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Homegrown James takes career-best figures as defending champions lose by an innings and 30 runs

David Hopps09-May-2021Essex’s Championship defence is running aground. In Somerset and Yorkshire, the two counties most fancied to raise a challenge, anticipation will be growing that this could be their year. They now have one win in five and their second defeat of the season – by an innings and 30 runs against Nottinghamshire – will demand an urgent assessment of why their season is going awry.Even the convenience of a third day lost to heavy rain did not allow Essex to give the slightest indication that they might save the game. They trailed by 95 at the start of play, with seven wickets remaining, and would have needed to bat until tea or thereabouts. Instead, they capitulated on the stroke of one o’clock. With half their group games spent they lie second bottom and need a quick response.Dismissed for 99 on a Trent Bridge greentop in the first innings, they lost their last seven wickets for 38. Faced again by encouraging bowling conditions (how could it be otherwise after Saturday’s deluge?), their last six second-innings wickets fell for 29. There is a lot of onus on their top four to fire and, in this game, Tom Westley and Dan Lawrence failed in both innings.Related

• Luke Fletcher bags six wickets as Essex are bowled out for 99

• Alastair Cook may rue lean Trent Bridge harvest as Steven Mullaney makes hay

• Ben Sanderson, Gareth Berg share 19 wickets as Northamptonshire thrash Sussex

How quickly perceptions can change. Little more than week ago, Nottinghamshire were easy to depict as the county that had tried and failed to buy their way out of decline. But they won at the 31st time of asking, shouldering aside Derbyshire by an innings, and have followed that up by thrashing the champions by an innings.They now top Group One and, although they are surely the Katy Perry of the Championship – “You’re hot then you’re cold, you’re yes then you’re no, you’re in then you’re out, you’re up then you’re down” – they might just surprise everyone for qualifying for the top group with a top-two finish.They even had a homegrown player at the heart of their victory. Lyndon James, a willowy allrounder with close-cropped fair hair, followed up a maiden first-class 50 in Notts’ first-innings with career-best bowling figures of 4 for 51, and 6 for 54 in the match. A product of Caythorpe in the Notts Premier League, he will help lift the reputation of a Notts academy that has often invited criticism in recent seasons.With bat and ball, James looked to be a thoughtful cricketer, and indeed had a season as Notts’ 2nd XI captain. He glided to the crease and swung the ball at the high end of medium pace. Notts have not been entirely sure how to get him into the side, but it is in the middle order where he gives them a better balance, allowing them to pick a spinner as well as lighten the bowling load on the captain, Steven Mullaney.The most striking attribute about Notts’ bowling performance, though, was not the individual but the collective. Their consistency never gave Essex an outlet, and the other batter who did resist for any length of time, Paul Walter, was rendered almost strokeless as his 30 encompassed 106 balls.It soon became apparent that after the deluge, and on a warmer but still cloudy morning, the bowlers would still prosper. Nevertheless, Notts needed early proof of that in the wickets column and Fletcher, who took a couple of overs to find his range, provided it by having Nick Browne caught at the wicket with one that left him.Browne, with two half-centuries in the match, scored 43% of Essex’s runs off the bat. With his departure, the dam had been breached. Four wickets fell for nine runs in 25 balls, three of them to James.He began with a double wicket maiden. Ryan ten Doeschate, who invites an lbw, fell to a big inducker and Adam Wheater was bowled through the gate, driving, second ball, hardly the show of resolve that Essex needed. Walter’s obduracy was then ended by a fast catch to his left, at second slip, by Ben Duckett.James had enjoyed a rewarding Championship debut against Essex in 2018 and now he had visions of his first five-wicket haul, only for Haseeb Hameed to drop Peter Siddle at third slip.When Siddle was ninth out, the second new ball was due and Stuart Broad was meaningfully hanging around the stumps as if he quite fancied bowling with it. Mullaney, astutely, allowed James two more overs to get his maiden five-for, but it was not to be and back-slaps at the end of his spell did not dissuade him from a frustrated grimace and scuff of the turf.

