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An attendance of 27,119, a domestic record for Twenty20 cricket in the UK, watched a thrilling Middlesex victory over Surrey

Vithushan Ehantharajah at Lord's21-Jul-2016
ScorecardEoin Morgan’s 42 helped Middlesex beat local rivals Surrey•Getty Images

A thrilling match, in front of a record crowd, broadcast on TV and with the very best on show taking star turns. The T20 Blast has not always been able to get all those ingredients into the same pot. But tonight, everything seemed to fall into place.The attendance of 27,119 is now a domestic record for Twenty20 cricket in the UK. Lord’s also happens to hold the record for an international, too, when the 2009 World T20 final reeled in over 28,000. There were a couple factors that threatened today’s record.Severe delays on the Jubilee Line had some punters thinking twice about joining the clammy rush-hour scrum to St John’s Wood. The walk from Baker Street station, normally a leisurely stroll past some of Sherlock Holmes’ old watering holes, was a steady stream of fans frog-marching cooler bags along the westerly brim of Regent’s Park. Middlesex’s own form, too, might have encouraged some diehards to stay away to avoid the gloating bellows of their rivals from south London, who had enjoyed a six-game winning streak at Lord’s before the tables turned last season.But just as bigger steps cut down the 20-minute walk, signal failures rectified from Bond Street, and the opening of the Warner Stand (roof still to be attached) increased the potential for a bumper crowd, so too did Middlesex’s rediscovered knack of winning short form games. There is a marked difference to the way they are now approaching Twenty20 cricket.Dawid Malan, following his appointment as white-ball captain, has ensured that elements of Middlesex’s T20 plans are now player-led. That his side triumphed tonight by chasing down a target of 197, with plenty left in the tank, while he, their leading run-scorer in the competition, was slapping Sri Lanka A about for 185 off 126 balls, says it all. With bat and ball, this was a free-form T20 performance that sees them jump to third in the south group, with 13 points from 11 played.It is worth starting with the chase of 197, done with five balls and as many wickets to spare. Paul Stirling could not have hit a more Paul Stirling 34: cover drives played with a savagery rarely associated with the shot while also finessing a back-of-a-length ball over backward square leg for a dainty six. Eoin Morgan, pushed up to three, then clobbered 42 off 24 balls, which included putting Azhar Mahmood on the roof of the Grandstand. Rarely one for holding the pose or a lingering gaze, even he looked on wistfully at his own majesty.In the last two months, Morgan has played to 50,000 in a World T20 final at Eden Gardens, stepped out at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in the IPL and then, in his opening T20 Blast fixture, batted on a school ground. A lot is made of Morgan’s appetite for English domestic cricket, but who can blame him when life outside it sees him on Broadway. He showed today what keeps him going – a challenge, an atmosphere, a prize to be won. Never mind attracting overseas stars, it’s imperative to have a competition that motivates your own.He departed in the 11th over, one which started with 85 needed from 60 balls. With 30 balls left, that had been chopped down to 37, thanks to a brisk partnership between George Bailey (50) and John Simpson (43 from 26) that was eventually broken for 67. By then, the ask was simply 10 from 14.Quite how Surrey failed to breach 200, having smashed 80 for none off the first six overs, was a mystery. Once Jason Roy departed at the beginning of the eighth over, for a thrill-a-ball half-century which took just 24 deliveries, the constant fear of boundaries subsided. The 10 overs that followed the Powerplay saw just 74 scored. Surrey’s middle order has long been a problem area masked by the dashers up top. For them to evolve as a T20 force, it needs addressing.It was the introduction of legspinner Nathan Sowter that shored Middlesex up, allowing them to retain respectability in the field. Coming on in the seventh over, he returned figures of two for 29 from his four overs: a back-of-the-hand delivery slowing up on Steven Davies, who skewed a drive to gully before Rory Burns, stuck in a rut, top-edged a sweep to John Simpson.The main squeeze came between the 11th and 16th overs as Sowter and Ryan Higgins bowled in tandem for a five-over period that saw 33 runs and just one boundary conceded. Higgins is an interesting case: primarily a batsman, he found himself bowling a few overs here and there during preseason and in the warm-up Twenty20 matches. It was in these fixtures that he surprised coaches and Middlesex’s analyst with his ability to seemingly bowl yorkers at will.Today was the first time that Middlesex really put his newly discovered talents to the test. Initially, his three overs went for just 17 runs – none of them from boundaries. But when Harry Podmore was removed from the attack after a second waist-high full toss, he returned to bowl the remaining five balls of the penultimate over. The first delivery hit straight over his head and into the members by Chris Morris. The very next was caught at midwicket for his first wicket in the T20 Blast. He was the only bowler that restricted Finch to less than a run a ball.The individual to benefit most from the squeeze was James Fuller, whose spell at the death, which returned 2 for 14 – he took 2 for 3 in the 20th over – helped offset a catastrophic opening burst that saw him concede 29 from his opening two overs.Surrey’s destiny is now out of their hands. Winning their remaining games will help, but without the goodwill of others, they face another season of T20 disappointment.

