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The head coach wants to expand the coaching staff of the India A and Under-19 teams, but BCCI secretary says hiring Rathour may lead to conflict of interest

Nagraj Gollapudi11-Feb-2019In a bid to expand the coaching staff of India A and Under-19 teams, head coach Rahul Dravid has requested the BCCI to bring former India opener Vikram Rathour and ex-India and Haryana wicketkeeper Vijay Yadav on board. Dravid believes that, with the busy schedule ahead, expanding the support staff would help him not just share the workload but also develop coaches for the future.However, Rathour’s name has sparked a controversy in the media and a note of dissent from acting BCCI secretary Amitabh Choudhary, who believes it will be a conflict of interest – Rathour is the brother-in-law of former India offspinner Aashish Kapoor, the chairman of India’s junior selection committee.On January 30, Dravid wrote to Saba Karim, BCCI’s general manager (cricket operations), saying he wanted extra personnel on the coaching staff to assist him in looking after the two teams. Both men had met earlier in January to chalk out a pathway for qualified Indian coaches who could be given work experience at the India A and Under-19 levels. Dravid suggested to Karim that Rathour could join as early as February 13, when India A start their second unofficial Test against England Lions in Mysore.”With regards to our discussion and plans for short- and medium-terms for India A and Under-19 teams in the pathways programme I do feel that with the upcoming amount of cricket for both these teams it would be beneficial to bring in more support/coaching staff into the system,” Dravid said In the e-mail, accessed by ESPNcricinfo. “It will help us when tours are happening etc.”Keeping the medium-term programme in mind I would recommend that we bring in Vikram Rathour, who has been a former international player, selector and a qualified coach, into our development programme so that he can work with us and assist us as and when required. My suggestion is that we could start with the second India A Test at Mysore and onto the India U-19 series against South Africa. This will also help us in developing of our coaches which should be an important part of our process. “Dravid told Karim that upcoming Indian coaches could be hired on a part-time basis to help them understand the dynamics of the coaching requirements at the Under-19 and India A levels. During their meeting, Dravid pointed out that he, along with Paras Mhambrey and Abhay Sharma (assistant coaches for India A), would be increasingly focusing on preparations for the Under-19 World Cup next year, and hence it was imperative to expand the coaching staff. As part of those preparations, the BCCI is conducting a quadrangular series comprising two youth teams from India, along with South Africa and Afghanistan. That series, to be played in March, would follow the two unofficial Youth Tests between India and South Africa starting February 20.Fotocorp

Subsequently, in another e-mail, Dravid told Karim that Yadav should be roped in from the quadrangular series in March. Yadav had already served as the fielding coach of the India Under-19 team in previous Emerging Asia Cup tournaments.”In addition to Vikram Rathour I would also say we bring in Vijay Yadav to be a part of the coaching staff during the Quadrangular Under-19 series next month. He has been part of the NCA and also Under-19 and India A teams in the recent past.”Karim, along with BCCI CEO Rahul Johri, agreed to bringing Rathour and Yadav on board subject to the approval of the Committee of Administrators (CoA), the supervisory authority of the BCCI until fresh elections are conducted. Karim also checked with Rathour for his willingness while asking him to disclose any conflict of interest. Rathour is understood to have agreed on Monday, while admitting he was related to Kapoor.Under the BCCI constitution, the ethics officer is the authority to adjudicate on conflict issues. However, with no ethics officer in place, the CoA will have to decide on Dravid’s recommendations. Vinod Rai, the CoA chairman, said that he would consult his colleague Diana Edulji before taking a final decision. “The appointment has not been done,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “No approval has been given.”Choudhary, on the other hand, questioned the “process” in hiring Rathour and whether the position he would be appointed to had been advertised. “What exactly was the process that was followed?” Choudhary wrote in an email to the CoA, Johri, Karim and the two other BCCI office-bearers. “Knowing Rahul [Dravid], I am certain that even if he would have recommended a name, he would not have said that processes must not be followed to engage the services of Vikram.”I also see that the matter of conflict of interest has been raised in the media and I am surprised that this was not known to the person making the decision since the crux of the conflict has been in the public domain at least for the last two-and-a-half years.”Rai said the reason the job was not advertised was because it was “only part-time and not a full-time appointment so that a process was required.” As for the perceived conflict issue, Rai said he had received Rathour’s reply via Karim on Monday.

