A round-up of the action from the third day of matches in the 2010-11 Vijay Hazare Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Feb-2011

North Zone

Centuries from Ravi Inder Singh and Mayank Sidhana proved enough for Punjab to beat Delhi by 19 runs at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in Mohali, but the hosts were given a scare by Sumit Narwal, whose blazing 62 off 36 balls threatened to get Delhi to Punjab’s total of 284. Delhi were never in the chase until Narwal, who is fast enhancing his reputation as a lower-order batsman in addition to being a seam bowler, came in. They had lost wickets regularly and were 152 for 6, needing 133 to win in 89 balls. But Narwal smashed five fours and two sixes and got Delhi to 264 for 8, with 21 required off 15 balls. However, left-arm seamer Amit Uniyal finally stopped the party, and got Narwal out in the 48th over. Ishant Sharma, who had given Narwal able support, scoring 31 off 24 balls with four boundaries, could not finish the job and was run out two balls later, giving Punjab the victory. The hosts had not anticipated the match going down to the wire when Ravi Singh’s unbeaten 126 and Sidhana’s 100 off 95 balls had got them to a strong total.Services eased to victory in their chase of Jammu & Kashmir’s 214 at the Dhruve Pandove Stadium in Patiala, winning by six wickets with 10 overs remaining. J & K’s innings never got going and they were bowled out in 48.2 overs, with seamer Yashpal Singh taking 3 for 39. Services chase was led by a quick 84 by Sumit Singh, an innings that included 11 fours and three sixes, and a steady 52 by Jasvir Singh.Amit Mishra took four wickets as Haryana skittled Himachal Pradesh out for 138 to complete a 111-run victory at the Sector 16 Stadium in Chandigarh. Haryana had been in trouble in their own innings, slumping to 162 for 8, but a half-century from Dhruv Singh down the order helped them reach 249. Himachal’s chase never got going, and only lasted 35.5 overs with captain Paras Dogra the top scorer with 31.

South Zone

M Vijay’s 92 led Tamil Nadu’s successful chase of Karnataka’s 239 at the Perintalmanna Cricket Stadium in Malappuram. Karnataka’s innings had got off to a rollicking start with Robin Uthappa smacking 86 off 54 balls with nine fours and five sixes. Offspinner Murthy Prabhu, though, kept chipping away at the wickets, and even though Karnataka’s run-rate was always over 5.00 an over, they were bowled out in 43.2 overs for 239. None of the middle and lower order contributed as Prabhu returned figures of 5 for 59. Tamil Nadu could afford to be more measured in their chase, and Vijay anchored the innings, taking 113 balls for his 92. Abhinav Mukund scored 40 off 49 as Tamil Nadu looked at ease in their chase. They ended up finishing the match with 13 balls remaining and six wickets in hand.Hyderabad comfortably chased Kerala’s 222 at the Fort Maidan in Palakkad, with Ravi Teja and 20-year-old Akshath Reddy notching up half-centuries. Kerala got off to a slow start to their innings. By the 31st over, they had only lost one wicket, but had scored just 100 runs. VA Jagadeesh top scored for Kerala with 82, but his strike-rate of 68.33 did his team no favours. Robert Fernandez tried to up the scoring rate with his 50 off 43 balls, but Kerala never got enough runs on the board. The spinners did the job for Hyderabad with offspinner Amol Shinde taking 4 for 41 and left-armer Pragyan Ojha picking up 3 for 34. Teja played the anchor role in the chase, taking 100 balls for his 57; Reddy kept the scoreboard ticking over with his 86 off 104; and then Bavanaka Sandeep got some quick runs at the end to make sure Hyderabad won with 19 balls to spare.

