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Yorkshire fight in follow-on but title could soon be decided with Hampshire struggling

Vithushan Ehantharajah21-Sep-2022The Micky Stewart Oval was not immune from the cluster of wickets afflicting this round of the County Championship. However day two’s tally of 16 did at least speed us along to a conclusion of the season overall in a match of consequence.It is probably worth starting at the end of Wednesday, when Yorkshire walked off 65 behind in their follow-on innings. In skittling the visitors out for 179, Surrey had established a first-innings lead of 154, even after they started the day flunking their own first effort for a respectable 333 that should have been more. Considering second-place Hampshire are 105 for four in pursuit of a target of 378 set by Kent, this has been one of the better days for Rory Burns’ charges.If Hampshire lose, then Surrey can claim Championship No. 21 with victory, given they arrived with an eight-point cushion. And should they do so without needing to worry about Friday’s rain, it will be largely because of the work of 19-year-old Tom Lawes, who capped off a breakthrough summer with career-best figures of four for 31 in Yorkshire’s first innings.Accounting for three of the top four shows the value of his work, and the dismissal of Finlay Bean – swinging in, then seaming away to clip off stump from around the wicket – showcased real skill. Contrary to popular belief, they don’t like to talk up their younglings around here, but as he set about chipping away at the rest, you realised plenty of others would do the talking for them.It was one thing to excel during the Royal London Cup given the higher profile absentees, but standing out alongside an experienced bowling attack was noteworthy. Lawes had Hill and Kohler-Cadmore caught by Ben Foakes before a quality yorker did for Ben Coad, who was already backing away. There is more work to do tomorrow but, for now, Lawes’ season average sits at 19.16 with 18 wickets. Expect the latter to sit below 20, while the other doesn’t, by the time this match is over.Surrey arrived in control of their own in-game destiny, especially with Jordan Clark and Jamie Overton still at the crease and both more than capable of combining for most of the 108 runs needed for all five batting points. Alas, within 21 deliveries, both they and Kemar Roach had departed for the addition of just seven runs.Clark failed to add to his overnight 55 – bowled by Ben Mike – and Overton departed with the nine he brought with him from Tuesday. Hill, having trapped Overton in front, then bowled Roach for his eventual two for 46, which left Surrey 299 for nine. What followed was an engaging last-wicket dart from that man Lawes and Dan Worrall, the kind that starts off as a bit of fun before morphing into something really quite serious.It had surpassed humour by 80 overs, certainly from Yorkshire’s perspective. The pair had managed five boundaries between them, including a six when Worrall leant back and smoked Steven Patterson (four for 69) over wide long-off. With that, Jonny Tattersall called for the new ball and Coad from the Pavilion End with a view to ending this nonsense. And though Worrall would follow up with a gorgeous flick over square leg for six and and a smear through midwicket, bringing hope of 350 and a fourth batting point, a third hoick to the leg side nestled into the hands of Mike running in from the fence.That final stand of 34 went some way to reminding the visitors of some of Tuesday’s struggle, and it was brought back to the forefront of their minds when experienced opener Adam Lyth was squared up by Roach to skew a shoulder-height catch to Ryan Patel at third slip.It was somewhat remarkable that Lyth was the only wicket to fall in the opening spell between Roach and Worrall, particularly given how much movement the latter was getting from the Vauxhall End. He did managed to snare Will Fraine in his second spell to make it 67 for three, caught by Ollie Pope at second slip having had a chance dropped by Patel two balls before. All the while Lawes was getting into his work with great skill and a helping hand from Tom Kohler-Cadmore, who had looked dangerous for his boundary-filled 55 – 10 to the fence, including a six – before an ugly hack across the line that might explain why this was only his third score above fifty in eight innings this season.Clark’s brace accounted for the sting in the tail, bowling Dom Bess and nicking off the left-handed Jordan Thompson from around the wicket, before a bonus for part-time leg spinner Cameron Steel who bowled Mike with very much a full-time googly. And rounding off the first 10 Yorkshire wickets was Jamie Overton snaring Patterson at second slip (Pope) for a first wicket since a foot injury interrupted his season on July 25.Overton’s second would be Surrey’s final of the day: extra lift from that extra pace forcing Hill to fend when he initially planned on defending, for Pope’s third catch of the day. And with that, Hill got an early look about how little this game cares about you. Twice he showcased pluck and judgement, first for 28 stretched out over an hour and now a sharp 35 from 68 deliveries that probably ensured Surrey will have to bat again to win this.Worrall had the first of the second innings, finding prestigious movement from around the wicket to bowl the left-handed Bean between bat and pad from around the wicket. Otherwise, it was a relatively comfortable end to a chaotic day for Yorkshire, and no doubt Surrey’s quicks will be better for a night’s rest ahead of what should be one final push on day three.

