Derbyshire’s seam attack blew away Gloucestershire’s batting on a windy day at
Derby to put the home side in a strong position in the County Championship
Division Two match at the County Ground

11-Aug-2011
Scorecard
Derbyshire’s seam attack blew away Gloucestershire’s batting on a windy day at
Derby to put the home side in a strong position in the County Championship
Division Two match at the County Ground.They bowled the visitors out for 220 and forced them to follow-on after
all-rounder Will Gidman had taken a career-best six wickets for 92 runs in
Derbyshire’s first innings 413.Derbyshire lost their last six wickets for 84 but Gloucestershire were soon in
trouble and only a last wicket stand of 68 between Richard Coughtrie and David
Payne took them past 200. Jon Clare took three for 19 and Tim Groenewald, Tony Palladino and Mark Turner each bagged two wickets to earn a first innings lead of 193.Luke Sutton put Gloucestershire back in and Clare struck a big blow by having
Hamish Marshall caught behind for three just before the close with the visitors
seven for one, still 186 behind. After the bat had dominated on the first day, Jon Lewis struck with the fourth ball of the morning when Wes Durston got an inside edge onto his stumps without
adding to his 151.Clare hit seven fours in his 34 which came off 23 balls and Turner played some
impressive drives to secure maximum batting points before Gidman completed his
first six-wicket haul. There had been some movement and bounce for the pace bowlers and Derbyshire soon made inroads with Marshall falling for a duck on the stroke of lunch when
he played across the line at Groenewald.Chris Dent drove loosely to be caught behind, Chris Taylor was trapped on the
crease by Turner and when Alex Gidman was lbw to Clare for 20, Gloucestershire
were on the slide at 67 for 4. His younger brother had scored 89 against Derbyshire at Bristol in April but this time he managed only eight before he skied a wild hook to midwicket and
Kane Williamson also fell to a rash stroke after batting 117 minutes for 15.Lewis cut Turner for six but when he was lbw for 23, Gloucestershire were 125
for eight and in danger of being routed – but the last two wickets added 95.Coughtrie showed the application the earlier batting had lacked to score an
unbeaten 54 and Payne showed he is one of the better number 11s by stroking
eight fours in his 38 before he was stumped coming down the pitch to Greg
Smith’s off-spin.It was no surprise when Sutton invited Gloucestershire to bat again and he was
rewarded when Marshall went for the second time in the day to leave Derbyshire
scenting a three-day victory.

Worcestershire may well go on to avoid relegation this season, but goodness me, they are making life hard for themselves

