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Brilliant century in partnership with Vince all but seals title for Surrey, as fielding lapses cost hosts

Andrew Miller22-Sep-2023Less than a week has elapsed since Hampshire were hunting down a teasing target of 267 against Leicestershire at Trent Bridge in the Metro Bank Cup final, and somehow contrived to trip up with victory at their mercy. At Chelmsford, they made amends in thrilling final-over fashion – and in the process all but settled another tussle for silverware, albeit not their own – as Essex’s valiant bid for the County Championship title crumbled in the face of a brilliant Liam Dawson century.Dawson, whose dismissal for 57 at Trent Bridge on Saturday had been the turning point of that tense contest, once again fell short of sealing the deal when, with 20 runs still needed from 23 balls, he crashed Matt Critchley into Nick Browne’s midriff at short cover, to offer Essex the most slender of late lifelines.Hampshire’s tail, however, wasn’t about to let two chases slip in a week – not even when Keith Barker, the man who couldn’t connect for Saturday’s winning hit, ran past a slog for glory with two runs needed. Instead, Ben Brown did the needful with a thump to deep midwicket off Simon Harmer, to seal the contest with five balls remaining, and trigger a wave of euphoria in Surrey’s dressing-room down at The Oval, where they had spent much of the day watching their season’s work flash before their eyes.With no dog in that particular fight, however, Dawson’s own mission for the day had long since been completed: in racking up 119 from 150 balls, his third century of a stellar Championship season, he not only rescued Hampshire from a sickly 32 for 4 with a pivotal fifth-wicket stand of 184 with James Vince, but oversaw a momentum swing at the top of the Championship standings that would have given less resolute characters motion sickness.The tale of the tape was thus: Essex had begun the penultimate round with a deficit of 18 points, and with scant hope of closing the gap given that Surrey were at home to the relegation-bound Northants. And yet, after a clatter of morning wickets at the Kia Oval had condemned Surrey to the follow-on, Essex seemed dead-certs to capitalise on the champions’ missed moment with their seventh win on the bounce, and slash that deficit to a meagre four points.Instead, they were left to rue a fielding display studded with errors, including a huge let-off apiece for each of Hampshire’s main men: Vince on 16, dropped in the deep by Critchley off Harmer, whose three habitually early wickets had left his opponents punch-drunk, and then critically, Dawson on 50, a leaping edge to slip off Critchley himself, where Alastair Cook – a key focus of attention amid reports of his impending retirement – couldn’t recover as the chance clanged off his chest.If the Vince reprieve, at 52 for 4, helped to snap Hampshire’s game-brains back into place, then Dawson’s let-off, 97 runs later, was the moment that Essex’s belief visibly ebbed from their performance. Blow by blow, they were beaten back by two World Cup winners – men who were present in the dressing-room through England’s 2019 triumph, and who know full well, by osmosis as much as through their own clear abilities, how to pace a chase that never threatened to tick over a run a ball. “It’s just a different colour ball,” as Paul Collingwood, England’s assistant Test coach, put it recently when describing the ever-converging methods of the red- and white-ball games.Dan Lawrence made a swashbuckling half-century•Getty Images

