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It wasn’t all one-way traffic on the second day in Centurion but South Africa ended in a very commanding position, having built a lead of 209 with AB de Villiers’ 99 the cornerstone of their innings

The Report by Andrew McGlashan16-Dec-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
AB de Villiers and Ashwell Prince helped put South Africa in command•Getty ImagesIt wasn’t all one-way traffic on the second day in Centurion but South Africa ended in a very commanding position, having built a lead of 209 with AB de Villiers’ 99 the cornerstone of their innings. He and Ashwell Prince added a crucial 97-run stand for the sixth wicket, which was supplemented by a useful hand from the under-pressure Mark Boucher, after Sri Lanka had hauled themselves back into the contest with a spirited display .The difference in the quality of the attacks was on stark display because even though Sri Lanka had periods where they were on top, they couldn’t sustain pressure throughout. When Jacques Kallis, who had taken a nasty blow on the helmet from Dilhara Fernando before lunch, was caught at third slip South Africa were 173 for 5 and an even contest wasn’t far away. However, despite a number of near-misses the visitors couldn’t strike again until the lead was close to three figures and Boucher’s unbeaten 49 ensured there was no way back for Sri Lanka. By the close the last five wickets had added 216.Sri Lanka were convinced they had de Villiers caught behind on 69 – when the score was 273 for 6 – off Angelo Mathews, who had just removed Prince to offer a glimmer of hope. Tillakaratne Dilshan immediately asked for a review. There was a faint, and very short-lived, mark on the inside edge shown by Hot Spot but not enough conclusive evidence to overturn the on-field decision. Dilshan’s reaction suggested he thought otherwise.By the time de Villiers was removed, slashing low to point one short of his 13th Test hundred, South Africa were forging ahead. de Villiers’ dismissal was notable, however, as the batsman took the fielder’s word that the ball had carried; it was the type of catch third umpires have often turned down.Given that the pitch retained plenty of help for the pace bowlers it was an exceptional innings from de Villiers who reined in his natural instincts, with his fifty taking 91 balls. He gained some criticism for being over aggressive against Australia but judged the requirements perfectly on this occasion, yet never missed an opportunity to score whether through sweet straight driving or powerful pulling.de Villiers and Prince have a history of sharing important partnerships for South Africa and their styles complemented each other despite de Villiers being more circumspect than normal. Prince, though, had a slightly charmed life as he edged wide and over the slips and was given a life on 23 when a low chance at gully was put down.Smart stats

AB de Villiers became the sixth South African batsman to be dismissed for 99. It is also the 79th instance of a batsman falling for 99 in Tests.

It is also the seventh instance of a batsman being dismissed for 99 against Sri Lanka and the first against Sri Lanka after Virender Sehwag’s dismissal at the SSC in 2010.

The 97-run stand between de Villiers and Ashwell Prince is the fourth-highest sixth-wicket stand for South Africa against Sri Lanka and the highest such stand against Sri Lanka in home Tests.

There have been only two occasions (excluding the match when South Africa and England forfeited their innings) in Centurion when teams have lost despite gaining a lead at the end of the first innings. Sri Lanka lost by six wickets after gaining a 103-run lead in 1998 and New Zealand lost by 128 runs after gaining a 51-run lead in 2006.

The only occasion South Africa have lost a Test after gaining a 200-plus run lead was against Australia in Durban in 1950. (matches excluding than the Test in 2000 when South Africa and England forfeited an innings each). Click here for matches when South Africa have batted first and here for matches when South Africa have bowled first.

