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David Warner saw the lighter side of his dismissal on Sunday, when he sent a delivery from Tim Bresnan to Joe Root at deep square leg

Brydon Coverdale at Old Trafford04-Aug-2013David Warner saw the lighter side of his dismissal on Sunday, when he sent a delivery from Tim Bresnan to deep square leg. The man who swallowed the catch was Joe Root, the same man who Warner tried to punch in a Birmingham bar during the Champions Trophy, an incident that cost Warner his place in the side for the first two Tests.”Hooked another one to Rooty,” Warner said. “Of all the people in the field … it’s quite comical now. I can’t wait to read Twitter a bit later.”Warner has revelled in his role as pantomime villain during this series, his suspension having cast him as a natural for the England fans to boo whenever he walks to the wicket or chases a ball in the deep. He didn’t add to his reputation with the fans by asking for a review in Australia’s first innings when he clearly edged behind. But it’s all a bit of a laugh to Warner.”I’m not well liked at the moment but this morning was actually quite entertaining down there on the boundary,” Warner said. “I actually liked the trumpeter playing the Rocky theme song [when he went out to bat], it was actually entertaining. I had a little chuckle. It’s not every day you walk out on the field and you get booed. You’ve just got to embrace it, know what your job is ahead of you, and that’s all I can concentrate on.”For Australia’s second innings, that role was to open the batting with Chris Rogers, a curious decision given the naturally attacking method of the incumbent opener Shane Watson. Warner made 41 from 57 deliveries before he sent the catch to Root and, while he expects to remain at No. 6 in the immediate future, he said it was pleasing to have another chance at the top.”I was told before we went out there I’d be opening just to try and get the run rate going, get us into a position where we could maybe declare early,” Warner said. “I would have liked a bit more of a hurry on, and we could have bowled tonight. I love opening the batting, that’s where I started my career. I’m just enjoying being back in the team. All my misdemeanours are behind me at the moment and I’m just happy to be playing cricket.”As it happened, the Australians did not get a chance to declare early, in part due to the rain and bad light and partially due to their lead not growing as quickly as they would have hoped. Warner said he had noticed the England players taking their time out on the field, reluctant to move the game too quickly, and he was confident the ICC would step in if any excessive time-wasting had occurred.”We expected that. We knew the bowlers were going to take their time,” he said. “The one they were going to review off me was a massive time-waster because they walked into a circle and said ‘let’s just hold back a little bit’, and Broady, as well, walking from fine leg to mid-off. He took his time.”You’ve just got to get into your own rhythm. You’ve got to keep yourself occupied out there. Me and Ussie were talking about what we were going to have for dinner tonight. You’ve got to try and take your mind off it and just do what you can when the bowler comes into bowl.”The captain suffers from that [if the over rate is too slow]. He can miss a game if he’s time-wasting and the overs aren’t bowled in the time allocated. That will come back to bite them on the bum.”

ESPNcricinfo previews the fifth Investec Ashes Test at The Oval

The Preview by Alan Gardner20-Aug-2013

Match facts

August 21-25, The Oval
Start time 1100 (1000 GMT)Chris Tremlett has a “good chance” of coming back into the side for a first Test appearance since January 2012•Getty Images

Big Picture

Not since 1981 have England arrived at The Oval for the last Test of an Ashes summer with the series already won. The possibility that lies tantalisingly before them is even rarer. Never before have Australia been beaten 4-0 by England and only once have they lost by such a wide margin (the 5-1 home defeat in 1978-79, when Packer was a dirty word). After a demoralising six weeks, when Australia have regularly misplaced their key moments, they will have to find extra reserves if they not to be swept away by an English tide.Metaphor aside, Australia have again delved into their squad to supplement an ever-changing cast, with James Faulkner called on to make his Test debut. Only Mathew Wade of the original 16-man party has not been utilised and, with the additions of Ashton Agar and Steven Smith, Australia will have used 17 different players over the course of the series – not to mention a batting order that has changed with every Test. England, by contrast, have been their usual, methodical selves and only an injury to Tim Bresnan will force them to alter the team for the first time since Steven Finn was dropped for the second Test at Lord’s. It is not only the scorelines that have changed in Ashes cricket.It may not be the cauldron of expectation experienced in 2005 and 2009, then, but The Oval has a recent record of producing memorable finales. Despite England’s supremacy, this series has at times brought to mind the joke from about a conversation between two elderly women at a resort in the Catskill mountains: “One of them says, ‘Boy, the food in this place is terrible.’ The other one says, ‘Yeah, I know, and such small portions.'” There has been a shortfall in quality on both sides – only Ian Bell, Graeme Swann and Ryan Harris can claim to have had outstanding series – but the Investec Ashes continues to serve up irresistible moments.

