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Cricket Australia’s chief executive James Sutherland has said the second Test in Hyderabad next week is not in doubt at this stage, despite bombs in the city killing at least 12 people on Thursday night

Brydon Coverdale in Chennai21-Feb-2013Cricket Australia’s chief executive James Sutherland has said the second Test in Hyderabad next week is not in doubt at this stage, despite bombs in the city killing at least 12 people on Thursday night. The BCCI too confirmed that the Test should go ahead as usual and is unlikely to have a change of venue.The twin blasts came on the eve of the first Test between Australia and India in Chennai, and the teams are due to travel to Hyderabad on Wednesday ahead of the second Test.The bombs hit the Dilsukhnagar region of Hyderabad about ten minutes apart and were labelled “a dastardly attack” by India’s prime minister Manmohan Singh. Sutherland, who is in Chennai, said on Friday morning that he had spoken to a BCCI official on Thursday night and the two organisations would work together to assess the security situation.”It is sad news overnight,” Sutherland said. “From our perspective the focus around the team is very much on this Test in Chennai, everyone is very comfortable here in terms of the security arrangements in place. The players are focused on what they have ahead of them.”We will take advice from relevant authorities and work with the BCCI and others here to make assessments around Hyderabad, but at the same time plans have been in place for a long time and at this stage I wouldn’t be calling into question things going ahead in Hyderabad as planned.”BCCI vice-president Rajiv Shukla confirmed that the Indian board had approached government officials regarding security in Hyderabad.”I spoke to the Union home secretary [Sushil Kumar Shinde], who was in Hyderabad, and had a discussion with the chief minister [Kiran Kumar Reddy] and officials of the state government. After that he told me that adequate security will be provided to the players as well as the spectators. So Test match should not be shifted out of Hyderabad,” Shukla was quoted as saying by . “I have conveyed this to the BCCI president [N Srinivasan], who in turn is going to speak to chairman of Cricket Australia and convey that when government is giving a guarantee of security for the players and the spectators, we think we should not change the venue.”Australia’s team manager Gavin Dovey spoke to the players and kept them up to date with developments, but Sutherland said they wanted to ensure they could remain focused on the Chennai Test.”We don’t hold anything back from the players, they know where everything is at,” Sutherland said. “But at the same time they have expressed a desire to be focused and minimise this so that they can focus on cricket this week.”We will work together with the players and the players’ association on these sorts of issues. There is a high level of confidence among the group that the management will work through that. We will communicate openly and make assessments … As far as I’m concerned we’re playing the second Test match in Hyderabad next week.”Sutherland said Cricket Australia had great confidence in the BCCI’s ability to deal with security issues on a day-to-day basis. Shortly before departing for the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Australia’s captain Michael Clarke said his players were happy to be guided by the team’s security experts.”From the team’s point of view, our focus is wholly and solely on the field because we’ve got people off the field who are experts in what is going on, we’ll be advised by them,” Clarke said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with all the people of Hyderabad who have been affected.”03.25GMT, February 22: This story has been updated with the latest quotes from James Sutherland

Afghanistan continued their unbeaten streak in the tournament, as they completed their fourth successive title win against Nepal

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Apr-2013
ScorecardAfghanistan’s Gulbadin Naib starred with both bat and ball as Nepal’s 135 was chased with ease, with Afghanistan winning the Asian Cricket Council Twenty20 Cup in Kirtipur. Nepal were put into bat but were quickly reduced to 23 for 3 in the fifth over, with Naib and Shapoor Zadran providing the strikes. A 71-run fourth-wicket partnership between Paras Khadka and Binod Bhandari helped lend stability to the side, before Khadka fell for a vital 50. Nepal pushed their total to 135 for 7 at the completion of their 20 overs. Naib had the best figures of 2 for 20.Afghanistan started markedly well in comparison, as openers Karim Sadiq and Naib put up a 43-run partnership. Afghanistan were composed in their chase, losing a further two wickets along the way. Naib finished unbeaten on 43, with Mohammad Nabi striking a valuable 38 off 23 balls, including six boundaries. Afghanistan chased Nepal’s total of 137 inside of the 18th over, continuing their unbeaten winning streak in the tournament as they completed four out of four title wins.