Saqib Mahmood helps reduce Northants to 59 for three, still needing 366 runs on final day

Paul Edwards17-Apr-2021When this morning’s play began Lancashire had a lead of 188 over Northamptonshire and all their second-innings wickets in hand. By the time the long day closed at 7.20pm they had reduced the visitors to 59 for 3 and a victory target of 425 appeared merely fantastical. A good day for the Red Rose, you might think, and you would be correct. Yet much of their batting had been so careless that it might have been designed to have their head coach, Glen Chapple, emulating Bertie Wooster’s Aunt Agatha and hopping about with a hatchet.The one player exempted from Chapple’s ire was Steven Croft, whose unbeaten century will have had Lancashire supporters smiling in shared pleasure. Croft’s love for the county of his birth is undoubted. When he pulled Nathan Buck for six to reach his hundred, thereby prompting a declaration, the home dressing room erupted in noisy acclamation. Croft was hugged by Tom Hartley, his batting partner, and he raised his arms towards his team-mates, some of whom may still have been watching Peppa Pig when he first played for Lancashire.The century had been the product of careful workmanship rather than effortless style. There were pulls to square leg, nudges through the slips and leg glances but only seven fours. The one concession to modernity, albeit Croft has kept his place in Lancashire’s T20 team, was the reverse sweep, which he now plays as easily as Robert Browning once produced rhyming couplets. He could have gone for three early in the morning session had Adam Rossington clung on to a right-handed diving catch but Croft has long been careful to make the most of such opportunities, for he has no clue how many more he might get.Three years ago he thought he would not get another contract with Lancashire but the coaches opted to give him another season, then one more, then another. There was nothing indulgent about these decisions. Although not the five-furlong favourite he once was, Croft can still do a job anywhere in the field and held on to two slip catches as Northants subsided this evening.Related

• Centuries to Joe Root, Adam Lyth put Yorkshire in command at Kent

• Kiran Carlson scores second ton for match to bring Glamorgan back into contest

• 'Sack it, I'm going to try and rip it' – Matt Parkinson on his ball-of-the-century contender

Croft played in the side that won the Championship in 2011 and he skippered the team that won the T20 Blast in 2015. He is 37 in October yet it is an offence against nature to think of him as a veteran. Like schoolboys with a favourite master, supporters honour him with a nickname, although ‘Crofty’ is hardly in the class of ‘Rhino’, the name the boys at Thursgood’s gave to Jim Prideaux. This was his first Championship century since 2017 but there have been more than enough valuable innings in the meantime to reassure supporters wondering if a much-loved cricketer might have hung on a season too long.Application and an awareness of responsibility are often made particularly noticeable by their absence elsewhere and Lancashire’s other batsmen probably made Croft’s effort appear a little better than it was. Both openers were dismissed in the first nine deliveries of the morning, Keaton Jennings playing around an inswinger from Ben Sanderson and Alex Davies pushing forward just enough to edge Tom Taylor to Ricardo Vasconcelos at first slip. But the worst was yet to come.Having driven the Northants seamers for three of the pleasantest boundaries we will see this season Josh Bohannon played skew-whiff at a well-flighted off-spinner from Rob Keogh and inside-edged the ball onto his leg stump. Given that he had been presented with a good opportunity to collect a cheeky 80 runs or so, Bohannon’s 22 must have frustrated the coaches. But Lancashire were still well placed on 162 for 3 at lunch. On the resumption sanity left the stadium.In the first over of the afternoon session Dane Vilas played the ball to square leg and called Croft for an absurd single. The daftness of the exercise was plain almost immediately but not soon enough to save Lancashire’s skipper. Two overs later Croft clipped the ball in a similar direction only to see Rob Jones scampering down the wicket as if escaping a lunatic with a sharp knife. Emilio Gay threw the ball to the non-striker’s end and someone noted that five of Lancashire’s last 18 wickets had been lost to run outs. For the only time since last August one was grateful spectators were not present.The rest of the innings was less deranged. Luke Wood and Tom Bailey helped Croft take Northamptonshire’s target beyond that scored by any side in the fourth innings to beat Lancashire and the visitors’ job was made even harder by Saqib Mahmood’s magnificently hostile five-over spell with the new ball from the James Anderson End. The fast bowler beat both Ben Curran and Gay for pace and is clearly well suited to the short burst Vilas gave him. He will be steaming in again in the morning and then Matt Parkinson will send down some leg spin. Northants have form when it comes to foxing the bookies but one cannot like their chances.

