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Matt Henry and Trent Boult reduced India to 5 for 3 in their chase of 240, but they fought back remarkably only to fall narrowly short

The Report by Karthik Krishnaswamy09-Jul-2019
As it happenedIt was a semi-final spread over 28 hours and 24 minutes, and it contained some of the defining features of this World Cup. Rain, enough of it to force the match into a reserve day. Terrific new-ball bowling. Incredible fielding. A tricky, two-paced surface that kept scoring rates down, but also ensured neither team was ever entirely out of the contest.At the end of it, it was New Zealand who remained standing, reaching their second successive World Cup final with an 18-run win. India went out at the semi-final stage for the second successive tournament, but not without scripting a dramatic comeback that showed just why they are one of the world’s top ODI teams.This Old Trafford is just half a mile from the other Old Trafford, and MS Dhoni time is just as potent a sporting quantity as Fergie time. Ravindra Jadeja was in the middle of one of the great does-not-deserve-to-lose performances at the other end. Chasing 240, India had roused themselves from 5 for 3 and then 92 for 6, and were somehow still in the contest. They were now 203 for 6, and needed 37 from the last 18 balls.But it wasn’t to be their day. Jadeja, who had performed at the peak of his ability in every bit and piece of his cricketing skillset, finally miscued a slower ball from Trent Boult to depart for 77 off 59 balls. Dhoni, who had nudged and nurdled his way to 43 with only one boundary, carved Lockie Ferguson for six over point at the start of the 49th over to bring the equation down to 25 off 11 balls. But in an attempt to keep the strike, he turned for a desperate second run two balls later, and was beaten to the keeper’s end by an inch, undone by a breathtaking direct hit from Martin Guptill.India’s hopes ended when Martin Guptill ran MS Dhoni out•Getty Images

It was then, and only then, that New Zealand could breathe, and think of Lord’s, July 14.They certainly couldn’t think of Lord’s at any point during their innings, which began on Tuesday morning and ended just over 24 hours later, after incessant rain had pushed its last 3.5 overs into the reserve day.The skies were overcast throughout, and the pitch two-paced. New Zealand began by playing out successive maidens from Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah, and ended by hitting just one boundary in their last six overs. Right through the innings – particularly when Kane Williamson shared partnerships of 68 and 65 with Henry Nicholls and Ross Taylor for the second and third wickets – New Zealand’s focus was on keeping wickets in hand. Run-scoring was a grind, particularly against Jadeja’s left-arm spin and the changes of pace from India’s three seamers.But 239 was a fighting total in these conditions, and by the fourth over of India’s chase it looked monumental.The digital scoreboard during the semi-final between India and New Zealand•Getty Images

The new balls swung and seamed for Boult and Matt Henry just as it had for India’s opening bowlers, but perhaps to a smaller degree. Where Bhuvneshwar and Bumrah had beaten the bats of Williamson and Nicholls numerous times, Henry moved it just enough to kiss the outside edge. The length and line were impeccable on both occasions, and both Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul were forced into feeling uncertainly for the ball.In between, Boult swung one into Virat Kohli and had him lbw, playing around his front pad. The ball hit the flap of his pad, and it was perhaps a marginal decision – Kohli reviewed, and ball-tracking suggested the ball would have clipped the top of the leg bail – and umpire Richard Illingworth called it in the bowler’s favour.It took 6.5 overs for 5 for 3 to become 24 for four. Rishabh Pant was positive at one end, looking compact in defence but pouncing on drives through the off side when they were available, while Dinesh Karthik was static at the other, taking 21 balls to get off the mark. Soon after he did, he spooned a drive squarer than perhaps intended, and James Neesham flew to his left to complete a one-handed grab at backward point.The first signs of an Indian recovery came via a 47-run fifth-wicket stand between Pant and Hardik Pandya. Neither batsman seemed in much difficulty in the middle, but both were having to bat at a lower gear than normal, and there was a sense that something would give, one way or another. Hardik Pandya played out a maiden when Mitchell Santner came into the attack, but Pant was less willing to bide his time, and he slog-swept the left-arm spinner to deep midwicket in his next over.Ravindra Jadeja top-scored for India•Getty Images

