The ideal captain is a man who can compartmentalise and focus on his own game when necessary, but keep the big picture in the back of his mind. In that respect, Michael Clarke has been the perfect leader in the first ten Tests of his captaincy career

Brydon Coverdale in Perth12-Jan-2012Being handed the Test captaincy can weigh on the mind of a batsman when he’s at the crease. Was it a mistake to bat first? Should I rein in my game to set an example? What happens if I fail a few times? What will our bowlers do on this pitch? When should I declare? The ideal captain is a man who can compartmentalise and focus on his own game when necessary, but keep the big picture in the back of his mind.In that respect, Michael Clarke has been the perfect leader in the first ten Tests of his captaincy career. His unbeaten 329 at the SCG last week was a fine example: a well-paced innings full of determination that ended with a declaration that was designed only to give his team the best possible chance of victory. Personal milestones were ignored.It was also his fourth hundred in ten Tests as captain. As leader, he has averaged 59.18. Ricky Ponting didn’t manage a Test hundred as skipper until his tenth match in charge. Brian Lara took even longer. Sachin Tendulkar averaged 34.61 from his first ten Tests as captain. Not since Allan Border has Australia had a leader whose own game has thrived so much in the initial stages at the helm.Clarke brushes off the idea that he has lifted his batting as leader. The stats suggest he is being overly modest. But what he doesn’t deny is that it has been pleasing to prove that the captaincy has not been a burden on his own batting.”It’s nice to be getting some results now and it’s even more special being captain,” Clarke said. “There’s always that stigma that the extra responsibility can affect your batting, so I’m pleased that it hasn’t. But I don’t feel any different, to be honest.”I feel I’m doing the hard work and it’s nice to see some results but I know things change quickly. I could be sitting here in a couple of games time under pressure that I haven’t scored any runs. It’s about making sure that my work ethic off the field is my No.1 priority.”I think my game is continuing to improve. I hope it is. I think results have probably shown me that it is. I don’t feel I’ve changed much since becoming captain. I feel I’m still able to do the work [on my batting] that I need to do in the nets, to prepare and improve on my weaknesses. That’s what I’ve tried to do over the last two years.”After an innings of such strength and control as his tripled-hundred in Sydney, Clarke appears to be in the best form of his career. That it follows a captain’s century in trying conditions in Cape Town in November and another ton against New Zealand in Brisbane in the first Test of the summer, only adds to the idea. But Clarke himself is not convinced.”If I go and get a pair in this Test match, I’m then talking about my spot in the team, as I was two weeks ago,” he said. “One innings … it’s fantastic, don’t get me wrong, it’s great to have made some runs in Sydney to contribute to the success we’ve had in this series so far … but it’s irrelevant right now. It’s gone. It’s a completely different wicket, we’re in completely different conditions, and I’m on zero when I walk out to bat.”And that different pitch is very different indeed. Australia and India were greeted in the few days before the Test, which starts on Friday, by a WACA surface with plenty of grass on it. The curator, Cameron Sutherland, expects pace and bounce just like last summer, when Australia used the conditions to complete their only win of the Ashes campaign. Clarke is looking forward to playing on the Perth pitch.”I prefer the pace,” he said. “I think I’ve had my most success in Australia on wickets like the Gabba and here in Perth. I like the ball coming on. For smaller guys like myself, it means you don’t have to try and hit the ball too hard, you can use the pace to your advantage. And they’re probably the best conditions to face spin on, because the ball bounces a lot more and you can hit through the line.”But on wickets like this that do have pace and bounce it’s really hard to start your innings. You’ll see a lot of players through this Test match who will nick, it’ll find the edges of their bat. But I think once you get in, generally the faster, bouncier wickets are as good to bat on as anywhere in the world.”That won’t necessarily mean that he chooses to bat if he wins the toss. Nor will he second-guess his own decision once it is made. And when he’s at the crease, don’t expect anything but the battle between bat and ball to weigh on his mind.