When Prince edged to the keeper South Africa still required one more substantial innings to feel comfortable and Boucher showed his fighting qualities. The bowlers were tired and the spark had disappeared from Sri Lanka, but for Boucher they were still priceless runs as he aims to prove his Test career should be prolonged. He was supported by Imran Tahir, a renowned No. 11, who produced the day’s most surprising display with a confident 24.To Sri Lanka’s credit they had emerged for the morning session full of vigour and determination. Jacques Rudolph, battling the pain of his dislocated finger from the first day, struggled for fluency and was put down at second slip on 30, when Mahela Jayawaradene couldn’t hold a tough chance to his left.Hashim Amla was more fluent, especially through the off side, but had there been a third slip he may have departed for 14, when he edged Chanaka Welegedara. Dilshan at least noted the near miss and posted an extra catcher when Thisara Perera came into the attack. It brought an immediate result. Mathews held a sharp chance, low to his right, when Amla went to drive a delivery that wasn’t as full as he thought.Perera had been disappointing the previous evening with the new ball, but settled into a probing spell and found significant seam movement. He was rewarded with a second wicket when he found Rudolph’s outside edge with another delivery that nipped away from the left-hand batsman to end a 140-ball stay.Kallis started his innings in fine style, and took three boundaries off an over against Perera, but badly misjudged the length of a Fernando short ball. He ducked straight into the delivery, which smashed him on the side of the helmet, and immediately lay on the ground as the physio – and later the team doctor – checked him over. He had been cut on the ear and appeared unsteady as he got to his feet, but resumed his innings.It was an opportunity for Sri Lanka to make life hard for him and Fernando should have gained the crucial scalp for his hard work when Kallis, on 27, edged to Kaushal Silva only for the wicketkeeper, who went one-handed to his right, to palm the ball away. Such a miss could have been hugely costly, but Kallis only added four more after the break. From then on, however, Sri Lanka’s chances ebbed away.

A round-up of the Ford Trophy matches that took place on January 29

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Jan-2012Anton Devcich’s unbeaten 101 went in vain as Northern Districts fell five short of a target of 294 against Otago at Seddon Park. Northern Districts looked out of the contest at 120 for 5, but a spirited fightback by Devcich and Brandon Hiini, who made 47, narrowed the gap. Otago, who chose to bat, were carried by fifties from Michael Bracewell, Craig Cumming and Nathan McCullum. Bracewell scored 55 before departing at the halfway stage of the innings. Cumming stayed till the end, scoring 85 and adding 116 with McCullum, who smacked a 43-ball 90, an innings which included seven sixes. McCullum was in good touch with the ball as well, taking two wickets and conceding 37 in his ten overs. His strikes dented Northern Districts’ reply, but the chase gathered momentum only after the 30th over, after they lost six wickets. Hiini and Devcich smashed 119 in 15 overs to give Otago a scare. Hiini made 47 off 42 balls before he was dismissed by Nick Beard in the 44th over. Northern Districts needed 41 after that stand was broken but they fell short despite having two wickets in hand.In another high-scoring encounter, at Rangiora, centuries by Dean Robinson and Mathew Sinclair helped Central Districts chase 291 against Canterbury. The pair added 231 for the third wicket before Sinclair was dismissed in the 48th over. He made 123 off 107 balls, while Robinson remained unbeaten on 130 off 142 balls to see Central Districts through with three balls to spare. Earlier, Canterbury were carried by the opener George Worker’s 108. He was supported by the middle order, which chipped in with 20s and 30s to take Canterbury to a sizeable target, which was cut down to size by Sinclair and Robinson.It was a one-sided affair at Colin Maiden Park as hosts Auckland lost to bottom-placed Wellington by 102 runs. Wellington scored 276 thanks to Michael Papps’ 90 and Stephen Murdoch’s 73. Papps and Murdoch added 144 for the second wicket to set the platform for a challenging total. Mitchell McClenaghan, the left-arm seamer, ran through the lower order to pick 6 for 41. Harry Boam withstood McClenaghan’s spell with 37 to guide Wellington to 276. Auckland got off to a steady start, with the openers Bradley Cachopa and Tim McIntosh adding 50, but then fell away. Jeet Raval’s 48 was the top score in the innings and there were no other contributions from the middle order to mount a challenge. The wickets were spread out among the Wellington bowlers, with Mark Gillespie taking 3 for 37.

