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Rankin and Woakes dominate Hampshire

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Warwickshire enjoyed the best of the opening day in the Ageas Bowl sunshine as
they reduced to Hampshire to 255 for 8 at the close of play.

ECB/PA07-Aug-2015
ScorecardChris Woakes continued his comeback after injury•Getty Images

Warwickshire enjoyed the best of the opening day in the Ageas Bowl sunshine as
they reduced to Hampshire to 255 for 8 at the close of play.Hampshire were indebted to their sixth-wicket pair of Adam Wheater (57) and Joe
Gatting (43), who added 92 after the innings had sagged at 102 for 5. Gareth
Berg added an unbeaten 42 during a spirited rally with tail-ender Mason Crane
before stumps.Boyd Rankin, recalled to the Warwickshire bowling line-up, took 3 for
45 on his return, while fellow England-capped paceman Chris Woakes continued his
rehabilitation after knee surgery with tidy figures of 2 for 19 from 13 overs.
This is only his third LV= County Championship match of the summer.Hampshire’s top order has struggled for runs all season and Jimmy Adams, who
has not passed 30 in an innings since May, went for a duck – the first of two
early victims for Woakes, who had James Vince caught at first slip in his next
over to leave the hosts 4 for 2.Michael Carberry and Will Smith eased Hampshire through to lunch without
further mishap – only 61 runs came in an arduous morning session – but the pair
were soon parted after the interval.Carberry was caught behind for 36 by Tim Ambrose when attempting to flick a
ball off his legs, to give the recalled Rankin his first wicket.Nine runs later and with Hampshire generally struggling against a predominantly
seam attack, Warwickshire bagged a fourth victim, with Smith (43) superbly
caught on the run at wide third man by Jeetan Patel as the former Durham batsman
attempted to upper-cut Rankin.It left Hampshire 85 for 4 – and a fifth wicket soon fell when Liam Dawson
was trapped lbw by Rikki Clarke.Warwickshire’s progress was held up by Wheater and Gatting, who took Hampshire
to 196 before the latter hit a soft catch to short extra cover off Patel.To Hampshire’s disappointment, Wheater, industrious at the crease and adding
some needed zip to the run rate, fell to a gully catch by Laurie Evans to give
Rankin his third wicket off a ball that rose sharply.Australian Jackson Bird departed soon after Warwickshire took the new ball, but
as Hampshire wobbled again at 214 for 8, so Berg and Crane rallied in the
final hour.Berg was going well by stumps and had added a handy 41 with teenager Crane, on
12 not out, for the ninth wicket.

Raj comments 'fired us up' – Brunt

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India Women captain Mithali Raj’s pre-match comment that the England Women attack wasn’t so good and was heavily reliant on Katherine Brunt “fired us up”, the fast bowler has said

Abhishek Purohit03-Feb-2013India Women captain Mithali Raj’s pre-match comment that the England Women attack wasn’t so good and was heavily reliant on Katherine Brunt “fired us up”, the fast bowler has said. After taking 4 for 29 in the 32-run win over India, Brunt said England had shown during the game they had many other capable bowlers too.”Mithali’s comments fired us up, to be honest,” Brunt said. “We were already up for this game but once those comments were made, we worked even more. I think that fuelled the fire. Anya [Shrubsole] and I did a decent job at the start and Holly [Colvin] showed us what a spinner can really do if we work hard and tight. Everybody made a contribution and, if Mithali was wondering if only I was going to be bowling, there were three, four or five good bowlers out there.”Before Brunt and co troubled India, England captain Charlotte Edwards had given her bowlers a substantial 273 to defend with her seventh hundred, which also saw her go past Australia’s Belinda Clark as the highest ODI run-getter. Edwards said she was happy to find form, but was more pleased to have set up victory for the team.”I came into this game not in particularly great form, especially in one-day cricket, so for me to perform when the team needs me, it is probably up there with some of my best hundreds, in terms of the circumstances,” Edwards said. “As for the record, it is about the team, it is not about me. That is something for me to look at, at the end of my career. Don’t get me wrong, I am very proud of that, but Belinda Clark is a much better player than me.”Edwards was pleased with the way her side had responded to her call for a “big performance” following a shock last-ball loss to Sri Lanka two days ago. “It feels a lot better sitting here having won after Friday,” she said. “Today was about character for our team, to play against India in India, which is always going to be tough for us.”That day [against Sri Lanka] we dropped a few catches, which really cost us. We didn’t get off to a great start. This is the England team I know and love and that is the standard we have got to set for ourselves for the rest of the tournament. The loss hurt the team and to come back like that, I am really proud of the team.”Raj asked England to bat under slightly overcast skies in an early morning start, only to watch them motor to a tall score. Edwards said it was a tricky decision to make and that losing the toss had worked in England’s favour. “It definitely is harder [to decide] in the morning, I can vouch for that. I knew when I did the toss this morning, as it fell down, and I saw all the bowlers put their heads down. They really wanted to bowl on it. But sometimes it takes pressure off you a little bit when you are sent into bat, and it put pressure on to India.”The flat Brabourne pitches have seen big totals scored in five of the six innings played on them so far in the tournament and Edwards said it was still difficult to determine what a par score was. “After the first five overs, I thought 170 might be a good score,” Edwards joked. “But once you got in on the wicket – it is tough early on – once you bide through that and then I thought we were probably going to go up to 290 before I got out. I wasn’t disappointed but I thought we could have got a few more runs.”I think it showed that if someone bats through and someone gets a hundred, it is a lot easier. It is pretty hard to stop you going through towards the end. It is a great pitch out there. I don’t think anyone knows what a par score is here. I am just happy we got enough today.”