Allan Donald, the Pune Warriors coach, has said that his players were “scared” after the thunderous assault from Chris Gayle, which set up an enormous 130-run victory for Royal Challengers Bangalore

Nagraj Gollapudi24-Apr-2013Allan Donald, the Pune Warriors coach, has said that his players were “scared” after the thunderous assault from Chris Gayle, which set up an enormous 130-run victory for Royal Challengers Bangalore. A day after the demoralising defeat, Donald admitted that he feared the “mental damage” the innings might have caused his players and said his biggest challenge was to keep them positive for the remaining eight matches.”We came across a bloke yesterday who was just devastating,” Donald told ESPNcricinfo in Bangalore. “I have never seen hitting like that in all my life. To see our guys getting pummeled like that was unbelievable. When I walked out for the first strategy break, I just saw people scared, really scared. I just mentioned to the players that if we don’t pull this back here, he is going to take us down big time, which he did.”Donald realised that the bowlers were clueless and if he did not deliver a stern message, Gayle could play havoc, which he eventually did with ease. “When I looked at their faces and no one said a word, the only way for me was to be very firm in my message; we had to find a way,” he said. “We also discussed in the meeting on the morning of the match that we had to bowl out batsmen who were not going to give up their wicket. We needed someone to stand up and do something special and stop the flow of runs.”As a response Donald observed blank faces. By the second timeout, in the 16th over, Gayle had doubled the team score, taking it past 200 and Donald was frustrated. “To me that plan was about how we were going to limit the damage in the next four overs. The plan was to go full into his pads and also vary the pace,” Donald said.The mental scarring Gayle has inflicted on his players has left the coach worried. “How much damage has this done to us mentally? My job becomes even harder now and I have to make sure these guys are ready against another team that is struggling (Delhi Daredevils) on a ground we have never played (Raipur),” he said. “This group now needs to rally together.”Barring the pair of Bhuvneshwar Kumar (4-0-23-0) and Luke Wright (4-0-26-1), at the start and end of the Royal Challengers’ innings, Gayle attacked the rest mercilessly. Donald was not shy to take the blame. He said the bowlers lacked consistency and the team was one experienced strike bowler short.”We haven’t been brilliant,” he said. “We have been okay in certain games and really off the boil in the others. And that is one area where we have let ourselves down. We do not have an attack that is express pace; we don’t have a Dale Styen or a Shuan Tait, though, we have fair bit of class in Kumar and Ashok Dinda.”At the same time, Donald pointed out, Gayle was unstoppable and intimidated the bowlers. “There were times during that knock where he just went ballistic, and then he took a little timeout and then he went again,” Donald said with a chuckle.After the match, he asked Gayle, “Why us?” Gayle said he was in the mood. “He has just said that is the best he has ever hit the ball in his life,” Donald said.After their confident victory against Chennai Super Kings, Warriors let the following two matches slip out of their hands against Sunrisers Hyderabad at home and then in Mohali against Kings XI Punjab. The erratic form has left even Donald confused.”I can’t find a solution as to why we are not responding,” he said. “I cannot fault the squad that we have got this year. Is it the failures of the last two years that is playing on everyone’s minds or the losing streak that we are on at the moment? Is it affecting everybody?”The failure of marquee players has made matters worse for Donald. Yuvraj Singh, Ross Taylor, Angelo Matthews and Robin Uthappa have not played any innings of impact. Acting captain Aaron Finch has been the only batsman to score a half-century, striking up three fifties in six games.”The whole team has been hot and cold,” Donald said, expressing his frustration. “If you look at Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers, they win the RCB games. The same goes for teams like Super Kings.”The absence of a stable captain at Warriors has been a point of fierce debate. The first-choice captains – Mathews and Ross Taylor – have been battling for form, forcing the team management to appoint Finch, who has led in the Big Bash, as a stand-in leader. “We never had a captain in three years leading us solidly,” Donald said.In their debut season in 2011, Warriors finished eighth out of nine teams in the season. Last year, they slid to the last position. This season they are ahead of last-placed Daredevils. According to Donald, there is no place to hide for Warriors. “We can’t fault our preparations or our planning and strategies, we have been on the money,” he said. “We just haven’t been unable to put it together on the field. There are no excuses, there are no explanations and we have got to turn it around.”

