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Graeme Smith looks to continue South Africa’s winning run going into the ODI series against West Indies, as his side seeks to recover confidence after a forgettable World Twenty20 campaign

Cricinfo staff21-May-2010Graeme Smith looks to continue South Africa’s winning form from the Twenty20s going into the ODI series against West Indies, which begins on Saturday, and put behind the disappointing World Twenty20 campaign.”This ODI series is very important for us and, as we showed during the two T20s, we wanted to win and play with our usual intensity,” Smith said ahead of the five-match ODI series. “We want to get back on the road to success again, and we have a lot of work to do following a poor campaign in the Twenty20 World Cup, so this is an important tour for us.”South Africa have had a hectic schedule in the recent past, with tough tours of England and India leading up to the IPL, where several of their players featured promimently, leaving little time for the team to come together ahead of the World Twenty20. Smith looks forward to an all-out effort from his side ahead of a well-deserved break. “We have a long break following this tour, and so we want to leave everything out on the field here in the Caribbean,” he said.South Africa are hampered by injuries to Jacques Kallis and Charl Langeveldt, but Smith won’t be too concerned, given the bench-strength of his side. David Miller who debuted in the second Twenty20, scored a crucial 33 to set up victory and Smith had good things to say about him.”It was great for us to see a guy come into the side, and play so well under pressure. It was a breath of fresh air to see him walk to the crease, and hit his sixth ball for six, and play his natural game. It’s a credit to him, and he’s still got a long way to go,” Smith said.West Indies, in contrast, are at the other end of the confidence spectrum. Their captain Chris Gayle has voiced his concerns over the batsmen’s form and mindset following two unsuccessful chases of sub-par totals in the Twenty20 series. The hosts will also be mindful of South Africa’s dominance of them in the ODI format – it has been four years since West Indies last defeated South Africa, and the visitors have been on the winning side in each of the last six encounters.

Australia’s women’s T20 world champions want to pile on the runs in Brisbane before heading “into the unknown” to defend their title in Dubai

AAP23-Sep-2024Australia have banned the pre-game activity that threatened to derail Ashleigh Gardner’s T20 World Cup as the allrounder challenged her side’s batters to fill their boots in the third T20I against New Zealand in Brisbane on Tuesday.Gardner missed the series opener against New Zealand in Mackay last Thursday after colliding with team-mate Georgia Wareham attempting to catch a soft “Vortex” ball in a warm-up drill.The reigning Belinda Clark Medallist initially laughed off the incident before leaving the ground in tears, fearing an eighth career concussion as she was ruled out of the contest.Related

• Gardner seals series win after Kerr puts Australia in a spin

• Gardner cleared of concussion after Wareham head clash

• Litchfield rescues Australia after dramatic pre-game injury to Gardner

She was cleared though and returned on Sunday with a Player-of the-Match effort, her 3 for 16 the headline act of a disciplined bowling performance in a 29-run win over New Zealand.The 27-year-old saw a neuropsychologist in 2018 after suffering four concussions in the space of 20 months.”It’s been nice to get back out there after a weird occasion, a head collision in a warm-up,” she said. “It was weird to wrap my head around, but I’ve felt really good the last couple of days.”I’ve had a lot of head knocks in the past; I know when I am concussed and when I’m not.”There was no sign of the Vortex before Sunday’s game, Gardner confirming their pre-match routine had been tweaked.”That’s the end of the Vortex for the rest of the tour,” she said.Ashleigh Gardner returned three wickets after missing the opening game due to a concussion scare•Getty Images

Usually happy to chase, captain Alyssa Healy opted to bat first on Sunday and force her team to set the pace ahead of next month’s World Cup defence in Dubai.Healy (38 off 25) got off to a flyer but Australia’s innings stalled, the hosts recording their worst collapse in the format when they lost their last seven wickets for 28 runs as Amelia Kerr returned career-best figures of 4 for 20.A total of 142 proved more than enough thanks to Australia’s bowlers. But Gardner wants to see improvements in their final hit-out in Brisbane on Tuesday before flying to the UAE.”There’s still a lot left in the tank; hopefully in this last game if we do bat first we can put a massive total on the board,” she said.She said there were no excuses given the side’s incredible batting depth meant Annabel Sutherland entered at the fall of the sixth wicket.”Sutherland at eight is pretty ridiculous,” she said. “Going into conditions like Dubai, we haven’t played there before [for Australia] so we’re kind of going into the unknown a little bit.”But knowing we have a defendable total like 140, we know our bowling unit is good enough to restrict them”The skill we possess, in all facets… it was pretty clinical.”

