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Sushant Modani credits coach for positive culture around squad after impressing on T20I debut

Peter Della Penna23-Dec-2021At 16 for 4 in the powerplay, the prospect of a USA victory against visiting Ireland seemed highly unlikely. Which is why the stirring comeback produced by Gajanand Singh and Sushant Modani made victory so much sweeter. Singh, who was named Player of the Match for his 65 as part of a USA record 110-run fifth-wicket partnership with Modani, described the 26-run victory as “an awesome feeling.””To always contribute to your team and especially winning a game like this, a first against a Test nation and a Full Member of the ICC, it’s a proud moment for me and everyone in this group,” Singh told ESPNcricinfo after the victory.One of the salient features of several of the early wickets lost by USA was the panicked nature of the strokes, as Ireland medium-pacer Barry McCarthy seized on dot ball pressure to strike three times. But Singh said part of the reason for his success was having a clear head unclouded by glancing at the grim-looking scoreboard.”Going out there, I took the score away from any of my thoughts,” Singh said. “I played the ball, I didn’t play the scoreboard. I think by doing that and giving myself a chance, hitting the Vs up front, hitting some balls on the ground, putting away a bad ball or two early in your innings always gives you a set of confidence to go deep in your innings. I’m fortunate to have Sushant as my partner there. We worked together and played to our strengths and I think it worked out well.”After biding his time through the 11th over, Singh started to unleash on the Ireland bowling unit, slog-sweeping Simi Singh’s offspin for the first of five sixes. That one, as well as three of the next four, all cleared the east side boundary where the wind had been gusting strongly. Singh said the success of clearing the boundary was simply down to taking well-calculated risks in the situation.”The wind was a big factor when we batted so we tried to play percentages,” Singh said. “We knew going against the wind would be risky. I don’t think we took any chances against the wind. We backed ourselves when it’s in our area. If you feel you can get under it or a good piece of it, we backed ourselves and it just worked out for us today.”Related

• Lorcan Tucker sets up Ireland win as T20I series ends with honours even

• Singh, Modani propel USA to historic T20I win over Ireland

• Youth to the fore as historic USA-Ireland series soldiers on

• Balbirnie: 'We're a Test member but at the moment it feels like a name'

Modani also impressed on his T20I debut, scoring a half-century. But Modani said much of the credit for his own success was influenced by the approach taken by Singh at the opposite end.”For this partnership, a lot of credit goes to him,” Modani said. “He soaked in a lot of pressure because he was getting those big boundaries and sixes so I didn’t really have to think a lot or do very differently. All I had to do was keep rotating the strike.”Both men fell before the final over, yet there were still more fireworks to come for USA in the form of Marty Kain. Seizing on a poor line bowled by Mark Adair, Kain utilised the wind blowing east in the same manner as Singh to score two fours and two sixes over backward square leg in a massively consequential 23-run final over to boost USA to 188. Though victory would not have been possible without the partnership between Singh and Modani, Kain’s impact on the match was no less significant in the eyes of Singh, especially since it also came on T20I debut.”Marty played a blinder there,” Singh said. “To come in at the end and play the way he’s played in his first game for the US is exceptional. It shows the confidence of him as a player and shows that he knows his skill and backs himself. I just hope he continues and goes from strength to strength and can play more innings like that for the US.”The win was also highlighted by solid fielding contributions from two teenage debutants, Yasir Mohammad and Ritwik Behera. While Behera took two key catches fielding in the deep, Mohammad also took a catch at deep square leg in the second over, teaming up with Ali Khan to help dismiss Ireland captain Andy Balbirnie, before later bowling a crucial death-overs spell, bouncing back from a shaky opening over.Sushant Modani drives over cover•Peter Della Penna

“I think our senior bowlers stood out today,” Singh said. “Nisarg [Patel], Ali and Saurabh [Netravalkar], all three of them put their hands up. They bowled to a plan and it worked out in the end. Sticking together, everyone knows our plans bowling to particular batsmen and these guys did their job and bowled their areas good. I must commend young Yasir also. Playing his first game after getting a few boundaries in his first over, he held his nerves pretty well to come back and bowl a pretty decent spell.”According to Modani, the calmness of the youngsters is a product of the new culture established by head coach J Arunkumar – known for always having a smile on his face. Modani said the coach’s relaxed nature helps put everyone at ease and gets them performing at their best on a consistent basis, whether it’s the veterans or those on debut like Kain, the teenage pair and Modani, who was not supposed to be in the T20I squad but was drafted as a late replacement after four players were ruled out due to a Covid outbreak.”I think a lot of credit goes to our coach and team management,” Modani said. “A lot of positivity gets instilled in the dressing room before the game, or even the talks we have. So that’s like a mental preparation for us. Even if I wasn’t in the T20 squad, I was still mentally prepared that I still have time before the ODIs that I’ll do something but in a positive frame of mind. It’s the team which fills you with that motivation.”That motivation continues to fuel USA for the rest of the tour. Singh, Modani and the rest of the squad are out to show that Wednesday’s win was no fluke. The T20I series concludes on Thursday before the three-match ODI series commences on December 26.

