All posts by n8rngtd.top

Oliver Hannon-Dalby’s best T20 bowling figures cheered a miserable Brummie night as Birmingham endured poor weather to move joint top with Durham in North Group

Jon Culley12-Jun-2015
ScorecardOliver Hannon-Dalby was in the wickets for Birmingham•Getty Images

On a night when Edgbaston’s marketing team deserved some sympathy, Birmingham at least fashioned a win, indeed a win that takes them level on points with Durham at the top of the North Group with three matches in hand.You fancied chasing 150 to win from 20 overs might have tested them but after their innings was interrupted by heavy rain only four balls in, the defending NatWest Blast champions emerged with a revised target of 98 from 11 overs, which they chased down successfully with four balls to spare.William Porterfield, who hit the winning boundary, finished 37 not out from 22 deliveries after Ian Bell had hit 38 off 24, the England man following his 65-ball 90 against Durham last week by indulging himself again in the freedom to take liberties, hitting sixes off Ben Hilfenhaus, Samit Patel and Darren Sammy that ensured that a modest turn-out at least had something to enthuse over.

Insights

After the normally parsimonious Jeetan Patel’s first over was clubbed around the park by Riki Wessels, Varun Chopra withdrew his gun spinner from the attack. When Patel returned, in the ninth, Chopra opted for seven consecutive overs of spin and reaped the rewards. They cost 42, compared to 77 in the previous eight, and brought two wickets. Such stinginess laid the foundation for Ricardo Gordon and Hannon-Dalby’s brilliant final three overs of the innings, which prised three wickets for nine. – Will Macpherson

In the Nottinghamshire innings, Oliver Hannon-Dalby finished with a Twenty20 career-best 4 for 29 from his four overs after Riki Wessels had hit 39 from 19 balls.It was when Bell went on the attack against Patel and Sammy in the sixth and seventh overs of Birmingham’s reply, scoring 23 of his runs in the space of eight balls before picking out Wessels at long-off, that the balance swung in the home side’s favour. The opening overs from Hilfenhaus, Jake Ball and Steven Mullaney had kept them behind the required rate after Varun Chopra had been out without scoring immediately before the weather closed in.It was miserable. Edgbaston struggles to attract substantial crowds for Twenty20 at the best of times and Friday nights in June are not meant to be like this. Even Sammy, in his last match for Nottinghamshire before he returns home to play in the Caribbean Premier League, struggled to muster a smile at times, blinking through the drizzle as he ran in to bowl.Asked to bat first, Nottinghamshire had looked favourites in the opening stages of the contest, rushing rushed to 65 for 2 in their Powerplay overs, mainly thanks to Wessels, who plundered three sixes in the space of seven deliveries, two of them as he went after Jeetan Patel in the costliest over of the evening, which brought him 21 runs, and the third off the first ball of the next, off Recordo Gordon.But Wessels was out to the last ball of the sixth over, a well judged catch by Chopra at cover off a soaring top edge. Brendan Taylor, with whom he had added 46 in four overs for the second wicket, then hit Rikki Clarke straight to mid-off in the next over, after which the scoring rate slowed rapidly as Patel and the leg-spinner Josh Poysden applied the brakes impressively, despite the extra challenge of bowling with a wet ball.Poysden, playing in only his second Twenty20 after Warwickshire chose to leave out Boyd Rankin in favour of an extra spinner, conceded only five runs in his first two overs and took the wicket of Greg Smith, leg before in an attempted sweep. Two dot balls to Sammy won some applause from the Edgbaston crowd.Overs eight to 13 saw the Nottinghamshire total grow by a meagre 25 runs, with two wickets lost, although Sammy was not to be contained completely. Indeed, a glazier will be required in the morning after the first of his two sixes smashed through the window of a sponsors’ lounge on the second elevated tier of the vast pavilion, damaging Poysden’s figures at the same time.The same over had begun with the first Nottinghamshire boundary in 41 balls. Sammy launched Atiq Javid for the second of his sixes in the following over but the Nottinghamshire batsmen were never able to reassert themselves in any sustained way.James Taylor, who had driven three and a half hours from London to take his place in the side and the captaincy after England decided they could manage without him, was leg before to a Rikki Clarke full toss, and though Sammy and Sam Wood combined to take 11 off Gordon’s next over the return of Hannon-Dalby at 133 for 6 after 17 put a stop to that.The former Yorkshire seamer dismissed the two in consecutive deliveries, both caught at mid-on. He began hitting the spot with his yorkers and his final over was shaping up very nicely when the first four balls brought just two singles and the wicket of Hilfenhaus to a slower one and it was a shame for him that his final delivery was loose enough for Ball to hit over the top, clearing the rope.Nottinghamshire were none too happy when a range hitting contest staged as one of the evening’s sideshows disrupted their practice between innings, although it probably had no bearing on the outcome.