Home side beaten in rain-affected match but can still qualify for quarter-finals

ECB Reporters Network30-Jun-2023Sussex 228 for 7 (Bopara 108) beat Kent 117 for 4 (Cox 37*) by 11 runs (DLS method)A superb century from Ravi Bopara helped the Sussex Sharks beat the Kent Spitfires by 11 runs in a rain-affected Vitality Blast match at Canterbury on Friday night.Bopara played a magnificent, almost chanceless, innings to record his highest-ever T20 score of 108 from 53 balls, with 18 fours and just one six, as Sussex posted a massive 228 for 7, Tom Clark getting their next-highest score with 47.Kent were 31 for one in reply after 3.2 overs when heavy rain began to fall and they were set a revised target of 129 from 10 overs via the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern Method. Needing to hit out as soon as play resumed, they lost wickets too regularly to seriously threaten Sussex and finished on 117 for 4, although they remain in the top four.There was another Friday night sell-out at the Spitfire Ground, but Kent’s decision to bowl first soon backfired as they struggled to cope with damp and blustery conditions.Jack Leaning bowled Harrison Ward for 5 with the fifth ball of the night and Oli Carter also went early, chipping Matt Quinn to Michael Hogan at mid-on for 3 but from 14 for 2 the Sharks launched a blistering counterattack. Bopara cover drove his first ball for four and took 14 from the over. Clark then took 18 from Leaning’s next over and it was 73 for 2 by the end of the powerplay, by which time persistent drizzle was falling.Clark looked in incendiary form, but when he tried to take a single off Joey Evison he was sent back by Bopara and run out by George Linde. Shadab Khan came in and hit Linde for successive sixes, but when he tried to repeat the feat he was caught by Jordan Cox on the boundary for 15.Michael Burgess hit 21 from 14, but after switch-hitting Linde for six he was caught behind off the next ball.Bopara responded by taking 19 from Grant Stewart’s 15th over and he reached three figures with an elegant cover drive off Hogan for two in the 19th. Hogan had Fynn Hudson-Prentice lbw for 16 and Bopara finally went for 108, perhaps unluckily, when he hit a waist-high full toss from Quinn to Alex Blake.Kent knew they’d have to eclipse their previous highest run chase of 207 to win a T20 match but just three came from the first over and Tawanda Muyeye then played on to Ari Karvelas and was bowled for 1.Blake went in at No. 3 for his first appearance of the season and immediately went on the charge. He hit the first ball of Tymal Mills’ fourth over for four and dumped the next into the Sainsbury’s next to the ground for six, but at this point the umpires decided the rain had become too heavy and when they returned Kent needed 98 from 40 balls.Daniel Bell-Drummond, having scored 480 runs across formats in the previous week, had to retire hurt on 7 and although Sam Billings was dropped by Clark off his first ball, before the over was out Blake holed out for a 12-ball 30.Linde hit 12 from three before he was run out chasing a second but Billings and Cox just about kept Kent in it. The former was run out chasing a non-existent single and after Mills went for just six in the 19th, Kent needed 26 from Nathan McAndrew’s final over. They could only manage 14 but results elsewhere mean they can still qualify if they win at Taunton on Sunday.