Pollard’s heroics helped Mumbai Indians hammer 89 runs off the last five overs of the chase to tie the game

Saurabh Somani28-Sep-2020Royal Challengers Bangalore 201 for 3 (de Villiers 55*, Padikkal 54, Boult 2-34) tied with Mumbai Indians 201 for 5 (Kishan 99, Pollard 60*, Udana 2-45)
Super over
A day after IPL 2020 delivered an incredible thriller with the highest ever successful chase, the Mumbai Indians and the Royal Challengers Bangalore went one better, with the highest ever tied score in an IPL game. Mumbai were behind all through their chase of 202, needing 90 off the last five overs. They were still behind when Kieron Pollard reiterated his T20 G.O.A.T. status by smacking around Adam Zampa and Yuzvendra Chahal for an imagination-defying 49 runs in two overs during his unbeaten 60 off 24 balls. They were still behind when Ishan Kishan – back in the XI due to a Saurabh Tiwary niggle – was out for 99 to make it five needed off the last ball. Pollard hit a four, of course he did, to bring the match to a Super Over.As comebacks go, there was still one left in the match though, and Navdeep Saini delivered a standout Super Over to keep Pollard, Hardik Pandya and Rohit Sharma to just 7 for 1. Jasprit Bumrah, who had gone for 42 runs in four wicketless overs during regular play, then turned up with some excellent Super Over bowling of his own, though his gamble to bounce AB de Villiers with fine leg up went for a top-edged four. With scores level, Virat Kohli used his wrists to put the final ball away and ensure Mumbai’s story of comebacks ended on the last ball of the Super Over.Ten days into the IPL, the Royal Challengers have two wins in three games – a start they haven’t been used to of late.Before Mumbai mounted their incredible fight back, the Royal Challengers seemed to be coasting to victory, powered to 201 for 3 on the back of half-centuries from openers Aaron Finch (52 off 35) and Devdutt Padikkal (54 off 40), both of which were overshadowed by a barnstorming de Villiers 55 not out off 24. For almost three quarters of the chase after that, a revamped bowling attack stuck to its plans as Mumbai struggled.Pollard’s arrival and Kishan’s fine knock unravelled those plans, but not to the finish.Finch starts, Padikkal steers, de Villiers finishesFinch has not been in the best form so far in the IPL, but he didn’t let that change his game-plan, going hard at the top. He survived a couple of chancy hits, but then began connecting well, giving the Royal Challengers the kind of start from which they could launch. Kohli, however, looked off-colour and struggled to even get the singles. Padikkal, the other opener, played second fiddle to Finch in the opening stand, but opened out more once Finch and Kohli fell. What really boosted the Royal Challengers though, was de Villiers’ arrival. Without even looking like he was taking extravagant chances, de Villiers had purred to 20 off 12, when Bumrah came on for his final spell. He was promptly dispatched for 18 runs in one over and 17 in the next, with de Villiers scoring 27 of those. At the other end, Shivam Dube blasted three sixes and a four in his ten-ball stay as the Royal Challengers surged past 200.Washington Sundar stifles MumbaiThe Royal Challengers had brought in Isuru Udana and Adam Zampa for this game to beef up their bowling attack, with Dale Steyn and Umesh Yadav dropped. They then gave Washington Sundar three overs in the powerplay, a move that paid spectacular dividends. Not only did Sundar get Rohit Sharma in the game’s second over, he ended his first spell giving up a mere seven runs in three overs. None of Mumbai’s vaunted top order could attack him, denied room to free their arms or width to play the ball square on either side. Sundar – no stranger to bowling in the powerplay – was not the only one to stick to his plans. The long square boundaries allowed the Royal Challengers to bowl lines that asked the Mumbai batsmen to clear those, with fielders positioned in the deep. Sharma, Quinton de Kock and Hardik Pandya were all caught at deep midwicket off the spinners, as Mumbai sank deeper.Ishan Kishan arrives, Pollard unleashedAll the while,Kishan had been timing the ball well and kept ticking over. While he can hit the ball big, in Mumbai’s line-up it might have been expected of the others to do the big-hitting. But with the rest of the top order falling and the asking rate climbing, Kishan also began to go for the big shots. In Pollard, he had a partner at the other end who could hit them like few can. Pollard faced only 10 balls in the first 4.4 overs that the two were together, but Kishan took the other 18 for 31 runs.When Pollard faced up to Zampa at the start of the 17th over, Mumbai needed an unrealistic 80 runs in 24 balls. But Pollard then ripped apart Zampa and Chahal – both in their final overs – for a 27-run over followed by a 22-run over, and suddenly the impossible seemed merely the improbable. Along the way they were helped by three drops – two off Pollard and one off Kishan – of which one was straightforward.In the circumstances, Saini’s final over – the 19th of the innings – was an excellent effort with just 12 runs conceded, giving Udana 19 to defend. Kishan was on strike for four of the six balls, but sent two of them over the boundary, the first via a tough spilled chance and the second sailing over and taking him to 99. Mumbai could have had victory next ball, but Kishan’s slog-sweep was finally held in the deep, just a yard inside the boundary. The final ball was short and sat up, Pollard connected with a mighty swipe and got the power, but not the elevation as it bounced once before clearing the rope, to signal a tie.The Super OverSaini bowled a terrific over. He was going for the yorkers, and nailed a couple but the ones he didn’t ended up as low full tosses that weren’t easy to hit either. Hardik Pandya couldn’t time it, and even Pollard was beaten once before whipping another low full toss to deep midwicket. Only three balls were scored off from the bat, with one bye on the final ball, and Bumrah faced up to de Villiers once again to defend a low total. He almost did it, and de Villiers was even given out caught behind off a third-ball bouncer that was overturned on review, but with fine leg up, Bumrah’s gamble of bluffing de Villiers with another short one didn’t work. De Villiers wasn’t fully in control of his pull shot but he got enough on it to roll into the boundary. Bumrah went back to fuller lengths – a perfect yorker and a low full toss – for the last two balls, but with just two to get, he couldn’t stop de Villiers and Kohli.ALSO SEE: Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers Bangalore live score, September 28 2020

