All posts by n8rngtd.top

The three teams join table-toppers Netherlands in the qualifiers while Kenya drop to division two ahead of the final set of WCL matches

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Dec-2017
ScorecardSafyaan Sharif holds his arms aloft after taking the final wicket•Peter Della Penna

Scotland claimed a place in the World Cup qualifier in March 2018 with an eight-wicket victory over Kenya in Dubai. Put in to bat, Kenya were bowled out for 140 and watched their opponents bash through to the target with 132 balls to spare.Fast bowler Safyaan Sharif vindicated Scotland’s decision to field at the toss by picking up a wicket in the very first over. Opener Rushab Patel was the first of the procession as four of the top six batsmen were kept to single digits. Collins Obuya, the 36-year old who was part of the 2003 squad that made the World Cup semi-final, top-scored with 26 as Kenya lurched from 31 for 2 in the 10th over to 95 for 6 in the 32nd. The tail did its best to play out the full quota of overs, but they couldn’t handle Sharif (3 for 33) and Chris Sole (2 for 20) when they came back in the death overs. Left-arm spinner Mark Watt had a fine day as well, finishing with figures of 10-2-17-1.Half-centuries from captain Kyle Coetzer (52) and Calum MacLeod (56*) put the finishing touches on a game Scotland dominated from start to finish.
ScorecardRohan Mustafa gave UAE a solid start at the top of the order•Getty Images

An unbeaten 81 from Ghulam Shabber, assisted by a fifty from the captain Rohan Mustafa helped UAE cruise to a comfortable win against Nepal in Abu Dhabi. UAE won by seven wickets, and with 25 balls to spare, to go one spot above last-placed Namibia.That Nepal managed to score only 221 in the first innings, despite losing only five wickets, stems from the fact that their openers started slow. When the first Nepal wicket fell in the 15th over, they were only at 43. Ahmed Raza and Amir Hayat kept the brakes on the Nepal batsmen, together conceding only 41 runs in their combined 18 overs. Sharad Vesawkar, Nepal’s No. 3, also scored an unbeaten 81, but he found no assistance from the middle order.The UAE openers Mustafa and Ashfaq Ahmed (17-ball 19) gave them a flying start to the 222 chase, before the partnership was broken for 42 in the seventh over. Shabber took over from Ashfaq, adding 81 for the second wicket with Mustafa in quick time. Mustafa fell in the 23rd over, but not before completing his fourth List A fifty, after while Shabber shepherded UAE till the end.Babar Hayat raises a half-century•Peter Della Penna

ScorecardPapua New Guinea’s 23-run loss to Hong Kong handed the WCL Championship to Netherlands. PNG failed to chase down 231, but did well to recover from a position of 29 for 4 in the ninth over. Babar Hayat set up the first innings, with 77 off 120 balls, to take Hong Kong to a respectable total.Hayat was helped by Anshy Rath (37) the rest of Hong Kong’s middle order, as they went past 200 despite losing regular wickets. Four PNG bowlers took two wickets each, and they never allowed Hong Kong’s batsmen – except Hayat – to settle. A late surge from Tanwir Afzal (21-ball 26) helped Hong Kong set a 231 target.PNG’s innings started poorly, with Afzal and Nadeem Ahmed running through their opponents’ top order. It took a 98-run fifth-wicket stand between Mahuru Dai (60) and Sese Bau (59) to give PNG some sort of hope, but the end of that partnership brought another collapse, with the team eventually folding for 207 in the 45th over.With the top four slots decided, the final day of WCL games are set to be dead rubbers.

