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Middlesex have signed a short-term deal with the South African pace bowler Kyle Abbott

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Apr-2015Middlesex have signed a short-term deal with the South African pace bowler Kyle Abbott. He will join the club at the end of May, to feature in Middlesex’s 2015 NatWest T20 Blast campaign subject to formal Cricket South Africa clearance.Abbott, 27, who is playing for Chennai Super Kings at the IPL, will team up with Middlesex in time for the club’s opening Lord’s encounter against Kent Spitfires on May 28. He will be available for selection for seven of Middlesex’s NatWest T20 Blast matches this season, before joining up with South Africa at the end of June for their tour to Bangladesh.Abbott helped Hampshire to T20 finals day last season. Middlesex see an aggressive bowler with a knowledge of English conditions with him and an exceptional T20 economy rate of 7.43.Middlesex’s Managing Director of Cricket, Angus Fraser, was delighted by the end of the county’s long search. “During the winter the cricket department identified that our priority for a second T20 Blast player was a high quality fast bowler, and we believe in Kyle we have signed someone who will significantly strengthen our T20 side,” he said.”Kyle continues to highlight what a top bowler he is. He was exceptional during the recent World Cup, where he took nine wickets in four games at an average of 14 and conceded just over four runs per over. In a high-scoring tournament these were outstanding figures.”Everybody at Middlesex is looking forward to working with Kyle and I am sure he will enjoy playing in front of big crowds at Lord’s. It is unfortunate we cannot have him for the entire tournament but we are not the only county to have these issues. With this in mind we are already speaking to people about Kyle’s replacement for the final six group T20 Blast matches.”

The format of the Caribbean T20 has been altered to increase the number of preliminary matches each team plays from four to six

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Oct-2012The format of the Caribbean T20 has been altered to increase the number of preliminary matches each team plays from four to six. As per the new format, the seven regional teams will play each other once and the team with most points at the end of the league stage will automatically qualify for the final. The other finalist will be decided after a playoff between the second and the third-placed teams. The winner of the tournament will also qualify for next year’s Champions League T20. The tournament will kick off on January 6 with a match between Trinidad & Tobago, the current champions, and Jamaica at the Queen’s Park Oval, Port of Spain and the final will be played on January 20 in St. Lucia.”This format will allow the regional teams to increase the number of matches in a form of the game that has become very popular around the world, and of which we are now world champions,” Roland Holder, the WICB cricket operations manager, said.Previously, the seven regional sides used to compete with three international teams in a ten-team tournament. The teams were divided into two groups, with each team playing four games before the knockouts.The schedule of the one-day regional tournament was also changed. The one-day matches will be spread throughout the season to reduce the possibility of the tournament getting affected by the hurricane season and will be played alongside the first-class matches.Next year’s Regional Super50 is set to begin on February 7 with the Regional 4-Day competition set to follow a couple of days later. Last season’s 50-over competition was held between October 19 and 29, but had three matches washed out and three others with overs reduced. The first-class competition ran from February to April without too much trouble from the weather.”In the last two or three seasons, by virtue of us playing the Regional Super50 in October/November, we have had several matches rained out,” Holder said. “We were in an unwelcome situation where a team made it into the semi-finals having played one match, which severely affected the competitiveness of the tournament.”Provisions have also been made to allow teams to change their squads between the four-day and 50-over competitions.12:30pm, October 25: This story has been updated.

Australia’s meticulous planning and organised performance against a Sri Lankan team that has floundered rather more than it has flourished will count for very little should the hosts gather themselves and win the final Test in Colombo