Glenn McGrath believes Mitchell Johnson “has to play” the first Test of the Investec Ashes series and that he can “reopen the scars” he inflicted in England during the last series in Australia

George Dobell29-Jun-2015Glenn McGrath believes Mitchell Johnson “has to play” the first Test of the Investec Ashes series and that he can “reopen the scars” he inflicted on England during the last series in Australia.Remarkable it may be to those who witnessed Johnson destroy England in Australia barely 18-months ago – when he claimed 37 wickets in the five Tests at an average of 13.97 – his place in the team for the first Test in Cardiff was suggested to be not entirely secure in the early stages of the tour.Equally remarkably for those who saw the high standards reached by Ryan Harris in recent Ashes series, he is likely to struggle to make the first Test XI after missing the West Indies tour. Nothing better illustrates Australia’s fast bowling strength.But, as far as McGrath is concerned, Johnson is a “lethal” bowler and “can’t be left out”. Not only does he feel Johnson has developed into a more dangerous bowler than the one who has rarely fired on previous Ashes tours, but he thinks the psychological damage inflicted by Johnson in Australia gives him an advantage.”The way he finished that last series in Australia was incredible,” McGrath said. “He was player of the series without a doubt.”There will be a lot of scars from that and if Johnson can get off to a good start here it will just reopen those scars. He will just power through.”The first Test is a big game. If Johnson can have a good game and intimidate he is going to be lethal.”They can’t leave him out. Just because of the way he dominated in the last series and the way he bowled with good heat against Kent. If he starts the series well he won’t stop.”He hits the seam and if he hits the seam he is going to be very effective. When he came here last time his arm was lower and he wasn’t hitting it so much.”If he does well it will have a big effect on the rest of the team. It will really lift everyone. Test cricket is a psychological game and if you start well you go from strength to strength.”‘I think everyone expects me to make a 5-0 prediction and I’ve dug a hole for myself over the years. If I say anything else they’ll think I’m not confident.’•Hardy’s

While McGrath remains an admirer of Harris, he suspects Australia will go into the first Test with Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazelwood as the first choice seamers and said he would prefer Shane Watson to Mitchell Marsh in the allrounder position.”Harris is a quality player,” he said. “But you don’t want to leave out either Starc or Hazlewood and you have got to play Mitchell Johnson. So maybe they leave Rhino out.”Hazlewood will enjoy the English conditions. I loved playing here with the Dukes ball. I think I averaged two wickets a Test more than elsewhere. He is the type of bowler who hits the deck and can swing the ball and he does it from a high action. I think he will really enjoy it.”And I’ve always liked Watson. I think he has so much potential. He’ll get given the opportunity to start and I want to see him go out there and perform.”McGrath predicting a whitewash has become a familiar pre-Ashes ritual. And he has not disappointed this time, either, though he did offer a few caveats. “When we came over here and we were playing pretty well there was never a 5-0 series win,” he said. “But this could always be the first. I think everyone expects me to make a 5-0 prediction and I’ve dug a hole for myself over the years. If I say anything else they’ll think I’m not confident.”But what may be more surprising is his suggestion that there should be a crackdown on sledging; at junior level at least. While insisting that the media tended to overplay the amount of verbal abuse occurring in Ashes series, he did concede that the behaviour of international sportsmen is often mimicked in clubs and playgrounds.”To see kids sledging is totally wrong and should not be allowed,” he said. “Unfortunately kids do copy what they see on TV. Sportsmen have a role to play as role models.”But if I’m sitting there blaming someone on TV or sportsman for the way my children are playing then I’m not accepting responsibility and think that’s pretty poor. For me as a parent I’m the role model for that child and the way they play the sport – have to take responsibility.”It should never get personal or abusive. I didn’t have any chat until I was well into my first-class career.”But to be No. 1 you have to play hard. That isn’t necessarily sledging. It’s as much about body language than what you say. I don’t want to see a bunch of robots and a bowler clapping a batsman after he’s been hit for four and saying good shot. Just play it hard and tough. That is why the umpires are there and the match referee is there.”