Vince’s first shot in anger had been a dismissive drive back over Harmer’s head for six, but after his let-off, he shelved the aerial strokeplay and set about taking lumps out of his team’s target with a volley of five stroked fours before tea that took him to an ominous 43 from 30, with 179 still needed in 39. In theory, it was in Essex’s interest for Hampshire to have an incentive, but such was the pair’s poise on the resumption that the requirement seemed to drain away by stealth. The mood around Chelmsford was hardly aided by news of Surrey’s dour dead-batting down at The Oval, and Dawson duly slapped Sam Cook through point to bring up the century stand at almost the precise moment that Northants shook hands on their relegation-inducing draw.With his century in sight, Vince hoisted Cook handsomely over long-on for his second six, only to come unstuck in Critchley’s subsequent over, hacking a skewed drive to Dan Lawrence in the covers. But even that seemed too little too late for Essex, especially when Umesh Yadav’s brilliant sprawling effort at backward square off Dawson, on 97 at the time, was deemed to have been a bump-ball. Two balls later, Dawson crunched Critchley down the ground for his 14th four, and celebrated with a raise of the arms to put the seal on a truly mighty all-round season.In the final analysis, Essex will know, however, that they blew a golden opportunity to take the title to a straight shoot-out. They claimed nine Hampshire wickets in the course of the day’s play, after all, two of which had come in a perfunctory round-up of their first innings, seven hours and several lifetimes earlier in the day.At that early stage of proceedings, with Chelmsford’s replay screen gleefully showing footage of Surrey’s slide towards their follow-on, Essex could smell the unease emanating from south London. Even as he was flicking off Tom Prest’s bails to end an excellent knock on 108 and give Harmer his sixth wicket of the innings, Adam Rossington began sprinting for the pavilion to pad up, in a clear sign of how Essex intended their second innings to pan out.Sure enough, Rossington re-emerged ten minutes later in a gambit for quick runs, but instead served up a tame three-ball duck that rather set the tone for a nondescript first ten overs of the declaration push, a passage that was coloured – perhaps inevitably – by the play within a play.The notion of Cook’s impending retirement had been shot down by Essex in a snotty statement on Thursday afternoon (the tone of which had perhaps been informed by their sudden realisation that the title was back up for grabs). However, that hardly discouraged a knot of photographers from congregating at the foot of the stairs to greet his (final?) emergence from the Chelmsford pavilion.And for 38 deliveries spanning 45 minutes, Cook captured the attention – if not the zeitgeist – in a poignantly out-of-kilter display. Were this officially a valedictory innings, one might suggest it was an apt metaphor for Cook’s raging-against-the-light career, as he fought valiantly against his natural inclinations, seeking to raise the tempo in the T20-prescribed fashion, only to lose his shape, and ultimately his wicket, in the process.Cook thrashed and he yanked and, just once, he connected with a meaty lump through the line off Kyle Abbott as Essex finally reached the boundary from the first ball of the seventh over – a powerplay it had not been. But then, two balls after connecting on a cut that burst through Prest’s hands at point, Cook wound into a cramped pull off Abbas, and under-edged through to the keeper.His departure was another dead-pan vignette: an old cricketer leaving the crease, almost visibly resisting the urge to raise his bat as an uncertain tribute gathered momentum around the ground, before allowing himself just the hint of a grimace as he disappeared into the dressing-room. Whatever it is that remains of his storied career, he’d be giving nothing away just yet.With the prologue done, then, the declaration push could begin in earnest, as a man rather better equipped for such a situation strode out for a Chelmsford farewell that had fewer caveats. Lawrence duly inside-edged his second ball through fine leg for four (it’s how many, not how, as Cook would doubtless agree), but thereafter he batted like a man with a very personal reason to swipe some silverware from under the noses of his future employers.Were it not for Essex’s Championship ambitions, Lawrence might well be up at Trent Bridge right now, preparing for England’s ODI against Ireland on Saturday. Instead he did his international prospects no harm at all in absentia, unfurling a range of preposterous cross-court forehands, including a full-blown helicopter whip for six off Abbott, to inject the impetus that Essex urgently needed. His 45-ball half-century drove the agenda in an 83-run stand in exactly 12 overs with Tom Westley, whose 45 from 49 ended when he launched Abbott to deep cover on the stroke of lunch.Alastair Cook walks up the steps to the dressing room after being dismissed•Getty Images

The lead at that stage was a handy but still skinny 225, so more leverage was required. Enter Paul Walter at No. 4, who clouted Dawson over midwicket for six before being bowled next ball for 13, and Umesh Yadav, who bashed his first two balls over the Tom Pearce Stand for his fifth and sixth sixes of the match, then immediately holed out to long-on in search of a seventh. In between whiles, Critchley and Harmer misfired to deep cover to give Abbott a four-wicket haul, as the contest reset for round four.Meanwhile, down at The Oval, Surrey by now were deep into their go-slow, with Rory Burns and Dom Sibley setting themselves to defend their title advantage at any cost, so Essex seized their chance to hurtle back into contention. Rossington set the standard with a wonderful grab down the leg-side, stretching with his left glove to prise out Tony Albert from Sam Cook’s fourth ball, and then it was over to the inevitable Harmer.The mere act of Harmer stepping up at the River End seemed to spook Fletcha Middleton, whose third-ball sweep was a harbinger of his imminent demise as it ballooned off a top-edge into space at square leg. Three overs later, he connected better – and worse – as Jamie Porter stooped at square leg to cling on, and Harmer made it two in the over when Nick Gubbins closed his face too early and chipped a leading edge to cover for 9.Another harbinger followed, however, in Harmer’s next over. Prest, yet to settle after his first-innings efforts, hacked impetuously down the ground but Walter at long-on couldn’t cling on. This time, however, it didn’t seem to matter; Harmer merely turned at the top of his mark and induced Prest into a flinch off the pads to short leg to leave Hampshire 32 for 4 and floundering.And yet, Dawson’s arrival to join Vince, allied to Essex’s crucial lapses, would turn the afternoon’s expectations upside-down.