India last played a 50-over game in August, but the biggest concern is the fickle weather

The Preview by Shashank Kishore14-Dec-20193:15

India’s bench strength under the scanner

Big Picture

It is common knowledge that Chennai gets a lot of rain in December. Yet, here we are trying to squeeze in an ODI, when two more T20Is would’ve brought in more context with the World Cup just around the corner. Ironical as it may be, we could well have a curtailed game veering towards the T20s if the weather, which forced India to call off their optional nets on Friday and West Indies on Saturday, continues to remain fickle.India have not played ODIs for a while. Their last 50-over series came in the Caribbean, well remembered for that audacious Virat Kohli shot, where he opened up the off-side and carved a short of length delivery on the up for six over extra cover while being off balance. It even had Sir Viv Richards admiring the shot in awe. If you don’t remember the scoreline of the series, though, or any other detail, well, you would be forgiven.West Indies have the benefit of having played a good amount of white-ball cricket on tour, even before the T20I series. They whitewashed Afghanistan 3-0 in the ODI series in Lucknow to begin Kieron Pollard’s captaincy era on a promising note. So far, West Indies have made all the right noises, both in terms of their squad selection as well as administrative intent to become a formidable force once again. This ODI series is another opportunity to build forward.

Form guide

India WWWLW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
West IndiesWWWLL

In the spotlight

KL Rahul is in one day, out the next. He is opening one day, at No. 4 the next. There hasn’t been much clarity about his role in the white-ball set up. With Shikhar Dhawan injured, this is Rahul’s best chance to settle the debate by making big runs. It will be of massive help to him that he is coming into the series on the back of a Man-of-the-Match-winning performance in the third T20I.He has been mistaken to be the son of Courtney Walsh, but if he bowled anywhere like he did in the Caribbean Premier League – where he picked up 22 wickets in nine games – Hayden Walsh will likely carve an identity of his own. He cannot ask for better spin-friendly tracks than Chennai and Cuttack to make a splash. His three ODIs against Afghanistan didn’t bring him a rich haul, but there were shades of promise.BCCI

Team news

Mayank Agarwal may have to wait for his ODI debut, but Shivam Dube could earn his. There could be a toss-up between Kedar Jadhav and Ravindra Jadeja.India: 1 KL Rahul, 2 Rohit Sharma, 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 Shreyas Iyer, 5 Rishabh Pant (wk), 6 Kedar Jadhav, 7 Shivam Dube, 8 Deepak Chahar, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Yuzvendra Chahal, 11 Mohammed ShamiEwin Lewis has a soft-tissue injury on his knee, so he’s likely to be assessed. With their net session on match eve called off, it’s unlikely they’ll want to risk him straightaway. For now, he’ll remain with the squad. Sunil Ambris or Brandon King could come in for Lewis at the top of the order.West Indies: 1 Sunil Ambris, 2 Shai Hope, 3 Roston Chase, 4 Shimron Hetmyer, Nicholas Pooran (wk), 6 Kieron Pollard, 7 Romario Shephard, 8 Kharry Pierre, 9 Hayden Walsh, 10 Keemo Paul, 11 Alzarri Joseph

Pitch and conditions

Rains for two days in the build-up to the ODI have forced the groundstaff to cover the pitch right through. There hasn’t been much sunshine either. That said, the spinners won’t mind bowling on what is traditionally a good deck for them. India made 281 in the previous ODI here, in September 2017, with Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav picking five Australian wickets in a truncated chase to win the game.