ESPNcricinfo previews the fourth ODI between South Africa and Sri Lanka in Kimberley

The Preview by Firdose Moonda19-Jan-2012Match factsJanuary 20, Kimberley
Start time 1430 (1230 GMT)Graeme Smith is under increasing pressure to score in ODIs•AFPThe Big PictureIt’s that time of the series, when you wish there was a mercy rule. South Africa have already ensured their trophy cabinet will have an addition, and Sri Lanka are empty handed in a fourth consecutive series since the 2011 World Cup.After losing the World Cup final, Sri Lanka have endured a miserable nine months on the field, although they are talented and hard-working side. Despite spending nearly eight weeks in South Africa, their batsmen have not got used to the conditions or the opposition. Their bowlers have lacked the killer instinct possessed by the merciless South African attack, and the area of their game that needs the most improvement is the fielding, where the lack of energy has been alarming.That said, Sri Lanka have improved in every ODI and will feel it’s about time they were good enough. The sports ministry has asked for an inquiry into their poor performances and Tillakaratne Dilshan will have to motivate his players to put in two good showings before they head home to face the music.With the prize already won, South Africa will want to show they can maintain their intensity. The next two matches offer them a chance to test new combinations and give the reserves a run.Form guideSouth Africa WWWLWSri Lanka LLLLLWatch out for …Graeme Smith probably has two more innings to save his one-day career. With Alviro Petersen showing signs that he can take his Test form into the fifty-over format, and Hashim Amla set to return from paternity leave at the end of the series, the axe is hovering over Smith. He has shown a lack of confidence at the crease and has not been able to get going. He needs to soon to prolong his limited-overs career.At 24, Angelo Mathews appears to have an inordinate amount of responsibility. Not only is he Sri Lanka’s vice-captain but he also has to play the role of leading allrounder. He hasn’t starred in either role so far. What is evident is that he has the ability to, and has two more opportunities to show South Africa his skills.Team news …South Africa are spoilt for choice, particularly in the bowling department. Dale Steyn will be rested for the remaining matches and Wayne Parnell will play. Vernon Philander may get the nod ahead of Morne Morkel, but Johan Botha is unlikely to replace Robin Peterson. The batting line-up will remain the same, with the No. 4 position flexible.South Africa: (probable) 1 Graeme Smith, 2 Alviro Petersen, 3 Colin Ingram, 4 AB de Villiers (capt & wk), 5 JP Duminy, 6 Faf du Plessis, 7 Albie Morkel, 8 Robin Petersen, 9 Wayne Parnell, 10 Morne Morkel/Vernon Philander, 11 Lonwabo Tsotsobe.Mahela Jayawardene has been ruled out for the next few weeks with a back injury. Lahiru Thirimanne will play in his place, although his position in the line-up has not been decided. Sachithra Senanayake has arrived in South Africa and trained with the team, but Sri Lanka are yet to decide if two spinners is a viable option at this venue.Sri Lanka: (probable) 1 Tillakaratne Dilshan (capt), 2 Upul Tharanga, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4 Dinesh Chandimal, 5 Lahiru Thirimanne, 6 Angelo Mathews, 7 Thisara Perera, 8 Nuwan Kulasekara, 9 Lasith Malinga, 10 Rangana Herath, 11 Dhammika PrasadPitch and conditionsAlthough the ground staff left some grass on the Kimberley pitch, the sun will probably bake it into a flat wicket by match time. Temperatures are hotter than in Bloemfontein and both sides can expect to sweat.Stats and triviaSouth Africa have won five out of five matches in Kimberley and they chased in all of them. In their only game against Sri Lanka here, in 2002, South Africa won by 8 wickets.In ten matches at this venue, the fast bowlers have taken 99 wickets at 30.56, while spinners have only 17 wickets at 58.11.Quotes”The training has been fantastic but sometimes there is more value in not training. There is no exact science. We feel there is a bit of fatigue in the dressing room.”
.”When you are playing against a team like South Africa, who are playing really good cricket, it’s difficult for us to get on top.”
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Shane Watson hopes to be fully fit within a week after making an encouraging return to Sydney grade cricket on Saturday