Michael Klinger’s T20 hundreds record is next in his sights after fifth century

ECB Reporters Network02-Jun-2023James Vince followed up becoming the Vitality Blast’s highest run scorer by chalking up his fifth T20 century as Hampshire Hawks annihilated Essex.Vince is now only behind Michael Klinger in Blast hundreds having overtaken Luke Wright in the run charts on Wednesday, and only Wayne Madsen has more than his 280 runs in this year’s competition.His supreme 103 laid the foundations for a huge 215 target for the Eagles, which Nathan Ellis’ three for 10, Scott Currie’s three for 21 and Liam Dawson’s four for 21 made sure was never chasable.Dawson flowed with praise for his teammate. “It is a huge win. Vince was exceptional and proved how good a player he is. That hundred is the difference in the game.”I think he is getting better. He has been so consistent in his run scoring over the last couple of years. T20 is a high-risk game and the amount of times he scores runs is more often than not. He is getting better with age and is brilliant to have in our team.”Defending champions Hampshire eventually won by 118 runs with 35 balls to spare – the Hawks’ highest margin of victory after bowling the hosts out for 96 – to hand Essex their first T20 defeat of the year.Vince continued from his back-to-back unbeaten 88s, and his record-breaking, by pumping Aron Nijjar for two massive sixes back over his head with his first two balls faced.Ben McDermott was adjudged caught behind while Toby Albert took nine balls to get off the mark but Vince was terrorising the crowd and local residents – his eventual eight sixes threatened the slate and chimneys of the houses at the Hayes Close End.He monopolised the run-scoring, including 60 of the 101 stand with Albert, who improved his hitting to reach 38 before he was stumped.
Vince was cleanly striking anything that was sent his way and brought up his century with another pulled maximum in 45 balls.He was furious when he slapped a Matt Critchley long hop to the deep midwicket boundary which began the fall of five wickets for 35 runs.
Joe Weatherley had made a well-compiled 29 before he was caught at cover to follow Ross Whiteley, Aneurin Donald and James Fuller’s short stays.But a tame finale was avoided when Liam Dawson slog-swept three successive sixes to take 21 off the final over and give Hampshire 214. Daniel Sams was the only bowler not to go at a double figure run-rate for his three for 28, although Simon Harmer also pilfered three wickets.Essex tried to swing their way to victory but plays and misses dominated. Adam Rossington, who pumped two early sixes, was unfortunate to be given caught behind after the ball appeared to clip a stump rather than his bat.Dan Lawrence was lbw after 22 off 14, Feroze Khushi yorked by Dawson, Paul Walter stumped, Robin Das swatted to long off, Tom Westley drilled to cover and Nathan Ellis bowled Harmer. It had been a spell of five wickets in 23 balls for 20 runs.Dawson pinned Nijjar before Sams gave Vince his third catch of the night and Ellis his third wicket to finish off the comprehensive away victory.

Durham stutter with bat in pursuit of small target to conclude disappointing campaign

ECB Reporters Network02-Jul-2023Birmingham Bears completed their buoyant Vitality Blast group campaign with a club record seventh successive victory, by eight runs over Durham at Edgbaston.Already sure of finishing top, the Bears rounded off their group games with an 11th win out of 14 despite an untidy batting display which saw them bowled out for 141 in 19.4 overs. Only Rob Yates, with 53 off 42 balls, lasted long against accurate bowling led by Australian pair Ashton Turner (3 for 20) and Nathan Sowter (2 for 23).Durham faced a moderate target but it was well beyond them as they mustered just 133 for 9, Henry Brookes taking 3 for 15. They finish one from bottom in the group and exit the tournament after a staccato campaign which included two ties and a no-result.The Bears, meanwhile, remain on a roll as they prepare for Thursday evening’s home quarter-final. Another satisfying day for them was clouded only by a worrying injury to standout performer Dan Mousley, who left the field after hurting a hand attempting to take a return catch from Turner.After the Bears chose to bat, their top order misfired except for Yates, who has scored 286 runs in his last five Blast knocks.Alex Davies blasted 19 from eight balls but then cut Turner to George Drissell at point. Drissell enjoyed an effective hour, adding another smart catch in the same position to remove the fit-again Sam Hain and bowling four overs of tidy offspin for just 23.The Bears big-hitters have powered their side into the last eight but this wasn’t their day as Chris Benjamin, Glenn Maxwell, Mousley and Jake Bethell each lasted fewer than ten balls. Yates completed a 38-ball fifty but then edged Turner behind and Dominic Drakes launched his Bears career with a golden duck when he slogged Sowter to long-on.Brookes landed a couple in the crowd but when Ben Raine castled Jake Lintott, it was nine down and the spectators had the unusual T20 sight of a No. 11 blocking out the 18th over to keep the innings alive. It concluded in fittingly messy fashion when Olly Hannon-Halby embarked on a single, Brookes didn’t and the former was run out by Alex Lees’ throw.Durham required a relatively modest run rate but appeared in a big hurry which cost them early wickets. Graham Clark skied Drakes to mid-off, Lees was bowled backing away to cut Mousley, Ollie Robinson played on to Brookes and Michael Jones swept Mousley to short fine leg. The Bears spinner delivered only two more balls before suffering his injury.Brookes came on to complete the over, immediately removed Turner lbw and followed up with the wicket of Brydon Carse, caught by Yates at long-on. Liam Trevaskis hoiked Lintott to deep midwicket before the fall of Raine pretty much summed up the Blast campaigns of these two teams. Sub fielder Ethan Brookes brilliantly retrieved a hit inches inside the rope and the batters, instead of celebrating four runs, found themselves together in the middle of the pitch when Brookes’ throw arrived.Jonathan Bushnell biffed a T20-best 40 off 34 balls, but it was too little too late to rescue his team.

