All posts by n8rngtd.top

Glamorgan’s largely unheard of allrounder helped seal a record chase as Sussex missed out on qualification

David Hopps07-May-2019Glamorgan pulled off their record county chase, as well as a record run chase at Hove, as Sussex’s interest in the Royal London Cup ended. Bit-part players at the start of the day, Glamorgan overhauled Sussex’s 347 for 7 with two wickets and eight balls to spare. It was on TV, too, and as such is even more bound to gain a special place in the county’s history.Most praise will be reserved for the emergence of a young player of promise. When the day began, few would have imagined that Dan Douthwaite would be commanding a headline. Dan, Danny, Daniel? When the correct short-form is required for a player’s Christian name, it’s a fair bet that he is beginning to make a name for himself.Not that you could tell even his surname from his shirt. Douthwaite is about to complete his studies at Cardiff Metropolitan University and signed a three-year deal with Glamorgan a fortnight ago. He played in a blank shirt because the one on order has yet to arrive. It will say “Douthwaite 88”, recommended by his mother on the grounds that it rhymes.Douthwaite’s 2 for 46 represented Glamorgan’s most economical spell. They were two top-order wickets. If George Garton was a lower-order batsman having a dip at No. 3, to knock our Stiaan van Zyl’s off stump as he covered up to a length ball was not a bad start. Then came an unbeaten 52 from 35 balls as Glamorgan summoned one of their finest displays in recent years. He did enough to justify his description from Glamorgan’s director of cricket, Mark Wallace, as “a dynamic player”, although luck was also on his side as several balls dropped safely in a frantic finale.By the time Sussex lost, the result didn’t matter anyway. Results elsewhere in the South Group had already meant that it was Somerset and Middlesex who had qualified for the play-offs, so following Hampshire who had already won the group and gone straight into the semis.But the game that ultimately didn’t matter certainly mattered to Douthwaite. It was only his third List A match. In his last innings he made a first-ball duck against Middlesex and did not taken a wicket. “None of that was on my radar today,” he said. Sussex were aware of the danger he possessed as he struck a maiden first-class hundred against them for Cardiff earlier this year.Four counties began the final round of matches in the South Group contesting two play-off places. As the fifth-placed side, facing a perceived weaker opponent in Glamorgan, there must have been a temptation for Sussex to go for broke to enhance their run rate. But their top-order has not consistently delivered in this competition. The overriding impression in their innings was one of of determined responsibility: for all that, they still made 347 for 7.Glamorgan judged their chase perfectly. They lost David Lloyd, caught on the square-leg boundary in the sixth over. Jeremy Lawlor scored a sprightly 48 at a run-a-ball before he was dismissed by Abi Sakande and Chris Cook was third out at 117, bowled by a ripper of a legbreak from Will Beer for 41. The odds seemed against them when their powerful overseas allrounder Marnus Labuschagne, hitting across the line, was lbw to Danny Briggs for 54. But Root maintained the chase, with an impressive 66-ball knock, before he was run out by Briggs’ fine throw from the deep before Douthwaite took charge.Sussex’s innings was an earnest affair, the score advancing seemingly quickly enough. Luke Wright fell three runs short of a century when he pulled Lukas Carey to short midwicket. Laurie Evans did make a hundred – 110 from 87 balls. Always destructive, he was at his most stylish before uppercutting de Lange to the cover boundary at the start of the 48th over.By then the prolific David Wiese had established himself. Wiese came into the match having struck 338 in six innings in the competition and he followed up with a 38-ball 57 to give what appeared to be a matchwinning total. But Sussex, without the bowling trio of Jofra Archer, Chris Jordan and Tymal Mills, are not the bowling force they were. The day belonged to Glamorgan.

The allrounder’s career-best 5 for 31 handed Afghanistan their third straight defeat

The Report by Deivarayan Muthu08-Jun-2019
As it happenedWhile some of his team-mates were having the time of their lives in the middle in the 2015 World Cup, James Neesham watched semi-final against South Africa from the Eden Park grass banks. He later fell out of love with cricket and was talked out of retirement. Then, he himself conceded that he hadn’t started his maiden World Cup well. After leaking 45 in five overs against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, Neesham led New Zealand’s pace assault in Taunton, returning 5 for 31 – his best figures in professional cricket – to bask in the company of Richard Hadlee, Shane Bond, Tim Southee and Trent Boult. No other New Zealand seamer has claimed five wickets in a World Cup.Lockie Ferguson fell one short of joining that elite list, but was equally central to New Zealand dismissing Afghanistan for 172 and securing their third successive victory in the tournament. Ferguson’s Flash-like pace netted him 4 for 37, including the wicket of Rashid Khan who was bowled off the helmet. The blow was so nasty that Rashid failed two concussion tests and did not bowl in the chase. There was no Mujeeb Ur Rahman either – he was dropped – and Afghanistan were forced into using part-time legspinner Rahmat Shah. In stark contrast, New Zealand didn’t need Mitchell Santner at all.James Neesham is clapped off the pitch at the end of the Afghanistan innings.•Getty Images

