All posts by n8rngtd.top

South Africa A are likely to be without Wayne Parnell as they attempt to defend 307 and level the two-match unofficial Test series against India A

Firdose Moonda26-Aug-2013South Africa A are likely to be without Wayne Parnell as they attempt to defend 307 and level the two-match unofficial Test series against India A. Parnell will spend his second night in hospital after complaining of shortness of breath and seeing a cardiologist. He is expected to receive the results soon.Parnell bowled only two overs in India A’s first innings before leaving the field. He was taken to a hospital where he has been since. He bowled 33 overs in the first match last week and took three wickets and was described as being as “strong as ever” by South Africa A coach Vincent Barnes a few weeks’ ago.He was also part of South Africa’s T20 squad that traveled to Sri Lanka and performed admirably in the three matches. Parnell showed his ability as a death bowler, which was particularly heartening to South Africa, who have long looked for someone who can pitch it up at the death.This is not the first injury setback Parnell has suffered. A severe groin strain he picked up in May 2010 had an effect on the number of matches he could play the following summer and he had only just started looking as though he made a full recovery. His inclusion in the A squad was part of a plan to have him playing regular cricket and eventually making a more sustained comeback for South Africa.In his absence, South Africa A will rely on another left-armer, Beuran Hendricks, who took five wickets in the first innings, Kyle Abbott and Andrew Birch to level the series.

Ruvindu Gunasekera made the most of an early let off to make 62 off 54 balls and guide Canada to a 34-run win over Bermuda via Duckworth-Lewis Method on Monday afternoon at Indianapolis World Sports Park

Peter Della Penna in Indianapolis04-May-2015Ruvindu Gunasekera made the most of an early let-off to make 62 off 54 balls and guide Canada to a 34-run win over Bermuda via Duckworth-Lewis method on Monday afternoon at Indianapolis World Sports Park. Canada moved to 2-0 with the win while Bermuda dropped to 0-2 and must now claw out of a major hole to have any shot of finishing in the top-two for a spot in the World T20 Qualifier later this summer.After having won the toss, Canada’s top order batted fluently, reaching 48 for 0 after the six-over Powerplay in cool conditions. The hard-hitting Gunasekera offered a simple chance in the next over on 19 when he mistimed a pull to fine leg, but was put down. Rizwan Cheema got out off the following ball from Janeiro Tucker for 29 but Gunasekera went on to add another 45 runs for the second wicket with Nitish Kumar.Canada’s aggressive mindset backfired a few times, most notably with Nitish who looked set to bat through the end of the innings but was bowled for 20 by Jacobi Robinson attempting a reverse sweep to make it 94 for 2. Robinson continued to burrow through Canada’s middle order by claiming Srimantha Wijeratne at cover for 9 and Jimmy Hansra at long-off for 8 to make it 119 for 4.Gunasekera was still around at the start of the 19th over and looking set to push for 160 but the wheels came off two balls later when the left-hander was bowled by Stefan Kelly attempting a flick. Kelly bowled Navneet Dhaliwal for 4 to end the 19th and spinner Delray Rawlins darted in a quicker ball to knock back Hamza Tariq’s stumps for 2 at the start of the 20th.Bermuda made it four wickets in 10 balls when Tucker ran out Satsimranjit Dhindsa on the second run after a poor backup, and Canada ended on 143 for 8.Moments later, rain started to fall and play did not resume for another two hours and 15 minutes. Bermuda eventually had their target adjusted to 105 off 13 overs.The chase got off to the worst possible start when Dion Stovell skied a chance first ball off Cecil Pervez and was caught running back from mid-off by Hansra. Two overs later, James Celestine fell in similar fashion for 2 before David Hemp got into a tangle with Tucker over a single to backward point. Nitish swooped in and fired a direct hit with Hemp five yards short of making his ground as Bermuda were reduced to 8 for 3 in three overs.Tucker provided a brief counterattack with a pair of lusty blows for six over long-on but he fell quickly for 20 to Hansra, attempting another hoick after backing away from his stumps. Dutta was brought on in the sixth over and struck in the eighth and tenth, causing Oliver Pitcher to hole out to long-on for 3 before bowling Robinson for 6. Tre Manders, who remained unbeaten on 17, ensured Bermuda batted out their overs to end on 70 for 8.