East Zone

Biplab Samantray scored an unbeaten 97, and Paresh Patel scored 82 and took four wickets as Orissa completed an easy victory over Assam at the Maharaja Bir Bikram College Stadium in Agartala. Paresh steadided Orissa’s innings after they were 12 for 2, and the 111-run partnership between him and Samantray put them on top. Samantray accelerated towards the end of the innings, but was left stranded on 97 not out off 96 balls, unable to reach his century. Orissa had managed to reach 256 for 6. Assam’s reply got off to a solid start with PP Das’ 58 helping them reach 87 for 1. Wickets fell in a heap after that, with only Tarjinder Singh providing some resistance in the middle order. Paresh ran through the lower-middle order and tail to finish with figures of 4 for 31, as Assam were bowled out for 201.An all-round performance by Subroto Ghosh led Jharkhand to a 93-run win over Tripura at the Polytechnic Institute Ground in Agartala, A 121-run partnership for the second wicket between Ghosh, who scored 76, and Ishank Jaggi (43) gave Jharkhand a solid base after they had lost a wicket in the first over, and then captain Saurabh Tiwary, who scored 44 off 41 balls, and Kumar Deobrat (47 not out off 43) accelerated, getting Jharkhand to 243. In reply, Tripura could only manage 150, with Ghosh taking 3 for 21.

Adam Voges hit a measured 108 to propel Western Australia to a 147-run first innings lead against Queensland at the WACA, before Queensland stuttered to 3 for 58 at stumps

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Mar-2011
Scorecard
A five-wicket haul from fast bowler Nathan Coulter-Nile, with an impressive supporting role from left-arm spinner Michael Beer, helped Western Australia complete a comfortable seven-wicket win over Queensland at the WACA. Queensland had started the day on the back foot, reduced to 58 for 3 in their second innings after having conceded a substantial first-innings lead. Coulter-Nile struck early, removing Joe Burns to make it 68 for 4 but the middle order put up a fight. Captain James Hopes top-scored with 68, and further down the order, Jason Floros made an attacking 60 to give their team a sniff. Floros, in fact, added 86 for the eighth wicket with Cameron Gannon, but the last three wickets, all picked up by Coulter-Nile, fell for four runs and Queensland folded for 273. Set 127 for victory, Western Australia had little trouble. Opener Wes Robinson smacked a quick 41 while captain Marcus North stayed to the end to guide his team to victory.Western Australia are now fifth on the points table.

There have been far worse characters in international cricket compared to Sreesanth who needs his much-criticised aggression to perform as a fast bowler, according to Mahela Jayawardene, his IPL captain

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Apr-2011There have been far worse characters in international cricket compared to Sreesanth, who needs his much-criticised aggression to perform as a fast bowler, according to Mahela Jayawardene, captain of Kochi Tuskers Kerala in the IPL. Jayawardene said the franchise did not want to curb his aggression as that could affect his performance.”We want him to be aggressive. I think that’s what he is all about. You need characters like him. You had much worse characters in international cricket in the last 20 years and I don’t think Sree is that harmful to the game,” Jayawardene said. “But I think if we can control him, we can have ourselves a very successful bowler for Kochi as well as for India.”Sreesanth has had repeated run-ins with match officials for his inability to control his behaviour on the field, but Jayawardene said the fast bowler was at his best when he could channelise his hostility. “I think you need to identify the individuals. Sree performs well in that manner. You take that from him and he might not do well. He’s a very aggressive bowler but I have noticed he has toned down in the last one year. That’s why he got to be a part of India’s World Cup squad.”It is nice to have characters like Sreesanth in the dressing room, Jayawardene said. “Brilliant to have him; he just needs to reduce the volume on his i-Pod as well as the speakers. With him and Murali around, nothing can go wrong for us.”Kochi lost their opening IPL game to Royal Challengers Bangalore but the match was close until AB de Villiers’ assault in the 18th over of Bangalore’s chase, which went for 20 runs. Jayawardene said that he had thought the first game for the new franchise would prove to be much tougher than it turned out to be. “We have been bonding very well. We had a great last outing. I thought there would be many hiccups in our first game, that didn’t happen. Everyone is identifying their roles and that is great.”

