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Dominic Cork has been named Hampshire captain for the start of the 2011 county season with Dimitri Mascarenhas still recovering from a serious achilles injury

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Mar-2011Dominic Cork has been named Hampshire captain for the start of the 2011 county season with Dimitri Mascarenhas still recovering from a serious achilles injury.Cork, who turns 40 in August, took charge of the team midway through last season and led Hampshire to the Friends Provident t20 title with a tie in the final against Somerset.”It’s a great honour to be asked to captain Hampshire in what should be one of the most exciting years in the club’s history,” Cork said. “As well as aiming to defend the Friends Provident t20 trophy and challenging to win both the County Championship and the Clydesdale Bank 40 competitions, Test cricket will be coming to The Rose Bowl for the first time ever and the ground is undergoing some exciting changes. “The club expect Mascarenhas to be able to return at some point during the summer but feel they have an ideal replacement in the experienced Cork. “Dimi has enjoyed a successful period as captain and continues to be a great ambassador for Hampshire,” Giles White, the manager, said. “However, the focus is now on getting him back to full fitness as soon as possible so that he can have an influence on the season ahead.”Dom’s appointment gives us continuity and he is a natural successor given the team’s achievements under his leadership in 2010.”Cork has been playing first-class cricket since 1990 and had a long stint with Derbyshire, where he was also captain, before joining Lancashire until the move to Hampshire in 2009.

New Zealand didn’t understand the fuss over Doug Bollinger during the one-day series, but they do now after he put Australia on track for a convincing victory

The Bulletin by Peter English20-Mar-2010New Zealand 157 (Vettori 46, Bollinger 5-28) & 187 for 5 (McIntosh 83) trail Australia 459 for 5 dec by 115 runs

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Doug Bollinger led Australia’s attack with two wickets in the second innings to follow his 5 for 28 in the first•Getty Images

New Zealand didn’t understand the fuss over Doug Bollinger during the one-day series, but they do now after he put Australia on track for a convincing victory in Wellington. After struggling through the limited-overs engagements and being attacked by the home batsmen, Bollinger has caused a lot of damage on a fine surface during the opening Test.A career-best 5 for 28 helped floor New Zealand for 157 in their first innings, which ended 65 minutes into the third day and left them 302 behind, and Bollinger returned to cause more difficulties during the hosts’ improved second effort. Despite Tim McIntosh’s obdurate resistance with 83 in 276 minutes, the home side finished at 187 for 5, still needing 115 to make the tourists bat again.Bollinger has played only seven Tests, but he was the attack’s main man as he recorded the second five-wicket haul of his career and followed up with 2 for 30 off 13 overs. There were five breakthroughs in the day as he finished off the first innings and gave his side some inspiration when the visitors were becalmed in the second session.Backing up after a demolition is not always easy for the bowlers, who expect to repeat their exploits despite their fatigue. The fast men didn’t regain the same opportunities until Bollinger stepped up, dismissing BJ Watling and Peter Ingram (1) in the half hour before tea.Watling, who made an unsuccessful challenge, was lbw to Bollinger for the second time in the game and walked off with 33 in 131 minutes, while Ingram flirted at Bollinger to give Brad Haddin an easy catch. Throughout the day he provided extra speed, bounce and a touch of swing to gain his rewards.In the morning Bollinger, the third bowler used, struck twice in three balls, adding the victims to his two of the previous afternoon. Brendon McCullum left after trying a wild pull – he was well caught by Harris at fine-leg – and Bollinger then delivered a beautiful shorter ball angling away to brush Martin Guptill’s edge.Bollinger’s fifth wicket came when Brent Arnel nicked his first delivery to Ricky Ponting at second slip. In celebration he attempted to kiss the team badge on his shirt – but smooched the sponsor’s beer logo instead.New Zealand resumed at a wobbly 108 for 4 and Daniel Vettori started the collapse of 45 for 6 when he edged the debutant Ryan Harris (2 for 42) to Ponting in the day’s opening over. They made a better fight of their second innings thanks to the effort of McIntosh, who settled the team during a 70-run opening stand with Watling.McIntosh, the left-hander, was a great man for the situation and was solid in defence before branching out a little as the afternoon wore on. For most of the time the going was slow, but it was exactly what New Zealand wanted, especially as wickets fell regularly after Watling departed. There were people in the crowd asleep, but they were allowed to dream of a lengthy second innings and possibly some rain over the final two days.Shortly before his dismissal there were two McIntosh fours in a row off Mitchell Johnson, including a crisp cover drive, in a collection of 10 boundaries and a straight six off Nathan Hauritz. However, his resistance ended when he pushed defensively at Hauritz and inside-edged to Simon Katich at short leg.New Zealand were 183 for 5 and Vettori found himself in a similar position to when he arrived yesterday. His side was in danger and needed a lot of runs. He had added 18 before stumps, while McCullum was 4 when bad light intervened.Hauritz, the offspinner, delivered 22 overs in a row after lunch and gained some worrying turn at times. He produced one crucial ball to Ross Taylor that landed in a footmark outside off stump and spun back sharply while keeping low. Taylor, who had earlier hit Hauritz for a six and a four, didn’t play a shot and was hit in front of off stump. The Australians challenged successfully after Asad Rauf initially gave it not out and it was another costly lapse on a bad day for New Zealand.