CSA T20 round-up: Boland and Knights are yet to get off the mark

Firdose Moonda11-Feb-2022North West have emerged as frontrunners at the CSA T20 tournament with two victories, including a bonus-point win, in the opening week of the tournament. They are a point ahead of Western Province, who also triumphed in both their matches, and five clear of the Dolphins, Lions, Titans and Warriors, all of whom won one each. Boland and the Knights are yet to register a win. Here are the highlights from the first round:North-West crush troubled KnightsAfter the semi-final between these two teams in the CSA T20 knockout earlier in the season was washed out, with the Knights advancing to the final and eventually claiming the trophy, North West exacted sweet revenge with an eight-wicket victory on Thursday. North West’s attack, which included ODI allrounder Dwaine Pretorius (1/13) and two-time Test cap Senuran Muthusamy (2/8), kept the Knights to 95 for 9 in 20 overs. Wesley Marshall’s 29-ball 43 and an opening stand of 69 ensured the result was never in doubt. Pretorius finished things off in the 11th over, to give North West an eight-wicket win.The loss speaks to broader problems for the Knights, who are struggling without marquee batter Rilee Rossouw, who is at the PSL. They hold the two lowest first-innings scores in the competition so far, after their opening match against the Dolphins saw them post just 128 for 5. All eyes will be on Raynard van Tonder, Farhaan Behardien and Pite van Biljon to see if Knights improve next week.North West, meanwhile, also beat their neighbours, the Lions, by defending 136. Their most successful bowler so far is left-arm spinner Johannes Diseko, who is the joint-leading wicket-taker and has the best economy rate among the leading 10 bowlers. De Kock, Levi, Lubbe in the runs His retirement from Test cricket means Quinton de Kock is not with the national side in New Zealand and available for the Titans as he focuses solely on white-ball fixtures. His campaign began with a first ball duck against the Warriors, who went on to defend 163 on the opening day. But de Kock quickly turned things around, scoring 72 off 61 balls and sharing in a 106-run opening stand with Gihahn Cloete to help Titans get to 158 for 2 against Boland. In what was the game of the round, Janneman and Pieter Malan got Boland off to a good start with 69 runs inside eight overs, then lost 3 for 29 before Under-19 World Cup returnee Michael Copeland hit a 39-ball 33. But then they lost three wickets for two runs and finally fell three runs short of victory. Junior Dala took two wickets in three balls in the penultimate over to leave Ayabulele Gqamane 11 to defend in the last over.Boland’s week went poorly after they also lost to Western Province, who chased 143 with little trouble. Richard Levi set the tone with 67 from 39 balls and then helped Western Province to victory over the Warriors as well when his 17-ball 40 provided the foundation to chase the highest total of the week: 164. Levi is the second highest run-scorer in the competition, with the highest strike rate.Wihan Lubbe leads the run-charts, 18 ahead of Levi, with two half-centuries. He scored 69* against Western Province and 56, in a winning cause, against the Titans.

CSA, meanwhile, is seeking legal advice on whether SASCOC had the authority to intervene in the manner it did

Firdose Moonda11-Sep-2020The ICC can be expected to approach CSA for clarification over the board and executive being instructed to step aside by the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) on Thursday. That’s the opinion of David Becker, former head of legal for the ICC, who was involved in the drafting of the regulation on outside interference in Member Bodies.Article 2.4 of the ICC’s Constitution states that: “The Member must manage it affairs autonomously and ensure that there is not government (or other public or quasi-public body) interference in its governance, regulation and/or administration of Cricket in its Cricket Playing Country (including in operational matters, in the selection and management of teams, and in the appointment of coaches or support personnel,” and though SASCOC is not a government institution, it is a public body which oversees high-performance sport. ESPNcricinfo understands that the ICC is monitoring the situation, as Becker suggested.While Becker, who now works as a sports lawyer in South Africa, said the ICC would be “cautious” when deciding whether SASCOC’s decision to appoint a task team to conduct an investigation into CSA’s administrative and financial affairs constitutes a breach of its constitution, he pointed to the wording of one of SASCOC’s reasons for stepping in as potentially “worrying” to the game’s global governing body.”As regards to ICC intervention, ICC will certainly be concerned by the reference in SASCOC’s letter to SASCOC having received a ‘directive by the Minister of Sport and Recreation for SASCOC to intervene into the affairs of CSA’,” Becker told ESPNcricinfo. “ICC will be loath to intervene and suspend CSA, but they will be perturbed by it and will certainly actively seek a coherent explanation from CSA. They are required to, as the international governing body.”CSA, meanwhile, is seeking legal advice on whether SASCOC had the authority to intervene in the manner it did, which CSA disagrees with. In an overnight statement CSA said it had not been given the opportunity to engage with SASCOC (although the parties have held two meetings recently) and a spokesperson said the organisation is continuing with “business as usual”, with the board and members’ council set to meet this weekend to chart the way forward. Becker does not believe CSA will be able to prevent SASCOC’s task team from being formed and beginning its work, and explained that SASCOC has acted within its remit.”SASCOC’s powers under its own constitution, and under the National Sports and Recreation Act, are very broad. They have the ability to convene an investigation, and if necessary intervene. We all know urgent action is needed in view of the dire circumstances at CSA,” Becker said.”The question is whether SASCOC have acted prematurely. They have consulted with CSA, but has the task team been appointed? Who is on the task team and is it ready and able to do its work? Still, CSA would be hard-pressed to obtain an interdict from the High Court in response to SASCOC’s actions. Given SASCOC’s broad powers, and the circumstances at CSA, CSA need to be seen to be co-operative here.”CSA has been embroiled in a governance crisis since December last year, when former CEO Thabang Moroe was suspended. Moroe was dismissed last month after a forensic audit revealed acts of serious misconduct but the audit has not been made fully available to SASCOC, the sports ministry or the public, forcing SASCOC to use its step-in rights to look into CSA.

