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Dilshan ton overpowers Australia

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Sri Lanka’s captain Tillakaratne Dilshan struck a compelling century then marshalled his team neatly in the field to secure a 35-run victory over Australia

The Report by Daniel Brettig06-Aug-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
There was both brute-force hitting and innovation in Tillakaratne Dilshan’s century•AFP

Sri Lanka’s captain Tillakaratne Dilshan struck a compelling century then marshalled his team neatly in the field to secure a 35-run victory over Australia in the first Twenty20 international in Kandy.Sent in to bat at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, the hosts were headed for a total of about 150 before Dilshan (104, 57 balls, 12 fours, five sixes) and the allrounder Jeevan Mendis (29, 19 balls) combined for a stand of 104 runs in a mere 45 balls to lift the hosts to 198 for 3. Dilshan hammered 67 from his final 23 deliveries, a sequence that effectively decided the match.The Australians’ chase was undone by the flat offspin of the debutant Dilruwan Perera (3-26), who provided a reminder there is plenty of slow bowling depth for the Sri Lankans to utilise across the limited overs and Test series to take place through August and September. Rangana Herath (1-11) also posed plenty of problems, much as he had done on his debut against the Australians on their 1999 visit to the island.Dilshan’s was exactly the kind of opening statement a captain desires to make, providing plenty of evidence the Australians will be up against a feisty opponent on this tour. They will also need to sharpen their fielding, as fumbles were a recurring theme of the team’s first international since a limited overs series in Bangladesh in April.Mitchell Johnson, John Hastings and Shane Watson were all taken for more than 11 runs per over, while curiously the spin of Steve O’Keefe and Steve Smith was not fully utilised despite offering a greater level of economy than any of the faster men.By contrast the Sri Lankans employed three spin bowlers in their defence of the target, and in truth no-one other than the belligerent David Warner (53) ever looked comfortable enough to impose serious pressure on the home attack.Needing 10 runs an over virtually from the start, Australia’s reply was inconvenienced by the early swing of Nuwan Kulasekara (2-39), who found a way through Watson in the third over. Warner was soon finding the boundary, and on one occasion cleared it with a line drive over the bowler’s head.Shaun Marsh was less settled, and misread the first over from the debutant Perera to be lbw for four. David Hussey appeared fortunate that no-one on the field was fully alert to an apparent thin edge behind off the bowling of Dhammika Prasad, but next over he was nowhere near a sharp off break from Perera that tilted middle stump.Cameron White managed only one boundary before he too was defeated by a Perera offbreak that straightened from around the wicket, and at 63 for 4 Australia’s chase was looking decidedly sick. It deteriorated further when Steven Smith was utterly confused by Herath and stumped, while Dilshan had the luxury of dropping Warner then being able to accept another chance. O’Keefe and Johnson provided nuisance value, but by then the equation would have been too steep even for Dilshan.Brett Lee had shared the new ball with the left-arm spinner O’Keefe in a nod to a surface that offered some bounce but also turn. Mahela Jayawardene managed a pair of crisp boundaries to long-on and backward point, but in the third over squirted a Lee yorker into his stumps.Dilshan immediately took the attack to Lee, following a top-edged hook for six with an artful glide through gully for four, meaning the over reaped 14 runs as well as a wicket. He then sought to unsettle Johnson with a series of impudent gestures. Dinesh Chandimal also made a bright start, but on 11 was hurried onto the back foot by Johnson’s pace and slid ungracefully into his wicket – only the fifth such dismissal in T20 internationals, its rarity underlined by the bowler’s miffed reaction.Tensions were evident between Dilshan and Watson, the Australian firing a return throw towards the batsman, who fended it away with a glove. A curious appeal by the Australians posed the question about obstruction, as the game’s laws have been changed to disallow any by a batsman out of his crease, but the umpires waved it away.Kumar Sangakkara cracked boundaries over mid-off and square leg to raise a 50 stand with Dilshan, but the next over he flicked ineffectually at a Watson slower ball and handed a simple catch to Cameron White. Mendis announced himself with a reverse-swept boundary from the bowling of Smith, then gave a passing impression of no less a left-hander than Sangakkara himself with a pull shot of some flourish when Watson dropped fractionally short.John Hastings’ slower balls were losing their novelty, and Dilshan took a heavy toll by swinging thrice to the legside for boundaries either side of an exceptionally cheeky reverse-dab past short third man – the over was worth 20.Mendis and Dilshan tormented the Australians in the closing overs, piling up 67 runs from overs 15-18 to turn a middling total into an intimidating one. Too often the touring bowlers missed the yorker length, and when they did strike it Dilshan’s wrists were supple enough to send the ball skidding through gully to the rope.On 84 when the final over began, Dilshan cracked a pair of sixes then mis-scooped a boundary to go to three figures, before adding another to take the Sri Lankans to the cusp of 200 – a total they would not have contemplated at 94-3. Australia’s bowlers, and batsmen, have the task ahead of them.