The two have opened 59 times in ODIs, with a tally of 3050 runs, including nine century stands

Vishal Dikshit in Mumbai15-Jan-20202:17

I’m really making the most of my form – Warner

David Warner extended his prolific summer across formats, topping it with an unbeaten century that handed India a drubbing in the opening ODI of the series in Mumbai on Tuesday. Warner’s 18th ODI century was his fourth across formats since the summer started for him back home.Before that Warner had a dismal run during the Ashes in England, putting together all of 95 runs in 10 innings. On Tuesday, Warner said that he was batting well in the nets in England but the runs weren’t coming. Warner then returned home to hit form straightaway, with a T20I century against Sri Lanka, and currently averages 171.57 in 12 international matches this season, with two half-centuries and five centuries – one in T20I cricket, three in Tests and the latest one in ODIs.Warner recalled how he batted for long hours in the nets before the Pakistan Tests, in which he scored consecutive hundreds, including a career-best 335 not out in Adelaide.”Yeah I was hitting them well in England in the nets too and couldn’t get a run on the board,” Warne said at the press conference. “I have a hunger and a desire to score runs all the time. I look back at that little phase there [in England] and it was just a small hiccup. I wasn’t out of form, I was out of runs.”I’m really making the most of it at the moment, my feet are moving well. I’m getting my head over my front leg, my weight is going through the ball. All those small things are coming into play. When you are in that kind of form and touch and everything is going well for you, you have to make sure you are practicing the same and doing all the hard work.”I look back at the beginning against Pakistan, I trained a lot going into the first Test match, JL (Justin Langer) noted to me I had been batting for almost two hours in that session which is unlike me. I didn’t play a Shield game leading in and I felt like I needed to bat time. It put me in real good stead for the summer.”ALSO READ: How Starc and Finch masterminded Australia’s victoryDavid Warner congratulates Aaron Finch on his hundred•BCCI

Warner and Aaron Finch put on a dominating stand like never before against India that was only their second 10-wicket loss at home. Warner said his chemistry with Finch off the field, and their understanding of each other played a crucial role in how they performed on the field. The two have opened 59 times in ODIs, with a tally of 3050 runs, including nine century stands. Against India, they average a staggering 106, having opened 10 times for 954 runs, including three century stands.”The most pleasing thing for me up the other end was seeing Finchy transfer his weight into the ball very well,” Warner said. “He talks about not doing that as consistently, but tonight was probably the best that I’ve ever seen him bat. The way that he played was fantastic. It was great to have that winning partnership and be clinical there and [win] none down.”We complement each other on the field but we’re great mates off the field and I think we know each other’s games so well and personalities that now we can have honest conversations out there. If we’re playing shots that we wouldn’t, we reassure each other about that, it’s purely we complement each other, it’s just great to go out there and play the way that we do. When he’s going, I know what my role is and when I’m going he knows what he’s role is and we communicate that straight away and I think that’s the best thing about our partnership, it works very well.”When asked if Warner saw himself and Finch opening the batting in the next World Cup too, in 2023 in India, Warner brought up a few other factors, apart from form and fitness, into play.”I think we’ll speak to our wives first. We’ll both be 36 or 37, I’ve got three kids – I hope that’s the last one (laughs) – and in that three years you’ve got form, wives, family. Take one step at a time.”

The fast bowler picked up 5 for 100 as Western Australia were bowled out for 251 in their second innings despite Josh Philippe’s maiden century

The Report by Alex Malcolm19-Oct-2018Chris Tremain goes up in appeal•Getty Images

Last season’s leading Sheffield Shield wicket-taker Chris Tremain has picked up where he left off, claiming nine wickets in Victoria’s innings demolition of Western Australia at the WACA ground.Victoria’s march to victory was halted by heavy rain on day three. But despite a sparkling maiden Shield century from Josh Philippe, the game was wrapped up before lunch on day four.Philippe and Cameron Green put on a 78-run partnership for the seventh wicket to frustrate Victoria. Philippe added 17 to his overnight score to reach his century before falling to Scott Boland for 104 from 142 balls.Green watched helplessly from the non-striker’s end as Boland then knocked over Usman Qadir and David Moody for ducks before Tremain trapped Simon Mackin in front for nought to complete his sixth five-wicket haul in first-class cricket. Green finished on 35 not out.Will Pucovski was named Player of the Match for his stunning 243.