Blow to the helmet from Stuart Broad can’t deter England captain as Yorkshire secure a comfortable draw

David Hopps at Trent Bridge08-Apr-20190:28

Root admits his ego was dented after Broad hit

Joe Root, struck on the helmet, first ball by Stuart Broad. It did not auger well for Yorkshire. It did not feel all that great for Root. But that was the lowest point of the day for England’s Test captain as unbeaten hundreds of considerable resolve by Root and Gary Ballance enabled Yorkshire to secure a draw against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge without further alarm.Nottinghamshire had declared overnight with a lead of 446 and accounted for Yorkshire’s opening pair in the space of 11 overs, but light faded from their challenge as the day progressed and a draw was agreed at five past five with Yorkshire 277 for 2.Most of the attention will rest with Root, who was making one of his rare Championship appearances for Yorkshire and who initially seemed intent on collecting enough injuries to complete a Box Set. An injured finger while fielding on the third evening was followed by a rattled helmet on the fourth morning as he ducked into a bouncer that failed to get up.That entailed an eight-minute delay while Root awaited a helmet and was checked for concussion. Time also to reflect on the nature of a moribund but slightly uneven pitch and how to adjust his technique to combat it. He joked that he was unhappy that Broad did not follow up with a volley of abuse.On one of those two-temperature sunny days in early Spring in which youngsters wear t-shirts and those of greater years still don winter coats and sweaters, Root and Ballance then batted out the rest of the day in a manner that justified the optimism of their coach, Andrew Gale, on the previous evening that a draw was well within their grasp.The closest they came to being split in a stand of 253 in 67 overs was when Ballance misjudged a single into the off side but Jake Ball failed to follow up a good stop by throwing down the stumps. Root also survived a big appeal for 46 for a catch down the leg side as he hooked at Paul Coughlin.A burst of three successive boundaries then took Root past 50, Nottinghamshire’s slips disappeared with an air of resignation, and runs came with growing ease. Nottinghamshire’s deep-set fields by the end even hinted that they half imagined Yorkshire might have a tilt at a ten-an-over run chase. Instead, a draw was agreed upon completion of Ballance’s hundred.On such a placid surface, Nottinghamshire resorted to a regular supply of short balls, something that Root felt was a good lesson for county bowlers so often reliant on seaming pitches. “It’s nice now to see bowlers exploiting a different plan, and to go short. I’m sure we will see a lot more of that if the surfaces stay the same and it will be great for the development of the next generation, and the players who are just below the current England team.Joe Root raises his bat on reaching a century•Getty Images

“You want to set the example and try and use your experience to your advantage, but I think I did ride my luck on occasions. It’s always hard to say it’s one of your best knocks when you’ve not won the game. I took a few painkillers just so it didn’t distract me from what was important but the head feels fine and the hand feels fine. The only thing that was hurting when Broady hit me was my ego.”Root carries a nation’s hopes for the Ashes; Ballance, by contrast, although only 29, has fallen out of favour and appears to have played the last of his 23 Tests – against South Africa on this ground nearly two years ago. Yet in first-class cricket Root and Ballance reach fifty in a higher percentage of innings than any other current English-qualified batsman, better than one in three. And when it comes to the percentage of hundreds, Ballance is unsurpassed.Steven Mullaney had declared Nottinghamshire’s second innings overnight on 329 for 5, leaving Joe Clarke stranded on 97 not out, three runs short of becoming the youngest player to make two hundreds in a match for the county – and on his debut for the county, too. Team needs above all other considerations had been strictly applied and adherence to such a principle should not be lightly dismissed.”It was my decision,” Mullaney said, “but I spoke to Joe and he was the first one to come up to me last night when he wasn’t out and he said whatever is best for the team and if you want to declare. That’s the sort of bloke he is and the sort of team that we want to build.”Ball took both wickets to fall, having Harry Brook caught at third slip for 2 and Adam Lyth played on for 21. Root has one more Championship match for Yorkshire, at the Ageas Bowl; Ballance is around all season and ultimately it will be his form, as much as anyone’s, which will determine Yorkshire’s season.

