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Nottinghamshire cricketers were in no mood to be drinks waiters at Durham’s revivalist party as they sliced through them on the opening day

Paul Edwards at Chester-le-Street14-Apr-2017
Scorecard”We’re not angry with you,” the ECB’s panjandrums told Durham last autumn.”Just very disappointed?” queried the county’s officials, who had rapidly adjusted to their role in the patient parent lectures naughty teen routine. And so it continued, the board telling Durham that sanctions were for the greater good and the county mumbling “Whatevs” while waiting for nice Uncle Ian to come and stay. It was thus a relief when shrugs and moodies were replaced by competitive, wicket-strewn cricket on the first day of this game and BounceBackTogether could be more than a hashtagged slogan.Nottinghamshire cricketers, though, were in no mood to be drinks waiters at Durham’s revivalist party. Supporters at Trent Bridge were themselves both bloody angry and very disappointed when their team was relegated last September, a demise caused not by a shortage of cash but by a lack of points. What was worse they went down without a semblance of a fight, 41 points shy of seventh-placed Lancashire in the final table.It will therefore have comforted the away spectators when Nottinghamshire’s seamers followed last week’s ten-wicket demolition of Leicestershire by controlling the opening exchanges of this match, taking six wickets for 24 runs either side of lunch as the home side crumbled to 71 for 7. Then much later in the piece, Samit Patel and Michael Lumb put on 85 for the visitors’ fourth wicket and their alliance was only ended deep into the evening when Lumb, having laboured worthily over 33 runs, was leg before to one from Mark Wood which kept low. That wicket fell in a 29-ball session watched by fewer people than you would find in the average ECB committee meeting. It ended a day marked not quite so much by Durham’s resurgence as by Nottinghamshire’s grit.Indeed, we had got to middle of the afternoon before north-eastern hope was personified in the chunky shape of Stuart Poynter, whose 59-ball half-century hoisted his side’s first innings total to a barely respectable 162. The ball itself did a fair bit of #bouncingback and forth during Poynter’s innings, not least when he uppercut the impressive James Pattinson to the longstop boundary, a shot which brought a roar of delight from the 2190-strong crowd, their attendance encouraged by the £5 price of admission.Durham’s wicketkeeper-batsman breathed in the oxygen of approval and more boundaries followed, the best of them driven through the covers. Poynter hit a dozen fine fours in his 65 and had added 52 for the last wicket with Chris Rushworth before he was bowled making room to work Luke Fletcher through the off side.But last-wicket partnerships often foreshadow early breakthroughs and so it was at a chilly Riverside where Rushworth and Graham Onions took three wickets in seven balls inside the first five overs of Nottinghamshire’s reply. This was probably the best part of the day for the Durham supporters who had turned up with the intention of showing the authorities that it takes more than points deductions to crush their collective spirit.”Betrayed, Cheated but not Defeated” read a banner just to the left of the sightscreen at the Lumley End and one did not need to be “Dilly” Knox to fathom the acronym “FTECB” printed alongside the rhyme. Onions probably did not express himself quite so frankly when he caused Greg Smith to edge a drive to Paul Collingwood; neither might Rushworth have been so candid when he trapped Alex Hales for a five-ball duck. But their joy was evident all the same and a reminder that Collingwood still possesses one of the best seam attacks in either division.Lumb and Patel, though, staunched the flow of wickets with careful flourish-free batsmanship. Spectators may not have discounted the possibility of Durham beginning their second innings of the first evening of this game but only Lumb’s wicket fell. Patel had hit eight boundaries when the umpires took the players off about an hour into the final session but Wood had looked relatively innocuous and the 80-minute break in play may have come as something of a disappointment to batsmen who seemed at ease in their work.All of which served as a pleasing complement to the first session of the day when it had been Nottinghamshire’s seamers who had made the most of Read’s decision to bowl first. Stephen Cook’s first competitive innings for Durham ended after 11 balls when he attempted to leave a ball from Jake Ball but only edged a catch to Chris Read. Jack Burnham added 41 with 11 overs Keaton Jennings but then declined to attempt a stroke to the final ball of Luke Fletcher’s first over. It was a fatal misjudgement. Burnham’s off stump Beth Tweddled back to Read, the ash pole performing a gymnastic feat well beyond the bowler’s capabilities, albeit that Fletcher has chiselled down his previously megalithic build.Burnham’s wicket was the prelude to further success for Fletcher and his colleagues. Pattinson produced what was by far the seed of the day to bowl Jennings for 26, the ball angling in before straightening to take out the off stump. Michael Richardson’s tentative push gave a slip catch to Greg Smith; Collingwood and Ryan Pringle fell to successive deliveries from Ball and Durham were in the soup before the media had digested their lunchtime lasagne.

