Capitals and Super Giants seek consistency to escape mid-table logjam

Both teams face off with inconsistent middle orders in focus

Himanshu Agrawal30-Apr-20222:19

Has Rishabh Pant managed his bowling resources well?

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Six games to go out of 14 may sound like a lot, but not when you are placed sixth in a mid-table logjam, with five teams above jostling to confirm a top-four finish, and two others below you breathing down your neck. Delhi Capitals’ rollercoaster lose-one-win-one ride has been on for six games now, and they will be looking for some consistency at this stage.Hit by Covid-19 and then a needless no-ball-that-never-happened controversy, they can still be buoyed by Kuldeep Yadav’s resurgence, Mitchell Marsh’s brief spark on return from quarantine, and their effective pace battery, led by Mustafizur Rahman and Khaleel Ahmed.

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Although Khaleel missed Capitals’ last match due to a hamstring injury, the emerging Chetan Sakariya – another left-armer in their ranks – answered the call with three economical overs, which included the wicket of Aaron Finch off his third ball.But what of Capitals’ batting? Openers David Warner and Prithvi Shaw aside, their line-up hasn’t offered much encouragement. Rishabh Pant has occasionally flickered, but not lit up the show yet; Lalit Yadav’s form has faded away after a bright start; Rovman Powell has got respectable scores in only the last two matches; and Sarfaraz Khan has been in and out of the side.Despite four losses in eight matches, Capitals boast of the best net run rate among all teams. But that will count for little if they can’t pocket vital points. To summarise it all, only four playoffs spots are up for grabs, and eight teams – nine, if you are a Chennai Super Kings fan – are still in the running, a reality which Capitals cannot shy away from.Against this background they face Lucknow Super Giants, who will be eyeing a hat-trick of wins. A line-up filled with allrounders – two pace-bowling in Jason Holder and Marcus Stoinis, one left-arm spin-bowling in Krunal Pandya, and an offspin-bowling one in Deepak Hooda – Super Giants, on form, appear to have one foot inside the playoffs door already.Related

  • Fearless Kuldeep Yadav continues reaping rewards of planning

  • Krunal Pandya credits technical adjustments for improved bowling

Like Capitals, they have had star performers with the ball, the latest of which is the left-arm quick Mohsin Khan. Ravi Bishnoi hasn’t been consistent – although he has seven wickets, he averages 41 with an economy rate of 8.22 – but that hasn’t troubled his colleagues. Dushmantha Chameera has zipped through with rapid pace, Holder and Avesh Khan have been among the wickets despite being expensive, and now even Pandya has found his bowling rhythm.But, while having a plethora of allrounders has provided them with depth and multiple options, their middle order – like Capitals’ – hasn’t been at its best. Only captain KL Rahul and his opening partner Quinton de Kock have been regularly churning out runs for Super Giants.In their last five matches, their bowlers have successfully defended totals three times – two of which were only 153 and 169 – while they have lost batting second twice in a row. With not much time left, Super Giants, like Capitals, will be eyeing better consistency.

In the news

Khaleel was forced to sit out Capitals’ previous game against Kolkata Knight Riders, with no official word on his availability since. If Khaleel is fit to return, Sakariya’s impressive performance on his Capitals debut may cause some dilemma for them.

Likely XIs

Delhi Capitals: 1 Prithvi Shaw, 2 David Warner, 3 Rishabh Pant (capt, wk), 4 Mitchell Marsh, 5 Lalit Yadav, 6 Axar Patel, 7 Rovman Powell, 8 Shardul Thakur, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Mustafizur Rahman, 11 Khaleel Ahmed/Chetan SakariyaLucknow Super Giants: 1 KL Rahul (capt), 2 Quinton de Kock (wk), 3 Marcus Stoinis, 4 Krunal Pandya, 5 Deepak Hooda, 6 Ayush Badoni/Manish Pandey, 7 Jason Holder, 8 Dushmantha Chameera, 9 Ravi Bishnoi, 10 Mohsin Khan, 11 Avesh KhanRavi Bishnoi has got the wood over David Warner in T20s•BCCI

