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A round-up of the Dhaka Premier Division matches played on December 27, 2014

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Dec-2014Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club picked up their second win in the Super League phase, beating Prime Bank Cricket Club by seven wickets in Mirpur. The defeat left the top two positions unchanged, with Prime Bank tied on 20 points with Abahani but below the count in head-to-head.A foggy morning reduced the game to 38 overs a side and after being put in to bat, Prime Bank were reduced to 64 for 5 in the 18th over. Taibur Rahman and Shuvagata Hom added 60 runs for the sixth wicket before Delwar Hossain cleaned up the lower order to finish with figures of 5 for 26 in seven overs. Elias Sunny took three wickets while the other two went to Habibur Rahman as Prime Bank were bowled out for 153 in 35.4 overs.Rony Talukdar provided Doleshwar with yet another good start, adding 46 for the first wicket with Mehedi Maruf and 60 for the third wicket with Mushfiqur Rahim. Talukdar made 77 off 60 balls with seven fours and four sixes. Doleshwar won with nearly ten overs to spare.In Fatullah the weather was similar, and allowed only 40 overs a side. Legends of Rupganj didn’t mind the delay as they stopped Abahani’s juggernaut with a 76-run win.Batting first, Rupganj built their 221 in 39.5 overs around Jahurul Islam’s 93. He added 68 for the second wicket with Junaid Siddique, who made 42. Jahurul continued to bat positively, hitting three fours and four sixes in his 108-ball innings, and was sixth out in the 37th over with the score nearing the 200-run mark.Abahani’s Subashis Roy took his second successive four-wicket haul while Mustafizur Rahman took three wickets. Left-arm spinner Nazmul Islam hurt his right hand while fielding off his own bowling and only bowled three overs. The team management revealed the injury would keep Nazmul out of action for two weeks.Rupganj also had to defend the total without Abul Hasan, who was hit on the box by Subashis in the 37th over. He didn’t come out to bowl but Shakib Al Hasan took two wickets with the new ball and set Abahani back in the chase.Raqibul Hasan made 45 while Ziaur Rahman blasted three sixes in his 36-ball 38 but it proved inadequate as Shakib and Rubel Hossain finished with three wickets each and Mosharraf Hossain picked up two. Still, Abahani remained on top of the points table.Courtesy of Nabil Samad’s four-wicket haul, Kalabagan Cricket Academy picked up their first win of the Super League phase, beating Mohammedan Sporting Club by 63 runs.KCA were bowled out for 200 in 43.4 overs with opener Imtiaz Hossain top-scoring with 56. Rahatul Ferdous and Naeem Islam took three wickets each while the Afghanistan legspinner Rahmat Shah picked up two wickets. Mashrafe Mortaza didn’t bowl at all, even though he fielded through the KCA innings and came out to bat at No. 7 during Mohammedan’s chase.Mohammedan made a slow start to their 201-run chase, their openers scoring just 10 runs in 8.5 overs. They were stifled by offspinner Mahmudul Hasan and left-arm spinner Nabil. Mahmudul took three wickets while Nabil picked up four for 10 in nine overs. Naeem made 56 off 80 balls but none of the other batsmen made even 20.

MS Dhoni said that he didn’t think of the results when he pressed charges against James Anderson

