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Nottinghamshire secured a comfortable seven-wicket win after their bowlers combined to stifle Durham

17-Jun-2012
ScorecardNottinghamshire breezed to a seven-wicket victory over Durham in their Friends Life Twenty20 clash. Set a paltry 115 to win, the Outlaws reached their target with 3.4 overs to spare for their second win in the North Group. Their other game, against Derbyshire, was washed out on Friday.Openers Alex Hales and Michael Lumb took them more than halfway there, putting on 62 for the first wicket before Hales came down the pitch to Scott Borthwick and was stumped when the legspinner beat the bat. Hales made a run-a-ball 30, Lumb 46 off 39 balls – the latter punching his bat in frustration when a Mitchell Claydon delivery slipped off the face of his bat and he was caught on the cover boundary.But at 94 for 3 in the 14th over, the job was almost done. The batsman having crossed, Adam Voges drove the next ball for four and then pulled Liam Plunkett – one of seven Durham bowlers used – to the boundary to seal victory.Durham were indebted to Johann Myburgh for making it to three figures after a dreadful start. The 31-year-old former Hampshire player joined on Thursday for the duration of the tournament. He top-scored for the Dynamos with 45 from 41 deliveries.Durham only hit seven boundaries in their innings, and Myburgh contributed five of them. That included their only six, from a lovely pick-up off his pads off Harry Gurney. Myburgh put on 60 with Gordon Muchall for the fifth wicket as Durham recovered from 30 for 4.The Nottinghamshire attack made good use of a sluggish pitch after winning the toss and bowing. Their most expensive bowler, Gurney, went for a respectable seven-an-over, taking 2 for 28. Phil Mustard pulled the game’s first ball behind square for four but it would be the final delivery of the sixth over before there was another. Herschelle Gibbs, Mustard, Ben Stokes and Dale Benkenstein all picked out fielders perfectly.Darren Pattinson did not have to move much either when Myburgh top-edged a pull to him on the long-on boundary. Muchall and Borthwick struggled to find the rope but ran well between the wickets, to extend the score to 114 for 5 in the last 20 balls.

Just when Ireland thought they finally had the beating of Bangladesh, a savage batting assault by Mashrafe Mortaza ended their hopes and gave the visitors a 3-0 win in the series.

Ger Siggins at Stormont21-Jul-2012
ScorecardJust when Ireland thought they finally had the beating of Bangladesh, a savage batting assault by Mashrafe Mortaza ended their hopes and gave the visitors a 3-0 win in the series. That margin was unfair to the Irish, who took two games to the very last ball.It was a game that defied the notion that there can be none of the subtle changes in Twenty20 that make the longer forms of the game so captivating. This was a game that swung and shifted over 240 balls of mostly high-quality T20 cricket.”The last two games were probably a better reflection of where both teams are,” said Bangladesh coach Richard Pybus. “Ireland were out of sorts in the first game but the last two both went down to the wire,” he said of a series which saw Bangladesh pull off victory margins of 71 runs, one run and two wickets.Bangladesh needed 32 off 16 balls when Mortaza smashed three sixes off four balls from the left-arm spinner, George Dockrell, the last of which Kevin O’Brien misjudged and eventually knocked over the rope for another maximum.With eight balls left Mortaza was bowled by Kevin O’Brien, leaving just four needed off the last over. And while Trent Johnston and his fielders made sure every run was hard-earned, the scores were tied with one ball left. A scampered single by Elias Sunny and a whisker-missed shy by Kevin O’Brien saw another close win for Bangladesh.It was desperately disappointing for Ireland, who are using the games to build towards the ICC World Twenty20 finals in Sri Lanka in September. They play far fewer T20s than full members – this series was their first home games in the shortest format since 2008 – and their aim will be to up that number rapidly in the future.Bangladesh were unchanged, but Phil Simmons gave Tim Murtagh a first T20I cap, replacing Alex Cusack, and recalled Niall O’Brien in place of Ed Joyce. Although O’Brien hit a frisky 22 he, like most of Ireland’s batsmen, got in and then got out. The middle order crumbled yet again, with Kevin O’Brien struggling in a sequence that has seen him get out five times in the last ten balls he has faced for Ireland. He was out first ball here to Mortaza, the man of the match, whose career best 4 for 19 ensured Ireland totalled just 140 for 8.Early wickets were essential, but Bangladesh openers Tamim Iqbal and Mohammed Ashraful settled in from a testing start to record their nation’s first fifty opening stand in this format. Tamim also recorded his best score in 18 T20 internationals.They had taken the score to 62 in the 10th over, with the spinners on, when Ashraful needlessly carted the ball to John Mooney at long off, and within two overs the score was 69 for 3.Another flurry of wickets saw Bangladesh collapse to 89 for 6 as Stirling and Dockrell exerted pressure. But just as the vociferous Irish crowd started to dream of a third win over these opponents, Mortaza and Mushfique Rahim put together a stand of 46 in 16 balls, which included the 21-run butchering of Dockrell’s final over.”I’m very happy with the spin quartet”, said Pybus, “and the tour was good for our seamers too, who got experience of bowling in northern hemisphere conditions, learning that they have to get their lengths right.”Our batting was pretty solid too, but we have a little work to do before the World Twenty20.”