Strategy punt

  • Warner and Bishnoi have been in contrasting form for their respective sides, but give the new ball to the legspinner against the opener in T20s, and you can expect the batter to be in trouble. Bishnoi, who bowls several wrong ‘uns, has dismissed Warner each of the three times they have met. Moreover, those three wickets have come in only six balls.Warner’s opening partner Shaw has also faced only nine deliveries of Bishnoi in the format, although he has taken him for 14 without getting out.
  • de Kock has bashed all of Mustafizur, Axar Patel and Shardul Thakur in T20s. With a strike rate of 161, 160 and 147 against them respectively, he has been dismissed only once each by Axar in eight innings and Thakur in five. With de Kock in fine form already, expect another quick start from him in the powerplay.But Capitals have two options to keep him quiet. If they retain Sakariya, he can possibly help keep de Kock in check, having conceded only 13 runs off 11 balls to him. Plus, there is the confident Kuldeep, with the left-arm wristspinner having got de Kock twice in 14 balls while conceding 20 runs.

    Stats that matter

  • Pant has fallen to pace each of the six times he has been dismissed this season, despite a strike rate of 154 in 56 balls against it, as against not getting out to 71 deliveries of spin bowling.
  • Super Giants have tried out four batters at No. 3, with Manish Pandey’s four innings being the most at the spot for them.
  • The last time Kuldeep had taken as many as 17 wickets in an IPL season was in 2018, when he represented Kolkata Knight Riders.
  • Hooda has come out to bat four times in the first five overs this season, and has hit two half-centuries.
  • Rohit Sharma: 'We said at the start we want to make winning a habit'

    “We were right on the money from ball one when we started; till today, we never looked back”

    ESPNcricinfo staff10-Nov-20203:38

    What makes the Mumbai Indians franchise so special?

    Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma has praised his team for making “winning a habit” with their record fifth IPL title. Sharma said that had been the message for the squad at the beginning of the season and he was “pretty happy” to see how the players executed their plans with “excellent” performances. Mumbai defended their 2019 title with a clinical performance through the season, and in the final, with a five-wicket thrashing of the Delhi Capitals.”Pretty happy with how things went the entire season for us,” Sharma said at the post-match presentation. “We said at the start we want to make winning a habit, and the guys were excellent through the tournament and we couldn’t have asked anything more from each one of them. We were right on the money from ball one when we started; till today, we never looked back.”A lot of credit goes to people behind the scenes as well; they often don’t get noticed. Our work starts much, much earlier than the IPL starts. We try and analyse what went wrong the previous season, what we need to fill, which players can add value to the squad, things like that.”Sharma showered more praise on Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav – two of their three leading scorers this season along with Quinton de Kock – for being “absolutely brilliant”. Kishan scored 516 runs with 30 sixes, the most in the tournament, while opening in Sharma’s absence and at No. 4, whereas Suryakumar played a crucial role at No. 3 for his tally of 480 with four half-centuries with a strike rate of 145.Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan added 47 runs together•BCCI