KKR are top of the table at this stage, but are yet to confirm a top-two finish, which will be their target in Ahmedabad

Ashish Pant12-May-2024

Match details

Gujarat Titans (8th; W5, L7) vs Kolkata Knight Riders (1st; W9, L3)
Ahmedabad, 7.30pm IST (2pm GMT)

Big picture – Rashid might be GT’s best hope

It’s a quick turnaround for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), who on Saturday night confirmed a spot in the playoffs with a win over Mumbai Indians. Though they are table-toppers, they aren’t assured of a top-two finish yet. After finishing seventh in each of the last two seasons of the IPL, that will be KKR’s target when they go to Ahmedabad.The primary reason for KKR’s success this season is right at the top. Each of their top four wickets has added 300-plus runs at a scoring rate of over 10. It’s a first in the IPL. Openers Sunil Narine and Phil Salt have been key – they have had six 50-plus opening partnerships in 12 innings, averaging 46.58 and going at 12.46. Unfortunately for KKR, Salt will be leaving soon, so that will end soon.Related

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But it’s not just the top-order batters. KKR have four batters – Ramandeep Singh, Andre Russell, Salt and Narine – who have scored 100-plus runs at a strike rate of 180-plus in IPL 2024. The only other team to do this in any IPL season is Sunrisers Hyderabad, also in 2024.And what about the bowling? KKR have four – Varun Chakravarthy, Harshit Rana, Narine and Russell – who have taken 15 or more wickets at sub-21 averages – also a first in the IPL.How do GT counter the batters, though?Rashid Khan could be the answer.He has a decent record against most of the KKR batters. He has bowled 25 balls to Narine in all T20s and dislodged him twice. Salt hasn’t faced Rashid in the IPL, but played him once in the Hundred where he fell first ball. The Iyers have fared marginally better against Rashid – Shreyas has been dismissed twice in ten innings by Rashid but strikes at only 107.79 in the IPL against him, while Venkatesh has fallen to him only once in three innings. Russell has been dismissed by Rashid three times in 24 balls in the IPL and averages just 8.0 against him.But that’s where Rahmanullah Gurbaz could come in.With Salt set to miss the playoffs to prepare for the T20 World Cup for England, KKR could make the switch right away, slot in Gurbaz as the keeper-batter at the top, and give him a few games rather than shuttle him in directly for the playoffs. Gurbaz has a stellar record against Rashid, having hit him for 30 runs off 11 balls in the IPL without being dismissed.GT are currently eighth on the points table, and while they are not out of the playoffs race yet, it looks very tough.Titans might have identified their best opening pair with Shubman Gill and B Sai Sudharsan•Associated Press

