England and Sunrisers Hyderabad allrounder Ravi Bopara has said his up-and-down career was largely a consequence of never having a definite role in any team

Arun Venugopal24-Apr-2015England and Sunrisers Hyderabad allrounder Ravi Bopara has said his up-and-down career was largely a consequence of never having a definite role in any team.”Yeah there have been a lot of stop-starts. I think a lot of that’s down to never having a consistent role in a side,” Bopara told ESPNcricinfo. “I am mainly a top-order batsman who bowls a little bit, and I may have been viewed as a middle-order batsman, finishing batsman, and someone who bowls a bit. So that maybe part of the reason.”Bopara’s international career has never found a rhythm. Even after 120 ODIs and 38 T20Is, apart from 13 Test matches, his place in the England team has not always been certain. “I wouldn’t say I am 100% satisfied so far,” he said. “I am still only 29 years old, so I have many years to play yet.”The IPL provided an opportunity for Bopara to upgrade his game, and he wants to make the most of it. “IPL is free-flowing cricket. It’s a lot of fun, great crowds, it’s a great experience as a cricketer. You don’t play in this sort of atmosphere anywhere in the world.”You can even learn from the young cricketers and you can learn from the best overseas as well. There’s guys like Murali, VVS Laxman, Tom Moody. It’s always good to speak those guys.”As for his role in the Sunrisers set-up, Bopara said his brief was to bat “any number from 3, 4, 5, 6 and bowl at least two overs every game.”I know I need to do my job as an allrounder. I have played under Tom Moody for a couple of seasons, and I think he knows what I am capable of and what my best role is.”The fastidious approach of some Indian cricketers to sharpening specific limited-overs skills impressed Bopara. “One of the things you learn as a T20 cricketer is being able to hit the ball anywhere in the park, whether it’s behind you or in front of you. It’s not a joke to be able to clear the boundaries. Even the fans watching know that you just got to be up to play 360 degrees.”From some of the Indian cricketers I have learnt about the way they bowl in these conditions. They are very adamant about changes of pace and being able to get your yorkers in, because if you miss your yorkers in India you generally go for six. And they are very specific on that so it’s nice to see that.”Bopara did not have a huge part to play in England’s failed 2015 World Cup campaign; he played one match, against Afghanistan, and didn’t bat but picked up two wickets. England’s outlook towards limited-overs cricket, Bopara said, was changing, and T20 was no longer deemed lowbrow.”When T20 first came around, it may have been viewed as a small competition and a just-to-have-fun competition,” Bopara said. “The crowds love it; it brings in money for the teams and for the boards, so we all know it’s very important.”I think England do view Test cricket as the pinnacle of the game. I think a lot of cricketers still do. But things are changing rapidly. We have seen how successful T20 has been, how successful IPL has been, and I think slowly, slowly things will go that way. We obviously don’t want to forget about Test cricket. A lot of cricketers around the world love Test cricket; I don’t think that would change, but there will be more importance on T20 cricket.”Bopara had recently criticised the “institutionalised’ culture of English cricket, speaking of the need to develop braver players. “We need to change the culture and be freer as players, stop worrying about the consequences. We need at times to stop being so English,” he had said.Bopara agreed that neglect of cricket in state-run schools, something many observers of English cricket have railed against for some time, was a problem that needed remedying.”Not enough cricket played around in some of the state schools,” Bopara, who studied in a state school himself, said. “The schools I came from, you know, we didn’t play cricket. You had to create your own cricket team. It would help if we can bring more cricket to those areas.”There is a lot of talent in those areas. There are a lot of Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Bangladeshi cricketers who love the game, and I am pretty sure there could be some superb cricketers coming over from those areas if we focus in there.”
Cricket, Bopara said, was instrumental in him being appreciative of a multicultural environment, which in turn was critical to his development as a person.”Coming from an area where I came from, you can be very boxed and live in a certain way. When you get out and you meet other people who do different things, you learn, you eat different foods. Before playing cricket, I never used to eat things like sushi and fish. But I have learnt so much away from the culture that I have come up in. I have developed a sort of multicultural way of living, and again I owe that to cricket.”

