Category Uncategorized

Tom Cooper smacked 93 off 91 balls as Somerset picked up their first Royal London Cup Group A points with a 56-run victory over Worcestershire at Taunton

ECB/PA31-Jul-2015
ScorecardTom Cooper continued his good form as Somerset overcame Worcestershire•Getty Images

Tom Cooper smacked 93 off 91 balls as Somerset picked up their first Royal London Cup Group A points with a 56-run victory over Worcestershire at Taunton.A 4500 crowd saw the Australian follow up his century in the previous game against Durham by striking seven fours and three sixes in a total of 305 for 7. Adam Hose contributed 46 and skipper Jim Allenby 45.In reply, Worcestershire were soon in trouble at 28 for 3 and were eventually bowled out for 249, Ed Barnard top-scoring with 51. Craig Overton, Jack Leach and Peter Trego claimed three wickets each.Somerset were given a confident start by young openers Hose and Tom Abell after winning the toss in bright sunshine, Hose striking the ball sweetly to dominate a half-century opening stand in 8.4 overs.The tall 22-year-old faced just 39 balls, hitting six fours and a six, before mishitting a pull shot off Barnard to Richard Oliver at deep square. Peter Trego played-on to Barnard before Abell, dropped on nought in the opening over, perished for 24, a third victim for the England Under-19 seamer, to make it 87 for 3.James Hildreth added a breezy 33 before carelessly cutting a catch to backward point with the total 135 and Somerset were in trouble when a bold experiment to move Jamie Overton up the order saw him depart after taking a six and a four off Brett D’Oliveira.Cooper and Allenby rebuilt the innings with a sensible stand of 70 in 14.1 overs, but after the captain was bowled swinging and Craig Overton fell cheaply, the hosts were 235 for 7 off 45 overs and in need of a big finish. They got it from Cooper, who after reaching a 75-ball half-century, cut loose with a flurry of boundaries, including a six and two fours off the 49th over, bowled by Charlie Morris.The momentum was with Somerset and Craig Overton struck in the opening over of the Worcerstershire reply, Allenby snapping up Oliver at second slip off the fifth ball.Tom Fell and D’Oliveira departed in successive overs to Tim Groenewald and Craig Overton respectively. When Daryl Mitchell was bowled by left-arm spinner Jack Leach for 37 the visitors were 70 for 4 in the 18th over.Leach then had Ross Whiteley held at deep square off a skier and Tom Kohler-Cadmore, on 37, miscued a leg-side hit to Groenewald at cover off Trego’s first ball of the game. Worcestershire were 122 for 6 and the outcome virtually settled.Ben Cox helped Barnard add 60 before becoming a third victim for Leach. And when Barnard fell just after reaching a 38-ball half-century Somerset’s first win in any competition since June 27 was sealed, despite some lusty late blows from Jack Shantry.

South African fans back home will have to wait a while before they can welcome their No.1 Test team, in its complete form

