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Alex Lees anchors innings as Durham ease into Royal London knock-outs

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Jake Libby resists for Worcestershire but Liam Trevaskis seals 46-run victory

ECB Reporters Network10-Aug-2021Durham 289 for 9 (Lees 93, Bedingham 66) beat Worcestershire243 (Libby 76) by 46 runsDurham are through to the knockout stages of the Royal London Cup with a game to spare after defeating Worcestershire Rapids by 46 runs at New Road.They are guaranteed to finish in the top two – whatever the outcome of their final home game against Hampshire – under the average points per game system brought in after Gloucestershire’s game with Middlesex was cancelled due to Covid-19.Only Essex Eagles can overhaul Durham who are assured of a home tie in either the play-off stages or the semi-finals.Scott Borthwick opted to bat first on a pitch being used for the fourth time in the 50-over competition and another fine performance from opener Alex Lees helped them total 289 for 9.Lees top-scored with 93 and he is now the leading run-scorer in the competition with 468 from six innings, overtaking his Durham team-mate Graham Clark (419).The Rapids were then dismissed for 243 in 45.1 overs despite a fine 76 from Jake Libby who was one of three victims of spinner Liam Trevaskis after Paul van Meekeren inflicted the early damage.Lees was the dominant partner in an opening stand of 73 with Graham Clark who on 28 swept a Brett D’Oliveira full toss straight to backward square leg.Borthwick (10) was run out after he failed to beat Ed Barnard’s throw from backward point to keeper Gareth Roderick.Jacques Banton – brother of Tom – struck in his first over as Cameron Bancroft (11) gave him the charge and was bowled.David Bedingham upped the tempo and struck successive balls from D’Oliveira over long off and long on for sixHe survived a caught and bowled off Baker on 41 and brought up his half century in the same over with his fourth six off just 34 balls.Finch was also hit for two sixes in two balls by Bedingham but the same over brought the downfall of Lees.He had made 93 from 109 balls when he was bowled by a ball which nipped back after striking one six and six fours.Bedingham advanced to 66 from 41 balls before he lofted Baker straight to Banton at long off.Sean Dickson (15) failed to beat D’Oliveira’s throw from deep midwicket attempting a second run off Barnard and a slower ball from the all-rounder deceived Trevaskis (10)Ned Eckersley gave the Durham innings some late impetus with 36 off 27 balls before he went lbw to Finch hitting across the line and Barnard dismissed Luke Doneathy (10) in the same manner with a swinging Gaelivery.Van Meekeren made two early breakthroughs for Durham.He pulled off a fine low one-handed catch to dismiss D’Oliveira (5) and then trapped Tom Fell (6) lbw after attempting to pull a ball which kept low.Jack Haynes (20) came down the wicket to Trevaskis and was stumped and Roderick (5) was bowled sweeping at the same bowler.Libby completed a 49-ball half-century but he was fighting a lone hand and Barnard, on 15, swept a Clark full toss straight to deep mid wicket.The Rapids’ last realistic hope ended when Libby, having struck five fours in his 88 ball knock, was caught at extra cover off Trevaskis.

Two small windows to reschedule PSL 2020 knockouts – Wasim Khan

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The tournament’s franchise owners remain divided on the way forward

