All posts by h716a5.icu

The first edition of the Sri Lanka Premier League will be a seven-team inter-provincial tournament played over approximately 18 days at the end of July and the beginning of August this year at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo

Tariq Engineer08-May-2011The first edition of the Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL) will be a seven-team inter-provincial tournament played over approximately 18 days at the end of July and the beginning of August this year. The teams will play each other once, with the top four teams qualifying for the semi-finals. All the games will be played the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo and the winner of the tournament will qualify for the Champions League Twenty20.ESPNcricinfo has learnt that the seven provinces that will be represented are Basnahira, Kandurata, Nagenahira, Ruhuna, Uthura, Uva and Wayamba. Sri Lanka Cricket will select the players for each team, with domestic players likely to be allotted to their home provinces, thereby ensuring the teams have local support.Each team will have a mix of Sri Lanka and international players with total squad sizes between 16 and 18 players. The playing XI must consist of a minimum of seven Sri Lanka players and a maximum of four international players, with one Sri Lanka player being a current Under-21 cricketer. Each team will also have its share of icon or marquee players, as well as a prominent ex-Sri Lanka player as a mentor or coach.International players will also be assigned to the various teams by the SLC national selection committee depending on the needs of each team. In this respect, SLC’s approach differs from the IPL, in which teams were sold to franchises who then bid for players in an auction. Among the international players who will be taking part are Kieron Pollard, Chris Gayle, Shahid Afridi, Daniel Vettori, Daniel Christian, Herschelle Gibbs and Kevin O’Brien.The SLPL has also approached a number of Indian players apart from those likely to be playing the Test series against England, and is waiting for the BCCI to approve their participation. The BCCI has already stated it has no problems with the proposed league and that Indian players are free to take part as long as there is no conflict with India’s international or domestic schedule.The league will be run by the Singapore-based Somerset Entertainment, which has bought the rights for five years. The television rights for the tournament have already been sold in Sri Lanka and the goal is to broadcast the tournament across all mediums in every cricketing nation. The matches will be played at 4 pm and 8 pm on most days, although some days will see only an 8 pm game.

Andrew McDonald smashed an enthralling century for Leicestershire on the first day of their County Championship match against Northamptonshire at Wantage Road

24-May-2011
ScorecardAndrew McDonald smashed an enthralling century for Leicestershire on the first day of their County Championship match against Northamptonshire at Wantage Road.The visitors were teetering on 15 for 3 when Australia international McDonald came to the crease but he hammered 164 off just 140 balls with his sensational knock including 26 fours and two sixes.Paceman Jack Brooks took the first five-wicket haul of his career, with figures of five for 80 as Leicestershire were bowled out for 313 before Northants survived 12 overs to close on 32 without loss. Leicestershire won the toss and chose to bat but they lost Will Jefferson for just a single in the fourth over when he was trapped lbw by Brooks, who was to wreak havoc from the Lynn Wilson End.Veteran Paul Nixon then made only three before chopping Brooks’ delivery onto his leg stump and things were to soon get worse. England Lion James Taylor edged to Northants wicketkeeper David Murphy to give Brooks his third wicket, but McDonald led the recovery by crashing a half-century off 51 balls.However, Brooks was to have the last word before lunch by forcing Matthew Boyce, who was on 26, to edge to Northants captain Andrew Hall at first slip. McDonald went on to complete an explosive century off 98 balls with a four behind square leg off Hall.Wayne White was to fall just short of a half-century on 47 when he smashed James Middlebrook to Stephen Peters at mid-wicket to end a fifth-wicket stand of 118. McDonald then reached 150 off 130 balls with a straight six off Brooks as the visitors piled on 174 runs in the afternoon session to reach tea on 264 for 5.But he walked after the first ball of the evening when he nudged David Lucas to Murphy to end a breathtaking innings. Wicketkeeper Paul Dixey then faced 16 balls without scoring before being pinned lbw by Middlebrook after missing his attempted sweep.Leicestershire were now struggling again and they soon lost Jigar Naik for 27 when he wildly slashed Lucas to Middlebrook at gully. Their captain Matthew Hoggard went for a duck when he was caught by Murphy off Lucas before Brooks sealed his five-for when Claude Henderson (23) launched him to Alex Wakely at mid-on to end the innings.The Northants openers, Peters and Ben Howgego, then batted through to the close of play and will resume tomorrow on 26 and 6 respectively.

