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ESPNcricinfo’s updates from the 50th match of IPL 2020

Varun Shetty30-Oct-2020

A wonderful century from the former captain lifted Australia from the tatters of 122 for 8 on a dramatic opening day to the Ashes

The Report by Andrew McGlashan01-Aug-2019Steven Smith finished the last Ashes series having scored 687 runs in seven innings so, really, there was little surprise that he began the next contest in similar vein. Except, of course, for everything that has happened since. He marked his return to Test cricket after 16 months with one of his finest hands, lifting Australia from an almost down-and-out 122 for 8 – with considerable help from the tail – to a position from which they could consider themselves ahead of the game, psychologically if nothing else.Having gone to 98 with a six off Moeen Ali then tucking a single, a drive through the covers against Ben Stokes from his 183rd delivery brought up his 24th Test hundred – and it was no ordinary milestone. The emotions came flooding out as he celebrated then tried to compose himself with a few deep breaths and a look to the sky, taking in the applause along with a few remaining and largely foolish-sounding boos.He had been beaten early on by the excellent Stuart Broad – most batsmen would have been – but once he settled there was barely a moment when he did not look in control despite the many problems of his team-mates, although was thankful for the DRS on 34 when he was given lbw playing no shot at Broad. By the end he was flaying England’s bowlers to all corners of (Fortress) Edgbaston including a monstrous, dismissive swing over the leg side off Broad three balls before he finally missed to end one of the great Test innings.Away from the personal landmarks and epic backstory he had turned around Australia’s day in partnership with Peter Siddle, who earned the final place in the XI ahead of Josh Hazlewood, and Nathan Lyon. The last two wickets added 162 with Siddle contributing a superbly constructed 44, in a stand that firstly frustrated England and then began to deflate them, before Smith dominated the last-wicket alliance of 74 in 13 overs with Lyon which left them looking forlorn.While Broad and Chris Woakes had done so much to put England in command, the absence of James Anderson to a recurrence of the calf injury he sustained in the lead-up to the series hurt in the final session. Anderson only managed four overs before leaving the field for the first time and by lunch was already off for a scan. With Stokes below his best, Joe Root suddenly didn’t appear to have many options to turn to. It was probably not Plan A, B, or C to use Joe Denly’s legspin with Australia eight down.Root had not been unhappy to lose the toss and the challenge to Australia’s top order was clear inside the first couple of overs. While Smith’s Test comeback would go on to take the headlines, David Warner’s stay was a bizarre affair. He edged his first ball from Broad down the leg side but it wasn’t spotted by umpire Aleem Dar (the first of a host of errors for the on-field officials) and England didn’t review. Then they did review for an lbw that was going over before Broad won a decision off Dar that was missing leg stump. And that was all before the end of fourth over.Cameron Bancroft, who was handed a nine-month ban compared to the year for Warner and Smith, was worked over by Broad before edging low to first slip and when England successfully reviewed for a thin edge by Usman Khawaja shortly after drinks it was 35 for 3.Travis Head enjoyed a promising first season in the Test side as the post-Newlands rebuilding began and looked in good order as he made the bowlers come to him before working off the pads. However, five overs after lunch, Woakes swung one back to win a leg before and did the same to end Matthew Wade’s first Test innings in two years – although the latter, again, needed recourse to the third umpire.England, and especially Broad, could not believe their luck when Tim Paine pulled a short delivery straight to deep square leg – it wasn’t quite 60 all out or Stokes’ Trent Bridge catch, but the #Broadface made an appearance – and two balls later James Pattinson was given lbw to one which replays showed was sliding down leg. By then it was hard to keep up with what should and shouldn’t have been out.When Pat Cummins offered no shot to a booming Stokes inswinger Australia had lost 5 for 23 in 11 overs and were heading for something very similar to the 136 they were bundled out for in the 2015 Test at this ground. That was the point in the series, level at 1-1, where it swung England’s way with considerable haste. Being skittled out early this time could have opened up some old wounds.Smith hadn’t even reached fifty by this point and when he quietly acknowledged that milestone off 119 balls it seemed like being not much more than a face-saver in the bigger picture. But Siddle, who has averaged over 30 for Essex this season, showed that he has learnt about batting against the moving Dukes ball (Paine will hope the bowling follows tomorrow) having been saved by the DRS before scoring when he was given lbw to Woakes despite a thick inside edge.At times early on he scored more freely than Smith, who was intent on seeing through the innings, and showed some deft placement until he lunged forward at Moeen and inside-edged to short leg. For a few balls it appeared Smith would try to slog his way to a century, but Lyon has a solid technique and did not let his former captain down.The timing of Smith’s dismissal meant two overs for England’s openers to face. With no nightwatchman this time, Rory Burns and Jason Roy got through but Australia were the buoyant side with plenty more plaudits for Smith as he left the field again. There is one indisputably great Test batsman on show in this series. It’s very early days, but he could be the difference.

