Michael Hussey reprised his favourite role, of the rescue artist, to steer Australia to a competitive total before Dirk Nannes’ pace and some world-class fielding confirmed there would be no repeat of last year’s embarrassing first round World Twenty20 ex

The Bulletin by Siddarth Ravindran05-May-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Dirk Nannes had the best figures by an Australian bowler in Twenty20s•AFP

Michael Hussey reprised his favourite role, of the rescue artist, to steer Australia to a competitive total before Dirk Nannes’ pace and some world-class fielding confirmed there would be no repeat of last year’s embarrassing first round World Twenty20 exit. Bangladesh’s defeat also meant defending champions Pakistan, the team most likely to take the flight home in case Group A was decided on net run-rate, also progressed to the Super Eights.Bangladesh were dreaming of another famous upset in a global tournament in the Caribbean after their armada of spinners thrived on a pitch with bounce and turn at the Kensington Oval to cut Australia to 65 for 6. The slow bowlers had been so effective that there had been no boundaries for more than ten overs after Michael Clarke got off the mark with a lovely hit over long-off in the fourth over, before Hussey and Steven Smith pounded 74 runs to push Australia to 141.Playing with typical Australian resilience, Hussey and Smith more than doubled the total in the final seven overs. The boundary drought ended with Hussey swiping a short ball from Abdur Razzak to square leg in the 15th over. The real acceleration came two overs later, when Hussey surgically picked off 17 runs off Mashrafe Mortaza – there was an effortless flick for six, a tickle to fine leg for four and a dab to third man for four more.Smith’s runs were collected in a more brawny manner. A powerful lofted cover drive brought him his first four and there were two brutal leg-side sixes off Razzak in the penultimate over, before he was run-out for a quick 27, his first major batting performance on the international stage.The pair’s heroics came after a limp top-order show. Mortaza surprised Australia’s power-hitting openers with the extra lift he extracted from the track in the opening over, but regular programming seemed to have returned when David Warner muscled a six and a four off Shafiul Islam in the next. Mortaza had Shane Watson top-edging towards backward square leg in the third over, before Bangladesh’s spinners came on to choke the runs, which resulted in a slew of wickets. Neither Clarke nor the promoted Brad Haddin could score fast, and the Twenty20 specialists, David Hussey and Cameron White, also flopped to leave Australia fretting.But on a pacy pitch, Bangladesh’s top order was even more feeble. Shaun Tait worried Imrul Kayes with a string of fast and furious deliveries in the first over before trapping him with a slower one. In the next over, Tait swooped at third man to take a tough, low catch to send back the experienced Mohammad Ashraful. Nannes’ short-of-a-length bowling fetched him two wickets in the fourth over when Aftab Ahmed and Mahmudullah miscued attempting cross-batted strokes. With Bangladesh at 15 for 4, both Australia and Pakistan fans were a happy lot.Shakib and Mushfiqur Rahim, two of the best Bangladeshi batsmen, showed some fight and hitting ability in a 48-run stand but another stunning catch ended their resistance. Hussey enhanced his claim for the Man-of-the-Match award by haring back towards the square leg boundary and diving to pluck a slog-sweep from Shakib.Bangladesh’s chances evaporated with that dismissal, and they hobbled along to 114 before being bowled out in the 19th over. Australia’s dominance in the field was shown by the number of dot balls they bowled – 58. The bowling attack looks fearsome, the fielding is top-notch and after sweeping through the initial phase, if Clarke’s men repeat their performance against India, the odds on Australia claiming the one world title to elude them will shorten considerably.

Ireland will be without teenage left-arm spinner George Dockrell, who impressed during the World Twenty20, when they take on Australia in an ODI on June 17