Tymal Mills grabbed his best T20 figures of 3 for 30 to help Sussex hold off a late charge by Gloucestershire for a narrow win at Hove

ECB/PA17-May-2015
ScorecardWill Beer took two wickets during a tight spell•Getty Images

Tymal Mills grabbed his best T20 figures of 3 for 30 to help Sussex hold off a late charge by Gloucestershire for a narrow win at Hove.It was Sussex’s first victory of this season’s competition, following their opening night defeat at Kent on Friday, but they were made to sweat near the end when Jack Taylor and Tom Smith took 32 runs from the 17th and 18th overs to bring the equation down from 51 required off four overs to just 19 off two.But seamer Ollie Robinson held his nerve with a fine 19th over, in which he had Smith caught in the deep for 16 and conceded only four runs. Fifteen were now needed from the last over and fast bowler Mills, called up to bowl it, fired a thunderbolt through Taylor’s desperate swing with his first ball and clipped the leg bail.Taylor had hit two sixes and three fours in 36 from 20 balls, but it was not quite enough to pull the game out of the hat for Gloucestershire, whose last pair of David Payne and Matt Taylor could only take eight runs from the final five balls of Mills’s over.

Insights

Ian Cockbain, James Fuller and Peter Handscomb faced 31 balls between them and scored 16 runs, hitting just one boundary. That’s a collective strike-rate of just 51.61. One of them was at the crease for every delivery between the second ball of the innings and the end of the ninth over – essentially half the innings. Hamish Marshall did score 45 off 26 balls in this period, which lessens the impact of the trio’s go-slow, yet at the same time suggests run-scoring wasn’t that difficult. Given the margin of Gloucestrshire’s defeat they will look back on those three innings and wish for just a little more proactivity.
Freddie Wilde

Gloucestershire lost Chris Dent to the first ball of their reply, leg-before to Steve Magoffin, and the same bowler had Ian Cockbain caught at mid-on, from a mistimed pull, in his second over. Hamish Marshall did his best to resuscitate the innings from 8 for 2 with nine fours in a breezy 45 off 26 balls, but the Sussex bowlers worked their way steadily through the Gloucestershire batting with legspinner Will Beer impressing with 2 for 26 from his four overs.Mills bowled James Fuller in his first over and later castled Geraint Jones for a spirited 25. Mike Yardy also took out Peter Handscomb’s middle stump and at 117 for 7 Gloucestershire looked out of it, but Taylor drove Robinson over the long-off boundary and Magoffin straight for another six. Smith also flicked Magoffin over midwicket for six as 19 runs came from the 18th over. Sussex, however, regained control of things just in time.Earlier, Sussex were given a decent start by Chris Nash and Mahela Jayawardene, who both scored quickfire 43s, but their later batting could not build on it. Luke Wright uppercut James Fuller to third man in the second over before Nash and Jayawardene added 81 in nine overs to set up Sussex for what should have been a challenging total.That they did not get it was largely down to Smith, with the slow left-arm spinner taking 3 for 23 against his former county, including a spell of three wickets for six runs in 10 balls. Jayawardene and Craig Cachopa were bowled through attempted slog sweeps and Nash well held by Marshall diving forward at deep square leg from another sweep that the batsman did not hit properly.Nash pulled David Payne’s left arm seam for six and picked up a good length ball from Matt Taylor for another six either side of taking fours from the same bowler, while Jayawardene lofted Smith over cover for six from the last ball of the batting Powerplay.Jayawardene also hit six fours in his 30-ball knock while Nash batted 33 balls and departing two balls after he had called for Wright to come out to act as his runner, due to a leg muscle strain.Cachopa had struck Jack Taylor’s offspin for two successive sixes and made it a third six in three balls, with a further maximum off Smith, before missing another violent stroke at the next ball.Ben Brown could only make 8 from 11 balls before being deceived and bowled by Payne’s slower ball in the 17th over but at least Beer pulled sixes off both Fuller and Payne as he as Matt Machan added 37 in the final few overs to give Sussex something to defend – and, in the end, just enough to see off Gloucestershire.