MS Dhoni has left his future as captain in the selectors’ hands, but he has also said he won’t run away from the responsibility

Sidharth Monga09-Dec-2012MS Dhoni has left his future as captain in the selectors’ hands, but he has also said he won’t run away from the responsibility.”As a leader this is a challenge thrown at me,” Dhoni said moments after India completed their first set of back-to-back home Test losses since 1999-2000. “It is always good to lead a side when you are performing well. That is not the time you need a leader. Leading a side is all about when the team is not doing well. To try to gel the team together. To back the youngsters, back the seniors. Try to move in the right direction.”The easiest thing to do for me right now is to quit the captaincy and stay part of the side. That’s running away from responsibility that’s upon us. Of course there are others who will decide. There is BCCI and other administrative people who look into that. For me, my responsibility is to get the team together and be prepared for the next Test match.”As usual, Dhoni contradicted himself in the same answer when asked to elaborate on Duncan Fletcher’s role. He said, rightly so, that the team shouldn’t look for excuses and scapegoats, but in the same breath he made these Test defeats sound like an aberration, failing to admit to the lows that the team has reached.”He [Fletcher] has got excellent technical knowledge about our batting,” Dhoni said. “He guides us in the right direction. Ultimately once you cross that rope you are on your own whatever happens. That’s the time you have to get up and retaliate. That’s where we are lacking as of now.”It’s wrong to question the coach. We have won quite a few series, the ODI performance have been really good. In between we have won Test series. Okay in Australia and England we struggled, but this is a series after that that we have not done well, the last two matches that you see. You shouldn’t really look for excuses, to put it on the coach. Ultimately it is up to the 11 players who turn up on the field. On a wicket like this, you need to score more runs, and the situation will be different.”For the record, India have been knocked out of two ODI tournaments this year, they have lost to Bangladesh, and were disappointing in World Twenty20 too. In Tests, they have won at home, and that too against West Indies and New Zealand. In the West Indies, they won one Test and refused to try to win another. The Test record under Fletcher is 10 defeats to six wins. Reduce it to strong opposition, and it becomes 9-1. This is not to put all the blame on Fletcher, but to clarify that India haven’t won much at all, unlike what the captain believes.Dhoni also said the side’s batting can’t run away from responsibility either. The first question he was asked at the press conference was, “How bad does it need to get before it gets better?” Dhoni didn’t answer directly, but responded with a description of batting failures.”The batting order will have to take responsibility,” he said. “We need to score more runs. This was a very good wicket to bat on. Of course the bowlers will bowl a few good deliveries that you need to keep out. But the top seven, most of us will have to score at the same time so that we can get a par total, which the bowlers can look to defend. If you don’t score too many runs in the first innings and if the opposition score runs in the first innings, you will find yourself under pressure.”Dhoni said this was not the worst phase of his career. The worst came in England and Australia, he said, for at least here they can hope to rectify the problems. “If you talk about the low, the England, Australia series were the lows because we weren’t able to compete,” he said. “Here we know what the faults are and we should be able to rectify those. Overall the bowlers are doing well, I think. Once you don’t get enough runs on the board you question bowlers too as to if they would have defended a bigger score as well, but I think the spinners have done really well. Bit more contribution from the fast bowlers would really help.”On the fast bowlers, the obvious question was about Zaheer Khan’s effectiveness and fitness. “It’s a very technical question,” Dhoni said. “The beauty of it is we all know the problem and it will be great help if find out a solution. Everybody is asking the same question.”As far as the fitness is concerned, he has been the way he is for the last few years. Definitely he is not unfit, he is doing everything. The England batsmen are doing well. From behind it looks as if he is bowling in the right area. Bowlers sometimes go through a phase when they don’t get wickets. This is a phase maybe. As far as the bowling is concerned he is still bowling quite the same. He is swinging it both ways. We will have to wait and watch. He looks fit. Fitness is not an issue.”We will wait and watch indeed. Dhoni was due to go to a selection meeting soon after leaving the ground.

Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Amir has been given permission by a London court to appeal his six-month sentence in the spot-fixing trial

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Nov-2011Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Amir has been given permission by a London court to appeal his six-month sentence in the spot-fixing trial. The 19-year-old left-arm fast bowler was not sent to jail, but to a young offenders’ detention centre.A judge at the Court of Appeal refused Amir bail but granted him permission to appeal his sentence. Judge Kathryn Thirlwall, at the Court of Appeal, said any appeal should be heard by November 29.On November 3, the Southwark Crown Court handed out jail terms to two other players and their agent, who were found guilty in the spot-fixing case. Salman Butt, the former Pakistan captain, was sentenced to two years and six months, while Mohammad Asif got a one-year jail sentence. Mazhar Majeed, the players’ agent, was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison.Butt has already filed an appeal against his sentence. Asif on the other hand is considering appealing his conviction.Amir and Asif were found guilty for agreeing to bowl no-balls at prearranged times during the Lord’s Test last August. Earlier this year, the ICC banned all three players for at least five years for their roles in the tainted Lord’s Test.Majeed was filmed accepting £150,000 from a reporter of the now defunct tabloid to arrange the spot-fixing.

“Can we start our summer now?” Michael Clarke asked the question after Australia had ended a seven-match losing streak with an eight-wicket win over a switched-off Sri Lanka at the Gabba

Peter English at the Gabba07-Nov-2010″Can we start our summer now?” Michael Clarke, the stand-in captain, asked the question after Australia had ended a seven-match losing streak with an eight-wicket win over a switched-off Sri Lanka at the Gabba.Australia’s international summer usually opens in Brisbane with the first Test, but this three-game one-day series was squeezed in, with organisers hoping it would spark the Ashes summer. Instead it resulted in the home side falling to three defeats in a week in front of tiny crowds, including only 9037 for the dead rubber.Clarke’s half-century to finish off the contest and strong performances from Clint McKay and Mitchell Starc improved the local moods. McKay grabbed career-best figures of 5 for 33 and Starc impressed in his second ODI with 4 for 27 as Sri Lanka were dismissed for 115.”It will kick-start our summer along nicely with the Ashes coming up, then the one-dayers before the World Cup,” McKay said. “It’s the first step in the right direction to make sure we play some good cricket all summer.”The win was Australia’s first in all forms of the game since July and McKay said it was “a bit of a relief”. “But with the belief we have in the group at the moment, we knew we weren’t too far away,” McKay said. “We had been playing good cricket at times but just hadn’t come away with the win.”Starc is only 20 but showed he was one to watch and easily out-bowled Mitchell Johnson, the side’s other left-arm fast man. “He hasn’t stopped smiling,” McKay said of Starc. “He bowled beautifully tonight and he’s a great one for the future.”There’s a lot of young quicks coming through and Mitch put his hand up tonight. He bowled with good pace and had it swinging around a bit and he’s going to be one to watch out for.”