Form guide

England: WDWWW
Australia: LDLLL

Players to watch

Jonny Bairstow has been attempting to nail down a spot in England’s Test side for over a year now but, despite frequent encouraging episodes, the hammer keeps descending at a crooked angle. His 67 at Lord’s was crucial in helping to right England’s first innings and 203 runs at 29.00 in the series puts him above both Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott but doubts about his technique and temperament persist. England have not had a century from their No. 6 batsman since Eoin Morgan in 2010 but it feels like Bairstow needs a three-figure score to be sure of his place this winter.When you have backers like Shane Warne in your corner, big things are expected and James Faulkner has provided plenty of evidence of his talent since his debut for Tasmania as an 18-year-old. Now 23, Faulkner averages 30.31 with the bat and 22.87 with the ball in first-class cricket and his feisty, competitive spirit has been to the fore in a handful of limited-overs appearances for his country. That aside, Australia may hope the fact Faulkner hails from Launceston, hometown of Ricky Ponting, is enough to make England edgy.

Team news

Alastair Cook said that Chris Tremlett has a “good chance” of coming back into the side for a first Test appearance since January 2012. Bresnan’s back injury means a space has opened up in the attack and Tremlett will be up against Chris Woakes – more of a like-for-like replacement for the all-round talents of Bresnan – and Finn. Giving Simon Kerrigan a debut alongside Graeme Swann remains an outside possibility, though England have not played two spinners at home since Cardiff 2009.England (probable) 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Joe Root, 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Ian Bell, 6 Jonny Bairstow, 7 Matt Prior (wk), 8 Stuart Broad, 9 Graeme Swann, 10 Chris Tremlett 11 James AndersonAustralia have announced their XI in advance, with Faulkner set to make his debut and Mitchell Starc returning. Usman Khawaja and Jackson Bird drop out and, with allrounder Faulkner coming in at No. 7, Australia will rejig their batting order again. After two innings at No. 6 (and one at No. 4), Shane Watson moves back up the order to first drop, a position that has caused Australia a deal of grief in recent times, while Brad Haddin is now in the top six, above a lengthy, if doughty, tail.Australia 1 Chris Rogers, 2 David Warner, 3 Shane Watson, 4 Michael Clarke (capt), 5 Steven Smith, 6 Brad Haddin (wk), 7 James Faulkner, 8 Peter Siddle, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Ryan Harris, 11 Nathan Lyon

Pitch and conditions

The Oval has been on the slow side and more liable to turn in recent years but, although the pitch for the fifth Test is dry, there is an expectation that it will be quicker and bouncier than usual. The weather is forecast to be warm, although there is the possibility of showers interrupting a couple of day’s play.

Stats and trivia

• England have only lost six times to Australia at The Oval, against 16 wins, making it their most successful home ground.
• The last time Australia went two consecutive series without winning a Test was in 1986.
• After 98 and 96 Test matches respectively, the batting records of Kevin Pietersen and Alastair Cook are separated by 33 runs and 0.21 in average. Pietersen is marginally ahead of his captain but Cook has two more centuries (25 to 23).
• James Faulkner will become the 435th player to represent Australia in Tests.

Quotes

“I think it would be very special to win the Ashes 4-0. That is what our motivation is as a side and we are hopefully going to pick the right side – the side that we think can win this Test match.”
“He is an extra option to help us take 20 wickets but it is the overall package that James Faulkner brings. His toughness and performances of late in whatever format and the fact that he is not just a bowler. He can make some very handy runs for us.”

