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Ryan Harris has joined his pace compatriot Mitchell Johnson in wondering aloud why Australia’s Test match pitches this summer have been more docile than those the fast men enjoyed against England previous summer

Daniel Brettig in Sydney03-Jan-2015Ryan Harris has joined his pace compatriot Mitchell Johnson in wondering aloud why Australia’s Test match pitches this summer have been more docile than those the fast men enjoyed against England previous summer, noting that India have not had to cope with any equivalent to the “absolute shockers” prepared on the subcontinent in 2013.Johnson was missing from Australian training on Saturday due to hamstring soreness, and may sit out the Test on what appears likely to be another pitch friendly to batsmen. In contrast to the SCG pitch of last summer, which was well-grassed and criticised by Australia coach Darren Lehmann for its exorbitant assistance to bowlers, this year’s model already appears ready to play on, three days out from the toss.It maintains a theme of beige batting wickets this series, with even the Gabba attracting some criticism from Johnson for being less lively than it had been for Alastair Cook’s team. Harris said it had been “a lot harder” this season to get the sort of response from the wickets that allowed Australia’s bowling attack to prosper so frequently against England.”I don’t think the wickets have been as fast and bouncy,” Harris said. “Obviously we’ve got results in two of the Test matches. But again as a bowling group we’re always going to say we want a bit more bounce and grass. That goes without saying. And that’s what we had last year and that’s where he (Johnson) excelled. Going on last year [Johnson] was able to do that because (of) obviously what Sidds and I were doing but also the pace in the wickets. But not having that there is probably a little bit frustrating.”In saying that we’ve had two results and nearly got a result in Melbourne. It’s hard to fully criticise the wickets but I must admit it’s been a lot harder than it was last year. Test cricket’s always going to be hard – I’m not saying we should get ridiculous bouncy wickets. But we go to India and get absolute shockers over there so it’d be nice to get some green tops over here.”There has also been something of a transition about the Australian bowling quartet this series. Josh Hazlewood’s emergence has placed Peter Siddle in the shade, while Mitchell Starc is getting closer to becoming the left-arm talent the selectors need to be ready to fire whenever Johnson’s career draws to a close. Siddle’s value as a tireless purveyor of disciplined fast-medium has been felt in his absence, as measured by Johnson dropping his pace in the knowledge he cannot bowl flat-out short bursts anymore.Ryan Harris: “We go to India and get absolute shockers over there so it’d be nice to get some green tops over here.”•Getty Images”I think our attack’s great. We’d obviously like to have Sidds in there because we’ve had success but that’s the selectors’ choice,” Harris said. “Josh Hazlewood’s done a really good job. He’s taken a five-for on debut. I actually thought towards the end of the game in Melbourne he was coming in and bowling good pace. I wish I had his height. I’d love to have a little bit more height. Because that ball at the end was soft, it was doing nothing but a couple of his balls were bouncing through.”Josh, the little bit I’ve seen of him in Shield cricket, he’s good at doing that [bowling long spells] anyway. I think the experience of Sidds, we may have missed that a little bit. But the way Josh has come in and bowled and played I think has been just as good. I had a chat to Steven Smith about that in Brisbane and he said that Joshy needs to bowl longer spells, that’s how he gets into his spells and gives him a chance to get the feeling.”Sydney’s Test was delayed by three days in order to give the bowlers on both sides a greater chance to recover from close to three back-to-back Tests from the beginning of the series in Adelaide. This change to the schedule was made to accommodate a grieving period following the death of Phillip Hughes, but it will also have the benefit of allowing Harris to be fit for the game, following on from his exertions in Melbourne.”I was pretty sore after Melbourne – it’s definitely helped,” Harris said. “If it had been a three day turnaround it might have been tight again but to be able to have that extra couple of days is pretty good. Today’s probably the best I’ve felt. Still two-and-a-half days out I’m confident I should be fine. Probably I’ll have a good bowl tomorrow and then hopefully go out in the Test match.”Beyond this Test will be one possible Big Bash League appearance for Brisbane Heat, though it remains to be seen whether Harris will be part of Australia’s World Cup plans. He is not counting on it. “I haven’t thought about that either. I’m just trying to get through this Test series and making sure we win, well, we’ve won it, but getting the 3-0 result.”I’ll sit down with (physio) Alex (Kontouris) and the doctor [Peter Brukner] and the coach after this and work out what I need to do in regards to Big Bash, I think there’s one Big Bash game I might be available for and I then how many Shield games, if not all, I’ll play and we’ll work it out from there. I’ve obviously got to keep playing some cricket with the West Indies coming up and then onto England hopefully.”