Ashes-bound spinner takes 3 for 16 as Bears edge past Northants in low-scorer

ECB Reporters Network09-Jun-2023Birmingham Bears returned to winning ways in the Vitality Blast with a 30-run victory over Northamptonshire Steelbacks in a low-scoring contest on a turning track at Edgbaston.Spinners dominated as the Bears, having chosen to bat, were bowled out for 137 in 18.5 overs after left-arm wristspinner Freddie Heldreich continued his excellent Blast campaign with a career-best 4 for 27. Heldreich took a wicket in each of his four overs as only Sam Hain (35 from 31 balls) and Alex Davies (32 from 18) passed 15 for the home side.The Steelbacks reply was then even more emphatically smothered – 107 for 9 from 20 overs – by the four-pronged home spin attack. Dan Mousley took 3 for 14 and Moeen Ali 3 for 16 to help his side to their first win in four attempts under his leadership before he now leaves to join England’s squad ahead of next week’s Ashes opener.Davies supplied the Bears with a punchy and, it was to prove, priceless start despite quickly losing two partners. Rob Yates lifted Tom Taylor to deep square leg and Moeen’s unproductive batting return to the Bears was completed when he skied David Willey to mid-off. The England player departs for Test duty on the back of 48 runs in four Blast knocks.Davies perished in pursuit of his third six when Saif Zaib took a well-judged catch on the rope in front of the Hollies Stand off Heldreich. That was the spinner’s fourth ball – he struck another big blow with his tenth which Glenn Maxwell, having hit the previous ball into the Hollies, chipped tamely to extra cover.Heldreich’s 17th delivery inflicted further damage when Mousley missed an attempted pull and fell lbw and when his 19th ousted Chris Benjamin, to another well-judged catch by Zaib at deep mid-wicket, the Bears were 93 for 6. As so often, the burden of responsibility fell on Hain and when he was bowled, making room to cut Zaib, a moderate total was assured.The Steelbacks found the going even tougher against the twirlers, notably Mousley who took two crucial wickets for eight in his first two overs. The 21-year-old bowled Chris Lynn and Josh Cobb either side of taking a fine catch in the deep to remove the dangerous Emilio Gay off Maxwell.Moeen then struck twice as Willey edged behind and Lewis McManus heaved to deep midwicket where the effervescent and ubiquitous Mousley took the catch. After ten overs, the Steelbacks had stuttered to 50 for 5 with 88 needed from the last ten.Scoring at that rate in such conditions was out of the question. Zaib and Taylor nurdled 29 from 30 balls but Mousley returned to the attack to have Taylor caught at extra cover and Danny Briggs hit James Sales’ middle stump to collect his 249th T20 wicket.A quest for 63 from the last five overs was hopeless. Zaib (25 from 29 balls) was bowled behind his legs sweeping at Moeen and the Steelbacks subsided swiftly under the shimmering mosaic of pinks, oranges and ochres in the dazzling iridescence of a Birmingham sunset.

Abhimanyu Easwaran has already been called up as cover for the injured Rohit Sharma

Shashank Kishore10-Dec-20221:35

Jaffer: Unadkat has worked tirelessly to improve as a red-ball bowler

Jaydev Unadkat has been called up to India’s Test squad in Bangladesh as a replacement for the injured Mohammed Shami. Unadkat is currently in Rajkot, waiting to complete his visa formalities, and is expected to link up with the Test squad in Chattogram over the next couple of days.Shami is currently undergoing rehab for a shoulder injury at the BCCI’s National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru. He picked up the right shoulder niggle during a training session prior to the Bangladesh tour. After he missed the ODI leg of the tour, there was a slim chance that Shami would be fit for the Tests, but that has now been ruled out.Related

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For 31-year-old Unadkat, this is only the second call-up to the Test squad. His only appearance so far in the format was almost exactly 12 years ago, as a teenager straight out of the India Under-19s, in the first Test of the 2010-11 tour of South Africa. In that Test, in Centurion, he ended with figures of none for 101 as India lost by an innings and 25 runs.Unadkat is the second player set to join India’s Test squad in Bangladesh as an injury replacement. On Friday evening, Abhimanyu Easwaran, the Bengal player who led India A to a 1-0 win in the four-day series against Bangladesh A on a shadow tour, was called-up as cover for Rohit Sharma, who has flown home to Mumbai to nurse a finger injury he picked up during the ODI series. Left-arm spinner Saurabh Kumar is also in line to replace Ravindra Jadeja. Saurabh finished the ‘A’ tour with a haul of 15 wickets across two red-ball matches.Over the past five years, Unadkat has built up an impressive body of work with Saurashtra, the team he has led to a wave of success in the Indian domestic circuit. He was front and centre during their first Ranji Trophy title win in 2019-20, picking up 67 wickets, the second-highest haul by a bowler in a season. Over the last three Ranji seasons, Unadkat has picked up 115 wickets in 21 matches.Jaydev Unadkat has built up an impressive body of work with Saurashtra in the Indian domestic circuit•Hemant Brar/ESPNcricinfo

