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Shaun Marsh could play for the Perth Scorchers in Thursday night’s Big Bash League match in Melbourne as he aims to prove his fitness for the Boxing Day Test

Brydon Coverdale21-Dec-2011Shaun Marsh could play for the Perth Scorchers in Thursday night’s Big Bash League match in Melbourne as he aims to prove his fitness for the Boxing Day Test. Marsh has made a surprisingly good recovery from his back injury and was named in a 13-man squad for the first Test against India, his fitness the one question-mark still surrounding Australia’s batting line-up.If he is declared ready for his return he will bat at No.3, with the allrounder Daniel Christian to miss out, but if Australia decide against risking Marsh, Christian will play at No.6 and the rest of the order will be adjusted. It is a difficult call for John Inverarity’s panel, with Marsh having played no cricket since hurting his back during the first Test in South Africa six weeks ago.The problem was so severe that Marsh needed help to get dressed during the Cape Town Test, and last week he was described as “unlikely” to play on Boxing Day by Cricket Australia’s performance manager, Pat Howard. But Marsh has impressed the team management with his work at the batting camp in Melbourne this week and the captain Michael Clarke said he was a chance of playing against India.”I think the next few days are important for Shaun,” Clarke said. “Today was a really good test. He batted really well in the nets, I watched that. Then when we left he was still doing the back end of his fielding session with our physios. The next few days are really important for him, to see how he pulls up.”I know there’s a possible chance he could play in the Big Bash game, I think it’s tomorrow, for the Scorchers. He will be assessed by Alex [Kountouris, team physio] this afternoon and they’ll make a plan for that. Really good batting wise, but as we know there’s a lot more that goes with playing a Test match than having a hit in the nets so we’ll have to wait and see.”If Marsh plays for the Scorchers against the Melbourne Renegades at the Docklands Stadium on Thursday, it will be his first match back since the Cape Town Test. Australia have missed his presence at No.3 over the past three matches and, if fit, he would add some stability to a batting line-up that was skittled by New Zealand earlier this month in Hobart.The Australians have also missed Shane Watson at the top of the order and will again be without him on Boxing Day after he was ruled out due to his ongoing hamstring problem. He suffered the injury while bowling in the second Test in South Africa last month and missed both games against New Zealand, but Clarke is hopeful his vice-captain might be back for the second Test against India.”He’s certainly on the mend, which is a positive, but unfortunately he’s not right to go in this Test,” Clarke said. “I’m really hoping that he’s right for the Sydney Test. He’s going to spend some more time in Melbourne with Alex our physio to make sure he’s getting the best treatment and we try to get him right for Sydney.”He didn’t bat yesterday or today, so I guess we still don’t really know how close he was. At the end of the day we didn’t feel like he was fit enough to bat yesterday and today in preparation for this Test. Hopefully he’ll do some batting and bowling over the weekend though, and throughout the Boxing Day Test in preparation for Sydney.”One man who is not in doubt for the Melbourne Test is Ricky Ponting, who suffered a blow to the hand while batting against James Pattinson in the nets on Wednesday. Ponting ended his net session after the incident but Clarke said there was no question over his fitness for the Boxing Day Test.”He’s 100% fine,” Clarke said. “I’ve already heard there was a bit of talk over the radio that Ricky has busted his hand but that’s completely false. He’s fine.”

England Lions put in a good all-round performance at the Shere Bangla Stadium, claiming the opening Twenty20 by 32 runs

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Jan-2012
ScorecardEngland Lions put in a good all-round performance at the Shere Bangla Stadium, claiming the opening Twenty20 by 32 runs. The Lions defended 143 with a combined bowling effort, with Nathan Buck, the right-arm seamer, the most impressive with 3 for 16.Jason Roy got the Lions off to a good start with 40 off 19 balls before he was bowled by Mosharraf Hossain. Surrey’s Roy smashed seven fours and added 54 for the second wicket with James Vince, who made 32. Bangladesh A hit back with the immediate wicket of Jonny Bairstow for a duck, leaving the tourists at 81 for 3. James Taylor helped the Lions to a competitive total with a patient 28, which included only two boundaries, but was run out off the final ball of the innings.Bangladesh A got off to a good start, with the openers Nazimuddin and Imrul Kayes adding 31, but fell away. The captain Jahurul Islam made 37 but lacked support from the rest as the Lions chipped away at the wickets and affected two run-outs.The Lions conclude their tour with the second and final Twenty20 on Monday at the same venue.