Daryl Mitchell continued his relentless domination of Hampshire’s bowling by reaching an undefeated 206, his second double-century in the County Championship, in a chanceless innings stretching to nine hours over two days at New Road

ECB/PA07-Jul-2015
ScorecardDaryl Mitchell carried his bat for the fourth time in his career•Getty Images

Daryl Mitchell continued his relentless domination of Hampshire’s bowling by reaching an undefeated 206, his second double-century in the County Championship, in a chanceless innings stretching to nine hours over two days at New Road.The statistics are now stacked up to an astonishing level in the last four meetings. Starting with 172 not out at the Ageas Bowl last season, he has batted for two minutes short of 23 hours, scoring 532 runs for once out while facing 1066 balls and striking 67 boundaries.Given the scale of Mitchell’s screw-turning, and there was no mercy in extending his team’s first innings to 478, Hampshire may have anticipated a rough passage to the close and so it proved as they struggled through to 86 for 3, still 392 behind.Sean Terry feathered the fourth ball from Charlie Morris to first slip but Michael Carberry was dropped at second slip off Joe Leach. As if to prove that Mitchell is not faultless in his dealings with Hampshire, the lapse was his. Leach did get a wicket, switching ends to have Jimmy Adams leg-before for 20, and Carberry, after reaching 36, also fell lbw during five overs for one run by Saeed Ajmal. This left James Vince as Hampshire’s main hope on 29 not out.In the meeting of the bottom two counties in Division One, Mitchell’s marathon – he carried his bat for the fourth time in a completed Championship innings – has put Worcestershire in the box seat. They can win the game but Hampshire, for now at least, can only aim to aim to avoid defeat. With four batting points, which in itself represents a mammoth recovery from 25 for 3 on the first morning, Worcestershire are now seven ahead of the bottom team.The downgrading of Jackson Bird’s bowling figures confirmed the damage done by Mitchell’s intransigence. When the Australian fast bowler dismissed Tom Kohler-Cadmore on Monday, he had taken 3 for 16. When last man Morris was caught behind on Tuesday, Bird had 4 for 146.In batting deep into the second day, Worcestershire’s last five wickets more than doubled the overnight score. Each of Mitchell’s partners made contributions, beginning with Ben Cox, who got to 23 out of 43 before losing his middle stump to the persevering Brad Wheal. The next threat to Hampshire was more punishing as Leach’s crunching drives brought ten fours in a stand of 123 until the allrounder was out for 59, caught at midwicket in a containing spell by Danny Briggs.The left arm spinner’s over-the-wicket probing of the leg stump area was mostly responsible for the 19 wides in the innings, but Worcestershire still pressed on a good rate as Jack Shantry, with 21 and Ajmal’s 16 helped Mitchell beyond his seventh Championship score of 150 or more.A couple of stumpings for Adam Wheater assisted in further wickets for Briggs and Will Smith, but nothing could break Mitchell’s concentration until he crossed the 200 threshold by cutting Briggs for his 25th four from the 408th ball he faced.”This was a special day for Daryl Mitchell, batting for 140 overs, carrying his bat for a marvellous double century,” Worcestershire’s director of cricket, Steve Rhodes said. “If anyone deserves all the accolades, he does because he’s had a tough season himself. He’s had some tough times and now in typical dogged Daryl Mitchell fashion he has shown all his class.”He’s gone through some fighting innings and not been particularly comfortable at the crease but he has managed to be effective and score some runs. I think this game he has been far more fluent, better organised. He’s found his touch and that’s good news for the rest of the season.”Hampshire coach Dale Benkenstein has held up Mitchell’s innings as an example for his team to follow. “If anything we can learn also learn from him,” he said. “That’s the sort of knock we are dying out for at the moment. We would like to have that because it sets up the whole game and people can bat round him. He’s getting better and better. He’s getting to that age where he really knows his game. He sticks to his game plan. This was a pretty chanceless knock really and you have come to expect this from him. He’s doing it quite consistently over the last few years.”

