Tag Futebol

No concerns about cohesion, says England opener, as familiar faces gather for 2019 re-run

Matt Roller06-Sep-2023England are getting the band back together. They train in Cardiff on Thursday before the first of four ODIs against New Zealand which serve as preparation for their defence of the 50-over World Cup in India, and the core of their 2019 squad will return to a format they have only played sporadically over the last four years.Joe Root was in the nets at Trent Bridge before their six-wicket defeat in a low-key fourth T20I on Tuesday evening, while four other members of the side that lifted the trophy at Lord’s – Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes and Mark Wood – will also return to the white-ball fold in Wales.It marks the start of their World Cup run-in. England have only played nine ODIs in the last 12 months and those games have been decidedly low-key, including three in Australia which started hours after their T20 World Cup celebrations had ended. They were proud to win 2-1 in Bangladesh in March, but none of their squad have played a 50-over game since.Their main challenge over the next nine days will be adapting to a format that they have hardly played. Between the 2015 and 2019 World Cups, England played 88 ODIs; in the last four years, they have played 36, and rarely with anything near a full-strength side. That reflects the global trend: only three of the 10 teams competing in India have played more in this cycle.”We’ll rock up to Cardiff and see all the lads: it’ll be just like normal,” said Jonny Bairstow, who missed England’s nine ODIs last winter through injury but was an automatic selection for their World Cup squad, given his prowess as a one-day opener. “It’s great to have a group that have got a wealth of experience coming back together.”Naturally, there’ll be conversations around, ‘well, you’re not playing much 50-over cricket together’ and all this stuff. But the guys have been playing Test cricket or T20 cricket… to have the skillset to play both of those is a skillset that you’re able to take both parts of into 50-over cricket. It can throw different bits at you.”It is going to be good fun. I don’t think there’s too much worry about cohesion, or people not having played together for two, six, 12, 18 months – whatever it may be. I don’t think that’s too much of a worry when the group has played together for seven or eight years. It’s one of those where you just fit back and you slot back into your roles.”Related

• Rehan lines up Trent Bridge final after 'special' hometown game for England

• England keep eyes on prize with World Cup(s) on horizon

• Brydon Carse makes his mark on debut as England power to seven-wicket victory

• Harry Brook quietly makes his case as England brace for World Cup buyer's remorse

There are four weeks until the same teams get the World Cup underway in Ahmedabad on October 5, and these four ODIs will be England’s most important preparation. They are likely to rest the vast majority of their first-choice squad for the three fixtures against Ireland later this month and their two warm-up matches in Guwahati will be relatively low-key.The World Cup is a long tournament in its current guise, and England learned four years ago that dropping a game or two early in a nine-match group stage is not terminal. “We’ll be able to call upon some tough experience we had during that competition,” Bairstow said.”It wasn’t just plain sailing: having to win four out of the last four games in order to win the competition. We’ll be able to call upon those experiences in the big moments in the big games during the World Cup.”Everyone wants to go back-to-back. It’s something you dream of. But we’re under no illusion that in India, it’s going to be very tough. There are some quality teams around the world. There will be some exciting games; there will be some upsets; there’s going to be some interesting pitches, I’m sure, at times. There will be different conditions around the country and it’ll be the team that adapts the best that gets the best results.”Bairstow also played down the severity of the injury that kept him off the field during New Zealand’s run-chase on Tuesday night, having experienced some pain in his right shoulder while batting. “We’ve got a lot of cricket ahead of us… it’s better to take slighty more precaution than not,” he said. “It’ll be absolutely fine.”

Former England and Gloucestershire allrounder joins coaching team headed by Gary Kirsten

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Jun-2022Mark Alleyne, the former England and Gloucestershire allrounder, will join Welsh Fire as an assistant coach ahead of their upcoming men’s Hundred season.Alleyne, who represented England in 10 one-day internationals and captained Gloucestershire to nine one-day trophies in seven years, joins head coach Gary Kirsten and fellow assistants Matt Maynard and Jason Kerr to form Welsh Fire’s men’s coaching team.Alleyne works as a Test scout for the ECB and is Assistant Director of Sport at Marlborough College. He travelled with the England men’s T20I squad as a support coach during their recent tour of the Caribbean.”I’m delighted to be joining Welsh Fire and have the opportunity to work with Gary Kirsten and his coaching team,” Alleyne said.Related

