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Zimbabwe will want better efforts from their seniors to keep the series alive

The preview by Mohammad Isam02-Mar-2020

Big picture

Riding high on confidence, Bangladesh will look to wrap up the ODI series against Zimbabwe in Sylhet. Liton Das and Mohammad Saifuddin provided the spark in the series opener , where the focus was largely on captain Mashrafe Mortaza. But the Mortaza retirement circus didn’t derail Bangladesh because they batted with a plan.Tamim Iqbal and Das provided a decent start before Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mohammad Mithun carried on to pile on a big score. Saifuddin burst through with the bat in the end, and later with the new ball, before Mustafizur Rahman, Mehidy Hasan and Mortaza kept the visitors in check.Zimbabwe, however, never looked like a team prepared to beat the home side. They were dealt two blows before the game when Craig Ervine was out with flu and Sean Williams didn’t arrive from Harare early enough. It could have been a motivating factor for new captain Chamu Chibhabha. Instead, the bowling lacked penetration and everything went downhill from there.Only Wesley Madhevere, the 19-year old debutant, batted with some purpose while the rest of the line-up simply caved not only to the pressure of runs, but also in their lack of belief that they could chase the score. Williams, Ervine, Sikandar Raza and Brendan Taylor must provide a better showing in the second ODI, but Chibhabha should also ensure that he has a bowling unit that can threaten the home side.

Form guide

Bangladesh WLLLL
Zimbabwe LLLLL

In the spotlight

Liton Das batted smoothly in the first ODI with admittedly limited strokeplay. He reached his second century in international cricket and although against a much weaker attack, Das will certainly be seeking consistency in the rest of the series.Sean Williams’ return will be a boost to the Zimbabwe middle-order•AFP

Zimbabwe must be desperate for Sean Williams to return to their line-up. Williams is the new Test captain, who missed out on the one-off Test in Dhaka due to the birth of their child. Williams not only brings experience, but also a form of stability on slow pitches that he has mastered over many years of playing in Bangladesh.

Team news

Das suffered cramps during his century while Mohammad Saifuddin is being closely monitored after returning from a back injury, but both are going to play in the second game.Bangladesh (probable): 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Liton Das, 3 Najmul Hossain Shanto, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 5 Mohammad Mithun, 6 Mahmudullah, 7 Mohammad Saifuddin, 8 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 9 Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), 10 Taijul Islam, 11 Mustafizur RahmanTinashe Kamunhukamwe and Regis Chakabva are likely to make way for Craig Ervine and Sean Williams, which will bolster Zimbabwe’s middle order greatly. Williams’ ten overs will also be handy in Sylhet.Zimbabwe (probable): 1 Chamu Chibhabha (capt), 2 Craig Ervine, 3 Wesley Madhevere, 4 Brendan Taylor (wk), 5 Sean Williams, 6 Sikandar Raza, 7 Tinotenda Mutombodzi, 8 Donald Tiripano, 9 Ainsley Ndlovu, 10 Chris Mpofu, 11 Carl Mumba

Pitch and conditions

Bangladesh’s 300-plus score is typical fare on the straw-coloured Sylhet pitch, but there was also swing on offer. The weather is to remain fair, with bright skies around the tea gardens.

Stats and trivia

With his second wicket in the first ODI, Mashrafe Mortaza became the fifth captain to take 100 ODI wickets, after Wasim Akram, Shaun Pollock, Imran Khan and Jason Holder.Zimbabwe batting coach Stuart Matsikenyeri was named one of the substitute fielders as Craig Ervine had the flu and Sean Williams flew in late from Harare.

Quotes

“Hopefully I can bring a bit of energy and calmness. Craig Ervine is getting there too, so he will be ready to play. I also think good decisions over a long period of time is crucial. Guys like Brendan and Raza play a massive role in our team. Having them firing is going to be extremely important for us.”

Her absence leaves the England team thinner on their spin stocks after Laura Marsh had also pulled up injured earlier