The former England batsman will be the first non-Indian to speak at the lecture, a decision that has caused a lot of disagreement within the BCCI administration

Sidharth Monga18-May-2018Former England batsman Kevin Pietersen is set to become the first non-Indian cricketer to deliver the BCCI’s annual MAK Pataudi lecture, a decision that has resulted in dissatisfaction among the board’s office bearers.The previous five speakers at the lecture have been former Indian cricketers: Sunil Gavaskar, Anil Kumble, VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid and Farokh Engineer.The BCCI’s acting secretary Amitabh Choudhury criticised Saba Karim, the BCCIs general manager of cricket operations, for the development.”This last email on the trail by GM (Cricket Operations) and expression of happiness on it had left me wondering whether the Memorial Lecture was indeed MAK Pataudi Memorial Lecture or Sir Len Hutton Lecture or for that matter Sir Frank Woolley lecture,” Choudhury wrote.The long discussions – which ESPNcricinfo has seen – between Karim, the BCCI office bearers and the Committee of Administrators, which was appointed by the Supreme Court to oversee the functioning of the board, to choose the speaker had begun on May 10.Karim’s original shortlist of “former Test cricketers of stature who are currently involved as either commentators, coaches or administrators” had four names: Pietersen, Kumar Sangakkara, Sourav Ganguly and Nasser Hussain.The CoA had unanimously picked Sangakkara, but Choudhury expressed reservations over that choice. According to Choudhury, he and Karim had discussions in Bengaluru on the sidelines of the India selection meeting on May 8, when he had suggested the names of former India cricketers Nari Contractor, Chandu Borde, Erapalli Prasanna or Abbas Ali Baig to give the Pataudi lecture.”These cricketers have even the distinction of having played alongside Tiger Pataudi and if any of them agrees it could provide the much needed perspective on how cricket has evolved from those years of challenge,” Choudhury wrote. “As I understand Tiger Memorial Lecture is not an elocution contest and reasonable communication skills are all that we should look for. It is meant to bring to the fore the evolution of the game, what it meant to play for the country in the old days, the hardships of the time, challenges of the future, and the like. If that be the case, certainly once every few years an iconic cricketer of yore should find a place as the keynote speaker in the Memorial Lecture.”Vinod Rai, the chairman of the CoA, said Choudhury’s objection was a “non-issue” and instructed Karim to come back with other suggestions only if Sangakkara was unavailable. On May 14, Karim informed the others that Sangakkara was not available, and that Pietersen had agreed to deliver the lecture.The choice of Pietersen, and the lack of communication during the process, angered Choudhury, who then objected to the whole process: why the shortlist did not have his suggestions, why there was so much preference for non-Indians, why the speaker’s relevance to Pataudi was not explained, and why no authorisation was sought before speaking to Pietersen once Sangakkara was not available.A source in the BCCI, however, said the Pataudi lecture was never meant to be restricted to Indians. “Our endeavour was not to disregard or disrespect anybody but to raise the profile of the lecture,” the official said. “We wanted to get someone who is a global voice, who has a wider appeal, who is a friend of Indian cricket, who has experienced Indian cricket and can talk about it to the rest of the world.”The names given were in order of preference. We couldn’t go for Sourav because the last time his name came up there were objections that he was an administrator, and once Sangakkara was not available, the next logical choice was Pietersen. This is all a case of internal miscommunication, and not an attempt to exclude or disregard anybody.”