Sidharth Monga at Old Trafford06-Aug-2014Judicial commissioner Gordon Lewis’ verdict, and the ICC’s response to it, have made it quite clear that India didn’t have the evidence to get James Anderson successfully charged under Level 3 of the ICC Code of Conduct, but MS Dhoni – the man instrumental in driving the proceedings – has said he has no regrets about what has transpired. By all accounts, he went against the grain of the law and also pacifying efforts made by the BCCI, ECB and ICC, but had to make do with what many think was an embarrassing result for the Indian team. Dhoni said that he didn’t think of the results when he pressed those charges.”I did something that was right and I stand for what’s right and what’s wrong,” Dhoni said. “If something wrong is happening, I will go against it, irrespective of who is doing it. If one of my players gets fined and if he has not crossed the line I will definitely go and defend him. If he has crosses that line I won’t come with him, and he will have to face the consequences alone.”Dhoni conceded the evidence was not satisfactory and that it was time to move on, but a positive side-effect of the whole episode has been that the amount of inane and personal abuse that goes on cricket fields has become public. Dhoni made it clear that his main problem was physical contact in this case, but said cricket needed to sort the problem of abuse out. It has been mentioned in the lead-up to the Test that this is not a children’s field and that in Test cricket you have to become tough. Dhoni wasn’t entirely of the view that being tough equates to having to go through abuse.”There are quite a few tournaments where we talk about the spirit of the game, but it is up to each individual to respect that and keep moving forward,” Dhoni said. “A lot of time we need to think what really is spirit of the game, and it’s very easy. One of our coaches says that whatever you don’t want your children to watch on TV and follow it, that is against spirit of the game. Spirit of cricket is not about just the guidelines provided.”The world has changed, and a lot of emphasis is put on winning games. It is called killer instinct but it has been misinterpreted a lot. Because at the same time we need to realise about MCC guidelines and spirit of game. At times officials are quite generous to individuals when they feel that in the heat of the moment someone has said something. They go ahead because it is a one-off. The kind of competition and pressure that we face today, an individual may neglect it to some extent. But if someone is consistent with his abuse he should be punished. Doesn’t matter who he is. Once the umpire goes and tells him we have had enough, foul language should not be used. That’s the point where if the individual doesn’t curb himself, he needs to be punished. But the way cricket is played it’s constantly on the move. We have to monitor it constantly but at the same time it’s important that we play strong cricket.”Dhoni again put the emphasis on the umpires to make sure it doesn’t get messy. “Strong characters are needed in the game,” Dhoni said. “And it doesn’t matter whether he is him [Anderson] or any other player in any other side, it can be someone from my side. What needs to be done is for umpires to step in when the individual crosses the line. What matters is that they stay within the guidelines and that’s important for the game and the spectators.”Dhoni did point out that David Boon’s Level 1 sanction of Ravindra Jadeja didn’t quite go well with the side. “That’s very interesting,” Dhoni said. “Good thing that came out was that Jadeja was fined and as I said there is not even 1% mistake committed from his side. So that’s good for us. After that it becomes all about evidence and it’s really interesting what David Boon found out on the basis of which he fined 50% of his match fee.”One desired effect of the appeal has been the series has been played in pretty decent spirit after that first Test. When asked if England needed to control Anderson’s behaviour, Dhoni said: “No need to control Anderson really. Vast difference between the way he played the first Test and the last couple of Test matches. He only needs to be controlled if something wrong is happening. You don’t want everyone to be that one kind of thing because individuals bring character to the side. It’s because of the 18-19 players that character of the side is made. Everybody is different in their own way. But there are certain guidelines (which) need to be followed and as long as they are following that it is okay.”Dhoni was gracious enough to put aside the incident when asked about Anderson the bowler, who is primed to become England’s most successful bowler in Tests. “Terrific bowler,” Dhoni said. “What is good about him is that how he comes up and confuses batsmen and gets his wicket. When we came here on the 2007 tour, he was working on his inswinger and didn’t have much control on it. But now if you see, he is a different bowler and uses inswinger as his strength. So overall he is a terrific bowler, and from crowd’s perspective this is the kind of bowler you want to see because he keeps on working out the batsmen and bowling aggressively.”

Australia’s captain Michael Clarke will face a race against time to prove his fitness for the series against Pakistan in the UAE after scans confirmed an injury to his left hamstring

Brydon Coverdale03-Sep-20141:47

Coverdale: Clarke needs to think about ODIs after World Cup

Australia’s captain Michael Clarke will face a race against time to prove his fitness for the series against Pakistan in the UAE after scans confirmed an injury to his left hamstring.Clarke arrived back in Sydney on Tuesday after leaving the Zimbabwe tri-series early and he now faces an intensive rehabilitation programme with the first ODI against Pakistan in Sharjah less than five weeks away.”Michael Clarke had an MRI scan on returning from Zimbabwe that has confirmed a left hamstring muscle injury,” Alex Kountouris, the Cricket Australia physio, said. “He will have intensive rehabilitation for this injury and we will be monitoring his progress over the next week before deciding when he can return to training and playing.”Clarke suffered the injury at Australia’s first training session after arriving in Zimbabwe and missed the first two matches. He was passed fit to play the third game against Zimbabwe but aggravated the injury during his innings of 68 not out.Although Clarke remained off the field at the start of Zimbabwe’s chase, he returned to take charge as Zimbabwe progressed and he even bowled an over in what became Australia’s first ODI loss to Zimbabwe in 31 years.It is unclear whether the injury worsened as a result of his fielding or bowling, but having returned home he must now turn his attention solely to regaining fitness for the UAE tour. Australia play three ODIs against Pakistan before the first Test in Dubai, which begins on October 22.