A miscued slog-sweep did for Pandya too, and the wicket came thanks to the pressure Santner had applied by conceding only five runs in his first five overs. With the pitch affording him natural variation – of both turn and pace – he kept things simple, angling it into the stumps from round the wicket to both left- and right-hander, bowling at a pace that made it difficult for the batsman to use his feet, and on a length just short of drive-able.India were 92 for 6, and that might have been it in previous games, when they played both their wristspinners at the expense of Jadeja. Now they had a bit of batting depth, and the man providing it had already had a fantastic match. Jadeja had taken 1 for 34 in his 10 overs, and had been electric in the field, running out Taylor with a flat direct hit from the deep and catching Tom Latham with a backwards leap at deep midwicket. Surely he wasn’t done yet.He wasn’t. Where most of his team-mates had struggled for timing, Jadeja looked fluent as soon as he walked in. When he made a move to attack, he made it decisively, often through the use of his feet to get close to the pitch of the ball and hit down the ground. He hit his first three sixes with this method, two off Santner and one off Neesham. Each of his hits roused the largely blue-clad Old Trafford crowd, and by the time he brought up his fifty – off 39 balls – their roar must have intimidated the team in black.But India were still chasing nine an over, and New Zealand still had their fast bowlers’ death overs in reserve. Jadeja kept India in the hunt with another six, over long-off, off Ferguson, and an edged four off Boult, but only five came off the 47th, a perfect over of short-of-length cutters from Henry. With more than two a ball required now, India would have to start swinging for everything. It could have gone their way on another day, but this day would be New Zealand’s.

The fast bowler, who turned his back on an international career with South Africa, reiterated that his decision to relocate to Yorkshire was the best for his and his family’s future

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Mar-2019Having decided to end his South Africa international career last month, following a Kolpak deal with Yorkshire, fast bowler Duanne Olivier has revealed his hopes of playing Test cricket for England.”I accept that my Test career is over for South Africa but if I do well, hopefully in the future, I can play for England,” Olivier told . “You always need to put your mind to certain goals.”Maybe people will think it’s unrealistic but for me, if I really do well, you never know. I can’t tell you what will happen in the future. All I can do, as of now, is control what I am doing this season and give 100% every game.”In February, Olivier agreed to a three-year county deal with Yorkshire, subject to clearance through Kolpak regulations. He had also turned down a two-year contract with Cricket South Africa, offered to him as an incentive to continue playing for the national side. While announcing his decision, Olivier stated in an Instagram post that the decision to turn his back on South Africa was “possibly the most difficult … I’ll ever have to make”.Addressing the criticism around his move, especially him having given up a possible spot in the World Cup squad, Olivier he didn’t personally feel he would be part of South Africa’s World Cup attack, given the already existing variety in the bowling line-up. He also reiterated that the decision to play for Yorkshire had been made keeping in mind his future and that of his family.”I can understand that people are upset but I have not played a lot of one-day cricket, especially for South Africa or the A side,” he said. “‘I made my ODI debut only this year and, over those couple of games I think they were seeing what I could offer. Personally, I don’t think I would have been in the World Cup squad as they have enough bowlers. I wasn’t looking too far ahead at World Cup spots being up for grabs, it was just taking it day by day.”For me, it was just the best decision to make. For me and my family, re-locating is the best decision for our future. I realise some people will understand and some people won’t at all but it doesn’t really faze me what they think. At the end of the day, it’s about what I want to do. I want to see things going forward and I feel like my cricket will improve playing county cricket.”An aggressive fast bowler, Olivier made his Test debut in Johannesburg in January 2017 – ironically as a replacement for Kyle Abbott, who signed a Kolpak deal with Hampshire – and took 48 wickets in ten Tests at an average of 19.25. He featured in two Tests on South Africa’s tour of England in July and August 2017, at Trent Bridge and Old Trafford, and returned to the country in 2018 as an overseas player for Derbyshire.He had an impressive run in Test cricket over the last two home series for South Africa – in three matches against Pakistan, Olivier took 24 wickets – the most on either side – and followed it up with seven wickets in two Tests against Sri Lanka. Olivier also played two ODIs against Pakistan – his only matches in the format – after being called to the ODI team as a cover for Dale Steyn.Olivier has prior county experience. In 2018, he turned out for Derbyshire in the County Championship Division 2, taking 31 wickets in seven first-class matches, and 13 wickets in eight List A matches. Yorkshire, who are in Division 1 of the Championship, will begin their campaign against Nottingham on April 5.