Firdose Moonda in Perth04-Dec-2012South African fans back home will have to wait a while before they can welcome their No.1 Test team, in its complete form. The team will arrive in the country in two groups – the first lot touched down on Tuesday morning and included mostly team management. The second lot will arrive on Wednesday and two of the heroes of the tour, Faf du Plessis and Dale Steyn, will only get back at the weekend.The pair are staying in Australia to play one match each in the Big Bash League, with Steyn due to turn out for Brisbane Heat on Sunday and du Plessis to represent Melbourne Renegades in the opening match on Friday. It may seem an unnecessary extension of what South African players have regularly been calling a long year, but there is a reason behind it.”I would love to go home tonight with the team but I am staying for one more game,” du Plessis said, while bags were being packed around him at the team’s Perth hotel. “There’s not a lot of meaning in one game and some people will say it’s not the right thing to do but they are trying to get a few guys involved if they do qualify for the Champions League and if I don’t qualify for other teams.”Du Plessis could also represent Chennai Super Kings or Titans as he takes his tally of T20 teams to three. He is particularly looking forward to participating in an Australian competition as he would not normally get the opportunity to do that and hopes it will increase his stature even further.”I’d like to grow my profile in international tournaments,” du Plessis said. “I think the only reason I would be able to play in this Big Bash is because we are here in Australia, the timings would have never worked if I was in South Africa. So I thought while I am here, one game is perfect because its straight after the Test matches and it still gives me time to go back before the next series.”South Africa’s next international assignments are home series against New Zealand and Pakistan. They will play three T20s, two Tests and three ODIs against the former starting on December 21, before hosting Misbah-ul-Haq’s men for three Tests and five ODIs.Du Plessis could be playing well before then, though. His domestic franchise, the Titans, are in contention qualify for the one-day cup playoff and if they do, he is aiming to be in the starting XI. “I will play here in Australia on the 7th, fly home 8th and play for the Titans on the 9th. The semi-final for the Titans is a big thing and they would obviously like their national players involved,” he said.If he does play that match, it will be the fans’ first glance of him in the flesh since his Test debut but they will have to wait longer to see the Test mace. The South African public have yet to glimpse the cold, hard proof of their No.1 ranking and no festivities with it have taken place yet. After the series win in England which took South Africa to No.1, they played limited-overs’ contests followed by the World T20 and so did not have the opportunity to show the accolade off at home. This time, their segmented arrival will result in the same thing.Almost every member of the squad, particularly the captain Graeme Smith, said they are looking forward to, “playing in front of our home crowds because we love that.” South Africa’s celebrations on the whole have been quiet, even after beating Australia for a second time in two series at home. Yesterday, they spent time at the ground before heading to the Lucky Shag pub for a few quiet ones.This morning, Smith was spotted with his young daughter Cadence and wife Morgan on a walk. Also around was AB de Villiers, accompanied by his fiancée Danielle Swart and Rory Kleinveldt, who had his father with him. Perhaps winning away from home has become so much of a norm for South Africa that the need for going over the top in celebration has gone.

A round-up of the second day’s play of the seventh round of matches of the Ranji Trophy Elite, 2011-12

