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Andre Russell blitzed four sixes in a 19-ball 47 to take Jamaica Tallawahs home with 15 deliveries to spare against St Lucia Zouks after the asking-rate had touched 11

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Aug-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAndre Russell on the charge•Getty ImagesAndre Russell blitzed four sixes in a 19-ball 47 to take Jamaica Tallawahs home with 15 deliveries to spare against St Lucia Zouks after the asking-rate had touched 11. The win lifted Jamaica to second position on the points table behind Barbados Tridents, while St Lucia stayed at the bottom after their fourth loss in five matches.Chasing 143, Jamaica were 66 for 3 in the 13th over when Russell walked in. St Lucia had begun with spin from both ends, and although Shane Shillingford proved expensive, Garey Mathurin gave only 11 in four overs. In his second over, he had Ahmed Shehzad caught behind on the cut and thereafter, kept both Chris Gayle and Nkrumah Bonner quiet. While Gayle kept picking Shillingford for boundaries, Bonner was completely tied down. His struggle ended at 5 off 19 when he saw the fast bowler Nelon Pascal being introduced and top-edged a pull off his first delivery. Now it was the turn of the seamers, led by Darren Sammy, to squeeze Jamaica. Danza Hyatt was the next man to stall the chase further, taking 22 balls for his 13 before Sammy had him caught behind.Russell came in and in the next over, slashed and pulled Albie Morkel for successive fours. Sammy disappeared for sixes over deep midwicket and long-off in the 15th. The St Lucia captain turned to spin again, but Gayle had already hit Shillingford for a couple of sixes before, and now he launched him over deep midwicket. However, the Jamaica captain holed out to the same position off the next delivery to depart for 40 off 31. Jamaica still needed 38 off 28.Vernon Philander, who isn’t preferred for the limited-overs formats by South Africa, took charge in the 17th over. He hit Pascal for three successive boundaries – a top-edged four to third man and sixes over long-on and deep midwicket – to surge to 18 off just 5. Jamaica had taken 61 off the last four overs, and needed only 12 from the final three overs. Russell needed three deliveries to finish it, pulling and cutting Morkel for sixes to boost Jamaica’s net run-rate.Philander had taken two crucial wickets as well after St Lucia chose to bat. He had Misbah-ul-Haq caught at slip early and later had Sammy holing out in the deep for 26 off 18. Herschelle Gibbs made a slow 22 and it was only due to Tamim Iqbal’s steadying 75 that St Lucia were able to post 142. Tamim could have got St Lucia a few more runs, but he was stumped off Muttiah Muralitharan in the 18th over. He hit nine boundaries in his 62-ball knock, but had little support.

Sam Robson is a prolific young batsman but he will rarely face a less searching examination than a Warwickshire attack depleted by Lions calls and injuries