Vithal Patil, former Mumbai fast bowler, and a stalwart at the Dadar Union Sporting Club, passed away in Mumbai due to old age. Patil was 86

Nagraj Gollapudi10-Jun-2014Vithal Patil, former Mumbai fast bowler, and a stalwart at the Dadar Union Sporting Club, passed away in Mumbai due to old age. Patil was 86.Despite getting only two matches for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy Patil gained eminence in the once prestigious HD Kanga League club tournament, which used to be played in the monsoons. Patil, who would be nicknamed “Marshall”, joined Dadar Union in 1952 and continued to play even at the ripe age of 59 till he retired in 1984. During that span he picked 759 wickets, a record that stands till today.Dilip Vengsarkar, former Mumbai and India batsman and captain, met Patil for the first time as a 12-year-old. Patil was a coach for King George High School and mentored Vengsarkar from the Giles Shield school tournament onwards and later at Dadar Union. “He was a very punctual, disciplined, dedicated man,” Vengsarkar said. “He used to be there at 6.45 am sharp when the training was scheduled for 7 am. He would bowl tirelessly for hours in the nets. The one good thing about him was he would never interfere with the natural technique of a player,” Vengsarkar said.Loyalty, Vengsarkar pointed out, was something Patil valued above everything else. “He took serious pride in playing for Dadar Union. He was always concerned about the club and its players’ form. He paid attention to every minor detail even after he retired,” Vengsarkar said.Vasu Paranjpe, former Dadar Union captain and Mumbai batsman, met Patil only recently when the pair visited former India Test cricketer Madhav Mantri’s funeral. Incidentally Mantri, who also played for Dadar Union, was Patil’s mentor. Paranaje was Patil’s captain at Dadar Union and the duo shared a 30-year-old long relationship from the mid-1950s till 1984 when Patil retired. “He was an excellent team man and probably finest new ball bowler I saw in club cricket,” Paranjpe said.Patil was about 5’9″ tall but never strived for pace. “He had nothing to do with pace. He had everything to do with craft,” Paranjpe said of Patil’s strengths as a fast bowler. From beginning till the end Patil always was fascinated and keen to bowl with the new cherry. “My only question to him was which end, Marshall? He would respond saying ‘Any, but give me the new one'”, Paranjpe said.What stood out for Vengsarkar was Patil’s relentless thirst to bowl. “He and Urmikant Modi would bowl 25 overs each since there were no restrictions on bowlers. Little wonder he remains still the highest wicket-taker in Kanga League still,” Vengsarkar said.In addition to his cricketing discipline, both Vengsarkar and Paranjpe pointed out Patil paid a lot of attention to his appearance. “He always used to wear spotless cream shirts and trousers, shoes polished. I never saw him in a shabby attire,” Vengsarkar said. Paranjpe echoed that sentiment: “He was the most immaculately dressed cricketer I ever saw in my life.”For Vengsarkar commitment, dedication and discipline is something every player and administrator could learn from Patil.

VS Patil's words that will always ring in my ears. "It remains to be seen how he bowls with the old ball" RIP Sir

— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) June 10, 2014

The end of another era,V.S.Patil Rest in peace,my coach

— shishir hattangadi (@shishhattangadi) June 10, 2014

Bob Carter, New Zealand’s assistant coach, will leave his role with the national side to take up the position of high-performance coach