Yuvraj Singh has shown a “slightly better than expected” response to his first cycle of chemotherapy

Sharda Ugra16-Feb-2012Yuvraj Singh has shown a “slightly better than expected” response to his first cycle of chemotherapy to counter a germ-cell tumour called mediastinal seminoma. His medical team in India and the USA will however arrive at a definitive conclusion after conducting a CT scan at the end of his nine weeks of treatment.Explaining Yuvraj’s progress, Dr Nitesh Rohatgi, a senior medical oncologist at Delhi’s Max Cancer Centre who is co-ordinating the treatment with doctors in the USA, told ESPNcricinfo that Yuvraj’s blood tests and X-rays were “positive and we know that the treatment is working”.Rohatgi was speaking after Yuvraj’s upbeat tweet [below] late on Wednesday night about his progress. “We can only be certain after the CT scan at the end of the treatment,” Rohatgi said. “We have to give him enough chemo to melt it [the tumour] all down and also to aim at preventing it from recurring.”
The “Dr Lawrence” Yuvraj was referring to in his tweet is Dr Lawrence Einhorn, who headed the treatment of cycling champion Lance Armstrong in 1996. Armstrong had been diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of testicular cancer and was given a 40% chance of survival. Einhorn is regarded as the pioneer of life-saving treatment for testicular cancer, increasing survival levels up to 90%, and an expert in the chemotherapy used to tackle seminoma. Though he largely focusses on research these days, he has taken on Yuvraj’s case. On Tuesday, Armstrong sent Yuvraj a personal message of support.The chemotherapy that Yuvraj will undergo involves nine weeks of a combination of three cancer drugs – bleomycin, ciplatin and etoposide – in three cycles. He has finished the first of the cycles that included a combination of the drugs every day for five days and then, after a week’s gap, two days of a different schedule of the drugs. A week’s gap follows, at which point the next cycle begins with five straight days of the drugs. His second cycle began on Wednesday.”The cycles work this way,” Rohatgi said, “because you want to maximise effect and minimise side-effects. This is the most commonly used and the most effective treatment, and this is going to keep him most physically fit.”Once the after-effects of his first cycle of chemotherapy began to wear off, Yuvraj tried light rounds of cardio-vascular exercises, like jogging and cycling, in the gym. He had spoken to Rohatgi at length on Thursday, to understand the interpretations of the results of the first round of his chemotherapy.

Ben Cutting, the Queensland fast bowler, has been ruled out of the Sheffield Shield final