Half-centuries from captain Jason Sangha and Param Uppal contributed to Australia’s all-round effort, handing PNG a mammoth 311-run drubbing in Lincoln

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Jan-2018Australia Under-19 opener Nathan McSweeney’s 156, aided by half-centuries from captain Jason Sangha and Param Uppal, and a seven-wicket haul from fast bowler Jason Ralston handed PNG a mammoth 311-run drubbing in Lincoln.Jason Ralston’s impressive figures•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Having set a target of 371, Ralston ran through the PNG line-up with figures of 7 for 15. While Zak Evans and Ryan Hadley took out one wicket a piece, Ralston’s offensive, across 6.5 overs, proved sufficient to ensure PNG were bowled out for 59 inside 24.5 overs, with only one batsman – Leke Morea (20) – notching up a double-digit score.Much of the trouble for PNG, however, began with the ball as their decision to bowl backfired spectacularly, despite having made the first strike off the eighth ball of the innings. After Semo Kamea removed Max Bryant for a duck, McSweeney hammered 18 fours and four sixes and trotted to a 111-ball 156, putting on 250 runs for the second wicket with Sangha (88), at an astounding rate of 7.28. Left-arm quick James Tau’s double-strike off successive balls in the 36th over accounted for McSweeney and Sangha, following which Austin Waugh (26) partnered with Uppal (61) to add 92 for the fourth wicket. With less than four overs left until the end of the innings, the duo, too, fell off back-to-back deliveries to Dare Aiga, but had done enough to ensure Australia finished on 370 for 8.

South African seamer should be available for seven County Championship matches and entire Royal London campaign.

George Dobell21-Feb-2018Derbyshire have signed Duanne Olivier as an overseas player for the first half of the 2018 season.The 25-year-old South African seamer should, subject to final clearance from Cricket South Africa, be available for the county’s first seven County Championship matches and the entire Royal London One-Day Cup campaign.”We identified new-ball bowling as an area we wanted to strengthen, especially for the first half of the season in red- and white-ball cricket,” Cricket Advisor, Kim Barnett said. “He is a tall, quick bowler who is keen to prove himself and he will give us another quality option with the ball. He comes highly recommended and will offer further depth to our seam attack.”While Olivier has struggled to command a settled place in the South Africa side – a reflection, in part, of their depth of seam bowling talent – he has played five Tests and claimed his 17 wickets at an impressive average of just 23.11 apiece. His first-class record – he has taken 284 wickets at an average of 22.04 – is excellent and, while he is still learning his trade in white-ball cricket, he has claimed the two best List A figures of his career this year.”I’m looking forward to joining up with Derbyshire and getting straight into bowling overs and contributing to success for the club,” Olivier said. “The club is clear in its drive to keep improving and I’m excited to be a part of an ambitious dressing room. There is a strong bowling attack at the club and I hope to play my part, both on and off the field.”Derbyshire have previously announced the signing of Mitchell Santner as an overseas player for the T20 competition and the second half of the Championship campaign and the release of several young players.

Sunrisers Hyderabad lost 9 for 75, before the last-wicket pair of Hooda and Stanlake held their nerve to keep Mumbai Indians winless

The Report by Shashank Kishore12-Apr-2018
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details5:00

Did Ben Cutting pick the right ball to bowl?