Daniel Brettig in Colombo13-Sep-2011Australia’s meticulous planning and organised performance against a Sri Lankan team that has floundered rather more than it has flourished will count for very little should the hosts gather themselves and win the final Test in Colombo. For all the progress that appears to have been made under the captaincy of Michael Clarke, there will be nothing to show for it in terms of the series or the ICC rankings if the Australians slip up at the SSC.Shane Watson, the vice-captain, was extremely wary of this fact as he looked back upon the second Test in Pallekele, which the tourists dominated to an even greater extent than they had in Galle, only for rain and bad light to scupper any chance of the victory that would have secured a 2-0 series lead. Having worked so assiduously towards the goal of success in Sri Lanka, the thought of going home with a 1-1 scoreline from the Tests drew a pained look on Watson’s face.”That’s the most disappointing thing about this Test,” Watson said. “We played really well throughout the whole Test and didn’t get the result to be able to win the series. We’re really going to have to be on, because if we’re not on in the last Test we could draw the series.”Given how well we’ve played over the last two Tests we’ll be letting ourselves down if we don’t play as well as we know we can and give them a chance to get back into the series.”Critical to the fortunes of both teams will be the matter of physical recovery, for despite all the rain breaks, and numerous innings of brief duration, team physios and the medical staff have been stretched to the edges of their capability by the scheduling of three back-to-back Tests. Watson, well-attuned to the need for rigorous personal training and maintenance after an injury-riddled start to his career, emphasised the need for a light few days.”The most important thing is to recover as well as we can,” Watson said. “We need to go into the third Test as fresh as we possibly can so these next three days are going to be so important to make sure we are ready to go and play well again.”[For me] it means not doing too much at all apart from a little bit of batting to be able to get that going well, but bowling-wise I won’t be doing too much because I bowled a bit through this game. I know exactly what works for me and that is freshening up as much as I can to give myself every chance to be in a good place going into the last Test, because three Test matches in three weeks is hard work and you need every chance of energy you can.”Within the Australian XI, the most critical questions of fitness will surround the pace spearhead Ryan Harris, due to have a stiff right hamstring assessed on his arrival in Colombo on Tuesday afternoon, plus the inexperienced duo of Nathan Lyon and Trent Copeland.”That [injury] has always been part of his history unfortunately,” Watson said. “We’ve seen how well he’s bowled in the last two Tests. When he’s fit and going he’s definitely one of our first picked bowlers because he charges in all day and bowls well with the new and old ball. But that is always the question, playing three Tests back to back with his history. We’ll see how he pulls up.”Lyon and Copeland have so far responded stoutly to the physical and technical challenges presented to them, but may yet face their most pressing questions on a Colombo pitch that will more than likely sit heavily in the favour of the local batsmen.”That’s always a big challenge, getting used to playing three games back to back, technically, mentally and physically so it’s going to be a good test for them,” Watson said. “That’s the thing with Test cricket, it is a big test but they are holding up alright and Copeland is used to bowling a lot of overs in the forms he plays for New South Wales. Lyono will be ready to go, he is obviously still very excited about being able to play Test cricket so hopefully there won’t be too much rain in Colombo and the wicket will break up more and bring him into that game.”Watson is not on the tour selection panel that now comprises Clarke and coach Tim Nielsen, but he favoured minimal changes to the team that had done everything within its power to secure the series in the first two matches. To keep a stable team, Watson reckoned, would be to help build the confidence and culture of a team that had taken plenty of hits in the preceding 12 months.”My opinion is I would prefer to keep with a group that’s doing really well,” Watson said. “There’s no doubt that’s when you are able to continue to build as a team and the individuals within the team as well, the more continuity you get I think the better for everyone.”On the fresh legs side of things I am not sure what will happen, I know what we have been able to do as a group bowling-wise has been very impressive. I think what we are building has been very exciting.”In Pallekele that building included Shaun Marsh, who now must wait to discover if he can keep his spot when Ricky Ponting returns.”It’s a great thing, something we haven’t had too much over the last year or so really, pressure for spots even within our team,” Watson said. “So that’s a great selection drama to have within our team, because it means some guys are performing very well. There’s no doubt Shaun being able to come in and bat No. 3 on debut and make the most of the opportunity is very impressive, to see the way he batted in his first Test, so it’s definitely going to make selection very difficult.”

This was the game the summer so desperately needed. A tight contest, in front of a full house, fought to the bitter end as England held their nerve, securing a four-wicket victory with three balls remaining to ensure Andrew Strauss’s fantastic 126 didn’t

The Bulletin by Andrew McGlashan at Headingley12-Sep-2010

Live scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAndrew Strauss scored his fifth ODI hundred to power England’s challenge•Getty Images

