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It took India 17 balls on the final morning to take the last wicket and wrap up their seventh Test win in England

Sidharth Monga22-Aug-2018It took India 17 balls on the final morning to take the last wicket and wrap up their seventh Test win in England, an utter domination of the hosts from the moment India were inserted on day one. The win also made Virat Kohli India’s second-most successful captain in Tests, behind only MS Dhoni now.It ended with a carrom ball that bounced unexpectedly and took the top edge from James Anderson’s bat. India got the other 19 wickets through pace. This would have been only the second time India would have taken all 20 through pace, following closely on the feat they first achieved in Johannesburg earlier this year. The win came in similar circumstances: India two down in the series, their batting under the scanner, and on both occasions the batsmen stepped up to give their bowlers something to bowl at. And how the bowlers responded. Hardik Pandya took a five-for in the space of 29 balls in the first innings, and then Jasprit Bumrah laid to waste the hard work done by Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes in the second with a spell of high pace and control.

The Sri Lanka batting coach felt that after some strong discussions, the allrounder was heading in the right direction

Andrew Fidel Fernando29-Jul-2018Persevered with for so long for his potential rather than his form, Thisara Perera has started to turn his game around. This, at least, is what Sri Lanka batting coach Thilan Samaraweera believed, after Thisara struck 49 off 30 balls to assist Sri Lanka’s recovery after they had careened to 36 for 5.Thisara’s innings was to be of little consequence – South Africa ended up sauntering to a five-wicket victory. But it was another solid contribution from a player who, in the past, has been a source of great frustration. For years selectors kept picking him because the idea of a seam-bowling, big-hitting allrounder was too much to resist, but his performances since 2014 had largely been mediocre. This year, though, he has seemingly rediscovered the form that had made him such an exciting prospect in the early years of this decade. Having averaged an abysmal 14.50 – at a strike rate of not much more than 100 – between January 2015 and December 2017, Thisara has now averaged 45.75 with a strike rate of 156, in five innings in 2018.”In the last six months he’s improved a lot as a batsman,” Samaraweera said. “I gave a lot of space to him, and he’s getting there. The good thing is, after his dismissal he showed a lot of disappointment in the dressing room, because this was one of the best opportunities for him to get an ODI hundred.”

Felt more like a Pretoria or Wanderers wicket: Shamsi

South Africa’s left-arm wristspinner Tabraiz Shamsi took 4 for 33 to wipe out the Sri Lanka innings, after South Africa’s quicks had wreaked havoc on the top order. His thoughts on:
The bowling performance
“I managed to get the guys that made runs. But the fast bowlers made our job a lot easier. Any team that is five down early for 30-odd on the board – that makes things easier. Credit to the Sri Lankans for almost getting to 200 runs after a start like that.”
The pitch
“I felt it was a little bit of a South African type wicket. There wasn’t much spin, especially because we bowled first. We bowl a lot on pitches like this at home, so it was okay to adjust. Felt more like a Pretoria or Wanderers wicket.”

A performing Thisara has always been an alluring proposition, but now, with Angelo Mathews seemingly unable to bowl due to injury concerns and a World Cup in England in less than a year, Sri Lanka’s desperation for a seam-bowling allrounder has rarely been so acute. What is heartening for Sri Lanka is that Thisara’s bowling turnaround is also impressive. Having taken 29 wickets at an average of 48.24 in the three years from 2015 till the end of 2017, Perera has claimed his wickets at an average of 17.63 this year.”We had a lot of discussions, and we emphasised to Thisara how important he is to the 2019 World Cup,” Samaraweera said. “I think you have to give a lot of credit to bowling coach Rumesh Ratnayake also. He changed Thisara’s bowling approach. He was very slow to the crease before Rumesh came, and in the last seven months, we can see how much faster he is to the stumps. We had strong discussions, and sometimes disagreements. But Thisara is heading in the right direction at the moment.”That Thisara had had to come to the crease as early as the ninth over in this match, was down partly to Sri Lanka’s inability to withstand Kagiso Rabada’s new-ball spell. Rabada’s first five overs brought him three wickets for 22 runs, while Lungi Ngidi struck once at the other end, and Upul Tharanga was run out.”We talked about what South Africa’s strengths were, and their strength is in the first eight to ten overs – we have to get through that period,” Samaraweera said. “After that, they have a very inexperienced bowling attack. Unfortunately, they got five wickets. We were thinking a score of 275-280 would be good, because we have three spinners to defend that. But when you are 30-odd for five, it’s very hard to win games from there. We recovered well, but the match was decided in the first ten overs because of our very poor batting.”