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Apr-2014Bob Carter, New Zealand’s assistant coach, will leave his role with the national side to take up the position of high-performance coach.Carter will be responsible for developing the New Zealand Under-19s and A team sides, and will also coach New Zealand A on their tour to England in July.Carter was appointed assistant coach to Mike Hesson in August 2012 and worked primarily with the side’s batsmen. He had also worked under John Bracewell in the same role for four years until 2008.”Over the past twenty months I have enjoyed working with the players and support staff to mould a Black Caps side which is capable of beating the top teams in world cricket. The team can move forward with confidence towards the ICC 2015 World Cup,” said Carter. “I am very excited to take up this new position and look forward to helping the next group of players make the right preparation for the jump to international cricket.”Carter, 52, is a former first-class cricketer who played for Northamptonshire and then moved to New Zealand in the early 1980s to play for Canterbury. He coached Northamptonshire in the late 1990s and took charge of Canterbury in 2008, steering them to the Plunket Shield title in 2010-11.New Zealand Cricket will advertise for an assistant coach to travel with the team on the West Indies tour, which begins on May 29.

Scotland and UAE will play Saturday’s World Cup Qualifier final, with a higher seeding and a far less demanding schedule in next year’s tournament at stake

The Preview by Peter Della Penna31-Jan-2014Match factsSaturday, February 1, 2014
Bert Sutcliffe Oval, Lincoln (10:30 local, 21:30 GMT Friday, January 31)Big PictureThe hardest part of the World Cup Qualifier may be over for Scotland and UAE but both sides still have something to play for heading into Saturday’s tournament final at the Bert Sutcliffe Oval. Both teams managed to navigate their way through the Super Sixes to finish in the top two spots and in the process, secured qualification to the 2015 World Cup. Saturday’s final will determine the teams’ seeding for the main event next year in Australia and New Zealand.The winner will join Afghanistan in Group A along with Australia, New Zealand, England, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, while the runner-up will drop into Group B with South Africa, India, Pakistan, West Indies, Zimbabwe and Ireland, who won the World Cricket League Championship, Intercontinental Cup as well as the World Twenty20 Qualifier in 2013 to stamp their authority as the kings of Associate cricket.At first glance, it may not appear to be too significant which group Scotland or UAE gets placed into, as each draw poses hefty challenges. Group A contains both host nations, a formidable obstacle for the Full Member participants to overcome let alone the Associates, while Group B contains the defending World Cup champions India.However, a subtle yet important reward for the team that wins the final is a far less demanding travel schedule within the tournament next year. Qualifier Three, the winner of the Scotland vs. UAE match, will play their first four Group A matches in New Zealand’s south island in Dunedin, Christchurch and Nelson before traveling to Tasmania for their last two Group A matches in Hobart. It means a relatively light travel schedule of just 2,084 miles.The loser of Saturday’s final will have to endure a far more taxing flight schedule, shuttling between New Zealand and Australia. Their adventure will begin in Nelson before heading off to Brisbane and then all the way to Perth before flying back to New Zealand again to round out their Group B matches in Napier and Wellington. By the end of their six group matches, that team will have traveled 7,456 miles. Professionals might have no issue with it but for a semi-pro or amateur squad like the UAE, a little thing like this can make a big difference.In the spotlightStand-in skipper Preston Mommsen stepped up in a big way following an injury to Scotland captain Kyle Coetzer. After scoring 