already have a win on the board against hosts India. Another one here and they will be in prime position to progress to a World T20 semi-final for the first time since 2007.New Zealand’s spin success against India in Nagpur augurs well for their hopes in this tournament. Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi and Nathan McCullum between them picked up nine out of ten wickets against India, and given that Australia can struggle against the turning ball in the short form it may just be advantage New Zealand. A few more runs from the top order would be handy, though – New Zealand were wobbling at 13 for 2 in the second over against India before recovering adequately.Quite what to expect from Australia remains a mystery. Punished at home by India in three T20s, they moved on to South Africa and found some form, but then were outdone by West Indies in a warm-up in Kolkata. They too have three spinners available, including the allrounder Glenn Maxwell, but neither Ashton Agar nor Adam Zampa had played a T20 international three weeks ago. This is a big step up. Australia are preaching “flexibility”, which is admirable, but there is something to be said for stability as well.

Form guide

Australia: WWLLL (last five completed matches)
New Zealand: WWWLW

Watch out for

David Warner has made his name as an opener but suddenly has become a floater in Australia’s T20 middle order. The switch worked well in South Africa, where he scored 20, 77 and 33, and although it is possible he could open again in this tournament, with other options such as Aaron Finch, Shane Watson and Usman Khawaja, that seems unlikely.Mitchell Santner‘s 4 for 11 against India was the best analysis by a New Zealand spinner in T20 internationals, and there is no reason to think he won’t cause problems for Australia’s batsmen as well. Santner has a certain about him – he just seems like a man for any occasion. And the big occasion hasn’t worried him yet.

Team news

There are so many possible combinations Australia could go with that choosing their final XI feels like something of a lottery, which their selection process has more or less been over the past six games. One question is whether to choose all three spinners, another is whether Usman Khawaja can squeeze into the top order, and another is how many fast men are required with a heavy complement of seaming allrounders.Australia (possible) 1 Aaron Finch, 2 Shane Watson, 3 Steven Smith (capt), 4 David Warner, 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 Mitchell Marsh, 7 James Faulkner, 8 Peter Nevill (wk), 9 Ashton Agar/John Hastings/Nathan Coulter-Nile, 10 Adam Zampa, 11 Josh Hazlewood.New Zealand may well be tempted to stick with their winning combination.New Zealand (possible) 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Kane Williamson (capt), 3 Colin Munro, 4 Corey Anderson, 5 Ross Taylor, 6 Mitchell Santner, 7 Grant Elliott, 8 Luke Ronchi (wk), 9 Nathan McCullum, 10 Adam Milne, 11 Ish Sodhi

Pitch and conditions

A new pitch has been prepared, which may not turn as much as that used by the Associates recently, but spin is still expected to play more of a role than pace and bounce. There is some rain expected on Friday as well, which could lead to an abbreviated game.

Stats and trivia

• Australia and New Zealand have met five times in T20s for four wins to Australia; New Zealand’s only victory was in the Super Over in Christchurch in 2010
• Australia have played only six T20s in 2016 but have used a remarkable 25 players

Quotes

“Yeah, I think you have to have something in mind [for a shortened game]. I don’t think a lot of the game-plans or the way each individual plays changes too much but I think you do have to have a few different game-plans if the game is a bit shorter.”
.”It was definitely a lot of happy team-mates after the game [against India]. But we don’t want to get too carried away. It’s just one game in what is a short and condensed tournament. Lot of games to be played.”

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.”

For Jonny Bairstow, even on the grandest days the debate about whether England should utilise him as a wicketkeeper or specialist batsmen seems destined to ring loudly

The Report by David Hopps10-Jun-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsKaushal Silva continued to enjoy batting at Lord’s•Getty Images