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Feb-2012Shane Watson hopes to be fully fit within a week after making an encouraging return to Sydney grade cricket on Saturday. But Watson remains uncertain whether he will be able to play in any of the Commonwealth Bank Series, insisting that he needs at least one Sheffield Shield game under his belt before he can be considered for national duties.Watson has not played for Australia since the tour of South Africa in November, having been initially ruled out of the home Tests against New Zealand due to a hamstring tear. However, it is a calf injury picked up during his recovery that has caused him ongoing problems, and it was not until this weekend that he was able to play again, for his club side Sutherland.He got through the match without any concerns and scored 30 from 27 deliveries and bowled six overs for figures of 0 for 17. Watson hopes to be available for New South Wales’ next Sheffield Shield match, against Western Australia at the WACA, starting on Friday.”It’s been a very frustrating couple of months. It’s something I love, doing so much, so I missed it a lot,” Watson told AAP. “There’s been a few false starts over the last month or so, so to be able to get through the game was the most important thing. I’ve been working pretty hard on my batting and making a few adjustments on my batting technique. In the end, I suppose I got more than I was hoping out of the day.”However, Watson knows setbacks can arrive at any time. While he might be able to return in the later stages of the tri-series against India and Sri Lanka, that remains dependent on how he recovers this week and how well he gets through the Shield game.”If I’m able to get through a Shield game then and get some bowling into me in that Shield game, I feel like I will be ready to be able to play one-day cricket especially,” he said. “But I’m not getting too far in front of myself. I know how important the next few days are to recover.”The day didn’t go so well for Australia’s struggling wicketkeeper Brad Haddin, who was playing against Watson for Eastern Suburbs. Haddin didn’t keep wicket – Peter Nevill was given that job – and scored 1 batting at No.3 before he was caught at cover off the legspin of Steven Smith.And in Melbourne, the fast bowler James Pattinson made his comeback from a foot injury for his club side Dandenong, although as a batsman only. Victoria’s captain Cameron White said Pattinson was bowling in the nets and could be in the mix for next weekend’s Ryobi Cup game against South Australia, or failing that for Victoria’s next Shield game, starting on March 1.”Obviously not this Shield game but maybe the one after that,” White said. “I’m not sure about the one-day game [on Saturday]. He’s back bowling in the nets now, reloading after that foot injury. We’ll make sure he gets enough work through it to get him right to play for Australia. I think once he’s fit he’ll be straight back in there.”

Sourav Ganguly will be leading Sahara Pune Warriors in the IPL’s fifth season in the absence of the injured Yuvraj Singh

Nagraj Gollapudi23-Mar-2012Former India captain Sourav Ganguly will be leading Sahara Pune Warriors in the IPL’s fifth season in the absence of the injured Yuvraj Singh. Ganguly, who joined the Warriors in the second half of their campaign last year, had already been appointed as a mentor by the franchise and will be involved in multi-tasking in the absence of a head coach.”His experience will count for the team in the absence of Yuvraj,” Abhijit Sarkar, corporate head at Sahara group that owns the franchise, told ESPNcricinfo. “We need someone who can motivate the team. And Ganguly is active as a player and he can perform the leadership duties better than someone sitting on the bench outside the field,” Sarkar said. Former Australia opener Geoff Marsh, who was Warriors’ head coach last year, had to leave after the franchise decided not to renew his contract.The Warriors, who were involved in a bitter dispute with the BCCI, ahead of the IPL players’ auction, have brought the South African pair of Allan Donald and Paddy Upton to the coaching bench. Donald, the former South African fast-bowling spearhead, will be the bowling coach while Upton, who was part of Gary Kirsten’s coaching staff for India till last year’s World Cup, will serve as mental-skills coach while simultaneously performing the duties of a fielding coach and also a trainer.One of the team officials said Ganguly was the biggest name on the team roaster in the absence of Yuvraj and he had the capability of bringing together players from different continents and make them work for one goal. “To get the best out of international players and domestic Indian players and make them work for one goal is a difficult task and someone like Ganguly, a former India captain, who has a lot of respect was in a good position to do it,” the official said. Also, he felt, Ganguly’s experience at Kolkata Knight Riders in the first three years of the IPL, would allow him to perform the leadership role easily .Meanwhile the Warriors’ squad will start their camp from March 26 at their new home ground in Pune. Upton will multi-task as fielding coach, mental skills coach and even as a trainer.