Cricinfo staff04-Jun-2010Ireland will be without teenage left-arm spinner George Dockrell, who impressed during the World Twenty20, when they take on Australia in an ODI on June 17. Cricket Ireland named 13 players for the one-off match in Clontarf and the only ones missing from the squad that went to the Caribbean are Dockrell and Nigel Jones.”It’s a pity that George can’t make the game, but he has exams which are obviously important to his future,” Ireland coach Phil Simmons said. “He’d been bowling really well and settled in superbly to international cricket. That has helped us offset the retirement of Kyle McCallan, and the injuries to Regan West.”Wicketkeeper Niall O’Brien had decided to postpone surgery on a fractured finger so that he would be able to play Australia.Simmons said playing Australia was a chance for his players to showcase their talents and added that, though Ireland may have lost that “surprise factor” when playing Full member countries now, they had “certainly gained their respect”. “We’re playing on home soil, in familiar conditions, and with the backing of our home fans. No-one treats us lightly any more, as they know if their game drops, we are ready to pounce.”I’ll be looking for the players to play with the same intensity that they showed in the West Indies. We did really well in the field against both West Indies and the eventual winners England.”William Porterfield, the Ireland captain, said his players had been talking about playing Australia since the fixture was announced. “You can’t help but be motivated by the chance to play the world champions, especially in front of the home supporters,” he said. “We all had a month together in the West Indies, and that tour was fantastic for both team spirit and preparing the squad for the international year ahead. There may be a few cobwebs as it’ll be six weeks since our last game, but everyone has been playing some sort of cricket. With the majority of the squad being full-time in cricket now, I don’t think there’ll be any problems with rustiness.”It’ll be a great experience playing against players of the calibre of Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke, Mike Hussey and Mitchell Johnson. We’ll certainly not be overawed though – we’ve played in three world cups now, and have got over that stage of our careers. It’ll be a great occasion for everybody in Irish cricket, and hopefully a day to remember.”Squad: William Porterfield (capt), Trent Johnston, Andre Botha, Peter Connell, Alex Cusack, Gary Kidd, John Mooney, Kevin O’Brien, Niall O’Brien, Boyd Rankin, Paul Stirling, Andrew White, Gary Wilson.

Gloucestershire moved into a promotion position in the County Championship with a 10-wicket victory over Middlesex inside three days at Bristol

30-Jun-2010

ScorecardGloucestershire moved into a promotion position in the County Championship with a 10-wicket victory over Middlesex inside three days at Bristol. Jon Lewis claimed 4 for 45 and Gemaal Hussain 3 for 61 as the visitors were bowled out for 228 in their second innings, Neil Dexter top scoring with 54.That left Gloucestershire requiring only 45 for their fifth championship win of the season. Kadeer Ali and Jonathan Batty knocked off the required runs in 13.1 overs and their side took 23 points from the game to Middlesex’s three.The home side began the day on 404 for 8 and lost the wickets of Steve Kirby and Anthony Ireland for the addition of just another 16 runs, a lead of 184. Middlesex needed a good start to get back in the game, but Lewis struck with the new ball, pinning Scott Newman lbw for 5.It was 40 for 2 when Sam Robson was caught behind off Lewis for 12 and wicketkeeper Jonathan Batty produced a better catch, diving to his right, to remove Owais Shah for 32 off the same bowler.Soon Middlesex were 79 for 4 as Dawid Malan edged James Franklin into the slip cordon where Chris Dent took the catch. From then on it was just a case of whether the match would go into a final day.Dexter did his best to make that happen, riding his luck with a few edges through the slips to score 11 fours in his 47-ball innings, which was ended by another Dent slip catch off Hussain. John Simpson had helped add 60 for the fifth wicket, but with his score on 23 he fell lbw to the off-spin of Chris Taylor.Hussain sent back Josh Davey and Tom Smith to take his wicket tally in championship cricket this season to 39 and Lewis ended the innings by clean bowling Toby Roland-Jones. Gloucestershire’s policy of leaving out a specialist spinner had been vindicated as all their seamers, including the wicketless Kirby, bowled well and applied pressure.There were 17 overs left in the day when Gloucestershire began their second innings and Kadeer went straight on the attack, moving to 16 in only the third over as he and Batty confidently wrapped up victory.

Middlesex dented Surrey hopes of reaching the knock-out stages of the Friends Provident t20 by cruising to a seven-wicket win in the floodlight London derby at The Ova

