All posts by n8rngtd.top

Rahane duck as Harmer claims five-for and Bopara hits unbeaten fifty to hand Essex early lead

David Hopps16-Jun-2019India vs Pakistan in the World Cup in front of a capacity crowd at Old Trafford. One cricket writer exulted that he felt at the centre of the sporting world. Ajinkya Rahane often imagined he would share in the most overwrought occasion that cricket can deliver. Instead, he was making do in a County Championship match at Chelmsford.It would have taken a world record to provide much consolation for Rahane because there is nothing more certain to fire the imagination of an India cricketer than a match-up with Pakistan. Instead, a second-ball duck afforded no release and by the time he entered the Hampshire dressing room he was probably wondering how he could catch up with India’s innings without it appearing that his priorities lay elsewhere. He was 225 miles away from Old Trafford; it must have felt like a million.Rahane survived the first ball from Jamie Porter in routine fashion, defending a rising ball into his body. An over to reflect at the non-striker’s end and he faced Porter again. A full ball was eminently driveable – not to have driven it in a World Cup tie would have sent India’s selectors into emergency session – but he pushed forward warily and Adam Wheater, back behind the stumps after injury, took the catch. He was part of Hampshire’s slump to 8 for 3 in the first 5.3 overs, a position from which they never recovered.His #SaturdayThoughts on Twitter had told his 5.41m followers “for positivity in life, you need to have a positive mind!” It wasn’t sure if the message was to himself or to India, but if it was to himself it didn’t work out too well. For his Sunday thought, he played safe and stuck to #Father’s Day and didn’t even chide his Dad for not perfecting his off drive.The last of Rahane’s 96 ODIs was against South Africa in Centurion 16 months ago. He averaged 35 over five matches but his strike rate was only 76.92, a touch below his career average. Even England in the bad old days scored faster than that. There were no vacancies at the top of the order and India wanted more destructiveness in the middle. He was dropped, but even in February he was striving for optimism, saying that “playing the World Cup is a dream that every cricketer cherishes”.Rahane made a century on debut for Hampshire against Nottinghamshire, replacing Aiden Markram, but as he enters his fourth Championship match the sense is of a waning Hampshire title challenge. They lie 26 points behind Somerset, but England’s summoning of James Vince and Liam Dawson for the World Cup squad (both as yet unused) will test their resources.On the opening day against Essex they were feeble. They already trail and were blown aside for 118 in 34 overs on a Chelmsford pitch that offered hope to the new-ball attack and to the offspinner Simon Harmer, who finds purchase on most surfaces, and who collected 5 for 23 in 11 overs with embarrassing ease. He now has 35 Championship wickets at 19.4, the most in the Division alongside Warwickshire’s Jeetan Patel and Somerset’s Lewis Gregory. Essex had rested Peter Siddle because of a few niggles and his replacement, Aaron Beard, never got a go.All five of Harmer’s wickets came after lunch in an hour and a quarter of growing resignation. Short leg was set from the outset and was soon joined by a second. Three were lbw to balls that turned – Keith Barker, the left-hander, could regard his decision as a marginal – another left-hander, Rilee Rossouw, was stumped having a swipe and James Fuller was caught at short leg.It is questionable whether they should even have been batting. Hampshire had opted for a toss and chosen to bat first, in defiance of a showery morning. By doing so, they avoided facing Harmer in the fourth innings, but the first innings turned out to be disastrous enough. Adi Birrell, Hampshire’s coach, insisted: “The stats were the reason we batted first. We can’t get away from the fact we didn’t bat well.”Rossouw’s 34 from 32 balls represented Hampshire’s chief resistance, but he is an explosive cricketer and when his furtive edge sneaked past first slip for four, the need to dominate welled up inside him. Harmer tossed the next higher and closer to leg stump and the ball turned sharply past a flailing bat as he failed to launch him towards the thumping sounds emanating from Essex Pride across the river.Essex closed the first day at 147 for 3, 29 ahead, and although they had the benefit of a sunlit evening they still put the pitch into perspective. Nick Browne and Alastair Cook raised 50 before both were lbw in successive overs and Tom Westley missed a work to leg, confounded by the angle of the left-armer Barker around the wicket. Barker was the most insistent of the Hampshire attack.That left Ravi Bopara to make a relaxed half-century. On a pitch where Harmer had prospered, Hampshire’s legspinner, Mason Crane, bled four overs for 30. Bopara’s dismissive yet somehow kindly straight six with four overs remaining took Essex into the lead and encapsulated a final hour that shifted the game firmly into Essex’s favour.