Form guide

Gujarat Titans WLLLW
Kolkata Knight Riders WWWWL

Team news and Impact Player strategy

Gujarat Titans
GT have been very inconsistent with their selections. They have used 23 players so far in the tournament, the most for any team. But having won their last game comprehensively, they might feel they have struck the right balance. The B Sai Sudharsan-Shubman Gill opening stand worked wonders, and they might go with the same even if Wriddhiman Saha is fit. Depending on the surface, one of R Sai Kishore and Sandeep Warrier could come in as an impact sub for Sai Sudharsan.Likely XII: 1 Shubman Gill (capt), 2 , 3 M Shahrukh Khan, 4 David Miller, 5 Matthew Wade (wk), 6 Rahul Tewatia, 7 Rashid Khan, 8 Noor Ahmad, 9 Umesh Yadav, 10 Mohit Sharma, 11 Kartik Tyagi, 12 Kolkata Knight Riders
KKR had Vaibhav Arora swapping for Nitish Rana in their last game and could do the same. That aside, of course, Gurbaz could come in for Salt, unless they want to leave that for when they have to do it.Likely XII: 1 Phil Salt/Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), 2 Sunil Narine, 3 , 4 Shreyas Iyer (capt), 5 Venkatesh Iyer, 6 Andre Russell, 7 Rinku Singh, 8 Ramandeep Singh, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Varun Chakravarthy, 11 Harshit Rana, 12 Varun Chakravarthy is a strong contender for the purple cap this season•BCCI

In the spotlight – B Sai Sudharsan and Varun Chakravarthy

B Sai Sudharsan has been the shining star in GT’s otherwise inconsistent top order. The highest run-getter for GT with 527 runs in 12 innings, he will hope to continue his love affair with the Ahmedabad stadium, where he has scored three half-centuries and a century in 12 outings in the IPL and averages over 50.It’s been an IPL of two chunks for Varun Chakravarthy. In the first eight games, he had only eight wickets at an average of 35.25 and an economy rate of 9.72. In his next four, he’s picked up ten wickets at 8.50 and 5.66. His recent spree has taken him up to third on the wicket-takers’ list, just two behind Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel, both on 20. With Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings, Bumrah and Harshal’s teams respectively, knocked out, Varun has a shot at winning the purple cap.

Stats that matter

• GT have the lowest run rate in the powerplay of all the teams: 7.72; KKR, meanwhile, have the second-highest: 11.04
• GT have hit the least number of sixes in the tournament so far: 67; KKR have hit almost double that: 125
• Gill has fallen to Narine twice in 13 balls in T20s, averaging just 6.5. But David Miller has fared better against Narine in T20s with 95 runs in 72 balls and just one dismissal
• Nitish Rana has an average of 95.0 against Rashid in the IPL, having struck him for 95 runs in 76 balls and been dismissed just once

Pitch and conditions

The team batting second has won four out of six games in Ahmedabad this season. The dew has made its presence felt more than once, and could be the reason behind captains wanting to chase. Having said that, GT won their last game batting first and piling on a huge score. The average first-innings score this season here is 175.

Quote

“Other teams are trying to get explosive opening partnerships. Our openers have a different style, but we have also been getting 200, or close to it. It’s not like they only played well that day. They’re trying their best – all batters want to score hundreds and bowlers want to take five wickets. Sometimes you try but it doesn’t happen. Since we qualified for the playoffs the last two seasons, the expectations are high. We’re trying our best.”

