Category Uncategorized

India’s strong position on WTC table makes it likely that they will agree to Australia’s proposal

Andrew McGlashan in Perth12-Dec-2019Kevin Roberts, the Cricket Australia chief executive, is hopeful that India’s strong position in the World Test Championship will help persuade them to play at least one pink-ball Test on their tour next year.
Cricket Australia has made no secret of their desire to keep pushing the expansion of the day-night format, with a suggestion that they would attempt to make two out of the four India Tests as floodlit contests.India did not play under lights on their previous tour but have recently staged their first day-night Test, against Bangladesh in Kolkata, which was pushed through by Sourav Ganguly after he became the BCCI president

MCG Shield match officially abandoned

The curtailed Sheffield Shield match between Victoria and Western Australia at the MCG has now been officially abandoned after no alternative date could be found for a replay.
Each side will therefore be awarded three points along with the average bonus points accrued in the other two matches of the same round (1.64).
Peter Roach, Cricket Australia’s head of cricket operations, said: “Any rescheduling would have included all teams having significantly shortened, and unreasonable, breaks in the post-Christmas Shield window. Most affected would have been Western Australia and Victoria that would have played five matches (and potentially the final), each with shortened breaks.”

India comfortably lead the WTC with seven wins from seven Tests and are primed to secure their spot in the 2021 final at Lord’s.”I absolutely believe we should be playing one pink-ball Test in the Indian series next year,” Roberts said in Perth ahead of the day-night Test between Australia and New Zealand. “India to their credit are doing very well in this World Test Championship, and it’s highly likely that they will make the final in 2021. I suspect that will make it easier to schedule a day-night Test next season if India have relative certainty of making the WTC final, then there is less reason not to play a day-night Test and more reason to play one.”Also with Sourav Ganguly coming into the presidency of the BCCI, he’s been very proactive in scheduling the first day-night Test in India, and we saw that was a sellout in three days, which is very different to what the previous day series have looked at in terms of ticket sales. There is an openness from India and an understanding that it is good for cricket.”Which of Australia’s main venues miss out hosting India remains another big question. Melbourne, despite the ongoing issues around the pitch, remains highly unlikely to lose Boxing Day and the SCG is the traditional New Year venue, which leaves Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth to fight it out for two matches. The one that misses out will likely host Afghanistan, although Tasmania has also put its hat in the ring for a Test in Hobart.ALSO READ: Two pink-ball Tests in a series ‘a bit too much’ – GangulyThe Australian team has made it clear that it wants to play the first Test of major series at the Gabba, where they haven’t lost since 1988. The 2018-19 series against India began in Adelaide.”It’s a challenging process,” Roberts said. “I think the great thing is there is genuine interest in all capital cities across Australia hosting Test cricket. The challenging thing we’ve got to work through is when there’s not as many Test matches as there are capital cities. We will work through that.”There will be different criteria. There is an art and a science to it. We look at historical attendances, we look at the playing side of things, it’s really important thing, especially for the first Test where the players have a very strong preference for the first Test of any major series to be played at the Gabba.”The lights come on at Eden Gardens for India’s first ever day-night Test•BCCI

Roberts also did not foresee a roadblock for getting India to Gabba: “I don’t see India being opposed to that, there is a lot to work through. But I don’t see India being opposed to any venue. What was speculated on the last India tour, that India refused to play at the Gabba, simply wasn’t true.”A more immediate issue is the state of the MCG pitches following the abandonment of the Sheffield Shield match last week. Roberts admitted that Cricket Australia had been among the voices pushing for more life to be brought back into the surface and sympthised with the position of head groundsman Matt Page. The first Sheffield Shield match of the season at the ground earned a “very good” rating while the second, which was impacted by cold and wet weather, was given a “good” grading.”It was unfortunate that a little too much moisture was put into the wicket for the last Shield game,” Roberts said. “In fairness to Matt and his groundstaff, they were urged to make the pitch more sporting by a number of parties, be it players, Cricket Victoria, ourselves, and credit to them for having the courage to test that. Fortunately, no players were injured in the process and ironically I think it places the MCC better to prepare the best possible deck for Boxing Day with the learnings from these last three Shield games.”While the staging agreement between CA and the MCC only goes as far as guaranteeing a Test at the MCG – rather than Boxing Day specifically – Roberts suggested its future for the iconic fixture was safe. “There are commitments to have a Test at the MCG and the SCG, that’s the depth of it,” he said. “What we do know is that there is a rich history around Boxing Day, we love that and respect that and we would really like to see Boxing Day Test continue at the MCG.”

