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Mousley takes T20 best 4 for 19, Alex Davies puts Bears run-chase on course with 42 off 24

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay20-Jun-2025Birmingham took the local derby honours against Worcestershire Rapids with a thrilling one-wicket Vitality Blast victory in a low-scoring nerve-shredder at Edgbaston.The Rapids, put in, floundered to 134 all out in 18.4 overs in the face of the experienced Bears spin attack. Dan Mousley took a T20 best 4 for 19, Danny Briggs 2 for 20 and Jake Lintott 2 for 27 as no batter reached 30.Warwickshire then scraped to 135 for 9 with three balls to spare. Alex Davies supplied a violent start and, after Fateh Singh (3 for 18) and Ben Dwarshuis (3 for 32), forced a collapse, last pair Sam Hain (38 not out) and Lintott took the Bears over the line.The Rapids charged to 39 from 21 balls before Mousley struck twice in three balls. Seventeen-year-old Isaac Mohammed, a product of the Edgbaston youth system before joining Worcestershire earlier this year, showed his class with a glorious six over long-off off Ed Barnard but then missed a full toss and was bowled. Jake Libby, off-balance, sliced to extra cover and it was three wickets for four runs from ten balls after Kashif Ali made a porridge of a pull at Briggs and was bowled.Adam Hose struck four fours to restore some momentum but his demise accelerated the collapse. Hose chipped Mousley to deep midwicket, Gareth Roderick swept Lintott’s first ball into the gloves of wicketkeeper Davies and Ethan Brookes drove Briggs to extra cover to supply the bowler’s 300th wicket in all T20 competitions across the world.Mousley’s fourth scalp arrived when Tom Taylor slogged to long-on. Dwarshuis socked Lintott for three successive sixes but, after the sequence was broken by a shrewd off-side wide, hoisted the next ball to long -off.Eight wickets having fallen in 12 overs, the Rapids’ last two wickets found themselves with 26 balls at their disposal. They gathered 15 runs before Jacob Duffy holed out to Barnard to cap the catalogue of carelessness that was the Rapids’ innings.Birmingham soon lost Tom Latham, who skied a slog at Dwarshuis, but were put on course for victory by Davies’ cameo. The captain hit 34 of his 42 runs in fours and sixes before lifting Singh’s first ball to Taylor at long-off.The Bears then emulated the Rapids’ collapse. Taylor took another calm catch in the same position when Mousley attacked Duffy. Warwickshire were still well in control, needing only six per over, but Moeen Ali and Barnard tried to go big and only sent up catches. When Barnard and Kai Smith, pinned lbw, fell to successive balls from Singh, the home side were 86 for 6.The Rapids were on a roll but Hain and George Garton applied some belated intelligence to the batting to add 25 in five overs before the latter was brilliantly caught at point by Mohammed off Duffy. With 21 needed from three overs, the Bears were leaning, as so often, on Hain.Hasan Ali slogged six and glanced four from successive balls in the penultimate over from Dwarshuis to take his side within three of victory. The Pakistan star then skied to deep extra cover but the Bears needed three from the last over, with Hain on strike – and the Bears’ talisman, with mature support from Lintott, saw his side home.

Sri Lanka Cricket doctors have suggested the injury is more serious than initially thought

Andrew Fidel Fernando02-Dec-2021The quadriceps strain Angelo Mathews sustained during the ongoing Test match against West Indies has put his participation in the Lanka Premier League in doubt.Mathews himself hoped that he would miss only the first few days of the tournament, or between three and four matches. But Sri Lanka Cricket doctors have suggested that the strain could be more serious, and that Mathews could end up potentially missing the whole tournament. The LPL is set to start on Sunday, and runs until December 23.”One MRI scan has been conducted, but the results are not clear,” SLC’s chief medical officer Dr. Daminda Attanayake told ESPNcricinfo. “We’ll need to conduct another MRI around December 4, and we’ll have a clearer picture.”The results of that second test will also be shared with consulting physicians based overseas, Attanayake said.Related

