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Batting depth, spin twins Moeen Ali and Ravindra Jadeja seal it for Chennai Super Kings

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With Royals slipping from 87 for 2 to 95 for 7, they were beaten long before the match ended

Alagappan Muthu19-Apr-2021A batting order that stretches all the way down to No. 11 continues to mask the Chennai Super Kings’ flaws – two very glaring ones at least. But the rest of their team is functioning pretty well. Too well as it turned out for Rajasthan Royals, who collapsed in the middle overs in a chase of 189, and were beaten long before the match ended.The opener rising to the challenge

When Faf du Plessis walks out to bat, he knows he needs to score runs for two people, and he kinda seems okay with it.Jaydev Unadkat probably wasn’t. He was left utterly confused as he leaked two fours behind the wicket and two sixes in front of it.du Plessis’ innovation – he appears one of the few Super Kings batters willing to try unorthodox shots – helped them to 46 for 2 in the powerplay. And so long as he can do that, his under-fire partner has some room to breathe.Ruturaj Gaikwad doesn’t have a power game and in all three of his innings so far he has looked very out of place.The fading captain

There were so many times in the past that the arrival of MS Dhoni, with the score at 125 and six overs left in the game, would herald total destruction.Here he faced 17 of the last 37 balls of the innings and made 18 uncomfortable runs. A run a ball for half the deliveries at the death is just not ideal at all.The Royals deserve credit for that. They forced him to play spin, which he hates at the start of his innings, and their two left-arm quicks, Chetan Sakariya in particular, were brilliant with their changes of pace.So it’s not just that Dhoni’s powers are fading. His opponents know just what to do to make them fade.The end-overs rally

The Super Kings bat deep. And they just wouldn’t stop swinging. Sam Curran (13 off six) launched his second delivery for a jaw-dropping six over point. It is hard to reconcile his power and his frame. But he has it. And he uses it superbly.Dwayne Bravo (20* off eight) was on it too, starting off with a vintage loft over extra cover and signing off with a six straight down the ground. The amount of effort he was putting into clearing the boundary was apparent when one time when he tried the bat just flew out of his hand and went halfway to fine leg.Thanks to them, the Super Kings made 45 runs off the last three overs to finish with 188.The new Mr Super King

Last season he was their best hitter. And as a result of that the management is now giving him the chance to face more deliveries. Ravindra Jadeja walked out to bat in the 14th over tonight. And while he couldn’t reprise his big-hitting heroics from 2020, he has found his bowling groove again.An impossibly beautiful delivery that bowled Jos Buttler was ample proof of that.It pitched on middle and leg, at a spot and pace that didn’t allow the batter to push forward or back, and turned waspishly to strike the middle and off. Buttler was practically keeling over, his balance and his wicket both ripped out of his hands.That kickstarted a Royals collapse. Five wickets – two to Jadeja, three to Moeen Ali – for just eight runs. And here are the names that were part of that procession. Shivam Dube, David Miller, Chris Morris and Riyan Parag. All potential match-winners. All undone in the tamest way. The first two lbw playing across the line. The next two caught slogging to the deep.With Royals slipping from 87 for 2 to 95 for 7, their chase was, y’know… sad face emoji.

England turn screw after Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope hundreds

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Dom Bess claimed two wickets to leave South Africa wobbling after England’s declaration

