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Cheteshwar Pujara’s ability to tackle spin on rank turners has come in for a lot of praise. The No. 3 batsman says his success stems from the confidence of scoring big runs in domestic cricket

Karthik Krishnaswamy in Bangalore12-Nov-20151:27

‘Domestic cricket has helped me know pitches’ – Pujara

Cheteshwar Pujara made his Test debut at the Chinnaswamy Stadium against Australia in October 2010. He batted at No. 5 in the first innings, got off the mark with a drive to the cover boundary off Mitchell Johnson, and was lbw next ball to one that kept low. In the second innings, with India 17 for 1 chasing 207, MS Dhoni promoted Pujara up to No. 3. He made an 89-ball 72 and India coasted home. “He is a stroke-player,” MS Dhoni said, when asked about the promotion. “He will play his shots if you bowl in his area.”What stood out most in Pujara’s innings was his footwork against the spinners, his ability to get down the track quickly and hit fearlessly against the turn. He did that repeatedly to Nathan Hauritz, drilling his offbreaks through mid-off and extra cover.The ability against spin has steered India through other potentially tricky situations since then – 52 and 82 not out in a six-wicket win over Australia on a wearing Ferozshah Kotla pitch in 2013, an unbeaten 145 at the SSC this August, when he began cautiously on a seaming track before getting into gear with three successive fours off Tharindu Kaushal, and most recently in Mohali, where he made 31 and 77 in a low-scoring Test dominated by spin.Perhaps reluctant to reveal too much with three Tests of the series still to play, Pujara was cagey when asked about his methods on turning tracks, two days before the Bangalore Test. “For me it’s the experience – having played lots of domestic cricket and scored big runs on domestic cricket has helped me know the pitches,” he said. “I know my game plan and what are the things I need to do to tackle spin bowling. Obviously, I don’t want to discuss too much about the technical part of it, but at the moment I would say mainly it’s just the experience.Pressed further, he divulged only a couple more droplets of information. “I think it’s a mix of everything,” he said. “Looking at the last Test match [in Mohali], my footwork was really good. I think the judgment of length and spin are both required. In the last match, a few balls were coming in so it was important to know which balls might come in and which line you could leave the ball on and which line you should play.”Back at the Chinnaswamy for only the second time since his debut, Pujara’s career has completed a circle of sorts: first, he seemed to make the No. 3 slot his own after Rahul Dravid’s retirement; then he lost form and lost his place in the side; he came back in that SSC Test, as an opener, and is now back at No. 3.”There was never doubt that I wouldn’t come back to international cricket [after being dropped] because the start that I had was good.” Pujara said, when asked about his time out of the side. “I had the confidence. I was back to form. All cricketers will have that phase when they are not performing as well as they should. But once you start believing in yourself, start working harder on your game and start scoring runs in any game – it can be domestic or even club – then you gain the confidence that you can do well.”Since his return, plenty of experts, on air and in print, have noticed a widening of Pujara’s stance, and analysed the pros and cons of a wider stance. Asked about it, Pujara made a startling revelation: he had in fact narrowed his stance ahead of the Sri Lanka tour.”For me, I have the measurement of what kind of stance I have – this distance between my legs,” he said. “So before I had a little wider stance but now I have changed it to slightly shorter. Obviously every stance has its advantages and disadvantages – of players’ comfort and the kind of technique they have. So each and every individual is different.”The most important thing about the stance is comfort. I discussed about it with my father and Rahul [Dravid, now the India A coach] before the Sri Lanka series and then I came down to conclusion of what I wanted and it has helped me.”

Rahul Tripathi, Maharashtra’s 24-year-old middle-order batsman, batted sensibly through a tense morning session in Jaipur to help them seal three points by taking the first-innings lead