A round-up of the Ranji Trophy Group B matches on January 24, 2015

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Jan-2015
ScorecardOffspinner Akshay Wakhare fetched career-best returns of 7 for 70 to run through Gujarat for 175 and set up Vidarbha’s 120-run victory in Surat. Wakhare had also taken six wickets in the first innings, taking his match tally to 13 for 163. Vidarbha declared on their overnight score of 307 for 8, setting Gujarat a challenging 296 for the win. The hosts, however, failed to get going in their chase, as regular blows from Wakhare prevented the team from building any significant partnership. Parthiv Patel put up a lone fight, scoring an unbeaten 73, but none of his team-mates gave him support, as Gujarat folded in 70 overs.

A newly formed St Kitts and Nevis franchise will replace Antigua Hawksbills in Caribbean Premier League 2015

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Feb-2015A newly formed St Kitts and Nevis franchise will replace Antigua Hawksbills in the Caribbean Premier League 2015. The tournament’s chief operating officer, Pete Russell, told the Hawksbills franchise had not been terminated but was left out of this year’s competition as the format and the tournament window provided by the WICB could not accommodate seven teams. The third season of the CPL will be played between June 21 and July 26.”We haven’t terminated the (Antigua) franchise,” Russell told . “The rationale behind it is we have a window which the WICB gave us within which we have to play all the games. It’s impossible with the window for us to play more than six teams.”Each team will play ten games. That’s the first time that’s happening. Each team will play each other twice. In our view, the format is as it should be. We couldn’t fit seven teams into the format.”Players retained for CPL 2015

Barbados Tridents: Kieron Pollard, Shoaib Malik, Dwayne Smith, Ravi Rampaul
Guyana Amazon Warriors: Sunil Narine, Lendl Simmons, Denesh Ramdin, Christopher Barnwell
Jamaica Tallawahs: Chris Gayle, Andre Russell, Jerome Taylor, Chadwick Walton
St Kitts and Nevis franchise: Carlos Brathwaite, Justin Athanaze, Devon Thomas, Orlando Peters
St Lucia Zouks: Darren Sammy, Kevin Pietersen, Johnson Charles, Andre Fletcer
Trindad & Tobago Red Steel: Dwayne Bravo, Darren Bravo, Samuel Badree, Kevon Cooper

The Hawksbills franchise, which was earlier sponsored by Virgin Atlantic, does not have an owner and this was another factor that went against them, according to Russell. He said the Antigua and Barbuda government had been made aware of the fact that the island could lose the team.”The reason for doing what we’ve done, we got to make sure of the long-term sustainability of the league,” he said. “The sustainability of the team is ensured by each team having its own owner.”We’ve been speaking to the government for some time. They’ve known that this was a possibility. We’ve given them the option as to how they could have kept the team, that was obviously getting an owner there. For 2015 we felt St Kitts was the right move.”The CPL revealed that the St Kitts and Nevis franchise would be taking over the players from the Hawksbills franchise and the new team announced its list of four retained players for the forthcoming season.Pacer Carlos Brathwaite, wicketkeeper Devon Thomas, allrounder Orlando Peters and offspinner Justin Athanaze who were part of the Hawksbills squad last season, were retained by St Kitts and Nevis. Marlon Samuels, who captained the team last year and was a domestic icon player for the franchise, was not retained. Shoaib Malik and Kevin Pietersen were the only foreign players to be retained by their respective franchises, Barbados Tridents and St Lucia Zouks. The CPL draft will be held on February 5.

