Michael Clarke believes his team have regained respect and credibility as contenders for the Ashes urn over the course of a wondrous, winding match at Trent Bridge

Daniel Brettig at Trent Bridge14-Jul-2013Australia’s crestfallen captain Michael Clarke believes his team have regained respect and credibility as contenders for the Ashes urn over the course of a wondrous, winding match at Trent Bridge, even if it concluded with the searing pain of a fifth consecutive Test defeat for the tourists.Clarke and the rest of the team were clearly hurt by a loss that arrived in cruel circumstances 12 minutes after lunch on the final day. Having added 65 with the last man James Pattinson to take the tourists to within 15 runs of victory, Brad Haddin was given out on a decision referral after the thinnest of edges behind from the bowling of the Man of the Match, James Anderson.But Clarke insisted his men had proved they were going to give England an awful fright, defying the expectations of many before the series began, and also going some way towards redeeming themselves after the humiliations of the India tour earlier this year.”I think we’ve probably proved to a few people that we’re here to compete,” Clarke said. “I said it on day one and I’m not surprised at how close we got. I’m disappointed that we couldn’t get over the line and I said last night that I still thought we could win the Test match.”So we as a team are disappointed we haven’t won this first Test but I hope we’ve earned a bit of respect by the way we’ve played. That’s what’s important. Our team is going to give our all every single time we take the field. We’re here to win this series.”We know it’s going to be tough and we’ve just experienced that over five days but for the people that have written us off or did write us off before a ball was bowled, I think we might have changed a few of their minds.”The wicket of Haddin brought back memories of the similarly epic Edgbaston Test of 2005, which resulted in a two-run win for England after Brett Lee and Michael Kasprowicz put on 59 for the last wicket.Back then, Clarke was a precocious young batsman in a team of greats. Now he must find a way of ensuring the trauma of the Nottingham defeat does not envelop a team far less experienced or confident than the side of eight years ago ahead of a second Test at Lord’s that is a mere four days away.”I can’t remember ’05. Well, I can but I just don’t want to,” Clarke said. “I was a lot younger then so it’s hard to compare. It probably does hurt you more when you are captain because I guess you’re a little bit older and I care so much about the guys that I’m surrounded by.”Not that I didn’t care back then but I was the youngster watching and learning where now I’m trying to help get the guys up on a daily basis and make sure that even when they’re down that they’re not too down.”He also had words of praise for the teenage debutant Ashton Agar, whose 98 at No. 11 in the first innings brought the Test alive. “He has played really well,” Clarke said. “He is an amazing talent, no doubt about it. He is a great kid with a very smart mind – he is older than his age will tell you. He is enjoying being around the team and I think you are going to see a lot more of him.”The final act of the match, with its delayed resolution and reliance on technology, was symbolic of how the DRS had cast a considerable shadow over the contest. But it also illustrated how England used the system more effectively than their counterparts.Alastair Cook still had two referrals up his sleeve when he decided to review the Haddin decision, while on day three Clarke had burned his own before the umpire Aleem Dar failed to spot a clear edge from Stuart Broad to slip. Clarke acknowledged he had to show better judgment in the future.”That is the way the system is. If I had used my reviews better then I have an opportunity to use it when there is a howler like that,” Clarke said. “We’ve still got two umpires on the field. They are the most important people out on the ground and they make their decisions. I have been brought up to live with the decision of those guys.”The advantage you have now, especially as a batsman, is that if you think you didn’t hit the ball, you have the chance to refer it. Sometimes you find out you did hit it, like in my case, other times you find out you were right. That’s how the games is and you learn to live with it.”How Clarke and Australia learn to live with their defeat at Trent Bridge will be known at Lord’s on Thursday morning.