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Dec-2011Group AFor the second day in a row, eighteen wickets fell at the Karnail Singh Stadium in Delhi. With two more days to go, Saurashtra brightened their hopes for a knockout berth by setting a target of 247 and then reducing Railways to 97 for 6.Railways, reeling overnight at 71 for 8, could only add a further ten runs in their first-innings. Subsequently Saurashtra, sitting on a comfortable lead of 94, failed for the second time in succession as they mustered a meagre 152, but the target set seemed to be enough going into the third day.With the exception of Ravindra Jadeja, who played late to top score with 45, the visitors showed the same lack of application as that of the Railways’ batsmen. Luckily it did not hurt Saurashtra so much as Kamlesh Makvana ripped apart the Railways’ batting order in their second innings with his fastish offbreaks, which fetched him his fifth five-for in first-class cricket. There was not much hope for Railways when senior batsmen like Sanjay Bangar and Shivakant Shukla gave away their wickets by charging out to Makvana.The Railways coach Abhay Sharma, however, didn’t blame the nature of the pitch for the slew of wickets. “Some of our batsmen played bad shots. I don’t think the curator is responsible in any way. When you have a three-day gap between two matches, a curator could have hardly done anything,” Sharma said. “In northern India, it’s difficult to water the pitch as it might remain wet and also you can’t just use the roller on a dry pitch.”Orissa were staring at a big first-innings deficit as they ended on 76 for 6 in reply to Rajasthan‘s 423 in Jaipur. Robin Bist’s unbeaten 127 and Puneet Yadav’s 63 were instrumental in Rajasthan getting to an imposing score. The pair added 124 for the fifth wicket before Yadav was caught behind by Alok Mangaraj. The 24-year-old Bist, originally from Delhi, continued till he ran out of partners, hitting 16 fours in his knock. This is his fourth century in five matches for Bist, who at 829 runs is the top run-maker of season so far. Basanth Mohanty finished with 4 for 104.Rajasthan’s Pankaj Singh then made early inroads with the ball before Sumit Mathur, instrumental in Rajasthan’s victory against Saurashtra last week, took three wickets in five overs to leave the visitors in trouble. With Orissa still adrift by 347 runs, the defending champions would like the enforce the follow-on and try and go for an innings victory to get the bonus points and keep alive the chance of a knockout berth for second year in a row. If they do manage to do that, Rajasthan would have to thank Bist a lot. “This has been my best season in Ranji Trophy. Before this season, I had just one Ranji century. Now, I have five,” Bist told the at the end of the second day’s play.Wasim Jaffer became the highest run-scorer in the Ranji Trophy and, along with the belligerent Suryakumar Yadav, steered Mumbai past Punjab‘s first-innings total during a typically elegant knock. Punjab toiled all day but were blunted by Mumbai’s ultra-defensive approach in the first session, and later by Jaffer’s and Yadav’s aggression. With Saurashtra and Rajasthan in strong positions in their games, Punjab’s chances of making the quarter-finals were slim. Read the full report here.The second day’s play in Shimoga followed the course of the first, as Uttar Pradesh mirrored Karnataka‘s batting effort to finish 39 runs short of the first-innings lead, with four wickets standing. Like their Karnataka counterparts on day one, UP built a solid base in the morning, only to lose wickets in a clump in the lead-up to tea. Like Stuart Binny on the first day, Mohammad Kaif battled through the slump, before stalling it with a dogged seventh-wicket stand. Read the full report here.Group BTamil Nadu strengthened their position against Madhya Pradesh in Chennai, with Dinesh Karthik scoring 156 – his second century in as many games – to take the team to 486. The hosts then consolidated their position by sending the vistors’ top order comprising Naman Ojha, Mohnish Mishra and Devendra Bundela – essentially the MP batting’s engine-room – back to the dressing room in no time.Earlier Karthik was bold in his strokeplay, despite having only the tail for support. Yo Mahesh, M Rangarajan and L Balaji all frustrated the MP bowlers, while Karthik went from strength to strength. After the debuant Amarjeet Singh failed to latch on a hard-hit return catch when Karthik was on 89, the former Tamil Nadu captain progressed to make 156. For MP, Ishwar Pandey finished with 4 for 123 off nearly 40 overs. Zafar Ali, the MP opener, witnessed three partners depart before stumps, leaving plenty for the visitors to do on the third day to match TN’s score.Gritty half-centuries from Sourav Ganguly and Anustup Majumdar put Bengal well on course to take a first-innings lead against Baroda at the Moti Bagh Stadium in Vadodara. It was an eventful day for Ganguly who started the morning by wrapping up the Baroda innings while he finished with figures of 3 for 1. But Bengal were in for a rude jolt when they were wobbling at 98 for 4, which included the wicket of Manoj Tiwary, who had scored a century in each of his previous three matches. Bengal lost their opener Jayojit Basu to the left-arm seamer Gagandeep Singh, before Firdaush Bhaja had Arindam Das caught in the slips. Shreevats Goswami’s boundary-filled 38 came to an end when he nicked Gagandeep to the keeper. Gagandeep struck again when he had Manoj Tiwary caught at cover.Luckily Ganguly found a stable partner in Majumdar and the paired added vital 93 runs for the fifth wicket before the former Indian captain retired hurt due a left hamstring pull. Till then, Ganguly had 60 runs to his credit including nine fours. Majumdar, who ended the day unbeaten on 71, added a further 73 with Laxmi Shukla before stumps.Gujarat just about managed to take a slender first-innings lead of 21 runs against Haryana in Surat. Resuming on 46 for 1, the Gujarat top order showed an appalling lack of discipline and application, with no one managing even a half century. Luckily for the team, Pratharesh Parmar and Manprit Juneja showed some resistance, adding 63 for the fifth wicket, to help Gujarat to match Haryana’s score. For Haryana the job was done by India legspinner Amit Mishra and the debutant offspinner Jayant Yadav, as the pair took three wickets apiece to peg the hosts back. The other debutant, Mohit Sharma, took two wickets.Haryana erased the deficit of 21 by ending the day on a healthy 61 for no loss. If Gujarat lose this match, they would be relegated to the Plate division. And with the pitch aiding the spinners, a result seems likely. “The match is wide open and any target above 250-275 is going to be difficult to chase in the fourth innings on this ground with the wicket taking spin,” Jayendra Saigal, the Gujarat coach, said. “Our batsmen did not do justice to their talent today.”