Annesha Ghosh26-Feb-2019England left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone has been ruled out of the remainder of the tour of India after fracturing the fifth metacarpal on her right hand during a warm-up session ahead of the second ODI on Monday.Ecclestone, who will fly home and not return for the tour of Sri Lanka, was not part of a select group of players who trained at Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday. This was a result of scans revealing the extent of her injury after the second ODI, with Ecclestone going wicketless while conceding 31 runs in seven overs as England lost by seven wickets. England thus are still searching for their maiden bilateral series win in India.Ecclestone, however, was, the pick of the England bowlers in the tour opener, taking 2 for 27 in a losing cause, picking up the wickets of Jemimah Rodrigues and Deepti Sharma.The 19-year-old Ecclestone is the second spinner England have lost to injury on this tour, after Laura Marsh, the offspinner, sustained a side strain ahead of the first ODI.”Yes, we lost the option of the ball going away from the left-handers with Laura picking up the injury,” captain Heather Knight had said after the loss on Monday. “Yeah, [her absence] potentially cost us a little bit. Losing Laura was a big disappointment for us.”Marsh was picked as a like-for-like replacement for the now-retired Danielle Hazell, but missed the first two games, and is unlikely to return for the third. She is, however, expected to recover in time for the ODI series in Sri Lanka.With Ecclestone and Marsh ruled out, England are left with only two frontline spinners in their squad: left-armer Alex Hartley and legspinning-allrounder Sophia Dunkley, who has yet to play a game in this series. However, left-arm spinner Linsey Smith, who is not officially part of the ODI squad but has been accompanying the team with a view to acclimatising to the conditions ahead of the T20I series, will be available for selection for the third ODI.A replacement for Ecclestone, meanwhile, will be named after the third and final ODI on Thursday.In December 2018, another promising young left-arm spinner, Kirstie Gordon, was ruled out of action with a stress fracture of her lower back after she made a promising start to her England career with vital contributions to England’s runners-up finish in the T20 World Cup in November.

Paul Farbrace conceded that England don’t have the bowlers to compete on flat wickets, but refused to criticise the efforts of his team

George Dobell in Perth16-Dec-2017It tells you everything you need to know about England’s fortunes that, in one of the driest cities in the world, their best chance of achieving the draw that would sustain their Ashes campaign is the hope of rain.Australia scored 346 runs for the loss of just one wicket on the third day as England’s attack was rendered impotent by some fine batting and a flat pitch. The Australia lead is already 146 and there is plenty of power to add. If Australia win the game, they will regain the Ashes by taking an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series. But if England gain a draw, they can still retain the urn if they win the last two matches by virtue of the holding them at present.But despite the chastening nature of the day, Paul Farbrace had no criticism for the England bowlers. Instead the England assistant coach, a man brought out to explain such grim days for England with such regularity you wonder whether he should carry a scythe, praised their efforts but conceded the English system was not producing spin or pace bowlers required for such conditions. He also suggested that a lack of ruthlessness with the bat on day two had allowed Australia back into the game.The problem, he concluded, was that England simply don’t have the bowlers to unlock strong batting line-ups on flat pitches.”There’s always something for our bowlers in England,” Farbrace said. “A little bit of swing or a little bit of movement off the surface. We saw that in Adelaide when there was a little bit of swing or movement off the surface, we have high quality bowlers who can exploit those conditions.Craig Overton is caught in a tangle near the boundary•Associated Press

“But when it comes to flatter pitches, we don’t have that express pace. And we haven’t got the highest quality of magical spin. On flat wickets like this in Australia you need to be able to bowl 90-plus mph to have a chance of making a difference. They have a group of high-quality bowlers to do so.”I’m not being critical of our bowlers. I’m being honest. We don’t have bowlers bowling 90mph-plus in our set-up and we don’t have too many waiting in the wings to come in. And one or two that do bowl that pace can only bowl four-over spells. So they’re not exactly ideal for Test cricket.”We need to find those quick bowlers. And yes, in the long term, something needs to be done.”It has been an exceptionally tough day for our bowlers. But we feel we have managed to get stuck in and compete as hard as possible. In the field we have tried our best to back the bowlers up. I don’t think we have been flat, or lacking effort. On that wicket, we just haven’t got anything else to offer.”What can we do? We have tried various ideas and plans. The majority of ways we have of taking wickets with the attack we have is to be monotonous with line and length, and we have tried that. They have been very honest, toiled away with what they have got and on that flat surface they’ve found it exceptionally hard work.”Despite the scorecard, Farbrace hinted that the turning point of the match came when England let slip a strong foundation with the bat. England were well poised at 368 for 4 before a collapse saw the last six wickets fall for the addition of just 35 runs.”When you get yourself into a position where you can go on and make 550 and compete in the game…” Farbrace said. “And it’s been a pattern in this series. We have got in good positions and we have either not been good enough or they have been better and taken the initiative away.”It was very disappointing to be in a position where 550 looked a good score for us. It does knock the stuffing out of you a bit.”Two blokes played out of their boots and got us from 140 for 4 to 400 but it’s shown that it wasn’t enough. The two today have shown that, when you get in, you have to be greedy and go on and get big scores. That’s what the best teams do and we haven’t been able to do that.”But Farbrace insisted the Ashes had not gone and called upon England to show “some guts and determination” over the last couple of days.”It’s going to be tough,” he said. “We have to believe we can fight hard over the next two days and make sure there’s still a contest to keep going.”We’ve got to show some guts and determination. We’ve got to fight as hard as we possibly can. And if we get into a position where we were in the first innings, we have to make sure we capitalise on it.”

