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Invincibles choked by spin as Heather Knight oversees knockout victory at The Oval

ECB Reporters Network17-Aug-2024London Spirit secured a place in the Women’s Hundred final against Welsh Fire at Lord’s with an eight-wicket win over Oval Invincibles.A disciplined bowling performance followed by a Georgia Redmayne half-century took the side to their first final since the competition’s inception – and ensured that across both men’s and women’s competitions, all eight teams will have featured in the Hundred final.Spirit won the toss and elected to bowl. Winfield-Hill hit Danielle Gibson for three boundaries in the second set to take the Invincibles to 21 for 0 after 10 balls before Charlie Dean trapped Paige Scholfield lbw for 5.The introduction of Sarah Glenn saw the back of Winfield-Hill, the Invincibles skipper slapping a return catch back to make the score 37 for 2.At the halfway point of their innings, Invincibles had moved on to 54 for 2, the Spirit spinners bowling tightly, Dean, Glenn and Deepti Sharma with the combined figures of 2 for 25 from 30 balls.Gibson, who had previously dropped Alice Capsey twice, eventually removed her for 30 before Kapp fell to Glenn for a run-a-ball 26.Dean then combined twice with Gibson in the deep to dismiss Mady Villiers and Laura Harris to finish with figures of 3 for 24 – Gibson’s full-length heroics to snare Villiers one of the catches of the tournament.Gray returned for the final five, dismissing MacDonald-Gay first ball and having Smale stumped as the Invincibles closed their innings on 113 for 9.Chasing 114 to win, opening batter Redmayne made an unbeaten 53 from 47 balls and was well supported by captain Heather Knight who made a classy 36 not out.Spirit had reached 33 for 0 after the powerplay, Meg Lanning going well on 21 from 14, both she and Redmayne surviving tough chances to Villiers and Harris.Marizanne Kapp returned to the attack to have Lanning caught behind for 22 and Amanda-Jade Wellington had Cordelia Griffith stumped to leave the Spirit on 42 for 2 after 40 to bring Knight to the crease.From there on, Spirit cruised to their target, Redmayne and Knight sharing an unbroken stand of 74.Meerkat Match Hero, Redmayne, said: “It’s really special, we came into this game in really good spirits.”Oval have probably got the best of us in the games we’ve played against them previously. We knew if we did the simple things right that we’ve got the team to be able to win the game and get to a Lord’s final at home which is going to be incredible.”On her innings she said: “It’s nice knowing what kind of intent you’ve got to go in with. Sometimes when you’re facing some really good bowling upfront you can get caught up in that a bit, but it helps having kept for a hundred balls beforehand.”

The top-order batter has been carrying a long-term foot injury and will now aim to be fit for the Australia Test series

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Feb-20242:15

Stead: Williamson unlikely for Australia T20Is, Boult is available

Daryl Mitchell has been ruled out of the second Test against South Africa and the T20I series against Australia in an attempt to recover from a long-standing foot injury.Mitchell, who averages 53.46 in Tests, has been carrying the problem for around six or seven months and was rested from the final T20I against Pakistan in January, but it has been decided he needs a longer period on the sidelines to give himself the best chance of being fit for the two-Test series against Australia.Related

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“We took the opportunity to rest him a little earlier but after seeking medical advice on this as well it’s likely that he needs a longer period of time,” New Zealand coach Gary Stead said. “It’s really tough, because there’s not a lot breaks coming up in the next wee while so thought this gives us nearly three weeks to try and give him the chance of the best recuperation from it.”There’s no guarantees this will still work in that period of time but we are very hopeful that it will improve his chances of getting through a longer stint with us.”New Zealand have not called up a replacement for Mitchell with Will Young the spare batter in the squad and he could come in as a like-for-like swap. However, there remains a chance the side may be rebalanced with Glenn Phillips and Mitchell Santner moving up the order and another pace bowler brought in with Stead confirming the uncapped Will O’Rourke remained in contention for a debut.”[Will Young] is definitely one of the options,” Stead said. “Will’s there as back up [and] Glenn Phillips has shown he’s more than useful and it could be shaped differently. We are very happy with the squad we have. Daryl’s obviously a huge loss, though, he’s been instrumental in a number of outstanding batting performances but it’s important for him and us that we get this right long term.”Meanwhile, Kane Williamson is unlikely to be available for the T20Is against Australia – a format where he is captain – as his wife is expecting their third child. However, Trent Boult could come into consideration for those matches with the left-arm quick not having any franchise commitments at that time.”Trent’s available if we want to select him,” Stead said. “Him and I are still having conversations…hopefully in the next couple of days to nail down what that looks like.”