Stats and Trivia

• Virat Kohli has more runs against West Indies in just half the number of games of his nearest competitor. For long, Javed Miandad led the runs rally with 1930 runs in 64 innings. Kohli has already racked up 2146 runs in just 35 innings. In his last nine innings alone, he’s made six hundreds and 870 runs at an average of 174.
• Shai Hope has had a phenomenal last two years as an ODI batsman, averaging 60.54 in 41 innings, with six centuries and 10 half-centuries. This is significantly higher than his overall average of 50.63. However, his strike-rate hovers around 76 in this period, which is far below the norm in ODIs these days. He may want to press on a lot earlier, to avoid putting too much pressure on the big hitters to follow.

Quotes

“The reason why we keep discussing [about] him [Rishabh Pant] is that he has got immense ability. Everybody believes he can be an X-factor. All of us believe he is a good player who can come good.”
“Yes, playing in the IPL augurs well financially and experience-wise, but it is not something which should be at the forefront of your minds in order to succeed.”

Players being treated as commodities by Cricket Australia and living in a ‘gilded bubble’ in-part created an environment for the ball-tampering

Alex Malcolm29-Oct-2018Players being treated as commodities by Cricket Australia and living in a ‘gilded bubble’ in-part created an environment for the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa, according to the Ethics Centre Review into Australian cricket.The review states that “the evidence suggests that Newlands was not an aberration – a cultural ‘outlier’. Rather, it is an extreme example of a latent tendency growing out of the prevailing culture of men’s cricket in Australia – especially (but not exclusively) at the elite level.”The review quoted one respondent stating that the events in Newlands were “disappointing but not surprising”.The review canvassed responses from many elite players who felt they were treated as “commodities” or “assets” and “their ‘measure is recorded in runs made, wickets taken, matches won, world rankings. They count for little – perhaps for nothing – outside of those metrics”.The review found that “in turn, players have internalised the belief that winning is the only thing that matters. For example, a number of elite players made it clear that they would not challenge the bad behaviour of a gifted player – in case doing so would put the player off their game – making the difference between a win or loss.”The review explicitly states, “when the quality of an individual cover drive matters more than a person’s character, then it is difficult to sustain the case for investing in personal integrity.”The new Australia coach Justin Langer, appointed in the midst of the review being undertaken, has been quoted on a number of occasions as wanted to pick players based on their “character over cover drives”.The review also found that the elite pathway for male players reaching the pinnacle of Australian cricket has put them in a ‘gilded bubble’ that is “isolated from the lifeblood of cricket – the multitude of less gifted players who comprise the bulk of the game: and ordinary Australians who make up the game’s fan base.”But the review noted that ‘gilded bubble’ was not just made up of the Australian team but the entire high performance program featuring coaches and support staff.”Unfortunately, the focus on winning and the success of the Australian Men’s Team has pushed the rest of Australian cricket into a subservient role,” the review states.One story of a groundsman preparing a practice pitch over an extended period of time, only to see an elite bowler deliver seven balls before stopping due to reaching their management ‘quota’, highlighted the bubble.”This kind of behaviour speaks of the gross disrespect to those who are not natives of the ‘gilded bubble’,” the review states. “It sets an example in which the ends justify the means. It invites the development of a culture of exceptionalism in which the normal standards of decency do not apply.”Those living within the ‘gilded bubble’ would probably be horrified to realise that this is how their conduct is experienced and judged. They might assume that others understand that none of it is meant to be ‘personal’. That all is done in the service of a greater good – the success of cricket as a whole.”