Shane Warne will be a source of captaincy inspiration for Ross Taylor as he aims to instil a winning mindset in his New Zealand side

Brydon Coverdale23-Jun-2011Shane Warne will be a source of captaincy inspiration for Ross Taylor as he aims to instil a winning mindset in his New Zealand side. Taylor conceded past New Zealand teams have sometimes felt that a draw was as good as a victory, and that’s an attitude he wants to change after being handed the leadership this week.The drawn-out process to find Daniel Vettori’s successor took nearly three months, as New Zealand Cricket waited for Taylor and the other contender, Brendon McCullum, to return home from the IPL. But it was in India that Taylor worked under the captaincy of Warne at the Rajasthan Royals, and he said he was inspired by the way Warne handled his men and never gave up.”Warnie is one of the most aggressive captains. One of the things I learnt from Warnie and admired about him was trying to get the best out of the team and individuals, and just winning from anywhere,” Taylor told ESPNcricinfo this week. “If you have a mindset of winning from any situation then more often than not those tight games will go your way.”And that’s an attitude that hasn’t always been present in New Zealand teams of recent years. They have won only two of their past 21 Tests, a stretch that goes back to October 2008, and during that time their only victories came against Bangladesh in Hamilton and Pakistan in Dunedin. It’s nearly a decade since New Zealand have won a Test away from home against anyone but Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.”I think sometimes we probably did feel that way [that a draw was as good as a win,” Taylor said. “The way Test cricket is going there are not a lot of draws these days. The only time there are draws are if the wicket is really flat or if the weather plays a part. More often than not, the way Test cricket is played, Tests are won more often than not. We need to have that mindset. If we go out there just to draw series then we’re going to get ourselves into trouble. If we go out there to win, it’s a nice positive mindset to have.”The good thing for New Zealand is that two of their next three Test series are against Zimbabwe, who are returning to the five-day format after six years of self-imposed exile. That gives Taylor four winnable Tests within his first year in the job, and after playing Australia and South Africa they next year head to the Caribbean, where they won the series on their last tour in 2002.The schedule is encouraging, at a time when New Zealand are starting afresh, with a new captain, a recently-installed coach, John Wright, a revamped selection process, and a high-performance system now being overhauled by John Buchanan. The aim is to lift the side from their current position of eighth on the ICC Test rankings table, above only Bangladesh.”We’ve got some big series coming up,” Taylor said. “We go to Zimbabwe, then to Australia, then Zimbabwe come here, then we’ve got South Africa here, then we go to the Caribbean after that. We’re eighth in the Test rankings. If we can be somewhere from fourth to sixth in 12 months I think that would be a realistic goal. That’s something I think we can attain in the next 12 to 18 months.”The ultimate is to sit up at No. 1 or 2 and it’s not that long ago, probably at the start of my career we weren’t too far away from that. But we’re down the bottom and in some ways that’s probably a nice thing – the only way to go from here is upwards. We’ve got some big series coming up, against Australia, Zimbabwe and South Africa. If we play like we know we can play on a more consistent basis then I’m sure we’ll go up those rankings.”

Adrian Barath, the West Indies batsman, has said that he would’ve liked to have played more domestic games before returning to international cricket after a long lay-off