India will be aiming to rediscover their ODI form after drawing the series in Bangladesh and losing to Australia

Firdose Moonda14-Jun-2024As one World Cup – the men’s T20 tournament – enters its next phase, preparation for another – the women’s ODI event next year – is taking shape as South Africa look to secure automatic qualification and gain experience by playing the hosts, India.It’s an all-format tour that kicks off with three ODIs in Bengaluru, before a one-off Test in Chennai, and a T20I series in preparation for another World Cup: the women’s T20 tournament this October. Provided the weather holds – there’s plenty to look forward to.

ODI World Cup qualification: India and top five teams in women’s championship

As hosts, India automatically qualify for the World Cup (that is probably the reason they have played just nine matches in this championship cycle) so there’s no concern for them there, but their ODI form could be. After sweeping both Sri Lanka and England 3-0 in 2022, they tied a series in Bangladesh – actually tied, because with the teams locked 1-1, scores were level in the decided and there was not enough time for a Super Over – and then lost 3-0 to Australia at home. There’s more than a year to go before the ODI World Cup though, and plenty of time to get themselves into a consistent flow.The bigger spotlight will be on South Africa, who are currently third in the championship table, a point behind England and five adrift of Australia. All three of those teams have six matches remaining, including a series between South Africa and England this summer. An early analysis suggests that if South Africa win four of their remaining six matches, they will be out of reach of New Zealand and Sri Lanka (who also have six matches left) and can be certain of automatic qualification. If they win fewer games, they could still qualify but will have to rely on some other results and will want to avoid that.

South Africa begin life after Moreeng

South Africa are also embarking on this journey to the World Cup without their most familiar face: former coach Hilton Moreeng.”Hilton (Moreeng) was on every single tour for the past 11 years. So to not have him here is a bit weird,” captain Laura Wolvaardt said at South Africa’s arrival press conference.She did not go on to say it is what several senior members of the squad wanted because they felt the need for new ideas in the set up.Last year, ESPNcricnfo revealed a group of players had written to Cricket South Africa expressing their desire for a change in management after the home T20 World Cup. CSA did not plan on giving them that until 2025, and hoped Moreeng would continue until the ODI World Cup. It took a change of heart from Moreeng himself to end his tenure in May.The timing meant the only replacement option was assistant coach Dillon du Preez, who offers consistency from the Moreeng era and may see this as an opportunity to audition for the job full-time. So far, he has the buy-in from the dressing room despite their earlier assertion of wanting something new.”Dillon was in the set-up and the environment for about four or five years. So nothing has really changed too much from sort of an operational point of view,” Wolvaardt said. “I think we still try to keep things as much as the same as before, just so that it’s not completely new and completely fresh. But then at the same time, I think the new additions that we have in the group have brought a lot of outside energy and some outside knowledge as well. So it’s been good. I’ve really enjoyed the new, fresh people.”The other additions to the coaching staff are batting coach Baakier Abrahams, who was the assistant coach of the Warriors’ men’s provincial team, and Bongani Ndaba, the new fielding coach from the Lions.South Africa’s squad is filled with regulars, and there is much anticipation for the return of Tazmin Brits, who has recovered from a knee-ligament tear in time of the tour. Brits will partner Wolvaardt, the leading run-scorer in ODIs this year, at the top of the order and also provides much-needed experience in the absence of the injured vice-captain Chloe Tryon.Harmanpreet Kaur had a poor ODI series against Australia•BCCI