International cricket does not stand still. Four days after the Test mace changed hands the contest now turns to 50-over cricket and, again, the top prize is on offer

The Preview by Andrew McGlashan23-Aug-2012

Match Facts

August 24, Cardiff
Start time 10.15am (0915GMT)Ravi Bopara is back in the England set up after his personal problems•Getty Images

The Big Picture

International cricket does not stand still. Four days after the Test mace changed hands the contest now turns to 50-over cricket and, again, the top prize is on offer. England are now ranked No. 1 in ODIs, but will lose that ranking after just one match if they are defeated in this opening game in Cardiff. Top in any format is like a hot potato at the moment.England have been on a fantastic run in one-dayers this year, beginning with a 4-0 whitewash against Pakistan before beating West Indies 2-0 and another 4-0 against Australia. Alastair Cook is moulding the side under his style, and further pushing his claim to be England’s Test captain sooner rather than later, and his leadership is gaining in confidence all the time.As a batsman, too, he is leading from the front which is where Andrew Strauss has struggled in Tests. Back-to-back hundreds against Pakistan were followed by another against West Indies and useful contributions elsewhere. Ian Bell, meanwhile, has proven a more-than-able replacement for Kevin Pietersen.It is often quite hard to know how the post-Test series one-dayers will develop, especially when one side, in this case South Africa, have achieved something so momentous. The Test players would have dearly liked more time to soak in their success and it would be understandable if minds were elsewhere. However, AB de Villiers, who captains the limited-overs team, will be keen that his squad sees this as a new challenge.

Form guide

(Most recent first, completed matches)
England WWWWW
South Africa WWWLL

Watch out for…

Matt Prior could not have done much more to stake his claim for a limited-overs recall with his recent performances for England and Sussex but, for now, Craig Kieswetter retains his place as the gloveman and middle-order batsman. Kieswetter has done nothing wrong since the one-dayers against Australia, so it would have been mighty tough to drop him, and he scored a hundred for England Lions against Australia A. But, despite a couple of handy innings, he is still to fully convince in his new role although his keeping is much more consistent.He spent quite a bit of the Test series prowling the covers but now we will get a chance to see all the sides of Faf du Plessis. He is a dynamic cricketer, whether with the bat or in the field, while his rolling legspin can be a useful addition if de Villiers needs to fill in some overs. He had a successful IPL opening the batting, but will probably be used in the middle order in the longer format. Those who have watched him in county cricket for Lancashire will know how destructive he can be.

Team news

Ravi Bopara is back in the England set-up after his personal problems and is likely to retain the No. 4 slot after his successful series against Australia despite his lack of recent time in the middle. His bowling brings added value. Earlier in the summer Cook was keen to play frontline bowlers wherever possible, but the absence of Stuart Broad may lead to a rethink and a role for Samit Patel.England (possible) 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Ian Bell, 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Ravi Bopara, 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Craig Kieswetter (wk), 7 Samit Patel, 8 Tim Bresnan, 9 Graeme Swann, 10 James Anderson, 11 Steven FinnJacques Kallis has been rested for this series ahead of the World Twenty20, while there is no Vernon Philander in 50-over cricket, and a number of one-day specialists have been drafted into the squad, after preparing with South Africa A in Ireland, although the core group of players remains the same. Albie Morkel suffered a recurrence of his ankle injury against Gloucestershire although did bat later in the game.South Africa (possible) 1 Graeme Smith, 2 Hashim Amla, 3 Dean Elgar, 4 AB de Villiers (capt & wk), 5 JP Duminy, 6 Faf du Plessis, 7 Ryan McLaren, 8 Robin Petersen, 9 Dale Steyn, 10 Morne Morkel, 11 Lonwabo Tsotsobe

Pitch and conditions

Pitches in Cardiff tend to be on the slow side and can help the spinners, but the short straight boundaries also encourage big hitting as Virat Kohli and Jonny Bairstow showed last year. The weather forecast is not great, with the chance of some rain during the day.