Four years since he made an emphatic statement of intent as a formidable allrounder, James Faulkner looks to India for his reintroduction and regeneration

Daniel Brettig11-Sep-20171:31

Faulkner eager to resume Australia duties

It was in India in 2013 that James Faulkner truly announced himself as an international allrounder of substance. Most specifically, his Mohali heist gave rise to the nom de plume “the Finisher”; Ishant Sharma and Vinay Kumar would still get whiplash from thinking about it. Though Australia lost the series, Faulkner went on to be a vital player in a winning World Cup campaign in 2015.Four years on, Faulkner again looks to India for a series of significance, only this time his goal is that of reintroduction and regeneration. It’s barely been a few months since Faulkner lost his Cricket Australia contract and was then omitted from the Champions Trophy squad.The setbacks, at the very least, had the effect of clearing Faulkner’s mind about what he needed to do. Principally, this was to get his body right again after more than a year of nursing a damaged knee, to restore snap to his bowling and freedom to his movement between the wickets and on the field. Strong as he now feels, the question remains whether Faulkner can bring his unique brand of brio and tactical intelligence to the pointy end of an ODI.”Anytime you miss out on selection, it is tough,” Faulkner said in Chennai. “I have a good chance now. I had four months away from the game. I had bit of pre-season which has been nice, a bit of time in my own bed, and to get strong and fit again. I have been battling – to be honest – probably the last 18 months, so it’s been nice to be home with my team-mates in Tassie and hit the gym hard. Just physically with my knee and the state it has been in. It is as good as it’s been at the moment, so I’m pretty happy.”My training definitely changed. I spent a lot of time on the bike; I haven’t spent any time running other than fielding and while bowling in the nets. Have been doing different exercises in the gym, there are certain exercises I can’t do but there is a lot I still can. It is about being disciplined with them and training and working hard. Also reflecting on aspects you need work on as a player because everyone has to get better.”It was pretty tough. I think if you ask any player when you get left out it is not great fun. After a while you are friends and family with your team-mates as well. At the end of the day it is up to you to be back; I am excited to back in the group. I don’t really want to talk about the past. It’s about this series coming up and a good opportunity against very good opposition in their own country.”In terms of opportunity, Faulkner has the good fortune of knowing that nobody has truly made a spot their own in his absence. Marcus Stoinis played the sort of dominant innings Faulkner would have wished to play at the other end at Eden Park against New Zealand in January this year but has not played since. Moises Henriques was preferred by Steven Smith for the Champions Trophy but did not have the desired impact in a team that was swiftly eliminated. And Mitchell Marsh is currently preparing to captain Western Australia as a batsman only while still recovering from shoulder surgery.For Faulkner, a fruitful stint during the India tour could mean a second chance to be part of a winning Australian team•Associated Press

“I didn’t get too much feedback to be honest [on why he was dropped],” Faulkner said. “It was about… they said the pace has dropped down a little bit maybe. I bowl a lot of variations, so it’s a tough one. I didn’t have too much to be honest. I just reflected myself and wanted to get back in the team. I put that aside and worked as hard as I could.”I suppose for me [my strength] is the variation and the death [overs] as well with both the bat and ball. I don’t know about the X-factor, there are a lot of players with the X-factor in both line-ups and that is international cricket. Do as well as I can and play my part in these conditions, which are obviously different from back in Australia.”Australia’s Test players are already well-adjusted to the south Indian heat given their recent experiences in Bangladesh, but for Faulkner and other limited-overs operators there will be a little more time required to acclimatise. Snow and ice have been evident in Faulkner’s Hobart base in recent weeks, so it was understandable that he had worked up a sweat after training. Another southern stater, the Victorian Aaron Finch, will not play in Australia’s sole warm-up match on Tuesday as he nurses a calf niggle.”We are obviously looking forward to playing a warm-up game before the series starts,” Faulkner said. “It is tough conditions here in Chennai, it is hot – I’m here now and I’m still sweating! The boys are eager to get out there and play some good cricket, it is going to be a good series. Last time we were here, we had some good tough cricket, so we are all excited.”There’s a lot of experience in that changing room playing in the subcontinent. Most of the boys have played enough here with the IPL and other series and the T20 World Cup. [India] have played a lot of one-day cricket of late. They are in really good nick right now. It is going to be a test and we’re excited for it.”For Faulkner, that excitement is about a second chance to be part of a winning Australian team.