Simon Jones took the wickets of Eion Morgan and Adam Voges with consecutive balls as Glamorgan won their rain-affected Yorkshire Bank 40 Group C match against Middlesex by 11 runs in Cardiff

14-Aug-2013
ScorecardSimon Jones showed some of his old spark to claim two key wickets•Getty Images

Simon Jones took the wickets of Eoin Morgan and Adam Voges with consecutive balls as Glamorgan won their rain-affected Yorkshire Bank 40 Group C match against Middlesex by 11 runs in Cardiff.It was their second win in three games – they beat Somerset on Monday – as they moved up to second place in the group, level on points with leaders Somerset with a game in hand.Glamorgan lost the toss and made 153 for 9 in a match reduced to 25 overs per side, but Middlesex, who will struggle to now make the semi-finals, could only make 142 for nine despite skipper Neil Dexter scoring 54 from 52 balls.Glamorgan made a fortuitous start when Gareth Rees top-edged Steven Finn for six in the first over but Finn got his revenge having Mark Wallace caught at point while at the other end James Harris delivered a tight three overs as the home side reached 31 for 1 after seven overs.That became 38 for 3 after Toby Roland-Jones struck twice to remove Chris Cooke and skipper Marcus North. Jim Allenby’s arrival saw some impetus injected into the Glamorgan innings as he took a four and a six off consecutive balls from Dexter, before Paul Stirling’s part-time offspin claimed two wickets.Allenby holed out on the midwicket boundary before Murray Goodwin top-edged a sweep to short fine leg as the Welsh county found themselves 85 for 5. Harris made that 89 for six as Rees was bowled making 32 from 53 balls.Some much-needed impetus to the Glamorgan innings came with 14 coming off an Ollie Raynor over including a Ben Wright six over long off and 18 from an over from Harris.The start of the batting power play saw Wright holing out to Finn ending a 43-run partnership with Wagg, who helped Glamorgan take 21 runs from the final three overs.Middlesex struggled at the start of their reply. Allenby bowled Dawid Malan with the fifth ball of the Middlesex innings and a good Michael Hogan over saw Joe Denly edge behind to leave Middlesex 14 for 2 at the end of the fourth. Allenby struck again in the seventh over as Paul Stirling drove him straight to mid-off to Middlesex 30 for 3.And Jones turned the game right in Glamorgan’s favour with two wickets in consecutive balls to leave Middlesex 32 for five in the eighth over. He got the prize wicket of Morgan with his third ball helped by a good catch by Cooke diving forward at cover and followed that up by trapping Voges lbw.But Middlesex recovered through John Simpson and Dexter who put on 59 in nine overs until the impressive Simpson was snaffled at mid-wicket off Dean Cosker, who took three wickets from 11 balls as the Panthers found themselves 138 for 8.Dexter, with the only half century in the match, got it down to 20 required from the final over but he holed out to the second ball of the final over.

Younis Khan rated the quality of Zimbabwe’s bowlers so highly that he regards the two-Test series in Harare as ideal preparation for Pakistan’s next challenge against the No.1 ranked Test team

