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The winners of the ICC’s Development Programme annual awards have been announced

Cricinfo staff01-Mar-2010The winners of the ICC’s Development Programme annual awards have been announced, with individuals and initiatives from associate and affiliate member countries from around the world being honoured.While Nepal celebrate their victory in the final of the World Cricket League Division 5, Binaya Raj Pandey, president of the Cricket Association of Nepal, received the programme’s Lifetime Service award. Namibia’s cricket development programme won Best Overall Cricket Development Programme, while the Deutsche Cricket Bund picked up the Best Women’s Cricket Initiative award.The Israel Cricket Association won the Best Spirit of Cricket Initiative for their programme, in partnership with UNAIDS and UNICEF, which has introduced cricket as a means of bringing together Jewish and Bedouin children in the Negev Desert to promote co-existence and tolerance among those caught up in the Israel-Arab conflict.”It is wonderful to see so many of our Associates and Affiliates being recognised for all the hard work and effort they put into their cricket programmes,” said ICC global development manager Matthew Kennedy. “Everyone who has won and those who were not successful this time round should be congratulated for their continuing effort and dedication to improving cricket in their nation.”Ireland’s James Bennett and S Gopalkrishnan of Indonesia shared the Volunteer of the Year Award for their dedication and contribution to the game in 2009. The Photo of the Year also came from Ireland and was taken by Rob O’Connor. His picture captured the celebrations following the match-winning run out in a game between Leinster and West Glamorgan Under-13s.”This is great news for Irish cricket and I’m delighted for both winners, said Arthur Vincent, Cricket Ireland’s president. “Jim Bennett is a dedicated and tireless volunteer for Irish youth cricket, and it’s thanks to the likes of stalwarts like Jim why our youth system is the envy of many countries. He is quite simply a fantastic servant to the cause of cricket in the country and the award is richly deserved. Jim is a gentleman and a great ambassador for Irish cricket.”Rob O’Connor is involved with Irish cricket at many levels, and is a superb photographer,” he added. “His image captures for me the essence and the unspoilt sheer exuberance and enjoyment of young cricketers playing the game. It’s a great honour for both to have won these prestigious awards and a marvellous reflection on the healthy standard of cricket here.”The judging panel for the awards featured current ICC President David Morgan, former presidents Ehsan Mani, Malcolm Gray and Ray Mali, and Keith Bradshaw, MCC’s secretary and chief executive.

Australian keeper-batter has only played six games in past two BBL seasons

ESPNcricinfo staff08-May-2024Peter Handscomb will captain Leicestershire in the T20 Blast this season, with director of cricket Claude Henderson saying he has “all the necessary qualities” despite a lack of recent exposure to the format.Handscomb has only made six appearances across the last two seasons of Australia’s Big Bash League, and did not have a contract last year until Melbourne Stars called him in as a last-minute replacement following a sickening injury to their first-choice wicketkeeper Sam Harper.But Leicestershire are banking on Handscomb’s wider experience as they aim to qualify for T20 Finals Day for the first time since 2011, when they won their third T20 title. “I’m very excited to lead this team,” Handscomb said. “The balance of the side looks good and hopefully we can perform to the standards we’ve set ourselves.”Handscomb initially signed for Leicestershire for six County Championship fixtures last year but had his deal extended and ended up playing five times in the Blast, including three as captain. He signed a two-year extension to cover 2024 and 2025 at the end of last season and is their leading Championship run-scorer this season, with a century and three fifties in five innings.Related

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Leicestershire won the Metro Bank Cup last year and hope their 50-over form will translate to the T20 Blast. “We showed in the One Day Cup last year what we can do in white-ball cricket, so it’s an exciting prospect to try and replicate that in the T20s this year,” Handscomb said. “We want to entertain and play a fun brand of cricket.”Henderson said: “Pete holds all the necessary qualities we are looking for in a captain. Not only does he possess extensive leadership experience, but he is also an incredibly calm head on the field and a highly respected voice in the changing room.”Leicestershire finished bottom of the North Group last summer with two wins from 14 games, at a time when chief executive Sean Jarvis was forced to deny the club was in crisis following the sudden departure of coach Paul Nixon.They have added Ben Mike, Liam Trevaskis, Scott Currie and Ben Cox to their squad in the off-season and will also welcome Wiaan Mulder back to the club as their other overseas player, alongside Handscomb. Rehan Ahmed should be available throughout after he was left out of England’s T20 World Cup squad.Leicestershire’s first Blast fixture is against Yorkshire on May 31. The tournament’s group stage runs until July 19, with the quarter-finals and Finals Day due to take place in September.