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Jul-2011Adrian Barath, the West Indies batsman, has said that he would’ve liked to have played more domestic games before returning to international cricket after a long lay-off. Barath injured his hamstring during a World Cup 2011 warm-up match in February and played his first international game in more than four months against India in Kingston in June.”That would have been the best scenario (but) the medical team and selectors saw it fit in the best time to get me back,” Barath told the Trinidad-based . “It’s important that there are no niggles. I played the Trindiad & Tobago Twenty20 Festival but you really can’t compare that to international cricket.”Barath had one half-century in the three Tests against India, but looked rusty and struggled to convert his starts, often getting out edging to the slip cordon after shuffling too far across. “I just followed the ball,” he said. “It’s something I have to work on. Missing cricket has a part to play as well in terms of hand-eye coordination, footwork and just being tentative outside off-stump. I never had this problem before.”Barath is now concentrating on his preparations for the Champions League Twenty20 qualifiers, to be played in Hyderabad, India in September. Trinidad are the defending West Indies regional T20 champions and will play five other sides for three spots in the main tournament.”It’s obviously something we didn’t expect (having to qualify) but whatever is thrown at you in life you have to find a way to deal with. The boys are up to these challenges that we are going to face,” he said. “I think we have the ability to even win the tournament. We need to play as a team and we have quality players.”Having played for Kings XI Punjab in IPL 2010, Barath said that he was not averse to another IPL contract but his loyalties were with West Indies and Trinidad. “My performances are towards T&T winning the Champions League. I would like to contribute towards that goal. If the opportunity arises that I can get an IPL contract then no problem. Once it doesn’t coincide with international cricket (I will play). I have to be faithful to West Indies cricket.”

Michael Holding, the former West Indies fast bowler, has said that the changes Australia has made in the wake of the sweeping Argus review were necessary

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Aug-2011Michael Holding, the former West Indies fast bowler, has said that the changes Australia has made in the wake of the sweeping Argus review were necessary. “If you think that something is working for you and you don’t need to change, while everything around you is changing, you will get left behind. So Australia had to change,” Holding told .”When things work a particular way for a long time, people tend to think ‘it has been working, don’t change it – if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’.”It might work for a long time. But all the wealthy people will tell you, if you don’t change when things are changing around you, people will go past you and you are no longer a millionaire. You lose all the fortune you have got – the same thing with sport.Holding, who was part of the all-conquering West Indies team of the 1980s, said that it was not surprising that teams slip after dominating for an extended period of time and expects India to struggle as well in the future. “You see Australia going through that right now,” he said. “And I can tell you India, two years from now, won’t be in the top five either. I think you get complacent when you are winning and, if you don’t follow a plan, it (a fall) will happen.”He also felt that the kind of dominance established by West Indies and Australia would not be repeated again because of how much easier technology has made it to study opponents. “Those days are over. You could never dominate for 15 years. It is impossible for any team to dominate for that period of time – when I say dominate, I mean win everything.”You can be the top-ranked team for a decade as Australia was but, even in that decade, Australia lost some series. Because the technology available to people now, where you can study the opposition, where you can plan and use all the graphics and all the technology … you can’t dominate like that again.”

The series is less than a week old, but it will be decided by Tuesday night if Australia continue their winning form after comfortably taking the first two matches