India’s combinations

Jemimah Rodrigues’ availability was the big talking point of the build-up after she missed the Bangladesh series with a back niggle but she was named in the squad and captained the Board President’s XI against South Africa A in the warm-ups. The news on Pooja Vastrakar is less clear-cut. There has been no information on her injury but she was included in the squad subject to fitness. However, she was not part of the practice match and if she doesn’t make the team, Arundhati Reddy – who got her call-up after impressive performances in WPL – might be the second seamer in support of Renuka Singh.Perhaps more important was what actually happened in the warm-up game: only 14 overs were possible before it was washed out. Rain could end up impacting the series as well: there have been showers every evening over the past week and more are forecast for Sunday’s opener and next week as well.Should play be severely interrupted, it would be a disappointment for the Bengaluru crowd, who showed their support for the women’s game during the WPL and last saw the national women’s team play at their stadium nine years ago. Then, India beat New Zealand 3-2 in 2015 with a squad that included an 18-year old Smriti Mandhana and only one other player who is still part of the current squad: Harmanpreet Kaur. There will be a lot of focus on both of them in this series after disappointing showings against Australia. Mandhana made scores of 34 and 29 but Harmanpreet was dismissed in single figures in all three matches.While India will want to see more from their experienced players, they will also put some attention on the youngsters. Shafali Verma was dropped after the first ODI against Australia after failing to get into double figures in five successive innings and will have to demonstrate an ability to translate her T20 hitting to the 50-over format. And Richa Ghosh has been moved from the finishing role to No.3, where coach Amol Muzumdar feels she is best suited. Her 96 in the second ODI against Australia makes a good case and she will want to build on that.

South Africa lost ten wickets for 61 and were bowled out for 134 in chase of 312

Firdose Moonda20-Sep-2024Afghanistan completed their most high-profile bilateral series win and their first against a team ranked in the ICC’s top five with a 177-run victory over South Africa in Sharjah. After dominating South Africa with the ball two days ago, Afghanistan repeated the dose with the bat on Friday and posted their tenth total of 300 or more to ask South Africa to complete their sixth-highest successful chase. A collapse of 10 for 61 meant South Africa did not even get close and recorded their fifth-biggest defeat by runs. Afghanistan lead the series 2-0 with one match remaining.Birthday-boy Rashid Khan turned 26 and took his fifth career five-for to top off a day of excellence for Afghanistan in all departments. Their celebrations began with Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s seventh ODI century, followed by Rahmat Shah’s 29th ODI half-century and then Azmatullah Omarzai’s fastest fifty in the format. Omarzai reached his half-century off 32 balls, ended unbeaten on 86 off 50 balls and led Afghanistan’s charge of 93 runs in the last ten overs to post a challenging total. While Rashid headlined their bowling, he shared his success with left-arm spinner Nangeyalia Kharote, who finished with a career-best 4 for 26.Afghanistan asserted themselves from the get-go when they chose to bat which left South Africa to field in the worst of the heat. Officially the temperature was 38 degrees Celsius but the real-feel was in the late 40s and they did not have any real menace. Gurbaz and Riaz Hassan put on 88 for the first wicket before Gurbaz and Shah shared a 101-run second-wicket stand which formed the spine of the Afghan innings.South Africa’s spinners, Bjorn Fortuin and Aiden Markram were the most effective in keeping Afghanistan quiet and conceded 59 runs in 14 overs between them, but debutant legspinner Nqaba Peter was expensive and Nandre Burger also conceded 68 runs. Lungi Ngidi was the pick of the seamers, particularly at the end of the innings but South Africa lacked wicket-taking ability, which allowed Afghanistan to get away from them with their fourth and fifth wicket stands of 55 off 40 balls and 40 off 23, respectively.Gurbaz got things underway with the first boundary: a massive six over long-off, off an Ngidi length ball. He followed it up with a cover drive for four, and then two pull shots off Burger short balls to race to go from 4 off the first 15 balls he faced to a run-a-ball 24.Fortuin was brought on in the powerplay and kept his end quiet but Burger’s insistence on using the short ball did not serve South Africa well early on. His first spell of five overs cost 32 runs. He was replaced by Peter, whose first over was tight. He gave away a boundary in each of his next two before Markam took over. Markram got the first wicket when he beat Hassan’s inside-edge and hit him on the pad above the knee roll.Rashid Khan appeals for a wicket•Afghanistan Cricket Board

