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Ross Taylor, the New Zealand batsman, has said the failure of New Zealand’s batsmen to convert starts is what has hurt them in their ODI series loss to Pakistan

Andrew Fernando at Seddon Park 03-Feb-2011Ross Taylor, the New Zealand batsman, has said the failure of New Zealand’s batsmen to convert starts is what has hurt them in their ODI series loss to Pakistan. Another poor batting effort in Hamilton, on Thursday, saw the hosts go down by 41 runs to give Pakistan an unassailable 3-1 lead in the series. New Zealand lost wickets at regular intervals, as the run chase faltered repeatedly just as a decent partnership appeared to be building.”Once again we put ourselves in a good position to push ahead in the dying overs but we kept losing wickets at crucial times,” Taylor, who captained the side on Thursday in the absence of Daniel Vettori, said. “Obviously the confidence is lower because of that.”New Zealand’s batting has failed all too frequently during the series, with the top five often unable to make an impact on the game. Even when the top order have got starts – as they did on Thursday with Taylor and Martin Guptill both hitting half-centuries – none of the New Zealand batsmen have been able to play a definitive innings to swing games in their favour. In five one-dayers, the hosts’ highest individual score has been 69, and Taylor identified that as the chief reason behind their losses.”At the moment we are getting ourselves into a good position and not capitalising. The batters can take a good look at the way the Pakistanis have played. Today, [Ahmed] Shehzad went on to score three figures, Misbah got ninety-odd in Napier and Hafeez got a hundred in Christchurch. Scores of sixty from Guptill and myself are alright sometimes, but when the team needs you, you’ve got to step up and score a ninety or a hundred like they have.”The confidence is not quite there and when the confidence isn’t there results don’t seem to go your way. I don’t think we are very far away to be honest. We just need to convert a couple of sixties to big scores and make sure we don’t keep losing wickets.”Taylor said his 69 was of little consequence because he was unable to see New Zealand level the series with a win. “I was happy to get a score but it doesn’t really mean much when you lose. I got myself into a position when I should have pushed on and I didn’t go on.”Taylor did reserve praise for his bowlers, however, who reined Pakistan in during the last ten overs after they had threatened to score in excess of 300. Pakistan were 243 for 5 after 45 overs, with three batting Powerplay overs yet to come, and Shahid Afridi and Umar Akmal at the crease. Canny variations and a slower short ball used to great effect prevented Pakistan from getting away at the death and restricted their total to 268 for nine in 50 overs. Pakistan managed only 25 runs for the loss of four wickets in their final five overs, and Taylor said his bowlers’ performance in the end overs boded well for the World Cup.”I was very happy [with the death bowling]. In Christchurch, we were a little predictable, but the way we changed the pace and manipulated the field today [Thursday] kept the batsmen guessing. New Zealand grounds in general are very small and you need to do that. The way they mixed up their pace was a positive we can take out of this, not only for the next match but for the World Cup as well. Some of the grounds in India are small too.”Jacob Oram and Kyle Mills were particularly impressive, and showed their experience during the batting Powerplay. The pair picked up two wickets apiece. “I’ve got to give it to Millsy and Jake and even Hamish [Bennett] for the way he bowled his last over. They were looking like scoring well over 300. It was probably a 280, 300 wicket; we were happy to chase that down and we should have got there.”New Zealand will play one more ODI against Pakistan, in Auckland on Saturday, and Taylor said they were eager to salvage what little momentum there is to be taken from the final encounter ahead of the World Cup, which begins on February 19. “There is some urgency to get some momentum with a win [on Saturday]. But I don’t think we are far away [from a winning performance].”