Collapses, snail-paced innings, and unfit conditions were the story in the Group C games of Ranji Trophy 2016-17 played on November 5, 2016

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Nov-2016Mayank Dagar and Pankaj Jaiswal took seven wickets between them as Himachal Pradesh bowled Jammu & Kashmir out for 162 on the first day in Ranchi.Parvez Rasool, who took over the captaincy from Mithun Manhas, won the toss and elected to bat. Jaiswal removed opener Umar Nissar in the second over, before 19-year-old spinner Dagar broke a second-wicket partnership of 47 to reduce J&K to 49 for 2. Jaiswal was involved in three of the next four wickets to fall, as he ran out Puneet Bisht for 12, and removed Parvez Rasool and Ram Dayal to leave J&K at 111 for 6.Opener Shubham Khajuria, who scored a century in the last match, scored 48 and was the last batsman to be dismissed, having retired mid-way through his innings. Mithun Manhas (18), who had also retired, was the ninth wicket to fall. Both of them got out to Dagar, who took the last three wickets to finish with 4 for 33.Himachal lost openers Ankush Bains and Prashant Chopra on the way to 58 for 2 at stumps.Services scored at under two runs per over as they went into stumps at 170 for 3 against Andhra in Indore.On a day that only three wickets fell, it will he hard to believe a bowler had been on a hat-trick, but Cheepurapalli Stephen did remove Services captain Soumik Chatterjee and Ravi Chauhan in successive deliveries in the 23rd over, leaving Services at 19 for 2.However, opener Anshul Gupta, who scored 72 off 268, put on 140 for the third wicket with Shamsher Yadav, who survived the hat-trick ball, to steady Services’ innings. Gupta fell to the part-time legspin of DB Ravi Teja with the score on 159. From that point, Services scored only 11 runs in the last 25.2 overs. Yadav was unbeaten on 60 off 22o balls.Haryana overcame two passages of losing wickets for no addition of runs to end the day on 227 for 8 against Kerala in Jaipur. They lost their second and third wickets on the score of 53 before going from 104 for 3 to 104 for 6.After being put in, Haryana lost opener Shubham Rohilla in the third over. Nitin Saini put on 44 for the second wicket with Chaitanya Bishnoi before both of them fell to debutant medium-pacer Venugopalan Vinod Kumar.Vinod Kumar then broke a 51-run partnership for the fourth wicket when he got rid of Rajat Paliwal. Sandeep Warrier removed Mohit Hooda and Harshal Patel in the next over, and Haryana had lost three wickets in 11 balls.Rohit Sharma scored an unbeaten 51 as he put on 50 with Yuzvendra Chahal, 34 with Mohit Sharma and an unbroken 39 with Sanjay Pahal to take Haryana to 227 at stumps. Warrier ended the day with 4 for 59, and Vinod Kumar finished with 3 for 37.Only 38.3 overs were bowled in the match between Chhattisgarh and Goa in Cuttack because of a wet outfield. Amandeep Khare scored an unbeaten half-century to lead Chhattisgarh to 103 for 2 at stumps.There was no play until lunch after Goa won the toss and elected to field. When play began, they removed debutant Abhishek Singh for a duck in the third over. A second-wicket partnership of 76 between opener Sahil Gupta and Khare ended when Gupta was run out with the score on 81. Returning skipper Mohammad Kaif joined Khare to ensure no more damage before play was called off.Damage, though, was caused to medium-pacer Felix Alemao, who slipped in his follow-through and had to be taken off on a stretcher after bowling 5.5 overs.Play was abandoned for the day in the match between Hyderabad and Tripura in Delhi as smog made it impossible for players to take the field.

