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The captain hit a century before the keeper hit out on day one of South Africa’s warm-up against a Cricket Australia XI

AAP09-Dec-2022
South Africa captain Dean Elgar made a trademark century but it was the form of wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne that will most please the tourists on day one of the four-day clash with a Cricket Australia XI.Left-hander Elgar is South Africa’s best and most experienced batter and he reinforced those credentials at Allan Border Field.Verreynne, batting at No. 6, made an unbeaten counterattacking 76 off 86 balls with his vicious pulls and cut shots a highlight.Middle-order batter Temba Bavuma won’t bat in the first innings due to an elbow complaint but Elgar said he hoped he would in the second innings.”It was nice to get a good knock,” Elgar said of his own innings. “Personally I have been in good form back home as well and I’d like to think I think I am match fit and match ready which is a nice thing coming into a really important series. It was nice to see some other batters put their hands up as well.”South Africa’s batting had a fragility about it on the recent Test tour of England. Their pace attack is world class but it will be scoring runs for the bowlers to defend that will be the key against Australia in the three-Test series which begins on December 17 at the Gabba.Sarel Erwee (25), Rassie van der Dussen (27) and Khaya Zonda (18) all made starts but it was Verreynne who showed the aggression and confidence that will be vital against Australia’s pace attack.He made his maiden Test century against New Zealand in Christchurch earlier this year and looks a player of class.Left-arm orthodox spinner Matthew Kuhnemann was the pick of the bowlers and did not get discouraged when the batters went after him. He made his ODI debut for Australia this year and enjoyed bowling on his home track.Elgar was strong on the leg side and played one glorious swivel pull shot for four off Jordan Buckingham to stamp his class. His driving on the off side was also of the highest quality.He went to tea unbeaten on 99 and brought up his century with the first ball after the break before being bowled by Chris Tremain.Verreynne and Keshav Maharaj (34) then added 89 at better than a run-a-ball for the sixth wicket.

Lancashire and England seamer says it will be “weird” not playing for Manchester Originals

Matt Roller25-Mar-2023Kate Cross, the England seamer, has revealed her shock at being signed by Northern Superchargers in Thursday’s Hundred draft, having captained Manchester Originals in the competition’s first two seasons.Cross had spoken to the Originals ahead of the draft, who gave her a verbal guarantee that they would sign her for £25,000 with their second pick if she was still available. But the Superchargers gazumped them by using their first pick to sign her for £31,250.Related

• Hundred Draft 2023 – The picks as they happened

• The Hundred 2023 – Women's draft picks

Since the Originals had already used their first pick to sign South Africa’s Laura Wolvaardt, they were unable to use their Right-To-Match (RTM) card to bring Cross back – much to her surprise, as she watched on from her regional team Thunder’s pre-season tour to Mumbai.”I didn’t look at the money at all,” Cross said on , her BBC podcast with Alex Hartley. “I wasn’t bothered about that. But I knew I wasn’t playing for Manchester, and I’d been picked up by their rivals, the Superchargers, who are based in Yorkshire. For a Lancashire girl, it’s quite a big move…”Cross has spent her whole career playing for Lancashire or teams affiliated with them, like Thunder and the Originals. “It’s just such a big thing to get my head around, the fact that I won’t be playing in the environment that I’ve grown up playing in,” she said. “For a long time, all my cricket has been in one environment, one club, one place.”And then I’m just over the Pennines! It’s going to be weird playing against Manchester; it’s going to be so weird not playing Manchester.”Thursday’s draft was the first time that a recruitment process in the women’s Hundred has been broadcast publicly, and Cross said it had been difficult to deal with hearing about a surprise move at the same time as the rest of the world.”It’s so strange to find out information at the same time as everyone else,” she said. “Whenever we normally get this information, we find out two weeks before it goes out to the public: selections, all that kind of stuff.”It comes out in public and you’ve dealt with it, you’ve processed it, whereas we found out when everyone else found out, which is the thing I’m struggling with the most.”To watch yourself literally get sold live on TV, and for a price that someone values you at… I can’t even describe that feeling.”Each women’s team in the Hundred has eight confirmed players after Thursday’s draft. They will now fill their squads over the coming months, with their remaining contracts agreed mutually on the open market.