Mitchell Johnson looks set to miss the Adelaide Test following his wicketless performance in the first Test at Brisbane, as Australia’s selectors prepare to ring the changes

Andrew Miller in Adelaide01-Dec-2010Mitchell Johnson looks set to miss the Adelaide Test following his wicketless performance in Brisbane, as Australia’s selectors prepare to ring the changes in a bowling attack that conceded a massive 517 for 1 in England’s second innings. According to reports in the Australian media, Johnson was informed of his omission by Andrew Hilditch, the chairman of selectors, with his place in the side set to go to fellow left-arm fast bowler, Doug Bollinger.The official team confirmation is not expected until the eve of the Test, but Johnson was conspicuous by his absence from Australia’s net practice on Wednesday morning, a session in which Bollinger and Ryan Harris, the other fast bowler vying for inclusion, cranked up the pace in a bid to impress the watching selectors, Hilditch and Jamie Cox.”I tried to bat in the other net, didn’t I?” joked Australia’s vice-captain, Michael Clarke, who has declared himself fully fit after appearing to be hampered in the Brisbane Test by a back condition. “They’re both class acts, no doubt. They’ve both had success in international cricket, whether that be in one-day or Tests, and they’re both looking forward to an opportunity. The selectors have obviously got a tough job, but we’ve got to pick the attack we think can take 20 wickets on a pretty good batting wicket.”The website that broke the apparent story of Johnson’s omission, , claimed that he had chosen to miss practice following a bust-up with the selectors, but Clarke insisted that Johnson’s absence had been a consequence of his heavy workload on the final two days at the Gabba, in which he had bowled 27 wicketless overs for 104, for overall match figures of 0 for 170.”Mitch is fine,” said Clarke. “He’s had a bat today – again he wasn’t bowling today, in preparation for the Test, to allow his body to have a bit of a rest. All of us face criticism throughout our career – sometimes more often than not, especially when you’re not scoring as many runs or taking as many wickets as you’d like. But he’s faced it before; I’m sure he’ll face it again. He’s looking forward to this opportunity in this Test match, and if he gets his chance I’m sure he’ll grab it with both hands.”Clarke, meanwhile, believes he is in the right form and frame of mind to make amends for his own off-colour performance in Brisbane. He came into that match under a fitness cloud, having required injections to ease the pain of a long-standing back complaint, and made just 9 from 50 balls in his only innings of the match, with James Anderson, in particular, starving him of scoring opportunities. However, during a lengthy bat on Wednesday, Clarke looked to be moving much more freely at the crease, and believes he is better prepared for action this time around.”My back feels fine,” said Clarke. “I didn’t play as well as I would’ve liked both with the bat and in the field during the first Test, but I certainly can’t blame my back for that. I thought I was definitely fit enough to perform in that Test and unfortunately I didn’t do as well as I would’ve liked, but I certainly have no excuse from my back.”While he claimed not to have been directly affected by his back in Brisbane, Clarke conceded that the need for treatment before the match had impacted his preparations for the Gabba Test, especially as he had just come off the back of a century in the Sheffield Shield for New South Wales against Victoria. “I didn’t play the second four-day game that I’d planned to play,” he said. “I know the selectors would’ve preferred me not to play it anyway, but I felt like I was hitting the ball well and if I was fully fit I probably would’ve played against Tasmania. In some way it did affect my preparation but I had no excuses.”I guess you’re always concerned when you don’t make any runs,” he added. “It probably wasn’t one of my most entertaining innings in my career, I certainly struggled a bit, but I only got one bat, and I didn’t get a second hit in that game on what looked to be a better wicket in the second innings, but hopefully I’ve saved few for this Test in Adelaide.”Clarke spent much of his practice session on Wednesday under the watchful eye of his captain, Ricky Ponting, whom he says has a knack for spotting slight flaws in his technique. “I was just working on a few things,” he said. “Obviously Punter’s seen me bat for a long time now through my career and picks things up at training, so I was getting him to throw me a few balls and get him to have a look and see what his thoughts were.”He was just mentioning that I was a bit low in my stance, so I just tried to stand a little bit taller and see if it worked,” added Clarke. “I felt a little bit better, if you saw my net session I struggled at the start there and felt like it got better throughout a pretty long net session so that was good. It happens all the time; it happens every session.”Ricky and I do a lot of work, with my batting and my catching,” he added. “He’s obviously scored a hell of a lot of runs and taken a hell of a lot of catches, so if I can’t learn from him I’ll never learn.”