New South Wales win low-scoring game

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New South Wales overcame a top-order scare to beat Mumbai Indians and keep control over their progress in the tournament

The Report by Siddarth Ravindran02-Oct-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Patrick Cummins hit the 150kph mark while taking 1 for 13•Associated Press

No Australian domestic side has lost to an IPL team in three seasons of the Champions League T20, and that trend continued after New South Wales beat Mumbai Indians in a low-scoring encounter in Chennai. The win not only keeps NSW in the race for the semi-finals but also in control of their own destiny, while Mumbai Indians will have to watch other results to know whether they progress.On a hot and cloudless day, and on a track where the ball kept low and didn’t come on to the bat, each member of NSW’s attack played their part as Mumbai’s batting faltered for the third time in the tournament. Only James Franklin put in a decent effort. Faced with a target of 101, it seemed a straightforward chase, but fast bowler Abu Nechim reduced NSW to 28 for 5 before they got home through Steven Smith and Ben Rohrer’s unbroken 73-run stand.The NSW bowlers made a terrific start with Stuart Clark, four days after his 36th birthday and having reduced his playing responsibilities, showing he had lost none of his old accuracy. Handed the new ball, he didn’t strive for pace and stuck to disciplined bowling to knock over Aiden Blizzard and Ambati Rayudu in his first two overs.Patrick Cummins, who is half Clark’s age, then took over. Hitting 150kph on what was widely expected to be a sluggish track, he showed why he’s being called a superstar in the making, intelligently mixing in the slower ball to befuddle the batsmen. In his first over, he got the key wicket of Kieron Pollard, who looked to bludgeon a full ball over midwicket. In the four overs he and Clark bowled from the fifth to the eighth, only five runs were scored.Much then depended on Andrew Symonds. He has not looked his old effervescent self in this tournament, and he struggled today as well. A charge down the track to swipe Steve O’Keefe ended with the ball crashing into the top of off stump and Mumbai Indians were gasping at 51 or 5 after 12 overs.Franklin, subjected to some criticism before the game over his position at No. 4 in the line-up, cut out the Hollywood strokes his team-mates attempted, preferring to play straight, highlighted by a perfectly timed on-drive off Moises Henriques for four. Even as he lost partners regularly, he kept poking the ball around, ensuring Mumbai Indians at least avoided the ignominy of finishing their innings with a double-digit score.NSW weathered the first over of the chase from the chief threat, Lasith Malinga. It was Nechim, though, who made the big breakthroughs, removing both openers, Shane Watson and David Warner, in his first over. With Malinga then dismissing Simon Katich courtesy a trademark swinging yorker, Daniel Smith nicking Nechim behind after attempting a footwork-less slash, and Henriques picking up a duck on being given lbw to a spinning delivery from Yuzvendra Chahal that pitched outside leg, Mumbai were well and truly in the game.Steven Smith and Rohrer then stabilised the innings and slowly took the game away from Mumbai Indians. With the spinners operating, the batsmen used their feet well to punch the ball for singles. It wasn’t till the 13th over of the chase that the first six of the match was struck, Smith clouting Chahal over midwicket. A Franklin long hop was helped to fine leg for four, a wide Malinga yorker was chopped past point for four more before a bunch of boundaries from Smith settled the match in the 17th over.

