Category Uncategorized

Dasun Shanaka the only batter to pass 20 in another below-par display

Andrew Fidel Fernando04-Jul-2021Sri Lanka’s last innings on a horror tour of England was perhaps their most abject yet, but rain saved them the indignity of a whitewash. Under cloudy Bristol skies, Sri Lanka nosedived in the early overs, continued to plummet once the fielding restrictions were relaxed, and never seriously threatened to scramble out of the pit of tragicomedy, where they have wallowed more or less since the start of the (preceding) T20 series.This time, they were 166 all out in the 42nd over. Dasun Shanaka produced the only competent innings, finishing 48 not out – most of those runs having come in the company of the tail. Rain had caused a stoppage during Sri Lanka’s own innings, but returned in force during the innings break to make an England chase impossible.Although the pitch held no real terrors, England’s bowlers extracted seam movement and bounce – particulary in the early overs – to skilfully exploit the substantial technical shortcomings of Sri Lanka’s top order. Both openers were out largely due to poor footwork, and two middle-order batters were bounced out playing wild hook shots. Although Sri Lanka were 33 for 3, then 42 for 4, then 63 for 5 (and on in such fashion), there was no concerted effort to hunker down and rebuild – several batters getting out playing expansive strokes.With his brother having claimed a five-for on Thursday, it was Tom Curran who was England’s most penetrative bowler, his 4 for 35 gutting the middle order after Chris Woakes and David Willey had prospered with the new ball. Tom Curran was accurate, used the short ball well, and frequently got a touch of away-movement to the right-handers.Willey and Woakes claimed two wickets apiece, and Jonny Bairstow was excellent behind the stumps, taking diving catches to dismiss Pathum Nissanka and Chamika Karunaratne, and pulling off a stumping when Dushmantha Chameera dragged his back leg marginally out of his ground against Adil Rashid.Sri Lanka’s collapse began in the third over, when after a couple of decent early boundaries, a flat-footed Kusal Perera dragged Woakes back on to his stumps. Avishka Fernando was out soon after, falling over to the off side as Willey swung one into his pads – the not-out decision overturned on review. Nissanka then edged Willey behind, and Woakes bounced out Dhananjaya de Silva, who had played the short ball reasonably well in his previous innings, at the Oval.Also out to the hook was Wanindu Hasaranga, making it three times out of three this series he has fallen to that shot. This time, the bowler was Tom Curran (Sam Curran dismissed him this way in the second ODI, and Woakes got him in the first).There wasn’t much to say about the remainder of the innings, as Shanaka hung around and struck a few late boundaries to take Sri Lanka limping across the 150 mark. Rain, which had caused a delay of the toss, also caused a stoppage when Sri Lanka were eight down. No overs were lost. But a much heavier downpour at the break left the outfield sodden, and the match was abandoned at around 4.15pm local time.

The hosts were bundled out for 129 before Imran and Ibrahim struck fifties to shrug off the target