Fast bowler has been out of action since injuring his back at Trent Bridge in June last year

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Feb-2023Fast-bowling allrounder Kyle Jamieson makes a comeback to New Zealand’s squad for the two-Test series against England at home in February. It is the first time Jamieson has been selected since he injured his back on the tour of England in June last year.Jamieson returned to New Zealand’s domestic cricket circuit only in January this year, and at the time of his selection in the Test squad, he had played two matches each in the Ford Trophy and Super Smash for Auckland.Related

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“Kyle is a very determined character with a strong desire to play international cricket for New Zealand,” head coach Gary Stead said. “Since he was forced from the field in Nottingham he’s been very clear that he wants to get his body right to return.”He’s reported good progress since his return to professional cricket with Auckland and he will get the opportunity to play some long-form cricket as part of the New Zealand XI squad to face England in their warm-up match next week at Seddon Park.”Legspinner Ish Sodhi also kept his place in the 14-man squad after impressive returns in the two-match series in Pakistan in December-January, which was his first Test series since 2018. Sodhi took 13 wickets in the two matches, and also scored a half-century.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“Ish really impressed us with his approach with bat and ball,” Stead said. “He’s worked very hard on both in recent years and it was great to see that on the international Test stage.”Offspinning-allrounder Michael Bracewell is the second spin option in the squad, while left-armer Ajaz Patel and batter Glenn Phillips were the omissions from the group that travelled to Pakistan. Wicketkeeper Tom Blundell and fast bowler Matt Henry are expected to recover from injuries sustained in Pakistan by the time the squad assembles in Tauranga on February 12.The first Test against England from February 16 to 20 will be a day-night contest at the Bay Oval, after which the teams will travel to Wellington for the second Test at the Basin Reserve from February 24-28.The series will be Tim Southee’s first as full-time Test captain on home soil. He took over from Kane Williamson just before the tour of Pakistan. Trent Boult, who had given up his central contract, was not selected, though New Zealand’s selection manager Gavin Larsen hoped the left-arm quick would play the ODI World Cup in India in October-November.

Australia coach concedes that India his team was behind for the best part in the one-off Test, points to dropped catches as part of the reason for it

Andrew McGlashan03-Oct-2021Australia coach Matthew Mott has admitted that his team had been playing catch-up since the first hour of the day-night Test against India after a wayward display with the new ball, and were also left to rue the number of dropped chances.”We knew India would be a great challenge for us, and we thought we’d hit happy times winning the toss and the wicket had a tinge of green,” he said. “We had a very good pace attack, but we probably just missed our mark in the first hour and they got away to a really good start. From there on we just felt like we were clawing back a little bit.”Related

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While the weather was a large factor in the game ending in stalemate with the first two days severely impacted by storms – twice preventing Australia from bowling for an extended period under lights – the Australians also had themselves to blame after putting India in, something Mott insisted was the right decision from Meg Lanning.At the end of the first hour, India were 70 for 0 from 15 overs with Smriti Mandhana having brought up a run-a-ball half-century, which she would convert into a dominant 127 as India ended up batting for 145 overs. Before dinner on the opening day, Australia had to rely on their spinners, Sophie Molineux and Ash Gardner, to give them some control.”I thought India played really well,” Mott said. “Mandhana’s innings was exceptional. But we were behind for the rest of the match and they held all the aces, they earned the right to put us under pressure. And we never really got back in the game.”Think our catching was a bit of an issue, obviously had upwards of eight chances in the first inning so the bowlers created the opportunities but unfortunately we weren’t good enough to capitalise so left to rue that. But I was really proud of the way we hung in there we kept our standards right the end.”For much of the opening session of the final day, it looked as though Australia would comfortably avoid the follow-on when Ellyse Perry, who continued her astonishing Test run-scoring record going back to 2017, and Gardner were making good progress against the old ball. However, they were shaken by Meghna Singh’s new-ball spell, and when Pooja Vastrakar removed Georgia Wareham to leave them eight down, they still needed five more runs.”Batting-wise, we were under the pump today but we showed a bit of fight, making sure we got past that follow-on because that could have made it really interesting,” Mott said. “Ellyse Perry again showed her skill and determination to get us over the line there… and it’s something the rest of the group could probably learn a little bit from.For a while, India looked like they might be able to enforce the follow-on•Getty Images