Grant Bradburn likely to come in as assistant coach; Islamabad United’s Rehan Ul-Haq is expected to be team manager

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Jan-2023Mickey Arthur and the PCB are close to agreeing a deal that will result in Arthur’s return to the Pakistan men’s side – but as team director and not, as previously, head coach. Talks between the two had ended three weeks ago when the PCB announced it was moving on in its search for a replacement for Saqlain Mushtaq, the outgoing Pakistan coach.The two sides had failed to reach an agreement on how such a role could work, given Arthur has a long-term deal with Derbyshire, which he does not want to end. But last week, Najam Sethi, the interim head of the PCB, revealed that he was continuing the pursuit of Arthur. ESPNcricinfo understands that an arrangement is close to being finalised now, with Arthur potentially starting from April 1 as team director.Related

• Misbah on PCB rehiring Arthur: 'Slap on Pakistan cricket'

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That designation, one in which Arthur will be a consultant rather than head coach, will make for an unusual management structure – at international level at least – in which he will not be with the Pakistan team on every tour but will have a handpicked group of support staff running operations. Lead among the support staff is expected to be former Pakistan fielding coach – and one-time head of their High Performance Centre – Grant Bradburn, in the role of a high-powered assistant coach. There will also be three coaches for batting, bowling and fielding, but no traditional head coach.During the English county season, Arthur will not be hands on with the team; Pakistan tour Sri Lanka this July for instance and are scheduled to host the Asia Cup in September. But once the county season is over, Arthur is expected to be with the side at high-profile commitments such as the ODI World Cup in India in October-November this year and the Test tour of Australia later in the winter. The duration of such a contract is one of the points still being worked out but both sides believe Pakistan’s schedule is such that it allows for such an arrangement to work.One of the more interesting appointments under Arthur is likely to be that of Rehan Ul-Haq, the general manager at the PSL franchise Islamabad United and a prominent broadcast analyst. He is expected to be, on paper, the team manager but with a brief much broader than the more traditional administrative role of managers. The role might be more akin to a chief of staff for Arthur, driving the team environment – Rehan is also one of the men credited with creating the data-driven approach at Islamabad United, two-time winners of the PSL.Mickey Arthur with the 2017 Champions Trophy•Getty Images

Arthur was head coach of the Pakistan side between 2016 and 2019, a generally successful white-ball period that included a Champions Trophy triumph in 2017 and the transformation of their limited-overs sides. Having languished behind other Full Members after a poor showing at the 2016 T20 World Cup, Arthur helped transform a T20 side under the leadership of Sarfaraz Ahmed and took them to the number one spot in the ICC rankings. There were notable Test results as well, though the red-ball side proved harder to transform. One big, early defeat at the 2019 World Cup meant Pakistan failed narrowly to reach the last four of the event, and Arthur was replaced by Misbah-ul-Haq soon after.More significantly, Arthur’s return will reunite him with a number of players in whose development he played a key early role in that first stint, not least the captain Babar Azam. Arthur persisted with Babar during a tough initiation into Test cricket and oversaw his white-ball rise. Others such as Sarfaraz, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Fakhar Zaman and Shadab Khan have also spoken in the past of the impact Arthur has had on their careers. Arthur had a stint with Sri Lanka after the Pakistan job and has since been with Derbyshire.

Wicketkeeper believes Marcus Stoinis’ composure under pressure was the key to the pair finishing off Pakistan

Deivarayan Muthu12-Nov-20212:33

Matthew Wade: Marcus Stoinis’ innings ‘freed me up’ to play the way I did at the end

Marcus Stoinis’ takedown of Haris Rauf – and not Pakistan’s lapses in the field – was the turning point in a wildly fluctuating semi-final, according to Matthew Wade.Wade was dropped on 12 by Hasan Ali in the outfield when he miscued a slog in the penultimate over of Australia’s chase of 177. Wade then hit the next three balls for sixes as Australia snatched victory, with an over and five wickets to spare.”I don’t think any of them [the drop and missed run-out chances] were the turning points of the match,” Wade said at the post-match press conference. “I think the way Marcus Stoinis batted at the end, to be honest, was probably the turning point of the match.”I think when I came out there, he might have hit the spinner [Shadab Khan] for six, the first ball when I got out there. I think that kind of play, in my eyes, he’s really gutsy in those decisions that you make out in the middle, win you games. He could’ve easily blocked that ball he went for, hit a six and then that total comes down a little bit more.”But I think the turning point of the game I thought was Marcus’s over against Rauf. I thought that kind of swung the momentum our way and gave us an opportunity to win the game. It’s just an easy thing to do to focus in on missed chances. Yes, maybe it would have gone down late in the last over, but I’m still confident we could have gone home.”