Vishmi Gunaratne sidelined due to a stress fracture on her back while Ama Kanchana and Udeshika Prabodhani have been dropped

Madushka Balasuriya21-Sep-2022Sri Lanka have made three changes to the side that travelled to Birmingham for the Commonwealth Games in July-August, as they named their 15-member squad for next month’s Asia Cup.Wicketkeeper-batter Kaushani Nuthyangana, left-arm seamer Tharika Sewwandi and allrounder Madushika Methtananda come in for the veteran pairing of Ama Kanchana and Udeshika Prabodhani, and 17-year-old Vishmi Gunaratne.Twenty-year-old Nuthyangana, who will deputise for Anushka Sanjeewani behind the stumps, has been earmarked as a talent for the future, as has 21-year-old Sewwandi who will take up the left-arm seamer spot vacated by Prabodhani. Methtananda, meanwhile, is in line to make just her second appearance for Sri Lanka, having made her first back in 2019.Of the changes, the only enforced one is that of the highly-rated allrounder Gunaratne, who is suffering from a suspected stress fracture on her back. Sri Lanka Cricket would have ideally liked to have included her, but a recent MRI had highlighted the injury; SLC decided rather than risk aggravating the injury, to instead focus on having her fit for the inaugural Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup in January in South Africa.Both Kanchana and Prabodhani meanwhile have been omitted as a result of poor recent form, though the latter’s game time is also understood to being managed with her having turned 37 just this month.The rest of the side remains unchanged, with Chamari Athapaththu leading a squad consisting of batters Hasini Perera and Harshitha Samarawickrama, and allrounders Kavisha Dilhari, Nilakshi de Silva, Malsha Shehani and Methtananda, as well as Sanjeewani and Nuthyangana.Sewwandi will be the lone frontline seamer in the squad, with the likes of Achini Kulasuriya, Methtananda, Nilakshi and Shehani able to chip in with their medium pace.It’s on the spin-bowling front though that Sri Lanka are relatively well covered, as they will be able to call on veteran left-arm spinners Inoka Ranaweera and Sugandika Kumari, as well as all-round options in the form of Athapaththu, Dilhari and Ranasinghe. There is also Rashmi Silva, an exciting 21-year-old right-arm leg spinner, who is in line to make her T20I debut during the tour.The Women’s T20 Asia Cup will take place from October 1 to 15 in Bangladesh, with Sri Lanka set to take on India on the opening day.Sri Lanka squad: Chamari Athapaththu (captain), Hasini Perera, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Kaveesha Dilhari, Nilakshi de Silva, Anushka Sanjeewani (wk), Kaushani Nuthyangana, Oshadi Ranasinghe, Malsha Shehani, Madushika Meththananda, Inoka Ranaweera, Rashmi Silva, Sugandika Kumari, Achini Kulasuriya, Tharika Sewwandi.

Keith Mitchell, the chairman of the CARICOM sub-committee on cricket governance, has expressed “grave concern” over the comments of West Indies coach Phil Simmons about outside influences in the selection process

