Smith and West Indies punish England bowlers in U19 Test

The West Indian U19 side had taken control of the Second U19 Test at Trent Bridge by stumps on the first day.Devon Smith, a 19-year-old left-hander from Grenada, was the chief destroyer of the England bowling attack with an innings of 169 as he helped his side to a mammoth 400-6 in 109 overs.It was a chastening day for the England team, who saw captain Joe Sayers’ decision to inset the West Indies on winning the toss backfire dramatically.Smith and opening partner Brenton Parchment started as if playing a one-day game, reaching 87 in just the 15th over. But Parchment fell, caught at mid on by McGarry, in attempting to hit a fourth successive boundary of the off-spin of James Tredwell.McGarry then dropped Smith on 79; a chance that was too cost England dear. Smith was joined by Vishal Arjune to add 147 for the second wickets as all of England’s six bowlers were punished.Smith has clearly taking a liking to English conditions. This was his sixth score of 50 or more in six knocks against England. He shrugged off being struck on the hand in the opening moments of the day as he struck 27 fours and two sixes in his 245-ball stay.But England did claw back some ground in the second half of the day. Arjune drove to cover, Browne never settled, and fatigue finally got the better of Smith as he snicked Bilal Shafayat to Pope behind the wicket.Baugh and Deonarine also fell before the close, but England will have to produce a fighting performance if they are not to be 2-0 down at the end of this game.

Surrey promoted with Batty hat-trick

Surrey 560 (Ansari 106, Burns 92, Burke 79, Wilson 72, Durston 6-113) beat Derbyshire 313 (Hughes 96, T Curran 5-71, Ansari 4-61) and 149 (Madsen 76, Durston 57, Batty 6-51) by an innings and 98 runs
ScorecardGareth Batty sealed Surrey’s promotion in grand manner•Getty Images

Gareth Batty took a hat-trick and 6 for 51 overall as Surrey clinched promotion from LV= County Championship Division Two by beating Derbyshire by an innings and 98 runs at the Kia Oval.Batty, the 37-year-old Surrey captain, finished the game in style by dismissing Tony Palladino, Mark Footitt and No. 11 Ben Cotton with the second, third and fourth balls of his 17th over.Palladino was caught at the wicket for 2 and then bowled both Footitt and Cotton, who became the fifth Derbyshire batsman to be out for a duck as they were bowled out for 149 in the second innings.”That’s my first hat-trick in first-class cricket,” Batty said. “My only other one came for Yorkshire Under 11s against Lancashire Under 11s at Woodhouse Grange School back in the late 1980s. I think Freddie Flintoff may have been one of my hat-trick victims that day – he was certainly one of my seven wickets! It’s difficult to remember, it’s a very long time ago.””Of course it’s a nice thing for me, and a great moment, but the hat-trick is really irrelevant because it’s winning this match and getting promotion to Division One that matters. To have won this game of cricket and got the points is what’s important. It was a must-win game for us, we felt, and I thought we played some magnificent cricket as a team to win it.”Sam and Tom Curran began Derbyshire’s slide by each taking a wicket with the new ball as openers Billy Godleman and Ben Slater both fell for ducks.And Derbyshire, who began their second innings at the start of the final day after Surrey had totalled 560 in reply to their first innings 313, were in some disarray at 9 for 3 when Tom Curran’s quick thinking ran out Chesney Hughes for 5 in the eighth over.Wayne Madsen, the Derbyshire captain, made a battling 76 not out from 154 balls, with 11 fours, and was joined in a fourth wicket stand of 86 in 26 overs by Wes Durston, who also impressed with a determined 57 from 78 balls, but that was Surrey’s only lengthy hold-up as they completed a 23-point eighth victory of the season by 2.40pm.Batty removed both Durston, leg-before, and Harvey Hosein, caught at short leg for a third-ball duck, in the fourth over after lunch and, four overs later, he reduced Derbyshire to 107 for 6 by having Tom Milnes also taken off bat and pad by Rory Burns at short leg for 3.First to go for Derbyshire was Godleman, who nibbled at a perfectly-pitched outswinger from Sam Curran to edge through to Ben Foakes, keeping in place of Gary Wilson who was nursing a neck muscle strain.In the next over, still without a run on the board, Slater was leg-before to Tom Curran for an 11-ball duck and, in the eighth over, Hughes’s needless run out left Derbyshire rocking.Madsen straight drove a ball from Sam Curran and his brother Tom intercepted it from mid-on and, seeing Hughes failing to respond immediately to his partner’s call, threw to the striker’s end for Foakes to complete the run out with the batsman still yards from safety.An on-driven four by Madsen off Tom Curran, and another boundary punched between mid-on and midwicket later in the over, settled Derbyshire though, and he and Durston went on to build a determined fourth-wicket stand.At 78 for 3 at lunch, from 30 overs, Derbyshire seemed to have weathered their early storm and looked capable of holding out for a draw despite their 247-run first innings deficit.Batty’s swift intervention after the interval, however, soon settled matters on a fourth-day pitch encouraging the veteran offspinner and the slow left-arm of Zafar Ansari, who broke a stubborn seventh-wicket stand between Madsen and Matt Critchley of 37 in 17 overs by having the latter leg-before for 5.”James Burke, the two Currans and Zafar Ansari all made significant contributions as young players who, I believe, will be interesting the England selectors,” Batty said. “They are also players who can adapt to the needs of the team, which is what we’re about.”Zafar, for instance, is developing into a very fine all-round cricketer and he’s the best under-25 spinner in the country in my opinion. He should definitely go to UAE in the Test squad as back-up for Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid. But our success this season has not been about individuals. It’s been a squad effort, and that’s what you need these days.”