The Report by Sidharth Monga24-Oct-2015
ScorecardFile Photo – Ashok Menaria struck seven fours for his unbeaten 37 as stumps were drawn on the third day in Jaipur•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Rahul Tripathi, Maharashtra’s 24-year-old middle-order batsman, played sensibly through a tense morning session to help them seal three points. Then he went on to score his second first-class century, playing his 14th match. Maharashtra began the day needing 75 runs with five wickets in hand and the new ball nine overs away, but lost the more aggressive Chirag Khurana early. Tight and intense, but not threatening, bowling followed. Tripathi absorbed all the pressure, and was helped along by an industrious No. 8, Shrikant Mundhe, who had also contributed with three wickets on a deceptively flat surface.After taking a 91-run lead, Maharashtra pushed Rajasthan to the brink with three wickets by the time they came back into credit. All three Rajasthan batsmen who fell, though, appeared shocked at the belated decisions. It was, admittedly, hard to tell if the umpires had made a mistake, except that when left-hand batsman Vaibhav Deshpande fell lbw, he did so to a right-arm seamer bowling over the wicket and to a ball pitched short of a length. Rajasthan now hoped captain Ashok Menaria and import Rajat Bhatia could hang in for one point.Rajasthan began the day thinking they could use Nathu Singh before the new ball which is generally handed to Deepak Chahar and Aniket Choudhury. But the young quick who has been selected for Board President’s XI let the side down. His first over went for 10 runs. It could have been worse had Khurana successfully flicked away a leg-side half-volley. Rajasthan changed plans, and brought on Choudhury and Chahar. They bowled tight spells, five runs came in the next five overs, the pressure built, and then Chahar took a splendid overhead return catch off a leading edge to send Khurana back.With two overs to go to the new ball, Rajasthan went to Nathu again, who again provided a drive ball and two no-balls to give Maharashtra the fillip they needed. That meant Rajasthan had to go back to their other two trusted bowlers, who had already bowled for a bit. Choudhury got four really good deliveries in, but the fifth trickled off the edge to third man for four and the sixth was driven by Mundhe through cover for four. Chahar bowled from the other end, and he bowled too full too. Tripathi drove him for four and three first two balls. With 15 runs off four balls, Maharshatra had taken decisive steps towards tipping over Rajasthan’s 318 and claiming the lead.Curiously Ashok Menaria didn’t use the left-arm spin of Kukna Ajay until the lead had been conceded, two hours into the day’s play. Even on day two, when Kukna had taken two wickets in three overs, his end was changed. Choudhury was used for eight straight overs at the top of the innings. Nathu, who had bowled four overs before lunch on day two, was used for the whole hour after the break. Menaria will have to revisit his captaincy.There was nothing missing in Tripathi’s application, though. In the 94th over of the innings, he punched Nathu in front of point for two runs that put Maharashtra into lead. The dressing room applauded, but Tripathi, who was 76 off 179 now, acknowledged it with just one glance towards them. His celebration came with a pulled boundary next ball. Menaria now went to spin, and on cue Kukna produced the wicket, but by then Mundhe had done his job with 37 runs off 77 balls.Tripathi went to work towards his century now, and only after reaching his century – a chip over mid-off – did he play some adventurous shots. He finally fell for 119 off 250 balls.

James Hildreth’s guard of honour is only highlight for Taunton gathering

ECB Reporters Network19-Aug-2022Ali Orr smashed the first ever List A double century by a Sussex player as the Sharks maintained their impressive Royal London Cup form with a 201-run demolition of Somerset at the Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton.The 21-year-old left-hander hit a brutal 206, off 161 balls, with 11 sixes and 18 fours, to help his side post 397 for five after losing the loss. Cheteshwar Pujara contributed 66 and Delray Rawlings 54 not out off just 23 deliveries.Orr eclipsed the previous highest individual innings by a Sharks player, the 174 made by Pujara against Surrey at Hove just five days earlier, and earned a share of fifth place among the top scorers ever in List A cricket.”It was a very special day for me and one I certainly didn’t expect when I woke up this morning,” Orr said. “I took a blow in the face from a Kasey Aldridge delivery early on, but I felt fine. The physio came on and asked me a few questions, including where we were. I told him ‘lovely sunny Taunton’, so we had a smile and all was well.”In reply, shellshocked Somerset were bowled out for 196 in 38.2 overs as they fell to a seventh defeat in as many group matches and their heaviest ever in List A cricket by a margin of runs. Only Andrew Umeed, with 56, offered much resistance. Their captain, Matt Renshaw, said the lack of senior players because of Hundred absences was “demoralising for all of us”.Apart from a three-over opening burst from Jack Brooks, Somerset’s seamers lacked any semblance of control on a true pitch and Orr was in just the mood to capitalise.Related