08-Jul-2010

ScorecardMiddlesex dented Surrey hopes of reaching the knock-out stages of the Friends Provident t20 by cruising to a seven-wicket win in the floodlight London derby at The Oval.Chasing Surrey’s disappointing run-a-ball total of 120 for 8 in front of a 16,000 crowd, Panthers recovered from the early loss of Australian left-hander David Warner (1) to canter to their sixth South Group win with 12 balls to spare.Newly-appointed Middlesex captain Neil Dexter and Owais Shah (32) engineered the visitors’ level-headed pursuit by posting 74 in 10 overs for the second wicket before a stunning boundary catch by Stuart Walters ended Shah’s 31-ball stay. Dawid Malan (4) needlessly pulled a long hop into the hands of deep mid-wicket, but Dexter – who might have gone for 33 when Walters missed a simpler chance at deep mid-wicket – cantered to a 46-ball 50 with seven fours.The South African-born right-hander saw his side home with an unbeaten 62 off 57 balls in tandem with Gareth Berg (19no) to inflict a seventh defeat on the Lions. In the face of some tight bowling Surrey made the worst possible start to the match by losing two of their top three batsmen to sloppy run-outs having elected to bat first.Mark Ramprakash (0) went to the eighth ball of the innings having pushed the ball toward extra cover he called, set off and dived full length in a bid to make his ground only to be beaten home by Berg’s under-arm direct hit.Jason Roy, Surrey’s only t20 century-maker in the history of the competition, faced only two deliveries before he went to a catch at the wicket when down the pitch and attempting a slash drive through cover against Tim Murtagh.Having mustered only 27 from their six powerplay overs Surrey’s captain Rory Hamilton-Brown (20) became their second run-out victim when he chanced a second run to Berg at deep mid-wicket. Tom Smith then took the first of his three for 16 return when Walters (1), moving back to clip a turning delivery through mid-wicket trod on his off stump and dislodge the bail to go hit wicket.With only 42 on the board at the mid-point of the innings Andrew Symonds upped the tempo by cracking a six and two fours as Dexter’s first over of the night cost 16 runs. Left-arm spinner Smith then turned the course of the innings by dismissing Symonds (19) and Younis Khan (21) in the space of three balls.Symonds, down the pitch and driving, clipped a return catch to the bowler. Four runs later Khan went in identical fashion having been deceived in the flight. Matt Spriegel contributed 16 without a boundary before holing out to long on and Chris Schofield (5) skied to deep mid-wicket leaving top scorer Gary Wilson to bludgeon five late boundaries in his unbeaten 36.

A round-up of the second round of matches of the Sri Lanka Under 23 Youth Tournament Division 1

Sa'adi Thawfeeq19-Jul-2010

Group A

Nondescripts CC was extremely unlucky to miss out on victory by a mere one run in their Under-23 Youth Division I tournament match against Navy SC at Welisara. Set a target of 110 for victory off 14 overs, NCC ended up on 109 for 6 and thus had to be content with only first-innings points.The offspin of Umesh Udayanga (5-63) and the slow left-arm orthodox bowling of Roshan Wijenayake (5-33) left NCC with a small target to chase in the fourth innings. However luck was not on their side. For NCC, former Sri Lanka U-19 cricketer Rishan Kavinda’s century and Angelo Perera’s stroke-filled knock of 85 enabled them to gain a useful first-innings lead of 94.None of the other matches came anywhere close to achieving a winning result, with all of them ending in draws.The 18-year-old cricketer from the South, Shehan Jayasuriya of Prince of Wales, gave Moors SC a convincing lead on the first innings against Burgher RC at Braybrooke Place. Jayasuriya scored a brilliant century as Moors declared at 387 for 9 in reply to BRC’s 179.The offspin of Maduka Liyanapathiranage helped Chilaw Marians to a close 37-run first-innings advantage over Bloomfield at Reid Avenue. Bloomfield were well placed at 156 for 5 overnight and set to overhaul Chilaw Marians’ first innings score of 259, but thanks to Liyanapathiranage’s probing offspin, they managed only 222. The only consolation for Bloomfield was Amal Atapattu who took eight wickets in the match with his left-arm spin.

Group B

Eighteen-year-old former St Sebastian’s slow left-arm bowler Anuk de Alwis (6-74) bowled Moratuwa SC to first-innings points over Seeduwa Raddoluwa CC. In another match Ragama CC got the better of Colombo Colts CC also on the first innings.

Durham skipper Phil Mustard underlined that his team will not hand over the County Championship title to Nottinghamshire without a fight

31-Aug-2010
ScorecardPhil Mustard led Durham’s fightback and put them on opening at Chester-le-Street•PA Photos