Former Pakistan head coach will also double up Director Cricket for the PSL franchise

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Sep-2017Former Pakistan fast bowler and two-time head coach of the Pakistan team, Waqar Younis, has been appointed bowling coach and director cricket by Pakistan Super League franchise Islamabad United. The director’s role was previously held by Wasim Akram. Waqar and Akram had earlier been touted for a reunion on the Multan Sultans coaching staff, but it hadn’t materialised.The announcement was made by Islamabad United team owner Ali Naqvi and captain Misbah-ul-Haq.”For any captain who is a batsman it is advantageous to have a coach who is a great bowler, someone he can trust and who commands respect both with the local players and the foreign players,” Misbah said. “Having worked with Waqar before, I think his appointment is a great one for Islamabad United, and one that will benefit our bowlers and our dressing room greatly.”Waqar, also present at the press conference, echoed Misbah’s thoughts.”Misbah and I relied on and helped each other out in the lowest of times for Pakistan cricket,” the new bowling coach said. “Having been through the experience we had from 2010 to 2012 is something that will always be with me, so it feels great to be reunited with someone I have worked with so much over the past seven years.”When I used to see PSL from the outside, Islamabad United seemed like a family to me and I am thrilled to be a part of it. We all want the PSL to come back to Pakistan and we are on the right track.”Waqar had two stints as head coach of Pakistan, which followed two stints as bowling coach after his international retirement. This will be his first foray as a coach in the PSL, but he has experience in franchise cricket from his time as bowling coach of Sunrisers Hyderabad during the Indian Premier League in 2013. Sunrisers had finished with the best economy rate that year.Naqvi said there were “no issues” between Akram and the franchise: “Wasim Akram was a great teacher for our bowlers. There were no issues with him. We are thankful for his services. Wasim worked with Rumman Raees and taught him swing. Now we have Waqar Younis who will teach him toe-crushers.”I think in Waqar we have found the ideal man for this role. Not only does he have years of coaching experience with the national team – both as a bowling coach and a head coach – but a lot of his success has been with many of our current players, especially Misbah.”Furthermore, as a team that believes in numbers, the fact that along with his great numbers with the national team, in his lone IPL season, with the Hyderabad team, his team finished with the best bowling numbers in the tournament provided enough evidence for us to go after him.”Islamabad United had begun the last edition of the PSL as defending champions and were eliminated in the second qualifying playoff by Karachi Kings.

Roston Chase has said that variations and slowing the ball down helped him find success after his five-wicket haul in India’s first innings at Sabina Park

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Aug-20161:29

Five-for is a big confidence-booster – Chase

Roston Chase, the 24-year-old West Indies batting allrounder, had endured an underwhelming debut in the first Test against India in Antigua. He scored 23 and 8, sent down 34 fruitless overs, giving away 102 runs.However, Chase put the disappointment behind and picked up his maiden five-wicket haul on Monday in India’s first innings score of 500 for 9 at Sabina Park. “It is a great feeling to get five wickets in any match, but at Test level, it is a great feeling for me,” he said. “I have just started my Test career and it is a great confidence boost for me that I can do it at this level.”Chase had earned his maiden call-up to the Test side after a good run in the WICB’s regional first-class tournament in which he was fourth on the run-scoring charts with 710 runs at 59.16.In Kingston, West Indies were made to earn every wicket as India’s batsmen mentally wore them down by displaying ample patience and discipline in their defence and shot-making. “Yes, it was hard for me. It’s Test cricket, so you are never taught that it will be easy,” Chase admitted. “But [in] the first game, I found out that my line was a bit too wide. So I adjusted my line and length in this match and the skipper told me to do that – to attack the batsmen more and hold a tighter line, and it worked for me.”Chase, whose wickets included those of Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli, felt that variations helped him improve in this game, and cutting down on pace helped him extract more turn. “As I am 6’4″, I tend to get a lot of bounce, but I found that I wasn’t only getting bounce this time but I was also getting some turn as well, so that helped me a lot,” he said. “I was spinning some balls and straightening some of them as well. I also tried to vary my pace in the game as I found that in the last match, I was a bit too quick. So when I slowed the ball down, I got more results in the match.”Chase turned his arm over for 36.1 overs, the most for his team in India’s first innings, but said he was used to it despite being in the side as a batting allrounder. “I am mainly a batsman, but earlier, in our local first-class season, I wasn’t bowling a lot earlier on. But some of our players left for West Indies duty, so that’s when I got an opportunity to express myself as a bowler. I am a bit accustomed to bowling now.”While there was uncertainty on the weather front due to expected tropical storms, West Indies may have to bat for a significant amount of time, rain interruptions notwithstanding, with two days left in the match. With a 304-run deficit after India’s declaration, Chase admitted that they would need more than the odd spark of brilliance.”We are a bit behind the eight-ball, but I believe that once the team pulls together, we have been seeing glimpses in the first game and this game that we have the ability to compete at this level. But we just need to streamline it a bit more so that we can have a better collective effort. As I said, we have had some glimpses, but we just have to streamline it and we will be fine”.