ESPNcricinfo looks ahead to the prospects of Bengal in the 2015-16 Ranji Trophy season

06-Oct-2015

Bengal

Manoj Tiwary is back as Bengal captain•PTI

Where they finished last season
Second from the bottom in Group A with no wins. Bengal barely managed to avoid relegation, thanks to Wriddhiman Saha’s resolute 92 in their final game of the season against Madhya Pradesh.Big Picture
The last time Bengal secured the Ranji title was when Sourav Ganguly made his first-class debut in the final in 1989-90. In the silver-jubilee year of the landmark, has taken charge of the Cricket Association of Bengal.The previous season, which came after a creditable semi-final finish in 2013-14, was a big low. Manoj Tiwary, who has been entrusted with captaincy again, will be keen to spark a turnaround. Bengal have been bolstered by the arrival of Pragyan Ojha, who had impressed in the A games against Australia after having remodeled his action.”Murali sir [Muttiah Muralitharan] told me to keep things simple and keep bowling. He is as an inspiration… he just told me to keep bowling to improve myself. It is a simple message, yet very powerful,” Ojha told ESPNcricinfo.He will head up a revamped spin department, which includes former U-19 offspinner Aamir Gani with usual suspects Ashok Dinda and Veer Pratap Singh manning the pace attack.Naved Ahmed, who has played club cricket in West Bengal for close to a decade, gets a break. He is among the four uncapped players in the squad at first-class level.After making two half-centuries in the first two Tests in Sri Lanka, Saha missed the third because of a hamstring injury. But he has recovered and with Naman Ojha breathing down his neck, Saha will look to sharpen both his fitness and form ahead of the home Test series against South Africa.Players to watch
Pragyan Ojha
One of the most high-profile transfers of the season. Ojha, who has moved from Hyderabad, lends experience and variety to an attack, which looks well-rounded now, at least on paper.Coaching staff
Former India legspinner Sairaj Bahutule has replaced Ashok Malhotra as head coach. There had been reports of friction in the side during the pre-season tour to Sri Lanka, after which Laxmi Shukla decided to step down from the captaincy. It will be interesting to see how Bahutule builds the team.Sairaj Bahutule (head coach), Kamalesh Jain (physio), Goutam Deb (trainer), Gautam Sarkar (video analyst), Ranadeb Bose (bowling coach), Joydeep Mukherjee (fielding coach), VVS Laxman (batting consultant), Muttiah Muralitharan (spin consultant)Preparation
The Bengal set-up toured Sri Lanka for a fortnight, where they played against the Sri Lanka development and academy squads.Team news
Saurasish Lahiri, who captained Bengal in the Buchi Babu tournament in August, is a notable absentee. An offspinner who can bat a bit lower down the order, Lahiri had sealed Bengal’s passage to the Ranji knockouts in 2013-14 with a seven-for against Tamil Nadu.Squad
Manoj Tiwary (capt), Parthasarathi Bhattacharjee, Abhishek Das, Aamir Gani, Naved Ahmed, Veer Pratap Singh, Sourav Sarkar, Laxmi Shukla, Mukesh Kumar, Sudip Chatterjee, Ashok Dinda, Pragyan Ojha, Shreevats Goswami, Wriddhiman Saha, Pankaj ShawIn their own words
“We want to have a positive mindset and take it one game at a time. Ojha has been bowling well, he is working really hard, and that helps our bowling attack.”

Gujarat

Gujarat’s Jasprit Bumrah last played a first-class match in July 2014•Getty Images

Where they finished last season
Fourth in Group BBig picture
Last season, mere decimal points separated Gujarat from a place in the knockouts. Vidarbha, who qualified in third place from Group B, finished with 24 points and a quotient of 1.468. Gujarat finished with 24 points and a quotient of 0.965.For Gujarat, it was a reflection of all the missed opportunities over the course of a season that was equally encouraging and frustrating – Rajasthan held on for a draw against them, with two wickets remaining; Punjab and Maharashtra escaped with draws despite being made to follow-on; Vidarbha beat them after conceding a first-innings lead.As a new season begins, Gujarat will have the same question to answer: do they have the quality, individually and as a collective, to make those crunch moments count and step up from mid-table to challenge for knockout spots?Perhaps it was this question that prompted them to sign-up RP Singh, who will lead a pace attack that looks potent on paper with Rush Kalaria and Jasprit Bumrah. Axar Patel will miss the beginning of the season while he is away with India’s limited-overs side, but the team will not lack in the spin department, with coach Hitesh Majumdar indicating that Hardik Patel is a capable like-for-like option as a left-arm spinner. The squad also contains the veteran offspinner Ramesh Powar.”We’ve got a very good bowling side,” Majumdar says. “Teams will think twice about preparing bowling-friendly wickets against us.”On the batting front, Gujarat might need someone to step up and have a genuinely outstanding season, unlike last season. Six of their batsmen scored one century each, and only one of them went on to make 150. Majumdar recognises the issue, and says he wants his batsmen to show a greater appetite for runs. “Those who are getting 400-500 runs in a season, we need them to stretch it to 700 or 800.”Players to watch
After two stellar Ranji Trophy seasons, Manpreet Juneja found a place in the India A side, and showed he belonged with scores of 193, 84 and 70 against New Zealand A and West Indies A in September 2013. Just when he should have been pushing on for bigger things, his domestic form plummeted – he made 100 runs in nine innings, at an average of 11.11, in the 2013-14 Ranji season, and played only four matches in 2014-15, scoring 137 runs at 27.40. Despite that, he averages over 50 in first-class cricket, and Gujarat will hope he has rediscovered his best form ahead of the new season.Having missed out on the whole of the 2014-15 Ranji season with a knee injury, Jasprit Bumrah will be raring to return to long-form cricket for the first time since July 2014, when he was part of the India A side touring Australia. Bumrah is tall and asks questions with his angle, bounce and awkward action. If he’s fit and firing alongside RP Singh and Kalaria, Gujarat might have a more-than-handy pace attack this season.Coaching staff
Hitesh Majumdar (coach), Soham Desai (trainer), Parthav Patel (physio), Vijay Patel (coach in charge of overseeing senior and age-group teams).Preparation
In the pre-season, Gujarat sent teams to the KSCA tournament in Karnataka, the Buchi Babu tournament in Chennai and the Bhausaheb Nimbalkar tournament in Pune. Coach Hitesh Majumdar says rotating their squad gave the selectors a chance to test out a number of players.Squad
Parthiv Patel (capt & wk), Mehul Patel, Rohit Dahiya, Priyank Panchal, Rujul Bhatt, Jasprit Bumrah, Samit Gohel, Manpreet Juneja, Rush Kalaria, Bhargav Merai, Hardik Patel, Niraj Patel, Smit Patel, Ramesh Powar, RP Singh, Venugopal Rao.In their own words
“We have been playing with the same group of players for the last three years, and they have gelled well. This time we are expecting results. We just need to cross that line.”