“We don’t get exposed to that too often but I’m sure the batting group will reflect on what worked for her in this Test and why she was able to keep out more good balls. We probably played at a few we didn’t have to, but the pressure that India built up led us that way as well.”Australia had included four debutants with Stella Campbell and Annabel Sutherland producing impressive spells, while legspinner Wareham was able to sneak in for her maiden Test wicket shortly before India’s second-innings declaration having only had 11 overs in the match.”Georgia probably didn’t get as many overs as she would have liked and that was a talking point, but the rain didn’t help her,” Mott said. “Darcie [Brown], that’s her first crack at this format and think she’ll get better and better. Stella really showed what she could do and is also someone who probably wasn’t on the radar 12 months ago. Annabel Sutherland, I thought she was extraordinary in the first innings. Everything we talked about that we got wrong in the first session, she then delivered throughout so thought she was a real beacon.”At times it felt as though Lanning had too many bowling options and that there was room for another specialist batter (the injured Rachael Haynes was replaced by allrounder Sutherland) but Mott said that the selection had been partly based on being able to spread the workload around a young attack. There will likely be a number of changes for Australia’s next Test, against England in the Ashes in late January, with Haynes, Megan Schutt and Jess Jonassen certain to return if they are available.

Daryl Mitchell, Jeet Raval and Finn Allen among major domestic movers

Andrew McGlashan15-Jun-2020

Auckland

Colin Munro returns to the domestic list having lost his central contract, while top-order batsman Will O’Donnell has been given his first deal. Auckland’s batting will have to cover for the loss of Finn Allen and Jeet Raval, who have left for Wellington and Northern Districts respectively.Squad Graeme Beghin, Ross ter Braak, Jamie Brown, Mark Chapman, Louis Delport, Danru Ferns, Ben Horne, Ben Lister, Matt McEwan, Colin Munro, Robbie O’Donnell, William O’Donnell, Glenn Phillips, Ollie Pringle, Sean Solia, Will SomervilleCentrally contracted: Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Kyle JamiesonWhat they said
Coach Heinrich Malan: “It is great to reward a young player like Will, who has starred in club cricket for some time and successfully come through our A-programme. It is pleasing to have a solid group of players who have played together over the last few years. We are looking forward to seeing how the group continues to develop over the next twelve months.”

Canterbury

New Zealand allrounder Daryl Mitchell, who made his Test debut against England last year, has completed one of the major off-season moves by heading south from Northern Districts. Legspinner Todd Astle, who retired from first-class cricket earlier this year, has been handed a contract.Squad Todd Astle, Chad Bowes, Jack Boyle, Leo Carter, Sean Davey, Cam Fletcher, Andrew Hazeldine, Tyler Lorton, Ken McClure, Cole McConchie, Daryl Mitchell, Ed Nuttall, Fraser Sheat, Henry Shipley, Theo van Woerkom, Will WilliamsCentrally contracted: Tom Latham, Matt Henry, Henry NichollsWhat they said
High-performance manager Marty Croy: “Daryl brings a wealth of experience having performed at an international level and will be a huge asset to the team. The value of Daryl is immense, not only through his playing ability, but also what he can bring to our group as far as his approach to performance and his desire to win titles for Canterbury.

Central Districts

Brad Schmulian, a 29-year-old batsman who scored a double century on first-class debut in 2017, has secured his first contract alongside 21-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman Bayley Wiggins.Squad Doug Bracewell, Tom Bruce, Josh Clarkson, Dane Cleaver, Greg Hay, Jayden Lennox, Christian Leopard, Adam Milne, Seth Rance, Ben Smith, Brad Schmulian, Blair Tickner, Ray Toole, Ben Wheeler, Bayley Wiggins, George WorkerCentrally contracted: Ajaz Patel, Ross Taylor, Will YoungWhat they said
High performance manager Lance Hamilton: “A number of our senior players were very unlucky with injuries and surgery that affected their availability last season. The likes of Adam Milne and Doug Bracewell will be really relishing a return to regular cricket after sitting out all, or most, of last season. We had a horrible run with injuries across the season but we still finished runners-up in the Plunket Shield, and came out of it with a number of our younger or developing players now having had game time and valuable opportunities in the absence of more senior players.”Jeet Raval works through the leg side•Getty Images

