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Lakmal, Bopara tried their best to give Colombo Kings the crown, but it wasn’t to be

Madushka Balasuriya24-Dec-2022The Jaffna Kings were crowned LPL champions for the third time in as many seasons, as yet another Avishka Fernando fifty anchored a tricky chase against a dogged Colombo Stars.He was ably assisted by Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Sadeera Samarawickrama – albeit in disparate styles. Gurbaz came first, bludgeoning everything in sight, but once he fell – and Afif Hossain shortly after – Sadeera took over, accumulating runs and ticking things over. It was this partnership that in end broke the spine of the chase. So much so that even a spate of late wickets couldn’t halt Jaffna’s charge.At the halfway stage though it might have been the Stars who would have been the happier of the two sides, after a late Ravi Bopara salvo had boosted his side to a competitive 163 for 5. His was a much-needed knock for Colombo, after the youthful spin pairing of Dunith Wellalage and Vijayakanth Viyaskanth had throttled the innings in the middle overs, in the process nipping in the bud a threatening stand between Dinesh Chandimal and Charith Asalanka.Stars to their credit fought every step of the way, but the two-wicket margin of victory perhaps masks to an extent Jaffna’s control over proceedings.Thisara Perera once more led the side well, and Jaffna once again seemed to be the side with the most balanced look about it. They may have lost star spinner Wanindu Hasaranga, but the likes of Wellalage and Viyaskanth have stepped up while new faces such as Samarawickrama and Binura Fernando have been yet more astute picks. Credit for which should go to Thisara as well as head coach Thilina Kandamby.Asalanka and Chandimal set the toneAfter four ducks in a row, Stars had little choice but to remove Niroshan Dickwella from the starting XI, but his replacement Nishan Madushka, only brought in at the knockout stage, fared little better. On Friday, he fell off the fourth delivery of the game. But fortunately for Stars, in Asalanka and Chandimal, as well as Bopara and Angelo Mathews, they have one of the more established middle orders in the tournament. And so it proved again, as they took the attack to Kings with Chandimal and Asalanka taking apart each of Kings’ seam options, be it Thisara, Binura Fernando or Zaman Khan. It wasn’t long before Kings realised that pace-off was the way to go on a sticky surface.Wellalage and Viyaskanth pull it backEnter Wellalage and Viyaskanth, the youngest members of the Jaffna squad, whose introduction ushered a period in which just two boundaries were scored between the 6th and 15th overs. It meant Stars were forced to go after the likes of Maheesh Theekshana, with the crucial wicket of Mathews a result of this very circumstance. Aged 19 and 21 respectively, against seasoned campaigners such as Chandimal, Mathews and Bopara, the pair showed maturity and game nous that belied their years.Bopara finishes with a flourishBut in Ravi Bopara, admittedly in the twilight of his career, Stars had a very experienced campaigner. Aware that Kings would have to find a few overs at the death from somewhere after Binura had strained a muscle in his lower back while fielding, Bopara waited for his moment. As it turned out, Binura would return to bowl at the death, though his pronounced grimaces after each delivery were a dead giveaway he wasn’t at a hundred percent. Bopara would show no sympathy however, taking him for 16 in the 18th over, before hitting 12 off Theekshana in the next. He was ably assisted by Mohammed Nabi, who would also launch Binura down the ground at the start of the 20th over. Binura would succumb to the pressure with a series of wides outside off, as Stars took 17 off the final over and 61 off the final five.Gurbaz goes bangIf Stars’ innings had the manner of a side figuring things out as they went along, Kings came out with a clear game plan, exemplified by Gurbaz’s early blitz. He may have been around for only 18 deliveries, but his 36, replete with four boundaries and two sixes, would shed any nerves Kings might have head in approaching a tricky chase. The explosive Afghan would go straight after Kasun Rajitha in the very first over, before punishing Stars’ hesitancy in replacing the injured Seekkuge Prasanna mid-over; the leg spinner would bowl only two deliveries on one leg, but Gurbaz plundered them for 10 runs. By the time Gurbaz fell, the required rate had dropped to seven an over, and while this would fluctuate throughout the innings, mentally the Kings knew then it was their game to loseAvishka and Sadeera steer the chaseAfif followed Gurbaz, but his brief stint in the middle was one crying for a merciful end. When it eventually did come, in walked Sadeera – Kings’ man for every occasion. While Avishka hunkered down happy to rotate the striker, Sadeera took it upon himself to find at least a boundary each over. Whether it was cheeky dabs down to third man, delicate paddle sweeps, or scything pulls to deep midwicket, Sadeera proved adept at finding runs when needed. He would fall with still 36 to get off 30, but by then the target was well in hand – a fact not even a flurry of wickets at the death could alter. Sadeera would fittingly cap off the evening by taking home the player of the series award. As for Avishka, it’s a second LPL final in a row he’s starred in, and with 339 runs it was no surprise he was adjudged player of the tournament as well.Viyaskanth’s momentVijayakanth Viyaskanth has had to wait patiently for his big break. Yes, there was excitement when he was drafted to play for Jaffna in the inaugural LPL – after all a player from the north of Sri Lanka was something many a fan had been eagerly looking forward to following the end of the civil war – but Viyaskanth would barely get a game over two seasons, stuck behind none other than Wanindu Hasaranga. But when Hasaranga departed to Kandy Falcons ahead of this season, Viyaskanth was finally handed his chance. Thirteen wickets and an emerging player of the tournament award later, safe to say, he’s more than grabbed it. And while he would go wicketless in the final, it was fitting that it would be the boy from Jaffna Central College was at the crease when the winning runs were scored.