Firdose Moonda in Harare05-Sep-2013Younis Khan rated the quality of Zimbabwe’s bowlers so highly that he regards the two-Test series in Harare as ideal preparation for Pakistan’s next challenge against the No.1 ranked Test team. Pakistan take on South Africa in the UAE after the Zimbabwe leg wraps up and Younis hopes the experience gained here can be put to good use on that assignment.”The Zimbabweans bowled so well, they made it difficult for us, it’s definitely good practice for us when we get back to Dubai,” Younis said. “Also, the wicket is very good so we can really get some time but they are making it tough for us to score runs.”Although Zimbabwe’s attack did not profit as much as they did on the first day, when there was still something in the surface, as they tied Pakistan down to a scoring rate of 2.4. Hamilton Masakadza, the Zimbabwe captain, was pleased with the effort on a pitch that was at its best for batting. “The guys bowled really well, they applied themselves, they stuck at it and that was good to see,” he said.Having had Pakistan at 23 for 3, Zimbabwe may have hoped to limit them even further but Masakadza said Younis, in particular, made that tough. “He put us under pressure because he was not just looking to be there, he was also looking for run-scoring opportunities,” Masakadza said. “We had to set more defensive fields as well.”Younis and Misbah-ul-Haq shared a fourth-wicket stand of 116 to get Pakistan out of trouble but the old hands’ rescue act was not simply a cause for celebration. Their ongoing efforts to steady Pakistan points to an over-reliance on seniors and raises concerns about the next generation. Younis is hopeful they will improve with time.”Test cricket is all about patience and the young guys, sometimes they come from ODIs and Twenty20s so they need to learn,” Younis said. “It’s for the senior players like myself and Misbah and [Mohammad] Hafeez to help them and we are here to do that. The other thing is that we are not playing Test cricket regularly, the last time was almost six months ago. You need to play regularly to learn.”Pakistan’s call for more Test cricket has been made on numerous occasions, especially by Misbah in South Africa in March. Younis has not played international cricket since then and most of the squad has been occupied with one-day competitions. That’s why, according to Younis, the trip to Zimbabwe is so important for them. “This is what we need and we are enjoying playing here,” he said.As much as the experience of it is worthwhile for Pakistan, getting the expected results is also important and Younis is confident they can beat Zimbabwe in the longest format as well as they did in the shorter ones. Asked what he thought was a defendable total, he said, “Anything,” before qualifying that to, “something like 200 or 300. Anything.”Younis believes the pitch will take more turn, “especially towards the end,” but Masakadza remains hopeful it will not be much more. He said the cracks have only opened a touch, with “nothing too frightening at this stage,” and thinks Zimbabwe could chase something “around 250.”Still, he is wary of Saeed Ajmal, after the spinner took seven wickets in the first innings. “We know he is going to be their main threat and the guys have their plans,” Masakadza said. “Some will be looking to use the sweep and others to play as straight as possible. But I’m feeling pretty confident.”

Somerset were bundled out for 103 before Derbyshire raced into a handy lead, despite the spin and bounce afforded Piyush Chawla on a first-day pitch

David Lloyd at Taunton03-Sep-2013
ScorecardTim Groenewald’s five wickets helped skittle Somerset•Getty Images

These are deeply worrying times for Somerset. They are in serious bother on the field after the first day of this relegation dogfight – and they could yet be in big trouble off it because of official concern over a dry pitch that turned and bounced significantly from the moment the home spinners set to work.”It is being monitored,” umpire David Millns confirmed, adding that ECB pitch inspector Bill Hughes had been in attendance throughout three spell-binding sessions. Presumably, Hughes wants to see more on Wednesday but even the hint of a points deduction will alarm home supporters.Not that Somerset’s followers are sitting anything like comfortably anyway after Derbyshire had deservedly earned a handy advantage through their diligent seamers and determined batsmen. If momentum means anything (and events here suggest that idea is overrated) then the hosts should have been on a high from the outset after their terrific win against Middlesex last week, while the visitors were surely downcast following a defeat by Surrey that dumped them to the foot of the table.Forget all that, though. Revitalised by the return of leading pace bowler Tim Groenewald, who missed the Surrey match because of paternity leave, and strengthened further by the arguably overdue recall of Tony Palladino, Derbyshire’s pacemen feasted on some all-too-familiar frailties in the Somerset batting department to claim nine wickets between them.New dad Groenewald picked up his third five-for during another super-consistent season while Palladino – who has battled side and abdominal injuries this year but was then left out during the second half of August when fit – removed three of Somerset’s top four in his 4 for 34.From scoring 449 last week, Somerset were bundled out for barely 100 just after lunch. When Derbyshire then laboured to 127 for 5, and both Piyush Chawla and fellow spinner Jack Leach were causing big problems with turn and bounce, Somerset’s total did not look quite so feeble. Richard Johnson and Tom Poynton broke free from the shackles, though, to earn their team an already significant advantage with a splendid unbeaten stand of 93 for the sixth wicket.Marcus Trescothick has had a nightmare or two with the toss this summer, most obviously when he chose to bat first at Horsham and his team were bowled out for 76. But although this pitch is green-tinged for most of its length, there was no reason for the home captain not to take first use – especially as both ends are dry and made for spinners.Trouble was, Somerset failed horribly to build the big first innings they had set their sights on. The new ball appeared to do next to nothing for eight overs. Then, as morning cloud rolled in, it did start to move around a little off the seam but, even so, there were too many gifts going Derbyshire’s way.Trescothick, edging a back of a length delivery to third slip, Nick Compton – nicking one that left him late – and Chris Jones, well taken low down by keeper Poynton, could be said to have been ‘got out’ to a greater or lesser extent. But, thereafter, good judgement was in short supply.Craig Kieswetter inexplicably drove flamboyantly to mid-off, having just sliced a boundary and offered a sharp return catch off the previous two balls. Alex Barrow did not offer a shot of any kind to lose his off stump and James Hildreth went lbw, trying to work to leg when he should have been playing straight.Despite those bloopers, and a couple more than soon followed, it would be wrong not to give Groenewald and Palladino – aided and abetted by Mark Footitt – huge credit for keeping foot firmly on throat. Their only tiny disappointment was in not limiting Somerset to two figures, but Chawla takes a bit of containing and Groenewald did the trick before much damage was done.In what may yet be a low-scoring game, an opening stand of 52 between Ben Slater and Paul Borrington looks good from a Derbyshire perspective – and depressing for Somerset, given that Borrington offered a difficult, high chance to keeper Kieswetter before there was a run on the board.It did not appear too costly, however, once Chawla began to make the ball turn and bounce – something both he and Leach did from the moment they were set loose. Whether the assistance they gained was excessive for the first afternoon of a Championship match, the officials must decide. But, in any event, Johnson and Poynton started to take matters into their own hands with increasingly aggressive innings.Their fightback started, really, once Johnson hoisted Chawla for a straight six – a shot which put the ball out of the ground and meant that a replacement had to be summoned. From then on, the spinners seemed to lose their magic and both batsmen celebrated half-centuries before the close.