Ottis Gibson, the West Indies coach, has clarified that Ramnaresh Sarwan’s exclusion from the side was to give him more time to recover fully from his injury, in time for tougher assignments

Cricinfo staff09-Mar-2010Ottis Gibson, the West Indies coach, has said that Ramnaresh Sarwan’s exclusion from the squad for the home series against Zimbabwe was to give him more time to recover fully from his injury, so that he could be ready for tougher assignments.”Ramnaresh Sarwan is very important to the team. He was with us in Guyana and seeing him around was very good. He had a serious injury with his back,” Gibson said.Sarwan was overlooked for the last three ODIs against Zimbabwe despite returning to first-class cricket and featuring in the Regional four-day competition. His omission raised several eyebrows especially after he made a century for Guyana last week, a knock that signaled a return to some level of fitness.”At the moment he could benefit from some more time to get fully ready. I don’t want to rush him back too soon. The last thing we want would be to rush him back and lose him for the long-term. It is a precaution to allow him to get 100% ready for the major international assignments we have later this year,” Gibson said.West Indies’s upcoming schedule includes the ICC World Twenty20 and a three-Test, five-ODI home series against South Africa later this year.The last three ODIs against Zimbabwe will be played at the Arnos Vale Stadium in St. Vincent, starting from Wednesday.

Orr century, Currie five-for give Hampshire the edge until flying finish at Trent Bridge

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay20-Sep-2025Worcestershire 188 for 7 (Brookes 57, Currie 5-34) beat Hampshire 237 for 7 (Orr 110, Waite 3-60) by three wickets (DLS) Worcestershire ended a week that saw them relegated in the Rothesay County Championship by winning the Metro Bank One-Day Cup by three wickets in a sensational finish to a rain-affected final at Trent Bridge, despite a brilliant century from Ali Orr for Hampshire.Chasing a twice-revised target of 188 from 27 overs after Hampshire had made 237 for seven in 45, the Rapids clinched victory with two balls to spare after ninth man Henry Cullen, with four required to win, was caught on the boundary at long leg only for the fielder, Kyle Abbott, to touch the rope while the ball was still in his hand.The heartbreak for Hampshire came only a week after their defeat by Somerset in the Vitality Blast final.Hampshire’s Scott Currie, who had earned an England call-up earlier in the week but was not required for the T20s against Ireland, looked to have bowled his side to victory here as three wickets in his final over gave him figures of five for 31.But after Ethan Brookes hit four sixes in a superb 34-ball 57 to haul Worcestershire back into contention after falling behind the rate required, Matthew Waite’s two sixes in a five-ball 16 set up what had seemed an unlikely victory with 13 needed off Brad Wheal’s final over.Until then, Orr’s 110 – his third century in this season’s competition – including two sixes in addition to 10 fours and came off 130 balls, looked to have been the match-winning performance.It took a superb one-handed catch off his own bowling by Waite to dismiss him.Orr and fellow left-hander Nick Gubbins (38) put on 82 in 16.2 overs for the first wicket, but the opening pair apart, all-rounder James Fuller’s 23 from 20 balls was the highest Hampshire score in the face of a disciplined response from Worcestershire’s seam attack.Ali Orr’s century gave Hampshire the upper hand in the early part of the final•Getty Images

