Plays of the Day for the 17th match, between Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders at the Brabourne Stadium

Cricinfo staff22-Mar-2010Fumbling times for Tare
Twice in the first over of the match, Aditya Tare failed to collect the ball cleanly. On both occasions the ball arrived at a slower pace than the Mumbai glove-man would’ve expected, but both times Tare was besides the line of the delivery instead of lining himself behind. He continued to fumble frequently, adding to the bowlers’ and Sachin Tendulkar’s frustration. Three overs before the Kolkata innings came to an end, Ryan McLaren’s attempted yorker to Owais Shah went wide, but Tare was once again was slow off his haunches, and his dive came late as the opposition picked a few more extras.Simon says not out
Dwayne Bravo picked a return ball from Chris Gayle and immediatlely threw at the stumps, finding the Jamaican halfway down the pitch. But Gayle, having been sent back by Sourav Ganguly, charged back home to beat Bravo’s direct throw in the nick of time. Simon Taufel, the square-leg umpire, did the right thing to re-arrange the bails and avoid cutting the rhythm of the match, even if the entire Mumbai team pleaded him to refer the decision to the third umpire.Bravo, bravo
After his first over in the second spell went for 13 runs, Bravo, before passing the ball to the captain, bounced it hard on the pitch in disgust but the rebound came back swiftly to hit him flush on the face. Bravo didn’t wince, and the consummate cricketer that he is, was furious at himself for leaking runs.“Sky is your limit”, Dinda to Gayle
During the batting time out taken by Kolkata, 12th man Ashok Dinda rushed into the field, along with Dav Whatmore. As the Kolkata coach got busy with Owais Shah, Dinda threw the towel to Gayle and started pointing towards the top tier of the CCI pavilion, inspiring the West Indian to hit over the sky. Though the distance was within manageable limits for the 6’4″ tall West Indian, it was a big challenge considering the Mumbai bowlers were firing yorker-length deliveries at him consistently; in the end Dinda’s demands went unfulfilled.Hazare presses the panic button
On the final delivery of the Kolkata innings, Zaheer Khan fired in a searing inswinging yorker against Gayle. Gayle had moved a step down the legside when the ball hit him on the toe of his back leg, which was easily half a yard, if not a full one, down the leg side. But the umpire Sanjay Hazare, reluctant initially, finally raised his finger after Zaheer started to appeal incessantly.Kartik goes blind, makes Dada angry
Murali Kartik, Kolkata’s best bowler, made an impact immediately by picking a wicket in his first over. And in the following over, he nearly snatched the prized wicket of Tendulkar, as the Mumbai captain’s leading edge flew back towards Kartik. However, Kartik failed to sight the ball at all and came up with a late attempt which proved to be unsatisfactory. Ganguly, standing at cover shrieked at his bowler knowing well it would be the most important turning point of the match as Tendulkar was on 41 and the match still hung in the balance.Ganguly gives extra workouts
Throughout the Mumbai innings bowlers argued with Ganguly about the fields he was setting. One fine example was when Angelo Mathews pushed Shane Bond back towards the third man and positioned Owais Shah at short-fine leg. The very next instant, Ganguly got Bond inside the circle while sending Shah towards fine leg. Mathews argued strongly, waving his hands, forcing Ganguly to reverse his decision. Ganguly’s indecisiveness only added to the workload of his fielders.

Sind Dolphins, buoyed by half-centuries from Shahzaib Hasan and Asad Shafiq, raced to their second consecutive win of the Pentangular One Day Cup

Cricinfo staff23-Apr-2010
Scorecard
Sind Dolphins, buoyed by half-centuries from Shahzaib Hasan and Asad Shafiq, raced to their second consecutive win of the Pentangular One Day Cup and consequently inflicted a second defeat in as many games on Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Panthers in Karachi. The top order made the victory possible for the Dolphins, with openers Khurram Manzoor and Shahzaib added 100. Asad then combined with Shahzaib to push the score to 144, and backed up by small, yet important, contributions from those who followed, the Dolphins overhauled a target of 251 with 31 balls to spare.For the Panthers, Rafatullah Mohmand starred with 90 at the top of the order to take them to a competitive score, and he was supported by Adnan Raees, Zohaib Khan and Yasir Shah. Azam Hussain picked up 2 for 37, and played a significant role in ensuring the Panthers were kept to a score that his team could chase down.

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.

