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Left-arm spinner more comfortable in set-up after ‘horrible’ experience in Brisbane Test

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Mar-2022Jack Leach, England’s left-arm spinner, says he has been studying YouTube videos of Graeme Swann in a bid to hone his attacking instincts, after coming through an extraordinary workload in Barbados with a better understanding of his role within the team.Leach churned through 94.5 overs for his six wickets in last week’s second Test in Bridgetown, the heaviest workload for an England bowler since Tony Lock sent down 115 overs against Pakistan in Dhaka in 1962. However, Leach was ultimately thwarted by the broad blade of Kraigg Brathwaite, who broke a record of his own in facing 673 balls in the match, the most by a West Indian in Test history.Nevertheless, after his demoralising experiences in 2021 – a year which was bookended by a pair of maulings at the hands of Rishabh Pant in Chennai and Australia’s top-order at Brisbane, and encompassed a home Test summer in which he once again didn’t play a single match – Leach is just happy to be in the thick of the action once again.”I’m trying to become the frontline spinner for England and I see the last couple of weeks as really valuable for my development on that road,” Leach said. “It won’t be too long before I turn those three-fors into five-fors, especially in the second innings.”As in the first Test in Antigua, England pressed hard for victory after a final-day declaration but were thwarted by West Indies’ stoic resistance in the final session. But despite the disappointment of another drawn game, Leach admits he is in a far better place than he was back in December, when he was thrashed for 102 runs in 13 overs in the first Test at the Gabba, en route to a bruising nine-wicket defeat.At a venue that has traditionally been tough for fingerspinners, Leach was crashed for five sixes and eight fours by the likes of David Warner and Travis Head – a performance that caused him to miss the second Test at Adelaide on a surface that ought to have suited his methods.Jack Leach struck early on the third morning in Barbados•Getty Images

“Brisbane was…I felt horrible,” he said. “Not a good moment but I think I trained the next day actually after the game, thanks to Jeetan Patel who said ‘let’s do something about it rather than stew’. Australia was a really tough trip for everyone but I did feel like I learned a lot and I came back really motivated and buzzing.”It’s been nice to play back to back games,” he added. “This is what I want to be doing – playing and contributing. I’m trying to offer as much as I can and maybe I wasn’t doing that so much before. I felt I was playing for my spot.”Though the series remains locked at 0-0, there have been signs of a renewed spirit within the England team, with the likes of Dan Lawrence and Saqib Mahmood embracing the new “team first” mantra with wholehearted displays at Bridgetown, to back up a brace of hundreds from Joe Root, and a welcome return to form from Ben Stokes, who made his 11th Test century and his first for 18 months in the first innings.And, Leach said, an effort had also been made to build his self-belief within the squad – a team for which he earned cult status with his crucial part in Stokes’ Headingley miracle in 2019, but for which he admitted to feeling a peripheral figure more recently, having not played a home Test since that same Ashes series three years ago.”That’s been the message to everyone really,” Leach said. “It’s all about the team and we all have a voice. Before I felt a lot of pressure on my own game and you forget you are contributing to something bigger.”It almost takes the pressure off your own game. I said openly to the group here that at Somerset I feel I belong, so I feel more comfortable giving my points of view. Maybe because I felt I belonged in terms of what I offer on the cricket field.Jack Leach grimaces after a chastening day in Brisbane during the Ashes•Getty Images

“We wouldn’t be here if we are not good enough cricketers, but we can offer in different ways. I want to offer with wickets, but if I’m not, I want to be awesome in the field and try to score runs. I think maybe I got it a bit wrong beforehand. Not on purpose but I felt I was playing for my spot.”The next step in Leach’s development will be to trust himself to be more attacking with the ball. He conceded just 154 runs in his 94.5 overs in Bridgetown – a testament to his impressive control. But by his own admission he was guilty at times of firing the ball through too quickly, particularly when it got older. And to that end, he’s looking to Swann’s influence – the most attacking spin bowler in England’s recent history, and a man who claimed 255 wickets in 60 Tests between 2008 and 2013.”A big focus for me now is having that attacking mindset, always looking to take wickets,” he said. “I’ve been guilty of easing into spells, earning the right to bowl and going at two an over. But that’s a negative mindset.Related