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His first fifty occupied 45 balls, the second 61, the third 24 and the fourth 29 as he mercilessly punished anything off line, launching the vast majority of his sixes over mid-wicket and long-on with impressive bat speed.It was murderous display that required just one moment of luck. On 66, he edged Alfie Ogbourne through to wicketkeeper James Rew, who took a diving catch, only to see that a no-ball had been signalled.Other than that, Orr, whose previous best List A score in only 11 games was 108, produced a display of clean hitting rarely matched at ground renowned for fast scoring.From 61 for two, Danial Ibrahim having edged Brooks to Matt Renshaw at slip and Tom Clark been run out in a mix-up with Orr over a quick single, Sussex assumed total dominance.Pujara characteristically picked up ones and twos in a stand of 140 for the third wicket. The Indian maestro also hit 5 fours and a six before being caught and bowled by Kasey Aldridge off a leading edge.Fynn Hudson-Prentice supported Orr with a solid 36 in a partnership of 98. When he was caught at long to give slow left-armer Josh Thomas a maiden List A wicket, Rawlings strode out to inflict more heavy punishment.James Hildreth takes accolades at Taunton after confirming he had played his last Somerset match before retirement•Getty Images

Three sixes and 6 fours helped him to a 22-ball half-century, while at the other end Orr continued to plunder runs. When the opener was finally caught at long-off in the final over of the innings, spectators all around the ground stood to applaud.It took just eight deliveries of the Somerset reply for the Sharks bowlers to show what was possible with line and length, Bradley Currie swinging a ball away from Rew and having him caught at second slip.Lewis Goldsworthy, who had been given only seven overs despite being the pick of Somerset’s bowlers, dragged a ball from Currie onto his stumps and skipper Matt Renshaw edged a catch behind off Aristides Karvelas to leave the hosts 26 for three.Having been forced by injuries and Hundred call-ups to sign Gloucestershire all-rounder George Scott on a two-match loan, Somerset were facing humiliation.So it proved, as George Bartlett was caught at mid-off advancing down the pitch to Henry Crocombe, who then had Thomas caught at cover off a total mishit.Umeed moved steadily to a maiden List A fifty off 47 balls. But he was caught at slip off the first over from slow left-armer James Coles and when Rawlins had Aldridge caught behind it was 114 for seven.Scott, Brooks and Ogborne, who smacked Rawlins for a straight six, produced some belligerent tail-end blows to boost the meagre total. But for Somerset it was another disastrous day in a calamitous 50-over campaign.

Neil Harvey has remembered his fellow ‘Invincible’, Arthur Morris, as “a great team man” and one of the best players Australia has produced

Brydon Coverdale22-Aug-2015Neil Harvey has remembered his fellow ‘Invincible’, Arthur Morris, as “a great team man” and one of the best players Australia has produced.Morris has died at the age of 93, leaving Harvey as the sole surviving member of Don Bradman’s touring party that went through the 1948 tour of England undefeated and earned the Invincibles nickname. Harvey was 19 at the time and he said it was a great learning curve to watch Morris, a fellow left-hander, dismantle England’s attack in that Ashes series during which he was the leading run-scorer.”I learnt a lot off Arthur over the years,” Harvey told ESPNcricinfo. “I was on four or five tours with him. We got to know each other pretty well. You wouldn’t find a nicer bloke in the world: a great sense of humour, a great team man. Just one of those great fellas that you can spend a lot of time with and enjoy his company. A better bloke you couldn’t find.”He’s been one of the best players this country has produced, a left-hander of great ability. He and Sid Barnes in my opinion formed the best opening pair this country has produced, in my time anyway.”During the 1948 series, Morris was a key part of one of Test cricket’s highest successful run chases, when he scored 182 and Bradman made 173 not out in pursuing a target of 404 in Leeds. The task was made harder by the fact that the pitch was six days old (including the Sunday rest day), it had been rained on early in the match, and was providing plenty of turn for Jim Laker.”That’s probably the best partnership I’ve ever seen, the Bradman-Morris one,” Harvey said. “To go out there on the last day – not even a full day’s play, because we lost the first 15 minutes when England batted on – to get all those runs.”They didn’t really set out to win when play started on the last day. As soon as Hassett got out and Morris and Bradman got in, they pushed the runs along at a pretty fair rate. All of a sudden we guys in the dressing room said ‘we could win this’. And that’s what happened.”Harvey, now 86, also remembered the sacrifice made by Morris while they were batting together against South Africa at the MCG in 1953. Morris was run out for 99 in a mix-up with Harvey, who went on to score his fourth century of the series and finished with 205.”He sacrificed his innings for me,” Harvey said. “We had a bit of a mix-up, we could’ve been both left in the middle of the pitch. He said ‘come on’, he called me through and he went through and got run out. It was another one of his great acts as a gentleman. It was an act I appreciated so much because he didn’t have to do it. And it was my fault. He was just one of those nice guys.”Harvey was present at the SCG during this week when the Arthur Morris Gates were unveiled, although Morris himself was too ill to attend. Also at the opening was Alan Davidson, the fast-bowling allrounder who first met Morris in 1949-50 when Davidson moved to Sydney from the country to try his luck in grade cricket.”I can remember playing against him at St George,” Davidson said. “I arrived late, thank goodness, because he’d scored a hundred before I got to the ground. I got lost on a train and by the time I got to the ground, St George were about 1 for 180, Arthur Morris had made a hundred, and he got out as I was changing into my boots.”You had to see the bloke and his artistry, his ability was phenomenal. It didn’t matter if it was a fast bowler or a spin bowler. He’d go down the wicket to a spinner and pick them off. He was a magnificent back-foot player. His judgement of the length of a ball was incredible.”It was not only on the field that Morris had fine timing. Although he was naturally a quiet man, he had a remarkable sense of wit.”He had a charm about him,” Davidson said. “Everybody was endeared by him. He was not a demonstrative person, he was a quiet sort of person. But he was always good company no matter what the situation. He had incredible wit. He was once asked what did cricket give him, and he said ‘poverty’. He had a tremendous sense of timing.”