CB Ratnayake retained Somachandra de Silva and Nishantha Ranatunga as chairman and secretary respectively while appointing three new members to the committee

Sa'adi Thawfeeq02-Jun-2010Sports Minister CB Ratnayake, despite accusing Sri Lanka Cricket as the third most corrupt institution in the country and slamming the board’s interim committee, retained Somachandra de Silva and Nishantha Ranatunga as chairman and secretary respectively while appointing three new members to the committee on Wednesday.Former cricketer and Sri Lanka rugby player Asanga Seneviratne, lawyer Kalinga Indratissa and Sports Ministry representative Prabath Fonseka are the three new members appointed. They replace Pramodya Wickramasinghe, A. Gunaratne Weerasinghe, Lalith Wickremasinghe and Ranil Abeynaike. Sujeewa Rajapakse continues as treasurer of the six-member interim committee.Ratnayake, who appointed Aravinda de Silva as the head of a new selection panel, in a media conference on Monday, had promised to revamp the way the game is administered, even if it meant replacing the incumbent members. Ratnayake had said he had a problem with the way the interim committee had handled finances and contributed to wastage of resources.

Steve O’Keefe’s dramatic rise from New South Wales fringe player has continued with him replacing Nathan Hauritz in Australia’s Test squad for the two games against Pakistan

Cricinfo staff30-Jun-2010Steve O’Keefe’s dramatic rise from New South Wales fringe player has continued with him replacing Nathan Hauritz in Australia’s Test squad for the two games against Pakistan. O’Keefe, a left-arm spinner, impressed with nine wickets in Australia A’s two matches with Sri Lanka A over the past two weeks to gain an unexpected promotion.Nathan Hauritz was sent home with a foot injury suffered in the opening ODI against England, leaving the legspinner Steven Smith to eye a Test debut in the opening match at Lord’s from July 13. O’Keefe, 25, is also from New South Wales and he stood out in the opening “A” fixture this month by taking 7 for 35 and scoring 61 and 47.Andrew Hilditch, the chairman of selectors, said O’Keefe deserved his chance. “Stephen has performed strongly in the recent Australia A series against Sri Lanka A in Queensland and is a good young all-round cricketer,” he said.However, he has played only eight first-class matches and was a surprise selection for Australia A, gaining a spot while Victoria’s Jon Holland and Tasmania’s Jason Krejza had off-season surgery. O’Keefe was born in Malaysia and spent two years there before his father, who worked for the Royal Australian Air Force, was posted back home.When he spoke to Cricinfo last week O’Keefe said he was hoping the “A” series would set him up for next summer at New South Wales, where he is one of seven slow bowlers fighting for a spot. “From my point of view I can’t really rest, knowing those guys are around,” he said. “A couple have played Test cricket, one will, there are some young guys, who knows how good they could be?” O’Keefe is now an outside chance to show his wares to the wider world.

An unbeaten 73 in his last County Championship game from allrounder Robin Martin-Jenkins put Sussex in a decent position halfway through their Division Two game with Gloucestershire at Arundel

08-Jul-2010

ScorecardAn unbeaten 73 in his last County Championship game from allrounder Robin Martin-Jenkins put Sussex in a decent position halfway through their Division Two game with Gloucestershire at Arundel. Martin-Jenkins, 34, who retires later this month, was the only Sussex batsman to go on after four of his top-five colleagues fell for between 37 and 49. The home side still closed on 314 for 6, a lead of seven.Gloucestershire stayed in contention thanks to some probing left-arm spin from Vikram Banerjee on a pitch offering increasing turn. Banerjee took four wickets while seamer Gemaal Hussain continued his excellent form with two more wickets to take him to 41 for the season.Hussain’s new-ball away swing accounted for opener Michael Thornely, who pushed to second slip, and Banerjee struck in only his second over when Chris Nash, one short of his half-century, was surprised by extra bounce and edged to slip. When Ed Joyce, who had looked assured in making 43, popped up a catch to short leg to give Banerjee his second wicket Gloucestershire had a measure of control, but the game swung back Sussex’s way either side of tea with three half-century stands.Murray Goodwin and Matt Prior put on 55 until Goodwin, on 44, was leg before to a full-length delivery from Hussain. Prior played well within himself for his 37 but had just started to accelerate when he mistimed a drive at Banerjee and gave an easy catch to cover.Sussex were still 105 behind at that stage but Martin-Jenkins came in to play with the freedom of someone under absolutely no pressure. He soon overtook his partner Joe Gatting with a succession of flowing front-foot strokes as 55 runs were added for the sixth wicket in 14 overs.Gatting has endured a wretched summer, with just 100 Championship runs in five games, but seemed to have found some form as he moved to a season’s best 25 before he was too late on a defensive push to become Banerjee’s second leg-before victim. Martin-Jenkins pressed on though and negotiated the second new ball in an unbroken seventh-wicket partnership of 57 with Yasir Arafat. He has struck 12 fours in 108 balls so far.Earlier, Gloucestershire’s last-wicket pair added a further 21 runs to their overnight 286 for 9 to secure a third batting bonus point before last man Steve Kirby feathered a catch off Arafat, who finished with a season’s best 3 for 55.