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Sep-2015Keith Mitchell, the chairman of the CARICOM sub-committee on cricket governance, has expressed “grave concern” over the comments of West Indies coach Phil Simmons about outside influences robbing him of the best possible ODI squad for next month’s tour of Sri Lanka.Mitchell recommended it was time for “Project West Indies cricket”, which would encourage unity, openness and co-operation from the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) administrators to ensure Simmons and the selectors were given the autonomy to do their jobs.”The head coach’s comments about the selection of the West Indies one-day team to tour Sri Lanka are highly disturbing,” Mitchell wrote in an open letter to the WICB on Sunday.Earlier this week Simmons had revealed that he and Clive Lloyd, the chairman of selectors, were outvoted 3-2 in the selection meeting on September 23 on the inclusion of allrounders Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard. The pair have been out of the ODI side since the series in South Africa this January. At the time Lloyd had said he had spoken to the two players and explained to them that the selection panel wanted to move on and give youngsters more chances.But Simmons said Lloyd and Jason Holder, the West Indies Test and ODI captain, wanted Bravo and Pollard in the squad.”The disappointing fact is that you can lose 3-2 in a vote-off but there is too much interference from outside in the selection of the ODI squad and it’s disappointing for me to know that in any aspect of life … [people would use] their position to get people into a squad; or in this case, get people left out of a squad. It is wrong and I don’t like it and that is my beef with the selection of the ODI team.”According to Mitchell, all the leaders involved – captain, coach, selectors – needed the support of the WICB and no intrusion, if West Indies cricket had to regain its lost glory.”The team is now at an important crossroads, and it will require wisdom and good leadership to chart and follow the right path. It will therefore take the skill, motivation and priorities of the men who lead and the players who follow, to restore the team to world prominence.
To that end, the leadership unit must receive the full and unequivocal support and cooperation of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), and the backing of an independent selection panel, that is free of interference, fear, or favour.”Mitchell said one reason his political party was elected to power in Grenada in 2013 was because it placed the interests of the country before any personal agendas. That was part of the manifesto called Project Grenada that Mitchell said had proved successful.”We need a similar “Project West Indies cricket” approach if the team is to be successful. The entire cricketing organization should be fighting battles on the field against opposing teams, and not with each other in boardrooms and offices,” Mitchell said. “I believe that if Simmons is given the right tools to do his job, the liberty to make critical cricket decisions, the autonomy to create learning environments in which young players can grow and prosper, and the freedom to field the best teams, West Indies cricket will flourish.”Mitchell also highlighted that Simmons, in the short time he has been coach – he took over after the World Cup in March – had already managed to sit with national players across the Caribbean and help them understand and buy into his vision.”Already the head coach and his coaching team have taken a great step forward by gaining the trust, respect and loyalty of the West Indies players. These are things that administrators and other West Indies coaches struggled with and failed to achieve during the last fifteen years.”A disgruntled players’ fraternity up in arms against a divided WICB and a revolving door of coaches and captains have been some of the factors responsible for West Indies cricket not only sliding down the rankings table but also losing face and respect in world cricket. Dave Cameron, the WICB president, who was elected for a second term recently, has tried hard to gain the players’ confidence and win over his opponents within the board, but has been severely criticised throughout his tenure. Nothing signified this more clearly than West Indies’ aborted tour of India last October.Bravo, who was the ODI captain on that tour, led the pullout with one ODI, one T20 and three Tests pending, due to a protracted disagreement between the players, the WICB and the West Indies Players’ Association over the payment structure specified by the players’ revised contracts. Calling the episode a “monumental disaster”, the BCCI demanded $41.97m as damages from the WICB. Since then Cameron has received a lot of flak with critics, former players and CARICOM officials blaming him for the embarrassment caused to West Indies cricket due to the pullout.Ralph Gonsalaves, the St Vincents and the Grenadines Prime Minister and Mitchell’s associate on the CARICOM committee, accused Cameron of “dishonouring” his word after Bravo and Pollard were first dropped from the ODI squad. Gonsalves said Cameron had assured him at an earlier meeting that none of the India 14 would be “victimised” and the squads for South Africa tour would be picked on merit.Mitchell’s remedy for the WICB is to be more inclusive. “A sports organization needs good management and administration to function at its best, but it cannot win battles on the field without sensible, coordinated and innovative leadership at every level throughout its ranks. The organisation must not be divided unto itself.”Mitchell even quoted Pope Francis, who, in his speech at the United Nations earlier this week, “reminded the world about the dangers of polarisation, anger, hatred, resentment, exclusion and adversarial attitudes, and the benefits of inclusion, kindness, unity, cooperation and common purpose. We sincerely hope that his words were heard and heeded by our cricket administrators.”

Cheteshwar Pujara scored his first Test century since the last month of 2013 to deny Sri Lanka clear advantage in the rain-hit SSC Test

The Report by Sidharth Monga29-Aug-2015
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAngelo Mathews picked up the crucial wicket of Virat Kohli early in the day•AFP