Australia will likely be without Mitchell Starc in the second game after he suffered a badly cut finger in the first match

Andrew McGlashan08-Jun-2022Some advice from David Warner may have helped his short-of-runs opening partner Aaron Finch start the Sri Lanka tour with a half-century.Finch entered the tour with his form again under scrutiny after four low scores in five innings at the IPL and unconvincing returns for Australia for much of the last 12 months. Former team-mate Shane Watson had even gone as far as to say that Finch’s form could be a “liability” for Australia heading into their T20 World Cup title defence later this year.Related

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For a split second on Tuesday night, it looked as though the Finch form talk would bubble on, when he was given out lbw third ball against Maheesh Theekshana. However, the DRS showed a thin edge and either side of a rain delay Finch clubbed his way to 61 off 40 balls with four sixes.During the IPL, which had brought contrasting returns for the opening pair, Warner had spotted an issue that was playing a part in Finch’s problem and sent some advice over text. “[I just said] not to walk out into the ball, let the ball do the work in the air,” Warner said. “If they want to bowl nice and full, if you stay still, keep that leg-stump line, you are going to hit full contact with the ball.”He was probably moving a little too much, was walking straight into the ball and was still moving at the time of the delivery. You don’t really want to do that unless you are charging. Just kept in touch with him, I always do, we support each other as much as we can. If we see little things we try to help out by dropping a message.”Finch’s innings actually made it back-to-back half-centuries for him in T20Is after he finished the Pakistan tour in April with a fifty. The unbeaten stand of 134 with Warner was also their fourth century partnership in T20Is, taking them to the top of the list for Australia ahead of the three made by Warner and Watson.”For Finchy, it’s about keeping it simple and not moving too much around the crease,” Warner said. “He looked to hit down the ground [when] the ball was in his area, he looked to hit his slog sweeps which he’s very, very good at. You could see his energy was a lot different, running between wickets, he was up and about. It was great to see.”The pair also made a statement against Sri Lanka’s key bowler, Wanindu Hasaranga, by taking his opening over for 19 runs, although Warner said it was not premeditated and instead a response to Hasaranga giving the ball plenty of air.Australia will look to wrap up the T20I series in the space of 24 hours with the second of back-to-back games in Colombo on Wednesday, but they will likely have to do it without Mitchell Starc, who suffered a badly cut finger in rather bizarre fashion.In his opening over, the index finger of his left hand clipped a spike on his boot during his follow through. It was patched up by the physio and he was able to complete his four overs, taking 3 for 26 including the wicket of Pathum Nissanka, which started Sri Lanka’s nosedive of 9 for 28. But he won’t be able to start a new match with the same about of protection on the injury. Jhye Richardson will be the likely replacement if Australia retain the same balance in their attack.