George Dobell at New Road08-Sep-2011
ScorecardWorcestershire may well go on to avoid relegation this season, but goodness me, they are making life hard for themselves.Whenever it appears they are on the brink of safety, they suffer a reverse that throws their survival into doubt once more. Most pertinently, they resume on day three requiring 27 more runs to avoid the follow-on.Perhaps such nerves are understandable. This is Worcestershire’s third spell in the top division and, on all previous occasions, their experience has ended in relegation after a single year. One bookmaker offered odds of 20-1 on, on them suffering a similar fate this time.They deserve to survive. Not only have they won four games, but they’ve been unlucky on several other occasions. One bad session has cost them in several matches, while they were robbed a possible victory by shoddy covering at The Rose Bowl recently.They continue to stumble with the line in sight, however. They have been several occasions during this game when it has appeared as if they had survival within their grasp. Firstly when Sussex slipped to 234 for seven, then when Worcestershire’s openers posted 64 without undue difficulty and finally when Alexei Kervezee and Gareth Andrew added 73 for their sixth wicket.Each time, however, Worcestershire have allowed Sussex back into the game. Whether it has been with some quite out of character awful fielding, or with their tentative batting, Worcestershire find themselves on the back foot in a game in which they could have been dominating.Perhaps such a summary is unfair on Sussex. Monty Panesar, in particular, has applied sustained pressure on the Worcestershire batting with a testing spell of bowling, while Sussex’s tail also wagged vigorously. Indeed, Sussex added 141 runs for the final three wickets, with Jimmy Anyon showing up the paucity of the Worcestershire support bowling with an increasingly accomplished innings.Worcestershire, however, will reflect that they made life far too easy for the Susses tail-enders. For all his unrewarded excellence on day one, Kemar Roach sprayed the ball around horribly on the second day, while the catch that James Cameron out down at mid-wicket off Anyon left his team-mates transfixed with shock and horror. By professional standards, they don’t come much easier. Doubts continue over Richard Jones’ ability to prosper at this level, too. While he does have the tremendous ability of bowling wicket-taking deliveries, such moments are interspersed with some far less impressive bowling. That Anyon, a batsmen of few pretensions, was able to hook him for a six and four in the same over speaks volumes.Anyon finished unbeaten on 44 having added 52 for the tenth wicket with Panesar. It was a valuable stand, for it helped Sussex to a fourth batting bonus point and a step nearer Division One survival.Panesar’s real work was always going to be with the ball, however. Beginning his spell about 40 minutes before tea, he bowled unchanged until stumps and claimed four important wickets. Vikram Solanki, playing with hard hands at one pushed through typically quickly, edged to short leg, before Moeen Ali was adjudged caught at slip off an arm ball (replays suggested Moeen might have been unlucky, as the ball appeared to have come off only the pad). Gareth Andrew was deceived in the flight and yorked while Ben Scott, who has agreed a one-year deal with Worcestershire, was leg before to the final delivery of the day, another that was pushed through and went straight on.It might be tempting to conclude that Panesar is now back to best. Tempting, but not quite true. Panesar certainly doesn’t bowl many poor balls. Indeed, he pushes the ball through at such a pace that the batsman cannot afford to make any mistake.But he also doesn’t turn the ball away from the bat much and continues to lack variety. The wicket of Andrew – victim of a delightfully well-flighted delivery that dipped sharply – stuck out for its novelty value and also hinted at the untapped promise that Panesar possesses. It is surely worth noting that three of his wickets here came either with deliveries that went straight on or drifted with the arm. In terms of flight and lateral spin, he has been out-bowled in this match by Moeen Ali.Worcestershire had started well in reply. Cameron, in particular, looked in fine touch and it was some surprise when he was yorked by the lanky Will Adkin. It was Adkin’s first wicket of the season and just the second of his career. Tall and blessed with a pleasing action, he looks as if he has the raw attributes to succeed as a bowler, though he could do with adding a yard of pace. Later Darly Mitchell and Aneesh Kapil were both beaten for pace.At least Alexei Kervezee resisted. The 21-year-old has been in horrid form of late, scoring just 17 runs in his last five Championship innings, but here he survived an uncomfortable start and resumes on day three charged with averting the follow-on.Earlier Moeen was the pick of the host’s bowlers on day two. Ending Ben Brown’s fine innings with his first delivery of the day – Brown charge down the pitch and was beaten by the flight – Moeen finished with admirable figures of 4 for 53. The statistics are modest as yet, but he could yet develop into an all-rounder at international level.Meanwhile the sizeable – and affable – contingent of Sussex supporters that have travelled to this game were joined in an impromptu game of cricket on the outfield at tea by their club’s chief executive, Dave Brooks. It’s hard to think of another county CEO who would have participated in quite such an unashamedly enthusiastic way and was an insight upon the friendly and approachable spirit on which Sussex pride themselves. ECB chairman Giles Clarke, watching on from a hospitality suite, didn’t join in.

On the 59th anniversary of their first Test win, Pakistan fast bowlers moved on sensationally from the demoralising fielding debacle in Abu Dhabi, but the spinners didn’t enjoy such good fortune

The Report by Sidharth Monga26-Oct-2011
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outSri Lanka only half-recovered from Umar Gul’s early burst•AFP