Lenham is the fourth frontline spinner in the Brave squad but is in contention to make his debut against Invincibles

Matt Roller16-Aug-2021Southern Brave have signed Archie Lenham, the 17-year-old Sussex legspinner, as a last-minute replacement for the injured Liam Dawson and included him in the squad for their winner-takes-all fixture against Oval Invincibles on Monday night.Earlier this summer, Lenham became the first player to make an appearance in the T20 Blast who was born after the competition’s inception in 2003 and went on to take ten wickets in nine group games with an economy rate of 7.71. His father, Neil, and grandfather, Leslie, were both former Sussex players.Lenham is the fourth frontline spinner in the Brave squad after Danny Briggs, Jake Lintott and Max Waller – who was unavailable for their last game against Welsh Fire after becoming a parent – but is in contention to make his debut against Invincibles as a surprise late pick.Dawson was ruled out of the competition last week after fracturing a finger on his right hand when Phil Salt hit a ball straight back at him during the no-result against Manchester Originals at Emirates Old Trafford. “Hopefully back to normal in 4-6 weeks,” he tweeted.The winner of Monday night’s game will join Trent Rockets and Birmingham Phoenix in the knockout stages of the men’s competition, with the loser eliminated.

Challenged to retain their fitness during lockdown, they resolved to give themselves a target and a motive

George Dobell02-Jul-2020England’s first-class umpires have set themselves the target of walking to Lahore and back – virtually, at least – before the county season begins.Challenged to retain their fitness during lockdown by Chris Kelly, the umpires’ manager at the ECB, they resolved to give themselves both a target and a motive. They eventually decided, therefore, to walk between them the equivalent distance from the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore to Emirates Old Trafford in Manchester and back. That is 9,436 miles.They also hope that effort will inspire people to make charitable contributions. The three charities benefiting from their efforts are the British Asian Trust, Prostate Cancer UK and the Professional Cricketers’ Trust.There are 33 umpires involved – that includes those on the ICC’s elite and international panels, as well as those on fulltime ECB contracts and the reserve list – with Hassan Adnan, who is currently averaging around 90 miles a week and is approaching 350 miles in total, leading the way at present. David Milnes, on 226 miles, is in second place. In the 28 days since the exercise started, they have walked 4,537 miles. For more details, please visit The First-Class Walk’s Facebook page”GPS data and heartrate monitors from the 2015 season suggested we walked about 10,000 miles between us in a season,” one of the umpires, Paul Baldwin, told ESPNcricinfo. “We were challenged to ensure we were ready for the season and this came about.”We’re on course to complete our target on July 27 – a few days before the season begins – but we’ve now decided to carry on throughout August and see how far we can go.”The first on-field data was added last week when Michael Gough and Alex Wharf, the umpires for the West Indies’ warm-up game in Manchester, contributed 31.89 miles in three days.”Meanwhile, the former Surrey keeper, James Knott, is embarking on a challenge of his own to raise funds for charity. Knott, who is now head of cricket at Stowe School and whose father Alan is generally regarded as one of the best keepers in the history of the game, is aiming to walk every minute of play during the first Test of the England v West Indies series in the hope of raising funds for the PCA Trust and the NHS Covid-19 appeal. Details can be found here.