Karachi Blues snatched the upper hand on an action-filled first day at the National Stadium in which 17 wickets went down

Cricinfo staff21-Dec-2009
Scorecard
It wasn’t a comeback to remember for Younis, who managed only 7•AFP

Karachi Blues snatched the upper hand on an action-filled first day at the National Stadium in which 17 wickets went down. Habib Bank Limited seemed to have taken the initiative after rolling over Karachi for 215, but lost seven wickets cheaply to fritter the advantage.After choosing to bat, Karachi opener Shahzaib Hasan blasted 15 fours in a near run-a-ball 67. He was the only batsman to cross 40 on the day. The only other resistance from Karachi came from a 51-run fifth-wicket stand between Asim Kamal and Wajihuddin. The rest had little clue against HBL’s most successful bowler of the season, left-arm spinner Abdul Rehman, who took out four wickets to restrict Karachi.It was another in-form bowler, medium-pacer Tanvir Ahmed, that did the damage when it was HBL’s turn to bat. Tanvir ripped through the top-order to collect his eighth five-wicket haul of the season. HBL had moved to 58 for 1 before suffering a collapse, losing six for 28. As during the Karachi innings, it was an opener who defied the bowling -Taufeeq Umar remaining unbeaten on 36.Younis Khan’s return to competitive cricket, a month after walking away from the Pakistan captaincy, had grabbed most of the headlines in the lead-up to the match. However, he could do little to arrest the HBL slide, being dismissed lbw for a 14-ball 7. There was also plenty of interest in Karachi fast bowler Mohammad Sami’s form after he was handed a shock recall to the national side last week. He did little of note and his figures (10-1-35-0) make particularly poor reading given that the HBL had slid to 95 for 7 in 27 overs.

Marnus Labuschagne will captain Queensland as he continues his push for a Test recall to face England

Alex Malcolm30-Sep-2025Test opener Usman Khawaja has been named to play in Queensland’s Sheffield Shield opener against Tasmania alongside Marnus Labuschagne who begins his quest to regain his Test place in the Ashes.Khawaja is likely to open alongside with another former Test batter in Matthew Renshaw at Allan Border Field on Saturday, with Queensland captain Labsuchagne likely to bat at No. 3 despite being one of the candidates to open with Khawaja in the Ashes.Related

• Australia's Ashes 'bat-off' begins: Who could open against England?

• Labuschagne launches with a century: 'Nothing else matters but runs'

• CA to trial injury subs with tactical twist in Sheffield Shield with eye to Test cricket use

Elsewhere, fast bowler Brendan Doggett, another Ashes contender, will miss South Australia’s opening round clash with Victoria in Adelaide due to a slight hamstring niggle. They are hopeful he will be available for the second round which starts on October 15. Australia quick Scott Boland is a certain starter for Victoria.Khawaja, 38, has not played any cricket since the third Test of the Caribbean tour in early July. He has a top score of 47 in his last ten Test innings. Heading into last summer he played club cricket for Valley as well as three One-Day Cup matches for Queensland and three Shield games before the first Test.It remains to be seen whether Khawaja plays two or three Shield matches before the first Test in Perth but he is unlikely to play all four. Following the drama of last summer when Khawaja and Queensland high performance manager Joe Dawes traded public barbs late in the season over his hamstring issue and unavailability in the final round of the season, Queensland Cricket stated on Tuesday that they “will work with Cricket Australia and support their plans for Khawaja’s individual playing preparations between now and the opening Test of the Ashes series on 21 November.”Queensland have also named exciting former Australia Under-19 World Cup winning captain Hugh Weibgen in their squad and he looks likely to make his first-class debut following a superb start to the season in the Dean Jones Trophy where he made a stunning 115 not out from 94 balls to chase down 322 against Western Australia.Former New South Wales allrounder Hayden Kerr is also in line to play his first Shield game for his new state having not played first-class cricket since October 2023.Queensland are without Xavier Bartlett who is in New Zealand with Australia’s T20I squad while Tom Staker and Lachlan Hearne are unavailable due to Australia A duty in India. Callum Vidler (back) and Mark Steketee (hamstring) are also unavailable.Queensland squad: Marnus Labuschagne (capt), Hugo Burdon, Jack Clayton, Benji Floros, Hayden Kerr, Usman Khawaja, Michael Neser, Jimmy Peirson, Matthew Renshaw, Gurinder Sandhu, Mitchell Swepson, Hugh Weibgen, Jack Wildermuth

KKR and Royals are the only unbeaten teams in IPL 2024 at this stage, while Capitals have just won their first game after two losses

Ashish Pant02-Apr-2024

Match details

Delhi Capitals (DC) vs Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)
Visakhapatnam, 1930 IST (1400 GMT)

Big Picture – Whose home ground is it anyway?