A victory at Hagley Oval will also take New Zealand to the top of the ICC Test rankings

Firdose Moonda23-Feb-2022

Big picture

New Zealand are on the brink of history but, from talking to the team, you’d barely know it. Neil Wagner described their win in the first Test over South Africa as “no different to any of the others,” but it is. Wagner, nor any of his team-mates had ever been part of a Test XI that have won a match against South Africa. That last happened for New Zealand in 2004, when Wagner was still a South African. New Zealand have also never won a Test series against South Africa and have lost 13 out of 16, including the last six. Over the next five days, they have an opportunity to change that.Even a draw at Hagley Oval – though an unlikely possibility given conditions and history – will give New Zealand victory over the only Full Member they’ve played that they do not have a series win against. A triumph for New Zealand will see them sweep the series, go top of the ICC Test rankings and will keep them on track in the World Test Championship points race. All that without the retired Ross Taylor, injured Kane Williamson, and paternity-leave absentee Trent Boult should mark a very satisfying home Test summer for New Zealand, who next play away, in England.Related

• Tom Latham and New Zealand chasing 'as many WTC points as possible'

• Wagner: Winning against South Africa 'no different to any of the other ones'

• Stats – South Africa's second-worst defeat ever, Tim Southee's home record

South Africa are also heading to the UK, but only after hosting Bangladesh at home first and will not want to go into that series looking in worse shape than they have over the last eight months. After a Test series in West Indies, a better-than-expected T20 World Cup and an against-the-odds home Test series win over India, things were looking up but they slumped to their second-biggest defeat in their history in the first Test and some will wonder if it’s one step forward and several back.Perhaps there’s comfort in knowing they are not at full strength after newly installed No. 3 Keegan Petersen missed the tour and Lungi Ngidi sat out the first match but South Africa believe they have unearthed a deeper talent pool and will want to prove that. They’re also known for working their way back from impossible situations and having their backs to the wall tends to bring out the best in them, which bodes well for the second Test, at least, lasting longer than the first.The opening Test was over in seven sessions and though the venue has not changed, South Africa promise their headspace has. It will still be a battle of bowlers but with the way South Africa collapsed last week and New Zealand prospered on the same strip, this is more likely to be a measure of which line-up adjusts better and shows the fortitude to go the distance.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)
New Zealand WWLLDSouth Africa LWWLW

In the spotlight

He went largely unnoticed next to Matt Henry and Tim Southee’s record-breaking performance and Wagner’s brute force against his former countrymen, but Kyle Jamieson was equally important to piling pressure on South Africa. He conceded at under two runs an over in the first innings and was instrumental in holding an end while Henry ran through South Africa. With his height – just a shade shorter than Marco Jansen at 2.03 metres – Jamieson generates awkward bounce and he told local media he is also searching for some extra speed so he can move out of the 130kph range and more consistently into 140kph territory. If he gets it right, he would be the scariest seamer New Zealand have.South Africa’s entire batting line-up is under scrutiny, including the position of wicket-keeper Kyle Verreynne . His Test career is only five matches old but Verreynne has yet to demonstrate the kind of batting that took his first-class average to over 50 or reputation for being an aggressive stroke-maker. He has had limited opportunity but averages 15.42 from seven Test innings and has not yet crossed 30. Crucially, he has conceded 46 byes in five innings and appears to have some tightening up of his game behind the stumps. With Ryan Rickleton breathing down his neck, with an average of over 100 this season and reasonable form with the gloves, Verreynne may have to make the most of this chance or risk being swapped out for the home Tests against Bangladesh.