Batting coach admits to his side being taken aback by Sri Lanka’s relentless attack with the ball

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Port Elizabeth22-Feb-2019South Africa were “complacent” heading into this Sri Lanka series. This is not the opinion of reporters, fans, or commentators, but that of the team’s own batting coach Dale Benkenstein, after he watched his team collapse to 128 all out on the second day in Port Elizabeth.Right through the series, South Africa have been modest with the bat, recording a highest-score of 259 across four completed innings. No South Africa batsman has hit a hundred, and only Faf du Plessis, Aiden Markram and Quinton de Kock have managed half-centuries.”We came in a little bit complacent,” Benkenstain said. “We addressed that, but it’s still very important to have the right attitude coming into a series. We say all the right things, but when you go in thinking we’ll probably have enough to beat the Sri Lankan side, I think it’s a dangerous place to be. We had two days in between series. It’s a full-on summer so you don’t have time to prepare. You can’t change what is really inside you.”Benkenstein praised the Sri Lanka attack, whom he said had bowled with skill, and whom South Africa have repeatedly said they have been surprised by. But although Benkenstein thought some of South Africa’s dismissals were the result of good opposition bowling, there were plenty that weren’t he said.”We have not been at our best – after a pretty disappointing first game as well – against a side that we did not know a lot about. There wasn’t a lot of footage with which to analyse them. You have to give credit to the Sri Lankan bowlers. They’ve shown good skill, but we’ve given them soft wickets at crucial times. I keep thinking that it will be sorted out in the next innings.”We’ve been pretty strong mentally, we came up against some very good bowling attacks and we scored enough runs to win those series. So I can’t really put my finger on what’s gone wrong now, but it’s been a long, full-on summer and the guys are only human, there may be a slight lack of energy.”On what will almost certainly be the final day of the series, on Saturday, South Africa are now in a position where they must take eight wickets (possibly only seven, if the injured Lasith Embuldeniya does not bat). They haver 137 runs to defend.”The game is still on the line and if we can have a good hour first thing tomorrow morning (Saturday) then we could make it hard for them to get the runs. There’s a little bit still there in the pitch and we have good bowlers. Sri Lanka have fought hard and put us under pressure, but overall the cricket has not been good, especially the batting – from both teams.”

The Bengal seamers did most of the damage before Abhimanyu Easwaran piled on Gujarat’s troubles, nearing his second century of the match by stumps on day three

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Dec-2017
ScorecardBengal’s seamers – Ashok Dinda, Ishan Porel and B Amit – kept defending champions Gujarat to 224 in their first innings, helping their team secure a handsome lead of 130 runs in Jaipur. Then, with Abhimanyu Easwaran nearing his second century of the match, Bengal’s overall lead went beyond 300 by stumps – they finished the day sitting pretty on 175 for 1. Easwaran and Writtick Chatterjee (40*) put on 78 runs for an unbroken second-wicket stand after a 99-run opening partnership between Easwaran and Abhishek Raman.In the morning, resuming on 180 for 6, Gujarat only added 44 runs before folding. In fact, they scored 39 runs without the loss of a wicket before the floodgates were open when left-arm spinner Pradipta Pramanik bowled overnight batsman Rujul Bhatt (32) – that was the only wicket in the innings to fall to the slower bowlers. Thereon, Gujarat lost their last three wickets inside four overs with Dinda accounting for two of those, including the wicket of Piyush Chawla, who resisted with 75-ball 43. Dinda, Porel and Amit finished with three wickets each.