Brydon Coverdale15-Mar-2012Ben Cutting, the Queensland fast bowler, has been ruled out of the Sheffield Shield final. Cutting missed Queensland’s last game due to a groin injury and was named in a 13-man squad for the final against Tasmania, which starts at the Gabba on Friday, but the Bulls confirmed on the eve of the match he would not play.Cutting bowled in the nets on Thursday and while he got through training, Queensland felt his lack of match bowling in the past fortnight was a concern, and that playing him in a five-day final could still be risky. The Bulls are expected to name Ryan Harris, Steve Magoffin, Alister McDermott and Cameron Boyce as their attack, although Luke Feldman is also in the squad and could be considered.Tasmania also have a decision to make regarding the make-up of their attack, with three men from their 14-man squad fighting for one spot. Jackson Bird, Luke Butterworth and James Faulkner will be included alongside the spinner Jason Krejza, but the assistant coach Ali de Winter said there was competition for one more place.”We think we’ve got an attack that can exploit the conditions up here whether it’s flat or has a bit of grass on it,” de Winter told ESPNcricinfo. “We’ve got good diversity. We’ve got a left-armer in Faulkner, we’ve got Krejza who’s bowling very well in the last couple of weeks, and then we’ve got an issue with who we pick for our fourth seaming spot, whether it’s Jeremy Smith or Brendan Drew or Matt Johnston.”The Gabba pitch has spent plenty of time under cover over the past few days due to rain in Brisbane and showers have been forecast for all five days of the match. However, given the likelihood that the pitch will favour the bowlers, de Winter does not expect a draw, which would deliver the title to Queensland after they finished on top of the table.”Given we get at least three or four days of cricket here one team or another will win,” he said. “There will certainly be a result in the game. Both teams are in good form and playing an attacking brand of cricket. It will be an exciting game if nothing else.”Tasmania are the defending champions and are aiming to win their third Shield title in six years, while the Bulls will be desperate to improve their conversion rate having won the title only once in the past nine years despite making the final six times. Chris Hartley and James Hopes are the only Queensland players to have played in a title-winning side, in 2005-06.It will also be an opportunity for Ricky Ponting to win a domestic title for the first time in a state career spanning 20 seasons. Ponting, the acting captain for Tasmania while George Bailey is with the ODI squad in the Caribbean, has not played in a Shield final since 1993-94, and enters this match in fine form, having scored 75 not out, 130 and 111 in his three domestic innings since being axed from Australia’s one-day international side.Queensland squad Wade Townsend, Alex Kemp, Andrew Robinson, Joe Burns, Chris Lynn, James Hopes (capt), Chris Hartley (wk), Ryan Harris, Steve Magoffin, Luke Feldman, Cameron Boyce, Alister McDermott.Tasmania squad Ed Cowan, Steve Cazzulino, Ricky Ponting (capt), Alex Doolan, Mark Cosgrove, Nick Kruger, Tom Triffitt (wk), Luke Butterworth, James Faulkner, Matt Johnston, Jason Krejza, Brendan Drew, Jackson Bird, Jeremy Smith.

Robin Peterson borrowed shots from his namesake, Kevin Pietersen, as he played a cameo punctuated with switch hits on his IPL debut to snatch victory for the Mumbai Indians

The Report by Firdose Moonda25-Apr-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details Rohit Sharma gave Mumbai hope with 50 off 30 balls•AFP