On the 59th anniversary of their first Test win, Pakistan’s fast bowlers moved on sensationally from the demoralising fielding debacle in Abu Dhabi, but the spinners didn’t enjoy such good fortune. Even though Misbah-ul-Haq took three slip catches off the quicks, Taufeeq Umar dropped Kumar Sangakkara on 27 and Younis Khan reprieved Rangana Herath off the first ball he faced. Consequently 73 for 5 became 154 for 6, and 154 for 8 turned into 239 all out. However, the early damage was so severe that the day still belonged to Pakistan, especially because the openers brought the deficit under 200 in the nine testing overs bowled at them.That the successful completion of regulation catches came as a huge relief in the morning tells the story. Three days after they had been ground into the Abu Dhabi dust thanks largely to their own fielders, Umar Gul and Junaid Khan somehow found the heart to create opportunity after opportunity once again. It was a new-ball pitch, and the two hit the seam with regularity to take five wickets in the first session.Both teams misread the track to an extent. Pakistan dropped the big-hearted Aizaz Cheema in favour of left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman. Expecting a flat track, Sri Lanka chose to bat first. As it turned out, with the ball seaming around in the first session, Gul and Junaid had to make up for the absence of the third seamer with 10-over spells before lunch, including a wicket in the last over of the session.The Sri Lanka top order was left with the task of seeing the new ball off. While not quite a demon, the pitch had enough seam and variable bounce in it to keep the Pakistan fast bowlers in business. True to their nature, they exploited every bit of life on offer. Gul got the ball to swing into the left-handed top three, and on the odd occasion got it to seam away after shaping up to swing in. The variable bounce was obvious from how two early edges didn’t carry to the cordon, and how on two occasions Gul missed out on lbws because of extra bounce.The top order bar Sangakkara came up short. Both Lahiru Thirimanne and Tharanga Paranavitana made the instinctive correction of planting the front foot across to cover the movement, leaving them prone to the balls moving in. Thirimanne survived one such shout because of the height, but was trapped dead plumb immediately after. Paranavitana played himself into a shell before finally playing a reckless cut off Gul. At first slip, Misbah held the ball close to his chest. Finally someone other than the wicketkeeper had taken a catch in 178 overs of bowling.More chances would soon come. Mahela Jayawardene got the classical Gul delivery that angled in, pitched short of a length, drew him into the shot, then held its line, and took a healthy edge. Misbah was there to accept the low catch again. Dilshan played a loose punch outside off to give Misbah his third. Junaid’s contribution to the dismissal cannot be overstated, though. In his sixth over, he went round the stumps, angled the ball in, making Dilshan play, and the open face did the rest.At 45 for 4, after six overs each for the new-ball bowlers, Pakistan would have wished they had Cheema to bowl first change. In his absence, Gul and Junaid put in the extra hours. After Gul’s unbroken 10-over spell, Junaid came back to trouble Mathews from round the stumps. Even as Mathews walked down the track to counter the movement, both his edges were beaten repeatedly until he nicked Junaid to Adnan Akmal, the only catching man Pakistan haven’t had to worry about.In between, Sangakkara played a rare loose shot, an uppish square-drive off Ajmal, but Taufeeq was late to attempt a high catch to his left at backward point. Missing his partner in crime from the first Test, the injured Prasanna Jayawardene, Sangakkara had no option but to score as many as possible before he was left stranded. He scored 49 of the 76 runs that came during his time after lunch.Even though Rehman trapped the debutant keeper Kaushal Silva to end a 54-run partnership, the pitch had settled down and the ball had become soft. Pakistan stopped trying to get Sangakkara out, but at the same time they were lousy enough to forget to bring the field up for the last ball of an over. Sangakkara gladly retained the strike, but exposed Dhammika Prasad to Saeed Ajmal for four balls of the next over. Prasad had no clue which way Ajmal was turning the ball, and despite a customary drop from Mohammad Hafeez, a thick edge from him was accepted by Akmal. Sangakkara took a risk against the first ball of the next over, but holed out to long-on. It could have become three wickets in four balls, but Younis Khan let through a low chance from Herath.The highest partnership of the innings, 75 for the ninth wicket, followed. Chanaka Welegedara and Herath fought bravely after tea, taking blows on their bodies, and putting behind them the plays and misses. Welegedara in particular drove well through the covers, hooked Gul for a six during a heated over, and slogged Abdur Rehman for another even as he fought cramps. He added 48 to his career 67 runs. Ajmal, though, kept coming at them, and made sure Sri Lanka were again dismissed inside the first day.

Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers might well have batted Australia out of the Wanderers Test, according to South Africa opener Jacques Rudolph

Firdose Moonda at the Wanderers19-Nov-2011Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers might well have batted Australia out of the Wanderers Test, according to South Africa opener Jacques Rudolph. The pair came together with South Africa having slipped to 90 for 3, effectively 60 for 3 because of their deficit, but their unbroken 139-run partnership has put South Africa in a winning position.”When we lost the first three wickets upfront, you still felt a little bit like the game was balanced on a knife edge,” Rudolph said. “But I thought those two [Amla and de Villiers] almost took it away from the Australians.”South Africa only need a draw to win the two-Test series and claim their first series win over Australia at home since readmission. However, Rudolph, as well as assistant coach Russell Domingo, said the team is still targeting a clean sweep of the visitors. They have been in discussion about what a comfortable enough lead would be.”I was speaking to Jacques Kallis and he also said that if we get anything around 300, it’s a competitive score and the Aussies will still be in with a chance,” Rudolph said. “Around 350 or 400, will be a good score. Tomorrow morning we’ve got 11 overs before the second new ball, which might give Hashim and AB a chance to get in and set up another good one or two sessions.” Rudolph said South Africa hoped to be “bowling in the afternoon” to give themselves enough time to dismiss Australia.Domingo said South Africa’s task will be to accumulate runs briskly on the fourth morning. “It’s a long way from looking at declarations. We know it’s generally a quick scoring ground here, so scoring runs tomorrow morning is going to be crucially important,” he said. “How much we set them and if we declare or don’t declare is not on anyone’s mind at the moment, it’s just to have enough to give us a good chance of winning the Test match.”With the pitch remaining a good strip for batting, Domingo said South Africa cannot afford to “be stupid” about the size of the target they set Australia. “We have to give the bowlers enough runs to [be able to employ] carry a third slip and the gully,” he said. “At a place like the Wanderers, where scores can be chased down because of the nature of the outfield and the altitude, we’ve got to be clever about what type of carrot we are going to dangle, if we are going to dangle a carrot.”Although the strip remains batsmen-friendly, something is also expected to be in it for the bowlers throughout the match. Rudolph said the result may hinge on which side have the more patient attack. “It [the track] has proven that if you just stick to the one area, there is enough in it for the bowlers. So it will come down to the bowler who will be willing to do that the most consistently.”Australia’s bowlers, barring Patrick Cummins, struggled on the third day. Siddle bowled well but was unable to make a breakthrough, and Mitchell Johnson shortened his run-up without devastating effects. Shane Watson said the bowlers are aware that they will need to find some extra spark, because they do not expect a favour, in the form of a sporting declaration, from South Africa. “We’re going to have to bowl them out, there’s no way they are going to let us in,” he said. “If we were in the position they are in, we’d be doing the same thing.”Watson said Australia will be up for the task, whatever it is. “If a few guys have a really good day, it means we can chase down a big total,” he said.Wet weather may thwart both teams’ plans, with rain forecast for most of the fourth day. Domingo said South Africa have not been keeping an eye on the clouds, though, and will stick to their plan of playing positively. “Our mindset will be to look to win, not to depend on weather to save [win] a Test series.”