'Watching Merchant was a part of our training'

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Vijay Merchant’s former team-mates pay tribute to him on his birth centenary

Abhishek Purohit13-Oct-2011About 200 people turned up at the CK Nayudu Hall of the Cricket Club of India in Mumbai to listen to former India batsman Vijay Merchant’s few surviving team-mates speak on the occasion of his birth centenary on October 12. Former players Madhav Mantri, Madhav Apte, Vasant Raiji and Merchant’s fellow commentator Anand Setalvad related stories of their interactions with a cricketer who was widely acknowledged as the best Indian batsman of his generation, and who later became a respected administrator, commentator and writer.Also present in the audience were former players Bapu Nadkarni, Ajit Wadekar, Milind Rege and BCCI chief administrative officer Ratnakar Shetty.Through the anecdotes of the former players emerged the picture of a near-complete top-order batsman whose was unsurpassed in technique, temperament and concentration, qualities that reflect in his first-class average of 71.64, next only to Donald Bradman. His approach came to be known later as the Bombay school of batting.Apte said that watching Merchant bat in the nets used to be a mandatory part of his training under his college coach and former India allrounder Vinoo Mankad. “Vinoo used to make us stand behind the nets when Vijay was batting very early in the morning against the new ball. There used to be dew around and the way he left the moving ball used to be a lesson for us.”Mantri said that after his nephew Sunil Gavaskar’s early success as a Test opener, he was asked who he felt was the better opening batsman. “I said then that a great of one generation will be a great in another generation as well. But it is the way an opening batsman leaves the ball that is more important, and in that aspect Merchant was a master. Sunil later wrote to Merchant saying: ‘and they say blood is thicker than water.'”Apte related how Merchant had a cricket pitch in his backyard where he used to invite former India fast bowler Amar Singh for practice. Merchant was so impressed by him that he named his son Amar, who was also present yesterday.Raiji, who debuted for Bombay as an opener in 1941, recalled Merchant’s strict instructions to him and his opening partner Laxman Kenny. “You two play for separate clubs. You will not have much of an understanding with each other while running between the wickets,” Merchant had said. “Be very cautious.”As it turned out, Raiji was the first to be run out in that game, Kenny was the second and Merchant was the third.Apart from being a top cricketer, Merchant was also a competent tennis player, having won inter-collegiate tournaments. Apte, also a tennis player in his early days, said that when he won a tournament at the Hindu Gymkhana, Merchant, the Gymkhana president, had handed him the winner’s prize.”So what sport will you choose?” Merchant had asked Apte. “You know, I got lucky with my choice.”Merchant wouldn’t have known that Apte was to replace him in the Bombay Ranji team. Apte recalled how on the eve of a game against Saurashtra in 1951, Merchant injured himself during batting practice. Apte debuted as stand-in opener, making 108. Merchant instantly decided to retire as he believed that Bombay had found a promising opener.Merchant was to gain further popularity as a radio commentator and writer. Setalvad said that what set Merchant apart from other commentators was his sharp eyesight. “He used to come to the ground with a pair of binoculars but I hardly saw him using them. People talk about things like hand-eye co-ordination nowadays and a player from Delhi [Virender Sehwag] has made lots of runs using it. But it all begins with the eyes, how you see things and size them up accordingly.”An old film showing footage of players like Nayudu, Syed Mushtaq Ali, Merchant and Mankad was also shown, which included Merchant interviewing Mushtaq about his aggressive approach to batting.A member of the audience requested for a minute’s silence in memory of the recently-dead Nawab of Pataudi which was respectfully observed.The event was organised by The Legends Club, formed by former BCCI president Raj Singh Dungarpur a decade ago to commemorate the birthdays of Merchant, Vijay Hazare and Mankad.