Chennai Super Kings opener Faf du Plessis has said the last-ball win against Royal Challengers Bangalore, chasing a target of 206 at Chepauk, was a “turning point” in their campaign

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Apr-2012Chennai Super Kings opener Faf du Plessis has said the last-ball win against Royal Challengers Bangalore, chasing a target of 206 at Chepauk, was a “turning point” in their campaign. Super Kings, the defending champions, had a poor start to their season, losing two out of their first three games before the dramatic five-wicket win on Thursday.With Super Kings needing 43 off 12 balls, Albie Morkel launched three sixes, two fours and ran a two in the penultimate over from Virat Kohli, reducing the equation to 15 off the final over. Though Morkel was dismissed, Dwayne Bravo continued hitting boundaries off Vinay Kumar, and Ravindra Jadeja edged the last ball for four to win the game.That the home side got even that far was down to du Plessis, who dominated an opening partnership of 56 and went on to make 71. After his dismissal, with the score on 128, MS Dhoni kept Super Kings in the game with 41 off 24 balls.”Games like this you are not supposed to win, we were down and out, we should not have won. That, as a team lifts, you up massively, it gives you confidence. Hopefully that will be the turnaround in our season,” du Plessis said. “We actually said this is going to be the turning point, so it gives us massive confidence in the games to come. Bangalore is a good team, so to beat them like that was fantastic.”Du Plessis said Super Kings’ early defeats in the season were because of poor starts, which did not happen against Royal Challengers. “We needed a good start. In the three other games we lost a wicket in the first over, so it was just to get a start. We analysed the wicket and said it was a good wicket, there wasn’t much spin, which was the key for us as they’ve [Royal Challengers] got fantastic spinners. If it started to spin in the second innings, then it really would have been tough.”Muttiah Muralitharan, who took 3 for 21 in his four overs, said Royal Challengers had made costly errors. “They played well and we made some mistakes, which is why they won off the last ball,” he said. “We had about 40 runs [in last two overs]. We thought even if they get 20 runs off Virat, they will have 20 runs to get. Unfortunately that over went for 29 runs, so they had about 15 runs to get [off the last over].”

Kevin Pietersen has been warned by the umpires in Colombo for his controversial switch hit shot and threatened with a five-run penalty for time wasting.

Andrew McGlashan in Colombo05-Apr-2012Kevin Pietersen has insisted that he will not abandon his switch hit after receiving a formal warning by the umpires for misusing the stroke during the second Test at the P Sara Oval.Pietersen, en route to one of the most flamboyant of his 20 Test hundreds, shaped to play the switch hit before Tillakaratne Dilshan was in his delivery stride and later admitted he was not aware of the regulation that prevents him moving prematurely. Pietersen, who made his 20th Test hundred, began to get into place for the shot as Dilshan started his run-up and the bowler twice aborted his run up.The incident occurred during an enthralling head-to-head between Pietersen and Dilshan, which had already seen Pietersen switch his grip around to strike the bowler through the off side. However, Pietersen then began to set himself earlier for the shot and Dilshan refused to deliver which led to a stalemate.Asad Rauf, the umpire at the bowler’s end, signalled the warning to Pietersen after the second aborted delivery after consulting with his colleague Bruce Oxenford. Pietersen gesticulated towards the officials, clearly unsure about what he was being penalised for. The immediate consequence was that if Pietersen, or any other England batsman, did it again during the innings Sri Lanka would be awarded five penalty runs.”There’s no issue, I just got my timing wrong,” Pietersen said. “He said it was a warning because I moved my hands a bit too quick. I don’t understand the rules, it’s something I found out today, mid-innings, at a pretty unfortunate time. I’ve just got to switch my hands a little later, which I didn’t know. You learn something new every day. Once I’d been warned I enquired about it.”Andy Flower, the England team director, immediately went to the match referee’s room for clarification over the issue, his second visit of the match following his questioning of a review against Thilan Samaraweera on the first day. The ball after the official warning, Pietersen reverse-swept again and brought up his hundred. He went on to make 151 from 165 balls as England pushed for their first victory of the winter.Oxenford, who was at square leg when the warning was given, spoke to Sky Sports after the day’s play. “The ICC think switch-hitting is an excellent innovation,” he said. “But when the bowler sees intent [in the batsman altering his stance] prior to delivering the ball and stops what can happen is we can get a stalemate situation…the bowler won’t deliver because he wants to change his field if he thinks the batsman is going to switch-hit.”When we get to that situation the way to move forward is to give the batsman an informal warning, then a formal one for time-wasting. If it happens again it’s a team warning under time-wasting by the batting side and it’s an automatic five-run penalty.”An ICC statement in May 2010 said: “The ICC Cricket Committee adopted the updated directive introduced earlier in the year which prevents the batsman from altering his grip or stance before the bowler enters his delivery stride. Should the bowler see a batsman change his grip or stance prior to the delivery stride the bowler can decide not to bowl the ball.”Graham Ford, the Sri Lanka coach and a mentor to Pietersen, appeared more to speed with the regulation. “The rule is quite clear: if the batsman sets himself up prior to the bowler’s release and the bowler sees him and is able to stop the warning is issued. I think for about every single one he set himself up before the release except for the ones straight after the warning. I think it was all handled pretty well.”When Pietersen first unveiled the switch hit against New Zealand in 2008 it provoked debate about the legality of the shot because, for example, if a bowler wants to change from right to left arm (however rare that occurrence may be) he has to inform the umpire and the batsman. There are also implications for what fairly constitues a wide delivery or lbw. However, the MCC approved the shot, citing the difficultly level as a main reason, and hailed it as a good innovation for cricket.”MCC believes that the ‘switch-hit’ stroke is exciting for the game of cricket,” was the conclusion. “Indeed, the stroke conforms to the Laws of Cricket and will not be legislated against…MCC believes that the ‘switch-hit’ stroke is a difficult shot to execute and that it incurs a great deal of risk for the batsman. It also offers bowlers a good chance of taking a wicket and therefore MCC believes that the shot is fair to both batsman and bowler.”After this latest incident, the MCC added: “A batsman is still entitled to play the switch-hit stroke but he is only allowed to alter from one stance or grip to another once the bowler has entered his delivery stride. Pietersen should therefore have only been warned if the umpire was certain that Dilshan had not entered his bowling stride before the batsman shaped to play the switch-hit.”Pietersen believes there is more danger for the batsman and says it is a shot he will continue to play – if with slightly different timing.”Like I said when I played it against New Zealand, I don’t think the batsman should get penalised because I’m taking the biggest risk,” he observed. “I’ve always said I’ll play to that side of the field when there’s no one there. I don’t find it a hard shot, I can just manipulate the field when they bowl a leg-stump line. It’s a shot worth playing.”