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• LPL 2021: SLC to allow double vaccinated spectators up to 50% stadium capacity

• Kusal Perera, Angelo Mathews miss out on LPL drafts

• Thigh strain could restrict Mathews' participation in second Test

• West Indies steady after Permaul, Warrican's nine-wicket morning

Mathews had sustained the injury while running a single on the first day of the ongoing Test in Galle. He had retired hurt immediately after, but returned to the crease after the fall of the eighth wicket, and dealt largely in boundaries, refusing to take runs. He did not take the field for Sri Lanka in the first innings, but did come out to bat at No. 9 in the second innings.Mathews has a long history of leg injuries, with problems to his hamstrings, quads, and calves causing him to miss months of cricket at a time, since 2015.He is slated to be part of the Colombo Stars franchise at the LPL – possibly as captain, though that has not been officially confirmed yet either.

Assistant coach says the team dynamic wasn’t healthy while they were going through a six-match losing streak this IPL

Ankur Dhawan in Mumbai05-May-20194:45

We fell badly in middle phase of tournament – Katich

There was an indication throughout the IPL that all wasn’t well in the Kolkata Knight Riders camp. Contradictory statements from the players and team management regarding Andre Russell’s batting position furthered that suspicion, before the situation escalated to the point where the allrounder questioned some of the decision making, besides adding that the atmosphere around the team hadn’t been the healthiest.Simon Katich, the KKR assistant coach, reiterated that the dynamic within the group had started to change during the course of their six-match losing streak and that’s something that they’ll have to work on as a group going forward.”Can’t hide from the fact that there was tension,” he said at the press conference. “That was pretty evident from the last few games after we got on a bit of a roll with losses. We’ve got to address that as a group. What is so important in the IPL is the dynamic if the group and I guess the unity. That’s something that KKR is very very proud of. It’s a very successful franchise and it’s something that everyone involved has worked very very hard to contribute to over a long period of time. That’s something we have to certainly work at to get better at it because there’s no doubt that throughout this campaign, the dynamic within our group has certainly changed.”Despite that, KKR came into this game against Mumbai Indians with a very good chance of making the playoffs. All they had to do was win.But the combination of Lasith Malinga, Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah were too difficult to handle. So much so that after being 49 for 0 at the end of the Powerplay, they finished 133 for 7.”It did go wrong, that’s for sure,” Katich said. “Today is obviously disappointing but it’s a tough ask coming to Mumbai, we don’t obviously have great record here [It was KKR’s sixth straight defeat at Wankhede]. Yes, it would have been great to win today and get through but to finish where we did is probably what we deserved given how our season went.”Dinesh Karthik and Andre Russell have a chat•BCCI

Looking back at a season that began brightly with four wins in five matches, Katich rued the home defeats against Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals the most, which he felt came back to hurt them in the end, given that one more win would have secured a playoff spot.”We had a very good start but it fell away badly through that middle phase of the tournament,” he said.”If you look back on our season, the two missed opportunities we had were in the matches against Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals. We hadn’t played well through the season but to lose those two games was always going to come back and hurt us in the end. When you look back in the end, that’s what probably catches up with you, when you don’t win at home, where that wicket suits our style of play, particularly our batsmen, given how flat it’s been.”Katich’s sentiments were echoed by the captain Dinesh Karthik, who conceded Knight Riders had a lot of work to do to get back to their best.”Through the whole tournament, we’ve been good a lot of times, bad at a lot of times, but this tournament is such that we had to play consistent cricket and we were not up to the mark,” he said at the post-match presentation. “It’s been decent. I don’t think it’s the best season that we’ve had. There’s definitely a lot of areas for us to improve and come back stronger next time.”