• Remembering Haringey Cricket College, the charity behind a generation of Black cricketers

• Dewald Brevis, Tristan Stubbs on Hundred wildcard longlist

• Ben McDermott eyes extended English summer after Australia omission

“It’s exciting to be able to work closely with elite players and hopefully I can use my experience to add extra value to what they do and help create a winning formula for Welsh Fire.”I loved watching The Hundred last year and it’s exciting to get involved in a competition that captured the imagination of fans and brought new audiences to cricket.”Mark Wallace, Welsh fire team manager, said: “Mark was one of the most forward-thinking and progressive players of his generation and is a great addition to the Welsh Fire coaching staff.”He is full of enthusiasm and knowing Mark he will bring plenty of new ideas to the table that will help take Welsh Fire to the next level.”Welsh Fire men’s side finished last year’s inaugural season in seventh place out of eight teams. They begin their 2022 campaign against defending champions Southern Brave at the Ageas Bowl in the opening match of the new season on August 3. They will then host Oval Invincibles on August 7. The women’s side get their season underway on August 13 in a double-header with Birmingham Phoenix at Sophia Gardens.

Offspinner produced an up and down performance in first Test

George Dobell10-Feb-2021Chris Silverwood insists he is “not worried” about Dom Bess, despite an up and down performance from the offspinner in the first Test in Chennai.Bess claimed five wickets in the match and contributed 59 with the bat across the two innings. But he also bowled 19 full tosses – 12 in the first innings and seven in the second – including a grim over which saw him bowl three in succession to Virat Kohli. Each of them was hit for four.But while Silverwood, the England coach, conceded Bess had endured “a bad day”, he did not believe there was any more significant problem than that.Related

• Dom Bess and Jack Leach, a tale of two spinners

• England's victory in India – Pretty much the perfect performance

• Joe Root moves to No. 3 in Test batting rankings, Virat Kohli slips to fifth

• No 'weakening' of England team, even with changes afoot – Chris Silverwood

“I think he just had a bad day, which can happen to anybody,” Silverwood said. “The top and bottom of that one is that we’ll get in the nets on Thursday and we’ll get bowling again and I’m sure he’ll get straight back on the bike. I’m not concerned at this moment in time. Did he have an attack of the yips? No, absolutely not.”I am not worried. I had a chat with him afterwards and he’s still in good spirits. Everybody has a bad day and I can accept that.”It’s not through lack of effort. We get to the nets, work hard again and find him some rhythm: I am sure he will be fine.”Bess’ record on the tour as a whole, which started with two Tests in Sri Lanka, is excellent. He has taken 17 wickets across the three Tests at an average of 22.41 as well as averaging 22.75 with the bat. While he would admit there has been an element of fortune about some of those wickets – he had Cheteshwar Pujara caught at midwicket in Chennai after his pull shot bounced off the back of the short-leg fielder – he has also produced some fine deliveries. Even on the final day in Chennai, he had Washington Sundar caught behind off a fast, sharply turning offbreak.But those full tosses are a worry and suggest problems in either temperament, technique or perhaps both. That leaves England having to decide whether it is better for Bess’ long-term future to stick with him for another game and risk the possibility of exposing him to further difficulties, or leaving him out and denting his confidence.Dom Bess had and up and down performance in Chennai•BCCI

One option would be for them to recall Moeen Ali for the second Test. But Moeen hasn’t played a first-class game since September (and a Test since August 2019) and may also be short of bowling having recently had to spend two weeks in isolation after being diagnosed with Covid-19 when England arrived in Sri Lanka.Silverwood, though, is adamant that he is a “viable option” for the second Test and will know he scored two centuries on England’s most recent Test tour of India.”Moeen has worked as hard as he can with the facilities we have,” Silverwood said. “Obviously he has not played in a game and we know that. We accept that those are the times we are in, but should he play, I would have every confidence in him.”The underlying issue with Bess is that he is having to learn his trade at the highest level. With County Championship cricket providing few opportunities for spin bowlers to play, let alone bowl the volume of overs they require, he is effectively gaining the experience he needs against the toughest opposition and under the glare of the brightest spotlight. With that in mind, the England management may decide the only way he will gain more experience is by bearing with him through the inevitable bumps in the road that will occur as he develops.If Silverwood had come to a conclusion on the issue, he was not sharing it on Wednesday. Instead, England will return to the nets on Thursday – the entire squad had a rest day following the Test – and perhaps make a decision after that training session.