“I still really love the game and love being involved at the moment”

AAP04-Oct-2022Alyssa Healy has revealed Meg Lanning’s personal break and Rachael Haynes’ retirement made her start considering her own cricketing future.Australia’s all-conquering women’s team face something of a changing of the guard this summer, with Shelley Nitschke the new coach and a new captain also likely.Healy is among the favourites to take on the leadership if Lanning does not return in time for the T20 tour of India in December, with the wicketkeeper-batter confident she is ready if called upon. But it comes as the 32-year-old said she had recently been jolted into thinking about her own plans.”Meg taking a break and Rach retiring, it hit me like a tonne of bricks,” Healy told AAP at the Men’s T20 World Cup trophy event in Sydney. “It made me sit back and think about what I’ve been doing and what it looks like for me.Related

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“The beauty is I still really love the game and love being involved at the moment. I’m just going to just keep plugging along and doing what I’m doing and continue to enjoy it.”One factor keeping Healy going is what remains on the horizon. After reclaiming the 50-over World Cup and winning Commonwealth Games gold this year were originally seen as the final frontiers, Australia now have their first Test in India in 39 years scheduled next December.”Mitch jokes all the time at home that I’ve changed my mind about three or four times on continuing playing,” Healy said. “But it’s simply because of the fact that there continues to be new opportunities that pop up that I want to be a part of.”I’ve got mad FOMO when I’m just watching cricket. We haven’t really toured India that much over the little period of time. So the fact that we’re going there twice in the space of 12 months is exciting.”Meanwhile, Healy could serve as the answer to Australia’s captaincy question, following vice-captain Haynes’ retirement and with Lanning’s future still in doubt after opting out of the WBBL.Healy has stated publicly there could be better candidates, with Beth Mooney, Jess Jonassen and Tahlia McGrath the other likely options.But her history as one of Australia’s most experienced players, along with her time captaining NSW, would make her an obvious choice.”I’ve taken a lot out of captaining NSW,” Healy said. “The beauty of our [NSW] squad over the last few years is leading a really young, inexperienced team. That’s been a really enjoyable job for me: Being able to talk cricket with young players.”So I guess in a sense, it correlates across to the Aussie team. We’re in a similar sort of boat at the moment. I’ll take a lot of confidence and some experience out of that if it comes my way.”

Warwickshire emphatically reasserted themselves at the top of the Division Two

ECB Reporters Network20-Aug-2018
ScorecardWarwickshire emphatically reasserted themselves at the top of the Specsavers County Championship Division Two by crushing Gloucestershire by an innings and 47 runs inside two days at Edgbaston.Gloucestershire’s batting folded pitifully for the second time in successive days as they followed their first innings 127 with 103 all out.The home seam-attack, led by Ryan Sidebottom with 4 for 42, ruthlessly exploited some feckless batting to fully exploit a dominant position earned by the skilful work of opening batsman Will Rhodes.He struck 137 from 233 balls with 16 fours, a superb innings spanning five and a half hours in overcast, seamer-friendly conditions, to lift Warwickshire to 277.His third Championship century of the season underpinned an important win for the Division Two leaders. Defeat to Middlesex at Lord’s in their previous match had allowed the pursuers to close in, but this two-day win put the chasing pack back under pressure.Following a dreadful all-round performance on the first day, Gloucestershire were at least much improved with the ball on the second and took four wickets in the morning session.After Warwickshire resumed on 170 for 2, Craig Miles dismissed Ian Bell and Jonathan Trott in five balls. It was fine bowling as the 24-year-old jagged one back in to knock out Bell’s off and middle stumps then moved one away to find Trott outside-edge.Rhodes’s application was faultless but partners came and went. Sam Hain started with two sumptuous drives but reached only before lifting Chris Liddle to point. Tim Ambrose sliced Miles to first slip before Rhodes was finally uprooted, bowled on the charge by spinner George Drissell.Jeetan Patel was bowled by Matt Taylor then Miles completed his 12th first-class five-for by taking a return catch from Olly Hannon-Dalby and having Sidebottom caught in the gully next ball. He finished with 5 for 69.Gloucestershire’s second innings was soon damaged when Miles Hammond cut Sidebottom to gully. It then lurched from 27 for 1 to 27 for 4 as three wickets fell in nine balls. Chris Dent edged Sidebottom to second slip before Keith Barker had James Bracey caught behind and induced Gareth Roderick to play on.
Ryan Higgins edged Sidebottom behind and debutant Ben Charlesworth, having played correctly for five from 31 balls, edged Hannon-Daly to second slip just before tea.Just before tea, Benny Howell had his off-stump flattened by Chris Wright and the end came quickly in the final session as Sidebottom bowled Miles, Matt Taylor hoiked Wright to long leg and Drissell edged Rhodes to second slip.