A 54-ball unbeaten 91 from Martin Guptill – his fifth straight half-century on tour – made light work of Zimbabwe’s first fighting total in New Zealand, as the hosts sauntered past Zimbabwe’s 159 with more than three overs to spare at Eden Park

The Report by Andrew Fernando at Eden Park11-Feb-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMartin Guptill continued to haunt Zimbabwe with his fifth consecutive fifty•AFPA 54-ball unbeaten 91 from Martin Guptill – his fifth straight half-century on tour – made light work of Zimbabwe’s first fighting total in New Zealand, as the hosts sauntered past Zimbabwe’s 159 with more than three overs to spare at Eden Park. Guptill and Kane Williamson combined to add 137 from 89 balls for the third wicket, to trump Hamilton Masakadza’s half-century and Elton Chigumbura’s finishing salvo, to take a 1-0 lead in the two-match series.Zimbabwe removed Rob Nicol and Brendon McCullum early, but couldn’t shake Guptill out of his imperious run of form, as he continued to torment them with an array of sweet legside hits punctuated by the odd short-form innovation. A long, languid strike over long-on off Kyle Jarvis in the fourth over was followed by a cute cut that beat third man four balls later, as Zimbabwe failed once more to trouble a batsman whose new confidence and expanded stroke range has dogged them throughout the summer.Brendan Taylor introduced spin in the fifth over, but the slow bowlers bothered Guptill no less than the wayward seamers who had conceded five wides in the first four overs. Prosper Utseya’s fifth ball was launched into the southern stand, before Ray Price was slapped straight for six, then pulled for four off successive balls in the next over.Zimbabwe’s woeful fielding did them few favours. Williamson, who was content to turn over the strike for much of the chase, collected his first boundary through Forster Mutizwa’s feet. Malcolm Waller then hoofed one across the rope in the next over, while misfields and overthrows gifted ample runs Zimbabwe could ill afford.Guptill’s third Twenty20 fifty came in 27 balls, as the pair progressed unflustered. A six and a four off Keegan Meth in the 15th over put the hosts on target, and though Williamson was dismissed attempting a short single on 48, Guptill hit his sixth six and a two to end the game, as debutant Colin de Grandhomme watched on from the non-striker’s end.Though New Zealand cruised to victory in the end, Zimbabwe’s innings had been a spirited one, as they put on their best batting performance of the tour. Masakadza became the first Zimbabwe opener to breach double figures in New Zealand, with a 36-ball 53 that proved their launching pad.A heave over cow corner ignited his knock, as two early wickets fell at the other end, before Tatenda Taibu joined him in a 62-run partnership to steady the innings. Masakadza had a reprieve on 36 when McCullum fluffed a stumping chance, but his aggressive intent and busy running advanced the total rapidly before his dismissal brought a mini-collapse in the middle order, as New Zealand’s quartet of spinners kept a lid on the run rate.Elton Chigumbura was on hand to pick up the slack towards the close however, in a 24-ball innings that yielded 48. He combined with Shingi Masakadza to launch the seventeenth over for 20 runs, as Doug Bracewell missed his length on a small ground that affords bowlers little mercy.Two successive sixes in the final over pushed Zimbabwe beyond 150, but with Guptill in as spectacular form as he has ever been, Zimbabwe’s first decent batting outing proved far too little.This is what Guptill tweeted after the game:

Comprehensive win tonight. Boys are on fire! Well done to the debutants! Can I use someone’s legs please?!!

— Martin Guptill (@Martyguptill) February 11, 2012

ESPNcricinfo rounds up the seventh round of matches of the Premier League Tournament 2011-12

Sa'adi Thawfeeq07-Mar-2012 Premier League Tier AThe seventh-round matches in the Premier League tournament had to be staggered due to the inter-school cricket season being at its height, with matches between longstanding rivals, including the traditional “Big Match”, between Royal College and St Thomas’ College, currently taking place.These school matches, which are played towards the weekend, are historical and see turnouts nearing 10,000 at certain venues. They are played at international venues like the P Sara Oval, SSC, R Premadasa Stadium, Galle Stadium and Asgiriya Stadium. As a result they affected the scheduling of the Premier League matches, some of which were played early during the week and some after the weekend. The Lankan CC v Tamil Union game began on February 27, SSC v Bloomfield on February 28, Colombo Colts v Chilaw Marians on March 1, NCC v Moors on March 2 and Ragama v Badureliya on March 4.

Following three poor games Ragama CC have started to move again. Their 145-run win over Badureliya SC at the Surrey Village Ground was solely due to fine all-round efforts by two former Sri Lanka cricketers, Kaushalya Weeraratne and Indika de Saram. Weeraratne, who represented his country in 15 ODIs, played a captain’s knock when he thumped a magnificent 97 off 67 balls, including five sixes, to lift his team from 143 for 5 to 320. Then he returned to destroy the Badureliya batting with an opening burst of three wickets, which had the opposition reeling at 7 for 3.Badureliya somewhat recovered from that shock to post a respectable total of 229, but conceding a first-innings lead of 91 left them chasing a target of 384 in the fourth innings. The challenge proved beyond their means and they were dismissed for 238. de Saram, the 38-year-old hard-hitting allrounder who represented his country in four Tests and 15 ODIs, picked up six wickets in the match with his offbreaks to go with batting contributions of 70 and 43. The win, their second of the season, propelled Ragama CC to fourth position in the Premier League Tier A standings.