Australia have retained the Ashes on English soil for the first time since 2001, after digging deep into their reserves in the final hour at Old Trafford

The Report by Andrew Miller08-Sep-2019 Australia 497 for 8 (Smith 211, Labuschagne 67) and 186 for 6 dec (Smith 82) beat England 301 (Burns 81, Root 71) and 197 (Denly 53, Cummins 4-43) by 185 runs

Australia have retained the Ashes on English soil for the first time since 2001, after digging deep into their reserves in the final hour at Old Trafford to achieve the catharsis that eluded them at Headingley last week, and outlast another gallant bout of English resistance in yet another cliffhanging finish.This time, mere survival was the limit of England’s ambition, but as the tension tightened in another nail-shredding final session, it took an unlikely hero to unlock the resistance of a familiar cult figure. At 178 for 8 in the 76th over shortly after tea, Jack Leach – promoted to No.10 after his role in England’s third Test miracle – joined the nerveless Craig Overton, and saw off the new ball with guts and determination in a ninth-wicket stand that spanned the best part of 15 overs.So Tim Paine, Australia’s captain, chose an unlikely means to pick the lock. With men crowded round the bat, he tossed the ball to the part-time legspinner Marnus Labuschagne, who was given licence to give it a rip and see what he could achieve out of the ever-deepening footholes. Sure enough, he was able to spit one out of the rough and thump the left-hander’s glove for Matthew Wade to snaffle the crucial catch, to send Leach on his way for a valiant 12 from 51 balls.The resistance didn’t last much longer. Back came Australia’s senior seamers, and down – at the last – fell Overton, pinned on the knee by another nipbacker from Josh Hazlewood, and though he rolled the dice on England’s final review, it was all academic. Three reds on the big screen prompted an outpouring of Aussie joy – their shattering setback in Leeds last week a thing of the past as they pulled ahead 2-1 in the series with just next week’s fifth Test at The Oval to come. After waiting 18 years for success on English soil, the sweetness of this moment will do for now. But a series win is what this side deserves after outplaying their opponents on a far more consistent basis than the current scoreline implies.That England took it this deep, however, was a tribute to the depth of character that exists within their dressing room – even if the events of the past five days have exposed technical flaws that no amount of heart and tenacity can overcome.After the mess that Pat Cummins had made of England’s top order on the previous evening, bagging Rory Burns and Joe Root for back-to-back ducks, expectations were low when Joe Denly and Jason Roy resumed in the morning session with the score still stuck on a grim 18 for 2. And yet, in differing styles all the way down the batting card, England stitched together a tapestry of heroic cameos that added up to an absorbing day of sporting theatre, even if it couldn’t quite carry them over the line this time.The tone for the day was set in the first 80 minutes of a fraught but absorbing morning session, as Roy and Denly endured, with tenacity at first against the discipline of Cummins and Hazlewood, and then with more opportunistic intent as the spin of Nathan Lyon was coupled with Mitchell Starc’s less metronomic but potentially deadly left-arm line.There were moments of looseness from Denly in particular – a wild swipe at a wide one from Starc that skidded over the head of third slip took the biscuit – but it was Roy who was the first to succumb, bowled for the fifth time in ten Test innings as Cummins obliterated his off stump with a scorching inducker. For all that he had fought valiantly against that same hard-handed technique that had propelled England to World Cup glory just two months ago, the manner of Roy’s parting, after 67 balls of obduracy, was wearyingly familiar, as he pushed way ahead of his body, and buckled as the ball jagged back through the resultant gap.Six overs later, and England’s promising start was a distant memory, as Cummins accounted for the biggest scalp of the lot. As Ben Stokes showed in the early part of his Headingley miracle, he can stonewall with the best of them these days. And he did little wrong against the ball that eventually bagged him – save under-estimate the bounce that Cummins was able to extract from just back of a length, as it snagged the under-edge of an attempted leave. The umpire was unmoved, but Tim Paine had no doubt, and