Pakistan have made significant gains in the next FTP schedule – they will now play at least 121 games, up from the 104 that were allocated to them last week

Osman Samiuddin19-Dec-2017The PCB made considerable gains in its scheduling for a new Future Tours Programme (FTP) during a workshop held in Singapore earlier this month. Last week ESPNcricinfo reported on a version of the FTP that Full Members took into the workshop, held on December 7 and 8.By the end of the meeting members produced an updated FTP in which there were minor adjustments to the total commitments of most members. The biggest gains from that meeting, however, were for the PCB. The earlier FTP showed 104 internationals scheduled for Pakistan between May 2019 and May 2023. The updated version has them playing 121 internationals – they have two Tests, five ODIs and 10 T20Is more than in the earlier FTP.That total puts them on a more even footing with countries such as Australia (123), Bangladesh (124), South Africa (122) and New Zealand (119). It is not yet clear who the extra matches have been arranged against. The FTP will likely undergo further tweaks – though not significant ones – as members aim to present a final version at an ICC board meeting in February.Not included in the PCB’s totals is a bilateral arrangement with Cricket West Indies (CWI), which will mean more limited-overs games in the four-year period. The PCB is also thought to be involved in discussions with members for limited-overs tri-series in the next cycle.Add to that Asia Cup matches (which are not included in the FTP total) plus the obligatory ICC tournaments and they could end up not far below the number of internationals they are scheduled to end with in the current FTP (from May 2014 to May 2019): 183. There is also the pending matter of 19 matches against India, from an earlier agreement, the fate of which rests on an ICC dispute resolution process.The PCB will play 30 Tests in the new FTP, a number that officials say could have been higher had there not been three ICC tournaments in the cycle that run through the Pakistan home season, as well as an expanded six-week window for the Pakistan Super League (PSL). The World T20 in Australia in 2020 is scheduled for October-November that year, as is the Champions Trophy in India the following year (though neither tournament, traditionally, lasts that long), and the 2023 World Cup in India is across February-March. In fact, the latter will require a shifting of the PSL window for that year, likely to be brought forward.In any case, the PCB has been eager to emphasise that its engagements in the new FTP will be about quality of contest rather than quantity. Opponents have been classified on the basis of the value they provide to a broadcast deal – by the PCB’s working, 46% of their total home games in the next FTP will be against high-value opponents (Australia, South Africa, England and Bangladesh), 30% against mid-value opponents such as New Zealand and West Indies and the remaining against low-value teams such as Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Ireland and Afghanistan. Nearly half of Pakistan’s away matches, it calculates, are against high-value opponents.Once a version of the FTP is approved at the February meetings, it will go through a vote at the ICC’s annual general meeting in June.The four-year FTP is built around two cycles of a two-year Test league, with nine teams in it. Each team is required to play six series over two years, with the top-two sides meeting in a Test championship final in June 2021.The calendar also includes a two-year ODI league of 13 teams, which will lead into qualification for the 2023 World Cup. The Test league starts with the new FTP in May 2019, but the ODI league begins the following year (because of pre-existing commitments between sides that run from the current FTP into the start of the new one).

South Africa’s stand-in captain Faf du Plessis wants to see his boys also win the body-language battle ahead of the Test series

Firdose Moonda11-Oct-2016In targeting a clean-sweep over Australia, Faf du Plessis has promised South Africa will assert themselves with more than just bat and ball in Cape Town on Wednesday. South Africa’s stand-in captain wants to see his boys also win the body-language battle ahead of the three-Test series in Australia starting November 3.”As a captain, its important the intensity we play at. That does not always mean verbally, it’s body language and the way you carry yourself on the field,” du Plessis said. “When there is a battle that asks for another battle to come their way, that will happen. We are a team that will stand up against that. If that’s required of us as a team, we will also go into that space, but its a very focused and channeled aggression; more of a body language thing.

Important to build a pool of pacers – Saker

Australia’s assistant coach David Saker has given a vote of confidence to the rookie bowlers who have come under attack on this trip. Chris Tremain, Joe Mennie and Daniel Worrall are all on their first tour with the national side.
“I don’t think they’ve marked their card, it’s obviously a very hard place to come and bowl and their batting team has been amazing,”he said. “I think Chris Tremain has shown some really good things, Scott Boland the other day was really good.
“More the number of fast bowlers you’ve got, better it is, because of the injuries. they are one part of your team that does get injuries. So if you can add people to your fast bowling group all the time, it’s always very, very important.”