Tamil Union suffered a setback to their title aspirations when they conceded vital first-innings points to Lankan CC at the P Sara Oval. The result was brought about by two young batsmen who shone for Lankan CC. Twenty-one-year-old left-hander Ashen Silva scored his third hundred of the season, a well-paced 157 off 321 balls, and 22-year-old Shameera Weerasinghe scored his maiden first-class century (121 not out off 221 balls) to steer Lankan CC to a formidable first-innings total of 465 for 9 declared. The reputed Tamil Union batting fumbled against the pace of Vimukthi Perera and Saliya Saman, and the left-arm spin of Gayan Sirisoma, to be bundled out for a disappointing 229. Although Tamil Union hit back strongly in the second innings through skipper Sachitra Serasinghe and Chatura Randunu (who shared all ten wickets) and bowled out Lankan CC for 165 they couldn’t make much headway beyond that.Table-toppers Colombo Colts CC showed that they were made of champion stuff when they bounced back from a first-innings deficit of 69 runs to beat Chilaw Marians by 43 runs at Havelock Park. Colts recovered from 80 for 8 to reach 175 in the first innings, through contributions from the tail. Their batting was rattled by the pace of Sri Lanka fast bowler Shaminda Eranga and the offspin of Janaka Gunaratne. The two shared eight wickets between them. Despite a fighting century from Milinda Siriwardene, Chilaw Marians gained only a lead of 72 in the first innings.Colts’ batsmen were once again uncomfortable against the spin of Malinda Pushpakumara and Gunaratne, and folded for a timid 223, leaving Chilaw Marians the formality of scoring 152 for victory. But Sri Lanka ODI cricketer Dilruwan Perera had other ideas. Opening the bowling on a pitch responding to spin, he picked up six wickets for 39 off 12.4 overs to shoot out Chilaw Marians for 108 and earn Colts an unlikely victory, their fourth of the season, which consolidated their position at the top of the table.

Sinhalese SC kept pace with the table leaders by grabbing first-innings points in their drawn match against defending champs Bloomfield at the SSC . A maiden first-class double-century (216) by Sri Lanka batsman Chamara Silva, who shared a fifth-wicket stand of 193 with his captain Chintaka Jayasinghe (92), helped Bloomfield to a total of 480. SSC took up the challenge and replied with 493 for 4, with Sri Lanka Test opener Tharanga Paranavitana warming up the for the two-Test series against England, starting later this month, with a solid 223. Paranavitana and his opening partner Dimuth Karunaratne (64) gave SSC the start they needed to chase down Bloomfield’s tall total by putting on 150. Paranavitana also added 123 for the second wicket and 121 for the third as SSC made full use of a flat track where only one innings was played by each team.