Stats and trivia

• In 2008, after South Africa won the Test series 2-1, England took the one-day leg of the tour 4-0. The final match, at Cardiff, was washed out after three overs.
• If South Africa win this match they will become the first team to hold the No. 1 position in all three formats
• Graeme Swann needs four wickets to reach 100 in ODIs
• South Africa have not played an ODI since March 3 when they completed a 3-0 series win against New Zealand

Quotes

“For me personally it’s obviously a sad situation but as a side we need to put it to one side. We played some really good cricket at Lord’s even though we didn’t get the result; and to be fair he hasn’t been around the one-day squad for a while.”
“We want to play attacking, good cricket. I’d like to think of us as a team that has done fairly well under pressure so when we are put under pressure this series we will be looking to attack that’s for sure.”

Gary Kirsten, the South Africa coach, will leave the England tour a couple of days early and miss the final Twenty20 international at Edgbaston

Andrew McGlashan11-Sep-2012Gary Kirsten, the South Africa coach, will leave the England tour a couple of days early and miss the final Twenty20 international at Edgbaston to spend some time with his family before the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka.Russell Domingo, the assistant coach, will take charge of the squad for the last match of the tour. South Africa remain 1-0 up after the washout at Old Trafford and it had been a long-term part of the planning that Kirsten would spend a few extra days at home.”I have made a decision to go home and to see my family, that is something that has always been part of my thinking when I took up this job,” he said. “I think it will be good for the team, just to have me out of the space for a little bit and to see how the ship runs. I’m looking forward to seeing how that unfolds.”South Africa have a warm-up match in Sri Lanka on September 17 before their first group match three days later against Zimbabwe. Following the tournament South Africa will return home for a short period before leaving for their tour of Australia, which includes three Tests from early November to early December, before a full home season with visits from New Zealand and Pakistan. Other than missing part of the Australia Test in Cape Town last year when his wife had a baby, Kirsten has been ever-present since taking the job in June 2011.Regardless of the outcome of the final Twenty20 this will go down as a hugely successful tour for Kirsten after South Africa secured the Test series 2-0 to go to No. 1 in the world. A more inexperienced team then fought back to level the one-day contests at 2-2, although that meant losing the top ranking they had gained earlier in the series. If it had not rained in Manchester on Monday, they were favourites to take theTwenty20 series there.Kirsten is not the only coach who has taken time away from his team recently. England have used a similar approach with Andy Flower, with him missing the final one-day international against Trent Bridge – a match where England were heavily beaten. Last year he also sat out the ODI against Ireland, in Dublin, and on both occasions Richard Halsall, the fielding coach, took charge.There is also a strong likelihood that Flower will be given another, more extended break, from his role at some point over the next six months, part of an acknowledgement that it is not only the players that need their workloads managed.