Michael Clarke has confirmed that he will move up the order from his customary No.5 position after Australia’s shambolic display in both innings in Hyderabad

Brydon Coverdale 05-Mar-2013Michael Clarke has confirmed that he will move up the order from his customary No. 5 position after Australia’s shambolic display in both innings in Hyderabad. Clarke is the joint leading run-scorer in the series with 268, the same tally as India’s captain MS Dhoni, and more than double scored by any other member of Australia’s top six.He scored 130 in the first innings in Chennai and followed that with 91 on the first day in Hyderabad but neither effort could prevent a heavy defeat. Despite his outstanding form since taking over the captaincy in 2011, Clarke has steadfastly remained at No. 5, but given the struggles of Phillip Hughes and Shane Watson at Nos. 3 and 4 in this series, that will change for the third Test.”I think I have no choice,” Clarke said after the innings loss in Hyderabad. “Again, it hasn’t been about me, it’s about trying to do what’s best for the team, and I think now, especially in these conditions, I have to bat higher.”When asked if that would mean first drop or second drop, Clarke said: “I’ve got nine days to work it out. Wherever I can go and put some runs on the board to help the team.”Although Ed Cowan showed some signs during the second innings that he had learnt from his first three efforts and occupied the crease for nearly three hours, the rest of the batting order collapsed. So far in this series Watson has made 28, 17, 23 and 9; Hughes has scored 6, 0, 19 and 0; Cowan has managed 29, 32, 4 and 44 and Warner has tallied 59, 23, 6 and 26.”I don’t think picking your batting order can revolve around one person, the team needs the team to play well,” Clarke said. “We need our top six batters to be scoring runs, we need our four, five or six bowlers to be taking wickets. It can’t be about one person. I’ve never played cricket that way and I don’t want this team to go to that.”We have enough talent, but we have to get better, every single one of us. I would have liked more runs in the first innings and more runs today in the second innings, so I have work to do as well. I don’t want it to be about the individuals, I want it to be about the whole team improving.

Jonny Bairstow revived memories of his brilliant England one-day debut with a maiden international fifty to set up a resounding 38-run victory against Pakistan

The Report by David Hopps25-Feb-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsJonny Bairstow showed composure and judgement in his maiden international fifty•Getty Images