Pakistan fought back after being bowled out for 181, reducing South Africa to 127 for 5 at stumps

The Report by Liam Brickhill26-Dec-2018The Boxing Day Test match moved rapidly forward on a frenetic first day in Centurion, South Africa and Pakistan’s seam attacks trading blows on a surface that offered encouragement for the quicks. After the early celebrations for Dale Steyn’s ascent to the top of South Africa’s Test bowling records, Duanne Olivier starred with a career-best 6 for 37 and Babar Azam’s fluent 71 in his first innings on South African soil was the only innings of substance as the visitors folded for 181.Whatever advantage South Africa had gained with the ball was swiftly put in perspective when Pakistan’s bowlers cut a swathe through the top order. A 69-run stand between Theunis de Bruyn and Temba Bavuma repaired the innings somewhat, but a deficit of 54 remained when stumps were called with the match in the balance.The hype on Wednesday morning had been focused around Steyn’s attempt at surpassing Shaun Pollock’s 421 Test dismissals – one that has been drawn out over the past year as Steyn fought his way back to full fitness. But once the game was under way, the wait wasn’t long and with his 19th delivery Steyn found the outside edge of Fakhar Zaman’s bat to move to 422 and break a record that has stood for a decade.Steyn’s emotion at the milestone was clearly evident. There were no crazy eyes, and no chainsaw celebration, but he was embraced by his team-mates and raised aloft by Kagiso Rabada as Tina Turner’s was belted out over the ground’s PA system. As he had promised, Steyn didn’t waste too much time settling and getting back to his mark to focus on taking the next wicket. He didn’t get another, but Olivier’s efforts rattled Pakistan thereafter.ALSO READ: Duanne Olivier, South Africa’s ‘other bowler’ who stole the showOlivier came on as the change bowler after the first hour and soon struck in consecutive overs to start Pakistan’s wobble. His first dismissal was fortuitous, the ball ricocheting off Shan Masood’s thigh pad and then glove and onto the stumps, but there was nothing lucky about the in-dipper that trapped Asad Shafiq in front of his stumps in Olivier’s next over.After lunch, Olivier dug one in at Azhar Ali to force a skewed edge that de Bruyn snaffled brilliantly, diving to his right from third slip, and half the visiting line-up was back in the change-room with just 86 on the board. Sarfraz Ahmed could not last the first over he faced, poking tentatively at a back-of-a-length delivery from Olivier to send an inside edge onto his stumps, and Mohammad Amir was given a thorough working-over before Olivier slipped a full one through his defences to collect his fifth.Olivier’s speeds matched those of his illustrious team-mates throughout: he operated consistently in the 140s and bowled as fast as 146kph as he vexed the tail, Amir being struck a stinging blow that immediately brought up a purple bruise on the little finger of his right hand before he had his stumps disturbed.Pakistan were seven down before reaching 100 yet on the board when Amir fell, but vitally Babar was still at the crease and he rose to the situation to shepherd what remained of the tail. Babar was the only visiting batsman to play the pull with any authority, and also took Steyn on in thrilling fashion in the afternoon.Babar’s riposte to Steyn’s return to the attack for a third spell in the 39th over was a flurry of attacking strokes that mixed venomous intent with a silken touch. Babar generally kept the ball along the turf with controlled aggression, but there was remarkable freedom in his strokeplay as he spanked Steyn out of the attack with 10 fours in four overs.Mohammad Amir celebrates•AFP