Doug Bollinger proved during the Adelaide Test that he is a passionate character on the field and he has enjoyed stepping in to Australia’s new-look fast-bowling group in the absence of Ben Hilfenhaus

Cricinfo staff11-Dec-2009Doug Bollinger proved during the Adelaide Test that he is a passionate character on the field and he has enjoyed stepping in to Australia’s new-look fast-bowling group in the absence of Ben Hilfenhaus. Australia view Bollinger, Hilfenhaus, Mitchell Johnson and Peter Siddle as the future of the Test attack, and despite being the oldest of the four, Bollinger is the least experienced in Tests.That hasn’t stopped Bollinger, 28, from voicing his opinion out in the middle. Bollinger said the natural connection between the new fast bowlers helped counter the lack of experience in a line-up that the West Indies coach David Williams said during the Adelaide Test could “be taken apart”.”Sometimes you try and do that on the field, whether it’s a good time or a bad time, you like to put your comments in just because you’re think you’re a bit older and all that,” Bollinger said in the . “We all get along, all four of us, and [with] Troy Cooley the bowling coach have spoken a lot.”If anything happens we make sure we speak up. It doesn’t matter if you’ve played two games, 100 games, 50 Tests, as long as everyone’s putting their input in and doing something for the team. We all got along, myself, Hilfy, Sids and Mitch. I think that’s just as good as playing 120 games. As long as we’re all connecting.”Before the Adelaide Test, which was his second for Australia, Bollinger described himself as “loud and obnoxious” and his fiery nature was on display when he kicked the turf in anger at an lbw appeal that didn’t go his way. It was an action that earned him a reprimand from the match referee, but Bollinger has vowed not to lose his aggressive streak and hopes he and the similarly fiery Siddle can become a fearsome duo.”Sids is a great fighter,” Bollinger said. “He does get fired up, I like it, actually. You’re playing for your country, you’re not there to make friends, you’re there to win and do your best. A bit of fire doesn’t hurt anyone. I like it how he gets passionate, that’s all I try and do there and if you get a bit angry there, well, that’s good. I like to see it.”[Kicking the ground] was just one of those things that happened. Obviously there’s lines that you can’t cross in international cricket, and I think I was a little bit frustrated. I just wanted to do well and it all mixed together into a bit of a brain explosion, but that’s what happens and I will make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

David Miller says “right groin a little tight”, while Marcus Stoinis also limps off for DSG

Firdose Moonda27-Jan-2025South Africa’s injury watch ahead of the Champions Trophy has grown after Paarl Royals’ captain David Miller left the field in the team’s final home game, against Durban’s Super Giants.Miller was fielding in the covers in the 14th over, when Marcus Stoinis threaded a ball between two fielders and he was unable to stop it. Two balls later, Miller left the field accompanied by Royals support staff. He walked unassisted, but gingerly, and managed to get up the stairs and into the changeroom.Miller did not bat during the Royals innings and was seen sitting in the changeroom as his side secured a six-wicket win. “My right groin is a little tight,” he told SuperSport afterwards. “It’s just a little tweak. Tried to get off before it could get any worse.”Related

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Australia’s Champions Trophy prep also took a potential hit when Stoinis, playing in his second match of the SA20, left the field halfway through his third over. Stoinis had earlier hit an unbeaten 55 off 40 balls to give DSG a competitive total and bowled a two-over spell with a return of 1 for 15. He returned for the 18th over, with Paarl needing 24 runs off the last three overs, and bowled three balls before calling on the physio for what appeared to be a hamstring problem. He left the field after a short conversation and Wiaan Mulder had to complete the over.”He just felt something in his hamstring,” Keshav Maharaj, DSG captain, said. “I don’t think it was too serious but obviously the logical thing to do as a fast bowler is to go off the field. So I’m sure the medical staff will assess and then communicate with Cricket Australia.”But I think he’ll be okay. He’s a soldier, he’s a fighter and he’s a big unit so I’m sure he’ll be okay.”Royals were also without Lungi Ngidi for a fourth match in succession, and he has missed five of their eight games. Ngidi has only just returned to action after sitting out the entire international summer with a groin injury and indications from the Royals’ camp are that he is being eased back into a regular playing schedule. On Saturday, their coach Trevor Penney, indicated Ngidi would return for Royals’ match against JSK this Thursday, and the playoffs.”With Lungi, we know big fast bowlers like him, they sometimes needed a couple of weeks to get back into that full flow and the rhythm. It’s a tough thing for fast bowlers. He was out [with a groin injury] for like eight weeks. So he’s on a programme where he’s almost back now. So we played him in the first few games so he could get some game time. And I’m sure when we go to the Highveld, he’s going to be straight back in,” Penney said.South Africa’s white-ball coach Rob Walter will be particularly concerned about Ngidi because of the number of fast bowling injuries in the country, one of which has already affected the Champions Trophy squad. Anrich Nortje was ruled out of the tournament with a back injury while the bowler most likely to replace him, Gerald Coetzee, is out of the SA20 with a hamstring injury. South Africa are yet to name a player in Nortje’s place but will have to do so before the ICC’s squad deadline on February 11.