A long-standing finger injury that wasn’t attended to adequately has resulted in an infection that has spread to Shakib Al Hasan’s wrist, delaying a surgery by three weeks

Mohammad Isam29-Sep-2018Shakib Al Hasan has undergone an emergency operation on the injured little finger on his left hand, after it had become infected during the Asia Cup. The pus had spread quite badly, going up to his left wrist, which was only spotted when he had gone to a Dhaka hospital on Thursday, hours after arriving from Dubai.Doctors have told him that he will have to wait up to three weeks for the surgery on his injured finger, which will keep him out of competitive cricket for up to three months.”The moment I arrived in the hospital, the doctors told me that I have to get the pus out as soon as possible,” Shakib said to . “Any delay would put me in great danger as the infection spread till my wrist. If I had waited another few days, my wrist would have become disabled.”I feel better after they took out the pus, but the problem is until the infection isn’t gone, there isn’t going to be a surgery on my injured finger. It will take another 2-3 weeks to fix. After surgery I will need eight weeks, which means I am out for three months.”Shakib first noticed a swelling around his injured finger during the Asia Cup. It is understood that the infection started to form around the base of his little finger. Bangladesh physio Tihan Chandramohan sent Shakib’s X-ray and scan reports regularly to doctors in Australia and England, one of whom suggested that there could be an infection.Last Monday, Shakib underwent another scan as his pain had became unbearable, forcing him to withdraw from the Asia Cup. Shakib said that Chandramohan should have detected what was wrong when the swelling had increased around his injured finger.”I have been in this state for the last 14-15 days. The doctor immediately understood what had happened, but our physio couldn’t find out. It is true that the physio couldn’t detect the problem. There was a bit of mistake so he has to take some of the responsibility. But I won’t blame him fully. Nobody knew that it would become infected,” he said.Shakib added that he had decided to play in the Asia Cup after the physio had told him that there may not be any danger in doing so.”The BCB president [Nazmul Hassan] asked if I could play the Asia Cup or I could go for the surgery. He told me to take the decision. When I asked the physio about what damage it may have, he told me it won’t be that dangerous. Then I decided that since the Asia Cup is important for us, I will play 4-5 matches with the pain,” said Shakib.He had been originally injured in January, during the ODI tri-series final in Mirpur. Initially it was a sprain with some tissue damage and he missed the Test and T20I series against Sri Lanka, both of which Bangladesh lost. He then returned to the side, reportedly at the request of Nazmul Hassan during the Nidahas Trophy, which he was slated to miss as he hadn’t recovered sufficiently from the finger injury.After playing the T20I series against Afghanistan and the full West Indies tour from June to August, Shakib said that he needed the finger surgery before the Asia Cup. But hours later, Hassan suggested that he may as well “play and the endure the pain [as he had done for the past six months].”