Although Zimbabwe have had relative success against Pakistan in the longer formats, they are yet to beat the visitors in T20s

The Preview by Liam Brickhill26-Sep-2015

Match facts

September 27, 2015
Start time 1.00pm local (1100GMT)Hamilton Masakadza requires 32 more runs to become the first Zimbabwe player to reach 1000 T20I runs•AFP

Big Picture

By the end of Pakistan’s tour, they would have have played Zimbabwe 80 times in international cricket, only one match behind Bangladesh who’ve played Zimbabwe the most. The series opener will add another chapter to a rich history between these two sides. Encounters between these teams have often produced truly engrossing cricket. Both Zimbabwe’s first Test victory and their first Test series win came against Pakistan, while Wasim Akram’s double-hundred, Saqlain Mushtaq’s World Cup hat-trick and Inzamam-ul-Haq’s final ODI were all against Zimbabwe.Yet while Zimbabwe have had some joy against Pakistan in the past, success in the T20 format has been rather more elusive. Pakistan have won all seven matches between the sides in the format, but the margins have been getting smaller: 25 runs, 19 runs, five wickets and two wickets. These teams know each other well – not least because of the coaching staff they’ve shared, with Grant Flower being Pakistan’s batting coach and Dav Whatmore being the visitors’ former coach. Zimbabwe came close to beating Pakistan on a couple of occasions during their historic away tour earlier this year and given the progress that Zimbabwe have made as a side this year, and their propensity for starting strongly, this should be a fairly evenly matched game.Pakistan have the series against England to look forward to immediately after this tour, as well as the draft of the Pakistan Super League and, a little further away, the World T20 next year to give some context to these T20 games against Zimbabwe.Away from the cricket, Pakistan will also have been affected by the fatal Hajj stampede in Mecca, adding an emotional element to any success that they may enjoy in Zimbabwe.

Form guide

Zimbabwe LWLLL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Pakistan WWWWL

In the spotlight

Left-arm seamer Imran Khan earned a national call-up after taking 16 wickets at 12.12 in seven domestic T20 matches this season for Peshawar, eventual winners of the competition, including two four-wicket hauls and a hat-trick against Karachi Region Blues. Pakistan will hope that he can replicate that form in these games and although he won’t be the quickest member of the attack, his movement and accuracy could make Zimbabwe toil.Zimbabwe have tested out several different wicketkeeping options this year, and Richmond Mutumbami is back in the line-up after Regis Chakabva’s lacklustre performances against New Zealand. Mutumbami batted up the order for Zimbabwe Cricket President’s XI in the recent Africa T20 Cup with moderate success. He may be the best wicketkeeper Zimbabwe have, but his batting has lacked the desired punch in the past.

Team news

Mutumbami has been slated to bat up the order – and possibly even open the innings – in the one-day internationals, but he will probably slot straight back into Zimbabwe’s lower middle order in the Twenty20s. Malcolm Waller’s performances for Zimbabwe Cricket President’s XI in the Africa T20 tournament will keep him in the frame, but it’s hard to see where he might fit in a packed middle order. With no injuries in the squad, Zimbabwe will be picking from a fully fit squad.Zimbabwe (possible): 1 Chamu Chibhabha, 2 Hamilton Masakadza, 3 Craig Ervine, 4 Sikandar Raza, 5 Sean Williams, 6 Elton Chigumbura (capt), 7 Richmond Mutumbami (wk), 8 Graeme Cremer, 9 Prosper Utseya, 10 Tinashe Panyangara, 11 Chris Mpofu.Pakistan have a good balance of experience and youth in their side while their bowling attack, though dominated by left-armers, contains bowlers of variable styles. A dry pitch may also suit spin, making Imad Wasim and Shahid Afridi’s contributions important.Pakistan (possible): 1 Ahmed Shehzad, 2 Mukhtar Ahmed, 3 Mohammad Hafeez, 4 Shoaib Malik, 5 Umar Akmal, 6 Shahid Afridi (capt), 7 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 8 Imad Wasim, 9 Wahab Riaz, 10 Imran Khan, 11 Mohammad Irfan

Pitch and conditions

The Harare Sports Club pitch appeared to have quickened up a touch during New Zealand’s recent visit, making run-scoring easier and conditions are expected to be very similar in this series. The dryness of the track will probably also give some assistance to the spinners from both sides. The weather, meanwhile, has been typically clear and sunny in the lead-up to the match and is likely to remain so.