Suman and Shashank Nag put Hyderabad in drivers seat

A massive 305 run first wicket partnership between T Suman (169) and PShashank Nag (141) put Hyderabad in a formidable position on the firstday of their Cooch Behar Trophy South Zone League match against Keralaat the Gymkhana Ground on Sunday. The stand helped Hyderabad to ascore of 345 for 3 at close of play.Winning the toss the Kerala skipper M Vipin Lal put Hyderabad into batbut he was in for a shocker as the Hyderabad openers took hold of theproceedings. Both Suman and Shashank Nag were unstoppable right fromthe start and brought up the 100 before the lunch interval. Suman, whoscored his third century of the tournament, was more severe on theKerala attack while plundering 20 boundaries during his 310 minutestay at the crease.The post Lunch session saw the two going from strength to strength andbefore long took the team score past the 200 run mark. The Keralaskipper was probably bereft of ideas and tried all his might to breakthe partnership. The spinners especially bore the brunt of the openersbats so much so that Aneesh Kumar and Sooraj went for 185 runs betweenthemselves. Shashank Nag was not far behind and matched his partner inpacing his innings. During his 348 ball stay he managed to find theropes 8 times while clearing it on five occations.Kerala bowlers found their first success in the form of Suman only inthe post Tea session when he was caught at deep extra cover by sujitoff Sooraj in the 77th over of the innings. His partner Shashank Nagdeparted seven balls later, being caught at deep mid wicket by Soorajof Aneesh. The new bat Arjan Yadav offered a return catch to Aneesh inthe 88th over. AT Rayudu (15) and Ibrahim Khaleel (6) safelynegociated the end overs and made sure of no further casualities forHyderabad.