Trinidad & Tobago, the only non-IPL team left in the competition, have a tough task at hand in the Champions League T20 semi-finals, as they come up against a star-laden Mumbai Indians line-up

The Preview by Rohan Sharma04-Oct-2013

Match facts

Saturday, October 5, 2013
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)Trinidad & Tobago will hope Sunil Narine produces one of his special spells•BCCI

Big Picture

After making the inaugural Champions League T20 final against New South Wales in 2009, Trinidad & Tobago have not reached the tournament’s knockouts again. In this edition, the group stage got better and better for them. After a four-wicket loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad in their second match, they held on – helped by a late shower – in a must-win game against Titans, before shocking tournament favourites Chennai Super Kings in their final game. Their eight-wicket win against Super Kings was so comprehensive, they catapulted them into top place in Group B.T&T’s strength remains their bowling, specifically mystery spinner Sunil Narine who was the highest wicket-taker at the end of the group stage with eight scalps. While they’ve had the occasional sparkle from their batsmen – like Evin Lewis’ quickfire 70 against Titans – it is primarily Narine, with some help from seamers Ravi Rampaul and Rayad Emrit, who has brought the team so far. Still, T&T, the only non-IPL team left in the tournament, are the underdogs in their semi-final encounter, as they face a star-laden Mumbai Indians line-up.Mumbai’s progression to the semi-finals was far trickier. A humbling seven-wicket loss to Rajasthan Royals followed by a washout against Otago meant they faced an uphill task to go through. Upon securing a much-needed victory against Lions, they showed just what their power-packed batting is capable off, mowing down 150 in 13.2 overs (they needed to do so in 14.2) against Perth Scorchers to bump their net run rate over Otago and qualify.They are the reigning IPL champions and, as their captain Rohit Sharma said after the win against Scorchers, seem to be peaking at the right time. Should T&T complete another giant killing, though, there’ll be a footnote to the game: Mumbai’s last game in this tournament is likely to be Sachin Tendulkar’s last in limited-overs cricket. Also, Tendulkar is 26 runs short of 50,000 runs in all recognised cricket.

In the spotlight

Without a doubt, the performance of Sunil Narine can prove to be the breaking point for either team. His eight wickets have been worth their weight in gold – add to that his economy rate of 4.31 and his ability to strike at key moments of the game, and you know you’ve got a match-winner on your hands. Also, he has a good record against Mumbai – in five innings against them, he has taken 9 wickets, with an economy of 5.16.Harbhajan Singh will be feeling the pressure, after claiming a solitary wicket for 72 runs in the competition so far. His Champions League record, overall, is average, with 13 wickets in 15 matches at an unflattering economy of 7.06. However, in his only other match against T&T, in the 2011 edition, he produced one of his best T20 spells with 3 for 22. He will hope to repeat – or better – come Saturday.

Quotes

“Ramdin’s men know my game well but I know theirs too, so it’s going to be interesting this Saturday.”

“Yes, we miss Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard and Kevon Cooper, but we’re used to it now as it’s been happening to us for years. The other guys are stepping up to the plate and that’s good news for us.”

England may feel they have rid themselves of one devil having informed Kevin Pietersen he will not be considered for selection this season but they will inherit another with Adam Lyth set to become the 666th Test cricketer for England having been named in

Alex Winter14-May-20151:14

England could field two debutants in 1st Test

England may feel they have rid themselves of one devil having informed Kevin Pietersen he will not be considered for selection this season but they will inherit another when the first Test begins against New Zealand next Thursday with Adam Lyth set to become the 666th Test cricketer for England.Mark Wood, the Durham fast bowler who toured West Indies, could also debut against New Zealand after being included in the 12-man squad for the first Test of the summer against New Zealand at Lord’s.Lyth, 27, was reduced to 12th man duty in the Caribbean as Jonathan Trott was given an opportunity to revive his international career but Lyth will now get his chance as Alastair Cook’s sixth opening partner since the retirement of Andrew Strauss in 2012. Lyth enjoyed an outstanding 2014 with 1489 Championship runs at an average of 67.68 as Yorkshire won their first title since 2001.