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• Jack Leach the major positive as England find lessons in Antiguan adversity

• Phil Simmons hopes for rise in home support after 'playing at Trent Bridge' for first Test

• England's rookies learn the lessons of a hard day in the dirt

• Saqib Mahmood offers England desired point of difference with hard yards on debut

“I’ve watched YouTube videos of Swann and how attacking that looks. I don’t know what he was thinking – in fact I do know, it’s “how am I trying to get this guy out?” and sometimes the first 20 balls against a batter is your chance.””But even if it doesn’t happen and I’m bowling 60 overs, it’s important to keep that mindset. There are times when the pitches here have felt very unresponsive, especially when the ball is older; the newer ball grips and [on some days] the pitches have felt tacky early on and spin.”On the third morning I thought I could drive it into the wicket to get it to spin but as the ball gets older, you have to give it more air. That’s something I’ll take forward, it’s not something you get used to in England. But that’s part of the journey of learning to be a spinner in Test cricket.”

The Australia captain believes England pair Katherine Brunt and Nat Sciver will change the dynamic of the Stars

Annesha Ghosh14-Oct-20204:39

Meg Lanning: I’ve always wanted to win at anything that I do’

Australia captain Meg Lanning is hopeful that a maiden WBBL title will cease to elude her this season as she resumes leadership duties at a new-look Melbourne Stars. She believes the recruitment of England’s star allrounders Katherine Brunt and Nat Sciver will inject a much-needed “killer instinct” and the “real will to wanting to win” in the club, who couldn’t qualify for the knockouts in any of the past five seasons of the eight-team tournament.Coming off a three-year stint at the Perth Scorchers, Lanning, 28, signed a three-year deal with the Stars, having previously played for them in the first two editions of the WBBL where she scored 1,062 runs and was the team’s leading run-scorer in both campaigns. She then missed her first season with the Scorchers due to a shoulder injury before scoring 920 runs across her next two summers. Although the Scorchers made it to the knockouts last year, eventual runners-up Adelaide Strikers knocked them out with an eight-wicket semi-final defeat at Allan Border Field.ALSO READ: The Lanning interview – ‘I want to be the best in the world’Taking over the captaincy reins from Elyse Villani at the Stars, Lanning was hopeful the inclusion of the English players and the retention of Villani and veteran South Africa batter Mignon du Preez, the side’s highest run-getter with 1,118 runs at a strike rate of 108.43, could add bite to the Stars’ bowling and batting. The up-and-coming Australia allrounder Annabel Sutherland, in Lanning’s view, will further bolster their resources.”The Melbourne Stars, our list is really shaping up nicely,” Lanning told ESPNcricinfo. “We’ve got Katherine Brunt and Nat Sciver joining us, Mignon du Preez, Elyse Villani, Annabel Sutherland are the marquee international players. That’s a really good mix of firepower with bat and ball and we’ve got some really good young kids coming through.Meg Lanning will resume the captaincy of the Melbourne Stars•Getty Images

“We targeted really specific skillsets in terms of who we wanted. Just being a good team on paper doesn’t give you any guarantees but looking at our team, I think it’s really strong and the players we brought in are really competitive as well.”That’s perhaps something that the Melbourne Stars have lacked in the first five editions – that real killer instinct and the real will to wanting to win. And I think we’ve been able to address that with our recruits, especially Katherine Brunt. I’m looking forward to her bring some aggression and really taking it to the other teams.”ALSO READ: Lanning resumes reign at top of ODI rankings A five-time World Cup winner, and captain in three of those title triumphs – all in the shortest format – Lanning recently led Australia, alongside Rachael Haynes, to a world-record-equalling 21-ODI winning streak during the 3-0 home series whitewash of New Zealand in Brisbane. Earlier in the year, she captained hosts Australia to a tri-series victory against England and India, and her side trumped the latter in the final of the T20 World Cup at the MCG, with Lanning becoming only the third Australian captain, after Lyn Larsen and Michael Clarke, to win a World Cup on home soil. The WBBL’s top prize remains the only piece of silverware missing in her trophy cabinet, decked with achievements earned over an international career nearing a decade.Lanning, who lives in Melbourne and plays for Victoria in the Women’s National Cricket League, said that the decision to move back to the Stars was primarily dictated by wanting to spend “more time home”. However, with the Covid-19 pandemic necessitating lockdown impositions of varying degrees across Australia, the restriction of the whole of the upcoming WBBL’s sixth season to a Sydney hub has put paid to her original plans.”Chasing a title in the WBBL, everybody would say that [it’s on their mind],” she said. “I’ve enjoyed my three years in Perth, they [the Perth Scorchers] are a great club. They’re really well run. Eventually it came down to being in Melbourne a little bit more and spending more time home.”It’s funny how it’s panned out: we will be in Sydney the whole time this year and we won’t be in Melbourne. But that’s just this year, hopefully, obviously, with the Covid-19 pandemic. There’s only so much that can be done about that. It’s great that we’ve got the tournament up and running.”The Stars will kick off their campaign against the Melbourne Renegades at the Hurstville Oval on October 25 in the last of the four matches on the tournament’s opening day.