The Report by Sreshth Shah in Kimberley17-Jan-2020What began as a carnival in Kimberley, soon turned to a nightmare for the home fans as South Africa were bamboozled by Afghanistan’s wristspinners to lose their opening game by seven wickets. Shafiqullah Ghafari was Afghanistan’s wrecker-in-chief, taking 6 for 15 – the joint seventh-best figures in the tournament’s history – as South Africa collapsed from 62 for 2 to 129 all out in the space of 16.3 overs.For nearly that whole period of play, Ghafari bowled relentlessly from one end, troubling a batting unit that looked out of place against quality spin bowling. Once he put South Africa on the mat, Afghanistan’s experienced batting unit – led by Test player Ibrahim Zadran – helped the visitors claim victory with 150 balls to spare, handing them a massive net run-rate boost. For South Africa, their net run-rate went in the opposite direction, and are now looking at the prospect of an early exit from their home World Cup if they don’t defeat both UAE and Canada in their following games.Afghanistan’s victory should not come as a surprise. Two months ago, they lost 3-2 to India in a five-game series, but not before giving the defending Under-19 champions a scare in two of those games. Barring Noor Ahmad, the 15-year-old who recently became the youngest man to feature in an IPL auction, each of their players are regular members of their first-class teams. In Zadran, they even have someone who has played Test and ODI cricket for Afghanistan.On the other hand, among South Africa’s top six batsmen, only one – Jonathan Bird – has played first-class cricket, while their captain Bryce Parsons and Andrew Louw have played two and three senior-level T20s, respectively. Although their bowlers have more experience in senior-level cricket, they eventually had too few runs to play with. That gap in experience came to the fore, and has now made Afghanistan a favourite to progress to the next stage.The day had begun with the opening ceremony at the Diamond Oval, attended by children from local schools, who saw a traditional dance show performed by 130 men, women and children from the Galeshewe local township. It ended with most of those schoolkids engrossed in their own little games of cricket on the grass-banks as No.5 Abid Mohammadi struck the winning runs in the 25th over.Afghanistan’s celebrations were muted, however, perhaps a reflection of their self-belief and confidence, as the two captains shook hands and brought the first game of the tournament to a close, much to the disappointment of the locals who began to exit the arena long before the game’s conclusion.The toss was won by South Africa, and after that, they were given a pep talk from former international captain Graeme Smith and past U-19 captain Aiden Markram. The Afghan players, instead, were spotted practicing their fielding in the deep, taking boundary catches in combination with other players that are now common in T20 cricket, before taking the field for the game.For the hosts, their only bright spot was the third-wicket partnership between Parsons (40) and No. 4 Luke Beaufort (25). But it was sandwiched between a fiery fast-bowling spell delivered by left-arm seamer Fazal Haque – who took two wickets in his first two overs – and Ghafari’s magic. After Fazal’s early breakthroughs, Parsons and Beaufort put on 55 for the third wicket to restore some belief in the home crowd, but that ended when Noor was introduced into the attack.Once Noor dismissed Parsons, it opened one end up, and Ghafari removed Levert Manje and Jack Lees for ducks in his first two overs. Noor then dismissed the set Beaufort, the sixth South African wicket and after that, Ghafari removed the four lower-order batsmen across his next five overs. In all, seven South Africa batsmen were out for 8 or less, and if it wasn’t for Gerald Coetzee’s 23-ball cameo of 38 from No. 9, South Africa could well have been dismissed for less than 100.In their chase, Afghanistan found the gaps against the pace bowlers regularly to keep the scoreboard moving. Zadran’s experience as a member of the senior Afghnaistan team came to prominence, as he anchored his team’s innings with a 72-ball 52 while Imran Mir enthralled the crowd with some lofty shots, scoring 57 in 48 balls. Both reached half-centuries and fell only after bringing Afghanistan close to the target.

The BCCI doesn’t want the fast bowler overworked and has hence put a condition on his participation in Bengal’s next Ranji Trophy match