George Dobell at Edgbaston08-May-2013
ScorecardMiddlesex opener Sam Robson made his second century in as many innings•Getty ImagesIt is most unlikely that Sir Alex Ferguson has relinquished his position at Manchester United with a view to pursuing a career as a county cricketer. But, if he had done, he might be encouraged by what he saw at Edgbaston yesterday: on the strength of this, a 71-year-old Scotsman could yet take the new ball for the County Champions.Such is the paucity of options at Warwickshire at present that anyone with a pulse and bladder control will be considered if they have another injury. And they will compromise on those qualities if necessary.Quite what Ferguson would have made of his beloved Manchester United being devastated by call-ups to a B international during the Premier League season is anyone’s guess. It seems safe to assume that his reaction would not have been resigned and phlegmatic.Yet Warwickshire were obliged to go into this important Championship match – a match which pits the second-placed team in the table against last year’s champions – without so many first-choice players that the integrity of the event has been compromised.While no-one can do much about the raft of injuries Warwickshire have suffered, the decision to take three players away on Lions duty does seem punitive. To exacerbate the situation by allowing Steven Finn to play for Middlesex is simply rubbing salt in the wound. Middlesex, it should be noted, were also without Toby Roland-Jones (on Lions duty) and James Harris (injured).Few would dispute the value of the Lions programme. Players who have graduated from county to international cricket have spoken in glowing terms of the assistance the Lions scheme gave them in making the step-up in quality.Even fewer would dispute that Finn, who admits he “needed a bit more bowling,” should be involved in this game if it helps him go into the Test series against New Zealand in good form. The success of the England team is vital to the funding of county and recreational cricket and, within reason, everything that can be done to that end should be encouraged.But does scheduling Lions games in the middle of the Championship season really help? Or does it create as many problems as it solves? By creating another tier between domestic and international cricket, the Lions team is equally creating a greater divide between the two levels.Had the likes of Chris Wright and Chris Woakes been involved in this match, the Middlesex opener, Sam Robson, would surely have faced a more searching examination of his skills and, as a consequence, would have been better prepared for his possible future elevation to Test cricket. By weakening the Championship, the foundations of the England team, the ECB are actually creating a problem which the Lions then have to solve.There is a strong argument to suggest that Lions games should be limited to the off-season. Besides, quite what England will learn about Woakes from another Lions game – he has played 28 times for the Lions and 14 times for the full England side – remains unclear.Such was Warwickshire’s predicament before this game that serious consideration was given to selecting Neil Carter, who retired from county cricket at the end of last season (he continues to represent Scotland) and is currently in Birmingham staying with his old friend Jonathan Trott.Among the three Warwickshire first team players absent on England Lions duty are first-choice bowlers Chris Wright and Chris Woakes (opening batsman, Varun Chopra is the other player with the Lions). But Warwickshire are also missing their other new ball bowler Keith Barker to injury, while allrounder Rikki Clarke is recovering from injury and was able to bowl only four overs at a reduced pace.Potential replacements such as Oliver Hannon-Dalby, Chris Metters and Paul Best are also injured, as is their other opening batsman, Ian Westwood. But the spectacle of Jonathan Trott coming on to bowl the 15th over with his gentle medium-pace said it all: this Warwickshire side bears no comparison to the one that won the Championship title last season. The rain that fell shortly after tea came as merciful relief to Warwickshire.”We’re down to the bare bones,” Warwickshire’s director of cricket, Dougie Brown, said. “If we had one more injury, I’m not too sure what we would do.”In the light of such issues, Robson’s second century in successive Championship innings – his second in five days – does need to be put into context. He is, without doubt, a high-class player who has every chance of going on to play Test cricket. He has the technique, talent and temperament to flourish against good new-ball attacks and a love of batting that is the hallmark of some of the very best players. He drives, off front and back foot and on both sides of the wicket, beautifully, and leaves unusually well.The regularity with which he bats for whole days is testament to his desire and his concentration. This innings – his fifth score above 50 (two centuries and three half-centuries) in seven Championship innings takes his campaign average to a Bradman-esque 100.Like Bradman, Robson hails from New South Wales. Unlike Bradman, he has a mother from Nottinghamshire and, on the surface at least, has committed to playing for England. But, as things stand, Robson does not qualify for England until this time next year and until he actually represents England, he remains eligible for Australia. Bearing in mind the shallow reserves of young batting they currently have, it seems most remiss of them not to at least attempt to lure Robson back. In selecting 35-year-old Chris Rogers, not 23-year-old Robson, for the Ashes, they may well have picked the wrong Middlesex opener.There were a couple of uncomfortable moments for him. He was dropped on 73 by Clarke in the slips as he attempted to run one from Tom Milnes down to third man and, on 52, he was beaten by a brute of a ball from Boyd Rankin that took the shoulder of the bat and flew between the slips and gully for another four.That apart, this was surely the most straightforward of his seven first-class centuries. On a decent pitch offering decent pace and carry, Warwickshire over-pitched and, at times, struggled with their line. Tom Allin, a 25-year-old whose father Tony, played for Glamorgan, was making his first-class debut and bowled respectably without ever threatening; Milnes, 20-years-old and as green as the outfield, was taken for 32 from his opening four-over spell – over-pitching often; and Rankin, on a comeback from injury, failed to harness his considerable weapons often enough to create meaningful pressure.Rankin showed flashes of his menace, though. He caught Rogers a horrible blow on the elbow which caused a lengthy break for treatment and eventually made the breakthrough when the same batsman edged an attempted cut.Joe Denly fell when he came down the pitch and played for spin that was not there, while Dawid Malan was trapped leg before by a quicker one. It makes not a jot of difference if Malan was hard done-by – he clearly thought he was – but he can consider himself very fortunate if his show of dissent afterwards does not earn him penalty points from the ECB.But this was Robson’s day and, given the toothless nature of the attack, the good character of the pitch and his insatiable appetite for batting, and there is a fair chance that the second day might be as well.