Usman Khawaja will go for a scan on a hamstring strain that was described as “not ideal” by his captain

George Dobell at Old Trafford06-Jul-2019Matthew Wade and Mitchell Marsh have been called up as cover to join the Australia squad after Usman Khawaja and Marcus Stoinis emerged as fitness doubts ahead of their World Cup semi-final against England*. Khawaja and Stoinis had sustained injuries during Australia’s defeat to South Africa at Old Trafford on Saturday.Wade and Marsh were originally part of the Australia A squad that’s touring the UK and is scheduled to play a four-day game against Sussex starting Sunday. The two players left Brighton on Sunday morning for Birmingham, where Australia play the hosts on Thursday.Both Wade and Marsh come on the back of fine one-day form. While Wade scored centuries – 155 and 117 – before his 42 and 41 in Bristol last week, Marsh has been unbeaten all four times he has batted on the A tour so far, that includes a half-century when he also took 3 for 43 against Gloucestershire.On Saturday, Khawaja retired hurt on 6 with what was subsequently described as a “hamstring strain” by a team spokesperson and will undergo a scan on Sunday. His captain, Aaron Finch, admitted he was not especially optimistic about the outcome.”It doesn’t look ideal for Usman,” Finch said. “He’ll have a scan tomorrow and if we need a replacement – and I think we will – but until you get the definitive scan it’s hard to know. But it’s not looking great for him, in all honesty. He’s done a couple of hamstrings before and he said it feels a bit similar.”Usman Khawaja returned to the field but couldn’t do enough to guide Australia over the line•Getty Images

Australia’s other concern is over Stoinis, who clutched his right side after throwing a ball in from the boundary and only bowled three overs. He then received treatment while batting and was run-out when it appeared he was unwilling – or unable – to stretch and dive when called through for a sharp run by his partner, David Warner.Stoinis had previously suffered an injury to his other side earlier in the tournament. He, too, will undergo scans on both sides on Sunday.”Marcus is just a bit sore in his side,” Finch said. “We’ll have to wait for the scans.”Australia have already lost Shaun Marsh in recent days. Marsh was hit by a delivery from Pat Cummins while batting in the nets and subsequently diagnosed with a broken arm. Peter Handscomb has joined the squad as his replacement.Watch on Hotstar (India only) – David Warner’s 122There was some silver lining in losing to South Africa. Had Australia won, they would have been obliged to play in the first semi-final on Tuesday. As it is, defeat means they have to play in the second semi-final on Thursday, giving their players slightly longer to recover.But it was something of a surprise when Khawaja returned to complete his innings after Australia lost their seventh wicket. Their pursuit seemed almost hopeless at that stage – they required 51 runs off 28 balls – and Khawaja ran the risk of exacerbating the injury. As it was, he added another 12 runs and was unable to pull off an unlikely victory.ALSO READ: Du Plessis leads South Africa to consolation victory“He didn’t aggravate it,” Finch said. “It didn’t work out the way we planned, but he put the team first, which is a great quality to have. He was more than happy to go back out.”The desperation Australia showed in the final moments of the match, however – not least in sending Khawaja back out to bat – and the disappointment they showed in defeat did suggest they would have rather played in the first semi-final. Not only would that have avoided the need to travel – the first semi-final is in Manchester, where Australia have been based for some time – but they would have faced New Zealand who would appear to be, according to the rankings at least, the weakest of the four teams left in the competition.As it is, Australia will face the No. 1-rated hosts at Edgbaston, where England have won their last 10 international games.*0855 GMT: The story was updated after an update from Cricket Australia