Unadkat’s bowling average of 16.03 since the start of January 2019 is the best in all first-class cricket in that period. He has picked up 126 wickets in 24 matches in this period, including nine five-fors and three ten-wicket match hauls, with a best of 7 for 56.In an interview with ESPNcricinfo last week, ahead of the Vijay Hazare Trophy final, Unadkat reiterated that “the hunger and fire to play and perform for the country is still burning bright”. Unadkat led Saurashtra to the title, finishing as the tournament’s highest wicket-taker with 19 wickets in ten games.”I do look at my individual performances, but from a way that it takes the team through, not in a way where I think if it will help me get selected for India or India A,” he had said. “At the end of the day, that’s the space you want to be in and I’m happily trying to help the team win as many games as possible. If you love the way you play the game, all other things will fall in place. I love this space and the mindset I’m currently in and don’t want to change that for anything. But the hunger and fire to play and perform for the country is still burning bright.”Over the years, Unadkat has built his USP around bowling on the famously lifeless decks in Rajkot. His ability to swing the new ball and reverse the old ball has brought him lots of wickets, and his improved fitness has helped deliver longer spells, something he did tirelessly during that 2019-20 campaign that he later described as “career-defining”.One Test aside, Unadkat has also featured in seven ODIs and ten T20Is. He was last part of the India team during their Nidahas Trophy campaign in Sri Lanka in March 2019.

The stand-in ODI captain believes Jadhav can play the second spinner’s role even at the World Cup, should India decide to play four seamers

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Feb-20196:30

We wanted to challenge ourselves by batting first – Rohit

When he made his India debut, Kedar Jadhav was 29 and had considerable domestic experience: 162 matches across first-class, List A and T20 cricket. In those 162 matches, however, he had only bowled 17 times, taking all of eight wickets. The second string he was known for then, in fact, was his occasional wicketkeeping in the IPL.Somehow, in his time with the India team, Jadhav has turned himself into a regular contributor of overs and wickets, as useful to the side with his round-arm offbreaks as he is with the bat.Jadhav has usually been India’s third spinning option in ODIs. But on Sunday, in the fifth ODI against New Zealand in Wellington, they only played the one frontline spinner in Yuzvendra Chahal, alongside two quicks in Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami and two seam-bowling allrounders in Hardik Pandya and Vijay Shankar.It was a new combination for India, and a new role for Jadhav. He responded brilliantly, conceding only 34 runs in his seven overs and taking the key wicket of Kane Williamson – done in by lack of pace, like so many Jadhav victims – as India defended 252 to win by 35 runs.Rohit Sharma, India’s stand-in ODI captain, was chuffed with Jadhav’s performance, and said he could play this role in the 2019 World Cup too.”We want to try all the combinations, whatever is available with us,” Rohit said. “We wanted to try the four seaming options and one spinner, with Kedar being the part-time option there.”See, if the series was on the line, we would have played with two spinners, probably three seamers, with Kedar being there, but yes, now that we’ve won the series, after the third game, we wanted to try out various combinations which will help us going forward. So that was the idea.”In the World Cup you’re going to play nine games. Semi-final, final, that’s 11 games. Anything can happen to anyone – injuries, out of form. Keeping those things in mind we wanted to try out every combination that we can have as a team. We tried two spinners, we tried four seamers and one spinner, and then Kedar always gives us the balance of being the second spinner.”I consider him as a proper spinner because every game, you see, he bowls four-five overs, six overs, seven overs maybe, and gets a wicket as well, at the crucial time. Even today you saw, the wicket of Kane Williamson was a crucial point when he got that wicket, because they were going pretty well at that point, things were looking very easy from a New Zealand perspective.”He came and broke that partnership and we’ve seen that many a time, he’s done that. He gives that balance also, if we want to play four seamers and one spinner, and Kedar being sort of your second lead spinner.”Kedar Jadhav is overjoyed after he gets a wicket•Associated Press

Having chosen to bat first, India slipped to 18 for 4 before a partnership of 98 between Ambati Rayudu and Shankar rescued them. Rayudu eventually made 90, and the contributions of Shankar, Jadhav and Pandya in the middle order helped lift India to 252. Rohit said India were aware batting first might be difficult, but they chose to do so in order to challenge themselves.”I had a look before the toss and we knew that there was some moisture on the pitch which will always be helpful for the fast bowlers initially, first seven to ten overs. So we decided as a team, as a group, that we want to be going and facing those challenges, because it’s important.”Now that we’ve played the way we played, posted a decent target on the board, that wouldn’t have happened if we would have chased. I thought the wicket also got flatter towards the end, and we knew that to some extent it will be better to bat second, but as a team we wanted to go out there and see how we face those challenges, because come the World Cup, big games, we will be put into those situations, so what then.”Yes, we lost four wickets up front, there’s a learning there for us as a batting unit, as to how we should be batting when the ball is swinging, when the conditions are not that easy, but again a lot of positives also came out from that.”The way Rayudu batted – he took his time, stitched a very good partnership with Vijay. I thought Vijay really batted well, although I was a little disappointed that he got out, he should have gotten fifty there, very well deserved, maybe a hundred also – you never know. But he got out unfortunately, but yes, guys now know, come the situation, they know how to do it. The run rate wasn’t that great, the first 30 overs, but we still managed to get 250, which is a big big positive in my opinion.”Ambati Rayudu flicks one to the leg side•Getty Images