Will Smith snapped a lean run with the bat as he made a century to lead a strong Durham reply on day two at Trent Bridge

George Dobell at Trent Bridge30-Apr-2013
ScorecardWill Smith snapped a run of low scores to make his first century of the season•Getty ImagesOn a day on which Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann were in county action together, it is highly unlikely that many of the spectators at Trent Bridge had come to watch Will Smith. And, after watching him bat throughout the 96 overs of the day, it is highly unlikely that many of them will be hurrying back to watch him again.For Smith, batting is a serious business. Each run has to be hewn from his soul like a miner crushing rocks in search of gold. His discipline outside the off stump would make a Trappist monk look frivolous. Pregnant mothers or those with heart conditions need not fear watching him in action. And the word “action” is used somewhat liberally. It is not pretty and it is not exciting.But it is effective. Smith’s marathon of concentration and denial – he resumed in the morning unbeaten on three and reached his century from his 270th ball – rescued his team from a precarious position against Nottinghamshire.He has, so far, repelled a good bowling attack on a pitch renown as seamer-friendly for 106 overs and, from time to time, he has accumulated from the short ball, the wide ball or deliveries straying on to his pads. It was just what Durham required.Smith needed this innings, too. He had not passed 50 in the Championship since last May – a run of 22 innings – and his scores this season have been 1, 0, 15, 0, 42 and 4.This was a return of sorts for him, too. He spent five years with Nottinghamshire between 2002 and 2006, but had never managed a century on this ground and, in his last 10 innings against his old club, had failed to pass 15.He did not give a chance and, in partnership with the characteristically obdurate Paul Collingwood added 115 for Durham’s sixth wicket after they had slipped to 148 for 5 and were in danger of conceding a decisive first innings deficit. For a while it seemed there must have been a time before they started batting together – a happier, simpler time when people drove the ball through the covers – but it became desperately difficult to remember it.Smith’s excellence has been partially overshadowed the return of Swann and Broad. Both bowled tidily, though Broad again left the pitch near the end of the day complaining of groin pain. The club expect a repeat performance of the previous day when, after a rub down, he is able to play a full part the following day with the cause of the problem still thought to be an impact injury; he edged the ball into his groin when batting on the first day.Broad managed 18 overs. He claimed two important wickets – Ben Stokes, attempting to turn one on the leg side, beaten by a bit of bounce and movement and giving a return catch, and Collingwood, nibbling at one that may have left him slightly in the dangerous channel outside off. Broad maintained a nice, full length and gained just enough movement to demand respect.But whether this was enough of a performance to warrant selection for the first Test against New Zealand remains to be seen. According to the Nottinghamshire director of cricket, Mick Newell, Broad is not planning on playing again before the Test, but he still looked a yard short of his optimum pace. Certainly that was the impression of Smith, afterwards.”He was OK,” Smith said, when asked about Broad’s pace. “It wasn’t like he was rapid or anything. He would readily admit he’s got a bit more to work to do. He didn’t give much to hit.” All of which hardly sounds like a ringing endorsement.It may be that Broad has the experience to time his return perfectly and is aiming to peak for Lord’s against New Zealand. He has, after all, played nearly 200 international matches. But whether he is, at the moment, a more threatening bowler than Toby Roland-Jones, Jamie Overton, Chris Wright, Chris Woakes et al. is debatable. Certainly if Broad is to play in the first Test, he will face tougher opposition on less helpful surfaces than this.Swann, enjoying his first bowl in competitive cricket since March 2, was also tidy. Apart from one chest-high full toss – gratefully dispatched by Smith – he was as tight as ever and, on a pitch offering him nothing, delivered 20 demanding overs. He is currently planning on playing two YB40 games before the Test.Swann had hoped to return a game earlier. But his keenness to do so resulted in some swelling in the right elbow that was operated on a couple of months ago and some concerns as to his future.”He was pushing himself to play against Derbyshire,” Newell said, “And maybe he pushed a bit early. Now he is looking for a game where he bowls 30 or 40 overs to prove it’s ok. He’ll probably bowl eight overs in each of the YB40 games, too.”But I think he said he didn’t want an operation again. He doesn’t want to go through the six weeks or two months of rehab. He likes playing and I don’t talk to him about retirement or anything like that. But, if he had the injury again and the jungle series came up, or a dancing in ice series or something, I think he would do that.”Durham had dug themselves into a bit of a hole before Smith and Collingwood’s stand. The nightwatchman, Chris Rushworth, fell early edging a waft, while Scott Borthwick, promoted up the order, was drawn into playing at one he could have left and Dale Benkenstain was punished for lingering on the back foot by one that may have nipped back a fraction.But Smith resisted stoically. While he may lack the run-scoring options of a Test batsman, he at least demonstrated the concentration of one here. And in providing a tough work out for Broad and Swann, he may just have played his part in helping England in a busy summer.