Myles Hodgson at Old Trafford10-May-2013Lancashire 177 (Phillips 3-20) and 253 for 7 (Prince 80, Brown 80, Topley 5-80) beat Essex 226 (Napier 102*, Procter 4-66) and 203 for 3 dec (Cook 60, Mickleburgh 53*) by three wickets
ScorecardSaj Mahmood suffered another head-in-hands moment against his former club•Getty Images

Sajid Mahmood may have pictured a triumphant homecoming on his return to Old Trafford with Essex, who he joined following an acrimonious departure from Lancashire during the winter, but instead he suffered a final day that will haunt him for many years to come.The stage was set for Mahmood, furious that Lancashire were not prepared to offer him a new contract at the end of last season, to deny his former team a thrilling victory as they attempted to chase down 253 off 51 overs on the final afternoon. That target was later reduced by four overs by an interruption for bad light, but it was Mahmood’s intervention that proved decisive.Given the responsibility to bowl the 44th over of the innings, with Lancashire needing 32 to win off the final four overs, it was pretty much the turning point of the match as Steven Croft helping himself to 15 off the final five balls, including a six over midwicket and an all-run four through the covers.If that was not enough of a setback for Mahmood, he was to play an even bigger role in the final over, with Lancashire needing five runs to win having lost three wickets in the previous over. They scored four off the first four deliveries before Wayne White launched Graham Napier to Mahmood at long leg, only for him to spill the regulation catch and allow the single to be scrambled that secured victory.”When we saw that last ball, we all ended up with mixed feelings,” said Karl Brown, whose 80 in a 169-run stand with Ashwell Prince proved crucial to Lancashire’s win. “Saj is a great mate of a lot of the lads, we’ve played with him for a long time and it’s not nice to see that happen. We won the game so we were really happy, but I think we all spared a thought for Saj because that’s not nice when that happens, especially to someone you’re so close to.”Lancashire’s triumph came a week after they dismissed Glamorgan for 139 at Colwyn Bay chasing 154 for victory and boosts their promotion hopes. That the umpires saw fit to dock each side a point for slow over rates was barely noticed in either dressing room after such a compelling advert for county cricket.Essex, in particular, deserve plenty of credit for their role in such an exciting finale. Having reached 203 for 3 overnight and in little trouble, they could have watched from the dressing room for the final afternoon and enjoyed batting practice in the middle.Instead they set up a game to remember and so nearly secured an astonishing win themselves. They began the final afternoon impressively, dismissing both Lancashire openers in the space of three balls to leave them struggling on 13 for 2. Despite an outstanding opening spell from Reece Topley, and Mahood troubling Lancashire’s batsmen with his pace and bounce, Essex could not dislodge Brown and Prince during their 198-ball partnership.Both fell in quick succession for 80, Prince bowled by Topley making himself room and Brown in similar fashion to Napier, only for Steven Croft and Simon Katich to add 41 in four overs to leave Lancashire needing 12 off the final two overs.Just as victory was in sight, Topley responded by claiming three wickets in an over to finish with 5 for 80, with Croft falling to a brilliant diving catch from Rob Quiney in the deep that forced him off the field with a shoulder injury.It left Lancashire facing a tense final over, which was finally settled by Mahmood’s misfield, and left Essex rueing missed opportunities. “We took a bit of a punt, but the way we’d been playing, showing a lot of character and skill, we thought it was an excellent opportunity to get a win under our belts and get a lot of points,” captain James Foster said. “It was a risk but we thought it was a calculated risk.”

Former captain Ramnaresh Sarwan advised his batsmen to observe the basics of the game as West Indies mount their charge to repeat the scoreline of the 2004 Champions Trophy.