Saad Altaf rips through Rawalpindi

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A round-up of the action from the second day of the sixth round of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Division One

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Nov-2011Wickets tumbled on the second day at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium where State Bank of Pakistan finished on top against Rawalpindi. Starting the day on 162 for 4, SBP were bowled out for 238. Reeling at 173 for 7 at one stage, they recovered thanks to a lower-order resistance from Rameez Alam and Gulraiz Sadaf, who chipped in with useful contributions. For Rawalpindi, seamer Mohammad Rameez picked up five wickets for 38. While the bowlers brought Rawalpindi back into the match, the batsmen let them down. Usman Saeed managed a top score of 22 in an innings that was ripped apart by seamer Saad Altaf, who grabbed 7 for 59, his career-best effort. He helped SBP bowl out Rawalpindi for 121 in just 30 overs. Having secured a lead of 117, SBP were 24 without loss by the close.Water and Power Development Authority held the advantage over Islamabad at the Diamond Club Ground in Islamabad. By stumps on the second day, they had secured a 52-run lead with six wickets in hand. WAPDA lost Rafatullah Mohmand, Asif Khan and Ayaz Tasawwar after the trio had got starts but Aamer Sajjad and Bilal Khilji rebuilt the innings and turned the tide. Sajjad struck 13 fours and a six in his unbeaten 106, his eleventh first-class ton, and added 148 for the fourth wicket with Khilji, who made 70 before being dismissed. At stumps, WAPDA were 284 for 4.Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited piled up 498 for 9 in their first innings against Abbottabad at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium. The hosts were 82 for 3 at stumps, the initiative still firmly with the visitors. ZTBL were resting comfortably at 305 for 3 overnight and though they lost Shahid Yousuf for 83 early in the day, Haris Sohail built on his half-century to finish with 151, his fourth first-class century. Zohaib Khan supported him with 51 in a fifth-wicket stand worth 116. Seamer Ahmed Jamal helped reduce the damage somewhat and ZTBL eventually declared. In their response, Abbottabad lost opener Rameez Ahmed, Almar Afridi and Asif Ali before the close, still 416 runs adrift.Faisalabad had the edge over Habib Bank Limited in an intriguing clash at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad. At 219 for 8 overnight, Faisalabad folded for 247 on the second morning; Danish Kaneria picked up 6 for 91. HBL, however, capitulated in their response. Only Khaqan Arsal put up any significant resistance with his 71; seamer Abdur Rauf collected 5 for 53, Naseer Akram took 3 for 41 and all HBL could manage was 156 in 55.5 overs, conceding a lead of 91. There were more twists in store: Fahad Masood removed opener Shahid Siddiq and nightwatchman Shoaib Shah in quick time, leaving Faisalabad on 13 for 2, a lead of 104.National Bank of Pakistan were on track of taking control of their contest against Karachi Blues at the National Stadium in Karachi. Left-arm seamer Wahab Riaz tore through the Karachi batting, which had won its team the honours on day one, picking up six wickets. His victims included the centurion Asad Baig in a collapse during which Karachi lost six wickets for 49 runs. NBP replied strongly and were in an excellent position to take a first-innings lead, reaching 227 for 2 by stumps. Opener Nasir Jamshed made an unbeaten 127 and Aqeel Anjum supported him in a stand of 198 that is still ongoing, helping NBP overcome the loss of two early wickets. NBP are now 71 runs behind with eight wickets in hand.Big centuries from opener and captain Kamran Sajid and Faisal Iqbal helped Pakistan International Airlines amass 505 against Sialkot at the Jinnah Stadium in Sialkot. Kamran went on to add 51 more to his overnight score of 122, while Faisal, on 46 at stumps on day two, made an unbeaten 165. He struck 22 fours while his centurion partner struck 24; the pair’s stand was worth 204. Faisal also shared productive partnerships with Fahad Iqbal and Shoaib Khan snr before his captain declared, with just four wickets down. In their response, Sialkot lost opener Jawad Ahmed for 10 and ended the day on 62 for 1.