Australia four wickets from a 4-0 whitewash

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Whitewash, clean sweep, shutout. Whatever you like to call it, Australia were on track for a 4-0 series victory over India by stumps on the fourth day in Adelaide

The Report by Brydon Coverdale27-Jan-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsRyan Harris was thrilled to snag Rahul Dravid in what was almost certainly his last innings in Australia•Getty Images

Whitewash, clean sweep, shutout. Whatever you like to call it, Australia were on track for a 4-0 series victory over India by stumps on the fourth day in Adelaide. Four wickets stood between Michael Clarke’s men and the completion of a remarkable feat. India finished the day needing a further 334 for victory, but a comeback from Kapil Dev is more likely than one from India in this match.At stumps India were 6 for 166, having been set a target of 500. To put that in perspective, the highest successful chase in all of Test history was 418 by West Indies in Antigua nine years ago. The best in Adelaide was the 315 that Joe Darling’s Australia chased down against England 110 years ago. In the past century, the highest Test chase in Adelaide was less than half of what India required in this innings.Ishant Sharma was at the crease on 2 and Wriddhiman Saha was yet to score when India walked off, any minuscule hope they had having disappeared along with VVS Laxman and Virat Kohli in the dying stages. Laxman and Kohli had steadied, relatively speaking, with a 52-run partnership when Laxman fell victim to his own wristy tendencies.Clarke set a leg slip, a short leg and a short catching midwicket for Laxman facing the offspin of Nathan Lyon, and on 35 the batsman complied with a flick straight into the hands of Shaun Marsh at short midwicket. The ball had rocketed off the bat but Marsh’s reflexes were good enough, and Laxman was left to wonder if it would be his final act in Test cricket.But even more remarkable was Kohli’s departure. India had sent in Ishant as a nightwatchman, traditionally a position that requires a lower-order batsman to maintain the strike and protect the specialist. Instead, Kohli wanted so desperately to face the last over of the day that he pushed the final ball of the penultimate over wide of mid-on and raced off for a risky single.

Smart stats

  • Ricky Ponting scored a half-century in the second innings to go with his first-innings double-century. This is the second time that Ponting has achieved this feat and the ninth such instance for an Australia batsman.

  • Since his Cape Town century in January 2011, Sachin Tendulkar has gone 22 innings without a century. This is the longest century drought for him surpassing the 17 innings he went without a hundred between 2005 and 2007.

  • Tendulkar’s average of 35.87 in the series is his lowest ever in a series in Australia and his fourth-lowest overall in series of four or more matches. His lowest average is 33.66 in South Africa in 1992-93.

  • Rahul Dravid once again had a batting failure taking his run tally to just 194 runs in the series. Except for the 2003 tour, Dravid’s average in Australia is just 24.95 in 22 innings.

  • VVS Laxman ended the series with 155 runs in eight innings at an average of 19.37. This is his second-lowest average in a series (four or more matches) after the 17.57 in the home series against Australia in 2004.

  • Dravid, the Test record holder for the most catches, failed to take a single catch for the first time in a series of three or more matches since the series against Sri Lanka in 1997.

  • Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag last shared a century stand in Centurion in 2010. Since then, they have aggregated 182 runs in 12 innings at an average of 15.16 with a highest of 27.

  • The highest score made by any team in the fourth innings to win a Test in Adelaide is 315 by Australia in 1902. The most overs a team has played out in the fourth innings in Adelaide to draw a game is 120 (eight-ball overs), when Australia ended at 273 for 9 against West Indies in 1961.

The ball was collected by Ben Hilfenhaus, whose momentum was carrying him away from the stumps, but his fast throw hit the stumps and Kohli was run-out for 22. It was a wonderful piece of work from Hilfenhaus, hardly the nimblest of Australia’s fielders, and as Kohli walked off he thumped his fist on his own helmet in frustration at his ill-judged run.Already Australia had seen the backs of Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar. It was the wicket of Tendulkar that really got the hosts going, as it left India at 4 for 110 and ensured that despite Tendulkar’s greatness, he had had no serious impact on the series, finishing with 287 runs at an average of 35.87.Tendulkar was caught for 13 at short leg when he inside edged onto his leg off Lyon and the ball bobbed up to Ed Cowan. Tendulkar walked off to a standing ovation, but at least Australian fans will see him bat again, during the one-day series. Another all-time great, Dravid, almost certainly walked off an Australian ground for the last time a short while earlier.On 25, Dravid’s thick edge off the bowling of Ryan Harris was snapped up by Michael Hussey at gully. Australia were making good progress after Sehwag gave Indian fans a brief glimmer of hope with a brisk half-century. He was so aggressive to anything wide of off stump that 54 of his 62 runs came through the off side, including all 12 of his boundaries, as he gave little regard to the risk of being caught.Eventually his downfall came when he miscued an attempted slog off a Nathan Lyon full toss and was caught at cover. Already India had lost Gambhir, who will finish the series with a disappointing average of 22.83 after he pushed at a Harris delivery and was caught behind for 3.India had come to the crease after Clarke allowed his own batsmen to play for three overs after lunch in order to set the target of 500, before he declared with Australia on 5 for 167. Ricky Ponting finished unbeaten on 60 and Brad Haddin was on 11.As Homer Simpson once pointed out after observing that it was time to play the waiting game, “the waiting game sucks. Let’s play Hungry Hungry Hippos!” Such was the case in the first session as Australia accumulated more and more runs without any sense of urgency, despite already having ample to defend, with both teams waiting patiently for Clarke’s declaration.Australia added 104 in the first session for the loss of two wickets. Clarke had just started to lift his tempo against the spin of R Ashwin when he feathered a catch behind for 37 off Umesh Yadav, and Hussey was adjudged lbw to Ishant Sharma for 15.As the innings moved on, India’s batsmen could see that some runs remained in the pitch but the surface was only going to become more difficult, perhaps another reason why Clarke delayed his declaration. Whatever the case, India knew they would have to completely rewrite history in order to escape with a victory.By stumps, any slim hopes they had were gone.