India might have been disappointed with 324 after looking good for 350, but their bowlers quickly washed it off with a comfortable defence

The Report by Sidharth Monga26-Jan-2019
In a league game in Champions Trophy 2017, India couldn’t really capitalise on their score of 178 for 2 in 33 overs and failed to defend the underwhelming 321 they posted. A year and a half later, in an ODI in New Zealand, they reached 179 for 2 in the 31st over, but again failed to convert it into the 350 they looked good for. Just as a measure of how far their bowling has come from there, though, India defended the 324 in Mount Maunganui with consummate ease.

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India’s quicks and spinners both drew more out of the pitch than New Zealand’s did, which meant they didn’t need to resort to the funky fields and plans that New Zealand needed to restrict India after a 154-run opening stand at more than a run a ball between Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan. By the time New Zealand reached that score in their response, they had lost six wickets. The first five of those fell one each to the new-ball skills of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami, one each to the wristspin of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav, and one to the deadly combination of Kedar Jadhav’s unfathomable low-arm spin and MS Dhoni’s super-quick hands.The two first halves couldn’t have been more different. Any hope New Zealand had of taking a wicket fell prey to innovative field placing. Rohit edged the first ball of the match, but the lone slip was well wide of the orthodox position. By the time New Zealand went to the orthodox two slips, the ball had stopped swinging. Rohit and Dhawan kept India around six an over almost on auto-pilot mode. So good is their game and form that the bowlers needed to err only slightly for them to pick the gaps either side of the wicket. Nine of the first 10 overs, and 17 of the 25 that the two batted together, went for at least one boundary.As is often the case, Rohit faced more balls, ate more dots, but scored more runs and hit more boundaries than Dhawan in the partnership. Dhawan, who showed glimpses of regained form in his half-century in the first ODI, looked flawless. At the halfway mark, both had brought up their half-centuries, and looked ominous. You can never count out a Rohit double if he is still batting at this stage; not least if he is in his 80s. However, once Dhawan edged a short and wide ball from Trent Boult, New Zealand began to claw back in.Kuldeep Yadav picked up four wickets•Getty Images

With nothing happening for the bowlers and with India’s top three looking incapable of making a mistake, New Zealand refused to just turn up and accept their punishment. They tried different things. Lockie Ferguson went round the wicket to Rohit, who was approaching his hundred, and they attacked Virat Kohli and Ambati Rayudu with six and seven men inside the circle. They were okay with three dots and a four instead of four easy singles.This was a high-risk plan, but it worked. Ferguson’s angle and changes of pace brought two wickets, Kohli fell to a bouncer from Boult, and the pressure was on Dhoni and the rest of the middle order again. Ferguson kept finding success with his bowling round the wicket. Twenty-five balls went without a boundary. At the start of the 48th over, though, Colin de Grandhomme dropped Dhoni. Dhoni and Jadhav – 48 off 33 and 22 off 10 respectively – gave India a little finishing kick with 35 off the last two overs.If the memories of that Sri Lanka chase were still fresh, they were exorcised quickly by a good start to the defence by Shami and Bhuvneshwar. Martin Guptill survived thrice – a run out, a dropped catch, an edge falling short – before finally offering third man a catch. The pressure was obvious. The new ball was doing more for India’s bowlers than it did for New Zealand’s. India were bowling with a higher skill. Shami eventually got the wicket of Kane Williamson with a short ball outside off, but he had bowled enough good balls until then to deserve this.Colin Munro, seen as a bit of a dasher, is one of the batsmen not yet assured of a place in the World Cup squad. Here he tried to settle in for a longer innings, playing more efficient and percentage cricket, but he could keep that up for only so long. In the 15th over, with the run rate still at six an over, Munro tried to switch-hit Chahal and missed.The final nail was probably driven through when Ross Taylor played Jadhav for the turn, but as he does so often Jadhav only got the ball to drift past the outside edge.Taylor overbalanced, his back foot left the ground for a split second, and it was time enough for Dhoni to stump him. New Zealand were 100 for 4, and India hadn’t yet introduced their big weapon: the left-arm wristspin of Kuldeep.And then on came Kuldeep, running delightfully through the rest of the New Zealand innings who were trigger happy with their shots. Tom Latham and Henry Nicholls were beaten in the air, de Grandhomme paid the price for trying to hit every delivery for a six, and Ish Sodhi was beaten by the sharp turn. This, Kuldeep’s second in two matches in the country, was only the fifth four-for by a spinner visiting New Zealand this decade.Doug Bracewell then chanced his arm, secured his maiden half-century and also denied Kuldeep a five-for. In the larger scheme of the match, his 58-run stand for ninth wicket with Ferguson only served to bring India’s victory margin down to two digits.