Chris Gayle took his run tally in three NatWest T20 Blast innings for Somerset to 328 as his side beat Hampshire by eight wickets in front of a sell-out 6,500 Taunton crowd.

ECB/PA05-Jun-2015
ScorecardChris Gayle’s imperious form continued•Getty Images

Chris Gayle took his run tally in three NatWest T20 Blast innings for Somerset to 328 as his side beat Hampshire by eight wickets in front of a sell-out 6,500 Taunton crowd. The hosts reached a modest target of 168 with nine balls to spare, Gayle blasting an unbeaten 85 off 49 balls, with eight sixes and four fours, and Peter Trego 51.James Vince cracked an unbeaten 64 off 53 balls to help Hampshire to 167 for 3 after winning the toss, Sean Ervine contributing 30 at the death. But it never looked likely to be enough in excellent batting conditions.The Hampshire innings featured only two sixes on one of the smaller grounds on the county circuit. Both were hit over deep square, by Owais Shah in the 14th over and Sean Ervine in the 19th. By the end of the six overs of Powerplay the visitors were 51 for 1, having just lost Michael Carberry for 20 to a well-judged catch by James Hildreth on the square-leg boundary off Sohail Tanvir.Vince, who survived a stumping chance on 34, was never able to totally cut loose, but reached his half-century off 44 balls, with 6 fours, while Ervine provided some necessary late acceleration with a 17-ball cameo.

Insights

Hampshire scored 47 runs off the final four overs yet still recorded a total that was proven to be under-par. Given that Hampshire lost only three wickets and all five of their batsman got in and got to double-figures they should have got closer to a match-winning score with the bat. Ultimately 6 overs of only 5 runs or less cost Hampshire, but so too did not having Gayle, whose brilliance made Hampshire’s score far worse than it was.

Jim Allenby was the pick of the Somerset bowlers, surprisingly bowling only three overs for 11 runs and the wicket of Shah, caught at midwicket for 16 with the total on 113. By then Hampshire had also lost Jimmy Adams for 23, including four fours, a victim for Lewis Gregory, and Somerset could feel well satisfied with their bowling efforts in bright sunshine.The home side’s reply got off to a poor start when Marcus Trescothick, having faced five dot balls in the second over from Fidel Edwards, top-edged the sixth to third-man and departed for a single with the score on six.After four overs Somerset were becalmed on 17 for 1, thanks to a lively opening spell from Edwards. But Gayle got the scoreboard moving with two sixes and a four off Chris Wood. Even so, it was only 38 for 1 at the end of the Powerplay. Trego had been dropped on six by Shah at midwicket off Wood and was soon making Hampshire pay with sixes off Danny Briggs and Will Smith.Trego, the powerful allrounder outscored Gayle to move to his half-century off 32 balls, with seven fours and two sixes, before top-edging a catch to wicketkeeper Adam Wheater off Briggs. That over had also seen Gayle dropped on 36. The West Indies star was given another life by Smith off his own bowling in the next over and promptly hit the next delivery for his fifth six.The sixth, a soaring straight hit, saw Gayle reach a 36-ball half-century after which the result was never in doubt. He ended the match with yet another maximum, punching the air in delight at another seemingly effortless display.”I’ll be having a few ciders with the lads to celebrate,” Somerset match-winner Gayle said. “It was an important win for the team in the group because now we have two victories from four games and I’m delighted to scored some more runs. The crowd pumped me up at the end and I was able to finish the game with the six they were calling for. I love the atmosphere at Taunton and I’m looking forward to another home match against Surrey before I leave. I’m sorry my time here is so short because things could hardly have gone better. It was good team performance today. We bowled and fielded well.”Hampshire director of cricket Giles White said: “The crowd came to see Gayle and were royally entertained by a fantastic innings. From our point of view, we felt we were 15 runs short because Somerset bowled particularly well and then we failed to take our chances in the field, dropping both Trego and Gayle at vital times.”