Despite the unavailability of their premier spinners, Afghanistan made New Zealand’s batsmen work hard for their runs in the chase. Aftab Alam, who had replaced the rested Dawlat Zadran, hit a hard length with his very first ball and had Martin Guptill lobbing a bat-pad catch to point for a golden duck. Colin Munro, who had kept his place in the side, ahead of a fit-again Henry Nicholls, had a promising start, but he wound up slicing a catch to third man for 22 off 24 balls.Watch on Hotstar (India only) – Full highlights of the matchThis brought Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, and familiar nervy running into focus. Williamson survived a run-out chance on 22 after responding slowly to a single. That Hashmatullah Shahidi couldn’t effect a direct hit or fling a more accurate throw to the keeper saved Williamson. Mohammad Nabi then teased the New Zealand captain with his donkey drops and drift, making him overhit the ball and lose his shape in the process.Rahmat, meanwhile, scratched Taylor’s outside edge with his first ball and continued to trouble the batsman with his turn and dip. Afghanistan had deployed a square gully and point for Williamson, blocking his favourite dab to third man. They steadily built pressure on New Zealand, but Williamson and Taylor absorbed it and bed in to put their side on top. Taylor played all around a dipping full-toss from Alam and was bowled for 48, snapping a vital 89-run stand, but Williamson had progressed to a 77-ball half-century.Williamson ushered New Zealand home in the company of Tom Latham, who had earlier snapped up five catches behind the stumps – just one short of tying the all-time ODI record.The exalted company Neesham keeps•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

It was Afghanistan opener Hazratullah Zazai who had set the early pace with almighty leg-side hoicks and baseball swings. He was reprieved twice – on 16 and 18 – and went after anything that was remotely close to his body. Noor Ali Zadran, who had replaced the injured Mohammad Shahzad at the top, rolled out some exquisite front-foot drives at the other end to push Afghanistan to 61 for 0 in the Powerplay.Then, it was time for Williamson to #UnleashtheNeesh. Neesham dangled a wide ball – possibly wider than a set of stumps outside off – and Zazai took the bait, carving a catch to sweeper cover. Just like that Afghanistan lost 4 for 4, with Neesham collecting three in three overs. He fooled Rahmat Shah with one that held up in the pitch while splice-jarring bounce got the better of captain Gulbadin Naib.Mohammad Nabi and Naijibullah Zadran, too, were bounced out by Neesham as Afghanistan were teetering at 109 for 6. After finishing a career-best spell, Neesham drew warm pats on his shoulder from his seniors Williamson and Taylor. Job well done.No. 4 Shahidi, however, found a way against seam and bounce and held on limpet-like either side of a rain delay. Ferguson had blasted out Noor Ali and welcomed Shahidi with a 147kph ball that rocketed past the outside edge. Neesham and Colin de Grandhomme gave him no swinging room either, but Shahidi ground his way to an 84-ball half-century.However, with his partners appearing and disappearing, Shahidi, too, swung for the hills and added 20-plus stands with wicketkeeper Ikram Alikhil and No.11 Hamid Hassan. Aftab Alam contributed with 14 off 10 balls, helping take his side past 150. Shahidi, though, was the last man dismissed as Afghanistan left nearly nine overs unused in their innings. New Zealand ultimately closed out the game with 17.5 overs to spare, handing Afghanistan their third straight defeat.

Batsman sent for X-ray after being hit by Lewis Gregory short ball and could be in doubt for selection match

Daniel Brettig in Canterbury16-Jul-2019Nothing, it seemed, was capable of stopping Matthew Wade’s march to a place in Australia’s squad for the Ashes series against England next month.For even if selectors had doubts about Wade or other team balance preferences concerning the ODI vice-captain Alex Carey as a back-up for the Test captain Tim Paine, the sheer volume of runs he has been churning out in characteristic, punchy style have allowed little room for argument.However a serious blow to the right arm from the England Lions captain Lewis Gregory, very nearly on the point of the elbow, forced Wade to retire hurt and be sent for an X-ray on day three of a game in which the Australians have steadily taken control.Play was stopped for several minutes as Wade struggled in obvious pain, and though he played out a few more balls before tea, he did not re-emerge in the evening session. The blow left him with plenty of rehab work ahead to be swinging the bat freely in the crucial final warm-up match between the tourists’ 25 available players in Southampton.”Matthew went for a precautionary X-ray after taking a blow to his right elbow,” the team doctor John Orchard said. “The X-ray came back clear but he’s probably suffering from a bruised nerve from the impact and his grip strength is impaired. Matthew’ll be reassessed in the morning but it’s unlikely he’ll bat again in this innings. However we’re very hopeful he’ll recover in good time for the Australia-Australia A game next week.”Hits of this kind can have serious consequences even if they do not result in a fracture, of the kind suffered during the World Cup by Shaun Marsh. David Boon avoided a broken arm when struck similarly by Curtly Ambrose in Adelaide in 1993, but the effect of the injury on the remainder of the match was significant when recalling that Allan Border’s team would ultimately lose by one run, the tightest margin in all Test history.More recently, Ricky Ponting was hit in a similar region by Kemar Roach’s second ball to him in a Test in Perth in 2009. Though Ponting attempted to soldier on for another 40 minutes, the compacting effect of the blow – later described as being like a piece of meat being tenderised with a mallet – affected Ponting’s batting for much of the rest of the summer.For Wade, the injury will be another obstacle to join the many he has overcome to get this close to an international recall, a little less than two years after he played the last of his 22 Tests, against Bangladesh in Chittagong. In that sense, it was also a feather in Gregory’s cap, for he had delivered a bouncer both swift enough to have Wade ducking and skiddy enough to prevent him from avoiding it.The Lions were not without their own concerns – Jamie Porter leaving the field complaining of back spasms, though they had occurred while fielding, not bowling.There were otherwise a series of cameos from the Australians as they set about adding to a 130-run first innings lead, secured by rolling through the last five Lions wickets for 35 with the help of the second new ball. Chris Tremain nabbed four victims though he was more expensive than the watching selection chairman Trevor Hohns would have wanted; Jackson Bird (3 for 51 from 23 overs) and Jon Holland (2 for 56 from 28) kept things tighter.Joe Burns was again dismissed cheaply, this time via an outside edge, before Marcus Harris (50), Kurtis Patterson (38), Mitchell Marsh (26) and skipper Paine (38) gave themselves some time in the middle on a drying surface. Aside from Gregory, the most consistent threat was posed by Jack Leach, who turned some balls expansively on a sun-drenched afternoon.