Chris Gayle, Eoin Morgan, Rashid Khan, Jason Roy are part of the international draft that will take place on October 17

Liam Brickhill15-Oct-2018Cricket South Africa has unveiled the teams and marquee South Africa players for the upcoming Mzansi Super League, South Africa’s new T20 league. The participation of AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla, Kagiso Rabada, Imran Tahir, JP Duminy and Faf du Plessis has been confirmed, and CSA has also announced the headlining T20 players for the player draft on Wednesday.Each of the marquee South Africa signings will represent a different city-based franchise: de Villiers will play for the Tshwane Spartans, Amla for the Durban Heat, Rabada for the Jozi Stars, Tahir for the Nelson Mandela Bay Giants, Duminy for the Cape Town Blitz and du Plessis for Paarl Rocks.”It was a thorough and well-audited process that led to the six winning bids from our members as well as the collective contribution from all stakeholders involved that led to the final names and logos which we also had to make sure met our objectives for this event,” CSA chief executive Thabang Moroe said.”What was clear throughout this definitive process was that these are completely new entities and names that will operate separately from the current franchise teams. We welcome the six new additions to the South African and international cricket family.”Durban Heat will have the first pick in the player draft on October 17, and they will have the choice of some of T20 franchise cricket’s most recognisable names. Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo, Eoin Morgan, Rashid Khan, Jason Roy and Dawid Malan were all announced as part of the international draft.”We have received applications from over 200 top international players who expressed interest in playing in this inaugural tournament and will have their names in the hat ahead of the Player Draft process on Wednesday,” Moroe said. “There were expected challenges in the process, of course, with some players available for a particular period because of other cricket commitment clashes elsewhere, including our Proteas, who also have to fulfil our tour to Australia for a One-Day International series.”The stadiums that will host each of the teams were announced last week, and the sides will play a total of 32 games, home and away, over a period of one month from November 16. The CEOs of the organisations running the grounds – Newlands, Wanderers, Kingsmead, St George’s Park, Boland Park and SuperSport Park – will be de facto managers of the teams, assigning their own coaching staff.The MSL is due to start the day before South Africa’s tour to Australia concludes with a one-off T20I at the Carrara Oval, but CSA confirmed the involvement of South Africa’s leading cricketers.

West Indies squeezed out England in a thrilling finish at the Daren Sammy Stadium to claim top spot in Group A and set up a semi-final against Australia

The Report by Alan Gardner18-Nov-2018
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsWest Indies squeezed out England in a thrilling finish at the Daren Sammy Stadium to claim top spot in Group A and a semi-final against Australia – replaying their encounter in the final of the last tournament two years ago in Kolkata. England will take on India, winners of Group B, knowing that they must make rapid improvements with the bat and in the field despite scrapping to keep the possibility of victory alive until the final over.

Australia hit with over rate fine

Australia have been fined for their slow over-rate in the Group B defeat to India in Guyana on Saturday. Meg Lanning’s side were found to be one over short by match referee Richie Richardson.
After Lanning pled guilty to the charge, Australia’s players were fined 10% of their match fees. Lanning’s fine was doubled to 20%, and the captain could face a suspension if Australia commit a similar over-rate offence within the next 12 months.
The charge was brought by the two on-field umpires in the game at Providence Stadium, Gregory Brathwaite and Wayne Knights, the third umpire Sue Redfern and fourth umpire Shaun George.

On a surface that made life difficult for fluent scoring, West Indies were indebted to an innings of 46 from Deandra Dottin and 45 from Shemaine Campbelle – the latter dismissed with just three runs needed – as the reigning champions showed their composure to claim a fourth win from as many games in the group stage.Defeat was hard on Anya Shrubsole, who picked up 3 for 10 with the ball after playing a vital part with the bat, her innings of 29 from 26 helping to resurrect England in a seventh-wicket partnership with Sophia Dunkley. Dottin, who was named Player of the Match, claimed two more wickets to become the tournament’s leading wicket-taker but England fought back impressively to ensure a game that only had group positions at stake, with both sides having already qualified, gave the packed crowd a worthy finish in St Lucia’s penultimate game.The biggest difference between the teams was the fielding, as demonstrated during a frantic finale. With West Indies needing 18 from 13 balls, substitute fielder Fran Wilson dropped Campbelle at long-on, with the chance going straight through her hands and away for four. Dunkley then failed to get near a skied slog from Campbelle in the penultimate over, before Amy Jones dropped Britney Cooper from the final ball (Lauren Winfield then ran out Cooper with a direct hit to partially atone).That left five runs required from the last six balls and although Shrubsole had Campbelle taken brilliantly at deep square leg by Danielle Wyatt from her second delivery, Kycia Knight thrashed the next through point to seal a win raucously celebrated by the home supporters.Deandra Dottin slog-sweeps during her 46•ICC via Getty