Nondescripts CC lifted themselves from the bottom of the table by taking first-innings points off Moors SC in a drawn match played at Moors Sports Club. NCC looked like they were headed for another defeat when they were dismissed for 180 by the Moors pace duo of Kasun Madushanka and Himesh Silva, who shared eight wickets between them. But an early breakthrough provided by Sri Lanka left-arm fast bowler Thilan Thushara helped NCC to put pressure on the rest of the Moors batting, which folded tamely to the spin of Sohan Boralessa and Jehan Mubarak for 134.NCC nearly threw away the advantage when they lost three second-innings wickets for 36, but Mubarak, the former Sri Lanka batsman, and the talented Angelo Perera stemmed the collapse with a 242-run partnership for the fourth wicket that enabled NCC to set Moors a target of 332. Both batsmen made centuries. Despite an attractive knock of 154 not out off 216 balls by 21-year-old Isham Ghouse, his maiden first-class hundred, Moors ended the game 33 runs short with two wickets standing.NCC coach Hemantha said the main reasons NCC are struggling are players leaving the club when they don’t find a place in the squad and the failure to put up good first-innings totals. “The kind of pitches we prepare at NCC there is not much chance of winning a match outright,” Devapriya said. “Most of the matches are decided on first-innings points and in this area we have been lacking. Our batsmen have been able to score runs only in the second innings, which is not helping us.”He also mentioned that five NCC players were on national duty in Australia – Kumar Sangakkara, Upul Tharanga, Farveez Maharoof, Dinesh Chandimal and Chamara Kapugedera – and that also had an adverse effect on team performances. Kapugedera had to fly off midway during their match against Moors when he was called up for the CB series finals as a replacement for the injured Thisara Perera. NCC also lost the services of their captain Kosala Kulasekara for the rest of the season when he broke a finger attempting a return catch. Mubarak will take over the captaincy for the remaining matches.”I am confident that if we can obtain first-innings points from one of our remaining two matches (against Ragama CC and SSC) we can avoid relegation,” Devapriya said. Premier League Tier BSri Lanka Army SC’s legspinner Seekkuge Prasanna was rewarded for his exceptional bowling performances during the season with a place in the Sri Lanka squad for the Asia Cup in Bangladesh later this month. Prasanna, the leading wicket-taker of the season with 50 wickets from five matches, has been the mainstay for Army, who continue to head the Premier League Tier B standings.Last week Army made short work of Saracens trouncing them by an innings at the Army Ground in Panagoda to record their fifth win of the season, making them favourites to win the title. Prasanna and medium-pacer Nuwan Liyanapathirana took match bags of nine wickets apiece as Saracens was bowled out for totals of 114 and 90.Second-placed Sri Lanka Navy lost ground when they were suffered a shock seven-wicket defeat at the hands of Sri Lanka Ports Authority CC at the Navy Ground in Welisara. Navy’s batting was dismantled by the left-arm orthodox spin of Shanuka Dissanayake who finished with 12 wickets in the match including a career-best 6 for 59 in the second innings.Burgher RC moved to third spot when they beat Kurunegala Youth CC by three wickets in a thrilling finish at Havelock Park. Chasing 220 for victory BRC were seen home by Vindika Chandrasiri who hit a career-best 93 after they had been in a spot of bother at 83 for 3. Kurunegala stalwart Ajith Ekanayake showed that he still had fire in his left-arm cutters even at the age of 46 by taking a match-haul of nine wickets.Colombo CC lifted themselves from the bottom of the table by securing their second win of the season, beating Police SC by an innings at the Colombo Cricket Ground. The foundation for their win was laid by their fourth-wicket pair of Rasika Priyadarshana and Upul Fernando, who both hit centuries.

After having Hampshire reeling at 72 for 6, with 50 overs remaining, Gloucestershire eventually won with only 12 balls left

Ivo Tennant at the Rose Bowl15-Apr-2012
ScorecardMichael Bates almost defied Gloucestershire with 87•Getty ImagesFor Gloucestershire, this victory was not just important but desperately needed. Beaten in two days at Chelmsford last week and worryingly short of money, they had to dismiss Hampshire, a club with significantly greater resources, for a total of less than 289. After having them reeling at 72 for 6, with 50 overs remaining, they eventually won with only 12 balls left.Hampshire, seemingly, were on the verge of drawing what had been an absorbing contest. Michael Bates, their talented young wicketkeeper, had demonstrated he can also bat. His innings of 87 was a career best in the Championship. His partnership of 118 with Chris Wood, whose 65 was also more than he had ever made before, appeared sufficient to save the match.As it was, Will Gidman, Ian Saxelby and David Payne continued to extract life from this pitch. It was Gidman who bowled Bates and Hamza Riazuddin in swift succession. This at a stage when nothing seemed more certain than that Bates, in need of runs to ensure his club does not make any further misguided attempts to sign a more experienced replacement on the basis that he might bat better, would reach the first century of his career.Bates struck 11 fours and Wood 12. Riazuddin, too, batted with assurance. So credit to Gloucestershire’s seamers – their attack, remember, is shorn of Jon Lewis, the ideal bowler to deal with the late order – for their perseverance.Hampshire never looked likely to reach their target of 290. That was particularly so after the openers, Liam Dawson and Jimmy Adams, swiftly went, one picking out long leg and the other well held low at second slip by Chris Dent, whose fifth catch of the match this was, to say nothing of his first-innings century. Simon Katich, the one batsman who could well have stayed in all afternoon, attempted to steer Saxelby to third man and was taken behind the wicket: 36 for 3.Michael Carberry took 29 balls to get off the mark and in due course was held by Richard Coughtrie at the second attempt. When James Vince and Sean Ervine were both taken at third slip by Ian Cockbain, off Saxelby, Hampshire had subsided to 72 for 6. An early finish appeared quite possible – unless Bates, whose previous highest score was an unbeaten 58 despite possessing a sound technique, remained at the crease for a considerable time.He did just that, getting into line, collecting runs whenever he could through front foot drives and a keenness to cut. He and Wood, who put away anything on or outside leg stump to good effect, added 100 off 154 balls. Alex Gidman switched his bowlers around, utilising Ed Young’s left-arm spin, but once Bates had been bowled by brother Will, the tail was exposed.Gloucestershire, of course, are not only having to make do without Lewis. Steve Kirby and Gemaal Hussain went to Somerset the previous winter and there has been little talk since of anything but other cutbacks, players not being retained and of the need for the club to move grounds to secure its future.So they will take great heart from this triumph: the bowlers utilising the conditions to the full, the quality of the slip catching and, above all, the obduracy of Dent, a Bristol boy to boot.