The Preview by Brydon Coverdale15-Aug-2011Match factsAustralia’s one-day record under Michael Clarke is very strong•Associated PressAugust 16, Hambantota
Start time 14:30 (9:00 GMT, 19:00 EST)Big PictureThe series is less than a week old, but it will be decided by Tuesday night if Australia continue their winning form after comfortably taking the first two matches. The eight-wicket victory in Hambantota on Sunday was almost a carbon copy of the opening win in Pallekele: Sri Lanka won the toss and batted poorly, failing to see out their overs, and then couldn’t build any pressure on Australia in the chase. They must find their batting mojo if they are to keep the series alive heading in to the Colombo, where the final two matches will be played.Sri Lanka’s problem has been finding the right tempo. In the opening game, they went too hard and in the second match they were too cautious. Perhaps it will be third time lucky. Kumar Sangakkara looked solid in making a half-century on Sunday but he needs support from the three other key members of the top order: the openers Tillakaratne Dilshan and Upul Tharanga, and the No. 4 Mahela Jayawardene. Maybe when Ajantha Mendis, Lasith Malinga and company have a decent target to defend they can impart some pressure on Australia’s batsmen.For the visitors, all has gone swimmingly, apart from Brad Haddin’s struggle for form at the top of the order. Wickets have come from Doug Bollinger, Mitchell Johnson and Brett Lee, and the spinners have done their job of keeping things tight. Shane Watson, Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke have all been in the runs, and overall the side has been much more switched on than Sri Lanka. The question is, how will they fare if Sri Lanka find their spark?Form guide (Most recent first)
Sri Lanka LLWLL
Australia WWWWWIn the spotlightA couple of former captains, Ricky Ponting and Kumar Sangakkara, have already posted half-centuries in this series, but Sri Lanka need some runs from another ex-skipper. Mahela Jayawardene hasn’t looked at his best in the first two games, flashing at a wide ball from Mitchell Johnson and edging behind in the first, and top-edged a sweep in the second. But he is a class act, and it was only a few months ago that he scored a century in a World Cup final. A strong innings from Jayawardene would go a long way to getting Sri Lanka back into the series.Everything has gone right for Michael Clarke so far in this series. In fact, ever since he took over the captaincy full time. He’s led Australia to five wins from five games and his leadership in the field has been confident and well thought-out. The initial signs are positive for the post-Ponting era. Most importantly, he has been scoring runs and now has a pair of half-centuries in Sri Lanka to add to his 101 in Bangladesh in his first match in charge. As a steady presence in the middle order, he’ll be an important player throughout the rest of the tour.Team newsAngelo Mathews is in doubt for the fixture, reportedly due to the return of the quad trouble that has affected him since the World Cup. Suraj Randiv made way for Rangana Herath in the second match, but Herath had no impact with the ball and could be back on the sidelines for the third game. The batting is Sri Lanka’s major concern, so they need to decide whether to stick with the existing line-up or bring in Chamara Silva, perhaps at the expense of Dinesh Chandimal or Jeevan Mendis.Sri Lanka (possible) 1 Upul Tharanga, 2 Tillakaratne Dilshan (capt), 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Dinesh Chandimal / Chamara Silva, 6 Angelo Mathews, 7 Jeevan Mendis, 8 Suraj Randiv, 9 Nuwan Kulasekara, 10 Ajantha Mendis, 11 Lasith Malinga.Australia’s line-up has worked well in the first two matches, and there is no reason to make any changes while the series remains alive. Steven Smith hasn’t batted and has barely been required to bowl, but the Australians like his versatility and the energy he brings in the field, so he is expected retain his position.Australia (probable) 1 Shane Watson, 2 Brad Haddin (wk), 3 Ricky Ponting, 4 Michael Clarke (capt), 5 Michael Hussey, 6 David Hussey, 7 Steven Smith, 8 Mitchell Johnson, 9 Brett Lee, 10 Xavier Doherty, 11 Doug Bollinger.Pitch and conditionsThe Hambantota pitch was slow and low, and didn’t have much grass on it, and was described by Clarke as a good wicket for batting. The players will be hoping the wind has died down by Tuesday, after Sunday’s match was played in extremely breezy conditions.Stats and trivia Mahela Jayawardene will become the seventh man to play 350 one-day internationals Australia have now won 23 of the 29 ODIs they have played under Michael Clarke’s captaincy So far in the series, Sri Lanka have lost 20 wickets, while Australia have lost fiveQuotes”We have to work on the batting … work hard, come back strong.”
“There’s still a long way to go but these first two games have been very impressive both with the ball and with the bat.”

Andrew Robinson helped Queensland achieve a steady start to their Sheffield Shield campaign as they batted through the opening day at the Gabba despite having been sent in

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Oct-2011
Andrew Robinson made his second first-class half-century•Getty ImagesAndrew Robinson helped Queensland achieve a steady start to their Sheffield Shield campaign as they batted through the opening day at the Gabba despite having been sent in. At stumps, the Bulls were 6 for 306, which was a fine effort after they lost their captain James Hopes to a knee injury, the star batsman Chris Lynn to a shoulder problem, and the fast man Chris Swan to a shoulder injury in the lead-up to the match.At the close of play, the acting captain Chris Hartley was on 41 and Ben Cutting had reached 38, with their 65-run partnership frustrating the Victorians. Early-season Gabba pitches are often a seamer’s paradise, but after Victoria’s captain Andrew McDonald won the toss it took his bowlers until the 27th over to make their first breakthrough.That came when McDonald trapped Ryan Broad lbw for 32, and although Darren Pattinson (2 for 57) chipped in with a couple of middle-order wickets, the opener Robinson had enough support to build a strong platform for the Bulls. At 30, Robinson has been a late starter in first-class cricket, but in his fifth game he showed the calm nature that earned him a contract in the off-season.Robinson brought up his second first-class half-century with a cover-drive off Peter Siddle before he was eventually caught behind for 78 when he inside-edged behind off Clint McKay. Nathan Reardon seemed set for a half-century when he lofted Glenn Maxwell’s offspin to the man at long-on for 49, but Cutting and Hartley kept the Bulls on track.