Only Hamilton Masakadza looked in touch with a steady century while the rest of the batting order crumbled

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Oct-2018Zimbabwe left BKSP with more questions than answers after BCB XI crushed them by eight wickets in the practice match. Only captain Hamilton Masakadza looked in touch with a steady century while the rest of the batting order crumbled.BCB XI’s fast bowlers ran through the visitors’ line-up, bowling them out for 178 in 45.2 overs. Elton Chigumbura made 47 and shared a 124-run partnership with Masakadza for the sixth wicket after they had slipped to 47 for five in the 16th over.While Ebadot Hossain took five wickets for 19 runs, Mohammad Saifuddin, recalled in the ODI side after nine months, picked three for 32.In reply, the home side banked on captain Soumya Sarkar’s unbeaten 102 to race to victory in 39 overs. Soumya struck 13 fours and a six in his 114-ball knock.Zimbabwe take on Bangladesh in the first ODI on October 21.

Barbados Tridents posted the highest CPL total at Providence courtesy Dwayne Smith’s century and then made a late victory push courtesy Kieron Pollard’s four-for, but it wasn’t enough

The Report by Peter Della Penna21-Aug-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsWalton hit seven fours and six sixes in his 92•Randy Brooks – CPL T20 / Getty

In a scintillating showdown that produced the two highest individual scores of CPL 2017, Chadwick Walton’s 92 trumped Dwayne Smith’s century as Guyana Amazon Warriors scored a crucial four-wicket win over Barbados Tridents. That meant Warriors were level on four points with Tridents.Kieron Pollard nearly triggered a shocking collapse with four wickets at the death but it was the one wicket he did not take – bypassing a mankad opportunity with Assad Fudadin a long way out of his crease – that he may come to regret. Fudadin struck a boundary to begin the 20th to draw scores level before a wide down the leg side accounted for the winning run with five balls to spare.Smith’s charmed ton

Smith brought up the first century of CPL 2017, but not without a fair share of luck. He was first reprieved on 42, in the 13th over, courtesy a Keemo Paul no-ball. Six balls later, on 46, Smith was struck on the back pad off a skiddy Rashid delivery that would’ve crashed into the stumps, but wasn’t given. While Kane Williamson, with whom he put together a 107-run opening stand fell for 47, Smith launched a savage attack in the end overs, scoring 39 off the last three overs to bring up his century.The final surge began when he clattered three fours and a six off Sohail Tanvir in the 18th over. He slammed a four early in the 19th off Rayad Emrit then ended the over with back-to-back sixes to move to 96. He missed out on a beamer from Tanvir that could have disappeared for his century, but wound up striking a two off the ensuing free hit and then a subsequent two to bring up his century off 70 balls. He fell with two balls to spare; Tridents finished with 159 for 4.Walton mirrors Smith
After watching Smith’s carnage from behind the stumps, Walton responded with a gem himself. Martin Guptill, the captain, dropped himself down the order and promoted Sohail Tanvir to open with Walton. The pair raced to 48 off four overs to lay down the marker. But just like Smith had good fortune, Walton benefited too. He first survived a confident lbw shout off Ravi Rampaul on 11 and was then dropped at deep midwicket in the same over. After that, everything changed.While Tanvir fell in the fifth over, Walton was undeterred, smacking Imran Khan’s legspin for a four and two sixes. Even though Gajanand Singh fell in the next over, Walton’s blitz took Warriors to 71 for 2 after six overs, their highest Powerplay score this season. Walton moved to 50 off 27 balls in the following over. Having broken a window with one of his earlier sixes, he nearly took out a cheerleader with another in the 10th. His sixth and final six was an imperious straight drive off Rampaul that took him into the 90s and by the time he was dismissed in the 17th, he’d moved to the top of the 2017 CPL scoring chart.Pollard’s double double