A tireless Yasir Shah bowled Pakistan to a 133-run win over West Indies in Abu Dhabi, picking up his eighth Test five-wicket haul along the way

The Report by Karthik Krishnaswamy25-Oct-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details4:05

Bazid: Misbah’s way has worked

Bowling nearly unchanged from the start of the day’s play, Yasir Shah produced a legspin masterclass on a flat, slow fifth-day pitch to bowl Pakistan to a 133-run win in Abu Dhabi. There was no alarming turn available to Yasir, and hardly any instances of uncertain bounce; he had to draw on all his stamina, skill and intelligence to pick up his eighth five-wicket haul and second ten-wicket match haul in 18 Tests. Yasir bowled 21 of Pakistan’s 46 overs on day five as they bowled West Indies out for 322, chasing an improbable 456, an hour and 15 minutes after lunch.Yasir took all three wickets that fell in the morning session, teasing out Roston Chase in the tenth over of the morning and using the second new ball to dismiss Jermaine Blackwood, who fell five short of a hundred, and Jason Holder. Shai Hope and Devendra Bishoo made Pakistan wait with an eighth-wicket stand of 45, before Yasir and Zulfiqar Babar took out the last three wickets in the space of four overs.West Indies began the fifth day with Blackwood and Chase at the crease. The pair had been the overnight batsmen when they drew the Jamaica Test against India in August. It took until the tenth over of the day for Yasir to break their partnership, which added 63 runs in 26.4 overs.Chase only scored 20, but served a vital function by resisting Yasir, facing 54 of the 80 balls he delivered during the course of the stand. Unlike his team-mates, he seldom wavered from the path of defence, except on the rare occasion when Yasir lost his length, such as when he pulled him for four late on the fourth evening. Yasir plugged away on a good length, but kept varying his lines to Chase. One instance of this came in the fourth over of the morning, when he floated one up outside off after sending down a series of balls around leg stump. Chase had kept his front pad resolutely out of the way while defending the leg-stump balls. Now, he failed to get his front foot across to drive, and sliced the ball uppishly towards backward point.Yasir Shah now has eight five-wicket hauls and two ten-wicket match hauls in 18 Tests•Getty Images

In his next over, Chase left two balls on a similar line wide of off. Then, finally, Yasir found the perfect line, pitching on off and middle, forcing Chase to play, and the perfect pace, slow enough to make him reach out, to find his edge.By the 18th over of the morning – the 80th of West Indies’ innings – Yasir was into his 26th straight over since the fourth evening, and seemed to be tiring, serving up a long-hop that Blackwood pulled for four. But Misbah-ul-Haq kept him on, even though he took the second new ball as soon as it was due, and stuck with him even after an expensive first over with it, when Shai Hope put him away for two authoritative boundaries through the off side.Yasir rewarded Misbah’s faith, getting the ball to skid on as Blackwood came forward to defend, looking for turn, and brushed his pads before clattering the stumps. Blackwood, who had lived on the edge on the fourth day, had looked far more assured on the fifth morning, not trying anything extravagant but putting away the smallest lapse in length, such as when he drove Sohail Khan twice to the cover boundary in the first over with the new ball.Then, in the penultimate over of the session, the tendency for the new ball to skid brought Yasir his fifth wicket. Holder, going on to the back foot to work him through the leg side, couldn’t bring his bat down quick enough. He hesitated too long before deciding to review umpire Richard Illingworth’s lbw decision, which was just as well because the ball was pitching in line and had straightened just enough to hit a good chunk of leg stump.Hope played Yasir impressively during his innings of 41, his inside-out drives a standout feature, and it was Zulfiqar who eventually dismissed him. Looking to defend off the back foot, he was undone by one that turned more than expected, and Younis Khan fell to his left to take a sharp low catch. Yasir then grabbed his sixth, bowling the left-handed Miguel Cummins when he played inside the line of a legbreak, before Zulfiqar wrapped up victory, slowing it down and getting Devendra Bishoo to miscue a slog-sweep to Misbah-ul-Haq running from midwicket to square leg.

This was a day spent chuntering about could-be controversies and moral quagmires that never quite came to pass. In those disputes stead stood Marcus Trescothick.