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Wade usually opens in the BBL, as does Stoinis, but on Thursday the pair sealed a tense chase without panicking. When they came together, Australia required 81 off 46 balls. They finished it off with an over to spare. Wade put down their success to “confidence” and work put in behind the scenes.”It’s confidence, I think. Confidence in your ability to be able to finish the game,” Wade said. “To be able to bat with Marcus has been awesome. Obviously [I’ve] played a lot of cricket with him at Victoria and early on in his career. Obviously saw him grow into the cricketer he is today.”To go out and bat with him certainly gives you a lot of confidence. I know if I can just hang with him for four or five overs, then he’s going to find the boundary. He’s too good and strong not to. So, the reason that me and him are working well towards the back end is we know each other’s game so much.Related

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• If it's Australia vs Pakistan at a World Cup, the only match-up that matters is their history

• Old Scarborough friends Mitchell and Stoinis to take field as international foes

• Matthew Wade, the new finisher, finishes off Pakistan in grand style

“In the optional sessions, the day before the game, you’ll find me and Steve Smith and Marcus Stoinis go down again in closed sessions because we haven’t got a lot of match practice. It’s been invaluable to see what those guys are doing in training, especially Stoiny, work out his strengths, when he’s hitting the ball at his best. And he can see me do exactly the same thing.”Wade, 33, admitted that his international career might have been over had he not won the semi-final for Australia. In the recent past, Australia have had other keeping options in Josh Philippe, Alex Carey and Josh Inglis, who was a wildcard pick in the World Cup squad after impressing in the Vitality Blast and the Hundred in the UK. However, the team management persisted with Wade and he delivered under pressure.”I don’t feel like it’s on the line anymore so much because I’m not 23 anymore,” Wade said. “And if this is it, this is it. It’s not really on the line for me. It’s going to be all over, I suppose. A little bit, I think… I was a little bit nervous coming into the game and knowing potentially it could be the last opportunity to represent Australia.”I just wanted to do well and really wanted us to win this game, give us an opportunity to win the whole thing. We have a great bunch of guys in that dressing room and guys that I have played with for a long, long period of time.”So, yeah, just really I feel like this game was probably hard on nerves than maybe what the final will be because now we’re in it. We’ve got nothing to lose. We’re going to go out there, do our absolute best. It [the final] might be my last game too. As I’ve said to you before in the past, I’m comfortable with it. If it is it, then it’s it. I’ll play as long as they need me and hopefully, we can win some games while I’m there.”Matthew Wade scooped Shaheen Shah Afridi for two sixes at the close•ICC via Getty Images

The scoop served Wade well against Shaheen Shah Afridi at the death when fine leg was up in the circle and he pointed out that the shot allows him to manipulate the field.”I’ve had those [scoops and laps] for a longish period of time,” Wade said. “I’ve been playing them from early on in my career as well. But, yes, certainly [it] was something I needed to tap back into a little bit more when I’m batting down the bottom.”It’s easy to have the fine leg up a lot of the time at the end, but someone that laps, it kind of opens up the whole field for you. You’ve got to either have mid-off up or third man up or one of the fielders on the off side. It kind of opens the whole field up for you a little bit.”

Richie Richardson and Joel Wilson could be flown in to dilute home-official focus for bio-secure series