Carlton Baugh, the West Indies wicketkeeper, has openly questioned Australia’s readiness to battle the spin of Devendra Bishoo after the tourists were made to look ordinary by a modest pair of local slow bowlers in their only warm-up for the Caribbean Tes

Daniel Brettig in Barbados04-Apr-2012Carlton Baugh, the West Indies wicketkeeper, has openly questioned Australia’s readiness to battle the spin of Devendra Bishoo after the tourists were made to look ordinary by a modest pair of local slow bowlers in their only warm-up for the Caribbean Test series.Having struggled to read and play the offbreaks and variations of the IPL-bound Sunil Narine in the limited-overs matches, Australia’s batsmen will soon be pitted against Bishoo, winner of the ICC’s Emerging Player of the Year award for 2011 after a series of wily performances against India’s spin-conversant batsmen at home and away.Bishoo’s four most recent appearances for Guyana in the regional first-class competition have reaped 24 wickets, and his skills are far in advance of those used by Ryan Austin and the part-time wrist-spinner Nkrumah Bonner at the Three Ws Oval. Baugh had little hesitation pointing this out, and also Australia’s periodic difficulties against quality slow bowlers down the decades.”To be honest, over the years Australia doesn’t play spin that well,” Baugh said. “Not taking away anything from them, they’re pretty good players, but tradition follows on from the years that they’re not the best players of spin.”It is pretty interesting because Austin is a natural offspin bowler and Bonner is pretty much a part-time legspin bowler, so it was pretty interesting to see what others can do, especially Devendra Bishoo and other spin bowlers.”Bishoo was hidden from Australia’s view during the ODIs and Twenty20s, and Baugh said this sleight of hand “could be [an advantage], and on Bishoo’s day you never know what can happen”.Watching from behind the stumps as captain of the WICB President’s XI, Baugh saw Michael Clarke make a smooth 30 and Ricky Ponting a brief 13. He reasoned that the visitors’ preference for faster surfaces had contributed to a mediocre first innings of 214 for 9 declared.”Today for them wasn’t the best day in terms of how the wicket was playing, they are accustomed to wickets coming on just like in Australia,” Baugh said. “This wicket wasn’t the best and they struggled a little bit. Hopefully when the Test matches start if we can continue to keep them on that road, eventually we should surprise them.”Our team is growing in confidence and you can see what we’ve been putting in and it’s paying off, so we’re just taking it one step at a time, and hopefully we can be very much competitive, just like the one-day series. They weren’t at their best as you can see and they played a few batters short, but at the same time it is the Australian team and I think we bowled pretty well in patches. To restrict them to 214 even though they had declared, we still got nine wickets and that is a plus for us.”Shane Watson, the touring vice-captain, admitted the Australians were “not entirely” happy with how they had gone in their pursuit of a smooth segue to day one of the series.”We would have liked guys going on to get bigger scores and a bit more consistent batting but the practice matches are here for the guys to adjust to conditions as well as we can and get some time in the middle,” Watson said. “It’s certainly better than training. It’s more to get out of it as much as you can. So far most batters have had enough time in the middle to get their head around their game plans are going to be on these types of wickets.”As for Bishoo, Watson said he was formulating his method to combat the Guyanese legspinner. “I’ve seen a fair bit of him already because there was a chance he was going to play the one-day series and the Twenty20s,” Watson said. “I’ve already had a fair look at his footage so far and I’ve seen the way he bowled throughout the World Cup for the West Indies very closely.”Without playing him I’ve got an idea of what his skills are and how he’s going to bowl, it’s moreso until you get out there and see what he’s doing and whether the wicket is turning before you know how big a challenge he’s going to be. There’s no doubt he’s got some really good skills. It’s going to be a good challenge for our batting group.”

Somerset were unable to dismiss Durham a second time in their two-day game but the hosts batting problems continued to dog them