England’s debutant shook up Lord’s and knocked the previously serene Steven Smith off his stride

Andrew Miller at Lord's17-Aug-2019So, Justin Langer, about that tactic of getting bowlers into their fourth spells, then… On the eve of his Test debut, in what had otherwise been another horizontally laidback press appearance, Jofra Archer had suddenly fired in a verbal bouncer that was every bit as out of the blue as the languidly launched missiles that exploded on the Lord’s Test.Responding to Langer’s pre-match “curiosity” about how his body and mind would hold up in a format notorious for grinding down quick bowlers, Archer’s answer dripped with red-ball nous and Test-match readiness, not to mention a confidence that no ordinary Test debutant could have summoned at such will.ALSO READ: Madness of Test cricket sets up compelling finish“I’ve played a lot more red-ball than I have white-ball. I do think it’s my preferred format,” he said. “I’ve bowled 50 overs in one game already for Sussex and I’m usually the one bowling the most overs anyway. I think Justin Langer has another thing coming.”And sure enough, Archer could hardly have predicted more accurately the day’s astonishing scenes had his thoughts been recycled from one of his four-year-old Tweets.Jofra Archer celebrates after removing Tim Paine•Getty Images

Archer was already 25 overs into his work for the innings, and armed with a ragged old ball that was four overs from completing its 80-over lifespan, when we finally discovered what a silken, effortless, natural-born quick bowler can achieve when he decides the time is ripe to bend that back, and go from effortless to effort-full.Comparisons are odious when the action is as raw and visceral as Archer made it. The historian David Frith, who witnessed Frank Tyson in his pomp in 1954-55 as well as every great West Indian fast bowler from Wes Hall to Ian Bishop, rightly pointed out that Archer is his own man, with his own methods, and moreover he was bowling within his own context.The pitch, the conditions, the emotions, the opponents – all of these differ from one great spell to the next, meaning that Harold Larwood at Adelaide in 1932-33, or Jeff Thomson at Brisbane in 1974-75, or Allan Donald at Trent Bridge, or Michael Holding at The Oval, can only really stand as testament to their own brilliance, bullet-points in Test cricket’s extraordinary history, or bullet-holes if you prefer.But what we witnessed, in the context of the recent Ashes rivalry, was a passage of play as savage, compelling and potentially series-turning as that moment when Mitchell Johnson first slipped his handbrake at Brisbane in 2013-14. In a searing eight-over spell at the end of a 29-over innings, Archer reminded us that there’s a world of difference between run-of-the-mill quick bowling and furious, rip-snortingly rapid head-hunting.”I’ve got massive admiration for Jofra,” said a mildly chastened Langer, who insisted that his point about Archer’s stamina had been misconstrued. “He’s an unbelievable athlete, an incredibly skillful bowler.”To bowl 30 overs, it doesn’t matter if you’re Jofra Archer, or Pat Cummins, or Josh Hazlewood, or James Anderson, or [Kagiso] Rabada. It’s hard work. And that was my point before the game. His endurance was outstanding today, his skill and his pace. What an athlete, what a great player to have to promote Test cricket.”All throughout his maiden Test innings, Archer had been lurking in Australia’s peripheral vision. Pacing, probing, sizing up the pitch, his opponents, and perhaps most of all, his command of a red Dukes ball, the like of which he has barely used in 11 months.”I don’t think Jofra bowled as quick as he can out there,” said Stuart Broad at the close of day three.I think it’s fair to say we have seen him do so now…The catalyst for his onslaught was his return to the Pavilion End, the traditional hunting ground of the senior strike bowler, with its slope back down into the right-hander designed to create doubt in that channel outside off, the very channel in which Steven Smith has been so imperious throughout this series.Within six balls, Archer had breached Australia’s first line of defence, as Tim Paine – watchful throughout his second-fiddle innings – was caught in two minds (and then at short leg) by the one that nipped back off the seam. And like every fast bowler that’s ever been born, the thrill of a wicket was all that Archer needed to tip his game into overdrive.In Archer’s next full over with Smith in his sights, he began to purr through his gears – 93mph, 94mph, 94mph – as smooth through his acceleration as a Porsche on the Autobahn. And suddenly Smith found that his extra split-second was no longer there, that his peerless ability to sight the ball on the back foot and point to it mockingly as he left it on the front was redundant.And then, the first morale-denting strike. A vicious lifter into the forearm, as Smith curled into a defensive ball straight from the hand, unsettled by the line and no longer able to compute the length as the ball chased him like a rogue bludger before leaving him shaking his left arm in agony.For a time it seemed he might have to retire there and then, his grip compromised, his invincible aura torn, but to his immense credit he popped a couple of pills, accepted some tight binding and took his guard once more. But it was clear that the passive aggression with which he had dominated England for three innings was not coming back – at least not here, not now. This was fight-or-flight mode, and again to his credit, Smith chose the former.Steven Smith fell to the ground after being hit•Getty Images