ESPNcricinfo previews the second ODI between England and Sri Lanka at Edgbaston

The Preview by Andrew Miller23-Jun-2016

Match facts

Friday, June 24
Start time 2pm local (1300 GMT)

Big picture

Eoin Morgan wasn’t buying the euphoria that drenched Trent Bridge on Tuesday night, after Liam Plunkett’s long levers had bludgeoned England to a share of a thrilling contest which, on balance, they deserved to have lost. “We are very lucky to get out of this game with a tie,” he said. “That was as bad as we have performed with the bat over the past year.”Morgan’s honesty was as refreshing as the attitude that had hauled his team back from the brink, both in Tuesday’s contest and, more generally, over the course of the past 18 months. There are genuine and attainable goals in the offing for England’s 50-overs squad in the not-so-distant future, but lapses such as they displayed in their first limited-overs outing since the World T20 final won’t be forgiven by better-drilled opponents.That said, it was no accident that England had the wherewithal to regroup after shedding their top six wickets in the space of 18 ill-disciplined overs. Their astonishing depth of batting is designed for occasions such as these – and you might even argue it is important that players such as Chris Woakes, England’s Man of the Match for his two wickets and 95 match-salvaging runs, are put under pressure to perform rather than allowed to gather dust as luxury tailenders, as has arguably been the case with Moeen Ali in recent months.But then again, it took a crisis to concentrate England’s minds, as if each of the top order had subconsciously been passing the buck to the next man without ever quite assuming responsibility until they really had to. Joe Root, the rock of their renaissance last summer, completed his fourth single-figure score in five innings this summer; Jonny Bairstow, their form man from the Test series, faced six balls all told and should have been out to two of them.Morgan himself fought hard against his troubling recent lack of form but was persistently challenged, and eventually undone, by Sri Lanka’s angle across his bows. But the major exception to England’s ennui was Jos Buttler, whose sojourn with Mumbai Indians perhaps reaped fewer grandstand moments than he had personally hoped for, but certainly sharpened his instinct for rising to an occasion. A brilliant catch on the long-on boundary denied him his fifth ODI hundred (and what would have been his slowest by a distance) but served notice that his team would not be quitting on their task.It was certainly a bitter denouement for Sri Lanka, who had entered the contest with intent following two galvanising triumphs in Ireland and produced, in Seekkuge Prasanna’s thrilling half-century, the most eye-catching performance of the day. The loss, however, of their captain, Angelo Mathews, was probably the difference between victory and the tie. His six overs of wicket-to-wicket wobblers had been just what the surface ordered, but the recurrence of his hamstring injury meant a spell of 2 for 22 was cut off in its prime.In Mathew’s absence, Sri Lanka’s attack closed ranks as best they do – Prasanna’s legspin matched that of the parsimonious Adil Rashid, while Farvez Maharoof, Suranga Lakmal and even the unfortunate Nuwan Pradeep all bowled better than their economy rates would suggest. But in the final analysis England did just enough to overcome their rustiness and salvage a share of the spoils. They will expect better things in Birmingham. The question is, will their opponents?Angelo Mathews underwent a fitness test on his hamstring•Getty Images

Form guide

England: TLLLW (last five matches, most recent first)
Sri Lanka: TWWLW

In the spotlight

His captaincy has been a significant and acknowledged factor in England’s upsurge in recent fortunes, but Eoin Morgan‘s batting remains under a significant cloud. At the World T20, he mustered 66 runs in six matches – almost half of those in the opening fixture against West Indies – and so by that rationale, his return of 43 from 49 balls on Tuesday was a step in the right direction. It was, however, a painstaking knock – understandable to a degree, with England floundering at 30 for 4 when Buttler joined him to begin the rebuilding effort. But despite the odd flash of his most fluent self, most notably a handful of straight drives back down the ground, Morgan is still fighting to unleash the inventive instincts that made him such a stand-out performer in his pre-leadership days.There’s no ignoring the joie de vivre that Seekkuge Prasanna brings to his destructive slogging in the middle of Sri Lanka’s innings. Pinch-hitters are thought to be rather old hat these days – why risk swinging through the line when you can contort your stance and ramp a six into no-man’s land at fine leg? But the combination of a sharp eye and a fearless mind will never go entirely out of fashion, and the glee with which Prasanna brought up his fifty from 24 balls was understandable – at Malahide last week, he biffed 95 from 46 balls so he is enjoying a rare appetite for destruction. Whenever Sri Lanka choose to unleash him, brace for fireworks.