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Apr-2020Wasim Khan has said that the PCB’s “first point of call” is to ensure that the knockout stages of the 2020 PSL can be played at some point, following speculation that Multan Sultans might be awarded the trophy after topping the group stage.Speaking to ESPNcricinfo’s Stump Mic podcast, Wasim, the PCB’s chief executive, said that the fifth edition of the competition had been a “resounding success” and that the board has identified two possible windows for the knockout stages of the competition to be played later in the year, after the tournament was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.Meanwhile, Multan Sultans co-owner Ali Khan Tareen tweeted that it would be “ridiculous” for his franchise to be handed the trophy, and that the knockouts should be rescheduled for later in the year “so our local players get more opportunities to shine”.Last week, franchise owners seemed divided upon the issue, with Multan’s other co-owner Alamgir Tareen urging the PSL not to reschedule the unplayed fixtures but stakeholders in the other semi-finalists – Lahore Qalandars, Karachi Kings and Peshawar Zalmi – hoping a window could be found for the games to be played.”We’re currently looking at when we can reschedule the remaining matches to be played, and we’re confident we’ll get those done at the back end of the year, subject to obviously all things going well,” Wasim said.”From our point of view, the first point of call is to try and ensure that we get the remaining matches played. There are two small windows that we have identified at the back end of the year.”Ideally, you probably need no more than three or four days. So we’re just working that out. We’re going to be taking the views of the franchise owners into it, get their views on it, look at what potential format we can play.”If you remember, initially it was based on qualifiers, eliminators and then the final, and then we moved to semi-finals and a final based on the shorter window because of safety reasons around the coronavirus. We are looking at that, and we are confident that we can get that done.”Elsewhere, domestic competitions have been abandoned early, with the team topping the table awarded the trophy: New South Wales were declared Sheffield Shield winners, Weillington were given the Plunket Shield title, while Lions and Dolphins were named as first-class and one-day winners in South Africa.But Wasim pushed back against the idea that Multan, who topped the group stage with 14 points, should be given the trophy.”There’s no fun, right, in just handing it over to Multan Sultans at the moment? Although they’ll probably be pushing for that. Our first point of call is to make that happen.”If it can’t happen then as other leagues around the world have done is to then declare a winner. Them [Multan] being on top, that would probably be the case.”While Alamgir Tareen had pushed back against the idea of playing a knockout stage, saying he did not consider it to be “practical”, Ali Khan Tareen tweeted that he had “differing views on the way forward” to his co-owner.”Finishing at No.1 means we were the most dominant/consistent team, but it doesn’t mean we won,” he tweeted. “It would be ridiculous for the PCB to just give us the trophy. All 4 teams have the same chance of winning. Trophies should be won, not given.”And as I’ve always said, trophies are not important. Helping players develop, giving them a platform and watching them excel is so much more rewarding. So that’s why I want the remaining games to be played later in the year so our local players get more opportunities to shine.”While the destination of the trophy remains unclear, Wasim said that the PSL’s first full season in Pakistan had been a “massive, massive success”.”For the first time we’d brought the whole of the PSL back to Pakistan. It was a huge undertaking to do that, and to see close to 600,000 fans turn up at four venues across 26 matches… for us, that was a huge success. The PCB staff worked day and night to make that happen.”Despite the fact we had to postpone at the semi-final stage, we felt it was a massive, massive success, particularly based off the feedback we’ve had from round the world.”

England frustrated defending 187 as West Indies openers dig in

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Kraigg Brathwaite, John Campbell stood firm for West Indies after their bowlers rolled England out for 187 on a lively surface

The Report by Valkerie Baynes31-Jan-2019West Indies 30 for 1 (Campbell 16*, Brathwaite 11*) trail England 187 (Moeen 60, Bairstow 52, Roach 4-30) by 157 runs

