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A batting collapse from New Zealand women handed West Indies women a four-run victory and a 4-0 whitewash in St Kitts

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Sep-2014
ScorecardFile photo: Stafanie Taylor’s 66 laid the foundation for West Indies women’s innings•WICB Media/Ashley AllenA batting collapse from New Zealand women handed West Indies women a four-run victory and a 4-0 whitewash in St Kitts. Set 215 to win, New Zealand were comfortable at 176 for 2 in the 39th over, thanks to an opening stand of 114 between Suzie Bates and Rachel Priest. However, they lost their last eight wickets for just 34 runs and were bundled out for 210, with none of their last six batters contributing more than 7.Offspinner Anisa Mohammed claimed 4 for 41 to wreck New Zealand’s top order, while medium-pacer Shakera Selman chipped in with two late wickets and also effected the run-out of Morna Nielsen to secure the win for West Indies.After being inserted, West Indies had made 214 for 8. Their innings was built on Stafanie Taylor’s 66, and thirties from openers Kycia Knight and Natasha McLean. Regular blows from Georgia Guy and Nielsen (2 for 27) pegged West Indies back to 183 for 8, but Shanel Delay provided a late impetus by striking three fours during an unbeaten 29.

Damion Jacobs, the Jamaica Select XI legspinner, enforced a rocky start to New Zealanders by claiming 4 for 69 on the first day of the second tour match in Greenfields

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Jun-2014New Zealanders 203 for 9 dec (Williamson 47, Jacobs 4-69) v Jamaica Select XI
ScorecardFile photo: Kane Williamson posed the only sustained resistance for New Zealanders•Getty ImagesDamion Jacobs, the Jamaica Select XI legspinner, enforced a rocky start to New Zealanders by claiming 4 for 69 on the first day of the second tour match in Greenfields. Kane Williamson posed the only sustained resistance with 47 off 77 balls, but his exit followed by the middle-order’s failure contributed to the tourists declaring at 203 for 9.Early wickets buoyed Jamaica Select XI as pacer Christopher Powell dismissed both openers. Williamson fixed the wobble and his fluency promised much. Six fours were part of his innings and his partnership with captain Ross Taylor for the third wicket was a shade away from 50 when he nicked off. Jacobs assisted in claiming three further wickets for 19 runs as New Zealanders crashed to 125 for 6.BJ Watling and James Neesham attempted a lower-order rally. They gained useful support from No.11 Ish Sodhi, who struck three fours and a six in a 27-ball 21, but it was only enough to nudge the score past 200, after which Taylor signaled the declaration.

If this had been a bout – and it would have been a heavyweight one at that – the referee would have intervened well before Jason Roy clubbed 63 off 25 balls