With an outright loss hovering over their heads at the Dr DY Patil Sports Stadium, Gujarat will be keeping their fingers crossed for Madhya Pradesh to draw the game against Saurashtra in Rajkot

Amol Karhadkar31-Dec-2012
ScorecardDuring tea time on the third day of their last Group A game against Mumbai, a couple of the Gujarat support-staff members were keeping a close watch on the proceedings in Rajkot. And it was quite understandable. With an outright loss hovering over their heads at the Dr DY Patil Sports Stadium, Gujarat will be keeping their fingers crossed for Madhya Pradesh to draw the game against Saurashtra in Rajkot.But by stumps, the situation had gone from bad to worse for the visitors. Not only did they lose two more wickets in the last 40 minutes but they were also in danger of conceding an innings defeat. With five wickets down, including that of their mainstay Parthiv Patel, Gujarat still need another 44 runs to avoid an innings defeat. Add to it the fact that Gujarat have the worst quotient among the four teams that are competing for two slots in the quarter-finals from the group, and it means Gujarat’s season would be all but over on the New Year’s Day despite starting the last round in second place.The Gujarat batsmen will have only themselves to blame. Had they applied themselves better in the second essay, they could have been in a much better position going into the last day’s play. They would have at least been hoping to earn one point for avoiding a defeat that could have placed them better.And they had everything going their way at the start of the innings. First of all, Mumbai’s stand-in captain and pace spearhead Zaheer Khan didn’t take the field. With Mumbai having ensured a place in the quarters, Zaheer had no reason to stretch his right calf muscle, which he had strained during the last day’s play in Indore last week. And then, allrounder Abhishek Nayar, who was down with a throat and chest infection, returned to the dressing room after bowling just four overs.Still, the Gujarat batting line-up faltered consistently. Except for Parthiv Patel and Manpreet Juneja, all the other batsmen appeared to be far from comfortable at the crease. While opener Smit Patel started on a positive note, he holed out to square-leg off Javed Khan – easily the pick of the Mumbai bowlers at the start of day’s play – early on in the second session.From then on, Samit Gohel and Bhargav Merai managed to hold the innings together for well over an hour. However, in the penultimate over before tea, Merai had a lapse in concentration off part-time off-spinner Suryakumar Yadav. Merai’s flick landed in the hands of substitute Vishal Dabholkar at short midwicket. Two balls later, left-arm spinner Ankeet Chavan zipped one through Gohel’s defence to disturb the woodwork. At 63 for 3, Gujarat were in danger of folding quickly.However, Parthiv seemed to be carrying on from his century in the first innings. The Gujarat captain, with the aid of Juneja who was the most compact player on the day, scored freely, nudging the ball at will. His run-a-ball 47 included a lofted shot off Chavan that sailed over the bowler’s head for a six. But in the very next over, Javed produced a peach of a delivery to send Parthiv back. The medium-pacer generated extra bounce off a fuller length to force a nick off Parthiv’s bat and Wasim Jaffer took a sharp catch at first slip.Perhaps to protect specialist batsman Chirag Gandhi, the Gujarat team management promoted Rujul Bhatt to see off the evening. And he did apply himself till he fell into a trap on the penultimate ball of the day: with two balls remaining in the day, Chavan, in consultation with Jaffer, who was in charge of the team, brought substitute Shoaib Shaikh in at short midwicket. The next ball was obviously pitched on Bhatt’s pads and Shaikh latched on to Bhatt’s uppish drive to end the day on a high for Mumbai.While the Gujarat camp was shattered, their opposition was smiling and relieved, perhaps for the first time this season. “We hope to seal our second consecutive outright victory,” coach Sulakshan Kulkarni said. “It’s a massive boost for us to be able to win two in two, especially after failing to produce an outright win in the first six games of the season. It augurs well for us going into the knockouts.”