Gurbaz quietened down for a couple of overs but when Wiaan Mulder was brought on in the 21st over, he could not resist a charge down. He hit Mulder over long-on for his second six. What followed was an electric display of shots from both Gurbaz and Rahmat in a stand that seemed to drain South Africa. Rahmat reverse paddled Markam to third and flicked Mulder fine for four, Gurbaz lofted Peter over mid-off, mid-wicket and swept Fortuin to deep backward square to edge towards 90.Then, the nerves kicked in. He spent 18 deliveries in the 90s and seven of those on 99, including a maiden over from Fortuin, as he inched towards his milestone. He got there when he swept Markram behind square leg and his response was as emotive as they come. Gurbaz dropped his bat and then himself to his knees in sajdah, and then composed himself to create a heart-shape with his hands and blow a kiss to the changeroom and a spirited Sharjah crowd. However, in the next over, he swung at a Burger ball, missed and was bowled to end an exceptional knock. This is also the third successive year in which Gurbaz has scored two hundreds. With this knock, Gurbaz has most ODI hundreds for Afghanistan, surpassing Mohammad Shahzad (6).Afghanistan’s 200 was up after 36 overs, and they would have been eyeing a total in excess of 300. Peter made it difficult for them before the last ten overs and picked up his first ODI wicket when he dragged his length back as Rahmat advanced on him, and had Rahmat stumped on 50.Omarzai’s intent in the final period was clear when he hit Mulder over long-off for six two balls into the last 10. He sent Peter in the same area twice, and then hit him over mid-wicket for his fourth six and the shot that brought up his half-century, off 32 balls. Mohammad Nabi was little more than a spectator in the 55-run stand with Omarzai but when he tried to smash an Ngidi slower ball, he skied to Bavuma to depart for 13.That brought Rashid to the crease and he was in immediate trouble, albeit not caused by the bowlers. He hit Ngidi to sweeper cover and ran two but pulled up at the end of the second run with what looked like a hamstring concern. He received treatment on the field, skied the next ball he faced, which Peter couldn’t get to, and then held his hamstring again. Rashid stayed with Omarzai as he took Afghanistan over 300, and any problems he had with his fitness did not show in the field.South Africa’s chase got underway steadily with returning captain Temba Bavuma and Tony de Zorzi’s opening stand of 73 in 14 overs. But Bavuma’s dismissal and then Rashid’s introduction into the attack sparked an almighty collapse. Bavuma top-edged a pull off an Omarzai short ball and the high catch was well judged by Mohammed Nabi. Bavuma departed before he even had a chance to face Rashid, who was given the ball in the 18th over and caused problems with his first ball which teased Reeza Hendricks’ outside edge. Four balls later, de Zorzi tried to drive Rashid through the covers but edged to Ikram Alikhil.Stunned by spin, South Africa went into their shell and scored only 11 runs in the next four overs as pressure built. When left-arm spinner Kharote was brought on in the 23rd over, Hendricks looked particularly out-of-sorts when he stayed back in his crease to play for turn and was bowled. In the next over, Tristan Stubbs was given out on review when he gloved a sweep off Rashid to Nabi at leg slip. Two balls later, Kyle Verreynne failed to pick the wrong ‘un and was out lbw and Markram was left with the lower-order. Mulder was Rashid’s fourth victim, beaten as he stayed back, and Fortuin was bowled by his counterpart Kharote off one that stayed low. At 112 for 7, there was no way back for South Africa.Rashid’s fifth came when he bowled Markram with a googly. Kharote took wickets either side of that to leave South Africa floored. They lost all ten wickets in the space of 20.3 overs.

The total attendance over five days surpassed the previous record of 350,534 set at the MCG in 1937

Alex Malcolm30-Dec-2024A new attendance record for a Test match in Australia has been set with more than 373,691 passing through the gates at the MCG across the five days of the fourth Test between Australia and India, surpassing the previous mark of 350,534 set in 1937.Cricket Australia [CA] confirmed early on Monday that 51,371 had already come in for the first session of the fifth day to break the record. That crowd had swelled to a final tally of 74,362 by late in the afternoon.The crowd tally meant that more people have attended the 2024 MCG Boxing Day Test than had seen a Sir Donald Bradman-led Australia play England in January 1937 at the same venue, which was played over six days.The crowds have been absolutely extraordinary for this Test match with daily tallies of 87,242, 85,147, 83,073, 43,867 and 74,362. A day five crowd exceeding day four is unheard of with the Melbourne Cricket Club, who run the MCG, underestimating the number on day five.They opened Yarra Park outside the ground for general public parking on day five, which is a rarity. But they only had one gate open and it caused a significant traffic choke point prior to play with a number of fans late to get into the ground.The record numbers follow the huge crowds India attracted at the MCG at the 2022 T20 World Cup when 90,293 saw India play Pakistan and 82,507 watched India play Zimbabwe.