A stunning 102 runs came off sixes as Chennai Super Kings consigned Royal Challengers Bangalore to another deflating loss at home

The Report by Varun Shetty25-Apr-2018
4:25

Manjrekar: RCB left the final overs to limited bowlers

Chennai Super Kings picked up their fifth victory through thunderous performances from two heroes – Ambati Rayudu and MS Dhoni – in an explosive performance. They made nearly half of the 206 target with the 17 sixes they hit at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

Kohli fined for slow over rate

Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli has been fined INR 12 lakh (USD 18,000 approx) after his team maintained a slow over rate on Wednesday night against Chennai Super Kings. Kohli’s penalty was decided keeping in mind it was his team’s first over-rate offence of the season.

Super Kings survived an AB de Villiers onslaught to recover and chase just a little over 200 – it could’ve been much more. Then they slipped to 74 for 4 in nine overs, before coming back with blazing 101-run stand between Dhoni and Rayudu. Dwayne Bravo, then set it up for Dhoni to complete a win in his signature style – a six over long-on, thereabouts – to take them back to the top of the table.The sub-plot was a familiar one for Royal Challengers: they didn’t have the bowling to defend, again. They had seven bowling options on the night and their two best bowlers – Yuzvendra Chahal and Umesh Yadav – bowled out their overs for a combined 3 for 49. The two other spinners were given a combined four overs, the better bowler of their two allrounders – Colin de Grandhomme – didn’t have a bowl, and, yet again, a glaring lack of a death-overs plan resulted in an embarrassing collapse.The top does it again for RCBBy the time CSK had got into the third over after electing to bowl, Virat Kohli had figured out his method against the opening bowlers: short strides against Deepak Chahar’s swing and a few steps down at Shardul Thakur. He also exchanged notes with Quinton de Kock who aggressively kept gesturing about how Thakur’s knuckle ball was coming out.Thakur managed to pull it back momentarily with a quite remarkable feat – a wicket maiden off a T20 over faced by Kohli and de Villiers – but the bleeding wouldn’t stop. De Kock and de Villiers, together, put up 103 for the second wicket from there in under nine overs, starting with a 16-run punishment off three balls that took Harbhajan out for the rest of the innings.When the ball lost its shine, there did appear to be grip from the surface. But the South African duo weren’t averse to using their feet – de Villiers made 45 off his 68 runs against 17 balls of spin – to move laterally in the crease or down the pitch to open up the field. With their abilities to clear the ground in tow, that proved vital, because the spinners were forced into bowling faster than they should have been.Mighty fallThe next breakthrough, the wicket of de Kock in the 14th, also came in a maiden over. It might even have been a double-wicket maiden had CSK reviewed an lbw decision where Bravo got Corey Anderson on the back leg off a full toss. It didn’t do too much damage though as Imran Tahir claimed two: de Villiers – 68 off 30 – and Anderson, off consecutive deliveries.Suddenly, it was turning big. CSK could’ve had Mandeep Singh, but Dhoni failed to anticipate a spitting turner from Ravindra Jadeja and couldn’t get his hand on a stumping opportunity. What followed was a six over midwicket and a reverse-swept four to get Mandeep going. A missed opportunity and Royal Challengers looked like they would capitalise.But another collapse came. RCB lost seven wickets in the last five overs and played out two maiden overs in the innings. They didn’t have the bowling to afford such mishaps.How to lose a matchRCB had made the perfect start with the ball. Shane Watson, Suresh Raina and Sam Billings, who have all made winning contributions this season, were out inside seven overs and the pitch was allowing big turn. CSK seemed to have given them some help too, when they sent Jadeja ahead of Dhoni at No. 5. That move brought a 15-run fourth-wicket stand that consumed 16 balls.Umesh had bowled out his overs in a testing opening spell, though, and Chahal would be done in the 13th. The brutal effect of that reality in simple, numerical terms: CSK hit 12 sixes in 64 balls after Dhoni walked in.Rayudu didn’t exactly fly under the radar. Like he had against Sunrisers in Super Kings’ previous match, he dealt mainly in flat-batted shots. He was severe on Hyderabad Ranji team-mate Mohammed Siraj, and did not allow Washington Sundar a chance to settle.At the other end, Dhoni smashed the confidence out of Pawan Negi. Shortly after coming in to bat, he swatted the left-arm spinner over midwicket, and upon his return in the 14th, a visibly nervous Negi fired full ones flat into Dhoni’s arc. Two of RCB’s spinners had been neutralised on a spin-friendly surface.That was the beginning of an inevitable death-overs meltdown. With 70 required off 28 balls, Umesh put down a simple chance at extra cover that would have ended Rayudu’s innings. It was perhaps the only time Anderson’s plan of sliding cross-seam length balls across came close to working. By the end of that over, he was truly found out – Rayudu hit balls from the same line outside off over extra cover and then over midwicket.At 21 required off seven balls, even if Mohammed Siraj had completed the penultimate over without needing four attempts at the last ball, Anderson didn’t look like he would have defended the runs. The allrounder, had gone for 16 and 15 in his two overs before the last one, and conceded 17 runs off four balls to finish with figures of 3.4-0-58-0.De Grandhomme, brought into the XI on the night, did not feature in Kohli’s bowling plans. This meant that Royal Challengers would bowl their last six overs with two bowlers: a strategy scarcely seen in ODI cricket even, which shouldn’t have a place in T20 cricket. But it did have a place on the night. And it summed up why RCB’s economy in the death-overs this season – 13.29 – is the worst by any team in any edition of the IPL.