Warriors were cruising, needing 15 off four overs with eight wickets in hand when Pollard nearly turned the match upside down. Guptill and Walton’s 81-run stand was broken, with both batsmen falling to lofted drives down the ground off consecutive deliveries in the 17th over. Jason Mohammed fell to a circus catch by a sliding Tion Webster two balls into the 19th for Pollard’s third wicket. He then had Keemo Paul next ball to give himself a second hat-trick ball in consecutive overs.The mankad that wasn’t

Prior to delivering the ball that claimed Paul, Pollard pulled out of his initial attempt upon arriving at the crease as Assad Fudadin was several yards down the pitch at the non-striker’s end. Pollard could easily have run-out Fudadin. It was hard to miss the irony, given Paul was the center of the famous mankad in a controversial West Indies win over Zimbabwe at the Under-19 World Cup last year.Instead, Pollard mocked taking off the bails before running in again to bowl the ball that claimed Paul. With Fudadin allowed to stay in, he saw off the hat-trick ball with a single and pinched two more to take strike at the start of the next over. He then hammered a lofted drive over mid-on off Shamar Springer and then watched one drift behind his pads for an extra to clinch victory.

Islamabad United were off to a slow start in the inaugural edition of the PSL, but gathered momentum at the right time. The question is, can an aging squad defend their title?

Danyal Rasool08-Feb-20170:50

Islamabad United’s strengths and weaknesses

Inaugural season results
After initially looking like the poorest side in the competition in 2016, Islamabad United mastered that fabled Pakistani ability: peaking at the right time. Four heavy defeats in the first six games must have had Misbah’s men fearing the worst, but that indifferent start was followed by a remarkable turnaround in form. They edged a tight contest against Karachi Kings, and won their last five games in what ended up being a romp to the PSL’s inaugural title.Team assessment
Having retained 17 players from last season’s successful campaign, Islamabad United appear to want to stick to their winning formula. The aggressive English wicketkeeper-batsman Ben Duckett has been added as a supplementary player, who is likely to help not only with the strike rate, but, at 22, the average age as well. An aging team might be a concern, with Misbah-ul-Haq, Shane Watson, Saeed Ajmal, Samuel Badree, Mohammad Sami and Brad Haddin all over 35 years old. The wealth of experience they bring cannot be underestimated, but this is a team that wasn’t considered extremely dynamic even when they won the title last year.Moreover, the leading wicket-taker of last year’s edition, Andre Russell, has been suspended for a doping violation. While Steven Finn has been drafted in to replace him, the team from the capital are likely to miss the Jamaican’s explosiveness with the bat.However, Islamabad do possess a handful of exciting young players for whom this tournament represents an excellent opportunity to realise their potential. Sharjeel Khan is arguably the hottest property in Pakistan’s T20 side since his prolific PSL last year, a 62-ball 117 in the third-qualifying final showcasing the threat he poses. Rumman Raees, whose rise has been rather less meteoric, will also be looking to build on a stellar tournament in 2016, where he took eight wickets with a tidy economy rate of 6.79.Key overseas player
Sam Billings had a disappointing PSL last year, but he has become a fixture in England’s limited-overs squad (if not the playing XI) since. He represented the Sydney Sixers in the Big Bash this season, playing just five games due to international duty, but of his four innings, he was the Sixers’ top-scorer in three. An international T20 strike rate of 154.65 owes much to a 25-ball 53 in Dubai in a Man-of- the-Match winning performance against Pakistan. This tournament will be played in the same conditions, on the same grounds. Pair him with Sharjeel at the top of the order, and we might find out what Powerplay really means.Under the radar local lad
Hussain Talat was in top form in the Regional One-Day Cup in January. The left-hand batsman scored 319 runs for FATA, including two centuries, at an average of just under 80 (despite one duck). According to one of Islamabad United’s managers Rehan-ul-Haq, Talat is rated highly by everyone at the franchise; people there are particularly impressed by his ability to make scoring quick runs look easy. With a solid T20 average (28.77) and a strike rate of 111.15, this PSL could be a stepping stone to bigger things for the 20 year old.After a slow start to the inaugural PSL, Islamabad United peaked at the right time•PSL