A third-wicket stand of 68 between Dottin and Campbelle laid the platform for West Indies, though the pursuit was not without its nervy moments. Dottin got into block-or-bash mode, launching four sixes over the leg side but also stacking up dot balls as England sought containment after Shrubsole’s two early strikes. Campbelle began slowly, too, scoring one from her first nine balls, but began to tick along nicely before taking charge of the chase once Dottin had holed out to deep square leg off Kirstie Gordon.Although they were defending what looked a meagre total, England were given the perfect start when Shrubsole – who finished her previous appearance by taking a hat-trick – struck with her first and fourth balls, castling both Hayley Matthews and Stafanie Taylor with trademark inswingers.Dottin got going with a towering blow off Natalie Sciver but was unable to rotate the strike against England’s spinners. She did however twice launch Danielle Hazell for sixes over the midwicket; Hazell, brought into the side for Linsey Smith, was the one bowler unable to provide captain Heather Knight with control, her four overs costing 39.After Dottin fell aiming one slog-sweep too many, Sophie Ecclestone bowled Natasha McLean to leave West Indies needing 26 from the last three overs. However, Hazell’s next went for 12, including the drop of Campbelle on 39, as they faltered in the final exchanges.England’s effort was undermined from the off by the loss of regular wickets, with only three batsmen managing to make it into double-figures. West Indies fielded superbly, and looked to be in line for a simple chase with England reeling at 50 for 6 in the 11th over before Dunkley and Shrubsole combined to revive the innings with an partnership full of hard running and the occasional hearty thump.The damage was done at the top by Shakera Selman’s opening spell, which saw her bowl her allocation up front for figures of 4-0-15-2. She struck in the opening over, Chinelle Henry setting the tone for West Indies in the field by taking a leaping catch to dismiss Wyatt.Tammy Beaumont, who was dropped on 12, was the only member of the top six to make a significant contribution, and her dismissal for 23 saw England lose momentum entirely as three wickets went down for two runs in seven balls. Heather Knight, who made 6 from 13 before falling lbw to Dottin, did at least spend some time in the middle; unlike Winfield, who was brilliantly run out from her second ball by Cooper’s direct hit.Dunkley, playing her maiden international innings in her third game, then showed some of the Kia Super League form that saw her selected for the squad despite being uncapped. But she was smartly held at long-off, by Henry again, and Dottin’s horizontal grab to remove Shrubsole from the final ball of the innings suggested West Indies were not in the mood to be beaten.

South Australia continued to toil in the field and also had fitness concerns over pace bowler Dan Worrell

Alex Malcolm09-Dec-2018Moises Henriques fell one agonising run short of a second Sheffield Shield century of the season as New South Wales piled up a huge first innings total against South Australia at the SCG.After Daniel Hughes and Nick Larkin plundered twin centuries on day two, Henriques piled on the runs. Both openers fell early in the morning session.Henriques cruised to 99 from just 119 balls before falling caught and bowled to the part-time left-arm spin of Redbacks opener Conor McInerney. Henriques was his first Sheffield Shield wicket.Peter Nevill made 57 but also fell to part-time spin. Jake Lehmann finished with the pick of the figures of 2 for 17 from four overs as the Redbacks used eight bowlers.Of great concern for the Redbacks was that in-form quick Daniel Worrall was assessed for a back injury. He only managed 10 overs in the innings and won’t bowl again in the match.The Blues declared 161 runs in front and asked the Redbacks to face six overs before stumps. McInerney and Jake Weatherald survived the pace of Sean Abbott and the spin of Steve O’Keefe.