Lyth’s devil-may-care attitude

Adam Lyth has taken a devil-may-care attitude to the expectation that he will become England’s 666th Test debutant – a number normally associated with the devil or anti-Christ.
The ECB would be open to any request from Lyth to skip a number based on some religious or superstitious concern.
Lyth, however, presumably not an addict of horror movies, was unconcerned by such outlandish notions.
“Any Test number, I’m not bothered,” he told . “A Test debut at Lord’s, walking through the Long Room with Alastair Cook to open the batting for England – it doesn’t get much better than that, does it? It will be one of the proudest moments of my life, and the same for my family.”

With Trott having retired from international cricket, Lyth will be the latest batsman to try and forge a new partnership with Cook. None of the other five players tried – Nick Compton, Joe Root, Michael Carberry, Sam Robson and Trott – have lasted more than nine Tests. Having toured the Caribbean, Lyth has only played one match in the UK this season, making 53 and 23 against Hampshire at Headingley, but a lack of cricket having been with the England squad was naturally not held against him.”I’m over the moon,” Lyth said, “I’m looking forward to opening the batting next week. It’s very exciting, I’m sure there will be a lot of nerves next week but I’m looking forward to the challenge ahead. It will be one of the proudest moments of my life. It was great to get the experience in the West Indies but now I get my chance and there’s no better place to make your debut than at Lord’s. Hopefully I can be in the side for a long period now and would love to play an Ashes series.”Alex Hales, the Nottinghamshire batsman, staked his own claim for a call up with a double century against Yorkshire at Trent Bridge and 141 and 94 at the Ageas Bowl – he is the leading run-scorer after five rounds of the County Championship – but Lyth has been given first opportunity and Hales has been called up for the knockout stages of the IPL with Mumbai Indians.”Adam Lyth has waited patiently for an opportunity with England having performed consistently for Yorkshire and England Lions in the last year,” national selector, James Whitaker, said. “He fully deserves his chance to cement a place in the side at the top of the order. Mark Wood has also impressed and his pace and style of bowling ensure the coach and captain have options in the bowling attack.”There were some positive signs during the recent Test tour and it is key that this group of players learns from the instances when the opposition was put under pressure and we were in a position to press for victory but couldn’t quite manage it. New Zealand are a very talented side and I expect a very competitive series between the two teams to start what will be an incredibly exciting summer of cricket. Good luck to Alastair, Paul Farbrace and the rest of the squad.”Wood, who played in the washed-out ODI in Dublin last week, may be the second England debutant at Lord’s if England decide to make a change to the attack that played in the Caribbean. Ben Stokes, England’s seam-bowling allrounder, is likely to be persisted with despite just three wickets at 85.33 in three Tests against West Indies. He bowled some impressive spells and also made 79 in Antigua. Chris Jordan, who took six wickets at 42.66 in the Caribbean, could make way for Wood as third seamer.Mark Wood is in contention for a Test debut at Lord’s•Getty Images

Wood, the 25-year-old Durham bowler, was fast-tracked into the England set-up and could make his Test debut after just 24 first-class matches. He impressed for Durham in 2013 with 27 scalps at 24.07 in the county’s third Championship triumph. Injury reduced him to just one warm-up match on England Lions’ tour of Sri Lanka but this winter toured South Africa with the Lions. He was also in England’s party in the Caribbean.This is the first squad of Strauss’s reign as director of England cricket. He sat in on the selection meeting led by national selector James Whitaker, whose role is the latest to come under scrutiny after Strauss’s appointment. England go into the series without a permanent coach after Peter Moores’ sacking. Paul Farbrace, the assistant coach, takes temporary charge. Alastair Cook, who made his first Test century for almost two years in Barbados, continues as captain after Strauss offered his public backing at his unveiling on Tuesday.Liam Plunkett, who also toured the Caribbean and featured for England in Test matches last summer, might have been considered but he was left out of Yorkshire’s match at Headingley this week for disciplinary reasons.England squad for first Test against New Zealand
Alastair Cook (capt, Essex), Adam Lyth (Yorkshire), Gary Ballance (Yorkshire), Ian Bell (Warwickshire), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), Ben Stokes (Durham), Jos Buttler (wkt, Lancashire), Chris Jordan (Sussex), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), James Anderson (Lancashire), Mark Wood (Durham)

Mumbai Indians completed one of the most remarkable turnarounds in the eight-year history of the Indian Premier league by transforming a terrible start to the tournament – they were at the bottom of the table for the first two weeks – into a title win