Stokes duly walked rather than wait for the inevitable review.Denly, however, was still in his bubble, and having taken England to lunch in partnership with Jonny Bairstow, he brought up his second fifty in as many first innings three overs after the break with a compact drive for four through mid-off off Cummins. The fact that he had now risen to become England’s best hope of salvation was perhaps an indictment of England’s selection more than anything else, but it was hard to dispute the grit on display.It wasn’t built to last, however, and on 53, Denly succumbed to the best ball of an otherwise underwhelming spell from Lyon, who appeared to be struggling with a cut on his spinning finger, and whose tight line on off stump had been consistently turning the ball safely past leg. This time, however, he offered more air on the widest line of his spell, and a ripper out of Starc’s footmarks thudded the glove en route to Labuschagne under the lid.At 93 for 5, the scoreline looked uncompromising, but the relative ease of England’s survival in the first three hours of play was all the incentive that Bairstow and Buttler needed to knuckle down and grind their way through the second hour of the session. With the ageing ball offering little in the way of assistance, Paine took to shuffling his pack, at one stage implementing nine bowling changes in 14 overs, including an early sighting of Labuschagne in tandem with Travis Head’s offspin, before Starc’s switch to the James Anderson End eventually reaped its reward. Bairstow, on 25 from 61 balls, was thumped on the pad flap, albeit deep in his crease, and sent on his way lbw – the subsequent review confirming the ball would have clipped the top of middle.In came Overton, the first of the bowlers and the beginning of the end, it seemed. Not so fast. Overton’s selection had raised several eyebrows before the match – but there was plenty that the selectors admired about his spirit in adversity on the tour of Australia and New Zealand two years ago, not least with the bat, where he made a gutsy 41 not out on debut at Adelaide, before top-scored from No.10 in the 58-all-out at Auckland.Sure enough, it wasn’t long before his solid stride down the track was negating Lyon’s threat, and he even managed to middle the ball from Cummins for which he was erroneously given out lbw for 7 – not that the third umpire, Ruchira Palliyaguruge, could decipher that fact from the technology at his disposal. Overton only survived when HawkEye subsequently showed he’d been struck outside the line.Australia by now were looking flat, but just as had been the case in the first innings at Edgbaston last month, a change of ball when the original went out of shape prompting an upsurge in threat. Steve Smith’s reaction on examining the replacement was revealing – we waved it aloft as if to say we’ve hit the jackpot here, and it wasn’t long before the ball was bending round corners – one screeching inswinger to Buttler was particularly unplayable.The breakthrough came via a cunning bluff from Hazlewood, who posted a pair of close catchers right under Buttler’s nose, to force him to think again about propping onto the front foot in seeing off the length ball. With half a mind on the rib-tickler too, Buttler allowed himself to hang back and shouldered arms to the wrong delivery – a beautiful nipbacker that cracked into the top of off.Out to the middle came Jofra Archer, whose allround talents may have their use one day. Today, however, was never going to be his day. Lyon took less than an over to pin him plumb lbw with one that grubbed after turning, to bring Leach back to face the music once again.The crowd roared for their cult hero, not least when the famous cloth came out of his pocket to wipe the steam off those ever-foggy spectacles, and there was steam coming out of Cummins’ ears soon afterwards, as he reverted to a round-the-wicket line and crashed a bouncer off Leach’s helmet.That approach, however, was a sign that the recently claimed new ball wasn’t quite having the impact they had hoped. Something more funky was required to dislodge England’s ninth-wicket pair, as thoughts became to turn very tentatively to that famous rearguard in Cardiff in 2009 – another series in which Australia were consistently the better team in spite of evidence to the contrary.Over to Marnus and his speculative leggies. And on now to The Oval, with all and nothing to play for. Australia dearly want and deserve a series win, but the retention of the urn was their primary objective. That has been gloriously achieved.