Stats and trivia

• Mohammad Hafeez is Pakistan’s leading scorer in T20I cricket, with 1382 runs. Three of his team-mates – Umar Akmal, Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Malik – have also passed the 1000-run mark.
• Shahid Afridi has played 82 international matches in T20Is – more than anyone else
• Hamilton Masakadza needs 32 more runs to become the first Zimbabwean player to reach 1000 career runs in T20I cricket
• Zimbabwe have never beaten Pakistan in a T20I in seven matches

Quotes

“He has more information when it comes to players from Pakistan, so we’re going to try and use that information to better our game and get on top of them.”
“That’s why we hired him – especially for this tour.”

Australia’s selectors have identified eight fast bowlers in line for Ashes duty during the summer and told their states to prepare them accordingly

Daniel Brettig10-Oct-2013Australia’s selectors have identified eight fast bowlers in line for Ashes duty during the summer and told their states to prepare them accordingly. The bowlers themselves, however, have not been made aware of their status as the men most likely to share the new ball against England in the five Tests, starting in Brisbane on November 19.The team performance manager Pat Howard outlined the preparation of a rolling barrage of fast men for the series as he mapped out plans for the home Ashes series, an encounter that may cost him his job should Australia suffer another defeat. The concept of having eight fast bowlers identified, fit and ready for Test matches throughout the series is an upgrade from the five Howard and the former coach Mickey Arthur kept on hand at each Test last summer.”We’ll have eight bowlers available for every Test and these eight bowlers have already been communicated to the states,” Howard said. “They know who the watchlist is, they know their bowling loads every single day, it sits on Darren’s [Lehmann] desk, they’re known. We’ve said to the states as well that doesn’t mean if you have a cracker of a lead-up you won’t be considered. There’s always that pool for the selectors to call on and make informed decisions.”Given the injury-enforced absence of three Ashes tourists in James Pattinson, Jackson Bird and Mitchell Starc, and Pat Cummins now being on a far less rushed plan to bring him back into the international game after letting his body mature, the pace bowling options available are strong but not limitless.Ryan Harris, Peter Siddle and Mitchell Johnson are towards the top of the likely list, while Ben Hilfenhaus remains Cricket Australia contracted and Josh Hazlewood is making decent strides for New South Wales and Australia in limited-overs formats.Nathan Coulter-Nile, Clint McKay and Chadd Sayers are the others expected to be under consideration, having all played for Australia or Australia A in recent times. Others around the team include James Faulkner, who is considered an allrounder and more likely to be part of a five-man attack if chosen.

Eight horsemen of the apocalypse?

Ryan Harris, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Johnson, Ben Hilfenhaus, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Clint McKay, Chadd Sayers

Howard stated that the official selection policy for the Ashes would be to choose the best XI at all times, fitness permitting, while striking a balance between rewarding performance and making the occasional selection hunch. The coach Darren Lehmann defended the decision to gamble on the teenage left-arm spinner Ashton Agar ahead of Nathan Lyon in the first two Tests in England, claiming performance had been a factor.”Where you’re playing and who you’re playing is the key to that,” Lehmann said. “We’re still performance based, and the Agar selection was done on a lot of right-handers, and he bowled better than Nathan on the A tour. You can’t just go on his performances in the last Test match which was four months before that, it was how he was bowling at the time.”Agar is now setting out on the season with the ambition of growing into an allrounder’s commission, and opened the batting for the Perth Scorchers on their recent Twenty20 Champions League expedition to India.

India’s ODI captain MS Dhoni and Bangladesh’s debutant Mustafizur Rahman have been fined for their collision during the first ODI in Mirpur

Alagappan Muthu19-Jun-20152:32

‘Dhoni, Mustafizur pleaded not guilty’