Visakhapatnam might be Delhi Capitals’ alternate home venue, but it was a sea of yellow when they played here a couple of days back. That was mostly down to them playing against Chennai Super Kings – more specially, MS Dhoni. When they play Kolkata Knight Riders, Capitals will hope for some more red and blue in the stands as they look to climb up the points table.Capitals know what it’s like to fall behind early in the IPL. They lost their first five games in IPL 2023, which made coming back into the tournament tough. The victory against CSK was important keeping that in mind.Related

• KKR vs Royals match moved to April 16

• Dhoni and Pant jazz up Vizag with modern classic

• Pant: 'Whatever happens, I had to be back on the ground'

They don’t have the batting depth that some of the other teams boast of, and will need their top order to fire again, and keep firing through the tournament.Crucially, Prithvi Shaw, who was among the runs in his first outing in IPL 2024 in the game against CSK, and David Warner have excellent numbers against KKR – no one has scored more than Warner’s 1075 against KKR, while Shaw averages 45 against KKR, and his highest score of 99 also came against them, in 2019.Rishabh Pant’s move to No. 3 against CSK showed positive intent from Capitals, and he repaid the faith with a quick half-century.But they will want runs from the other batters, too.It won’t be easy against KKR, who have won both their games so far this season. They had a scare in the opening game of the season against Sunrisers Hyderabad but scored a clinical win against RCB. KKR don’t have a lot of holes to plug, but the one area that needs sorting is their powerplay bowling.It’s still early days in the tournament, but KKR have the poorest powerplay economy among all the teams so far – 10.75. That is partly down to Mitchell Starc having a nightmare start to his IPL season. The fast bowler has been taken for a combined 100 runs and is yet to take a wicket. In conditions which might aid swing and seam, Starc will hope for better returns.As will the batting pack with the exception of Andre Russell, Phil Salt and Venkatesh Iyer.Rishabh Pant scored a 32-ball 51 against CSK•BCCI

Team news and Impact Player strategy

Delhi Capitals
Capitals brought in Shaw for the previous game, a move that paid off. He was later subbed off with Rasikh Salam coming in. If Capitals bowl first, depending on the surface, there is a chance Salam or Lalit Yadav get into the first XI, with Shaw coming in later. Vice versa if they bat first.Kuldeep Yadav missed the game against CSK because of a niggle, and Capitals would hope he returns soon, for this game if possible.Another concern for Capitals is the form of their two overseas players Tristan Stubbs and Anrich Nortje. Stubbs was cleaned up for a first-ball duck against CSK, while Nortje has looked rusty in his two outings so far. Jhye Richardson bowled at full tilt in the nets ahead of Capitals’ previous fixture, and could slot in if they want to give a break to Nortje. Capitals could also consider bringing in Jake Fraser-McGurk in place of Stubbs.Probable XII: 1 , 2 David Warner, 3 Rishabh Pant (capt, wk), 4 Mitchell Marsh 5 Tristan Stubbs/Jake Fraser-McGurk, 6 Axar Patel, 7 Abishek Porel, 8 Anrich Nortje/Jhye Richardson, 9 Mukesh Kumar, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Khaleel Ahmed, 12 Kolkata Knight Riders
Varun Chakravarthy bowled just two overs in KKR’s previous game before being subbed off for Angkrish Raghuvanshi. Legspinner Suyash Sharma is another option for that spot, with Raghuvanshi the Impact Player once more swapping places with Suyash or Chakravarthy.Venkatesh seemed to have tweaked his back in KKR’s previous game and was seen hobbling, but bowling coach Bharat Arun confirmed he was “fit and rearing to go”.Probable XII: 1 Phil Salt (wk), 2 Sunil Narine, 3 Venkatesh Iyer, 4 Shreyas Iyer (capt), 5 6 Rinku Singh, 7 Andre Russell, 8 Ramandeep Singh, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Anukul Roy, 11 Harshit Rana, 12 Mitchell Starc has had a horror start to IPL 2024•BCCI

Pitch and conditions

The pitch for the first game in Vizag had a decent covering of grass. It aided swing and seam movement almost throughout the 40 overs, and even swung even more under lights. Similar conditions could be expected for the DC vs KKR game, too. There’s also a warning for excessive heat and humidity in Vizag, so something for the teams to note.