    “They’ve been absolutely brilliant,” Sharma said. “We make sure that we get the freedom because Ishan Kishan is somebody you can’t cloud his judgement about what he wants to do on the field, you just want to let him loose. Surya has matured as a player over the years. You’ve seen some shots he’s played through the tournament – unbelievable shots, he looked in good form and he continued. Unfortunately he got run-out today…The kind of form he was in, I should have sacrificed my wicket but he did it. I give him a lot of credit [for that], it’s not easy to do that. Through the season it was a pleasure to watch him bat. Some of the shots he played the entire season I don’t think anyone could play those shots. These two guys, you have to keep motivating them, give them confidence and they come out with performances like that.”Sharma also explained why they’d dropped their lead spinner Rahul Chahar for the final, after he had taken 15 wickets in as many games, for offspinner Jayant Yadav. Chahar had leaked 35 runs in two overs against the Capitals in the first Qualifier, and the move to replace him with Jayant worked – he removed the Capitals’ leading scorer Shikhar Dhawan for 15, to reduce them to 22 for 3 in the fourth over.Sharma said it was purely a tactical decision given the number of left-hand batsmen in the Capitals line-up, and as captain it was his responsibility to put his arm around Chahar to tell him as much.”You’ve got to find the right balance where you stay calm [as a leader],” Sharma said of his role as captain. “I’m not someone who’ll run with a stick behind someone. It’s important to get the best out of them [and] the only way you can do it is by giving them confidence, making sure that they understand their role because in our squad if you look at the batting order between Hardik [Pandya], Krunal [Pandya] and Polly (Kieron Pollard), we’ve been rotating them through the season. So it was important for them to know about this and they’ve been doing it for a while now so they do understand that.”In the bowling department as well we try and stick to what works for us. Today Rahul Chahar missed out, it was very unfortunate, but we tactically wanted Jayant to come in and give that extra cushion to us. Those are the things you’ve got to look at when you’re playing a big game like that.”

    Northamptonshire in control against Durham and on verge of promotion

    If Durham lose and Glamorgan fail to convert their advantage against Leicestershire, Northants will go up with a game to spare

    Richard Hobson in Northampton18-Sep-2019Durham 131 and 212 for 8 (Eckersley 54*, Hutton 4-54) trail Northamptonshire 217 and 315 (Proctor 86*, Levi 60, Rossington 52) by 189 runsWhen Durham were relegated by the ECB as part of the financial rescue in 2016, figures at the club predicted a five-year journey back to the first division. On another warm, cosy day at Wantage Road they all but surrendered the possibility of making it in three to a Northamptonshire side whose own promotion may be confirmed as early as tomorrow.One by one, the challengers are thinning out. As Durham slid to near defeat, so the push from Sussex expired via an unexpected loss to Derbyshire. If Northants complete victory and Glamorgan fail to convert their advantage against Leicestershire, then Northants will go up with a game to spare. Should Glamorgan win then Northants will still need only four points against Gloucestershire next week.It would be an exaggeration to say that they are dominating this match, but neither have they been behind since the half-hour or so of carnage from Adam Rossington on the first day. With Luke Procter to the fore, they added 80 second-innings runs to their overnight 235 for 6 to set a target of 402 and once again Durham’s top order collapsed to leave the result an apparent formality.Durham can claim to be taking small steps forward, with five wins against four last season and a tally of 150 points, 20 up on 2018, with a game to go. There is even something slightly positive to be taken from the haul of 19 batting points. It may be easily the worst among their rivals, but they managed only 16 last summer. And even 11 Steve Smiths would struggle to rack up 400s at the Riverside.If one eye is on the field, the other must be on the ledgers. The latest accounts, up to the end of September 2018, were lodged with Companies House recently and reveal an overall loss for the year of £1,136,418. This against a profit of £2,227,951 for 2017, when they received £2 million from the ECB for agreeing not to apply to stage Test cricket for the foreseeable future.Durham certainly know the meaning of the word ‘battle’. Whatever the paucity of certain techniques, enough of them showed the guts required to fight their way into a final day. The forecast is good, again, and the new ball is only one over old, but at a time when matches are routinely finishing way ahead of schedule their lower order deserve credit for refusing to succumb to the inevitable.Ned Eckersley held things together during the gloom of a floodlit extra half hour, when Northants failed in a dubious mission to bounce their way to a breakthrough. Rossington must question his earlier strategy of easing up on Eckersley to focus on removing his tail-end partners. Matt Salisbury has faced 55 balls for his two runs, undaunted even after being struck by Doug Bracewell.In fact, Durham’s best periods bookended an otherwise rather dispiriting day. They struck in each of the first two overs, with the ball seaming away, and a brilliant diving catch by Cameron Steel at backward point removed Brett Hutton just as he was starting to smite profitably. But a last-wicket stand of 51 between Procter and Ben Sanderson shifted the initiative.Procter completed his fifty from 109 balls and went along at better than a run a ball thereafter. No stroke startled as much as his straight six against Brydon Carse, which prompted a change of ball, though a couple of later Vince-like cover drives by Jack Burnham would have better sated the aesthetes who always converge around the second-hand bookshop during lunch.They had only victory to anticipate as they ferreted through the shelves of slightly-foxed Swantons and mottled CMJs. In the seventh over, Alex Lees was bowled shouldering arms to Hutton, a poor decision given that the bowler was shaping the ball back in to the left-hander, and a tortured innings by Angus Robson ended with a routine catch to Rossington.After his sensational stumping on Wednesday, Rossington suffered mixed fortunes this time. He dropped Robson, not that it mattered, and needed treatment after being struck painfully on a finger. Equally, he held an absolute beauty, right-handed at full stretch when Burnham chased a wide one from Procter, who enjoyed a characteristically effective, easily-overlooked day.But Rossington’s effort was trumped by Richard Levi at third slip when Carse slashed at Bracewell. Levi did well to react quickly enough let alone hold on at full stretch. Ominously, though, Carse had kept the nuggety Eckersley company for 17 overs. Salisbury has matched that, and while Northants supporters might have chuntered on their way out at least they have one last home day ahead.