Skipper’s 181-run stand with Rachael Haynes flattened the Pakistan bowling, after which Sophie Molineux’s 4 for 14 bowled Pakistan out for 123

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Oct-2018Meg Lanning latches on to a short ball•Getty Images and Cricket Australia

Meg Lanning’s 12th ODI hundred in 68 innings helped Australia trounce Pakistan by 150 runs in the second ODI in Kuala Lumpur. Batting first, Australia posted an imposing 273 for 7. Left-arm spinner Sophie Molineux then ran through the Pakistan line-up with a 4 for 14 to bowl them out for 123, helping Australia go 2-0 up in the series with one match still to go. The win also put Australia two points clear at the top ICC Women’s Championship table.Pakistan displayed a marginally better show with the bat on Saturday after being skittled for 95 in the first encounter. But that was all thanks to opener Nahida Khan’s 114-ball 66, the highest score by a Pakistan batsman against Australia. The second-highest contribution was Sana Mir’s 15, while the rest of the batsmen crumbled once again.Chasing 274, they were 37 for 3 in the tenth over with Megan Schutt and Ellyse Perry doing the damage early on, after which Molineux came to the fore. Molineux took two wickets in her first spell to reduce Pakistan to 77 for 5 before coming back to break the 44-run sixth-wicket stand by Nahida and Sana. In her nine overs, Molineux bowled 48 dots. Eventually, Pakistan were all out in the 41st over with Ashleigh Gardner’s two wickets cleaning up the tail.Earlier in the day, Lanning opted to bat after winning the toss, and walked in when Alyssa Healy was dismissed by Diana Baig in the seventh over. Lanning then saw Nicole Bolton and Perry make the walk back, after which she combined with Rachael Haynes for a 181-run fourth-wicket stand that flattened the Pakistan bowlers. Haynes and Lanning were then dismissed in the 44th and 46th over respectively, as Nashra Sandhu helped Pakistan finish their bowling effort on a strong note.

England’s top-order plays the same familiar refrain, as West Indies’ best day of the series doesn’t quite finish with them in command

Alan Gardner at Headingley25-Aug-2017Ben Stokes, England’s first-innings centurion at Headingley, said the team knew their performance was “not one of our best days with the bat” after they were dismissed for 258. Having won the toss, England slipped to 37 for 3 and 71 for 4 against an improved West Indies before a half-century from Joe Root and Stokes’ 100 from 124 balls took them to respectability.Both players were dropped early on, with the tourists still proving fallible in the field despite an improved bowling display. Root went on to equal AB de Villiers’ world record of 12 consecutive Tests with a fifty or better, while Stokes negotiated a watchful start before unfurling some trademark shots during the afternoon and evening, as England then claimed a late wicket before the close to ensure an even day.”Their seam-bowling unit bowled a lot better than they did at Edgbaston,” Stokes said. “They made it hard work for us. The conditions were more in the bowlers’ favour today, there was always a bit of seam movement, and every now and then the ball swung. They managed to expose that today.

Roach unfazed by ones that got away

Kemar Roach led the way with a four-wicket haul as West Indies came back strongly after being beaten by an innings at Edgbaston last week and he admitted the players had a “point to prove”.
“We had a very open discussion in our team meetings and the guys were totally honest – we weren’t good enough in the first Test,” he said. “We have a point to prove in this Test and we’re going to try our best to go out there and play the best cricket we can.”
Roach’s personal haul could have been even better, with two glaring drops off his bowling allowing Ben Stokes to escape on the way to a hundred, but he was not in the mood to point fingers.
“It can be frustrating, you’re working hard to set a batsman up and chance goes down but no one drops a catch on purpose. It’s just a mistake, keep your head up and come again.”