While AB de Villiers graded the conditions at Seddon Park as a “0 out of 10” as far as Champions Trophy preparation goes, he gave the match itself full marks for demanding a fight from South Africa ahead of the major tournament

Firdose Moonda19-Feb-2017While AB de Villiers graded the conditions at Seddon Park as a “0 out of 10” as far as Champions Trophy preparation goes, he gave the match itself full marks for demanding a fight from South Africa ahead of the major tournament. After cruising past Sri Lanka 5-0 at home, South Africa were looking for more of a challenge from New Zealand and that’s exactly what the got in a closely-fought, low-scoring game in Hamilton. And they managed to get home in what were “the toughest conditions I’ve ever played in”, according to de Villiers.”Experience-wise it was 10 out of 10 to be put under pressure like that with the bat in hand. Conditions-wise? Zero out of 10. I don’t think we’re going to face any conditions like that in the UK,” de Villiers said.Both sides were surprised by the amount of turn, although South Africa’s decision to play both specialist spinners suggest they were expecting things to be on the slower side. But Imran Tahir went wicketless and conceded a run a ball, and Tabraiz Shamsi’s sole scalp cost 39 runs. So there were few hints that Michael Santner, Ish Sodhi and then Tim Southee, who bowled what were essentially fast offcutters towards the end, would cause so much trouble.”I didn’t see the ball turn that much when we bowled,” de Villiers said. “Early on with the new ball it wasn’t so bad, but it’s easy to say that now. It would have sounded like an excuse if we’d lost.”After an 88-run opening stand between Hashim Amla and Quinton de Kock, South Africa were well-set but they lost 5 for 39 in the middle period of the chase and an eerily familiar falter seemed in their future. Bar de Villiers, the big men were all dismissed and it was up to a 20-year-old Andile Phehlukwayo to hold his nerve and help his captain score 50 off the final seven overs. Even de Villiers himself wondered if the game was gone.”Not for a second were we in control,” de Villiers said. “Our two openers gave us a really good foundation, but I felt they were the toughest conditions I’ve ever played in.”De Villiers knew if he hung around until the end, South Africa would be in with a chance. “I decided to stay patient and take it as deep as we can and then maybe we’ll get close,” he said. But he also knew he would need some help. He had to trust Phehlukwayo; he would have known he could.The young allrounder partnered David Miler in giving South Africa a memorable win over Australia last October, showing maturity beyond his years. He has also showed an ability to hit hard – and took sixes off both Trent Boult and Tim Southee as proof – and although he rarely gets the opportunity to finish games, South Africa now know that he can. “He was hitting it pretty sweet. It was very impressive the way Andile played. There is a lot of talent in that young man,” de Villiers said. “He was one of the very few guys tonight who could pick up the pace of the wicket and he played it under his eyes. I was very impressed with him.”As impressed, perhaps, as with the form the side is currently in. South Africa have equalled their best winning streak with a 12th victory in succession and are building up steam ahead of the Champions Trophy. Even though they insist the numbers don’t mean too much, there’s no doubt it’s still a nice thing to have achieved. “We don’t play for those kind of records but it’s a nice one to have. We are very aware of it. We are only human and will lose one. That’s the nature of the beast. So we’ll go to Christchurch, hopefully play a good game and make it another one,” de Villiers said. “That was a great win for us. But there’s lots of games left in the series and we know it’s nowhere near done.”