Ryan Harris rates Australia’s pace battery well ahead of the equivalent set of fast men who came to England in 2013. The fact he may well be missing from the XI for the first Test in Cardiff is a fair indicator of why

Daniel Brettig in Canterbury27-Jun-20152:21

Harris finds his rhythm in Canterbury

Ryan Harris rates Australia’s pace battery well ahead of the equivalent set of fast men who came to England in 2013. The fact he may well be missing from the XI for the first Test in Cardiff is a fair indicator of why.Over the past five years Harris has been near enough to an automatic inclusion for Australia’s Test side provided he is fit, yet this time he may find himself held back for later in the series should the selectors Darren Lehmann and Rod Marsh deem it better to stick with the trio – Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood – who laid waste to West Indies.It was for reasons of home and hearth rather than fitness which had Harris missing from the Caribbean, and while the birth of his first son Carter was an understandable delight, he admitted it had compelled him to give away the advantage of incumbency. Long hours in the gym and in the nets at the National Cricket Centre have Harris back close to his best, but he is no guarantee of taking the new ball for the first Investec Test due to the uniformly strong performances of his peers which he believes is advanced from two years ago.”I think we’re probably ahead,” Harris said. “Mitchell Starc is bowling quicker. He was on that tour and played a couple of games, I think he’s bowling a lot better than what he was then. He’s bowling quicker and more accurately. Mitch wasn’t there, we’ve got him. We’re probably better placed I reckon, having Mitch back in. We’re definitely a better unit.”Where we are at the moment is what should happen in the Australian team. Everyone should be fighting for those spots. I haven’t thought too much about it, I’m here to play five Tests, I want to play as much as I can, but the disadvantage of that is I missed a tour.”It’s about immediate performance. You never have credits, that’s the way I look at it anyway. I wish you did, but you don’t. Missing a tour, which was my doing, you give someone else an opportunity. I’m here to play five Tests, but all I want to try and do is show that I’m bowling well. If I’m not in that first Test side, it means someone else is bowling better and hopefully we’re winning Test matches.”Two years ago, Harris was working his way back from injury, and the then brand new coach Lehmann deemed him to be unready for immediate Test match exposure. Another week of training in Nottingham proved fruitful, and from the first morning at Lord’s Harris showed himself to be the most accomplished bowler on either side. This time around Lehmann has again spoken of Harris as “short of a gallop” and needing more to do.”I think I’m pretty good, he’s probably correct in saying that because I haven’t played too many games,” Harris said. “As much as I bowled in Brisbane on centre wickets, it’s very hard to simulate match intensity. I feel like I’m going well, my knee’s going to get sore here and there, that will always be the case, but my body itself feels really good. I don’t feel like I’ve bowled many overs at all, which I haven’t felt in a really long time.”Usually after 15-odd overs or whatever I bowl I’m really sore, so it’s just showing me how the work that I did over the last four months is really helping me, and the thing now is to keep my knee up and going. I’m confident I can do that, I’ve done enough of it now I know what to do.Ryan Harris opened his wicket tally for the Ashes tour and was pleased with how he bowled on the third day against Kent•Getty Images

“Very similar to 2013 actually. I had that Australia A tour, I played the Worcester game. Darren thought the same thing, he thought I was short of a gallop and he was right. I trained a bit more at Notts, something clicked there and I bowled really well at Lord’s. Hopefully that doesn’t happen this time, hopefully I’m playing the first Test.”I worked really hard over those four months in Brisbane to get on this tour but also to get myself where I wanted to be and I’m seeing the rewards of that. It’s just a matter now of putting the ball in the right spot enough times and to come out this morning and do what I did, I was really happy with that.”In Canterbury, Harris’ first ball on the second day was a peach that singed the off bail of Joe Denly. However, he pressed a little too hard for effect after that, and went back to the team hotel feeling dissatisfied. After a quiet word with the assistant coach Craig McDermott, he found far better rhythm on the third day, as Sam Billings and Adam Ball found out to their discomfort.”I wasn’t very happy with my rhythm yesterday, had a chat to Craig McDermott last night about a few things, and came out this morning and felt really, really good. I probably just tried a little bit too hard yesterday, probably adrenaline from my first game for a while and searching for some wickets which I don’t usually do, to come out this morning and grab a couple of wickets but more importantly find some rhythm was better.”All Harris can do now is bowl and bowl some more. Most important is his ability to cope with the pain of dealing with his problematic right knee. Even after extensive clean-out surgery in 2014 it is still a source of discomfort and the occasional instance of locking up, testing Harris’ reserves of pain tolerance and earning him the admiration of many for pushing through those barriers.”There’s a bit of strapping on it,” he said. “It still clicks and gets sore in spots but I know how to deal with that now. The thing is now I haven’t been in a position playing a game where it gets sore. I have to build up that pain barrier again and get used to it. Last night it was quite sore and I came out this morning and bowled. So I’m doing that well and it’s just a matter of getting used to that again. It’s only going to get better.”