This was the game the summer so desperately needed. A tight contest, in front of a full house, fought to the bitter end as England held their nerve, securing a four-wicket victory with three balls remaining to ensure Andrew Strauss’s fantastic 126 didn’t go to waste. For a while that looked a close-run thing as the middle order stuttered in the final 10 overs, but Michael Yardy and Tim Bresnan retained their composure to keep the home side’s winning run going, and hoist them up to No. 2 in the World ODI rankings.Strauss and Jonathan Trott added 146 for the second wicket to break the back of a stiff 295-run chase after Pakistan’s most complete batting display of the tour. England were never in total command of the asking-rate, but the requirement was looking more challenging than they would have liked after some less-than-clear thinking during the batting Powerplay. After 40 overs they were 221 for 3 – exactly the same score that Pakistan had reached
– however, Strauss fell lbw sweeping at Saeed Ajmal before Eoin Morgan, England’s cool-headed finisher, picked out the only fielder on the off-side boundary at deep point. Ravi Bopara then failed to clear long-off against Ajmal in the penultimate over to keep the punters on tenterhooks.But Yardy is also proving himself to be a consummate closer of run-chases having twice been in the middle during the Twenty20 internationals, and he collected a pair of vital boundaries off Umar Gul and Ajmal. Needing 13 off the last two overs, all that was required was clear thinking, but Bopara tried to take advantage of the fielding restrictions and failed, which left Bresnan to guide the side home in front of his home crowd. He cut his first ball through the covers then, in the last over from Gul, top-edged a pull off the keeper to level the scores and extinguish the doubts.Bresnan had shown calmness earlier in the summer against Australia, at Old Trafford, as England nicked a one-wicket win having looked like throwing victory away, but it was fitting that this win was secured in marginally shambolic fashion as Bresnan chanced a non-existent single to mid-off only for Fawad Alam’s throw to miss. So after a few deep breaths and nervous moments England could celebrate a 2-0 cushion in the five-match series and it would have been harsh on Strauss if his innings had ended in a losing cause.There are still those who question Strauss’s place in the one-day side because of a concern his style – dominated by square-of-the-wicket shots – won’t be so successful on the slower subcontinent pitches England will face during the World Cup. But he can do no more than score a bucketload of runs, which he has done in recent one-day matches with this being his second hundred in three games following the 154 he struck against Bangladesh at Edgbaston.Strauss’s game is also evolving and while he will probably never plunder runs between mid-off and mid-on, they are still viable scoring areas. His swipe for six over midwicket off Shahid Afridi to reach fifty showed how his game has developed against slow bowling since his return to the one-day arena 18 months ago. It was his 21st six in seven years of ODI cricket. Eleven of those have come since June.Pakistan will rue two moments; firstly when Mohammad Irfan spilled a catch at short fine-leg with Strauss on 23, then when he was on 38 as Kamran Akmal held a superb catch diving down the leg-side off Gul and Pakistan were convinced there was a glove. Billy Doctrove, however, was unmoved. Still, though, the visitors’ fielding was poor with too many fumbles and poor arms in the outfield.Steven Davies had given another eye-catching glimpse of his ability with 26 off 21 balls to help launch the innings positively before edging behind against Shoaib Akthar and then Strauss was joined by Trott in the crucial partnership. Trott continued to bat in the bubble he has occupied all summer, content to work the gaps while his captain was batting so fluently.His fifty came from 67 balls and progress was serene for England with barely more than a run a ball required over the last 17 overs. That changed, though, when Trott was run out from short third-man having survived an lbw shout only to charge down the pitch for a reaction single. Paul Collingwood again couldn’t get his innings going and picked out long-off against Afridi with Pakistan suddenly believing. They couldn’t quite pull off a comeback, but there were continued signs of improvement throughout.Kamran led from the top with a powerful 72-ball 74. That was followed by a maiden one-day fifty from the impressive Asad Shafiq while Mohammad Yousuf contributed a calm 46. England were below their usual high standards especially with the ground fielding, while Stuart Broad’s 4 for 81 was the most expensive four-wicket haul in ODI history.James Anderson was the only bowler to offer early control as Kamran took to Bresnan and Broad in an opening stand of 122 with Mohammad Hafeez – Pakistan’s best in any international during their stay in England. Kamran collected his second consecutive fifty, this one at a run a ball, before playing across the line at Collingwood’s second delivery.However, for once the middle order had a platform set for them which allowed Yousuf and Shafiq to consolidate before attacking again. Yousuf, who offered one very tough opportunity on 18 when Morgan couldn’t quite make up considerable ground at deep midwicket, fell when he tried to guide Broad to third man, but Shafiq continued to show his talent when he skipped down the pitch and launched Graeme Swann over long-on.But Pakistan didn’t make full use of their Powerplay as Broad, despite being expensive, claimed three wickets in seven balls while Bresnan and Anderson had their yorkers on target. That lack of late ignition meant the total didn’t cross 300 and that proved crucial in the final outcome.