Sammy and Chris Gayle have asked that everyone move on from the Newlands ball-tampering controversy and let Smith and David Warner get on with their lives

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Jun-20180:32

Steven Smith returns to cricket

Darren Sammy has asked the media to move on from the Newlands ball-tampering controversy and get off Steven Smith’s back. Sammy is set to captain Smith on Thursday night, when they team up for Toronto Nationals against Vancouver Knights in the inaugural match of Global T20 Canada.Deposed Australia captain Smith and his erstwhile deputy David Warner are serving 12-month suspensions from international and state cricket and the Big Bash League for their role in the controversy. They are both set to play in Global T20 Canada, with Warner part of Winnipeg Hawks’ roster.Smith has been the subject of heightened media attention in Australia in recent weeks. On Tuesday, a photograph of Smith drinking a beer in a New York pub was splashed over the newspapers, with one headline saying, “Disgraced Smith a sad sight in New York”. At a media interaction on Wednesday night, Sammy mentioned this story and said it wasn’t right to “keep kicking a man when he’s down”.”As a Christian, you commit sins, there are punishments for your sins. [It] doesn’t mean everything is okay, but there’s always forgiveness after you’ve committed your sins and paid the price, and you move on. Like we said, they’ve done that. They’ve missed out on IPL, they’ve been sacked and all that stuff, but at the end of the day life goes on.”It’s truly up to you guys (the media). I saw an article, recently, about something in New York. That’s not called for. You’ve made your point. I think, as sportsmen, we want to do the right things, set the example for the next generation. We will make mistakes, but it doesn’t mean you’ve got to keep kicking a man when he’s down. That’s not the humane way to do things, and I think there’s a right to punish but there’s also a right to forgive and move on.”Chris Gayle, who will captain Vancouver Knights in Global T20 Canada, had tweeted his thoughts on the punishments handed out to Smith and Warner in the wake of the ball-tampering scandal, saying he felt a one-year suspension was “harsh”. He said he did not want to comment on it again, but asked that the two players be allowed to “go on with their lives”.”I’m not diverting to the situation,” Gayle said. “I’ve actually tweeted what I had to say about the situation, and decided I wasn’t going to comment on it again, just let the two guys be free.”They’ve already paid a penalty for what they’ve done, and just for them to go on with their lives and have some fun, just like any other cricketer, to fulfill and work for the family, and they can actually provide on the table for them. People make mistakes, you have to give people a chance, and everybody should have to try on from this situation, and rest it to the grave.”

Ellyse Perry has put an injury-blighted summer behind her ahead of the looming World Cup, and expects English conditions to aid Australia’s pace battery in their defence of the crown won in 2013

Daniel Brettig09-Jun-2017Ellyse Perry has put an injury-blighted summer behind her ahead of the looming World Cup, and expects English conditions to aid Australia’s pace battery in their defence of the crown won in 2013.The Australian women’s squad departs for England on Saturday, and Perry said the team’s Queensland-based preparation over the past five weeks was of the comprehensive nature now necessary for a tournament more competitive than ever before.”Every team’s going to be a real threat to us in this World Cup – there are no easy games,” Perry said. “The competition is going to be incredible and the added interest and publicity around the tournament as well, and the fact England always host really great tournaments mean it’s going to be awesome for us and for everyone involved.”It’s the biggest preparation I’ve ever been involved in, we had a bit of time after the New Zealand series in March and then we’ve had five weeks of camps up in Brisbane and on the Sunshine Coast as a group basically training and preparing. That’s been good, it was a mix of nets and fitness and then some games and scenarios towards the end. It’s been a really solid preparation.”Australia’s team is much changed from the combination that won in India four years ago, and Perry said much of the team’s planning and training had been based around ensuring the pace contingent, of which the 26-year-old is the spearhead, will be able to perform at the requisite high standard.”I think in any World Cup team you’ve got to have a really good balance between your spin and pace options, particularly going over to England where the ball swings and seams a bit more as well,” Perry said. “We’ve got a nice balance now, the pace unit probably had a fair bit of work to do over the past couple of months to get up to the standards that our spin unit was setting.”The 50-over format being every four years it definitely has an added element of being really special and those experiences in past tournaments always help. We’ve got quite an inexperienced squad with a blend of new faces as well, and I think everyone is really excited about that. In my recollection it’s going to be the biggest World Cup we’ve ever had in terms of how the game’s grown over the last couple of years.”A hamstring injury during the WBBL severely interrupted the latter half of Perry’s Australian summer, and on her return to the national side she was also affected by an elbow problem – ailments she was happy to say were now behind her. “I’m feeling great which has been really nice,” Perry said. “I had a bit of a disrupted end to the summer, but we had a month off and then the prep I’ve been able to do with the squad is great.”