Nagraj Gollapudi17-Nov-2018To ensure that Mohammed Shami arrives fit and not overworked for the Test series in Australia, the BCCI has put a condition on him turning up for Bengal next week for their Ranji Trophy match against Kerala. The BCCI cleared Shami, India’s highest wicket-taker in Tests so far this year, to play the match at Eden Gardens from November 20, subject to him bowling not more than 15-17 overs in an innings.The BCCI was responding to the request from Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) on whether Shami could play in the Kerala match since he was available. Shami had turned up in the Bengal dressing room this week during their match against Madhya Pradesh. Bengal captain Manoj Tiwary was pleasantly surprised to see the fast bowler and checked about his availability. “I asked him if you are here anyways, why don’t you play [the next round of Ranji],” Tiwary told ESPNcricinfo.Shami was eventually picked in the 16-man squad for what will be Bengal’s second Ranji game this season. According to Tiwary, Shami responded positively and said he was “eager” to play as long as the BCCI gave him the permission. At the selection meeting on Friday, also attended by former India opener Arun Lal (Bengal mentor), Bengal coach Sairaj Bahutule and CAB secretary Avishek Dalmiya, Tiwary was informed about the BCCI making it mandatory to maintain Shami’s workload.The BCCI informed CAB that Shami should ideally bowl not more than 15 overs per innings and a few additional ones if need be. The BCCI physio would also need to be sent a daily chart of Shami’s workload after each day’s play.Although Lal understood BCCI’s concern of ensuring the senior bowler would not be overused, he pointed out that Shami playing the Ranji match would only be beneficial for both him and India. “I am glad that he is playing,” Lal said. “But if you want to prepare for a Test series, what better than match practice.”The BCCI’s concern is based on Shami’s recent fitness issues. He was hampered by a knee injury during the IPL, which played a role in him not regaining fitness for the one-off home Test against Afghanistan. However, Shami returned strong and was relentless during the five-Test series in England, followed by the first Test at home against West Indies. He also played the first two ODIs against West Indies last month.Shami was picked as part of of the Indian Test squad for the four-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy that gets underway in Adelaide from December 6. Shami has been an integral part of the Indian fast-bowling unit, which played an impressive role on the tours of South Africa and England. So far this year, Shami has 33 wickets in nine Tests, at an average of 27.60, including a five-for in the final innings of the Johannesburg Test that India won in January.

Evin Lewis shellacked an unbeaten 97 off 32 balls as St Kitts and Nevis Patriots ran down a target of 129 in seven overs, with all ten wickets intact on a record-breaking night in Bridgetown

The Report by Peter Della Penna04-Sep-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsEvin Lewis blasted six fours and 11 sixes•Ashley Allen – CPL T20 / Getty

On a night when Barbados Tridents needed to win by a record-breaking margin in order to make the CPL 2017 playoffs, it was St Kitts & Nevis Patriots who instead created several fresh pages in the CPL record books, in a 10-wicket mauling of the home team at the Kensington Oval. Among the marks set on the night were the fastest fifty of CPL 2017, by Evin Lewis (off 19 balls), and the highest Powerplay score in CPL history (105 for 0 in six overs).But it may be the one record that wasn’t set which ended the game on a sour note. Lewis was on 97 off 31 balls when he took strike at the start of the eighth over with the scores level. Needing a boundary to record the fastest hundred in CPL history and the second fastest in all T20 cricket, he was denied the opportunity to do so. Kieron Pollard reprised the infamous delivery sent down by Suraj Randiv to Virender Sehwag in an ODI between Sri Lanka and India in 2010, bowling a no ball that gave Patriots the winning run.Patriots displaced Jamaica Tallawahs at second place, ensuring themselves two cracks at making the final. They will now come up against regular season leaders Trinbago Knight Riders in the first qualifier on Tuesday night at the Brian Lara Stadium. Tridents’ loss meant Guyana Amazon Warriors booked the final playoff spot, setting up a date on Wednesday night against Tallawahs in the eliminator.Tri-dented batting orderBarbados had great individual batting highlights during the season – chiefly Dwayne Smith’s pair of centuries – but never found consistency through the order. Lack of key contributions did them in again on Sunday. Nicholas Pooran once again failed to convert a strong start, playing over the ball on a pull against Mohammad Hafeez to be bowled for 21. Patriots made it two in two when Dwayne Smith edged Carlos Brathwaite behind for 17 to start the next over.Like Pooran, high-priced marquee signing Kane Williamson went the entire season without a fifty. On Sunday, he was out for 14, groping a drive off Tabraiz Shamsi to long-on. As bad as Williamson’s season was, mid-season signing Eoin Morgan proved even worse, and was bowled by Mohammad Nabi for 2 to make it 76 for 4. It capped a barren four-game stretch for Morgan with Tridents, with a total of nine runs in 17 deliveries.Brathwaite’s bestOnly once before had Carlos Brathwaite taken four-for in a T20. On Sunday, he bettered that with his career-best figures, ripping through the Tridents line-up late into their innings. He had Pollard caught on the flick, off the leading edge to short third man in the 16th over. Then, he had Tion Webster, the top-scorer, playing in just his second match of the season, caught at long-on. Ryan Wiggins was caught behind in the 18th as Brathwaite ended with 4 for 15 and Tridents stumbled through the end.Lewis’ half-hour of powerTridents began the night needing to win by 220 runs to claim the final playoff spot. When the hopeless mission became impossible, the Tridents responded with a lifeless display befitting their position.Gayle faced the entire first over, striking two boundaries off Wahab Riaz. But he only faced eight balls in the rest of the chase as Lewis took center stage. He slammed his first ball, off Wayne Parnell, over the leg side for six, and hit two more before the over was finished. Thereafter, his strike rate never fell below 200.He broke Colin Munro and Darren Sammy’s jointly held record for fastest fifty of the season – off 23 balls – with a heave over square off the same bowler.Two fours and a six out of the stadium to end the sixth over made Patriots the first CPL side to score triple-figures in the Powerplay.The match lasted just six more legal deliveries, with the seventh over, sent down by Damion Jacobs, being clattered for 23 runs. He was on 96 before the last ball of that over, when a diving stop at sweeper cover denied him a boundary but allowed him to keep strike.The naughty no ballWhile Randiv’s no-ball seven years ago was a massive overstep that sparked ill-will between Sehwag and Sri Lanka over a century denied, Pollard was slightly less conspicuous in his penalty delivery to Lewis, but was still comfortably beyond the crease when the front foot landed. It was an anticlimactic and unsportsmanlike end to Lewis’ whirlwind knock.