In the spotlight – Can Mitchell Starc have an impact?

After being overlooked for the first two games, Prithvi Shaw “came out of the gate like a raging bull”, in the words of Mitchell McClenaghan on ESPNcricinfo’s TimeOut.Shaw has had a rough time of it on and off the field in the recent past, but on Saturday, as he strode out for his first hit in IPL 2024, he seemed to be in great touch, scoring a 27-ball 43. Shaw’s form is important to Capitals’ hopes of going deep in the tournament, and they will be delighted with the way he has begun.Every time Mitchell Starc comes on to bowl, it comes with that INR 24.75 crore price tag attached to him. Playing in the IPL for the first time since 2015, Starc has leaked runs big time. He went for 53 in his opening game against SRH and then 47 against RCB and is yet to figure in the wickets column. He will dearly hope to turn his fortunes around the next time he is out in the park.

Stats that matter – Rishabh Pant in sight of 3000

• Pant needs 65 runs to reach 3000 runs in IPL. If he gets there, he will be the 22nd player in the league to achieve the mark.
• Kuldeep picks up a wicket every six balls against KKR, his former franchise. In three matches to date, he has ten wickets with best bowling figures of 4 for 14.
• Warner has smashed Sunil Narine for 195 runs in 123 balls in 16 IPL innings, only falling to him twice.
• Pant strikes at 195.00 against Andre Russell in the IPL but has also fallen to the fast bowler three times in six innings.

  Quotes

  “I hope the crowd will be with DC this time and will support us. We will also make sure the crowd is enjoying. We want to finish on a nice note because it is our last game here in Vizag.”
  “He is one of the most experienced bowlers around the world and also someone who understands the conditions and adapts to them very well. You will see a different version of him in the future. He knows what it takes to succeed.”

Netherlands now rely on UAE beating Namibia to stay in the tournament

Andrew Fidel Fernando20-Oct-2022Sri Lanka rode on Kusal Mendis’ outstanding 79 off 44 to reach 162 for 6 on a sluggish surface, before their spinners cut Netherlands down – Wanindu Hasaranga getting into fine wicket-taking form ahead of the main draw of the tournament.Although Netherlands were never really ahead of the game, opener Max O’Dowd kept them in the hunt for the duration, getting the requirement for the last over down to 23, following Maheesh Theekshana’s wayward 19th, which cost 16 runs.But seamer Lahiru Kumara held his nerve in the final burst, and Sri Lanka secured a 16-run win, and a place in the next round. Which group they end up in will depend on the results of the evening match between Namibia and UAE.Netherlands will watch that match with particular interest. They need UAE to beat Namibia to get into the next round. The net run rates do not matter – only the result.Mendis feasts on Netherlands’ leg-side offerings
On a pitch that did not allow batters to hit cleanly through the line, and on a ground where the square boundaries are significantly shorter than the straight ones, you probably shouldn’t bowl at leg stump. You especially shouldn’t stray down leg if the batter is Kusal Mendis – an excellent hitter to that side.Mendis got his first boundary via a miscued heave over midwicket in the third over, and he kept finding the ropes in that arc between cow corner and fine leg. He hit each of his five sixes over this region, pulling, slog sweeping, and in the 12th over, wristily flicking Timm van der Gugten into the stands beyond fine leg. He hit five fours too, only two of them on the off side. Sixty-four of his 79 came on the leg side.Through the course of this knock, which went right into the 20th over, Mendis forged several good partnerships, the most fruitful of which was the 60 off 45 alongside Charith Asalanka, whose contribution was 31 off 30. Mendis’ innings meant Sri Lanka made an above-par score on a difficult track.Max O’Dowd’s 71* off 53 went in vain•AFP/Getty Images

