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Match facts

Thursday, April 11, 2013
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)Marlon Samuels will miss out on Thursday’s game due to a groin problem•BCCI

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Pune Warriors’ middle-order should be the envy of any Twenty20 team. Marlon Samuels, Yuvraj Singh, Ross Taylor and Angelo Mathews form the nucleus of what could be one of the most dangerous batting line-ups around but so far, Warriors have put up the two lowest totals of the season.When Yuvraj missed out on the game against Kings XI Punjab, they couldn’t even manage to reach triple-figures, managing only 99. The good news ahead of the match against Rajasthan Royals is that Yuvraj, who was recovering from a back problem, has been confirmed fit. They still won’t be able to field their first-choice middle-order, though, as Samuels has picked up a groin injury. Samuels’ absence opens up an overseas player’s spot and Warriors have Australia batsman Steven Smith, who was an influential performer for them last season, and England’s Luke Wright in their ranks. However, coach Allan Donald said on the eve of the match that big-hitting Australian opener Aaron Finch would come in.*In contrast, their opponents have got off to a flying start. Royals, as in every season, were written off before the tournament began, but have won two in two, with victories over defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders and another highly rated team, Delhi Daredevils. As usual, low-profile players have played crucial roles, including Trinidad & Tobago allrounder Kevon Cooper and Jharkhand fast bowler Rahul Shukla.

Players to watch

Sreesanth was out of action for more than a year after surgery on his toes and only returned to action in December, having watched a host of young fast bowlers leapfrog him in the queue to the Indian team. The IPL provides him a high-profile platform to remind everyone he’s still good enough to turn out for the national side. He’s begun well enough, bowling tight spells in the opening matches, and even showed off one of his typically exuberant celebrations.Robin Uthappa is one of Sreesanth’s best friends in cricket, with the pair even launching a cricket homestay together. Like Sreesanth, Uthappa too has fallen out of the national reckoning, and his failings in the IPL have not helped his cause. Two years ago, Warriors splashed out serious money to build the franchise around Uthappa and Yuvraj but Uthappa hasn’t been the match-winner the franchise expected him to be, yet.

Stats and trivia

• Warriors’ Manish Pandey has the most number of ducks in the IPL – eight, an wanted record he shares with Amit Mishra
• Royals’ Samuel Badree has the best economy-rate among all bowlers in Twenty20s, having conceded only 4.90 runs an over in his career

Quotes

“Manish Pandey and Robin Uthappa are attacking batsmen, but they seem to have gone into a shell during the Powerplay overs.”

*03.20GMT, April 11: The preview was updated after pre-match press conference quotes came in

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsFile photo: Paul Stirling followed his half-century in the previous match with a quickfire 42•BCB

Barisal Burners fought hard to keep themselves alive in their contest against Sylhet Royals, but crashed out of the BPL with a one-wicket loss.The equation now leaves Rangpur Riders and Duronto Rajshahi vying for a final spot in the last four. If the Riders beat the Burners in Thursday’s first match, they will go through on 12 points. If they lose, Rajshahi will go through on head-to-head over the Riders and the Burners because all three teams will then be on 10 points.Despite Paul Stirling’s rapid 42 and Mushfiqur Rahim’s measured 34, the Royals were under pressure for most of the 145-run chase, until Mohammad Nabi’s three boundaries in the 19th over helped them take control.Seamer Hamid Hassan still kept the Burners in the hunt with the wicket of Sohag Gazi, which was Royals’ eighth. Nabi continued to bat calmly in the final over of the game, when they needed four to win. But with a single to win, Suhrawadi Shuvo skied an easy catch to Brad Hodge. Nabi completed the tense chase with a pulled single, giving Sylhet top spot in the points table.Hassan took three wickets but couldn’t contain Nabi, who finished with a valuable 16 off 8 balls.Burners, in their innings, had got to 144 due to a belligerent knock by Alok Kapali towards the end. After the Burners limped to 122 for 8 in the 19th over, Kapali went after Elton Chigumbura, hitting the Zimbabwean allrounder for three boundaries and a pulled six to score 22 runs and keep the Burners in the hunt. Kapali was unbeaten on 34 off just 16 balls. Hodge was the other significant contributor to the total, scoring 46.Royals’ best bowler was Mominul Haque, who took 2 for 14 from his three overs while Sulieman Benn, Chigumbura and Sohag Gazi took one wicket each.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsJoe Root’s unbeaten 79 saw England to their target in style•Associated Press