The only real needle in the ODIs so far came in Port Elizabeth when Matthew Wade and Tabraiz Shamsi had a verbal exchange that earned both of them a a 25% fine of match fee along with one demerit point. Talk became action when Wade took a single and made no effort to avoid running into Shamsi, who protested.Du Plessis took it up with the umpires but was proud of how Shamsi stood up. “It’s just showing the opposition you are here to play, no matter how many games you have played,” du Plessis said. “Shamsi has only played three ODIs but he showed he is there to compete, no matter who is on the other side. It was good to see we can also step it up in that department.”In the other departments, South Africa have exceeded expectation by dominating against the top-ranked ODI side, which is without their first-choice pace pack. However, du Plessis chose not to dwell on that, instead emphasising on how South Africa have out-batted Australia.”I am really impressed with the style of cricket we’ve played,” he said. “The first game set the tone for us where Quinton played one of the best one-day knocks you will see and then out-batting has been a level above what we’ve seen in the past. If you compare that to their batting, which is just as strong possibly on paper, maybe even stronger but they haven’t matched up with our batters at all. We haven’t allowed them to compete at times and even when they looked like they were going to compete, we stuck in and waited for the opportunity.”The third game in Durban was where Australia threatened their biggest comeback. Their only centuries came in that match as they piled on 371 for 6 before reducing South Africa to 217 for 5. Yet, South Africa found a way, which du Plessis was proud of.”In Durban, they were all over us and nine times out of ten, you should lose games like that. It took something magnificent for us to win and it’s happening more regularly in this team that guys are doing amazing things,” he said. “The style of cricket we have played has been a new level, hopefully that’s something we can drive forward. We need to make sure we keep playing like that because that’s the style I would like us to play.”South Africa started the season with a culture camp that addressed their dramatic slide from No. 1 to No. 6 in the Test rankings last summer and their early exit from the World T20. They decided on what they’ve termed a “different direction”, which is not about individuals but the collective, aiming to go “where no other South African team have been”.”We want to reach higher levels and achieve greater things than anyone else. From that perspective 5-0 is very important,” du Plessis said. “The fact that the Test series comes straight after this and 60% to 70% of both teams’ players are the same, the motivation of 5-0 will mean a lot to me.”

Rohit Sharma became the 15th centurion in T20 internationals and India’s second after Suresh Raina but he was overshadowed by JP Duminy, who is South Africa’s leading run-scorer and second overall in the format, as he scripted a stunning series-opening vi

The Report by Firdose Moonda02-Oct-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details3:51

Agarkar: Tough conditions for bowlers

Rohit Sharma became the 15th centurion in T20 internationals and India’s second after Suresh Raina but he was overshadowed by JP Duminy, who is South Africa’s leading run-scorer and second overall in the format, as he scripted a stunning series-opening victory in Dharamsala. Duminy shared a 105-run fourth-wicket partnership with Farhaan Behardien to see South Africa chase down 200 for only the second time in T20Is after AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla set them up with a 77-run opening stand.India would have thought their total was safe, albeit short of what they seemed headed for at 158 for 1 with five overs to go, after R Ashwin and debutant S Aravind removed de Villiers and Faf du Plessis in successive overs adding to South Africa’s reputation for middle-order meltdowns. But the temperament of Duminy and the tactical nous which resulted in Behardien promoted to No. 5 ahead of David Miller kept South Africa in the game and took them over the line.That line would have seemed distant when Rohit and Virat Kohli were shredding the South African attack’s traditional strength – the short ball. The first one was delivered by Marchant de Lange and Rohit met it with an authoritative pull. Chris Morris and Kagiso Rabada supplied many more and Rohit relished each one of them.Not even South Africa’s banker, Imran Tahir was spared. Kohli crossed 1000th T20I runs off him with a six over deep midwicket, to become the first Indian to reach the mark. Rohit also reached a milestone – a hundred in all formats – and saved it for de Lange, who had dropped him on 24 off his own bowling, when he cleared long-off to bring up the century off 62 balls.The ball was changed after that over and it worked for South Africa’s seamers. Kohli and Rohit both mis-hit pulls and were caught near the boundary in Abbott’s next over to end their stand of 138 and put the brakes on India’s charge. South Africa kept India to just 41 runs in the final five overs to give themselves a chance with the bat.Amla immediately showed their intent to make that chance count when he clipped the first ball of the reply to the fine-leg boundary. De Villiers was not to be outdone and sent the second ball he faced over his Royal Challengers Bangalore team-mate Aravind’s head.India’s seamers did not fare much better than South Africa’s on a surface that was packed with runs and a outfield heavy with dew, and their attempts at varying lengths were unsuccessful. With what seemed like casualness, Amla and de Villiers racked up 67 runs in the Powerplay, finding the boundary off short and full balls alike.Spin was cited as being the difference between the sides and Axar Patel almost showed why. He threatened to end the opening stand, when he induced a thick edge from Amla but MS Dhoni put down a tough chance. The breakthrough came in Ashwin’s over, but not by his doing, when Amla was run-out searching for a second run.Ashwin enjoyed more success in his next over with a superb delivery to remove de Villiers, just after he had brought up a half-century with a four. De Villiers advanced on Ashwin and sent him to the deep midwicket boundary for his fifty off 31 balls but on the 32nd, Ashwin saw him coming. He held back the pace and had de Villiers in no-man’s land when the ball hit his back thigh and deflected onto the stumps.South Africa needed 107 runs off 61 balls when Duminy arrived at the crease and his task was immediately made more difficult. Aravind got his first international wicket when he bowled du Plessis with a slower ball that slanted across the South African captain as he reached for it with rooted feet and India would have thought the game was over.Duminy might have felt the same when Ashwin appealed for a stumping off him, off the fourth ball he faced, but replays showed Duminy was safe. In the next over, Axar had an lbw appeal against Duminy which looked close enough to be out but was not given. Duminy was determined to make the two chances count.He swung hard at the next ball and sent it for six to restart South Africa’s chase and Behardien, prompted by the positivity, joined the party. The pair took 30 runs off three overs and then Duminy seized the advantage with a trio of sixes off Axar’s final over. He brought the required run rate down from 13.20 to 11 per over and with four overs left, gave South Africa reason to believe.Bhuvneshwar bowled a boundary-less third over but conceded nine runs, before Duminy hit back to take six off the first ball of Mohit Sharma’s last over and ten off the first two balls of Bhuvneshar’s final one. Behardien provided the perfect foil and rotated strike confidently to put Duminy in command.Unintentionally, India ended up leaving their newest player with the most to do. Aravind had to defend 10 runs off the last over and backed himself to bowl yorkers. He got the first two in the right area but missed the length on the third. Duminy pulled it over deep midwicket to level scores and with a single off the next ball, gave South Africa the series lead.