Jonny Bairstow revived memories of his brilliant England one-day debut with a maiden international fifty to set up a resounding 38-run victory against Pakistan under the Dubai floodlights and level the Twenty20 series at 1-1 with one to play.Bairstow’s 41 from 21 balls against India in Cardiff on a rainy night last September identified him as a one-day cricketer of immense promise but it had remained his highest score in eight innings in ODIs and T20s as England awaited confirmation that he could follow up his flash of brilliance by proving that, at 22, he was ready for the international stage.Slow Asian pitches have forced some self-analysis for Bairstow but the Yorkshireman indicated it had been time well spent as he came alive against a high-class Pakistan attack. If Cardiff had brought excitement, Dubai, with the ring of fire blazing down, confirmed that it was not misplaced. An immensely watchable series will be decided in Abu Dhabi on Monday.A dead surface made it a demanding night for batting and Pakistan, who had successfully defended 144 for 6 on the same ground two days earlier, floundered against one of the most skilful and intelligent England T20 bowling displays of recent memory. They never got close, even if while Shahid Afridi is around a distant target is seen as if through binoculars. Afridi was last out for 25, hacking Stuart Broad into the offside, kept off strike so successfully that he faced only 23 balls of the 58 delivered while he was at the crease.Pakistan lost half their side for 50 by the ninth over, leaving their captain, Misbah-ul-Haq, to try to remedy a situation that he is not really designed to address. In both matches, slower balls have not as much deceived him as stripped him bare. He has done much to stabilise Pakistan in Test cricket, but the argument for a new one-day captain is a persuasive one. Bairstow had a say in his dismissal, too, a brilliant diving catch at long-on as Misbah charged at Graeme Swann.Consolation for Pakistan came in the promise of Hammad Azam. Misbah has yet to allow him a bowl in this series, which is short-termism at its worst with World Twenty20 approaching, but even at more than 10 an over he posed a threat until a steepling blow was held at long-on by Jos Buttler, who had been off the field with an injured hand sustained when he dropped Umar Akmal at short midwicket, and who in one moment proved his fitness.But the night belonged to Bairstow. Against an excellent Pakistan attack, his unbeaten 60 from 46 balls were runs well earned. He is that rare commodity for England, a power hitter, and after he squirted Umar Gul into the leg side to secure his half-century four balls from the end of the innings, he emphasised the fact it by slapping a slow ball from Gul, a shot he did not really middle, over long-on for six.He was determined to provide impetus from the outset. A flat six into the sightscreen bolstered his confidence; in his examination by Pakistan’s spinners, he had at least gained pass marks on the subject of Afridi’s googly. His most exceptional stroke, though, was reserved for Saeed Ajmal with slick footwork to make room followed by a regal off drive. There were muscular sweeps against the spinners and there was fun, too, as he grinned at Ajmal after daring a reverse sweep. He relishes a challenge and it will serve him well.For another England batsman, life is not so grand. Eoin Morgan’s tortured tour continued. He has yet to manage a half-century and, although he briefly hinted at better with two successive cover boundaries against Gul, he poked forward to Mohammad Hafeez and was lbw. He should have been lbw the previous ball, when he was defeated on the cut, but the umpire Ahsan Raza, unsure whether the ball had hit bat before pad, gave him the benefit of the doubt. Morgan insists that playing spin is a strength of his game, but the evidence that he is deluding himself is irrefutable.When Craig Kieswetter, who had looked more threatening than at any time on tour, holed out at long-off for 31, with four wickets lost by the 10th over, England split their two greenhorns, Bairstow and Buttler, with Samit Patel, himself a veteran of only seven Twenty20s but more proven in these conditions and with a solid T20 record at Nottinghamshire behind him. Patel’s run out, eschewing a dive to the crease as Ajmal hit direct with a throw from long leg will not find favour with England’s management. It was careless from a player whose athleticism is forever in focus and whose fielding has shown signs of improvement.Gul at the death – predominantly bowling yorkers with a hint of reverse swing – was again excellent and it did nothing for the reputation of Buttler’s trademark shot, the step to leg and horizontal-bat shovel over his left shoulder. As Gul hit the stumps with a low full toss, the shot had got Buttler out on two successive occasions.England again exposed the fragility of Pakistan’s batting line-up and this time they did it with the aid of excellent catches. Hafeez made nought as a tall fast bowler, Steve Finn, was backed up by a tall first slip, Kevin Pietersen, who had received a rare invitation to the catching cordon. Jade Dernbach’s reflexes were in good order, too, as he held Asad Shafiq’s return drive and Morgan’s catch was the best of the lot, intercepted at backward point to silence the dangerous Akmal.But nothing was more impressive than the way they unravelled Awais Zia, mini Boom Boom, who had briefly flared in the first Twenty20. Zia faced 12 balls and managed only one scoring shot – a straight, length ball from Finn, just the delivery he feasts upon, which he clobbered over midwicket for six.That apart, his limitations as a legside hitter were intelligently exposed as England nullified him with width and changes of pace. It is doubtful whether he has ever gone so many balls without scoring in his life. His last shot, which fell to Dernbach at mid-off, told of his desperation. It will be intriguing to see how he responds.