Former England captain Geoffrey Boycott believes Bangladesh’s impressive series win over India is not enough “to send waves through the cricket world” since it has come in home conditions

Vishal Dikshit23-Jun-20152:48

Boycott: Don’t get carried away with Bangladesh’s win

Former England captain Geoffrey Boycott believes Bangladesh’s impressive series win over India is not enough “to send waves through the cricket world” since it has come in home conditions. Boycott reckons Bangladesh, who had never beaten India in a series earlier and currently lead 2-0, need to win matches abroad, especially Tests against teams like Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and England.”They’re not quite minnows anymore, they’ve had one or two good performances but I think we are getting carried away a little bit,” Boycott told ESPNcricinfo’s . “Beating India occasionally, and Pakistan or Sri Lanka, doesn’t send waves through the cricket world. Sorry, I don’t want to put a damper on your excitement for Bangladesh but nearly all Bangladesh’s good performances are at home. That doesn’t make the world of cricket sit up until you go to Australia or South Africa or New Zealand, and beat them in their countries…that will be a huge step and we will all take notice.”Bangladesh have now won 10 ODIs on the trot at home, including series wins against Zimbabwe (5-0) and Pakistan (3-0) before hosting India. During the World Cup they qualified for the quarter-final for the first time by knocking England out with a 15-run win. They had finished fourth in Group A with three wins out of six and one match, against Australia, washed out.”I accept that one of their very best performances was beating England in Adelaide in the World Cup,” Boycott said. “I was there, Bangladesh were superb, I enjoyed their cricket and it’s the best I’ve seen from them. But Bangladesh can’t live on just an occasional or odd one-day performance win. They need to go abroad and start winning Test matches against the big boys. As I said, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, England have all got much better Test sides in them in their countries. You’ve got to go and do that a bit.”Boycott emphasised that the one big advantage Bangladesh have is the hefty ICC funding they have been receiving, that other teams did not when they started out, and the television revenues they earn from the broadcasters. The Bangladesh Cricket Board sold its worldwide media rights to Gazi TV last year for US $20.02 million for a period of six years, and recently sold the team sponsorship rights to Top of Mind, a media planning company, for over $385,000.”Cricket lovers want Bangladesh to succeed, no doubt about that, but you’ve got to accept that lots and lots of ICC money has been poured into Bangladesh cricket for many years now,” Boycott said. “And quite honestly, we, the cricketing nations of the world, need to see more from them. Bangladesh have a huge cricket-mad population and I realise it takes time to be able to match the big countries. It’s always happened like that – it took time for West Indies, New Zealand, Pakistan after partition, even India were not able to match England or Australia on equal terms in the early days. Now they are.”But none of these countries received a financial help or clout that Bangladesh have had over the years. They’ve had loads of money. These countries had to make a lot on their own, there wasn’t money around, there wasn’t television revenue for ICC, or whoever run world cricket, to pour in to India, Pakistan, New Zealand, West Indies when they were in their infancy.”And Sri Lanka, let me tell you. I’ve forgotten them but I shouldn’t because they’ve been wonderful…they’ve won a World Cup. I want them (Bangladesh) to enjoy their success but I don’t think you need to get carried away, you need to keep it in perspective because more is required. An occasional one-day is lovely but we need more.”