Defending champions and hosts Bangladesh eliminated after their final league game was washed out

Sreshth Shah11-Oct-2022Thailand have confirmed their place in the semi-finals of the Women’s Asia Cup for the first time, after Bangladesh’s last league game against UAE on Tuesday morning was washed out. Bangladesh – the defending champions and hosts – needed two points to finish fourth and take the last available semi-final spot, but they got only one point from the abandoned game and ended in fifth place.While Bangladesh won only two out of six games, Thailand won three: they defeated UAE, Malaysia, and most significantly Pakistan by four wickets to finish on six points.Thailand’s success at the Asia Cup has been powered by their openers Nannapat Koncharoenkai and Natthakan Chantham, and the captain Naruemol Chaiwai who usually make up the top three in their batting line-up. With the ball, left-arm spinner Thipatcha Putthawong is among the top five wicket-takers with eight scalps.Until 48 hours ago, Bangladesh looked set for a semi-final place to try and defend their Asia Cup title. They needed two points from their last two matches, but they lost to Sri Lanka in a rain-shortened match, where they failed to chase 41 in seven overs. With two overs left in the chase, Bangladesh were 27 for 2, needing 14 to win off 12 balls, but they lost four wickets in the penultimate over bowled by Inoka Ranaweera and eventually suffered a four-run defeat. On Tuesday against UAE, Bangladesh had the opportunity to bounce back and earn two points but rain ruined their chances.Thailand will now play table-toppers India in the first semi-final on Thursday morning, while the second semi-final will be played between Pakistan and Sri Lanka on Thursday afternoon.

The two openers smashed fifties in a revised chase of 125 off 13 overs to crush Kolkata Knight Riders

The Report by Deivarayan Muthu21-Apr-2018
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsIt is quite rare that T20 matches are decided in the Powerplay. Saturday was one such day when Kings XI Punjab’s openers KL Rahul and Chris Gayle outmuscled Kolkata Knight Riders’ Chris Lynn and Robin Uthappa to put them on top of the points table after a rain-hit clash. While KKR struck eight boundaries in their first six overs, Kings XI smashed 14 and were 73 for 0 by the end of the Powerplay in a chase of 192.Rain then forced a delay of about 90 minutes, after which the target was revised to 125 off 13 overs. Rahul holed out for a barnstorming 60 off 27 balls, with his team nine away from victory, but Gayle continued to do his thing and finished the chase with a straight six. Gayle stayed unbeaten on 62 off 38 balls – his third fifty-plus score in three games this season.If Narine doesn’t get you, Lynn will
Sunil Narine ran down the track against Mujeeb Zadran’s spin and holed out to deep midwicket in the second over for 1 off four balls. It wasn’t a particularly bad thing for KKR, considering Narine had tried to hit every ball, but it just did not come off today. Mujeeb then ventured wide of the crease and bowled offbreaks as well as the googly to keep Lynn guessing. Uthappa, however, cleared the path for Lynn by dumping the Afghanistan mystery spinner out of the attack. He upset the lengths with three fours behind square, including a reverse sweep, in a 15-run over.Uthappa kept the scorecard ticking and moved to 24 off 16 balls; by then KKR were 50 for 1 in six overs. Lynn then got stuck into the left-arm pace of Barinder Sran and cracked three boundaries in four balls. The pick of the shots was a front-foot pull – still head and a terrific bat-swing and all that jazz – into the stands beyond midwicket. Just like that things were dandy for Lynn.Lynn’s strength is to hit the ball in the ‘V’. In an interview with , Lynn said: “My risk versus reward is so much better hitting the ball straight. Even though it’s a bigger boundary, I’d rather do that”. Kings XI’s seamers, though, did not feed him the lengths and angles to go down the ground. So, Lynn cleared his front leg and muscled the ball in the arc between long leg and long-on. No less than 42 of his 74 runs came on the leg side.Respite for Kings XI
It was Ashwin himself who provided the breakthrough for Kings XI when he removed Uthappa for the fifth time in 10 IPL matches. The in-form Nitish Rana then fell for 3 in the next over after a mix-up with Lynn. After conceding 20 runs in his first two overs in the Powerplay, Mujeeb gave away only 12 in his next two overs.Ashwin also kept Lynn quiet, but his Tamil Nadu team-mate Dinesh Karthik was more fluent against him, whipping him for back-to-back fours through midwicket in the 11th over.Ankit Rajpoot’s hard lengths – neither driveable nor pullable – and Andrew Tye’s knuckle balls also contributed to KKR’s slowdown. One such ball had Lynn feathering behind in the 16th over. Sran then nipped out Andre Russell and Karthik in the 17th and the 19th overs to set KKR back further. KKR managed only 45 off the last five overs, but Lynn’s assault at the top meant they still posted 191 for 7.Gayle and Rahul at it again
But that score looked smaller when Rahul and Gayle raised their third successive fifty-plus opening stand. There is a method behind their madness: Rahul’s job is to go after every bowler, while Gayle bides his time and picks his target. The first two balls of Shivam Mavi and Andre Russell were sent to the boundary by Rahul. Gayle, at the other end, was bothered by the early swing and bounce of the 19-year old quick, but won the bout against his West Indies team-mate Russell, again.Before this match, Gayle had hit 50 runs off 30 balls from Russell in the IPL. He stretched that tally to 71 off 37 balls, before Russell clutched his leg and hobbled off the field, five balls into his second over. Narine then bowled two cheap overs but the wristspinners – Kuldeep Yadav and Piyush Chawla – leaked runs at the other end. Rain handed KKR a reprieve in the ninth over, but by then Kings XI were 96 for 0.The tempo did not change after the break. Kings XI now needed 29 off 28 balls, and Gayle bludgeoned a six first ball upon return to bring up a fifty off 28 balls. In the next over, Rahul brought up a fifty of his own with a six, off 24 balls. He, ultimately, picked out deep midwicket, attempting another six, the only blip in an otherwise immaculate chase.