Team news

South Africa are likely to bench Aiden Markram, who averages 9.7 from his last 10 Test innings, but whether that creates room for Rickleton will depend on whether they feel they need an extra bowler. With Ngidi needing another two weeks to recover from a back injury, South Africa may look for insurance from allrounder Wiaan Mulder or spinner Keshav Maharaj and cut the line-up to six batters, but if they choose to include a seventh, Rickleton could debut. Glenton Stuurman had a difficult debut and could be replaced by Lutho Sipamla.South Africa (possible): 1 Dean Elgar (capt), 2 Sarel Erwee, 3 Rassie van der Dussen, 4 Temba Bavuma, 5 Kyle Verreynne (wk), 6 Zubayr Hamza, 7 Wiaan Mulder/Keshav Maharaj, 8 Marco Jansen, 9 Kagiso Rabada 10 Duanne Olivier, 11 Lutho SipamlaTrent Boult has returned from paternity leave but does not have the bowling loads to be considered for this Test, which should allow Henry to keep his place.New Zealand (possible): 1 Tom Latham (capt), 2 Will Young, 3 Devon Conway, 4 Henry Nicholls, 5 Daryl Mitchell, 6 Tom Blundell (wk), 7 Colin de Grandhomme 8 Kyle Jamieson, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Neil Wagner, 11 Matt Henry

Pitch and conditions

The second Test will be played at the same venue but on a different pitch and New Zealand’s centurion from the first Test, Henry Nicholls, expects conditions to remain the same. Two days out from the match starting, he had not seen the pitch but assumed it looked pretty green and said that doesn’t mean run-scoring needs to be laboured. “It’s going to offer a bit to the bowlers but it does offer scoring opportunities,” Nicholls said. South Africa’s vice-captain Temba Bavuma was more hopeful that there’d be less bite. With warmer weather in the lead-up to this match, he hoped it would be pleasant for batting. Temperatures are set to stay in the high teens, with no rain forecast, but cloudy conditions for day three.