118 earlier in the qualifier against Hong Kong, Mommsen scored 94 in a 52-run win over Papua New Guinea before following it up with arguably a more valuable 78, steering his side out of trouble in a tense three-wicket win over Kenya to earn Scotland a trip to the World Cup.Heading into the tournament, UAE captain Khurram Khan was the oldest player at 42 years and 206 days, beating out Kenya’s Steve Tikolo by four days. He hasn’t showed any signs of wearing down though, and is the leading scorer at the event with 547 runs, 146 more than Scotland’s Calum MacLeod at number two, at an average of 78.14 including one century and four fifties.Team NewsScotland entered the tournament on the back of a disappointing seventh-place finish at the World T20 Qualifiers. A shake-up occurred in the aftermath of that failure with longtime coach Pete Steindl stepping down to make way for Paul Collingwood. The move has had the desired effect in New Zealand. Scotland won their two pre-tournament warm-up matches against Papua New Guinea and Namibia before suffering a hiccup in the first official match, a 17-run loss to Hong Kong.From then on though, they mowed through the competition by posting three emphatic wins over Nepal (90 runs), UAE (53 runs) and Canada (170 runs). Calum MacLeod was the catalyst for their success in Group A, posting 113 against the UAE and a Scotland record 175 against Canada to propel the team to the top of Group A. They extended their winning streak to six games with victories over Namibia, PNG and Kenya to reach the final.Scotland: (possible) 1 Matty Cross (wk), 2 Calum MacLeod, 3 Matt Machan, 4 Preston Mommsen (capt), 5 Freddie Coleman, 6 Richie Berrington, 7 Michael Leask, 8 Rob Taylor, 9 Safyaan Sharif, 10 Majid Haq, 11 Iain WardlawEven though UAE’s array of left-arm spinners are their biggest strength, they have adapted to New Zealand conditions well. Pace bowlers Manjula Guruge, Amjad Javed, Kamran Shazad and Mohammad Naveed have all taken 10 or more wickets at the qualifiers. They’re the only team in the 10-team event to have four pace bowlers take double-digit wickets.On the batting side, they have a pair of explosive middle-order players to complement Khurram. Shaiman Anwar has one century in the tournament already and was the leading scorer in the World Cricket League Championship, 150 runs ahead of Ireland’s William Porterfield and 30 ahead of Scotland’s Coetzer. Swapnil Patil is the second-highest run-scorer at the tournament behind Khurram with 265, and can score quickly when the occasion calls for it.UAE: (possible) 1 Amjad Ali, 2 Salman Faris, 3 Khurram Khan (capt), 4 Shaiman Anwar, 5 Rohan Mustafa, 6 Swapnil Patil (wk), 7 Vikrant Shetty, 8 Amjad Javed, 9 Mohammad Naveed, 10 Kamran Shazad, 11 Manjula GurugeStats and trivia Khurram needs 11 runs to break the record for the most runs scored at a single World Cup Qualifier. The mark is currently held by Bermuda’s David Hemp, who scored 557 in the 2009 edition to break the mark that had been set by Canada’s Paul Prashad with 533 in 1986. Khurram will be 43 by the time the World Cup rolls around next year, but he won’t be close to breaking the mark for the oldest player ever to play in the event. That distinction is held by Nolan Clarke, who played for Netherlands at 47 years and 257 days against South Africa in the 1996 World Cup. The Bert Sutcliffe Oval has also hosted two other notable ICC tournament finals, including one with a special place in New Zealand cricket lore. Australia defeated Pakistan by 25 runs in the final of the 2010 ICC U-19 World Cup. In the 2000 Women’s World Cup final between Australia and New Zealand, the hosts prevailed by four runs after bowling out Australia for 180 on the first ball of the final over.Quotes”You can’t describe in words the feeling. I’ve been playing for UAE since 2001 and it is an amazing feeling to help my team to qualify.”
“We had heard the news that Hong Kong had a pretty convincing win, so it might have added a bit more pressure. But we wanted to win and we got over the line. It was a massive team effort.”