George Dobell21-May-20200:56

Stuart Broad enjoys first day back at Trent Bridge

The prospect of Chris Broad officiating in a match involving his son, Stuart, could provoke a rethink at the ICC ahead of the resumption of international cricket in England.The ICC cricket committee recently recommended a suspension in the use of neutral officials to cope with challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic. That means there is a real prospect of the Test series between England and West Indies being officiated by the four English umpires on the ICC’s 12 strong elite panel: Nigel Long, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough and Michael Gough.But Chris Broad is the only English representative on the ICC’s elite panel of seven match referees. And while no one is questioning his impartiality as an official, it is understood there have been some raised eyebrows in the Caribbean at the prospect of the Test series against England taking place, not only with English match officials, but under the auspices of a match referee who is not only a former England player but the father of one of the current side’s key players.One option that is likely to be considered is inviting Richie Richardson, the former West Indies captain, to fulfil the role instead. Richardson is also a member of the ICC’s elite panel and could be included on the charter flight paid for by the ECB which will accommodate the West Indies playing squad. Joel Wilson, the Trinidadian, could also be invited along with a view to filling one of the umpiring spots.ALSO READ: No saliva on ball, home umpires recommended by ICC cricket committeeIt is currently uncertain if Wilson or Richardson would be prepared to leave the relative safety of the Caribbean, where there have been few Covid-19 cases, to embark on a trip that would involve an extended period in isolation.Another option – and probably the more likely at present – would be to refer any alleged Code of Conduct cases back to ICC Cricket Operations in Dubai. Any subsequent hearings would then be organised through them and run remotely.The ICC are understood to be continuing to work through the appropriate checks and balances required in order to allow cricket to resume during the pandemic with as few compromises as possible.Stuart Broad currently has one active demerit point on his ICC record, after been overheard using “inappropriate” language towards South Africa’s captain, Faf du Plessis, during the Johannesburg Test in January.

Worcestershire could be without their left-arm spinner for the entire season after he sustained a serious injury

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Apr-2019Worcestershire could be without Ben Twohig for the entire season after he sustained a serious injury. Twohig, the 20-year-old left-arm spinner, is understood to have suffered the anterior cruciate ligament injury while playing five-a-side football.A former England Under-19 player, Twohig made his List A and first-class debuts last season and did well enough to win a run of games in Worcestershire’s Championship side towards the end of the season.It is entirely possible the injury will renew debate over the wisdom of professional cricketers playing football. Ashley Giles, the director of England’s men’s teams, had already made it clear he does not favour the idea.”We’ve got to keep our best players on the park and I’m not sure playing football is the best way of going about that,” he told ESPNcricinfo in January. “If you look at what football does, the benefits from a physiological and fun point of view are outstripped by the dangers.”This injury was not sustained during a training or warm-up session, though. It is understood Twohig was playing a five-a-side game with friends. It is unclear if he was permitted to take part in such a game.

In scheduling the women’s final at MCG, organisers are hopeful of topping the record for a women’s cricket match