Rajshahi rode on Naeem Islam’s century and took a 34-run first innings lead before taking three wickets in Dhaka’s second innings at the end of the third day

ESPNcricinfo staff12-May-2011
Scorecard
Naeem Islam reached 112 off 281 balls•BCB

Rajshahi rode on Naeem Islam’s century and took a 34-run first innings lead before taking three wickets in Dhaka’s second innings at the end of the third day. Anamul Haque retired hurt, leaving Dhaka effectively four down and just 63 runs ahead. Shafiul Islam gave Rajshahi an early breakthrough, and then left-arm spinner Saqlain Sajib got two more wickets to give Rajshahi the edge.Earlier, Naeem’s century had taken his team to a total of 314. Dhaka got rid of Dhiman Ghosh early and struck at regular intervals, but Naeem stayed till the end and was the last man dismissed. Shahadat Hossain, who took three wickets on the second day, completed his five-for on the third.Mehrab Hossain jnr, who was dismissed for a duck in the first innings, managed to stay till the end of the day and was on 32 not out.

England batsman Ravi Bopara has admitted he was disappointed over his omission from the Test squad for the ongoing series against Sri Lanka

ESPNcricinfo staff31-May-2011England batsman Ravi Bopara has admitted he was disappointed over his omission from the Test squad for England’s ongoing series against Sri Lanka. Bopara was widely tipped to be picked ahead of Eoin Morgan following his decision to put county cricket ahead of the Indian Premier League. The selectors, however, chose to go with Morgan, after he scored 193 for England Lions in a warm-up game against the visitors, a match in which Bopara failed.”I was watching the Test and thinking ‘I’d love to be a part of that'”, Bopara told . “I was under the impression that whoever was scoring the runs would get selected but that probably wasn’t the case.”Bopara has been in good form for Essex so far with 417 runs and two centuries in division two of the County Championship. Morgan was not in the frame for selection until his breakthrough innings for the Lions, which came after his participation in all but the closing stages of the IPL season. Bopara was disappointed that his consistent showing in the domestic season wasn’t rewarded.”I was told I’d have to do something exceptional to take his [Morgan’s] spot, “Bopara said. “I’m not sure what that is; maybe score a few more hundreds.”Bopara, who was not picked in the initial IPL auction, turned down an offer from Rajasthan Royals, in his bid to focus on county cricket and regain his place in the national side. “I invested the money I would have made in my own game here,” he said. “It’s been good for me to stay in terms of playing on early-season wickets. It’s been a difficult time to bat with the ball swinging around.”I thought it was very important for me to stay and fight for a Test spot. I gave myself the best chance but I’m not getting in. I’ve still invested in my own game, though.”Morgan had little to do in England’s dramatic innings win in the first Test in Cardiff, and has retained his place for the second match that begins at Lord’s on Friday.

Leicestershire have agreed on terms to sign Abdul Razzaq, the Pakistan allrounder, for the Friends Life t20

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Jun-2011Leicestershire have agreed on terms to sign Pakistan allrounder Abdul Razzaq for the Friends Life t20 and are awaiting the arrival of his passport from Abu Dhabi – where he sent it to process his UK visa application – before completing the acquisition. Razzaq has received clearance from the PCB to play the tournament and is expected to be available for Leicester’s first match, against Northamptonshire on Friday.This will be the fifth county Razzaq will play for; he has had stints at Hampshire, Middlesex, Surrey and Worcestershire before. Razzaq, as a batsman, is reputed for playing destructive knocks in limited-over matches, but he has had a poor run of form of late. After a whirlwind one-day century against South Africa in Abu Dhabi, he has had a string of low scores running from the series in New Zealand through the World Cup, and he was eventually dropped from the Pakistan squad for the tour of the West Indies.Nevertheless, Leicester’s chief executive Mike Siddall was excited to have someone with the experience of 46 Tests and 262 ODIs joining the county. Leicester disappointed in last year’s tournament, losing seven games and missing out on the quarterfinals, but Siddall said the acquisition of Razzaq, and the retention of Andrew McDonald, the Australia allrounder, showed their positive mindset.”I think this shows our ambition,” Siddall said. “We had a little bit of money available with Andrew McDonald going to the IPL. We want to do better than last year in the T20 when we lost seven home matches.”Phil Whitticase, the Leicester coach, said Razzaq’s versatility would be an asset. “We are talking about someone who can contribute with the bat and bowl up front or at the death,” he said. “We’ll probably be looking at him coming in down the order and clearing the boundaries in the final few overs.”Leicester made a record loss of £400,000 last year but are hoping McDonald, who scored 174 runs in the three Twenty20 matches he played for Leicester last year, and Razzaq will draw in the crowds.