Bowling nine overs each, Waite took three for 60, Ben Allison impressed with two for 41 and a miserly Tom Taylor took one for 24.Play had begun at the scheduled 11am start time, with Worcestershire opting to bowl first, perhaps with a nod to overcast conditions.Orr and Gubbins, mainstays of the Hampshire batting along their path to a fourth final in the last seven editions of the 50-over competition, had the upper hand against Taylor and Khurram Shahzad, hitting nine boundaries to be 55 without loss in the opening 10-over powerplay.Allison and Waite slowed their progress – and forced a breakthrough when Waite squared up Gubbins, who was caught at backward point off a leading edge. The skipper’s 38 had taken him to 707 as the leading runscorer in this season’s competition.Fletcha Middleton departed between showers, mistiming Taylor to be caught at extra cover. The second break for rain came at 141 for two from just under 31 overs, after which Hampshire pushed the accelerator.Orr walloped Brookes over deep midwicket before completing the fifth List A century of his career in a costly over for Waite that included a six and three fours, reaching the milestone off 118 balls with 14 fours in addition to his two maximums.But Worcestershire removed Toby Albert via a top-edge to deep square and Ben Mayes, bowled by Brookes before Waite ended Orr’s impressive innings via a brilliant one-handed caught-and-bowled.Worcestershire’s bowlers maintained their grip, conceding only one boundary in the last five overs, delivering 15 dot balls and picking up two more wickets as Fuller and Andrew Neal both picked out Brookes on the fence at wide long-on.Their chase did not begin until 5.15pm after a long stoppage between innings but it got off to a flyer despite – 28 without loss from four overs after 19-year-old Daniel Lategan had lofted Wheal high over wide long-on for the first six of the innings.But two setbacks checked their progress as Roderick sliced Fuller to third man and Currie’s first ball had Lategan caught behind.Kashif Ali and Jake Libby added 62 for the third wicket but their rate of progress was well behind what was needed as Gubbins rotated his quintet of bowlers, none of whom gave away easy runs and when Kashif was caught on the reverse at backward point, the Rapids still needed 94 at 93 for three in the 17th.Libby was caught behind swinging at Currie, at which point Hampshire were clear favourites with Worcestershire still 81 short and less than seven overs remaining.But Brookes kept them in contention and though Currie ended his charge via a steepling catch to ‘keeper Ben Brown and dismissed Rob Jones and Taylor in his last over, Cullen had the final word.

Gloucestershire make hosts sweat in low run-chase before Test class comes to the fore