Invigorated by the battle with an increasingly wide-eyed Steyn, Babar raced to a 58-ball fifty, surviving a desperate review for caught behind when the ball had only flicked his trouser pocket. After Steyn had been removed from the attack, it was Rabada who finally got the better of Babar, a rare poor shot resulting in an edge to Faf du Plessis at first slip. Hasan Ali swung gamely for his 21 not out, but Shaheen Afridi feathered an edge to give Olivier his sixth wicket and bring the innings to an end.At that point, it was advantage South Africa, but a touch of variable bounce as early as the second session would not have escaped the attention of Pakistan’s bowlers and Hasan and Amir bristled in their new-ball spells. Hasan nipped one off the seam to trap Aiden Markram in front in the sixth over after tea, but it was the combination of Amir and Afridi that pressed the game forward.Amir’s return for a second burst brought immediate reward, the ball flying off the leading edge of Hashim Amla’s bat to be caught by Babar at gully. Afridi then found the edge of Dean Elgar’s bat even as he tried to shoulder arms, and with his very next delivery got one to spit off a length, taking the shoulder of du Plessis’ bat as the South African captain fell for a golden duck.South Africa were in serious strife at 43 for 4, and Bavuma and de Bruyn had to contend with a cauldron of pressure in the middle. They responded in fine style, gritting out the early exchanges before the runs started to come and the pressure eased. Their concentration was unfazed by a short stoppage for a passing shower, and de Bruyn greeted Yasir Shah’s introduction with a pull for six when the legspinner dropped short.Bavuma added back-to-back fours of his own off Yasir, the second of which brought up the fifty stand, and then shimmied down the track, slapping a drive through cover to bring up the team’s 100. Yasir leaked 24 from his first four overs, and Sarfraz once again turned to Amir in fading afternoon light.He broke through once again almost straightaway, catching de Bruyn in two minds at the crease to find the edge, and parity was restored once more with South Africa’s innings in the balance at 112 for 5. The focus returned to Steyn, now with bat in hand after being shunted ahead of Quinton de Kock as nightwatchman. He sliced two streaky boundaries, but survived to fight another day alongside Bavuma, who was unbeaten on 38.

Virat Kohli’s team will face an incredibly tough path to the playoffs if they drop points against CSK

The Preview by Alagappan Muthu04-May-2018

Form guide (most recent match first)

CSK: lost to KKR by six wickets, beat Daredevils by 13 runs, lost to Mumbai by 8 wickets
RCB: beat Mumbai by 14 runs, lost to KKR by six wickets, lost to CSK by five wickets

Big Picture

Royal Challengers Bangalore could probably afford one more loss. But only if they get very lucky with other results going their way.They came away from the IPL auction like a tourist with a detailed itinerary: allrounders, check; big-hitters, check; KKR’s bowling attack that knocked them over for 49, double check. But one month in, all they have is a bag full of knock-off merchandise. Five defeats in eight matches with a squad that Virat Kohli thought was the most balanced is, essentially, like being stuck with t-shirts that say Wrong instead of , right?But some innocent bystanders have given them a helpful tip, at least with respect to their next adventure. It is hard to compete with Chennai Super Kings’ batting line-up. So make fools of their bowlers.Target scores well above par if batting first. Forget about the run-rate and safeguard wickets for the death if chasing. Basically, RCB have to figure out a way to beat a monstrous batting team with virtually the tournament on the line.It seems karma wants them to learn how everyone that faces RCB feels.

In the news

AB de Villiers has been declared fit after viral fever ruled him out of RCB’s previous two games. Quinton de Kock, however, has flown back to South Africa for a wedding.

Previous meeting

A high-scoring affair when RCB posted 205 and CSK chased it down in a blaze of sixes in Bengaluru. De Villiers made a rip-roaring 68.

Likely XIs

Chennai Super Kings: 1 Shane Watson, 2 Ambati Rayudu, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 5 Ravindra Jadeja, 6 Dwayne Bravo, 7 Harbhajan Singh, 8 Shardul Thakur, 9 Imran Tahir, 10 Lungi Ngidi, 11 KM AsifDe Kock’s absence may see Parthiv Patel getting his first game of the season.Royal Challengers Bangalore: 1 Manan Vohra/Parthiv Patel (wk), 2 Brendon McCullum 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 AB de Villiers, 5 Mandeep Singh, 6 Colin de Grandhomme, 7 Washington Sundar, 8 Tim Southee, 9 Umesh Yadav, 10 Yuzvendra Chahal, 11 Mohammed Siraj

Strategy punt

Imran Tahir has taken 15 wickets in Pune, the most among anyone in the CSK squad, and he has taken out AB de Villiers two times in three IPL innings. This head-to-head can be quite compelling for the viewer as well because the batsman also strikes at 185.7 against the legspinner.