Will Macpherson at Hove17-Sep-2015
ScorecardAll Marcus Trescothick’s trademark shots were on display•Getty Images

This was a day spent chuntering about could-be controversies and moral quagmires that never quite came to pass. In those disputes stead stood Marcus Trescothick.With both sides trapped in a relegation bunfight with Hampshire, not many at Hove were impressed with the contrivance at the Ageas Bowl, especially when Yorkshire fell to 37 for 3. This sense of injustice was exacerbated by the fact that Hampshire were facing a weakened Yorkshire outfit, which is set to return to full strength when Sussex visit Headingley on Tuesday. But when Yorkshire’s fourth wicket was worth 190 those grumbles rather died, as it became clear Hampshire had gone hard, and were going home.Then, with this game merely an exercise in accumulating vital bonus points, not many Sussex fans were particularly enamoured by the idea of a Somerset declaration that denied them a shot at two more points for their bowling. But having taken four in 100 overs, the chances of two more in 10 looked slim, so when Trescothick turned and offered a hand to Ed Joyce to call stumps, he duly accepted.Ultimately, both these sides, Somerset having given Mike Yardy a guard of honour on his last day at Hove, and Sussex having watched the last rites at the Ageas Bowl on TV, as well as Worcestershire’s relegation being confirmed, left pretty contented.The unflappable constant was Trescothick, who produced a magnificent sixth first-class double century, never looking like getting out, and all the while utterly aware of Somerset’s position in the game, and totally unconcerned by goings-on elsewhere. He was here to bat as long as his team needed him to in order to leave with 13 points, and to blunt Sussex’s attack to limit their haul: 157 personal and 324 team runs later for the day, he did just that. Somerset took 13 points, two more than Sussex, and a place above them in the table for good measure.The man oozed control: going through the motions, but going past marker posts for bonus points and personal milestones, too. “I didn’t try to get drawn into what was going on at the Ageas,” he said. “[Umpire] Alex Wharf told me out there that they were 30 for 3 but I just thought ‘I’m not interested’. What will be will be. It’s out of our hands, we can’t control what they are doing over there.”I was really determined going into this game. It was just so important, given the position the two teams were in in the competition. Getting in there today, the bonus points were absolutely vital, in the context of what it is, and trying to limit Sussex to as little as what they could do. Going in from lunch onwards, we had a clear plan. I was really determined about how we approached it and it worked out great.”The great joy of watching Trescothick make runs these days is that, really, nothing has changed. The strokes are the same: the punchy drives with minimal foot movement, that scythe of a cut, the gentle dab to third man, the dismissive flick should the bowler err onto his pads and the glorious, gut-swinging pull off his chin; even the upper cut made an appearance when Chris Jordan dropped short. There’s a pair of glasses and he’s a touch slower between the wickets, but Trescothick’s all there.It was the cover drive that brought him his century, his second in a week and 58th of his career, after a quiet start to a day played under blue skies on a flat pitch. His partner was James Hildreth, an equally assured presence, driving prettily and flicking nicely to leg; indeed it was a particularly fine glance that took him past 50.Both dissected some rather strange fields as Ashar Zaidi and Luke Wells did plenty of bowling, while Steve Magoffin – who now has 535 Championship overs in his legs this season – appeared to rest up ahead of a trip to Headingley. Either way, Sussex didn’t look a team as desperate for their bonus points as Trescothick, who flogged them for their folly.Hildreth was caught down the legside by a diving Ben Brown, and Jim Allenby fell the next over, a thick edge heading straight to Chris Nash at third slip. But while Sussex’s tails were temporarily up, all they had done was bring Trescothick and Peter Trego together, the latter with an equally insatiable appetite for slaughter. He was away with a fizzing straight drive off Zaidi – who cut an extremely frustrated figure after a couple of rejected appeals – and was quick to pull anything short.Trescothick continued relentlessly, consecutively cover driving for four and hoicking for six off Wells, while Sussex’s last hope was the new ball, and its first delivery was flicked hard to the midwicket fence. He took Somerset past 400 with a wild pull and reached 200 with a cut off Wells. Not to be outdone, Trego plonked Zaidi for a huge straight six, and dab swept and cover driven fours in an over, before savagely pulling for his century shortly after 4.10.Over strolled Trescothick, as Trego pumped the air in celebration, shook his team-mate’s hand, turned to Joyce and told him enough was enough of this mighty fun partnership.”[My body] is barking at the moment,” Trescothick reflected. “The back is in bits from bending over quite a bit. But it’s one of those pains that is quite nice to put up with. One of the ankles is a bit sore, so I’ll keep an eye on that. But I’m more than happy to stay out there if I’m making this many runs.” So are we, Marcus. So are we.