Lancashire need another 144 runs to beat Durham

Paul Edwards at Chester-le-Street01-Jun-2012
ScorecardBen Stokes made a century that has given Durham an outside chance of victory•Getty ImagesThis is turning into a wonderfully unpredictable cricket match. On the first two days its uncertainty was spiced by the fallibility of the batsmen in conditions which favoured the bowlers; today, however, one’s doubts about the outcome were fostered principally by Durham’s Ben Stokes, whose first century since his 185 against Lancashire on this ground a year ago has given his side a chance of taking the spoils tomorrow.However, only the very rash or the very rich are betting any money on it. For, indeed, the game changed again in the last hour as Lancashire’s second-wicket pair, Stephen Moore and Karl Brown, took their side confidently to 56 for 1 at the close. Phil Mustard’s men need nine wickets for their first Championship win of the season; Glen Chapple’s batsmen need 144 runs to reach the same landmark. It should be a morning to savour.Without Stokes, though, matters would already have been decided in Lancashire’s favour. He came to the wicket ten minutes before lunch with his side on 65 for 3, still three runs in arrears. Chapple’s attack was boisterously in the ascendancy and the he added the key wicket of Dale Benkenstein with the last ball before the interval.Lancashire’s bowlers came out for the afternoon session knowing that a decent half hour’s work would almost certainly decide the match. Stokes and Paul Collingwood strode out to the middle secure in the knowledge that their side’s chances largely depended upon their partnership. It was the batsmen who just about produced the better goods in a terrific two hours’ cricket.Chapple’s first ball caught Collingwood a painful blow on the hand. It was a portent of the tests to come. But gradually the Durham pair prospered. The 36-year-old Collingwood managed to avoid edging the Lancashire skipper to the four slips and a gully posted to capitalise on any error, while his young partner – Stokes celebrates his 21st birthday on Monday – carefully unfurled an array of shots which has had the England selectors beating a path to Durham’s games.In over two hours the pair added 132 for the fifth wicket, which was only Durham’s second century stand of the Championship season. Collingwood played and missed a number of times; he was dropped by Prince at second slip off the impressive Ajmal Shahzad when only 27; he rarely looked at anything like his best. But just as he has done for 18 seasons since making his Durham debut, he shrugged his shoulders and got on with the job of a being a professional cricketer. That this was his first Championship fifty this season was testament to the tough time he has had and the application he displayed.At the other end Stokes was playing with increasing fluency and taking the fight to the skilful Lancashire seamers. The young Durham batsmen took 91 balls over his first fifty but only a further 57 in reaching a century, an achievement which included 13 boundaries, some of them hit with stunning power on both sides of the wicket.”Ben played fantastically well and we’ve given ourselves a chance in the game,” Collingwood said. “From where I was standing out in the middle the ball was doing plenty and wickets tend to come in clusters on wickets like this. My innings wasn’t pretty – not many are – but it was needed. Ben showed a lot of maturity in showing which shots to play and he had a really good rhythm to his innings.”The measure of the importance of the Collingwood-Stokes stand was made even more apparent after the departure of the senior partner, lbw to a full length ball from Kyle Hogg, just before tea. The bottom five in the Durham order made 14 runs between them but at least stuck around long enough for Stokes get his century and the total reach 267. That was a lead of 199 – unthinkable riches at the end of the morning session.Most of the damage was done by Simon Kerrigan, who had to wait until the 59th over of the innings for his first bowl of the game but who took 3 for 37 in his short spell. That bag included that of Stokes who was dropped three times during his all-out attack after reaching his century but then holed out to the safe hands of Hogg at backward square leg. Nonetheless, after a year much of which has been lost to injury this most exciting of young batsman can now look forward to a summer in which he can build on this achievement.The optimism of Durham’s supporters increased a little when Paul Horton fell lbw to the first ball of the innings but Brown and Moore saw to it that Graham Onions was unable to capitalise on his early success. Nevertheless, this game will still be in the hazard come the morning.