England marched to a business-like eight-wicket win in Napier, completing their second-highest successful run chase against New Zealand in the process, to square the series at 1-1 after an unruly burst from Ross Taylor and Brendon McCullum had threatened Alastair Cook’s masterplan. Cook and Jonathan Trott made solid half-centuries, while Joe Root twinkled with impudent brilliance in top-scoring with an unbeaten 79 but it was James Anderson’s 5 for 34 that set up victory on an excellent batting surface.Having asked his bowlers to keep New Zealand to a manageable total, Cook was rewarded with early wickets and a modest run rate, only for Taylor’s seventh ODI hundred to provide a rallying standard and McCullum to launch a familiar riposte. The fifth-wicket partnership was outside England’s parameters of acceptability but after McCullum holed out off Stuart Broad for 74 the last six wickets fell for 26 runs, as they regained control of the scenario.The combined aggression of McCullum and Taylor with the bat, putting on 100 in 52 balls, had brought New Zealand back into the match but they both put down straightforward chances off Root. The first, a skier to McCullum, came when Root, on 25, top-edged an attempted pull at Tim Southee towards short fine leg and although the wicketkeeper made his ground, he misjudged the trajectory and failed to get his gloves under the ball. The next delivery, Root ramped the ball for a flat four through the same part of the ground and the fuse had been lit: 12 balls later, he had reached his fifty, accelerating past senior team-mate Trott with a cheeky “Meep! Meep!”, like a Yorkshire roadrunner.

Smart stats

• James Anderson’s 5 for 34 is only the second five-for by an England bowler against New Zealand and the 24th overall by an England bowler. The previous England bowler to pick up a five-for against New Zealand was Vic Marks in 1984.

• Anderson’s five-wicket haul is his second in ODIs. His best performance, however, remains the 5 for 23 against South Africa in Port Elizabeth in 2009.

• The target of 270 is the second-highest successfully-chased one by England against New Zealand. The highest is 285 at Old Trafford in 1986. The win is also only England’s second by a margin of eight or more wickets (previous win in 1983) against New Zealand.

• Ross Taylor’s century is his seventh in ODIs and first against England. Among New Zealand batsmen, only Nathan Astle (16) and Stephen Fleming (8) have more centuries than Taylor.

• Taylor’s century is also the tenth by a New Zealand batsman against England and the first since Jamie How’s 139 in 2008. Mark Greatbatch and Astle have two centuries each against England.

• Brendon McCullum’s strike rate of 205.55 is the highest for a fifty-plus score for New Zealand in ODIs against England. McCullum holds the top three spots on the list of best strike rates.