Rayudu’s form through the series – he also made a pair of important 40s in the two matches in Mount Maunganui – would have given him a lot of confidence, Rohit said.”Massive confidence for him to bat in a situation like that when the team is down, 20 for 4, and you’ve got to bail the team out of that situation. With his experience – he’s played a lot of cricket, he’s been around for many years – he used his experience, and again, we have seen, no matter how many wickets you lose, you stitch one good partnership, and things start to look slightly different, a lot better I would say, when you have those kind of partnerships.”So he used his experience, which is a massive boost for him going forward. Again, I won’t be able to comment about the World Cup, who will be batting at [number] four, it’s not my place to talk about it, but yes, talking about the whole series, how he batted, I think he’ll take a lot of confidence from this series.”He batted and finished off games in Tauranga when we played there, stitched a good partnership again with MS [Dhoni] and then Dinesh [Karthik], so yeah, he’s looking very good at the moment. I just want him to continue. We’ve got five more games against Australia as well, back home, so if he bats the way he batted [in this series], it will be good for us.”

Rajasthan scored the first 200-plus total in the IPL in Jaipur to beat CSK for the second time this season

Hemant Brar27-Apr-20232:35

The change in technique that has unlocked Jaiswal

After losing their previous two games, Rajasthan Royals not only returned to winning ways but also the top of the IPL points table with a thumping 32-run win over Chennai Super Kings.After Royals opted to bat, Yashasvi Jaiswal attacked his way to 77 off 43 balls. Super Kings did stage a brief comeback in the middle overs but late hitting from Dhruv Jurel (34 off 15) and Devdutt Padikkal (27* off 13) lifted Royals to 202 for 5, the first 200-plus total by an IPL team in Jaipur.Matheesha Pathirana, despite nailing his yorkers at express pace, was unlucky to concede 48 in his four overs, as 28 of those runs came when batters were not in control of their shots.Super Kings didn’t get the start they were after. Adam Zampa and R Ashwin further stifled them while sharing five wickets. Shivam Dube was the only one to offer resistance but it was too little, too late.

Jaiswal leads the way for Royals

Even if it was an away game for Super Kings, they seemed to have more supporters in the stands than Royals had. It didn’t have any effect on Jaiswal and Jos Buttler, though, as they gave Royals yet another flying start. Jaiswal kicked things off by hitting Akash Singh for two fours off the first two balls of the match, followed by one more in the over. He was even more severe in the seamer’s next over, picking up three fours and a six. In between, Buttler hit Tushar Deshpande for two fours.With seamers going for plenty, MS Dhoni turned to spin, and Maheesh Theekshana bowled a three-run over. Buttler, though, took the spinner for two fours – both times hitting length balls off the back foot over his head – in the sixth over to take Royals to 64 for no loss.Ravindra Jadeja broke the opening stand with Buttler’s wicket but Jaiswal kept marching on. Coming into this game, Jaiswal had scored 81 off 70 in the middle overs. Tonight, there was no slowdown; he smashed 37 off 22 after the field restrictions were lifted.Yashasvi Jaiswal once again took a liking to the Chennai Super Kings bowling•Getty Images

Jurel and Padikkal pick up after a brief lull

Deshpande removed Sanju Samson and Jaiswal in the 14th over to briefly put the brakes on the scoring rate. From overs 14 to 17, Royals managed only 28 runs and lost three wickets along the way. It was starting to look like Super Kings might restrict them under 200 but Jurel and Padikkal, who came in at No. 6, threw their bat around. They didn’t always find the middle but the runs came thick and fast. Super Kings’ sloppy fielding also helped Royals, and left Dhoni visibly angry on more than once occasion, as they ransacked 56 in the last four overs.

Zampa, Ashwin keep Super Kings on back foot

With Trent Boult picking up a niggle, Zampa got an opportunity. And the legspinner made an impact in his very first over. Bowling the last over of the powerplay, he had Devon Conway hitting one to mid-off.Ruturaj Gaikwad was trying to make up for Super Kings’ slow start. He had moved to 47 off 28 balls when he tried to attack Zampa only to be caught at long-on. R Ashwin dragged Super Kings further back in the next over, the 11th of the innings, by dismissing Ajinkya Rahane and Ambati Rayudu.

Dube, Moeen fight back

With 130 needed from nine overs, Dube and Moeen threatened a fightback. The pair hit four sixes and a four in the next three overs, reducing the equation to 90 needed from the last five. Samson once again turned to Zampa, and he didn’t disappoint his captain. Dube launched him into the stands, and Moeen too picked up a boundary, but with his fifth ball of the over, Zampa had Moeen under-edging one to Samson.Dube, however, kept the fight on. He hit Jason Holder for a six and two fours in the 17th over. In the next, Jadeja took Sandeep Sharma for two fours but scoring 46 in the last two overs was too much of an uphill task.