Northern Districts

Raval, who lost his central contract for 2020-21, will look to revive his fortunes with the short relocation to Northern Districts.Squad James Baker, Peter Bocock, Dean Brownlie, Joe Carter, Katene Clarke, Henry Cooper, Anton Devcich, Zak Gibson, Brett Hampton, Scott Kuggeleijn, Brett Randell, Jeet Raval, Tim Seifert, Anuray Verma, Joe Walker (16th player TBC)Centrally contracted: Trent Boult, Colin de Grandhomme, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Neil Wagner, BJ Watling, Kane Williamson

Otago

Dale Phillips, brother of New Zealand player Glenn, is one of two new faces for Otago after making his debut last season alongside wicketkeeper-batsman Max Chu. Mark Craig, the former New Zealand offspinner, wasn’t considered after deciding to take a break from the game, after which he has undergone back surgery.Squad Matt Bacon, Neil Broom, Max Chu, Jacob Duffy, Josh Finnie, Dean Foxcroft, Camden Hawkins, Anaru Kitchen, Nick Kelly, Jarrod McKay, Dale Phillips, Hamish Rutherford, Mitch Renwick, Michael Rippon, Michael Rae, Nathan SmithWhat they said
Performance manager Simon Forde: “[We need to] strengthen our seam bowling stocks. We were very light last year in terms of numbers of seam bowlers in the group so the focus of our second round of contracting will be building depth in that department to complement our exciting attack led by Jacob Duffy.”

Wellington

Allen, the 21-year-old batsman, is one of the most highly regarded young prospects in New Zealand cricket and joins Wellington alongside 22-year-old Troy Johnson. Allen scored a century for a New Zealand XI against England last year and will help cover the potential loss of Devon Conway to international duty once he qualifies in September.Squad Finn Allen, Hamish Bennett, Jakob Bhula, Michael Bracewell, Fraser Colson, Andrew Fletcher, Jamie Gibson, Lauchie Johns, Troy Johnson, Iain McPeake, Ollie Newton, Rachin Ravindra, Ben Sears, Michael Snedden, Logan van Beek, Peter YounghusbandCentrally contracted: Devon Conway, Tom Blundell, Jimmy NeeshamWhat they said
Head coach Glenn Pocknall: “We’re really excited to be able to add two high quality batsmen and equally great blokes to the squad who we know will contribute on and off the field for us. We’re all about developing people and we play an important role in assisting them reach their goals. In these two guys we know what they’re wanting to achieve, and we look forward to supporting their careers.”

Play is scheduled to begin half an hour early on day two, but the forecast remains grim

The Report by Mohammad Isam in Wellington08-Mar-2019Heavy rain washed out all of the first day’s play in Wellington. The umpires called off play at 3:09 pm local time – roughly half an hour before the scheduled tea break. None of the players from either side turned up at the ground, though a few members of the backroom staff, including Bangladesh coach Steve Rhodes, did. Play will begin half an hour early on day two, at 10.30 am.The forecast, however, remains gloomy, with rain predicted at least until mid-day on Saturday, after which the chances of showers abate slightly. The rest of the Test match, which carries on until Tuesday, is also likely to be hampered by rain breaks.One bit of good news is the drainage situation at Basin Reserve. Although there was heavy rain, the water seemed to seep out of the outfield quite easily, with only a slight residue of rainwater left on the surface.New Zealand are sitting on a 1-0 lead in the series, having blown Bangladesh away by an innings and 52 runs in Hamilton. The visitors had some good performances with the bat, but their rookie pace attack was outclassed by New Zealand’s experienced trio of Trent Boult, Tim Southee and Neil Wagner.Bangladesh lost their last Test in Wellington two years ago despite posting a first-innings total of 595, with Shakib Al Hasan scoring 217 and Mushfiqur Rahim 159.