Daniel Brettig30-Jan-2018Two more editions of the burgeoning Women’s Big Bash League will help build anticipation for a standalone Women’s World Twenty20 tournament in 2020, with a showpiece final expected to draw the largest crowd for a women’s cricket fixture.That’s the view of Australia’s captain Meg Lanning, who was visibly enthused by the concept of the World T20 standing apart from the men’s event as a forerunner to further growth for the women’s game. The dual women’s and men’s tournaments were launched in Melbourne on Tuesday with Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Geelong, Hobart, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney announced as host cities: both finals, the women’s on March 8 – also International Women’s Day – and the men’s on November 15, will be held at the MCG.In scheduling the women’s final at Australia’s biggest venue, organisers are hopeful of topping the record for a women’s cricket match – the estimated 70,000 who turned up to Eden Gardens in Kolkata for the 1997 50-over World Cup final won by Australia. The biggest attendance for a women’s sporting fixture of any kind was set in 1999, when 90,185 witnessed the women’s football World Cup final between the USA and China at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. The overall attendance for that event was 1,194,215 – an average of 37,319 per match.Among other venues, the SCG will host both women’s semi-finals and one of the men’s semis, with the other to be held at Adelaide Oval. Perth’s new stadium has also been awarded matches. “I think it shows how far it’s come,” Lanning said of the standalone event, which will follow this year’s event in the Caribbean. “The support for the women’s game’s been great throughout the Ashes and been building over time and that’s not just cricket, it’s sport in general. To show that we want to play a final here at the MCG and fill it out, I think, it just shows where it’s headed.”For it to be a home World Cup I think that’s a very special moment as a player and we saw how successful the one in 2015 was here with the men’s, so the fact it’s a standalone tournament for the women and the final’s going to be here at the MCG on International Women’s Day, that’s certainly something we want to be a part of.”Cricket Australia has worked assiduously on the WBBL over the past two years, gaining greater television traction than first expected, and there are longer-term plans to move the tournament into its own October slot in the calendar rather than running concurrently with the men’s BBL as is currently the case. Fixtures for the WBBL semi-finals, in which first and second-placed Sydney teams will have to travel to play in Adelaide and Perth against lower-ranked opponents due to the matches being held as double-headers with the men’s playoffs, has highlighted the difficulties of running the vents side by side.”At the start of the year everyone knew the finals would be held where the men’s were and it’s a difficult one, I don’t think everyone’s going to win out of it,” Lanning said. “The fact you’ve got two of the same teams playing in the same state I think it makes a lot of sense to have them as true double-headers and I think that’ll help really build excitement and hopefully the crowds are bigger as well. WBBL is about the fans’ experience and hoping to bring new fans to the game … it’s probably not ideal for the Sydney teams but we knew that at the start of the year.”I think it’s something we could look at. I think we saw through the Ashes with that standalone series that it created a lot of interest and the crowds were really good, so it’s definitely something we can look to, especially with this T20 tournament being standalone it makes a lot of sense.”Australia currently hold neither 50-over or T20 crowns in the women’s game, while the men’s team have long been one of the shortest formats strugglers. This was acknowledged by the captain Steven Smith, who also admitted he could not say for sure whether or not he would be leading Australia at the 2020 event.”Who knows? A couple of years away obviously. I’d like to be,” Smith said. “I think playing in a World Cup here in 2015 it was incredibly special to be a part of, so I’d love to be a part of the World T20 and captain that side, but it is a couple years away.”[We need] the right balance of players and the right way to play the game. A lot of strategy has come into T20 cricket now and the right match-ups with the right guys bowling to the right batters and things like that. There’ll be a lot of strategy around it and I think the right personnel to get the job done.”

Centuries from Cheteshwar Pujara and M Vijay led India’s response to England’s 537 on an engrossing third day in Rajkot

The Report by Sidharth Monga11-Nov-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details3:13

Ganguly: Pujara is a must for India at No.3

Cheered on by his passionate but impassive father and his much more demonstrative wife, Cheteshwar Pujara scored an emotional century in the debut Test for his home ground of Rajkot. M Vijay complemented him with a more temperate defensive display of 126 off 301 balls to take India closer to safety after they had conceded 537 in five sessions on a pitch expected to become difficult as the game progressed. The 209-run partnership between Vijay and Pujara made them the most prolific duo for India since the start of 2010.The pitch didn’t deteriorate as much as expected, but to look at scores of 537 and 319 for 4 and conclude that it was a featherbed that produced boring cricket will be a disservice to the batsmen and bowlers who showed a lot of discipline and persistence. There was turn on offer but not variable, and there was a bare patch on a good length for seamers to work with. While for most periods of the day the England’s bowlers kept the batsmen honest without necessarily threatening them, they will be disappointed the quicks failed to generate reverse and the spinners got cut and pulled regularly.There was always something to work with, but whenever the bowlers got it right, Vijay and Pujara, who came together when Gautam Gambhir’s feet got him into a messy tangle to the seventh ball of the day, worked hard to thwart them. Especially while having to go through almost scoreless periods against the seam of Chris Woakes and Stuart Broad. In the first session Woakes tested them with a five-over spell of six runs and three body blows for Pujara. In the second session Broad went 5-4-1-0, targeting that bare patch just short of a driving length. In the final session Broad and Ben Stokes asked questions with the new ball.During the Woakes spell in the morning, 14 runs came in 10 overs. While Broad charged in mid-afternoon, 10 overs yielded 18 runs and a chance shelled by debutant by Haseeb Hameed at short cover. Unlike Pujara, Vijay had driven on the up to a ball that landed in that dry patch, and was reprieved on 66. India then welcomed DRS when Pujara successfully reviewed an lbw call when on 86, with extra bounce helping overturn the on-field decision.While England didn’t give the batsmen much to work with, the batsmen were good enough to recognise spells of play they could exploit. Scoring happened in spurts. Pujara came out and attacked Moeen Ali – out twice to the offspinner in 53 balls before this Test, he used his feet to disrupt his length. India had added 41 in nine overs to their overnight 63 in this period as Pujara raced away to 25 off 29.Then came Woakes. He didn’t just bowl short at Pujara, he bowled an excellent line, straight at his lid. Pujara, committing to the front foot almost every delivery, kept taking his eye off the ball while trying to sway. To his credit, Pujara never threw his hands up in self-defence, which would have brought the glove or the edge into play. Arvind Pujara, his father who was a wicketkeeper for Saurashtra, watched on without emotion. Puja, his wife, looked concerned.Ben Stokes gave England a much-needed wicket•Associated Press