Availability
As previously mentioned, Andre Russell has been banned for a year due to a doping violation. He was replaced by Steven Finn. There are no injury concerns.Coaching staff
Dean Jones (head coach), Wasim Akram (team director), Tauseef Ahmed (assistant coach), Johan Botha (fielding coach), Rehan-ul-Haq and Hassan Cheema (managers)Squad
Misbah-ul-Haq (c), Shane Watson, Steven Finn, Samuel Badree, Brad Haddin, Sam Billings, Sharjeel Khan, Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Sami, Khalid Latif, Saeed Ajmal, Asif Ali, Rumman Raees, Imran Khalid, Amad Butt, Hussain Talat. Supplementary players: Dwayne Smith, Ben Duckett, Shadab Khan, Zohaib Khan

Chris Dent’s superb career-best 268 put Gloucestershire in the ascendancy against old foes Glamorgan on the third day of their Championship match at Bristol

ECB/PA24-Sep-2015
ScorecardChris Dent recorded the highest score by a Gloucesteshire player since World War II•PA Photos

Chris Dent’s superb career-best 268 put Gloucestershire in the ascendancy against old foes Glamorgan on the third day of their Championship match at Bristol.Gloucestershire’s formidable total of 558, founded upon a record-breaking stand of 166 between Dent and James Fuller, helped the home side establish a meaningful first-innings lead of 125. But a draw appears the most likely outcome after Glamorgan openers Jacques Rudolph and James Kettleborough overcame fatigue to negotiate 27 overs and reach the close on 88 without loss.Rudolph’s chanceless innings of 56 not out has occupied 87 balls and the captain will seek to steer his side, who trail by 37, to safety on the final day.On a day when the records tumbled, Dent posted the highest individual score by any Gloucestershire batsman in matches against Glamorgan since World War II, eclipsing the 254 made by Andrew Symonds at Abergavenny in 1995.His run-laden alliance with Fuller, who registered a career-best 73 from 99 balls, represented a club record stand for the eighth wicket in matches against Glamorgan, surpassing the 128 mustered by Mark Hardinges and Ashley Noffke at Bristol in 2007.And Dent comfortably bettered his previous highest first-class score of 203 not out, made against Cardiff MCCU in 2014, in the process becoming the only Gloucestershire player to pass 1000 first-class runs this season.Dropped by Colin Ingram in the slips before he had scored, Fuller made good his escape to eclipse his previous highest score of 57, made against Leicestershire at Cheltenham in 2012.With the exception of a couple of early setbacks, Benny Howell shouldering arms and losing his off stump to Michael Hogan without adding to his overnight score of 40 and Kieran Noema-Barnett chipping Craig Meschede straight to point for 5, it was pretty much plain sailing for the home side.Dent and Jack Taylor, who raised 35 from 33 balls and struck seven fours before top-edging a catch behind off Dewi Penrhyn-Jones, redressed the balance in an entertaining stand of 53 for the sixth wicket.With Gloucestershire opting to apply scoreboard pressure rather than pursue a contrived finish, Dent was presented with a chance to post a maiden Championship double hundred. In no mood to pass up such an opportunity, the Bristolian clipped Penrhyn-Jones to backward point and scampered a quick single to reach the mark in the 98th over. When he guided Graham Wagg to the fine leg boundary in the next over, the left-hander entered hitherto uncharted territory and County Ground regulars rose to acknowledge his achievement.Fuller must have had one eye on a maiden hundred when he advanced down the track to Andrew Salter and attempted to clear the long-on boundary, only to find Penrhyn-Jones, who took a fine catch just inside the rope.David Payne was bowled by Salter shortly after tea and Dent, having batted for eight hours, faced 347 balls and accrued 34 fours and 2 sixes, was last man out, superbly held by Wagg on the deep midwicket boundary off the bowling of Meschede. It proved tough going for Glamorgan’s seamers and Australian Hogan was the only bowler to emerge with credit, returning figures of 3-83.