The ICC cricket committee has ruled out the possibility of reviews of erroneous no-ball calls, on the basis that a batsman should not be judged on how he played a ball that was ruled illegal before he did so

Daniel Brettig12-Feb-2016Reviews of erroneous no-ball calls like that one that reprieved Adam Voges in Wellington have been debated and overruled by the ICC cricket committee, on the basis that the batsman should not be judged on how he played a ball that was ruled illegal before he did so.The cricket committee debates emerged in the aftermath of Voges’ fortunate escape in the final over of the day, when he shouldered arms to Doug Bracewell only to be relieved to see the sight of Richard Illingworth’s outstretched arm signalling an illegal delivery. Replays showed that Bracewell had not actually overstepped, but there is no recourse for players to ask that the on-field umpire’s call be checked.Amid widespread dismay at the sequence of events, ESPNcricinfo has learned that the scenario was the subject of discussion at the cricket committee on more than one occasion. A consistent view was maintained that the batsman’s action in playing or not playing the ball has to be considered influenced by the call and thus “inadmissable” as a dismissal.”It’s an illegal delivery from the moment the umpire calls it, and the batsman plays it under that assumption,” an ICC official said. “[We have] debated this scenario at cricket committee a number of times and each time it concluded that it is not reasonable to retrospectively tell the batsman he was facing a legal delivery, when it was an illegal delivery at the time he played it.”This state of affairs has been complicated for some years by the advent of the front foot no-ball law, which reduced considerably the amount of time between the umpire’s no-ball call and the batsman having to play the delivery. Judging the batsman’s intent is thus very difficult, but the inability of the umpires to reverse a no-ball call is clear in the minds of the game’s custodians.The ICC cricket committee is composed of a wide group of players and officials, including the chairman Anil Kumble, ICC chairman Shashank Manohar, chief executive David Richardson, Andrew Strauss, Mark Taylor, Kumar Sangakkara, L Sivaramakrishnan, Darren Lehmann, David White, Steve Davis, Ranjan Madugalle, Kevin O’Brien, Ravi Shastri, Clare Connor and the MCC’s John Stephenson.

Shakib Al Hasan, the Bangladesh allrounder, has said he is enjoying the success with the ball, but he is “desperate to score some runs”

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Aug-2013Shakib Al Hasan, the Bangladesh allrounder who is playing for the Barbados Tridents in the Caribbean Premier League, has said he is enjoying the success with the ball, but he is “desperate to score some runs”. Shakib bowled a destructive spell of 6 for 6 in the match against the Trinidad & Tobago Red Steel, but is yet to taste success with the bat and has scores of 5, 1 and 1 from his three innings.”If you told me I could take five wickets or score a hundred, I would take the hundred any day,” Shakib said. “I am more satisfied getting runs than wickets. I am an allrounder, but I always prefer scoring runs more than my bowling so I am more desperate than anyone else right now I guess.”Shakib’s poor form with the bat has followed him from England, where he was part of Leicestershire team in the FLT20, and managed 146 runs from nine innings with a best of 43. In his last match, Shakib’s bowling spell skittled T&T out for 52, but he managed only 1 in the chase, playing on a Fidel Edwards delivery, and his wicket left the team in a precarious position at 36 for 5.”In that situation I needed to bat. The plan was to see off Fidel because he was getting wickets and I played a rash shot,” he said. “I could have left that ball easily because we were not chasing 150, 160 runs so I was frustrated with myself, not anything else.”Shakib, however, was happy with his bowling after registering the second-best T20 bowling figures. “I guess I was a bit lucky because you can’t get six wickets every day in a T20 game,” he said. “Bowling four overs, getting six wickets, once in a blue moon you may get it but I’ll take it.”Barbados Tridents have not been affected by Shakib’s lack of form with the bat and have registered three wins out of three in the tournament.