Opportunity lost as Strang takes over

Nathan Astle’s ‘dismissal’ said it all about New Zealand’s first innings on day three in the first Test against Zimbabwe at Bulawayo.All the signs before the Test were of a confident batting unit looking to impose itself on its opposition, not only in Zimbabwe but through the rest of a summer in which it will face South Africa, Zimbabwe again, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.But the old cliches, about ‘best laid plans’ and all that, can still be undone in cricket by what former Kiwi batting great Glenn Turner used to describe as “outside influences”, or those factors over which the player has no control.In Astle’s instance it was a judgement by umpire Russell Tiffin of his being caught behind by Andy Flower from Paul Strang’s second ball after the dismissal of Kiwi captain Stephen Fleming.From a position of developing strength, the Black Caps were facing their executioner, a short, back-from-injury leg-spinner in the shape of Paul Strang.As a distraught Astle stood at the crease coming to terms with his fate he could possibly have been thinking that the sooner video technology was employed in decision-making the better for all concerned. He might also have been thinking what a jolly fine bowler Strang was, and still is.But it can be safely assumed that Mr Tiffin would be wasting his time if he ventured to his letter box on a daily basis expecting a Christmas card from Astle.Strang did exploit a tentativeness among the New Zealanders in their handling of his variations, particularly his googly. His recovery from a wrist injury will no doubt be welcomed by Zimbabwe which needs him as a foil to pace man Heath Streak and an example to what is clearly an impressive group of developing bowlers.His six wicket haul was just reward for the indecision he created among all who faced him. He clearly has a lot more influence to cast before this Test, and series, is finished.Just which way the Test now heads could depend on what sort of mood Chris Cairns wakes in this morning. If he’s at his most competitive, and can get full support from Adam Parore and Daniel Vettori, there will be a lot of batting left in the New Zealand innings.However, if Zimbabwe is able to get a breakthrough and a comfortable lead, then there could yet be some fascinating last day activity. Though to give themselves a chance of setting New Zealand a big enough target, the Zimbabwe batsmen will have to bat at a much faster clip which means taking more risks.And for the Kiwis there is the need to come to grips with Strang’s leg-spin, before the second Test and the One-Day Internationals coming up.

Bishoo recalled for first England Test

Legspinner Devendra Bishoo has made a comeback to the West Indies squad for the first Test against England starting in Antigua from April 13. Shai Hope, a 21-year old uncapped wicketkeeper-batsman, and fast bowler Carlos Brathwaite have also been picked in the 14-man squad. Bishoo, 29, played the last of his 11 Tests in April 2012. Brathwaite has appeared in four ODIs and two T20Is but is yet to play a Test.Clive Lloyd, the convenor of selectors, said that it was always good to have strong competition for places. “A few players have been rewarded for the work which they have done, like Shai Hope, Carlos Brathwaite and Devendra Bishoo, but it will take some time to reach the standard of consistency that we all desire to see from our side,” Lloyd said.West Indies squad: Denesh Ramdin (capt), Kraigg Brathwaite (vice-capt), Sulieman Benn, Devendra Bishoo, Jermaine Blackwood, Carlos Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Jason Holder, Shai Hope, Kemar Roach, Marlon Samuels, Devon Smith, Jerome Taylor

RR, KKR face off in must-win encounter

Match facts

Saturday, May 16, 2015
Start time 2000 local (1430 GMT)3:06

O’Brien: KKR need to look for consistency in away games

Big Picture

Rajasthan Royals must be feeling an uneasy sense of déjà vu. They began the season with five wins in five games but like last year, when they appeared to be cruising to the playoffs, they have lost steam midway. Royals find themselves needing to win their last game, and yet that might not be enough.That there has also been a change in captaincy, with Shane Watson stepping down ahead of the Chennai Super Kings encounter, has added another interesting dimension. But, with Steven Smith having stood in for Watson in the opening stages of the tournament, his elevation might not be an earth-shattering development.Knight Riders, on the other hand, would be inclined to look back ruefully at their five-run loss to Mumbai Indians on Thursday, but will have little emotional bandwidth to do so. They know that a win would get them into the playoffs, but a defeat would leave them pinning their hopes on other results.Both the matches played at the Brabourne Stadium thus far have been high-scoring affairs and this one isn’t likely to be any different. It could well be a contest between Royals’ batsmen and Knight Riders’ spinners, who have contributed 35 wickets in the tournament.