Gautam Gambhir’s 54 went in vain for Maharajas, as Sohail Tanvir took three wickets in Lions’ defense

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Mar-2023Former Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq rolled back the years with a splendid 73 off 50 balls that laid the foundation for Asia Lions’ nine-run victory against India Maharajas in the first match of the Legends League Cricket Masters this season. His innings was countered masterfully by Gautam Gambhir’s 54 – the only other 50-plus score of the match – but that proved insufficient, as Lions opened with a tight win in Doha.Defending 165, Sohail Tanvir came to the fore for Lions with figures of 3 for 27, which included a maiden in the first over of the chase. Tanvir angled his first two deliveries away from Robin Uthappa’s hitting arc, before the third was pitched short and defended with an angled bat. That set-up from Tanvir paid dividends in the very next delivery, as Uthappa attempted to hit Tanvir through cover but found Abdul Razzaq, who took a sharp, low catch.But Gambhir found his rhythm quickly. His range of strokes included typical step-out shots against the spinners, including a drive through cover with the spin off part-timer Tillakaratne Dilshan. Gambhir was ably accompanied by former India opener M Vijay, who got a cameo of 25 runs off 19 deliveries laced with three boundaries and a six. However, following the dismissals of Gambhir and Vijay, Maharajas collapsed in the death overs in the face of an increasing asking rate.Earlier, Maharajas’ Irfan Pathan had initially set the tone for the first innings with a nostalgic spell of swing bowling. Each of his first few deliveries with the new ball displayed some lateral movement. His new-ball partner Ashok Dinda got the first breakthrough in the form of Dilshan.Dilshan, with his footwork not quite at his best, ended up edging a full delivery outside off stump to Uthappa, who completed a juggling catch in the third attempt.But Misbah quickly brought momentum into Lions’ innings. He looked at ease, either when stepping out against the spinners or even the pacers, as evident from his six off fast bowler Parvinder Awana in the ninth over. Misbah’s knock of 73 included two fours and four sixes, before he was dismissed in the 18th over off Stuart Binny’s medium pace.His former Pakistan team-mate Shahid Afridi displayed his typical aggressive intent from the outset. He successfully ramped one in the 18th over to fine leg, albeit off a top edge. Off the next delivery, he tried the same shot but miscued it straight to Harbhajan Singh at short fine leg.Little else was new to the new T20 norm as Lions held their nerve, barring Harbhajan accidentally applying saliva to the ball, something which was banned post the advent of Covid-19.

James Franklin and Ollie Rayner made for an unlikely pair of destroyers. But together they turned the game, as Durham’s 74 for 0 became 74 for 4 in 17 crushing deliveries

Tim Wigmore at Lord's13-Aug-2016
ScorecardOllie Rayner claimed four wickets to dent Durham•Getty Images