Round-up of the ICC World Cricket League Division Four matches in Kuala Lumpur

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Sep-2012Nepal maintained their winning run in the tournament with a 32-run win over USA at the Kinrara Oval in Kualalumpur. The star of Nepal’s fourth consecutive win was 19-year old opener Subash Khakurel, who scored only the second century ever in WCL division 4. Khakurel’s 115 was ably supported by contributions from the top order and although Nepal lost quick wickets towards the end, they managed to put up 258 on board. USA were kept alive in the by Sushil Nadkarni’s 84, but a five-wicket haul by Basanta Regmi ensured that Nepal held on to the top spot in the points table.Khakurel, who was declared Man of the Match, said: “I’m feeling great after scoring this century because I was a bit worried due to the swing from the pace bowlers at the beginning, but I managed to build my confidence by picking lots of singles and build from there.”Tanzania wasted away their best start in the tournament to crash to an eight-wicket loss against Singapore. Tanzania openers put up a 48-run stand, with Abhik Patwa scoring 47, but 17-year old spinner Abhiraj Singh, who ended up with the figures of 8.1-2-12-5, and Mulewa Dharmichand ran through the Tanzania batting order to dismiss them for 94. Singapore then finished the match in the 12th over of the chase, with opener Chetan Suryawanshi smashing an unbeaten 38-ball 62.Abhiraj Singh, who triggered the Tanzania collapse, said: “It feels good to contribute and putting in a good effort to win the match. Hopefully this performance will put us through to the final and improve our net run-rate as well.”Malaysia lost to Denmark by three wickets – their fourth loss in a row – after puting up their best total in the tournament. Malaysia’s middle order combined to score 252, without any batsmen getting past fifty – captain Suhan Alagaratnam’s 48 being the highest. In response, Denmark were led by opener Carsten Pedersen’s 83 and useful cameos by the lower order as they went past the target in the 49th over. Malaysia had their chance when they had reduced Denmark to 81 for 4, but a 74-run partnership between Pedersen and his brother Michael bailed Denmark out.

Mushfiqur Rahim and Saqlain Sajib have been taken to hospital after suffering an on-field collision during the opening day of Rajshahi Division’s National Cricket League match against Dhaka Division in Dhaka

Mohammad Isam20-Oct-2012Mushfiqur Rahim and Saqlain Sajib have been taken to hospital after suffering an on-field collision during the opening day of Rajshahi Division’s National Cricket League match against Dhaka Division in Mirpur. Of the two, Sajib was worse off after showing signs of disorientation. Mushfiqur, the Bangladesh captain, was taken for an MRI scan and was seen walking around in the dressing room a few hours after the incident.The pair went for a catch near the fine-leg boundary after Dhaka’s No. 11 Mohammad Shahid top-edged a Farhad Reza bouncer off the last ball of the 45th over.”The collision took place at around 1.30pm. They were given first aid but Saqlain was disoriented, he had memory loss. Mushfiqur was struck on the side of his face but he looked in better condition,” Dr Debashish Roy, the BCB’s chief medical officer, told ESPNcricinfo.”Saqlain had to be taken to the hospital immediately for a CT scan. Mushfiqur was in my room for a while before we took him for an MRI. He has responded better and as far as I am concerned, he will recover quickly. But still, we didn’t want him in the field.”Farhad Hossain, who was nearby when the collision happened, said that Sajib was struck on the left-side of his face while Mushfiqur’s nose immediately started to bleed. “Saqlain looked in bad shape. He couldn’t recognise anyone, but hopefully he’ll recover quickly,” Hossain said.Before the accident, Sajib, the left-arm spinner, took 4 for 33 and helped Rajshahi bowl out Dhaka for only 116 in the first innings. Mushfiqur didn’t go out to bat as Dhaka replied with 137 for 6 at stumps.

David Hussey and Aaron Finch both blasted centuries to set up the biggest successful chase in Australian one-day domestic history against New South Wales at North Sydney Oval

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Nov-2012
ScorecardDavid Hussey and Aaron Finch both scored centuries in Victoria’s win•Getty Images

David Hussey and Aaron Finch both blasted centuries to set up the biggest successful chase in Australian one-day domestic history against New South Wales at North Sydney Oval. Finch made 140 off 124 balls and Hussey ended up unbeaten on 140 from 82 deliveries as the Bushrangers overhauled the Blues’ total of 350 with 20 balls to spare.The previous highest chase was also at North Sydney Oval in the corresponding game between the same sides last summer, when New South Wales chased 318 to beat Victoria. On that occasion it was Daniel Smith who stunned Victoria, but this time it was a pair of batsmen, Finch and Hussey, who destroyed New South Wales.Finch gave Victoria a brisk start and he and Hussey put on 156 for the third wicket in 20 overs. Finch plundered ten sixes and Hussey cleared the boundary eight times, and he brought up his hundred from his 61st delivery in a Steven Smith over that cost New South Wales 25 runs.The small boundaries at North Sydney proved insufficient to contain the Victorians and New South Wales were left to regret a slightly slow start to their innings in which both openers, Scott Henry and Brad Haddin, scored at less than a run a ball. Sean Abbott was promoted to No.3 and slammed 40 from 16 balls before Smith lifted the tempo with 92 from 68 balls, as the Blues were dismissed for 350 in the 50th over.