The Report by Alan Gardner17-Jan-2020Ollie Pope scored a maiden Test hundred to follow the latest demonstration of Ben Stokes’ immense value to the England cause as South Africa were backed into a corner in Port Elizabeth. The tone was set by England’s fifth-wicket pair during the morning session and followed up with some lower-order humpty, allowing Joe Root to declare – having also un-declared – in pursuit of wickets amid the evening gloom at St George’s Park.Although South Africa responded with their second consecutive fifty stand between openers Dean Elgar and Pieter Malan, there was time for Dom Bess to strike twice before the close. With plenty of runs in the bank, signs of spin from the surface and Mark Wood also pushing the speed gun up to 150kph/93mph, England walked off in the belief that they had the tools to crack the Test open in pursuit of a series lead.South Africa’s day began badly with the news that Kagiso Rabada would miss the final Test of the series after accruing his latest ICC demerit point. Although Keshav Maharaj toiled admirably for a five-wicket haul – at a cost of 180 the most expensive for South Africa in Tests – they were left on the ropes by Stokes and Pope, before the late one-two combo from Bess.South Africa had reached 50 without loss when the early introduction of spin coaxed an error from Malan, who tried to come down the pitch but only managed to chip a return catch. Zubayr Hamza then fenced unconvincingly at an over of short-and-nasty stuff from Wood, before falling in the next to Bess, popping to short leg via his inside edge. The return of the rain, which had earlier delayed the start by 45 minutes, presented South Africa with an escape route.The first part of the day saw England’s middle order flex its muscles in a manner not seen for a long time. Once Stokes and Pope were done adding 203 – the second-highest fifth-wicket stand for England against South Africa in Tests – the home bowlers had been thoroughly pounded into this unforgiving surface, but there was further pain to come as Sam Curran and Wood cut loose before the declaration. A total of 499 for 9 was England’s highest since the 2017 Edgbaston Test against West Indies.There was nothing surprising about Stokes taking centre stage, however. Despite having to battle through at times on the first day, having survived numerous scratchy moments – including a tough chance to short leg on 10 – he resumed his innings in a more recognisably bullish frame of mind. Twice was Maharaj battered on to the grass banks at deep midwicket, as Stokes accelerated past his junior partner towards a ninth Test hundred (and third against South Africa) during a session that saw England score 111 runs without loss.When he moved to 95, via another slog-sweep off the spinner, he became only the seventh man in Test history to have scored 4000 runs and taken 100 wickets. A few overs later, off his 174th ball, came a punch through the covers to take him to three figures, the achievement acknowledged with a crooked-fingered salute in recognition of his father, Ged, who remains in hospital after being taken ill over Christmas.Ollie Pope celebrates his maiden Test ton•Stu Forster/Getty Images

He had been ably supported by Pope, who cut, pulled and drove with what is quickly becoming customary elan to move past 50 for the third time in as many Tests. However, a ball after Stokes reached his century, Pope was given out lbw off the bowling of Dane Paterson; although a review saved Pope and extended Paterson’s wait for a first wicket on debut, the realisation of what was at stake seemed to interrupt the England man’s fluency.Pope spent 53 balls moving from 74 into the 90s, losing Stokes and Jos Buttler in that time – the former giving Paterson some relief by carving to backward point, before Buttler chipped tamely back to Maharaj. Pope survived a close stumping chance off Maharaj on 84, but Curran helped take some of the pressure off, cracking along to 44 off 50 and scoring three-quarters of the runs during a stand worth 59.Suddenly Pope was freed up once again, scooting through the 90s to reach three figures in his sixth Test – at 22 and 15 days the youngest Englishman to score a Test hundred since Alastair Cook. The landmark achieved, he was able to have some fun against a tiring attack, bringing out the uppercuts and reverse-ramps as England drove home their advantage; a glove behind off Rabada on 106 going unnoticed as South Africa began to unravel.Wood, too, geared up for his bowling return after 11 months out of the Test side by throwing the bat around to good effect, five times clearing the ropes – although he was the beneficiary of a bizarre episode on the way to 42 from 23 balls. A slog against Rabada was taken at mid-on, with Root then signalling his men in, only for the umpires to review and find that the delivery should have been called for a front-foot no-ball. Root gleefully reversed his call, with Wood extending their ninth-wicket happy-slap to 73 in 8.4 overs before Maharaj finally put a stop to the antics.

Hamstring strain rules Neesham out of one-off SL T20

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Central Districts allrounder Doug Bracewell, who was a part of the ODI squad, will replace him in the 13-member T20 squad

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Jan-2019Days after having made an impressive return to international cricket, James Neesham has been sidelined again, this time due to injury. The New Zealand allrounder has been ruled out of the one-off T20 against Sri Lanka on January 11, due to a grade-one hamstring strain he picked up during the third ODI in Nelson on Tuesday.Neesham will return home to rest and Central Districts allrounder Doug Bracewell, who was a part of the ODI squad, will replace him in the 13-member T20 squad. According to New Zealand’s physio Vijay Vallabh, Neesham felt some tightness in his right hamstring during Sri Lanka’s pursuit of 365 on Tuesday and left the field for treatment.”He’s iced and compressed the injury and will be reassessed in a couple of days,” Vallabh said in a release from New Zealand Cricket.The ODI series against Sri Lanka – which concluded on Tuesday with the hosts winning 3-0 – had been Neesham’s first appearance for the national side since June 2017, and he made an immediate impact. In the first ODI, he clubbed an unbeaten 47 off 13 balls, which included five sixes in an over off Thisara Perera. He provided another round of death-overs fireworks in the second ODI, hitting 64 off 37. Across the three matches, Neesham scored 123 runs at a strike rate of 219.64, and hit ten sixes. He was effective with the ball, too, picking up six wickets in the series, at an economy rate of 6 runs per over.