Mumbai Indians wove magic yet again at the venue of their unprecedented third IPL triumph to come back from the dead, but were still pipped at the finish line by Deepak Hooda, the man whom Sunrisers Hyderabad doled out INR 3.6 crore (USD 562,000 approx) for at the auction.His unbeaten 32 included a sensational final-over six off a wide yorker off Ben Cutting that reduced the equation to five off five balls. A wide and three singles reduced it to one needed off the final delivery. Billy Stanlake, the No. 11, nervously examined the closed-in field, contemplated his options and then hoicked the slower delivery to the midwicket fence to script a one-wicket win and send a strong crowd of 30,000 into delirium.Dhawan wicket triggers collapse A slap to the extra-cover boundary off his first delivery set the tone for yet another dominating knock. Without scoreboard pressure early in the chase, Shikhar Dhawan simply trusted his instincts and hit everything through the line to bludgeon his way towards a second successive half-century. The first one, against Rajasthan Royals, came off 33 deliveries. He was set to shade that by muscling his way to 45 off 27 balls, before falling off his 28th when he top-edged a sweep to Jasprit Bumrah at fine leg. This triggered a sensational collapse.Markande and Mustafizur take it down to the wireAt 20, Mayank Markande’s confidence to execute his variations has been impressive. He foxed Wriddhiman Saha with a shortish googly that beat the inside edge to hit the pad, with an lbw appeal given out on review. Dhawan holed out to fine leg and Manish Pandey’s ugly hoick resulted in a leading edge taken by Rohit at short mid-off. There were nerves in the Sunrisers camp now, and Shakib had them biting off their fingernails when he chopped on. They had sensationally slipped from 73 for 1 to 107 for 5.This was still very much Sunrisers’ game, but there were more twists to come. Yusuf Pathan and Deepak Hooda brought them to within 12 runs of victory, before Bumrah delivered two vital strikes. Yusuf mistimed a skiddy bouncer to Kieron Pollard at midwicket and Rashid Khan was snuffed out by a full delivery that took the edge to the keeper.Mustafizur Rahman then delivered a stellar penultimate over, taking two wickets and conceding just one to leave Hooda a herculean task. Mustafizur’s modus operandi was simple: varying his length to cutters. Sandeep Sharma’s attempted scoop resulted in a catch to short fine, while Siddarth Kaul chipped one back as Mustafizur held on to a superb reflex-action catch. Now, with 11 needed off one over, Hooda exhibited tremendous calm to see the game through.Sunrisers’ awesome bowling line-upIn Sandeep, Sunrisers had Bhuvneshwar’s like-for-like replacement. Handed a debut for Sunrisers after being picked up for INR 3 crore (USD 468,000 approx) at the auction, he didn’t let them down.In his very first over, he got the ball to dart back in and then straighten to beat Rohit. This would be a recurring theme for the evening as he troubled the batsmen with his zip off the pitch. His reward were the wickets of a well-set Suryakumar Yadav, the lone batsman to show any sort of fight for Mumbai in the middle overs, and Pradeep Sangwan, at the death.In Kaul, Sandeep’s state-mate at Punjab, Sunrisers have an equally effective bowler. He may not set the speed guns crackling, but is capable of hurrying the batsmen with his skid. His knuckleball to dismiss a dangerous-looking Evin Lewis, who had smashed three fours and two sixes in his 17-ball 29 as an opener, set the tone for Sunrisers’ domination. The pair finished with combined figures of 4 for 54 between them off eight overs.Rashid Khan’s chokeIf the seamers were not stifling enough, Mumbai Indians were slowly choked by Rashid Khan, who bowled 18 dot balls, the most by a spinner in the IPL, to finish with figures of 4-0-13-1. This meant Mumbai were devoid of any sort of momentum through the innings, with the highest partnership being the 38-run stand for the sixth wicket between Kieron Pollard and Suryakumar Yadav.Rashid, as usual, varied his googlies and fast legbreaks with subtle changes in length on a surface where there was true bounce to keep Mumbai quiet. Losing a wicket every time they looked for a release resulted in the batsmen having to buckle down and delay their slog. This played right into Rashid’s hands. When it got to a stage where the batsmen had no choice but to slog, Rashid got his only wicket of the night as a charging Ben Cutting misread a googly and was bowled in the 18th over.Too many shots hurt MumbaiSure the format demands belligerence, but Mumbai hovered between uber-aggressive and reckless. Ishan Kishan’s dismissal, slicing an attempted heave to third man in the sixth over, demonstrated this. In the very first over, Rohit too was guilty of trying to slog the ball, but was lucky to be reprieved by Hooda, who put down a catch running backwards from midwicket. Fortunately, this didn’t cost Hyderabad much as he eventually failed to keep a flick down and was caught at square leg by Shakib Al Hasan.Krunal Pandya, promoted to No. 5, chipped a simple catch to cover while Pollard set himself up for the end overs but ended up checking his shot to be caught at deep cover for a 23-ball 28 with 5.1 overs to play. Mumbai were 110 for 5 then, possibly looking at 160. That wasn’t to be. With their bowling attack, 147 may have still been enough on another night.