Chadwick Walton returns to the West Indies Test side after a two-Test stint during the troubled times in 2009

Sidharth Monga06-Oct-2013Chadwick Walton has played two Tests for West Indies, but you probably don’t know. When he did play those Tests, you either didn’t care or were too disgusted with the way things were going in West Indies cricket. It was in 2009 when the first-choice West Indies players went on a strike, and a host of lesser players lost two Tests against Bangladesh. The crowds stayed away; at worst the team was seen as an establishment eleven, at best they were lambs to the slaughter. When the pay dispute was resolved, out went most of the replacement players, Walton being one of them, with 10 catches and 13 runs to his name.Four years on, Walton is back, not as a there-is-no-alternative. “I didn’t realise it was four years,” Walton says. “It’s always a good feeling. I have been doing a lot of work to come back to international level. I hope this time I can put up a better show.”Walton is a man of a few words. He doesn’t want to talk too much about those troubled days. He sees it as a case of selectors’ calling him up and his answering the call. He says it was all normal: the team atmosphere, and the relationship with players who had struck work. He admits to one thing, though – he probably wasn’t ready back then. And it wasn’t his age; he was 24. But it was the timing of the call.”It came as a surprise,” he says. “It was sudden. It was very shocking.” Was he ready for the Test debut then? “I would tend to lean to the no side.”Now Walton has enough time to be ready to be part of a normal Test squad. What do you mean normal, he asks. “I can’t compare with any other. I haven’t been there since. I have nothing to compare it with.”That Test series was an eye opener, Walton says. Now he can joke about it, though. “The most challenging cricket I have played? Has to be playing with my niece. She get me out all the time because she makes the rules as she goes.”Apart from trying to become more consistent with the bat, Walton has spent the last four years trying to add a masters in sports science and marketing to his undergraduate degree in accounting. If he doesn’t want to talk about if others were bitter towards him when he agreed to play for West Indies during the strike, he doesn’t betray a sense of hurt at being left out either. “I always support what the selectors put out. If the selectors say we want to go with the same players, I support what they put out.”Walton, now the understudy to Denesh Ramdin on the tour of India, clearly supports what the selectors have put out, but is he ready? “You never know if you are ready,” he says.