'Durban among toughest wickets I've played' – Laxman

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VVS Laxman ranks Durban “up there” with the best wins of his career, especially because on the first day the batsmen had to counter “one of the most challenging wickets I have played on in my career”.

Sidharth Monga in Durban30-Dec-2010VVS Laxman ranks Durban “up there” with the best wins of his career, especially because on the first day the batsmen had to counter “one of the most challenging wickets I have played on in my career”.”If you beat South Africa on definitely the quickest and bounciest wicket in the country, it gives you that much additional joy,” Laxman said, a day after India finished the series-levelling 87-run win. “Everyone talks about Durban being the place where South Africa puts the opposition under pressure, even though the results haven’t been going their way recently. It gives us a lot of satisfaction to have beaten them in these conditions.”Laxman said the conditions in Durban were the supreme test of India’s batsmen’s skill and temperament. “You have got a pace-bowling attack that is one of the best in the world at the moment. Then the conditions were ideal for them, where the ball was seaming, and there was bounce that we are not used to because most of the time we play on subcontinent wickets. Even abroad you don’t usually get wickets that have such steep bounce. Test match cricket is all about challenging the skill you have got, and the temperament you have got. And this was one of the most challenging wickets I have played on in my career.”Until Ashwell Prince scored 39 in South Africa’s second innings, the game’s top two scores belonged to Laxman: 96 and 38. It took a stunning catch to stop him at 38 in the first innings. His patience, his skill, his technique stood apart from the 11 other specialist batsmen and two wicketkeeper-batsmen on show. And again, as has increasingly become Laxman’s wont, he added runs with the tail.”It boils down to the experience and the rapport I share with each one of them,” he said of the secret behind his success with the lower order. “It is very important to give them confidence. Luckily, each one of them works on his batting, and they take a lot of pride in their batting and don’t want to throw their wicket away. Because they’re out there with a fighting spirit, and not to give their wicket away easily to the opposition, it helps me.”We set ourselves small targets without looking at getting a 30-run or a 50-run partnership. We’re just looking to have a five-run partnership or survive one over, and then take it five overs at a time or something like that. The most important thing is knowing what they are comfortable with and that’s something I’ve learnt to do over the years. If I know that a batsman is not comfortable with a certain bowler then I don’t give them strike. But if they’re comfortable, then I definitely give them the strike because the scoreboard keeps moving and the pressure suddenly shifts from us to the opposition.”Laxman missed out on a century in Durban, which has often been the case with many a crucial knock of his, coming as they tend to do with the lower order for company. Here, too, he was the last man out, trying to get a boundary when the field came up for the last two deliveries of an over. Before that, though, he had played a paddle-sweep to get to the 90s, a shot he doesn’t often play.”That’s something I got into my repertoire this year, especially after playing against Sri Lanka last year in India. There was a situation at CCI (the Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai) where they didn’t have the square leg back because I don’t play the sweep shot. I wasn’t getting easy singles. That’s when I started playing the sweep shot, and even in Sri Lanka this year I played it. I worked a lot on that shot in the nets, and I’m quite comfortable playing it.”Laxman admitted he was disappointed about missing a century. “You’re happy that you’ve been able to absorb the pressure and perform when it’s required and play an important knock for the team, but from a personal milestone point of view you will be very disappointed. As I always feel, my conversion rate hasn’t been great, with 49 fifties and 16 hundreds. From a personal point of view I would have been more happy to get centuries in these games, but from the team perspective I’ve done reasonably well to bail the team out of tough situations.”He might have missed the hundred, but he talked of something that meant more to him. “You always want to be remembered as somebody who contributed to winning matches for the country. The biggest recognition you can get is when your team-mates know that you are somebody who can go in during tough situations and bail the team out, or when the opposition feels that they cannot take it for granted that the match is over till you are out. It also gives you added responsibility that you have to go and do it whenever you play for the country.”Laxman said he doesn’t quite know what it is that gets the best out of him in pressure situations. “If the situation is like the one it was in Durban, in both the innings, it gets the best out of me. I don’t know the reason for it. Probably the zone I go into when we are faced with a tough challenge is much more consistent than the one I go in with for the first innings.”Laxman said the major difference between the Indian sides that took the field in Centurion and Durban was aggression, not the verbal kind but the intent. “Coming into this Test match we were upset firstly about what happened in Centurion and the preparations were good leading into the Test. The aggression was more than what it was in Centurion. As a fielding unit and a bowling unit, we were aggressive on the field. The turning point was the way our bowlers bowled on the second day because getting just 200 runs on the first-day wicket, even though it was a reasonable achievement by the team, it was still a situation where one partnership could take the game away from us. But our bowlers bowled with intent, the fielders backed them up with some extraordinary catches and the body language was extremely aggressive. I think that was the difference between Centurion and Durban”One of the major factors in the revival was Zaheer Khan, and Laxman spoke of his value to the team. “He is one of the toughest bowlers to play. I would never like to face him in a match. In the nets he is always at you. The way he prepares, knowing what he is going to do in the upcoming Test, is unbelievable. He is a great role model for all the young fast bowlers.”As a team-mate, his presence just lifts us because of the way he helps the other fast bowlers. It’s not only that he comes and bowls his quota of overs and keeps quiet, but the way he guides an Ishant Sharma or a Sreesanth while they are bowling is unbelievable. He has been a true match-winner for us over the years. Not only where conditions help fast bowling, but also in the subcontinent.”