Steven Smith was nervous enough about Australia’s chances of closing out a 2-0 Ashes series lead that he popped a sleeping pill the night before day five in Adelaide

Daniel Brettig at Adelaide Oval06-Dec-20171:32

‘I had to have a sleeping pill last night’ – Smith

Australia’s captain Steven Smith was nervous enough about his chances of closing out a 2-0 Ashes series lead that he popped a sleeping pill in his Adelaide hotel room the night before Josh Hazlewood claimed the key breakthroughs to deliver an ultimately comfortable 120-run victory in the day-night Test.Amidst what he admitted were a “pretty tough” two days from the moment he declined to enforce the follow-on and saw England roar back into the contest, Smith said he had questioned his own decisions plenty of times. Tension enveloped the Australians and the Barmy Army took particular enjoyment from the hosts’ loss of their two reviews in the space of three balls on the fourth evening, but it was Smith who revealed the full extent of his anxiety.”I had to have a sleeping pill last night,” Smith said. “It has been a pretty tough 24 hours if I’m being honest, it’s all part of being captain of your country, you have to make difficult decisions and sometimes you’re going to make the wrong decision. It’s all part of the learning experience and hopefully I can learn something from this game. I’ll think back and reflect in the next day or so, what I could have done differently and better just areas I can continue to improve in my leadership and captaincy as well.

Mitchell Marsh added to squad

In the only Australian change for the Perth Test, the selectors have recalled Mitchell Marsh after his recovery from off-season shoulder surgery. He takes the place of Chadd Sayers in the 13-man group to convene in Perth on December 10.
Australia squad: Steven Smith (capt), Cameron Bancroft, Jackson Bird, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Peter Handscomb, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine, Mitchell Starc, David Warner

“I think we probably dominated the first two-and-a-half days of this Test match, England fought their way back into the game over the last couple of days and if I’m being honest I was a little bit nervous last night at the end of play. I thought they played really well, [Joe] Root and [Dawid] Malan in particular. We were only one or two wickets away, but with Root a dangerous player and if he got going he might’ve made things difficult for us. But fortunately we were able to pick them up and the rest is history.”Coming here today I thought if we could get one or two early wickets, with the new ball only being 18 overs away at the start of play, then 180 was a lot of runs. It was very pleasing that Josh was able to come out and do what he did this morning, I thought his length was exceptional and to get the wicket of Joe Root really put us in a good position and I could breathe a little more easily then.”Smith’s decision not to enforce the follow-on has been subject to plenty of criticism, akin to that faced by his mentor Mark Taylor when he also declined to send England in again at the Gabba in 1994. Then, as now, the hosts subsequently endured two difficult days before ultimately winning by a wide margin. Smith said he had thought primarily about preserving the bodies of his pace bowlers, while putting down the sharp swing generated by England’s bowlers to a combination of night conditions, a lack of breeze and a smart choice of ball on their part.”We were 215 runs in front of the game. People say it swings a lot more at night, it probably does a little bit more and the conditions were favourable for the England bowlers, who exploit anything in the wicket when it’s like that,” Smith said. “It was very still that night as opposed to the first day when it was quite windy. I think when it’s still and not as windy it does a bit more, which was the same today, quite still and our new ball swung a lot too, as we saw from the first ball Starcy bowled.”My rationale was we were a long way in front in the game, if we bat reasonably well … I thought we batted pretty poorly to be honest to get to 350 [in front] … but if we batted reasonably well then we should be getting up over 400. We didn’t do that but we were still a long way in front and confident.”We know it’s a long summer and I think these bowlers we’ve got are very valuable, and just giving those guys a little bit of a rest always makes me confident they can come back and do the business they need to do. So give them a rest and keep the England bowlers bowling. They bowled 150 overs in the first innings and part of an Ashes series is that it’s long, and if you can tire out their bowlers early in the summer then it can make a big difference at the back end. But I will say over the last day or so I have had a few different thoughts, and I’ve read a lot of things, but in the end we’ve won the game so it’s all irrelevant.”As for the loss of the DRS reviews, shortly after ICC regulations were changed to remove the top-up at the end of 80 overs, Smith said he needed to be smarter. “I guess your thinking sort of changes a little bit now with the umpire’s call – and whether you keep it, or if it’s missing you lose it,” he said. “It’s a tough one, and I certainly think my thought process around it has changed a little bit. Sometimes there’s more hope [than being confident a batsman is out] – and if it’s just touching the stumps we’re all right [and keep the review]. It’s an interesting one, but something I can continue to work on and try and get it as consistent as I can.”Josh Hazlewood dismissed Chris Woakes with the second ball of the fifth morning•Getty Images