Martin Guptill showed some fine form to press his claims further for a Test recall while the battle for New Zealand’s third seam still looks tight

George Dobell at New Road16-May-2015
ScorecardRoss Whiteley’s hundred made New Zealand’s bowlers work hard•Getty Images

As England prepared for their World Cup match against Australia, it was suggested – tongue in cheek – that the presence of Jack Shantry at their net sessions was an attempt to ready them for the pace of Mitchell Johnson and Mitchell Starc.Shantry, the Worcestershire seamer who spent the winter playing Grade cricket in Melbourne, does have a few similarities with Johnson and Starc. Like them, he bowls left arm. And, like them, he is a mammal.But there the similarities cease. For while the Australian duo bowl at a furiously fast pace, Shantry bowls at a pace that might be described, in comparison, as slow to stationary. While he has recently taken to calling himself Jack ‘the hurricane’ Shantry, it is with self-deprecating humour: he reasons that the Beaufort scale – used as the measure of wind intensity based on sea conditions – rates that anything over 74mph can be described as hurricane force. And Shantry, on a good day, running downhill, at sea, probably does just about top 74 mph.That is not to decry Shantry’s talents. Blessed with an unusually high action, he combines impressive control with an ability to nip the ball around sharply and actually has a better first-class bowling average than either of the Australians. 189 first-class wickets at under 28 apiece deserves respect. Pace isn’t everything as Terry Alderman, Vernon Philander and Chaminda Vaas proved.What is the point of this, you may well be asking? Well, the point is that Shantry is now preparing New Zealand for their Test series against England. In early season conditions, Shantry and co. are proving the measure by which the tourists must settle on their Test XI.With only five days to go until the Lord’s Test begins, it seems New Zealand have chosen nine of the 11 that will play. With the captain Brendon McCullum – in IPL action today – likely to return at No. 5, Kane Williamson at No. 3 and Tim Southee and Trent Boult certain of sharing the new ball, the only vacancies are at the top of the order – where Tom Latham, Martin Guptill and Hamish Rutherford are battling for two spots – and as third seamer, where Doug Bracewell, Matt Henry and Neil Wagner are competing for a single position.On the evidence of this game, it would appear that Guptill – dismissed by Shantry in the first innings – has earned himself a decent chance of playing at Lord’s. While he was unable to play in the previous match at Taunton due to a side strain sustained while playing for Derbyshire (he scored a double-century in his last game for the county), he looked in imperious touch here, driving with power, pulling with contempt and dealing with Shantry’s movement with confidence.By contrast, Latham fell to a catch at leg slip – Shantry will no doubt claim, with a smile, that it was “leg theory” in action – and has now failed to reach 10 in three of his four innings on tour. While the other was a half-century against Somerset, he may have slipped behind Guptill and Rutherford, who made a patient 75 in the first innings here and 37 in the first innings at Taunton.Rutherford was unable to put the issue beyond doubt in the second innings here, though. Playing back to Moeen Ali’s first delivery, he was aghast to see the ball pitch middle and leg and turn sharply to clip the top of off stump. Had Ross Taylor been taken by Rich Oliver at leg slip when he had 12, as he probably should have been, Moeen would have finished the day with two victims.The day still ended much better for him than it started. He was able to add only three to his overnight total when he flicked a fairly innocuous looking delivery from Wagner to midwicket.Perhaps it was relevant that he looked somewhat unsettled by the short ball that preceded it. Australia have made no secret of their plans to test Moeen with the short delivery and, while he has rarely looked troubled by the delivery at county level and insists it is not an issue now, his ability to deal with it may well define his summer.Wagner was probably the most impressive of the seamers contesting a Test place. While Henry, blessed with a lovely, strong action, was rated the quickest of the attack by Worcestershire’s batsmen, Wagner conceded only 17 from his 14 overs and looked a man well in command of his game. Henry, by contrast, conceded almost four-an-over.Bracewell also looked strong and took the key wicket of Daryl Mitchell – brilliantly caught by Guptill high above his head at second slip as he failed to get on top of a short ball – after grinding for 37 overs in making 22.That New Zealand did not take a first innings lead was largely due to the resistance provided by Ross Whiteley. He has long been seen as a talented player but, due as much to a lack of confidence as any technical issues, has rarely fulfilled that ability in red-ball cricket. This, his first century for Worcestershire in first-team cricket – though it is not a first-class match – was full of powerful strokes and provided a reminder of the potential that remains. If he can take confidence from it – and he really should – he can go on to enjoy a fine career.But in the longer term, it may be Ed Barnard’s career that proves more substantial. While he has yet to make his first-class debut, the 19-year-old made an impressive first-team debut here. The 81 runs he added with Whiteley demonstrated composure and plenty of time for the ball. He looked, in short, a promising young player with the ability to forge a decent career in the game.So what a shame that so few people will hear about it. Sadly – in a worrying reflection of cricket’s decline in the UK – the local newspaper no longer sends a reporter to watch the local side and there is no agency writer at this match. Watching cricket at New Road remains a rare delight, but if the game is to remain relevant, it will have to fight harder for the exposure that is its oxygen.