Stats and trivia

Impressive fightback sets up enthralling final day at Wantage Road

ECB Reporters Network09-Apr-2022A Ryan Higgins century revived Gloucestershire’s hopes of claiming an opening-round win to mark their first return to Division One since 2005.Higgins put his stamp on a see-sawing LV= Insurance County Championship contest against Northamptonshire with an unbeaten 134 after he had arrived at the crease with his side facing the prospect of defeat inside three days.Northamptonshire, themselves aiming for a first top-flight win since 2004, had claimed three wickets inside the first hour to reduce the visitors to 21 for 4 and still 44 runs in arears.All-rounder Higgins, without a Championship century in three years, then set about wiping off the deficit in a 77-run stand with Chris Dent (54) before adding a further 165 with Tom Lace (73). By the close on day three Gloucestershire’s lead had grown to 261 with four wickets in hand.It was a position Gloucestershire could only have dreamed of when veteran all-rounder Gareth Berg had seemingly swung the momentum of the match Northamptonshire’s way with three wickets to supplement his heroics with the bat yesterday.Berg helped the hosts to a 65-run lead after sharing a 137-run eighth-wicket stand with centurion Rob Keogh and immediately got to work with the ball this morning with the key wicket of James Bracey.Bracey had himself revived Gloucestershire’s first innings with a century but could only manage eight runs second time round before a leading edge flew to Ben Curran in the covers.The 41-year-old Berg struck again when Graeme van Buuren was trapped lbw on the crease before Miles Hammond’s loose drive at Ben Sanderson was snapped up by Curran at gully.That prompted the arrival of Higgins with his team in deep trouble and desperate for their 27-year-old all-rounder to make good on his pre-season proclamation that he needed to add more runs to his consistent wicket taking if he was to push for higher honours.Higgins struck four centuries in 2019, and none in the Championship since, but afforded more responsibility this summer he set about what appeared an uphill task alongside former skipper Dent.Dent diligently reached his half-century and was perhaps unlucky to be removed by Berg just after lunch when he was adjudged lbw to a ball that he had looked to work to leg, briefly remaining at the crease after the umpire’s finger was raised.Higgins then doubled down on his work as he skipped along at a comfortable rate alongside Lace to avoid further loss in the session. Higgins pulled confidently to bring up their century stand in good time before Lace reached his half-century on the stroke of tea.Higgins’ century arrived after tea, and from 139 balls, when he whipped Emilio Gay to the midwicket rope and, after claiming four first-innings wickets, his first taste of Division One with Gloucestershire was firmly going to plan.Northamptonshire finally managed to end the stand when Gay held a sharp return catch to dismiss Lace for 73. It was a timely breakthrough for Northamptonshire, just before the new ball was due, but again Higgins stood firm when it was required.Higgins remained until the close, with Zafar Gohar alongside him in an unbroken 63-run stand, to set up an intriguing final day when Higgins’ exploits with the ball will likely play a key role as both counties look to end their long waits for a top-flight win.

Ashish Nehra and Gary Kirsten to join coaching staff; Vikram Solanki set to be team director

Nagraj Gollapudi17-Jan-2022Hardik Pandya, Rashid Khan and Shubman Gill are set to be a part of the Ahmedabad franchise for the upcoming IPL season.The Ahmedabad franchise, which was bought last October by CVC Capital Partners (Irelia Company Pte Ltd), has also finalised its coaching staff – they will be led by former India fast bowler Ashish Nehra, and former South Africa batter and head coach Gary Kirsten. Former England batter Vikram Solanki, who is currently Surrey’s head coach, will be the team director.Related

• Ashish Nehra: 'From year one, you should be looking to win the tournament'

• IPL 2022 auction: Warner, Ashwin, Rabada, Bravo list maximum base price

• Dhoni, Kohli, Rohit, Bumrah retained by IPL franchises for 2022

• $1.6 billion for two IPL franchises: does it add up?