The Englishman made his international umpiring career in 2006 and stood in his first Test two years later

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Apr-2019English umpire Ian Gould will retire after the 2019 World Cup to finish a 13-year career as an official in the international game.Gould, who played 18 ODIs for England and was part of the 1983 World Cup, joined the ECB’s first-class umpires’ list in 2002 and made his debut as an international umpire in a T20 between England and Sri Lanka in 2006. He stood in his first ODI a few days after that and his first Test – between South Africa and Bangladesh in Bloemfontein – two years later.This year’s World Cup will be Gould’s fourth and he is one of 16 ICC umpires confirmed for the tournament.”Ian has made an outstanding contribution to the game over a long period, particularly in the last decade as an international umpire for the ICC,” Geoff Allardice, the ICC general manager of cricket, said. “He has always put the interests of the game first, and in doing so has earned enormous respect from his colleagues and players across all countries. His presence on the field will be missed, but I am sure his lifelong association with the game will continue.”To date, Gould has stood in 74 Tests (alongside being the TV umpire in a further 25), 135 ODIs and 37 T20Is.ICC umpires for 2019 World Cup Aleem Dar, Kumar Dharmasena, Marais Erasmus, Chris Gaffaney, Ian Gould, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Nigel Llong, Bruce Oxenford, Sundaram Ravi, Paul Reiffel, Rod Tucker, Joel Wilson, Michael Gough, Ruchira Palliyaguruge, Paul WilsonICC match referees for 2019 World Cup Chris Broad, David Boon, Andy Pycroft, Jeff Crowe, Ranjan Madugalle, Richie Richardson

The move stems from the Sharjah Cricket Stadium becoming a sought-after venue for hosting T20 leagues, which, as a result, is coming in the way of Pakistan’s scheduling in the UAE