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAgain England were dismissed inside a day, again West Indies’ strike bowlers were damaging and again the home side capitalised on winning the toss, this time on a green and lively pitch that provided an entertaining start to the second Test in Antigua.While on the subject of deja vu, once again a pair of West Indies batsmen proved stubborn, thwarting England’s bowlers to end the day on 30 without loss, Kraigg Brathwaite unbeaten on 11 and John Campbell 16 not out.But it is worth noting the differences between England’s latest first-innings performance and their dismal collapse for 77 that set the stage for a 381-run defeat in Barbados to put this match in context so far.Moeen Ali’s timely score of 60, after a pair in the first Test and a nervy start to the second, Jonny Bairstow’s rapid-scoring half-century while wickets tumbled around him, and a couple of almost unavoidable dismissals thanks to the challenging pitch and some menacing bowling were in sharp contrast to England’s rank capitulation of the previous match.That is not to say there were not some soft dismissals as well. Opener Joe Denly sabotaged his maiden Test innings by reaching for a short, wide Alzarri Joseph delivery that was sailing well outside off stump to connect with the toe of his bat and send a simple catch to wicketkeeper Shane Dowrich.Having narrowly survived an appeal for lbw off Kemar Roach, which the DRS conferred back to the original umpire’s call of not out despite the ball looking fairly perilous for Denly, the debutant faced 15 deliveries for his first run and added just five more before his dismissal.Denly and fellow opener Rory Burns had endured four maiden overs before Burns was finally off the mark with a four, clipped through square leg off Roach. But Roach struck two balls later with a good line and length that tempted an outside edge from Burns, which was collected low at second slip by Jason Holder.England were in trouble at 55 for 4 and 93 for 6, but Moeen and Ben Foakes gave the innings some respectability. Foakes eventually mistimed a pull shot off Shannon Gabriel and gloved the ball on to his stumps via his hip after sharing an important 85-run partnership with Moeen. The blow to his hand resulted in Bairstow taking his place behind the stumps for the West Indies innings while Foakes received treatment.Moeen’s dismissal shortly after tea when he skied a Roach delivery to Gabriel, who had all the time in the world to take the catch at midwicket, looked soft but it was in fact indicative of the tricky bounce off the pitch.However, even more helpless was Joe Root, who could do little about his dismissal to a vicious Joseph delivery that hit the top of his bat handle and bobbled up towards Campbell who, reeling back at third slip, parried the ball high behind his head to Shai Hope, who ran across from gully to collect the catch.Bairstow faced just 64 balls for his 52, which included nine fours and a six, before he was trapped lbw by Roach with the second ball after lunch. His dismissal meant it looked like Ben Stokes would be forced to take up the rescue mission with England struggling on 78 for 5, but Gabriel had other ideas.Gabriel appeared to have broken down in his first over of the match, limping off with some apparent leg pain before returning gingerly in time for his second. But he returned from lunch with plenty of venom, sending down some brutal deliveries and engaging in a brief but notable verbal battle with Stokes.While the chat ended in a good-natured bump of fists the bowling barrage continued. Gabriel whacked Stokes on the thumb with a spitting delivery that elicited a yelp of pain, though Stokes responded well with a straight drive for four on the next ball.In his next over, Gabriel struck Moeen on the helmet with a short ball the batsman should have ducked but tried to pull instead. Just four balls later, Gabriel delivered another pearler that forced a defensive prod from Stokes, only to be caught behind by Dowrich for 14.Roach, the architect of England’s first-innings collapse in Barbados, finshed with 4 for 30, while Gabriel took 3 for 45 and Joseph 2 for 38.But perhaps most frustrating for England was that, despite the pitch only being subjected to a light rolling at the change of innings, their bowlers – including veteran strike duo James Anderson and Stuart Broad – were unable to make inroads on the West Indies’ batting after 21 overs with Brathwaite and Campbell offering stubborn, if static, resistance.Some individual performances aside, it begs the question, are England really in much better shape this time around?

Kohli, Pandey lead the way as India complete 9-0 sweep

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Virat Kohli followed up successive hundreds in the last two ODIs with another display of ruthless efficiency in a chase, and ensured India left Sri Lanka no crumbs of comfort at the end of a long and chastening month-and-a-half of one-sided contests

The Report by Karthik Krishnaswamy06-Sep-2017
2:58

Maharoof: Once Virat hit top gear, he never let it go

Three-nil in the Tests, five-nil in the ODIs, a crushing seven-wicket win in the one-off T20I. Virat Kohli followed up successive hundreds in the last two ODIs with another display of ruthless efficiency in a chase, and ensured India left Sri Lanka no crumbs of comfort at the end of a long and chastening month and a half of one-sided contests.Set 171 to win, India romped home with four balls remaining and Manish Pandey making his third important contribution in a row, following up 50* and 36 in the last two ODIs with his maiden T20I fifty.Kohli, the only batsman with 1000 T20I runs and a 50-plus average, ended his tour with 82 off 54 balls, an innings that oozed arrogance. It was present in the shots he played – an umpire-endangering blast down the ground and a bottom-handed whip through midwicket, both off Lasith Malinga, standing out among his seven fours and a six – but especially in the way he admonished himself, bat slapping pad in annoyance, for little moments of imprecision: for putting too much weight on a clip down the ground and ending up with a single rather than two, for placing a front-foot slap a few inches closer to the extra-cover fielder than he would have liked and ending up with a single rather than four. It was as if the opposition did not matter.Virat Kohli went to No. 3 on the list of top scorers in T20Is•NurPhoto/Getty Images