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Mar-2018
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
2:49

‘Wasim Jaffer’s hunger to play cricket is exceptional’

Wasim Jaffer couldn’t get to his third first-class triple century, but Vidarbha continued to grind Rest of India on a truncated third day In Nagpur.In the 28 overs that were possible, Vidarbha added 104 for the loss of Jaffer and Akshay Wadkar, the wicketkeeper, on a flat VCA stadium deck at Jamtha in Nagpur. When early stumps were drawn because of bad light, Vidarbha had progressed to 702 for 5, with Apoorv Wankhade one short of his second first-class hundred. Aditya Sarwate, the offspinner, was unbeaten on 4.Siddarth Kaul provided an early breakthrough immediately after play began following a two-hour delay due to rain. He produced a fine delivery that swung in late to beat the inside edge and castle Jaffer. He sent down 36 overs for two wickets in all. The spinners – R Ashwin, Shahbaz Nadeem and Jayant Yadav- picked up one wicket each across 136 overs.Wankhede, who resumed on 44, played freely but rode luck when left-arm spinner Nadeem dropped him off his own bowling. He continued to pile on the runs from there on and come within touching distance of a century when bad light forced an early end to proceedings.With just two full days remaining, the prospects of the game being decided on the first innings looks the most likely.

Muslim Uddin’s camp for women cricketers in Bogra, run out of a toilet converted into an office and storeroom, has produced international cricketers such as Khadija Tul Kubra, Ritu Moni and Sharmin Akhter

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Apr-2018A local coach has found an innovative way to deal with the lack of funds and support for women’s cricket in Bangladesh. Muslim Uddin, who runs a training camp at the Shaheed Chandu Stadium in Bogra, a district town situated 200km north of Dhaka, has settled upon a toilet in the stadium to be his office and equipment storeroom.Muslim, an assistant coach under the Bogra Sports Association, has been running this camp for the last 11 years. The camp was initially backed by the district women’s sports body but after they pulled out of the programme, such was his commitment that he continued the training camp on his own volition. And with some success too – he has so far produced international cricketers such as Khadija Tul Kubra, Ritu Moni and Sharmin Akhter.Women’s cricket is still in its nascent stages in Bangladesh, with only a handful of districts like Bogra, Khulna, Rangpur, Gaibandha and Jessore thought to be serious about it. Dhaka, the capital, also has a few women’s cricket training academies. Bogra stands out, mainly because of Muslim.The toilet, as described in a report earlier this week, is about 35-40 square feet in area. It has three stalls and a couple of sinks and mirrors. Bats, balls, stumps, nets and pads rest on top of the toilet seats while a vase adorns the flush tank. Pictures of cricketers hang on the wall. The sink is filled with cricket balls.”We had another room which we had to give up,” Muslim told . “I asked for this toilet as it wasn’t being used. My players and I really did a good job organising this room. We have been keeping our things here for the last three years.”Nazmul Abedeen Fahim, BCB’s high performance manager now in charge of women’s cricket, said characters like Muslim were making a difference in the development of women’s cricket in Bangladesh.”I know Muslim personally,” he said. “Thankfully, he is not externally motivated, but internally motivated. He is happy at seeing his players develop into club-level and international-level cricketers.”Habibul Bashar, the Bangladesh selector who was on duty in Bogra during a first-class match last week, said Muslim’s ingenuity at making catching bats and nets and other equipment for batting training was impressive.”What he has so thoughtfully produced is very useful,” Bashar said. “I am surprised to see that these can be made locally. I don’t see much of a difference between what he has made and what the international teams even use.”It is estimated that currently around 300 female players take part in at least some training at all levels in Bangladesh, with 22 clubs in Dhaka running a two-tier league system. The BCB also has an eight-team division-level competition, and is now hoping to begin an Under-18 programme at the division level to create a pathway for budding cricketers.

England’s one-day vice-captain didn’t have much warning he would have to take the lead in Cardiff, but responded with a key innings and a calm display in the field