South Africa are uncertain over the fitness of their captain, Faf du Plessis, ahead of their match against New Zealand in Chittagong

The Preview by Firdose Moonda23-Mar-2014Match facts March 24, 2014, ChittagongStart time 1530 (0930GMT)Mitchell McClenaghan could enjoy bowling to South Africa’s top seven, four of whom are left-handed batsmen•AFPBig Picture March 25, 2011. The Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur, 250 kilometres from Chittagong. New Zealand dumped South Africa out of the World Cup they had looked on course to win.A day short of three years later, the teams will meet at an ICC event again. In between, they’ve played each other in five Tests, six ODIs and six T20s – a total of 17 matches. South Africa have lost just four of those. They’ve had the better of New Zealand in bilateral series but the memory of coming unstuck against them in a game that mattered more than any of the others is still fresh. Specifically, it will be stirring in Faf du Plessis’ mind.On March 25, 2011, du Plessis was one of the team’s relative youngsters and a key protagonist in the choke. He ran AB de Villiers out and was involved in an on-field altercation with Kyle Mills that reeked of blood rushing to the head. On March 24, 2014 du Plessis will captain the side – whether on the field or from the sidelines, nursing a hamstring injury – in a game that they don’t to win.The pressure is on South Africa but it need not stifle them. They do not have to beat New Zealand to keep their hopes of qualifying for the final four alive but if they don’t they will make their own task much harder. Defeat will also mean they will have to rely on other results, something no team is comfortable with.Similarly, New Zealand cannot confirm semi-final spots with victory but will be in an enviable position if they win a second game in succession. They triumphed over England in a rain-affected encounter and will look forward to the prospect of a full game to prove their summer of plunder was no fluke.Form guide (completed matches, most recent first)
South Africa LLLLW
New Zealand WWWLWWatch out for With emphasis on the middle order’s ability to accelerate, South Africa are expecting their top-order to lay a solid enough platform. The spotlight will be on Hashim Amla in that role because he will have to up his aggression while keeping his head, something that a lean patch of form won’t help with. Amla’s last three T20 scores are 4, 2 and 23 and he seems to be struggling for his usual silken touch. Amla was the only South African batsman whose strike rate against Sri Lanka was under 100 but he was part of decent opening stand of 32. South Africa will bank on him to get going and bat a touch deeper to give the likes of David Miller less to do.Mitchell McClenaghan made his T20 debut against South Africa and impressed from the outset. He took four wickets at an average of just 19.00 in the three-match series against them in December 2012. He has since developed into one of New Zealand’s danger men and they’ll be looking to him to do some damage to a line-up laden with left-handers. South Africa have four in their top seven – Quinton de Kock, JP Duminy, Miller and Albie Morkel – and Amla has succumbed to left-armers more often recently, which will give McClenaghan hope he can run through them.Team news South Africa are still uncertain about the availability of their captain Faf du Plessis, who is recovering from a hamstring niggle. Du Plessis missed their tournament opener but trained at optional practice on Sunday and will have a fitness test on Monday morning to determine whether he can play. South Africa are being cautious not to rush him back too early.If he is still out of action, Farhaan Behardien will bat in the middle order with JP Duminy at No.3, with South Africa adamant AB de Villiers will not be promoted up the order. With Dale Steyn fully fit, South Africa will stick to their three-pronged frontline seam attack with Imran Tahir the specialist spinner but may consider slotting in Wayne Parnell for Albie Morkel.South Africa: 1 Hashim Amla, 2 Quinton de Kock (wk), 3 Faf du Plessis/JP Duminy 4 AB de Villiers, 5 JP Duminy/Farhaan Behardien, 6 David Miller, 7 Albie Morkel/Wayne Parnell, 9 Dale Steyn 9 Morne Morkel, 10 Lonwabo Tsotsobe, 11 Imran TahirTwo-thirds of New Zealand’s squad attended their voluntary training on Sunday and they have no injury concerns. That means there’s have no reason to break with a winning formula and will likely field the same XI that beat England.New Zealand: 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Kane Williamson, 3 Brendon McCullum(capt), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Colin Munro, 6 Corey Anderson, 7 Luke Ronchi (wk), 8 Nathan McCullum, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Kyle Mills, 11 Mitchell McClenaghanConditionsThere was some extra bounce on offer during the first match of the tournament played in Chittagong between South Africa and Sri Lanka. The pitch used for that clash had a generous grass covering and although the matches will rotate among seven strips through the competition, similar can be expected. Batting will be tricky for incoming batsmen but should get easier with time at the crease, even though it will take turn. Morning showers are expected but the afternoon should be dry and chances of a full game are good.Stats and Trivia New Zealand and South Africa have played each other 11 times in T20 internationals with South Africa winning 8 of those matches. That includes both meetings at previous World T20s: by 1 run at Lord’s in 2009 and 13 runs in Bridgetown in 2010. Martin Guptill has scored 300 runs in seven innings against South Africa, at an average of 60 and a strike rate of 135. No other New Zealand batsman has scored 300 runs against an opposition team in T20Is.Quotes “There’s always going to be that added pressure on us now, depending on how other results go we’re probably going to have to win all three””We’ve never tackled them on the cricket field. We have got a lot of respect for them, they’re a very good side in all formats. We’re looking forward to the challenge of playing against some of the best players in the world.”