South Africa’s little-known IPL pick has built a big reputation with his exploits in the Mzansi League

Liam Brickhill21-Dec-2018There were a couple of familiar names in the South African contingent of the IPL auction in December: Colin Ingram is an increasingly sought-after T20 freelancer, while Heinrich Klaasen is also no stranger to the IPL, and Hardus Viljoen is a County regular. But not as many will have heard of the fourth South African picked up by Kolkata Knight Riders earlier this week.Anrich Nortje, a 25-year-old fast bowler from Uitenhage in the Eastern Cape, turned enough heads in three Mzansi Super League games to pop up on the IPL radar. Playing for the Cape Town Blitz, Nortje caught the attention of KKR coach Jacques Kallis, himself a Cape Town local, scoring a INR 20 lakh (R400,000) contract, despite currently being sidelined by minor surgery on his ankle.”I didn’t really expect to get picked up, but I thought, well, definitely give it a shot. When I get on the shortlist I was quite happy. I was in Struisbaai, [a picturesque coastal town of a few thousand people] in the Western Cape, just in a shopping centre when someone phoned me and I heard,” Nortje explained. “I was busy getting meat for a braai that night.”While he has been a cricketer – and bowled fast – since childhood, Nortje’s recent rise has been rapid. Having made his first class debut in 2013, and his franchise debut in 2016, in the 2017-18 season he averaged a modest 35 with the ball in the four-day domestic competition for Warriors but, he says, he “changed one or two things during the winter, and just sort of clicked”.Nortje was selected for South Africa A’s tour of India in August, playing in two matches and dismissing Prithvi Shaw and Hanuma Vihari – for 148 – in the second unofficial Test against India A. The tour meant Nortje went into the 2018-19 domestic season match-fit and bowling with rhythm, and in five first class games for Warriors he picked up 24 wickets at 21.04, including figures of 5 for 51 and 6 for 66 in back-to-back games against Knights.”It started with getting selected for SA A, and then just bowling straight through the winter. I had a lot of cricket, a lot of prep, a lot of bowling. It’s been very busy and very exciting. Getting selected for the MSL was also a great thing. It got people looking my way a little bit. It would have been nice to play a little more, but it was still a great opportunity.”Even before the Mzansi Super League kicked off, word of Nortje’s pace started to get around. “Just watching Nortje bowling, he bowled at the speed of lightning, that was pretty scary,” said Dawid Malan after one of the warm-ups. While those games obviously weren’t televised, it was reported that Nortje touched 150km/h. “He’s got raw pace,” his team-mate Dale Steyn summed it up, simply. Blitz coach Ashwell Prince went as far as saying: “I have no doubt he will go on to play successfully at Test match level.””I was also a little bit surprised to see the speeds,” admitted Nortje. “I did change one or two things and I could feel it’s a little bit quicker, and there’s a little bit more power at the crease. But to see the pace was nice.””I definitely think there was one four-day game at Centurion, that I could definitely feel it was quicker. Quicker than what I bowled at MSL. But that was just one spell that I bowled. This season, compared to previous seasons, has definitely been the quickest.”In that Centurion game, Nortje collected the wickets of Aiden Markram and Farhaan Behardien on his way to 4 for 67. He knocked over big names in the MSL as well, dismissing Hashim Amla and Temba Bavuma (first ball) on his way to 4 for 32 against Durban Heat, and then cut through Jozi Stars with 3 for 30. While he was just doing what he had been doing domestically all season, this was televised. The exposure clearly helped.”Without that [Mzansi], I wouldn’t have been picked up. It was my first big T20 tournament, I’d like to get more exposure from here on, and IPL would definitely help that.”Nortje credited the various coaches and trainers who have helped to shape his career thus far, including age-group coach Andre du Plessis, provincial coach Piet Botha, his Warriors fitness trainer and Warriors coach Rivash Gobind, who “sort of just freed us up, the whole team. Those guys really had an influence on me getting to where I am at this stage”.While Nortje’s MSL adventure was cut short by bone fragments in his left ankle that required surgery and put him out of cricket until the new year, with an IPL contract and plenty of buzz around him, he’s actually in a pretty good place right now.”I’m just excited to be playing [in the IPL]. If I can get a game, that would probably be the most exciting thing for me. It doesn’t really bother me who I’m bowling to or whatever. I just want to play and just do my thing.”Playing for the Proteas is an obvious goal for Nortje, but even before that he will have a chance to bowl at some of the best players in the world at the IPL. Including, perhaps, the greatest of them all.”Bowling to Virat? Wow, I don’t know,” he laughs. “He’s an unbelievable player. I’ll have to assess it on the day, assess the wicket, and just go according to the plan of what the coach and the team wants.””I’d definitely like to play for the Proteas. I’d play any time, any format, it doesn’t matter what it is. I just want to get into the green and gold and play for South Africa.”