Younis Khan made his 18th Test century as Pakistan’s batting put in a solid performance against Sri Lanka

The Report by Siddarth Ravindran05-Nov-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Younis Khan brought up his 18th Test ton•AFPPakistan gave yet another demonstration of how far they have progressed from their collapse-prone avatar of recent years by posting a solid 282 for 6 on the third day of the final Test in Sharjah. The three middle-order batsmen instrumental in providing steel to the Pakistan line-up over the past year all made substantial contributions on a track which was truer than expected. Younis Khan made the biggest impact by going on to his 18th Test century, Azhar Ali collected his sixth 50-plus score in five Tests and Misbah-ul-Haq helped himself to another laboriously crafted half-century.With the Pakistan openers dismissed on Friday, when the pitch was providing plenty of turn and bounce, Sri Lanka would have expected their bowlers to be a handful in the morning. Instead, they had the bad news that fast bowler Dhammika Prasad wouldn’t bowl in the match due to a thigh strain. The other medium-pacers Chanaka Welegedara and Kosala Kulasekara bowled at a gentle pace, and got some movement to induce a few plays-and-misses from the batsmen but weren’t able to prise out a wicket.Every time they strayed, Pakistan’s batsmen capitalised. It was one of those loose deliveries that helped Pakistan end a series of nine successive maidens as Azhar slashed a short and wide ball from Kulasekara past cover to get Pakistan going in the morning. Most of his six boundaries came when the quicks either drifted on to the pads or provided him plenty of width.After their slow start, Azhar and Younis stepped up the pace to put together one of the most productive batting sessions of the Test. Younis consumed 30 deliveries before getting off the mark, but was full of positive intent after that. There was no better sign of his growing confidence than his big grin after muscling Rangana Herath for a one-bounce four over extra cover midway through the morning session. His innings showcased his mastery of the sweep shot – the paddle sweep, the slog-sweep and the reverse-sweep were all used effectively against the spinners.The second session began with Herath bowling well outside leg stump, trying to get some turn out of the rough. That did produce a leading edge off Younis, but there were no major alarms and the tactic only helped to stifle the runs. Kulasekara, forced off the field in the morning due to a bloodied thumb after a botched fielding effort, returned to produce the breakthrough Sri Lanka were desperately seeking, getting a ball to snake in sharply to beat Azhar’s bat and crash into off stump.Smart stats

Younis Khan’s century is his fifth against Sri Lanka. This brings him level with Inzamam-ul-Haq as the Pakistan batsman with the most centuries against Sri Lanka.

The 100-run stand between Younis and Misbah-ul-Haq is the sixth century stand for the pair in their last eight partnerships. They have now aggregated 937 runs in 14 partnerships at an average of 78.08.

Misbah’s half-century is his 13th in Tests, to go with three centuries. In his last 16 innings, he has scored 841 runs at an average of 84.10.

The century is also Younis Khan’s third at a neutral venue. This is a record for the most centuries scored by a batsman at neutral venues.

The 98-run stand between Younis and Azhar Ali is the third-highest third-wicket stand for Pakistan in neutral Tests. The pair has been involved in three of the top four third-wicket stands at neutral venues.