The Maharashtra seamers Samad Fallah, Shrikant Mundhe and Anupam Sanklecha picked up 10 wickets between them to bundle Mumbai out for 129 in the second innings and set themselves a target of 252

The Report by Amol Karhadkar at the Wankhede Stadium10-Jan-2014
ScorecardFile photo: Shrikant Mundhe picked up three wickets to help dismiss Mumbai for 129•K SivaramanMaharashtra rectified their mistakes of the first two days to stage a great fightback and give themselves a chance to not only register a rare victory against Mumbai, but also enter the Ranji Trophy semi-finals for the first time in two decades.Starting the day with their backs against the wall, Maharashtra waged a stunning counterattack. First, their last three wickets contributed 61 vital runs to their overnight total of 219 for 7. Then, despite conceding a lead of 122 runs, Maharashtra’s pace triumvirate ran through Mumbai for a paltry 129 in 38.1 overs in the second innings, to get themselves back into the game.Had it not been for Chirag Khurana’s lazy slash outside off stump in the last over of the day that landed in Wasim Jaffer’s hand at second slip, Maharashtra would have been in a much stronger position chasing 252 on a Wankhede Stadium wicket that offered consistent movement off seam even on day three.While admitting that his batsmen lacked application, Mumbai coach Sulakshan Kulkarni said that the pressure was on the Maharashtra batsmen to score the runs. “Scoring 250 is quite a task on this wicket and it up to them to go for the target. If they get it, all credit to them,” he said. Elated with his bowlers’ performance, Kulkarni’s Maharashtra’s counterpart Surendra Bhave was far from being in a celebratory mood. “Let the fat lady sing first and then we’ll think about it,” he said.Despite Bhave’s cautious approach, it was a day to cherish for Maharashtra’s bowlers who rectified their mistakes committed in the first innings. If they were wayward on the opening morning, they were on the ball on the third afternoon. If they were listless on the second morning to allow the Mumbai tail to add almost 100 runs and cross the 400-run mark, they were relentless in attacking the Mumbai batsmen and persuading them into false strokes on the third afternoon. The manner in which the Maharashtra slip cordon backed their bowlers with exceptional catching was indeed heartening to watch.If Mumbai had hoped to kill the game after garnering a sizeable 122-run advantage in the first innings, with Shardul Thakur adding two more wickets to his kitty to register his personal best 6 for 86 in first-class cricket, they would have needed a sound start from Kaustubh Pawar and Jaffer. However, both the Mumbai openers were sent back into the dressing room during a five-over short burst before lunch by Anupam Sanklecha and Samad Fallah. While Sanklecha started the rot by forcing a nick off Jaffer to Chirag Khurana in the second over of the innings, Fallah induced Pawar into an edge to Sangram Atitkar at third slip.Sanklecha continued to maintain the pressure after the break and was backed by aggressive field placements. He was rewarded for his immaculate line outside off stump in the fifth over after the break by getting rid of Vinit Indulkar and Abhishek Nayar off successive balls, with the latter’s dismissal sparking a celebratory sprint that almost saw Sanklecha cross the Sahayadri ranges. Even though Suryakumar Yadav, the only centurion of the match, avoided the hat-trick by driving a full delivery outside off stump past the bowler, Fallah dismissed Tare in the next over to leave Mumbai reeling at 29 for 5.When Shrikant Mundhe, the third musketeer of Maharashtra’s pace troika, got Iqbal Abdulla caught in the slips after he had put on 48 runs with Yadav, Mumbai were in danger of being knocked out for double digits. All the six batsmen had been caught behind the stumps. Though Yadav’s delicious strokeplay helped Mumbai get close to 100, he was stranded in front of the wickets after missing one from Mundhe that was pitched at full length.Thakur then showed his batting prowess by scoring 33 with two sweetly timed sixes to set up a target in excess of 250- a knock that could very well prove to be a decisive factor. However, the young and impressive Maharashtra batsmen would be hoping to negate the hosts’ slender advantage and turn day four into a super Saturday.