    Harmer's ill luck loosens Essex's title grip

    Somerset’s game resistance has given them every chance to save the match at Chelmsford and keep their own title challenge bubbling

    Dan Norcross27-Jun-20181:57

    Kent go top of Division Two

    ScorecardThe best days at cricket are comprised of numerous moments. Singular moments, such as a wicket taken or a pleasingly creamed cover drive, and extended, even occasionally tantric moments; a battle royale, for example, between batsman and bowler, such as that enjoyed by Atherton and Donald at Trent Bridge.This match has been graced with too few moments; plenty of runs, plenty of toil, plenty of earnest endeavour but very few moments. The most significant today was a moment to forget; Westley dropping a sharp but eminently gettable chance above his head at slip when James Hildreth had just 16. Harmer, the bowler, would almost certainly have pouched it. He can’t, despite Theoretical Physics’ best efforts, be in two places at once though.Hildreth went on to produce the innings of the day but even his 75 was not garlanded with enough of those trademark Hildreth moments to make it an innings that will stay long in the memory. Neither the pitch nor the ball were conducive to his aesthetic.Running it a close second was the controversial catch that wasn’t. Harmer thought he’d clung on to a low chance at slip when Lewis Gregory had 11, and Somerset, on 322 for 6 still needed 46 to avoid the follow-on. The umpires consulted. The catch was not granted. Ryan ten Doeschate, returning after a two match ban and conscious of not wanting to incur further wrath, remonstrated as politely as any remonstrator has ever remonstrated, but Gregory survived.Neil Wagner produced the most entertaining moments. For the vast bulk of the 22 overs he bowled today (32 overall in the innings) he seemed intent on breaking Anthony Thornton’s record for walking backwards the longest distance in two days as he accompanied every bouncer, which was pretty much every ball, with a glare, a smile and fixed eyes on the batsmen as he made his way slowly back to his mark. The record, incidentally, is 95.4 miles, was set in 1989 in Minneapolis and still stands, but only just.He also produced the ball of the day to remove the most eye catching batsman of the day. Dom Bess arrived with Somerset in a spot of bother on 310 for 6 and five overs to go until tea. The new ball had just been taken and Porter had done for Peter Trego, taking the top of off stump.Bess counter attacked, saw off the new ball and his 35 from 38 balls was threatening to speed his side to the relative of safety of 368 and follow-on avoidance. Wagner bent his back that bit further, got one to rear at Bess’ throat (admittedly not a towering achievement) and caught the outside edge as Bess, fully off the ground, did his best Robin Smith impression of trying to evade a Curtly Ambrose snorter.Briefly the game was alive. Lewis Gregory’s miserable run with the bat (he now has 123 runs in 11 completed innings) continued with a hideous swipe that ended up at Third Man and seven were needed with just two wickets in hand. Wagner, unsurprisingly, peppered Overton with more bouncers. Overton survived, then flung the bat. The follow-on was averted.Eventually the innings was wrapped up in the softest of whimpers when Overton gently offered a catch to Bopara off Westley’s sixth and final ball. All out for 407 conceding a lead of just 110 and with only 9 overs to go on the third day the match looked as good as dead.
    But just when we thought we’d have no more moments today, and in all likelihood tomorrow as well, Tom Westley, opening in place of Alastair Cook who is laid low with tonsillitis was trapped by Davey for a duck. The debutant Michael Pepper went next over to Gregory for 1. Suddenly it was 3 for 2. The slip cordon peaked at four. Momentarily nerves jangled but Browne and Bopara survived to the close with Essex leading by 127.The pitch is showing no signs of deterioration and it may require an improbably generous declaration to prevent the very real possibility of Essex slipping 39 points behind the leaders Surrey who have a game in hand. The grip on their title is loosening by the day.