Stats that matter

• RCB have four wins in five games in Pune, and de Villiers was Man of the Match in three of those games. He has made 211 runs at a strike-rate of 177. Viral fever, begone.
• CSK have rarely had a phenomenal bowling line-up. But they mask that problem with their spinners and Dhoni’s ability to use them. In each of their eight years, their economy rate had always hovered around 7 and strike rate around 25. In 2018, those numbers have risen to 8.49 and 34.50.
• Before Tim Southee was brought in to the XI, RCB were conceding a six every six deliveries in the death. Now, that figure is a far more respectable 18.3.
• Dhoni has scored 329 runs at a strike-rate of 169.6. That’s his best tally after nine matches in any season of IPL.

Fantasy pick

Ambati Rayudu. He’s the highest scorer of the IPL this season with six scores of 30-plus in nine innings. He’s also been hitting at a strike-rate of 153 with 56 hits to and over the boundary.

Quotes

“The last four days have been a blur I have been suffering from severe viral flu, one of the most debilitating illnesses I have ever experienced. Aside from one visit to the hospital, I have barely left my hotel room. Sleep has been almost impossible, and the migraine headaches have been extreme.”

Beckenham continued to be a batsman’s paradise as Northants responded to Kent’s 701 for 7 declared with big runs of their own

ECB Reporters Network05-Jul-2017
ScorecardNorthamptonshire batsmen Max Holden and Adam Rossington filled their boots in sublime batting conditions at Beckenham where Northamptonshire reached 528 for 7 in their first-innings reply to Kent’s mammoth 701 for 7 declared.The visiting fifth-wicket partners joined forces to bat through the entire mid-session and well into the final hour before Holden fell for a career-best 153. Soon after, Rossington followed him back to the pavilion for a season’s best 112 leaving Kent’s rookie seamer Matt Hunn to finish a tiring day with decent figures of 3 for 90.Requiring 552 simply to avoid the follow-on, Northamptonshire resumed on their overnight score of 180 for 1 and suffered a huge blow to their survival aspirations when England batsman Ben Duckett perished to only the sixth ball of the day.The diminutive left-hander, who hit a sublime double century on this ground last season, leant back to club Matt Coles’ fourth ball through mid-on to move to 105 but, in aiming an expansive drive two deliveries later, Duckett edged behind to Sam Billings, who was standing in for Adam Rouse behind the timbers.Coles gave way at the Beckenham End after a spirited seven-over spell of 1 for 26 to be replaced by Hunn, who also enjoyed success in his first over of the day. Alex Wakely, the Northamptonshire skipper, misjudged the line of Hunn’s fourth delivery, shouldering arms to one that pegged back off stump to make it 219 for 2.At the Worsley Bridge Road End, Pakistan wrist-spinner Yasir Shah whirled away in a wicketless, 11-over opening stint. He got the occasional delivery to turn, while one to Holden spat alarmingly from
the footholds, only to balloon to safety.Yasir then switched ends to bamboozle Rob Keogh with a darting top-spinner that rushed past Keogh’s back-foot force to peg back off stump in the penultimate over before lunch. It proved to be Yasir’s sole success from 34 overs bowled during the day.Kent took the second new ball immediately after the restart and, despite lung-busting efforts by Coles and Mitch Claydon, they were unable to make any impact other than beating the outside edge half-a-dozen times.Pretty soon, spinners Tredwell and Yasir were twirling away in tandem with three or four close fielders around the bat, but Northamptonshire stood firm with Holden, the Middlesex loanee, reaching a patient half-century from 146 balls, with only five fours.Rossington, the more aggressive of the pair, needed only 59 deliveries to reach the milestone hitting seven fours and a six along the way as Kent continued to toil throughout the mid-session without success.After tea, Holden, the wiry left-hander, notched his second century in Northamptonshire’s colours from 216 balls and with 13 boundaries, while Rossington, seemingly content to bat time, went into his shell.Holden received a healthy round of applause from the visiting dressing room balcony when passing 124 – his previous first-class best scored against Durham at Chester-le-Street last month – and they went up again soon after for Rossington’s 100, scored off 132 balls with 11 fours and a six. It was his first ton of the summer and the sixth of his career.Their run-fest and a stand of 239 ended when Holden, aiming an ambitious short-armed jab to a length-ball from Hunn, clipped to deep square-leg where Rouse, taking a rest from keeping, took a stunning diving catch on the ropes to send Holden packing after five hours at the crease.Rossington followed just before stumps for 112. Wearily chasing a wide one from Hunn to be caught behind, then Coles came on to have Steven Crook well caught at second slip by James Tredwell to give Kent their sixth success of an arduous day in the dirt.