Team news

Plunkett’s retention ahead of Steven Finn for the first match came as something of a surprise but was, in hindsight, due reward for his role in the team that reached the World T20 final. His bowling may not have hit the mark consistently, but his six-hitting heroics amply justified his selection. Finn has been released to play for Middlesex in tonight’s T20 Blast contest against Somerset at Lord’s. Jason Roy, meanwhile, has received an injection for a wrist problem, but batted in the nets and is expected to be fit to retain his place in an unchanged XI.England (probable): 1 Jason Roy, 2 Alex Hales, 3 Joe Root, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 Jos Buttler (wk), 6 Jonny Bairstow, 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Chris Woakes, 9 David Willey, 10 Liam Plunkett, 11 Adil Rashid.All eyes are on Angelo Mathews as he undergoes a fitness test on the hamstring strain that bugged him during Sri Lanka’s elimination, against England, at the World T20 in Delhi earlier this year, and flared back up during his bowling spell on Tuesday. Sri Lanka are considering dipping into their A-team squad for reinforcements, but the skipper is one man they simply cannot do without. He was rated at 70% on Thursday, pending another test before the match. He’ll surely play on one leg if needs be.Sri Lanka (possible): 1 Kusal Perera, 2 Danushka Gunathilaka, 3 Kusal Mendis, 4 Dinesh Chandimal (wk), 5 Angelo Mathews (capt), 6 Upul Tharanga, 7 Seekkuge Prasanna, 7 Dasun Shanaka, 9 Farveez Maharoof 10 Nuwan Pradeep, 11 Suranga Lakmal

Pitch and conditions

As in Nottingham, wet weather over recent weeks means the Edgbaston pitch has not seen much sunshine. But the ground has a reputation for good limited-overs surfaces, as demonstrated by the last ODI held there, when England broke 400 for the first time. Friday’s forecast is for a relatively clear afternoon and evening.

Stats and trivia

• Bittersweet memories for England at Edgbaston in their most recent ODI encounters at the venue. This time last year, they announced the start of their post-World Cup rebirth with their highest ODI score, 408 for 9 against New Zealand
• However, they had lost each of previous five completed ODIs at Edgbaston – three against India, including the final of the Champions Trophy in 2013 – and one against Sri Lanka, who sealed a 3-2 series triumph on their last tour of England in 2014 with a six-wicket win in the fifth and deciding match.
• Sri Lanka’s share of the spoils at Trent Bridge means that the inaugural Super Series remains alive … but only just. England now lead 11-3, meaning that Sri Lanka must win each of the last five internationals (four ODIs, one T20I) to sneak a 13-11 win.

Quotes

“We’re not at all concerned about the top order not scoring runs in Nottingham. If anything we should come out and play even more shots. That’s the way we want to play our cricket. We want to put teams under pressure and there’s no reason to change.”
“We were very good with batting and bowling, the only thing is we have to improve is our fielding. If we fielded well [at Trent Bridge] it would have been a different story but we are improving.”

West Indies allrounder Dwayne Bravo has revealed that his exclusion from the squad for the World Cup did not come as a surprise

Nagraj Gollapudi10-Jun-2015West Indies allrounder Dwayne Bravo has revealed that his exclusion from the squad for the World Cup did not come as a surprise, and he and Kieron Pollard were expecting the axe – which he called a “big joke” – from the West Indies Cricket Board selection panel, headed by Clive Lloyd. He also said the team management was prepared to lose the World Cup before it started and instead build for the next tournament.In an interview with ESPNcricinfo, Bravo said the pair “laughed” when Lloyd sat down the pair in Cape Town in January to explain the reasons he felt they were not fit to be part of the World Cup squad. “We actually laughed when he said it to us. To be honest, we knew it was coming. We know the type of people in charge of our cricket are actually mature enough to make sensible decisions and the right decisions for the benefit of cricket,” Bravo said. “If we had got selected we actually would have been surprised. We expected it. There was nothing that shocked us.”The explanation that they gave us was too many allrounders or they want to try young players, whatever the case might be… Kieron Pollard is 27, I am 31. Also as far as our form was concerned, as I said, the last 12 months I had been West Indies’ best player. So to be left out with those explanations, obviously, all we could have done is laugh. It was a big joke.”Bravo has endured a tough time in the last eight months since he led West Indies’ player boycott on their India tour, during which the team abandoned the series mid-way over a contracts dispute involving the WICB and the players. Subsequently, Bravo was axed as ODI captain and dropped from the World Cup squad despite being one of the top performers in the team in the preceding 12 months before the selection. In January, he announced his Test retirement at the age of 31.Citing West Indies’ poor performance at the World Cup as a shame, Bravo said that the management had gone into the tournament prepared to lose, even as a more senior group had worked for the tournament for three years.”Another World Cup come, finish. They (were) happy with their decision. They were prepared not to win this World Cup,” he said. “It is a shame that before the World Cup even started, they were already prepared to lose and look forward to building for the next World Cup, whereas in the last three years we were building for this World Cup. But it is all water under the bridge now. I am not someone to hold on to anything.”The allrounder finished as the highest wicket-taker in IPL 2015 but said that the performance was not meant to prove a point and he still considers himself “one of the better allrounders in the region”. Bravo welcomed West Indies head coach Phil Simmons’ move to keep the Test team’s doors open for IPL returnees, including Pollard, Sunil Narine, Lendl Simmons and Andre Russell. Bravo said that he was not currently open to the idea of returning to Test cricket.”No. There is a lot more that needs to be changed in order for me to even think of coming back into Test cricket. At the moment I am happy with my decision and I don’t see it changing anytime soon unless something drastic changes.”