Head and bowlers will not feature while Carey, Konstas, Webster and Marsh are fully available prior to Sri Lanka tour

Alex Malcolm07-Jan-2025Steven Smith is set to play three BBL games prior to the Sri Lanka tour while Marnus Labuschagne and Usman Khawaja will only be allowed to play one, as part of individual plans worked out with Cricket Australia’s high-performance team. Travis Head and Australia’s bowlers, meanwhile, are all set to rest before heading overseas.While Smith, Labuschagne and Khawaja will be restricted in their appearances, Alex Carey, Sam Konstas, Beau Webster, Mitchell Marsh and Jhye Richardson have all been cleared to play in the remainder of the BBL.Head, along with Scott Boland, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon and Mitchell Starc will not play any part in the BBL season despite all being contracted.Australia are likely to announce a 16-man touring party for two Tests in Sri Lanka in the coming days and the squad is set to depart for the UAE for a pre-tour camp on January 19 or 20 meaning none of the touring party will be available for the BBL finals series which runs from January 21-27.Related

• What did victory over India tell us about Australia's present and future?

• Cummins likely to miss Sri Lanka tour but no end in sight for captaincy

• Marsh set for BBL return after losing Test place

It remains to be seen whether all of the squad members from the Sydney Test against India are taken to Sri Lanka, with Josh Inglis, Peter Handscomb, Todd Murphy and Matthew Kuhnemann all coming into the mix. Glenn Maxwell is also a chance to head to Sri Lanka but with Australia already securing a spot in the World Test Championship, the need for his subcontinental experience has diminished and there is a chance the selectors might look towards the 2027 tour of India with how they shape the squad.Smith will miss Sydney Sixers clash with Melbourne Stars at the MCG on Thursday but is set to be available to play against Perth Scorches at the SCG on Saturday, with Marsh and Richardson also set to feature after they were included in Scorchers squad to face Renegades at home on Tuesday night.Smith will then be available to play against Adelaide Strikers on January 15 and Sydney Thunder on January 17, where Konstas will also play. Despite the fifth Test finishing a few days ago, Konstas is set to play for Thunder against Hobart Hurricanes in Sydney tomorrow night and in Thunder’s last four games.Khawaja and Labuschagne will only be made available for Brisbane Heat’s home clash with Hurricanes on January 16 after having 10 days off. They will not be made available for Heat’s last clash in Melbourne against Renegades on January 18 given they will likely head overseas the next day.Curiously, Carey has been made available for Adelaide Strikers’ last three matches, including a match in Perth on January 18. Webster is supposedly available for Stars on January 19 at this stage. It is understood that those players could make a staggered departure to the UAE in order to play in those BBL games if required.Head is contracted to Strikers but spoke of his need for a rest in the immediate aftermath of the Sydney Test and will not play any of those matches. Head also has an IPL contract and looks set for a near non-stop touring schedule from Sri Lanka onwards with trips to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy, India for the IPL, England for the WTC final and the Caribbean for three Tests and some white-ball matches set to keep him on the road until July.Starc, Hazlewood and Cummins are staring at a similar schedule in the face although Cummins is likely to miss both Sri Lanka Tests for the birth of his second child while Hazlewood might be ruled out due to a calf injury.Lyon has been rested from the BBL despite a very light workload during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. But at 37, having had a major calf injury in 2023, he is being managed ahead of two Tests in Galle where he looks likely to be Australia’s most relied-upon bowler.CA’s high-performance team and the BBL have long been discussing the availability of the Test stars during this short window between the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and the Sri Lanka tour, with the BBL keen to have all players available for as many games as possible while the national selectors, coaches and medical staff were very keen to have as many of their stars rest during this precious window without international cricket. CA’s head of National Teams Ben Oliver said the decision on each player’s BBL availability had been made based on each individual program.”A five-Test match series is gruelling, and this was amplified by the intensity of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy,” Oliver said. “The players and staff deserve great credit for their preparation and management which has enabled sustained performance through what is a full international schedule.”We have worked with each player to form individualised plans which will best support recovery from the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and preparation for upcoming international commitments including the tour of Sri Lanka and ICC Champions Trophy. Wherever possible, this includes players representing their clubs in the ongoing BBL season over the coming fortnight.”BBL general manager Alistair Dobson was pleased to get some of the Test stars playing in the competition over the next fortnight.”We are delighted to have number of Australian Test players entering the competition from tonight off the back of their historic Border-Gavaskar Trophy victory, and thank them for their commitment to the BBL,” Dobson said.