Sri Lanka competed hard on a bouncy Wankhede Stadium deck, but India pulled ahead at the crucial moments to wrap up a five-wicket win

The Report by Shashank Kishore24-Dec-20172:40

We showed glimpses of where we’re heading – Pothas

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsFor the first time in the series, Sri Lanka were genuinely in the contest. The bounce at the Wankhede Stadium gave their seamers some zip that they couldn’t quite manage to generate in Cuttack and Indore. In defence of 136, they dismissed the rampaging pair of KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma, who walloped joint-fastest T20 hundred two nights ago, inside seven overs. India’s asking rate climbed to close to 8.5 per over with eight overs left, a genuine test for a middle order that hasn’t had too much batting time of late.This was Sri Lanka’s best opportunity to close out the game. But India had MS Dhoni in the middle at the end along with Dinesh Karthik. Nuwan Pradeep only conceded six runs off the first five balls of the penultimate over, leaving India nine to get off the last seven balls. At that point it was Pradeep who cracked under the pressure; he sent down a friendly full-toss that Karthik swatted into the stands beyond deep midwicket. That, right there, was the knockout punch with one full over to play. A heady climax eventually turned cold right at the end, but not before India had been given quite a scare.Lack of scoreboard pressure early in the chase gave India some leeway as Shreyas Iyer and Manish Pandey overcame early struggles against the moving ball to add 42 in 6.2 overs to put India back on track. But the match swung again when Iyer was run-out at the non-striker’s end, Akila Dananjaya’s fingertips intercepting a flat-batted strike from Pandey and deflecting it into the stumps.The wicket may have not come about had Thisara Perera not thrown himself to his left to stop a single at cover off the previous delivery. Clearly, Sri Lanka were in the game, waiting to grab at any opportunity. When they sent Iyer back, India needed 55 off 40. This was precisely the moment when Pandey, largely subdued until then, decided to cut loose, hitting three fours off the next five balls he faced. India were back in it.But Sri Lanka weren’t giving up. Hardik Pandya feathered an attempted ramp to the wicketkeeper, leaving India four down with 37 to get off the last five overs. When Pandey was bowled by one that jagged back in to beat his inside edge – the dismissal coming about largely because of his style of playing beside the line – it came down to 28 off 23.Up against Chameera with no slip in place, Dhoni managed to find a thick edge that beat the diving wicketkeeper and ran away for four. In the same over, there was more drama when Sri Lanka reviewed a not-out lbw decision, the tense crowd roaring in unison as the giant screen showed the ball missing the stumps. Dhoni would eventually hit the winning runs.The architects who masterminded Sri Lanka’s downfall after they were sent in to bat were Washington Sundar and Jaydev Unadkat – two bowlers who had been at the forefront of Rising Pune Supergiant’s magnificent run to the IPL final earlier this year.Washington, India’s youngest T20I debutant, bowled three overs of no-frills offspin upfront, often varying his pace between fast and faster, his length between good and full, and strangulated the largely left-handed top order. He finished with figures of 4-0-22-1. Unadkat, IPL 2017’s second-highest wicket-taker who also finished the tournament with an economy rate of 7.02, cramped the left-handers early on and was rewarded for his accuracy. Washington and Unadkat prised out Sri Lanka’s top three inside four overs to set off a procession.It needed Asela Gunaratne’s industrious 37-ball 36 and Dasun Shanaka’s 29 off 24 to haul Sri Lanka to 135 from a precarious 85 for 6.India suffered a few early jitters in their chase. KL Rahul was the first to fall, given out lbw while trying to heave Dushmantha Chameera’s indipper across the line. Rohit too was shaky to begin with, and was saved by the bounce in the first over when he played down the wrong line of a Dananjaya googly that sneaked between bat and pad. Two balls later, he was deceived in flight and nearly chipped a return catch.Rohit broke the stranglehold by disturbing Dananjaya’s length – slog-sweeping him to midwicket and then stepping out to hit him straight down the ground for six. But unlike in the previous two games, Sri Lanka managed to sustain the pressure with Shanaka nibbling away in the off-stump channel and getting the ball to jag both ways.A miscued pull to a ball that skidded on faster than Rohit expected resulted in a simple catch to deep square leg. This left the middle order in the spotlight, and they were able to steer India to their target, with some help from Sri Lanka’s nerves and the dew, and bring a memorable home season to a winning end.