Has the Bell tolled for Hampshire?

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Ian Bell has had a dispiriting season which led him to resign the Warwickshire captaincy and privately wonder about his future but his return to form might lead to Hampshire’s relegation

Jon Culley at Edgbaston27-Sep-20172:06

County Championship Round-up: Final-day drama awaits

Appropriately enough, given that timing has been the foundation of his career, Ian Bell chose the day an uninspiring Ashes squad was announced to offer a reminder that while his star may be on the wane it has not yet been extinguished.Days such as these are not coming around as often as they once were, yet when they do it is difficult to look at the current crop of England batsmen and argue that he would be out of place among them. The same thought might have occurred to James Vince, watching in the field as Bell’s unbeaten 77 guided Warwickshire from 65 for five to a total that might have sounded the death knell for Hampshire’s survival chances.Needing to draw to ensure that they do not join Warwickshire in Division Two next season, this glimpse into Bell’s past left them with a target of 259 to win or a day and a half in which not to lose 10 wickets, depending on how you looked at it.In the event, the arrival of rain just as the players set themselves to restart after tea has cut the survival time by a considerable chunk, with 46 overs left in the day when the players were told to make way for the covers. On a pitch that has seen 31 wickets fall in a day and a half, however, getting through a couple of sessions might be tough enough.Even with Bell’s 159-minute masterclass to give it substance, Warwickshire’s second innings encompassed 10 wickets falling in 44.1 overs, with the four seamers doing all the damage.Fidel Edwards and Ian Holland found movement to remove both openers in quick succession before Jonathan Trott followed them back, plainly unimpressed to given out caught behind off Gareth Berg, his gestures suggesting he did not believe his bat had made any contact.Bell, whose first task was to avoid a pair, had barely settled when Matt Lamb was squarely leg before and Tim Ambrose taken at second slip in the same Berg over. At 65 for five, Warwickshire’s lead was just 137.There have been times this season when Bell has looked like a player whose best days have gone and given that he is 35 now perhaps that is not so surprising. The longevity of a Trescothick or a Collingwood is not bestowed upon every batsman.Even on his poorer days, there is inevitably at least one moment of undeniable class in a Bell innings, yet as he found his stride with three boundaries in the same over off Berg there was a sense that this might be different. Maybe it was because it was the last innings of the season, a rare year without a century to his name. Perhaps he wanted to make a statement, on this of all days, for the benefit of the doubters.Or perhaps it just the mind-focussing consequence of a sense of senior responsibility, to salvage something from Warwickshire’s dismal season, to set up a chance to avoid the double indignity of a season not only finishing in relegation but winless. He could recognise, no doubt, that if he played with aggression and it came off he could give Hampshire a real test of their mettle. Even an extra 30 or so runs on the Warwickshire total could make the difference.In the event, he did better even than that. The wickets kept falling at the other end, Alex Thomson, who again looked a batsman of composure and skill, fell to Kyle Abbott the last ball before lunch, Jeetan Patel bowled by the first one of the afternoon. Then Chris Wright was run out by George Bailey’s direct hit from cover point.But Bell attacked at every opportunity and when he connected it was usually with the middle of the bat. Twice he sent Berg soaring over the rope but it was Edwards who took the most punishment as Bell used the West Indian’s pace to his own advantage.Twice steered deliberately for four over the slips, Edwards was frustrated enough to swish a hand angrily at the stumps at the end of one three-boundary over.It seemed for a while that Bell might get that elusive hundred after all, the one he had come closest to in April when he fell on 99 against Surrey. Olly Hannon-Dalby and Ryan Sidebottom did all they could to help as 72 were added for the last two wickets, of which Bell made exactly 50.Ultimately both ran into a ball that was too good but they had played their part in ensuring Hampshire will have a difficult final day. Although there are signs the pitch is flattening out a little, a draw looks the least likely outcome, unless the heavy rain forecast overnight takes out more time, and Warwickshire are favourites, with Hampshire already one down.