James Anderson has been ruled out of the fourth Ashes Test at Trent Bridge but is hopeful of being fit for a possible decider at the Oval, which starts on August 20

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Jul-2015James Anderson has been ruled out of the fourth Ashes Test at Trent Bridge but is hopeful of being fit for a possible decider at the Oval, which starts on August 20*. Anderson did not take any further part in the Edgbaston Test after being forced off the field with a side strain on the second day.Anderson was two balls into his ninth over of Australia’s second innings when he felt some pain on his left side. He bowled another one after that and ran in for the fourth but pulled up to then leave the field. The ECB had called the injury a “tight side” which was to be “assessed overnight”.Speaking after England had secured an eight-wicket win, Anderson said: “I’m not going to play the next game, unfortunately, but I’m hoping I can get myself fit for the Oval. It’s a bit sore, I felt something on one of the deliveries yesterday and Stuart Broad, who’s had experience of that sort of injury, said ‘Don’t bowl another ball and risk it’. I set off for another one and then thought, he’s right.”I’ve never had that sort of injury before. I felt a bit stiff, I just put it down to that and the next ball I could feel something so I came off.”The last 24 hours has been talking to the medical team and trying to figure out if it is realistic,” he said, of his chances of playing at The Oval. “They were pretty happy with me this morning, checked me over and were happy it didn’t look too serious, so that’s what I’m aiming for.”Mark Wood, who missed out at Edgbaston with an ankle niggle, might be considered first in line to replace Anderson for Trent Bridge. Liam Plunkett and the uncapped Mark Footitt could also come into consideration. Chris Woakes, who was in the Test side last summer, has been working his way back from injury, while Chris Jordan has not played since suffering a side strain in June.England captain, Alastair Cook, said it would be an opportunity for someone to come into the side and impress.”It’s obviously a huge miss because Jimmy is outstanding but it gives an opportunity,” Cook said. “We had an opportunity, at 1-1 in the series, to grab it and we’ve done it as a side, now it will give whoever is selected that opportunity to fill Jimmy’s boots. Yes, it’s going to be hard but it’s and opportunity for someone to stand up.”Anderson took a six-for on the first day at Edgbaston and was instrumental in restricting Australia to 136 to lay the platform for England to take a 2-1 lead. In the second innings he removed the top-scorer David Warner for 77 to finish with 1 for 15 from 8.3 overs.Whoever is selected will have a job to emulate Anderson’s impressive record at Trent Bridge, which reads 53 wickets in eight matches at an average of 19.24. He picked up a 10-wicket haul in the last Ashes Test there, in 2013, and has six five-fors overall. In his last Test at the ground, against India in 2014, he also scored 81 at No. 11, his maiden fifty, in a record stand of 198.*5pm BST – This story was updated with Anderson’s quotes

All future bilateral series between India and South Africa, including South Africa’s forthcoming tour of India, will be called the Mahatma Gandhi-Nelson Mandela series

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Aug-2015All future bilateral series between India and South Africa, including South Africa’s forthcoming tour of India, will be called the Mahatma Gandhi-Nelson Mandela series, the two boards have announced. The Test series, the BCCI and Cricket South Africa said, will be played for the Freedom Trophy.”BCCI, on behalf of every citizen of our country, is able to pay tribute to these great leaders by naming the series after them, and appeals to each and every citizen of our country to imbibe their ideals and follow the path advised by them,” BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur said in a statement.CSA chief executive, Haroon Lorgat, said that naming the series after Gandhi and Mandela was “eternal news for our people and cricketers”. “For the people of both our countries there is no greater duty than to uphold the ideals of both Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela,” he said. “As cricket-loving people we must fight hard to win on the field of play but never forget to do battle in the spirit of these two great men.”Gandhi was the leader of India’s non-violent freedom struggle, and had a South African connection as well, having practised law in the country. Mandela spearheaded the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, and was the country’s president from 1994 to 1999. The announcement is significant in the context of ICC chief executive David Richardson’s recent concerns over the relevance of bilateral series that don’t have an “iconic, traditional status”.India will host South Africa for three T20Is, five ODIs and four Test matches between October and December this year.