Cricket Association of Mizoram has sent a formal request to the BCCI to seek affiliation, which could place Mizoram on par with other cricketing states

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Jun-2015Cricket Association of Mizoram has sent a formal request to the BCCI to seek affiliation, which could place Mizoram on par with other cricketing states. Jagmohan Dalmiya, the BCCI president, has forwarded the matter to the affiliation committee members for consideration.
If the affiliation committee recommends that Mizoram be admitted as an affiliate member, the lowest rung of BCCI membership, the AGM, will take the decision in September. For a new member to be introduced, the proposal needs to be passed with a 3/4th majority.If Mizoram, the only state in the north-eastern region that is not under the BCCI umbrella, is admitted as an affiliate member, it will receive financial support of up to Rs five million per annum for five years. More importantly, it may benefit from expert advice and help with regards to creating infrastructure and coaching structure in the state. After five years, an affiliate member can apply to be promoted as an associate member.Financial grants may vary depending on the BCCI’s assessment of whether an affiliate is using its funds effectively at grassroot levels. But if the association fails to submit annual accounts by July 31 every year, the financial support may be discontinued.With respect to promotion of cricket in the North-Eastern states, Dalmiya has already sent his recommendations to the New Area Development Committee, which included preparation of more turf wickets, conducting coaching programmes, development of one full-size cricket ground, and one indoor coaching facility per state.Besides its 30 full members, Chhattisgarh State Cricket Sangh, Sikkim Cricket Association, Manipur Cricket Association and Bihar Cricket Association (not Cricket Association of Bihar which has been in litigation with the BCCI) are BCCI’s associate members. Meghalaya, Nagaland and Arunachal, three of the seven north-eastern states, happen to be affiliate members at the moment.The New Area Development Committee, with a specific eye on the north-eastern region, was set up by Dalmiya in 2003 during his first stint as BCCI chief. The idea then was to provide all the support required at grassroots level in neglected regions. It was disbanded by his successor Sharad Pawar, but revived in 2012 by N Srinivasan. However, none of the affiliates have so far been granted promotion as an associate member, which makes them eligible for more financial grants.The BCCI conducted a tournament featuring all the seven associate and affiliate members till 2013. It was cancelled last year when it was learned that some of the associations were importing players from other states instead of promoting talent in their region.

Prasanna Jayawardene will go to hospital for X-rays after he was hit on the thumb by a Mitchell Johnson bouncer during Sri Lanka’s first innings at the MCG

Andrew Fernando at the MCG26-Dec-2012Prasanna Jayawardene has suffered a hairline fracture to the top of his right thumb after being hit by a Mitchell Johnson bouncer during Sri Lanka’s first innings at the MCG. That delivery was the last Jayawardene faced, as the ball caught the shoulder of the bat after hitting his thumb, and ballooned to Phillip Hughes in the slip cordon. Jayawardene made 24.Team management are yet to determine whether Jayawardene will keep wickets on day two, but in the meantime Kumar Sangakkara has taken the gloves in his stead, and will keep for the remainder of day one.Sri Lanka’s 12th man Dinesh Chandimal also keeps wickets, but cannot stand in behind the stumps as he is a substitute. A year ago, he replaced Jayawardene on Sri Lanka’s tour of South Africa as wicketkeeper-batsman.”There was some bruising on his thumb after his innings, so we thought we’d better check,” team manager Charith Senanayake said, before X-rays revealed the extent of the injury.December 26 5.35am GMT This story has been updated to include news of Jayawaradene’s hairline fracture