Until he miscued a leg-side whip and holed out with India just 10 away from their target, it was easy to miss the assured hand played by Pandey in a 119-run partnership for the third wicket. He came in with India not entirely secure; they had lost both openers by the end of the sixth over, and Kohli not yet fully settled, having just been beaten twice in a row by Malinga’s seam and Isuru Udana’s left-arm angle. But Pandey promptly calmed any nerves in the dressing room, turning the strike over with dabs and pushes either side of point, and switching gears with a straight six and a fierce, airborne cut in the 12th over, off Angelo Mathews.With Kohli also blazing five fours and a six in that period, India sped from 47 for 2 after seven overs to 118 for 2 after 13. Four of those six overs were either Mathews’ medium-pace in conditions with no swing or seam or Seekkuge Prasanna’s quickish and not particularly ripping legspin, showing the lack of genuine wicket threat from Sri Lanka in the middle overs.The story was rather different when Sri Lanka batted. Sent in after a 40-minute rain delay, their batsmen, Dilshan Munaweera in particular, seemed liberated by the switch to the shortest format as they sped to 60 for 2 in their first six overs. They finished well too, scoring 52 for 1 in the last five, with Ashan Priyanjan turning around a slow start and Udana clubbing the quicks powerfully down the ground.They faltered in between, though, losing four wickets in those nine overs while scoring at under six-and-a-half per over.For India, the middle overs illuminated the value of playing two wristspinners. Kuldeep Yadav only conceded 11 in his three overs in that period, and bowled Munaweera with a quick skidder, the batsman sending his bat flying in the direction of square leg in a sweaty-gloved attempt at a pull.Yuzvendra Chahal gave away 13 in his one Powerplay over, Munaweera greeting him with successive sixes, over extra-cover and down the ground. He continued to go for runs in the middle overs, with Munaweera launching him for two more sixes in his third over and Thisara Perera pummeling him over long-on in his fourth. But he picked up three key middle-overs wickets: Mathews stumped while reaching out to a big legbreak and overbalancing; Perera bowled trying to cut one that cramped him for room; Dasun Shanaka lbw playing outside the line of a wrong’un.And so, despite conceding 43, Chahal probably bowled the crucial spell for India to keep Sri Lanka in check. Kohli and Pandey did the rest.

Hafeez ruled out of tour with calf strain

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Mohammad Hafeez has been ruled out for the remainder of Pakistan’s tour of England, after suffering a calf injury

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Aug-2016Mohammad Hafeez has been ruled out for the remainder of Pakistan’s tour of England, after suffering a calf injury ahead of the second ODI against England at Lord’s. The fast bowler, Mohammad Irfan, has been called up in his place.After complaining about pain in his left calf, Hafeez was diagnosed with a minor strain which means he will play no part in the remaining three matches of the ODI series, as well as the one-off T20I at Old Trafford which concludes the tour on September 7.Although Hafeez will be staying in England to undergo intensive rehabilitation, Pakistan’s management decided that there was no point in retaining him with the team.The likelihood was that he was going to be dropped for the second ODI anyway, having endured a barren run of form since his arrival in England.He managed 102 runs in six innings of the Test series before being left out for the series decider at The Oval, and made 11 from 15 balls in Pakistan’s defeat in the first ODI at the Ageas Bowl on Wednesday.Irfan, the tall fast bowler who missed out on original selection for the squad, has been drafted into the squad following approval from Pakistan’s selection committee.Irfan, 34, was originally overlooked in favour of a recall for Umar Gul, having failed to impress the newly appointed chief selector, Inzamam-ul-Haq with 12 wickets in nine ODIs in the previous 12 months.However, he has been in action for Islamabad in the ongoing National T20 Cup in Rawalpindi, and will fly out to join the team ahead of the third ODI.Meanwhile, Azhar Ali defended his decision to bat first at Lord’s. Pakistan slipped to 2 for 3 in the opening moments of the match, with the England bowlers enjoying the 10.30am start and a green surface.”The start wasn’t good at all,” he admitted. “It was really difficult to come back from losing three early wickets. To some extent we made a recovery, but it was not enough. The early loss of wickets cost us the game.”But the first half of the game saw the ball come on the bat much better than the second half. If you start at 10.30, the openers have to take responsibility for getting you through the first 10 overs. But unfortunately the top order didn’t really do anything. They were out to good deliveries, but as professional players you should be able to cope with that and find a way.”But after five or six overs, there were some good shots players. The ball was coming on very well. In the second half of the game, it really wasn’t coming on well and reverse swing was effective.”While Azhar agreed with Mickey Arthur’s pre-match assessment that Pakistan are behind the rest of the world in ODI cricket – both tactically and in ranking terms – he took some encouragement from the fact his side were still able to reach 251 despite such a grim start.”We are behind,” he said. “But if the top-order had done better, we could easily have scored 300 today.”