ZC commercialises Twenty20 cup

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Zimbabwe’s domestic Twenty20 competition will be run by Harare-based sports event management company Dominus Sport

Cricinfo staff26-Jan-2010The shake-up of Zimbabwe’s domestic structure is set to continue with the news that this year’s domestic Twenty20 competition will be run by Harare-based sports event management company Dominus Sport. It appears that while Dominus Sport has the sole mandate to stage the competition, ZC remains the governing body and Dominus Sport will work within the ZC domestic structure.The nine-day domestic Twenty20 cup starts on February 12 and will be staged solely in Harare. In addition to the five domestic franchises, Namibia have been invited to take part as the sixth side in the competition. The Namibian team is expected to arrive in Zimbabwe on February 10, two days prior to the start of the tournament.”Twenty20 cricket has gained popularity around the world and has carved out a niche market for itself,” said ZC managing director Ozias Bvute. “We saw the need to be innovative in our approach to increasing cricket audiences here in Zimbabwe and decided to enter into a partnership with Dominus Sport. I am confident that this relationship will result in the growth of cricket as a mass-market sport and entertainment alternative.”The revamping of Zimbabwe’s provincial structure began with the creation of the five regional franchises last year, as was recommended by an ICC report into the country’s cricketing infrastructure. The ZC Board resolved to commercialise its various domestic competitions at a general meeting in Bulawayo in August 2009, although the 2009-10 Twenty20 competition will be the first to be run by a separate company.Apart from the final between Westerns and Northerns, last year’s domestic Twenty20 competition suffered from poor spectator attendances and struggled to arouse interest from the media, and it remains to be seen whether these latest changes will garner more attention.

Glenn five-for, Capsey 88* help England take down Australia in warm-up game

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Litchfield and Mooney’s half-centuries for Australia went in vain

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Sep-2025Alice Capsey and Sarah Glenn headlined England’s four-wicket victory over Australia in their Women’s World Cup warm-up match in Bengaluru. After the legspinner claimed 5 for 32 to dismantle Australia’s middle and lower order, Capsey anchored the chase with an unbeaten 88.After a shaky start, Australia found stability through Phoebe Litchfield’s 71. However, after her dismissal, wickets continued to fall at regular intervals. Beth Mooney was forced to come in unusually low at No. 9, where she counterattacked with an unbeaten 59 off just 42 balls. Despite her efforts, Australia were bowled out for 247 in 34.4 overs.In reply, England suffered an early collapse, slipping to 32 for 3, but Sophia Dunkley and Emma Lamb steadied the innings with their half-centuries. But it was Capsey who was the difference-maker, pacing the chase well to take England home with 5.3 overs to spare.Kim Garth was the pick of the Australia bowlers, taking 2 for 17, but lacked support as the English batting line-up found its rhythm.

Kuhnemann leaves Queensland, Burns not offered a contract

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Kuhnemann set to join Tasmania after not playing any Shield cricket last summer while Burns was left off the contract list as Queensland opt to promote youth

Alex Malcolm19-Apr-2024Left-arm orthodox Test spinner Matthew Kuhnemann has left Queensland and is set to head to Tasmania in a bid to play more first-class cricket to put himself in the frame for the tour of Sri Lanka, while former Test opener Joe Burns has not been offered a contract as Queensland revamp their list after a poor season.Kuhnemann, 27, played three Tests for Australia last year on the tour of India after being flown in following the first Test defeat and he took 5 for 16 in Australia’s sole victory in Indore.But since that Test appearance he has not played a single Sheffield Shield match for Queensland, and no first-class matches since an appearance for Australia A last September, with the Bulls preferring legspinner Mitchell Swepson as their No.1 spinner. The conditions in Brisbane, and in Shield cricket generally, have not been conducive to picking two spinners in the same XI meaning Kuhnemann’s only appearances for Queensland were in the Marsh Cup, and the only red-ball cricket he played was for Queensland’s Second XI and for his Queensland premier club Gold Coast.Related

  • Kuhnemann joins Tasmania to push for a Test return

  • Agar, Stoinis, Behrendorff and Tye go freelance without WA contracts

  • Philippe and Maddinson make move to New South Wales

  • Jason Sangha and Mackenzie Harvey sign with South Australia

  • Under-19 World Cup trio Konstas, Hicks and Anderson earn NSW contracts

Kuhnemann is set to move to Tasmania to become their No.1 spinner in Shield and Marsh Cup cricket and will strengthen Tasmania’s attack after they fell just short of winning the Shield title. He is still contracted to play for Brisbane Heat in the BBL for the next two seasons.Meanwhile, Burns has been left off Queensland’s contract after he was left out of both the Shield and Marsh Cup sides last summer. His Shield omission in February came as a surprise given he had performed well in the early part of the season. He made a 133 and 55 against eventual finalists Tasmania in Hobart and 91 in a nail-biting fourth innings chase against South Australia in Brisbane. He also made an unbeaten 62 not out in a draw against eventual champions Western Australia before the BBL against an attack featuring Jhye Richardson and Cameron Green.Joe Burns has not been offered a contract•Getty Images