New Zealand women produced another solid performance while South Africa women suffered another collapse as the visitors won the last ODI by 126 runs to seal the series 5-2

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Oct-2016

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsFile photo – Katey Martin struck her second ODI and consecutive half-century•IDI/Getty Images

New Zealand women produced another solid performance while South Africa women suffered another collapse as the visitors won the last ODI by 126 runs in Paarl to seal the series 5-2. Fifties from Amy Satterthwaite and Katey Martin propelled New Zealand to 273 for 7 which proved too stiff for the hosts, who scored a little over half of their target.New Zealand opted to bat and were led by Martin and Satterthwaite after openers Suzie Bates and Rachel Priest fell for low double-digit scores, leaving them on 86 for 2 in the 21st over. Satterthwaite fell for 53 and Martin then upped the run rate with her second straight fifty, off 49 balls, in the company of Maddy Green. Martin and Green put on 81 for the fourth wicket before Green was run-out for a 47-ball 46, studded with seven fours. Martin and Sam Curtis injected more power in the innings by scoring 55 in the next nine overs, 40 of them by Martin, to take the score past 250. Martin’s 81 off 72 balls featured 10 fours and ensured they reached a competitive score.Opener Lizelle Lee got South Africa off to a strong start, putting on 35 in six overs with Andrie Steyn. But the rest of the line-up was unable to put on any sort of resistance as legspinner Erin Bermingham and offspinner Satterthwaite ran through the middle and lower order. South Africa collapsed to 84 for 7, three of those taken by Bermingham. Satterthwaite took the last two wickets, after brief resistance, to bowl the hosts out for 147. Bermingham finished with 10-2-18-3 while Satterthwaite took 2 for 15 from her 4.5 overs.No South Africa batsman could score more than 22 and the seven-match series had only three half-centuries from them. New Zealand, on the other hand, managed nine fifties – three by Satterthwaite, who also finished the series as the top run-scorer (344) and the joint-highest wicket taker (11) with South Africa medium-pacer Ayabonga Khaka.

Australia’s pacemen reduced New Zealand to 5 for 157 on day two of the Gabba Test, in reply to Australia’s 4 for 556 declared

Daniel Brettig06-Nov-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details4:20

Chappell: Extra pace and bounce made the difference for Australia

For 30 overs, New Zealand’s batsmen gave a very good impression of a side completely at ease with batting at the Gabba. Tom Latham and Kane Williamson looked totally secure, and though Martin Guptill had fallen, his wicket did not feel like a moment to usher the sort of collapse typical for under-prepared touring teams in these parts, even as they looked up at a scoreboard showing Australia’s gargantuan 4 for 556.Australia’s captain Steven Smith had shuffled through all his bowlers, and many had started to wonder whether this was an uncommonly dull Brisbane pitch, or a flat home attack. But then things changed as though someone flicked a switch connected to the middle. Latham bunted the first ball of a Mitchell Starc spell to backward point, and before they knew it New Zealand had haemorrhaged 4 for 16 in 26 wicket-splattered balls. Only the impressively correct Williamson was able to endure.Starc and Josh Hazlewood both bowled with speed and direction, but it was Mitchell Johnson’s double defeat of Ross Taylor and Brendon McCullum – both senior men looking very much out of sorts in their brief stays – that was most telling. Based on the evidence of the past two Gabba Tests, there is no more searching an examination in cricket than to face Johnson on this ground, and neither Taylor nor McCullum looked to have come close to finding an answer to his speed or bounce.That slide put Australia well and truly in command of the Test, a position they had hoped to establish when Smith called in his batsmen less than halfway through day two. Usman Khawaja and Adam Voges are seldom likely to enjoy a more carefree Test match partnership than the 157 they added either side of lunch, both showing themselves to be batsman capable of capitalising on a strong start from David Warner and Joe Burns they day before.Khawaja’s innings featured numerous further signs that he will be a fixture in Australia’s top order for some years to come, as he weathered an improved second new ball spell by Trent Boult – in which he accounted for Smith – before pushing on to a most elegant and chanceless 174. Voges was never less than neat, and was prevented from reaching a hundred only by Smith’s proactive closure.The visitors had been afflicted by a back complaint for Tim Southee, who bowled in obvious discomfort before leaving the field for further examination and treatment, and by day’s end Neil Wagner had been called up as cover for Perth. Boult delivered a second new ball spell of the sort of quality many had expected yesterday, swinging the ball late on a disciplined line and finding a way through Smith with near enough to the perfect delivery.However Khawaja and Voges ensured this would not lead to a rush of wickets by playing sensibly against good bowling and then upping their scoring rates in the lead-up to lunch. After the interval they accelerated further, and took increasing liberties as Smith ran out messages to expect a closure around an hour before tea.Khawaja’s intent to carry on to a major tally was clear by how he did not initially strain to maintain the scoring rate of the previous evening against tired bowlers, often seeking singles to play the swinging ball from the non-striker’s end.Voges meanwhile showed an ability to handle the moving ball that he had developed over the course of a largely unsatisfying Ashes tour, playing the ball late and then pouncing on anything loose. By the break he had moved to 50 in his first Test innings on home soil.Both batsmen targeted the finger spin of Mark Craig once again – the key link man in the New Zealand attack was left nursing figures of 0 for 156 from 31 overs too inconsistent to be effective.Ultimately it was Kane Williamson’s part-time spin that ended the stand at 157 when Khawaja tried a reverse-sweep. Smith’s closure sent out Guptill and Latham for a testy hour, but they took nine runs from Starc’s opening over and from there accumulated runs steadily to leave the Australians thinking about the best way to get into the middle order in the evening.Guptill survived a difficult chance to Joe Burns at short leg on 12, but was not so fortunate when he edged Hazlewood and saw David Warner dive low to his right for an exceptional catch made more so by the fact of his recent thumb fracture. Latham and Williamson then looked secure enough to suggest Australia would struggle to separate them, but the former’s lapse against Starc opened up an end.Taylor never looked close to being comfortable before skewing an edge to Smith at second slip, before McCullum was late on a drive that slid off the edge into the midriff of Voges at first. Jimmy Neesham then had no sort of riposte to a Starc delivery that was fast and tailing in to splay the stumps via the allrounder’s pads… This may be a new Australia, but after two days it looks very much like the same old Gabba scoreline.