Ben Foakes admitted Surrey have struggled to adapt to the standard of Division One cricket over the opening couple of days of the season

George Dobell at Trent Bridge11-Apr-2016
ScorecardJackson Bird made new-ball inroads which started a tough day for Surrey•Getty Images

Ben Foakes admitted Surrey have struggled to adapt to the standard of Division One cricket over the opening couple of days of the season.Foakes, the Surrey and England Lions keeper, top-scored for his side but was unable to prevent them conceding a first innings lead of 221 against Nottinghamshire. Surrey, promoted this season after two years in Division Two, were subsequently obliged to follow-on before they were given some respite by poor weather that cut more than 20 overs from the day.Conceding that the Nottinghamshire seamers constituted “the best attack I’ve faced,” Foakes – playing the first Division One match of his career – also accepted that, with bat and ball, Surrey had been outplayed over the first two days.”It is a step up,” he said. “There were a lot of good balls around and a couple of poor shots. Notts bowled really well and just hammered away at a length.”You’ve got to value your wicket more in Division One but there were a lot of good balls and you’ve got to admit we were generally outplayed today. It’s the best attack I’ve faced.”It’s probably a 280-ish sort of wicket, but on day one they scored too many. There wasn’t one day last season when we bowled with that lack of consistency. Today we needed one guy to stand up and none of us did.”Foakes was one of those with little reason to chastise himself. Defeated by a fine delivery from Harry Gurney that swung in and nibbled away off the pitch, he was caught behind after an innings containing some elegant stokes but also some watchful defence. Kumar Sangakkara was also the recipient of a fine delivery that forced a stroke and nipped away to take the edge of the bat.But several of their team-mates – not least Jason Roy and Arun Harinath – may reflect that, having established themselves, they played a part in their own downfall. Roy, who made all 28 of his runs in boundaries, had demonstrated admirable patience in waiting for the correct ball to attack but appeared to lose patience and attempted to whip a straight one through midwicket.Harinath’s eyes lit up when he received a wide delivery but, in attempting to hit it too hard, Harinath – both feet off the ground – edged to slip. Rory Burns will also regret a footless prod at one angled across him that he could have left.While Jackson Bird finished as the highest wicket-taker – he finished off the innings in successive balls and started the Surrey second innings on a hat-trick – Jake Ball was probably the pick of the bowlers. Watched by ECB coaches Kevin Shine, who was especially impressed, and Graham Thorpe, Ball swung the ball both ways and gained steep bounce from an understandably sluggish surface. Reinforcing the view that he has added pace over the winter, Foakes rated him – and the unfortunate Gurney – as the quickest members of the attack.Gurney might have had several more wickets but saw Greg Smith dropp two chances at third slip – neither completely straightforward – to reprieve first Sangakkara (on 27) and then Roy (on 4). Gurney himself then missed an easier chance off Brett Hutton at mid-on when Tom Curran had 16. Nottinghamshire also failed to take a run out chance offered by Foakes on 38 – Chris Read and Bird combining to miss the opportunity – though it did not cost them.Still, to have fared so well despite such errors can only bode well. And with Alex Hales, James Taylor and Stuart Broad all becoming available – for a while at least – in the coming weeks, there is reason for some optimism at Trent Bridge.It was probably bound to take Surrey time to acclimatise. They won only one game in their last season at this level – and that against Derbyshire, the other relegated team – and are learning the level of consistency and discipline required. They have the quality to adapt, but lack a bit of experience and a bit of patience.There was some encouraging news for Surrey. Zafar Ansari, the left-arm spinning all rounder, has been named in the club’s second XI team to play in a match starting on Wednesday. It will be his first appearance since he suffered a broken thumb in the Championship match against Surrey towards the end of the 2015 season. The injury, coming just hours after he was named in the England Test squad to the UAE, kept him out of the series. Surrey hope he may be available for their next Championship match, which is against Somerset and starts on April 24.Foakes’ performance is also noteworthy. It is clearly a little premature to be thinking of him as an international player of the near future – he has only just become a first choice keeper at county level – but he has out-kept the ever-impressive Read in this match and, having taken the gloves for the Lions, might be considered first reserve to Jonny Bairstow while Jos Buttler is away at the IPL. If Bairstow were to suffer an injury, therefore, Foakes could find himself promoted earlier than anticipated. It wouldn’t be ideal, but he does look an unusually promising player.