Ramnaresh Sarwan bolted away after a slow start to his highest ODI score as West Indies took an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the three-match series

The Report by Abhishek Purohit24-Feb-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsRamnaresh Sarwan guided West Indies’ chase with an unbeaten century• WICB Media/Randy Brooks Photo

Don’t go by the seven-wicket victory margin. Don’t go by the one over left unneeded in West Indies’ innings. This was a chase in which the pressure built, and was allowed to be built, gradually during a century opening partnership. Then came two wickets in three deliveries. More pressure. Then came the batting Powerplay. And Ramnaresh Sarwan bolted away finally, to his fifth ODI century, his highest ODI score and his first substantial knock after his comeback. Any remaining pressure was blasted away by Kieron Pollard. West Indies had the series, but Zimbabwe were worthy competitors following their surrender in the opening game.They made their highest away total against West Indies and created chances in the field but lacked penetration in their attack. They were also robbed of Sarwan’s wicket when he was on 53. He was caught several inches short by a direct hit but umpire Peter Nero, instead of referring it to the third umpire, immediately shook his head when Zimbabwe appealed. West Indies needed 151 from 20 overs at that stage, and who knows what the wicket of a well-set Sarwan could have led to.It was the lone, albeit significant, blemish for Sarwan in an innings where he exploited the batting Powerplay to race from a slow half-century to a breezy hundred. Sarwan and Kieran Powell had put on 111 at the top, but hadn’t attempted to dominate Zimbabwe, who squandered an early opportunity. In the fourth over, the debutant medium-pacer Tendai Chatara had Powell pushing uppishly for Vusi Sibanda to pull off a one-handed stunner at short extra cover. Replays, however, showed Chatara had overstepped.Sarwan began in a blaze of boundaries, cutting, driving and pulling for fours but started finding the field far too often. Powell was a touch more aggressive but wasn’t far behind in hitting seemingly innocuous deliveries to the infield. However, there was hardly any bite in the Zimbabwe attack to tie them down for a prolonged stretch.It was Powell who threw away another promising start, heaving at a Hamilton Masakadza delivery and edging it behind to depart for 57 off 81. Two balls later, Masakadza moved one away slightly to take Darren Bravo’s outside edge into the wicketkeeper’s gloves. The asking-rate was now approaching seven, and West Indies’ at times diffident start could have cost them.Sarwan and Narsingh Deonarine managed just a boundary each till the onset of the batting Powerplay, by when the asking-rate was within touching distance of eight. Sarwan was on 68 off 103, having gone 80 deliveries without hitting a boundary during the middle overs.In the 37th over, he slammed Kyle Jarvis through cover and point for fours. In the 38th, he lifted Chatara down the ground and over extra cover for successive boundaries. In the 40th, he hit Jarvis for a one-handed straight six, and off the next ball, reached his century. He had taken 32 off his last 15 deliveries, and West Indies had taken 46 off the batting Powerplay. Zimbabwe, tied down by Sunil Narine, had managed 22 off theirs.Deonarine played an important knock of 42 off 49, turning the strike over repeatedly, but when he was run out by a direct hit, West Indies still needed 55 off 40. Enter Pollard. Exit Zimbabwe. Pollard rained fours and sixes, his power punishing anything too full or too short. He needed just 20 deliveries to race to 41, with Sarwan fittingly hitting the winning single.Zimbabwe will no doubt be gutted with the Sarwan run-out that wasn’t given, especially after their batting effort. They had conceded 337 and were reduced to 34 for 4 on Friday in their first international game in five months, but two days later, three of the top five made fifties.Like in the first match, Craig Ervine was at the forefront of a recovery and, unlike in the first match, he ensured he carried on long enough to make a significant difference. Had Dwayne Bravo not struck at crucial moments on his way to a career-best 6 for 43, his side would have had a chase much closer to 300 on their hands.In his first over, he removed the in-form Vusi Sibanda and the captain Brendan Taylor in the space of three deliveries to convert a solid 76 for 1 into a shaky 76 for 3. Sibanda had vindicated his captain’s decision to bat and had looked in little trouble as he drove, cut, pulled and swept his way to a breezy fifty.Ervine and Masakadza responded with a 110-run fourth-wicket partnership. Ervine paddled Dwayne Bravo and swept Narine for fours. Masakadza, nowhere close to Ervine in fluency, soldiered on at the other end, heaving Pollard and Andre Russell for a six each.Following an unproductive batting Powerplay, Masakadza had another heave and the top-edge landed in the hands of a running Narine at third man. Zimbabwe were 194 for 4 after 42 overs, and needed someone to kickstart the final charge.Malcolm Waller provided that boost in a cameo that altered the momentum of the innings. In an eventful 43rd over from Kemar Roach, Waller pulled and drove for a six and a four before being yorked. Roach was dumbfounded when no-ball was signalled, and it turned out that Tino Best’s carelessness had made it one man too many outside the inner circle. Roach went harder for another yorker next ball, and Waller flicked the resultant full toss off his pads over short fine leg for six more. Zimbabwe managed 79 off the final eight overs, but West Indies won both the batting Powerplays, and they had Pollard for later.