The outfield was rated average after the Afghanistan-Bangladesh match with the ICC independent pitch consultant “comfortable” with its state

Matt Roller08-Oct-2023England’s boundary fielders are bracing for a challenging day in Dharamsala on Tuesday, after being warned about the condition of the outfield at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) Stadium by their former batter and current Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott.The grass on the sand-based outfield is patchy and uneven, and several players slipped or lost their footing while fielding in the deep during Bangladesh’s six-wicket win over Afghanistan on Saturday. The outfield is a long-standing problem at the venue, and had caused an India-Australia Test to be moved to Indore at short notice in February.Trott had said that Mujeeb Ur Rahman was “lucky” to escape “a serious knee injury” when his knee dug into the turf as he attempted to make a boundary save. It is understood that he has contacted England players to warn them about its condition ahead of their fixture against Bangladesh.Related

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• Sandy outfield raises concerns about remaining matches in Dharamsala

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The match officials’ report for Saturday’s game described the condition of the outfield as “average”, while Andy Atkinson, the ICC independent pitch consultant, inspected it on Sunday and was described as “comfortable” with its state.”The process for assessing the condition of the pitch and outfield lies with the match officials under the ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process, and the outfield at Dharamsala was rated as average after the Afghanistan vs Bangladesh match,” an ICC spokesperson said. “Additionally, the ICC independent pitch consultant has taken a look at the outfield today, and is comfortable with the conditions – as is Javagal Srinath, the Match Referee for the next game.”The HPCA ground staff watered the outfield immediately after the game, and did so again on Sunday afternoon – particularly the areas around the bowlers’ run-ups. Tuesday’s match will be played on a fresh pitch, two strips across from the unusually slow surface for Saturday’s.In the worst-case scenario, the umpires could – after consultation with the match referee – deem the condition of the ground as “dangerous or unreasonable”, causing the game to be suspended in the first instance, and then abandoned. In that event, the teams would share the points. On Tuesday, Ahsan Raza and Paul Wilson will be the standing umpires, with Srinath as the match referee.Jonny Bairstow, who spent eight months out of the game with an ankle injury last year, said that it would be difficult for fielders to fight their inclination to dive for balls, but that he expects England will be “clever and smart” as they hope to avoid any serious injuries.”There’s been a lot of chat about it, hasn’t there?” Bairstow said. “The last thing you want is two guys going off with knee injuries or something. It can contribute to shoulders as well, if you’re diving and your elbows get stuck in the ground. It will be very difficult to hold someone back if they see a ball and they try to stop it: it’s a natural reaction to go for it.”Bairstow’s ankle is still “getting better as time goes on”. He said: “It’s still relatively fresh. But, touch wood, there hasn’t been any adverse reaction to different surfaces. Your calves and Achilles and anything… people need to make sure you do everything possible to make sure those areas are loose and able to cope with the stress of a sand-based outfield.”The outfield was slow during Sunday’s match, and Bairstow said that England will have to adapt accordingly. “It might also affect your angles and where you stand: when the ball hits the sandy outfield, it might not fly off as much. It just affects different things. It’s like a pitch being different [from] one venue to another: you’ve just got to adapt to it. Touch wood, we don’t have any major incidents.”The state of the outfield could be a contributing factor in England being unlikely to pick Ben Stokes, who missed their nine-wicket defeat to New Zealand with a left-hip injury. Stokes spent half an hour batting in their nets session on Sunday, but only faced sidearm throws rather than bowlers, and moved gingerly throughout.He then briefly went through some running drills on the main square. Stokes did not feature in either of England’s warm-up matches – the first was washed out but he was not due to play – and had only batted once previously since arriving in India, in a training session in Guwahati.

Lisa Keightley’s assistant to return home for role with Perth Scorchers and Western Australia men’s teams

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Jun-2022Tim Macdonald will leave his job as England Women’s Senior Assistant Coach after the Commonwealth Games to take up an assistant coaching post with the Perth Scorchers and Western Australian men’s teams.Macdonald played first-class cricket for Western Australia and Tasmania. His family has continued to live Australia since he was appointed full-time assistant to Lisa Keightley – with whom he previously worked at Perth Scorchers and Western Fury – in August 2020. He had initially joined the England Women’s set-up on an interim basis during the T20 World Cup in Australia earlier that year.Macdonald will return home after the Commonwealth Games end in August to take up the role of Senior Assistant Coach – Bowling across the BBL and State competitions.”I’ve loved every minute of working with such an amazing group of players and staff,” Macdonald said. “I’ve learned a great deal and made some life-long friends, but I couldn’t turn down this amazing opportunity to return home to Perth and be closer to my family.”With my family living in Australia, and the ability to travel being heavily impacted by COVID-19, it has been a challenging yet rewarding time to be in this job, but in that time I believe I’ve seen our team improve and our pool of talent get deeper. Had the rain not intervened at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup we could easily have made two global finals in that time. The future is very bright for the England Women’s team.”The stars have aligned for me, and I’m so excited to return home to my new role with WA and the Perth Scorchers and I absolutely can’t wait to get going following our quest for Commonwealth games gold.”England missed out on reaching the T20 World Cup title decider after rain washed out their semi-final against India, who advanced on points from the group stage. England then turned around a three-match losing streak at the start of this year’s 50-over World Cup to finish runners-up to Australia.Jonathan Finch, Director England Women’s Cricket, said: “Tim has played a vital role in continuing to improve the England Women’s team over the last two years, and will continue to do so as we prepare for the summer match programme.”Tim’s departure coincides with the start of the ICC Women’s Championship and there is no doubt his positive influence will be felt over the coming years. We wish Tim all the best in his new role and thank him for the commitment and passion he has given to England Women’s cricket.”