Three days after a brilliant spell of bowling nearly shocked England in Malahide, Tim Murtagh delivered with the bat to serve a big blow to Scotland’s chances of qualifying for the 2015 World Cup.

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Sep-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsTim Murtagh’s late hitting stole the match for Ireland•Getty Images

Three days after a brilliant spell of bowling nearly shocked England in Malahide, Tim Murtagh delivered with the bat to serve a big blow to Scotland’s chances of qualifying for the 2015 World Cup.Murtagh slugged a six and a four when nine were needed from three balls to squeeze Ireland home for a one-wicket victory in Belfast. The defeat means Scotland cannot now finish in the top two of the World Cricket League Championship and must now wait for the qualifying tournament for the chance to book a place in Australia and New Zealand.Having made 269 for 7 against England earlier in the week, Ireland were fancied to chase 224 but their middle order stumbled badly after a bright start. Murtagh arrived at the wicket with 15 needed from nine balls but he and George Dockrell could only manage singles from the next six deliveries.But with boundaries required, Murtagh found his touch and blasted left-arm seamer Rob Taylor over long-off for six to leave three needed in two balls. He put the next delivery through point to seal victory.Ireland had been in big trouble. William Porterfield continued his excellent form with a half-century and added 95 for the first wicket with Paul Stirling to put the pursuit on course. But they then coughed up four wickets for 17 runs in six overs as Majid Haq’s offspin picked up three wickets.Finally Trent Johnston and Max Sorensen settled things and got the chase moving again with six boundaries between them but Johnston fell with 44 still remaining. Sorensen and Murtagh managed to bring the requirement down to 17 from the final two overs but Sorensen fell trying to swing Machan out of the ground. The requirement looked beyond Ireland until Murtagh’s late hitting.It was a bitter disappointment for Scotland who had looked on course to take the first game in the two-match series, which will be followed by a four-day Intercontinental Cup game. Preston Mommsen’s unbeaten 91 gave them a solid total.He was by far the standout performance of the Scotland innings. His 122-ball stay included 10 fours and held the innings together. The next highest score was 27 as they failed to find significant partnerships. Matt Machan made that second-top score from only 25 balls but more was asked of him in the absence of Kyle Coezter.George Dockrell tore through the middle order, finishing with 4 for 24 as Scotland were kept well within range. But Safyaan Sharif’s late burst of 26 in 25 balls bumped Scotland up to a competitive total.

Yorkshire remain hopeful they will have Tim Bresnan available for the Friends Life t20 Finals Day

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Aug-2012Yorkshire remain hopeful they will have Tim Bresnan available for the Friends Life t20 Finals Day despite the ECB announcement on Wednesday that he would not be freed from England duty.Finals Day is staged in Cardiff on Saturday the day after England take on South Africa in the opening one-day international at the same ground. Jonny Bairstow has already been confirmed as being available for Yorkshire, while Craig Kieswetter, the Somerset wicketkeeper, is also allowed to play.”The club understands that Tim’s involvement in Finals Day depends on decisions to be made by the England management following the NatWest ODI on Friday,” a Yorkshire statement said. “The club remains hopeful that Tim will be able to represent Yorkshire on Finals Day but will also respect any decision made that furthers the chances of the England national side.”When Bresnan was left out of the final Test against South Africa he linked up with Yorkshire for their Championship match against Derbyshire and also played the CB40 against Sussex.The Friends Life t20 has endured a difficult season, especially during the group stages which were badly affected by the weather, and the appearance of England players would be an added attraction to the day. Matt Prior and Luke Wright will line up for Sussex while Danny Briggs, the left-arm spinner named in the World Twenty20 squad, is part of the Hampshire set up.The other significant availability news confirmed by the ECB is that Kevin Pietersen can play for Surrey for the remainder of the season but James Anderson will not be free for Lancashire’s final Championship match of the summer, against Surrey at Aigburth, where he would have gone head-to-head with Pietersen in what could be a relegation decider.Anderson was left out of the World Twenty20 squad so will end his international season after the one-day series against South Africa, but the ECB have opted to begin is time off straight away after that.Elsewhere, Andrew Strauss will see out the season with Middlesex after a short family break following the end of the Test series against South Africa. He will play Championship matches against Worcestershire and Lancashire.