David Hopps at Chester-le-Street12-May-2012
ScorecardSomerset kept up the hunt for victory until late in the day but Durham clung on•Getty ImagesWhen Paul Collingwood responded to the end of his England career near the end of last season not by retiring, but by restating his commitment to Durham, with a dash of worldwide Twenty20 thrown in, his head coach Geoff Cook extolled the virtues of a grounded personality who had proved there was a cricketing life beyond the international stage.”He can help us through a slightly transitional phase,” Cook said at the time. Only the word “slightly” is now looking a little over optimistic. Transition is upon Durham quicker than Cook had hoped, certainly in the four-day game, and judging by the nervy way they secured a draw against Somerset, Collingwood’s scrapping instincts have never been more necessary.Durham, widely regarded as serious Championship contenders, remain bottom. They had begun the final day vulnerably placed, felt relatively safe at tea at 144 for 3, a lead admittedly of only two runs, but two quick wickets after the break for Craig Meschede, including the captain Phil Mustard, the only man who has dared look at his batting statistics this season, ensured there would be no handshakes at 5pm.It was left to Ian Blackwell, with foot movement so restricted that you would not fancy his chances crossing the stepping stones at Stanhope, to negotiate a draw with a stubborn 38 not out, but Somerset might have pulled off a win had Peter Trego or Alex Barrow held two slip catches when a late-evening run chase was still a possibility.Somerset also had chances earlier. Mark Stoneman was missed by Craig Overton at third slip and turned 4 into 33 and Collingwood had also edged Trego perilously close to second slip when 9 and went on to make 36. Somerset abandoned hope with Durham 92 ahead, the last pair at the crease and seven overs remaining.A draw was something to cling to after trailing by 142 on first innings and they have the chance to build on that against Somerset in the CB40 on Sunday when Collingwood will take over the captaincy in the absence of Dale Benkenstein, who dislocated his shoulder in the pre-match warm-up. Cook is calling for character; he used to call for Steve Harmison, but Harmison has spent all season searching for a glimmer of form in the second XI.Durham secured a draw without ridding themselves of the damning statistic that no batsman in the top six has yet reached fifty. Collingwood looked as likely as anybody to rid the county of an unwelcome marker before he fell lbw to Overton on 36. He settled in by pulling Trego for four and suggested that he was in reasonable order with a controlled extra-cover boundary against Meschede, an area where he can lose a spoke on the wagon wheel.Returning to the county circuit after a long England career is not easy even for a cricketer with such a strong sense of regional identity as Collingwood and, even if he was never the type to envisage himself as a captain until the leadership of England’s one-day sides fell his way, the extra responsibility could give him a fillip in the short term. County cricket, too, needs to prove that it can provide a few years of satisfaction for a committed cricketer with much still to give. If Collingwood cannot attune himself to a less glamorous existence then few can.County cricket’s gamesome pitches, during possibly the most weather-ravaged start to a Championship season since the 1950s, are quite a culture shock for England batsmen used to true international surfaces.”I don’t think anybody has seen the wickets around the country do this much,” Collingwood said after the washed-out third day. “I’ve spoken to people like Andrew Strauss and we just laugh about how much the ball’s doing. You’ve just got to forget about technique and things like that and find a way of scoring runs. You can be technically absolutely fantastic and be out second ball. It really has been difficult.”As a batsman you try to protect one side of the bat but in these conditions you find the ball can beat both sides. It’s like a spinner bowling normal off-breaks then all of a sudden you’ve got one going the other way.”It is the rewards of T20 that, naturally, have also driven Collingwood on, as the recognition grows that few players have managed to make a success of semi-retirement and a career playing exclusively T20 cricket. He was part of the Perth Scorchers side that qualified for the Champions League and also had a stint for Impi in South Africa. He would still not have returned to share Durham’s early season agony had not Rajasthan Royals told him that with ten overseas players on their books he was surplus to requirements in the IPL.That Somerset could put Durham under so much pressure owed much to the verve of Craig Kieswetter. Somerset were eight down at start of play and after two washed-out days led by 95, but Kieswetter borrowed a few leg side shots from the IPL and finished unbeaten on 96, scoring 36 of a further 47 added.Kieswetter’s assault forced Durham to field four leg-side boundary fielders for Mitch Claydon and it was one of them, Stoneman, who eventually ran out the last man, George Dockrell, at the bowler’s end from deep midwicket as Kieswetter tried to farm the strike. Graham Onions was harder to slog, his form one of the few bright aspects to a difficult Durham season.

Australia’s captain, Michael Clarke, won the toss and sent Ireland in to bat in the one-off ODI at Stormont in Belfast