Cheteshwar Pujara, previously out of the side to presumably accommodate a more forceful batsman and an extra bowler, scored his first Test century since the last month of 2013 to deny Sri Lanka clear advantage in the rain-hit SSC Test. He was helped along by Amit Mishra’s third Test fifty, an enterprising effort, to rescue India after Dhammika Prasad had reduced India to 180 for 7. It was thanks largely to Prasad that Sri Lanka didn’t lose the advantage of bowling first on a pitch with uneven grass covering, which offered seam movement and variable bounce. Pujara and Mishra added 104, the highest eighth-wicket stand for India against Sri Lanka, the highest at SSC, with Mishra’s 59 the highest by a No. 9 at SSC.Given almost a whole day’s play has been lost to rain, India might just have enough to feel they can’t lose the Test. They can thank Pujara for that. Batting above his preferred station, thanks only to injuries to the openers in the side, Pujara knew he had a brief window to make impact to earn a long-time return. On a pitch as challenging as this, the impact was not going to be immediate, but any runs he scored would be valuable. And he scored an unbeaten 135 of them out of India’s 292 for 8.Immediate impact was left for Prasad. That Sri Lanka ran the risk of wasting the conditions is evident from how they had to bowl 37 overs of spin out of 95.3 on a seaming pitch. Angelo Mathews, the third seamer, doesn’t bowl long spells because of back issues, and Prasad bowled only short spells. In the short spells, though, he struck instantly. He took out KL Rahul in the first over of the match, nearly had Virat Kohli in the first over on the second morning, took out Rohit Sharma with the last ball before lunch and Stuart Binny with the first after, and then R Ashwin with the first ball back.The first wicket of the day, though, went to Mathews, and that too after Kohli had survived a close call off Prasad and seen his burst off. He just couldn’t help pushing defensively at wide balls that he is better off leaving alone. In England, it proved to be Kohli’s downfall. In Australia and in the two previous Tests, the ball hardly seamed so Kohli kept getting away with it. This time he nicked off.This brought together two men whom a fully fit India XI might not have space for: Pujara and Rohit, the last two specialist batsmen. After surviving a streaky chip early in the innings and then successfully taking Rangana Herath’s spin on, Rohit once again fell just before an interval. In the previous Test, his dismissal brought an end to the day’s play; here he ended the first session. Prasad pitched close enough to make Rohit push at this, and the ball just held its line to take the edge. This was the fifth ball of the over, but lunch was taken immediately. Post the break, India’s suspect No. 6 Stuart Binny came out to bat. He got a near perfect ball, a ball you can’t mean to bowl. You can only hope that a ball shaping up as an outswinger pitches on the seam and then jags back the other way. That’s what happened with the first ball after lunch, and Binny was trapped lbw for a golden duck.Naman Ojha, the debutant, went on to have an important partnership with Pujara. But once the two had worn the bowlers out, with the ball 60 overs old, Ojha holed out when slogging against Tharindu Kuashal, who provides loose balls if you wait for them.Ask Pujara. He had to wait and wait and wait in the first session, leaving balls alone outside off, defended when they made him play, absorbing the pressure dot after dot after dot. He didn’t feel the itch to score runs even when he spent 23 balls on the score of 31. At times he even shaped up to play at balls, and then withdrew at the last moment realising they were outside off and not seaming in.Pujara was provided a release by the inconsistent Kaushal. He had come on for the first time 30 minutes before lunch, and offered a long half-volley. Pujara had only just got off 31, and he unfurled a cover drive for four and then cut a short ball past slip. Then came a good delivery, but Pujara was in a different mood now, and drove through point. He also drove Prasad to the boundary off the back foot, a shot Pujara had shelved earlier.Pujara reached his fifty minutes before lunch, and well known for accelerating after passing through an early period of defence, he went from 31 off 91 to 101 off 219.Pujara found a perfect partner in Mishra. After Ashwin had fallen to a loose push outside off, Mishra came in full of intent. He refused to get bogged down, didn’t play the most orthodox shots, but succeeded in frustrating the tired Sri Lankan bowlers. Pujara showed full faith in Mishra’s abilities, and the two stole the initiative from Sri Lanka who would have had hopes of batting for a major part of the final session.Although a few balls turned and bounced from the edge of a grassy patch on the pitch, which should encourage India should the match go into the fourth innings, the pitch had by and large settled down by now. The ball did seam, but Sri Lanka didn’t help themselves by bowling either too short or two full at Mishra. By the time Sri Lanka finally found a way past Mishra, who got too close to the ball when charging at Herath and was stumped off his pads, the clouds had come in and cost the Test another hour. Only 95.3 overs were bowled in the first two days.