His innings blended grace and power, with hefty cuts and pulls offset by lissome flicks and cultured drives. Such was the quality, it’s doubtful the man whose place in the side he currently occupies, Kevin Pietersen, could have finished more stylishly, as Root and Trott combined for a decisive 121-run stand to continue the trend of reverses that has seen the teams swap victories over five limited-overs contests on the tour so far. His third half-century also made Root the first player to start their ODI career with six successive scores of 30 or more.Not only did he upstage the contributions of his own team-mates, in what was an improved all-round display, Root also overshadowed Taylor’s first significant score since coming back into the New Zealand team. After a slow start, in which New Zealand were 21 for 2 after the opening Powerplay and only reached their 100 in the 30th over, McCullum whirled about the crease with all the violence of a Quentin Tarantino shootout scene while Taylor, more the Gary Cooper type, calmly knocked it around at the other end.Discussions about Taylor’s form had begun to overshadow the positive of his return, so this was an important innings for the New Zealand No. 4, even if it came in defeat. In his four previous innings, he had made 45 runs but here he progressed to his first international half-century since scoring 142 and 74 in his last match as captain, the Colombo Test in November. His ousting may still smart on a personal level but the detente can only be good for McCullum, Taylor’s replacement, who will head to Auckland seeking a victory that would give him back-to-back ODI series wins at the start of his tenure.After a level-headed, recovery stand of 72 with Kane Williamson, Taylor began to add some impetus, slugging Broad over deep midwicket for the first six and then sweeping Graeme Swann hard in front of square. He was joined in the middle by McCullum five balls into the batting Powerplay, after Grant Elliott had top-edged Steven Finn to deep square leg, and the pair were soon exchanging fist bumps in the middle. Should they reach the level of the brotherly bum-tap anytime soon, then all will be considered well within New Zealand cricket.McCullum’s fifty came from 26 balls – and that included just a single from his first seven – as Swann, Chris Woakes and then Broad were each targeted in succession. Swann’s final over disappeared for 17 and included a six so dismissive that McCullum managed to crash the ball over extra-cover even as he slipped and lost his footing; Woakes and Broad then went for 21 and 20 respectively. England had been criticised for bowling too short at McCullum in the series so far but he tore up their plans to go full, as Broad was twice thumped down the ground in searching for the yorker.Such was the volte face in scoring rates, that while the two opening bowlers, Finn and Anderson, went at less than three-and-a-half an over, the other three all conceded above six. The last time these two teams met at Napier, they split 680 runs precisely down the middle, with Luke Wright keeping New Zealand to six off the final over to force a tie. Paul Collingwood, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Owais Shah and Wright all bowled that day, exactly five years ago, but Anderson was the most expensive, with 1 for 86.How things have changed. Anderson, fresh from passing Ian Botham as England’s leading wicket-taker in international cricket, had talked of bowling until he was 40 before the match. You suspect even as an Oldsmobile he would cruise in smoothly and more experienced drivers than BJ Watling have nicked to first slip pushing at Anderson’s length ball, which just veered away enough to take the edge in the seventh over. Hamish Rutherford, on debut, also fell early to Anderson, as the new-ball pair denied the batsmen width.Finn was trotting in off a shorter run-up in an attempt to cure his knock-knee problem but showed no lack of pace and perhaps a touch more control – though he still managed to clip the stumps at the non-striker’s end later in the innings. McCullum cracked the delivery for four and Cook received short shrift when asking Rod Tucker if it should not have been called dead-ball.When the first bowling change came, Anderson had figures of 6-2-11-2. Finn had also conceded 11 from his six-over spell and New Zealand had to attempt to force the pace against Woakes, Broad and Swann. Thanks to McCullum and Taylor, they attained respectability but were bowled out with seven balls unused and, ultimately, England’s Root made it a rout.

Eoin Morgan is a doubt for England’s second T20 against New Zealand after jarring his back in the field during their 40-run win in Auckland on Saturday. Morgan, who was England’s top scorer with 46 from 26 balls and took a brilliant running catch to dismiss Brendon McCullum, tweaked his back later in the New Zealand innings.The team have moved on to Hamilton, venue for the second T20 on Tuesday, and the England management will assess Morgan’s fitness on Monday. If he is unable to train, Morgan’s place in the side is likely to be taken by Joe Root, who came on as a substitute fielder in Auckland.Losing Morgan would leave England without one of their most experienced T20 players as they look to secure the three-match series with a game to spare. Morgan has played 33 times in T20 internationals, putting him sixth for England, with Stuart Broad and the rested Kevin Pietersen among those above him. The most-capped England batsman in the shortest form, however, is Luke Wright, who has played 40 times since his debut in 2007.Wright joined Alex Hales in making 99, the highest score by an Englishman in T20 cricket, at the World Twenty20 in September. In the first New Zealand T20, Wright hit four sixes in a blistering 20-ball 42, confirming his value at No. 3, and then picked up a useful 2 for 29 with the ball.With Ashley Giles recently installed as England’s limited-overs coach, Wright hopes his consistent T20 form since a recall last year can also push him into Giles’ thoughts for the ODI team. “I have huge ambitions to get back in the one-day side,” he said. “It’s something I’m desperate to do.”I’ve just got to keep knocking on the door, and keep badgering Gilo and saying ‘Look mate, I’m scoring runs – what have I got to do?’ If there’s a spot for me, I hope he’ll pick me. If there isn’t, I can’t do much else. Maybe come the end of the tour, it might be something I could sit down and have a chat with him about, to find out what he wants to see from me or where I can improve and give myself better chances to get in.”The Champions Trophy is a major target for England this year and much of the preferred XI is in place. However, with a technically adept top three of Alastair Cook, Ian Bell and Jonathan Trott followed by the power of Pietersen and Morgan, England could do with an allrounder to help balance the side. Wright’s ODI bowling average of 57.53 weighs against him but, with Tim Bresnan undergoing further elbow surgery and the likes of Chris Woakes unproven, he could still make a case for his inclusion.”It’s quite tough obviously at the top of the order – with KP, Cookie, Belly and Trotty to come back in,” Wright said of his ODI chances. “But I’d like to come into that middle order if there’s no role for me at the top, and obviously my bowling might help. Batting at number three [in T20], I’m getting a key role in an England side – a responsibility that gives me a lot of confidence, and it’s great to repay that faith.”Wright and Morgan helped England to their record T20 total in Auckland and with the small boundaries at Seddon Park – scene of the fastest T20 hundred, by Richard Levi a year ago – the next match could be another high-scoring one. New Zealand will have allrounders Ian Butler and Grant Elliott to choose from, after they were passed fit, and may be tempted to make changes.The game will provide another opportunity for Ross Taylor to continue his international comeback. Mike Hesson, New Zealand’s coach, was pleased to have the batsman available again, although he agreed with Taylor’s assessment of their relationship, after a controversial change in the captaincy. “It was certainly good to have him back,” Hesson said. “I think ‘work in progress’ is a good term. We’re working well together … and the longer we do that the better that relationship will be. But it’s going to take a while before we’re going out for coffee every week.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMartin Guptill was unstoppable•Gallo Images