Australia lose openers after Sri Lanka make 281

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On a wicket renowned for being spin friendly, Mitchell Starc claimed the best figures ever by an Australian fast bowler in Sri Lanka as the hosts were dismissed for 281 on the first day in Galle

The Report by Brydon Coverdale04-Aug-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details1:01

By The Numbers – Starc, the touring menace in Sri Lanka

A wicket fell from the first ball of the first innings of this Test. A wicket fell from the second ball of the second innings. Ten others tumbled throughout the opening day in Galle, where Mitchell Starc’s reverse swing was just as much of a weapon as the anticipated turn on a very dry pitch. But in amongst it all was some good batting, from Kusal Mendis especially. Forget about two tiers of Test cricket, two divisions of batting already exist in this series: Mendis, and everyone else.His 176 in Pallekele was the difference between the two sides, and his 86 in Galle may again turn out to be a match-winning effort. Much of the script of this Test is yet to be written, but by stumps on day one Sri Lanka were in the stronger position: having been bowled out for 281, they had Australia at 54 for 2 in reply. And most of those runs had come from a frantic David Warner, who was dismissed in the last over of the day.Warner decided that his runs would come rapidly if at all, and flew by the seat of his pants to 42 from 41 balls. But with four balls left came the critical wicket, as he edged Dilruwan Perera to slip. He had given Australia a platform but like an unqualified builder, one that felt anything but stable. Australia’s batsmen will have to work exceptionally hard against Sri Lanka’s spinners and still trailed by 227 runs, with Usman Khawaja on 11.Shudders went through the Australian camp when Joe Burns pulled the second ball of the innings to midwicket to give debutant Vishwa Fernando a wicket from his second delivery in Test cricket. For the second time in the day, the scoreboard read 0 for 1. But just as Australia recovered to a degree, so had Sri Lanka to an even greater one. Not immediately, though.Starc bowled the first ball of the Test to Dimuth Karunaratne, who flicked uppishly to midwicket, where Burns took the catch. Not since Glenn McGrath dismissed Sanath Jayasuriya on the same ground in 1999 had Australia taken a wicket on the first ball of a Test, nor Sri Lanka lost one. By the fifth over, they were 9 for 2 when Kaushal Silva lazily drove away from his body and edged Starc behind.Starc would go on to finish with 5 for 44, the finest figures by an Australian fast bowler in a Test in Sri Lanka, and the best by any visiting pace bowler in Galle. But not before Mendis, Angelo Mathews and Kusal Perera put some distance between the teams. A 108-run stand between Mendis and Perera was followed by a 67-run union between Mendis and Mathews. As Mendis batted on and on Australia must have feared a repeat of his Pallekele innings.It was not quite to be, though he was again a class above all others. Mendis was strong through the leg side but also when driving through covers. He launched a couple of sixes, down the ground and over midwicket off Nathan Lyon, and his fifty came up from 74 deliveries. Australia were thrilled when they had Mendis adjudged lbw for 78, but a review found Josh Hazlewood had hooped the ball in too much.The Australians did not have to wait too long to see the back of Mendis, who on 86 got a faint nick behind when Starc moved one away. It was Starc’s 100th Test wicket and was fine reward for consistent work in tough conditions. By this stage Kusal Perera had already departed, caught at slip off a big-turning Lyon offbreak for 49, but Mathews was still around to trouble the Australians.Mathews was intent on attacking the spinners and crashed his second ball over long-on for six off Lyon, then followed in Lyon’s next over with a reverse sweep for four. When debutant Jon Holland came back into the attack, Mathews was watchful for five balls and then thumped the sixth over long-on for six. Another six off Holland followed a few overs later.Australia’s spinners were attacking, giving the ball air and turning it, but Mathews was attacking, giving the ball air and turning it into runs for Sri Lanka. He lost Dinesh Chandimal, caught flicking Hazlewood to short midwicket for 5, but by tea Mathews was still at the crease and Sri Lanka looked dangerous with the score beyond 200.Australia did well to finish off the innings cheaply enough; the last five wickets fell for 57 runs and all came after tea. Mathews departed for 54 when he flashed at Mitchell Marsh and was caught behind, and Marsh should have had another when Dhananjaya de Silva edged to first slip, but Steven Smith spilled the opportunity and Peter Nevill was unable to clasp Smith’s parry.Dilruwan Perera fell for 16 when he tried to whip Lyon, bowling around the wicket through leg, but was trapped lbw by a ball that pitched in line and straightened. Eventually Australia did get de Silva, who had been dropped on 17 and went on to make 37. He gave Holland his first Test wicket by attempting to paddle a low full toss, missing, and being adjudged lbw.Starc came back to finish off the tail, striking Lakshan Sandakan’s stumps with a delivery that swung in, and then bowling Rangana Herath with another ball that tailed in. Starc’s five-wicket haul was greatly deserved, but will mean little unless Australia’s batsmen back him up on day two.