Round-up of the third day of the sixth round of Division One of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Nov-2010On a day when he was once again ignored by the Pakistan selectors, Shoaib Malik served a reminder of his skills with a match-winning five-wicket haul for Pakistan International Airlines as Multan slumped to a nine-wicket defeat at the Gymkhana Ground in Okara. Resuming their second innings at a nervy 27 for 3, Multan collapsed in a heap against Malik who picked up 5 for 14 in 6.5 overs. Ahmed Raza’s 20 was the highest score as they surrendered for 72. PIA lost only one wicket as they knocked off the 35 runs required for victory.Water and Power Development Authority and Rawalpindi were neck and neck at the end of the third day’s play at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. Chasing 248 for victory, WAPDA had progressed to a dodgy 106 for 4, leaving both sides in the hunt going into the final day. Resuming their second innings at 77 for 4, the hosts quickly fell behind the eight ball with seamer Umaid Asif rattling the lower order with his second first-class five-for. Rawalpindi found their saviour in No. 8 Muzammil Nizam who defied WAPDA with an unbeaten 51. His tenth-wicket partnership of 61 with Rizwan Akbar could eventually prove to be the difference between the sides.Akbar-ur-Rehman’s second first-class ton steered Karachi Blues’ quest to avert an innings defeat against Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited at the National Stadium in Karachi, but the visitors remained favourites going into the final day. Despite Akbar’s unbeaten 145, Karachi Blues still trail by 58 runs with only four second-innings wickets in hand. Resuming at 54 for 0, they were quickly pegged back by the quick loss of the top three batsmen before Akbar settled in. He struck 20 fours in his effort, and steadied the ship along with captain Saeed Bin Nasir who made 66. The innings stuttered again after their 174-run stand, with ZTBL prising out three more wickets. They will look to complete the formalities on the final day, but Akbar’s presence won’t make their effort any easier.Faisalabad‘s Mohammad Salman hit a counterattacking century that arrested a major top-order collapse and set up an exciting finish to their match against Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited at the Iqbal Stadium. Having conceded a 41-run first-innings lead, Faisalabad slumped to 32 for 5 and later 98 for 7, before Salman resurrected the innings. He found a willing ally in Rauf Nazir, and their unbroken 94-run stand will keep SNGPL worried. Earlier Khurram Shehzad added 34 vital unbeaten runs to his overnight 26, pushing SNGPL to a handy lead.A sparkling 110-run stand between the overnight pair of Aftab Alam and Fahad Masood set up Habib Bank Limited for victory against Islamabad at the Diamond Club Ground. Aftab remained unbeaten after completing his fifth first-class ton while No. 10 Fahad Masood slammed 65 off 70 balls. HBL ended 300 runs ahead in the first innings and Islamabad finished the day still 104 behind with six wickets remaining. Half-centuries from Umair Mir and Zeeshan Mushtaq were the highlights of their second innings but only a big effort can avert a reversal on the final day.Sialkot dawdled along at a questionable pace, consuming 31.4 overs to add 52 runs, but could not get the first-innings lead against National Bank of Pakistan at the Jinnah Stadium in Sialkot. In-form seamer Mohammad Talha eventually broke their resistance, finishing with a six-wicket haul, giving his side a 61-run advantage, which they bolstered by moving to 149 for 1 by stumps. Opener Nasir Jamshed led their progress with an unbeaten 65 and will look to step on the gas if they seek to declare and push for a win on the final day.

A Brad Hodge-inspired Victoria have booked a place in the Big Bash preliminary final with a comprehensive nine-wicket victory over Tasmania

Andrew Fuss15-Jan-2010
Scorecard
Brad Hodge’s belligerent innings sealed a spot for Victoria in the preliminary final of the Big Bash•Getty Images

A Brad Hodge-inspired Victoria have booked a place in the Big Bash preliminary final with a comprehensive nine-wicket victory over Tasmania in front of a record crowd of 43,125 at the MCG. Hodge blasted five sixes in his 56-ball 90 as he and fellow opener Aaron Finch (58 not out off 39), who was pushed up the order in the absence of keeper Matthew Wade, set a Victorian record partnership of 147 to hunt down the Tigers’ modest total of 160 easily.It was vintage Hodge in front of his big home crowd, bludgeoning the Tigers attack to all corners, including one huge six over midwicket off the crafty Rana Naved, which landed more than 20 rows back in the Great Southern Stand. The visitors had no answers to the opening duo’s relentless attack, making bowling and fielding changes to no avail, as the hosts reached the total with a massive 19 balls to spare.Tim Paine had earlier blasted the Tigers to a great start, smashing a 26-ball 50 to have the visitors well placed at 2 for 98 at the half-way mark. But young spinner Jon Holland made a surprise breakthrough in the 11th over, trapping the keeper in front for 61.From there, the Bushrangers’ regular bowling changes (nobody delivered more than a one-over spell in the last 10) unsettled the Tigers’ rhythm, with Dirk Nannes, Clint McKay and Dwayne Bravo combining to restrict the visitors to 38 off the final eight overs.With Victoria’s spot in the next round secured, attention turns to the Gabba for Saturday night’s winner-takes-all clash between Queensland and Western Australia. The victor will host Tuesday night’s preliminary final and the winner of that game will play South Australia for the title, as well as gaining a spot in the lucrative Champions League in India.