Umar Akmal has said he is excited to play for Pakistan in front of his home crowd for the first time in his career, and is overjoyed that international cricket is returning to his country with the Zimbabwe series

ESPNcricinfo staff20-May-2015Umar Akmal has said he is excited to play for Pakistan in front of his home crowd for the first time in his career, and is overjoyed that international cricket is returning to his country with the Zimbabwe series. Akmal made his international debut in August 2009, but no Full Member nation has toured Pakistan since the terrorist attacks on the Sri Lanka team bus in March 2009. Zimbabwe will play two T20Is and three ODIs in Lahore beginning on May 22.”It will be an amazing feeling, it would mean so much to me. Cricketers around the world take playing at home in front of their own crowds for granted,” Akmal told . “But unfortunately many of us Pakistani cricketers have never been able to play in our own conditions which is really tough. I know the people of Pakistan are really looking forward to the return of international cricket to Pakistan and so are the players. I can’t wait to hopefully walk out in front of the Lahore crowd if I am selected. I thank the Zimbabwe team for embarking on this tour and hope it’s the start of international cricket returning permanently to Pakistan.”Akmal was recalled to the Pakistan T20 squad after he was left out for the tour to Bangladesh. He made scores of 35, 1, 95 not out and 85 not out in four innings in the recently concluded Super8 T20 Cup for Lahore Lions. “I went back to club cricket and performed well there and I was also one of the top-scorers during the Super8 tournament in Faisalabad and showed the selectors that I am in good form and can score runs when given the opportunity. I’m hoping that I can carry my good form into the Zimbabwe series.”Reports of disciplinary issues coupled with a poor World Cup – where he scored 164 runs in seven games at an average of 27.33 – resulted in him not being selected for the tour to Bangladesh. Akmal said that batting down the order had affected his returns.”I have done the best I could despite the position I have been batting in for large parts of my career. I could have been selfish and finished with a few more not outs, but that’s not the way I am. I’m a team player and will not sacrifice the team’s interests for my own. Obviously you cannot make runs every time, but I feel my better performances have come when the management have shown faith in me and given me a chance to bat up the order.”

Danish Kaneria, the former Pakistan legspinner, has lost his appeal against a life ban from cricket imposed by the ECB