    Leach roars back after Carter's tip-top debut

    New skipper Joe Leach inspired a Worcestershire fightback as 16 tumbled on the opening day of the Specsavers County Championship match with in-form Northamptonshire at New Road

    ECB Reporters Network21-Apr-2017
    ScorecardJoe Leach responded stoutly for Worcestershire [file picture]•Getty Images

    New skipper Joe Leach inspired a Worcestershire fightback as 16 tumbled on the opening day of the Specsavers County Championship match with in-form Northamptonshire at New Road.New Northants signing, paceman Andy Carter, enjoyed an inspired debut with a deadly three wicket burst including Worcestershire top-scorer Moeen Ali, who made 50 as the home side were bowled out for 188.It was the ideal start to Northamptonshire’s bid to win the opening three Championship matches in a season for the first time in their history.But Leach, in his first home match at the helm since replacing Daryl Mitchell as captain, produced a deadly new ball spell which yielded four wickets.It was reminiscent of the form which brought him 65 Championship wickets last summer – the most by any bowler in Division Two.When bad light intervened with 25 overs remaining, Northants had been reduced to 102 for 6 with only Ben Duckett (45 not out) offering serious resistance.Former Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire player Carter was signed up after injuries to pace duo Ben Sanderson and Rory Kleinveldt.The visitors were also without skipper Alex Wakely for family reasons and Josh Cobb led the side in his absence.Moeen, playing his first Championship match for almost a year, and Daryl Mitchell dug in against the Northants seamers in adding 62 for the second wicket after the early departure of Brett D’Oliveira.Steven Crook trapped Mitchell lbw for 30 and Tom Fell departed in the same manner to Mohammad Azharullah.Moeen had greeted Carter’s introduction into the attack by planting his first delivery over midwicket for six and the England all-rounder went to his half century off 87 balls.But then Carter changed the complexion of the game when he returned after lunch for his second spell. Moeen went for a drive and was bowled and four balls later Tom Kohler-Cadmore, still to get off the mark, shouldered arms and suffered the same fate.It became three wickets in 11 balls for Carter as Ben Cox nicked a ball of extra bounce through to keeper Adam Rossington.Joe Clarke produced some flowing drives but Nathan Buck ensured Northants polished off the innings in efficient fashion.He disposed of Ed Barnard, Leach and Josh Tongue in the space of five overs while Clarke’s knock ended at 33 when he fell lbw to Crook.The wickets continued to tumble when Northants launched their reply with Leach settling into a lengthy opening spell which brought him four wickets.After Rob Newton went lbw in Leach’s first over, Duckett decided attack was the best form of defence in an over from Worcestershire overseas player John Hastings which cost 22 runs.He was aided by Max Holden in a stand of 53 but it was only a brief respite before the bowlers dominance returned.Holden drove Barnard to point before Leach took centre stage. Rob Keogh edged to second slip and Rossington rashly slashed the next delivery to point.Richard Levi survived the hat-trick ball and a spilled chance by Josh Tongue off Leach but it did not prove costly.He went lbw for 24 in Leach’s next over and his replacement Barnard disposed of Cobb in the same manner.