Lancashire have agreed what is believed to be the largest commercial deal in the history of county cricket by selling the naming rights to its Old Trafford home

George Dobell28-Feb-2013Lancashire have agreed what is believed to be the largest commercial deal in the history of county cricket by selling the naming rights to their Old Trafford home. The 10-year deal, thought to be worth up to £10m, will see the ground renamed Emirates Old Trafford and the Emirates brand appear on the front of the team’s Friends Life t20 playing kits.Lancashire have endured great financial strain in recent years. A lengthy planning battle over the £32m redevelopment of the ground saw the club declare losses of £2m in 2010 and almost £4m in 2011. Further losses are also anticipated when the 2012 figures are declared in the next few weeks.Now, however, the club can start to look to the future with greater confidence. The ground redevelopment is expected to be completed in May, the square, having been turned to avoid problems with the sun shining in batsmen’s eyes, is operational once again and commercial deals with Emirates and Tesco, who have covered around two-thirds of the cost of the development, would appear to have put the club back on an even keel. Tickets for the Ashes Test in August have also sold well – the first four days have sold out – leading the club to predict a return to profit in 2013.Of the regular international-hosting counties, Surrey, Hampshire, Durham, Glamorgan and Yorkshire have all previously sold naming rights to their grounds. Warwickshire are also hopeful of selling naming rights to their Edgbaston home in the coming months. Surrey’s five-year deal with Kia – thought to be worth around £3.5m – is believed to have been the largest commercial county deal until now. Emirates also won the naming rights to Durham’s ground, meaning the third and fourth Tests of this summer’s Ashes series will be played at grounds bearing the company’s name.”This announcement represents another major step in the redevelopment of Old Trafford,” Michael Cairns, chairman of Lancashire CCC, said. “The financial benefits of this deal are a core component of our long-term strategy for commercial sustainability. The partnership will support our intention to be regarded as one of the top County Cricket Clubs in the country and undisputed as a Category A Test Match venue. We remain committed to providing the very best facilities for our members, players and spectators.”Cairns, who made the initial contact with Emirates, was keen to stress the progress the club has made over recent years. From a situation where their crumbling ground was overlooked for a 2009 Ashes Test, they are emerging as one of the clubs best equipped to cope with the new competitive realties facing all international-hosting venues.”I can’t get to grips at times with what we have achieved,” Cairns told the . “I came on board 11 years ago when the business was struggling a little.”Then, we sat down and drew up a list of everything we wanted to achieve. And, believe it or not, we have now done 90 per cent of that list, which is amazing. We have been courageous with some of our decisions. We went £10m into debt to build The Point, but we knew it would drive the future of the business.”We turned the square, which was always going to be a difficult procedure. But in the end we knew we just had to do it. In this financial climate we have been able to raise close to £30m in cash for the redevelopment, secured £10m to build The Point and now we have signed a 10-year sponsorship deal with a leading global brand in Emirates. What we have done is fabulous.””Some aspects of commercialism don’t sit well with what members want,” Lancashire’s commercial director Geoff Durbin told the . “But equally if you don’t have a commercial approach then you don’t have a club. It is a question of balance.”Keeping Old Trafford in the name was crucial to everyone at the club. In the process of researching the marketplace there were some organisations who would have insisted on the words Old Trafford going as part of any agreement, and that was a deal breaker for us.”Our members know a lot about our club and, commercially, we want to make sure they have a club which is sustainable and which is going to be here for a long, long time to come. There are members at other clubs who don’t have that certainty right now and they would swap very, very quickly.”

