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South Africa lived to fight another day in the Champions Trophy as their bowlers, woeful against India but wolfish against an fragile line-up, defended a barely-par total

The Report by Firdose Moonda at Edgbaston10-Jun-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsHashim Amla’s 81 underpinned a total that proved well beyond Pakistan•AFP

A taxi driver in Birmingham has bought a ticket to watch Pakistan every time they played in the city for the last 30 years, except this time. He simply did not have the confidence in their batting to bother. It turns out he was right.South Africa lived to fight another day in the Champions Trophy as their bowlers, woeful against India but wolfish against an fragile line-up, defended a barely-par total. In the absence of Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel, Lonwabo Tsotsobe led the pack with maturity while debutant Chris Morris added energy and Ryan McLaren backed them up at the death.Misbah-ul-Haq was again Pakistan’s lone ranger and again he could not take them over the line. He lacked support from everyone except Nasir Jamshed. By contrast, South Africa’s anchor, Hashim Amla, enjoyed small contributions throughout the middle order.In an almost exact replica to the England-Australia match that was played here on Saturday, Amla’s 81 was as valuable as Ian Bell’s 91 but it may never have swelled to that had Pakistan held on to an early chance. Amla was on 7 when he slashed at a short, wide delivery off Mohammad Irfan and presented a tough but takeable catch to Umar Amin at point. Amin dived, got fingers to it and then he watched it slip through. It was a moment that taught him a tough lesson: don’t’ drop Amla.Over the last year, England, Australia and New Zealand have paid for that mistake. Pakistan may do so twice. They put Amla down at the Wanderers in March, he went on to score 122. Both then and now, South Africa came out winners.Conditions could not have been more different to Johannesburg than they were in Birmingham. There it was a belter of a track on which runs rained. Here it was a sluggish surface that did not facilitate a free flow. Both teams started slowly, Pakistan ended that way too.Mohammed Irfan and Junaid Khan kept South Africa to 36 runs in the first 10 overs and did not take wicket, although they could have had Amla. Morris, Tsotsobe and McLaren restricted Pakistan to 18 for 2 in the same period, which immediately made Pakistan’s task more difficult.By the 19th over, their required run rate had already ballooned to six an over and considering no one had scored at that rate at any stage of the game, it seemed unlikely Pakistan would. But Misbah marshalled proceedings in his usual, calm way. He saw off the good balls – and there were many which South Africa bowled – and waited to take advantage of anything that was occasionally tossed up or slightly wide.AB de Villiers did a fine job of rotating his bowlers and was spoilt for choice with three seamers and three spinners. He used JP Duminy before Robin Peterson and it paid off, when Shoaib Malik was bowled by a delivery that rolled back onto his stumps, and brought Tsotsobe back at exactly the right time, after a first spell of five overs for six runs.The left-armer used his variations well and bowled Jamshed an offcutter that he fed back. The tall man got down low and plucked it in his follow through. Misbah knew he had to battle on his own.After 49 boundary-less deliveries, he cleared Morris over mid-on to release pressure but he was soon stranded. McLaren removed Umar Amin when he tried to go big and was caught at cover and Kamran Akmal, who was caught at point, in the same over and Pakistan’s chase seemed over.Misbah responded with a six over long-on and then his fight was also extinguished. He picked out midwicket from a Tsotsobe slower ball and left it to the tail to have some fun at the end. Instead, it was McLaren who helped himself to four wickets for five runs to ensure South Africa rounded up a convincing win.They would not have been confident of that at the halfway stage. With 51 runs scored and six wickets falling in the last 10 overs of their innings, it seemed they had squandered the chance to build on a well-laid platform.Even though Pakistan’s three spinners cost them only 107 runs in 26 overs, Amla’s 69-run stand with Faf du Plessis and the 41 put on by de Villiers and Duminy helped negate the collapse later on. South Africa will remain concerned about the four run-outs but showed significant improvement and will eye the last four.Pakistan now look at the semi-finals from a greater distance and, although they are not out of the competition, they need West Indies to beat India on Tuesday. If Pakistan then beat India and West Indies triumph over South Africa in the final group games, three teams would have won one match and net run-rate will come into the equation.