South Africa chip away at Bangladesh's lead

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Liton Das shared an 82-run stand with Shakib Al Hasan to help Bangladesh build a 78-run lead, but South Africa’s openers, Dean Elgar and Stiaan van Zyl, all but wiped that away

The Report by Firdose Moonda23-Jul-2015

Scorecard and ball-by ball details 2:07

Isam: Bangladesh have made for intriguing viewing

Liton Das scored his first Test fifty and shared an 82-run stand with Shakib Al Hasan to help Bangladesh build their biggest lead, 78, against any team when batting second, but South Africa’s openers, Dean Elgar and Stiaan van Zyl, all but wiped that away. They reached the close of a curtailed day unscathed and just 17 runs behind, with enough time, weather-permitting, to set a target.South Africa may regard this as their best day so far. Despite the Shakib-Liton partnership, Bangladesh’s last four wickets fell for 15 runs as Dale Steyn found his bite with the bouncer and finished one short of the 400-wicket mark. Then, the South African openers batted with more ease than their entire line-up did in the first innings and grew in confidence, especially against the spinners, to negate the advantage Bangladesh gained.The hosts’ day began energetically as Mushfiqur Rahim tried to make the most of the old ball. He took on Steyn and was successful until the fast bowler rapped him on the pads with a length ball, and asked for the review after Umpire Joe Wilson wasn’t convinced it was out. Replays showed the ball was going on to hit middle stump and Steyn had made his first incision in the series.South Africa took the new ball one over after it became available, and tasked Vernon Philander and Morne Morkel with picking up wickets. When neither could, Steyn was brought back, with Simon Harmer operating at the other end. Although Harmer found turn, he was at times too short and both Shakib and Liton were comfortable taking him on. They became even more comfortable after they secured the lead with Liton’s pinpoint drive off Steyn before lunch, and South Africa then had another spinner, JP Duminy, operating after the break.Shakib reached his highest Test score against South Africa and had a half-century in sight, so went for a glory shot off Harmer. But what he hoped would be a full-blooded pull turned into a top-edge to give Duminy a comfortable catch at short midwicket and leave Liton with the tail.Mohammad Shahid offered strong support when he took 18 runs off Harmer’s next over, all in boundaries. The first was a fortuitous outside edge; the next three meaty blows over mid-off, midwicket and straight down the ground. His fun only lasted ten more deliveries. After belting Vernon Philander through cow corner, Shahid tried to slog but van Zyl took a good catch at midwicket.Liton was more cautious and displayed maturity and class. His cover drive off Morkel was the most elegant stroke across the two-and-a-half days of hard grind of either side. There was nothing quite as stylish to bring up his half-century – it came with a single to the leg side off the 101st delivery he faced.Later, in the same over, his innings ended. Liton was caught in his crease by a sharp offbreak and inside edged the ball onto his pad. Quinton de Kock took the catch and broke the stumps at the same time and umpire Richard Kettleborough had to check for a clean catch, which replays showed it was.South Africa could see the end when de Kock appealed for a caught behind off Taijul Islam off Morne Morkel but Umpire Wilson gave it not out and it stayed that way on review, so Steyn was brought back. And it was with a vengeance. He banged it in short, hit Mustafizur on the helmet as a warning and then had Taijul caught at gully and Mustafizur Rahman at point to end Bangladesh’s innings, and give South Africa a chance to put pressure on Bangladesh for the first time.Elgar and van Zyl took that opportunity. They negotiated a tricky 40 minute period before tea, which included facing a spinner, Taijul, first up and then, Mahmudullah and Shakib, with caution and then knuckled down in a shortened third session. Bad light ended play after 50 minutes but not before both Elgar and van Zyl showed their ability to handle spin better. Unlike the first innings, when South Africa’s batsmen were often stuck in the crease, they moved their feet and looked for gaps in the field. They found the method worked but it will have to keep working if South Africa want a winning target.