Captain, dethroned unceremoniously, pulls out of a big tour. Inexperienced side, with four debutants, gets rolled over in the opening game. You would have expected New Zealand to collectively scrap after that, you would have expected them to compete. What you wouldn’t have expected was a solo riposte so dominating and so explosive that it turned New Zealand around from an eight-wicket loss to an eight-wicket win within a couple of days.In hindsight, it probably helped that Martin Guptill was not scarred by the thrashing New Zealand received in Durban, having missed that game with a stomach bug. He came out a fiercely determined man in East London. Nothing could stop him tonight. He had the power, he had the timing, he had the focus. And even fate was on his side. A couple of catches went down, by Robin Peterson, with Guptill on 62 and 89, a couple of close leg-before shouts were not given, he was caught off a no-ball. And Guptill continued clubbing six after six.He needed to find the boundary off the last ball of the game, to take his side to victory. He did, swatting Rory Kleinveldt to the cover rope. And also moved from 97 to 101, becoming only the second man after Richard Levi to make a hundred while chasing in a Twenty20 international.Guptill’s assault was so thorough it needed his partners to just hang around at the other end, which they managed to do. He had partnerships of 76 and 73 with Rob Nicol and Brendon McCullum, their contributions being 25 and 17. New Zealand were handed an asking-rate of just under nine, and throughout the innings, Guptill never allowed it to go over 11 – it touched that mark only for the final over. Whenever it did threaten to escalate, a Guptill six was always around the corner.

Smart stats

• Martin Guptill’s century is the ninth in Twenty20 internationals and the third by a New Zealand batsman. Brendon McCullum is the only player to score two centuries.

• Guptill’s strike rate of 146.37 is the lowest for a 100-plus score in Twenty20 internationals. However, the strike rate is the highest for a fifty-plus score by a New Zealand batsman against South Africa.

• The target of 169 is the second-highest chased by New Zealand in Twenty20 internationals. It is also the highest target chased by any team against South Africa.

• For only the second time, New Zealand managed two fifty-plus partnerships for the first and second wickets. The first occasion came against Zimbabwe in Harare in 2011.

• Doug Bracewell’s 3 for 33 is the fourth-best bowling performance by a New Zealand bowler against South Africa in Twenty20 matches.