ESPNcricinfo staff29-May-2013Former West Indies captain Ramnaresh Sarwan advised his batsmen to observe the basics of the game as West Indies mount their charge to repeat their success from the 2004 Champions Trophy. The 2013 edition begins on June 6 and West Indies will play their first match on the next day against Pakistan at The Oval.”It is important that you start off trying to play the ball as late as possible.” he said. “The good thing about it is that the outfields are pretty quick here, so even if you have sweepers out and you time the ball well enough it will probably go for four. You will get value for your strokes.”It would be a great achievement to win this tournament. When we won back in 2004 we came in as underdogs. We want to repeat that,” said Sarwan, who was adjudged the player of the tournament in 2004. He scored two half-centuries in four matches, including one in the semi-final and finished as the second highest run-getter of the tournament.Sarwan laid the onus on the top-order batsmen to provide a solid foundation so players like Kieron Pollard and captain Dwayne Bravo could make the most of the latter half of the innings.”The key is to give yourself a chance and try to ‘get in’ and just like everything else it gets easier.” he said “Keeping wickets in hand at the top is vital and we all know we have a lot of power at the end to capitalise, as we are able to clear the boundaries.”After a month-long stint captaining Leicestershire in Division Two of the County Championships in England, Sarwan joined the West Indies side on Monday feeling confident about his batting. He had scored 227 runs in five matches, including two fifties.”It’s a great opportunity for us to do well as a team. I was fortunate to be here a little early so I’m basically already acclimatised and have been striking the ball well. I have spent a lot of time batting at the crease, which is a good sign for me, even though I don’t have the big scores to show for it. I was pleased with the way I was striking the ball in the nets and I will look to perform and contribute to the team’s success.”Expressing satisfaction over the performance of West Indies last year, Sarwan reiterated the views of West Indies coach Ottis Gibson about getting used to English conditions as soon as possible.”We did really well in the T20 format to win in Sri Lanka last year and I believe we have a very sound squad for this tournament. The conditions will play a part as well with the ball swinging and we will have to make the necessary adjustment with the bat. For the younger guys it will be vital that they get used to the conditions and be ready when the matches get started.”

Dwayne Bravo said the team management had sent a message to Chris Gayle to target a win with a bonus point against Sri Lanka on Friday

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Jun-2013Apart from setting up a six-wicket win against Sri Lanka on Friday, Chris Gayle’s dominating innings also helped West Indies grab a bonus point – a target that Dwayne Bravo had clearly set for his opener. West Indies sauntered past the 209-run target in 37.5 overs, claiming the extra point awarded if the batting side achieved a run rate 1.25 times that of the opposition.”In the 29th over, we sent a message to Chris to try and win it with a bonus point,” Bravo said after the match. He praised Gayle for capitalising on a good start, and putting an average Champions Trophy behind him to score his first ODI century in almost a year.”It will ease pressure off him,” Bravo said. “I know, at the back of his mind, that he felt he wasn’t scoring big runs. But he knows how important a player he is for us. I am very happy that he scored a hundred again and batted deep into the innings. When Chris is in that kind of form, it’s only good for us as a team and for West Indies cricket.”Bravo also said the team had a plan to attack Sri Lanka’s inexperienced middle and lower order. Sri Lanka got off to a solid start, after being put in to bat, as Upul Tharanga and Mahela Jayawardene added 62 runs for the first wicket, but their innings never recovered after they lost the wickets of Jayawardene and Sangakkara in the space of five overs. Angelo Mathews scored an unbeaten 55, but found little support from the other batsmen.”One of their best batters is batting up the order and the other, Sangakkara, is batting at No. 3,” Bravo said. “We know their middle order and lower order is not that experienced, so we had to keep picking up wickets, that was the game plan. Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach and Sunil Narine said they’d do it for us. One can’t forget Darren Sammy’s spell. I think that killed the momentum in the Sri Lankan innings. Bowling them out for 208 was a fantastic effort by the bowlers.”The win, Bravo said, also lifted the spirits of the team after their exit from the Champions trophy following a tied match against South Africa.”In the Champions Trophy, we were not disappointed with the way we played, especially in the league stages,” he said. “We felt the way we exited the tournament was unfortunate, but as a squad we think that we did a lot of right things. That game against South Africa could have gone either way and, who knows, we could have reached the semi-finals or the final. But we take a lot of positives out of England. We were disappointed with the way that game was called off but we used it to get stronger as a group.”Bravo also backed Roach, who conceded 41 runs in seven overs and was the most expensive bowler for West Indies, and said that there was no reason to change the line-up on the basis of a few innings.”There was never an issue with Kemar’s bowling performance,” Bravo said. “In the first game [of the Champions Trophy] against Pakistan, Kemar was the bowler who got us in the position we were in. Today, he created chances and that is what we want from him. One or two bad games don’t say anything. He’s still one of our best bowlers. It’s good to have someone like Tino Best on the sidelines, that’s good bench strength for us as a team.”Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews said his side’s inability to get their innings going handed the advantage to West Indies. “It was an important toss, the pitch was two-paced and holding up a bit but it got easier,” Mathews said. “We had to adapt to the pitch but we lost wickets and could not get going. Mahela batted brilliantly but he had no partners. We thought we had a chance, but the track flattened out. When Gayle gets going, no attack is enough and no ground big enough.”