Paine guides Hurricanes to easy win

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Hobart Hurricanes announced themselves as a force to be reckoned with after a dominant victory over Perth Scorchers in freezing conditions in Hobart

The Report by Alex Malcolm01-Jan-2013
ScorecardTim Paine made an unbeaten 74•Getty Images

Tim Paine starred with an unbeaten 74 in the run chase after Hobart Hurricanes’ bowlers restricted the enigmatic Perth Scorchers line-up. Set 153 to win, Paine controlled the chase sublimely. He was unfazed when he lost his opening partner Aiden Blizzard early. It brought Paine and Ricky Ponting together again after they combined for a century stand against Sydney Thunder two-games earlier.There was an element of “anything you can do I can do better” between the master, Ponting, and the apprentice Paine.Paine, who has represented Australia in Tests, struck three consecutive boundaries off the inexperienced Jason Behrendorff in the fifth over. Ponting answered with a streaky leading edge to the point fence off Nathan Coulter-Nile and a phenomenal lofted cover drive for six at the other end. Paine took Behrendorff to task the following over with two powerful blows, through and over the leg-side.The pair raced to a 90-run stand, and in doing so made the required run-rate almost irrelevant. That was until Ponting fell to Brad Hogg, top-edging a paddle shot to short fine leg. It became two victims in two balls when Travis Birt was trapped on the crease to a trademark Hogg wrong ‘un.Hogg could have been the difference had he garnered support from others. When he lured a soft return catch from Owais Shah, he had figures of 3 for 13. But runs flowed like currents through the Derwent at the other end. Paine, unperturbed, cruised home with the steady support of his captain George Bailey. The Hurricanes won comfortably with six wickets and nine balls to spare.Having come from a heatwave in Western Australia, the Scorchers froze in the first match of the New Year, and without the contribution of Simon Katich they might have struggled to set a total of any significance.Electing to bat after winning the toss, Scorchers lost their first wicket to Xavier Doherty who delivered a wicket-maiden to start the match. Herschelle Gibbs cut a waist-high catch to point on the third ball of the innings.Shaun Marsh was struck a nasty blow on the thumb from a fired-up Doug Bollinger in the second over. The left-arm quick removed the in-form Marsh not long after, to leave the Scorchers reeling at 2 for 10.Then Katich produced arguably the innings of the tournament. His 66 from just 41 balls proved unequivocally that he is still a player of immeasurable quality at this level, even in a format he is not renowned for. He struck four sixes, including back-to-back bombs from the pace of Bollinger. His nine boundaries in all found every corner of Bellerive. His preference was midwicket, but he pulled Gulbis from one knee behind square and uppercut him over the point fence. He also struck Doherty over extra cover for four using nothing more than some delightful footwork and a gentle punch with the bottom hand.Katich was ably supported by his trusty lieutenants Marcus North and Adam Voges, but neither could cash in on starts. All three fell to the canny skills of Ben Laughlin who is turning into a major weapon for the Hobart side.The Scorchers return home to face the winless Sydney Thunder on Friday, whilst the Hurricanes host the Adelaide Strikers on Saturday night.

DRS to be used in Pakistan-England Tests

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Pakistan’s “home” series against England, to be played in the UAE from January 2012, will have DRS for the Tests in addition to the ODIs as previously decided.

Umar Farooq09-Dec-2011Pakistan’s “home” series against England, to be played in the UAE from January 2012, will have DRS for the Tests in addition to the ODIs as previously decided. The PCB’s current sponsorship deal for the DRS, under which the ODIs in this series and those already played against Sri Lanka were covered, has been extended to include Tests but not the Twenty20 internationals.There will be no Hot Spot but ball-tracking technology provided by Hawk-Eye will be used in the DRS.”The PCB believes in technology and we were very keen to get the Test series covered with DRS too,” PCB’s General Manager media Nadeem Sarwar told ESPNcricinfo. “Our marketing department has done a great job to convince the sponsor and the DRS will bring added value to the Test series.”In October, the PCB had signed a deal with Pepsi to cover the cost of DRS for only the one-dayers against Sri Lanka and England in the UAE.”We are now hosting the [England] series with only Hawk-Eye for the DRS without the Hot Spot version. Since the use of this expensive technology was not part of the deal signed with the broadcaster [Ten Sports] but we will be considering the option in our new deal.”A deal with the broadcaster was renewed in November 2008 for five years according to which Ten Sports held the telecast and distribution rights for international tours including all Tests, ODIs and Twenty20 matches without the use of DRS technology.