Guptill began by cutting and punching Kleinveldt for successive boundaries. Soon, he was launching Morne Morkel for six and thumping the spinners, who found it difficult with some dew around. He was particularly severe on the debutant left-arm spinner Aaron Phangiso, who he carted for three sixes and two fours. Guptill’s strategy was simple – he mostly slog-swept and swung down the ground, adjusting to sweep or hitting straighter when needed to. He was able to sustain that hitting for 69 deliveries, with the final stroke bringing an exultant release of emotion.South Africa had posted what seemed to be a challenging score. Henry Davids and Faf du Plessis reached half-centuries on either side of a 52-minute interruption due to one of the floodlight towers conking off. The break reduced the match to 19 overs per side, and raised the target for New Zealand to 169.McCullum had chosen to bat in Durban, and New Zealand had self-destructed their way to 86. This time he put South Africa in, but to New Zealand’s dismay, the hosts’ batting followed the same pattern it had in Durban. Levi had his eleventh failure in 13 international innings, after being dropped on 2, but Davids and du Plessis were hardly bothered.Davids, dropped by James Franklin on 36, dominated the 68-run partnership with du Plessis, who did the same during his 79-run stand with David Miller. Davids may be turning 33 next month, but in his second international game, he displayed an uncomplicated, fresh approach as he looked to hit mostly down the ground.Nathan McCullum was the only bowler to tie the batsmen own as he flighted the ball and also varied his pace greatly. It took a spectacular catch to remove Davids as Jimmy Neesham sprinted back several yards from mid-off, dived full-length, caught the lofted ball and managed to stop himself before the rope to complete the stunner.Du Plessis took over now, slamming boundaries through his favoured extra cover. Miller, too, began powering the fast bowlers for boundaries over extra cover, before the South African charge was halted by the floodlight failure in the 17th over. There had been issues with one of the towers in the previous international match played at the venue as well, in January this year against Sri Lanka. Both du Plessis and Miller carried on in the same vein on resumption, before Guptill took over for the night.

Steven Finn has emerged as a major injury doubt ahead of the fourth Test in Nagpur after suffering a back injury. Finn, who missed the first two Tests with a thigh strain, reported some soreness on the final day of the Kolkata Test. A scan has shown a minor disc injury in his lower back and he was unable to take any part in training on Wednesday.While the England team management are not ruling Finn out of the Test, his inclusion would appear to involve them taking an uncharacteristic risk. They are expected to pick just two seamers for the game, so will be loathe to go into it with any injury doubts over one of them.Stuart Broad has been ruled out of the Test after a scan on his left heel showed bruising. He will remain with the squad for now with a decision taken over his availability for the Twenty20 games over the next few days.Tim Bresnan is the likely replacement for Finn. Bresnan was dropped after a disappointing performance in the first Test in Ahmedabad but, with his ability to bat and his experience, is likely to be preferred to Graham Onions, who has struggled for rhythm in his few opportunities on the tour.The England Performance Programme (EPP) squad is currently in Pune, but there are no plans to call-up a substitute for Broad or Finn. Stuart Meaker, who was called up as cover for Finn and Broad earlier in the tour, joined the EPP squad ahead of the Kolkata Test and is not with the Test squad.The news completes a miserable Test tour for Broad. Named vice-captain at the start, he failed to take a wicket in either of the first two Tests, was dropped for the first time since 2008 ahead of Kolkata and has struggled with injuries and illness throughout.”Stuart Broad is out of this Test match,” England’s captain, Alastair Cook, said. “His scan has showed a bruised heel and we’ll assess him over the next day or so to see what happens with the Twenty20. We’ll know a bit more when it settles down.”It’s the nature of sport, isn’t it? Some people have good tours and some people don’t. Unfortunately, more down to niggles and illnesses, Broady hasn’t quite managed to get into the tour. It’s frustrating for him and disappointing for us as a side. But we all know the class of Broady, and he’ll be back.”England are currently leading the four match series 2-1 and looking to complete their first series win in India since 1984-85.