That brought in Misbah-ul-Haq, who was extremely watchful, even by his own leisurely standards, laboriously making his way to 2 off 52 deliveries. Younis, though, showed he couldn’t be restrained, sashaying down the track to launch Herath over long-on for a boundary. Even though Misbah was in his shell, Younis produced the most profitable over of the day for Pakistan, paddling Suraj Randiv from outside off for four, before clubbing him over deep square leg for a six. His only moment of concern in the session was when he was hit on the helmet by a throw from mid-off as he completed a tight single.It was a race against the clock to reach his century before tea, and he managed to get there in the final over of the session, pushing the ball to cover to zip through for a single. He continued to be aggressive against the spinners after reaching his hundred, but the second new ball accounted for him. The first delivery after the ball was changed bent in sharply, beating his bat and taking off stump.By then, Misbah was being a bit more expansive, and he guided Pakistan towards stumps. Asad Shafiq hit a couple of boundaries in an otherwise watchful innings that ended on 16 when he feathered Welegedara to the keeper.The two relatively quick wickets perked up Sri Lanka, and they almost had the crucial one of Misbah as well soon after when he attempted a swipe to midwicket. That resulted in a top-edge which flew over the slips and Misbah survived. Adnan Akmal, though, couldn’t make it to stumps as he was undone by Herath, who got the ball to hold its line after the previous delivery had spun away. Adnan didn’t read it and was trapped lbw.Despite those late wickets, it was a satisfying day for Pakistan as they bettered their chances of averting defeat, and winning the series – the sort of news their fans await after a dark week for Pakistan cricket.

South Africa’s bowlers weren’t the most disciplined but favourable conditions and a fired-up Dale Steyn meant they still seized the advantage

Firdose Moonda at Newlands09-Nov-2011A foreigner would be forgiven for thinking that every South African summer starts the same way: on the first day of the first Test, it rains. For the past five seasons, whether in Port Elizabeth against West Indies, Bloemfontein against Bangladesh, Centurion against India and England or Cape Town against Australia, rain has interrupted play.After 105 minutes of persistent drizzle and with plenty of overhead cloud, it was a no-brainer what the captain who won the toss should do and Graeme Smith promptly did it. Green patches short of a length on the pitch, moisture glistening like diamonds in the dawn and a new opening pair that consisted of a fired-up Dale Steyn and debutant Vernon Philander, all told South Africa that they were doing the right thing.In the fifth over of the day, when Steyn removed Shane Watson with one of his classical away swingers, South Africa’s decision was rubber stamped. Michael Clarke quipped that he would have batted, but when Australia teetered at 13 for 2, he may have been silently pleased that he was not the one who made the choice to put them in.Clarke maintained that he would have opted for his men to take first guard, saying it would have sent a message of intent on a difficult pitch, but South Africa had no such noble aims. In helpful conditions, with more spice sprinkled on the pitch than in your average local curry, South Africa always wanted to bowl.Steyn and Philander’s new-ball spell of swing and seam complimented by Morne Morkel’s use of bounce posed questions to which Australia sometimes had no answer. They weren’t always disciplined though, bowling a fair share of mediocre and even poor deliveries. At times, Philander overpitched, Steyn went short and wide, Morkel was too full, but the conditions were good enough to allow them to back Australia into a corner, despite the many mistakes.Inconsistency was not too much of a concern because of the rewards, but Steyn agreed that South Africa conceded needlessly at time. “We went at a little more than we wanted to with the run-rate but if you asked us at the start of the day if we wanted eight wickets, we would have taken it,” he said.Steyn’s four-wicket haul was his most impressive showing of the season and indicated that he had finally found the rhythm he appeared to lack during the one-day series. “I didn’t have the intensity during the one-dayers as much as I had it now,” he said. “When you come off a big break, the only way to get bowling fit is by bowling lots of overs and I didn’t have that opportunity.”His post-lunch spell, in which he removed Ricky Ponting lbw on review with a ball that Steyn was initially “really bummed about because I thought he hit it,” and a particularly engaging duel with Australia captain Michael Clarke, confirmed his status as the world’s top-ranked Test bowler. It is not something he thinks about too often though. “Those rankings are a bit funny, to be honest,” Steyn said. “It does nothing for you when you walk out onto the field. You’ve still got to bowl the ball. I don’t have a halo over my head saying I am No.1 and the batters respect that, they don’t really care.”Whether it provides additional motivation for Steyn or not, he was more focused than he had been in a long time, and it served him well as he spearheaded the attack. Steyn also had kind words for his new-ball partner, Philander. “He is a home-town boy here and he opens the bowling for the Cobras, so he knows what it’s like to bowl in these conditions. He stepped up to the challenge on his debut and got a few sticks, which is good for him.”Legspinner Imran Tahir had a less successful debut and only bowled six, unconvincing overs. It was not the start he was looking for but Steyn said he expects Tahir to play a key role later in the match. “The last couple of Tests we played here boiled down to the last day and to us needing a genuine spinner to do the job for us,” he said. “I’m not saying Harro [Paul Harris] wasn’t the genuine spinner, just that I think Imran’s time will come.”While the day belonged to South Africa’s bowlers, wicketkeeper Mark Boucher enjoyed his own moment in the sun, albeit one as brief as the moment when the sun peeped out through the clouds. Philander’s first Test wicket was also Boucher’s 500th Test catch (of which two have been taken when he represented the World XI).After serving South African cricket for an almost a decade, Boucher is now thought to be under pressure for his place, but Steyn said the achievement confirmed that any such speculation is unfounded.”If anybody ever rated him down, he is coming out again and showing what he is worth on the field and how valuable he is,” Steyn said. “He is just streetwise and street smart and when you need somebody, he is the kind of guy that you can turn around and look to. There might be other talented players out there, but there is never going to be another Mark Boucher.”