• Lucknow and Ahmedabad become home to the two newest franchises

This is the second IPL franchise where the trio of Nehra, Kirsten and Solanki will work together: the previous instance was at Royal Challengers Bangalore.Ahmedabad and Lucknow, the two new teams in the IPL, are yet to disclose the players they have bought but the deadline for doing so is fast approaching: January 22. Both teams were given the same purse – INR 90 crore – as the existing eight franchises. However, unlike the other teams, which could retain four players, the two new ones can buy a maximum of three players with the overseas slot limited to one.While the IPL has set INR 15 crore, INR 11 crore and INR 7 crore for franchises retaining three players, ESPNcricinfo has learned that Ahmedabad have decided to pay both Hardik and Rashid the same amount – INR 15 crore. It is also learnt that Hardik is likely to take charge as Ahmedabad captain, a first experience for the allrounder in the IPL. The third player – Gill – will be paid INR 7 crore. This means the franchise will go into the auction in February with a purse of INR 53 crore.This is the first time Hardik and Rashid will play for the same team in the IPL, having previously represented Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad respectively. Hardik’s rise, since he was bought as an uncapped player for a mere INR 10 lakh in 2015, has been exponential. By 2018, he had established himself as the best allrounder in India and Mumbai duly retained him as their second pick at the auction that year, paying INR 11 crore. In the next two seasons, Hardik scored 762 runs and took 32 wickets in 29 games. He is a four-time title-winner: 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020.Hardik struggled with fitness issues over the last two IPLs, and did not bowl at all in this period. His batting, too, hasn’t been as effective as before. That forced Mumbai to look in a different direction as they retained the in-from Suryakumar Yadav, who has proven he can bat and accelerate at any position. Hardik is currently focussing on regaining complete fitness and has not been part of any of the Indian white-ball squads since the T20 World Cup.As for Rashid, the Afghanistan legspinner became a big talking point immediately after Sunrisers decided to retain Kane Williamson, who will be full-time captain from IPL 2022, along with the uncapped Jammu & Kashmir pairing of Abdul Samad and Umran MalikIn 2017, Sunrisers bought Rashid for INR 4 crore and, a year later, they retained him for INR 9 crore. Remarkably, Rashid featured in all 76 matches played by Sunrisers since his debut, picking up 93 wickets at an economy rate of 6.33. Only Jasprit Bumrah has taken more wickets (104) than Rashid in the last five IPL seasons.Both social media and rival teams were aghast that Rashid had not being retained in 2022. ESPNcricinfo has learnt that while Sunrisers did want to keep Rashid, they told him that he would be their second pick behind Williamson. The talks got derailed thereafter, which freed Rashid to weigh up his options, including going into the auction.For Gill, this will be his second team in the IPL having been picked by Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2018 auction for INR 1.8 crore. The 22-year old, who has already played 10 Tests and three ODIs, has been earmarked as one of the brightest young talents of this decade, and at one point was even looked upon as a future leader by the Knight Riders. However, the Knight Riders had several other options when it came to retention and Gill had to be left out.

Monty Panesar has been fined by police after urinating on nightclub bouncers who ejected him from a club in Brighton in the early hours of Monday.

George Dobell07-Aug-2013Monty Panesar has been fined by police after urinating on nightclub bouncers who ejected him from a club in Brighton in the early hours of Monday.Panesar, the left-arm spinner who was included in the England squad for the third Investec Ashes Test, was reportedly asked to leave the beachfront club, Shooshh, after a group of women complained that he was bothering them. Panesar, who had been part of the Sussex team defeated by Derbyshire in three days in a match that ended on Sunday, then walked up to the promenade above the club and urinated on the bouncers.While Panesar ran off, the bouncers gave chase and caught up with him in a pizza parlour and, having restrained him and dragged him back to the club, called the police. Panesar was fined £90 and, through his spokesman, released a statement offering an “unreserved apology” for his behaviour.Sussex CCC released a statement confirming that “an incident took place involving Monty Panesar in the early hours of Monday 5th August,” just hours before England retained the Ashes at Old Trafford. Sussex continued to say “the matter is under full investigation.”A Sussex Police spokesman said: “A 31-year-old man received a fixed penalty notice for being drunk and disorderly after being seen urinating in public near the Shooshh Club in King’s Road Arches, Brighton, around 4.13am on Monday.”The episode will do nothing to revive Panesar’s career. Quite apart from the uncouth nature of the incident and the unsettling image of an international sportsman being asked to leave a club for bothering women, the England management will be unimpressed by Panesar being “drunk and disorderly” at 4am during an Ashes series in which he may yet take a part.Panesar was dropped by Sussex earlier this season in part due to a poor on-field attitude. Struggling with a sore shoulder, he had fallen into the habit of stopping the ball with his boot in the field and throwing it back to the wicketkeeper underarm.Panesar was also arrested and interviewed by the police in 2011 after a heated argument with his wife in a pub car park. He was subsequently released without charge.Despite a tricky few months, however, Panesar enjoyed a fine tour of India at the end of 2012 where his 17 wickets in three Tests played a large part in England’s victory. He has taken 164 wickets in his 48 Tests and, aged 31, could yet replace Graeme Swann in the England side when Swann, 34, retires.