There was rain and Alex Hales in Hobart but no result was achieved as inclement weather allowed just 36 deliveries to be bowled

Alex Malcolm22-Dec-2013
Match abandoned
ScorecardThere was rain and Alex Hales in Hobart but no result was achieved as inclement weather allowed just 36 deliveries to be bowled. It was enough time, however, for the Englishman and his opening partner, Michael Klinger, to provide some spectacular highlights in the gloomy conditions.After a 96-minute delay, the game was reduced to eight overs-a-side. There were two tosses that ended in one win apiece, as Strikers captain Johan Botha kindly offered to redo the first after the coin slipped out of the young mascot’s hand.Alex Hales hit nine fours and a six in his 19-ball 49•Getty ImagesBotha was regretting that when George Bailey won the toss the second time and inserted Adelaide in to bat, but Klinger pulled the first ball of the innings powerfully for four to appease any frustration.The Strikers took 15 from Joe Mennie’s first over before finding the pace and angle of Doug Bollinger harder to get at. The greasy ball was a nightmare for spinner Xavier Doherty to grip in the third over and Klinger cashed in, lofting the bowler inside-out over wide long-off for six and thrashing a knee-high full toss through point.Then Hales swung violently at Bollinger in the fourth over and top-edged three times over the wicketkeeper’s head for two frustrating fours and a two.There were no edges thereafter, as Hales took down Evan Gulbis, striking four boundaries and a six in an over, hitting all corners of the Bellerive Oval with crisp blows on both sides of the pitch. Gulbis got his revenge with a missile throw from the fence to run Hales out for 49. Klinger faced just one more delivery before rain had the final say and the points were shared.

Hampshire’s 1973 Championship winning side admired the current crop of county cricketers as Rob Keogh made a double-century and Jimmy Adams reminded the locals of another famous left-hander that once played for the county

Ivo Tennant at the Ageas Bowl04-Sep-2013
ScorecardJimmy Adams provided Hampshire supporters with memories of another left-hander to have played for the club•Getty ImagesThe Ageas Bowl was awash with emotion. Opening batsmen came and went, but staying for some while. They were besieged by middle-aged autograph hunters who were quite prepared to wait all day to snare the individuals whom they had admired for many a year. And that was just the action in the suite in the Shane Warne Stand.Hampshire’s 1973 Championship winning side, Barry Richards and Gordon Greenidge among them, were being feted at a Forty Years On reunion, caps, claret and all. It is the nature of such occasions that there is no time to observe what is going on in the middle, for techniques to be properly examined. There are simply too many old friends with whom to enjoy social intercourse.A pity in a way, because the two main innings were played by the Hampshire captain, another left-handed batsman of the same standing in the game as his predecessor of that era, Richard Gilliat, and a 21-year-old who is just starting out on his career, as all those familiar names once did themselves. Jimmy Adams made an unbeaten 71 and Robert Keogh, whose previous highest score was 44, 221.It would have been fascinating to hear what Richards would have made of Keogh. He would have admired the unwavering concentration, the correct strokeplay, the ability to make such a large score when Keogh had not remained at the crease hitherto for anything like so long as 473 minutes. Keogh and Matt Spriegel took their overnight unbeaten stand to 187 in 56 overs before the latter was well taken by Michael Bates in front of first slip off James Tomlinson. His 76 included eight fours.Keogh, dropped badly at cover on 169 off David Balcombe, reached his double century with a pulled four off the same bowler, his 29th, and was undeterred while wickets fell about him until he was last out, caught and bowled by Liam Dawson off a leading edge. The pitch, so helpful to the new ball bowlers on the first morning, was by now offering nothing in the way of lateral movement. A batsman of resolve and talent, which is clearly what Keogh is, can stay in for a long while.Bates brought off another fine catch, left handed down the leg side, to account for Trent Copeland, to hand a third wicket to Ruel Brathwaite, who has bowled well enough to have been given a contract next season. He will be a handy replacement for David Griffiths, who is leaving for Kent.Matt Coles, whose future is yet to be determined, accounted for Jon Batty, of whom much the same could be said, although at the stage of his cricket career that he has reached, that scarcely matters. Bates, keeping wicket on account of Adam Wheater playing as a specialist batsman, finished with six catches.Hampshire, then, had to contend with a total of 438. Michael Roberts was soon bowled by Steven Crook, but Adams remained for the remainder of the day, as steadfast as Keogh had been earlier. He worked the ball around the square in characteristic style, occasionally unfurling an off drive that split the cover ring. By the close, when the party in the Warne Stand was still going strong, Dawson had hoiked Spriegel to midwicket, the captain had struck 14 fours.