The Report by Devashish Fuloria24-May-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details1:16

Kalra: Crowd short-changed with lack of contest

Mumbai Indians completed one of the most remarkable turnarounds in the eight-year history of the Indian Premier League by transforming a terrible start to the tournament – they were at the bottom of the table for the first two weeks – into a title win.The final, a repeat of their 2013 success at the same ground against the same opposition, turned out to be one of the easier outings after an unbridled early onslaught by Rohit Sharma and Lendl Simmons, both of whom hit half-centuries, stunned Chennai Super Kings – veterans of IPL finals – into submission. Super Kings were not even given a sniff.MS Dhoni’s choice of bowling first on a patchy Eden Gardens pitch was interesting, not because he might have over-compensated for the presence of dew later on but because it was a departure from a strategy that had worked for Super Kings during in their two previous title wins – bat first, score big, then apply the squeeze.The start was perfect; Faf du Plessis ran out Parthiv Patel brilliantly and Ashish Nehra ensured only one came off the first over. But that was it, because once Rohit tore into the second over, picking 16 off Mohit Sharma, Super Kings were always chasing the ball.R Ashwin was introduced in the fourth over, overstepped once and paid the price with a 12-run over. Jadeja was also bowled inside the Powerplay but Simmons smashed him for 14 runs to make it 61 runs off the first six. After seeing Rohit kick-start the innings with a flurry of boundaries in the first three overs, Simmons had played all but one ball in the next three and had overtaken Rohit.The spreading of field was not going to have an effect on the tiny outfield. Simmons continued hogging majority of strike and continued finding boundaries to reach his sixth half-century of the season in the 10th over.The run-rate showed no signs of stemming but Dhoni continued to hold back Dwayne Bravo, the leading wicket-taker of the tournament. As fate had it, it was Bravo who broke the dangerous stand in his first over – the 12th of the innings – by which time Rohit, too, had reached his half-century, of just 24 balls, and the run-rate was hovering around 10.An animated speech by Dhoni in the team huddle at Rohit’s dismissal had a brief effect: Dwayne Smith sent Simmons back with his first ball of the tournament and 30 runs came off four overs. But on 150 after 16 overs with Kieron Pollard and Ambati Rayudu warmed up, Mumbai Indians were waiting to explode.Nehra bore the brunt – he was hit for three sixes and a four in the 17th by Pollard – and Mumbai Indians finished for only the second ever 200-plus total in an IPL final.Super Kings’ chase needed early thrust but it never came. Smith, as had happened throughout the season, struggled to time the ball. He did reach a half-century – his second this season – but Super Kings needed more from him than a strike rate of 118. Harbhajan Singh dismissed Smith an over after he had removed Raina, Malinga struck too and Mitchell McClenaghan collected three. Super Kings’ wait for their third title entered its fifth year.

Hamish Marshall and Geraint Jones saved the day for Gloucestershire and set up a potentially exciting fourth and final day at Bristol.

ECB/PA20-May-2015
ScorecardHamish Marshall went past 13,000 first-class runs as he helped Gloucestershire fight back•Getty Images