“We said as a team in the changing rooms that it’s probably not one of our best days with the bat. But we never know if it’s a good score until the West Indies innings has finished. It’s 260 more than we had this morning, it’s all up to how we respond tomorrow, how we bowl and hopefully we can create a few chances.”Stokes might have edged Kemar Roach behind on 9, though technology was inconclusive, and then survived a straightforward chance without having added to his score when Kraigg Brathwaite could not hold on at second slip. He was rarely fluent and could also have been dismissed on 98, when Shannon Gabriel dropped a sitter at mid-on, but went on to his sixth Test hundred from the very next ball.”It’s always nice to [capitalise on a drop],” he said. “I guess you get some luck every now and again and to do well you need some luck on your side. On another day, they hold it and you’re walking off.”I found it quite hard to start with, it took me a while to get off the mark and I thought I had to change my normal approach to when I’m first in. I walked down the wicket and went deep in my crease … I got a couple away and thought it was a tennis-bally slow wicket, so if I’m to play my attacking shots it’s going to have to be at 100 percent rather than half-hearted.”Of the words he and Gabriel appeared to exchange after he was eventually caught behind a few balls later, he said: “It’s not the first time. It’s just part of the game, he was probably still annoyed at himself for dropping me on 98. There’s nothing to it, he’s got me out. It’s international sport, we’re all trying to do well so emotions can come out.”He also had high praise for Root, who might have been caught at slip on 8 but otherwise looked in excellent form in progressing to a landmark half-century in front of his home crowd before edging an attempted paddle sweep off Devendra Bishoo.”He’s a hell of a player, he has been for a long time now,” Stokes said. “The captaincy hasn’t affected his run-scoring ability whatsoever – if anything it’s made him into a better player, if that was possible. There’s guys around the world who are known as the best players in the world and we’ve got one of them, if not the best. The records that he’s managed to break, the runs he’s scoring, is showing why he is.”

Andrew Poynter, the Ireland batsman, has announced his retirement from international and inter-provincial cricket at the age of 29

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Jun-2016Andrew Poynter, the Ireland batsman, has announced his retirement from international and inter-provincial cricket at the age of 29. He had been part of Ireland’s T20 squad at the World T20 in March, but had not played ODIs since September 2014.Poynter played 19 ODIs and 19 T20Is in an international career that began in 2008. He scored a combined 474 runs and three half-centuries, averaging 19.61 in ODIs and 19.90 in T20Is. He featured in two World T20s, with his brother Stuart, a wicketkeeper-batsman, also part of Ireland’s squad in the 2016 edition.”I have always found it tough to manage an international and inter-provincial cricket career whilst having to juggle running my own business, AP Sports,” Poynter said. “I’m head of youth coaching at Clontarf CC and have other coaching roles as well as a young family.”I feel that I can still perform at inter-provincial level and scored runs this season, but I do not want to stand in someone’s way who has a dream of playing for Leinster Lightning and Ireland.”I am looking forward to developing my coaching career – I have nearly finished my level three award and [am] keen to move to level four in the near future. But most of all spending more time with my family with a bit less stress.”I am so proud of my achievements in an Irish jersey, especially captaining my country and playing in two World Cups. I’ll miss the green jersey but this is the right decision for me. I’d like to thank all involved in giving me the opportunity to pursue my dream.”

Peter Handscomb’s third half-century in his last four LV=County Championship innings for Gloucestershire failed to stop Kent taking the upper hand on the opening day at Bristol.

ECB/PA18-May-2015Gloucestershire 193 (Handscomb 69) v Kent
ScorecardDarren Stevens was again in the wickets as Kent kept Gloucestershire under 200•Getty Images