Graham Onions had bowled a spell of high quality, jagging the ball around in the evening sunshine. He had taken one wicket, but Durham were still far behind the match, and the umpires had stubbornly ignored his furious gesticulating when appealing for several lbw shouts. Then, in the fifth-last over of the day, he elicited an edge from Nick Gubbins’ bat behind. Onions’ exuberant leap in the air spoke of his joy and relief at claiming another wicket. This, though, would soon give way to howls of despair: Gubbins was spilled by Michael Richardson behind the stumps, and Onions was left punching the air in anger and disbelief.The next delivery, Nick Compton pushed a ball into the off side; Gubbins prematurely hared towards the striker’s end, leaving Durham the chance of a run-out. The stumps were missed, and Durham’s frustration intensified.In the next over, Chris Rushworth found the edge of Compton’s bat. This time Scott Borthwick, at second slip, spilled a hard, low chance. It was Middlesex’s third reprieve within five minutes: no howls of Durham anguish this time, only quiet despair that their admirable bowling had earned so little reward.Durham’s day had all begun so well. After five consecutive draws at Lord’s, there is a distinct tinge of green to this Lord’s pitch. Add in cloud cover, and one fancied Durham to refrain from tossing at all. Instead Paul Collingwood elected to bat, allowing Middlesex to bowl, just as they had intended.Yet initially Collingwood was vindicated. The sight of Ollie Rayner coming on to bowl his offspin at 12 minutes past 12 was testament to the skill with which Durham’s openers played – notwithstanding Rayner reprieving Mark Stoneman on 4 at second slop – and how, despite its unusual greenness, there was nothing untoward about this wicket. Perhaps there was a little frustration for Durham in seeing Stoneman’s efficient flicks of his hips, given his impending departure to Surrey, although at least Keaton Jennings’ new four-year contract means that Durham will only need to find one new opener in time for next season.On an overcast morning, James Franklin and Rayner made for an unlikely pair of destroyers. But together they turned the game, as Durham’s 74 for 0 became 74 for 4 in 17 crushing deliveries. It was the second time in consecutive innings that Middlesex have taken the first four wickets without the addition of a single run.Although he has 82 Test wickets, Franklin now has the air of a reluctant bowler, and considers himself a batting allrounder. At 35, his pace is markedly down on his international days, but he remains a left-armer who swings the ball late enough to imperil batsmen with a relentless line. A surprise short delivery accounted for Stoneman, attempting a rather extravagant pull, and Jennings was then trapped lbw, his forward stride not convincing enough to relieve him. All the while, the dots kept racking up: it took Durham 27 balls to score a single run off Franklin.Such parsimony contributed to the bedlam at the other end. First, Rayner produced a consummate offspinner’s dismissal, pitching a ball on Borthwick’s middle stump, and turning it past his forward defence to uproot his off stump. Rayner’s exuberant celebrations spoke of his euphoria at removing a prize scalp in such a way. The very next ball, Richardson drove a ball into the offside, and Jake Burnham charged down when no run existed, and was easily defeated. Panic in a cricket team can be infectious.Some zesty lower-order hitting ensured that Durham would at least clear 200, but Rayner’s return ensured a total that felt a long way short of par. He ended with four wickets, having utterly made amends for his spilled chance; Paul Stirling’s athletic pounce at midwicket, to end Mark Wood’s counterpunching, gave Rayner no reason to chunter at the fielding of his own bowling, and he could revel in first day figures of 4 for 17.”It’s unheard of, isn’t it?” he smiled, though he rightly lauded Franklin for Middlesex’s fine day. If Middlesex could gripe at their skipper, it was only for his negligence in appealing when Adam Hickey edged behind; happily, his teammates were rather more vociferous in calling for an affirmative response from the umpire.For all the vim with which they bowled in the evening, Durham’s mood would not have been improved by seeing Compton, who has scored four centuries against them in his career, survive to the morning. Having got a Lord’s pitch conducive to a positive result, Middlesex will know the day looms as critical in their aspirations of winning the County Championship.

A round-up of all the news coming out of the IPL, on April 13, 2016

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Apr-2016Ashish Nehra will miss Sunrisers Hyderabad’s next two matches, against Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians at home, due to a groin injury. Nehra picked up the knock during Sunrisers’ 45-run defeat to Royal Challengers Bangalore on Tuesday, hobbling off the field after just 2.1 overs in the first innings.”Nehra has hurt his groin. He will be out for a couple of games,” David Warner, Sunrisers’ captain, said after the game. “We have to look back and look at positives and turn it around. We have a good batting track at Hyderabad. We should not lose wickets in clumps.”When you look at the outcome of the game, it really hurts when the bowler goes down. You have to reassess you plans and when two batsmen are going hard here, it’s very difficult to stop them. One bowler going down really hurts and you plans are thrown off the track.”Nehra was one of India’s standout performers at the recently-concluded World T20, picking up five wickets from five matches at an impressive economy-rate of 5.94.‘I regret retiring’ – HoggChinaman bowler Brad Hogg has said he regrets having given up international cricket in 2008, just when it looked like he might have a good run in Test cricket given Shane Warne’s first-class career was at an end then. Hogg gave up ODIs and Tests in February 2008 soon after his 37th birthday due to issues on the personal front, before making a T20I comeback in early 2012 at 40.”I do regret retiring back in 2008. I had a Test berth for Australia at that stage but I had some personal issues with family and yes, I retired there,” Hogg was quoted as saying by PTI, on the eve of Kolkata Knight Riders’ game against Mumbai Indians. “I wish I didn’t, because the marriage did not survive. Luckily it did not, because I met a new partner and she’s someone who supports me. There’s talk about me when I’m going to stop and she just says play as long as you possibly can. We’re going to try get there to fifty.”Hogg said he still looks forward to playing every game, and that keeps him going at 45. “I think it’s just having the passion of wanting to play. Everyone knows I retired in 2008, had about two-three years out of the game. To have an opportunity [to do] what you love, I don’t take it for granted. I just love it, I still have the passion of a five-year-old kid, when I first had that dream of playing for Australia. The game has changed, it has evolved. It has given a new lease of life to cricket and it has given a new lease of life to me.”Kings XI co-owner keen to help out drought victims
Ness Wadia, one of the co-owners of Kings XI Punjab, has said he is willing to shift his franchise’s matches out of Maharashtra, given the drought issues in the state. He also said he was willing to help out those affected by the drought, if directed how to.”IPL is about enjoyment and fun. But where’s the fun when there’s death and malnutrition and basic facilities like water are unavailable? The IPL is important in its own way, but the matches can always be shifted,” Wadia told the . “If we’re told in whichever way we can contribute, we’re willing to participate. Whether it’s contributing to the chief minister’s fund or adopting villages in the region or anything else that would help us do something to help.”The case relating to holding IPL games – which require large amounts of water to maintain the grounds, etc – in the drought-hit Indian state is ongoing in the Bombay High Court, with the court yet to make a final ruling.