Outsiders must wonder what would possess a young batsman like Joe Burns to pursue his career at the Gabba

Brydon Coverdale15-Mar-2012Outsiders must wonder what would possess a young batsman like Joe Burns to pursue his career at the Gabba. Despite being a batsman’s paradise in Test cricket, state sides are often greeted by pitches so green as to be almost indistinguishable from the rest of the square. Seamers thrive in the conditions and not since Stuart Law ten summers ago has a Queensland batsman scored 1000 runs in a Sheffield Shield season.But there must be something there for the batsmen. Peter Forrest moved from New South Wales to Queensland this season and promptly posted three Shield hundreds and earned a national call-up. And Burns has tallied 745 runs at 43.82 this summer in his first full season of state cricket, and now has a first-class average nudging 50. He scored a century in his last innings at the Gabba.Burns and his Queensland colleagues will enter the Shield final against Tasmania on Friday knowing that their home-ground advantage is significant, despite their opponents also being used to trying conditions, at Bellerive Oval. The Bulls set out to make the Gabba a fortress this year. The only game they have lost at home this season was by one wicket to Western Australia, and it can be a difficult pitch for opposition batsmen to adjust to.”You have to accept that the ball is going to beat you at times,” Burns told ESPNcricinfo. “It is a green seamer, there is a lot of pace in the wicket and if the bowlers bowl in good areas it’s always tough. You can’t be chasing the ball too much. You have to wait for it to be in your zones. You have to know where you’re going to try to score and if you have a clear plan you can score quickly. You can use the characteristics of the wicket to your advantage.”Once you’re in you certainly can score freely because there is so much pace on the ball. You can score on both sides of the wicket quite easily. Generally there are quite attacking fields at the Gabba, simply because the ball does a bit more than in the southern states. That can help as well. I like to play straight and hit the ball as late as possible.”Burns, 22, earned his first full state contract ahead of this season and the adjustment to life as a professional cricketer, while also studying for an economics degree, took some time. Early in the summer he was frustrated that too few of his starts were turning into the big scores he knew he was capable of after making 140 on his first-class debut last February. In the second half of the campaign he lifted his output considerably.”I’ve found that to be a good first-class cricketer it’s just relentless, week-in, week-out work,” Burns said. “There’s no time to relax. There’s always another challenge around the corner. Every state is a tough opposition. When you’re travelling as well, it provides different batting conditions.”Going around the country and playing against all the different bowlers has been really enjoyable and because it’s been enjoyable, it makes all the hard work a lot easier to deal with. It would be fantastic to cap off my first full season with a Shield victory.”It’s also the first full season for the Queensland coach Darren Lehmann, who has brought an attacking approach to the team’s style. Burns said Lehmann had asked the young players to back themselves, set out to win games rather than just to survive, and Queensland finished the qualifying rounds on top of the table with six wins from ten matches.”Boof has been fantastic this year,” Burns said. “It’s amazing how much effect he’s had coming in to his first season as coach. It really is a testament to his ability as a coach. He’s a fantastic cricketer but the best thing about him is he’s such a good teacher of the game. The younger guys really connect well with him. You can understand the things he’s trying to teach us really clearly and quickly.”During Lehmann’s 147-match career, he twice had the opportunity to lift the Sheffield Shield, once with Victoria and once with South Australia. If all goes to plan for the Bulls, Burns might get his chance in just his 14th first-class game.

Australia and New Zealand have made the unusual decision to compete for the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy during their World Cup match in Nagpur on Friday

Brydon Coverdale23-Feb-2011Australia and New Zealand have made the unusual decision to compete for the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy during their World Cup match in Nagpur on Friday. Previously, the prize has only ever been up for grabs during bilateral series, always of at least three games, but this was the only chance for the teams to meet during the 2010-11 season.The New Zealanders should be happy with the move, as they have beaten Australia in nine of 21 Chappell-Hadlee matches, but have lost all 12 of the other ODIs the teams have played during the same period. The trophy has been contested every season since it began in 2004-05, and is currently held by Australia after they won 3-2 in New Zealand last March.There was already plenty to play for in Friday’s match, with both teams pushing to finish as high as they can in their World Cup group, in the hope of meeting a weaker quarter-finalist. Ian Chappell and Dayle Hadlee will both be in Nagpur for the clash, so both families honoured by the prize will be represented when the trophy is handed to the winning captain.”The trans-Tasman rivalry is revered by New Zealand fans and we are pleased the Black Caps get the chance to compete for the trophy this season,” New Zealand Cricket’s chief executive Justin Vaughan said. “This is a truly unique occasion with the two sides unlikely to compete for the Chappell-Hadlee trophy in India again.”Cricket Australia’s chief executive, James Sutherland, said: “I’m delighted the teams will have a chance to compete for this great trophy, which underpins the trans-Tasman rivalry in the one-day game. There is plenty at stake in this game.”New Zealand have not won the trophy since 2006-07, when Michael Hussey captained a weakened Australian side in the lead-up to the 2007 World Cup and went down 3-0. However, the sides shared the honours in 2008-09 when they drew 2-2 in Australia, before Ricky Ponting’s men narrowly got home last year.