Mushtaq Ahmed is to join Surrey as ‘coach and mentor’ on a month-long contract

ESPNcricinfo staff16-May-2012Mushtaq Ahmed is to join Surrey as ‘coach and mentor’ on a month-long contract. Mushtaq, the former Pakistan legspinner and current England spin bowling coach, will link up with Surrey on June 20 and depart on July 20.The deal will reunite Mushtaq with his former captain at Sussex, Chris Adams, who is now team director at Surrey. The pair combined to take Sussex to the club’s first County Championship title in 2003. They won it again in 2006 and 2007.”He will be a magic guy to have around in terms of the environment in the dressing room and is one of the best people I’ve ever come across in terms of assessing the mood of a side and having a positive influence on tactics both before and during a game,” Adams said.”We have a few young spinners at the club at the moment so there is also plenty of work to be done there as well – and I also want to use him with the Second XI and PG Academy, as well as setting up some sessions with batsmen from throughout the club on how to play spin.”We’ve got him here for a month and we’ll make sure we’ll work him hard – I’ve told him it’s going to be the same as when I captained him, he’ll be getting through 45-50 overs a day.”

Yorkshire came up against a defiant Dominic Cork who belied his 39 years with another energetic bowling display on the third day of the County Championship match with Hampshire at Headingley

13-May-2011
Scorecard
Dominic Cork rues a near miss as Hampshire checked Yorkshire’s progress on a rain-curtailed third day•PA Photos

Yorkshire came up against a defiant Dominic Cork who belied his 39 years with another energetic bowling display on the third day of the County Championship match with Hampshire at Headingley. Having enjoyed a return of 5 for 75 in the first innings, Cork added another two wickets on a rain-affected day in which only 39.5 overs were possible, to give him match figures of 7 for 102 off 48 overs.His efforts pegged back Yorkshire to 62 for 3 after they had gained a first-innings lead of 123 and they were left needing to make good progress on the final morning if they are to go on to win the match.Cork required only 13 runs to reach 10,000 in first-class cricket when Hampshire resumed in the morning on 189 for 6 with their captain on 6 and Sean Ervine on 16, Yorkshire’s lead being 166. A cover boundary off Ryan Sidebottom soon moved Cork into double figures but in
attempting a similar stroke off the former England left-arm paceman he drove straight into the hands of Joe Root to depart for 11.Ajmal Shahzad struggled in his opening spell and could not produce the same accuracy which had brought him four wickets the previous day, but when he was replaced by Tim Bresnan it brought immediate results, Ervine moving across his stumps to fall lbw for 23. Yorkshire’s attack continued to cause problems and Sidebottom struck again by getting Danny Briggs lbw with a fine yorker to leave Hampshire on 217 for 9, with Yorkshire having picked up maximum bowling points.Kabir Ali and last man David Griffiths defied Yorkshire for 10 overs, despite Griffiths being beaten outside off stump on several occasions, but Shahzad was brought back at the rugby stand end and Ali carved him to Steve Patterson at third man to leave Hampshire all out for 232.
The dismissal gave Shahzad figures of 5 for 65 from 21.3 lively overs.Yorkshire would have been reasonably happy with their first-innings lead in what had been a rather drab match, but they went to lunch on 11 for 1 after Adam Lyth tickled a leg-side delivery from Cork into the gloves of Nic Pothas. Shortly after the interval, Yorkshire lost their other opener, Joe Sayers, who was caught behind off an angled bat, Griffiths picking up his
wicket cheaply for the second time in the match.Once again, Root showed plenty of character at the crease in his first season of Championship cricket and he helped to get the score moving in partnership with home captain Andrew Gale.But with showers already around, the weather began to close in quickly and there was just time for Cork to surprise Root with movement off the pitch as he edged a third consecutive catch to Pothas to depart for 31 from 44 balls with four boundaries. Yorkshire were struggling on 56 for 3, but before Jonny Bairstow could join Gale heavy rain at 2.25pm prevented a restart until 5.20pm, and then only 3.2 overs were possible before the weather closed in again.