Head coach Gary Stead provides updates on the three players who missed New Zealand’s opening clash against England

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Oct-2023Lockie Ferguson and Tim Southee are likely to be fit for New Zealand’s second World Cup game against Netherlands having recovered from their respective injuries. However, captain Kane Williamson is likely to spend some more time on the sidelines, head coach Gary Stead has said.”Lockie Ferguson got through training really well so providing he is scrubbed up okay this morning, he will be available for this next game,” Stead said. “Tim Southee also got through the training really well. It was great to see him back at the bowling crease and also doing a little bit of fielding as well.”He will just get a final x-ray done this morning and we will make a call after that but it is all looking good for selection from now on and into the rest of the tournament.”Related

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New Zealand have been plagued by injuries coming into the World Cup and effectively had 12 fit players to pick from for their opening fixture against England. Ferguson missed the game due to a back niggle, while Southee, who had surgery on his fractured right thumb heading into the tournament, failed to recover in time.Williamson, meanwhile will continue to remain absent from the playing XI as he makes his way back to full fitness from an ACL tear he suffered in the IPL earlier this year. Williamson played the two warm-up games against Pakistan and South Africa, giving a good account of himself, scoring 54 and 37 respectively, before retiring out.He missed the opening game against England and is now targeting a comeback in New Zealand’s third game against Bangladesh on October 13 in Chennai.Kane Williamson is targeting a return in New Zealand’s third game•ICC via Getty Images

“Kane’s also been progressing very well. I think the fielding is still the element for him that he’s just got to get a little bit higher and get a little more trust in his body,” Stead said.”But he is progressing really well and we are pretty confident he will be playing the third match for us. We have got another training to get through today so we will finalise the team once we have got through that training. At this stage with Kane, we are looking like the third game is when he will start the tournament.”New Zealand will next face Netherlands on October 9 in Hyderabad.

Willey suggests ‘mother cricket’ got involved after attempt to delay the inevitable

Firdose Moonda23-Jul-2022Heinrich Klaasen was not concerned that the white ball would disappear into the white sheeting, visible at the bottom of the sight screen after 10 overs of the South African innings in the second ODI against England, but he was hoping to use up some time as South Africa found themselves in an impossible situation.At 39 for 5, with 164 runs required off the last 19 overs in a rain-reduced match, the advertising boards were pulled back to make room for the hover cover to come on in a hurry and, with rain around, Klaasen saw an opportunity to slow things down. He spent several minutes asking for the sightscreen to be restored to its usual appearance.Asked how much of his gesticulations had to do with sighting the ball, Klaasen admitted it had nothing to do with that at all.”It was zero percent of the ball disappearing into the sight-screen. The rain came down a little bit harder. I just tried to delay the game a little bit and change the momentum. Hopefully the umpires could have taken us off but that didn’t happen,” Klaasen said afterwards. “It was just a little bit of old-school tricks to see if I just change the momentum and slow the game down a little bit.”Though he could laugh about it afterwards, at the time Klaasen knew he was ruffling feathers. England’s captain Jos Buttler was noticeably unhappy with his tactics and pleaded with the umpires to speed the game up as the showers grew.”The English boys didn’t like it,” Klaasen said, explaining that he expected the opposition to react the way they did. “I knew it was going to come so it’s nothing new to me. But for me, in that situation, we weren’t in a great position, so just to upset the rhythm of the game a little and change the momentum maybe, and see what happens couldn’t have done any harm. It frustrated a lot of the guys, so the trick worked a little bit but it didn’t come off tonight.”Related