Alan Gardner22-Apr-2024In the end, it was a scrape to victory. Having played the Tricky Third Innings card to leave Gloucestershire deep in a hole the previous evening, Sussex were made to work hard for the points on the final day. Obdurate batting from Miles Hammond and Zafar Gohar stretched the game out, leaving a target of 144 in 49 overs; Sussex then lost four wickets before they had got halfway. But in Cheteshwar Pujara, the home side had an ace up their sleeve. In a nervy finale, his unbeaten 44 trumped a tenacious five-for from Gohar.There have been more False Dawns for Sussex in recent years than you might find at a lookalike convention for characters. But after three rounds of the Championship – which, with better weather, might have produced three wins – they are the pace-setters in Division Two and look a tougher unit than was previously the case.It was after beating Gloucestershire here in their final fixture of 2023, confirming Sussex’s third-place finish, that head coach Paul Farbrace spoke of the need to add experienced recruits to a young squad that had nevertheless made significant strides, winning as many first-class matches (three) as they had managed in the three preceding summers. Danny Lamb, who had already agreed a move from Lancashire, and John Simpson fit the bill in that regard, and both have been prominent in Sussex’s strong start.Farbrace has not been afraid to ruffle feathers in a bid to shift the club out of its discomfort zone – the decision to let Ali Orr leave over the winter caused consternation, while Chris Adams, the title-winning former Sussex captain, and Ian Gould, another Hove stalwart, both quit advisory roles after being sidelined – but he has also conceded that he didn’t get everything right in his first season, vowing in particular to give the players greater responsibility for how they approach games.Simpson, installed as captain, has set the tone in the field, unflappable with the gloves and in career-best form with the bat. In each of their three games this season, Sussex have responded to solid first-innings totals by their opponents – Northamptonshire made 371, Leicestershire 338 and Gloucestershire 417 – with even more substantial efforts. They nearly burgled a result after triggering a similar collapse against Northants, then saw a commanding position washed away by the rain at Leicester (where Simpson made 205 not out and Lamb 134 in a total of 694 for 9 declared).This time Sussex were not to be denied, although Gohar did his single-handed best. Gloucestershire’s left-arm spinner took the new ball (perhaps in part because his side were behind the over-rate) and struck in his second, third, seventh and eighth overs to leave the scoreboard reading 70 for 4. Gloucestershire thought Simpson had been caught at leg slip off Gohar when he had made just 2, but the fifth-wicket pair chipped 42 off the target before another wobble.Having gone charging off trying to get the chase done, beneath lowering skies and the threat of rain, it was ultimately a nuggety, unbroken stand between Pujara and Lamb that hauled Sussex over the line.”We weren’t at our best at various times of the game but we now expect to win games,” Farbrace said. “We have got a good balance in our team, we bat all the way down and we feel confident. It’s nice to be top but it doesn’t mean anything – we want to be top at the end of the season.”Gloucestershire went into Monday’s play staring down the barrel, just 19 runs in front with four wickets standing – though with the memory of last week’s escape against Yorkshire, when they batted through the final day for the loss of just two wickets, to fortify them. Hopes of a repeat rose through the morning, as Hammond and Gohar played sensibly and with few alarms to bat out the session.Jack Carson was into the attack early and spin seemed the likeliest route to a Sussex breakthrough with the old ball. After bedding in, Hammond twice reverse-swept James Coles for boundaries before lofting the same bowler down the ground for six; a pull off Lamb went fizzing to the rope to raise his second half-century of the match.In between those flashes of aggression, there was precious little to warm those Sussex supporters hunkered in their deckchairs. Carson turned one past Gohar’s outside edge. Jayden Seales had Hammond fending the ball in the air but not to hand in front of square on the off side. With the session drawing to a close, Carson threated to dislodge Hammond with successive deliveries: an inside-edge saved him from lbw, before the absence of any bat allowed Gloucestershire’s No. 4 to survive one turning through to the keeper.With 75 runs added and no wickets lost, the visitors were perhaps halfway to making the game safe. The lead was approaching three figures, and if Hammond and Gohar could just take some shine off the second new ball… but the pairing didn’t get that far. Shortly after the resumption, Carson’s change of angle to over the wicket accounted for Hammond, playing around one skidding on from a leg-stump line; two balls later, Dom Goodman was trapped by the ball spinning into him.Sussex’s relief was palpable, and although Zaman Akhter swung the bat merrily again to help add 39 to the target, Seales needed just two deliveries after belatedly being given a go with the new ball to snuff out the resistance. Those in the deckchairs could sit a little more easily. By the time Lamb hit the winning runs some three hours later, they were doubtless comfortably numb.

Short smashed 84 before Thornton bagged a four-for and Rashid Khan a three-for in Strikers’ 51-run win

AAP14-Dec-2022Adelaide Strikers have made an impeccable start to their BBL campaign, dazzling with both bat and ball to trounce Sydney Sixers by 51 runs at Adelaide Oval.After amassing an imposing 184 for 6 on Wednesday evening, largely on the back of Matthew Short’s 84, Henry Thornton’s career-best 4 for 20 helped Strikers restrict Sixers to 133 for 7.Thornton and legspinning wizard Rashid Khan starred with the ball for Strikers who exacted some retribution for last season’s Challenger Final between the two sides at the SCG, which the Sixers won in a last-ball heart-stopper to advance to the decider.Jordan Silk top-scored for Sixers, whose lacklustre reply spluttered early and never recovered. Introduced in the third over, Thornton struck twice in his first three balls, dismissing dangerous duo Kurtis Patterson and James Vince.Josh Philippe and captain Moises Henriques both fell victim to Rashid wrong ‘uns as Strikers’ grip on the contest tightened.With the asking rate escalating out of control, Sixers were aiming to match the home side’s 30-run haul when they took the two-over power surge but could muster just six runs, corralled by Strikers’ two best bowlers, Rashid and Peter Siddle.Thornton returned to the attack near the death and skittled Dan Christian and Sean Abbott. Earlier, Short led Strikers’ assault with the bat after surviving the BBL’s historic first-ever DRS challenge.After the early loss of Jake Weatherald, Strikers temporarily plummeted to 2 for 2 when umpire Bruce Oxenford ruled Short lbw to Abbott.Short successfully reviewed the decision, television replays confirming the ball was missing the stumps, and made the most of his reprieve, smoking the Sixers attack in his classy 53-ball knock.Short was wonderfully supported by the competition’s all-time leading runscorer Chris Lynn and swashbuckling England import Adam Hose, who both impressed for their new side.Abbott and 19-year-old Afghan legspinner Izharulhaq Naveed were the pick of Sixers’ bowlers picking up three and two wickets respectively.

Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Siraj pick up five wickets between them to earn the visitors a 91-run lead

Shashank Kishore21-Jul-2021
For a better part of the last ten years, the Indians have preferred to play friendly tour games in the run-up to Test series overseas. The rigours of a first-class game that they have grown to appreciate in recent times are for days like Tuesday when they were given a proper workout by a potential opponent when the Test series starts.Haseeb Hameed, now 24, may be unrecognisable from the boyish avatar in 2016, when he broke through as a sprightly 19-year old in India . But all the traits that made him a classical Test opener in the making were on display in Chester-Le-Street on the second day of India’s tour fixture against the County Select XI. He made 112, his third century of the season and eighth overall, further justifying the selectors’ decision to pick him in England’s squad for the first two India Tests.For the record, the Indians took a 91-run lead, with the hosts finishing 220 for 9, with Avesh Khan ruled out of the remainder of the game due to a fractured left thumb.Related

• Avesh Khan all but out of England tour

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Each of the Indian bowlers got a proper workout. After reducing the hosts to 56 for 4, shortly after lunch, Hameed was an epitome of composure and concentration. He focused on crease occupation for a better part of the first two sessions, before giving the Indians a glimpse of his free-flowing strokeplay in the final session.He was particularly aggressive against Axar Patel’s left-arm spin, hitting him for three successive boundaries to dash out of the sixties. Then, he carried on with the same tempo, lofting Ravindra Jadeja. In the nineties, he was kept honest as Jasprit Bumrah came steaming in for one last hurrah at the end of a long day, but Hameed didn’t show signs of nerves or desperation of getting to the impending landmark, eventually getting there calmly off 228 deliveries.The Indians were made to rue a missed opportunity after KL Rahul put down a chance behind the stumps off Patel. Hameed was on 60 when he was deceived in flight while looking to drive through the covers. He accounted for just over 50% of the runs the home team made and his 75-run partnership with Lyndon James was the highest of the day.Hameed’s footwork was crisp and unhurried. His judgment over which deliveries to play or leave, especially off Bumrah and Umesh Yadav in the morning session, immaculate. This was a statement without trying to make one – he wasn’t going to be bullied by an experienced attack. As the day wore on, he showed nimble footwork against spin.Before the Hameed show, the Indian pacers ran amok, raising prospects of enjoying a second hit at some stage during the day. While that wasn’t to be, they wouldn’t really complain at having a good workout against a batting line-up determined to prove themselves. Among them was one of India’s own, Washington Sundar, who missed making a mark in this game. Coming in at No. 4, Sundar lasted all of seven deliveries, prised out by a Mohammed Siraj lifter that he fended awkwardly to second slip.Jake Libby and Robert Yates were dismissed before Sundar, allowing Yadav and Bumrah to get onto the scoreboard. Libby’s indecisiveness cost him as he chopped on, while Yates poked at Bumrah’s away-going delivery to Rahul. As wickets fell around him, a resolute Hameed continue to grind his way through, taking 134 deliveries to raise his half-century.Bumrah and Yadav bowled five sharp overs each before and after lunch. While Bumrah bent his back and hit the deck hard, Yadav got the ball to move away, and to his credit, he made the batters play more than they left. Shardul Thakur, who had Hameed nicking behind, ended with 14-6-31-1. He pounded in over after over, mixing up full deliveries with skiddy short ones, causing the batters to weave and duck occasionally.Thakur had come close to picking up another wicket when James gloved a short delivery down the leg side, only for the ball to fly wide of a leaping Rahul down the leg side.Jadeja and Patel didn’t have much of a workload, mostly playing a holding role. Jadeja had a wicket to show for when he had debutant James Rew caught by Rohit Sharma at slip. Liam Patterson-White brought some late excitement to the proceedings when he took on India’s premier left-arm spinner, nonchalantly lofting him over the infield, then reverse-sweeping his way to some runs and having fun at the end of a hot day before being the last man out.As much as they would’ve been satisfied with how things panned out in the game, the Indians would’ve also been encouraged by the sight of their captain Virat Kohli, enjoying a hit at the nets a day after the BCCI said he was being rested from this game for a stiff back. At lunch, Kohli took throwdowns from Indian batting coach Vikram Rathour and specialist Nuwan Seneviratne from 18 yards. He also faced Sussex offspinner Jack Carson, with head coach Ravi Shastri observing the session from a distance.The development was a welcome one for the Indians, who will also concerned by the fitness of vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane, who has a swollen hamstring. Also part of the nets was India’s most experienced fast bowler Ishant Sharma, who was back in action after picking up a hand injury on the final day of the World Test Championship final.