India’s ODI captain MS Dhoni and the debutant Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman have been fined for their collision during the first ODI in Mirpur. Dhoni has been docked 75% of his match fee, and the Man of the Match Mustafizur lost 50% of his.The incident occurred in the 25th over of India’s innings when Dhoni set off on a single after playing the ball to mid-off. Mustafizur, a left-arm bowler operating from over the wicket, appeared to have glanced at the batsman and then moved towards the path Dhoni was running. Dhoni ran into Mustafizur during the run, and appeared to shove him out of his way with his forearm. Mustafizur left the field for a bit before returning to complete a five-for on debut.Earlier in the innings Mustafizur was involved in a similar incident with India opener Rohit Sharma, but that collision was softer though Rohit was later seen pointing his finger at the bowler.ESPNcricinfo has learnt that that only Dhoni had been charged initially, but India decided to contest the charge. Dhoni claimed that he tried his best to avoid the collision, shifting the bat to his right hand while he had been holding it in both hands earlier, and moving his head away as he approached Mustafizur. However, he couldn’t avoid the contact with his left arm. India also claimed that there was no space on the right with Suresh Raina, the non-striker, running close, and they also brought up the Rohit incident in their defence. Replays were seen repeatedly in the hearing.Mustafizur was eventually called up, but he too pleaded not guilty to the charge, but the ICC eventually found them both to be in breach of Article 2.2.4 of the ICC Code of Conduct, which relates to “inappropriate and deliberate physical contact between players in the course of play during an international match”.In the eventual ruling by match referee Andy Pycroft, Dhoni’s experience went against him. “In the hearing, Dhoni defended the charge on the basis that the bowler was on the wrong line and realising that he couldn’t avoid the collision, he used his hand and arm to push him away as he went through to ‘minimise the impact,'” Pycroft said. “However, my assessment was that Dhoni deliberately pushed and shouldered Mustafizur, which was inappropriate.”Even if there was a narrow gap between the runner [Raina] and the bowler, an experienced Dhoni should have tried to avoid the collision as cricket is a non-contact sport and the players are expected to avoid physical contact at all times. On this basis, I fined Dhoni 75% of his match fee”.Mustafizur admitted his guilt when faced with video evidence of the incident. “Mustafizur was fined 50% of his match fee after he admitted that his actions in not getting out of the batsman’s way were inappropriate and he should have done more to avoid the contact,” Pycroft said.

Cricket South Africa have secured the financial backing of one of the largest financial institutions in the country, Standard Bank, who have signed on as headline sponsor for the national men’s team in all three formats

Firdose Moonda18-May-2016Cricket South Africa have secured the financial backing of one of the largest financial institutions in the country, Standard Bank, who have signed on as the headline sponsor for the national men’s team in all three formats. The bank replaces Castle Lager and Blue Label Telecoms, who are still expected to be involved in some capacity.The new sponsor is not new to cricket. Standard Bank was previously one of the biggest backers of the game and had a 14-year period as the title sponsors of the ODI and T20 team (then called Pro20 in South Africa) which ended in 2011. Then, Standard Bank also sponsored the Pro20 domestic championship, a 20-over schools competition, CSA’s high performance programme including the national academy, the schools development programme, and the national Under-13 cricket week.However, that year the bank cut ties will all sports sponsorships including that of two of the country’s most popular football clubs, Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates. With the global economy deep in recession at the time, Standard Bank said they had to “reassess the costs of these sponsorships and the benefits for Standard Bank in the light of changed business needs”.The up-turn in world finances since then has put Standard Bank in a position to resume it’s sports affiliations. A spokesperson told ESPNcricinfo that “a different economic climate” was the main reason for Standard Bank’s renewed interest in the game. The four-year deal is limited to the sponsorship of the national team and not to any of the other areas Standard Bank was previously involved in.It also comes with the debate continuing over banning alcohol advertising and sponsorships, particularly in sport, which is the category Castle Lager are in. In 2013, the Cabinet approved a draft bill to reduce the exposure of alcohol advertising, which had yet to be ratified by Parliament when it was withdrawn. In August 2015, the ruling African National Congress said if the draft bill proceeds it would have “devastating consequences for the sport and recreation sector”, and chose to target regulating sales of alcohol instead. Castle Lager remain associated with the national rugby side, the Springboks.

The World T20 is on the horizon, but these will be vastly different conditions. So the biggest significance this series holds with relation to that would be how the fringe players fare ahead of the squads being finalised