South Africa dictated proceedings for the first time in the series as they beat Sri Lanka by 56 runs

The Report by Firdose Moonda26-Jul-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details South Africa were in control for the first time in the series•AFP

What a difference two overs can make. That was all it took for South Africa to stay alive in the series, have their confidence restored and beat Sri Lanka at home for the first time in close to 20 years.The 49th and 50th over of their innings produced 38 runs and took their total from middling to challenging. David Miller scored 35 of them himself – prior to this match no South African batsman had managed a score greater than 29 in the series – hitting Thisara Perera and Lasith Malinga straight down the ground. He proved South Africa could be competitive and could come back after being under pressure in the first two matches, and even large sections of the third.And what a difference an over can almost make. Perera hit Robin Peterson for the second-most expensive over in ODI cricket to throw Sri Lanka back into contention after they slumped to 93 for 7. The 35 runs included five sixes and a four, Perera displaying his prowess, especially over the leg-side.Like Miller, he showed the temperament required to succeed in conditions where the surfaces are sluggish – survive first, thrive later. Unlike the South African, Perera was asked to do too much at the end.Because Miller did not have a target to chase, he had less pressure on him. His strike rate hovered between 70 and 80 for most of his stay at the crease as he settled in. He needed AB de Villiers to usher him through the period where even singles were hard to come by and soon realised patience would pay off.Only at the very end, when Perera and Malinga seemed to have dinner rather than death bowling on their minds, did Miller pounce on anything too full and one which was too short. Miller registered the first South African half-century on the tour after their top order failed – Hashim Amla’s absence is growing glaring as each match goes by.South Africa tried a third opening pair in as many matches with Lions’ team-mates Alviro Petersen and Quinton de Kock fronting up first. Both were watchful but de Kock was unable to contain his attacking instincts and was vulnerable outside the offstump.He offered a chance in the fourth over when he swung at a wide one without any foot movement but Tillakaratne Dilshan at slip could not hold on. Sri Lanka hit back two balls later when Malinga bowled his first short ball and Petersen tried to hook too early, only to glove it to Kumar Sangakkara.Sri Lanka’s attack continued to find the edge of de Kock’s bat and the youngster fell on his sword to open South Africa’s middle up to a familiar state of panic. Both JP Duminy and Faf du Plessis posted insubstantial scores, with Duminy looking good again but unable to kick on and du Plessis uneasy at the crease and almost run out twice before actually being found short of his ground.De Villiers looked closer to breaking the lean run but Sri Lanka’s spinners and Ajanthan Mendis in particular did not let him get away. Mendis was difficult to pick while Rangana Herath and Dilshan kept things tight. It was only when Miller decided to hit out that the complexion of South Africa’s tour became a little rosier.Things got better for them from there as the fit-again Lonwabo Tsotsobe did the bulk of the damage upfront. He plucked three wickets in a six-over spell in which he extracted bounce, produced seam movement and partnered Morne Morkel to perfection.Morkel created pressure at his end with pace and steep lift, while Tsotsobe’s accuracy ensured eight dot balls were produced before the first run was scored. Sri Lanka’s were troubled by anything back of a length and Dilshan was the first to succumb. He spooned a catch to de Villiers at cover before Kumar Sangakkara went in the same over, chasing one that moved away.Upul Tharanga was also undone by bounce and edged Tsotsobe to Petersen at slip. With Sri Lanka at 16 for 3, South Africa were in control for the first time in the series.They held the match in their grip even as Mahela Jayawardene and Dinesh Chandimal combined for a 55-run stand. Robin Peterson reviewed an lbw shout against Jayawardene, which was going down leg and Jayawardene survived a stumping chance when Peterson was bowling but the left-arm spinner had the last laugh. Peterson bowled Jayawardene with one that skidded on, but that was the end of his involvement in the night.Peterson’s figures were ruined by Perera, who hit his first four sixes over the mid-wicket boundary. Then, he sent Peterson back over his head for four and he finished with the biggest hit of the night, over square leg.That over brought Sri Lanka’s required run-rate below six but, it would take more than one over to change the course of the match. Perera had a few more meaty hits, but he didn’t have a second over to match his first and when he was dismissed, Sri Lanka’s hopes went with him.