Moments after Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra called off a match that produced 1443 runs for the loss of 13 wickets without a single first-innings being completed, the UP coach Venkatesh Prasad waged a scathing attack on the pitch

Amol Karhadkar in Pune12-Nov-2012Moments after Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra called off a match that produced 1443 runs for the loss of 13 wickets without a single first-innings being completed, the UP coach Venkatesh Prasad waged a scathing attack on the pitch. The track produced five centuries – including a triple-century – and all five turned out to be personal-best scores in first-class cricket. However, the most talked-about feature of the Group B tie at the Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium in Pune was the pitch.All one had to do was to remind Prasad that he had said two evenings ago that he would be in a better position to comment on the wicket at the end of the match and what followed for the next four minutes was a monologue.”It’s a pathetic wicket for a four-day match. Why I am saying this is because there were close to 1500 runs scored and still nobody could get the first-innings lead,” Prasad said. “The first innings itself didn’t get completed. That shows the unsportiveness of this pitch. I have been hearing that there is a directive from the BCCI to prepare sporting wickets and if this is the case, I don’t know what to say, honestly.”If a similar thing happens in a knockout game, obviously the game will be extended by another day. Why should a player be penalised? As it is, there are a lot of injuries. And playing on such a wicket on the sixth day, especially in the knockouts when the first innings doesn’t get completed, we are unnecessarily penalising a player and on top of that, the injuries are going to increase that much more.”I think the people who should be penalised are the [host] associations. That’s something which they need to bring in. That’s when we can start preparing good tracks, no matter who you favour. This is basically just not cricket. When you are playing on this sort of a pitch, you are killing the game, killing the interest as far as the spectators are concerned, and it gives false confidence to the batsmen. On top of that, the bowlers start doubting their abilities by playing on this sort of a track. So it is not going to help anybody. It’s not going to help the batsmen or the bowlers, and on top of that, the game itself.”Prasad wholeheartedly backed the UP captain Suresh Raina, who had criticised the wicket after the penultimate day’s play. “I completely second what Raina has said as far as the pitch is concerned and this is exactly my point of view. We need to play on wickets like how the Ghaziabad pitch was. We knew that Delhi was playing with a full-strength team and they had the best of the bowlers, but still… the whole thing is about the mindset and that’s where you create a winner. That’s very important. I am extremely unhappy with the way this game has gone as far the pitch is concerned.”Prasad also expressed concern on how the batsmen’s scores on such a track could end up overshadowing others who have scored less in difficult conditions. “By scoring triple-hundreds and stuff like that, they will straightaway claim places in the India A squad, the Duleep Trophy squad, that when the actual thing is that it’s a belter of a track. That doesn’t make any sense. Unnecessarily, scores like 300 here are putting pressure on those batsmen who are scoring 100s or 120s or 150s on really challenging tracks. He is going to lose his chance, that’s the whole point. Just imagine those players who are playing on challenging tracks – whether seaming or a turning track – and gets a 150, this one is going to overshadow that. But nobody knows the exact worth of his knock.”Prasad then criticised Maharashtra’s tactics of batting 35 minutes into the third day before declaring. “I am really unhappy with the unsportiveness of the [Maharashtra] side as well. They took their own sweet time to declare. It is just too difficult for me to understand. And if that is the mindset of the players, then I am sorry to say that they are not going to go anywhere from here.”Maharashtra’s young captain, Rohit Motwani, however, defended his team’s tactics. “Looking at the wicket, we knew we had to score more runs to be on the safer side. We came to bat on the third day to frustrate the opponent for fielding three days in a row. They came back very hard at us in scoring. We had to be patient and get their openers out after they got to a flying start,” Motwani, who scored a career-best 147, said.Motwani, however, agreed that the wicket fell short of acceptable standards. “We hope to get better pitches in the upcoming home games. It is a bit disappointing to score 700-plus runs and get just one point,” he said. “This wicket is one of the flattest in India. Even after getting some early wickets [on the last day], we knew it would not be easy to get wickets at regular intervals. We would definitely want a wicket which is a seven-pointer. We would like to have a result-oriented wicket in our upcoming home matches.”