Luke Ronchi, the former Australia wicketkeeper, has earned his first call-up to a New Zealand squad after being picked for the one-day series against England and the Champions Trophy in June

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Apr-2013Luke Ronchi, the former Australia wicketkeeper, has earned his first call-up to a New Zealand squad after being picked for the one-day series against England and the Champions Trophy in June. Daniel Vettori also made a return after eight months out of international cricket with an ankle injury, selected in the one-day side.There were few surprises in New Zealand’s Test squad for the England tour, with opener Martin Guptill and fast bowler Mark Gillespie, both returning from injuries, added to the group that featured in the recent home series against England. With Gillespie’s return, seamer Ian Butler misses out, the only omission from those home Tests.Fast bowler Mitchell McClenaghan, who was ruled out after the first game of the one-day series against England after suffering a side strain, returns to the one-day side. He had been quite effective in the one game he played, taking 4 for 56 though he could not complete his quota of overs. Guptill had been injured in the same match, pulling a hamstring.Gillespie last played for New Zealand a year ago, in the home Test series against South Africa. He then injured his ankle, before gaining a call-up for the T20 series in South Africa in December, only to pick up a side strain and miss out further.Batsman Hamish Rutherford and keeper BJ Watling are the ones to miss out from the home England ODIs. New Zealand lost that series 2-1, before going on to draw the three-Test series 0-0.Their tour of England includes two Tests, starting on May 16, followed by three ODIs. That is followed by Champions Trophy between June 6 and 23. Following the Champions Trophy, before they return home, New Zealand play two T20s against England.Test squad Brendon McCullum (capt), Trent Boult, Doug Bracewell, Dean Brownlie, Peter Fulton, Martin Guptill, Mark Gillespie, Tom Latham, Bruce Martin, Hamish Rutherford, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Neil Wagner, BJ Watling (wk), Kane Williamson
ODI Champions Trophy squad Brendon McCullum (capt), Trent Boult, Grant Elliott, Andrew Ellis, James Franklin, Martin Guptill, Mitchell McClenaghan, Nathan McCullum, Kyle Mills, Colin Munro, Luke Ronchi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Daniel Vettori, Kane Williamson

Mark Gillespie’s impressive return to Test cricket continued as he completed his second five-wicket haul in as many matches, but the strikes did little to rein in South Africa, who declared 30 minutes into the third session

The Report by Andrew Fernando25-Mar-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
JP Duminy scored his second Test ton•Getty Images