Hamish Marshall and Geraint Jones saved the day for Gloucestershire and set up a potentially exciting fourth and final day at Bristol.Having bowled out Kent, finally, for 235 in the morning session, Gloucestershire found themselves staring down the barrel of defeat, inside three days, as Darren Stevens and Ivan Thomas reduced them to 81 for 4, shortly after lunch.However, Marshall and the former Kent wicketkeeper Jones added 134 for the fifth wicket to give Gloucestershire the chance of winning a third successive Championship game.Resuming on their overnight total of 223 for 9, Kent lost their last wicket when Adam Riley top-edged a pull shot, off the bowling of Liam Norwell, to wicketkeeper Gareth Roderick. It was Norwell’s 32nd first-class wicket of the season and left him with the impressive figures of 4 for 44 off 24 overs.On a wicket that provided the bowlers with a degree of encouragement, Gloucestershire batted well in the early stages of their second innings. Openers Chris Dent and Roderick put on 59 for the first wicket with both batsmen looking set for the day. However, the introduction of Darren Stevens turned the game back in Kent’s favour as Gloucestershire preceded to lose four wickets for just 22 runs in 9.3 overs.Dent, who struck three boundaries in his 48-ball stay, was first to go, when he played on to a regulation delivery from Stevens. Eight runs later, off the final ball of the morning session, Ian Cockbain became victim number two for Stevens. That was 67 for 2.If the final throes of the morning session were disappointing, for Gloucestershire, the early stages of the afternoon session were equally as frustrating. First, Peter Handscomb flashed at a short and wide delivery from Thomas and was duly caught by wicketkeeper Sam Billings. Then, Roderick departed in similar fashion, caught at slip by Stevens, once again off the bowling of Thomas.Thankfully, for Gloucestershire, Marshall and Jones batted with far greater application to add 134 for the fifth wicket. Marshall passed 50 off 84 balls and reached 13,000 first-class runs, courtesy of four overthrows. Jones, who signed a two-year contract in the winter, reached his half-century off 92 balls, with six fours.Marshall eventually holed out to Fabian Cowdrey at backward point off the bowling of Matt Coles, for 83, before Kieran Noema-Barnett departed without scoring and Jones for 55, trapped lbw by Thomas. Craig Miles and David Payne put on 36 for the eighth wicket as Gloucestershire finished the day on 282 for 9, leading by 240 with one second innings wicket in hand.

Grant Elliott, Doug Bracewell and Mitchell Santner are the three additions to the New Zealand Cricket central contract list for 2015-16

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Jul-2015After his semi-final heroics vaulted New Zealand into their first ever World Cup final, allrounder Grant Elliott has become one of three additions to New Zealand Cricket’s 20-man central contract list for 2015-16. In addition to Elliott, fast bowler Doug Bracewell has returned to the list after both were cut following the 2013-14 season.New Zealand selectors had taken a gamble on Elliott, 36, by naming him in their World Cup squad in January despite not having played for New Zealand since November 2013. He repaid their faith in the semi-final against South Africa at Eden Park in Auckland, striking an unbeaten 84 and the winning six with a ball to spare to seal a four-wicket win, which put New Zealand into the final against Australia. Elliott also top-scored for New Zealand in the final at the MCG with 83.Mitchell Santner is the third change in the updated list of centrally contracted players. The 23-year old left-arm spinning allrounder received a NZC central contract for the first time after making his international debut against England in June.”Mitch is a player of genuine all-round ability,” Mike Hesson, New Zealand coach and selector, said. “His appearance on this list is recognition of where we see his skills in all three forms of the game. My feeling is that we’ll see a lot more of him with the bat, in particular, as he gains more experience.”Doug deserved to return,” Hesson said. “He’s performed strongly and forced his way back into the fold – ultimately in longer-form cricket, although we continue to see him as a multi-skilled player.”Bracewell, 24, has played 19 Tests for New Zealand since making his debut against Zimbabwe in 2011. His last match was the second Test against Sri Lanka at Basin Reserve in January. Bracewell was included in New Zealand’s Test squad for the recent tour of England but did not make the starting XI for either Test in the drawn series. In last season’s Plunket Shield domestic first-class competition, Bracewell was tied for seventh with 33 wickets at an average of 28.39.The contracts of legspinner Ish Sodhi and batsman Colin Munro were not renewed by NZC while Kyle Mills, who was previously contracted, had retired from all forms of cricket. Sodhi, 22, had played in 11 Tests since making his debut against Bangladesh in October 2013 but was dropped after struggling in the three-match series against Pakistan in the UAE last November, when he took eight wickets at an average of 67.62.Munro, 28, played a lone Test and seven ODIs in addition to 15 T20s. He is currently playing County cricket with Worcestershire.New Zealand central contract list for 2015-16: Corey Anderson, Doug Bracewell, Trent Boult, Mark Craig, Martin Guptill, Grant Elliott, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Mitchell McClenaghan, Brendon McCullum, Nathan McCullum, Adam Milne, Jimmy Neesham, Luke Ronchi, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Neil Wagner, BJ Watling, Kane Williamson

Scotland captain Preston Mommsen admitted his side was feeling the after-effects of the World Twenty20 Qualifier, but said he was relieved after Scotland’s tense three-run win over Nepal on Wednesday