The International Cricket Council on Monday confirmed that it has charged and provisionally suspended Hong Kong batsman Irfan Ahmed for a breach of the anti-corruption code

Mohammad Isam11-Jan-2016The International Cricket Council on Monday confirmed that it has charged and provisionally suspended Hong Kong batsman Irfan Ahmed for a breach of the Anti-Corruption Code.The offence is under Article 2.4.2 of the ICC Anti-Corruption Code (effective from 10 October 2012 to 10 November 2014) which states, “Failing to disclose to the ACSU (without undue delay) full details of any approaches or invitations received by the Participant to engage in conduct that would amount to a breach of the Anti-Corruption Code.”An ICC spokesman told ESPNcricinfo that, “In accordance with the terms of the Code, a disciplinary process is currently underway and the ICC is not able to make any further comment on the matter pending the outcome of the disciplinary process.”Hong Kong Cricket Association CEO Tim Cutler said, “We are firmly committed to upholding the integrity of our sport and we fully support the ICC’s broadened concern around this grave threat to the soul of cricket. We must always put player welfare at the centre of our concerns and no matter what, there is a young man here who needs to be our immediate concern and we will be there for any support we can offer.”The 26-year old Ahmed has played six ODIs since his debut in 2008, as well as eight T20Is, the last of which was in July 2015. He had been in the top bracket for centrally contracted cricketers in Hong Kong in 2014-15, but was not retained for the 2015-16 season.

Test cricketers Doug Bracewell, Mark Gillespie and Neil Broom are among 18 players named by New Zealand Cricket for their A-team tour to India and Sri Lanka in August

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Jul-2013Test cricketers Doug Bracewell, Mark Gillespie and Neil Broom are among 18 players in New Zealand’s A team tour to India and Sri Lanka starting late August. The team is scheduled to play one three-day match, one four-day match and three one-dayers against India A before travelling to Sri Lanka for two four-day matches and three one-dayers.”It’s a very strong New Zealand A squad with a lot of experience on the international scene,” Kim Littlejohn, the general manager of national selection, said. “The likes of Doug Bracewell, Neil Broom and Mark Gillespie have all played at Test level and will benefit from further time facing international teams.”However, three players – Broom, Derek de Boorder and James Neesham – will only be available for the two longer-form matches against India A, before being released for the Champions League. They will be replaced by Anton Devcich, Andrew Ellis and Scott Kuggeleijn.”Players like Daryl Mitchell, Ish Sodhi and Matthew Henry are all exciting prospects for the future, and this offers them an opportunity to continue their development and understand the demands of cricket at a higher level,” Littlejohn said.”The experience of playing in subcontinent conditions will be of immense value for all these players and we’re confident they’ll grasp this opportunity with both hands.”New Zealand A squad: Corey Anderson (Northern Knights), Todd Astle (Canterbury Wizards), Derek de Boorder (Otago Volts), Doug Bracewell (Central Districts), Neil Broom (Otago Volts), Carl Cachopa (Central Districts), Mark Gillespie (Wellington Firebirds), Matthew Henry (Canterbury Wizards), Tom Latham (Canterbury Wizards), James Neesham (Otago Volts), Adam Milne (Central Districts),
Daryl Mitchell (Northern Knights), Colin Munro (Auckland Aces), Luke Ronchi (Wellington Firebirds), Ish Sodhi (Northern Knights)Players out after first two matches in India: Neil Broom, Derek de Boorder and James NeeshamPlayers in after first two matches in India: Anton Devcich (Northern Knights), Andrew Ellis (Canterbury Wizards), Scott Kuggeleijn (Northern Knights)

South Africa A played out 56 overs in the fourth innings with the loss of only two wickets to deny Sri Lanka A a chance to square the two-match series

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Jul-2012Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsSouth Africa A played out 56 overs in the fourth innings with the loss of only two wickets to deny Sri Lanka A a chance to square the two-match series. South Africa had beaten the visitors by an innings in the first match in Durban.Sri Lanka A started the day with opening batsman Dimuth Karunaratne, on 99 overnight, reaching his century in the first over of the morning with an off-drive to the boundary. Karunaratne, who had scored 83 in the first innings, went on to take Sri Lanka past 300 and completed 150 runs in the process. He declared the innings soon after, giving a target of 349 runs in a minimum of 71 overs to the home team.South Africa A lost openers Dean Elgar and Reeza Hendricks with only 37 runs on the board, but Stiaan van Zyl, 39 off 140 balls, and Faf du Plessis, 55 off 120, combined together in an unbeaten 93-run partnership as the game meandered to a draw.