A century from Riki Wessels helped Nottinghamshire to a 65-run victory over Derbyshire in their Royal London Cup meeting at Welbeck

ECB Reporters Network24-Jul-2016
ScorecardRiki Wessels continued his good form with a century in Market Warsop•Getty Images

A century from Riki Wessels helped Nottinghamshire to a 65-run victory over Derbyshire in their Royal London Cup meeting at Welbeck.Wessels hit 114 and Chris Read added 59 as Notts scored 340 for seven after being put in. Shiv Thakor was the most successful Falcons bowler but his three wickets cost 78 runs and came off only eight overs.Ben Slater made 51 at the start of Derbyshire’s reply and Matt Critchley plundered three sixes in a late cameo of 43 as Derbyshire reached 245 before being bowled out in 45.1 overs, leaving Notts to celebrate victory in front of a crowd of 4649.Michael Lumb, with 422 runs already gathered in this season’s competition after scoring three centuries from three visits to the crease, fell for only 15 at the start of the day. When Thakor followed up that dismissal with the wicket of Greg Smith, one over later, Notts had slipped to 48 for 2 but that was the last Derbyshire success for 13 overs as Wessels and Brendan Taylor rattled up a third wicket stand of 122.Wessels took 19 off an over from Thakor and then reached his fourth one-day century from 80 balls, having hit 16 fours and three sixes.
He perished when miscuing an attempted reverse sweep off Critchley and Taylor followed in the next over, for 44.Samit Patel’s 31 and 28 from Dan Christian set the hosts up for a big finish and it was applied by Read and Steven Mullaney.Read hit three sixes in his 39-ball innings and Mullaney hit three in a row off Ben Cotton on his way to 39 not out. There was even time at the end for England’s newest cap Jake Ball, playing on his home club ground, to strike the biggest blow of the day as he thumped Thakor back over his head and out of the ground. Notts’ tally of 340 was the most they had ever scored in a one-day match against their local rivals.In pursuit of potentially their most successful run chase, Derbyshire lost Wes Durston, their captain, for only 6. Slater rattled along, scoring 40 of the first 51 runs but edged behind one ball after reaching a 48-ball half-century.Christian, who took 5 for 40 when Notts used the picturesque club ground for the first time last season, removed Wayne Madsen and when Hamish Rutherford edged Luke Fletcher behind the visitors had slid to 103 for 4.Thakor and Neil Broom rallied with a stand of 47 but Mullaney nipped them both out in quick succession; Thakor bowled for 29 and Broom was scooped up by a diving catch from Ball for 25.Critchley, batting at No. 8 in the order, showed some much-needed fight and he was joined by Harvey Hosein in a ninth wicket stand of 63. Gurney, who took 3 for 47, closed out the innings by catching Tony Palladino off his own bowling.