Will Young makes 91 to lead Northants reply but target of 354 remains out of reach

ECB Reporters Network02-Aug-2022Centuries from openers Will Fraine and Harry Duke underpinned Yorkshire’s convincing start to the Royal London Cup as Northamptonshire were beaten by 33 runs DLS at York’s Clifton Park.Fraine’s all-format career-best 143 was ably supported by Duke’s contrasting 111 as Yorkshire racked up 343 for 5 in 46 overs, also including teenager Will Luxton’s 84. Fraine and Luxton dominated to start a batting day, while wicketkeeper Duke played the supporting role after the Vikings were inserted.In reply, New Zealand opener Will Young, captaining Steelbacks in this opening Group B fixture, kept their hopes alive with a top-score of 91. But he was out with just under 200 runs still required, and they were bowled out for 320 inside 45 overs. Dom Bess finished with 3for 63 off nine.Lewis McManus nearly matched Young with an entertaining, consolatory 82. Four overs per side were lost due to late morning rain.Fraine displayed power on the leg side and touch on the off as he hit 12 fours and eight sixes in 107 balls, usurping his Championship 106 against Surrey at Scarborough in 2019.In posting a second county century in front of a 3000-strong crowd, the 26-year-old made a Northamptonshire attack who erred on a pitch with good pace and bounce pay. Fraine pulled Tom Taylor over the pavilion and later hoisted Nathan Buck over the hospitality marquee at long-on.Duke, 20, also faced 107 balls. Shortly after Fraine had reached his century off 85 balls – at which point Yorkshire were 142-0 after 23 overs – Duke’s fifty came off 62. The busy Duke scooped with increasing regularity as he moved to his second List A century after 125 versus Leicestershire last year.When Fraine sliced Saif Zaib’s left-arm spin to backward point, the damage had been done at 209 for 1 in the 30th. But there was more to follow.England Under-19s batter Luxton followed Fraine’s dominance, hitting well straight for 10 fours and three sixes in 53 balls as the Steelbacks failed to stem the flow of runs until the final two overs when only 11 were conceded.Duke reached three figures off 97 balls, and Luxton’s second career fifty came off 35 a delivery later. Both men were caught in the penultimate over off Buck, the pick of the visiting attack with 2 for 66 from nine, following a second-wicket partnership of 134 inside 15 overs.Northamptonshire slipped to 36 for 2 inside six overs of their reply, including debutant seamer Ben Cliff inducing a leading edge from Ricardo Vasconcelos to wide mid-on after only four balls. Ben Coad also had Emilio Gay caught at slip.Young and Zaib shared 82 for the third wicket to get the innings back on track, though the road ahead remained a long one.Young was strong square on both sides of the wicket in his 64-ball innings, adding two straight sixes off the left-arm spin of debutant Harry Sullivan to a dozen boundaries. But he and Zaib fell in the space of five overs, leaving Northamptonshire at 158 for 4 in the 24th over. Zaib was stumped off Bess and Young miscued a pull at Coad to mid-on.Steelbacks had little option but to plough on. And they did, first through Rob Keogh’s 59.A feature of this fixture was that runs were largely scored with authenticity rather than agriculture. Keogh was no different. But he handed Sullivan his maiden wicket by picking out deep cover, and it was the first of three wickets for 17 runs which all but ended the contest as the score fell from 237 for 4 in the 34th over to 254 for 7 in the 37th.Sullivan also bowled James Sales and Bess had Taylor caught and bowled. Bess struck again before wicketkeeper McManus threatened a late and remarkable heist with four sixes in 62 balls, before falling lbw to Tom Loten.

He will join the squad in time to be available for selection for their final Group A clash against Zimbabwe on Thursday

Peter Della Penna13-Jul-2022D Siva Kumar, who was part of India’s Under-19 World
Cup-winning squad in Malaysia in 2008, has been drafted into the USA squad to replace the injured Ali Khan at ongoing T20 World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe. Ali was ruled out of the rest of the tournament after he suffered a broken forearm on the opening day of the tournament.Siva Kumar, 32, recently became eligible to represent his adopted home country under the ICC’s residency guidelines. which require a player to be a resident for a minimum of three years in order to qualify for selection. His last List A match for Andhra Pradesh in Indian domestic cricket came in October 2018.Related