Shehzad, bowlers give Pakistan series

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Pakistan registered their first series win in Sri Lanka in nine years through yet another ruthless performance

The Report by Sidharth Monga22-Jul-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
1:18

Series win in SL after nine years

For the third time in the series Pakistan denied those expecting drama and nerves and inexplicable events normally associated with Pakistan cricket. They first refused to let Sri Lanka get away despite a seemingly effortless 100-run second-wicket stand and dragged them down to 256, and then Ahmed Shehzad followed it with a ruthless chase of a target that could have been tricky on a dry turning surface. This was their first bilateral series win in Sri Lanka in nine years, and took them closer to Champions Trophy qualification.In fact even in the second match – the one that they lost – Pakistan were predictable and excellent. They just came up against individual brilliance of the Pakistani kind, and even after that record fastest fifty by Kusal Perera Pakistan fought to make sure it was not a cakewalk for Sri Lanka. There was no such out-of-the-world brilliance from Sri Lanka this time, but Pakistan retained that tenacity even though Lahiru Thirimanne and Tillakaratne Dilshan seemed in control scoring half-centuries after Perera fell for a duck. The fielders cut out the singles, the spinners choked supply of easy runs, the quicks struck to cash in on the pressure, and Sri Lanka went from 170 for 3 to score only 86 in the last 14 overs.As a comparison, in the next 14 overs there was enough evidence Pakistan were going to cruise through the chase. Sri Lanka finally went to using Lasith Malinga as an attacking option, but Azhar Ali and Shehzad took his first three overs for 20. When it seemed like pace on ball was flying, Sri Lanka went to spin only to see Shehzad jump out of the crease and belt Sachith Pathirana back over his head first ball for a six. Nuwan Pradeep injured himself, Suranga Lakmal looked ineffective, and already Malinga was back for a second spell. Malinga provided a breakthrough, but then had Shehzad edge through vacant slip and then through the hands of slip for successive fours. All in the first 14 overs.With his side 92 for 1 in the first 14, Mohammad Hafeez could now afford to take his time settling in. He also blunted out Malinga as he exhausted his nine overs in the first 20, looking desperately for a breakthrough. In Malinga’s ninth, Shehzad suggested it wouldn’t have made a difference had Malinga many more left in his bag. He whipped him for successive fours to reach 71, and Pakistan were now 116 for 1 in 20 overs.Let down by spinners, missing in-form attacking bowlers, Sri Lanka threw other options at Pakistan, but there were no batsmen willing to oblige those looking for what has in the last 10 or so years become inevitable drama with Pakistan matches. Shehzad and Hafeez batted with authority. While Hafeez accelerated from 7 off 24 to the eventual 70 off 88, Shehzad never really slowed down. The only regret for Pakistan will be that a rare moment of fielding brilliance – diving-forward catch by Perera at third man – from Sri Lanka resulted in Shehzad’s falling five short of a hundred.Fielding brilliance was plentiful when Pakistan were in the field. From the time left-arm spinner Imad Wasim, playing only his second match, combined an arm ball with low bounce to remove Dilshan at 109 for 2 in the 23rd over, the fielders and the spinners circled around Sri Lanka. Often six men stayed inside the circle, and the spinners ran through their overs, building pressure dot by dot. Between them the three spinners – Yasir Shah, Wasim and Shoaib Malik – conceded just 108 in 24 overs.The first victim of the pressure was Mathews. Shah had been negotiated well by Dilshan and Thirimanne, but Mathews found it tough to face Wasim and Malik. With no easy singles on offer, Pakistan kept daring Mathews to take the risk. Nineteen runs came in Mathews’ first 5.3 overs at the wicket, and when he looked to break the shackles he hit Rahat Ali – in his first over back – straight to mid-off.Dinesh Chandimal, seemingly thanks to instructions from the dressing room, sought to avoid a similar fate – Mathews scored 12 off 23 – and went on a hitting spree. He tried one ambitious shot too many, getting out to Mohammad Irfan for 20 off 21. Amid all this Thirimanne went on smoothly, driving and late-cutting his way towards a hundred. Now, though, with an inexperienced lower middle order with him Thirimanne had to make a decision: stay the anchorman and bat till the 50th over or hit a few shots to take some pressure off the youngsters.Thirimanne went for the latter. When he first tried the big sweep off Shah, he was dropped by Ahmed Shehzad at deep square leg, a catch he somehow went on to claim. An over later Thirmanne provided both Shah and Shehzad the redemption, trying another big sweep, mis-hitting it, and watching Shehzad fly to his left. An innings that had looked solid for a long time had slowly but surely disintegrated, setting Pakistan a target that would be hunted down with 9.1 overs to spare.