“We are telling the players to play the way they play for their franchise or state; there they don’t take much pressure”

Hemant Brar29-Jul-2022India haven’t won a T20 World Cup since their success in the inaugural edition in 2007. In the last edition, they couldn’t qualify for the knockouts despite being one of the favourites. But, according to Rohit Sharma, that is not evidence of the team’s “conservative” approach in the format. However, he said that the team management has now given the players the freedom to play freely.”We haven’t got the results in the World Cups but that doesn’t mean we were playing bad cricket for so many years,” Rohit said the day before the first T20I against West Indies. “I don’t agree that we were playing conservative cricket. If you lose an odd game in the World Cup, it seems we were doing things wrong and we didn’t take chances. But if you look [at it], we won probably 80% [71%] of our games leading into the World Cup. If you are conservative, you won’t win these many games.Related

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“Yes, we didn’t qualify [for the knockouts in 2021], but that happens. It doesn’t mean we were not playing freely. Lately also we haven’t made any such changes; we are playing in the same manner but we have given the freedom to the players to play their game. Because if you play freely, you will get the performances.”So those who are outside should have patience. The way we are playing, there will be failures and the results may not always go our way. But that doesn’t mean the players are not good enough, or the team is not good enough. It’s just that we are trying to do something new. With time, everyone has to change. We are changing and those on the outside should also change the way they think.”Last month, head coach Rahul Dravid had talked about playing “a slightly more attacking brand of cricket”. The results are there to see. In T20I cricket this year, India have scored at a rate of 9.45 per over, their best in a calendar year where they have played more than one match. Only New Zealand (9.58) have scored at a faster rate than India this year.One way to make players bat freely, Rohit said, was to ask them to bat as if they were playing for their franchises or state teams, and not think too much about the results.”We can talk about technique and all during the preparation but in the match, players should be given the freedom,” he said. “We are telling them to play the way they play for their franchise or state. There they don’t take much pressure, so here also they need to do the same. Of course, international cricket has a different pressure but it’s our [the team management’s] job to reduce that pressure and, if possible, completely eliminate it. So we are trying to give the boys that environment where they play freely and don’t think too much about their performance.”Another thing the team is focusing on is creating the right environment. They have brought back mental conditioning coach Paddy Upton, whose inclusion, Rohit felt, could “make a difference”.Paddy Upton was with the Indian team during the 2011 World Cup as well•Prakash Singh/AFP