Gujarat also make semis after captain Panchal’s ton flattens Andhra

Saurabh Somani08-Mar-2021Gujarat and Karnataka became the first teams to qualify for the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2020-21 semi-finals, with convincing wins against Andhra and Kerala respectively on Monday. Both victories were fashioned by opening batsmen.While Priyank Panchal made 134 off 131 to power Gujarat to 299 for 7, Karnataka’s opening duo of R Samarth and Devdutt Padikkal continued their irresistible form during the tournament as the side piled on 338 for 3. Samarth, the new Karnataka captain, smashed a career-best 192 (off 158 balls), while Padikkal made a 119-ball 101. Kerala mounted a challenge of sorts but subsided to 258 all out in 43.4 overs with seamer Ronit More taking 5 for 36 in nine overs, as Karnataka wrapped up an 80-run win.Gujarat’s victory was even bigger, as Andhra were bowled out for 182 in 41.2 overs. Left-arm pacer Arzan Nagwaswalla took 4 for 28.Karnataka and Gujarat now await the winners of the quarter-finals between Mumbai-Saurashtra and Uttar Pradesh-Delhi, which will both take place on Tuesday.Related

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• Padikkal: 'Kohli makes your game easier'

Karnataka v Kerala

Samarth and Padikkal have both piled on runs in the tournament, and they proved unstoppable once again. Padikkal made his fourth consecutive century – having hit 152 against Odisha, 126* against Kerala in the league game, and 145* against Railways coming into the game. He thus became the first Indian player to hit four consecutive List A centuries. Only two other players have hit four consecutive centuries in one-dayers: Kumar Sangakkara for Sri Lanka in the 2015 World Cup, and Alviro Petersen later that year in the Momentum One-Day Cup 2015-16 for the Lions.Samarth, meanwhile, pressed on, and was in sight of a double-hundred when he fell with ten balls remaining in the innings. He hit three sixes and 22 fours, while accelerating at pace during his innings. His first fifty took 59 balls, and he reached a century in 112 balls. He then plundered 91 runs off his last 46 balls. Samarth has been only marginally less prolific than Padikkal, having not scored below 60 in his last five innings, which include two scores of 150-plus.Both Padikkal (673 runs) and Samarth (605 runs) sit comfortably atop the run-getters list for the tournament, with no other batsman having crossed even 450 yet.All of Kerala’s bowlers came in for heavy punishment barring Jalaj Saxena, who took the new ball against Karnataka’s marauding openers but ended up conceding a mere 34 runs in ten overs, finishing the tournament with an economy rate below 3.75. Nedumankuzhy Basil, the right-arm medium pacer playing only his fifth List A game, took all the wickets to fall, ending with 3 for 57 in eight overs.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Kerala’s reply suffered an early jolt when the in-form Robin Uthappa was lbw for 2 against his home state, More making his first breakthrough. Vathsal Govind, the 21-year-old left-hand batsman playing his debut one-day season, made 92 off 96 while Mohammed Azharuddeen smashed 52 off 34, but with none of the rest of the top order crossing 30 and More striking regularly, Kerala’s task was always a difficult one. Saxena added to a good all-round day with a 23-ball 24 from No.8, until he was the last man out.More, who had not been picked in the XI for Karnataka’s last three games, got his opportunity due to a niggle to Abhimanyu Mithun, and made the most of it.