The highest Test score ever lodged by an England wicketkeeper in a home Test followed by a perplexing dropped catch. For Jonny Bairstow, even on the most exultant of days the debate about whether England should utilise him as a wicketkeeper or specialist batsmen is destined to ring loudly.Bairstow was left unbeaten on 167 as England were dismissed for 416, 45 minutes into the afternoon session on the second day at Lord’s, but Sri Lanka ended the day strongly by reaching 162 for 1 with Kaushal Silva becoming just the second player to score half-centuries in his first three Test innings at Lord’s.Spritely of mind and stroke, Silva delighted in every opportunity to dart his runs between cover and third man. All three England pace bowlers – James Anderson twice at Headingley, Stuart Broad and Steven Finn at Chester-le-Street – had shared in four successive catches from Silva for Bairstow in this series, but on a surface with few devils his outside edge this time looked less compromised. He played with positive intent from the outset to spearhead Sri Lanka’s most productive batting display since they arrived on these shores.Bairstow’s innings was the highest by an England wicketkeeper on home shores and only six runs short of Alec Stewart’s all-time record. His authority as a batsman is growing apace. With three Test hundreds in eight knocks, it was a time for celebration. Here, said some, was England’s Adam Gilchrist.Then came the wobble. Whether it was the Lord’s wobble – the ground is notorious for the ball swinging late after passing the batsman – or the Bairstow wobble – equally notorious – will be debated long into the night. Bairstow did have to contend with some late dip after the ball shaved Dimuth Karunaratne’s edge, but he missed the ball by a considerable distance as it hit him on the thigh.Chris Woakes, an undemonstrative sort, cast his hands apart in disbelief as he was denied a wicket with his first ball; Bairstow widened his eyes as if the ball had turned into a Christmas pudding upon its final approach. Karunaratne was reprieved and Sri Lanka, scooting ahead on another placid Lord’s Test pitch, closed with deserved satisfaction. After two heavy defeats in the frozen north they have thawed out impressively. Sri Lanka love Lord’s.Bairstow is not the first wicketkeeper to be embarrassed by Lord’s capricious ways. Mention of Stewart invites discussion of another England player whose career constantly shifted between a role as batsman or batsman-keeper. Bairstow openly resents the debate surrounding his role far more than Stewart ever did – Stewart preferred a straight-backed Do My Best For England barked response, but it will be discussed all the same.Long before the close of the second day, he looked exhausted. His body ached after 408 minutes at the crease, a bruised finger was on his mind no matter how much he tried to block it out and, considering that his valiant efforts had provided a get-out clause for poor England batting, some of the throws he received from England teammates were lazy enough to have deserved a bawl-out. He was a man in need of an early night.Karanaratne, 28 when he was reprieved, is not the type to punish such an error: his Test career is awash with 20s and 30s. Spared an lbw verdict three runs later when England unsuccessfully reviewed Woakes’ inducker he then became becalmed, as if aware of his reputation, then suddenly spurted like a tap with a faulty washer with three successive boundaries off James Anderson.”Keep going,” tweeted Sri Lanka’s chairman of selectors, Sanath Jayasuriya, as both batsmen reached half-centuries in the same over, Sri Lanka’s first century opening stand raised for two-and-a-half years Instead, Karunaratne nudged Steven Finn off his hip to Bairstow. Tweets are yet to be read between balls by batsmen at the crease, although one suspects it is only a matter of time.Silva did graze contentedly to the end against an England attack where only Woakes, the fastest England bowler in terms of a single ball and average, possessed much exuberance.Tranquillity washed over the day from the outset. Matt Prior, after ringing the bell at start of play, was invited on to the England balcony to catch up with old mates and down below Bairstow and Woakes made serene progress to their highest Test scores against a Sri Lanka attack that was as unthreatening as England’s was to prove later.England’s slightly dicey overnight position of 279 for 6 was suitably refined to 384 for 7 by the time the clock reached 1pm. Woakes was the only wicket to fall before lunch, frustrated by Herath’s over-the-wicket approach into the footholes outside his leg stump and advancing to chip a return catch. But he did have his first Test half-century, 66 from 142 balls, an innings characterised by genial off-side drives.England have got 400 in the first innings in a home Test and lost before, but not since 1998 when Muttiah Muralitharan was rampant at The Oval and his 16 wickets in the match enabled Sri Lanka to pull off an unlikely heist. A dominant Sri Lankan Saturday, with few wickets lost, would cause a quiver or two.But these days Sri Lanka have no Murali and, indeed, one wonders how long they will have the benefit of the excellent Herath. He is 38 now, and remains a master of little subtleties, drawing one or two nods of appreciation from Bairstow as he coaxed him into minor errors of judgment.Serenity is hardly Bairstow’s calling card. Watch him bat at his most combative and one imagines he could fight his own shadow. But with a century gathered in 11 balls before stumps on the first day, his appetite to take advantage of placid batting conditions was evident from the outset and the moments of fortune that had helped him through the opening day were absent.Woakes shared in a sixth-wicket stand of 144 in 40 overs as Sri Lanka’s seamers made no impression. He is very much the anti-Stokes, as peaceful as Stokes is belligerent; as unobtrusive as Stokes is the centre of attention. If he saw a locker door upon dismissal, he would check it was safely closed not punch it in anger. In such, he does not fit modern fashions, but his first fifty – at the 11th attempt – will have won him respect, if not celebrity status.England’s innings subsided quickly after lunch with the last three wickets falling in the space of six overs. Stuart Broad made a typically insecure appearance before slashing Suranga Lakmal to gully, Finn – after surviving an lbw decision for Herath on review – top-edged the same bowler to deep backward square and Anderson was caught at the wicket, defending a short ball from Shaminda Eranga.