Umar Farooq17-Feb-2018The UAE’s future as a ‘home’ venue for Pakistan is under threat as clashes between T20 leagues and international commitments have forced the PCB to look to Malaysia as a host venue. Pakistan is due to host New Zealand and Australia later this year, series which would ordinarily be played in the UAE. But Sharjah’s growth as a destination of choice for various T20 leagues means venues could be limited for the PCB.Sharjah is set to host a new Arabian Cricket League run by the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB), every year in January, just before the Pakistan Super League (PSL), which is scheduled in February. The new Afghan T20 League this year, meanwhile, will be played primarily in Sharjah, and coincides with Pakistan’s schedule against Australia and New Zealand. Those two series, in October and November, include five Tests, at least five ODIs, and a few T20Is.”We have been informed by the ECB that they wish to host the Afghan Super League and also the Arabian Cricket League,” Najam Sethi, the PCB chairman, told ESPNcricinfo. “The Afghan League is tentatively scheduled by them at a time when our Australia and New Zealand series [will be] taking place in the UAE and they are denying the Sharjah facility to us because of the Afghan League. So that’s a problem for us.”Secondly, they want to hold the Arabian League in the month of January every year, whereas our [Pakistan] Super League is scheduled for February, so this will come before us and precipitously close to us, which will create difficulty for us, especially if they want our players to participate in both the leagues.”Therefore, I am going to Malaysia to explore the prospects for at least shifting our Australia and New Zealand series if they insist on denying the Sharjah facility to us during the Afghan League. Nothing is certain right now. I am going to look at all the options and try and persuade them to shift their dates if possible, so that there is no conflict.”Pakistan have had a longstanding, mostly trouble-free association with the ECB, with the UAE hosting a major chunk of Pakistan’s home cricket since 2009 as well as the PSL. In recent years, however, the relationship has taken an occasional hit.In 2016, for instance, the eventually doomed Masters Champions League (MCL) nearly put the opening season of the PSL in jeopardy as the ECB refused to lease out the three stadiums in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah to Pakistan, arguing that the MCL had already locked in the venues. The PCB explored Doha as an alternative venue but ended up negotiating a settlement with the ECB which allowed the PSL to go ahead, side by side with the MCL.At other moments too the PCB has pondered moving to venues such as Sri Lanka, Malaysia and even Bangladesh, citing the high costs of hosting low-yield series in the UAE. The UAE itself has expanded its role in that time as a venue for high-profile cricket; Afghanistan often host their games in the country; it is a busy host of Associate cricket events; and now it is staging other short-format events, such as the T10 League, which eat into the calendar and usage of the three international venues. As it is PSL franchises were not especially happy with the T10 league eating up their commercial space in the region.The development only highlights the need for the PCB to try and push more and more cricket back to Pakistan, lest it finds itself in a situation where it can play neither at home nor too much at its adopted home. As it is the PCB and ECB never entered into a formal long-term deal, instead working together through informal agreements for the PSL and bilateral international fixtures under the Future Tours Programme.”Our first preference will remain the UAE, but if what they are trying now ends up hurting our interests, then we will explore other options,” Sethi said. “So I am just going to Malaysia to check out their facilities and cost and expenditures of holding our bilateral FTP [series] there for the time being. There is no certainty [about it]; we are simply exploring options.”Malaysia holds Associate membership but is hardly an established entity as a venue. It has hosted the Under-19 World Cup in 2008 and staged various junior-level cricket tournaments for the Asian Cricket Council and the ICC. In 2006, it also hosted a triangular ODI series involving Australia, India and West Indies, which was played at the Kinrara Academy Oval – the only internationally recognised stadium in the country. Eight years later, in May 2014, two ODIs featuring Afghanistan, Hong Kong and the UAE were also played at the stadium. But this will be the first time any Full Member country will explore the possibility of hosting a Test in Malaysia.There are a few cricket venues, though, across the country, with the Selangor Turf Club in Kuala Lumpur having also hosted a first-class game between Malaysia and the UAE in the 2004 Intercontinental Cup. Most of the other venues have hosted List A matches during the 1998 Commonwealth Games. One problem Pakistan may face is the rainfall the country receives in October; the country expects rainfall every second day on an average during the month.

Last year, Hamilton produced a dry, turning pitch which New Zealand exploited brilliantly. More of the same can be expected for this year’s Chappel-Hadlee Trophy decider

The Preview by Brydon Coverdale04-Feb-2017

Match facts

Sunday, February 5, 2017
Start time 1100 local (2200 GMT)

Big Picture

The washout fiasco in Napier means that the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy comes down to this final match in Hamilton. If Australia win and force a 1-1 series result, then as the holders of the trophy they will retain it. If New Zealand win, they take possession of the trophy with a 2-0 series outcome. In fact, more than that is potentially on the line for Australia: if South Africa defeat Sri Lanka in Johannesburg on Saturday, then a loss to New Zealand would not only mean Australia giving up the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy, but also the No.1 ODI ranking. In that case, South Africa would be the new No.1, Australia would slip to No. 2, and New Zealand would move up to No. 3.Australia enter this match with a fourth-choice captain – Aaron Finch was given the job because Steven Smith is injured, vice-captain David Warner is resting, and stand-in Matthew Wade hurt his back on the eve of the series – and a batting line-up that requires significant improvement after game one. Focusing on the remarkable unbeaten 146 from Marcus Stoinis at No. 7 obscures the fact that none of the top six batsmen passed 20. And five members of the team – Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Peter Handscomb, Glenn Maxwell and Shaun Marsh – could be forgiven for having a lot on their minds, for straight after this game they will fly to Dubai to join the Test squad in a training camp ahead of their tour of India.New Zealand, likewise, have injury concerns, with Martin Guptill ruled out due to a hamstring issue. But they had a wider group of batting contributors in the first match than Australia, with fifties from both Guptill and Neil Broom, and 48 from James Neesham. They will push for a series win in front of a capacity crowd at Hamilton’s Seddon Park: it was announced on the eve of the match that tickets had sold out.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)