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Jun-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsBrett Lee bowled Ireland captain William Porterfield with the first ball of the match•AFPIreland have offered free entry to their upcoming matches for those supporters who saw only 10.4 overs of their ODI with Australia in Belfast. Brett Lee took two wickets in his first three deliveries and a fantastic catch from Michael Clarke helped Australia further reduce Ireland to 36 for 3 before the rain returned to cause the abandonment of the one-off ODI.Supporters will be able to gain free entry to one of Ireland’s two World Cricket League matches against Afghanistan in Dublin on July 3 or 5, or for their T20 series against Bangladesh back in Belfast on July 18, 20 or 21.There was little action against Australia but Lee, making his first appearance of the tour ahead of Australia’s five-match ODI series against England, proved his form by knocking over the off stumps of both William Porterfield – for a golden duck – and Ed Joyce in a double-wicket maiden to start the match. Paul Stirling hit four fours in his 24 but fell in Pat Cummins’ third over to check Ireland’s mini-revival.With little more than 10 overs bowled, the teams were forced off by a heavy downpour and, despite repeated inspections, the umpires finally called play off shortly before 4pm.Australia’s captain, Clarke, won the toss and sent Ireland in to bat after a 45-minute delay to the scheduled start. The ground had recovered well from heavy pre-match rain, allowing the match to get underway at 11.30am local time, without a reduction on the allotted 50 overs a side.The tourists made four changes from the team that accounted for Leicestershire in their opening match of the tour, a minor muscle strain ruling out George Bailey and allowing Peter Forrest to come in. The pace attack was reshuffled entirely, Lee, Cummins and Ben Hilfenhaus for Mitchell Johnson, James Pattinson and Clint McKay.Ireland opened up with Stirling and Porterfield at the top of the order, the same combination that gave Australia a fright the last time these two sides met in 2010, while Tim Murtagh was handed an expected debut.Ireland 1 Paul Stirling, 2 Will Porterfield (capt), 3 Ed Joyce, 4 Niall O’Brien (wk), 5 Gary Wilson, 6 Kevin O’Brien, 7 Alex Cusack, 8 John Mooney, 9 Trent Johnston, 10 George Dockrell, 11 Tim Murtagh.Australia 1 David Warner, 2 Matthew Wade (wk), 3 Shane Watson, 4 Michael Clarke (capt), 5 David Hussey, 6 Peter Forrest, 7 Steve Smith, 8 Brett Lee, 9 Pat Cummins, 10 Ben Hilfenhaus, 11 Xavier Doherty.

Brett D’Oliveira wants to play more cricket in South Africa, the land of his grandfather Basil’s birth

Firdose Moonda30-Jul-2012Brett D’Oliveira has expressed interest in playing in Cape Town, the city where his grandfather, Basil, the former England Test batsman, first made his name. Brett had a short stint at the St Augustine’s Cricket Club in November last year but had to cut short his visit because of Basil’s death.”It was unfortunate that I had to leave then but I’m looking to go back this year or the year after,” D’Oliveira told ESPNcricinfo in Worcester.He also has bigger ambitions of playing provincial or franchise cricket in South Africa.”I have considered playing there quite a bit. I spoke to my dad about it and he is quite keen for me to do it. He said there will be a lot of things around it, like the press will want to speak to me, and that sort of thing, but I’m happy to do it.”I spent a little bit of time with Paul Adams when I was in Cape Town. He is a legspinner like me, but left-arm, and he was a great guy to talk to and feed off.”At 20, Brett is the youngest cricketer of the D’Oliveira family, who consider themselves “very much British” according to his father Damian. But the D’Oliverias also want to maintain ties with the land of Basil’s birth.”We have lots of family over there, on my mother’s side, especially,” Damian said. “We met a lot of the family when the two teams [England and South Africa] played at the beginning of 2005, and my brother’s just come back from a trip there as well.”When he signed up with Worcestershire last August, Brett became a third-generation D’Oliveira to play for the county. Damian has been associated with the club for 30 years now, having played 234 first-class games over 13 years and then been involved at the county’s academy and also as the second team coach.”I’m very proud of Brett,” Damian said. “He came through the ranks, all the under-age little cricket games from Under-10 to U-19s, got a place on the academy, did four years there and got his first contract this year.”Brett describes New Road as his “second home” and said he remembers visiting as a young boy to watch his father and grandfather play. “I love playing in front of the crowds that have seen my granddad play and my dad play, so I relish it, really. Permanently, I wouldn’t want to go anywhere else or play anywhere else.”

Unmukt Chand led India to World Cup glory at Tony Ireland Stadium, his side pulling off the highest successful chase at this venue to beat defending champions Australia in the final