Consecutive bouncers, consecutive hooks – like KP against Lee at The Oval in 2005, but without the soaring upshot, as the first skimmed out of Jonny Bairstow’s reach for four before the second plugged behind square for the single. And then, a scorcher, sizzling into the gloves at a scarcely believable 96.1mph … handbrake not so much slipped as torn clean out of its socket.But the coup de grace was still to come. Another bouncer, another less-than-confident hook for four … and then the sucker punch. An exquisitely awful moment of pure sporting theatre, as Smith was slammed on the side of the neck by another ugly, incredible, spiteful snorter, and felled in the same instant.The reaction around Lord’s was stunned bewilderment … much like Archer’s as well, who initially turned on his heel, his objective for the delivery achieved, before realising he needed to join the loose melee that had formed around the stricken Smith, who did at least – in removing his own helmet while spread-eagled on the deck – telegraph the fact that he had not been laid out cold.An uncomfortable hush descended as the physios of both teams rushed out to attend to Smith, punctuated by a few boos from the witless few who still believe he deserves to be judged for his actions in Cape Town rather than his incredible feats both here and at Edgbaston.And though he left the field without assistance, it was still a surprise to see him returning to the middle, to yawn into a succession of devil-may-care fours that inched him within touching distance of his third century in as many innings.It wasn’t the same batsman who had left the crease some 45 minutes earlier, however. For starters he ended up being pinned lbw, offering no shot as Chris Woakes curled one back into off stump – the holy grail dismissal that England had begun to believe was a myth in this series.”It took a serious spell of fast bowling from Jofra to get Steve out of his bubble, because so far in the series he has been incredible,” Woakes said. “I’m sure it was incredible to watch because it was incredible to be a part of it on the field and thankfully, having seen Steve on the balcony, it looks like he’s okay which is obviously good news.”Smith’s return to the middle, Langer joked, had come about because he had protested he wouldn’t be able to get himself onto the honours board if he stayed sitting in the dressing-room. And though he failed in that objective, the drama had been so absolute that, for once in this series, his extraction from the crease counted for less than the fact that he had returned to it at all.

The Pakistan coach believes Amir could have managed his workload better had he looked after his body during the banned period

Danyal Rasool29-Jul-2019Pakistan head coach Mickey Arthur termed Mohammad Amir’s decision to retire from Test cricket “unsurprising”, saying the bowler had been thinking about it for over a year. Arthur revealed the management had tried to ease Amir’s workload over the past year, and experimented with the possibility of making him an overseas-only bowler. Ultimately, however, Arthur said he respected Amir’s decision, and hoped it would give Pakistan a “rejuvenated” limited-overs bowler.”It was on the cards for a long while,” Arthur told ESPNcricinfo. “Amir had been speaking to me about it with me for some time now. His Test career was taking a strain on his body. It’s not about management here. It’s about his desire to play Test cricket and the effects it has on his body. I think Amir’s an unbelievable bowler and reluctantly I accepted his decision because that’s what he wanted to do and that’s what he thought was best for himself. What it does do is give us a white-ball bowler that I think we can get a longer period from.”ESPNcricinfo understands several people behind the scenes involved with Pakistan cricket had attempted to talk Amir out of the Test retirement, and offered up the possibility of reduced workloads, or games in conditions that were more conducive to his strengths. It was part of the reason the Pakistan selection panel managed him the way they did over the past home season, with the bowler sitting out the five Tests in the UAE before coming back into the fold for the three-match Test series against South Africa.Amir has only played four Tests in the UAE, Pakistan’s home for his entire career. Strong as they have been in the desert, however, Pakistan ended up on the losing side in three of those four games, representing over a third of all Test losses in the UAE over this period. The case could be made that not playing him in the UAE was as much a dropping as it was diligent management.Arthur, too, was emphatic Amir could have been used in Test cricket like that over the long run. “Of course there was [a possibility Amir would only play away]”, Arthur said. “We managed him through the South African series. He didn’t play any Test cricket during the UAE last year. That was part of his management, and we started putting that in place because we wanted him for the South African series.”Arthur even acknowledged he would have “loved for Amir to stay on”, but conceded the fast bowler’s “mind and body weren’t in the format anymore”. In an interview with ESPNcricinfo, Amir had suggested he might cut back on Tests as early as last year, but Arthur believed the real damage had been done when he was banned for five years for spot-fixing in 2010. In that period, by Amir’s own admission, he didn’t prepare himself for returning to international cricket, which meant he was ill-equipped for the workload that would be thrown his way after five years of indolence.Mickey Arthur chats to Mohammad Amir during practice•PA Photos