Women’s Big Bash League players Hayley Jensen and Corinne Hall have been banned for six months each for betting on matches by Cricket Australia

Brydon Coverdale06-Jul-2016Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) players Hayley Jensen and Corinne Hall have been banned for six months each for betting on matches as Cricket Australia continues its crackdown on any betting involvement from contracted players.Jensen and Hall both voluntarily accepted identical sanctions imposed by Cricket Australia – a two-year ban of which 18 months was suspended – after admitting the charges of betting on men’s international games. South Australia Futures League player Joel Logan also received a suspended ban after he also breached Cricket Australia’s Anti-Corruption Code.Jensen, who has played international cricket for New Zealand and represented Victoria and Melbourne Stars in the 2015-16 Australian domestic season, admitted the charge of placing one bet on the result of the Brisbane Test between Australia and New Zealand in November.Hall, who played for Hobart Hurricanes in the WBBL, admitted the charge of placing two bets relating to two matches in the Matador Cup competition last summer.Logan admitted the charge of placing two bets relating to the World T20 earlier this year.The punishments for Hall and Jensen prevent them from “participating in any form of cricket or cricket-related event” until October 21. Unlike Hall and Jensen, Logan was not on a full state contract and was contracted on a match-by-match basis for the Futures League, which was taken into account in determining his lesser punishment.The bans were not the first to concern Australian cricketers in the past year: ACT and Sydney Sixers legspinner Angela Reakes was handed a suspended sentence last December for betting on the 2015 World Cup final, and Western Australia’s Piepa Cleary was banned in February after betting on the Adelaide Test between Australia and New Zealand last November.Cricket Australia’s Head of Integrity, Iain Roy, said: “We take a proactive, zero-tolerance approach to maintaining the integrity of our sport and this includes any form of betting on cricket globally.”Players in Australia are required to complete an anti-corruption education session before they can compete in any competition, including all players in our Underage National Championships. We continually remind players that betting on any form of cricket is strictly prohibited, and this is written into our Anti-Corruption Code.”These players have accepted the seriousness of their errors and have voluntarily accepted their sanctions. This serves as a timely reminder to all players in cricket that the integrity of our game is a high priority and we won’t accept this being compromised.”

Division Two’s leading run scorer Ed Joyce scored his third hundred of the season to help put Sussex in a good position against Glamorgan at Hove.

ECB Reporters Network03-Jul-2016
ScorecardEd Joyce put Sussex on course for a first-innings lead•Getty Images

Division Two’s leading run scorer Ed Joyce scored his third hundred of the season to help put Sussex in a good position against Glamorgan at Hove.Joyce made 106 to take his aggregate for the season to 838 as his side reached 227 for 3 in response to Glamorgan’s 335 for 9 at stumps on the second day.A slow pitch was ideal for someone with Joyce’s phlegmatic temperament. He seldom played a cross-batted shot and it was a surprise when he chopped on to Tim van der Gugten in the 60th over.Joyce survived one moment of alarm on 61 when Will Bragg put down a very difficult chance at slip off the debutant slow left-armer Owen Morgan, but Joyce’s ability to play straight and late once again paid dividends. He hit 14 fours in 177 balls faced.Joyce had shared an opening stand of 133 with Chris Nash although Nash struggled for timing. Normally a fast scorer, it took him 66 balls to lodge his first boundary but he appeared to be finding some fluency when he shaped to cut Morgan and was caught behind for 37.It was a deserved reward for Morgan, a 22-year-old slow left-armer from Swansea, who bowled with impressive control on his Championship debut. His efforts epitomised a persevering Glamorgan attack without their main strike bowler Michael Hogan who did not return after he ducked into a bouncer from Stuart Whittingham earlier in the day and was hit on the helmet.Hogan spent ten minutes regaining his composure but eventually decided he could no longer continue. His condition will be monitored overnight but he is expected to be able to bowl on Monday.With skipper Jacques Rudolph nursing a hand injury which will require an x-ray Glamorgan employed three substitute fielders including bowling coach David Harrison and Australian fast bowler Shaun Tait who has linked up with the squad as he prepares to play in their T20 side.Sussex were 176 for 2 when Joyce was out and had added just five runs when Ross Taylor was leg before playing across the line to Graham Wagg. But Luke Wells and skipper Luke Wright, who is playing his first Championship innings of the season at Hove, added an unbeaten 46 for the fourth wicket.Hogan’s retirement came after Glamorgan had added 44 runs to their overnight 291 for 7 during the morning. Both wickets fell to the impressive Whittingham who bowled with good pace in a spell of 8.1 overs which cost just 20 runs as he finished with a Championship best 4 for 58.Thomas was caught behind by a ball which seamed away before Rudolph, struggling after Whittingham struck him on the left hand, was caught at third man for 87 from 197 balls which was compiled in four and a half hours.

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.