The BCCI has been hit with a Rs 2300 crore (approx $433m) notice from the income tax department and has asked its treasurer Ajay Shirke to suggest how to deal with the issue

Amol Karhadkar05-Feb-2013The BCCI has been hit with a Rs 2300 crore (approx $433m) notice from the income tax department and has asked its treasurer Ajay Shirke to suggest how to deal with the issue.The BCCI working committee met in Chennai on Monday and discussed the matter in detail. President N Srinivasan explained to the working committee that the tax-related issues have compounded since the BCCI changed its objectives in 2006, has reported.Since the BCCI is registered as a charitable trust, it used to get various tax exemptions on the grounds of promoting cricket as a ‘charitable activity’. But after the BCCI amended its objectives in June 2006, the government has started considering the BCCI to be earning income through ‘commercial’ means, it was explained to the working committee.The bone of contention has been the income generated through sale of IPL franchises and through sale of broadcast rights for the Twenty20 league. While the BCCI claims it distributes a “major portion” of the income generated to its affiliated units (ie the state and regional associations), the tax authorities have been reportedly seeking taxes both from the parent body as well as affiliated units.It was learnt that Shirke has been asked to chalk out the path ahead “within a fortnight” so that the BCCI can “sort out” all the impeding issues with the tax authorities.

West Indies Women avoided a whitewash against England but took their full 20 overs to chase down 140 at Arundel.

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Sep-2012
ScorecardJuliana Nero held her nerve to get West Indies Women over the line•Getty ImagesWest Indies Women avoided a whitewash against England but took their full 20 overs to chase down 140 at Arundel. England had been a class apart in the opening four matches of the series but this victory sees West Indies travel to the World T20 with confidence.Deandra Dottin was the star with the bat for West Indies, clearing the ropes five times in a brutal innings of 62 from just 34 balls. But she was bowled with 17 still required from 20 balls. A tight over and another wicket from Danni Wyatt saw 11 needed from 12 balls and six from the final over. Juliana Nero kept her cool to guide West Indies over the line.England tinkered with their batting order with Tammy Beaumont and Wyatt opening the batting. But again it was Sarah Taylor at No. 3 that led the innings with 34 from 30 balls. Katherine Brunt also made a valuable contribution, top scoring with 35 but England’s 139 for 7 proved not enough as they lost their first fixture in 21 matches.”We were just undone by an unbelievable innings by Deandra Dottin, credit to her for a match winning performance,” England’s captain, Charlotte Edwards, conceded. “But we’ll be taking a huge amount of positives from the series; there have been key contributions from a lot of our players over the five matches which is always good with World Cups ahead. We’re going to Sri Lanka with confidence and are really looking forward to the next few weeks.”