Centuries from Alviro Petersen and JP Duminy tightened South Africa’s grip on the series, and although New Zealand responded strongly thereafter, they face an unlikely battle to level the series with two days remaining. Petersen made his best Test score of 156 while Duminy made 103, and their 200-run third-wicket stand ensured South Africa amassed 474 for 9 declared. Daniel Flynn and Martin Guptill were unbeaten at stumps, having made New Zealand’s best opening stand of the series, but at stumps New Zealand were still 409 runs behind the visitors.Petersen had been perched on 96 overnight, and although New Zealand had the new ball to eke out a nervous stroke, he moved to triple-figures as calmly as he had navigated the wind and the rain on day two. A cover drive off Chris Martin’s fourth ball reaped the first two runs of the day, before a rasping cut brought his third Test ton, confirming his place in the batting order after four muddling performances on tour had put it in jeopardy.His approach changed little following the milestone as he stuck methodically to the strokes that had carried him to his first success in New Zealand. Drives straight and through cover were measured out when the hosts went looking for swing, and the pull proved productive, particularly off Daniel Vettori, who had bowled a touch short throughout the Test. It was an uncomplicated innings, set up by a dour 44 on the opening day, where he found the rhythm of the pitch and batted to its easy beat thereafter.While Petersen progressed carefully, Duminy had more goodwill from New Zealand. The hosts had fed his drives throughout the first two days, but Doug Bracewell granted three of their most generous gifts, floating consecutive half-volleys that eased Duminy to 98 in a flurry of handsome fours. He was then made to wait 18 balls before he moved to triple-figures when New Zealand mustered the only real period of pressure of the morning session, but he did not allow anxiety to turn into a rash stroke. A clip off the pads brought him his second Test ton, three years and three months after his match-winning 166 at the MCG.Though only Duminy had fallen in a disheartening morning session for New Zealand, a reinvigorated attack used seam movement to claw through South Africa’s middle order. Martin led the assault initially, removing Petersen with the fourth ball of the afternoon session by nipping one back to trap him in front. AB de Villiers perished to a similar ball five overs later, an inside edge deflecting onto the stumps.

Smart stats

• Alviro Petersen’s 156 is the seventh-highest score by a South African batsman against New Zealand and the second-highest by a South African in Wellington.

• Petersen’s century is his third in 13 Tests. He scored his first century on debut against India and his second in the previous series against Sri Lanka in Cape Town.

• JP Duminy, who started his Test career with a half-century and century in his first two Tests, returned to the team after nearly two years. His century on return takes his average to 32.68 after 12 Tests.

• The 200-run stand between Petersen and Duminy is joint-third on the list of highest third-wicket stands for South Africa against New Zealand. Jacques Kallis and Graeme Smith shared a 200-run partnership in the Dunedin Test earlier in the series.

• The total of 474 is South Africa’s second-highest in Tests in Wellington since their readmission and their third-highest at the venue overall. The highest total by a visiting team at the venue is West Indies’ 660 in 1995 when they went on to win by an innings and 322 runs.

• Mark Gillespie, who picked up a five-wicket haul in the second Test in Hamilton, ended with his best bowling figures (6 for 113). All three five-wicket hauls for Gillespie have come against South Africa.

Mark Gillespie had found the least movement of any of the hosts’ pacemen in the innings, but had still bowled the most menacing spells. When he found movement off the seam after lunch, he accounted for Jacques Rudolph and then Dale Steyn in quick succession. Having toiled over three days to take three wickets for 362 runs, New Zealand suddenly had four for 42.Mark Boucher contributed a belligerent 42, as South Africa attacked after tea following a quiet period. Boucher peppered the square boundaries either side of the wicket, targeting an off-colour Doug Bracewell in particular, while Vettori, who has taken only two wickets for 246 runs so far in the series, was pushed comfortably for singles into a now-vacant infield. Vernon Philander partnered him astutely, granting his partner most of the strike, until Gillespie nabbed Boucher at gully. Philander’s wicket soon after prompted the declaration.Flynn survived a nervous early period as Philander and Steyn attacked with the new ball, but with the Basin Reserve surface offering little movement, South Africa were unable to separate the opening pair as they had routinely done so far in the series. A push through mid-on for four opened Flynn’s account, but he was content to leave balls alone for the most part, taking particular care with Philander who rarely attacked the stumps.Guptill was equally cautious, getting forward quickly and keeping bat close to pad when he defended, after being dismissed through the gate twice off the seamers in the previous four innings. But he took his chances as well, clipping off the leg side when South Africa strayed onto his pads.Morne Morkel gave Flynn his most serious working over, inducing an inside edge that just evaded Boucher and hitting the batsman twice in one over. But Flynn recovered well enough to hit Philander over square leg for six towards the end of the day, finishing unbeaten on 35.