Peter Della Penna in Ayr30-Jul-2015Scotland captain Preston Mommsen admitted his side was feeling the after-effects of the World Twenty20 Qualifier, but said he was relieved after Scotland’s tense three-run win over Nepal on Wednesday.”There’s no doubt we were under pressure,” Mommsen said after the win. “They certainly put us under pressure. They batted well and they ran well. I think it was a combination of a few things and one of those things was fatigue and the end of a long campaign. Today that was always going to be a challenge for us, getting up for this game. We wanted to make sure we didn’t take this Nepal team lightly. We know they are capable and they showed that they are capable today. We’ll have to go away and do some more homework and make sure we come back even stronger on Friday.”Nepal were in the middle of a 139-run partnership with eight wickets in hand in the final two overs needing 25 to win before Gavin Main sparked a slide of three wickets in four balls by removing Nepal captain Paras Khadka for 70. It was 20-year-old Main’s maiden List A match and his freshness proved to be the key after having sat on the bench during Scotland’s entire World Twenty20 Qualifier campaign. Mommsen said despite Nepal’s strong position he was confident Scotland’s experience would help them in the end.”I think there were certainly signs of tiredness toward the end,” Mommsen said. “It’s been a long three or four weeks for us and I think at the end of the day we are just very happy to get the points and move on. I didn’t ever feel like we were going to lose the game, but it was far too close than we would have liked. I still had faith in our bowlers to come back and nail our plans.”Mommsen, who scored 78 off 62 balls, credited Con de Lange, who scored his maiden 50 for Scotland, with propping the team up after Nepal had Scotland in trouble at 101 for 5. Their 113-run sixth wicket stand lifted Scotland out of trouble and took them to a winning score as the hosts scored 86 runs in the final seven overs to finish on 235 for 7 in 36.”Obviously it was a slightly tricky period when I came in so to get through that initial bit of hard work was good and then to try to capitalize toward the end. I thought Con also batted nicely and together we put on quite a nice partnership there. That was his first 50 for Scotland so he batted well and adapted really well to conditions. I think we did really well in the end to post the score that we did.”Khadka said after the match that he felt Nepal’s cautious start did not cost them in the end. Opener Anil Mandal scored 100 in 93 balls, with his second 50 coming in just 32 deliveries. However, Mandal and Mahesh Chhetri only scored one boundary in the opening seven-over power play of the chase, reaching 24 for 0.”We had a plan that we’d build up the innings slowly but steadily and accordingly move from there,” Khadka said. “It could be a slow start, it could be a fast start but in the end it was a matter of one ball. Had the result gone in our favor, things would have gone well and we wouldn’t be talking about that. This is what it is. As long as you play the game we have to take the other side of the story and today unfortunately we couldn’t cross the line.”The Nepal captain was reasonably positive though despite the defeat. After a rough tour of Ireland where they secured a lone victory over USA in their opening match of the World Twenty20 Qualifier, taking this match to the end was an indication that his side had greater confidence in their skills in the 50-over format.”We came very close. It was a very good game altogether. I think both teams played equally well. Scotland after being [101] for 5 managed to put up a decent score and we put up a fight until the last ball but unfortunately we couldn’t pull it off in the end. It was just a matter of one ball. Sometimes I’d say this is what cricket comes down to. When you play good teams, it’s just a matter of those small margins.”

Chris Jordan, who has endured an injury-hit season, claimed 5 for 57 to boost Sussex’s chances of avoiding relegation against fellow strugglers Worcestershire

David Hopps at New Road01-Sep-2015
ScorecardChris Jordan impressed in front of the England national selector James Whitaker•Getty Images