After encouraging signs and a cricket-filled 2009, the women once again join the men at the World Twenty20 – a tournament that will be another test of the sustainability of the women’s game

Nishi Narayanan04-May-2010The women once again join the men at the World Twenty20 after encouraging signs and a cricket-filled 2009. Like last year, the semis and finals for men and women will be played on the same day at the same venues. While it’s not likely that there will be full houses for the curtain-raisers (the women’s matches played ahead of the men’s), the international women’s teams will have the chance to wow a new audience.Only England and Sri Lanka have toured the West Indies before and both have played there within the last 12 months. But in Twenty20, familiarity with the conditions hardly gives an edge over the opponents. However defending champions England remain favourites because of their strong batting line-up.On the whole, the tournament will be another test of the sustainability of the women’s game. After last year’s World Cups, England, the defending champions in ODIs and Twenty20, travelled extensively and they remain favourites. After beating Australia 4-0 in ODIs at home in June-July, England went to West Indies in November and lost both the one-day and Twenty20 series 2-1. Then earlier this year, they visited India where they won the ODIs and the Twenty20 series. Australia and New Zealand played the Rose Bowl Series in February 2010 – New Zealand won the two Twenty20s and Australia won the three ODIs. Pakistan and South Africa have not played any internationals since the World Twenty20 last year.

Australia

Their experienced captain Karen Rolton retired in January this year and the squad is further weakened by the absence of wicketkeeper Jodie Fields. Captain Alex Blackwell is leading a fairly young and inexperienced side, barring the 33-year-old batting mainstay Shelley Nitschke.Watch out for: Alyssa Healy, the niece of former Australian keeper Ian Healy, who has replaced Fields in the side. Healy won the Rising Star award for New South Wales in March this year.

England

No such worries for England who welcome back their openers Claire and Sarah Taylor, and spinner Holly Colvin who missed the India tour. They have also won their two warm-ups – against India and Sri Lanka – with ease and look virtually unstoppable.Watch out for: Claire Taylor, with whose return England look indomitable. She is expected to top the run-scoring charts with ease.

India

Though their previous two campaigns – in Australia and England – were disappointing, India looked a better side during their home series against England. Their main batsman Mithali Raj is in form and they have a few hitters down the order. But they’ll have to play out of their skins to overcome New Zealand and England.Watch out for: Left-arm spinner Gouher Sultana who took 18 wickets (12 in 15 ODIs and six in three Twenty20s) against England in February-March. She flights the ball well, gets good turn and can slip in a few quicker ones to trouble batsmen on the slow West Indies wickets.

New Zealand

Two World Cup finals in three months and two defeats will be stinging New Zealand badly. It’s more a question of settling the nerves than of developing strategies for this talented side.Watch out for: Lucy Doolan bowls offspin and is a useful batsman in a sticky situation. In a line-up of big hitters, Doolan sneaks in the quick singles and twos.

Pakistan

With no proper matches since June last year, it is hard to say how Pakistan will do in the tournament. They surprised everybody with a sixth place finish in the 50-over World Cup last year and have already beaten West Indies in a warm-up game in St Kitts. Pakistan will be aiming for fifth place this time.Watch out for: Urooj Mumtaz who took 2 for 14 in the warm-up match against West Indies, can choke the runs with her legbreaks.

South Africa

Unlike Pakistan, South Africa have shown few signs that they will grow out of their minnow status any time soon. Their best hope is to avoid a last-place finish.Watch out for: Cri-zelda Brits has propped up South Africa’s batting line-up for more than two years now. Trisha Chetty’s unbeaten 65 off 54 balls against India in the warm-up was another encouraging sign for the side.

Sri Lanka

They lost to West Indies in the bilateral series preceding this tournament but can challenge them in Twenty20s. The battle for fifth place will be between West Indies, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.Watch out for: Opening batsman Dedunu Silva can score quickly and give her side a solid platform to build on.

West Indies

Like Pakistan, West Indies have surprised their opponents from time to time and have some aggressive batsmen in their line-up. Even if home advantage means little, they’ll have the home support and will be eager to make it to the semis. But since they are grouped with Australia and England, it looks unlikely.Watch out for: Stafanie Taylor, an explosive top-order batsman who top-scored in the three-match Twenty20 series against Sri Lanka last month. She scored a half-century in each game and piled up 162 runs, 101 more than the next highest run-getter.