Australia allrounder Mitchell Marsh has suffered a hamstring injury that rules him out of Perth Scorchers’ Champions League T20 campaign

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Sep-2013Australia allrounder Mitchell Marsh has suffered a hamstring injury that rules him out of Perth Scorchers’ Champions League T20 campaign. Marsh had originally picked the injury during Australia A’s tour of South Africa in July-August, and aggravated it during a session with Scorchers.”He hurt it on the Australia A tour but he got through, he kept playing,” Scorchers coach Justin Langer was quoted as saying by Australian newspapers. “When he got back we were doing a running session and it just went.”I knew straightaway [that it is serious], it was that sort of coach’s nightmare when you see it. He has had all the tests and it shows that it’s probably a reasonably long lay-off… it won’t require surgery but it’s probably an eight to 10 week injury.”Marsh will be replaced by Western Australia allrounder Hilton Cartwright, who made his debut for Scorchers in the Big Bash League last season and played three games.*Marsh has previously had trouble with his hamstrings. He had to retire during a Ryobi Cup match last November due to a similar injury. He has also had discipline problems plaguing him over the last year. In July 2012 he was sent home from Australia’s Centre of Excellence after being “unfit to train” after a night out. In October, during the previous edition of the Champions League, after another night out he was forced to sit out by Scorchers.He was recalled to the Australian squad for the Champions Trophy in June, and then travelled with the A team to South Africa for a full tour. This injury, unless the healing process is smooth and very quick, is likely to rule him out of Australia’s limited-overs tour of India that runs from October 10 to November 2.*0752 GMT. This article has been updated with information about Marsh’s replacement in the side

The BCCI working committee meets on Sunday in Chennai with the future of N Srinivasan as board president in the balance

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Jun-2013

In five overs of high-quality fast bowling, Mitchell Johnson and Lasith Malinga pushed Chris Gayle and Tillakaratne Dilshan into a corner with accurate, fast and hostile short-pitched bowling

The Report by Sidharth Monga27-Apr-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Can’t quite smack these for sixes•BCCI

In five overs of high-quality fast bowling, easily the best cricket seen in this IPL, Mitchell Johnson and Lasith Malinga pushed Chris Gayle and Tillakaratne Dilshan into a corner with accurate, fast and hostile short-pitched bowling. The batsmen had been severely restricted; Dhawan Kulkarni and Harbhajan Singh then came on to pin them and consign Royal Challengers Bangalore, the table leaders, to a 58-run defeat.In Royal Challengers’ previous match, Gayle had scored 175 and added 167 runs with Dilshan to encourage superlatives that would have you believe it was impossible to bowl to Gayle. Nobody informed Johnson and Malinga, though. This was a similar pitch to the one in Bangalore where Gayle caused the mayhem. The outfield was similarly small, top edges flew for sixes here too, but unlike the opposition then, Johnson and Malinga had the pace, and they were prepared to bounce Gayle.Gayle likes to bide his time, is unhurried, and plays percentage cricket, seemingly at will. He wasn’t allowed to do any of that. He did play a flat pull early in the chase when Johnson bowled one into the ribs, managing