Robin Peterson borrowed shots from his namesake, Kevin Pietersen, as he played a cameo punctuated with switch hits on his IPL debut to snatch victory for the Mumbai Indians. Peterson scored 15 runs off four balls in the penultimate over and Ambati Rayudu smacked two sixes to cost Kings XI 27 runs. The pair took Mumbai from a position where victory seemed unlikely, with 32 runs needed of 12 balls, to where it became an obvious conclusion with only five runs to get in the last over.After allowing Kings XI Punjab to post their highest total in IPL 2012 with a bowling effort that was dominated by deliveries that were too short, Mumbai were favourites to win when Rohit Sharma was at the crease, marching to his half-century. Parvinder Awana swung the pendulum back towards Kings XI with a double strike in his final over – the 18th – in which he removed both Sharma and Harbhajan Singh. Peterson and Rayudu had the final say though, as they ravaged the 19th over and prevented Kings XI from completing the home and away double against Mumbai this season.In an innings which mirrored the Kings XI’s, Mumbai started solidly, were held up in the middle and blazed their way through to the end. Sachin Tendulkar and James Franklin, who was moved to open the batting in the previous match and stayed there, built a sturdy foundation. Tendulkar started by sweeping Bhargav Bhatt to long-leg, allowing his touches of finesse to shine through. Franklin clipped Praveen Kumar through midwicket and drove Parvinder Awana over the covers and the pair put on a fuss-free fifty-two run stand.Azhar Mahmood caused some jitters in the Mumbai camp when he had Franklin caught behind off a beautiful delivery that nipped away from him. In his next over, Mahmood accounted for Tendulkar, who got a thin inside edge through to Nitin Saini. Piyush Chawla had Dinesh Karthik caught at short fine leg and Mumbai were no longer in command.
It set the stage for Rohit, who had not performed to expectation so far, to step up and he did. He announced his intent by smashing Chawla for a flat six over long-off and helped himself to boundaries off full tosses offered by both Awana and Praveen when they missed their lines.Rohit was guiding Mumbai to victory when he slashed the ball to Mahmood at backward point and the advantage returned to Kings XI. Harbhajan made little contribution as he top-edged without moving his feet to be caught at long-off and Mumbai seemed to need a little miracle to dig themselves out of the hole Awana created.Peterson started the seemingly impossible, switch hitting Chawla twice for four and slog sweeping him for six before Rayudu launched the legspinner for back to back sixes. Mahmood made it tough for Mumbai to score the last five but they did so with a ball to spare to claim a memorable win.Kings XI would have thought they had enough runs at the halfway stage, having scored 88 runs off the last seven overs of their innings. David Hussey and David Miller starred in the last third of the Kings XI innings to give them a competitive total on a slow surface with a fourth-wicket stand that mixed defiance with aggression.Saini and Mandeep Singh built a sturdy foundation for Kings XI with an opening stand of 35 but Kings XI stagnated when Mandeep was dismissed. They scored just 12 runs in four overs after Mandeep returned to the dug out and crawled to the 10-over mark at 56 for 2. In a surprise move, Harbhajan brought Franklin on to bowl and he slowed Kings XI up further. He bowled four good balls upfront, which yielded only four runs, before Shaun Marsh attempted to slice a ball over the off-side but top-edged it to Harbhajan at cover, who took a swirling catch.Miller was the perfect for partner for Hussey and showed aggression from the get-go, when he pulled the second ball he faced, a short one from RP, through midwicket. Having seen short balls get punished, Kieron Pollard offered Hussey two more and was clubbed over midwicket and upper cut over third man.Munaf Patel searched for yorkers but missed his length and dished out full tosses. Miller swiped him over long-on and Hussey did the same, to bring up a well-earned half-century. Clint McKay copied Munaf and got the yorker right on occasion. Still, he did not survive the late assault from Hussey, who steered him third man and made room to hit him over his head for six. Munaf finished the innings having conceded back to back sixes off Miller, who ended unbeaten on 34 off 17 balls.

Former South Africa fast bowler Allan Donald has said that Pune Warriors fast bowler Ashok Dinda has the attitude and skill to compete for a berth in the Indian team

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Apr-2012Former South Africa fast bowler Allan Donald has said that Pune Warriors fast bowler Ashok Dinda has the attitude and skill to compete for a berth in the Indian team. Dinda is currently Warriors’ joint leading wicket-taker, along with Rahul Sharma, with eight wickets in the IPL.Donald, Warriors’ bowling coach, said that Dinda is the pick of the Indian fast bowlers in the IPL this year. “Of all the Indian bowlers I have seen, he is right up there,” Donald told . “We all want to stack up the numbers [wickets] but there is a patient process to follow and that for me will make him a big-time contender in the Indian team.”Since his debut in 2010 against Zimbabwe, Dinda has played seven ODIs and three T20Is for India, picking up five wickets in each format. He played in the Asia Cup before the IPL and is in the India A squad to tour the West Indies in June.Donald said that the BCCI should be clear as to what role they want Dinda to play in the future. “Dinda has impressed me with his attitude and skill. The question I want to ask, do coaches see him as a stand-in for the big boys or a potential talent who you can back to do you a job no matter what?” Donald said.Donald, known for an iconic jump in his delivery stride, said Dinda’s bowling action reminded him of himself during his playing days. “I have no problem with his jump and that’s the way he has done it for a while now. It’s not something you see with most bowlers but he [Dinda] reminds me of myself. I too had to get off the ground high enough to snap very hard at the crease.”I love the hang time he gets before he snaps through the crease. The hang time allows him to get into a strong position before pulling the trigger. The action comes naturally to him but the stress on the body is huge so paying attention to his core will be something he will have to work hard on.”Having taken 330 Test and 272 ODI wickets in his career, Donald said he found similarities between a bowler’s action and a golfer’s swing. “Bowling is like a golf swing. It is all about feel and it is complex. There is a lot that can go wrong, if everything is not in-sync. When you are in good form, you have to understand why you are in that sort of form and again it brings me back to the training ground.”