Chris Tremlett has been rewarded for his role in England’s victorious Ashes campaign, with the ECB choosing to offer him an incremental contract for the remainder of the 2011 season

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Jan-2011Chris Tremlett has been rewarded for his role in England’s victorious Ashes campaign, with the ECB offering him an incremental contract for the remainder of the 2011 season.Though Tremlett missed out on selection for the forthcoming World Cup, he has played in each of England’s first three ODIs in Australia, having starred with the ball in the final three Tests of the Ashes at Perth, Melbourne and Sydney.He claimed 17 wickets at 23.35 in those matches having come into the team as a replacement for Stuart Broad, and after announcing himself with 5 for 87 in the first innings at Perth, it was he who claimed the honour of the series-sealing wicket, when he bowled Michael Beer off the inside-edge at Sydney.”The selectors are delighted with the contribution Chris has made in both forms of the game this winter,” said the national selector, Geoff Miller. “His return of 17 wickets from three Test matches in Australia was an outstanding effort and he can be very proud of the role he played in helping the team retain the Ashes.”Tremlett came into the series with a reputation for flakiness, but having impressed for Surrey following his move from Hampshire the previous winter, he was picked on the recommendation of England’s bowling coach, David Saker, who reckoned that his 6’8″ frame and economical action bore all the hallmarks of an international-standard bowler.Non-contracted players can earn an England increment contract via a points system. Five points are awarded for a Test appearance and two for a T20 or ODI appearance, with an increment contract being awarded automatically once the player reaches 20 points during the 12-month contract period.”I’m really pleased but I have to say it’s no great surprise,” said Chris Adams, Surrey’s director of cricket. “He has looked a class act in an England shirt, and he was a class act for Surrey last summer. He came to Surrey with the ambition of contributing at international level. It was a fresh start and a fresh approach, and he’s driven forward with it.”

Damien Wright made life difficult for New South Wales on a tightly-contested opening day, but Peter Forrest helped ensure Victoria didn’t completely dominate play

Brydon Coverdale at the MCG12-Feb-2010

ScorecardPeter Forrest posted a half-century in his second match of the season•Getty Images

Damien Wright made life difficult for New South Wales on a tightly-contested opening day, but Peter Forrest helped ensure Victoria didn’t completely dominate play. Forrest, Dominic Thornely and Phil Jaques toiled hard to get the Blues to 6 for 215 at the close of a protracted day that began an hour late due to Melbourne’s stormy weather and ran until bad light stopped play at 7.10pm.Forrest and Thornely put on 79 for the fifth wicket and pushed New South Wales on to 4 for 173, which was a decent fightback after Wright left them at 2 for 26. In his second Sheffield Shield match of the summer after recovering from a calf injury, and having been Man of the Match in his only other appearance, Wright struck twice in an over to back David Hussey’s decision to send the Blues in.Phillip Hughes’ poor run of form continued when he was caught at slip off Wright for 14 and Simon Katich followed for a duck after a good offcutter clipped his edge and he was caught behind. Forrest, who was also playing his second game of the 2009-10 campaign, helped steady the innings with Jaques, who looked solid until a blow to the foot from a John Hastings yorker left him in need of a runner.Wright played a part in the dismissal of Jaques, who prodded at Darren Pattinson and was well snapped up for 47 by Wright diving forward at gully. Steve Smith will want to forget his tentative hook off Hastings that flicked the edge and was taken by Matthew Wade but the New South Wales resistance solidified after that lapse.Thornely and Forrest locked down and each scored at a strike-rate of 30 as they aimed primarily for crease occupation against a Victorian outfit for whom victory would make a home final a strong possibility. Hastings ended their stand with the old ball when Forrest was snaffled low to the ground by David Hussey at second slip for 58 from 188 deliveries.Thornely did manage one six – straight down the ground off Jon Holland – but misjudged a leave when Wright returned with the second new ball and was lbw for 44 off 143 balls. At stumps Victoria needed to finish off the lower order – Daniel Smith was on 15 and Steve O’Keefe also had 15 – and they were also hoping their star opener Chris Rogers would recover from a virus that kept him off the ground for the whole first day.