    Proposed Afghanistan tour of Pakistan on hold after Lahore blast

    The PCB has put on hold its ongoing discussions with the Afghanistan Cricket Board regarding Afghanistan’s proposed tour of Pakistan in April, following the terrorist attack in a recreational park in Lahore on Sunday

    Umar Farooq31-Mar-2016The PCB has put on hold its ongoing discussions with the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) regarding Afghanistan’s proposed tour of Pakistan in April, following the terrorist attack in a recreational park in Lahore on Sunday. Kenya Women’s trip to Pakistan has also been called off amid the new wave of security concerns.Afghanistan were in talks to tour Pakistan next month for a series of three ODIs as well as a four-day game against Pakistan A. But with the blast in Gulshan-i-Iqbal park – about 15 minutes away from Gaddafi Stadium – which killed over 70 people, the tour is now in doubt. Afghanistan’s ODIs in Pakistan had been tentatively slated for the period between April 15 and May 8, with Lahore and Karachi serving as venues.Kenya Women were to have visited as part of a development programme, which would have seen them play a series of matches against a Pakistan Women developmental team.In 2011, Afghanistan became the first international team to tour Pakistan, for a series against Pakistan A, following the terror attack on the visiting Sri Lankan team in Lahore in March 2009. They also visited frequently for conditioning camps at the National Cricket Academy facility. But now, ESPNcricinfo understands, the Pakistan government has advised against hosting the series.Pakistan successfully hosted Zimbabwe for two T20Is and three ODIs last year, with heavy security arrangements in place, but has not been able to attract any other international team since then. With the exception of that Zimbabwe tour, Pakistan has had to play all its home matches since March 2009 at neutral venues, mostly in the United Arab Emirates.

    Derbyshire regain identity to spark survival bid

    A thrilling final day at the Racecourse ended with Derbyshire securing a second successive win of the season to take them out of the relegation zone

    Vithushan Ehantharajah at Derby23-Aug-2013
    ScorecardMark Footitt claimed four second-innings wickets•Getty Images