Teenage left-arm spinner Raza Hasan was the hero for Rawalpindi Rams as he kept his nerve in the Super Over to hand them the Faisal Bank Super Eight T20 title

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Jul-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Teenage left-arm spinner Raza Hasan kept his cool in the Super Over to give Rawalpindi the title•Dr Naeem Ashraf

Eighteen-year-old left-arm spinner Raza Hasan was the hero for Rawalpindi Rams as he held his nerve in the Super Over to hand them the Faysal Bank Super Eight T20 title. Rawalpindi seemed to have fluffed their chances of victory against Karachi Dolphins at the Iqbal Stadium when they managed only one run in the final four balls of their chase of 165 to leave the game tied. But after they smashed 16 in the Super Over it was Karachi’s turn to flounder, scoring only one off the final four deliveries of their over to slump to defeat. Sohail Khan took five wickets for Karachi but it wasn’t enough to secure victory.Awais Zia did all the scoring for Rawalpindi in the Super Over, slapping two fours and a six to negate the effect of the two dot balls he played. It was a tough target for Karachi but Khalid Latif began with a big six over long-on. The 18-year-old Hasan, though, hit back by getting Latif to top-edge to short fine-leg off the next ball. The third delivery saw a dropped catch which resulted in a single, and then Hasan bowled three dot balls in a row as Shahzaib Hasan struggled to get bat on ball.There was plenty of drama before the closing skirmish too. Karachi had made a sluggish start after being sent in, reaching 34 for 1 in five overs, before the batsman of the tournament, Rameez Raja, gave the innings some impetus with two fours and two sixes in the sixth over. His partner Asad Shafiq was dismissed lbw by Hasan for a 26-ball 36 and that again slowed the Karachi innings. Though they had blasted 91 in the first ten overs, and had wickets in hand, they could only add 73 in the last ten.Rawalpindi’s chase got off to a horror start as Sohail struck twice in the second over. Zia slammed six fours in eight deliveries to inject some momentum into the chase before another double-strike from Sohail, in the sixth over, left Rawalpindi gasping at 56 for 4. A flurry of boundaries from Adnan Mufti kept them alive before a couple of sixes from Hammad Azam evened the game.Two big hits from Mohammad Rameez made it 22 needed off the final three overs with three wickets in hand. Sohail returned to revive Karachi, getting Rameez with a slower yorker and giving away only three runs in the 18th over. Rawalpindi scrambled 10 off the next over and when Umar Amin muscled the second ball of Azam Hussain’s final over for six, Rawalpindi needed only two to win off four deliveries. They couldn’t get them, though, and Amin watched helplessly as wickets fell off the final two balls with the scores level. Any momentum Karachi may have gained from clawing back to tie the game proved meaningless in the Super Over as Hasan repaid the faith his captain showed in him.

Doug Bollinger has admitted that it would be “devastating” to concede a one-day series whitewash to England, but is confident Australia can regain some pride in the final two matches after their late surge at Old Trafford nearly pulled off a stunning come

Andrew McGlashan28-Jun-2010Doug Bollinger has admitted that it would be “devastating” to concede a one-day series whitewash to England, but is confident Australia can regain some pride in the final two matches after their late surge at Old Trafford nearly pulled off a stunning comeback.England lost six for 18 in 38 balls as a comfortable chase turned into a nerve-jangling conclusion before Tim Bresnan edged James Hopes to seal victory and give the hosts an unassailable lead in the series.
Bollinger had been a major factor in the late jitters as he removed Graeme Swann and Stuart Broad in his last over with reverse swing, while the recalled Shaun Tait and legspinner Steven Smith also made England sweat.However, for a large part of the match Australia had been a distant second best once the opening stand of 75 between Shane Watson and Tim Paine was broken, leaving the visitors in the almost unknown position of having to save face at The Oval and Lord’s this week.”We’d love to stop them, 5-0 would be devastating,” said Bollinger.
“But we’ve just got to go out there and do everything properly and hopefully win the next two; 3-2 would still be disappointing but it would be two good wins.”It isn’t the start we wanted being 3-0 down but there isn’t much we can do. Everyone went out and played their guts off and sometimes it just doesn’t work out. We can’t whinge about it, we just have to try and finish well in these two one-dayers before the T20s and Tests against Pakistan.”Bollinger, though, conceded that England have made huge strides with their one-day game since the 6-1 thrashing by Australia last year and will be a tough side to compete with after the confidence gained from recent limited-overs success.”They’ve come on massively, especially with winning the Twenty20 they are sky high at the moment,” he said. “Everyone in their team has got their game together. We have to lift 10-15 percent and we are capable of doing that. Nobody likes a winning team unless it’s your own but we’ll be alright.”Despite Australia’s problems in the series, Bollinger has continued his impressive form of the last nine months which as seen him become the team’s premier strike bowler. The partnership with Tait, who was limited to two-over spells by Ricky Ponting in his first ODI since February 2009, certainly gave the attack an added dimension after it had looked pedestrian in the opening two encounters.”It was good to drag them back a bit in those last 10 overs and that means everything is starting to come together,” said Bollinger.
“Hopefully we can build on that. We’ve been very successful in the last few years and a couple of losses probably isn’t that bad even though nobody likes to lose.”