Pakistan’s all-round might proved too much for Afghanistan’s carefree spirit, as Shahid Afridi, Younis Khan and Imran Farhat set up an emphatic win with 77 balls to spare

The Report by Nitin Sundar10-Feb-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsKarim Sadiq’s free-spirited methods epitomised Afghanistan’s approach to the game•AFP

Pakistan’s all-round might proved too much for Afghanistan’s carefree spirit, as Shahid Afridi, Younis Khan and Imran Farhat set up an emphatic win with 77 balls to spare. But the scorecard couldn’t do justice to the show that Afghanistan put up. Presented with the opportunity of playing a Full Member, Afghanistan could have either been consumed by the occasion and allowed Pakistan to brush them away, or have thrown foolhardy punches in all directions, in hope rather than conviction. That they found a middle ground and competed for a large portion of the game justified the awed tones with which people have been speaking about their rapid rise.Years from now, when no one will recall the result of this game, one image will endure. Saeed Ajmal, Man of the Series from the Test series against England, was forced into an early spell after Pakistan’s new-ball bowlers were battered by Karim ‘Kabul ka Sehwag’ Sadiq and Mohammad Shahzad. To Ajmal’s third ball, the portly Shahzad calmly reversed his stance and heaved a flighted offbreak a good 20 yards into the stands behind square leg. It was just one shot, but it came against the bowler who had looped circles around England’s celebrated top order through six innings of tortuous Test batting. It was a statement as telling as any – Misbah-ul-Haq smiled wryly into the distance as the ball disappeared. Afghanistan weren’t bothered by reputations, and their top-order batsmen were intent on announcing themselves to the world.The fun began early, when Umar Gul strayed into Sadiq’s pads in the first over. Sadiq thumped the flick with a violence that was a sign of things to come. He would later prance out to Wahab Riaz and butcher a length ball over mid-off. Noor Ali Zadran perished at the other end, but Sadiq didn’t seem to notice – he waited in the crease and launched a Gul slower ball for his first six. Gul wisely shelved the slower ball after that. Shahzad warmed up by flicking, carving and lofting Riaz for successive fours before producing six against Ajmal. If there ever was a shot that gave the crowd its money’s worth, this was it.It took Pakistan a moment of athletic brilliance to stop Afghanistan’s rampant progress. Shahzad opened up the off side and looked to cream Afridi’s second ball over point, but Asad Shafiq leapt up and snatched it with one hand when he was at full stretch. The catch was so extraordinary, that even Afridi deigned to leave the spotlight on the fielder, as he refrained from his characteristic X-man celebrations.Afridi’s variations of spin and pace – one of his balls clocked 131 kph – gradually unravelled Afghanistan’s innings. Nawroz Mangal missed a slog to lose his stumps, before Sadiq – who had carted Mohammad Hafeez for another towering six – edged a wide delivery behind. The run-rate had fallen considerably by the time Afridi fizzed a googly in to catch the debutant Gulbodin Naib plumb.Despite the damage, Mohammad Nabi teed off over long-on for the fourth six of the innings, suggesting that minor inconveniences such as wickets weren’t going to come in the way of fun. He later repeated the dose against Shoaib Malik as Afghanistan continued to keep the raucous supporters entertained.The reverse sweep continued to be the Afghan stroke of choice: Samiullah