Reports have emerged that the Zimbabwe Cricket board has removed David Mutendera and John Rennie from the selection panel, replacing them with former national coach Kevin Curran and Givemore Makoni

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Jul-2011Reports have emerged that Zimbabwe Cricket has removed David Mutendera and John Rennie from the selection panel, replacing them with former national coach Kevin Curran and Givemore Makoni, who is chief executive of the Southern Rocks domestic franchise. National selector Alistair Campbell survived the clean-out and remains in his post.Makoni has been a constant on Zimbabwe’s cricket scene for several years, having been one of the founders of Takashinga Cricket Club, which was originally known as Old Winstonians. He’s also carried out of the role of team manager of the national side – a position he resigned before taking charge of Southern Rocks. Makoni has not been free from the controversy that has dogged cricket in the country in recent years though and has often been portrayed as a politicised figure.Curran, a former player who has also been involved with cricket in Zimbabwe for several years, had recently sealed the job of coach of the Mashonaland Eagles franchise and has been playing an active role at the Interfin Cricket Academy in Harare.Rennie and Mutendera – both former national players themselves – were reportedly given the axe as part of the fall-out from Zimbabwe’s disappointing World Cup campaign in the subcontinent earlier this year, where they failed to beat any of the major nations, although their only really controversial selection was leaving experienced batsman Hamilton Masakadza out of Zimbabwe’s squad for the tournament.The decision to relieve them of their duties was taken at the same meeting where it was decided that Brendan Taylor would replace Elton Chigumbura as captain of the national side.

Moeen Ali’s first century in 10 months gave Worcestershire a promising start against Somerset at New Road

26-Jul-2011
ScorecardMoeen Ali ended almost a year without a hundred as Worcestershire piled on the runs•PA Photos

Moeen Ali’s first century in 10 months gave Worcestershire a promising start against Somerset at New Road in their bid to register a third consecutive home win in the County Championship. He made an unbeaten 134 from 210 balls and shared in three-figure stands with Vikram Solanki (90) and Alexei Kervezee (68 not out) as Worcestershire reached 367 for 3.With his side needing another victory to break out of the relegation area, Moeen delighted an above-average crowd in his biggest innings since he scored 115 in the promotion-clinching win against Sussex last September. It was all very frustrating for Somerset, who felt they may have levered themselves back into contention for the title with last week’s defeat of the current Division One leaders, Durham.Captain Marcus Trescothick was looking for his team to “string three or four wins together” but his bowlers, as hard as they worked, were given little encouragement as much-improved Worcestershire dominated the opening day. Batting first on a pitch that was previously used for a one-day match could prove to be an advantage in their only home championship fixture until the last day of August.The morning session was hard-fought as Steve Kirby bowled well with the new ball and removed opener Matt Pardoe in his second over with a comfortable catch at second slip by Trescothick. Worcestershire had to graft for their runs but a stand of 73 between Daryl Mitchell (45) and Solanki was the first hint that it could be a day for their batsmen.Mitchell looked in good form with seven fours until Peter Trego found enough bounce to have the home skipper taken by James Hildreth at first slip. With Solanki content to restrain attacking ambitions in what became a highly valuable innings for his side, Moeen immediately imposed himself with a first 50 in 71 balls.They stayed together throughout the afternoon, which finished with Moeen dumping the last ball from Arul Suppiah over the mid-wicket fence, but Solanki was out soon afterwards when he went for a big shot towards long off. Left-arm spinner Murali Kartik was rewarded for a steady containing spell when Hildreth ran round the boundary and took a difficult catch over his shoulder after a partnership of 148 in 41 overs.Moeen then completed his hundred with a top-edged six off Trego which narrowly cleared Nick Compton in front of the pavilion. At the close he had also hit 18 fours after putting on an unbroken 128 with the ever-positive Kervezee, who hit nine boundaries in a 61-ball half-century.