Babar Azam and Asad Shafiq counterattacked to hold up South Africa’s charge to a 3-0 series win

The Report by Andrew Miller13-Jan-2019South Africa moved ever closer to a 3-0 clean sweep on the third day at Johannesburg, as Dale Steyn and Duanne Olivier bent their backs in the face of some stiff resistance to leave Pakistan’s second innings in the balance at 153 for 3, and ensure that Quinton de Kock’s superb fourth Test century is unlikely to go to waste.Despite a doughty first-wicket stand of 67 between Shan Masood and Imam-ul-Haq, and another pair of combative knocks from Babar Azam and, especially, Asad Shafiq, Pakistan were firmly up against it at the close.ALSO READ: De Kock bursts through still waters after drought-breaking tonThe loss of both openers in the space of three Steyn overs set the scene for another critical failure for Azhar Ali, their under-performing senior batsman, who completed a dismal series haul of 59 runs at 9.83 when he was bounced out for the fourth time in six innings by Olivier.It was Olivier’s 22nd wicket of the series, more than even Steyn has ever managed for South Africa in a three-match series, and it had to be hard-earned on a surface that appeared to lack the demons that had been in evidence while de Kock and Hashim Amla, in particular, were eking out their team’s lead in the early part of the day.In the absence once again of a frontline spinner to mix up South Africa’s options, it took invention and nous to force their openings in the evening session – not least from Steyn, who had left the field clutching his shoulder in the first innings, but shook off any lingering doubts about his fitness with another bravura performance.After failing to cause many problems to Pakistan’s left-handers in a three-over foray before tea, Steyn returned from round the wicket to test their mettle with a wide line angled into the stumps. Imam, on 35, was first to blink, drawn into playing the original line and nicking off as Steyn straightened one off the pitch. And 14 Steyn deliveries later, Masood departed in fury to a similar ball, seemingly oblivious to the feathered inside-edge onto thigh-pad that condemned him on review.For the second match running, however, Pakistan’s batsmen had saved their best for last, and as Babar and Shafiq reprised the watchful shot selection that had given their hosts plenty to ponder in Cape Town, it was South Africa who were the most grateful to take refuge in the dressing room. A night’s sleep, however, will remind both teams of the distance this chase still has to run. A fourth-day target of 228 remains more than Pakistan have managed in four of their five completed innings on this tour.All of which made de Kock’s earlier efforts with the bat all the more crucial. By the time South Africa’s final wicket fell, 13 balls after de Kock had launched Shadab Khan once too often into the leg side to fall for an equal Test-best 129, their batsmen had completed a fine recovery from a wobbly 93 for 5 to a hefty total of 303 all out.It is an indication of de Kock’s supreme talent that, despite rattling along at a typically brisk strike-rate, this was one of the more circumspect performances of his burgeoning Test career. He had resumed his innings on 34 not out overnight, having barrelled along at a run a ball on the second evening, but slipped back into a more measured pace in the first session to combat a Pakistan attack that never lost heart despite their mounting challenge, but struggled to force the breakthroughs.They managed two in the morning session: Amla, who had pressed along to 71 – five shy of Jacques Kallis’ long-term record for most runs at the Wanderers – before Hasan Ali got one to pop into his gloves from a good length to end a sixth-wicket stand of 102; and Vernon Philander, who picked off three sweet boundaries in a well-compiled 14, before Mohammad Amir pinned him on the shin with a perfectly directed yorker.De Kock stood firm throughout, picking off four boundaries before the break before stepping up an extra gear in the hour after lunch to move to the brink of his hundred.But then he endured a disarmingly jittery spell – he had fallen twice in the 90s in consecutive Tests against New Zealand in March 2017 and not come so close to a hundred since. And so when, on 99, a clobbered straight drive off Faheem Ashraf deflected off Kagiso Rabada’s boot at the non-striker’s end and straight to the man at mid-on, de Kock had reason to fear his luck might not be in.Another nervy declined single and a fierce smack to short cover ramped up the angst even more, but de Kock kept flinging the bat, and eventually connected with a cathartic drill through long-off to cue a release of pent-up emotion.Sarfraz Ahmed, who would finish with a Pakistan-record ten dismissals for the match, missed a sharp fizzing edge soon afterwards, high to his left off the persevering Hasan, whereupon de Kock launched into a predictable fusillade of strokeplay.He scorched his very next ball wide of mid-off before clearing his front leg in Hasan’s next over and belting a lofted flog straight back over his head for another four. That massive six off Shadab then followed, before de Kock chanced his arm against the legspinner once too often. He picked out Hasan just inside the rope to depart to a deserved standing ovation.The end of the innings followed quickly. Rabada had been a willing accomplice in a 79-run stand for the eighth wicket, but soon spliced a Faheem Ashraf bouncer to cover as he sought to up the ante. Duanne Olivier then nicked off to give Shadab his third wicket in an under-used role, and set the stage for Pakistan’s response.