The Preview by Andrew Fidel Fernando06-Jan-2016

Match facts

January 7, 2016
Start time 1500 local (0200 GMT)1:03

Sri Lanka seek revenge in T20s

Big Picture

It might be tempting to view the two games in this series as a sort of first glimpse at each team’s form ahead of the World T20. Will Sri Lanka have the attack of the tournament again? How will New Zealand compensate for the Brendon McCullum-shaped hole in their top order? But the thing with T20s, we are often told, is that matches can sometimes be defined by just “one big over”. Two months out, there is not much to be learned, particularly outside Asian conditions.Premature though team assessments would be, the series could be crucial for the fringe players hoping to make that 15-man squad to be named next month. Sri Lanka had filled their side with youngsters and panned for T20 gold last year – with legspinner Jeffrey Vandersay among the better talents they unearthed. New Zealand coach Mike Hesson, meanwhile, has said that he and the selectors have about 17 players in mind for the World T20. These games may help trim two men from that list.Among those on the cusp of the World T20 side may be Colin Munro, whose late salvos have sometimes raised New Zealand without quite cementing his place in the XI, and fast bowler Matt Henry, whose situation may be described as: “How many top orders does a guy have to embarrass to get some kudos around here?”Sri Lanka’s squad is full of hopefuls as well. There’s Danushka Gunathilaka, who will know he can’t live on just one good ODI innings. There’s Chamara Kapugedera, on a quest for redemption. And Isuru Udana, who will want to prove he is more than just a slower-ball machine.Both Angelo Mathews and Kane Williamson admitted to misreading the Mount Maunganui surface. It was both slower, and more given to turn than Mathews, in particular, had expected. It is not quite Delhi, but spin may play a pivotal role nonetheless.

Form guide

New Zealand: WLWLW (last five completed matches, most recent first)


Sri Lanka: LWLLW

In the spotlight

Kane Williamson is seemingly destined to conquer batting, but how will he be as a captain? He is as likeable a current cricketer as exists in the world, and his team-mates seem to adore him. But he is reserved and soft spoken, which means he is a significant departure from McCullum’s style of leadership. An astute tactician with blade in hand, it is now his job to strategise for the whole team. Great players have not historically made great leaders, but then, Williamson’s ego has never been as awesome as his talent.Dumped from the T20 captaincy during 2014’s World T20 (though the official line still is that he stepped down), Dinesh Chandimal finds himself leading the team again. He is a different man now. Caught in a petty political game at the time, Chandimal has set himself and his batting free over the past 18 months. He has at times seemed a natural leader, but it remains to be seen how his own batting fares under the strain of responsibility. Chandimal is only the acting captain while Lasith Malinga recovers from a knee problem. As Malinga’s career is increasingly beset by injury though, this may be an audition of sorts for Chandimal.

Teams news

Having taken 13 wickets from three ODIs, surely Matt Henry has done enough to earn a place in the T20 XI. With 13 squad members to choose from, New Zealand are likely to omit one quick and one batsman. Mitchell McClenaghan and Grant Elliott may be the men to miss out. Corey Anderson will likely play – but as a specialist batsman only, as he continues to recover from a back injury. Williamson could move up to open in McCullum’s absence.New Zealand (probable): 1 Kane Williamson (capt), 2 Martin Guptill, 3 Ross Taylor, 4 Corey Anderson, 5 Colin Munro, 6 Mitchell Santner, 7 Luke Ronchi (wk), 8 Adam Milne, 9 Trent Boult, 10 Matt Henry, 11 Ish SodhiSri Lanka may bank on spin, as they often do in this format, meaning Sachithra Senanayake and Jeffrey Vandersay could both play. They also have a penchant for allrounders, so Thisara Perera may play ahead of batsmen such as Kithuruwan Vithanage.Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 2 Danushka Gunathilaka , 3 Dinesh Chandimal (capt & wk), 4 Angelo Mathews, 5 Milinda Siriwardana, 6 Chamara Kapugedera, 7 Thisara Perera, 8 Nuwan Kulasekara, 9 Sachithra Senanayake, 10 Dushmantha Chameera, 11 Jeffrey Vandersay

Pitch and conditions

The strip had just begun to take good turn towards the end of the ODI game. Conditions are expected to be cloudy, but dry, with temperatures in the high teens.

Stats and trivia

• Sri Lanka remain the top-ranked T20 side in the world, but have lost three of the five T20s they played since their 2014 World T20 triumph
• Tillakaratne Dilshan is the second on the T20 internationals run-scorer’s list with 1590 runs, but is still 550 behind the leader, Brendon McCullum
• Corey Anderson has not played a T20 since December 2014, but has been in good list A form, hitting 88 and 98 for Northern Districts in the past eight days

Quotes

“It has been nice to contribute for Northern Districts. Being a specialist batter at the moment, I’ve got to get runs. It has been nice to go back to a domestic scene and prove a point.”
Corey Anderson on having just one discipline to contribute in, for the moment