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Jul-2013Danish Kaneria, the former Pakistan legspinner, has lost his appeal against a life ban from cricket imposed by the ECB. Kaneria was banned in June 2012 after being found guilty of corruption in the spot-fixing case involving Mervyn Westfield but had been hoping to get the sanction reduced.However, the ECB announced on Tuesday that a disciplinary commission appeals panel had rejected Kaneria’s case. ESPNcricinfo understands that a decision on the £100,000 costs that were imposed on Kaneria was deferred.Giles Clarke, the ECB chairman, said the board welcomed the decision. “The appeal panel’s findings in this case clearly confirm the disciplinary panel’s finding that Mr Kaneria acted as a recruiter of potential ‘spot-fixers’ and used his seniority and international experience to target and corrupt a young and vulnerable player,” Clarke said.”The ECB will continue to advocate the need for the strongest possible deterrent sanctions for anyone found guilty of such conduct. Such sanctions are vital for the protection of the integrity of our great game.”We trust that today’s decision will serve as a stark reminder to all professional cricketers and those involved in professional cricket of the life-changing consequences of corruption and the importance of immediately reporting any suspicious activity to the appropriate authorities.”Westfield, Kaneria’s team-mate at Essex who spent time in prison after admitting to receiving payment in order to underperform, also appealed the length of his ban. He was originally given a five-year suspension from the game, although he would have been allowed to return to club cricket after three years.However, the panel decided to reduce the second element of the ban, providing Westfield cooperates with the anti-corruption programme run by the Professional Cricketers’ Association. That being the case, he can resume playing club cricket from April 1, 2014.”The ECB notes the appeal panel’s decision on Mr Westfield’s appeal against the length of his ban,” the ECB chief executive, David Collier, said. “Without Mr Westfield’s stand, the corrupt actions of Mr Kaneria might not have been exposed. The ECB will support Mr Westfield’s efforts to rehabilitate himself and as part of this process hopes that he can raise awareness of the dangers of corruption in cricket.”The lawyers of Kaneria, who lost a previous appeal against the two guilty verdicts handed down by the ECB despite continuing to deny his involvement, have previously suggested they could try to take the case to the High Court in London. Because of an agreement between boards affiliated to the ICC, the ECB ban applied to Kaneria is applicable throughout world cricket and would effectively mean the end of his career.

Dinesh Karthik has returned to the national squad almost three years after he last played for India

Amol Karhadkar04-May-2013Ever since he burst on to the domestic scene as a teenager more than a
decade ago, Dinesh Karthik has been considered as a prodigious talent with the bat. Add to it his skills as a wicketkeeper and exceptional fielder and he becomes an all-round package.But without consistent performances, talent doesn’t get you too far. As a result, it wasn’t a surprise when Karthik was dropped from the Indian team after an ordinary outing during the tri-series in Dambulla where he scored 33 runs in five innings against New Zealand and Sri Lanka.Similarly, after a season in which Karthik was at his consistent best, nobody was surprised when Karthik returned to India’s squad for the Champions Trophy, to be played in England from June 6. Even the man himself wasn’t surprised.”I am happy about it [selection]. I’ve been batting well and it feels good when your efforts are rewarded,” Karthik said. He has been in exceptional touch while batting at No. 3 for Mumbai Indians during the IPL – 331 runs in 10 matches at a strike-rate of almost 140 – and it has come at the back of a run-heavy domestic season.In the season-opening Corporate Trophy, he emerged as the highest run-getter with 301 runs from three innings for India Cements. Then in the Ranji Trophy, even though it was a disappointing season for Tamil Nadu, Karthik was by far their top scorer with 577 runs at 64.11.Then came the domestic one-dayers. And even though Tamil Nadu failed to progress to the all-India knockouts of the Vijay Hazare Trophy, Karthik scored at least a fifty in each of his five innings. As a result, despite playing only five games, he finished as the second-highest run-scorer of the tournament.”All along [these three years], I have been working hard in domestic cricket,” he said. “I have been trying to be as consistent as possible. And it feels good enough to score virtually every time I bat these days.”The confidence drawn from such consistency means Karthik wasn’t weighed down at the prospect of replacing an ODI stalwart like Yuvraj Singh. Though Karthik hasn’t yet been spoken to either by the selectors or team management about his specific role in the team, the squad composition hints that he may well be required to bat in the middle order. And he is up for the
challenge. “That is what I have done even earlier, so I am ready to play any role that the team management expects of me – whether a specialist batsman or a keeper-batsman.”Over the last two years, Karthik has been working with his personal coach Prasanna Agoram, the South African national team’s performance analyst. And the efforts have culminated in Karthik being recalled to the national squad, incidentally for a tour to the same country where Karthik made his international debut more than eight years ago.”We had to make minor corrections to my batting techniques,” Karthik said. “That has helped me immensely in order to be good enough to score every time I go out to bat. I would like to thank Prasanna and all my family members who have stood behind me during difficult times.”