Bangladesh pulled off a thrilling coup to stay alive in the tri-series and handed South Africa a second successive defeat

The Report by Firdose Moonda22-Jun-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsZiaur Rahman (without the cap) dismissed South Africa’s top-scorer, Justin Ontong, in his only over•AFPBangladesh pulled off a thrilling coup to stay alive in the tri-series, handing South Africa a second successive defeat in Harare. Their slew of spin bowlers restricted South Africa to a below-par total in almost subcontinent conditions before Bangladesh’s batsmen, led by Mohammad Ashraful and Mahmudullah, chased it down in nervy fashion.South Africa chose to bat but found the going tough on a slow, sticky pitch. Mushfiqur Rahim quickly realised spin was his most potent weapon and used all his options. South Africa were tied down by both left-arm and offspinners. In contrast, Bangladesh were able to score more easily against an inconsistent South African attack that gave away eight wides and two no-balls despite not having many to defend.Chasing 130, Junaid Siddique, who replaced Tamim Iqbal at the top of the order, had a short stay. He scored 5 before top-edging Marchant de Lange to third man. Ashraful, however, played an uncharacteristically mature innings to steer the chase.Ashraful took on left-arm spinner Robin Peterson and scored three boundaries in his second over, showing off the cut, drive and sweep. Then followed a bizarre over from Marchant de Lange, which cost 18 runs. It contained five wides, a short delivery that Anamul Haque pulled for four, a yorker that had Anamul lbw, a peach of an outswinger, and two half volleys that Ashraful hit for four.De Lange’s over was illustrative of the entire South African attack, which bowled some unplayable deliveries and some very poor ones. They were guilty of two lengths, too short and too full. But the spin of Peterson and Faf du Plessis, as well as an improved showing from Wayne Parnell, kept them in the game until the final over.Ashraful and Mushfiqur added 41 runs for the third wicket and put Bangladesh ahead. Parnell muscled South Africa back into the contest when Mushfiqur gloved an attempted hook and was caught behind, and Nasir Hossain was caught at fine-leg playing the same shot in the same over.Du Plessis stemmed the run flow and Ashraful gave it away on 40, when he hit the ball to Chris Morris at long-on. Mahmudullah had to calm Ziaur Rahman, with whom he shared a 40-run stand for the sixth wicket, and guide Bangladesh to the end. He did not complete the job, though, falling when six runs were needed.Farhad Reza caused some late jitters when he hit a full toss to deep midwicket but Rahman was on hand to achieve the target.South Africa had needed a batsman in the mould of Ashraful or Mahmudullah but their line-up was uncomfortable from the start of their innings.Du Plessis, a replacement for Richard Levi, opened the batting with Hashim Amla for the first time in the tournament but could not replicate his good IPL form. He lost composure when he tried to hit an Elias Sunny slower-ball over long on but got a leading edge to Rahman at mid-on. Bangladesh prised open the South African line-up thereafter, using the turn to their advantage. Colin Ingram offered Mahmudullah a return catch and Amla was run out two balls later. Apart from overthrows, the fielding kept South Africa boundary-less during those five overs when three wickets fell.Nasir Hossain got his first bowl of the tournament and Justin Ontong decided he was the man to target. He slog swept Hossain for six, the only one of his 56-run partnership with Farhaan Berhardien. Ontong ushered Behardien through the middle period by finding singles but by the 16th over, South Africa had not reached 100 and Ontong decided to have a go.He looked to hit Rahman across the line but came too far down the pitch and was easily stumped. South Africa lost a wicket in each of the next three overs and only Peterson’s last-over charge took them past 120, which proved to be too little.