• Ali Khan out of T20 World Cup Qualifier with a fractured forearm

• USA Cricket stepping up foreign recruitment to live up to ODI status

The medium-pace allrounder has been representing the Morrisville, North Carolina franchise for the last two seasons in USA’s Minor League Cricket T20 franchise tournament, which is serving as the precursor to Major League Cricket that is due to launch in 2023. He took 15 wickets at an average of 16.13 and an economy rate of 5.76 in the 2021 regular season and scored scored 93 runs in eight innings at an average of 13.29. In the 2022 campaign, he has four wickets in two matches.According to a press release from USA cricket, he is due to arrive in Zimbabwe on Wednesday night and will join the squad in time to be available for selection for their final Group A clash against Zimbabwe on Thursday. Both teams have already clinched semi-final berths but the winner will have the top seed heading into the crossover playoff matches with the Group B set on Friday.

A power-packed half-century from 23-year old Stephan Baard was followed up by a triple-wicket maiden from from Bernard Scholtz as Namibia outplayed Papua New Guinea by 49 runs in Malahide

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Jul-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsNamibia’s left-arm spinner Bernard Scholtz bowled 16 dot balls in four overs•ICC/Sportsfile

A power-packed half-century from 23-year old Stephan Baard was followed up by a triple-wicket maiden from Bernard Scholtz as Namibia outplayed Papua New Guinea by 49 runs in Malahide.Often times there is nothing quite like scoreboard pressure. It’s doubly useful on a tired pitch where the slower you bowl the harder it is to hit. Before the game, Namibia had decided that if the ball was too full or too short, their batsmen would go after it. Come game day, they amassed 181 for 5 in their 20 overs. As with such big scores, one of the top order goes on to score big.Baard typified Namibia’s pre-game attack plan. When the ball was overpitched, he drove viciously through cover and mid-off. Three fours and two sixes came from that part of the ground. Then when PNG were forced to bowl flatter and shorter, he used the sweep and the pull liberally. Meanwhile, Namibia got past 60 runs in the Powerplay for a third time in the tournament and he eased to a fifty off 27 balls.He did slow down thereafter, but consequently stayed at the crease until the penultimate over to ensure the early platform amounted to a sizeable total. Baard, with 233 runs at an average of 77.66 is the top-scorer of this year’s World T20 Qualifier, so Namibia’s middle order simply had to bat around him. Sarel Burget, at No. 5, made 38 runs off 20 balls in a fourth-wicket partnership that yielded 74 runs in 42 balls.That he didn’t pick up the Man-of-the-Match award indicates the value of Scholtz’s effort with the ball. He offered no pace for the batsman and profited when they tried to make some of their own. That can be a difficult plan for a spinner to trust, considering this was slam-bang T20 cricket. But in Malahide, the ball wasn’t coming onto the bat and it was a pretty large ground too.So Scholtz kept bowling slow and broke PNG’s chase in the 13th over. Charles Amini mistimed a loft because of the lack of pace and was caught at long-on. Next ball, Scholtz slowed it up further and Mahuru Dai swept across the line straight to deep midwicket. The hat-trick ball was looped up above the eyeline as well, got loads of turn to hit new batsman John Reva on the pads, but it had pitched outside leg stump. He would finish the over trapping Reva plumb in front for the score to dip from 90 for 4 to 90 for 7. Scholtz bowled 16 dot balls in his four overs, Papua New Guinea’s priorities shifted from hunting down the runs to lasting the 20 overs.Things had looked very different at the start of the chase. Tony Ura helped ransack 68 runs in the first six overs to keep Papua New Guinea well ahead of the rate. He had five fours and a six in his 21-ball 34 and was looking especially good while driving the ball. But Namibia found a way past him through a run-out and thereafter did not find much resistance to their progress to the top of the Group A table thereafter. If they remain on top until the end of the league stage, they will claim direct qualification into the World T20 in India next year.