Bangladesh batsmen must step up

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ESPNcricinfo previews the second ODI between Bangladesh and Pakistan in Mirpur

The Preview by Siddhartha Talya02-Dec-2011

Match facts

Saturday, December 3
Start time 1330 (0730 GMT)As Bangladesh’s best batsman, Tamim Iqbal needs to lead by example•Getty Images

Big Picture

Bangladesh are floundering. Their performance has been just as abject as Pakistan’s has been dominant. The depth in the pace attack that gave Pakistan that extra advantage against Sri Lanka in the Test series in the Middle East has been complemented superbly by their spinners in the limited-overs formats. Shahid Afridi, Saeed Ajmal, Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez have outshone their Bangladesh counterparts, whose over-reliance on Shakib Al Hasan’s all-round abilities can only take them so far.The slow and low tracks in Mirpur may have stifled Pakistan’s batting, but it’s done worse for the hosts. Their captain Mushfiqur Rahim said: “I have not experienced what home advantage is in the last two series, to be honest with you. When you talk about home advantage, you expect to be playing on pitches you are familiar with, so you know what a good total would be, be it 240 or 150.” But he was also prompt to point out that his batsmen “lacked application”. They lasted just 30.3 overs in the previous game, struggled to last 20 overs in the Twenty20 game before that and even in Tests, and have largely found it tough to bat for extended periods.The pitches so far may not have been to their liking, but they’ve still played to Bangladesh’s strength – spin. They’ve just been up against opponents who, apart from being significantly superior, have exploited those conditions better. Not many expected Bangladesh to cause an upset against an opponent that is on a high, but not many would have thought they’d capitulate this badly at home. With four games still remaining on the tour, their batsmen, especially, need to step up as no one’s exposed the difference between the teams as glaringly as they have.

Form guide

Bangladesh: LWLLW (most recent first)
Pakistan: WWWWL

In the spotlight…

Tamim Iqbal missed the Twenty20 game due to a knee injury and was dismissed for a duck in the first ODI. A fluent strokemaker, he’s also shown the ability to play long innings, and in testing conditions he’s among the best equipped in his side to face the Pakistan bowling. He got half-centuries in each of the two home Tests against West Indies before this series and as their best batsman, needs to lead by example.Sarfraz Ahmed, the Pakistan wicketkeeper, has done reasonably well behind the stumps but hasn’t really impressed with the bat. He has an average of 45.16 in first-class cricket but has only managed a highest of 24 in his last five innings. Pakistan have been trying out Umar Akmal behind the stumps in some limited-overs matches, and Sarfraz needs to do much more with the bat to keep his place.

Team news

Bangladesh may look to bring Imrul Kayes back to strengthen their batting.
Bangladesh (possible) 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Imrul Kayes, 3 Shahriar Nafees, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim (capt & wk), 5 Shakib Al Hasan, 6 Mahmudullah, 7 Naeem Islam, 8 Nasir Hossain, 9 Abdur Razzak, 10 Shafiul Islam, 11 Rubel Hossain.Pakistan are likely to retain the same side as they attempt to take the series, and leave any experimentation for the third ODI.
Pakistan (possible) 1 Mohammad Hafeez, 2 Imran Farhat, 3 Younis Khan, 4 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 5 Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), 6 Umar Akmal, 7 Shahid Afridi, 8 Shoaib Malik, 9 Saeed Ajmal, 10 Umar Gul, 11 Aizaz Cheema.