Form guide

Rajasthan Royals LLWLL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Kolkata Knight Riders LWWWL

Watch out for…

Chris Morris has been a worthy investment for Royals, and he has contributed with both bat and ball. Besides being their second-highest wicket-taker, he has also been the most economical of Royals’ bowlers. He has also scored 72 from five innings with a strike-rate of 189.47 without being dismissed once. By playing him too low down the order, Royals have perhaps not completely exploited his batting potential. A promotion in a crunch game might not be a bad idea.Yusuf Pathan has been a revelation in this year’s IPL, having shed his one-dimensional slogging in favour of a more balanced approach. He showed maturity in taking Knight Riders to the brink of victory against Mumbai, but his dismissal in the last over changed the course of the match. Marrying sangfroid with his characteristic big-hitting, Pathan could well be both the middle-order marshall as well as the finisher.

Stats and trivia

  • Robin Uthappa (11) is third on the list of most dismissals behind the stumps in this IPL. Wriddhiman Saha (13) and Dinesh Karthik (12) occupy the top-two positions
  • Ajinkya Rahane (4) is joint-second with Lendl Simmons and Shreyas Iyer, behind only David Warner (6) for the most number of 50-plus scores made in IPL 2015

Quotes

“Gautam Gambhir is one of the best captains in the IPL. He always goes for wickets and not containing the batsmen. Even in the 15th or 16th over if there is a new batsman at the crease, he will have a short-leg and slip.””I doff my hat off to Watto for giving up the captaincy and taking more responsibility for his batting. It was a responsible thing to do. We all appreciate it as team men and move on.”

Barrow plays down recalling James Taylor after drop

ScorecardAlex Barrow did not think admitting to a dropped catch should be made a big deal•Getty Images

Somerset enjoyed the better of the exchanges on a rain-shortened second day of their LV= County Championship match against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge.The visitors picked up six wickets in the 44 overs of play that were possible, reducing the home county to 195 for 8, still 117 runs adrift.Heavy overnight and morning rain prevented any play before 3.25pm but under improving skies, and with a drying breeze, the home side resumed their first innings from 57 for 2, with Brendan Taylor and James Taylor at the crease together.Lewis Gregory soon parted them, earning his side a first bowling point as he trapped Brendan Taylor in his crease for 22, the third lbw decision of the innings. Riki Wessels only made 8 before nicking an away-swinger from Jim Allenby into the clutches of Marcus Trescothick at second slip.The situation might have been even worse for Nottinghamshire but for a great show of sportsmanship from Alex Barrow, Somerset’s wicketkeeper, who dived to gather a leg side nick from James Taylor from the bowling of Tim Groenewald.Umpire Tim Robinson, at the bowler’s end, raised the finger as Somerset appealed loudly but after a period of consultation it appeared that Barrow acknowledged that he hadn’t taken it cleanly and the batsman was allowed to remain.A round of applause broke out for Barrow’s actions but Taylor couldn’t capitalise, bowled shortly afterwards by Groenewald for 45.”I don’t think it’s anything to be talking to the media about. If you don’t think it’s out, you don’t think it’s out and that’s that,” Barrow said. “It’s nothing to write home about. I don’t think you should cheat and I find it weird that I’m applauded for it – if it’s not out, it’s not out”Taylor said: “I hit the ball and was caught down the leg side and fortunately the keeper dropped it, although the umpire thought he’d caught it. It was very good from the keeper – he acknowledged what he’d done. I thought he’d caught, so I was on the walk off but he was honest enough to say he’d dropped it, which was good of him.”Craig Overton followed up his first day heroics with the bat, where he scored 55 from 31 deliveries, by taking the final three wickets of the day.The big fast bowler showed remarkable athleticism to cling on to sharp caught and bowled offerings to send back both Chris Read and Luke Wood. In between, he uprooted Vernon Philander’s middle stump to walk off with figures of 3 for 27 to his credit.Samit Patel survived until the close, with 35 to his name, with Nottinghamshire still five runs short of securing their first batting point.