to smack it to deep midwicket for six. Johnson didn’t back off. He placed a deep midwicket, and went back to bouncing Gayle some more. Now he began to get the ball higher.And Malinga, he has never been hit for a six by Gayle in the IPL. He wasn’t about to today. However, Malinga’s first over was dedicated to making life difficult for countryman Tillakaratne Dilshan. One swing-and-miss followed another as Malinga kept swinging the away from Dilshan. At 10 for 0 after two overs, the openers were shaken. Stirring was to begin soon.First came the shot you will rarely ever see Gayle play: the ramp. Johnson got one to bounce disconcertingly towards the throat, and Gayle tried to clear slips with an open face. This one bounced extra, caught the glove, and the lob just about evaded the slips. Dilshan immediately took a single to send Gayle back to face the chin music. Johnson continued with two more bouncers, Gayle pulled at both, but in a different postal code. Beaten by the bounce on both occasions.In the next over, Malinga hit him on the left shoulder, the rear shoulder. This was no slower bouncer, Malinga bowled it like he meant to. He followed it up with a superb yorker. Thankfully Mumbai didn’t back off, as T20 generally encourages teams to do. Johnson got a third over. He beat Gayle with a left-armer’s outswinger. Gayle was caught on the crease, expecting a bouncer. This was more Suresh Raina than Gayle. He was well and truly out of his comfort zone.Gayle did get two fours off mis-hits in that fifth over, but still he was only 17 off 16, and Dilshan 13 off 14. This was a rude shock for Royal Challengers. On came Kulkarni, a lesser bowler of lesser pace playing his first game of the season, but the task for Royal Challengers wasn’t much lesser. Bowling on a pitch he knows as well as the back of his hand, Kulkarni got bounce and away movement, Dilshan went after it, and Johnson completed a special catch at third man. You couldn’t keep Johnson out of action.In the next over, Rohit Sharma introduced Harbhajan Singh, who teased Gayle with flight and slow pace. Gayle slog-swept, got a thick edge, and it took the best of Ambati Rayudu – who had been run out earlier when a bowler inadvertently knocked his bat out of the crease – to take the catch at cow corner. It kicked off wild celebrations, and Harbhajan pulled out an improvised version of Gangnam-style.Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers were too stunned, and followed shortish and wide deliveries and guided them to the keeper. Kulkarni had helped kill the game in the eighth over of the chase. To be fair to Gayle, though, he has been tested before, and he endures those spells even if it means he has to wait for 10 overs. Tonight, though, Mumbai had got the strategy and execution right. They didn’t want to give Gayle that freedom, which usually comes with batting first. And they also put on 194 on the board, which meant the pressure of asking rate accumulated with every bouncer that beat him.The 194 came thanks to a calculated assault by Sachin Tendulkar at the top of the game, followed by Dwayne Smith’s second consecutive half-century, and the hitting by Dinesh Karthik and Kieron Pollard towards the end. Tendulkar cleared the infield well during the Powerplay overs; he tried just that as opposed to going for big sixes in his 13-ball 23. Smith then hit the big sixes. Karthik was industrious in his 43 off 33, and Pollard hit even bigger sixes when he hit 34 off 16.Put together, they set the perfect platform for the fast bowlers, who in turn had evidently grown a leg.