Dreary drew ensues after youngster stars for Warwickshire with career-best 93

ECB Reporters Network29-Apr-2024Nottinghamshire 400 (Duckett 218, Haynes 74, Slater 65, Hannon-Dalby 5-78) and 75 for 1 drew with Warwickshire 361 (Bethell 93, Barnard 69, James 3-65, Pennington 3-74)Another stalemate landed in the ocean of early-season Vitality Championship draws as the match between Warwickshire and Nottinghamshire petered out at Edgbaston.In reply to 400 all out, Warwickshire extended their first innings to 361, Jake Bethell posting a career-best 93 (163 balls), before Nottinghamshire went in again and acquired 75 for one.As soon as Warwickshire reached 251, which they did with some comfort with five wickets down, the match was consigned to a draw, the home side’s fourth in four championship matches and Nottinghamshire’s third in four.It was a dreary conclusion to a match which delivered some excellence – Ben Duckett’s double-century and the seam bowling of Olly Hannon-Dalby and Dillon Pennington – but was ultimately smothered by a docile pitch and the loss of more than a day to rain.After Warwickshire resumed on the final morning on 175 for five, 76 short of the follow-on figure, Nottinghamshire needed to strike quickly but Bethell and Danny Briggs (37, 79) were soon collecting boundaries. Stubborn batting, allied to a pitch which stubbornly refused to deteriorate, drew the sting of a seam attack which bowled with a quality during this match to suggest they will cause batters a lot of problems in more helpful conditions.Bethell and Briggs added 85 in 23 overs to take their side to the requisite 251. Almost immediately, Briggs swatted Calvin Harrison to mid on where Freddie McCann entered the history books as the first former Papplewick & Linby CC player to take a catch as a substitute in first class cricket with the floodlights on at Edgbaston on a Monday.Bethell’s classy and composed innings ended seven short of a deserved maiden century when he edged Olly Stone to give the former Warwickshire player his first wicket back on his old patch. Bowling remained a joyless assignment though and Michael Burgess (43, 63 balls) and Aamer Jamal (40, 46) added 71 in 15 overs before the latter hammered a return catch to Lyndon James.After Hasan Ali chipped James into the covers, Hannon-Dalby settled in with his customary aplomb before running out of partners when Burgess mowed to mid off. James’ analysis had been upgraded from 0 for 57 to three for 63 in 18 balls.Nottinghamshire went into bat again at 2.54pm and filled the rest of a grey afternoon with batting practice. Duckett followed his 264-ball 218 with a six-ball seven when Hannon-Dalby trapped him lbw but Haseeb Hameed (41 not out, 69 balls) and Ben Slater enjoyed an outdoor net for the remaining two hours as the match fizzled out in a manner redolent of Nottinghamshire’s visit to Coventry in 1928 when they amassed 656 for three, four of the top five scoring centuries (only Arthur Carr missed out with a paltry 58) but their victory hopes were thwarted by a benign pitch, weather damage and obdurate batting by Warwickshire legends Tiger Smith and Bob Wyatt.

India Maharajas lost their second match in a row, with Gautam Gambhir’s half-century again going in vain