Kent’s outside hopes of qualifying for the YB40 semi-finals were ended as floodlight failure caused them to lose their penultimate Group A game to Warwickshire by seven runs under the Duckworth/Lewis method.

15-Aug-2013
ScorecardDarren Stevens was leading the chase until the floodlight failure•Getty Images

Kent’s outside hopes of qualifying for the Yorkshire Bank 40 semi-finals were ended as floodlight failure caused them to lose their penultimate Group A game to Warwickshire by seven runs under the Duckworth/Lewis method.Pursuing 214 for victory at Canterbury, Kent had reached 113 for 4 after 24.3 overs – nine runs shy of the Duckworth/Lewis par score – when generator failure to one of the five floodlights at the St Lawrence ground interrupted proceedings just before 9pm. Talks between the players, umpires and ground officials failed to resolve the issue, and led to the abandonment at 9.20pm due to unsafe conditions.Kent, who needed a seventh win to stay in contention for the knockout phase, had made a faltering start to their pursuit in losing Rob Key for seven to a simple catch to mid-on with their score on 23. Offspinner Ateeq Javid struck again in his next over, having Sam Northeast caught at short midwicket to leave the hosts in trouble at 36 for 2.Brendan Nash and Darren Stevens almost doubled Kent’s total before Nash, backing away to cut a short delivery from Boyd Rankin, edged to the wicketkeeper. With Stevens and Fabian Cowdrey in full flow, Kent posted 100 by the 21st over but soon after Cowdrey was caught behind down the leg side for six when attempting a paddle against Rikki Clarke.With Stevens on 42 and Geraint Jones unbeaten on two the floodlight nearest the lime tree failed after a loud bang and, with half the ground in shadow, the players left the field.Batting first after losing the toss, basement side Warwickshire made a reasonable start through William Porterfield and Varun Chopra, who posted 60 for the first wicket within 14 overs. Kent skipper and England one-day international James Tredwell then disrupted their progress by taking two wickets in consecutive overs from the Pavilion End.Chopra perished when attempting to reverse sweep, only to top-edge to Brendan Nash at backward square leg. Two runs later Jim Troughton slog swept Tredwell to pick out Northeast on the ropes at deep midwicket and depart for just 1.Bears’ veteran Daren Maddy, who is set to retire next month, scored only 4 before his indecisive prod at an Adam Riley arm ball saw him depart leg before to make it 76 for 3 at the mid-point of the Warwickshire innings.Porterfield looked set to anchor the visitors’ innings with a chanceless 70-ball half-century with three fours and a six but, nine balls later, he perished for a well compiled 57. Aiming to drive at former England Under-19 left-arm seamer Adam Ball, Porterfield miscued high to cover where Stevens took a well-judged catch to reduce the visitors to 112 for 4.The Bears regrouped with a fifth-wicket stand of 69 in 8.4 overs between Clarke and Javid until both fell in consecutive overs. Having muscled eight fours in his stay, Clarke drove on the up against Mitch Claydon to be caught at long-off, then Javid’s 44-ball innings ended when he went leg before shovelling across the line to Stevens.Steffan Piolet gifted Stevens a second wicket when he was bowled heaving to leg in the penultimate over to leave Kent facing an asking rate of 5.35 an over for victory.