Michael Clarke underlined his side must stick to the methods that have reaped benefits in the past, which includes an aggressive, occasionally unsociable manner on the field

Daniel Brettig in Cardiff07-Jul-2015New England, old Australia. Michael Clarke has underlined the fact that in the face of an evolving opponent, his touring side must stick to the methods that have reaped significant success over the past 18 months – and that includes an aggressive, occasionally unsociable manner on the field.Both sides have been told at the pre-series meeting with match officials that the ICC will not tolerate too much in the way of verbal stoushes, something David Warner appears to have taken note of. But Clarke said he did not want to see his side shrink from the outwardly bold and brash attitude they have combined with a high level of skill and plenty of determination in series wins over England, South Africa and India, plus a World Cup victory at home.Nor does he mind if the English press – or even some Australian outlets – paint his men as the latest incarnation of the “ugly Aussies” panned in broadsheets and tabloids alike at times during the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. On the contrary, he thinks such talk will only help add to the edge in the air when the Investec Ashes series begins.”I know we play a tough brand of cricket but we’re also respectful towards the players we play against, and to the game of cricket,”
Clarke said. “A lot of it sells newspapers and it builds the series as well, so I’m more than happy for there to be a lot of talk about it.
It’s entertaining for the people who are going to be at home watching or come to the ground to watch.”I think everyone knows where the line is. In the last Ashes series if anyone overstepped it, it was me so I have to make sure I set my standard and have the discipline to stay there as well, which I know I will. You definitely need to respect the laws of the game, you can play hard but play fair. You don’t have to sledge to play tough cricket. It’s as much about body language and intent and attitude as it is about verbal stuff that comes out of your mouth.”I’ve learned from what’s happened in the past, and the boys know how we play our best cricket. This Australian team, and any Australian team I’ve been part of, has always played tough cricket on the field but also understood and respected there’s a line there. As long as the boys respect that I’ll be happy.”Having played under bright sunshine in Canterbury and Chelmsford, Clarke’s men were confronted by a pea soup of a day in Cardiff two days out from the first Test, and found the ball swinging and seaming lavishly in the nets. For now there is plenty of grass on the match strip, leaving the selectors Darren Lehmann and Rod Marsh to ponder their options. Batting wise the experience of Clarke, Chris Rogers, Adam Voges and Shane Watson in English conditions will be critical, and among the bowlers Peter Siddle is now under some consideration.”It’s got a lot of grass on it. It’s surprising how much grass is on it,” Clarke said. “So I think if it stays that way it’s going to be interesting to see how it plays. I think it’ll come down to what England are after. If they’re worried about spin bowling, they’ll leave more grass on it. If they’re worried about pace, it’ll have a bit more moisture in it.”From what I’m see today and what the groundsman’s telling me, I think we’re going to see some sideways movement from the fast bowlers.”On his fourth Ashes tour, Clarke said he had learned to look as much at the skies as the pitch when deciding how to approach an English Test match. “A lot of grounds around the world you look at the pitch before deciding whether you’re going to bat or bowl first. In the UK you look above more than at the wicket,” he said. “When it’s overcast you see a lot more movement around the country and when the sun’s out it can be a really nice place to bat.”The other thing is in conditions like that, once you get in as batsman you have to go on and make a big score. You’re never out of the game as a bowler, there’s always something there – whether it’s the slope at Lord’s or you get some overhead conditions, or you take the second new ball. There’s always an opportunity with the Duke ball.”So as a batter you need to know that. In Australia when you feel like you’re batting well and get to 40 and 50, things become a little bit easier. Sometimes here it’s not the case, you’ve got to work your backside off for your whole innings.”There is not a member of Clarke’s team unaware of the fact Australia have not won the Ashes in England since 2001, and without Ryan Harris that task has been made harder. Nevertheless, they have plenty of experience, and a method they trust. Now all they need is Wednesday to arrive.