Andrew McGlashan17-Jun-2018With thoughts turning towards next year’s World Cup, Eoin Morgan’s last-minute back spasm which ruled him out of the match in Cardiff provided a useful experience for England in a scenario that could play out during the tournament.This is not to wish injury on anyone, but they can occur at any moment and disrupt the best-laid plans. At Sophia Gardens, Jos Buttler had about 20 minutes warning that he would lead England when Morgan was ruled out. The end result was a consummate performance from England, in which Buttler made 90 off 71 balls before marshalling the defence in the field when Australia threatened to run the game close thanks to Shaun Marsh.England are a well drilled and very confident one-day side, so it should come as no shock that the loss of Morgan didn’t derail them. The second match of a five-match series, when the team is leading 1-0, is not as crucial a situation as could play out at the World Cup, but the smooth handover to Buttler reinforced the stability in the team.It was the fourth ODI Buttler had captained following the series in Bangladesh where he stood in for Morgan after he had withdrawn from the tour over security concerns.”I enjoyed it, a bit more stressful going through lots of decision, the buck stops with you,” Buttler said. “As vice-captain you can suggest a few, and hide behind that, but it’s the captain’s decision. It’s enjoyable. It’s a very good side to captain. At times the side captains itself, with defined roles for the players and a lot of experience in the group, so the guys know what they’re doing.”The late change in captaincy meant it was the first time ever an England-Australia international had seen two glovemen in charge. “Lots of captains have been wicketkeepers as well. You’ve got a pretty good position to see what’s happening and what’s going on, so I don’t think it’s a problem,” Buttler said.As Buttler suggested, he did not reinvent the wheel in the field but he was alert to various situations. He hustled through overs from Moeen Ali and Joe Root, but whipped Adil Rashid out of the attack after four expensive overs – although they included the wicket of Aaron Finch – and then brought him back in the final 10 overs when an extra fielder is allowed out.Rashid responded with a googly to defeat Ashton Agar, just as his stand with Marsh was making England sweat, again showing the value of a legspinner at the death. Alongside another impactful performance from Liam Plunkett – whose brace of wickets in the 46th over finally snuffed out the chase – it ended up being reasonably comfortable for England.”Adil came back really well, I asked a lot of him to bowl in the last 10 overs,” Buttler said. “It’s never easy. He and Liam have been fantastic wicket-takers for us throughout the last few years, so those two guys always seem to have that knack of picking up crucial wickets, so it’s great to have them in your armoury.”It seems like a tough ground to defend, with the wind and the short boundaries. [Shaun Marsh] was playing very well. With our fielding we could have been a bit sharper, we missed a few fumbles. I thought we had enough, but you’re never quite sure.”Such are the expectations around this England one-day side, that their total of 343 – a record against Australia – felt a little below what it could have been but it helped put to rights the indifferent chase at The Oval which began the series. The series can be wrapped up a Trent Bridge and already there is talk of the whitewash.”We’re putting in good performances. It’s very important for us to continue to show why we got ourselves to No. 1 in the world,” Buttler said. “There’s a World Cup around the corner, so we need to keep polishing up in those areas we can improve. A by-product of that is winning the series in comprehensive fashion. But we’ve got to keep going game by game and not get ahead of ourselves or get complacent.”

Joe Weatherley scored his maiden first-class century on the final day at Old Trafford to ensure a draw

ECB Reporters Network28-Jun-2018
ScorecardDivision One strugglers Lancashire and Hampshire played out a high-scoring County Championship draw at Old Trafford, with both now facing the prospect of a relegation fight later this summer.The players shook hands at 4.50pm to confirm the result when the visitors declared on 237 for 5 in their second innings, leading by 277.Opener Joe Weatherley’s unbeaten 126 off 260 balls, which saw him bat through the whole day, represented his maiden first-class hundred.This draw means that both sides leapfrog Yorkshire to leave them second bottom in Division One after they suffered a seven-wicket defeat to leaders Surrey at Scarborough.Yorkshire are four points behind Hampshire and three behind Lancashire, but they have only played seven and have a game in hand on both.At the start of the final day here, James Vince’s side resumed on 66 for 2 – a lead of 106.An attritional morning saw Hampshire add only 69 as bowlers continued to work hard. Allrounder Jordan Clark made the breakthrough in the 12th over of the day when Sam Northeast was bowled for 10.Lancashire had an early lbw decision against Weatherley adjudged not out. In all, he batted for six and a quarter hours, with Hampshire’s second innings starting late on day three.This was his second century for the county, with his first coming against Kent in the Royal London Cup. The 21-year-old had scored three first-class fifties heading into this game, including one against Surrey two rounds ago.After tea, Weatherley and Ian Holland (26 not out) batted through, sharing an unbroken 73 for the sixth wicket to advance from 164 for 5 following the departure of Rilee Rossouw.Lancashire have another relegation battle next up when they welcome Yorkshire to Old Trafford at the end of July for the first of two vital Roses clashes.That will be their final Championship match at the venue this season as the club will be relaying the outfield ahead of next year’s World Cup and the Ashes Test.With the Vitality Blast on the horizon, Hampshire will have to wait until August 19 to play Championship cricket again when they will take on Nottinghamshire at home.For now, though, their attention will turn towards Lord’s when they will welcome back Dale Steyn, who was rested from this fixture.Liam Dawson will also be back amidst his stint with the England Lions, for whom he taken eight wickets in three one-day matches against the A teams of India and the West Indies over the last week.