Imran Tahir claimed career-best figures of 5 for 24 in South Africa’s victory in Auckland, in a timely audition before the IPL auction

Firdose Moonda17-Feb-2017With a career-best 5 for 24 to underline his No. 1 ranking in both limited-formats, Imran Tahir seems to have everything he could want at the moment, except maybe one thing.”I wish I could have muscles like him,” Tahir joked, the day before the one-off T20 against New Zealand in Auckland.The person Tahir was referring to was Sonny Bill Williams, the New Zealand rugby player, boxer and signature bad-boy-turned-good, who is a close friend of Hashim Amla. Amla introduced Williams to Tahir and other team-mates including Wayne Parnell two years ago and they make a point of catching up when they’re in the same country, and Tahir is still in awe of Williams’ superstardom.”When I first met him I was shaking because we were walking on a street in Auckland and I could see people’s reaction and I was blown away,” Tahir said. “He stopped for everyone and took pictures. I’ve never seen someone who’s that famous.”Cricketers in South Africa seldom get similarly swamped, not even when they are dominating internationally the way Tahir is, and he knows that a more imposing physique will not change that. “I’m happy with what I am – I’m not jealous of him,” Tahir clarified, amid some giggles. Imagine a Tahir with bulging biceps and thunder thighs.
Jokes aside, Tahir’s body will soon come up in discussions about how much longer he will be able to play. He turns 38 next month and has been playing cricket at a high level for two decades but has managed to avoid major injury. Being a spinner, whose action does not cause as much wear and tear as a quick bowler’s would, he is thought to have at least another two to three years, although he has suggested he could keep going for between five and ten. That doesn’t seem so outlandish when considering that Tahir has stayed fit and become more athletic and agile in the field than he was when he first emerged on the international scene.Tahir’s dedication to his craft has only increased as his career has progressed. He maintains that having waited so long to play for South Africa – Tahir moved to the country in the mid-2000s but only become eligible to play for them in 2011, when he was 32 – he wants to hold on to it for as long as he can.And there is maybe one other thing. The IPL auction takes place in three days’ time and this T20 was a last audition for some of the players looking to get deals – though Tahir insisted it was only a passing thought to him. He was released by Delhi Daredevils and has a base price of US$75,000, which is just short of a million South African Rand.Given how well Tahir has been performing recently, he is expected to fetch more than that. So while he may not have the muscles, he could soon boost his earnings by more than a million in one day.