Hughes hundred ensures Australia draw series

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On debut, Phillip Hughes scored a century to give Australia a 1-0 lead in this series. In the final game, he made another hundred to save Australia from series defeat and salvage a 2-2 result

The Report by Brydon Coverdale23-Jan-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsPhillip Hughes scored his second hundred of the series•Getty Images

On debut, Phillip Hughes scored a century to give Australia a 1-0 lead in this series. In the final game, he made another hundred to save Australia from series defeat and salvage a 2-2 result. Set 248 to win the game and the five-match contest, Sri Lanka struggled early, staged a plucky fightback led by Angelo Mathews, and ultimately fell short as Australia’s bowlers backed up the fine work of Hughes, whose unbeaten 138 was all the more important in a batting line-up missing Michael Clarke.Australia’s captain had been ruled out due to an ankle injury suffered at training on the day before the match and it left the Australians with a flimsy looking batting order that featured the allrounders Glenn Maxwell and Moises Henriques at Nos. 6 and 7. But Hughes ensured the heavy lifting was done by the time those men walked to the crease and having been sent in by Mahela Jayawardene, who backed his team’s chasing form, the Australians were pleased with their 5 for 247.Still, the pitch was good, and only last summer Sri Lanka had successfully chased down 281 to beat the Australians at the same venue. The visitors knew they were in with a good chance. But early wickets were costly, and ultimately fatal to their victory hopes. At the halfway point of the chase Sri Lanka were 4 for 85, with barely one-third of the runs they needed. For most of the final 15 overs, the required run-rate hovered above nine an over.

Smart stats

  • Phillip Hughes’ 138 is the fifth-highest score by an Australian batsman against Sri Lanka and the fourth-highest against Sri Lanka in home ODIs.

  • Hughes’ 138 is also the third-highest score (second-highest for an Australian batsman) in ODIs in Hobart. The highest is 172 by Adam Gilchrist against Zimbabwe in 2004.

  • The win is Australia’s first against Sri Lanka in Hobart. On both previous occasions (1999 and 2012), they lost by three wickets.

  • For the first time since the New Zealand series in 2008-09, a bilateral series in Australia ended in a tie. In between, Australia won three series by margins of 5-0, 4-0 and 6-1.

  • The 79-run stand between Angelo Mathews and Jeevan Mendis is the second-highest sixth-wicket stand for Sri Lanka against Australia. The highest is 115 between Aravinda de Silva and Roshan Mahanama in Colombo in 1996.