“He had five years out of the game, we mustn’t forget that. In those five years, he didn’t do anything. His body was not up to the rigours of day in, day out Test cricket. We pushed him as much as we could during the England and South Africa series, because he is such a good bowler whom we wanted during those tours. We’ve tried everything we possibly could with Amir.”He could have managed those five years better. He’d be the first one to acknowledge that. But I understand where he was in his whole life, so it was a tough period for him. I understand all that. I’ve got a very soft spot for Mohammad Amir. As a person and as a cricketer, I admire him greatly. Yes, I am disappointed he won’t be playing Test cricket for us. But it was made in the best interests of his white-ball cricket in mind.”Amir had been fading in limited-overs cricket since the 2017 Champions Trophy, having gone 13 consecutive ODIs without a wicket in the first Powerplay. But his reputation saw him sneak into the World Cup squad at the last minute, and there, he was a different cricketer once more, finishing as the most prolific Pakistan bowler at the tournament with 17 wickets, which only six bowlers bettered. It is that big-match temperament that has Arthur licking his lips.”We get a white-ball bowler who’s going to be rejuvenated, refreshed, and with a T20 World Cup just around the corner, in 18 months’ time we’ve got a potential match-winner because we know he performs on the big stage. Like every other player who plays for Pakistan, he’s going to need to put in match-winning performances. But he’ll certainly get the opportunity to do that, and he will start in our white-ball cricket.”Arthur wouldn’t be drawn on where Amir placed in the storied pantheon of great Pakistani fast bowlers, going down the route of wistfulness instead.”The Amir hype all those years ago was justified because he is a quality bowler. When the ball swings there’s not much better. But he’s not the bowler now that he was in 2009 and 2010. He was different, his body was different. Making a connection between the bowler now and then would be wrong. But had he not had those five years out of the game, I think he would be up there with the very best Pakistan have ever had.”

They continue to keep pace with Trinbago Knight Riders as their spin attack dismantled the Patriots, restricting them for 121 before romping past the target in a seven-wicket win

The Report by Peter Della Penna15-Sep-2019Guyana Amazon Warriors continue to keep pace with Trinbago Knight Riders as their spin attack dismantled the St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots at Warner Park, bowling out the hosts for 121 in 19 overs before romping past the target in a seven-wicket win on Saturday night.Spinners accounted for seven of the first eight wickets to fall, a runout by Imran Tahir producing the other, before Keemo Paul wiped out the tail in a dominant bowling effort. Brandon King then clattered a rapid 49 in the Powerplay as half the target was knocked off by the end of the sixth over. Shoaib Malik and Nicholas Pooran picked up the slack scoring an unbeaten 24 and 18 respectively to take Amazon Warriors over the line with 25 balls to spare.Spin to WinAmazon Warriors’ strategy of opening with spin from both ends has flummoxed opposition early in CPL 2019 and this match was no different. After struggling to get Chandrapaul Hemraj’s left-arm spin away in the first over, Devon Thomas was defeated by a skiddy delivery from Chris Green to start the second. Laurie Evans had done well to negotiate Green, Hemraj and Tahir through the rest of the Powerplay until the final ball when he tried to take on Tahir’s arm from short fine leg and was run out with a direct hit at the striker’s end for 26.It proved to be a pivotal moment as Qais Ahmad was soon whittling through the line-up. Mohammad Hafeez, who was brought in to open in place of Evin Lewis after the local star was injured playing football in warm-ups, couldn’t get the elevation on a drive against Qais and picked out Shimron Hetmyer at long-off for 14.Tahir then struck twice in the ninth, first trapping Jason Mohammed playing down the wrong line for 4 before Dominic Drakes top-edged a slog sweep that fell safely into the hands of Qais at midwicket in the ring for 2. Shamarh Brooks tried his best to counter-attack scoring 34 in a 44-run stand with Fabian Allen but eventually fell skying a drive to Hetmyer off Qais. Qais took his third three balls later when Allen fell sweeping to Keemo Paul at deep square leg, helping him earn Player-of-the-Match honours.Green came back to knock over Joseph for the eighth wicket, skying a catch to King at point. By this stage captain Carlos Brathwaite was running out of partners and tried to take on Paul but only managed to find Green at long-on. Two balls later, Paul had his second to end the innings with one over to spare when he lunged to his left to pull off a sharp return catch off Cottrell. After the run-fest between the Knight Riders and Jamaica Tallawahs 24 hours earlier, Patriots’ performance looked especially limp.King of Warner ParkThe 24-year-old Amazon Warriors right-hander just missed out on what would have been his second career T20 fifty. But King still did more than plenty to deflate what hope Patriots might have had of defending the meagre target by striking his 49 at better than 200.After a skewed drive over point for his first boundary off Sheldon Cottrell in the first over, he meted out severe punishment in the third against the left-arm quick. A cut behind point produced his second boundary on the third ball of the over before he smashed a length ball out of the ground over midwicket for six. A sumptuous drive through extra cover followed for another four before he glided a full toss behind point for another boundary to end an 18-run over.Allen wasn’t spared either replacing Cottrell for the fifth. Getting his length a touch too short in the fifth, Allen was carted over long-on for six. The left-arm spinner appeared to defeat King in flight on the fifth ball of the over but King released one hand off the bat for a tennis backhand over long-off to complete another audacious six. Back-to-back fours in the sixth off Hafeez took him to 49 but his innings came to an end when he tried to pinch a tight single to square leg off the final ball of the Powerplay that Hemraj hesitated in response to, and by the time King tried to get back in his crease, Mohammed had relayed to Thomas to catch him two yards short.But by this stage King had done the bulk of the heavy lifting for the visitors. Despite two more wickets falling – Hemraj and Hetmyer – Pooran and Shoaib set their modes to cruise control and went through the rest of the chase unfussed. Victory was eventually clinched with a wide in the 16th over.