But despite being the Bulls leading run-scorer through the first seven games and averaging a healthy 37.16 in a season dominated by the bowlers, Queensland decided to blood some young batters in the second half of the season when they fell out of Shield final contention. He spent some time away from the squad late in the season due to a family bereavement.Queensland have opted not to offer the 34-year-old a contract. Burns has played 23 Tests for Australia and made four Test hundreds. He is also out of contract at the Melbourne Stars.The Bulls have instead promoted opener Angus Lovell onto the contract list after making his Shield debut last summer and playing four matches.Queensland have also signed four of Australia’s Under-19 World Cup winners for next season. Under-19 World Cup-winning captain Hugh Weibgen and promising quick Callum Vidler have received full contracts. Vidler made his Shield debut in the final round of the season against New South Wales and took five wickets.Fellow Australia Under-19 squad members Lachlan Aitken and Tom Straker have been handed rookie deals. Straker has been recruited from New South Wales after he took a record-breaking 6 for 24 in the Under-19 World Cup semi-final win over Pakistan.Queensland are still searching for a new coach after parting ways with Wade Seccombe last month.Queensland squad 2024-25: Lachlan Aitken (rookie), Xavier Bartlett (CA contract), Max Bryant, Hugo Burdon, Jack Clayton, Liam Guthrie, Lachlan Hearne, Usman Khawaja (CA), Marnus Labuschagne (CA), Angus Lovell, Ben McDermott, Michael Neser, Jimmy Pierson, Matthew Renshaw, Jem Ryan (rookie), Gurinder Sandhu, Jack Sinfield, Mark Steketee, Tom Straker (rookie), Connor Sully, Mitch Swepson, Bryce Street, Callum Vidler, Hugh Weibgen, Tom Whitney (rookie), Jack WildermuthIns: Angus Lovell, Lachlan Hearne, Callum Vidler, Lachlan Aitken, Jem Ryan, Tom StrakerOuts: Joe Burns, James Bazley, Blake Edwards, Aryan Jain, Matthew Kuhnemann, Will Prestwidge

Ben Allison's maiden five-for keeps Essex's noses in front

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But Sanderson, White tear through top order to bowl Northants back into contention

ECB Reporters Network28-Sep-2022Ben Sanderson and Jack White removed Essex’s top order to bowl their side back into contention at the end of the third day of this LV= County Championship clash at Wantage Road.Sanderson struck twice early in Essex’s second innings to account for Sir Alastair Cook and Tom Westley in consecutive maiden overs. White also picked up a wicket in successive overs to reduce the Eagles to 52 for 5 and snatch back the momentum after the hosts had conceded a first innings deficit of 100.Earlier Essex seamer Ben Allison returned career-best bowling figures of 5 for 32 as Northamptonshire were bundled out for 163. Allison’s maiden five wicket haul followed his heroics with the bat yesterday when he registered his highest score of 69 not out. With Shane Snater also taking two scalps, Northamptonshire lost their last five wickets for 16 runs.When bad light prompted an early finish Essex were 63 for 5, a lead of 163, which sets up an intriguing final day.In the morning session, Will Young (37) and Luke Procter made a solid start extending their overnight partnership to 39, before Allison found some extra bounce to take Young’s glove with keeper Michael Pepper taking the catch.Rob Keogh started brightly, playing a conventional sweep and reverse sweep off Simon Harmer for consecutive boundaries before the South African spinner spun one back to hit the stumps.Procter cut Allison crisply for a boundary and had advanced to 28 when he played down the on-side to the same bowler and was well caught low down at leg slip by Matt Critchley.Saif Zaib (18) played some attacking shots either side of lunch including a back-foot punch off Allison for four and a blow over extra cover off Harmer. But after driving Snater through cover to the ropes, he edged Snater’s next delivery to Harmer at second slip.It precipitated a lower-order collapse as Northamptonshire fell from 147 for 5 to 163 all out. Two balls after Zaib’s wicket, Tom Taylor edged a well-directed short ball from Snater through to Pepper.Allison was back in the action with some sharp work in the field to run out Gareth Berg before angling one back in to castle Sanderson.James Sales struck four boundaries in his 28 to ensure Northamptonshire passed 150. He had an early reprieve when Harmer put him down at second slip, taking a blow to his spinning fingers in the process and requiring attention from the Essex physio. However the young all-rounder eventually became Allison’s fifth victim when he edged to Cook at slip.With the bat, Cook (10) offered two chances to the slips on 0 and 2 but both were missed by Emilio Gay and Young. He was out shortly afterwards when he drilled Sanderson straight to Taylor at cover. It meant he missed out by 34 runs on 1,000 for the season. In his next over Sanderson trapped Tom Westey lbw to leave Essex 23 for 2.Nick Browne (18) looked solid throughout a lengthy stay at the crease, but after facing 63 balls Taylor got one to jag back and knock over his middle stump.Dan Lawrence walked to the crease on a king pair and played and missed to his first ball from Sanderson. He looked skittish early on but started to settle, taking consecutive boundaries off Berg. His downfall came thanks to an ugly looking cut shot off White which flew to Gay who took a stunning diving catch at second slip.White struck again in his next over when he got one to jag back and knock over Feroze Khushi’s stumps, but Matt Critchley, who played some pleasant shots including a drive straight down the ground off Taylor, was unbeaten on 14 at stumps.On a day of presentations, Procter was named player of the year by the Northamptonshire Supporters’ Club and presented with his award at lunch. He has so far scored 959 runs at an average of 56.41 this season with one innings left to bat in this match..At tea Adam Rossington, who skippered Northamptonshire to promotion in 2019, was given a special presentation by the club to mark his eight years of service. He joined Essex on loan earlier this season ahead of signing a permanent deal.

As it happened – India vs New Zealand, WTC final, Southampton, 3rd day

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All the stats, analysis and colour from the title bout of the inaugural World Test Championship

Sidharth Monga20-Jun-2021
Those in the US can watch in English or Hindi here6.30pm

That is stumps

That is also stumps. New Zealand will love what they have managed today, dragging India back with seven wickets for just 71 runs and then scoring 101 themselves for the loss of just two wickets. The full report on the day that belonged to Kyle Jamieson and Devon Conway is in the works. See you tomorrow.6.25pm