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Klaasen’s assessment of England’s reaction to his antics was accurate, as David Willey said afterwards.”It was frustrating, to be polite. I think it was clear what they were trying to do. There was a bit of rain going around. It’s 20 overs for a game, they were hoping the rain was going to stick around a bit longer and we’d be off and they’d go to Headingley 1-0 up and unable to lose the series,” Willey said, pleased that Klaasen’s strategy did not actually succeed in taking the players off before 20 overs had been bowled to make it a game.”I’m thinking mother cricket came around, they lost a couple more wickets and the game was beyond them. They knew what they were doing, we knew what they were doing. The umpires just needed to make a call and get on with the game.”Klaasen was one of the wickets that fell in England’s final push to victory. He only lasted another 4.4 overs before being stumped off Moeen Ali as he advanced down the track to a ball that dipped on him, and Buttler took off the bails. He was given a fairly vociferous send-off but shrugged it off as just part of the game.”Stuff like that doesn’t bother me at all,” Klaasen said. “It’s fun and games on the field, and hopefully we can have a cool drink or a beer after the game and be good mates again. If they can keep it on the field, it’s easy for me to keep it on the field. As long as it doesn’t go off the field, I don’t have any issues with what they say, what they call me or what they do to me.”Asked what England called him, Klaasen said he would “keep that for on the field”.He was in a similarly carefree mood when it came to summing up South Africa’s performance after they went from their highest total against England in the series-opener to their lowest in the second match.”We took our risky options and it didn’t come off. It’s part of the game. The batters are in good form,” he said. “Our blueprints are good. I don’t think we need to change a lot. We need to keep having confidence. We are playing good cricket.”

Multiple Super Overs to come with a time cap, while short runs will be referred to the third umpire

Nagraj Gollapudi30-Mar-2021In a bid to clampdown on slow over rates, the IPL has made it mandatory for bowling teams to deliver their 20 overs within the stipulated 90 minutes (including strategic time-outs) for the 2021 edition. Other significant tweaks to the playing conditions for IPL 2021 include: no soft signal for close catches and obstruction of field, putting in a cap on the time till which multiple Super Overs can be bowled, and the third umpire adjudicating on short runs.Here is an in-depth look at how and why the playing conditions were updated:Slow over rates: finish 20 overs in 90 minutes (including time-outs)
This has been the most common code of conduct breach committed by teams throughout the IPL’s history. Sanctions – including hefty monetary fines and even suspension of the bowling team’s captain for repeated offences – have been found to be ineffective, with matches often going well past midnight in India. Even now, there is no change or increase in sanctions but a shortening of the time 20 overs need to be completed in.In 2019, former South Africa captain AB de Villiers, who plays for the Royal Challengers Bangalore, said one game finished so late it was almost “breakfast time”.Related

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• 'The short run has come back to bite us very hard' – Rahul