Brendan Taylor has said his team will continue to play attacking Test cricket, even though chasing a win against New Zealand in Bulawayo may have cost them the match

Firdose Moonda07-Nov-2011Brendan Taylor, the Zimbabwe captain, has said his team will continue to play attacking, aggressive Test cricket, even though chasing a win instead of playing for the draw against New Zealand in Bulawayo may have cost them the match. New Zealand won by 34 runs after setting Zimbabwe a steep 366 to chase for victory.On a traditionally flat pitch, Zimbabwe decided to bat for a result, despite needing 305 on the final day with eight wickets standing. A century from Taylor and a half-century by Tatenda Taibu kept them in the hunt but a spectacular collapse, in which they lost six wickets for 44 runs, saw them end up on the losing side. Taylor said he had no regrets about thinking positively.”If we want to become better cricketers, we have to play like that,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “If you don’t test yourself, you won’t know how far you can go.”Taylor has only captained Zimbabwe in three Tests, but has already become known for brave decision making. In Zimbabwe’s comeback Test, against Bangladesh in Harare in August, Taylor declared Zimbabwe’s second innings on 291 for 5 early on the fourth day, setting Bangladesh 375 to win. Critics said Zimbabwe should have batted longer to ensure Bangladesh were out of the game but Taylor preferred to dangle the carrot instead. The result was a comprehensive 130-run win for Zimbabwe with two sessions to spare.When Taylor found himself in the opposite situation, with New Zealand leaving Zimbabwe a gettable target, he accepted the challenge. “You have to be realistic and we felt that it was realistic to go for the win.” Even though Zimbabwe have a short batting line-up, which Taylor admits “stops at No. 7,” Taylor felt that with two frontline batsmen occupying the crease for most of the day the target was within reach.
He shared a 108-run fourth-wicket partnership with Taibu and believed one of them would take Zimbabwe over the line. “I wanted us both to spend a session or a session-and-a-half at the crease and thought that if one of us was there at the end, we could win.”It was when the pair were dismissed that the collapse began, which raised questions about Zimbabwe’s lack of stability in the lower-middle order. “We are missing some guys through injury,” Taylor said. “Elton Chigumbura is struggling with a hamstring injury and Graeme Cremer has been out for a while [with a knee injury]. They could really make a difference.”While the cricketing world was touched, disappointed and some even a little heartbroken for Zimbabwe after they lost, Taylor said the team were not overcome by a sense of gloom. “Within 20 minutes afterwards we were ok. We had a meeting and everyone was very praiseworthy of each other. We gave it our all; for five days we played good cricket and to take it late into the fifth day we knew we had done something right.”Since their return to Test cricket, Zimbabwe have won one Test and lost two, won four ODIs, including a record run-chase against New Zealand, but lost seven and been defeated in four Twenty20 internationals. Taylor said it’s not the numbers but the progress that matters.”To have won the third ODI against New Zealand gave us confidence and we came close in the Test. We can hold our heads high. The senior guys have performed and helped the younger guys.”The Test against New Zealand saw contributions from several of the more-experienced players in the team. Vusi Sibanda scored 93 in the first innings and Chris Mpofu showed an understanding of the conditions to take 4 for 92, before Taylor and Taibu shone on the final day. There were also impressive performances from some of the younger players: Kyle Jarvis took 5 for 64 and Malcolm Waller, on debut, scored an undefeated 72 in the first innings. “We can take positives out of all of these things,” Taylor said.Zimbabwe have a break for the next two months, during which the players will play in the local T20 competition. Their first assignment next year is a tour of New Zealand that consists of a one-off Test, three ODIs and two T20s. It will provide a barometer to measure how Zimbabwe cope in foreign conditions.