Queensland will host the ICC’s 2012 Under-19 World Cup in August next year, with Brisbane, Townsville and the Sunshine Coast to be the primary venues for the event

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Aug-2011Queensland will host the ICC’s 2012 Under-19 World Cup in August next year, with Brisbane, Townsville and the Sunshine Coast to be the primary venues for the event.Australia hosted the inaugural edition of the Cup in 1988. The Australian team won the last tournament, in New Zealand in 2010, and can be expected to put up a stern defence on home soil.James Sutherland, the Cricket Australia chief executive, said the tournament had proven itself as a useful stage for upcoming generations of cricket talent. He also pointed out that the event would aid Australia in its preparations for the senior edition of the World Cup, to be held down under in 2015.

The groups for the Under-19 World Cup

Group A
Australia, England, Nepal, Ireland
Group B
Pakistan, New Zealand, Scotland, Afghanistan
Group C
West Indies, India, Zimbabwe, Papua New Guinea
Group D
Sri Lanka, South Africa, Bangladesh, Namibia

“The ICC U19 Cricket World Cup is the showcase event for best young cricketers in the world and is where the next Cameron White or Yuvraj Singh gets their first real taste of top-level international cricket,” Sutherland said. “It was only a couple of years ago we saw Mitch Marsh captain the Australia Under-19 team to victory in New Zealand with talents such as Josh Hazlewood, Alister McDermott and Alex Keath alongside him.”We are very grateful to Queensland Cricket and Events Queensland for their support in hosting this tournament and I think all the teams and supporters will enjoy their time in Australia’s sunshine state. We are building towards hosting the senior ICC Cricket World Cup in 2015 and this tournament will play a big part in getting ready for that event,” he said.Graham Dixon, the Queensland Cricket chief executive, said the choice of the Sunshine Coast and Townsville as venues beyond Brisbane would be helpful for the development of cricket, and sporting infrastructure, in two major regional centres.”Queensland Cricket is thrilled at the decision to bring the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup to our state, and especially with the decision to play in two important regional centres, Townsville and the Sunshine Coast, with the resulting positive economic impact on those areas,” he said.”The support of the State Government and the Events Queensland will enable Queensland to provide an international showcase around this tournament, which has grown into a significant event on the world cricket stage.”Queensland Cricket is acutely aware that the ICC Cricket World Cup will be staged in Australia and New Zealand in 2015 and so tournaments like the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup are an important proving ground for us, and for Cricket Australia, as it gets closer to hosting that major event.”The ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat added: “This tournament has proved to be an important stepping stone for elite young cricketers aspiring to play international cricket. It’s an opportunity for them to develop and test their skills in a high-pressure situation against the world’s best at this level.”We also use it as an opportunity to educate them on several important issues like anti-corruption, anti-doping and social responsibility expected of international cricketers while also exposing them to the ICC Code of Conduct and media attention.”

Cardiff has beaten the Rose Bowl to secure an Ashes Test in 2015, while Edgbaston has missed out on a slot for the marquee series in 2013 after the ECB announced the lucrative allocation of international fixtures for 2012-2016 on Wednesday