Alex Carey carried his white-ball form into the Sheffield Shield, making 90 off 85 balls, but South Australia struggled as Nathan Lyon loomed ominously with three scalps

AAP09-Oct-2024Alex Carey has launched his red-ball summer by blitzing a quick-fire 90 for South Australia against New South Wales, before Nathan Lyon inspired a late collapse to put the Blues in command.Carey smashed 90 from 85 balls on day two at Sydney’s Cricket Central, as South Australia went to stumps at 227 for 7 in reply to NSW’s 366.After arriving at the wicket with the visitors at 87 for 3, Carey peppered the cow-corner boundary and regularly had the game stopped for lost balls in the scrubland.The left-hander hammered four sixes in his counter-attacking knock, going after Tanveer Sangha after the NSW spinner struck twice.Carey’s runs came after Travis Head also hit two sixes in his 30 for South Australia, batting at No.4 and not opening just six weeks out from the first Test against India.Head twice hit Sangha over the rope for six, before the legspinner beat the left-hander in flight when he tossed a ball up outside off stump and drew his edge.But, after making two half-centuries on Australia’s recent one-day tour of England, Carey stayed in white-ball mode. He hit back-to-back boundaries down the ground off quick Jack Nisbet, and also slog-swept Nathan Lyon for another six into the scrubland.Sangha was given the same treatment later in the day, before Carey reverse-swept and drove the spinner to the boundary.”Tanveer was bowling a pretty aggressive line around the wicket into some rough, so I felt like I had to be on the front foot and not just sit on the crease,” Carey said.”The intent was definitely there. I think when I am playing my best cricket I have a strong intent.”I just thought I had to be a little proactive.”The wicketkeeper-bat eventually bit off more than he could chew, caught in the deep trying to take on Lyon. His dismissal prompted another collapse of 4 for 5, with Lyon taking three wickets in 14 balls to finish with 3 for 45. Australia’s Test spinner had Daniel Drew caught-and-bowled for a duck, before he spun one out of the rough to bowl Ben Manenti for four.Captain Nathan McSweeney was run out on 55, adding salt into the wound for South Australia as the pressure from Lyon mounted.”I’ve been itching to get back playing. It’s what I love doing,” Lyon said. “I feel like I’ve been training the house down and in a really good headspace.”I had [spin coach] John Davison down last week, so just ticking those boxes with a really big summer ahead.”Carey’s knock came after fellow wicketkeeper Josh Inglis made 122 from 117 balls for Western Australia against Queensland. Earlier, Sangha (19 not out) and Liam Hatcher (26) added 42 for the final wicket for the Blues, giving the hosts a brief upper-hand when the pair then struck early with the ball.

The fast bowler is likely to be selected for the T20 internationals in Ireland next month

Nagraj Gollapudi27-Jul-20232:42

Rohit ‘quite positive’ about Bumrah’s impending return

Jasprit Bumrah is set to lead India’s pace attack once again as he is expected to be picked in the squad for the three T20 internationals in Ireland on August 18, 20 and 23. The squad is likely to be selected this week.”Bumrah is totally fit and he may go to Ireland,” BCCI secretary Jay Shah said in Delhi on Thursday.Bumrah underwent back surgery in March and has not played since the T20I series at home against Australia last September. As per the original timeline worked out by the medical staff at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru, Bumrah was only expected to return for the Asia Cup which starts on August 30.Related

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The first hint that Bumrah’s recovery was progressing faster than expected came last week when the BCCI said in a media release that he was bowling at “full intensity” in the nets. Since he started rehab in April, Bumrah has incrementally built on his bowling workloads.