England spinner starred at Lord’s last week, but reveals she ‘wasn’t sure’ she’d return from mental-health break

Valkerie Baynes22-Jul-2025Sophie Ecclestone has revealed she considered quitting cricket in the aftermath of the off-field drama surrounding England Women’s T20 World Cup and Ashes failures.Ecclestone missed the start of the international summer when England hosted West Indies, instead playing for Lancashire during the T20I series while she managed her comeback from a knee injury. She was then ruled out of the ODI series, citing the need to prioritise her wellbeing.Having returned for both white-ball series against India, Ecclestone spoke about the reasons surrounding her absence in a pre-match interview ahead of the third and final ODI at Chester-le-Street.She had come under fire during the Ashes in Australia, where England lost the points series 16-0, after Alex Hartley, the former England spinner turned broadcaster, said Ecclestone had refused to be interviewed by her on TV. Hartley also said she had been “given the cold shoulder” by England players since criticising their fitness following their group-stage exit from the T20 World Cup last October.”It was a tough time for me personally,” Ecclestone told Sky Sports in a pitch-side interview before play on Tuesday. “I tore my meniscus and I had a very sore knee, but I feel like personally I was so tired and so drained from the last few months.Related

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“As a cricketer, we don’t stop, we don’t get much time off and we go from franchise tournaments to England tournaments and it takes it out of you. I feel like during the West Indies series I wasn’t actually sure if I was going to come back and play cricket.”I was away from cricket and I cried to a few people, I cried to my dad, I get emotional now, but it was it was a tough time. But I feel like I’ve come out the other side now and I’m back playing cricket.”Ecclestone credited team-mates Lauren Bell and Alice Capsey, along with her family and friends for helping her return to the cricket field with “a smile on my face again”. That culminated in a Player-of-the-Match award for her 3 for 37 at Lord’s on Saturday, which helped England to an ODI series-levelling victory.Ecclestone disputed the use of the word “refusal” when it came to the infamous interview with Hartley, and appeared to take issue with the timing of the request to talk, suggesting that she wanted to concentrate on her warm-up.”It was a weird time,” Ecclestone said. “I feel like obviously that went down the wrong way, and a few things were said, and I was just concentrating on cricket at that moment.”A lot of things were being said which wasn’t ideal for me and it affected me quite a lot to be honest. It took a lot out of me. There were a lot of words being thrown around about me that I thought were untrue and it wasn’t very nice to hear.”I kind of had to put that to one side, and I did go off social media for a couple of weeks actually during the Ashes, just because it was affecting me quite a lot, what was being said. It wasn’t very nice but we’ve all learnt from that now and there’s a lot of feelings involved but we’re all over that now, and ready to move on.”Ecclestone went on to say that she believed misconceptions had emerged about her in the fallout from the incident.”I feel like a lot of words were being thrown around about me that weren’t true,” she said. “Just that I was really arrogant maybe, and that’s just not me as a person.”The word refusal was getting thrown around and that just wasn’t really true and some of the things people were saying about the team I didn’t really agree with, so it was hard to take for me and hard to take for the team.”Immediately after the Ashes, Clare Connor, managing director of England women’s cricket, described the interview situation as “an unfortunate incident that won’t happen again”.”Our players in general… embrace their media obligations,” Connor said. “It matters to them to be good role models for women’s cricket and the England women’s cricket team. As professional women’s cricket has developed at the rate that it has over recent years, that scrutiny is something that we will all have to embrace and accept.”Ecclestone acknowledged that women’s cricket being in the spotlight more than when she made her debut as a 17-year-old in 2016 was a positive thing and said she had learned from the experience, including the public’s reaction.”I was so surprised,” she said. “I feel like it got slightly blown out of proportion but it was no-one’s fault. It was hard at the time because I feel like I came out to my phone and had about 25,000 messages about something that had happened in the media and I was like, ‘well what’s happened?’ Then I came out and I saw it all, and I was just like, ‘wow like that’s mega.'”