The BCCI has confirmed that they will make a one-time benefit payment to certain former national and domestic players, amounting to approximately Rs 70 crore ($13,050,000 approx), in recognition of their services to Indian cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff12-May-2012The BCCI has ratified a one-time benefit payment to former national and domestic players, totalling approximately Rs 70 crore ($13 million), for their services to Indian cricket. The decision, first announced at the IPL opening ceremony, was confirmed at the board’s Working Committee meeting in Chennai today.

Some players who stand to benefit

• 100+ Tests, Rs 1.5 crore: Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar

• 75-99 Tests, Rs 1 crore: GR Viswanath, Syed Kirmani, Ravi Shastri

• 50-74 Tests, Rs 75 lakh: B Chandrasekhar, Mohinder Amarnath, S Venkataraghavan

• 25-49 Tests, Rs 60 lakh: Erapalli Prasanna, Salim Durani, Maninder Singh

The money will come from the proceeds of the IPL playoff games, BCCI president N Srinivasan had earlier said. “This is a small thank you to those who have done yeoman service to Indian cricket.”The scheme, applicable to players who retired before the 2003-04 season, stands to benefit around 160 cricketers. The payments will be made in seven categories, with the top payments going to players who have played more than 100 Tests. Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar and Dilip Vengsarkar fall under this category, and will receive Rs 1.5 crore ($280,000 approx) each.Other retired Test players will get between Rs 35 lakhs and Rs 1 crore, depending on the number of games they have played. Domestic players who have played 100 and more first-class games will be awarded Rs 30 lakhs, while those who have played 75-99 first-class matches will get Rs 25 lakh each.It is not yet clear, though, whether Mohammad Azharuddin and Ajay Sharma, who were both banned for life on match-fixing charges, will benefit from the scheme.The announcement was welcomed by two India greats, Chandu Borde and Bapu Nadkarni. “Good Lord, it’s fantastic,” said Borde, who led India in one Test on the 1967-68 tour of Australia, when the regular captain Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi was injured and unavailable to play. He played 55 Tests between 1958 and 1969 and stands to gain Rs. 75 lakh.Borde’s team-mate, the allrounder Bapu Nadkarni, said he had been expecting this sort of an announcement for some time now, having pursued the matter with other former cricketers and former BCCI president Sharad Pawar.”To be frank, we have been discussing this with Sharad Pawar for the last two to three years. He had promised us it would be done. I heard after the last meeting of the Board that something was coming,” Nadkarni said. He will receive Rs 60 lakh for his 41 Tests, played between 1955 and 1968.”It was time we got something like this as expenses have been mounting with the price rise and medical expenses too going up,” Nadkarni said. “We are living on what we had saved from our jobs which, you are aware, were not high-paying in those days.”

Patrick Saddler will lead Scotland in the Under-19 World Cup in Australia in August, with Matthew Cross as his deputy

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Jun-2012Patrick Sadler will lead Scotland in the Under-19 World Cup in Australia in August. A fast bowler, Sadler had also lead Scotland in the Under-19 World Cup qualifiers, during the course of which Scotland lost only one game in 14, and finished in top spot in the global category.

Scotland’s squad for the U-19 World Cup

Patrick Sadler (capt), Mathew Cross (vice-capt), Aman Bailwal, Freddie Coleman, Henry Edwards, Nick Farrar, Gavin Main, Tom McBride, Scott McElnea, Ross McLean, Sam Page, Peter Ross, Kyle Smith, Ruaidhri Smith, Andrew Umeed

Top-order batsman Mathew Cross was named vice-captain of the 15-man squad announced by Cricket Scotland. Sadler and Cross have both impressed in the MCC Universities programme so far this season, for Cambridge and Loughborough respectively.Freddie Coleman, a batsman who has played in England’s domestic 40-overs tournament this season for Scotland, has also been included.”We are in an extremely fortunate position with this group, in that we have real strength in depth,” Scotland’s coach, Craig Wright, said. “In particular, some of the younger players have made real progress and forced their way into the squad.”The lads have earned the right to test themselves against the best age-group players in the world, and I believe they have the attributes to give a good account of themselves in the competition.”Scotland will fly to Australia on July 24, and have a week’s preparation in the lead-up to the tournament. Their first World Cup match is against New Zealand on August 12.