Visitors made light work of hefty Hampshire target to boost hopes of reaching knock-outs

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay09-Jul-2025 Lancashire 175 for 2 (Lamb 66*, Jones 42, Smale 42) beat Hampshire 173 for 5 (Kemp 63, Norgrove 54) by eight wicketsEmma Lamb made her highest Women’s Vitality Blast score to fire Lancashire Thunder to a third victory in a row and boost their chances of reaching the knockouts.England international Freya Kemp had whacked 63 and Abi Norgrove celebrated her maiden Hawks fifty as the hosts reached 174 for five, after a rocky start.But Lamb’s exemplary 66 not out, coming in partnerships of 65 with Eve Jones and 92 with Seren Smale, saw Lancashire home by eight wickets.Hawks and Thunder had gone into the match level on 21 points, with the visitors’ four points giving them a strong chance of leap-frogging Bears into third, and qualify for finals day.Thunder had the dream start at Falklands Cricket Club in Newbury.They won the toss and then had the Hawks 11 for three after the first four overs after Ellyse Perry had been unfortunately run out while backing up, Rhianna Southby had looped off her leading edge to mid-off and Georgia Adams pinged to midwicket.But as quickly as they gained advantage, Norgrove and Kemp quickly swung it in the other direction.In the following two overs, Kemp and Norgrove made the most of the fielding restrictions to pummel seven boundaries – which kicked off a flourishing partnership.Despite being just 20, Kemp has been an integral player for Utilita Bowl-based sides for a few years and earned 30 international caps, while England U19 captain Norgrove, 19, has an incredibly high ceiling but has mainly been used as an impact player at the death of innings this season.Both middled the ball and let the scorched Berkshire outfield do the hard work as the scoreboard rolled and rolled, despite Darcy Carter’s miserly four overs for 24.Kemp won the race to the half-century, but Norgrove was quicker – 38 vs 33 balls. The pair’s 116 was the highest fourth wicket stand in the Blast, as both also pinged a six.But they were both dismissed by Alana King, within three balls of each other but Naomi Dattani and Mary Taylor refused to let that stunt the hosts with 42 in the last 27 balls.Like Lancashire, Hampshire took the early impetus – with a Freya Davies maiden – before Lamb and Jones took control of the chase.The experienced openers used the conveyer belt nature of the outfield to whizz to 65 inside seven overs before Jones was caught at cover. 40 of Jones’ 42 had come in fours.Seren Smale simply continued where Jones had left off as Thunder bolted towards the winning target.Lamb reached her third fifty of the competition in 30 balls and even though Smale was caught and bowled for 42, Ailsa Lister joined in to win with six balls to spare.

The opener broke the record for most balls faced by an Indian Test debutant and gave his team a lead of 162

Hemant Brar13-Jul-20231:29

Yashasvi Jaiswal continues his dream red-ball debuts

Centuries from Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma put India in a commanding position on the second day of the first Test at Windsor Park. At stumps, India were 312 for 2, leading West Indies by 162 with Jaiswal unbeaten on 143 and Virat Kohli 36.Having started the day on 80 for no loss, Jaiswal and Rohit showed great patience throughout their 229-run partnership. It was the first time in Test cricket that India took a first-innings lead without losing a wicket.Run scoring wasn’t easy, though. India managed only 232 in 90 overs on the second day despite losing just two wickets. West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite used nine bowlers with Rahkeem Cornwall being the most threatening. However, Cornwall had to leave the field in the first session with a chest infection and did not return.Jaiswal was the first to bring up his hundred, becoming the third Indian opener after Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw, and the 17th Indian overall, to do so on Test debut.Rohit followed shortly afterwards with a four off Alick Athanaze. It was his tenth century in Test cricket, and only second outside India in 27 matches. But off the very next ball, he gloved the spinner onto his thigh and Joshua Da Silva caught the rebound.Before this Test, Shubman Gill had told India’s coach Rahul Dravid that he wanted to bat at No. 3. The move didn’t bring immediate success for Gill, though, as he edged Jomel Warrican to second slip for 6.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