ESPNcricinfo lists five issues that should be on the priority list of the refurbished managing committee, led by Sharad Pawar after he swept the MCA polls on Wednesday

Amol Karhadkar18-Jun-2015The elections may have been over, but the problems plaguing Mumbai cricket remain the same. ESPNcricinfo lists five issues, in no particular order, that should be on the priority list of the refurbished managing committee, led by Sharad Pawar after he swept the MCA polls on Wednesday.Involving former cricketers in MCADuring the last MCA annual general meeting, former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar had supported a proposal to amend the rulebook and allow voting rights to only those who have attended at least four general body meetings. As much as it is a proposal to keep the flock of politicians entering the MCA at bay, the move may help former cricketers gain some sort of importance in administering the game.More importantly, the need of the hour for the MCA is to integrate at all levels. Till very recently, Mumbai has had a long tradition of former cricketers watching games from sidelines on the maidans and giving valuable advice to youngsters. Somehow, the trend has been missing over the last few years.”The need is to involve passionate former cricketers who have got nothing to do with club cricket. They shouldn’t be associated with any office or club lobbies so they come in with neutral views,” says former Mumbai captain Amol Muzumdar.Feeder lines alternate to age-group systemsWhile inter-school cricket has traditionally been the first line of supply to Mumbai’s rich legacy of producing international cricketers, inter-college tournaments have served as the platform to hone skills for talented cricketers. Of late, though, both have suffered due to various problems.”With cricket having spread to remote suburbs like Palghar, Dahanu and Badlapur, Ambarnath (all of which are more than 100kms from south Mumbai), the traditional Harris and Giles shield tournaments are not providing necessary platforms to spot talent. After all, both these inter-school tournaments are restricted to schools that are in the jurisdiction of the municipal corporation,” says Vengsarkar, who was elected as a vice-president for the fifth time.As for the schools that participate in the Harris and Giles Shield, the most rampant problem has been of overage players. Age-fudging results in getting laurels to a select few schools year after year, and overage players end up overshadowing promising cricketers, many of whom give up the game even before blooming as cricketers.”If overage thing is ruining school cricket, put in place a system that would bar it. Or have an alternative, like playing the Harris and Giles matches on the same day so that it would put considerable brakes on the age-fudging problems,” says Muzumdar.Making optimum use of infrastructureThe MCA’s academy at the Bandra-Kurla Complex is one of the plushest facilities, indoor and outdoor. Same is the case with the new club house in Kandivali. But over the last couple of years, the academy at BKC has resulted into a dormant facility, with want of quality coaches.”It’s a dummy academy. Yes, it’s a world-class academy in terms of infrastructure but if it’s not run efficiently, there’s no use of it,” Muzumdar observes. “For that, a good thought process needs to go in it. Otherwise it will just be one more academy. Let’s hope quality coaches are roped in to achieve the primary objective of setting up the academy, which is to produce cricketers.”Making the tournament structure more competitiveDuring their topsy-turvy 2014-15 Ranji Trophy season, Mumbai used a whopping 25 players, nine of whom made their first-class debuts. More than half of those debutants were exposed as they never appeared to be ready for the format. It was in stark contrast to Mumbai’s history to have a second rung of players ready to push those in the first XI.It is primarily due to the lack of a tournament structure that focusses only on quantity rather than quality. Two years ago, the ruling MCA regime drastically changed the club tournament structure, which resulted in the Kanga League, that used to test the batsmen’s technique, but it has lost its charm for being the only monsoon tournament in India.Though the revised structure has given more opportunities to cricketers to pile on the numbers, it has created confusion about what exactly is the selection tournament for the senior team. “Please restore Kanga League. Club cricket is the lifeline of Mumbai cricket,” Muzumdar pleads.Similarly, Vengsarkar had proposed a T20 franchise league, towards the end of his eight-year stint as vice-president, to give more opportunities to fringe players. The proposal had resulted into a Corporate Twenty20 tournament, which has also been stalled for the last few years.”If the corporate tournament is revived, it will not only help us create a bigger bench strength but may also help cricketers getting employment even in private sector. That coupled with a restructured college tournament can give us two additional options for fringe players to make a case for senior team selection,” Vengsarkar says.Women’s cricket and communication wingWomen’s cricket has largely been ignored by all the BCCI member units and MCA is no exception. But with a steady stream of Mumbai cricketers into the national team, it’s high time the MCA comes up with infrastructure and tournament structure for women. President Sharad Pawar’s announcement of creating a provision for female representation on the managing committee is a welcome move, to begin with.And equally important for the MCA is to improve its communication world. In the era of cyber age, MCA’s website wears an ancient look. Statistics and records are outdated and it’s not at all a user-friendly portal.Combining both the factors, Muzumdar sums up aptly: “It’s time for Mumbai cricket to be trendsetters like yesteryears. Be it in any walk of the game, Mumbai has set the trend and the rest of the Indian cricket fraternity has followed them. If we can do it early, it would put Mumbai cricket back to where it has belonged.”