Overall, Smith said he felt there was plenty of improvement left in Australia’s performance, not least more consistency with the bat after a poorly second innings. But he also pointed out that in Nathan Lyon, the world’s leading Test wicket-taker this year, and Pat Cummins he had two players at very near to the top of their games.”I think we can improve. I think we let ourselves down a little bit in the second innings with the bat, albeit for the top order in the night things were tough and England bowled particularly well, we’ve got to give some credit there,” Smith said. “Yesterday afternoon the way we batted was a little bit disappointing, we gave a few wickets away there, didn’t grind things out for long enough and try and bat for longer and get a bigger total, so we probably missed a trick there.”I think Nathan is bowling as well as I’ve seen him bowl, he’s hitting great lengths, he’s very confident, he’s bowling exceptionally well. A lot of credit’s got to go to Patty Cummins as well, I think he bowled brilliantly throughout this game. Even last night when things probably weren’t going our way, he was only going at one and bit an over still keeping the pressure on, beat the bat a few times, got the key wicket of Malan at the end of the day. He had a particularly good game with ball and bat as well, he contributed with Shaun [Marsh] in the first innings to help get us in a position to drive the game.”It’s always tough coming back from 2-0 down, particularly when you’re away from home. You can be only one or two bad sessions away from the series really. That can play on people’s minds when you’re behind. So we have to be confident, do what we’re doing, do the basics really well. Getting first-innings runs is really crucial, as we saw in this game, and just backing up day in, day out and making sure we’re doing what we can to get this series to where we want it to be.”

Kraigg Brathwaite’s marathon 95* off 206 helped West Indies claw their way back from early trouble and have a shot at a first-innings lead over Pakistan in Sharjah

The Report by Sirish Raghavan31-Oct-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsKraigg Brathwaite was a study in concentration during his 12th Test fifty•Getty Images

Pakistan rebounded from being bowled out for 281 to reduce West Indies to 38 for 3, but had to work much harder for their subsequent breakthroughs as Kraigg Brathwaite led his side back into contention with a gritty, unbeaten 95. Supported first by Roston Chase and then by Shane Dowrich, Brathwaite helped West Indies close on 244 for 6 after two hard-fought sessions.Confronted with a probing bowling effort, a slow outfield and horrid start from his top-order team-mates, Brathwaite maintained his composure and patience throughout his 206-ball vigil. Unlike the more free-flowing batsmen at the other end, he seldom tried to force the pace, content to play the ball late whenever he could. Nine of his ten fours came behind the wicket, the sole exception being a loft over mid-on off Zulfiqar Babar.After the three early wickets, Jermaine Blackwood briefly looked promising after lunch. However, his attacking instincts, and his seeming refusal to rein them in, soon led to his downfall. Having driven Mohammad Amir on the up for a boundary through cover, Blackwood tried to repeat the shot a few balls later. Only, this time, the delivery was slightly shorter and not quite there for the drive; Blackwood edged it to gully and departed for a run-a-ball 23.Chase was the next to keep Brathwaite company. In a productive period leading to tea, Chase hit a number of lovely cover drives, moving to 43 off 82 by the interval. He did have a few awkward moments against spin, though, with legspinner Yasir Shah luring him into some injudicious shots against the turn.Chase kept taking the bait and creamed Yasir for a big six over long-on to reach his fifty shortly after tea. Like Blackwood, however, he perished after one indiscretion too many. With left-armer Amir angling the ball across him from over the wicket, Chase went for an extravagant drive and only managed a thick edge to Younis Khan in the slips. That brought to an end an 83-run fifth-wicket partnership, but West Indies were still vulnerable at 151 for 5.Next, it was Dowrich’s turn to complement Brathwaite’s marathon knock. Dowrich hit several attractive boundaries during his 90-ball 47, and was particularly strong square of the wicket on the off side. But he had two major strokes of luck early in his innings.The first, with Dowrich on 15, came via a recurring theme – a Wahab Riaz no-ball. The bowler had enticed the batsman into chasing a full, wide delivery and edging it to Asad Shafiq at gully. But he had overstepped – for the 15th time in the series – and Dowrich lived on. A few overs later, Dowrich attempted to sweep Azhar Ali, and the ball hit the back of bat before looping to Younis at slip, who put down the chance after an elaborate juggle.It was around this time that things seemed to be slipping away from Pakistan. Leg-side deliveries were helped on their way to the fine-leg boundary. Dowrich unfurled some cracking strokes. The odd mis-hit landed safely. Wahab received two warnings for following through in the danger area. As the partnership ticked along past 60, then 70, then 80, West Indies seemed to be regaining the upper hand.But, against the run of play, Dowrich dragged an innocuous ball from Wahab onto his stumps, ending an 83-run stand. West Indies closed out the day 37 short of Pakistan’s first-innings total, with four wickets in hand.That was a markedly better outcome than they might have expected after a tumultuous morning session in which five wickets fell for 64 runs. Alzarri Joseph took the last two Pakistan wickets to bowl them out for 281, just 7.5 overs into the day, before Pakistan struck back through early breakthroughs.Amir troubled Leon Johnson in the first over by swinging the ball away from the left-hander, before Wahab dismissed him for 1 with a straight ball that trapped him in front.Then, towards the end of the first session, Darren Bravo miscued a cross-batted swing off Babar in the air towards cover, where Amir took a screamer of a catch. Soon after, Yasir trapped Marlon Samuels plumb in front and the batsman departed, but not before wasting a review. By lunch, West Indies were sinking deep into a hole.It was Brathwaite’s resolute knock that helped them steadily work their way out of it by the time the day was over.