According to England’s cricketing professionals, there are few things more exhausting than a county cricket season – although the pursuit of perfection deserves to be in there somewhere. Approaching the end of a season which a PCA survey has condemned as excessive, it is a fortunate county who can point to a fast bowler awash with vigour.Perhaps Sussex are that county. Chris Jordan’s return from a prolonged absence with a side injury could not take them to Finals Day in the NatWest Blast – a century from David Willey saw to that – but it could work wonders in their attempts to sidestep relegation from Division One of the Championship.Jordan returned 5 for 57 in three spells, the last of them – Ben Cox shouldering arms to a delivery which came back to bowl him – greeted with a swivel and punch of the air in triumph. Steve Magoffin carried over a tray of drinks and handed him one. When Magoffin, who labours as long and hard as any seamer in the country, carries your drinks, you are having a good day.James Whitaker, the national selector, was in situ to watch it, although the dry, moribund pitches of the UAE do not make Jordan a natural pick for the forthcoming Test series against Pakistan: Chris Woakes, if he removes his own fitness concerns, is one fast-bowling allrounder who is probably ahead of him.That Sussex are concerned by relegation at all owes much to injuries that have bedevilled their pace attack all season, but the table insists they are. Hampshire, bottom, are stirring and have a game in hand over Worcestershire, who began four points behind Sussex and a further nine behind Somerset. This match could have a major bearing – and when Sussex’s captain Ed Joyce pulled out an hour before the start with a back injury it would have been easy to become distracted.Instead, Sussex pushed all that aside. “We are not looking at external factors, just how we can study the opposition and impose ourselves on the opposition,” Jordan said. “That was a focus from ball one. I thought we start the tone from the start.”It would not do for Sussex to be too optimistic just yet. They have to bat last on a New Road pitch which has been used twice before and was described by one player as resembling carpet tiles. Worcestershire batted on it in the belief that it can only get worse, although if we keep getting sudden downpours of the one that ended play soon after tea it might bind the surface together and ensure it remains a slow, low seamer.Jordan’s languid approach does not immediately communicate menace, but he was on the money from the start. Daryl Mitchell perished in the slips – a knock-up from Mike Yardy to Chris Nash. When Tom Fell bisected Yardy and Luke Wright at slip Jordan was aggravated enough to rasp his next delivery through Fell’s defences.Worcestershire’s only main resistance came in a third-wicket stand of 80 in 32 overs between Joe Clarke, already tipped by the former England captain Michael Vaughan as a future England player, and Brett D’Oliveira, installed as opener for the closing stages of the season in preference to Richard Oliver. Their departure – Clarke bowled by Jordan on the drive, D’Oliveira gloving a pull against Magoffin – began to a sequence of five wickets for 24 in 43 balls.Remove Jordan from the attack and it became a different game. Worcestershire recovered somewhat against the support bowlers, but lost Jack Shantry at slip and Saeed Ajmal to a lavish slog sweep to leave the majority of a decent crowd nervous about their team’s safety.

Bangladesh Women’s team captain Salma Khatun has said that the team readily agreed to tour Pakistan after the BCB had asked them for their approval earlier this month

Mohammad Isam27-Sep-2015Bangladesh Women’s team captain Salma Khatun has said that the team had readily agreed to tour Pakistan after the BCB had asked them for their approval earlier this month. She said the team is focused on playing cricket in Pakistan rather than the security concerns off the field.”We were not put under any pressure to play in Pakistan,” Salma said. “We are going according to our wishes. We will be given the highest level of security. We are going there to play cricket, so we are not concerned about what is happening anywhere else in the country.”

Bangladesh Women’s tour of Pakistan schedule

September 30 – 1st T20
October 2 – 2nd T20
October 4 – 1st ODI
October 6 – 2nd ODI

Salma also stressed that they have been assured the highest level of security during the nine-day visit, and that their lack of international cricket in the last 12 months meant they were keen to play the series.”The board wanted to know our decision, whether we want to or don’t want to go. We wanted to tour any country to play cricket, since we haven’t played any matches since the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon. There is no fear among us. We know that there won’t be any trouble in the area where we will be playing.”The team will leave Dhaka for Karachi at 1.35pm on Monday afternoon and will stay at the Southend Cricket Club in Karachi. Bangladesh Women will take on Pakistan Women there in two T20s on September 30 and October 2, before playing two one-day matches on October 4 and 6. The team will return home on October 7.In addition to BCB vice-president Mahbubul Anam and women’s wing chairman MA Awal, former Bangladesh captain Shafiq-ul-Haq will accompany the team in what is seen as a high-profile tour.Haq had been the manager on the men’s tour on a number of occasions, most notably their last tour to Pakistan. He said that if the team members want, they can even venture outside the Southend Club with adequate security measures.