The Bravo brothers shined again and kept Trinidad & Tobago Red Steel’s chances of reaching the final alive with an 18-run win against St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in a rain-reduced match in Port-of-Spain

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Jul-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsDarren Bravo hammered five sixes in the 15 balls he faced•Caribbean Premier League

The Bravo brothers shone again and kept Trinidad & Tobago Red Steel’s chances of reaching the final alive with an 18-run win against St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in a rain-reduced match in Port-of-Spain. Darren Bravo unleashed another cameo and Dwayne finished with 3 for 15 to curb Patriots’ score to 123 for 7, after Red Steel had made 134 for 5 in 14 overs.Red Steel, after opting to bat, were given a solid start by Jacques Kallis and William Perkins, who put on 43 in 5.4 overs. But once the partnership was broken, Patriots fought back by taking another two wickets within 10 runs and a rain interruption in the ninth over cut six overs from the innings.Darren Bravo then struck two sixes and a four off Carlos Brathwaite in the 12th over, taking 20 runs off it, and hammered three sixes in the last over before being run-out for a 15-ball 40. Cameron Delport faced the last two balls of the final over and tonked those for sixes too. In all, 33 runs came off the final over – Brathwaite, who conceded a six off the first ball, followed it up with his second full-toss above waist height and had to be taken off the attack; Shahid Afridi completed the over, conceding four sixes in five balls.Chasing a revised target of 142, Patriots lost Martin Guptill for a duck in the second over before Evin Lewis and Marlon Samuels charged them past 50 in the sixth over. Lewis then holed out to long-on off Dwayne Bravo before Afridi and Samuels combined to bring the equation down to 64 from 36 balls.Patriots lost their way thereafter, though, with Samuels bowled for 25 by left-arm spinner Derone Davis and Dwayne Bravo dismissing Raymon Reifer and Afridi off consecutive deliveries in the 11th over. Davis then came back and struck twice to remove Brathwaite and Devon Thomas, leaving Patriots 114 for 7, with 27 required from the last two overs. Dwayne Bravo and Kallis didn’t concede a single boundary off the last 12 balls, giving away only eight runs in that span.

Northamptonshire dismissed Championship Division Two rivals Kent for 208 to wrap up an innings-and-23-runs victory with almost a day-and-a-half to spare at Canterbury

ECB/PA06-Aug-2015
ScorecardAzharullah picked up three second-innings wickets as Kent succumbed inside three days•Getty Images