A sizzling counterattack by New Zealand captain Ross Taylor produced a high-speed century that was the spark that led to an improved display from the visitors on the opening day of the second Test against India

The Report by Sharda Ugra31-Aug-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsRoss Taylor got to his hundred at over a run a ball•Associated PressA sizzling counterattack by New Zealand captain Ross Taylor produced a high-speed century that sparked an improved display from the visitors on the opening day of the second Test against India. At stumps, New Zealand, who had elected to bat, were 328 for 6. Led by Taylor’s incandescent 113, New Zealand’s batsmen had, in the course of a single day, scored more runs than they had in both innings in Hyderabad.Play was stopped due to bad light and eventually called off for the day about half an hour before the scheduled close, the umpires offering light to the batsman after Umesh Yadav bowled half of his first over with the second new ball. Kruger van Wyk and Doug Bracewell strode off, van Vyk batting on a deftly engineered 63 and Bracwell on 30. The two had found themselves at the crease after Taylor’s departure, and within an hour had put on 82 for the seventh wicket.Taylor’s seventh Test century formed the bulk of the New Zealand batting effort. It was buffeted by two fifties, one by Martin Guptill at the top of the order which ended in dismay and the other by keeper van Wyk. It ensured that New Zealand could dismiss the innings and 115-run defeat in Hyderabad as a nightmare that need not be repeated.After the departure of New Zealand’s top three batsmen before lunch, Taylor let his aggression and intent take over. It was a fearless innings, the runs scored both robustly and in fine style. Taylor slog swept Ashwin for six before the lunch interval and when he returned, cranked the scoring up a gear. The India bowlers were hit all around the Chinnaswamy Stadium, with lusty slog sweeps, crisp straight drives and spanking shots through cover. New Zealand, or rather Taylor, was scoring at nearly seven runs an over in the hour after lunch. The hardworking Ojha was punished with four boundaries in his second over after lunch, Zaheer for two including a disdainful straight drive in his second spell, Ashwin was guided fine down to the boundary past leg slip. Taylor got to his century in 99 balls, cutting Ojha to the point boundary and two balls later, hit him down the ground for his second six over long-off.For a captain who had a miserable first Test – losing the toss, dropping catches in slip and scoring nine in two innings – Taylor’s innings on Friday was a more just exhibition of his batting abilities. On New Zealand’s miserable tour of the West Indies in July, it was Taylor who had scored the sole New Zealand century, in the fourth ODI in St Kitts. New Zealand’s previous Test century had come six months ago from Kane Williamson in a drawn Test against South Africa in Wellington.Taylor’s innings lit up the Bangalore crowd that grew through the day; his aggressive mode of batting had also been welcomed at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, when he had played for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL. The reception he received after his hundred against India, also, didn’t lack in either enthusiasm or warmth.Smart stats

Ross Taylor’s century is his seventh in Tests and his third against India. He is one among five New Zealand batsmen to score three Test centuries against India.

Taylor’s strike rate of 88.97 during his knock of 113 is his second-highest for a fifty-plus score. It is also the fifth-highest strike rate for a visiting batsman in India (centuries only).

The 107-run stand between Taylor and Daniel Flynn is the fourth-highest fourth-wicket stand for New Zealand against India. It is, however, their highest fourth-wicket stand in India.

The 82-run stand between Kruger van Wyk and Doug Bracewell is the fifth-highest seventh-wicket stand for New Zealand in India.

Pragyan Ojha, who picked up 4 for 90, became the first specialist Indian spinner to open the bowling in a Test. The last Indian spinner (non-regular spinner) to do so was ML Jaisimha in 1969.

New Zealand’s run-rate at the end of 80 overs (3.95) is the fourth-highest for a visiting team in Tests in India. The highest (80-over run-rate) is Australia’s 4.28 in Nagpur in 2004 followed by Sri Lanka’s 4.11 in Mumbai (Brabourne) in 2009.