Laxmi Shukla, who picked up four wickets, boosted Bengal who are desperately in search of an outright win after having lost two out of four games this season

Siddhartha Talya at the Brabourne Stadium01-Dec-2012
Scorecard
Laxmi Shukla used the helpful conditions to pick up four wickets•Fotocorp

The previous time the Brabourne Stadium hosted a Ranji Trophy game, it produced a run-fest, with the first innings staying incomplete at the end of the third day. The shade of green on the track for this game and some gentle breeze in the morning offered greater hope for the fast bowlers, and it wasn’t surprising that Bengal captain Manoj Tiwary chose to bowl. His team responded well, especially Laxmi Shukla, who picked up four wickets, to boost Bengal who are desperately in search of an outright win after having lost two out of four games this season.Mumbai had their share of fortune on a track that had good bounce with the ball often kicking off a good length, especially when Shukla was bowling. The Bengal fielders chipped in to make life easier on occasions as Wasim Jaffer was the beneficiary of a dropped catch. Though Bengal were not made to suffer much – Jaffer only got so far as 80 in a format he’s dominated by making fielders toil for long hours – he stayed long enough to help Mumbai fight back from 46 for 3 in the company of Abhishek Nayar, with whom he was involved in a century stand.Mumbai again picked themselves up after losing Jaffer and Nayar in the second session, with wicketkeeper Aditya Tare and Ankeet Chavan compiling a 56-run stand as part of a lower-order recovery that also acquired considerable momentum through quick runs. The Bengal bowlers worked hard – Shukla, in particular, bowled an extended first spell of nine overs – but weren’t dominant and faced resistance that took Mumbai to 262 for 7.Jaffer, who missed Mumbai’s first three games of this season while on Haj, said the assistance to fast bowlers will last a while and 300 was a good total on this track. “I don’t think it’s going to flatten out,” he said. “The help for the fast bowlers, especially, will remain for a while. The ball is spinning as well. So, if we go to 300, it’ll be a very good score with the kind of bowling we have and the wicket, probably, will get a bit faster. It was a bit damp today, and the ball was swinging, but I think it’s a decent score. We would have been happier if there were one or two wickets less. But the help will remain in the wicket.”Jaffer batted positively, though that also brought with it some risk on a track with a bit of life. He offered a half-chance at short leg at 5, and was put down by Arindam Das at second slip off Shukla when on 16. Shukla also got the ball to move back in, rapped Jaffer on the pads twice, but there were enough scoring opportunities on offer. Jaffer drove Shukla twice through the covers and used his feet well against the left-arm spin of Iresh Saxena, who was brought on, surprisingly, as early as the 11th over.The early introduction of spin was to provide Bengal an opening, however, through the stumping of Kaustubh Pawar and Shukla struck twice in quick time after that to put Mumbai under pressure. Against a disciplined line outside off, and some away movement, Hiken Shah was caught-behind driving on the up. Rohit fell in a similar fashion, reaching forward to be caught by Wriddhiman Saha diving to his right, for 1, as his counterpart Tiwary, also a possible contender for a place in the Indian side, watched on from mid-off.While the seamers tested the batsmen from one end, Jaffer and Nayar scored freely off the sole specialist spinner, Saxena. Jaffer was strong both sides of the wicket, driving him past cover and going over the top past mid-on and midwicket. Nayar swept well, collecting two successive boundaries through deep square leg and deep midwicket, and even launching Saxena for a six towards cow corner. The stand was broken abruptly in the first over of Shukla’s second spell, shortly after the pair had put on 100 together, when Jaffer got a leading edge to Abhishek Jhunjhunwala at extra cover.It got worse for Mumbai when Nayar dragged one back on from Veer Pratap Singh to make it 172 for 5, but there was some spunk left in the batting.Tare has opened the batting for Mumbai, dropping down this time with the return of Jaffer, and had some close shaves as he repeatedly edged the bowlers over the slips and past gully. Chavan gave him good company in a 56-run partnership before adding a further 20 with Dhawal Kulkarni, who struck Saxena for two straight sixes over long-on.But Bengal remained patient and dismissed the pair before stumps, both edging to slip and one of them, Chavan, giving Shukla his fourth wicket. The innings could have been wrapped up today itself had Ramesh Powar, a capable hand in the lower order, not been dropped by Das, again, at second slip. Captain Tiwary appeared happy at stumps, applauding his team-mates, but the let-offs in the field did consume time and cost runs that Bengal will hope do not affect the outcome.