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Sep-2011Trent Bridge was the most successful English ground, securing two Ashes Tests, while Lancashire’s investments to revamp their facilities at Old Trafford have paid off after their venues were allocated an Australia Test in 2013, as the ECB announced the lucrative allocation of international fixtures for 2012-2016 on Wednesday. Somewhat surprisingly, Cardiff beat the Rose Bowl to secure an Ashes Test in 2015, while Edgbaston has missed out on a slot for the marquee series in 2013 .Glamorgan, who will also host the New Zealand Test in 2013, will be considered lucky to have made the grade. Cardiff suffered due to the poor crowds and weather during the visit of Sri Lanka – just 922 were present to witness England’s dramatic final-day victory – and Glamorgan have already had to hand back their Test against West Indies next season which has been allocated to Lord’s.The county are still paying the ECB for the Sri Lanka Test but Lord Morris of Handsworth, who chaired the major match group, defended the decision to had Cardiff another Ashes match. “The submission they put forward met the broad and basic criteria and on the overall assessment they merited the award of the 2015 Test,” he said.”We are very keen to see England cricket at Test level – or major match level – in all regions. Cricket is not a London-centric or Midlands-centric sport. That’s why we were very supportive to develop cricket in Wales, Durham and elsewhere.”There was never any doubt about Trent Bridge’s suitability for international cricket but the ground’s standing has been emphasised by the allocations. “To secure Ashes Tests matches in both the 2013 and 2015 series is a tremendous endorsement of our track record of delivery and the pledges that we made in our bid,” Derek Brewer, the Nottinghamshire chief executive, said. “International cricket has always been extremely well supported in the East Midlands and I am delighted that our members and supporters will be able to attend such high-profile matches at Trent Bridge.”This package of matches will enable us to continue to invest in our venue, our professional team and our community projects and there is a lot of work to be done to harness all of the opportunities that Ashes Tests provide,” added Brewer. “I am really grateful to all those who have played their part in this process and pleased that they have been rewarded with cricket matches that can do so much for our venue, our community and the regional economy. It has been a real team effort.”Lancashire will also be very relieved to have secured the Ashes Test, as well as Tests against India and Pakistan in 2014 and 2016, and a number of limited-overs matches. “This has been our goal since 2006,” said Lancashire chief executive Jim Cumbes. “Naturally we are delighted to see the Ashes return to Old Trafford in advance of the 2013 match.”It has certainly been a fantastic couple of weeks for the club: winning the County Championship after such a long wait and getting the final seal of approval to proceed with our redevelopment. This is just the icing on the cake. We now look forward to transforming Old Trafford into a world class venue fit to host international cricket.”There is a feel-good factor around Old Trafford after Lancashire ended their 77-year wait for the County Championship last week, but despite the £550,000 prize for first place (most of which goes to the players) the club needed to gain an Ashes Test to help pay for the extensive redevelopment of the ground.Time had almost run out for them as the long-running legal battles over the ground’s plans dragged well into this season. They were eventually won but the latest phase of building work only began in the last month. Lancashire are confident they remain on course to complete the work by 2013 – and the new player and media facilities may be open by next August – and the ECB have allocated matches on the promise of a final product.Warwickshire, however, already have a finished product and it had been thought that Edgbaston’s infrastructure, particularly the imposing new stand which made an impressive debut during the Test against India, would count in its favour, while the ground also hosted Twenty20 finals day this year. But they will miss out on Australia’s visit in 2013 although will host finals day in four consecutive summers plus a semi-final in the World Test Championship.Rod Bransgrove, the Hampshire chairman, was also left to ponder what the future holds for Hampshire after the Rose Bowl was left with one Test in five years after staging its first with the visit of Sri Lanka this season.The system for allocating the fixtures altered from the closed bidding process that attracted controversy for forcing counties to spend more money than they could really afford in order to host England games. This time counties had aimed for fixed-price groups of matches and were been judged on factors such as infrastructure, operations, legacy and community commitment.Gloucestershire will host just three ODIs between 2012-2016 after missing out on any further matches to raise doubts about Bristol’s viability as an international venue.”We recognise Bristol has some challenging circumstances, the location of the ground for example,” Lord Morris said. “Our chairman has indicated his willingness to sit down with them and examine the overall position of the club to see what, if anything, the ECB can do to assist.”2013 Ashes venues: Lord’s, Trent Bridge, Old Trafford, Durham, The Oval.2015 Ashes venues: Lord’s, Trent Bridge, Cardiff, Edgbaston, The Oval.