Hasaranga decks Netherlands’ middle order
Sri Lanka were already in control before Hasaranga came to the bowling crease, having kept Netherlands to 40 for 2 in the powerplay. But although he conceded seven runs off his first two balls, Hasaranga was quickly among the wickets. He had Colin Ackerman caught and bowled off the leading edge third ball, after the batter failed to adequately play Hasaranga’s googly. Van der Gugten and Fred Klaassen were also bowled by the googly, later in the innings, giving Hasaranga 3 for 28 from his four overs.O’Dowd makes a game of it
With Theekshana also getting wickets, and Sri Lanka fielding well, it did not seem like Netherlands had the measure of their target. O’Dowd did his best to defy the opposition, however, hitting 71 not out off 53 balls.He wasn’t particularly proactive in the first ten overs, hitting just 23 off 21 with two fours. As wickets fell around him in the middle overs, he remained happy to play a measured innings. In fact, at the end of the 17th over, O’Dowd was still 38 off 35 balls, with only three boundaries to his name. Netherlands needed 54 off 18, and had only two wickets left.And yet, O’Dowd, with the help of some Sri Lanka indiscipline, made half a game of it. He hit a six and two fours off successive deliveries from Binura Fernando to reap 15 in the 18th over and then bashed Theekshana for two sixes (one off a no-ball) next over to keep victory within their reach. Theekshana helped out by bowling three extras in a row at the start of this over.But 23 off Kumara, in the company of a hobbling Roelof van der Merwe (who came in at No. 11), proved too much. O’Dowd managed one four over backward point, but only six came off that over.

Netherlands seamer was club’s overseas player in 2019 and will return for T20 Blast

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Jun-2021Logan van Beek, the Netherlands seamer, will return to Derbyshire for this year’s T20 Blast as a replacement for the injured Billy Stanlake.Stanlake had been due to play for the club in all formats this season but has flown back to Australia following a stress fracture suffered in his first appearance of the summer against Essex. His replacement, van Beek, was Derbyshire’s overseas player in 2019, and will return to the club for the duration of the Blast.He was part of the Wellington squad that won the Super Smash last season, and will be the club’s third registered overseas player alongside Ben McDermott and Dustin Melton, with a maximum of two permitted in the same playing XI.Dave Houghton, Derbyshire’s director of cricket, said: “Logan’s got a great attitude and he fit straight into the squad during what was a successful Vitality Blast run for Derbyshire in 2019 [when they reached Finals Day].”He’s continued to improve his game over the last two seasons and the silverware for his club in New Zealand, as well as earning a recall to the Netherlands side, is testament to his development.”We were disappointed to lose Billy [Stanlake] to injury, but in Logan we’ve got a replacement who understands the club and our ambitions for the T20 tournament this summer.”

ESPNcricinfo’s best content on the iconic England fast bowler, who died on Wednesday

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Dec-2019Bob Willis, legendary England fast bowler, dies aged 70
The former England captain and fast bowler, who will be forever synonymous with England’s 1981 Ashes victory, died on December 4.Icon, survivor, grandee: Farewell Bob Willis, the man with the longest run
Andrew Miller, ESPNcricinfo’s UK editor, writes a moving tribute in memory of England’s mightiest of fast bowlers.Bob Willis, funny and acerbic on camera, kind and warm behind it
Mark Nicholas on the England legend.Tributes: ‘An English legend who inspired a generation of fast bowlers’
Willis’ passing, at the age of 70, had the cricketing world in mourning.‘That was abject, Charles, absolutely pathetic’ – Bob Willis’ best quips
Willis had developed a reputation for his dry, acerbic and generally scathing verdicts during his punditry career working for Sky Sports.Podcast: The late, great Bob Willis – Warm, generous … terrifying
Mark Butcher, Andrew Miller and Alan Gardner reflect on cricket’s sad loss, and look back on England’s tour of New Zealand.WATCH – Mark Butcher delivers an emotional tribute to Bob Willis
He joins the Switch Hit team to pay tribute to Willis.The Cricket Monthly: ‘I don’t think odds of 500-1 have appeared since’
How Willis’ bowling England to an incredible Ashes win at Headingley was the culmination of a golden five-year period for him.Archive: The hero who almost didn’t play
What is less well known about Willis is that he was not even in the original squad picked for the Test.