Former ZC managing director Ozias Bvute, the head of the visiting delegation in Lahore, said the decision to tour Pakistan was made to break their isolation from cricket and foster brotherhood

Umar Farooq in Lahore19-May-2015An understanding of the impact isolation from international cricket can have on a country and a desire to improve bilateral relations between the two boards were what motivated Zimbabwe to tour Pakistan, according to Ozias Bvute, the former Zimbabwe Cricket managing director who is heading the visiting delegation.The Zimbabwe squad and its accompanying officials arrived in Lahore early on Tuesday and they had their first training session at the Gaddafi Stadium later in the day. Zimbabwe will play two T20 internationals and three ODIs against Pakistan between May 19 and 31, the first international matches to be held in the country since gunmen attacked the Sri Lankan team bus on March 3, 2009.”For many years, as you know, Zimbabwe was isolated,” Bvute said at the Gaddafi Stadium, referring to ZC’s self-imposed isolation from Test cricket between September 2005 and August 2011. “We understand the politics of isolation. We therefore say isolation is not the right way. In order for brothers to relate to one another we must break the barriers that exists between us and we must interact.”We have come here to strengthen the bilateral relations between our two nations. Cricket is bigger than any one of us and therefore we hope by coming here we have shown that cricket is and will be the winner. We look forward to an exciting two weeks, my team and I are raring to go. We are here to play cricket, we are here to uphold the spirit of brotherhood, which makes up the cricket fraternity.”Bvute denied reports that said Zimbabwe’s players were hesitant to tour Pakistan, and that they had to sign indemnity forms because the government’s Sports and Recreation Commission had not cleared the trip. “The position was that our players were offered the opportunity to voluntarily come to Pakistan,” he said. “They accepted the position and that’s why we are here with a full-strength team.”We obviously weighed the pros and the cons of what we wanted to achieve. And what we wanted to achieve is to come and play cricket against our brothers. Therefore we are here to affirm the position that regardless of various opinions that are being proffered throughout the world as to why we are here, we are here to play cricket and we will play cricket. No player has signed an indemnity form and they are all here voluntarily.”The system of sports in Zimbabwe is that the Sports and Recreation Commission governs us. SRC wrote a letter to ZC and indicated that the final decision as to whether the Zimbabwe team tours Pakistan solely rests on ZC. Our chairman Wilson Manase took the decision and we agreed to tour Pakistan. The board and players were supportive of his decision and ultimately we are here and this is the testimony of the fact that cricket is the ultimate winner.”The Zimbabwe delegation comprises 28 people – 16 players – and is being given security befitting a guest of the state. Their motorcade included patrolling vehicles and thousands of policemen have been deployed across the city. The route between the hotel and the stadium is seven kilometres long and the team will be escorted through it with no traffic. Bvute said he was pleased with the arrangements.”No one can ever guarantee your security anywhere in the world. Certainly the risk profile differs from country to country. Conditions will always not be the same and the principal is that we like to play cricket, we have come as brothers, our intentions are not political and our intentions are that cricket fans and Pakistan people will see good cricket.”

Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza has said that he is wary about South Africa’s spin threat, and is hoping that his batsmen and spinners can step up to the challenge in the ODIs

Mohammad Isam in Mirpur09-Jul-2015Bangladesh had to make do with shorter space for their warm-up session ahead of the first ODI against South Africa, as most of the ground was under covers amid leaden skies on Thursday.Soon, the players broke into two teams and played football before heading to the indoor nets of the Shere Bangla National Stadium. They stayed there for the next couple of hours as Dhaka experienced one heavy shower after another.More rain has been forecast for Friday, but that didn’t stop Mashrafe Mortaza from stating what he expects from his team in the first ODI against South Africa.”We have to play well by adjusting to the wicket,” Mashrafe said. “We have to be a step ahead of South Africa in every department. This is how you win against such a team. We had gone into a habit of winning matches since the World Cup. Everyone wants to win and this is our job.”But by focusing on the results too much, we forget the process with which we got the wins. We should go back to the basics, and to the mentality through which we turned things around since the World Cup.”Much of the talk ahead of the ODI series has centered around the pitch, especially after it offered considerable turn in the two T20s. While Mashrafe admitted that there was ‘confusion’ about the pitch, he said that the hosts would be better off if they don’t ponder too much about the wicket.”There is some confusion about the wicket. By that I mean, our batsmen and bowlers have been doing well on true wickets since the World Cup. But we also have think about their pace attack,” he said.”I think it is better not to think too much about the wicket. We have to keep our processes right, whoever is bowling at us. We have handled top bowlers in the recent past. Maybe we haven’t played in such wickets for a while, which is why have struggled a bit.”Bangladesh had struggled to come to terms with spin in the T20s, with left-arm spinner Aaron Phangiso, offspinner JP Duminy and debutant legspinner Eddie Leie taking nine wickets between them. South Africa’s spin attack will be further bolstered by Imran Tahir, who was the leading wicket taker in the World T20 in Bangladesh last year with 12 scalps at 10.91.”Imran Tahir has been bowling well for some time now. South Africa has been using him as a wicket-taking option. We have plans to encounter him although we did struggle against spin in the last two matches,” Mashrafe said.Mashrafe, though, backed Shakib Al Hasan, Arafat Sunny and Jubair Hossain to perform better than their opposite numbers. “If you look at his record, Shakib is one of the best bowlers in the world. Imran Tahir and their other spinners are doing well, and will be confident following the T20 series but I still expect our spinners to be a step above their spinners.”Mashrafe also stressed on the importance of Mahmudullah’s return, after the batsman missed the India series due to injury. “Mahmudullah is a key player who did very well for us at the World Cup,” Mashrafe said. “Unfortunately he got injured, so his return is quite important to us. He hadn’t played in the last month or so due to injury. He will need time to give his best but I am sure he will try the hardest.”

Pakistan allrounder Mohammad Hafeez has been banned from bowling for 12 months after his action was found to be illegal a second time since November 2014

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Jul-20153:26

‘Pakistan’s team combination will suffer’

Pakistan allrounder Mohammad Hafeez has been banned from bowling in international cricket for 12 months after his action was found to be illegal for a second time since November 2014. He will be able to have his action reassessed by the ICC only after this period is completed.Hafeez, 34, had undergone testing at an ICC-accredited lab in Chennai on July 6, after his action was reported following the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle in June. The tests revealed Hafeez’s action exceeded the permitted 15-degree limit.”As this report has constituted the player’s second report within a two-year period, the first of which led to a suspension, he is now automatically suspended from bowling in international cricket for a 12-month period,” the ICC said. “Hafeez is entitled to appeal any procedural aspect of an independent assessment that has led to this automatic suspension. However, only after the expiry of this one-year period will he be entitled to approach the ICC for a reassessment of his bowling action.”