Ryan Bailey at The Oval27-Jun-2014
ScorecardJason Roy smashed 63 off 25 balls to continued his impressive form•Getty ImagesAmid the conveyor belt of marquee overseas names it would be easy to hold a blinkered view of Surrey. Their riches dwarf what others can even fantasise of which can fuel envy and even bitterness. Yet, when the ECB’s top table drew up the plans for this recast NatWest T20 Blast, it was evenings like this they had at the forefront of the agenda.If this had been a bout – and it would have been a heavyweight one at that – the referee would have intervened well before Jason Roy clubbed 63 off 25 balls which supported the argument there is a lot more to Surrey than their big-buck dealings.It was an innings of disdain brimming with flamboyance as he bludgeoned twelve boundaries to dispel the belief that this was another sub-standard pitch. There was no masking Hampshire’s pitiful performance but as bad as the visitors were, Surrey were masterly.”It was a fantastic wicket,” Roy said. “To keep them to 130 was a brilliant effort from our bowlers and the spinners won us the game.”It is, admittedly, what hefty investment can bring but you manufacture your own success. While many grounds around the circuit are finding it a tougher task to sell the idea of the shortest-format, Surrey are revelling in it. A near capacity Oval crowd, on a glorious evening in South London, testified to that. Build it and they will come and Surrey, in recruiting a certain calibre of player, are certainly doing that.And while T20 is as much about introducing the sport to a new audience, prosperity on the pitch does not half help. An eight-wicket battering of a team of Hampshire’s T20 pedigree underlines Surrey’s capacity in this competition and should ensure many of the revellers will return for another evening’s entertainment.Roy did not shy away as he made the pre-game pyrotechnics seem flimsy with some fireworks of his own. After a couple of disjointed seasons with the bat, he is beginning to mature as a player and is enjoying the dividends. An unbeaten 81 against Sussex a fortnight ago hinted at a player finally beginning to fulfil his potential this innings was equally destructive and included 24 off Will Smith’s one over.Such was his belligerence, those in the stands barely noticed the presence of Tillakaratne Dilshan and then Kevin Pietersen at the other end. On debut, the former contributed 15 to an opening stand of 78 but that was hardly a reflection of his endeavours. His contribution with the ball upfront, however, set the tone for what was to follow.For all the weapons in their armoury, the visitors were horribly outplayed. They lost their three big guns – Michael Carberry, James Vince and Jimmy Adams – during the Powerplay and never recovered. As much as their downfall was created by Surrey’s incessant brilliance in the field and nagging line and length offered by the battery of spinners, Hampshire’s inability to respond to a situation that needed a steady rebuilding operation was striking.As Surrey’s big names stood-up, Glenn Maxwell became part of his sides’ disintegration. Surrey stifled him with spin from both ends and he fell for the bait when Gareth Batty tossed a couple above his eye-line and eventually he holed out to long-on.”It was just one of those nights unfortunately. We never got out of the blocks and when you lose wickets consistently, you don’t give yourselves any chance against a side like Surrey,” Giles White, Hampshire director of cricket, said.Indeed, the procession once Sean Ervine’s departure made it 49 for 5 was inevitable. Mindless running led to Matt Coles’ dismissal and Smith, who along with Chris Wood offered some resistance, was stumped off a wide; it typified Hampshire’s evening.That they got to a semblance of respectability was down to a career-best 27 from Wood and a couple of blows from Kyle Abbott. It was far little too late, however, as the damage had already been done and Roy ensured there was no way of repairing it.

A round-up of the North Zone matches of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy played on April 4, 2014

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Apr-2014Ishant Sharma’s 4 for 9 and an unbeaten 75 from Gautam Gambhir helped Delhi pull away with a four-point lead in the North Zone table after their nine-wicket win over Haryana in Chandigarh.A 103-run, second-wicket partnership between Avi Barot and Guntashveer Singh helped Haryana recover from an early setback after they opted to bat. Both batsmen scored fifties with Barot scoring 51 off 42 and Guntashveer slamming four sixes and three fours in his 49-ball 64. Then the slide began for Haryana, as the set pair were out in successive overs. Ishant compounded their problems, striking twice in the 17th over and once in the 19th, to keep Haryana to 140 for 7.Delhi’s experienced opening pair of Gambhir and Virender Sehwag shared a 121-run partnership, their third fifty-plus stand in four games, to ensure Delhi coasted to victory in the 18th over. Sehwag fell for 49 but Gambhir carried on, finishing with a 53-ball 75 that had seven fours and three sixes.Medium-pacer Akshay Chauhan turned in 4 for 16 to help Himachal Pradesh beat Jammu & Kashmir by 17 runs in Mohali.Chauhan built on the early strikes from Vikramjeet Malik, dismissing Parvez Rasool and Hardeep Singh in successive overs to leave J&K at 45 for 5 in the 10th over in chase of 128. Chauhan ended J&K’s brief resistance, breaking a 48-run stand between Pranav Gupta and Abid Nabi in the 19th over. Rishi Dhawan’s two wickets in the last over brought an end to J&K’s innings.Earlier, Chauhan was also involved in a handy 29-run, eighth-wicket partnership that helped Himachal reach 127 for 8. Dhawan’s 44 had ensured the side kept scoring runs in spite of losing wickets but after he fell, the side quickly slid to 98 for 7 in the 18th over. Waseem Raza and Rasool were the most successful bowlers for J&K, taking five wickets between them.Harbhajan Singh scored a 50-ball 78 and put on 99 with Himanshu Chawla to lay the platform for Punjab to beat Services by 9 runs in Mohali. Harbhajan and Chawla came together with Punjab, who had chosen to bat, 35 for 3 after seven overs. Harbhajan was out in the 18th over, after striking nine fours and four sixes, while Chawla was dismissed in the final over for a 34-ball 50, his first-ever T20 fifty.Chasing 155, Services lost wickets regularly but stayed in the hunt thanks to Soumya Swain’s 46 and a number of starts from the other batsmen. In all, seven of their batsmen got into double figures, but only two made more than 20, and that proved crucial in Punjab holding on to win. Rahul Sharma was Punjab’s most successful bowler, with figures of 4 for 21 in his four overs.