Stats and trivia

  • Mushfiqur Rahim is just 14 away from reaching 2000 runs in ODIs. He’ll be the sixth Bangladesh batsman to get to that landmark when he does.

Quotes

“If the batsmen want they can survive. You can take singles, rotate the strike and play yourself in. Maybe because of Twenty20 cricket now, batsmen don’t have the temperament.”
 presents a different take on the Mirpur pitch

Pradeep flies home with injury

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Sri Lankan seamer Nuwan Pradeep has been ruled out of the tour of South Africa and will return home to recover from a hamstring tear.

Firdose Moonda in Centurion 12-Dec-2011Sri Lankan seamer Nuwan Pradeep has been ruled out of the tour of South Africa and will return home to recover from a hamstring tear. Pradeep sustained the injury after bowling 10 deliveries in the tour match against the South African Invitation XI in Benoni on Saturday and will be out of cricket for almost a month.An MRI scan was done and after examining it, physiotherapist Stephen Mount is of the view that Nuwan will be unable to play for another three to four weeks,” said Brian Thomas, Sri Lanka media manager. “Team management have requested a replacement player.”With injuries to four other seamers before the tour even started, Sri Lanka have limited options over who to bring into the squad. Two of the wounded, Dhammika Prasad and Nuwan Kulasekara started bowling again recently and former captain, Kumar Sangakkara said they “stand a good chance of coming back on the tour.”Sangakkara himself joined the injured ranks when he tore the webbing between the first and second finger on his right hand during the tour match. He left the field on the second day’s play and took no further part in the match and had three stitches put in. After play on Sunday, Sangakkara said he would be monitored but would not play in the Test unless he was fully fit.Although he has not been cleared to play, there is some positive news after he was examined on Monday. “Doctors feel the injury will heal enabling him to play in the first Test,” Thomas said. The first Test starts on Thursday at Centurion.

Marsh to be replaced by Ford as coach

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Sri Lanka Cricket are set to replace current coach Geoff Marsh with Graham Ford, the former South Africa coach, ESPNcricinfo has learned

Tariq Engineer22-Jan-2012Sri Lanka Cricket are set to replace current coach Geoff Marsh with Graham Ford, the former South Africa coach, ESPNcricinfo has learned. The decision, which is expected to be announced after the one-day series against South Africa, is the latest by the board to revamp the set-up around the national team – the selection panel was replaced last week and it is believed the captaincy is also set to change hands.Ford earlier this week resigned as head coach of the Dolphins, the Durban-based franchise, saying he wanted to “follow my dreams of involvement at an international level”.He will be the third coach appointed by Sri Lanka since Trevor Bayliss stepped down after leading them to the 2011 World Cup final. Marsh was appointed for two years in September, 2011 and was in charge for the tours against Pakistan and South Africa. His appointment appeared to end a period of upheaval following Bayliss’ exit. Stuart Law, who was Bayliss’ assistant, took over for the England tour before quitting to coach Bangladesh. Rumesh Ratnayake then took over for the home series against Australia, before Marsh’s appointment.Ford took over as coach of South Africa from Bob Woolmer in 1999 and held the position till 2001. He moved to Kent as director of cricket in 2004, and in 2006 he returned home to take charge of the Dolphins. In June 2007, he was offered the challenge of coaching India but declined. In 2009, he withdrew his name from the shortlist of candidates for the England coaching job.Sri Lanka has come in for much criticism since reaching the World Cup final, having lost every Test and ODI series they have played since then and captain Tillakaratne Dilshan might also be replaced by Mahela Jayawardene following their poor performance in South Africa. When asked in Kimberley, on the eve of the fourth ODI, whether he would accept the job if offered, Jayawardene said, “I will have to think about it. I will need some time.”Phone calls to SLC president Upali Dharmadasa went unanswered while secretary Nishantha Ranatunga said he could not comment on the matter.Sri Lanka have lost three and won one of the five Tests they played under Marsh’s stewardship, though that win was their first ever in South Africa. They have also lost seven of the nine ODIs they have played. When he took over, Marsh had said he was keen to extend his two-year contract to help Sri Lanka win another World Cup. Instead, his term has lasted just four months.