Peter Handscomb’s third half-century in his last four LV=County Championship innings for Gloucestershire failed to stop Kent taking the upper hand on the opening day at Bristol.The Australian scored 69 to provide some backbone to an otherwise flimsy batting effort after the home side had been put in on a day reduced to 67 overs by heavy rain, which wiped out the morning session.By the close Gloucestershire had been bowled out for a meagre 193. Matt Coles was the pick of the Kent bowlers with 3 for 49, while Darren Stevens collected 3 for 50.The hosts were forced to make a late team change when Will Tavare reported sick. Ian Cockbain was called back from a Second XI Trophy game against Essex at Bishop Stortford to take his place. Kent elected to leave out Mitchell Claydon. Skipper Sam Northeast won the toss and, despite clearing skies, opted to unleash his seamers.It looked a questionable decision when Gloucestershire openers Chris Dent and Gareth Roderick put on 36 by the 16th over with few alarms. But Dent was then caught at second slip for 11 by Coles off Haggett just when it seemed he had helped to see off the new ball.Still the pitch offered no great threat and Gloucestershire had progressed to 61 in the 26th over when Roderick was deceived by an outswinger from the wily Stevens, edging through to Sam Billings and departing for 28.It was 87 for 2 at tea, with both Cockbain and Handscomb unbeaten on 20. Cockbain added only four in the final session before having his off-stump clipped by a ball from Coles that appeared to nip off the seam.Hamish Marshall soon followed for a duck, popping up a caught and bowled chance to Coles, and suddenly Gloucestershire were in trouble at 93 for 4. That became 129 for 5 when Geraint Jones, on 13, was bowled through the gate by Haggett pushing forward.Handscomb reached a solid half-century off 85 balls, with 7 fours, but lost another partner with the score on 164 as Kieran Noema-Barnett fell leg before to Stevens. The following over from Coles saw Handscomb edge a catch to Billings, at which point the bowler had figures of 3 for 30, having delivered seven maidens in his 16.1 overs.The clatter of wickets continued, with Stevens sending back Craig Miles to leave Gloucestershire 176 for 8. David Payne and Liam Norwell added 17 before the latter was caught behind off Thomas, who quickly followed up by removing Matt Taylor to end the day’s play and leave the home side without a batting point.

Mitchell Starc and Ben Hilfenhaus may both be included in a four-man pace attack at the Gabba as the pitch maintained its green tinge on Thursday

Brydon Coverdale08-Nov-2012Mitchell Starc and Ben Hilfenhaus may both be included in a four-man pace attack at the Gabba after Australia’s captain Michael Clarke was greeted with a pitch maintaining its green tinge on Thursday. In the lead-up to the match, the Australians had indicated that the offspinner Nathan Lyon was likely to play in the first Test against South Africa, starting on Friday, but he is now no certainty.”I was expecting to have a decision for you today but the wicket has changed a little bit since yesterday,” Clarke said. “I need to wait and see if it changes any more come tomorrow morning. The weather plays a big part as well, if it’s overcast compared to sun shining.”The forecast is okay for the week but I really want to wait until tomorrow morning to give ourselves a really good look at it. At this stage we’re still deciding do we play four fast bowlers or do we play three fast bowlers and Nathan.”Peter Siddle and James Pattinson appeared to be the two certainties in Australia’s pace line-up as both men have enjoyed plenty of Sheffield Shield bowling over the past six weeks. Starc and Hilfenhaus were both at the Champions League Twenty20 in South Africa and have had limited red-ball preparation, and while Clarke said the selectors had discussed which fast man to leave out, he was not willing to reveal the decision while the possibility of including them all remained.”We’ve certainly spoken about it, that’s for sure,” Clarke said. “But until I’ve thought about what the best attack is or if we’re going to go three quicks or four quicks, I don’t think it would be fair to the players if I told you that. I think it’s important that we wait and see what conditions we’re faced with tomorrow morning, give ourselves the best chance to have a look at conditions, and then we’ll work out what the best XI is.”Hilfenhaus is Australia’s highest-ranked bowler in the ICC Test rankings at No.6 in the world and has been one of the team’s most consistent performers since returning to the side against India last summer with a reworked action. Earlier this week, he said he was not viewing Australia’s net sessions as a bowl-off with the other members of the attack, and he was simply enjoying being able to work with the red ball again after a period of short-form cricket.”I don’t see it as fighting for a place,” Hilfenhaus told ESPNcricinfo. “The conditions are what they are and the selectors have to make a decision on what they want for the conditions, what make-up they believe will win a game of cricket. You’re never comfortable being left out. All I can control is my preparation and doing all I can to make sure I’m as ready as I can be.”It’s actually nice to be able to run in and try to bowl the same ball twice, rather than worry about bowling six different deliveries. It was nice to get back in the groove [during the Sheffield Shield match] last week.”If Australia take an all-pace attack in on Friday it will be their first Gabba Test without a specialist spinner since November 2008, when they beat New Zealand with Brett Lee, Stuart Clark, Mitchell Johnson and Shane Watson sharing the workload. On that occasion, Clarke and Andrew Symonds were only required for a few overs of part-time spin.