The extravagant flick

That is a shot that Devon Conway loves. He flicks with a flourish if you overpitch on the pads. Remember how he found out the fielder in the last Test? He has done it again, this time wide mid-on. There was build-up to this shot: three straight maidens, 26 dot balls, and Conway saw some release in that leg-side half-volley and ended up playing a touch early and chipping it to Mohammed Shami at wide mid-on.Between the wicket and Ross Taylor’s arrival, they check the light and deem it good enough to continue. Remember how New Zealand lost crucial wickets to Bhuvneshwar Kumar in fading light at Eden Gardens in 2016-17?New Zealand 101 for 2 in 48.4 overs. Conway gone for 54 off 153 balls.PS: As it usually happens, the umpires take players off for bad light just after a wicket has fallen.6pm

First fifty of the match

ICC/Getty Images

Quite unsurprisingly, it has come from Devon Conway, the find of this summer. He has looked as assured as one can on this pitch and against bowling of this quality. He has progressively picked up the scoring rate. New Zealand 99 for 1 in 44 overs.5.30pm

Ashwin the conjurer

Shiva Jayaraman has tried to put numbers here to “being threatening irrespective of conditions”. It is not perfect but is as good as it can be without the help of HawkEye data on spin. Here he is

Eyebrows would have been raised when both R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja were included in the playing XI, notwithstanding the conditions that were expected with the inclement weather around. If you had to drop one of R Ashwin or Ravindra Jadeja, who was it going to be? While Jadeja’s batting and fielding add a lot more all-round value to the side compared with Ashwin, the offspinner offers something that the Indian team management has perhaps come to realize in recent times: the ability to create something irrespective of the conditions. Ashwin was the first to take a wicket here, as he has been on eight previous occasions when India haven’t taken a wicket in the first 20 overs of an innings. No other bowler since 2010 has provided his team the breakthrough after 20 overs more often. New Zealand’s Tim Southee is next in this list with seven such dismissals.

New Zealand 76 for 1 in 39 overs.5.20pm

Ashwin finds the breakthrough

The discipline of Ashwin pays off for the first wicket for spin in this Test. Tom Latham started this session with a hard-hands drive first ball, and has played the kind of shot he has been avoiding two balls after the drinks break. Yes, Ashwin got dip on this, he has been playing around with his pace too, but Latham has done without driving away from the body so far. Here he has done just that and chipped to short extra cover.New Zealand 70 for 1. Latham gone for 30 off 104.5.15pm

India still looking for a breakthrough

Devon Conway and Tom Latham keep growing in confidence as they get surer and surer of what the pitch is doing. Classic batting against high-quality seam bowling. India might not be swinging it, but the ball is still doing enough to keep them interested. But they are a three-man seam attack, which means the fourth bowler is only doing a limiting job, which R Ashwin has done quite well, bowling zero bad balls in eight overs for just 10 runs. New Zealand’s control percentage stays around 83, but the real chances are getting fewer.New Zealand 70 for 0 in 34 overs. Conway 38 off 102, Latham 30 off 102.4.45pm

Another half hour gone

4:15

Match Day Masterclass: Swing vs seam – Dale Steyn explains

Six overs, 18 runs, no further wicket. Tom Latham has edged one between third slip and gully, and once driven uppishly through mid-off. Still the key figure is no wicket has fallen. New Zealand 54 for 0 in 27 overs. And the important discussion is between seam and swing. India are predominantly seam bowlers, New Zealand swung it a lot. That was the difference back in New Zealand too. However, India looked similarly comfortable against the new ball before the slightly older ball started to cause them problems. They will hope so for sure, but right now their fans will be nervous.3.55pm

Openers go to tea

AFP/Getty Images

This has definitely been New Zealand’s session. They took out the last three Indian wickets for just six runs, and then their openers have batted out the testing period to tea for no loss. India haven’t let them run away, conceding just 36 runs in 21 overs. They came close to getting a wicket, especially Mohammed Shami, who took the shoulder of the bat only for the ball to sail over the cordon. New Zealand’s control percentage is 83, which means they have survived 22 false responses without losing a wicket. India were bowled out in 108 of those.New Zealand trail by 181 runs, and if light stays good we are in for another humdinger of a session. Quite a long one too: possibly more than three hours.3pm

Tom Leavam

ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Tom Latham has left alone 15 balls in his 30. He leaves a lot of balls. On length many of them. This is quite a contest going on with Ishant Sharma looking to bowl straight with a strong leg-side field to make him play. Jasprit Bumrah is trying to get closer to him without getting straight. They will also remember perhaps how Mohammed Shami got him out leaving the ball in Christchurch last year. Also it takes courage to keep trusting your leaves if you are Latham. He has been dismissed four times leaving the ball in Tests.New Zealand 17 for 0 after nine overs.2.10pm

Five time, five time, five time, five time, five time

ICC via Getty

Kyle Jamieson takes out Ishant Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah in successive balls to seal his fifth five-wicket haul in a young career. That’s the most five-fors for anyone in this WTC cycle. Ishant gone fishing, and Bumrah – promoted ahead of Mohammed Shami – trapped by a yorker.Minutes later, following a long sight-screen adjustment break, Ravindra Jadeja edges down the leg side for India to be bowled out for 217. They will be disappointed after they started the day at 146 for 3, but won’t mind this score overall because the conditions continue to be helpful for bowling. There is swing, there is seam, and the sun has gone hiding again.India’s control percentage yesterday was close to 85 yesterday but it has now come down to 80. It has taken 108 balls of false responses for India to be bowled out.The stat of the innings, courtesy Nasser Hussain: zero byes in the innings. BJ Watling was exceptional behind the wicket in his last Test. He will have crucial work to do in front too.India 217 in 92.1 overs (Rahane 49, Kohli 44, Jamieson 5-31)Post-lunch session is on

And the sun is out

Lunch

Southee drops Jadeja

Finally a dropped catch by New Zealand, Tim Southee reprieving Ravindra Jadeja just before lunch. You might say a good session for New Zealand – and they have contained damage by getting Virat Kohli early – but India will be happy with the score on the board. They still have three wickets in hand, one of them Jadeja. This is already a very good score for these conditions. This session, though, did belong to New Zealand with four wickets falling for 65. You just can’t look away from this action-filled Test. India 211 for 7 in 89 overs with Jadeja and Ishant Sharma at the wicket.12.50pm