Hafeez’s troubles

• November 2014 – Reported for a suspect action after Abu Dhabi Test v New Zealand

• December 2014 – Suspended from bowling in international cricket

• December 2014 – Tests reveal flex of elbow was as far as 31 degrees

• January 2015 – Fails unofficial retest

• April 2015 – Passes an official retest and is cleared to bowl again

• June 2015 – Reported again after the Galle Test v Sri Lanka

• July 2015 – Banned for 12 months

Hafeez had been reported for a suspect action after the Abu Dhabi Test against New Zealand in November last year, and in December his action was found to be illegal following tests at an ICC accredited centre in Loughborough, England. He was found to have an elbow extension up to 31 degrees.He underwent remedial work at a biomechanics lab in Chennai, but failed an unofficial test on his action on January 3. Later that month the PCB requested the ICC to retest Hafeez’s action in February in Brisbane, so that he could bowl at the World Cup if cleared, but he was ruled out of the tournament with a calf injury. Hafeez was finally cleared to bowl again in international cricket on April 21, after more tests on his action in Chennai.After he was reported following the Galle match, Hafeez bowled in the second Test in Colombo, where he took one wicket before travelling to Chennai to have his action tested. He missed the third Test in Pallekele as a result, but returned to play the first two ODIs in Sri Lanka, taking 4 for 41 and 2 for 61.

Nottinghamshire breathed new life into their NatWest T20 Blast campaign as they won a last-ball thriller by three wickets over rivals Lancashire at Old Trafford

ECB/PA15-Jul-2015
ScorecardJames Taylor showed a cool head to guide his side home•Getty Images

Nottinghamshire breathed new life into their NatWest T20 Blast campaign as they won a last-ball thriller by three wickets over rivals Lancashire at Old Trafford. With six needed off the last two balls, captain James Taylor hit successive boundaries to seal victory.Nottinghamshire, who lost the toss, won for the sixth time after reducing the hosts to 13 for 3 to move level on points with fourth-placed Lancashire on 12 points from 12. Lancashire are only ahead on net run-rate with two North Group matches left after failing to defend 137 for 4 on a slow pitch, a total which included a pair of 51s for Karl Brown and Steven Croft.This was their fourth home defeat in six this season, having previously never lost more than twice at this venue in a Twenty20 campaign.Former Lancashire allrounder Steven Mullaney excelled in returning 1 for 14 from four overs of canny medium pace before Notts made hard work of the chase.They lost three wickets for 19 to slip from 63 for 1 in the 11th over and ended up needing 13 off the last against Kyle Jarvis. Taylor kept cool to finish 33 not out off 21.Early wickets for Samit Patel, Harry Gurney and a run out hurt the hosts as Ashwell Prince chipped to mid-off, Paul Horton chopped on and Alex Davies was run out without facing a ball going for two. But Brown ensured Nottinghamshire did not have things all their own way as he hit all of six boundaries accrued in a Powerplay score of 36 for 3.In fact, the in-form right-hander scored all of Lancashire’s first eight boundaries on the way to a 39-ball fifty, his third in a row, as he helped them reach 69 for 3 after 11.Unfortunately for the hosts, Brown holed out to long-on in the next off the medium pace of his childhood best-mate Mullaney as the score slipped to 70 for 4 and ended a 57-run partnership with Croft.They went without a four or six from the fifth ball of the 11th over to the third ball of the 17th, although Croft and James Faulkner shared 67 unbroken for the fifth wicket to carry their side to something to bowl at.Notts lost Michael Lumb to a Jarvis slower ball in the third over of their chase and only reached six overs at 28 for 1. At halfway, they were 61 for one, needing 77 more with Alex Hales (30) and Riki Wessels together. But they lost 3 for 19 inside three overs to put the game back in the balance at 82 for 4 in the 14th.Wessels cut Jordan Clark to point, ending a 47-run stand with Hales, who then miscued Stephen Parry’s left-arm spin to midwicket, before Patel also cut Clark to point.The target went to 45 off the last five overs and 21 off 11 balls when Faulkner yorked compatriot Dan Christian and had Mullaney brilliantly caught at deep midwicket by a running Arron Lilley – leaving Notts 117 for six in the 19th. Chris Read also fell in the last over but the visitors made it home.