Bangladesh cricket could take its first step towards the game’s decentralisation at an administrative level by the end of 2015, vice-president Mahbubul Anam said

Mohammad Isam20-Sep-2015Bangladesh cricket could take its first step towards the game’s decentralisation at an administrative level by the end of 2015, vice-president Mahbubul Anam said. The long-awaited regional cricket association is set to be launched as a pilot project in one of the country’s eight divisions.Speaking at a discussion seminar called “our cricket at the grassroots,” organised by Bangladesh Sports Journalists Association, Mahbubul said they were looking to develop a local capacity and a separate cricket calendar in various divisions so that cricket is not solely run from their Dhaka headquarters.The BCB constitution defines regional cricket associations as bodies to run cricket in the different administrative divisions of Bangladesh. It states the BCB should ensure that cricket is run across the country through the regional and District Sports Associations (DSA).While the DSAs are formed and run by the government in all 64 districts of the country, the regional cricket bodies haven’t seen the light of day despite being in the works for nearly two decades and being included in the board’s constitution since 2012.Mahbubul admitted that cricket is currently being run on the basis of the game’s popularly rather than a proper decentralised system.”By December, we will separate at least one of the divisions as a pilot project,” Mahbubul said. “It will have a separate calendar. We have to take the facility to the people, but can’t expect the people to come to the facility. We have to build local capacity, without which we cannot run a regional cricket association.””Currently we are running cricket on popularity but we have one of the lowest participation levels in formal cricket. We can’t keep running cricket on passionate organisers. We have to ensure that there is balance between voluntarism and professionalism at the grassroots level.”The seminar invited diverse voices from across Bangladesh, including coaches and organisers from places like Comilla, Madaripur, Rajshahi and Barisal. The programme became a platform for the BCB, represented by Mahbubul, game development committee chairman Khaled Mahmud and game development manager Nazmul Abedeen, to listen to the myriad of issues that are holding back the game’s expansion across the country.Former Bangladesh captain Khaled Mashud, who transformed Rajshahi cricket almost single-handedly, said that facilities were not a problem in his region, but alleged that poor management was the cause behind Rajshahi’s recent troubles in the domestic first-class competition.Badrul Huda, the veteran coach and organiser from Comilla, said that regionally one of the biggest problems was the lack of local leagues. In his district, he said, there was only one league, which was a knockout competition. Mashud said that the league in Rajshahi did not have a relegation system, rendering it meaningless.Cutting out the relegation in a league means that the person seeking councillorship [representation] to the BCB will be guaranteed a vote from a set number of clubs, without risking losing their support. Mashud urged the BCB to stop funding to the districts that do not organise league competitions.Mahmud, also a former Bangladesh captain, said that most of what had been said in the seminar was a true picture of the grassroots of Bangladesh cricket.

Ian Bell termed Alastair Cook’s display on the third day in Abu Dhabi a “masterclass” and said he had been an inspiration for him during his own struggles

Andrew McGlashan15-Oct-20151:22

Cook did exactly what we want to do as a batting unit – Bell

Ian Bell has called Alastair Cook’s display on the third day in Abu Dhabi a “masterclass” and said how his performances throughout the year have provided inspiration for him during his own struggles.Cook is now the leading global run-scorer in 2015, having started the year trying to break a century drought that stretched back two years. A hundred came in Barbados, followed by a marathon effort in the second innings against New Zealand at Lord’s to set-up a remarkable victory but this innings stands out.He finished the day unbeaten on 168, flicking the final ball to deep square leg then taking the generous congratulations of every Pakistan player, having faced 329 deliveries in more than seven-and-a-half hours at the crease.There was a tight lbw review off Zulfiqar Babar on 101 and he was dropped once, top-edging a sweep off the same bowler on 147, but other than that handled the spin with utmost skill, heeding the pre-series advice of Paul Farbrace and Mahela Jayawardene to use the sweep judiciously.”He’s so organised,” Bell said. “When I watch him against spin his defence is incredible. He executed the sweep today as well as I’ve ever seen him through a day of Test cricket. The way he works out his angles, for left-handers the rough outside their off stump can be tricky, but it was a masterclass today: how to defend, how to come down occasionally to chip over midwicket but also sweep from a full length.”This is the fourth year Cook has passed 1000 runs – equalling the England record held by Kevin Pietersen – and he is now second, behind Jacques Kallis, in runs scored by non-Asian batsman in Asia. Bell said Cook’s durability to fight through the tough times was a reminder to make the most of the days which go your way, which left Bell frustrated he had fallen for 63.”To play the amount of Test cricket he has, you aren’t always going to be at your best but you have to show some character at times to get through them,” he said. “What he’s done well, especially last few months, is when he gets in he makes scores like this. They do cover your bad days. What he’s been through, and what I’ve been through a little as well in the last few months, he’s a good role model to watch. When you get days like this, cash in, and he does that as well as anyoneBell was 1 off 35 balls, a period which had included a drop catch and tight shout for lbw, and it was not until he reached double figures that he started to look more secure.”It’s difficult to start, we know that from last time here. In the subcontinent, your first 40 to 50 balls are tough and if you get through that it will get easier,” he said. “It was nice to bat long, but I was gutted not to go on – or certainly be there overnight with Cooky – I know that on a pitch like that you want to get in, make the most of it and get a big one.”Mushtaq Ahmed, Pakistan’s bowling coach who worked with England until 2014 so has witnessed previous Cook epics from the opposite dressing room, also lauded the innings.”He’s got a great record in Asia, he played it beautifully,” he said. “He has a lovely temperament and the way he played took the pressure off the other batsmen. He killed the zip of the spinners and seamers nicely. It was a brilliant innings once again.”Cook’s career best of 294 – made against India at Edgbaston in 2011 – is still some way off but he may never get a better second chance for that maiden triple hundred.