The Report by George Binoy in Townsville25-Aug-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsThis team secured India their third World Cup at the Under-19 level•ICC/GettyUnmukt Chand led India to World Cup glory at Tony Ireland Stadium, his unbeaten century ensuring his side saved its best batting performance for when it counted most, pulling off the highest successful chase at this venue to beat defending champions Australia in the final. Chand, who was ably supported by Baba Aparajith and Smit Patel, secured India’s third Under-19 world title, after triumphs in 2000 and 2008.Chand and Patel shared an unbroken 130-run stand for the fifth wicket, after India had slipped from 75 for 1 to 97 for 4. At no stage of the chase did they let the asking rate climb too much, and several huge hits on the home stretch ensured the target was achieved in the 48th over. Smit pulling Turner to the midwicket boundary was the signal for thirteen Indians to sprint to the middle, carrying flags and piling on to their heroes.Chand’s innings was the defining performance of the World Cup and he chose the perfect moment to produce it, outshining his worthy counterpart William Bosisto, whose 87 had dragged Australia from 38 for 4 towards a competitive score. Bosisto finished unbeaten for the fifth time in six innings, ending the tournament with an average of 276. He would have gladly swapped that for a more human figure, though, in return for not dropping Chand when India needed 49 off 41 balls.India’s manic celebrations at the finish indicated a release of tremendous pressure that had built up during the pursuit. They had lost Prashant Chopra early and, in Mark Steketee’s second over, Chand was lucky to survive a close lbw shout. He was on 3 at the time. Like in the semi-final, Chand was a nervy starter, playing and missing and edging past his stumps. At the other end, however, Baba Aparajith began to play an array of exquisite drives on the off side, and Chand soon found his touch too.When Gurinder Sandhu was brought into the attack in the ninth over, Chand attacked him right away, cutting in the air to the backward point boundary and lofting on the up for six over long-off. The 50 partnership came off 48 balls. Aparajith showed he could play the short ball too, controlling a hook off Steketee to the fine-leg boundary. India had been 11 for 1 after four overs. They were 60 for 1 after ten.The Chand-Aparajith partnership had produced 73 when Aparajith was caught on the drive by Turner at extra cover, two balls after he had driven Sandhu for another sublime four. Turner made another quick breakthrough, catching Hanuma Vihari off his own bowling for 4. As Vijay Zol walked in, Chand went up to him, had a chat and patted him on the back, but he edged to Peirson for 1 off 14balls. India were suddenly 97 for 4. They would have been five down had Peirson held a tough chance off Chand in the 19th over, when he was on 38. Patel was let off by Peirson too, on 2, and he made Australia pay.Patel was the cool partner that Chand needed and the two batsmen focused on keeping wickets in hand for the end game, finding the boundary occasionally but taking singles and two frequently. The asking rate touched six an over for the first time when there were 17 left; India needed 102 and they had the batting Powerplay to come. In the final over of fielding restrictions, Chand heaved Turner for perhaps the biggest six hit at Tony Ireland Stadium during this tournament. It nearly went on to the road beyond the midwicket boundary.William Bosisto finished unbeaten for the fifth time in six matches•ICC/GettyThe equation had boiled down to 49 off 41, and then Chand chipped Gregory straight to midwicket, where Bosisto dropped a sitter. Three balls later, Chand launched Gregory over the straight boundary, a blow that was bound to have broken Australia. He hit another six off Gregory, his fifth of six, over cover to bring up his century and stayed on to finish the job.India’s batsmen came good after their bowlers had a hot and cold day, their first such performance in this tournament. India had won the toss for the first time at this venue and Sandeep struck with his fourth delivery. He bowled an inswinger that Jimmy Peirson shouldered arms to, hit off stump, and celebrated with the nonchalance of a man who has made an early wicket a habit. In his second over, Sandeep had the other opener Cameron Bancroft lbw, reducing Australia to 8 for 2.The other new-ball bowler Kamal Passi wasn’t as successful. At the end of their first spells, Sandeep had figures of 5-2-8-2 and Passi 4-0-24-0.Chand brought on his offspinner in the 11th over and Aparajith went round the wicket immediately to the left-hand batsman Kurtis Patterson and bowled him. In the next, Ravikant drew an edge from Meyrick Buchanan and Australiawere 38 for 4. Bosisto and Travis Head had to rescue the innings, like they had against England and Bangladesh.They had barely got started when Head, on 5, cut Ravikant to point where Akshdeep Nath dropped a straightforward chance. He was lucky to survive an lbw appeal from Aparajith on 20 as well and went on to score 37 out of a 65-run stand with Bosisto.The partnership ended in a run out, after Harmeet Singh had moved swiftly to his left at point to intercept a Bosisto cut and threw at the non-striker’s end. Head had run a long way down and was a few inches short when Aparajith broke the stumps even though he dived desperately. Australia were 103 for 5 in the 30th over and Head stormed off the field rapidly.The mix-up did not fluster Bosisto. He forged a 93-run partnership with the offspinner Ashton Turner, who was dropped on 2 when he tried to cut Aparajith and gave Smit Patel a reflex chance. Passi returned for a third spell in the 35th over but his day did not improve. Bosisto pulled a short ball, it had taken him 71 balls to hit his first boundary. Bosisto picked up speed, sweeping both spinners and driving Sandeep for boundaries, to score 59 off his last 50 balls and was a knackered man as he walked off the field to the applause of his team-mates and the crowd.Bosisto was applauded later, too, when he picked up the Player of the Tournament award. However, it was his counterpart, Chand, who had won the day and the World Cup for India.