New Zealand: WWWWL
Australia: LWWWL
Sam Heazlett made a century and two fifties in five matches against South Africa A and India A last winter•Getty Images

In the spotlight

In a horses-for-courses approach, New Zealand have brought legspinner Ish Sodhi into the squad for the last match of the series. The selectors recalled the way Sodhi troubled the Australians in the corresponding ODI at the same venue last summer, when he picked up 2 for 31 and claimed the key wickets of Smith and Maxwell. Sodhi is also coming off some impressive form against Australians in another competition: in his final BBL match for the Adelaide Strikers, he took 6 for 11.Through no fault of his own, Sam Heazlett has found himself at the centre of a debate about selection principles in the past week, given he has made his ODI debut without having played a one-day game for Queensland. But there is no question that Heazlett is a talented young batsman: he scored a century and two fifties in five one-day games for the National Performance Squad against South Africa A and India A last winter, and averaged 40 in his maiden Sheffield Shield season in 2015-16. The best thing Heazlett can do in Hamilton is clear his mind of all other matters and prove his worth with a focused batting display.

Team news

Guptill’s injury means Dean Brownlie will play his first match for New Zealand since late 2014, and will open the batting. Sodhi has joined the group for this match and would likely be included in the XI. Wicketkeeper Tom Blundell has been released from the squad, and Tom Latham will again take the gloves.New Zealand (possible) 1 Dean Brownlie, 2 Tom Latham (wk), 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Neil Broom, 6 Colin Munro, 7 James Neesham, 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Ish Sodhi, 11 Trent Boult.Wade has departed the squad due to his back injury, so Finch will again captain and Handscomb will keep wicket. That should mean another opportunity for the young batsman Heazlett. Adam Zampa will be considered, especially given New Zealand’s mulling over their own legspinner.Australia (possible) 1 Aaron Finch (capt), 2 Travis Head, 3 Shaun Marsh, 4 Peter Handscomb (wk), 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 Sam Heazlett, 7 Marcus Stoinis, 8 James Faulkner, 9 Pat Cummins/Adam Zampa, 10 Mitchell Starc, 11 Josh Hazlewood.

Pitch and conditions

When the teams played at Seddon Park at the same time of year last summer, New Zealand’s first-innings 246 was more than adequate for victory on a dry, slowing pitch. The forecast for Sunday in Hamilton is for a fine day and a top temperate of 27C.

Stats and trivia

• These teams have met in four ODIs in Hamilton – New Zealand have won three and Australia one
• Australia boast four batsmen in the top 20 of the ICC’s ODI rankings but only one of them – Glenn Maxwell – will play in this game. Smith is injured, Warner resting, and George Bailey dropped

A round-up of the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2015-16 Group A matches played on December 13, 2015

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Dec-2015Dhawal Kulkarni’s 4 for 19, and three wickets from Abhishek Nayar and Sagar Trivedi, helped Mumbai bundle Assam out for 102 runs for a 96-run win. A middle-order slump that saw Mumbai fall from 60 for 1 to 118 for 7 restricted the side to 198 but their bowlers routed the opponents within 35 overs to hand Assam their third straight loss.