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Mar-2023Fifties from Aaron Finch (53) and Shane Watson (55), along with Impact Player Ricardo Powell’s late wicket of India Maharajas captain Gautam Gambhir – who hit 68 – helped reigning champions World Giants escape with a thrilling two-run win. Gambhir’s magnificence, which included his second successive fifty in this tournament, again went in vain as Maharajas lost their second match in a row.Robin Uthappa and Gambhir adopted a watchful approach during the first three overs of the chase of 167. The former Kolkata Knight Riders opening pair rotated strike consistently before Uthappa changed gears in the fourth over as he dispatched Tino Best for two consecutive boundaries.Meanwhile, Gambhir carried on his momentum from the previous match. He got into his work in the final over of the powerplay, hitting Chris Mpofu for three successive boundaries, pushing along his opening partnership to 65 after the powerplay.Powell broke the partnership in the next over, as Uthappa found Kevin O’Brien at long-off. But it was Powell’s dismissal of Gambhir in the 16th over, which came about through a quicker delivery that skidded on to rattle the stumps, which was more significant to the late turnaround. Powell ended with figures of 2 for 16 in three overs, even as Brett Lee defended seven off the final over to complete a sensational come-from-behind victory.Earlier, Giants had made a slow start to their innings, picking up just five runs in the first two overs. Gambhir played his cards smartly by bringing on Harbhajan Singh against Chris Gayle, though Harbhajan started with two consecutive wides while bowling around the wicket. But his switch to over the wicket immediately found success, as a skiddy delivery went on to dislodge the leg stump. It was the seventh time Harbhajan dismissed Gayle in T20s.New batter Watson began his innings by hitting Harbhajan for two consecutive fours. Finch quickly picked up his scoring rate too as he took down Pragya Ojha in the fifth over, which included four fours and one six.Ojha’s nightmare evening continued in the seventh over. Finch paddled the second delivery to the final-leg boundary, before smashing an overpitched ball over cover for six. The fourth delivery was also hit for a boundary as Finch brought up his fifty off 26 balls.Gambhir then replaced Ojha with Pravin Tambe as the Impact Player. And Tambe made an impact in the final delivery of his first over itself, as a quick delivery forced Finch to edge one to Uthappa.Watson then took charge of the innings. He brought up his 30-ball half-century in the 12th over with a six off Irfan Pathan, clearing his front foot and launching one into the stands over midwicket.But Harbhajan had derailed Giants’ middle order as he helped reduce them from 129 for 3 to 137 for 7. O’Brien was Harbhajan’s second wicket as he miscued a delivery to Mohammad Kaif, who took a sharp diving catch forward. Two deliveries later, in the 16th over, Ross Taylor was caught lbw. Off the penultimate delivery of the over, Morne van Wyk’s sweep caught an inside edge onto the pads, with Uthappa completing the catch. Harbhajan finished with 4 for 13 off just two overs.

Malan has previously been batting coach and assistant coach of the New Zealand men’s team

Sreshth Shah04-Jan-2022South Africa-born Heinrich Malan, the 40-year-old former allrounder who has had extensive coaching stints in New Zealand, will succeed Graham Ford as full-time head coach for the Ireland men’s team.Malan is expected to take up the role in March (subject to work permit approval) for three years. He holds a Level 3 Coaching Certificate from Cricket South Africa and his recent coaching stints across 11 years include being the assistant coach and fielding lead for the New Zealand men’s team. He was also the head coach of New Zealand A, and has also held the batting coach role with the senior men’s team.While Malan officially succeeds Ford to the full-time role, he will actually take over from interim head coach David Ripley. Ripley, the former Northamptonshire boss, has accompanied Ireland to their tours of the USA and West Indies after Ford resigned due to fatigue arising from operating in a Covid-19 world.Malan, a former middle-order batter and medium-fast bowler, played first-class cricket in South Africa from 2005 to 2009, and has earned considerable success as a coach outside the New Zealand national team too. Under his coaching, Central Districts Stags won the one-day competition (Ford Trophy) in 2014-15 and 2015-16, the first-class competition (Plunket Shield) in 2017-18 and 2018-19 and the domestic T20 competition (Super Smash) in 2018-19. After switching to Auckland Aces, he won the 2019-20 Ford Trophy as coach.In a press release issued by Cricket Ireland, Malan also credited Ford for creating the “building blocks in place” that will help the men’s team progress further under his coaching.”My coaching philosophy has certainly evolved over time and I am very keen to get to know this group of players and staff to collaboratively shape our environment through the way we want to operate on a daily basis,” Malan said. “The ‘wheel’ in Irish cricket is turning nicely for the stage it is at, but this point in time is a great opportunity to review what – and how – we are operating to not only grow the wheel, but make that wheel turn quicker.”While I came up through the South African system, the opportunity to move to New Zealand in 2013 really enhanced my coaching experiences and created opportunities to progress my coaching career. Hopefully, I can share these experiences and help our players improve and compete consistently across formats. And that is the key – to create greater consistency of performance over the long term.”Richard Holdsworth, the high performance director at Cricket Ireland, said that Malan’s reputation as an innovative coach with an interest in sports science played a role in his appointment. The short-term goal for Ireland, according to Holdsworth, is making greater strides in white-ball cricket.”Despite coming from outside the Irish system, Heinrich clearly articulated an understanding of the Irish cricket identity, and is determined to succeed in bonding the senior squad around these ideals, then flow those ideals down the pathway system,” Holdsworth said. “He fully understands the development stage we are at as a new Full Member, and is clear on the goals of the organisation – but is committed to working hard on building a skilled and confident squad that is competitive with the world’s leading sides.”After the ODI series against USA was called off due to a Covid-19 outbreak in both camps, Ireland are now set to play West Indies in Jamaica for three ODIs – part of the ODI Super League – and one T20I. Malan will join the Ireland set-up in March, just before the team tours Zimbabwe for a series that was postponed from last year.