Wellington give the offspinner dispensation to miss three Plunket Shield games to take up role

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Oct-2019Jeetan Patel will join England’s T20I set-up in his native New Zealand in a new role as spin-bowling consultant next month, in what he hopes will be the first step in a future career as a coach.Patel will join up with the England squad when they arrive in Christchurch next week, having been given special dispensation by Cricket Wellington to miss the first three games of their Plunket Shield season.”Of course it’s tricky,” Patel said. “I’m a contracted player for Wellington, but also there’s life beyond cricket. The opportunity came up and I spoke to Cricket Wellington and they were very positive about me doing that, firstly for my development beyond playing, and it gives other guys an opportunity to perform in my place which is part of handing over the mantle.”It’s a matter of getting as much experience as you can wherever the roles are. That’s the great thing about these comps around the world. For me, looking at what’s next, you’ve got to tap into these opportunities when they arise because they don’t arise all the time.”To work with England is huge and I’m so grateful that this has come about – now it’s up to me what I do with it.”The series starts at Hagley Oval on November 1, and is the first step in England’s preparations for the T20 World Cup in Australia next year.There are two frontline spinners in England’s 15-man squad in the shape of Adil Rashid and Matt Parkinson, while Joe Denly and Dawid Malan are possible part-time options.Patel, 39, has been Warwickshire’s regular overseas player since 2012, and boasts an impressive T20 record, with 229 wickets in the format at an economy rate just below seven.He played 11 T20Is for New Zealand between 2005 and 2008, and last played international cricket in 2017.

With Pieter Seelaar and Fred Klaassen also contributing handsomely, they wrapped up their fourth straight win over Ireland at ICC T20 tournaments