Virender Sehwag and Ricky Ponting feel the Test is finely balanced going into the fourth day, which could also prove to be the final one

Sidharth Monga at the MCG28-Dec-2011Virender Sehwag and Ricky Ponting feel the Test is finely balanced going into the fourth day, which could also prove to be the final one. Ponting said the lead of 230 was already a reasonable one, but he would love for Michael Hussey and the last two to add more. Sehwag said India would be comfortable chasing anything under 300. The highest successful chase at the MCG is 332.It’s the state of the pitch, which has had life for good bowling throughout the three days, across sessions, that makes it interesting. “When you saw their top-order batters come in this morning, they found it difficult to start,” Ponting said. “I think our batters found it difficult to start this afternoon as well. There’s just enough assistance for the bowlers if you bowl in the right areas for long enough. That’s what our target will be tomorrow.”The first target for Australia, though, will be to extend their own innings. “Tomorrow morning is going to be really crucial for us now,” Ponting said. “We know that James Pattinson has got some really solid promise with the bat. He’s going to have to show that for us tomorrow. And we need Mike Hussey to go on and get a big score and continue to keep pushing the game forward. We’re 230 ahead now, which I think is a reasonable total for India to have to chase, but ideally we’d like to make a few more than that.”Ponting said the thickish grass on the pitch made it difficult to bat on. “It’s a little bit difficult to start on,” he said. “There’s a little bit of thickish grass sitting on top of the wicket, so the seam is grabbing into that grass a little bit and makes it a little bit inconsistent. If you get through the first half-hour of your innings, every wicket around the world seems like it’s a pretty good wicket. Most of our batters found it tough to get through that today. Hopefully tomorrow we can make it difficult for the Indians as well.”There hasn’t been a lot of spin yet. Ashwin has got a few to be a bit inconsistent, bounce-wise. I guess for a finger-spinner, that’s probably as much assistance as turning the ball a lot anyway. I thought Ashwin did a good job for them today, he changes his pace up all the time, he has got a fair bit of variation. I think Nathan Lyon can learn a little bit from that in how he can apply his skills in the second innings.”Sehwag got through that first half hour in the first innings, but ended his innings playing on. He then went on to see three Australians playing on today. “Ball is not coming on to the bat,” he said. “It’s stopping and coming. Spongy bounce. So batsmen are playing little early, that’s why they are getting inside edges.”Sehwag knows his and Gautam Gambhir’s contribution will be vital whatever total India are chasing. “It’s not just my contribution. It’s a team game. [But] Yes it’s important for us to give a good start to the team. If we are able to give a good start then we have a very good chance to win the Test match.”Sehwag said he was satisfied with India’s day in the field, especially how they came back after the collapse. “It’s a good day for India, and the match is evenly balanced,” he said. “Any team can win that. We have to work hard tomorrow. If we win the game, we really have to bat well on the fourth and fifth days.”The bowlers delivered [today]. Especially in first spell, Umesh Yadav and Ishant [Sharma] and Zak [Zaheer Khan], they bowled beautifully. And through the day [R] Ashwin bowled really well. He kept one end up at less than three an over. Overall it was a good day for India.” He went on to label India’s bowling line-up the best Indian attack he has played with.