Mashrafe reports spot-fixing approach

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Mashrafe Mortaza has reported to his franchise an approach from a fellow cricketer regarding potential spot-fixing during the Bangladesh Premier League

Mohammad Isam09-Feb-2012Mashrafe Mortaza has reported to his franchise an approach from a fellow cricketer regarding potential spot-fixing during the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). His franchise, Dhaka Gladiators, say they have informed the BPL of the approach.”I have told my team management [about the approach] and I’m sure they will do the right thing,” Mashrafe told ESPNcricinfo. Gladiators media manager Minhaz Uddin Khan confirmed the report and said the franchise had passed on the information to the BPL.The story was first reported in Thursday morning’s Dhaka papers, which included a quote from Mashrafe saying he would step down from the team captaincy if he suspected any irregularities once the tournament got underway.The reports said Mashrafe was asked to provide information on whether he would play certain matches and even whether he’d be wearing his sunglasses or cap. In exchange, he was told, he would be paid 15-20% of the earnings from the spot-betting.However, there is some confusion over the details of the approach – the date and place – and which officials are in the loop regarding this. Former Bangladesh captain Habibul Bashar, who is an advisor to the Gladiators, told ESPNcricinfo that he informed BPL governing council chairman Gazi Ashraf Hossain of the incident on Tuesday; however, the league’s secretary Sirajuddin Mohammad Alamgir said on Thursday morning he was not aware of any such report and had learned of it in the papers.”We have found out after reading the newspaper reports. I don’t understand why he went to the press first before telling us. There’s a proper process for all this,” Alamgir said. “If he had reported it to us, we would have started investigation right away. But even now, we will talk to Mashrafe and take his official statement.”Alamgir confirmed that an ICC ACSU officer is already in Dhaka for the BPL and will be made aware of this new information. “The protocol is for the player to report to the BPL governing council or for the franchise owners to report to BPL. None of them have done that before the news was published in the media. I will also tell our ACSU officer about the incident and we’ll conduct whatever is necessary in this situation.”

Joyce leads Ireland to crucial win over Scotland

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A fine unbeaten 78 by Ed Joyce guided Ireland towards the knockout phase of the ICC World Twenty20 qualifier with a comfortable win over Scotland

The Report by Ger Siggins18-Mar-2012
ScorecardEd Joyce was named the Player of the match for his 78•Getty Images