Wayne Parnell and Rusty Theron rescued South Africa from a seemingly hopeless position to snatch victory in the second Twenty20 and draw the series 1-1

The Report by Brydon Coverdale16-Oct-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsLonwabo Tsotsobe bowled well for his 2 for 11•AFP

Wayne Parnell and Rusty Theron rescued South Africa from a seemingly hopeless position to snatch victory in the second Twenty20 and draw the series 1-1. Australia had the match all but won with five overs remaining, as South Africa needed 61 with three wickets in hand, an unlikely goal that Parnell and Theron reached with five balls to spare.In a breathtaking finish, the victory arrived with a slog-swept six over midwicket from the first ball of the final over, Theron’s eyes having lit up when Cameron White handed the ball to David Hussey. But White had bowled out all his frontline men in the search for those last few wickets, and his choice was down to Hussey or the medium pace of the debutant Mitchell Marsh.It hardly mattered, though, as Parnell and Theron effectively sealed the match by taking 55 from the previous four overs, including 18 off an over from Steve O’Keefe, who was deposited over the midwicket and square-leg boundaries by Parnell. Theron finished unbeaten on 30 from 16 balls, but it was Parnell’s 29 from 11 that really jolted the Australians.The pair put on 64 in 4.3 overs, having come together when Heino Kuhn sent a return catch to James Pattinson (2 for 17), and at 84 for 7, the target of 148 seemed out of reach. But Theron drove and flicked a couple of boundaries off Doug Bollinger, and the teenager Patrick Cummins betrayed a few nerves in his last over, as the equation became more encouraging for the hosts.Earlier, Cummins had delivered a double-wicket maiden that left South Africa in major trouble at 18 for 3. Colin Ingram played on when he tried to drive a wider ball from Cummis and then JP Duminy, who failed to score, edged a pearler to slip, where Hussey flew to his right to take an equally impressive catch.Bollinger had bowled Hashim Amla in the first over, and the chase was well and truly off the rails. But Graeme Smith and Johan Botha, sent in at No.5, steadied and at least gave South Africa platform. Botha’s 34 from 28 balls was important, but when he reverse-swept O’Keefe to point, the hosts looked to have missed their chance.Their brilliant recovery meant that a fine bowling effort, led by Lonwabo Tsotsobe, was not wasted. After White won the toss and chose to bat, the South Africans kept Australia in check, especially Tsotsobe, whose 2 for 11 was the most economical four-over spell ever completed by a South African in a T20 international.A late blitz from Marsh, who at 19 was playing his first game for his country, pushed the Australians to 147 for 8. Marsh took 20 off the final over from Morne Morkel, including three sixes, one a monster over midwicket, and he ended up with 36 from 21 balls.His runs were important after the loss of the White, who top scored with 39, but fell to a great piece of work from Parnell, who kicked the ball on to the stumps in his follow through to have White run out trying for a quick single. Australia were 106 for 6 at the time, having found no momentum as Tsotsobe and his colleagues built the pressure with dot balls and were rewarded with wickets.Australia had crawled to 4 for 1 after two overs as Tsotsobe gave the batsmen nothing. The early pressure ensured David Warner’s tour went from bad to worse; having been run out for a duck in the first game he again failed to score, caught at mid-off when from his ninth delivery he advanced to Morkel and tried to clear the infield.His opening partner Matthew Wade, promoted due to a minor hip injury that ruled Shane Watson out of the game, produced a sizzling cut for six off Morkel but fell for 10 when he edged behind advancing to Tsotsobe. Shaun Marsh led Austalia’s recovery and took ten from Parnell’s first two balls, including a cracking six over cover, but on 29 he top-edged off Theron and was taken by Kuhn running towards point.Theron finished with an impressive 2 for 28, while Parnell’s figures of 0 for 44 from four were unflattering. By the end of the match, South Africa were thrilled with the performances of both men.