Gujarat v Andhra

Panchal joined Samarth in both captains being the top run-scorers in their matches, holding Gujarat’s innings together till he fell in the 49th over. Panchal maintained a brisk pace throughout his innings, accelerating after his century, which took 114 balls. He hit 10 fours and two sixes during his innings, and was the fulcrum around which Gujarat built their total. The rest of the top order all got into double figures, but Gujarat’s second highest score was 36, by No.3 Rahul Shah.Priyank Panchal’s 134 off 131 balls was too much for Andhra•PTI

Ripal Patel, the hard-hitting pace-bowling allrounder who was signed by Delhi Capitals at the IPL 2021 auctions, provided some ballast in the second half with a 24-ball 35 that pushed Gujarat along, but it was Panchal who carried the innings on his bat.Andhra’s most successful bowler was right-arm medium pacer Harishankar Reddy, snapped up by Chennai Super Kings in the IPL 2021 auctions, who took 3 for 60 in ten overs including the wicket of Panchal. KV Sasikanth and debutant Lalith Mohan both took 2 for 55, though Mohan bowled only nine overs.Andhra’s reply was derailed early by Nagwaswalla, who has now become the top wicket-taker in the competition. Nagwaswalla has 19 scalps from six games at an average of 12.00. He struck in the second, fourth and sixth overs – his third wicket being that of Hanuma Vihari for a duck.Ricky Bhui continued his good form with 67 off 76 from No.5, but with the rest of the top order falling cheaply, Andhra were always behind. Some lower-order runs meant they recovered briefly from 58 for 5 in the 16th over, but that only narrowed the margin of defeat.

South Australia legspinner thumped 35 not out off 15 balls to secure a last-over win

Alex Malcolm23-Oct-2019A staggering cameo from legspinner Adam Zampa helped South Australia steal a three-wicket win over Queensland at the Gabba with just two balls to spare.Zampa walked to the crease with the Redbacks needing 49 from 27 balls with just three wickets in hand and he clubbed 35 not out from 15 deliveries in a dazzling, scarcely believable display of batting to completely overshadow Marnus Labuschagne’s maiden List A century from earlier in the day.Jake Lehmann made 54 not out from 64 balls but he was truly a support act to Zampa and had struggled to find the boundary throughout his innings.Zampa launched the last ball off the 47th over from Billy Stanlake over long-on for six, but Michael Neser conceded just six runs from the 48th, leaving Zampa and Lehmann to score 27 off 12 balls to win the game. Zampa crunched Stanlake on the up wide of mid-off and then hooked him for six but Lehmann played and missed off the last ball of the penultimate over giving Neser 15 runs to defend off the last six balls.He couldn’t defend them in four. Zampa scooped the first ball for six over fine leg, cover drove an attempted wide yorked for four, pulled a short ball behind square to the boundary and crunched a straight drive to finish it with two balls to spare.Zampa was named player of the match after earlier taking 2 for 66 with the ball, trumping Wes Agar’s maiden five-wicket haul, Callum Ferguson’s 91, Alex Carey’s 79 and Labuschagne’s magnificent century.Just two days after steering Queensland home from a precarious position in a fourth-innings run chase in the Sheffield Shield against the Redbacks, Labuschagne conjured another superb counter-attack following a top-order collapse making a career-high 135 in Queensland’s total of 9 for 295.The Bulls slumped to 4 for 24 in the eighth over with Agar claiming all four wickets. Max Bryant was clean bowled playing across the line while Usman Khawaja and Joe Burns both chopped on. Matt Renshaw was hit on the toe and adjudged lbw first ball in between.Labuschagne, having made 72 not out after the Bulls slumped to 5 for 54 in the Shield game, picked up where he left off playing with a dominance that belies his overall record. He put together a 110-run stand with Jimmy Peirson to dig his team out of trouble and then found further allies in Neser and Ben Cutting.Labuschagne had failed to convert his nine previous List A half-centuries, and his last seven first-class half-centuries, into three figures but finally broke the drought launching a towering six off Zampa to go from 94 to 100 in style.South Australia’s chase started poorly with Jake Weatherald and Travis Head both falling in the opening five overs to Jack Wildermuth. Carey and Ferguson then resurrected the chase with a 117-run stand. Carey put on a masterclass scoring 79 of them as the Redbacks appeared on track but when he ran himself out trying to steal an unnecessary single to Bryant at cover the chase stumbled. The in-form Tom Cooper was cleaned bowled through the gate for 2 by Neser.Ferguson and Lehmann rebuilt but the required run-rate began to climb. With 86 needed from 54 balls, Lehmann was dropped at long-off by Neser off Matt Kuhnemann. Two balls later Ferguson fell for 91, top-edging a sweep to short fine leg. All looked lost when Luke Robins and Cam Valente holed out. But Zampa stole the show.