Mathews and Jeevan Mendis caused Australia some jitters with a 79-run stand that in its latter stages kept up with the required rate, but when both men fell in consecutive overs with 61 runs still required, it was all but over. They had picked the gaps well and were finding the boundary regularly until Mendis (26) advanced to Moises Henriques, who sent the bull full and straight and rattled the stumps.In the next over, Mathews fell for 67 from 79 balls when he tried to pull a slower-ball bouncer from Mitchell Johnson and succeeded only in lobbing a catch to midwicket. Henriques followed up by bowling Thisara Perera for 7 and he finished with 3 for 32 from his ten overs, an impressive performance from a man whose results so far in the series had been slim. Clint McKay finished the job with the final two wickets to secure the 32-run victory in the 49th over.The problems had started for Sri Lanka through a somewhat unlikely source, the spinner Xavier Doherty, who had not taken a wicket in the series until this game. But his flight and subtle turn troubled the Sri Lankans and he ended a promising opening partnership of 57 when Mahela Jayawardene, who looked in crisp form for 38 from 39 balls, tried to drive Doherty over mid-off and instead lobbed a catch to mid-on.In Doherty’s next over he added the wicket of Lahiru Thirimanne, who with 1 from 10 balls had struggled to make a fluent start. The pressure of dot balls accounted for Thirimanne, who tried to smash Doherty over midwicket and was caught in the deep. Tillakaratne Dilshan followed for a scratchy 19 from 48 balls when he tickled a catch through to Matthew Wade off Henriques, who found just enough away movement.The Sri Lankan chase was almost derailed when Dinesh Chandimal (6) played an ugly attempted flick through leg only to see Doherty’s ball spin just enough to beat the bat and hit the stumps. At 4 for 77, Sri Lanka needed something special. It didn’t come from Kushal Perera, who top-edged Johnson and was caught at midwicket for 14, leaving the score at 5 for 108.Slowly, Mathews and Mendis worked Sri Lanka back into the contest and Mathews could dream of another come-from-behind chase, just like he orchestrated in his first match in Australia three years ago. But not this time. This time, the runs posted by Hughes early in the match proved the difference. His hundred was all the more important after Australia lost both their openers within the first ten overs of the game.There were useful contributions from several batsmen, notably David Hussey with 34, but Hughes was the key man and finished unbeaten on 138 from 154 balls. While Hughes lifted his tempo in the final stages, some of his partners were unable to stick around. Hussey was run out when he slammed the ball into the ground and back to the bowler Thisara Perera and inexplicably took off for a run that wasn’t there, giving Perera plenty of time to throw down the stumps.Glenn Maxwell followed for 9 when he skied a catch to cover off Lasith Malinga, providing Maxwell with his third single-figure score from three ODIs in this series. That was Malinga’s only wicket for the innings and while some of his yorkers in the middle overs were threatening, overall he was not quite as dangerous as during the previous few games. Nor was Nuwan Kulasekara, who collected 1 for 57 and couldn’t find the same sort of swing he had displayed over the past week.In fact, Sri Lanka’s best bowler was arguably the part-timer Dilshan, who opened, sent down three maidens, and finished with 1 for 22 from seven overs. Dilshan broke the 31-run opening stand between David Warner and Matthew Wade, who was moved up from the middle order. On 10, Warner played for a straight ball but Dilshan, coming around the wicket, got the ball to straighten enough to beat the bat of Warner, who looked back to see his off stump disturbed.Wade (23) was lbw to Kulasekara in the tenth over, his ill-judged attempted late cut to a straight ball matched only by his poor decision to have Richard Kettleborough’s lbw call reviewed. That left the Australians at 2 for 37 and needing to prevent another collapse. Hughes and the stand-in captain George Bailey steadied the innings with a 60-run partnership which, although not brisk, was important. On 17, Bailey chipped a return catch to Thisara Perera but Australia had a platform.Hughes, fresh from three single-figure scores, was initially cautious but started to pick off some boundaries as his innings moved on, including a couple of handsome drives through cover and mid-off when the Sri Lankan fast bowlers overpitched. His half-century came from 82 balls and gradually he became more and more confident, even opening his stance to crunch Malinga through wide mid-on for a boundary.His hundred came with a cut for four off Perera from his 132nd delivery and he was keen to lift the scoring rate after that, slogging Kulasekara over midwicket for the only six of the innings. The Australians picked up 47 runs in the final five overs, 30 of which came from the bat of Hughes.In the end, Hughes wasn’t Player of the Series – that honour went to Kulasekara – but he was Man of the Match in Australia’s two wins. Not bad for a first effort.

Warne suffers minor burns in cooking mishap on BBL eve

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Shane Warne has suffered serious burns to his bowling hand a mere five days from the Melbourne Stars’ first match in the Twenty20 Big Bash League

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Dec-2011Shane Warne has suffered serious burns to his bowling hand a mere five days from the Melbourne Stars’ first match in the Twenty20 Big Bash League, placing his fitness for the start of the tournament in some jeopardy.The burns, which Warne relayed to the world via a graphic image on Twitter, were sustained in a cooking accident.His team was due to take part in a practice match on Monday, though the Stars have indicated that Warne was not scheduled to take part in the fixture.”Not ideal preparation for practice match today-burning the bowling hand Get better quickly please,any suggestions-HELP,” Warne wrote. “Ps no more trying to be a master chef ! Stop and by a bacon roll on the way to the ground next time – silly Shane !”Cameron White, the Stars’ captain, said Warne was confident he would be fit to play on Saturday.”I saw his hand and I saw the pic on Twitter as well – it’s one of those things, it looks a lot worse than probably what it is,” White told reporters. “He said to me in the rooms before that he’s pretty sure he’ll be able to bowl on Wednesday and 100 per cent confident he’s going to play on Saturday as well.”It’s just part and parcel of Warney. The boys are really looking forward to playing with him and what he brings to the table – from burning his hand cooking a bacon sandwich to everything that he’ll do out on the ground.”Warne’s mishap was not the only drama to envelop Melbourne’s two T20 teams in the days before the start of the BBL.Another Star, the Tasmanian allrounder James Faulkner, suffered a dislocated finger in the field during the practice match, while the Renegades’ Brad Hodge has suffered a hamstring injury. Simon Helmot, the Renegades coach, said he felt “sick” after confirmation that Hodge had suffered a hamstring tear.”Obviously when one of your main men go down, it’s disappointing,” he said. “He was a bit dejected at the time, he was really disappointed. But he’s a competitor, he’ll do everything possible to get himself right as soon as possible.”