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.

Azhar Mahmood and Martin van Jaarsveld played starring roles as Kent won their Friends Life t20 clash with Surrey by six wickets

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Jun-2011
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Azhar Mahmood and Martin van Jaarsveld played starring roles as Kent won their Friends Life t20 clash with Surrey by six wickets. The experienced duo added 112 in 13 overs for Kent’s third wicket after Dirk Nannes had bowled both Rob Key and Joe Denly in his explosive opening over.Surrey’s total of 150 for 4 was based on a stand of 103 in 14 overs by Tom Maynard and Zander de Bruyn which was dominated by 22-year-old Maynard, who hit 76 from 46 balls with four sixes and five fours. But Van Jaarsveld, with a 39-ball 62, and Mahmood – who added 49 from 36 balls to his bowling figures of two for 26 – were equal to the task.Van Jaarsveld was dropped by Stuart Meaker at mid-on when he had made just 13, and then proceeded to take three fours off the same bowler in the sixth over. Mahmood greeted the introduction of leg spinner Chris Schofield by swinging two legside sixes, and the former Pakistan all-rounder later hit further maximums off Gareth Batty and Meaker.Van Jaarsveld eventually mishit Yasir Arafat to mid-wicket in the 15th over and when Mahmood was caught at long off in the next over, it was left to Darren Stevens and Sam Northeast to complete Kent’s comfortable victory.Surrey’s innings made a stuttering start, with Rory Hamilton-Brown and Jason Roy falling cheaply. Hamilton-Brown hit Wahab Riaz straight to point and Roy carved to third man after making just seven.Steven Davies did swing Charl Langeveldt for six, but when he was brilliantly caught for 27 by wicketkeeper Geraint Jones, Surrey were struggling at 38 for 3.Maynard upped the pace by taking two sixes off Adam Ball’s final over and Langeveldt was also driven for six as Maynard went to his half-century in 32 balls, but De Bruyn could not match his partner’s ability to accelerate. Despite coming in during the fifth over and ending on 25 not out, De Bruyn did not hit a single boundary from the 44 balls he faced.Maynard fell in the 19th over, held at long-on off the returning Mahmood, and his efforts at least gave Surrey’s bowlers something to defend.

Ben Hilfenhaus’ bowling is the most important thing for Australia in this match but it was his batting that dug the A team out of a hole on the opening day against Sri Lanka A

Cricinfo staff18-Jun-2010Sri Lanka A 1 for 17 trail Australia A 208 (O’Keefe 61, Senanayake 8-70) by 191 runs

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Ben Hilfenhaus scored 42 and bowled two overs at Allan Border Field•Getty Images

Ben Hilfenhaus’ bowling is the most important thing for Australia in this match but it was his batting that dug the A team out of a hole on the opening day against Sri Lanka A in Brisbane. The hosts were 7 for 103 when Hilfenhaus, who has been out since last year with a knee tendon problem, arrived to partner Steve O’Keefe and lift them to a more competitive 208.Sachithra Senanayake, the offspinner, completed a stunning day when he ended the 105-run partnership and also finished the innings to claim 8 for 70. The figures were his best in a first-class game and he started the damage by removing the first six batsmen as the hosts slipped to 6 for 92. Senanayake’s hopes for all 10 wickets were ended by Dammika Prasad, who removed Peter Forrest (12) on the way to 2 for 21.O’Keefe was knocked over by Senanayake for an innings-high 61 while Hilfenhaus fell to Prasad for a career-best 42. Sri Lanka finished at 1 for 17, with Hilfenhaus bowling two overs and O’Keefe taking the wicket of Tharanga Paranavitana for 3.