India A clinch two-match series after bowling the visitors out for 144 and 180

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Feb-2019After Navdeep Saini and Shahbaz Nadeem had led the demolition job in England Lions’ first innings, Mayank Markande took charge in the second, picking up five wickets to help India A stroll to an innings-and-68-run win inside three days in the second and final unofficial Test, in Mysore.The Lions, who had folded for 144 the first time out in reply to the Indians’ 392, did marginally better with Ben Duckett scoring quickly at the top, but once the opening batsman was dismissed for 50, they rolled over tamely enough.The day began with the Lions at 24 for no loss, still 224 runs in arrears, with Duckett and Max Holden in the middle. Holden fell soon after start of play, lbw to Jalaj Saxena, as the scoreboard read 40 for 1.ALSO READ: ‘People have opinions on me, and I understand why’ – Ben DuckettDuckett played aggressively, hitting four fours and two sixes, but didn’t last long enough to make a real difference. He became the second man to be dismissed, Saxena trapping him in front too, having faced 61 balls, and there was no resistance of note after that till late in the script, when No. 7 Lewis Gregory swung his bat around for a 49-ball 44.Markande got into the act with Ollie Pope’s wicket in the 26th over, and it was a freefall after that as all the Indian bowlers picked up at least one wicket. Markande was the star, sending back Steven Mullaney, Dom Bess and Zak Chappell before Gregory delayed the only result that seemed likely.Markande finished off the game with Gregory’s wicket, for excellent returns of 5 for 31 – his third five-for in a short first-class career.The win gave the Indians the series 1-0 after the first match, in Wayanad, had ended in a stalemate. India A had earlier won the five-match one-day series 4-1.

Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming said that Dhoni took the field only to get clarity since there was confusion about the no-ball decision

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Apr-20191:46

Dhoni was fired up by the way the no-ball decision was handled – Fleming

Rajasthan Royals batsman Jos Buttler believes Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni’s decision to step onto the field to protest an umpiring call was “probably not” the right thing to do in the last over of their match on Thursday night. The incident took place with Super Kings needing eight runs off three balls. Ben Stokes bowled a waist-high full toss to Mitchell Santner, and even though umpire Ulhas Gandhe had signalled a no-ball immediately, square-leg umpire Bruce Oxenford later shook his head to overturn the original decision.That led to lengthy discussions mainly between Santner’s partner Ravindra Jadeja and the umpires before Dhoni, who had been dismissed off the previous ball, walked out to join them. Dhoni was later fined 50% of his match fees for a Code of Conduct breach.”I’m not sure if that’s the right thing to do or not,” Buttler said at the post-match press conference of Dhoni’s decision to walk out on the field. “Obviously the tensions are running high in the IPL and every run counts. Yeah, it was a big moment in the game, but whether stepping onto the pitch is quite right? No, probably not.”Obviously, it’s a bit controversial. The umpires came to a decision but I was at the boundary so I wasn’t quite sure what was going on.”Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming later said that Dhoni took the field only to get clarity since there was confusion about the no-ball decision. He did not say if it was the right thing to do or not.”What wasn’t right was the confusion around the decision. It’s above my paygrade to really get further than that,” Fleming said.”My understanding and discussing it with the captain was we saw a no-ball called, and then there was confusion. Our understanding was that the umpire at the bowler’s end had called the no-ball and then there was confusion around whether it was a no-ball or not. MS was after some clarity and it didn’t seem to be coming. So, he took the opportunity to go out and discuss it with the umpires. That’s how I saw it and that’s how I discussed it with him afterwards.”He only just wanted clarity. The rights and wrongs will be discussed by everybody, including Mahi, I’m sure. But, I think, it’ll be a discussion for the umpires afterwards and I am a watcher as you guys are, for now. But he was certainly fired up about the way the decision was handled and why it was overturned or if it was overturned. So, there was a lack of clarity, obviously, for him and he wanted to get it clarified at a key moment. It’s unusual but he’s usually pretty calculated. It’ll be something he will be questioned about for sure, for a long time.”MS Dhoni is irate at a contentious no-ball call•BCCI

Royals had put on 151 for 7 and had Super Kings in trouble on 24 for 4 in the sixth over before Dhoni and Ambati Rayudu salvaged the chase with a 95-run stand. Both batsmen scored half-centuries and struck two fours and three sixes each to snatch the momentum from Royals.”It is a tough one to take, getting into a winning position and not able to get over the line, the boys will be very disappointed,” Buttler said. “But, I think that’s been the story of our season so far. We have had some games that we should have won and closed out but for a few reasons, we have not been able to do it. We need to get it right, fast.”Royals are now only above winless Royal Challengers Bangalore on the points table with one win from six games.
How do they get out of it?”The way out is simple, we have to play better and longer,” Buttler said. “We are just not putting those performances together. We have played well in stages but against quality oppositions and some of the best players in the world, if you can’t do it for the whole 40 overs then it’s tough to win the game.”Fleming, too, admitted the weaknesses in his side, even though they sit on top of the table with six wins from seven games. The two main areas he identified that needed their attention were their fielding and death bowling.”There’s a lot of areas of concern,” Fleming said. “Our top order has been playing on a tough wicket in Chennai so we’ve got to make sure our confidence is high. Being 20-odd for 4, you’re not going to win many games. And [another concern is] just finishing off an innings with our death bowling. It’s hard and most teams are struggling. But if there are two areas we want to get better at, we’re working hard on, is that and we have to work hard on our fielding. We’ve got a number of holes but we know where they are and we’ll try and cover them up as much as we can.”