Zimbabwe Cricket Online volume 4, issue 11, 22 November 2002

Again, with Test cricket in Bulawayo when I was offline due to a freak fault in my laptop (still not resolved by the manufacturers), I have been unable to devote much time to Zimbabwean cricket outside that match. We do have, though, a review of the Inaugural Test match, Zimbabwe v India, ten years ago back in 1992, as remembered by the players and officials who were concerned with it. Sad to say, Zimbabwe’s cricket in that match was much more disciplined and successful than it is today.CONTENTS

  • Zimbabwe v Pakistan, at Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo – Scorecard | Report
  • Zimbabwe v Pakistan, Test Records
  • Test series review and one-day preview
  • Inaugural Test review, Zimbabwe v India, 1992/93 Report
  • Letters

Canterbury still on the lookout for secondary ground

Canterbury Cricket is still on the lookout for the most suitable venue for its secondary venue for first-class matches.While Jade Stadium was still extremely important to Canterbury Cricket, and always would be, according to Canterbury Cricket Association chairman David Shackleton, a permanent secondary ground was necessary.That ground was not going to be the Village Green at QEII Park. While agreement has been reached with the Christchurch City Council over the provision of a permanent building at the Village Green, the Association was looking for another facility, including possibly somewhere at Hagley Park.”This will be given a great deal of focus over the next few months,” Shackleton said.While it had been disappointing not to reverse the trend of financial losses suffered by the Association over recent years, the fact that the meeting was being held at the new indoor facility and offices was a significant triumph for the Association and a landmark in its development.With all the issues that were facing the Association it had been fortunate to hold the loss to what it was at $54,231, he said.The Association was budgeting to breakeven next year but even if that was achieved it was still not good enough.Shackleton said the issue of finances of the Associations had been discussed after last weekend’s annual general meeting of New Zealand Cricket (NZC) and there had been a good deal of debate. NZC were concerned about the situation for the Associations and Shackleton said they would be holding a review once the World Cup had been completed next year.It was hoped that some of the share of income from the World Cup would be used to assist the Associations in stabilising their costs.Club delegate Peter Crowhen raised concerns over the Association’s cashflow situation and board member Steve Riddell said cashflow was a key issue for the board and the fact the new facility was up and running was one of the contributing factors to the cashflow, but a number of decisions made by the board had been with a view to the next four or five years.In the vote for two board positions resulting from Trevor Luke facing re-election by rotation and Anne Urlwin standing down, Luke was returned along with Mike Satterthwaite from Canterbury Country.Former New Zealand Cricket Council member Brian Adams was elected president after Brian Hastings completed his four year term of office.Riccarton Cricket Club delegate Tim Murdoch raised a constitutional point in general business when suggesting the constitution was at fault in not requiring the Association’s board selection panel to meet and interview potential board members before nominations were received.It was a weakness in the system of appointment and did not assist delegates to the annual meeting in making their selection.

Punjab look to maintain momentum

Match facts

Friday, May 23, 2008
Start time 20.00 (local), 14.30 (GMT)

Luke Pomersbach, an Australian Twenty20 specialist, has strengthened Punjab’s batting line-up (file photo) © Getty Images
 

The Big Picture

With Kolkata Knight Riders’ match against the Delhi Daredevils washed out, Kings XI Punjab find themselves in the semi-finals and now play for rankings in the top four. Their one-run win against the Mumbai Indians on Wednesday would have boosted them and they will be eager to maintain their winning momentum against the bottom-placed Deccan Chargers at home, where they have lost only one match – their first – so far.One can’t, however, write off Deccan, who will take heart from the manner in which the Bangalore Royal Challengers – similarly out of knockout contention – beat a complacent Chennai Super Kings on Wednesday. Deccan can only salvage some pride and avoid ending the tournament in last place.The last time the two sides met, in Hyderabad, Punjab beat Deccan by seven wickets on the back of Shaun Marsh’s unbeaten half-century. Though they have missed Kumar Sangakkara for five matches now, Punjab have found an able replacement in Luke Pomersbach, an Australian Twenty20 specialist.