Shane Watson’s only faint hope of playing against South Africa at the Gabba is as a batsman alone – and the team performance manager Pat Howard has revealed the national selectors are considering the possibility.While Ricky Ponting is almost certain to be fit in time for day one at the Gabba, Watson is in severe doubt for the first Test of the summer due to what the team physio Alex Kountouris called a “minor grade” left calf strain. The possibility of Watson being fit to bowl in the match is negligible, but John Inverarity’s selection panel have discussed Watson’s value purely as a top six batsman.”It has been discussed but there’s no firm decision on that,” Howard told ESPNcricinfo. “Those considerations have been brought up in the past, so right now without speaking on behalf of the selection panel, it is being considered. Everything’s possible.”Shane and Ricky are in doubt, but they’re both reasonably new injuries and we’ll know more soon, they’re most certainly both in contention for the Test to differing degrees, and we’ll have standby players ready over the next couple of days in and around the squad.”We have some very initial scans on Shane, but our physio and chief medical officer, one has arrived in Brisbane and the other is arriving this afternoon, the selection panel will be arriving in from different parts of the country this afternoon as well. When they all get the big picture, not only on Shane but other players, then they can make some decisions over the next couple of days leading up to the Test.”The floating of Watson as a batsman is a departure from the team’s previous view, which had stressed the importance of having him fit as both a bowler and a batsman. Last summer Watson himself floated the possibility of playing as a batsman during the home Tests as he recovered from a hamstring strain, but that was ruled out.Watson said in Brisbane on Sunday that he was feeling some stiffness in the muscle and while he had not been ruled out of the Test, past experience had made him aware of the risks of rushing back too soon.”It’s still a little bit stiff, I’m just hoping it settles down over the next couple of days,” Watson said. “Alex [Kountouris, the team physio] had a little look at it, we’re just seeing how it sort of pans out over the next couple of days … see whether I’m a chance to be able to play in the first Test.”It’s not as bad [as it’s been], it’s only pretty minor but I know how things can go if you don’t really look after it and get it right the first time. I’ll be certainly making sure I get it right the first time.”The selectors are set to name shadow players for both Watson and Ponting, though the latter is expected to be recovered from a hamstring niggle in time to play. Should Watson be ruled unfit for the Test, the Australia A captain Andrew McDonald’s allround virtues are likely to be considered, though his presence would necessitate a shuffle in the batting order.While the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka and the Champions League in South Africa have seriously undercut the preparation of both Australia and South Africa for the forthcoming Tests, Howard said he took some consolation from the fact that the Shield round had allowed players to be tested.”I think we’re fortunate we have this round of games to start dealing with these guys coming in, if it happened next week that would be more of an issue,” Howard said. “We really want the Test players to go back and play in the Shield and contribute to the competition and get themselves ready, and I think that process has been well dealt with in the last couple of days.”

Middlesex 306 (Dexter 90, Robson 72, Richardson 4-62) and 205 for 5 (Denly 48) beat Worcestershire 323 (Mitchell 133*, Kervezee 55, Roland-Jones 5-72) and 186 (Kervezee 64*, Roland-Jones 5-46) by five wickets
ScorecardToby Roland-Jones continued his impressive season and is the second highest wicket-taker in the Championship•PA Photos

Paceman Toby Roland-Jones bagged the first 10-wicket haul of his career as Middlesex clinched a tense five-wicket win at New Road which leaves Worcestershire’s Division One status hanging by a thread.Roland Jones, 24, is the second highest wicket-taker in the Championship and finished with match figures of 10 for 118 to leave his side with the task of scoring 204 in 47 overs for victory. They timed their chase to perfection and reached their target with 11 balls to spare.It was Middlesex’s fourth Championship win of the season which enabled them to complete the double over Worcestershire, who they trounced by 132 runs at Lord’s in early May.The lively Roland-Jones followed up his first innings return of 5 for 72 with 5 for 46 in a performance reminiscent of his achievement in Middlesex’s 2010 Championship match against Worcestershire, when he collected a nine-wicket match haul. On that occasion his side lost by 111 runs at Lord’s.He soon began to set about Worcestershire when they resumed 61 ahead on 44 for3. Matt Pardoe, on 22 overnight, became his first scalp of the day when he had himtrapped lbw playing across the line for 28. Spinner Ravi Patel nipped in to remove nightwatchman Chris Russell for a career-best 22 before Roland-Jones pushed Worcestershire further down the slippery slope with two more wickets.Firstly, he bowled Neil Pinner middle stump and then had Joe Leach caught in the slips by Joe Denly before Alexei Kervezee and Ben Cox managed to steer their side to 125 for 7- a lead of 142.Wicketkeeper Cox fell to Steven Crook shortly after the interval before Kervezee completed his second half-century of the match after collecting three fours off 91 balls. Crook also accounted for Gareth Andrew courtesy of a catch on the mid-wicket boundary by Gareth Berg and when Alan Richardson was run out, Kervezee was undefeated on 64 containing five fours off 112 balls.Middlesex soon lost captain Chris Rogers to Richardson to leave them still needing to score a further 177 after tea. Sam Robson and Denly went on to complete a half-century partnership before Denly had a let-off when he was put down in the slips by Phil Hughes off former Middlesex paceman Richardson.He had another lucky escape shortly afterwards when he charged down the wicket to the luckless Richardson and skied the ball to mid-off, where Kervezee allowed the ball to spill out of both hands low down.Robson was not so fortunate when he offered a catch to Moeen Ali at first slip off Andrew for 35 after the pair put on 77 in 21 overs Denly’s charmed life finally came to an end when a top-edged sweep at Moeen was caught by Cox. Denly made 48, containing five fours off 72 balls.Dawid Malan and Crook added 50 in eight overs before Malan departed to an excellent catch by Hughes running in from long-on off Moeen. Crook was ousted by Russell for a valuable 30 to set the scene for Berg and Neil Dexter to complete an entertaining victory.