The Report by Peter Della Penna in Dubai01-Nov-2019Ever since that magical night in Sylhet in 2014, Ireland have never been able to find an answer to break the Netherlands stranglehold over them at ICC T20 tournaments. The Dutch made sure that impressive streak continued on Friday afternoon with a 21-run win at Dubai International Stadium. Netherlands now await the winner of the second semi-final between Papua New Guinea and Namibia to find out who they will play for the tournament title on Saturday night.Ryan ten Doeschate and Roelof van der Merwe tag-teamed with a crucial 56-run stand across the final five overs of the first innings. Van der Merwe then provided another key spark in the field, getting the opening duo of Kevin O’Brien and Paul Stirling in consecutive overs, coming on straight after the Powerplay, before Fred Klaassen struck a pair of key blows off consecutive deliveries in the 13th over to derail the Ireland chase, triggering a collapse from 84 for 2 to lose 7 for 24.Ireland captain Gary Wilson chose to send Netherlands in on what he later described as a spongy wicket that had been watered significantly with four matches to come on it over the next two days. His bowlers backed up the decision over the initial three-quarters of the innings as the Dutch maneuvered methodically to 102 for 4.Craig Young tied down the Dutch in the Powerplay, getting Max O’Dowd edging to backward point in the fourth before bowling Colin Ackermann with a yorker in the sixth to make it 27 for 2. Pieter Seelaar grafted with Ben Cooper in an effort to push the innings along but the pair struggled to generate momentum. Seelaar gloved a short ball from Boyd Rankin through to Wilson for 21 off 22 balls in the 12th before Cooper was caught on the crease to a skiddy topspinner from Gareth Delany to be bowled for 37 on the last ball of the 15th.At that stage, Netherlands had only scored seven boundaries. But they more than doubled that across the final quarter of the innings through the experienced County duo of ten Doeschate and van der Merwe. The pair punished Ireland as well for some sloppy fielding across the final stages that contributed to their rally as ten Doeschate drove over long-on and pulled over midwicket for a pair of sixes off Young to spoil his figures at the end of a 19-run 19th over. Another 11 came off the 20th to push the Dutch past 150.Ireland’s chase benefited from some equally haphazard fielding from the Dutch early in the replay. Both Stirling and O’Brien were put down off Klaassen on 22 and 10 respectively in the fifth over. O’Brien rubbed salt into the wound in the sixth with two boundaries off Paul van Meekeren.But van der Merwe cemented his case for Man of the Match at the conclusion of the Powerplay when he induced a false drive from O’Brien to long-off at the end of the seventh. He was on a hat-trick after striking with an arm ball to start the ninth that defeated Stirling’s attempted cut to knock back off stump. Still, Ireland had a solid platform at 57 for 2 and Delany confidently charged van der Merwe to drive straight for six in the 11th.After being luckless in the Powerplay, Klaassen returned in the 13th to begin dismantling the Irish middle order. A cutter produced a miscue by Delany to long-on before Andy Balbirnie went too far across his stumps trying to paddle the left-arm quick through fine leg and instead was bowled behind his legs with a leg-stump yorker.Seelaar capitalised on Klaassen’s double-strike by bowling Wilson to end the 14th before he became the third Dutch bowler to be on a hat-trick in the match when he claimed Mark Adair and Harry Tector off consecutive balls in the 16th, both caught slogging on the boundary. From 82 for 2, Ireland were suddenly out of the game at 95 for 7.Van Meekeren and Brandon Glover took a tail-end wicket each to make it 108 for 9 before George Dockrell and Boyd Rankin gave a cosmetic adjustment to the scorecard with an unbroken 29-run stand. The result is now the fourth ICC T20 tournament in a row in which Netherlands have beaten Ireland. It includes wins in the opening rounds of the T20 World Cup in 2014 and 2016 plus the T20 World Cup Qualifier semi-final at Malahide in 2015.

India U-19 squad set to leave for South Africa a month early, to play preparatory series and warm-up games

Sreshth Shah in Bengaluru15-Dec-20192:16

India U-19s are young, but they are professionals – Mhambrey

When India take the field in Bloemfontein on January 19, their captain Priyam Garg will be beginning a campaign to win his country’s fifth Under-19 World Cup. The four captains who previously led India to the title were Mohammad Kaif in 2000, Virat Kohli in 2008, Unmukt Chand in 2012 and, most recently, Prithvi Shaw in 2018. So, it’s only natural that Garg has reached out to one of them for tips on winning the Cup.Speaking in Bengaluru ahead of the India U-19s’ departure for the World Cup in South Africa, Garg – in the company of U-19 head coach Paras Mhambrey – said that Shaw recently spoke to him about what goes into being a successful captain.”Although I haven’t spoken to Virat sir yet, I have spoken to Prithvi sir a lot,” Garg said. “He told me ‘your planning, your process and your team-bonding is most important’. The more the team will feel a sense of togetherness, the better will they perform. Prithvi sir also told me that the team should know what their strengths are. He said that team-bonding played a big role in India’s success in 2018. And he told me the importance of bringing the best out of the players.”Garg said that his previous U-19 captaincy stints, and having a stable core of players, will help him deal with what lies ahead. Coach Mhambrey agrees with this.ALSO READ: The Priyam Garg story – From standing up to Bhuvneshwar to leading India“There’s no pressure for me,” Garg said. “I am seeing it only as an opportunity to captain a team in such a big tournament. We’ve played so many events, so that’s an advantage for us. As a captain, all I’m thinking about is how to take my team forward… how to navigate the team out of difficult situations.””They may be at a young age, but they are professionals out here,” Mhambrey added. “They represent their states, they know what’s exactly expected from them. Some of them have played against each other, some of them have played in the same state teams, so they understand each other.”For the past week, the squad has been training at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru, fine-tuning their game ahead of the trip to South Africa.They’re going a month in advance to play a three-game series against South Africa, followed by a quadrangular tournament featuring the hosts, New Zealand and Zimbabwe. Add to that the practice games ahead of the World Cup and the preparation back home, and coach Mhambrey believes the team will be at their peak when they start the tournament against Sri Lanka.ALSO READ: Everything you need to know about India’s U-19 World Cup squad“We had a good couple of days, some good net sessions at Alur,” Mhambrey said. “One of the requirements at Alur was to prepare helpful wickets. We had three practice sessions, played on seamer-friendly or bowler-friendly conditions. So, we’ve done those to the best of our abilities.”The good thing is that we’re a very balanced side. [We have] seaming allrounders, spinning allrounders, quality fast bowlers and batsmen as well. So, those games in South Africa give us an opportunity to experiment and try a few combinations. In case we face such conditions, then we know the right steps.”We’ve been preparing for the conditions we can expect there. But you also have to be flexible. You go in with one kind of mindset, but the conditions may not turn out that way. Teams that are flexible will always do well. We’re looking at doing that too. We’ve spoken about it and we’re lucky to have a balanced XV.”India are in Group A of the World Cup, alongside New Zealand, Sri Lanka and first-time qualifiers Japan. With four titles, they are the most successful team in the tournament’s history. The 16-team tournament begins on January 17.