Ashwin plays a crucial hand

R Ashwin has missed out on a few selections in recent times on account of being lesser the batter than Ravindra Jadeja these days, but that SCG rearguard has been a bit of a turning point. He batted beautifully in treacherous conditions, dropping his wrists when Neil Wagner bowled short at him and then playing some eye-catching drives on the up. One edge flew over the cordon, but even then he went hard at it, giving a possible edge every chance to fly over. Eventually an edge went straight to second slip, but his 23-run stand with Jadeja took India past 200. That is already a good score in these conditions.India 205 for 7 in 85.5 overs. Ashwin gone for 22 off 27 balls.12.15pm

It is a long way down from there

No slip. Two men behind square on the leg side. Two men just in front. One at midwicket. Three balls from Wagner to go before he will likely be taken off because the new ball will be available. Wagner bowls the short ball, Rahane looks to pull, tries to keep it down, but it is a long way down from that awkward chest height. And he is caught at forward square leg some 30 yards from the bat.It is possibly a miscalculation from Rahane. He doesn’t want a repeat of what happened in New Zealand when they just shut him out with the short ball for hours, but the new ball is just around and this plan is not going to be a prolonged one.Rahane goes for it, and pays the price after a superb innings whose hallmark was how late he played the ball. The thing with this New Zealand attack is that – on these tracks, mind, and not in Asia – you can exhaust yourself surviving two or three sets of plans and then there is always one more examination. India 182 for 6 in 78.4 overs. Rahane gone for 49 off 117 balls.Noon

12.2 overs, 25 runs, 2 wickets

You will have to call that New Zealand’s morning so far, but Rahane and Jadeja have added 15 in 3.2 overs in this partnership. And this seem likes a pitch where runs will be at a huge premium. India are 171 for 5, which is not a bad score at all given how much the pitch is doing. And it is time for the first drinks break of the day.11.45am

Jamieson’s morning

Getty Images

And now Kyle Jamieson has removed Rishabh Pant. A wide tempter, and a shackled Pant has a go at it, edging through to second slip. Pant got off the mark with the 20th ball he faced. And that was because Jamieson went straight looking for the lbw.This is almost a pitch where you are better off bowling a defensive line, especially when you have a five-man seam attack. Just keep the runs down, and the wicket-taking ball will come. Don’t risk giving away easy runs by going searching. New Zealand have followed that plan this morning, and taken two wickets for 10 runs in nine overs.India 156 for 5 in 73.4 overs. Pant gone for 4 off 2211.30am

Fans’ day out

Nagraj Gollapudi is your eyes and ears. Here he reports from before the start of play

A sport fan’s experience is unique. Between watching high-quality skill, there are also frustrating waits. However, watching the players in flesh, watching them train and play, watching them having fun during warm-ups – these are things that make it an enriching experience.Dank, damp, soggy it might have been in Southampton the last three days, including Sunday, but the fans, majority of them Indians, have not been deterred. They have filled up to the 25% capacity allowed currently in England at sports stadia and made the noise and created a buzz without which this Ultimate Test might have sounds hollow. The fans are the biggest stakeholders in the end, and both the ICC and even the players recognise that.Indian captain Virat Kohli might have a lot of things on his mind, but on Sunday, about three quarters of an hour from start of play, he heard a young Indian fan call him. The youngster, just about 10 years old, just wanted Kohli to acknowledge him to begin with [Editor’s note: Was it Roman reigns in disguise?]. Walking up the stairs leading to the dressing room, Kohli stopped mid-stride, gave a smile and thumbs-up. Next he asked the youngster, “Having a good time?”. The youngster was jubilant. His parent asked Kohli whether he could take a picture. Kohli said: yes, after the match.That youngster might keep this story for life. It is just another example of the what being a fan means.

On the field, the ball is doing all sorts, and Rishabh Pant has just survived a marginal lbw call. It returned an umpire’s call on hitting the leg stump so the not-out call stayed. India 150 for 4 after 71 overs. Pant yet to open his account having faced 13 balls.11.15am

Kohli gets that rare jaffa

As Nasser Hussain has told you if you are watching the telly, Kyle Jamieson is easy to leave. According to HawkEye projections, only seven out of 94 balls from Jamieson will have gone on to hit the wicket. That seventh was the one that got Kohli out lbw. And thus ends another mini classic from Kohli. I know you are counting days since he scored a hundred, but I have rarely seen him bat better. He is so in control of what he is doing. He has been batting better than he did in 2018 where he left himself open to chance. The hundreds will come. Till then, enjoy the Kutty Classics.India 149 for 4 in 67.4 overs. Virat Kohli gone for 44 off 132 balls.11am