Pair had been due to play full T20 Blast season

ESPNcricinfo staff01-May-2020Surrey have cancelled D’Arcy Short and Shadab Khan’s contracts for the T20 Blast season following the competition’s postponement.The ECB announced last week that no professional cricket would be played in England and Wales until July 1 at the earliest due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with the Blast likely to be pushed back to the final months of the season.Surrey said in a statement: “Given the postponement of [the Blast] and the current uncertainty around the makeup of the domestic season… it was mutually agreed that the players’ contracts would be cancelled.”The club had previously cancelled Michael Neser’s contract, following the initial suspension of the first seven rounds of County Championship fixtures.Both players were also due to play in the inaugural season of the Hundred, which has been pushed back to 2021.Alec Stewart, Surrey’s director of cricket, said: “I would like to thank both Shadab & D’Arcy and their management companies for their understanding of the current situation and the impact these testing times are having on our game.”While we continue to prepare for cricket at The Kia Oval this summer, uncertainties around restrictions and scheduling across the world and here in the UK means this is the most sensible decision for both the players and the club for now.”

George Dobell06-Mar-2019The Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA) appear to have won their fight to see a marked rise in the pay of players in England and Wales.The PCA – the players’ union – had previously expressed their surprise at news that the ECB did not envisage a rise in the salary cap or the salary collar at counties despite their lucrative new broadcasting deal, worth £1.1billion from 2020 to 2024..But it now seems they have persuaded the ECB – both the executive and the counties – to ensure players receive a decent share of the spoils in the new County Partnership Agreement (CPA). While the deal still has to be formally signed off, the PCA have told their members many of their demands have been “secured after a long drawn out negotiation”.The key features of the new deal will see the salary cap (the maximum amount a county can spend on the salaries of its players) rise to £2.5million a year by 2024 – it is about £2million at present – while the salary collar (the minimum amount a county can spend on player salaries) is expected to jump from £750,000 a year to £1.25million in 2020 and £1.5million by 2024.There will also be a minimum wage for full-time professionals aged over 21 of £27,500 per year, with anyone who has played five Championship or 10 T20s considered a full-time professional.It also seems central contracts for England players are set to rise markedly. While figures for those contracts remain relatively well guarded, the new contracts are likely to see the top players earn well in excess of £1million a year – perhaps as much as £1.5million a year – for representing England. In all, 26.5 percent of the ECB’s annual turnover (which will be somewhere around £260million a year from 2020) will be paid to players.ALSO READ: Who gets paid what in cricket?Meanwhile the PCA have also agreed a doubling of the period after which an injured player can be released from their county contract (from 13 to 26 weeks), funding for three more PDMs (personal development and welfare officers, who are charged with helping players with training and other issues that may arise) to take the number to nine, an agreement that the PCA will manage three percent of the annual revenue to help players transition from the game, and agreement that released or retired players can expect three months’ salary once they leave the game.It is not one-way traffic, however. The counties are also negotiating so that players who become unavailable for them while playing in The Hundred will be expected to pay 12.5 percent of their salaries back to their county to ensure their release. It is also understood that several are resisting the extent of the rise in the salary collar.The PCA has come in from some strong criticism in recent times, but this deal – if signed off – would appear to represent a significant victory for them and their members.