In cricket, a combination of opposites is usually the most pleasing one and the differences are often best expressed when they come up against each other

Firdose Moonda in Bulawayo02-Sep-2011In cricket, a combination of opposites is usually the most pleasing one. Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel: the swinger and the bouncer; Virender Sehwag and Rahul Dravid: the aggressor and the grinder.But these differences are often best expressed when they come up against each other. In Bulawayo, the contrast wasn’t an obvious one but it was a fascinating one: the steadily dripping tap of Tino Mawoyo against Mohammad Hafeez’s gushing river.In the time it took Hafeez to reach his half-century, Mawoyo had only gathered nineteen runs. The number of boundaries Hafeez scored in his half-century – 10 – Mawoyo only managed when he had accumulated 80 runs. If Hafeez faces the 453 balls that Mawoyo did, he may well have a double century and more.Mawoyo was content to play the waiting game and frustrate the opposition bowlers more than they could frustrate him while Hafeez took the fight straight to the Zimbabwe bowlers, offering them no respite during an attractive and engaging innings. Mawoyo’s strength was in his supreme patience, Hafeez’s his strokeplay.Before the Test started, Mawoyo described himself as a person who enjoys watching the show, not being in it. After finishing day one on an undefeated and composed 82, he was in danger of becoming the star of the show, not just a supporting actor. This morning, when he scored the first runs with a classy cover drive, the credits of the movie started to roll, with Mawoyo’s name dominating. And they rolled, and rolled, and rolled, and rolled, and rolled. More than five hours later, they were still rolling. Mawoyo took his time delivering his soliloquy.For a 30-minute period early on, before he reached his hundred, he had scored just three runs. He spent the entire morning session negotiating Saeed Ajmal from the Matopos End. Even after facing him for more than a day, Mawoyo still could not pick the doosra. Ajmal continued to challenge him, almost dismissing him on 98, but Mawoyo continued to defy the offspinner. He faced 13 balls on 99 before bringing up his century in a typically understated fashion, with a run that might have been a leg-bye.An intriguing race to see if Mawoyo’s score could catch up to the number of overs ensued and it was only when he reached 121 in the 120th over that he could claim a small victory. With Pakistan realising they were faced with a wall, they decided to try and hammer it down and peppered Mawoyo with short balls. He only took the bait to pull when he was convinced that it would reach the boundary, blocking or ignoring those that he thought were going to trap him.His refusal to succumb was a sign of a strong mind, one that would not be distracted irrespective of time spent at the crease, heat, fatigue or the constant chatter by Adnan Akmal with involved many utterances of the word “yourself.” Mawoyo would not be disturbed, neither would be forced to change tack and he made that clear.Even after Mawoyo had reached the 150 mark, he did not consider it time to become more expansive, and went on to face eight dot balls before taking his next run. His celebrations were modest, perhaps because he never felt as though he had won, especially against Ajmal’s doosra. Mawoyo was beaten by it all way through, until the end of his innings, when he missed one in the 150th over of the day.By contrast, the experienced Hafeez was beaten by very little. The youth of Brian Vitori, the pace of Kyle Jarvis, the steadiness of Chris Mpofu and even the late turn from Ray Price couldn’t stop the Pakistan opener. His only wobble came in the third over. After he had played two sublime off drives off Vitori, he got an edge to a delivery that moved across him. Brendan Taylor, at second slip, put down the catch and that blunder only fuelled Hafeez’s fire, instead of inhibiting him.Vitori was taken aback by the early assault, the first he has had to deal with at international level and splayed “hit me” deliveries all over the place. Too straight, too short, too wide, too full but never too good. Although the attack Hafeez faced had more zip than the one Mawoyo had to contend with, they were also more wayward, bowling too short to Hafeez, allowing him to pull comfortably. Azhar Ali was playing a more Mawoyo-like innings on the other side, which gave Hafeez the freedom to put on a firework-like display of shots.There were many times when Mawoyo had that same freedom, but he chose not use it. It was another of those wonderful contrasts in cricket – the room to accommodate those who express themselves with the bat, like Hafeez, and the same space for those who decide that their best form of articulation is by doing things softly and carefully, like Mawoyo.