Kohli v de Grandhomme

‘I don’t need to get in an ego battle with you’•Getty Images

He is all set to end up as a handful of all-time great batsmen. His response to the quickest of quicks has been to cut down the distance between him and the bowler. “Treat them like a spinner,” Sachin Tendulkar told him.He is a trundler. A typical New Zealand dibbly dobbly. Ironically he is called Sir Colin in cricketing circles because to an outsider it can seem he is being given the respect that should be reserved for Sir Garry but for no apparent reason.Yet Virat Kohli has chosen to show great respect to Colin de Grandhomme. He got out to him in New Zealand last year. Then played and missed here. Played out three straight maidens.The consensus here is this: Kohli has prepared so much against high pace that this nagging pace and equally nagging line and length in seaming conditions is a bit of a blind spot. And that is the beauty of international cricket: a blind spot – I hesitate to call it a weakness – can emerge from anywhere.Kohli’s response has been the most fascinating. He has not tried to stamp his authority. He has looked Mitchell Johnson in the eye and hooked him all over MCG. Here he is forced to play out de Grandhomme. And he has. There is a good chance if he goes driving it will come off, and Kane Williamson will be forced to take de Grandhomme off. But there is also a good chance he might nick one. Or play uppishly to cover. He has not taken that risk. He wants the scoreboard and the team score to stamp his authority.This is a master batsman acknowledging an unlikely nemesis and doing whatever it takes to not give him his wicket. And de Grandhomme’s pace and line is the worst possible pace and line of you are looking to leave balls. Kohli has defended 15 and left alone eight of the 31 balls he has faced from de Grandhomme. Thirty-one balls, five runs, one dismissal is not a pretty reading for this match-up, but Kohli knows it is the final India scorecard reading that matters.

10.30am

Looking at an 11am start

The inspection is over, and we are looking at a half-an-hour delay because of the wet outfield. An 11am start is what we are hearing of. 10am

How you doin’?

After the high of a finale-fitting but brief contest yesterday, how you doin’? How is the appetite for more? We are not yet sure of a timely start, though. We are hearing of an inspection at 10.20am. The problem seems to be the amount of overnight rain and the lack of sun in the morning to dry it out. We will keep you updated about that and more.Since the time Andrew Miller posted the above-quoted tweet, the covers have come off so at least the signs are positive.

'Experiences like this are so valuable' – Eoin Morgan takes positives ahead of T20 World Cup

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Andrew Miller12-Feb-2020Eoin Morgan, England’s captain, backed his team to learn quickly and come back stronger after a thrilling one-run defeat in the first T20I, but added that the pressure to which his players had been exposed was a priceless experience in the final countdown to the T20 World Cup in October.After an erratic display with the ball, in which South Africa racked up 105 runs in the first ten overs before being restricted to 177 for 8, it was England’s high-octane batting that fell apart in the closing stages, as Morgan’s own dismissal for 52 in the penultimate over allowed Lungi Ngidi to power his side over the line with a brilliant death over that yielded three wickets and just five runs.And while Morgan was disappointed with England’s failure to get over the line, he was delighted to have been left with so much to digest, with just nine more opportunities for fine-tuning before until the T20 World Cup gets underway in Australia.”It was an outstanding game of cricket,” Morgan said in the post-match presentations. “Experiences like this, particularly with a World Cup around the corner, are just so valuable to the team.”I think we learn more about both sides when they get put a little bit more pressure,” he added. “Today was a fine example of that. Both teams gave it absolutely everything and left everything on the field, but in all honesty, I thought in all three departments today we could make up more than that.”Speaking on Sky Sports, Morgan went into greater detail. “We were always in a commanding position, and we never really looked flustered until Ngidi came on in the 18th over and then turned the game on its head,” he said. “Even in a position of needing seven off the last over, with new guys coming in, we expected to win that game, but it’s a great game to play in because you get a feel for where guys are at, what skill level they can produce, and how their temperament is. So in terms of actually improving [our team], I think it’s great for us.”Whereas England went into the 50-over World Cup as a battle-hardened outfit that had risen to No.1 in the world over the course of four years of success, the T20 World Cup offers fewer opportunities for such team development due to the dearth of bilateral T20Is. Nevertheless, Morgan pointed out that the core of the squad still remembered the sickening circumstances of their final-over loss in Kolkata in the 2016 event, and he backed the class of 2020 to arrive in Australia well placed to go one better.”In any given any circumstance, you’ve got to have the mindset of trying to win the game and trying to be as effective as you can,” he said. “You can say [this defeat] doesn’t really matter, but I actually think it does, because when you put in performances, it gives you a huge amount of confidence, and on the back of that confidence you win games of cricket.ALSO READ: Ngidi holds nerve as England collapse to one-run defeat“Looking back on the 2016 T20 World Cup, we were beaten in the final in a dramatic fashion, but we took a lot of confidence from that tournament because we went into it as a bit of an afterthought, and learnt as much as we could. This time around, [if we learn these lessons], we’ll be in a better position to counter anything that happens.”On this latest occasion, Morgan himself seemed to have broken the back of the run-chase in East London with a flurry of two fours and a six to bring the requirement down to a run a ball. But he holed out to deep midwicket off the final ball of the 19th over to give South Africa an opening.”With all the games I’ve played and the experience I have, I would have liked to seen it through and I didn’t manage to do that,” he said. “But the more games I play, the more I back myself to be there at the end. I’ll still continue with the method that I play and hopefully contribute to some more wins.”But for the last few years I’ve been really enjoying my cricket, and the majority of that is down to the guys I play with,” he added. “They are a great bunch of guys, and we’re learning a huge amount from each other. The backroom staff contributes huge amounts, they are always provoking thoughts and are very inquisitive, so it’s been thoroughly enjoyable.”One of the big things in our change room is that we learn quite quickly from each other,” he added. “We’re very open and there’s no massive egos around. It’s okay for guys to say ‘I struggled today, what did you look to do, and how were you effective? Teach me.'”There will be a bit of a look back at the footage in the next 24 hours, but full credit to South Africa, they clawed their way back into a game that I thought we should have easily won, but we didn’t, so fair play. We’re going to have to try and negate Ngidi’s slower ball because it was very effective on this wicket.”Morgan confirmed that England would continue to play their strongest available XI for the remainder of the series – unlike the mix-and-match approach they took to the ODIs – as they continue to fine-tune their plans before October.”We want guys to get absolute clarity in their positions, particularly from one to seven,” he said. “In the middle, at the end, in the Powerplay, whatever the circumstance might be … we want guys to feel as comfortable as they can. And to be exposed a little bit as well.”

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