More than a decade since his debut, Amit Mishra has finally found a secure place in the Indian team, but he isn’t taking anything for granted

Sidharth Monga23-Sep-20151:43

‘Very positive on my current performances and form’ – Mishra

Amit Mishra will turn 33 this November. He has been a first-class cricketer since 2000, and made his international debut more than 12 years ago. Yet now is the most secure he can feel about his place in the side. This is the first time he is starting a home season with reasonable hope of playing a significant part in all three India squads. Before the Sri Lanka Tests in August this year, Mishra had played every match of a series only twice – against South Africa in 2010 and against England in 2008, both at home – but even then he did not feature in the limited-overs sides on those tours.The only other time he was picked in all the matches of a series – not counting those when first-choice players were rested – was the World Twenty20 last year, when Mishra repaid the faith by ending up as India’s second-best bowler, only to be left behind later in the year by Karn Sharma in the Tests and Axar Patel in the World Cup side. If he was hurt, he did a good job of not making it apparent. With the Sri Lanka tour and a dearth of spin, especially with Ravindra Jadeja not coming back the same bowler post a shoulder injury, Mishra has capitalised on the opportunity. He can now feel comfortable that he is a first pick in all squads. Except that he isn’t taking his place for granted.”Whether I will play depends on captain and team management,” Mishra said on the sidelines of India’s pre-season preparatory camp in Bangalore. “I still can’t say I will play all the matches, but yeah I can say that the way I have performed I should get some matches. I am positive in my mind, I am positive about my bowling, I am looking to improve.”Mishra knows better than to take his place in the side for granted. He has been in and out of the side most of his career. As he said in an interview with ESPNcricinfo earlier this year, Mishra has come back a more mature legspinner. He has shown better control of his legbreak, and through some variations has shown he can get better of his old problem: slow turn, which used to let batsmen recover even if he beat them in the air.Asked if he has ever bowled better, Mishra said: “I can only say I have improved. I have worked hard.”Asked about the slowness, he said: “Yes I needed to work on bowling the right pace for different pitches and different batsmen. I have worked hard on my fitness, on my strength. Now I feel I can bowl the pace I need.”How much confidence does being assured of a place give him? “Nobody should think along the lines of whether he is in the side or not,” Mishra said. “Just work on your bowling. I have just thought of ways to improve over the last four-five years. That chases out negative thoughts from your head.”No doubt you are disappointed when not part of the team, but whenever I have been left out of the team I have looked for ways to improve. Work on my fitness [apart from the bowling]. Work on my fielding. Work on my batting.”Mishra said he worked on his batting too to become more valuable to the side. He said he learnt the value of lower-order runs when he captained Haryana, when he always looked for extra runs from himself and fellow bowlers. In a team that is looking to play five bowlers, Mishra’s runs will be welcome.On Thursday Mishra, along with 29 of India’s best cricketers, will begin to work on his bowling, batting and fielding again after a short break. Thursday will be the fourth day of India’s pre-season camp, which got off to a slow start with the board president dying on the eve of the camp.The first three days have been all about medical appraisals and fitness work. Players have mostly stayed indoors. They began with a visit to Hosmat Hospital for a medical check-up followed by training in the gym of National Cricket Academy at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. MS Dhoni and Ambati Rayudu had a net session on Wednesday, but it was optional activity.