Sri Lanka A’s hopes of levelling the series diminished on Thursday, after England Lions had added a further 159 runs, but for Upul Tharanga and Suraj Randiv, the second day brought their possible return to the tips of the Test team

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Colombo27-Feb-2014
Scorecard0:00

Tharanga defies England Lions again

Suraj Randiv is making a case for a Sri Lanka recall with a productive season•AFPA-team tours can seem a strange sporting environment. The teams are ostensibly a national 2nd XI, but, as is the case for the sides playing in Colombo, proven men with years of first-class refinement are omitted for youthful cricketers with porous records and raw techniques.Demoted international players may view unofficial Tests an easy hunting ground – a means of overcoming a crisis of confidence – but for others, it is the greatest test of their career to date. For selectors, coaches and players, individual gains overshadow the team cause, because no one in an A team wants to be there for long. There are no A-team rankings. No maces, or financial incentives.Sri Lanka A’s hopes of levelling the series diminished on Thursday, after England Lions had added a further 159 runs, but perhaps more importantly, for Upul Tharanga and Suraj Randiv, the second day brought their possible return to the tips of the Test team. On a surface not yet given to turn, Randiv collected four wickets either side of lunch, completing his fourth first-class five-wicket haul in six matches, before Tharanga fashioned a graceful, unbeaten 108 from 130 balls before stumps.Tharanga has played 15 Tests and 171 ODIs, but for most of that international career his place in the top team has been contentious. On days like this, when he drives Liam Plunkett serenely, on the up, through extra cover, or takes the Simon Kerrigan from out of the wicketkeeper’s gloves, you wonder how he managed to get himself dropped.There is little authority in his shots, as there was with Chris Woakes and Scott Borthwick earlier in the day, nor the calculation Varun Chopra showcased on the opening day. There is only time and talent – he feels the ball, more than he watches it. At times it seems there is little correlation between the quality of the ball and its eventual destination – especially if it comes to a stop beyond the rope. Of batsmen who have made more than 15 runs, his strike rate of 75 was the highest b y a distance.Early in his innings there were glimpses of the prods outside off stump and the creeping self-doubt that failed him in internationals, but he did not shelve his scoring strokes to get through the tough patch, as he has done in the past. Dimuth Karunaratne – one of the incumbent Test openers – was plumb in front to Graham Onions as he sought to whip him through the leg side. If Tharanga earns a place in Sri Lanka’s squad to England in June, it is Karunaratne’s place he will most likely threaten.The Premadasa pitch has worn quickly in the past, but Randiv’s wickets came on a surface that had not yet begun to assist the spinners – though three of his wickets were Nos. 8, 10 and 11. As Dilruwan Perera is currently Sri Lanka’s second spinner, it is unlikely Randiv will have earned a place in the squad with this performance, but more heavy hauls in the remainder of the season may ensure he is the next in line. Though both Randiv and Tharanga have been tried and discarded at the top level, they are not yet 30.The day began with an hour of patient batting from Woakes and Borthwick, as Woakes completed an eight first-class hundred. Dushmantha Chameera and Vishwa Fernando found zip off the surface early on, but just as he won through that test, Borthwick was afflicted by nerves as he neared his own hundred. Fernando sought to bounce him in the 90s, and Borthwick top-edged two fours – one of which flicked the keeper’s outstretched gloves. The bowler’s frustration then transferred to the batsman. Fernando bowled one full and straight, and Borthwick was trapped in front, one short of a fifth first-class ton.”I tried my best to get out a few times that over,” Borthwick said. “I don’t like being in the 90s, so I was trying to get through them as quickly as possible. He bowled me a couple of short balls, so I thought I’d try and take him on. Then on 99, I missed a straight one, so I’m a bit gutted about that.”When he departed, Lions’ sixth-wicket pair had put on 197, which may have gone a considerable way to making safe the match and the series. Woakes and Liam Plunkett added a further 72 for the seventh wicket, entrenching their position.Borthwick said Sri Lankan batsmen had played his legspin well in the series, and as he and left-arm spinner Kerrigan were handled with ease by Tharanga in the final session, it appeared the Premadasa surface remained good for batting. If Sri Lanka A are to level the series, they must progress quickly on the third day, but even if they do not, two individual performances ensured a pleasing day two.