Centuries from Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels set up a comfortable win for West Indies

The Report by Siddarth Ravindran07-Jul-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels both made centuries to power West Indies to 315•WICB

It is a rarity these days for West Indies to enter a series as overwhelming favourites but it hasn’t taken them long to show how much of a gulf exists between them and New Zealand. On the same Sabina Park track on which New Zealand stuttered to 190 two days ago, West Indies bludgeoned 315 in the second ODI. It was a more comfortable win than the 55-run margin suggests, and despite BJ Watling’s enterprising innings, New Zealand never really threatened to pull off a win.Contrasting centuries from local heroes Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels kept the Jamaican crowd entertained in the morning, as the innings unfolded with the noisy chorus of vuvuzelas in the background.In the blockbuster , the police chief memorably deadpans, “We are going to need a bigger boat,” on seeing the giant killer shark for the first time. International bowlers will have similar sentiments on seeing Chris Gayle walk out to bat. Once again he made a cricket ground seem tiny as he hit nine sixes in another exhibition of his ability to make power-hitting look effortless.With his father, sister and several other family members watching, Gayle destroyed New Zealand’s listless bowling to reach his 20th ODI hundred, a new West Indian record as he went past the great Brian Lara’s tally. It was also his fifth fifty-plus score in six innings since his international exile ended last month.New Zealand’s bowlers were looking to exploit some of the early morning moisture in the track, but their only success was dismissing Lendl Simmons. He fell for his sixth successive score under 20 after returning to the West Indies side, chasing an away-going delivery from Tim Southee in the fourth over. Any hopes of keeping the batsmen under pressure were swiftly and brutally dashed. In the next over, Gayle launched New Zealand’s bowling spearhead Kyle Mills for three sixes over mid-off.Though he repeatedly dispatched the ball into the stands, Gayle’s innings was not all slam-bang. There was plenty of discretion as he regularly let deliveries go through to the keeper or watchfully defended them. When he did decide to attack, his shots were almost always in the V, unlike the Twenty20-era slogger’s preferred thwack to midwicket.After the early punishment, New Zealand’s quicker bowlers adapted their line to Gayle, targetting the middle and leg stump as they managed to slow him down a touch. Still, there were the gentle offerings of an array of part-time slow bowlers for Gayle to feast on. A murderous straight hit off Daniel Flynn took him to 98, and a tickle down to fine leg for four off Kane Williamson in the 30th over brought up his century. He did a celebratory jig, before sinking to his knees with his hands aloft as the Jamaican crowd cheered their biggest cricketing idol.Gayle had plenty of time to go on past his career-best score of 153, but in the 38th over, one of his shots – finally – didn’t carry past the rope, landing instead in the hands of deep midwicket. That only allowed the other Jamaican batting star, Marlon Samuels, to take centrestage.Unlike Gayle’s boundary-filled innings, Samuels’ knock was more about the singles – taking 51 of them, and even pushing Gayle to come back for several quick twos. Though Samuels didn’t maintain as high a strike-rate as Gayle, he wasn’t too far off a run-a-ball. He reached his half-century off 57 deliveries, though he had hit only a couple of fours and a six.Even when Samuels started finding the boundaries regularly, there was a marked difference to the Gayle style – three consecutive cover-driven fours off Tim Southee in the 39th over were all about timing and placement, and little about power-hitting.Two of West Indies’ middle-order powerhouses, Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo, failed to make an impact, and New Zealand managed to shackle the scoring as Samuels slowed down in sight of the century. Samuels scored only in singles in the last seven overs of the innings before finally reaching his first ODI hundred since 2006 in the final over. Despite Darren Sammy’s quickfire 31, West Indies gathered only 33 runs in the final five overs, but the total still proved far too much for the inexperienced New Zealand batsmen.The chase got off to a reasonable, though not explosive, start. Rob Nicol fell early after hitting a couple of boundaries, Daniel Flynn played an edgy innings before departing in the 12th over with the score on 62. New Zealand then lost momentum as Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson struggled to pull off the big hits. When Guptill was dismissed midway through the innings, the asking-rate was nearing eight, and the game looked lost.Williamson and Watling tried to revive the innings through a quick 70-run stand, but though both compiled half-centuries, they had too much to do. Williamson was done in by a full swinging ball from Rampaul in the 37th over virtually ending the contest, though Watling improved his highest score in ODIs for the second game in a row and kept fighting till the end.