Pat Cummins has earned a recall to Test cricket soon after picking eight wickets on his Sheffield Shield return after nearly six years

Daniel Brettig11-Mar-20171:39

‘Lot more consistent now’ – Cummins

Australia’s intent to fight the Border-Gavaskar series to the finish has been made clear by the calculated gamble of selecting Pat Cummins to replace the injured Mitchell Starc for the last two Tests in India.Most of the focus on Cummins has been about ensuring he is fit to be considered for next summer’s home Ashes series, but a head-turning display for New South Wales on his Sheffield Shield return at the SCG this week has encouraged Trevor Hohns’ selection panel to call-up the fast man ahead of that more conservative schedule. Provided he acclimatises quickly he is every chance of being slotted straight into the team for the third Test in Ranchi.Starc had picked up a stress fracture in his right foot during the second Test in Bengaluru, and his exit has opened a path for Cummins to return to the Test squad for the first time since his memorable debut against South Africa in Johannesburg in 2011.That week Cummins bowled with high pace and precision to earn man of the match honours at the age of 18, also striking the winning runs to help the Australians secure a tense, two-wicket victory over the Proteas to level the series. He has returned older and wiser but once more at a juncture of high significance for the national team.Cummins took eight wickets on his return to Sheffield Shield this week, nearly six years after his last first-class appearance in the 2011 Sheffield Shield final. Figures of 4 for 57 and 4 for 47 in the Blues’ eight-wicket win over South Australia helped convince the newly reappointed selection panel that his ability to make an impact with speed and movement made him the ideal substitute for the explosive Starc.0:51

Quic Facts – Cummins back after missing 64 Tests

“In selecting Pat, we were looking for a strike bowling replacement option,” Hohns said. “Pat has impressed in his return to cricket this summer with consistent performances in his ODI, Twenty20 International and Big Bash matches. He has also had a very good Sheffield Shield return for New South Wales, after six years off, where he made a notable Shield best 4-57 in the first innings, before bettering those figures in the second innings with 4-47 in his man-of-the-match performance.”A raft of foot, side and back injuries in the wake of the 2011 Wanderers Test match caused Cricket Australia to take a longer view of Cummins, holding him out of Sheffield Shield and Test cricket while making use of him in the ODI and Twenty20 teams. His only first-class matches between 2011 and this year were for Australia A.Late last year, Australia’s captain Steven Smith was quizzed on whether it was feasible that he could be working with Cummins during the India Tests. While saying such a scenario was “possible”, Smith reserved judgment by saying “he’s obviously got to play some Shield cricket first and see how he goes”. One Shield match, and an unexpected chance to push India all the way on the current tour, have turned possibility into reality.

While Mohammad Shahid and Muktar Ali earned their maiden call-up for the remaining two T20Is, Taskin Ahmed was called-in as a replacement for the injured Mushfiqur Rahim

Mohammad Isam17-Jan-2016Bangladesh have included domestic batting sensation Mosaddek Hossain and pace bowlers Mohammad Shahid and Muktar Ali in their 14-man squad for the third and fourth T20s against Zimbabwe, in Khulna.While Shuvagata Hom, Al-Amin Hossain and Mustafizur Rahman were rested for the last two games, Mushfiqur Rahim was ruled out after picking up a hamstring injury during Sunday’s 42-run win. Taskin Ahmed, the pacer who last played for Bangladesh in June 2015, was named as his replacement.”Mushfiqur has strained his right hamstring while batting,” said Bayjedul Islam Khan, the team physio. “He will undergo a scan in Dhaka tomorrow (Monday). Usually it takes two to three weeks to recover from such injuries. However, we will be able to assess his condition better after receiving the scan report.”Meanwhile, the call-ups are a first for Mosaddek and Muktar in the Bangladesh set-up, while Shahid has also been picked in the T20 squad for the first time; he has already played five Tests for Bangladesh. Shahid and Mosaddek had been training with the Bangladesh team in Khulna since January 9 while Muktar joined a couple of days ago.Mosaddek became a known figure after hitting three double-hundreds in first-class cricket last year. Muktar is a utility all-round cricketer who predominantly bowls medium-pace. Mosaddek, Shahid and Muktar all played in the recently-concluded BPL, with Shahid the most successful performer among the three.The Bangladesh team management has been using the T20 series against Zimbabwe to try out new combinations for the upcoming Asia Cup T20 and World T20, in February and March.Bangladesh squad for the third and fourth T20s: Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Soumya Sarkar, Sabbir Rahman, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah, Arafat Sunny, Nurul Hasan, Mohammad Shahid, Abu Hider, Mosaddek Hossain, Muktar Ali, Taskin Ahmed

ESPNcricinfo presents the preview of the second ODI between Sri Lanka and South Africa in Colombo

The Preview by Andrew Fidel Fernando in Colombo22-Jul-2013

Match facts

Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Start time 1430 local (0900 GMT)AB de Villiers would want a much better South Africa performance•AFP