From 113 for 2, St Lucia Stars collapsed to 126 for 7 and their 13th successive loss, a streak stretching back to CPL 2016

The Report by Peter Della Penna12-Aug-2018
Ashley Allen – CPL T20 / Getty

Guyana Amazon Warriors preserved their unbeaten start to CPL 2018 in improbable circumstances in a three-run win over St Lucia Stars at Providence Stadium. The visitors found new ways to maintain their incredible streak of futility since ditching the Zouks moniker at the start of 2017, frittering away an almost-certain victory from a position of 113 for 2, chasing 142.The Walton-Ronchi surge
Amazon Warriors’ openers sped their way to a half-century stand in just 5.4 overs to give the hosts a superb platform. Chadwick Walton, in particular, was creative with his punishment, following up his first three boundaries with a scooped six over fine leg off Mohammad Sami to start the fifth over. The pair eventually added 54 in seven overs before Stars turned to spin to shift the momentum.Qais of death

Legspinners have made a habit of striking on the first ball of their spells during this CPL, from Australia’s Fawad Ahmed to Nepal’s Sandeep Lamichhane. Afghanistan teenager Qais Ahmad followed in their footsteps at Providence on Saturday afternoon, beating Walton in flight after coming on in the eighth over to have the Jamaican stumped for 31.Shimron Hetmyer, who produced a sparkling half-century a few nights earlier in Warriors’ win over St Kitts & Nevis Patriots, was the next to fall to Qais. A thick edge on an attempted cut was held after a juggle by Andre Fletcher in the 12th over. The Afghan’s third and best of the night came in his next over when he beat Shoaib Malik through the gate with a googly as the Warriors had been cooled down by the end of Qais’ haul from 54 for 0 to 98 for 3.Duguid, the bad and the ugly
Umpire Nigel Duguid had a night to forget, standing out in the wrong way for a pair of lbw decisions. The first came late in the Warriors’ innings. Ronchi was holding firm on a sluggish wicket in spite of the damage done by Qais and was on 42 off 40 balls before the last delivery of the 16th over. Mark Chapman, who had been brought on to bowl for the first time of the night with his left-arm spin as Stars’ eighth bowler of the night, speared a skiddy delivery into Ronchi’s legs on a good length. The ball went straight on past Ronchi’s pull and looked to be clearly going down leg stump but Chapman’s appeal was upheld. With the anchor lifted, Warriors only scored two boundaries off the final four overs to claw to 141.A far more egregious error was made early in the Stars’ chase. A conservative start by Fletcher and David Warner saw them crawl to 28 for 0 at the end of the Powerplay. Imran Tahir came on for the seventh over and after a single by Fletcher, Warner got a full toss that he attempted to reverse sweep behind point. He edged the ball onto his glove as the ball trickled toward point with Ronchi more concerned about chasing after the ball to deny a single than supporting Tahir’s appeal.A stunned Warner then saw Tahir sprinting away toward the boundary as Duguid upheld the appeal. Not only had the ball never come close to striking Warner’s pad, but the impact with his gloves appeared to be outside off stump as well with the ball’s trajectory projected to carry well past off stump. The decision was compounded later in the over, when Tahir struck to trap Fletcher lbw, a straightforward decision, with a googly to leave Stars at 30 for 2.Unlucky 13
Lendl Simmons bashed five sixes after coming in at first drop to give the Stars a much-needed boost in the middle order. The Stars’ winless streak looked certain to end at 12 when Sherfane Rutherford spilled Simmons off a regulation chance on the cover boundary in the 16th off Sohail Tanvir and two balls later Simmons ended the over with a six to bring the equation down to 34 off four overs with eight wickets in hand.Yet The Curse of the Zouks is looking very very real for the Stars, having given away the match from that position. Rayad Emrit’s spell in the death snuffed out the Stars, beginning with the wicket of Simmons three balls into the 17th over. Chapman’s charge down the pitch to Chris Green’s offspin failed on the first ball of the 18th as Pollard and Rahkeem Cornwall could manage just three singles off the rest of the over to leave 23 off the final two overs.Emrit found himself on a hat-trick four balls into the 19th over when Pollard sliced to Jason Mohammed at extra cover and Cornwall was cleaned up by a yorker. Qais denied Emrit the hat-trick before slugging the final ball for a six over midwicket to leave 16 off the last over to win. Keemo Paul then yorked Kavem Hodge off the first ball to put Stars seven down before Mitchell McClenaghan scooped a six off his first ball over fine leg to make it ten off four. Two, one, two off the next three balls left Qais with a four to tie or six to win off the last ball. Paul fed him a thigh-high full toss on a middle-stump on silver platter, but Qais flubbed it to long-off for a single, taking Stars’ winless streak to a baker’s dozen.