Salman Butt, the ex-Pakistan Test captain accused of being involved in spot-fixing, said on the tenth day of the trial in London that he “misjudged” his former agent Mazhar Majeed

Richard Sydenham at Southwark Crown Court18-Oct-2011Salman Butt, the ex-Pakistan Test captain accused of being involved in spot-fixing, said on the tenth day of the trial in London that he “misjudged” his former agent Mazhar Majeed, labelled corruption in cricket “terrible” and admitted to “suspicions” about Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif after the no-ball scandal was revealed.”I didn’t realise what kind of man he was,” Butt told the court on his current feelings towards Majeed, as his lawyer Ali Bajwa QC neared the close of his opening defence.”But now with the things that have come out I think I have misjudged somebody completely. I just took his word and trusted him. I knew him for a long time and never thought there would be another side to him that would be this bad.”Butt and fast bowler Mohammad Asif are facing charges of conspiracy to cheat, and conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments, following the Lord’s Test in August last year when they allegedly conspired with Majeed, teenage fast bowler Mohammad Amir and other people unknown to bowl pre-planned no-balls. Butt and Asif deny the charges.Butt admitted he was suspicious of his former team-mates honesty in the Lord’s Test when the published their expose. “The suspicion was there but I never wanted to believe it,” was as much as Butt would say.When Bajwa inquired as to Butt’s feelings on what he was accused of, he said: “I would never do that. Cricket is my passion. Look at what I am getting accused of (£2,500 of money found in his room). I’m earning every match nearly four times that. It’s a very bizarre thing.”I have always played my cricket with passion and I try to do well, to win. Players in the sub-continent know what the difference is when we do well and when we don’t do well. If we do well it’s really good and we have all the luxuries available. But if we don’t do well the reaction is not like people in the west know about. “When Bajwa prompted Butt for his thoughts about corruption in cricket generally, he replied: “It’s a terrible thing to do. It’s not very good for the game or for the country. And it speaks of the man’s character himself.”The case continues.

Namibia completed a clean-sweep over Uganda with a 44-run win in the solitary Twenty20 at the Wanderers Cricket Ground in Windhoek

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Sep-2010
Scorecard
Namibia completed a clean-sweep over Uganda with a 44-run win in the solitary Twenty20 at the Wanderers Cricket Ground in Windhoek. After Namibia opted to bat first Uganda’s bowlers once again did a decent job of restricting the home side’s batsmen before Louis Klazinga and Tobias Verwey boosted the total to 159 for 6 with an unbroken seventh-wicket partnership of 42 in under three overs. Klazinga then burst through Uganda’s top order to pick up four quick wickets with his fast-medium seamers, and their chase never recovered.Uganda’s bowling has been competitive more often than not on this tour, and they managed to keep Namibia’s top order in check as four of the top five made starts but were dismissed before reaching 20 after captain Craig Williams won the toss and elected to set a total. Left-arm seamer Charles Waiswa made the first incision when he had opener Ewaid Steenkamp caught behind, and Deusdedit Muhumuza then chipped away with three wickets in four overs of accurate medium pace as Namibia slipped to 58 for 4 in the ninth over.Frank Nsubuga kept a lid on the scoring rate, giving away just 13 runs in four overs of offspin and when Davis Arinaitwe had Gert Lotter caught behind Namibia were 83 for 5 and in danger of setting a sub-par total. Raymond van Schoor and Verwey built some momentum with a 34-run stand in good time before Klazinga joined Verwey and quickly launched a brutal assault at the death. Following on from his match-winning cameo in the second limited-overs match, Klazinga laid into Uganda’s bowlers to plunder 25 runs from just eight balls, with two fours and two sixes, while Verwey cracked five boundaries of his own to finish unbeaten on 33.Uganda’s chase got off to a catastrophic start as Klazinga had Roger Mukasa caught behind off the first ball of the innings. He then struck three times in six balls in his second over to rip the heart out of the visitors’ middle order and reduce them to 11 for 4. Former captain Akbar Baig and Arthur Ziraba fought back with a 52-run partnership for the fifth wicket but the required rate continued to climb and Ziraba’s dismissal to Louis van der Westhuizen’s left-arm spin for 23 effectively ended the chase.Namibia’s spinner kept chipping away at the lower order, and despite a defiant knock from Ronald Ssemanda – who cleared the boundary twice – Uganda were skittled for 115 with nine balls remaining in the innings.