Increasingly, it is difficult to dismiss the suspicion that Nottinghamshire’s title challenge is on its last legs and that Warwickshire have one hand on the trophy

Jon Culley at Edgbaston28-Aug-2012Warwickshire 298 for 5 (Westwood 81, Ambrose 64*) v Nottinghamshire
ScorecardPaul Franks claimed three wickets but Warwickshire ended the opening day well placed•Getty Images

Increasingly, it is difficult to dismiss the suspicion that Nottinghamshire’s title challenge is on its last legs and that Warwickshire have one hand on the trophy. Quite apart from the knowledge that Chris Read’s team will be shorn of four of their top six batsmen when these sides meet again at Trent Bridge in the last week of the season, it now looks likely that Andre Adams, the bowler on whom so much of their recent success has rested, will be missing too.Adams, who turned 37 last month, was recalled after missing Nottinghamshire’s match against Durham nearly two weeks ago with a calf injury. However, it was clear during his 10-over opening spell that he was not at his best. He bowled two much shorter spells later and by the end of the second of those he was coming in off a shortened run in clear discomfort. He left the field soon afterwards.Mick Newell, Nottinghamshire’s director of cricket, confirmed that Adams was still troubled by the calf problem and that he feared his season was over.”He has been struggling since our game at Taunton three weeks ago and it isn’t getting better,” he said. “It was a bit of a gamble playing him here but it is a game we have to win so we felt we had to take that gamble. Unfortunately he has had a recurrence and I think that may be it for the season for him now.”Nottinghamshire are also without their left-arm quick, Harry Gurney, while Ben Phillips was ruled out of this match when he went down with a ‘flu-like virus overnight. With Samit Patel on England duty, Nottinghamshire are left with Luke Fletcher, Andy Carter and Paul Franks to share the seam-bowling duties, with Graeme White in as specialist spinner.However, though Fletcher and Franks – both keen to impress, for different reasons – performed well, with Adams ineffective they lacked enough armoury to contain Warwickshire’s strong batting line-up.A partnership of 102 between Tim Ambrose and Rikki Clarke, spanning 30 overs either side of tea against an ageing ball, built on opener Ian Westwood’s valuable 81 to take Warwickshire close to 300 at the close and with Ian Blackwell still to come it would be no surprise on a good pitch if the final total were closer to 400, even if a full quota of batting points might be out of reach.Westwood might have been out twice. He was dropped on 48 low down at first slip by Alex Hales off Fletcher and again on 62 at second slip by Adam Voges off Adams. In matches as critical as this, chances missed are forgiven less easily than ever and Hales, in particular, has not had the surest hands this season.Hales did hold on to one earlier as Fletcher made the first breakthrough by removing Varun Chopra. Fletcher, 23, is a favourite with Nottinghamshire supporters, who always appreciate a trier. A new-ball bowler with natural aggression, he is a broadly built character who plainly does not find it as easy as some to keep off the pounds yet is a handful for most batsmen when he is on song and this was such a day. He finished with 2 for 49 from 25 overs, proving his stamina when he came back for his fourth spell of the day, with the new ball, and almost immediately had Clarke caught behind.Compared with Fletcher, Franks is at the other end of his career. Like Fletcher, he can seldom be faulted for commitment, not least because he is also a Nottinghamshire man and wears his county allegiance on his sleeve. His motivation now is that he would prefer to finish his career there, after 17 seasons as a senior player, rather than move on. Although he has a year left on his contract, he has become peripheral to Nottinghamshire’s plans as they seek to build a new seam attack and he has been told he can speak to other counties.He had taken only seven first-class wickets before this match yet performed impressively, adding three to his score with swinging deliveries. He bowled William Porterfield with one that came back into the left-hander and persuaded another to move enough to trap Westwood leg before, having had Jim Troughton caught behind off an inside edge for 40 the over before.Those wickets threatened momentarily to shift the balance back towards Nottinghamshire. Had Adams been somewhere near his best, it might have been a turning point. As it is, Ambrose, who has hit 11 fours and looked in control, has taken the initiative back and Nottinghamshire’s chances of taking the win they need to stay in contention already look slim.