Kemar Roach has credited the team gameplan and the bowlers’ resolution on a batting pitch for West Indies bowling out New Zealand for a gettable target to win the first Test on Sunday. Roach took 5 for 60 to help West Indies win their first Test since October 2011.”The plan today was to bowl on one side of the wicket and look to build pressure,” Roach said after the match. “We believed that would lead to the wickets. They didn’t score many runs in the first session [but] we took our opportunities after lunch. It was a good team plan and it worked out very well today for us.”Roach dismissed New Zealand captain Ross Taylor and Kane Williamson in successive overs in the morning session, sparking New Zealand’s collapse. Seven wickets fell for 73 runs and New Zealand were eventually dismissed for 272, ending their chances of saving the Test.”The pitch was good for batting throughout the match but we were banking on Sunny (Sunil Narine) to get the bulk of the wickets today and win the match for us. He bowled extremely well in the match and was great in both innings, but today was my day and I seized the moment.”Taylor was the first to go, trapped lbw by a ball that angled in, and Williamson was bowled for a duck. Roach later dismissed Neil Wagner and Kruger van Wyk to end with match figures of 7 for 115, the second best in his career. In April, he had taken 10 for 146 against Australia in Trinidad, a track he said was better to bowl on than North Sound.”It was tough work in Trinidad, but here the pitch was just flat and quite good for the batsmen. The key was to get it straight and keep it straight. As the ball got older and softer I noticed the batsmen found it harder to score so I just stayed on top of off stump.”Roach is the fourth-highest Test wicket-taker this year, with 34 wickets at 22.47, and ranks tenth in the ICC Test rankings. Roach said he was pleased his efforts here bore fruit.”It was hard work out there, very hard work, but I am thrilled I put my hand up for the team and delivered a good victory.”The second Test begins in Kingston on August 2.

Danish Kaneria, the Pakistan legspinner, has been barred from playing any official cricket in Pakistan pending the outcome of his appeal against a lifetime ban handed by the ECB last month for corruption. The decision was taken after a meeting of the Pakistan board’s integrity committee on Monday.Kaneria, Pakistan’s fourth-highest wicket-taker in Tests, was handed the life ban by an ECB disciplinary panel hearing the spot-fixing case involving former Essex fast bowler Mervyn Westfield. Kaneria had been found guilty of inducing Westfield to under-perform and of bringing the game into disrepute. He has indicated that he would contest the verdict, though he is yet to formally lodge an appeal.The PCB’s integrity committee, headed by board chairman Zaka Ashraf, said that any final decision on Kaneria would be taken only after the appeal was dealt with. Kaneria had already been barred from playing for the Pakistan national side in 2010, and the PCB has said that it would in principle stand by the sanctions imposed by the England board.So far, he had been allowed to participate in Pakistan domestic cricket, and he was among the highest wicket-takers in last season’s Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, the first-class tournament. He represented Habib Bank Limited, who have written a letter to the PCB asking for clarity on his cricketing status. HBL are set to suspend ties with Kaneria, and are waiting for a formal response from the PCB before taking a call on his job status. Kaneria’s last domestic match was a Twenty20 for Karachi Zebras in March.Although his punishment was handed out by the ECB, the ICC’s anti-corruption code states that decisions based on a domestic board’s regulations should be upheld by boards around the world, including the PCB.