    A thrilling final day at the Racecourse ended with Derbyshire securing a second successive win of the season to take them out of the relegation zone and dent the hopes of yet another title challenger. After excelling at Hove, an unchanged XI followed three days of disciplined cricket with a dogged fourth to bowl out Middlesex for 240, as fans left wide-eyed wondering if they were now Championship contenders by proxy.A combination of relentlessly tight bowling and some smart field-placing from Derbyshire skipper Wayne Madsen saw them overcome any jitters to give them a fighting chance of survival. Few expected them to be in control of their destiny, but head coach Karl Krikken, cock-a-hoop at the finale, could not have looked prouder, as he shook hands with supporters, celebratory beer in hand.He spent the start of the day patrolling the boundary, resembling a football manager, pacing around their technical area. He even had the lingo – describing the upcoming encounters with fellow relegation candidates Somerset and Surrey as “48-pointers”.At one point he even stepped onto the field to pass on a message to Matt Higginbottom at fine leg, while seemingly gesticulating for a 90th minute penalty. “I’m just really pushing and prodding from the side,” he said, smiling. .”We’ve got a very good captain and a good young side so it’s just about trying to get your ideas on the field. You just walk round and say, ‘Why are you bowling with one slip and two drive-men when most of the catches have been dropped at second slip?’ I can’t just sit and watch, I need to get out there and get my hands dirty.”A combination of early season sheepishness and five lost tosses in seamer-friendly conditions resulted in four defeats, most notably when these teams met earlier in the season at Lord’s; Krikken noting that some of the players seemed overawed by the surroundings, particularly those who had never played there before.But a return to the core values that got them promoted has helped them regain their identity and thrive under their underdogs tag. In isolation, their victories against Sussex and Middlesex were about as perfect as first-class wins go. Their application on the field today spoke volumes.Tim Groenewald showed no signs of the ankle complaint that saw him leave the field last night, returning to the attack at the City End, for the fifth over of the day. And it was he, Derbyshire’s leading wicket-taker, who began the morning procession with a ball that seamed in to hit Sam Robson’s off stump.Eoin Morgan looked horribly out of touch and, following a trio of uppish shots just out of the reach of fielders, played on for just 9 when Mark Footitt tempted him with a wide one. A darling of the England side, his run of only three half centuries in 52 innings is embarrassing for a man of his talents. Middlesex fans have voiced concerns over his priorities, and this failure when they needed him most will only rile them further.Two balls later, Neil Dexter was following him back as Footitt speared a full, swinging delivery into middle and off stump to leave the visiting captain powerless.Peter Burgoyne then put the gloss on a fantastic session for Derbyshire with the important wickets of Adam Voges – caught brilliantly by a diving Chesney Hughes at slip – and John Simpson, who failed to stop himself going through with a square shot through the off-side – ball stopping in the pitch, meaning he could only guide it to the grateful hands of Madsen at short cover. The dismissal signalled the end of the morning session, with Simpson unmoved, rueful and shell-shocked.Gareth Berg and Ollie Rayner put their top order to shame – Adam Voges aside – with an eighth-wicket stand of 85 off 113 balls that made Derbyshire fret for the first time in this match.Berg’s season’s best of 71 contained some lovely wrist-work, as he guided balls outside of off stump expertly through the mid-on and midwicket for boundaries. Rayner’s scoring areas were more orthodox, but just as valuable, as they reduced the arrears to double figures. But when Berg failed to get enough bat on a ball he wanted to guide to third man, instead finding the cupped hands of Hughes at a wide third slip, relief swept around the ground.Toby Roland-Jones was adjudged strangled down the leg side – a harsh call agreed the Derbyshire players after the game – to give Footitt his fourth wicket of the match, before Burgoyne brought Tim Murtagh forward and turned the ball into his outside edge to give Hughes his third catch of the innings to seal a momentous victory.For Middlesex, defeat is compounded by an ominously easy Yorkshire win over Nottinghamshire inside three days. Even taking into account Yorkshire’s 10-wicket triumph at Lord’s earlier this summer, the gulf between the two has never seemed wider. Even if Middlesex managed to stay within touching distance of their title rivals in the next three games, they will need to find something special – something they’ve not shown so far – to triumph at Headingley in their last game of the season.Chris Rogers is set to return against Somerset next week – almost certainly retaking the four-day captaincy from Dexter – with overseas stand-in Adam Voges finishing his stint with the county on 383 runs at 54.71.But that’s just replacing one form batsman with another – one who will be fatigued by the rigours of five Ashes Tests. Both Rogers and Sam Robson carried Middlesex at the beginning of the season, and now it’s time for others to share the burden. If not, they may find their title challenge has run its course.

    Davis, Coulter-Nile help WA to victory

    A bright 93 from Liam Davis and a striking allround display by Nathan Coulter-Nile helped Western Australia to a 25-run victory over Victoria

    ESPNcricinfo staff28-Sep-2012
    ScorecardLaim David held the WA innings together•Getty Images

    A bright 93 from Liam Davis and a striking allround display by Nathan Coulter-Nile helped Western Australia to a 25-run victory over Victoria in the domestic limited overs match at the WACA ground.Mitchell Johnson also claimed a trio of wickets for WA as the Bushrangers fell short of what had appeared a quite manageable chase at the change of innings.The Warriors’ innings was a series of fits and starts apart from Davis’ innings until Coulter-Nile emerged at No. 8 to thump 42 from 31 balls and lift the tally near 250. The sometime Australia seamer John Hastings used his height to good advantage on the early season surface to snare four wickets.Victoria’s reply was deliberately paced, the No. 3 Chris Rogers and the wicketkeeper Peter Handscomb going closest to a substantial union in their stand of 50. However both fell after making starts, and the required rate climbed ever higher from that point.Andrew McDonald and Michael Hill made handy scores and Will Sheridan clumped 25 from only eight balls, but Coulter-Nile’s quartet of wickets – plus a pair of run outs – was critical in helping the Warriors to ease to their first points of the summer.