Durham skipper Phil Mustard underlined that his team will not hand over the County Championship title to Nottinghamshire without a fight. The fourth Championship century of his career was his first at Chester-le-Street and he shared an unbroken stand of 159 with Scott Borthwick to take his side to 347 for 6 at the close of the first day.Mustard was 117 not out, his highest score since making 130 in the first match of the 2006 season at Canterbury. Nottinghamshire went into the game 16 points clear with three matches left, giving them a game in hand on their only realistic challengers, Somerset and Yorkshire.The visitors reduced Durham to 76 for 4, but half-centuries from Mark Stoneman and Ian Blackwell began the recovery before Mustard took command. The second 50 in his 131-ball century came off only 34 balls and included 10 fours as he and Borthwick swept into overdrive against the new ball.On 82 Mustard hit three successive fours off Luke Fletcher, then in the next over he cut Ryan Sidebottom to the boundary and turned him to long leg for the four which brought up his century. Sidebottom, who will leave after Wednesday’s play to join the England Twenty20 squad, grew increasingly exasperated when failing to add to the prize scalp of Michael Di Venuto, which he claimed in the first over.In the last over before tea he looked aghast when a huge appeal for caught behind was turned down with Mustard on 22. Then off the final ball before the break Borthwick, who had yet to score, edged towards first slip. Chris Read dived across and tipped the ball towards third man for two runs.Borthwick, like his captain a left-handed batsman from the Sunderland area, equalled his best of 54, made at Basingstoke last month. He would have been run out on 26 had the shy from mid-on hit the stumps, but played some high-class strokes, notably an on drive and wristy flick through square leg, in his 89-ball half century.Nottinghamshire left out Darren Pattinson and nominated him as Sidebottom’s replacement to give Fletcher a game. He swung the ball away to have Gordon Muchall caught at gully and Durham’s early struggles made Mustard’s decision to bat look questionable.Andre Adams had Dale Benkenstein caught behind in his first over and surprised both Stoneman and Blackwell with his skiddy pace. Full-length balls had Stoneman lbw for 67 and bowled Blackwell for 59, both playing across the line.The other wicket went to Paul Franks, Ben Harmison being caught behind for 2 after replacing Ben Stokes, who has a foot injury.

Round-up of the eleventh day’s action in the Karnataka Premier League

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Sep-2010In a high-scoring encounter of close margins, Shamanoor Devangere Diamonds justified their position at the top of the table with a well-planned chase to overcome a target of 175 with two balls to spare against Bijapur Bulls in Bangalore.Bulls’ batsmen accelerated through their innings after openers Ravi Kane and Mithun Beerala added 59 in 44 balls. Devraj Patil hit 27 off 16 balls to ensure there was no lull in the middle overs before Jayprakash Shetty took off towards the end, smashing two sixes and six fours in his 29-ball 51. DC Rajesh claimed a hat-trick in the final over as Bulls lost some momentum. It was to prove crucial in the end analysis.Diamonds came out throwing punches in all directions, Pavan Deshpande setting the tone with 52 off 32 balls. Mayank Agarwal blitzed 29 off 15 and, at 98 for 1 after 9.4 overs, the stage was set for a close finish. Three quick wickets in the middle did not deter Bharath Kumar who smote three sixes and three fours in his 29-ball 40. CM Gautam played sensibly at the other end, and along with Mohanram Nidesh, took his side home after Kumar’s exit.Bangalore Provident (Rural) turned in an all-round performance to beat Mysore Maharaajas by five wickets in a 17 overs-a-side game at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.Mysore lost an early wicket after being inserted, but Sudhir Rao and Nitin Bille set things right with a 53-run stand in 8.4 overs. Rao, who scored 41 off 32 balls, was the first of two run-out victims as Bangalore Provident clawed back into the game. However, despite left-arm spinner Arjun Shetty’s double strikes, Mysore finished on a high to reach 130 for 6. Bangalore Provident’s reply was set up by openers Maniunath Manjunath and Thilak Naidu who raised 49 in five overs. Amit Verma then guided the chase along with the lower middle-order, and the winning runs were scored with three balls to spare.

Shakib Al Hasan, the Bangladesh stand-in captain, has said that his team will look to improve its performance as Bangladesh aim for a clean sweep in the ongoing one-day series against New Zealand