Former Pakistan medium-pacer Asmavia Iqbal has been named as the new head of the women’s selection panel

Danyal Rasool28-Dec-2021Urooj Mumtaz has quit as chair of the women’s selection committee, the PCB announced in a statement. The former Pakistan player, who is also a television commentator, left the role “to focus on her professional commitments as well as to pursue other opportunities within the game,” the release stated.Former Pakistan medium-pacer Asmavia Iqbal has been named as the new chief of the selection panel and will be assisted by junior selection committee members Saleem Jaffar and Taufeeq Umar.”It has been a wonderful experience to head the selection committee and contribute in the growth and progression of women’s cricket,” Mumtaz said. “I am grateful for the opportunity and thank all my colleagues, while wishing the team the very best in the 2022 international commitments and beyond.”PCB chairman Ramiz Raja expressed his gratitude towards Mumtaz. “You worked diligently in your role for which the PCB is grateful and indebted. We wish you best for your future endeavours.”Related

• Tania Mallick roped in to head PCB's women's cricket wing

• Urooj Mumtaz leaves role as PCB's Head of women's cricket

• Bismah Maroof takes indefinite maternity leave, as PCB mulls pregnancy provisions in contracts

• PCB's new ethics code takes aim at conflict of interest

Mumtaz’s resignation is her second such departure this year. In May, she quit her position as Head of Women’s Cricket in Pakistan after her multiple roles with the board and in television came under increasing scrutiny. The PCB had begun to take a more uncompromising stance over potential conflicts of interest; Misbah ul Haq had also seen his term as chief selector and coaching position with Islamabad United come to an end while he served as head coach of the men’s side. At the time, Mumtaz was replaced as Women’s Cricket Head by Tania Mallick, a member of the Pakistan Olympic Association.Meanwhile, top-order batter Bismah Maroof confirmed she would be available for the ODI World Cup starting March 2022, scheduled to be held in New Zealand. The former Pakistan captain has been on maternity leave since last December and gave birth to a girl in August.”The past few months have been the best of my life,” Maroof said. “Becoming a mother and spending time with my daughter has given me immense pleasure, but it is now time to return to my passion of representing Pakistan at an international stage.”The maternity leave helped me realise the significance of navigating the balance of raising a child and maintaining my professional cricketing career as I missed being on the field each time I saw the girls in action. I can now resume my ambitions and aspirations of playing for Pakistan and hope to make a useful contribution in our target of doing well in New Zealand.”According to the PCB statement, under the board’s maternity policy, if Maroof is selected, “she will be allowed to be accompanied by her dependent child and one support person of her choice.”

Alastair Cook believes his side’s bowling attack put in a great effort to keep the pressure on New Zealand throughout the match

Andrew McGlashan18-Mar-2013Whenever England travel to the subcontinent, or know they will encounter a flat pitch, they talk about ‘finding a way’ to take 20 wickets. Perhaps, even if only subconsciously, they did not expect to have to use such a philosophy on this tour of New Zealand but they would do well to delve back into their memory banks ahead of the final Test in Auckland.Whether you want to term it presumption or not, it was expected that England’s bowling attack, especially the quicks, would dominate this series. That was not being arrogant or disrespectful, it was a judgement based on form and rankings. The fact they have not managed to blow New Zealand away – far from it in Dunedin – is credit to the home side.There was a glimpse in the first-innings in Wellington of when this England attack, missing Graeme Swann from their first-choice combination, performs at its optimum; three high-class quick bowlers relentlessly running in, with the spinner maintaining the pressure at the other end. Would England have been closer to victory with Swann? Most likely, but Monty Panesar, with a little more luck and maybe a tad more patience, could have had more than his one wicket.It is vital to make use of the new ball, which Stuart Broad did superbly late in New Zealand’s first innings, and England also pride themselves on making the old ball reverse. There was a spell of that, too, from James Anderson during a classy burst to Brendon McCullum and BJ Watling when he had the ball under his complete control.”I think it was outstanding in that first innings to bowl New Zealand out for 250. On that wicket, that was a great effort,” Alastair Cook said. “The guys were back to their best, putting New Zealand under a lot of pressure and not letting them get away from us.
“That is one of our hallmarks. Although Jimmy didn’t get the wickets, he bowled 30 overs into that wind, pretty much – an outstanding effort. It was great to see Broady back in the wickets, and bowling as well as I think he has done.”Still, it has not been easy for the bowlers and is unlikely to become any more so in the final Test. Lessons learned from the subcontinent travels of recent years – and how they dominated in Australia during 2010-11 – will need to be remembered for them to take 20 wickets at Eden Park. They are also in a similar position to New Zealand last week, coming off the back for a lengthy spell in the field, although the final-day washout will have allowed them to begin their recovery.”Clearly, I don’t think we really wanted to enforce the follow-on, when you’ve bowled 90 overs on a good wicket and put the effort in – with four bowlers – that the lads had,” Cook said. “But the circumstance with the weather – we knew it was pretty accurate, when it’s so close – we thought we’d have 80 overs to bowl them out. That was a chance to win the game, and our only chance really. We asked a lot of the bowlers to do that, and unfortunately didn’t quite create enough chances.”The bowler who appeared to feel the workload most was Anderson who needed some treatment for a stiff back during the second innings although it did not prevent him of running in. Despite being the senior bowler, Anderson did most of work into the wind and Cook was keen to emphasise the commitment.”They’re just niggles, a bit of wear and tear from bowling 30 overs – and as he keeps reminding me, only seven with the wind,” he said. “Stuff like that goes unnoticed. When you’re watching on TV, you don’t feel how strong the wind is. But you only have to stand at slip, thinking he’s got to run into that – and he never really complained, not on the pitch anyway.”