In comparison to events in Mohali, the build-up in Wellington could not have been more mundane

Andrew McGlashan in Wellington13-Mar-2013Publicly, at least, players from both England and New Zealand are playing a straight-bat to what is happening with Australia. Privately, you suspect, they are all desperate for the gossip.”It’s very hard for me to comment on something I’m not part of,” Alastair Cook said. “I’m a long way away from it. You do have an interest in it – of course you do, because you’re interested in cricket – but the main focus for us is the start of tomorrow’s game.” Brendon McCullum’s tone was very similar.Each of these teams has recent experience of what internal strife can do. Kevin Pietersen’s ‘reintegration’ dominated the latter part of last year for England while New Zealand had to deal with the scrappy transition of leadership from Ross Taylor to McCullum. There was a short-term hit with both: England lost their Top test ranking to South Africa (although Pietersen’s presence in the final Test may not have saved it) and could not defend their World Twenty20 crown. New Zealand went to South Africa, minus Taylor, and were hammered in both Tests.However, there was soon light at the end of the tunnel. England secured an historic series win in India, during which Pietersen played a defining role with a breathtaking 186 in Mumbai, and New Zealand gained a galvanising one-day series victory in South Africa and their mini-revival continued in the first Test in Dunedin. Although both these situations are not entirely comparable to Australia’s predicament (despite Mickey Arthur referring to the Pietersen situation) it shows that, however rocky the current status appears, sport often shows a great ability to move on quicker than imagined.That is not to say that England and New Zealand are without any issues – sporting teams are rarely without a problem or two – but the sides that will go head-to-head in Wellington over the next five days have pulled together on the field. That, in the end, is what the supporters want to see.In comparison to events in Mohali, the build-up in Wellington could not have been more mundane. Most interest centred on Pietersen’s knee but both Cook and Andy Flower have tried to dampen the issue. Pietersen took a full part in training in both warm-up days although he continues to have his knee heavily strapped.McCullum confirmed that New Zealand will be unchanged and it is expected that England will follow the same route. The home side has gone to great lengths to ensure the pace bowlers are recovered from their high workloads in Dunedin and they have barely bowled in preparation for this match. Perhaps it was mind games, emphasising that his bowlers are fresh, but McCullum made it very clear that he would bowl first again. Of course, that doesn’t mean he has to when the coins goes up on Thursday morning.Who holds the advantage? It is a familiar question when a Test ends in the manner of Dunedin with one side being on top throughout the match, but the other producing an impressive rearguard to hold out for a draw. On a couple of occasions under Andrew Strauss, England used the belief gained from saving a game to win the following fixture. Against Australia, in Cardiff, in 2009 they survived nine down then won the Lord’s Test handsomely and on the 2009-10 tour of South Africa another last-wicket survival, at Centurion, was converted into an innings victory in Durban. On a different note, England’s eventual success in India stemmed from the fighting second innings in Ahmedabad, which was again led by Cook.On the flip side, New Zealand have shown that they remain capable of capitalising on a team that doesn’t keep its concentration. All the talk of how the University Oval pitch killed off a chance of a result is misguided. There were nearly four sessions lost to the weather and England ended 128 ahead with four wickets in hand. Another day and there would certainly have been a winner. For McCullum, the significance of New Zealand’s performance in Dunedin was not putting England in their place but instead giving his own team confidence after the recent problems.”I think England respect us anyway, so it wasn’t about sending messages to them; it was about sending them to ourselves that we are good enough to compete with the best teams and able to do it for long periods of time,” McCullum said. “Being able to dictate a Test is something we’ve not been able to do for a period of time against a top quality team and it was a nice feeling to do so. It has raised the expectation, which is a nice place to be.”For the next five days nothing matters to these two teams except what happens in the middle of the Basin Reserve. Perhaps, though, in a more relaxed moment or two, there might just be half an eye on Mohali.