A fine unbeaten 78 by Ed Joyce guided Ireland towards the knockout phase of the ICC World Twenty20 qualifier with a comfortable win over Scotland. With one defeat each before the game, the Celtic nations were vying for second spot in Group B behind Namibia, and although Ireland came good, they now have some serious injury concerns.John Mooney is out of the rest of the tournament after suffering a torn hamstring while fellow allrounder Alex Cusack is a doubt for the next game. Mooney chased thirty yards and dived to try to catch Preston Mommsen, but fell awkwardly on the rope and instantly signalled for assistance. He remained prone for ten minutes before the Irish coach, Phill Simmons, and physio shouldered him slowly to the dressing room. An announcement on a replacement will be made on Monday.Porterfield had to juggle his options further when Cusack limped off with a niggle in his groin after bowling two overs. Ireland are well stocked with allrounders though, and Kevin O’Brien was able to step up for his first bowl of the tournament and responded with 3 for 35 off four overs.Ireland had a dismal start, with Paul Stirling edging tentatively to slip off the first ball he faced from Matthew Parker. The brisk Safayeen Sharif bowled a loosening widish first ball to William Porterfield, only for the Ireland captain to drag it back on to his stumps. It was a dismissal identical to how he fell to James Anderson during the last World Cup.From 8 for 2 Ireland regrouped around Joyce, with Cusack cutting loose in an over from Parker with four consecutive boundaries. “Alex played a really good innings – it wasn’t that big but hitting 18 off one over at that stage took the pressure off,” Joyce said. Cusack was stumped off Majid Haq, but Ireland’s middle order came good once again. Kevin O’Brien and Gary Wilson upped the run-rate with some clean hitting, Wilson crashing Berrington onto the third deck of the VIP area.Scotland got their field right in the closing overs and boundaries dried up. There had been just one four in more than six overs when Joyce took guard for the last two balls of the innings. He hit Safayaan Sharif’s slower ball over square leg for six, and followed up straight and into the wind for another.
“I don’t often hit sixes so i think those last two balls were crucial”, Joyce said. “Instead of facing seven and a half an over they needed eight, so those hits were useful.”Strangely, for a player who has been one of the most prolific in 50-over cricket in recent English seasons, this was his first fifty in Twenty20, in his 66th game.”I always found Twenty20 a hard game to play, as you never know whether to stick or twist”, he said.Scotland’s job was all the harder after three balls when Trent Johnston found his way through Richie Berrington’s defence. Berrington has batted consistently in the tournament, and had scored a match-winning century when the teams last met over fifty overs. Two balls after Mooney’s injury Mommsen tried to pull Johnston and was trapped in front.The sideshow of the tournament’s leading bowler, Boyd Rankin, and leading batsman, Calum McLeod — teammates at Warwickshire — promised much. Rankin was the decisive winner here, troubling McLeod twice before the batsman made a mess of his footwork trying to pull and was given out.Kyle Coetzer – captaining in place of the injured Gordon Drummond – came together with Fraser Watts but after eight overs the asking rate was above 10. Coetzer put Max Sorensen’s first two balls over the rope on the straight and made his day even worse when Sorenson dropped him badly at long off.The pair had put on 78 off 11 overs when Trent Johnston caught Watts off O’Brien, and next ball Jan Stander was sent back, fatally, by Coetzer. The captain completed a 46-ball fifty with a six off Stirling but the run-rate continued to mount and when O’Brien held a sharp return catch in the 19th over it was over as a contest.Porterfield was resolute in his assessment: “If we win every game from today we’ll qualify. That’s what we’re planning to do.”

Bengal and Orissa win comfortably

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A round-up of matches in the Vijay Hazare Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Feb-2012

East Zone

Bengal‘s bowlers compensated for a middle and lower-order collapse to secure a 69-run victory against Assam at Eden Gardens. Bengal were well placed at 152 for 2 after choosing to bat, but collapsed after that, losing eight wickets for 84 runs. Shreevats Goswami scored 69 and Wriddhiman Saha 72 off 60 balls but of the last seven batsmen, only Debabrata Das got into double figures. Deepak Gohain took 3 for 62 and Tarjinder Singh took 2 for 36 for Assam as Bengal were dismissed for 236 in 46.1 overs. Assam’s chase never took off as wickets fell at frequent intervals to curb their momentum. The top scorer was the opener Pallavkumar Das, who made 38, and only two other batsmen got past 20 as Assam were dismissed for 167 in 42.3 overs.Orissa’s batsmen chased a testing target with five wickets and 7.3 overs to spare against Jharkhand in Kolkata. Chasing 255, Orissa’s openers Paresh Patel and Tukuna Sahoo made a quick start, scoring 62 in eight overs. Patel anchored the innings with 79 and, when he fell in the 34th over, Orissa were on course. Victory was sealed by Sujit Lenka, who was 56 not out, and Bhibudutta Panda, who made 41 off 29 balls. Jharkhand used eight bowlers but only Yaju Krishanatry and Rahul Shukla took wickets. Jharkhand could have scored more than 254 for 6 but they stumbled from 75 for 0 to 117 for 4. Saurabh Tiwary steadied the innings with 57 and Kumar Deobrat scored 72. Biplab Samantray took 3 for 38 for Orissa.

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