Ben Hilfenhaus could be next to join Mitchell Johnson on the sidelines for Friday’s second Test after Australia’s captain, Ricky Ponting, hinted that Ryan Harris was strongly in contention for a recall alongside Doug Bollinger

Andrew Miller in Adelaide02-Dec-2010Ben Hilfenhaus is set to join Mitchell Johnson on the sidelines for Friday’s second Test after Australia’s captain, Ricky Ponting, hinted that Ryan Harris was strongly in contention for a recall alongside Doug Bollinger. Bollinger is expected to replace Johnson, who was dropped following Australia’s toothless display during England’s 1 for 517 at the Gabba, while Cricinfo understands that the selectors have opted for Harris over Hilfenhaus on a wicket that is not expected to offer much conventional swing beyond the first day.”Hilfy’s strengths are his ability to swing the new ball, he’s very consistent, bowls in good areas and can tie batters down, as we saw at different times during the Brisbane Test,” said Ponting. “Ryan’s strengths are he’s grown up playing all his cricket here, he’s probably slightly quicker through the air, and he hits the wicket a bit harder than Ben does, and he’s probably a better reverse-swing bowler for later in the game, which comes into consideration in Adelaide.”Harris, who has a chronic knee injury, has been in excellent form on the domestic scene since returning from off-season surgery, while Hilfenhaus was Australia’s best bowler in the tour of India in October. Although Hilfenhaus launched Australia’s Ashes campaign in dramatic fashion by capturing Andrew Strauss for a third-ball duck in Brisbane, he failed to claim another wicket in 50.3 overs for the match. He particularly struggled for penetration when the new ball went soft, and is understood to be feeling the effects of a slight hamstring strain.Harris, meanwhile, learned his cricket at the Adelaide Oval before moving to Queensland three years ago, and with his extra pace through the air is a likelier man to exploit any reverse-swing that may be on offer at a venue that can favour the art. “If you put all those things together, it makes that decision a pretty difficult one,” Ponting said.Bollinger, whose tally of 49 in 11 matches to date makes him Australia’s only remaining bowler in the top ten of the ICC World Rankings, seems certain to return after losing out to Peter Siddle at Brisbane. With Johnson already cut from the 13-man squad, the notion of purging two of the three specialist quick bowlers is a drastic one.”Is it unstable [to make two bowling changes]?” Ponting asked. “No, because we have to pick the best team for every condition that we are confronted with in the summer. We didn’t win a Test last week, and so hopefully the team we pick this week will be good enough to win. We wouldn’t make changes if we didn’t think it would make the attack better for this game. We’ve got to pick the best five bowlers we could possibly have to get 20 wickets in each game.”Harris, a bowler whom Ponting rates highly, bowled especially sharply during Australia’s first practice session at the Adelaide Oval on Wednesday. However, he did not feature in the nets on Thursday, leading to a suggestion that he was feeling the effects of his knee problem.Ponting denied that this was the case. “We’re not worried about Ryan’s knee at all,” he said. “The reason he didn’t bowl today was nothing to do with his knee. We’ve made one big decision to leave a guy out [Johnson], so we wouldn’t be doing that if we were taking a risk on someone who’s got an injury. We want to keep it up our sleeves for tomorrow morning, and see what the best 11 is.”Harris’ knee is now a case of bone rubbing on bone and he will have to manage the pain throughout the rest of his career, hence the caution during Thursday’s session. He convinced the selectors of his form and fitness by claiming four wickets for Queensland in a one-day game last week, and a further six in the recent Sheffield Shield fixture against Victoria. He impressed Ponting during his only two Tests to date, against New Zealand in March, during which he claimed nine wickets at 23.”Coming out of the game he played the other day, he had a good bowl yesterday and we didn’t expect all of our bowlers bowling every day before the game,” said Ponting. “That’s pretty much what the staff wanted them to do, to get their workload high enough leading into the Test. If you look at both Bollinger and Harris, what they’ve done in state cricket has been pretty impressive. I faced Dougie this morning and he was impressive, while Ryan was on the mark yesterday. They are obviously ready to go so we’ll work things out tomorrow morning.”