Debutant Neser impresses for Queensland

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The debutant Michael Neser enjoyed his opening day of first-class cricket, collecting four wickets as Western Australia’s batsmen failed to make use of their starts at the Gabba

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Dec-2010
ScorecardThe debutant Michael Neser enjoyed his opening day of first-class cricket, collecting four wickets as Western Australia’s batsmen failed to make use of their starts at the Gabba. The Warriors reached 8 for 279 at stumps, with David Bandy unbeaten on 40 and Australia’s Test bolter Michael Beer at the crease on 4.The South African-born Neser, who moved to Australia at the age of 10, finished the day with 4 for 42. His haul included the key wickets of the in-form Shaun Marsh, who was caught and bowled when he skied a pull on 20, and the Warriors captain Adam Voges, who was caught behind for 4.Neser also removed the openers, Wes Robinson for 49 and Liam Davis for 56, after the visitors made a solid start having chosen to bat. Bandy and Luke Ronchi, who made 68, helped Western Australia put on some lower-order runs, but two late wickets from Chris Swan gave Queensland some momentum heading in to the second morning.

Ireland fail despite O'Brien fifty

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Ireland could not defend a hefty 174 for 6, as Sri Lanka A cantered homein the 19th over after a whirlwind batting performance.

Cricinfo staff04-Feb-2010
Scorecard
Ireland powered to 174 for 6 on the back of a 104-run opening stand by Paul Stirling and Niall O’Brien in their game against Sri Lanka A at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo, but could not defend their total. Led by a Chinthaka Jayasinghe’s unbeaten 41, the Sri Lankans cantered home in the 19th over.O’Brien cleared the boundary twice as he raced to his second half-century in two games, while Stirling continued to impress, making a rapid 43 before he fell to Seekkuge Prasanna in the 12th over. O’Brien was dismissed in the next over, but short cameos from Kevin O’Brien and Alex Cusack kept the momentum going.Wickets continued to fall at regular intervals, however, and Ireland could not quite push on to an unbeatable score. Cusack and John Mooney both fell to Chaminda Vidanapathirana, whose fast-medium seamers proved difficult to get away, but a solid innings from Gary Wilson lifted Ireland’s total in the closing overs.With a hefty target to chase down, Sri Lanka had to start positively and their opening pair of Tharanga Paranavitana and Milinda Siriwardana did just that. Paranavitana thrashed 21 off just nine balls, and despite his dismissal off the last ball of the second over, the strong Sri Lankan batting line-up sustained the assault, with 50 runs coming in the first three overs.Undeterred by captain Chamara Kapugedera’s dismissal, bowled by Mooney in the sixth over, Gihan Rupasinghe and Siriwardana continued to flay the Irish bowling attack. By the time both had been dismissed, the target had been reduced to just 65 runs in a little over ten overs. Jayasinghe and Jeewan Mendis picked up where they left off, easing Sri Lanka home with 10 balls to spare with an unbroken sixth wicket stand of 68.Ireland now move on to the United Arab Emirates, where they have another warm-up fixture against Canada on Sunday, before facing Afghanistan in their opening Twenty20 Qualifier game on Tuesday. Worryingly for Ireland, it has been confirmed that Boyd Rankin, who picked up a foot injury before this tour, will miss the tournament.Cricket Ireland have yet to nominate a replacement, but Nigel Jones will have done his chances of inclusion no harm whatsoever, taking 1 for 22 in his four-over spell – one of the few to escape punishment against the free-flowing Sri Lankans.