“On the field, we anyway play as a unit, but it is also important that off the field too players stay together, have fun together, pull each other’s legs,” he said. “That’s something which creates a good team environment. So our focus is on that as well, how we can keep the environment light and enjoy ourselves.”I think his [Upton’s] inclusion in the squad will help all of us. He has got so much experience working with different teams at different places. He will definitely bring the mental side of the game into the picture. He has worked with the Indian team before. He was part of the 2011 World Cup-winning team and he has had some success in franchise cricket as well.”He knows a lot of our players as well, he has worked with them closely. The mental side of the game, as we know, is very, very important. With his experience, with his ideology, I think it’s going to help us.”It’s [only] his second or third day with the team. He is probably just observing the guys he hasn’t worked with. I am sure he will start his work soon, will start talking to the players and get their thoughts as well. And yeah, we are very excited to have him in the squad. I genuinely feel that he can make a difference in this team.”

The Queensland duo is looking increasingly likely to join Aaron Finch and Travis Head for debuts in the first Test against Pakistan

Daniel Brettig in Dubai05-Oct-2018Australia may field as many as four debutants – Aaron Finch, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne and Michael Neser – at the start of their first Test series since the Newlands ball-tampering scandal, the most in a single match since the World Series Cricket split four decades ago.Two days out from the opening Test against Pakistan in Dubai, Finch and Head are certain to play, while the Queensland pair of Labuschagne and Neser are looking increasingly likely to join them.It would be a particularly swift rise for Labuschagne, once again due to Renshaw’s misadventures. He was only included in the first-class portion of the recent Australia A tour of India when Renshaw strained a hamstring, and a pair of handy scores in the last match before the squad was picked vaulted Labuschagne above the likes of Peter Handscomb and Glenn Maxwell.Last week, Renshaw’s concussion when struck on the helmet at short leg meant Labuschagne batted in his place in Australia’s only warm-up fixture for this series, leaving the opener short of the preparatory batting time in the middle, much valued by the new coach Justin Langer.Labuschagne’s inclusion would necessitate a reshuffle of the batting order, with Finch opening alongside Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh at No. 3, vice-captain Mitchell Marsh at No. 4 and Head followed by Labuschagne at Nos. 5 and 6. This would also create a right-left mix well down towards the tail, with captain Tim Paine and spearhead Mitchell Starc at Nos. 7 and 8.”If we can continue to do what we’ve been doing over the last couple of weeks here with that middle-order group and especially the way we played in the tour match, there’s no reason why we can’t do that in the two Test matches in the next couple of weeks and really put a stamp on it,” Head said. “We’re here to win games of cricket. We’re here to perform. It’s really exciting for the core bunch of guys in that middle order to really step up and do the job.Tim Paine and Justin Langer pose during a portrait session•Getty Images

“I think the message is always pretty simple. You want to go out and perform and win games of cricket for Australia. I know from the one-day team and that’s traditionally how it’s always been for the Australian cricket team. It’s always tough for spots and those guys are unlucky to miss out and have been in really good form, but in the tour match we were 4 for 500 [494]. The guys are in form, it’s always tough to get into the Australian cricket team and the fight for spots is always up.Head, who struggled notably against spin in the past, including against the left-arm spinner Jon Holland in a pair of Sheffield Shield finals, said that a strong defence would enable the tourists to spend enough time at the crease to overcome the radical differences to Australian conditions.”It’s challenging over here. We’ve had a lot of experience now. Obviously IPL, Australia-A tours, the Australian tour just gone in India. The guys played exceptionally well,” Head said. “Watching that, the way guys went in and played to the conditions and took it on, probably seemed a different kind of style to really grind it out. We’ve seen that again in the tour match.”I think we’ve developed over a little bit and we can continue to get better. The same thing personally as well. I’ve really worked hard on my forward defence. I’ve spoken a lot about that over the last couple of months. It’s been really consistent in my game and it has meant that I’ve been able to spend time out in the middle. Once you get a feel for the conditions, especially over here once it starts turning, if you get a feel for that and spend lots of time out in the middle, you need to go on with it and bat long periods of time. I’ll try and continue to do that and so will everyone else.”Neser, meanwhile, impressed in the tour game as a foil for Starc, and is duelling with the well-travelled Peter Siddle for the second pacer’s spot. Siddle, Starc and Nathan Lyon are the only members of the squad who took part in Australia’s last series in the UAE, a 2-0 defeat to Pakistan in 2014.