A round-up of the third day’s play of the seventh-round Group A games of the Ranji Trophy 2013-14

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Dec-2013
ScorecardBhargav Merai scored his second century of the season•ESPNcricinfo LtdBhargav Merai’s second first-class century helped Gujarat mount a solid reply as they looked to hunt down Haryana’s mammoth first-innings total in Ahmedabad. He and Venugopal Rao, the other unbeaten batsman, still have considerable work to do as the home side went to stumps 259 runs behind.Gujarat took more than 20 overs to move from 68 to 96 – a run rate of 1.36 – but the arrival of their captain Parthiv Patel instilled life into the innings. His 44-ball 37 was part of a 71-run stand with Merai which was accumulated at 4.68 per over. When he was out leg before to medium-pacer Ashish Hooda, Rao ensured a similar rhythm was maintained as he struck nine fours and a six in his 64.Gujarat, who are placed fifth in Group A, have one more day left to snare a first-innings lead and collect a crucial three points and push past mid-table mediocrity.Read the full report of Mumbai v Odisha here: Odisha fight to prevent innings defeatRead the full report of Karnataka v Punjab here: Vinay ton leaves Punjab battling for survivalRead the full report of Delhi v Vidarbha here: Delhi stay in hunt with crushing win

The Indians drew their warm-up game against New Zealand XI after taking a first-innings lead in Whangarei

The Report by Abhishek Purohit in Whangarei03-Feb-2014
ScorecardAmbati Rayudu spent two hours in the middle•Getty ImagesThe first five Indians in the batting order in the Whangarei practice game will all be part of the first Test XI in Auckland. Of them, the first three fell after getting starts, and the next two made fifties before retiring. All five spent at least an hour each in the middle but the Indians would have wanted the top-order batsmen to have had a longer hit on the flat pitch before the side heads back to Auckland.M Vijay went in the second over of the second day, losing his off stump as he tried playing a pitched-up delivery from the crease. Shikhar Dhawan and Cheteshwar Pujara carried on without any trouble but Dhawan ran himself out, going for a third run after punching through extra cover.Pujara was quite solid in his first outing after arriving in New Zealand. He left well, pushed forward to defend confidently, and cut in his vigorous fashion whenever he got width. Having motored to 33, he missed an incoming delivery off the back foot to be trapped in front.Vijay played 56 deliveries, Dhawan 68 and Pujara 66. While none could reach the point where they had the luxury of retiring, whatever practice time they managed before the first Test was still better than falling early.Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane helped themselves to some more batting practice, making 59 and 60. Rohit had a few unconvincing slogs at the spinners, but none of the mis-hits was realistically a chance. Both batsmen were hardly bothered against an attack comprising fringe domestic players. After these two walked off within a few overs of each other, Ambati Rayudu, the reserve Test batsman, put in an unbeaten, two-hour stint that fetched him 49.Wriddhiman Saha did not last long but R Ashwin came in to play some outstanding strokes. He hooked successive sixes when he was bounced and pulled as convincingly. Ashwin cracked 46 off 51, and the match was called off soon after his dismissal.

Jesse Ryder’s hundred on his comeback from injury and a doping ban was one of the highlights of a high-scoring draw between Wellington and Otago

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Oct-2013
ScorecardJesse Ryder was an immediate success at Otago•Getty ImagesJesse Ryder’s hundred on his comeback from injury and a doping ban was one of the highlights of a high-scoring draw between Wellington and Otago at Basin Reserve, the first game of this season’s Plunket Shield. It was also Ryder’s first match for Otago, after he had moved there from Wellington ahead of this domestic season.It was Wellington, however, that took more points from the contest. They earned six while Otago made five.Otago’s top order provided a rock solid start after they were sent in to bat, with three of the top four batsmen making hundreds. Aaron Redmond made 154, Michael Bracewell made 107 and Ryder contributed 117. They were 429 for 3 before Luke Wookcock and Jeetan Patel worked their way through the middle and lower order rather quickly. Otago declared their first innings on 534 for 9.Wellington’s reply was strong too, with three of their top four passing fifty. Michael Papps and Stephen Murdoch made 79 and 96, and Michael Pollard went on to remain unbeaten on 124. They made 403 for 5 before declaring 131 runs behind Otago.Otago weren’t as impressive in the second winnings and had slumped to 178 for 6 before they were lifted by Derek de Boorder, who made 95, and Mark Craig, who made 80. They scored at more than four runs an over to declare on 369 for 8, setting Wellington an impossible target of 501 in less than a day.Papps scored his second half-century of the game, as Wellington reached 125 for 3 before the game ended in a draw.