Hashim Amla, the South Africa batsman, has warned against complacency following his team’s series wins over Zimbabwe in the two limited-overs formats at home

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Oct-2010Hashim Amla, the South Africa batsman, has warned against complacency following his team’s series wins over Zimbabwe in the two limited-overs formats at home. Amid South Africa’s success, Amla has been enjoying a prolific run. This year, he’s scored four centuries – including two this ODI series – and two fifties in nine games but has said the tour of the UAE where South Africa play Pakistan in all three formats will be a different challenge altogether.”We’re under no illusions about our performances here. Although it’s been a good start for us, we know against Pakistan it won’t be anything like this,” Amla said. “We know how tough it’s going to be there, but by the same token we’re just trying to get some good form going in the batting and bowling departments.”It’s a lovely feeling going into the last game knowing you’ve actually won the series and the mindset is to try and keep building especially before we take on Pakistan.”South Africa have been ruthless against the Zimbabwe bowlers this series but their own performance with the ball and in the field has been below-par, with the visitors posting scores of 250-plus in each of the ODIs. “Fortunately, batting-wise, we’ve done well, but still need to do a bit more work in the bowling department,” Amla said. “Fielding is a discipline like batting and bowling, and we’re gaining more and more ground with every game.”We have been a bit sloppy and dropped one or two catches, but we’d rather have it now than during a big series against India or Pakistan or even in the World Cup.”Yes, we’ve started slowly, but we’re building momentum and that’s how we’ve looked at this series against Zimbabwe. We’re under no illusion that we’re suddenly world-beaters after winning the series against Zimbabwe. We still have some tough times ahead of us against Pakistan who, on any given day, can be world-beaters themselves.”South Africa play Zimbabwe in a dead rubber, the final ODI of the series in Benoni, on Thursday. “Our batting has been consistent especially against such a big team like South Africa,” Elton Chigbumbura, the Zimbabwe captain, said. “We’re going in the right direction, but our bowlers need a lot more practice and need to gain more control.”South Africa have rested fast bowler Dale Steyn and allrounder Jacques Kallis for this series while Morne Morkel suffered an injury to his ankle early in the tour.

Derbyshire have signed Robin Peterson, the former South Africa left-arm spinner, as a Kolpak player for the 2010 season

Cricinfo staff01-Dec-2009Derbyshire have signed Robin Peterson, the former South Africa left-arm spinner, as a Kolpak player for the 2010 season.Peterson, who has played six Tests and 35 ODIs for South Africa, holds the unenviable record of conceding the most runs in a single Test over, after Brian Lara took 28 from his left-arm spin at the Wanderers in 2003.Peterson plays for the Cape Cobras in South Africa and was due to play for South Africa A in the warm-up game against England at Potchefstroom. However, Cricket South Africa (CSA) pulled him out of the squad after he declared his intentions to play for Derbyshire which made him ineligible for future international duty.Derbyshire struggled to make much of an impact last season, finishing sixth in the second division of the Championship despite a late promotion bid, bottom of the North Division in the Twenty20 Cup and seventh in the Pro40. John Morris, the head of cricket, hopes Peterson’s experience can bring better success.”We are delighted and excited by the capture of Robin who is an all-rounder of international quality and plenty of experience,” he said. “Good quality spin bowlers are a valuable commodity in the modern game, as are explosive batsmen. Robin brings both of those attributes to the party and I am thoroughly looking forward to working with him in 2010.”