Ireland have been rewarded for their successful WCL Division One defence by having four of their players named in the team of the tournament

Cricinfo staff11-Jul-2010Ireland have been rewarded for their successful WCL Division 1 defence by having four of their players named in the team of the tournament.Ireland defeated Scotland by six wickets to seal the title on Saturday and their leader, Trent Johnston, was chosen as captain of the combined squad. Paul Stirling, Kevin O’Brien, and George Dockrell, the 17-year-old left-arm spinner, were the other members of Ireland’s team chosen. Mark Jonkman, the Netherlands paceman, was also included despite being reported for a suspect bowling bowling action.The side was chosen by a panel of experts that included Adrian Griffith, the former West Indies batsman, and Kumar Dharmasena, the Sri Lankan off-spinner who featured in the 1996 World Cup winning side.Team of the tournament 1 Paul Stirling (Ireland), 2 Ashish Bagai (Canada) (wicketkeeper), 3 Tom Cooper (Netherlands), 4 Nawroz Mangal (Afghanistan), 5 Kevin O’Brien (Ireland), 6 Neil McCallum (Scotland),7 Thomas Odoyo (Kenya), 8 Samiullah Shenwari (Afghanistan), 9 Trent Johnston (Ireland) (captain), 10 George Dockrell (Ireland), 11 Mark Jonkman (Netherlands), 12th man Gordon Drummond (Scotland).

South Africa A opener Dean Elgar scored a century to steady a stuttering batting line-up on the first day of the second Test against Sri Lanka A at the SSC

Cricinfo staff16-Aug-2010
ScorecardSouth Africa A opener Dean Elgar scored a century to steady a stuttering batting line-up on the first day of the second Test against Sri Lanka A at the SSC. Elgar remained firm amid falling wickets and remained unbeaten on 118 at stumps.The South Africans made a promising start after they chose to bat, with openers Stephen Cook and Elgar adding 62. Cook’s dismissal for 26, however, started a trend in which the visitors would begin to have a partnership but the Sri Lankan bowlers would cut it short before it did any damage. Middle-order batsmen Rilee Rossouw, Stiaan van Zyl, Jonathan Vandiar and Heino Kuhn entered double figures but no one got past 30.Elgar, however, batted steadily to reach his century and led his team to 235 for 6 at the close of play. Sachithra Senanayake and Janaka Gunaratne were the most successful Sri Lanka A bowlers, taking two wickets apiece.

Somerset were left nervously watching Nottinghamshire’s quest for bonus points at Old Trafford after they were denied victory by Durham at Chester-le-Street as they failed to chase down a near-impossible 181 in 17 overs

Andrew McGlashan at Chester-le-Street16-Sep-2010
ScorecardMichael Di Venuto struck a fine 129 to frustrate Somerset•Getty Images