With the spinners getting turn and bounce, West Indies delayed taking the second new ball until the 101st over. In their desperation for another wicket, they also burnt two reviews against Kohli but India survived that period.In the third over with the second new ball, Kemar Roach rapped Jaiswal on the pads but Richard Kettleborough turned down the lbw appeal. West Indies had no reviews left and replays showed the ball would have gone on to hit the leg stump.The second new ball was just eight overs old when Brathwaite brought back Warrican. It was only then that Kohli, having faced 80 balls, scored his first boundary with a cover drive. He celebrated with an air punch and a big smile. By stumps, he and Jaiswal had added 72 for the third wicket.In the morning, Jason Holder and Roach stuck to a good length outside off, conceding just 19 in the first nine overs of the day. The first boundary off the bat came in the tenth when Jaiswal pulled Joseph to bring up his half-century. The shot also brought up India’s first opening century stand in 23 innings, since KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal added 117 against South Africa in Centurion in December 2021.After the first drinks interval, Rohit reached his half-century as well. He also had some advice for Jaiswal whenever the youngster looked impatient or played a loose shot.Cornwall was getting assistance from the surface and had challenged both of Jaiswal’s edges before the break. On the other side of it, he pinged him on the helmet with extra bounce as the left-hander failed to connect a sweep. Warrican, much quicker through the air than Cornwall, also found big turn to beat Rohit’s outside edge, but a wicket eluded West Indies.At the start of the second session, Jaiswal tried to raise the tempo. He skipped down the pitch a couple of times against Warrican but didn’t have much success. It was Rohit who showed the way by chipping Holder down the ground for a four. In Holder’s next over, Jaiswal also threw his bat around to pick up two fours, the first of those coming off an outside edge.West Indies moved to plan B after that, with Alzarri Joseph bowling the short stuff. With the ball coming slower off the surface, Rohit twice miscued the pull but was lucky both times. From the other end, Warrican found Rohit’s outside edge but it fell short of the slip fielder.Jaiswal played the short ball much better, even pulling Joseph behind square leg for four. Having taken 16 balls to open his account on day one, he took just 31 deliveries to move from 70 to 100, displaying the versatility that was the hallmark of his innings.

SLC and the sports minister are at loggerheads on various fronts as the row over the administration of cricket in the country deepens

Andrew Fidel Fernando15-Nov-2023Sri Lanka Cricket has initiated a defamation lawsuit against the country’s sports minister, as the row over the administration of cricket in the country deepens.SLC is currently suspended by the ICC, at the request of SLC’s own officials, in an attempt to impress on the Sri Lankan government that the ICC will not tolerate political interference in the board.Meanwhile, at home, SLC and the sports minister are at war on various fronts – this defamation lawsuit being the latest of them. Separate from this legal action, the sports minister has also vowed to fight the stay order delivered by the Sri Lankan courts last Tuesday, which removed the “interim committee” that the minister had appointed, and essentially reinstated the board officials who had been sacked the previous day.Related

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“In response to the persistent and damaging defamatory statements made by the Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs Roshan Ranasinghe, Sri Lanka Cricket has taken a decisive step to protect its reputation and integrity,” a board release said. “Therefore, on the 13th November 2023, [SLC officials] jointly filed a defamation lawsuit in the District Court of Colombo, seeking damages amounting to 2.4 billion rupees on behalf of the Sri Lanka Cricket.”The release did not mention which particular statements SLC alleges are defamatory, but the comments that have been taken exception to, likely came on Saturday, during a long press conference the sports minister held, in which he accused the board of corruption and mismanagement, among other things. The minister has been accusing the board of corruption for around a year, but has often done so in parliament where his speech is protected from defamation suits due to parliamentary privilege.SLC had also held a press conference on the same day which featured personal insults directed at the sports minister.Under Sri Lanka’s sports law, which has been in place since 1973, the sports minister does have a range of powers over SLC as well as other sporting bodies in the country.SLC is seeking assurances from the top level of Sri Lanka government, that there will be no further political interventions, which in turn is likely to see the ICC suspension on the board lifted.

He played 29 Tests, scoring 1202 runs and taking 75 wickets

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Apr-20233:12

‘He was an enigma’ – Deep Dasgupta recounts his memories of Salim Durani

Former India allrounder Salim Durani has died aged 88. He was living with his brother Jahangir Durani in Jamnagar, Gujarat, according to PTI.Durani had undergone a proximal femoral nail surgery after he broke his thigh bone in a fall in January this year.An aggressive left-handed batter and a left-arm spinner, Durani played 29 Tests, scoring 1202 runs and taking 75 wickets.He was best remembered for that magical spell that helped India to their first Test win in the West Indies in 1971, which is also remembered for Sunil Gavaskar’s Test debut. In the space of a few balls, Durani had dismissed Clive Lloyd and Garry Sobers – the latter for a duck – at a crucial time in the second innings in Port of Spain for India’s seven-wicket win. Durani conceded just 21 runs in the 17 overs he bowled.In an interview with ESPNcricinfo, Durani gave details of how he set up Sobers and Lloyd for those wicket. “They’re one of the finest cricket-playing countries in the world… but not on the ground. On the ground they’ll break your head. But after the game they used to take us to [their] home[s], and this and that,” he spoke about sporting West Indies.