Alex Ross scored an unbeaten 97 to deliver South Australia a place in the Matador Cup final against New South Wales

Brydon Coverdale23-Oct-2015
ScorecardAlex Ross made a career-best 97 not out•Getty Images

Three weeks ago, the Matador Cup squads changed dramatically with the influx of Test players after the cancellation of Australia’s tour of Bangladesh. South Australia, without any players in the national side, were the only team whose squad was unaffected. But the young Redbacks group has defied the odds to see off a much-fancied Victoria and book a place in Sunday’s final.It is quite an achievement for a team featuring only two players – Callum Ferguson and Kane Richardson – who have played for Australia in any format. Their final opponents, New South Wales, have at times in this tournament had 11 international players in their team. But in the elimination final it was the young batsman Alex Ross who set up the victory with his unbeaten 97.Victoria’s line-up was so imposing that Cameron White was made 12th man, but chasing 251 their batting order failed to fire. A direct hit from Jake Lehmann had Aaron Finch run out for a duck in the second over and the No.3 Marcus Stoinis laboured for 102 deliveries for his 56 before he was bowled trying to slog sweep the spinner Tom Andrews.Rob Quiney had plenty of luck on his way to a half-century. On 47 he was given two reprieves, when Daniel Worrall’s delivery clipped the off stump but the bail stayed on, and when he skied a chance that the South Australia captain Travis Head put down at mid-off. Quiney moved on to 71 but when Adam Zampa got rid of him, South Australia were on top.The required run-rate kept ballooning and Victoria’s decision to send Peter Handscomb in ahead of Glenn Maxwell failed, when Handscomb checked his shot and was caught at mid-off from the bowling of Richardson for 6 off 16 balls. Maxwell had to go hard and was caught at deep point off Joe Mennie; Richardson picked up two more wickets as Victoria were dismissed for 194 in the 47th over.The final margin was 56 runs; Mennie and Ross had compiled an invaluable 64-run stand late in the South Australian innings after the top-order batsmen failed to go on with their starts. Mennie struck 33 at a run a ball and Ross struck 10 fours and one six in his unbeaten 97 off 104 deliveries; he missed the chance for a maiden century but did enough to get his side into the final.Ross had taken his time and did not get off the mark until his 20th delivery, but he had come in at four down in the 17th over so some caution was advisable. Once he was set he made the most of it; his half-century came from 70 deliveries and he was still there at the end. Tom Cooper (32) and Head (29) had made top-order contributions, but Ross was the key.Regardless of what happens on Sunday, reaching the final has been a fine achievement for the Redbacks, in the first season under the leadership of captain Head and new coach Jamie Siddons.