Ireland captain available for all group matches, plus knockout stages

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Aug-2020Andy Balbirnie, the Ireland captain, will play for Glamorgan in this year’s T20 Vitality Blast.Balbirnie will be available for all 10 group matches, plus the knockout stages if Glamorgan make it that far, after Cricket Ireland approved the move by submitting a No Objection Certificate.”I’m very pleased to see the deal go ahead – it’s a fabulous competition, and having spent a few years in Cardiff during my university days, it’s a city I know pretty well,” Balbirnie said. “”It’s a tournament I’ve watched a lot and have many friends who have played in it over the years, so I’m looking forward to the opportunity to play with new people and learn from different coaches, as well as to play in a different tournament in different conditions.”It’s not been a great season for playing much cricket, so to be able to go over and play a short, sharp tournament of intense cricket will be enjoyable and a good way to end the summer.”T20 Blast – Full fixture listBalbirnie struck his sixth ODI century in a 214-run partnership with Paul Stirling to chase down a target of 329 for victory over England earlier this month in the third match of their series, won by England 2-1.A product of Cardiff MCCU, Balbirnie has has played 70 ODIs for Ireland, scoring 2041 runs with a career-best 145 not out against Afghanistan last year. He has also played 43 T20Is, scoring 945 runs at an average of 25.54 and strike rate of 129.80 with four half-centuries.Mark Wallace, Glamorgan’s director of cricket, said that with David Lloyd suffering a broken foot and Colin Ingram’s arrival from South Africa looking unlikely due to Covid-19 travel restrictions, the club wanted to add some batting depth by signing Balbirnie.”Andrew is a fantastic player with a strong record in the one-day formats and was in great form during the recent series against England,” Wallace said. “He is also very used to playing in our conditions and will add a lot of experience and class at the top of the order.”The 2020 Blast season will start on August 27 with the quarter-finals on October 1 and Finals Day on October 3 at Edgbaston.

The latest round-up of how the Australians are performing in the IPL and county cricket as the World Cup and Australia A tours edge closer

Alex Malcolm23-Apr-2019Who’s in form and who’s notSteven Smith has bounced back to form after a bizarre week with back-to-back half-centuries in the IPL. He was dropped by Rajasthan Royals last week for scoring too slowly before being recalled and made captain for the remainder of the season. Against Mumbai Indians on Saturday he was Player of the Match after crafting a classy 59 not out from 48 balls to guide his side home chasing 162. On Monday against Delhi Capitals he made 50 from 32 balls in a 130-run stand with Ajinkya Rahane, although it was in a losing cause.The debate surrounding whether David Warner should open the batting in the World Cup has almost become redundant. He is tearing the IPL apart at the top of the order for Sunrisers Hyderabad. He made his fourth consecutive half-century on Sunday and he has passed 50 in seven of his nine IPL innings so far to be the tournament’s leading scorer by some margin, striking at 148.56.Marcus Stoinis has done some good things for Royal Challengers Bangalore in their last two wins. He made 17 off 8 balls and took 1 for 32 against Kolkata Knight Riders. His late hitting was impressive but it was the three dots he bowled to the rampaging Andre Russell in the 19th over that were just as important in helping RCB to a vital win. He bowled well again against CSK on Sunday, conceding only 20 runs from three overs including just five runs in a crucial 15th over that left MS Dhoni with too much to do. Earlier he took an excellent catch at slip to remove Shane Watson. But he did face five dot balls in making 14 off 13 with the bat.Glenn Maxwell’s first three 50-over outings for Lancashire have yielded scores of 35, 21 and 22. He fell victim to Victoria team-mate James Pattinson trying to move around the crease and hit him over the off side in a cracking game against Nottinghamshire. Maxwell has bowled well in the last two high-scoring games, being used in the Powerplay and conceding only a run-and-a-ball and taking key wickets.Jason Behrendorff has not played in Mumbai’s last two games as they have shuffled their line-up.Chris Lynn, who is not in the World Cup or Australia A squads, made a third half-century for the tournament but it was his slowest, from 45 balls, as his Knight Riders were beaten into submission by Warner’s Sunrisers.James Pattinson bowls•Getty Images