On a green pitch under a cloudy sky and with Andre Adams at last fit enough to return, you could hardly blame what Wayne Madsen had secretly dreaded but Derbyshire are only two down

Jon Culley at Trent Bridge12-Jun-2013Derbyshire 245 for 2 (Chanderpaul 78*, Madsen 67*, Hughes 59) v Nottinghamshire
ScorecardShivnarine Chanderpaul has been worth Derbyshire’s investment•Getty Images

On a green pitch under a cloudy sky and with Andre Adams at last fit enough to return, there can have been little doubt in Chris Read’s mind about what to do when he won the toss. Bottom-of-the-table Derbyshire, the gap between themselves and the pack beginning to yawn just a little, have yet to bowl first in a Championship match this season and if skipper Wayne Madsen had secretly dreaded what might unfold you could hardly blame him.Yet after a day restricted by rain to 65 overs, Derbyshire are only two down. Madsen is well set alongside Shivnarine Chanderpaul in an attempt to reprise their record-breaking partnership against Surrey two weeks ago and the positive signs that coach Karl Krikken took from drawing that game might be more than wishful thinking. “The last couple of weeks we have started to compete and it’s not a foregone conclusion that we are going to go down,” he said. “There are nine games to go and we’ll keep fighting.”Much of Krikken’s renewed optimism stems from Chanderpaul’s enduring quality and professionalism. Approaching 39 and with pretty much every box ticked in his list of career ambitions, Chanderpaul is playing for his fourth county and his decision to sign a well-rewarded contract with a newly-promoted underdog might be open to cynical interpretation, yet Krikken could not be more insistent that Chanderpaul is giving maximum value.He made his first century for Derbyshire against Surrey and is on course for another here. After their stand of 265 against Surrey, they have put on 145 so far here, with Chanderpaul on 78 from 88 balls, and the Nottinghamshire attack feeling a little chastened. But Krikken says Chanderpaul is about more than runs.”He has been immense for us on the field but it is also his work-rate behind the scenes, with the youngsters in the squad in the nets,” Krikken said. “He is a great cricketer and the time he spends in the nets and the way he thinks about his game is what we want our younger players to emulate.”When you are playing on result wickets it is not easy but now we are getting some flatter wickets he is coming into his own. But he has not moaned at all because he knows we have to try to get results.”It is important to the team, to the younger players, to see your captain and your overseas player standing up to be counted, so their form has come at the right time.”In the earlier games we just weren’t consistent enough. We were having a good session but then throwing it away with a poor one and we know we can’t keep doing that. But in the last couple of weeks there have been signs that we are starting to compete.”Chanderpaul in his customary way gathered his runs with deceptive swiftness. He may not be flamboyant but his clever placement ensures steady singles and as ever he was able to gather boundaries through timing rather than force.It was a contrast from Chesney Hughes, who launched Derbyshire’s best start to an innings so far with gusto, his boundaries coming usually with a flourish. He had nine in his 59 and it was a shame that he paid the price for being too extravagant, mishitting an attempt to pull Harry Gurney to the ropes and cursing himself as the ball flew tamely to mid-off.At least Gurney could feel compensated. He had seen Hughes, on 48, and Godleman, with 19, dropped off consecutive balls by Samit Patel at slip.Adams picked up his sole reward when Godleman followed one outside off stump and gave Read a regulation catch but neither he nor any of his colleagues has found much in the pitch. The ball swung a little under the morning’s cloudy sky but for once here conditions have not been as read. Krikken admitted Derbyshire would have bowled first, too. Madsen, this time, will be pleased he did not have the choice.

Brett Matthews, the former South African first-class bowler, died in Pretoria on Thursday

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Feb-2013Brett Matthews, the former South African first-class bowler, died in Pretoria on Thursday. Matthews, 50, had been in a medically induced coma after being injured in a road accident earlier this month.A left-arm seamer, Matthews represented Eastern Province, Transvaal and Western Province during his six-year career. He played 38 first-class matches, taking 120 wickets at 23.63, and claimed 36 wickets in 33 List A games.He was the brother of Craig Matthews, who had 18 Tests and 56 ODIs to his name for South Africa in the 1990s.

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.”