Big picture

After Saturday’s 180-run opening loss, South Africa captain AB de Villiers said his side would not spend time dissecting their performance, but would instead attempt to forget the match ever happened. With so many of their best players unavailable, perhaps that is not so bad a ploy. If South Africa’s touring party did not seem outmatched in these conditions when they landed, they certainly do now. It will take a great deal of belief and a little luck to overcome an opponent, who has their measure in skill and technical proficiency.The batsmen will reason they simply had a poor outing, and could not make their risks pay off with such a large total to chase, but foremost among the visitors’ woes must be their bowling at the death. The last 12 overs of Sri Lanka’s innings not only cost 137, but the South Africa attack also seemed incapable of adhering to any semblance of a plan. Yorkers were missed, often by a distance, and the fast men reverted to a puzzling Plan B of digging the ball in short, despite Kumar Sangakkara having clobbered plenty to the square-leg boundary throughout his innings.Before the match de Villiers spoke of the potential he saw in Chris Morris and Rory Kleinveldt, but with all his fast bowlers available for the second game, experience may mark the route to success.South Africa’s fielding was also uncharacteristically poor, with a straightforward chance at slip going down early in the innings, before a slew of ground-fielding errors surrendered free runs. Colombo’s sticky heat was blamed for the visitors’ general raggedness, but in 2013, an unfamiliar climate hardly serves as an adequate excuse for top-level sportsmen. South Africa are capable of being the best fielding side in the world on their day, and de Villiers will hope they have adapted to the heat after a week on the island.Sri Lanka are not without their own troubles, and for many spectators, Lahiru Thirimanne’s unease at the crease even as Sangakkara unleashed mayhem at the other end, epitomised the gulf in class between Sri Lanka’s senior players and its youngsters. Thirimanne is batting out of position and lacks the power to perform the finishing role, but he and Dinesh Chandimal must take quickly to the roles they have been assigned, because it is unlikely they will bat in the top order as long as the veterans still take guard.

Form guide

(most recent first, last five completed matches)
Sri Lanka: WLLWW
South Africa: LLTWL

Players to watch

Rangana Herath has not always been a part of Sri Lanka’s limited-overs plans in the last two years, but he struck thrice for 25 runs in the first match and has asserted himself as his team’s best option in ODIs as well as Tests, in the last five months. He has a good record against South Africa, and with Sri Lanka opting for only one frontline slow-bowling option, he needs his spells to be impactful ones.Morne Morkel had been in doubt for the first match, but took two wickets for 32 from ten overs, while his quick-bowling colleagues traveled at almost seven and nine an over. De Villiers bowled Morkel out in the 44th over, but may hold him back for the final melee on Tuesday, and perhaps Morkel can provide some respite at the death for South Africa.

Pitch and conditions

Unseasonal rain continues to douse Colombo, and South Africa’s training session on the eve of the match was interrupted by a downpour. More rain is expected early afternoon on Tuesday, but should clear off in time to allow a match, if only a curtailed one. The pitch is the same strip that saw just under 82 overs on Saturday, and is likely to play slower, particularly as the evening wears on.

Team news

Sri Lanka are unlikely to make any changes, with most of their team having fired. Having not been required with the bat on Saturday, Jehan Mubarak will likely get another game.Sri Lanka (probable): 1. Upul Tharanga, 2. Tillakaratne Dilshan, 3. Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4. Mahela Jayawardene, 5. Lahiru Thirimanne, 6. Dinesh Chandimal (capt), 7. Jehan Mubarak, 8. Thisara Perera, 9. Rangana Herath, 10. Lasith Malinga, 11. Shaminda ErangaHashim Amla has not been fully cleared of neck spasms, but de Villiers was hopeful he would play, while Lonwabo Tsotsobe is said to be fully fit. Chris Morris will likely make way for Tsotsobe, while Colin Ingram may make room atop the order for Amla. Both frontline spinners are also likely to get another game.South Africa (probable): 1. Hashim Amla, 2. Alviro Petersen. 3. JP Duminy, 4. AB de Villiers (capt & wk), 5. Faf du Plessis, 6. David Miller, 7. Robin Peterson, 8. Ryan McLaren, 9. Aaron Phangiso, 10. Morne Morkel, 11. Lonwabo Tsotsobe

Stats and trivia

• Rangana Herath, set to play his 50th ODI, is two short of 50 wickets
• South Africa have now lost their last 10 ODIs against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka – a dry spell that stretches all the way back to 1993
  

  Quotes

  “We’re certainly not the best fielding team in the world yet. I’d like us to be and we’ve got the potential, but it’s frustrating to see us field like we did in the first match. The heat is not an excuse, but it was something new to the guys. In this game they will know what to expect.”
  “I was successful as a captain in the last match , but you can’t judge a captain by just one game. There are more matches to come.”