West Indies and New Zealand qualified for the semi-finals of the women’s World Twenty20 with big wins over South Africa and Sri Lanka respectively

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Sep-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Stafanie Taylor was in fine form with both bat and ball against South Africa•ICC/Getty

Stafanie Taylor led a dominating performance from West Indies in Galle, as they thrashed South Africa and qualified for the semi-finals. Taylor starred in an all-round effort, starting with her offspinners while opening the bowling. She bowled a miserly spell, conceding just 10 runs in four overs and picking up three wickets.South Africa were left reeling at 19 for 6 at one stage, and only a seventh-wicket stand of 46 helped save them from further humiliation. Dane van Niekerk (29) and Shabnim Ismail (16) resisted until they were both run out, and South Africa had to settle for just 70 in their 20 overs.West Indies completed a clinical victory, Taylor remaining unbeaten on 33 with the bat. She was part of an unbroken 71-run opening stand with Juliana Nero, and the pair took just 9.4 overs to seal victory.West Indies captain Merissa Aguilleira said the plan was to expose South Africa’s weakness against spin. “We know that they fancy pace on the ball and like the ball coming onto the bat. We decided to change the normal game-plan and force them to go for shots by using our slow bowlers,” Aguilleira said.She also praised Taylor’s contribution: “Stafanie showed today why she is among the best in the world at the moment and rated among the best women who have played international cricket. She led the way with the ball and came back to finish the job with the bat. She’s a class act and always gives her all for the team.”
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
New Zealand sealed their spot in the semi-finals on a day of one-sided contests in the women’s World Twenty20. They beat hosts Sri Lanka by eight wickets, following a collective bowling effort that set up an easy chase. Sri Lanka chose to bat but were jolted early in their innings, losing opener Yasoda Mendis in the third over. The only signs of promise were the second-wicket stand of 28 between Inoka Galagedara and Chamari Atapattu and of 29 between captain Shashikala Siriwardene and Dilani Surangika for the fourth wicket.But the batsmen only managed a highest score of 14 between them, and persistent strikes from the New Zealand bowlers ensured Sri Lanka were bowled out for 89. Sian Ruck, Erin Bermingham and Morna Nielson picked up two wickets each.New Zealand’s win wasn’t quite as comprehensive as what West Indies managed against South Africa, but it was still fairly clinical. Captain Suzie Bates fell early in the chase but Amy Satterthwaite made an unbeaten 32, supported by Sophie Devine’s 23. New Zealand lost just two wickets and completed the win in the 16th over.New Zealand, West Indies, Australia and England are the four semi-finalists, but the line-ups will be decided on October 1 – the last day of the league games.