Shenwari nearly reverse-slapped Shoaib Malik over the backward point boundary even as he fell over. Given how badly conventional methods deserted them in the Tests, England’s batsmen might be tempted to try the stroke in the limited-overs series.A run-out ended the partnership when it was worth 46, and Afghanistan’s fight gradually fizzled thereafter as they folded under 200. But their spirit was far from extinguished.It was easy to make out that Afghanistan’s new-ball bowlers – the Zadrans, Shapoor and Dawlat – weren’t related. Shapoor, a tall, long-haired left-armer, chugged in to capitalise on the nagging angle across the right-hand batsmen. Dawlat, a shorter right-arm seamer, displayed the tendency to skid through at pace, a bit like Waqar Younis, to expose flaws in the techniques of Pakistan’s top three. With his 12th delivery to Mohammad Hafeez, Dawlat induced him to hop in the crease and edge onto the stumps. Later in his spell, he trapped the aggressive Shafiq when the batsman played all over a pacy indipper.Farhat began scratchily, mistiming quite a few in the early overs before easing into some sort of fluency. He settled down once the pace dropped, preying on Mirwais Ashraf’s medium-pace, Karim Sadiq’s part-time offbreaks, and debutant Hamza Hotak’s left-arm spin for boundaries. Three successive fours off Hotak took him past fifty.Shamiullah Shenwari dismissed Farhat with a soft return catch in his first over, but Younis and Misbah produced three fours off the next four balls to restate Pakistan’s control. Gradually, Pakistan’s obdurate old men turned the heat on with a series of telling drives, as the target was achieved on the double. It was fitting that Misbah scored the winning runs with a reverse-sweep, sealing a seven-wicket triumph. But to focus on the result at this momentous juncture in the Afghanistan journey would be to miss the point completely.

Somerset have signed Sri Lankan spinner Ajantha Mendis for the first few weeks of the County season

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Feb-2011Somerset have signed Sri Lankan spinner Ajantha Mendis for the first few weeks of the County season.Mendis, 25, will cover for Murali Kartik while he is at the IPL and brings experience of 15 Tests and 46 ODIs to Taunton. Somerset narrowly missed on silverware last year but have bolstered their Twenty20 hopes by resigning Keiron Pollard for the second half of the summer’s FPt20.Mendis will join up with Somerset ahead of the start of their Championship campaign at home to Warwickshire on 14 April. Somerset’s director of cricket, Brian Rose, told the club’s website: “We have said we would only bring in a top class performer as a replacement for Kartik if we could get one and feel that Mendis fits into that category so we are absolutely delighted about it.”Kartik was a major success in his first season at the County Ground, taking 78 wickets in total last summer, and the addition of Mendis will boost the county’s hope of claiming their first ever title, having missed out to Nottinghamshire on the last day of the season in 2010.Pollard’s return will be celebrated by Somerset’s fans after his match-winning performances in 2010. He told the club website:”I believe Somerset can win the FP t20 this year and I will be doing my best to make that happen.”Pollard scored a total of 354 runs, took 29 wickets and pulled off a match winning catch in the T20 semi-final victory over Nottinghamshire at the Rose Bowl.He is likely to miss the first half of Somerset’s FPt20 campaign because he will be playing for the West Indies against India in their ODI series.