He struggled initially but converted a nine-ball-three and a run-a-ball 20 into a match-winning 94 off 50

The Report by Sidharth Monga06-Dec-20194:32

Star Sports Match Point – Pathan runs out of adjectives for Kohli

An unmistakable sign of greatness shone through as Virat Kohli sealed India’s sixth straight successful chase at home, their second-highest successful one overall.For a large part of the chase, Kohli kept fighting himself, unable to find his touch, but he found a way to turn a start of a nine-ball-three and a run-a-ball 20 in a two-run-a-ball chase into a match-winning 94 off 50. And he didn’t play all that well. Let it sink in. That’s greatness right there.Animated, furious at himself and the opposition, Kohli had a capacity crowd live the chase with him. At one point, he hit a six and mocked Kesrick Williams’ signature celebration wherein he pulls out an imaginary notebook from his pocket and pretends to strike off the batsman’s name off.This was a rare high-scoring T20 match where the side scoring fewer runs in boundaries ended up winning. India managed 120 in boundaries as compared to West Indies’ 134, but West Indies made up for it with the extras they conceded: 21 to India’s four, not counting leg-byes, which are not a sign of ordinary discipline.West Indies refuse to slow downThe last time India won the toss, they chose to bat against South Africa, knowing fully well defending is their weaker suit, especially in dewy conditions. That, though, was with a series lead in hand. In the series opener against West Indies, they stuck to chasing. West Indies knew they had their task cut out.From the moment Evin Lewis got stuck into Washington Sundar in the first over, West Indies were on a mission to get themselves a defendable total. It didn’t matter that Lendl Simmons fell in Deepak Chahar’s first over. Brandon King hit the third ball he faced for four. Nor did Lewis’ wicket for 40 off 17 in the sixth over slow them down. When King fell in the 11th over, Shimron Hetmyer immediately hit Ravindra Jadeja for four.Chahal makes the differenceIt seemed India may have missed a trick not bowling the legspin of Yuzvendra Chahal the moment Kieron Pollard walked out. It was 107 for 3 after 11 when Chahal could have exploited Pollard’s weakness against legspin. Instead Shivam Dube was hit for 13, and Jadeja for 12 in the next. However, by getting the wickets of Hetmyer and Pollard in the 18th over, Chahal may have made sure West Indies don’t make an absolute killing of the final few overs. Jason Holder’s nine-ball-24, though, took them to a total India have never chased successfully before.Rahul charges at West IndiesDew was going to play a part, but India still needed a quick start to this chase. Back as opener in Shikhar Dhawan’s absence, KL Rahul provided just that. He went after Holder in the second over, and then made sure India didn’t fall streets behind when Kohli struggled for a start upon the early dismissal of Rohit Sharma. Along the way he became the third-fastest to 1000 T20 international runs in terms of innings taken to get there.BCCI

The Kohli showAt the other end, though, Kohli was just not himself. But in being that, he was more himself than he can ever be. At every shank, he kept admonishing himself. Then he tried harder, and shanked harder. West Indies, generous with wides, were smart with their changes of pace. Perhaps a word or three flew too. A border-line no-ball call for height went West Indies’ way. Kohli reacted to everything, especially to the bowlers’ interaction with him. Many a great batsman are known to go in their shell and only respond to chirping once the job is done, but Kohli was thriving on it. He was perhaps looking for it. Who knows if there was any chirping?All we know is Kohli was not happy, and he was willing himself to concentrate harder. Reading body language is usually fraught with risks, but you could obviously say Kohli on this night was in some other zone. And with every single he took, the asking rate went up. At the halfway mark, India needed to go at 11.9 an over. Hayden Walsh then bowled a lovely over but Kohli got away with an inside edge for four. In the next over, Holder set him up for the slower bouncer, which has brought him success with Kohli before, but this top edge sailed over for six. Then he smacked a full toss for four and fought with the umpires for a no-ball. The man was fighting every inch, hyper aware of everything.In the 13th over, Williams bowled two no-balls, but it was still obvious that Kohli was struggling for timing against him. Amid all this, Rahul drilled Khary Pierre straight to long-off. India still needed 78 off 39, and Kohli had only just begun to find his bearings.EndgameIndia promoted Rishabh Pant, which brought them double dividend. Apart from the right-left combination, it meant the legspinner Walsh didn’t bowl anymore. And Pant made sure of that with the first ball he faced, getting down on a knee and smacking Pierre for a six. Kohli fed off it, and went after Holder in the next over. Nineteen runs came off five balls, and at 55 required off 34, India’s win probability had gone from 27 to 73 according to Cricinfo’s forecaster.Trying big hits, Pant and Shreyas Iyer fell to keep West Indies interested but Kohli was never going to come back with the chase unfinished. Not on this night.