The first half of Mumbai’s innings, after they opted to bat, was held together by Shreyas Iyer’s 65-ball 49. Once Iyer had departed – one of the six wickets Mumbai lost for 58 runs – Suryakant Yadav’s 46-run partnership with Dhawal Kulkarni (21*) lifted the side past 150. Yadav was eventually dismissed for 42 off 58 deliveries, and Mumbai then benefited from Trivedi’s quick 24 off 19, which included three fours and a six.
Kulkarni dismissed Assam’s openers – Pallavkumar Das and Sibsankar Roy – within 11 overs after which Nayar and Trivedi carved up the middle-order. Amit Verma’s 33 and J Syed Mohammad’s 25 were the only scores above 20 as Assam crumbled to 83 for 8 by the 29th over.Fifties from Jiwanjot Singh and Mayank Sidhana helped Punjab cruise to a six-wicket win after a batting collapse limited Tamil Nadu to 226 in Hyderabad. Put in to bat, Tamil Nadu made a strong start as openers Abhinav Mukund and Dinesh Karthik shared a 54-run partnership. Once Abhinav fell, Karthik and B Aparajith added 87 runs for the second wicket to consolidate Tamil Nadu’s position. Much of that work came undone in the last 10 overs of the innings. M Vijay was stumped off Harbhajan Singh for 35 and after his wicket, Tamil Nadu lost their last six wickets for only nine runs. Four of those wickets fell to Siddarth Kaul, who struck in successive overs, while left-arm pacer Brainder Sran took two of his three wickets in that period. Punjab were shaky at 24 for 2 in the seventh over but Jiwanjot and Gurkeerat Singh Mann forged a recovery through a 92-run partnership. After Gurkeerat fell for 41, Jiwanjot and Sidhana added another 86 runs to take Punjab closer to victory. Jiwanjot was eventually dismissed for 85, but Sidhana finished unbeaten on a run-a-ball 67.Fifties from Mumtaz Qadir and Rajat Paliwal helped Services overcome a target of 225 with five wickets to spare against Hyderabad in the penultimate over in Hyderabad. The pair shared in a 116-run partnership for the third wicket to set the platform for Services’ chase. While Qadir scored 68 off 111 deliveries, Paliwal struck a 71-ball 64. That Services had been set a target of 224 was largely down to Pagadala Naidu (45*) and Chama Milind (42*) at Nos 8 and 9. The pair combined for an unbeaten 85-run, eighth-wicket partnership that lifted Hyderabad’s score past 200, after the side had been reduced to 139 for 7 by the 37th over. Apart from Hanuma Vihari (35) and Bavanaka Sandeep (41), the rest of the top seven failed to notch up an individual score of more than 15.

Durham moved up to second place in the LV= County Championship as they clinched a thrilling 11-run win against Warwickshire at Chester-le-Street

14-Jun-2013
ScorecardGraham Onion again proved a matchwinner for Durham•Getty Images

Durham moved up to second place in the LV= County Championship as they clinched a thrilling 11-run win against Warwickshire at Chester-le-Street.Needing 257, the visitors were 146 for 7 when Jeetan Patel went in and got the target down to 25 in a stand of 86 with Ateeq Javid. But the last three wickets would go down for 13 runs as Durham prevailed.Ben Stokes took the final one when he had Boyd Rankin lbw, but the previous two went to Graham Onions, who finished with 5 for 83. He broke the partnership when he had Javid well caught at second slip by Scott Borthwick for 44, then Patel went for a big hit and lofted a catch to long-on.The New Zealander had just completed his second half-century and looked like being the match-winner as he also took vital wickets in both innings. A section of Durham fans were glad to see the back of Javid because they felt he had stepped on the rope on the square leg boundary when holding the catch which ended the Durham innings.The remaining two home wickets had added 46 to take the total to 198 when Michael Richardson, who had made an excellent 55, tried to pull Rankin for six. Video evidence showed Javid’s foot was above the rope but he did not appear to have touched it.
Warwickshire needed 257 as a result and several batsmen were out to poor strokes, although both Tim Ambrose and Rikki Clarke were bowled by Stokes during a sustained 14-over spell before tea.Varun Chopra fell lbw to Onions for 18, playing across the line, and two overs later Will Porterfield was bowled through an airy drive. Jim Troughton slapped an Onions long hop straight to Stokes at point and Ian Westwood chased a wide one from Mark Wood, edging to Phil Mustard.Javid dug in to support Ambrose, who looked capable of winning the game as he made 46 until he was bowled by a superb yorker from Stokes. Durham gave Will Smith’s off spin an airing and Keith Barker took a step down the track and hit a catch straight to midwicket.Smith was left on after tea, when 81 were needed, and Patel lashed three successive balls to the off-side boundary. He looked certain to win the game, but lost his cool once Javid had gone and gave a simple catch to Keaton Jennings.With 22 needed, Chris Wright hit the next two balls for four, but Stokes summoned the strength to complete Durham’s fourth win of the season.