Northamptonshire dismissed Championship Division Two rivals Kent for 208 to wrap up an innings-and-23-runs victory with almost a day-and-a-half to spare at Canterbury.Hosts Kent seemingly had little desire for the fight as they lost nine wickets in less than two sessions to gift a 23-point win to Northants. That left Kent second from bottom and they went straight into the nets afterwards having banked only three points from this their seventh defeat in 12 Championship games.Resuming on 90 for 1 at the start of Thursday’s play, Kent lost four more wickets in the morning session of what transpired to be a one-sided clash.Once again, poor shot selection led to their demise with Joe Denly starting the rot with a meek clip off his hip straight into the hands of Josh Cobb at short midwicket. Captain Sam Northeast was pinned leg before when playing across a full length ball from Azharullah, as was Ben Harmison, whose painful 36-minute stay for 3 ended with a near identical stroke against Ben Sanderson.On 27 Rob Key had raised Kent’s 100 in fortunate circumstances with a top-edged hook against Azharullah that was palmed over the ropes for six by Maurice Chambers at long leg. But after adding another nine to his own score Key perished when another miscued pull against Sanderson sailed to Azharullah who safely pouched the opportunity to make it 121 for 5.The capitulation gathered pace after lunch when Darren Stevens was adjudged leg before for 15 to the excellent Olly Stone who, in tandem with Azharullah, sent down 53 of the 78 overs needed to skittle Kent.Stone then cleaned up Calum Haggett with the very next delivery for a golden duck and although James Tredwell survived the hat-trick ball, the end for Kent was nigh. Azharullah had Tredwell caught at long leg, one of three Kent players to be caught out on the hook, as was top-scorer Sam Billings (43) leaving Chambers to polish off the win by rearranging the stumps of Kent’s last man Matt Hunn.Northamptonshire captain Alex Wakely said: “I’ve just said in our team meeting that I believe that to be the best collective bowling performance that I’ve ever witnessed by a Northants team. We barely bowled a bad ball throughout and really made life tough for a Kent batting line-up that is chock full of experienced players.”I’m very proud of that performance considering we were missing the two spearheads of our attack. Stone and Azharullah were magnificent and Ben Sanderson has again proved a real asset. We’ve also given ourselves a valuable day off ahead of our T20 quarter final.”Northeast said: “I thought Northamptonshire bowled really well on this pitch. There wasn’t much in it for our lads, but they got out of it what they could.”A couple of us made starts in this match but nobody went on to play a match-defining knock. We all have to stick our hands up and say that wasn’t good enough. We have four games to go in this competition now. We need to look at our practice and how we’re going about things because there’s no denying that we’re very inconsistent.”

Steven Finn gave his chances of playing in the first Test a significant boost as he took four early wickets before England’s bowlers capped off an encouraging day by reducing Pakistan A to 192 for 12

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Oct-2015
ScorecardSteven Finn gave his chances of playing in the first Test a significant boost as he took four early wickets before England’s bowlers capped off an encouraging day by reducing Pakistan A to 192 for 12. With the teams having agreed to spend a day each in the field, several of the Pakistan A side batted twice as a much-changed England attack got a good workout.Finn appeared to be behind Mark Wood in the running to support James Anderson and Stuart Broad – he said so himself afterwards – but impressed during two penetrative spells that yielded figures of 11-7-5-4. Wood had been given the first opportunity in the two-day game earlier in the week but was rested this time, along with Anderson and Broad.Although Finn and Wood played two Tests together at the end of the Ashes, one will have to make way due to Anderson’s return from injury. Given the sapping conditions, having both in form will not be to England’s disadvantage.This was a more responsive surface than the one on which Pakistan A made 216 for 5 on Tuesday and Finn’s pace helped reduce them to 73 for 6 before a 93-run stand between Umar Amin and Adnan Akmal brought some respectability to what was soon to become a rather confusing scorecard.England selected Alex Hales and James Taylor in their XI, in place of Alastair Cook and Joe Root, while the inclusion of Samit Patel and Liam Plunkett meant everyone in the squad got a workout. Cook and Root were still involved in the field, sharing the captaincy along with Ian Bell for a session each, while Jonny Bairstow and Jos Buttler took turns behind the stumps.Finn had Khurram Manzoor caught behind in his fifth over – although the opener appeared to dispute the decision – and then Ali Asad slashed a drive to second slip. He returned after lunch to have Iftikhar Ahmed lbw and Usman Salahuddin taken at third slip two balls later, providing a reminder of his ODI performances in the UAE three years ago when he was the leading wicket-taker on either side.Focus has been on England’s spin resources and Moeen Ali had Fawad Alam taken at slip after extracting some turn before Adil Rashid picked up his first wicket on tour by inducing an edge from opener Sami Aslam on 43.Akmal and Amin rebuilt the innings during the afternoon, taking their seventh-wicket stand beyond tea. Shortly after Akmal had reached his fifty, Patel had Amin caught behind and Manzoor was then dismissed for the second time in the day trying to hit Patel over long-off.Asad walked out again only to be dismissed for another duck, his stumps rattled by Plunkett, and Rashid picked up the 10th wicket of the innings after a brief stand between Akmal and Zafar Gohar. With 12 overs left, Pakistan A continued to bat and there were further wickets for Rashid – Salahuddin the third batsman to fall twice – and Plunkett before the teams walked off with Akmal unbeaten on 74 and the scorers comparing notes.England will conclude their preparations for the first Test, which starts in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, by giving chances to Hales and Taylor with the bat. Hales will open alongside Moeen, with both looking to make their case to become Cook’s latest partner at the top of the order.