Kenya unveil 'contagious' logo

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Cricket Kenya has launched a new logo and identity for the organisation to “reflect a new era for the sport in the country” according to board chief executive Tom Sears

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Dec-2010Cricket Kenya has launched a new logo and identity for the organisation to “reflect a new era for the sport in the country” according to board chief executive Tom Sears.”The new identity retains all the heritage and core elements of the previous logo but is a more dynamic and modern image mirroring the organisation’s approach to the challenges that lie ahead,” waxed Sears. “The new logo will feature on all national team’s playing uniforms and will be first seen worn by the Kenya Women’s team in the Pepsi ICC Africa qualifying event for the women’s World Cup being staged in Nairobi later this month.”We are delighted with the new look and feel it represents Cricket Kenya strongly. The feedback we have had so far has been excellent.’The design was done by a Delhi-based company who were briefed to create something “contagious”.

Gautam hits ton as Karnataka confirm final spot

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There was no miracle on the final day for Uttar Pradesh. Karnataka expectedly entered their 12th Ranji Trophy final, where they will face defending champions Mumbai, the only currently active team, who they have not beaten outright

The Bulletin by Siddarth Ravindran in Bangalore06-Jan-2010
Scorecard
There was no miracle on the final day for Uttar Pradesh. Karnataka expectedly entered their 12th Ranji Trophy final, where they will face defending champions Mumbai, the only currently active team who they have not beaten outright.Karnataka’s lead was already past 400 at the start of play on Wednesday, with little interest left in the day’s proceedings. Both teams sleepwalked through proceedings, the highlight of which was a century for Muralidharen Gautam, who became the fifth Karnataka batsman to make two hundreds or more this season.The two biggest cheers from the sparse crowd at the Chinnaswamy were right before Karnataka declared their second innings with the lead more than 600: first, when Rahul Dravid finally walked out to bat at No. 10, and four minutes later when Gautam reached triple figures with a steer past gully for four. Gautam celebrated enthusiastically, waving his bat to his clapping team-mates and to the faithful who had turned up, and was walking back towards the stumps when Dravid signalled the declaration just before tea.The day’s most entertaining passage was when Gautam and R Vinay Kumar combined for a 112-run sixth wicket partnership. After a moribund two hours in the morning, Vinay Kumar clubbed Piyush Chawla over long-on for six, and then jolted the Karnataka State Cricket Association club members who were enjoying their lunch by launching Praveen Gupta into their
enclosure. The free swings from Vinay Kumar also encouraged Gautam to be more enterprising; he whipped a four to midwicket, and unleashed a couple of backfoot cover drives before a late cut took him into the eighties.A demoralised UP were clearly looking to catch the first flight home, barely concerned with dislodging Karnataka’s batsmen. Tanmay Srivastava, who has never bowled in first-class cricket before was given 12 overs while frontline bowlers Praveen Kumar and Bhuvneshwar Kumar sent down only three each.The only specialist quick bowler who was used for a long spell was RP Singh, bowling 12 straight overs in the morning. There was still nothing in the pitch for him, but he was more accurate than in the first innings, to be rewarded with the wicket of Ganesh Satish. It was only in the final over of his effort, that he erred by giving too much width, which was promptly punished by a couple of square drives from Gautam.RP got the second new-ball to rise sharply, and struck twice in an over to remove Sunil Joshi and Abhimanyu Mithun. Within an over, the declaration came, leaving UP about 45 minutes to bat till the match was called off, much to the visitors’ relief. Right through the four days, UP were always behind in the game, and there wasn’t even a stand-out individual performance to provide a measure of consolation.UP made the finals of the previous two seasons, but for Karnataka it has been a 11-year wait to get to the title clash. “It’s great for Karnataka cricket, great for a lot of the young boys in the team,” Dravid said. “We have had some tough years in the middle and it’s nice to see that we have made it to the finals this year, things are beginning to look up a little.”He was particularly happy that the dominant season, where Karnataka have had four outright wins and are yet to concede the first-innings lead, was on the back of efforts of youngsters. “Throughout the season the youngsters have done really well, they have been given a lot of confidence by the team management and the selectors,” he said. “They have repaid the faith, other than me and Sunil [Joshi] everyone is less than 25 years of age, hopefully they keep performing and we’ll have some successes not only this year but also in next couple of years.”