It was vital for New Zealand that their batting continued forcefully, after Martin Guptill had shaken off the early dismissal of Brendon McCullum in the morning. Guptill played the aggressor in his 63-run second-wicket stand with Kane Williamson. After being troubled by Ojha and dropped off Zaheer on 17, Guptill found his groove, his innings resolute in judgement and positive in strokeplay. He struck three boundaries off Yadav in a single over and two off Zaheer, including a cracking backfoot drive through extra cover. Less than half an hour before lunch though, Ojha pulled in the fielders, tossed one up and lured Guptill. It was the perfect bait: the ball didn’t turn, Guptill’s intended shot on the on-side ended up in Gautam Gambhir’s hands at midwicket. Despite India’s slow bowling tradition, Ojha was the first specialist India spinner to open the bowling in a Test match, and took four of the six New Zealand wickets to fall today.Taylor, who owned the second session, was out in the fifth over after tea, forced to sweep against Ojha with the off side plugged. The ball was tossed up and Ojha hit Taylor in front of off and middle. His innings of 113 off 127 balls had slowed down only at the fall of Daniel Flynn’s wicket, bringing to an end New Zealand’s biggest partnership on this tour: 107 runs for the fourth wicket. Flynn had hung on gamely over an hour for 33, but for the third time in three innings, was leg before trying to sweep Ashwin. The loss of James Franklin – he hit a full toss from Ojha to a diving Suresh Raina at midwicket – had New Zealand stuttering at 215 for 5.But inspired by Taylor’s bold batsmanship, the undefeated 82-run seventh-wicket partnership between van Wyk and Bracewell added 32 runs in five overs following the captain’s departure. Van Wyk’s was an innings almost patented by chirpy, pocket-sized keepers; he was only 12 when Taylor was out and took charge, happy to have the quicker bowlers bowling at one end. Zaheer Khan was guided past slips, van Wyk taking 13 off the 16 balls he faced off him, and the quick-but-struggling Yadav went for 14 runs in six balls, including two fours an over. The partnership took New Zealand past 300, but they will be sobered by the knowledge that in the previous Test held in Bangalore in 2010, Australia had scored over 400 in their first innings and still lost.

CSA’s board is set for an overhaul after the current administration agreed to accept all the recommendations of the Nicholson Committee in principal.

Firdose Moonda30-Mar-2012CSA’s board is set for an overhaul after the current administration agreed to accept all the recommendations of the Nicholson Committee in principal. The board appointed a committee of eight people, four of them independent, at their quarterly meeting on March 30 to “lead discussions regarding the restructure”. They also agreed to approach the Chairperson of the Bar Council to appoint an advocate to preside over suspended chief executive Gerald Majola’s disciplinary hearing.The Nicholson commission was set up by sports minister Fikile Mbalula to investigate CSA’s handling of the bonus scandal, which centred on an amount of R4.7 million (US$611,000) paid to 40 staff, including Majola, in unauthorised bonuses after the 2009 IPL. In addition to dealing with the Majola matter, Nicholson recommended that the current structure of 24 board members be sliced in half and only 12 people sit on the board. Nicholson also suggested that three-quarters of the board, nine members, be independent directors, for better governance.Throughout the almost 20-month scandal, CSA have said they are committed to improving their governance but this is the first step in that direction. CSA Acting President Willie Basson called the restructure a “matter of urgency” and said he hoped the plans for the new board will be put in place by the next annual meeting in September. “The key approach has been to make principled decision with a sense of urgency and at the same time acting in the best interests of CSA,” Basson said.Basson is one of four board representatives on the committee. The other three are Archie Pretorius, Chris Nenzani, president of Border cricket president and Vuyo Ntswahlana, president of Eastern Province. The four independent members have all been involved in cricket over their careers: former convenor of selectors Rushdie Magiet; Shawn Christiansen, a former Western Province cricketer who works for the country’s labour dispute resolution body, the CCMA; former South African team manager Alan Jordaan; and Ashwin Desai, a sociologist who has worked on CSA committees previously.The restructure has already been given the thumbs up from the South African Cricketers’ Association who said they “want the administration of the game in the best hands”.The board did not announce any date for Majola’s hearing but stressed that the issue is at the top of their priority list. Majola has been suspended for as long as it takes to conduct the disciplinary the process.