Half-centuries from Kevin O’Brien and John Mooney ensured that Ireland held on for a draw against Zimbabwe A in Harare

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Oct-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsFile photo: John Mooney struck a fifty and put up a crucial stand with Kevin O’Brien•ICC/Sander Tholen

Half-centuries from Kevin O’Brien and John Mooney ensured that Ireland held on for a draw against Zimbabwe A in Harare. Zimbabwe A, who began the day at 320 for 6 in their second innings, added just 26 more runs to that total before declaring. It set Ireland a target of 386 and meant the hosts had more than 80 overs to take 10 wickets and seal a victory.Those hopes were further raised when regular blows from Brian Vitori (2 for 51) and Tatenda Mupunga (2 for 52) reduced Ireland to 141 for 5, with at least 35 more overs left in the day. However, Kevin O’Brien and Mooney held firm, batting together for more than two overs to shepherd their team to safety. Kevin O’Brien hit nine fours for his 56 not out, while Mooney’s unbeaten 65 featured 11 fours. The pair’s unbroken 130-run stand took Ireland to 271 for 5 before stumps were called.

Virender Sehwag has indicated that he will retire from international cricket in order to take part in the Masters Champions League (MCL), a UAE-based Twenty20 tournament

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Oct-2015

Sehwag since his last India match

• Has scored 1173 runs in 22 first-class matches at an average of 37.84, with three centuries

• Scored a fourth-innings 109 for the MCC against Durham in a pink-ball day-night match in Abu Dhabi

• Left his home state Delhi at the start of the 2015-16 season to play for Haryana

• Moved from Delhi Daredevils to Kings XI Punjab at the start of the 2014 IPL season, and scored a century in the semi-finals against Chennai Super Kings

Virender Sehwag has indicated that he will retire from international cricket in order to take part in the Masters Champions League (MCL), a UAE-based Twenty20 tournament.The rules of the MCL, which is scheduled to begin in January, state that players taking part must have retired from all international formats. On Monday, while reminded of this stipulation at an MCL event in Dubai, Sehwag said he would retire in order to play the tournament.He later confirmed the news in a video interview with . “Yes I’m going to play this tournament,” he said. “I will retire soon from international cricket. I’ll announce it officially and then you people can get to know that and then I can take part in this tournament.”Sehwag added that his retirement would not just be from international cricket but the IPL as well. “I’ll retire from international cricket and IPL so I will not be playing those leagues,” he said. “So I will play only MCL.”Asked if he would miss international cricket, Sehwag gave a typically matter-of-fact reply. “The last couple of years I’m not playing. So I was missing [it] but now I am taking this decision that I’m going to retire very soon, so I’m pretty happy with my career.”Before his trip to Dubai, Sehwag had been captaining Haryana in the Ranji Trophy, and had scored two half-centuries in their first two matches of the season. He will be joining his Haryana team-mates in Mysore on October 21, and the Haryana Cricket Association secretary Anirudh Chaudhry has indicated Sehwag will play the rest of the season for the team.The MCL, scheduled to start in January 2016, is due to feature a number of retired international greats. On Monday, the homepage of the MCL website sported an image of eight players lined up side-by-side, seen from the back. On the backs of seven T-shirts were the names ‘Sangakkara’, ‘Gilchrist’, ‘Sehwag’, ‘Lara’, ‘Wasim’, ‘Kallis’ and ‘Mahela’, with a question mark on the back of the eighth T-shirt. The MCL event did not declare names of the franchise teams that will be competing in the event.Sehwag, a day short of his 37th birthday, is widely considered one of India’s greatest opening batsmen, and revolutionised the art of batting against the new ball in Test cricket with his aggressive approach, scoring at a strike rate of over 80 in the longest format. Sehwag has been out of India’s plans for over two years, having last played for the national side in the Hyderabad Test against Australia in March 2013.Sehwag played 104 Tests, 251 ODIs and 19 T20Is, scoring over 17000 international runs and picking up 136 wickets with his offspin. His greatest moments came in Test cricket, where he made 23 hundreds including the only two triple-centuries by any Indian batsman, while his ODI achievements included the format’s second double-hundred.