Pakistan engineered themselves a position of considerable strength by tea on the second day at Edgbaston as Sami Aslam and Azhar Ali added an unbroken 154 for the second wicket to take them to within 143 of England’s total

The Report by Andrew McGlashan04-Aug-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsPakistan’s Old Trafford drubbing is already feeling a long time ago. On the second day at Edgbaston, Azhar Ali’s tenth Test century, and a second-wicket stand of 181 with Sami Aslam, carried Pakistan to a strong position as they closed on 257 for 3, just 40 short of England’s total, only for the gloss to be taken off slightly when Azhar fell to the final ball.Yet it was still an outstanding innings. Azhar had made just 39 runs in four innings during the first two Tests but here showed the determination and fight that Pakistan needed from one of their senior batsmen. He reached his century when he gloved his tenth boundary down to fine leg during the final session, celebrating extravagantly and following the lead of his captain at Lord’s with a set of press-ups.England paid the price for dropping him twice. On 38 Joe Root moved late for an edge at second slip and the on 69 Moeen Ali could not hold a stinging return catch. Those moments were part of a day of increasing frustration for England. James Anderson was warned twice in an over by Bruce Oxenford for running on the danger area on a day when his grumpy side was on full display. It would not be surprising if some of his actions gained the interest of the match referee, although after play he said he had apologised to both umpires, Oxenford and Joel Wilson.In many ways, however, the story of the day belonged to 20-year-old Aslam who made a wonderfully composed 82 having been recalled to replace Shan Masood. He was closing in on becoming the youngest opener to make a century in England when, having run superbly between the wickets with Azhar during their 62-over stand, he was sold short by his team-mate when he chanced a single to point. James Vince provided the spark England desperately needed when he swooped and hit direct with a fierce shy.But the breakthrough did not bring immediate further success. Younis Khan was unconvincing, repeatedly being beaten as he continued to move around the crease, but survived to reach the close with 21 off 68 balls and Azhar was one delivery away from walking off unbeaten with him only to jab at Chris Woakes’ final ball and send the edge to Alastair Cook at first slip.England’s day had started promisingly when Mohammad Hafeez, playing in his 50th Test, cut the fourth ball of the innings low to point: it ended up being their high point as the bowlers did not take a wicket for the next 89.1 overs with the Pakistan line-up, led by their second-wicket pair, putting England’s 297 into context.After the first day’s play, Gary Ballance, the top-scorer, suggested they were content with the total in what he said were tough conditions. Twenty-four hours later, though, not only did Misbah-ul-Haq’s decision to bowl look even more well-informed, but Aslam and Azhar had given an exemplary display of what a bit of graft – not a word often associated with this England batting order, except for Cook – can bring. England will consider that they did not make the most of the first new ball, bowling a fraction short and wide, and will have to follow-up Woakes’ late strike with further inroads on the third morning to even the contest.Both Aslam and Azhar were content to bide their time: 72 runs came in the first session and 82 in the second. They left well, backing themselves to soak up the pressure when maidens were strung together, pushing England’s bowlers deep into the day. Even with a five-man attack, if wickets are hard to come by the strain will be felt.To add to the quality of Aslam’s innings was the fact that he had not had a first-class knock since last December. His smart leaving meant the bowlers were drawn into being straighter, when he would either knock them into the off-side gaps or work them off his pads, and neither was he unsettled when he ducked into a short ball from Woakes that struck the back of his helmet. He rarely looked hurried into his shots and only attacked when it was a low-risk option.He also showed that trait of all Pakistan batsmen: the desire to target Moeen. Either side of tea he pressed his accelerator against the spinner, reaching his fifty with a paddle sweep then providing a repeat before twice biffing Moeen over mid-on, the second of them clearing the boundary. His strike rate against Moeen was 108, the best against the seamers was 50 against Steven FinnHis departure was unfortunate, but what Pakistan could ill-afford was for it to knock Azhar off his stride and give England an opening to claw their way back. He did not linger long in the 90s, reaching his second century against England, and then kicked on ahead of the second new-ball being due. He then began setting himself again, adding just another 10 runs off 40 balls, before his concentration let him down at the last moment. However, he has given his team a platform from which to dominate. The full context of this innings will emerge over the next few days, but it has the potential to achieve something very significant for Pakistan.