• Monetary fines no solution for slow over-rates in IPL – de Villiers

Such delays have led to the host broadcaster taking up the issue with IPL authorities, and that was one of the main reasons for evening matches from IPL 2020 starting half an hour earlier than previous seasons, at 7.30pm IST. That start time will stay in place for evening games in IPL 2021. As an additional measure, the IPL has decided that this season, the 20th over of the innings will be included in the 90 minutes given to an innings, the regular time in which all overs need to be delivered as well as two strategic time-outs totalling five minutes overall. Until the last season, the over-rate clock stopped at the start of the 20th over. That meant teams could not be penalised even if they went well over the limit by taking more time through the final over – as long as it had started on time. However, moving forward, teams will need to wrap up 20 overs within 85 minutes, excluding the strategic time-outs. In an email to franchises about the updated playing conditions, the IPL said the move was meant to “control the match timings”.”The minimum over rate to be achieved in IPL Matches shall be 14.11 overs per hour (ignoring the time taken by time-outs),” the IPL said in the updated playing conditions, which were uploaded on the tournament website on Tuesday. “In uninterrupted matches, this means that the 20th over should finish within 90 minutes (being 85 minutes of playing time plus 5 minutes of time-out) of the start of the innings. For delayed or interrupted matches where an innings is scheduled to be less than 20 overs, the maximum time of 90 minutes shall be reduced by 4 minutes 15 seconds for every over by which the innings is reduced.”IPL raises finger against the soft signal
The soft signal that on-field umpires use has come under recent scrutiny, with Suryakumar Yadav’s sparkling maiden innings for India talked about as much for his brilliant strokeplay as for the manner of dismissal. Yadav was given out caught by Dawid Malan at backward square leg, even as TV replays remained inconclusive about whether Malan’s fingers were under the ball or not. On-field umpire KN Ananthapadmanabhan’s soft signal was ‘out’, and TV umpire Virender Sharma upheld that decision because, as protocols require, there was not enough conclusive evidence to overturn it.Former England captain Mike Atherton called the soft signal a “nonsense”, especially for outfield catches and Virat Kohli said after the game he couldn’t understand why a “not sure” signal was not available to on-field umpires. At the last round of the ICC’s chief executives meeting last week, BCCI secretary Jay Shah asked the ICC Cricket Committee to re-open the discussion on the soft signal.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

In the interim, the IPL has decided to do away with the soft signal for both catches as well as for obstructing the field dismissals. Now, the umpire at the bowler’s end will consult with the square leg umpire in such situations, before deciding to go to the TV umpire. “The third umpire shall determine whether the batsman has been caught, whether the delivery was a Bump Ball, or if the batsman willfully obstructed the field. In case of a fair catch, the third umpire will use all the technological support available to him/her.”Cap on multiple Super Overs
October 18, 2020 will always be remembered as a unique date in the IPL. It was a double-header Sunday and both matches were decided via the Super Over. First, the Kolkata Knight Riders beat the Sunrisers Hyderabad, and then Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) and the Mumbai Indians ratcheted up the drama with not just one, but two Super Overs before the Kings XI squeezed home.It was the first time in history – IPL or otherwise – that a game had gone into a second Super Over, and it finished well past midnight.But, while it was exciting and rare as a spectacle, the IPL has now decided to cap the time available after regulation time to one hour to determine the winner of a game. In case a winner cannot be determined within that hour, then both teams will get one point each.”If the teams’ scores are equal after both innings have been completed then a Super Over shall be played,” the IPL said. “If the Super Over is a tie, then unless exceptional circumstances arise subsequent Super Overs shall be played from the actual finish time of the tied match for an hour’s time until there is a winner. The Match Referee will inform the teams as to when the last super over will start. Should it not be possible to play or complete the Super Overs needed to determine a winner, the match shall be tied.”Short run goes to the third umpire
Kings XI had a rollercoaster campaign in IPL 2020, including losing out in the very first Super Over finish of the tournament to the Delhi Capitals. However, in the penultimate over of regulation time, Mayank Agarwal dug out a yorker from Kagiso Rabada towards a vacant mid-on, and then turned back for the second run. His partner Chris Jordan was running to the danger end, and square-leg umpire Nitin Menon ruled that Jordan had not dragged his bat across the line at the wicketkeeper’s end and ruled one run short. TV replays subsequently seemed to suggest from one angle that Jordan had indeed got his bat over the line, and that it might have thus been a legal run. Had that run not been ruled short, the match wouldn’t have ended in a tie, and the Kings XI would have won in regulation time instead of losing in the Super Over.Captain KL Rahul said after his team was knocked out that the short run had come back to “bite them very hard”, since they would have qualified for the playoffs had they had two more points.To avoid such incidents, the IPL has now said that on-field umpires should refer a short run to the the TV umpire, who will be the final authority. “If the short-run is called an automatic check by the third umpire takes place to confirm or overturn.”