Tournament position

Kings XI Punjab: P11, W8, L3, NRR +0.436
Deccan Chargers: P11, W2, L9, NRR -0.463

Form (last five matches, most recent first)

Kings XI Punjab: WWWLW
Deccan Chargers: LLLLW

Watch out for …

  • Marsh’s attacking strokeplay. He is currently the third highest run-getter in the tournament, just seven runs behind Virender Sehwag.
  • Sreesanth’s new-ball spell against Adam Gilchrist. In this year’s CB Series, Sreesanth dismissed Gilchrist three times in five matches – all for scores less than 20.
  • RP Singh’s race with Sreesanth for the purple cap. While both have 15 wickets each from 11 games, Sreesanth’s economy-rate is lower by a margin of 0.36.

    Team news

    Despite missing Sangakkara, Punjab have no worries over their batting. In their last four wins, they haven’t used more than six batsmen to set or chase a target. However, with a semi-final spot sealed, Punjab may experiment with their batting order, giving Pankaj Dharmani a game over Uday Kaul. But their bowling needs some attention – Sreesanth and Irfan Pathan conceded 34 runs in the first two overs against Mumbai. VRV Singh, who bowled the see-saw final over in that game, went wicketless and for 14 an over. Punjab may think of bringing back medium-pacer Gagandeep Singh for batsman Tanmay Srivastava.Kings XI Punjab (probable): 1 Shaun Marsh, 2 James Hopes, 3 Luke Pomersbach, 4 Yuvraj Singh (capt), 5 Mahela Jayawardene 6 Irfan Pathan, 7 Pankaj Dharmani (wk), 8 Gagandeep Singh, 9 Piyush Chawla, 10 Sreesanth, 11 VRV Singh.It’s been more than two weeks since Deccan won a game but in the Twenty20 format an over can turn the match on its head. Gilchrist and Venugopal Rao are their only batsmen to have fired with some consistency but since they have nothing to lose, Deccan may continue to give chances to their younger players. Herschelle Gibbs, dropped for the previous game against Mumbai for Orissa’s 21-year old wicketkeeper Halhadar Das, may find himself excluded yet again. After conceding 37 runs in three overs against Mumbai, Nuwan Zoysa may also be dropped in favour of medium-pacer Sarvesh Kumar.Deccan Chargers (probable): 1 Adam Gilchrist (capt & wk), 2 Shahid Afridi, 3 Rohit Sharma, 4 Chamara Silva, 5 Venugopal Rao, 6 D Ravi Teja, 7 Sarvesh Kumar, 8 Halhadhar Das, 9 RP Singh, 10 Pragyan Ojha, 11 D Vijaykumar.

    Stats and trivia

  • Adam Gilchrist has aggregated 163 in two innings in the matches Deccan have won and 172 in eight innings in matches they’ve lost.
  • In Punjab’s innings, against Mumbai on Wednesday, the right-handers’ contribution to the total of 189 was one run.

    Quotes

    “We have been outplayed in big areas though a number of games have been quite close. But close enough is not good enough.”
    .”The … problem in Twenty20 is that it is quite tough to grip the ball in the initial overs. The ball doesn’t lose its shine and that is a problem.”
    .”He [Chawla] has been bowling well whenever I have thrown ball to him. Eight out of 10 times he has performed.”
    Meanwhile Yuvraj Singh, the Punjab captain, is happy with his young charge.