    CA decisions a minor distraction, says Clarke

    Michael Clarke, the Australia captain, has admitted the decisions taken by CA on the basis of the Argus review released on Friday were a minor distraction in the lead-up to the fourth ODI

    ESPNcricinfo staff20-Aug-2011Michael Clarke, the Australia captain, has admitted the Argus review and the decisions taken by Cricket Australia on Friday were a minor distraction in the lead-up to the fourth ODI but praised his side for displaying excellent character in difficult conditions to take the series against Sri Lanka. The removal of Andrew Hilditch as chief selector was one of the significant decisions taken on Friday, but Clarke said his team-members made a pact they weren’t going to talk about it going into the match.”No doubt it [the events on Friday] is some sort of a distraction but you face distractions everyday in your life; with what’s happening with your family, some of them have kids,” Clarke said after Australia beat Sri Lanka by five wickets to take an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series. “There are always issues outside of the game that you face as a distraction. It’s up to us to determine how big a distraction it becomes. We left our meeting the other day and made a pact that we weren’t going to talk about it. We had an optional training session yesterday that every single player turned up for.”It looked like being a comfortable win for Australia after they bowled out Sri Lanka for 132, but Clarke said it took quite an effort to overcome the heat and was full of praise for his bowlers. “The character the boys showed in conditions that were as hot as I’ve experienced in any ODI around the world and to put in that kind of performance with the ball [was great].”We didn’t get wickets at the start of their innings but we bowled with really good discipline and in good areas. The wicket was a little bit two-paced and I thought our patience was the key with the ball today. It’s been a key to our success over here; we’ve got Sri Lanka out on three occasions.”Australia lost five wickets in the chase, including three in an over towards the end of the game, and Clarke singled out Shaun Marsh’s fluent 70 as the decisive contribution. “We knew the new ball would skid off the pitch and that with the old ball, they would get some reverse-swing and a bit of spin as well. Shaun Marsh played outstandingly and chased those runs down on his own in those conditions.”The star for Australia in their bowling was left-arm spinner Xavier Doherty, who bagged four wickets and was named Man of the Match. “After not taking as many wickets as I would have liked earlier on in the series, it was good to get some today,” Doherty said.”X is a very hard marker on himself and he’s done a magnificent job for us,” Clarke said. “Part of our success here has been the partnerships from the bowlers. Sometimes you bowl beautifully and get no wickets, but your mate at the other end does. On a couple of occasions this series, that’s what has happened to X.”If he keeps bowling the way he’s bowling, I see no reason why he can’t play Test cricket for Australia.”

    Ashraful in provisional squad for New Zealand series

    The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has included Mohammad Ashraful and Tamim Iqbal in a 26-strong provisional squad for the upcoming home series against New Zealand.

    Cricinfo staff19-Aug-2010Tamim Iqbal, who is set to go to Australia for treating a persistent wrist problem, and Mohammad Ashraful, whose place in the side has been uncertain following a prolonged bout of poor form, have been included in a 26-strong provisional squad released by the BCB for the upcoming series against New Zealand.There were no surprises in the squad, and all the players who were on the tour to England, Ireland and Scotland, were included.The players will begin their preparations for the series on August 21, under the supervision of coach Jamie Siddons and newly appointed fielding coach Julien Fountain.Provisional squad: Mashrafe Mortaza, Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Junaid Siddique, Imrul Kayes, Mohammad Ashraful, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah, Abdur Razzak, Shafiul Islam, Rubel Hossain, Jahurul Islam, Raqibul Hasan, Naeem Islam, Nazmul Hossain, Syed Rasel, Shahadat Hossain, Faisal Hossain, Nazimuddin, Shahriar Nafees, Mahbubul Alam, Dolar Mahmud, Mohammad Sohrawordi, Robiul Islam, Shamsur Rahman and Sahgir Hossain