Shane Warne did not set the IPL alight in his first five matches this season, but he was terrific tonight in Ahmedabad, setting up Rajasthan’s third win in a row

The Bulletin by George Binoy26-Mar-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outYusuf Pathan dismantled the Deccan Chargers bowling attack•Indian Premier League

Shane Warne did not set the IPL alight in his first five matches this season, but he was terrific tonight in Ahmedabad. His captaincy was innovative as always and he bowled his best spell of the tournament, choking the run flow, dismissing a dangerous-looking Herschelle Gibbs, and helping Rajasthan Royals restrict Deccan Chargers’ formidable batting line-up to a below-par total. Warne’s charges responded to his leadership, with the ball and in the field, and the result was a clinical performance that set up Rajasthan’s third win in a row.Rajasthan’s batting has blown hot and cold this season – scoring 200-plus in Mumbai and only 92 in Bangalore – but their performances gained consistency in the last two contests. Michael Lumb anchored another convincing display, leading the chase with a brisk 45, setting the platform for Yusuf Pathan to destroy Deccan’s slim chances. Yusuf swung his bat powerfully, reached 50 off 23 balls, and sent a total of eight balls sailing over the boundary. The required-rate dipped below six in the ninth over, and Rajasthan eventually cruised past 148 with 26 balls to spare. The win catapulted Rajasthan from sixth to third in the points table.Warne had promised surprises in the lead-up to this contest, but that he always does. After some confusion over who won the toss – Deccan had, and chose to bat – he unveiled his first. Adam Gilchrist thrives against speed while facing the new ball, and is perhaps familiar with the modus operandi of Shaun Tait, so Warne slowed it down by deploying little-known Sumit Narwal, who replaced Munaf Patel in this match.Narwal got the ball to move away from Gilchrist, the IPL’s most prolific six-hitter, and after two tight deliveries, induced a mis-hit that was held by Yusuf at mid-off. Deccan were 2 for 1 at the end of the first over.Warne’s next move didn’t work. Yusuf is usually the go-to man when Warne wants to open with spin, but today he chose Abhishek Jhunjhunwala. Herschelle Gibbs responded by skipping down the pitch twice to loft the offspinner back over his head for sixes. The over cost 16, but Jhunjhunwala would make amends with two accurate throws to run out Andrew Symonds and Venugopal Rao later in the innings.Laxman, meanwhile, had swatted Siddharth Trivedi to the midwicket boundary. The shot was forced and was further indication that Laxman isn’t comfortable playing his naturally graceful game in the Twenty20 format. He tried it again against Tait – Warne had brought him on in the fifth over – and holed out to mid-on.Symonds and Gibbs threatened to wrest the initiative. Symonds struck three boundaries in a Narwal over and the run-rate was still above nine when Warne came into the attack after the Powerplay. He bowled three tight balls to Symonds, and dismissed Gibbs with the next: drawing the batsman forward with flight and beating him with dip and turn. Naman Ojha took off the bails with Gibbs’ foot on the line.At 58 for 3, it was left to Rohit Sharma and Symonds to lift the innings, but a poor call left Symonds with no hope of completing the second before Jhunjhunwala’s throw reached Warne, who had figures of 1 for 7 at the end of his second over. Two quiet overs followed before Rohit took on Trivedi, pulling him over midwicket for six and driving to the extra-cover boundary.The wickets continued to fall – T Suman bowled, Venugopal Rao and Chaminda Vaas run out – but Rohit ensured runs were coming from at least one end. He was dropped by Adam Voges on the deep midwicket boundary on 30, and then smashed Tait and Narwal over the straight boundaries for sixes, before holing out on 49. His dismissal meant Deccan had to settle for 148, their lowest total of the season.Lumb got Rajasthan’s chase off to a fluent start by taking two boundaries of Vaas’ first over. He was dropped by Gibbs at point off RP Singh when on 12 and made Deccan pay immediately. In RP’s second over, Lumb helped himself to four consecutive boundaries against length deliveries, over point, through square leg, over mid-off and midwicket. The last ball went for four leg byes as well, and Rajasthan were firmly on their way.The Yusuf show started after Naman Ojha was stumped, ending a partnership of 54. Gilchrist began with a slip and a silly point for Pragyan Ojha, Yusuf responded by sending the ball over the straight boundary. It was the beginning of an assault that rendered Deccan helpless. Yusuf would wind up and swing, sometimes it appeared as if he hadn’t connected properly, but the ball would need fetching from beyond the boundary. He finished Deccan with 73 off 34 balls, Gilchrist put it succinctly when he said “We were pumped today”.