Mahmudullah, the Bangladesh vice-captain, has said Bangladesh may have a mental block when it comes to translating the things they do in practice to performances in matches

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Dec-2011Mahmudullah, the Bangladesh vice-captain, has said Bangladesh may have a mental block when it comes to translating the things they do in practice to performances in matches. Bangladesh were bowled out for 135 by Pakistan on the first day of the first Test, in Chittagong, and then saw Pakistan move to 415 for 4 by the end of the second day. Mahmudullah said it was the batting that had been the most disappointing aspect of the performance so far.”Everything goes right in practice but we couldn’t apply it in the match,” he said. “We can’t understand during the match what we should do and what we shouldn’t. So our shot selection went wrong. Hopefully we can do well in the second innings and bounce back in the match.”In seven Test innings this year, Bangladesh have gone past 300 just once. Mahmudullah said it was just a matter of one good innings, or one big score from an individual, that could turn around the batting form. “In the last two or three series we have not batted well. But in the previous one-and-a-half years we batted well consistently. So it’s a matter of one innings. If we bat well, the confidence will come back.”We are waiting for a good performance from someone. In the first innings Nasir [Hossain] played a good innings while Nazimuddin survived well. If someone plays a big innings we can get our confidence back through him.”Mahmudullah acknowledged that the poor turnout at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium was related to the team’s poor performances of late. “As we are not playing well, spectators did not turn up. When we start playing good cricket, they will turn up again.”On the second day of the Test, Bangladesh were made to toil by Mohammad Hafeez, who scored 143, and Younis Khan, who stayed unbeaten on 96. Mahmudullah praised Pakistan’s batting but also said there was no turn in the pitch and the Bangladesh batsmen could take heart from that.”They were very compact and disciplined. The way they left the ball and the way they played shots, we can learn many things from them. As there is no turn and bite in the pitch and nothing for the seamers either, our plan was to be patient. We prevented them from batting fluently; our bowlers bowled well today.”Two out of Hafeez’s four Test centuries have come against Bangladesh. He said he was happy to score against any opposition though Bangladesh were a stronger opposition in one-dayers than Tests.”You want to perform against every opponent because every time you come out you always try to give your 100%. Bangladesh have done a great job in the last eight or nine years and have learned many things. I think they will keep working hard at it. At one-day level they perform much better than at Test level.”Hafeez was denied a bigger score by a poor umpiring decision: he was adjudged lbw though there was a thick inside edge. But Hafeez said it was a part of the game. “Sometimes you get a really bad decision, so I have no complaints. All you can do is work hard.”In a surprising move, Hafeez had been given the new ball on the first day, after Pakistan chose to field. He said he was comfortable with the new ball though did sometimes find it funny how much success he has had as a bowler in the past year. “I am always confident with the new ball and I bowl with it in the nets. I’ve been doing it for the last year and the confidence the management has shown in me that I can do this job at the highest level has been encouraging.”Sometimes I laugh about my success with the ball because I am basically a batsman. My bowling just comes naturally because as a batsman I can understand the thinking of other batsmen.”