A round-up of the 2016 Dhaka Premier League matches on June 15, 2016

Mohammad Isam15-Jun-2016Pawan Negi’s maiden List A century lifted Legends of Rupganj to the top of the 2016 Dhaka Premier League table. Rupganj replaced Victoria Sporting Club whom they beat by two wickets at the Fatullah Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.Victoria were bowled out for 258 after they were inserted, riding on half-centuries from Mominul Haque and Al-Amin. In reply, Rupganj had slipped to 83 for 6 in the 23rd over, before Negi (124 not out) and Mosharraf Hossain (41), the captain, helped them recover through a seventh-wicket stand of 148. Rupganj eventually made 264 for 8 in 48.5 overs.Negi and Mosharraf had to rebuild through plenty of singles. Mosharraf was dropped twice, at long-off and then mid-off, prompting him to cut out risky strokes. Once the pair had added 50 for the seventh wicket, Negi was severe through the covers and mid-wicket, while picking ones and twos regularly within that range.Negi raised his fifty off 42 balls before launching into the Victoria spinners. He entered the nineties with a six and a four off Suhrawadi Shuvo. Mahbub Alam dropped Negi on 97 off his own bowling, before Negi reached his hundred in the next over with a four through midwicket, off 77 balls. Kamrul Islam Rabbi then bowled Mosharraf with a yorker to give Victoria some hope.Negi, however, remained at the crease to finish things off with his fourth six, which was launched into the midwicket stands in the 49th over. He had struck 13 fours and four sixes in his 89-ball knock.Rupganj had started their chase with Mohammad Mithun hammering Rabbi for four boundaries in the first over, pulling through square-leg, gliding one past mid-on, driving through the covers, and cutting hard past point. But Chaturanga de Silva, the left-arm spinner, trapped him leg-before after he missed a lazy prod in the third over. Nahidul Islam suffered the same fate to the same bowler, before de Silva had Sajjadul Haque caught at short cover in the seventh over, making it 32 for 3.Soumya Sarkar and Asif Ahmed slowly took them out of trouble, but after Asif was caught at deep midwicket off Shuvo, Soumya skied a slog sweep that was easily caught by wicketkeeper Dhiman Ghosh. Jahurul Islam became de Silva’s fourth wicket when he was also given out leg-before. Negi and Mosharraf then changed the game completely with their partnership.De Silva finished with his third five-wicket haul in the tournament, but Victoria would rue plenty of missed chances in their defence of the total, and also while setting it up with the bat.They were 170 for 2 when Mominul Haque got out for a 72-ball 82 that contained eight fours and two sixes. Haque was involved in a 57-run third wicket stand with Al-Amin, who made 63 off 68 balls with two fours and two sixes, and 70 for the second wicket with Fazle Mahmud, who made 40.But Victoria lost eight wickets for 88 runs to be all out for 258 in 50 overs. Taijul Islam took 3 for 47 in nine overs, while Abu Hider and Negi picked up two each.At the BKSP-3 ground, Abahani Limited collected the biggest win in List-A cricket in Bangladesh after annihilating arch-rivals Mohammedan Sporting Club by 260 runs.Abahani rode on centuries from Liton Das, the wicketkeeper, and Dinesh Karthik to amass 371 for 5 in 50 overs – the highest score by a team in a List-A contest in the country. Shakib Al Hasan then wrecked Mohammedan Sporting Club with 5 for 18 in 6.3 overs to bowl the opposition out for 111 in 24.3 overs.Liton struck his second List A hundred, while Karthik, playing in his first match for Abahani, struck his eighth ton in the format. Liton and Karthik got together at 64 for 2 and added 162 runs for the third wicket.Karthik then added 101 more for the fourth wicket with Shakib, who blasted 57 off 24 balls with two fours and five sixes. Liton’s 125-ball knock contained 18 fours and a six, while Karthik’s 97-ball innings had 11 fours and four sixes.Left-arm spinner Emanuel Haque jnr bore most of the brunt as he gave away 84 runs in his quota of 10 overs and picked up a wicket. Thisara Perera conceded 75 runs off nine and also picked a wicket. Ariful Haque, the right-arm medium pacer, took 2 for 55 in five overs.Shakib continued his good work with the ball as well and found support from Saqlain Sajib (2 for 27 in six) and Mosaddek Hossain (2 for 12 in three).There wasn’t much drama at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur where Prime Bank Cricket Club beat Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club by six wickets via the Duckworth-Lewis method in a rain-reduced game. Batting first, Doleshwar slipped to 100 for 6 in 33 overs before rain stopped play at 11.28 pm. Rubel Hossain had taken 2 for 19 in eight overs.Play resumed at 3.00 pm with Prime Bank set a revised target of 118 off 33 overs. Unmukt Chand struck an unbeaten 43 off 61 balls to lead the chase, as Prime Bank reached 122 for 4 in 25 overs to win with eight overs to spare.