Dhruv Shorey’s run-a-ball hundred in vain for Vidarbha

Shashank Kishore18-Jan-2025
In a high-scoring contest that produced over 650 runs and two superb hundreds from R Smaran and Dhruv Shorey, it was a 42-ball 79 from Abhinav Manohar that made the difference as Karnataka edged Vidarbha in a thriller to clinch the Vijay Hazare Trophy in Vadodara.That it became a thriller was down to Harsh Dubey’s 63 off 30 balls after Karun Nair’s dream run in the tournament ended. Nair was dismissed for only the second time in eight innings in the tournament when Prasidh Krishna knocked him over for 27. Nair finished with a chart-topping 779 runs at an eye-popping average of 389.50.Dubey built on Shorey’s third successive century, by hitting a 25-ball half-century lower down the order, to bring the equation down to 37 off 12 balls. In the end, Dubey ran out of partners and was the last man dismissed when he heaved left-arm seamer Abhilash Shetty to deep midwicket as Karnataka sealed victory to break a five-year trophy drought.The game was fought on an even keel for most parts. Karnataka, who were put in to bat, lost the in-form Devdutt Padikkal in the sixth over, before KV Aneesh and Mayank Agarwal steadied the innings.Seamer Nachiket Bhute then struck twice in two overs to remove both batters; Agarwal fell for 32 to finish the tournament as the second-highest run-getter with 651 runs. At 67 for 3, Karnataka needed a rescue act, and two relatively inexperienced players stepped up.Smaran and KL Shrijith, both of whom are in their first full seasons, put together 160 for the fourth wicket. The pair slowly built a platform before picking up pace. They took 26 off the 27th and 28th overs as Karnataka went on the offensive. Shrijith was superb in his footwork against spin, quickly bringing up a half-cegntury off 54 balls, Smaran followed suit in the same over when he brought his off 47 balls with an exquisite pull in front of square off the nippy Yash Thakur.Shrijith’s dismissal in the 38th over brought Manohar out to the middle, and he enhanced his reputation of being a finisher with some pristine hitting, not once giving the impression that he was slogging. On 24 off 25 at the end of the 44th over, Manohar began the surge by hitting Bhute for a sequence of 4, 4, 6 to begin the 45th.When Bhute bowled length into the pitch, Manohar used the angle to pick a boundary behind point. When Bhute bowled a wide yorker, he scythed it to the deep-cover fence, and when he missed a yorker, Manohar stayed deep inside the crease and shovelled it to clear long-off.Thakur bore the brunt of Manohar’s fury in the following over when he was picked away for two fours in the 46th, and three back-to-back fours in the 48th, as the wheels started to come off Vidarbha’s attack. The last seven overs fetched Karnataka 83 as they got the perfect finish.Vidarbha started the chase briskly but lost the centurion of the previous game, Yash Rathod, for 22 when he got a leading edge to Padikkal at slip. Nair and Shorey were then involved in a half-century stand to lift Vidarbha’s hopes.Nair was particularly sparkling in his short stay, punching and pulling Prasidh Krishna through covers and midwicket, and then going after legspinner Shreyas Gopal at the first sign of spin being introduced. But he fell for 27 off 31 balls when he failed to cover the line of a Prasidh inducker that kept slightly low.Vidarbha then chugged along with Jitesh Sharma giving Shorey company in a half-century stand before holing out to long-on. That wicket not only galvanised Karnataka but also freed up Vidarbha to go for broke, like Dubey did. With some support, he may have yet been able to pull off a heist, but it wasn’t to be.