Kaustubh Pawar rescued Mumbai from a precarious position with a fiercely-determined century and along with the lower order, all but batted
Madhya Pradesh out of the Ranji Trophy

Abhishek Purohit at the Holkar Cricket Stadium03-Jan-2012
Scorecard
Ankeet Chavan supported Kaustubh Pawar in an unbeaten stand of 129•Fotocorp

Kaustubh Pawar rescued Mumbai from a precarious position with a fiercely-determined century and along with the lower order, all but batted
Madhya Pradesh out of the Ranji Trophy. Mumbai had begun the day 122 runs
behind MP with only five wickets remaining, but Pawar showed tremendous
character in grinding out his second hundred in his debut season at a time
Mumbai desperately needed someone to bail them out.That he struggled with his rhythm till he reached the three-figure mark
but did not throw his wicket away was a credit to Pawar’s temperament.
That Mumbai lost only two wickets today after 15 had fallen on the first
day was partly due to their tenacity and partly due to the pitch which had eased out.The first session was MP’s only real chance of trying to take the lead but
Pawar and Hiken Shah kept them at bay, giving no chances. As he had done
yesterday, TP Sudhindra kept the batsmen defensive with excellent control
over his lines and lengths but unlike they had done on day one, Mumbai did
not succumb against the lack of runs. They kept nudging and guiding for
singles and Pawar, especially, continued to leave almost everything that
was outside off stump.He was beaten on numerous occasions by Sudhindra who also had him down on
the ground a couple of times as he avoided bouncers. Pawar was even hit on
the helmet as he took his eyes off another bouncer but he just refused to
get out. There was also only so much Sudhindra could do alone. Hiken
signaled Mumbai’s growing confidence when he lofted fast bowler Amarjeet
Singh for a straight one-bounce four.Sudhindra managed to break the stand minutes before lunch when Hiken
finally fiddled with one outside off stump and nicked to the slip cordon.
Mumbai were less than 50 runs behind by then, though. Also, a tail that
has Ramesh Powar, Ankeet Chavan and Dhawal Kulkarni is not exactly a tail.
Kulkarni arrived ahead of Powar and Chavan and with Pawar holding one end
up, calmly pushed up the scoring rate with positive batting. MP were
forced to spread the field and bring their innocuous spinners on as
Kulkarni soon took Mumbai into the lead with a driven four through extra
cover.Sudhindra was still not done, though. He bowled Kulkarni for 40 with one
that bounced from a good length but MP now had Chavan to contend with.
With the crucial first-innings lead in the bag, Chavan was able to play
his strokes from the start. Pawar, meanwhile, got to his century in
uncharacteristic fashion off his 233rd delivery, stepping out to drive the
offspin of Jalaj Saxena through extra cover.The landmark brought out the strokeplayer in Pawar as he started to drive
and cut with authority. Chavan cruised to a fifty as well, swinging a six
over long-on in between his straight and cover drives. The eighth-wicket
stand swelled past 100, taking the game further away from a
flagging MP. Pawar showed no signs of fading, still finding the
energy to punch and push for the three runs that took him past 150.
MP’s bowlers tried everything after being let down by their batsmen but
once again, Mumbai had someone to do the dirty work and dig them out of
the hole.