Somerset’s quest for their maiden Championship title was ended in the cruellest of manners while they watched and waited on the pavilion balcony at Chester-le-Street, as Nottinghamshire pulled off their desperate quest for bonus points down at Old Trafford by posting a total of 400 before snatching three quick wickets in 4.4 overs at the end of their contest against LancashireSomerset had been in pole position going into the final day of the Championship season, but they were denied victory by Durham as they failed to chase down a near-impossible 181 in 17 overs. With the game finishing earlier than normal to allow the visitors to reach Newcastle Airport this evening, to head to London for the CB40 final, they left the field not knowing whether the draw was enough to secure them their first Championship title with Nottinghamshire having reached 400 for 9.That total had been sufficient to give them their fifth batting point, and when Samit Patel clung onto an edge from Shivnarine Chanderpaul, they drew level with Somerset on 214 points, but snatched the total with seven victories to Somerset’s six.For Marcus Trescothick, the Somerset captain, it was the second agonising near-miss of the season after losing the Friends Provident t20 final to Hampshire on virtue of wickets lost. “It’s gutting, with it being our first we realise how special it will be when we finally get there,” he said. “To get so close – level on points – is so tough but we’ll just have to wait another year now.”It’s terrible. It’s something that will live with us for a long, long time. To know we were so close, touching distance to the trophy, but so far away when Nottinghamshire got that third wicket.”Somerset could have removed all the uncertainty with a victory here, but Durham showed impressive character to battle through the final day. Michael Di Venuto continued his fine innings although he edged short of slip as Charl Willoughby found some swing before bring up his third hundred of the season from 155 ballsBen Harmison laboured to 15 off 72 balls in a third-wicket stand of 68 before was caught down the leg side off Alfonso Thomas, but it was looking increasingly likely that the results elsewhere would now be important for Somerset’s changes.Di Venuto, Durham’s leading batsman in a poor run-scoring season for the defending County Championships, continued to move along untroubled while Ian Blackwell began clubbing the ball with an end-of-season freedom. However, moments before lunch Peter Trego made his latest vital mark on this match when he found Di Venuto’s outside edge to rekindle Somerset’s hopes of forcing the outright victory.Then, two balls into Murali Kartik’s next over, Blackwell got a big inside edge into his pad which ballooned up to short leg as Somerset left the field with a spring in their step with the prospect of a chaseable fourth-innings target.But Phil Mustard and Dale Benkenstein formed another stubborn partnership which ate away at 15 overs before Mustard was trapped lbw by the tireless Thomas. Benkenstein, batting at No. 7 after being off the field yesterday, and Scott Borthwick dead-batted through 10 more overs.Somerset, though, wouldn’t give up and Trego squeezed a yorker through Borthwick which had just enough force to dislodge the bails and Willoughby swung one back into Liam Plunkett to trap him straight in front. The target was already getting out of hand but Chris Rushworth top-edged a pull and Benkenstein’s resistance ended with an edge to slip.Trescothick and Craig Kieswetter renewed their Twenty20 opening partnership, but 181 in 17 overs was a tough ask even by their standards of fast scoring especially as Durham could bowl almost where they liked and spread the field. Kieswetter missed a swing against Blackwell, Trescothick carved to cover and when Trego was stumped by miles they played out time. Then they were left to wait, and were ultimately denied.

The Sri Lankans controlled their final warm-up before running into Australia as they recorded a 22-run victory over New South Wales

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Oct-2010Sri Lankans 4 for 167 (Jayawardene 59) beat New South Wales 2 for 100 (Khawaja 32*) by 22 runs on D/L method

ScorecardMahela Jayawardene was quick off the mark, racing to 59 in 35 balls•Getty Images

The Sri Lankans controlled their final warm-up before running into Australia as they recorded a 22-run victory over New South Wales in Sydney. After the visitors posted 4 for 167 from their 20 overs, the local innings was interrupted by rain – the target was reduced to 123 in 14 overs – and they finished at 2 for 100.The game started 15 minutes late because the Sri Lankans were caught in traffic on the way to the ground at Blacktown in western Sydney, but the captain Mahela Jayawardene quickly put on the accelerator after he won the toss. Jayawardene, who replaced the resting Kumar Sangakkara, raced to 59 in 35 balls as he and Tillakaratne Dilshan opened with 57 in 5.3 overs.Dilshan fell for 21 as the main batsmen found some decent practice ahead of Friday’s Twenty20 international against Australia in Perth. Dinesh Chandimal and Angelo Mathews both collected 24 while Chamara Kapugedera picked up 26 off 18. Brett Lee was upset to be overlooked by Australia this week, but did not impress in giving away 44 runs in his four overs, including being hit for six twice by Kapugedera.New South Wales started well in their reply but rain interrupted them at 0 for 32 after 3.3 overs. The offspinner Suraj Randiv then struck twice to halt the hosts’ momentum and finished with 2 for 13 off three.Daniel Smith was lbw for 13 and Phillip Hughes (30) departed after Randiv took a fine running catch off his own bowling. The assignment was too tough for the locals and Usman Khawaja was left unbeaten on 32.The Sri Lankans beat Queensland on Friday in a 50-over fixture before Sunday’s game in Sydney was washed out. The three-match ODI series begins in Melbourne on Wednesday.