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Oct-2010Shakib Al Hasan, the Bangladesh stand-in captain, has said his team will look to improve its performance as it aims for a clean sweep in the ongoing one-day series against New Zealand. Bangladesh beat New Zealand by seven wickets in the third ODI on Monday, giving them an unassailable 2-0 lead in the five-match series – the first time they have won two consecutive ODIs against top-flight opposition.They beat New Zealand by 9 runs (D/L method) in the first ODI on October 5 while the second ODI was abandoned due to rain.”Now the 4-0 [result] is very possible,” Shakib said. “We played good cricket in the last two games but we want to improve our performance in the next two because there are lots of areas to improve.”We are capable of playing much better cricket and what I believe is that we are yet to play our best cricket in the series. Things will fall into place if we can improve our performance.”Bangladesh bowled out New Zealand for 173 in Monday’s ODI and the opening stand of 127 between Imrul Kayes and Shahriar Nafees set the foundation for their seven-wicket victory. But Shakib said a ten-wicket victory would have been more convincing.”A ten-wicket victory was very much on the cards after the way the two openers started,” he said. “It was a good knock from Nafees; he punished every bad ball and was positive. I don’t know what played on his mind but he could have easily made a hundred.”As usual Kayes started cautiously and settled in nicely but frustratingly he too could not finish the game. We must focus on this area and make sure we do not make same mistakes in the next games.”Shakib praised his spinners, who came into the game after just eight overs from the fast bowlers. They ran through the New Zealand line-up, picking up eight wickets between them, but the star performer was Suhrawadi Shuvo, who grabbed three including the dangerous Jesse Ryder and Daniel Vettori. Ross Taylor was the only New Zealand batsman to offer some resistance, with an unbeaten 72-ball 62. But Shakib was disappointed with Bangladesh’s efforts in the batting Power Play where Taylor and Kyle Mills smashed 55 runs.”The spinners, especially Shuvo, did a good job after Shafiul [Islam] removed Brendon McCullum, but we didn’t bowl well in the Power Play. Our fielding was good but not extraordinary, so we have to look at these areas.”While the Bangladesh spinners and openers set up the victory in the third ODI, it was Shakib’s allround show that led them to victory in the first game. “You see so many players who performed in the match which is the main strength of this team. We play as a team and as a unit.”The fourth ODI will be played in Dhaka on Thursday.

Ryan McLaren has been called in to replace the injured Albie Morkel in the Twenty20 squad to face Zimbabwe over the weekend

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Oct-2010Ryan McLaren, the South Africa allrounder, has been called in to replace the injured Albie Morkel for the two-match Twenty20 series against Zimbabwe over the weekend. Morkel picked up a side strain while playing for Chennai Super Kings in their run to the Champions League Twenty20 title last month.”We are anticipating that Albie will be fit in time to take his place in the three-match ODI series that starts next week,” selection convener Andrew Hudson said.McLaren, 27, was part of the side during their last Twenty20 assignment – two matches during the tour of West Indies in May, and took a five-wicket haul in the first of those matches. He was surprisingly overlooked when the squad for the upcoming Zimbabwe series was announced.Since he made his international debut last November, McLaren has fared well for South Africa, being named the Newcomer of the Year at the 2010 SA Cricket Awards in July. He gave up his Kolpak status last year, thus making himself available for national selection. He was called up for South Africa’s ODI squad to face Kenya and Bangladesh in October 2008 but English county Kent refused to release him.

England had plenty of reasons to smile after a strong second day against South Australia when most of their main men contributed

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Nov-2010
Scorecard
Graeme Swann shut down South Australia’s tail with four wickets•Getty Images

England had plenty of reasons to smile after a strong second day against South Australia when most of their main men contributed. Graeme Swann’s second four-wicket collection of the trip helped finish off the hosts for 221 after James Anderson had removed three of the top six, while Stuart Broad and Steven Finn also had some success.Andrew Strauss finished the day with a rollicking 56 as England reached 0 for 94, a lead of 67, and the side was also boosted by Alastair Cook being not out on 37. Cook, the vice-captain, has struggled in the early stages of the trip and is desperately chasing a big score to feel settled before the opening Test on November 25. Strauss has no such worries and bashed three sixes and five fours, with his fifty coming at almost a run a ball.Swann was wicket-less for his first 17 overs but then captured four victims, giving up 68 runs from 22.4 overs. Aiden Blizzard (49) went sweeping, Tim Lang hit to mid-on, Ben Edmondson was lbw and Peter George, the No.11, was stumped to end the innings.Rain delayed the start of play by an hour and South Australia were in difficulty soon after resuming at 0 for 26. James Smith nicked Broad to Matt Prior the ball before Anderson had Daniel Harris caught by Jonathan Trott at square leg. Trott later left for treatment on his shoulder after jarring it attempting a catch on the boundary, but returned to the field in good health.Finn continues to improve and delivered a strong spell before lunch in which he forced Callum Ferguson to miscue a pull shot on 35, and he returned later in the day to bowl Jake Haberfield. Anderson watched Michael Klinger cut hard to Kevin Pietersen at point and followed up by clipping Graham Manou’s glove on the way to Strauss at first slip.