England remain confident the allrounder will be available for the fourth Test against India next week

George Dobell22-Aug-2018Ben Stokes will not be available for Durham’s Vitality Blast quarter-final against Sussex having sustained a minor knee injury in the third Test.Stokes missed the second Test at Lord’s as he was standing trial on a charge of affray at Bristol Crown Court. As a result, he came into the
match at Trent Bridge a little short of bowling and, used in something of an enforcer role, got through 35 overs in the match.Towards the end of the India second innings, he was seen holding the back of his left knee after a spell of short-pitched bowling on a sluggish surface.While the England management expect him to be fit for the fourth Test, which starts on August 30, they have decided to rest him – both as an allrounder and as a specialist batsman – from the Blast quarter-final.Jos Buttler and Keaton Jennings, however, have both been made available for Lancashire, while Moeen Ali is available for Worcestershire.

Josh Cobb followed up his century against Birmingham as Northants finally found something to smile about

ECB Reporters Network08-Aug-2018
ScorecardAnother brilliant display of power hitting by Josh Cobb gave the Northants Steelbacks a first Vitality Blast win and dented Derbyshire Falcons quarter-final hopes at Derby.Cobb followed his century against the Birmingham Bears with an explosive unbeaten 73, including seven sixes, off 37 balls as the Steelbacks chased down a target of 178 with 10 balls to spare.Billy Godleman had made a T20 best 77 from 55 balls as the Falcons posted 177 for 6 but Cobb destroyed their attack to finally give the Steelbacks victory after nine defeats and a tie.There was no sign of what was to come when the Falcons started slowly after winning the toss as the seamers found plenty of movement on a grassy pitch with only 41 coming from the powerplay.Calum MacLeod was caught in the third over at the second attempt at slip off Roy Kleinveldt who then struck Anuj Dal a painful blow on the right hand with a ball that spat.Dal was beaten by a ball from Nathan Buck that came back sharply and although Wahab Riaz pulled a low full toss from Brett Hutton for a big six, he was run out off the next ball by a direct hit from cover.At the halfway stage, the Falcons were 70 for 3 but Godleman drove Seekkoge Prassana for six over long off while Madsen cut and pulled Buck for four consecutive fours in the 13th over.Goldeman completed his 50 from 43 balls and then launched the next one from Prasanna over long on but Madsen drove a slower ball from Sanderson to cover to break a stand of 83 from 49 balls in the 16th over.Godleman was run out going for a second but Gary Wilson provided late acceleration by pulling Kleinveldt for six in an unbeaten 24 before Buck restricted the Falcons to three off a clever last over.The Steelbacks started well with Ricardo Vasconcelos ramping Lockie Ferguson for six while Duckett drove and pulled powerfully as the Steelbacks took 62 from the powerplay.Duckett was threatening to take control when he missed a reverse sweep at Alex Hughes and Ferguson delivered a searing yorker to knock over Vasconcelos in the ninth over.Cobb showed he was in the groove with a top edged six and a straight-driven four off Hardus Viljoen before taking another six off Hughes.Ben Curran, brother of Surrey’s Tom and Sam, made only two on his senior debut but Cobb pulled Hughes for six before twice driving Viljoen over the ropes as he surged to a 27 ball 50.The Steelbacks needed only 20 off the last three overs but with skipper Alex Wakely lending sound support, Cobb finished it in style with consecutive sixes off Ravi Rampaul.