India captain MS Dhoni has said Irfan Pathan showing signs form during the first ODI against Sri Lanka was a big advantage for his team, and would help lend balance to the XI

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Jul-2012India captain MS Dhoni has said Irfan Pathan showing signs of form during the first ODI against Sri Lanka was a big advantage for his team, and would help lend balance to the XI.”One good positive was Irfan Pathan doing well,” Dhoni said after the match. “Without [Ravindra] Jadeja or Yuvraj [Singh], it is difficult to make the side balanced in both departments, so this was important.”Irfan, whose patchy form with the ball has seen him in and out of the team recently, was a last-minute addition to the squad for the Sri Lanka tour, after Vinay Kumar was ruled out with injury last week. Here, opening the bowling with Zaheer Khan, he got the ball to swing both ways and struck with his second ball, getting rid of Tillakaratne Dilshan lbw. At the end of his first spell, his figures read 6-1-20-1, and India already had a firm grip on the scoring rate.India’s bowling in the end overs, however, Dhoni said, still needed to be better. “It was a good learning experience for the younger bowlers. Zak [Zaheer] was good. [But] The death bowling for us needs to improve.”In the chase of 315, Sri Lanka had come into the final 10 overs needing 112 runs, before centurion Kumar Sangakkara and No. 8 Thisara Perera – with 44 off 28 balls – knocked off quick runs to give Sri Lanka hope. Though Sri Lanka eventually fell 21 short, they had scored just over 100 runs in 11 overs, after being 191 for 6 in 39th.Leaving it too late in the chase, Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene said, was his team’s mistake. “We’ve got some big-hitters at the end, but we left too much for them to do. Too many mistakes, against a quality side like India.”It was important for us to set up a platform and [so] Sanga [Sangakkara] was trying to build an innings. [But] We never had momentum going into the last 10 overs. We’ll try to refocus and come back strong.”Earlier, Dhoni had won a rare toss and, he said, he was pleased to do so since the conditions were against Sri Lanka in the chase. “This was one game where I felt the toss would be crucial,” he said. “In the second innings, there was variable bounce and it was a little difficult to bat on.”

The 2011-12 Ranji Trophy Super League, India’s premier first-class domestic competition, will begin on November 3, the tours, programmes and fixtures committee of the BCCI has announced

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Jun-2011The 2011-12 Ranji Trophy Super League, India’s premier first-class domestic competition, will begin on November 3, the tours, programmes and fixtures committee of the BCCI has announced. The tournament’s league stage will end on December 24, with the knock-out rounds slated between January 2 and 23, 2012. The second-tier of the Ranji Trophy, the Plate division, will run parallel to the Super League, with the winners of the semi-finals qualifying for the knock-out stages of the main event.The Indian domestic season kicks off on September 1, with the Raj Singh Dungapur Trophy for corporates. The eight-day, 50-overs tournament will be played in Vishakhapatnam, Chennai and Bangalore. Reigning Ranji champions Rajasthan will take on Rest of India in the Irani Cup match from October 1 in Jaipur, which will be followed by the one-day Challenger Trophy in Nagpur from October 10.The Duleep Trophy will be on from January 27, followed by the Vijay Hazare Trophy – the inter-state one-day competition – from February 20 to March 12. The zonal one-day competition, the Deodhar Trophy will begin on March 16.The inter-state Twenty20 knock-out competition, the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy scheduled between March 23 and 27, will round-off the season. Qualifiers for the knock-outs will be held in September-October this year.

Ranji Trophy groups:

Super League, Group A: Rajasthan, Karnataka, Mumbai, Railways, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Saurashtra, Orissa
Super League, Group B: Baroda, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Delhi, Gujarat, Bengal, Madhya Pradesh
Plate, Group A: Andhra Pradesh, Services, Kerala, Vidarbha, Himachal Pradesh, Tripura
Plate, Group B: Maharashtra, Goa, Hyderabad, Jharkhand, Assam, Jammu & Kashmir