ESPNcricinfo previews the 2nd match of IPL 2012 between Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Daredevils in Kolkata

The Preview by Sidharth Monga04-Apr-2012Match factsThursday, April 5, Kolkata
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)Fun and games can wait•AFPBig pictureThey are team-mates, opening partners and friends, but on Thursday, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir will knock gloves only at the toss, and will proceed to lead their respective IPL sides against each other. Personally, and internationally, if you were to take out Sehwag’s ODI double-century, the duo has had an ordinary time of it. Gambhir hasn’t scored a Test century in two years; Sehwag last managed one in November 2010. In that regard this could be a no-win situation: if they do really well as captains here, it won’t make any difference to their current standing in international cricket, but failure will add up.Sehwag’s team, Delhi Daredevils, knows failure well from last year when they finished last. Kolkata Knight Riders’ upswing under Gambhir, though, took them to the fourth spot. Daredevils, who have more ground to make, will have to do without Mahela Jayawardene, Kevin Pietersen and David Warner for the first few games, which will be a challenge. Knight Riders are more settled in that regard, and should start as favourites, especially given the home advantage of a traditionally tacky surface.Players to watchAustralia may or may not be relieved at his absence in the Test series, but Knight Riders are sure elated with their new acquisition, the all-sorts fingerspinner from Trinidad, Sunil Narine. His economy-rate of under five and average of under 15 speak for themselves.Daredevils have tapped the West Indies Twenty20 freelance market to their advantage too, acquiring the services of the explosive allrounder Andre Russell. Like with Narine, there is no point holding back Russell either.2011 head-to-headKnight Riders and Daredevils played each other just once last year. Manoj Tiwary’s 61 off 47 balls took Knight Riders to 148. Daredevils never came to terms with the slowness of the Kotla surface, and lost by 17.Stats and triviaDaredevils and Knight Riders have played seven games against each other and the head-to-head record is 3-3. One game was abandoned.Quotes”I was not expecting to play against him in the very first match. That’s the only game of cricket in my life, which I don’t enjoy. This is a game where I can’t handle it. Otherwise I would love this game. But this is what our job is. We have to be honest to our teams and make sure we do well for our teams, even though we are brothers. Hope a situation does not arise where I’m bowling the last over to him with 10-15 runs required. That’s the only time when I think I would be thinking negative. Otherwise I will always have a challenge. I will be really happy if he scores a 50 or 100 and we go on to win the match.”

“This is the first time I have seen the vice-captain has been dropped after losing. Usually the captain is dropped after losing… I don’t understand what made the selectors drop him… I don’t know about him and what he feels, but if I were Gambhir then definitely I would have thought, ‘You removed me from the vice-captaincy, and my goal is to win this IPL and prove a point.'”
edited by Abhishek Purohit

In a surprisingly one-sided match, South Africa Under-19s beat Pakistan Under-19s comprehensively in Paarl, and won the tri-nation tournament that also involved Zimbabwe Under-19s

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Jan-2012
ScorecardIn a surprisingly one-sided match, South Africa Under-19s beat Pakistan Under-19s comprehensively in Paarl, and won the tri-nation tournament that also involved Zimbabwe Under-19s. Pakistan had been the best team in the league phase, winning five of their six games and beating South Africa twice. But in the final they failed collectively: the bowlers conceded more than they had in any of the previous games, and the batsmen sunk to their lowest total of the tournament.South Africa’s strong total was built almost exclusively by Quinton de Kock , who scored 146 off 148 balls, his second century of the tournament. de Kock lost partners at regular intervals but found someone to stick with him in Diego Rosier. The two put together 113 runs for the fifth wicket, and though there was a flurry of wickets towards the end, South Africa set Pakistan an imposing 276 to win. Mohammad Nawaz finished as the second-highest wicket-taker in the tournament after taking 4 for 59.Pakistan’s batting had been strong through the tournament, but crumbled on this occasion. Sami Aslam, the tournament’s leading run-getter, was the only batsman to go past 30. All South Africa’s bowlers chipped in with wickets, with offspinner Prenelan Subrayen finishing with figures of 3 for 38 from his ten overs.The match was over by the 34th over of Pakistan’s innings, with Pakistan having disintegrated to 141 all out.