#AsheswatchThe County Championship season gave way to the Royal London One-Day Cup this week and although 50-over white-ball form may not carry as much weight towards Ashes selection there were some noteworthy performances for Australia’s selectors to ponder.James Pattinson raised eyebrows in his first game of the season for Nottinghamshire. In a game where more than 800 runs were scored at Trent Bridge he took 5 for 61 in 10 overs with 30 dot balls, including the prized scalp of Maxwell. But he only bowled five overs in the win over Derbyshire two days later.Cameron Bancroft made a statement with two brilliant unbeaten centuries for Durham to deliver two wins in three days. Batting in an unfamiliar position at No.4 he made 151 not out from 130 balls against Northamptonshire, taking the long handle to West Indies skipper Jason Holder, before adding 118 not out from 117 balls against Leicestershire to control a chase of 234.Matt Renshaw made his first List A century on Sunday for Kent in a loss to Sussex, having missed out in his previous two innings last week. Batting at No.3 he struck four sixes and nine fours, two of which came off England international Chris Jordan, in scoring 109 from 111 balls.Marnus Labuschagne struggled in the three 50-over matches for Glamorgan last week. He managed just 19 runs in three innings. But he took 3 for 46 against Somerset and 1 for 45 against Hampshire with the ball.Peter Siddle took 2 for 27 for Essex in a win against Labuschagne’s Glamorgan. But he was expensive in his second game last week taking 3 for 71 in 10 overs as Middlesex racked up a winning total of 366 at Chelmsford.Daniel Worrall made a successful start for Gloucestershire taking 2 for 22 from four overs in a huge win over Surrey and 2 for 30 in six overs in a loss to Middlesex.Did you see?Ashton Turner has had a disastrous start to his IPL career for Rajasthan Royals. He has become the first player in T20 history to register five ducks in a row after he was dismissed for three consecutive first-ball ducks in the IPL. He replaced Smith against Kings XI but came out to bat in a brutal situation needing 53 runs off 22 balls and understandably holed out first ball. In his second game against Mumbai, he walked out with 15 runs needed from 14 balls. That equation became 9 off 12 when by the time he faced his first ball but Jasprit Bumrah trapped him plumb in front. Against Delhi Capitals, he took strike with 21 balls remaining with a licence to go after a great platform had been set but he chipped his first ball to cover. Turner’s last five T20 innings read 0, 0, 0, 0 and 0 dating back to the end of the BBL season. However, he did make that stunning 84 not out from 43 balls in Australia’s ODI miracle at Mohali in the middle of that sequence.Injury listMoises Henriques hadn’t played a game in this year’s IPL but was due to get his first against the Royals last week only to injure his ankle in the warm-up. His injury looks likely to have ended his tournament before it even started. However, there is good news on Smith’s elbow with the new Royals captain declaring he is only “two weeks away” from being able to throw properly again.Performance of the weekThere were lots of runs plundered by Australians in India and England, but it was hard to go past Pattinson’s performance. Nottinghamshire and Lancashire made 823 runs in 100 overs at Trent Bridge. Three players made centuries including former South Africa international Dane Vilas who made 166 from 100 balls in the chase for Lancashire. Not only was Pattinson incredibly economical in the run-feast, his five wickets included Maxwell and Vilas to help Nottinghamshire ice the game.