T20 is the way to grow women’s cricket and ensure it remains commercially viable, Clare Connor, the chairwoman of the ICC’s women’s cricket committee, has said

Siddhartha Talya30-Jul-2012T20 cricket is the way for women’s cricket to grow and remain commercially viable, Clare Connor, the chairwoman of the ICC’s women’s cricket committee, has said. She said playing T20 tournaments simultaneously with the men, as with the World Twenty20, gives women’s cricket an ideal platform to attract greater viewership.There hasn’t been a women’s Test played since early 2011, and fitting in all three formats, Connor said, would be difficult until women’s cricket became fully professional – which, she believes, it is not ready for yet.”The reality is that since the T20 format came into being in international cricket in 2004, there has barely been any Test cricket,” Connor told ESPNcricinfo in an interview. “That’s because the T20 format gives us that platform. It’s a shorter format, it’s more likely to grow the game from a participation perspective and also from a commercial perspective. It gives us probably more opportunity to get on television, and I think that is the way the women’s game is headed. That’s the reality and we have got to embrace that, and we are, with more and more double headers.”Men’s and women’s World T20s have been played simultaneously since 2009, the first time a women’s event was held on a global scale in the format. Connor said the decline of Tests in women’s cricket “polarises opinion” but T20 offers them the best chance to increase visibility.”The reality is: if we don’t play Test cricket, if Australia and New Zealand, for instance, are no longer going to play Test cricket, in the period of time needed to play a Test match, they could play three T20 games. They can get them on television and they can play alongside the men, and that’s a huge opportunity.”England and Australia introduced player contracts for women cricketers in 2008, offering some flexibility to players who still juggle playing cricket at the highest level with alternative careers. Pakistan and West Indies have also brought in a contract system, but Connor felt it was too soon to make contracts mandatory for all countries.”So long as there is a really healthy bilateral FTP in place and so long as the ICC sees that the performance standards in the women’s game are going up, I don’t think it’s up to the ICC necessarily to legislate on whether the women’s players should be fully contracted or fully professional. In an ideal world, yes, we would see that, but I don’t think we are probably ready for it yet, and I don’t think there are enough countries ready to fully professionalise the women’s game for there to be enough women’s cricket to be played that is commercially viable, if you like.”Last year, the WICB increased the number of contracted women cricketers to eight. “There is the evidence there to show that some form of contracts is really useful and can be beneficial,” Connor said. “One of the best cases of how that’s helped improve standards has been the West Indies, who in the last four years have really shot up the rankings and are a force to be reckoned with.”One of the aspirations of the ICC women’s cricket committee, Connor said, was to get all ODI members to include women’s cricket in their broadcast rights negotiations. The committee, for its part, has been trying to promote more bilateral cricket in the women’s game and reduce over-dependence on ICC events for the women’s game. In the last six months, Connor said, there has been an attempt to “increase the number of the minimum standard regulations, the number of games – bilateral cricket – that must be played in the ODI and T20 format”.”That’s something we’ve been constantly looking to address – really encourage as much bilateral cricket as possible, so that players have the opportunity to play in all different sorts of environments and all different sorts of opposition.”Read and listen to the full interview here