Johan Botha, the former South Africa spinner who’s now playing for South Australia, has had his bowling action cleared by Cricket Australia

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Oct-2013Johan Botha, the former South Africa spinner who’s now playing for South Australia, has had his bowling action cleared by Cricket Australia. Botha had undergone biomechanical analysis of his action after he was reported by the umpires in a domestic one-day match in early October.The analysis, conducted under CA and ICC testing procedures, required Botha to bowl six balls each of the various deliveries in his repertoire – an offspinner, a quicker ball and a flicker. The analysis found that all of those deliveries fell within – or equal to – the allowed 15 degrees of flex that is deemed legal by the ICC.Botha was cited by umpires Simon Fry, Michael Graeme-Smith and Geoff Joshua in the Ryobi Cup match between South Australia and Victoria in Sydney on October 4. He was eligible to continue playing, though, and would have only been suspended from bowling if the analysis proved his action to be illegal.Botha has had problems with his bowling action throughout his career. He was reported first soon after his debut Test in January 2006 and was subsequently banned from bowling by the ICC. Another examination in August that year found his action to be illegal once again and he was cleared to bowl only in November. In 2009, following an ODI against Australia in Port Elizabeth, Botha was reported once again and this time the ICC ruled that his action while bowling the doosra was illegal and he was banned from bowling it. His other deliveries, however, were found to be within permissible limits and since then Botha had no problems with his action until now.Cameron White, the Victoria batsman, who had faced Botha during the match in which he was cited, and said he did not think any doosras had been delivered during the spells he faced.

Cricket South Africa will interview three candidates, including former ICC chief Haroon Lorgat, for the chief executive’s job next week

Firdose Moonda10-Jul-2013Former ICC boss Haroon Lorgat is one of three candidates who will be interviewed by CSA for the position of CEO next week. The body has been without a permanent replacement for Gerald Majola since he was sacked last October although its leadership position has been fluid for the last 16 months, since Majola was suspended in March 2012.CSA has been through one acting boss, Jacques Faul, who is now in charge of the Titans franchise and are currently on their second. Naasei Appiah, the organisation’s CFO has been heading it since March this year as the timeline for appointing a CEO continues to shift.Initial talk out of CSA’s offices was that it would appoint its new CEO by April this year. In May, it announced that the process was still “running on schedule,” and the seat would be filled by the beginning of July. This has now been moved a third time.ESPNcricinfo understands one of the reasons for the delay was caused by difficulties in drawing up a shortlist. Despite receiving over 200 applications, CSA’s board was not satisfied with the overall calibre of the people who expressed interest in the job and extended the process to see if they could attract other candidates.Some of the contenders who are up against Lorgat are believed to be Bheki Shongwe, MD of Kaizer Chiefs, South Africa’s current football champions, university professor Denver Hendricks and head of Kagiso media Murphy Morobe. Previously Lorgat was understood to be competing with CSA’s cricket operations manager Mike Gajjar, Border Cricket CEO Thema Lupuwana and CSA’s transformation manager Max Jordaan and the concern was that the majority of candidates lacked significant business experience.Now, Lorgat remains the favourite but for a different reason: he could be the only one with extensive cricketing knowledge. Lorgat has been involved with South African cricket in the past, as convenor of selectors, ran the ICC for four years and has been involved at consultancy levels with Sri Lanka and Pakistan in recent months.The biggest obstacle to his challenge for the job appears to be from another cricketing country – India. The BCCI has made clear its preference that CSA does not appoint Lorgat because of the Indian board’s acrimonious history with him. Lorgat is believed to have irked the BCCI in his time at the ICC. As a result, India threatened to pull out of the upcoming tour to South Africa if Lorgat was given the job, according to CSA’s lead independent director Norman Arendse, who revealed the BCCI’s stance in March.CSA has since made public the fixtures for India’s tour to South Africa between November and January, which includes seven ODIs, two T20s and three Tests. India have objected to the itinerary, saying CSA released the schedule without the BCCI’s consent and that they would prefer fewer ODIs to give their players time off before they head to New Zealand.While the BCCI claim to have notified CSA of its grievances, CSA say it has not received any formal complaint. The already tense relationship between the two boards, who were previously on excellent terms, may only escalate as Lorgat moves closer to the top job.