Pujara scored 6 off 32 in these 10 overs. Once Woakes was done, England went to the man who makes things happen for them. This follow-up after that stranglehold was crucial with half an hour to go to lunch. Stokes, though, began with a half-volley second ball. Pujara’s intent meant he was on to it to drive it to the cover point boundary. Then a straight ball was glanced away, and Pujara had found his flow again. From 118 for 1, India added 44 in this period of eight overs to own the session. In the space of 25 balls, Pujara hit six boundaries to double his score of 31.Vijay at the other end had his own flow. For long periods of time you only noticed him when a possible two was kept to one because Pujara is not the quickest runner. Otherwise he would be leaving balls outside off, defending those at the stumps, and taking ones or twos only when they were too short or too straight. Vijay was there for his partner, though. After Pujara had been hit for the third time, he got right behind a ball in defence. At the non-striker’s end, Vijay’s bat went in the air, and the glove knocked it in applause, reassuring his partner that he just needed to get through that period of play.This amount of concentration can be exhausting especially when you are going at a little better than a run every three balls like Vijay was. Vijay, though, had one tool at his disposal: the lofted shot against the spinners. Every now and then, without any rhyme or reason, never ostensibly looking for a release, he would step out to spinners and languidly chip them back over their head. He attempted it six times, hitting two sixes each off Moeen And Zafar Ansari, and a four each off Ansari and Adil Rashid. Those 32 runs were the lubricant for his innings, the final session of which he spent hobbling after being hit in the knee.There was no spurt in the middle session in which 66 runs came. The drama in the middle session belonged to the Pujara family. Ansari’s reintroduction brought the first bit of natural variation. Pujara was caught right in front, but given the bounce in the pitch – earlier a Rashid googly had failed to draw an lbw verdict because of that reason – and also with the reviews to be reset in 10 overs, he challenged the decision. Finally Arvind showed emotion, that of visible relief as his son, whose cricket has been his preoccupation for more than a decade, was allowed to go for the 14 runs needed to bring up his century.Pujara gave everybody a nervous few minutes, spending eight balls on 99 before coming back after tea to score the 100th run. Then, against the run of play, Pujara steered the first ball of a new Stokes spell straight to first slip to be dismissed for 124. England still had an hour and a half to make further inroads. The plans and their execution was spot-on. The seamers bowled consistently around the sixth stump to Kohli, but the India captain seemed determined to not go after them even if it meant scoring just 1 run off the first 16 balls he faced.If there was one criticism of Vijay’s batting and Cook’s captaincy, it revolved around Rashid. Cook underused his most threatening spinner of the day, and Vijay – for some strange reason, despite being such a good player of spin – played the wrong ‘uns off the pitch. In what turned out to be the penultimate over of the day, Rashid got Vijay caught at short leg with a googly followed by Ansari snaring the nightwatchman Amit Mishra.Not that it mattered now, but India ended the day 19 runs short of avoiding the follow-on.

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.