With six runs to defend, Shane Shillingford sniped out the last three Guyana wickets in the space of seven balls to force a rare tie in first-class cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Dec-2017A low-scoring contest between two teams at the farthest ends of the points table produced a thriller on the final day at Providence Stadium as table-leaders Guyana tied with Windward Islands, with Shane Shillingford trapping Anthony Bramble in front after scores had been levelled at 164. It was the first time in the 152-year history of the West Indies’ first-class championship that a match ended in a tie.With six runs to defend, Shillingford sniped out the last three Guyana wickets in the space of seven balls across two overs, including that of No. 6 batsman Bramble, whose 54-ball 45 had injected momentum into the hosts’ chase after they had slumped to 88 for 4. Despite the last five batmen scoring only a combined ten runs, Bramble’s 20-run partnership with No. 9 batsman Veerasammy Permaul put Guyana in seven runs’ sight of victory before Shillingford struck thrice to complete his five-wicket haul. His efforts were well complemented by left-arm quick Delorn Johnson’s three-for, which also accounted for top-scorer Vishaul Singh (56).Earlier, Shillingford had dented Guyana’s first innings with a four-wicket haul that had denied them a top-score beyond Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s 59. In doing so, Shillingford had partnered up with Sherman Lewis, whose 3 for 62 helped Windward Islands dismiss half the opposition line-up for single-digit scores.Despite the dual offensive, Guyana were able to fetch a first-innings lead of 77, having skittled out the visitors for 117 after opting to bowl first. Permaul five for led the charge for Guyana, as only two of the Windward Island batsmen scored in excess of 17. Gudakesh Motie and Sherfane Rutherford claimed two wickets apiece.Even though Windward fared reasonably better in their second dig, scoring 241 on the back of opener Devon Smith’s 95, dearth of support from other batsmen meant the line-up could last only 84.2 overs as all of the five Guyana bowlers used finished with two wickets each.

Sourav Ganguly’s thoughts on various hot topics surrounding the India-England Tests

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Nov-2016‘I’m a huge fan of Virat Kohli’
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly says he sees a lot of similarities between Virat Kohli’s leadership and his own brand of aggressive captaincy.0:44

Ganguly: I’m a huge fan of Virat Kohli

‘Pandya must think like an allrounder’
India are trying to “create” a Test allrounder out of Hardik Pandya, says Ganguly, which is not a bad thing, but Pandya now has to be smart about the role and learn to balance his workload.0:48

Ganguly: Pandya must think like an allrounder

Ganguly picks his India XI for Rajkot
Three spinners, or two? Who will make it into the former India captain’s XI if he were playing in Rajkot?0:30

Ganguly picks his India XI for Rajkot

Can England tackle the spin challenge?
R Ashwin will make life very hard for the England batsmen, especially the left-handers in the squad, Ganguly believes.0:30

Ganguly picks his India XI for Rajkot

Ganguly on Harbhajan’s pitch jibes
Recently Harbhajan Singh had said his and Anil Kumble’s wicket tallies would have been “something else” if they had bowled pitches similar to the ones India have played on of late. His former captain says Harbhajan was a “champion bowler”, but should move on.0:45

Ganguly on Harbhajan’s pitch jibes