William Porterfield said that Ireland’s next match, crucial to their knockout-qualification chances, just “happens to be against India”

George Binoy in Hamilton09-Mar-2015Had Ireland’s team bus pulled into Seddon Park an hour earlier than it did, their players would have had – even from the parking lot – a taste of what is in store for them. The sound of a conch being blown and nationalistic chants from the vanguard of India’s support base in Hamilton echoed around the intimate ground. The Irish have had a passionate fan-following everywhere they have played in New Zealand and Australia, but they will be outnumbered by many to one on Tuesday.It is onto a partisan and unfamiliar stage that William Porterfield will lead his men in their penultimate Group B game. Of Ireland’s 94 ODIs – and they have been playing them since 2006 – only two have been against India, and that frequency is unlikely to improve significantly in the future. None of them play in the IPL either, with hard-hitting allrounder Kevin O’Brien failing to attract bids at the player auction.This match is also likely to be Ireland’s only World Cup game against one of cricket’s Big Three teams; an administrative power group that – if it wished – could easily make the 2019 tournament more inclusive than it is intended to be at present. Ireland are considered the flag-bearers of Associate teams – a label Porterfield detests – so it is an opportunity to make a statement.However, all Ireland need to do is to look after their bottom-line and the rest will take care of itself. They are level on points with South Africa and Pakistan, and two ahead of West Indies at No. 5, with a game in hand over all three. All they need is one point from their remaining two games to achieve their pre-tournament goal. A place in the World Cup quarter-final has never been so close this early.It is a heady position to be in, but Porterfield was steely in his view that the challenge ahead was like any other; it just “happens to be against India”.”We’re in a good place, so we’ve just got to bring that form into tomorrow,” he said. “Like any other game we’re going into it looking for a win. Tomorrow isn’t any different. We’ve approached each game with great clarity and great professionalism. We’ve prepared really well. It’s a quicker turnaround for this game than what we’ve necessarily had before but it’s a good place we’re in and we’ve got to start afresh tomorrow.”Tomorrow, however, is Ireland’s toughest challenge yet, and that’s despite being taken for over 400 by South Africa. India are a radically transformed side from the shambles they were during the tri-series in Australia and have brought their big-tournament temperament to crush their first four group-stage opponents. All of their batsmen have got runs, their bowlers have dismissed three sides for under 200 and the other for 224, and their fielding is third to New Zealand and Australia, but not by a whole lot. They ran out AB de Villiers.Given the form India are in, there is no obvious chink in their game. “We’ve seen how hard India came at West Indies with the ball so I don’t think they’ve necessarily got a weaker suit as such,” Porterfield said. “We’ve just got to start well tomorrow.”We’ve got to try and restrict them with the ball and take wickets. Like any game in this format, taking wickets is the best way of restricting teams. We’ve got to go out there with that mentality throughout the 50 overs of taking wickets. Whatever we do first, the first ten overs is going to be big, if that’s with the bat or ball, we have to start the game well and get into it.”Ireland have not had a problem starting well with the bat. They chased down West Indies’ 304 and UAE’s 278, and scored 331 batting first against Zimbabwe. They have had to, because their bowling problems are severe. They conceded 411 against South Africa and beat Zimbabwe by only five runs. To give their batsmen some respite, Ireland’s attack – and especially their fast bowlers – will have to significantly raise their game on Seddon Park’s small dimensions. Their first shot at cementing a quarter-final spot will hinge on it.”It’s where we want to be, the quarter-finals is the goal we set ourselves before we came here. We’re in a nice position but it doesn’t count for anything if we don’t keep putting in those performances.”Obviously for the country, getting through to the quarter-finals, the publicity and the hype back home at the minute, it’s right up there … if you speak to people who are back home, the stories coming out of there are great, and that’s where cricket is going in Ireland. Hopefully we do make those quarter-finals and keep pushing on as a country ourselves. Hopefully the ICC takes notice and we start looking at the next World Cup.”Ireland will be confronted by an ace opponent and a vociferously partisan crowd. They will do well to shut everything out, play their A game, and hope it is enough to bring them two points. That’s their bottom line.

Daniel Vettori has confirmed his retirement from international cricket, declaring that the World Cup final against Australia was his last game for New Zealand

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Mar-2015Daniel Vettori has confirmed his retirement from international cricket, declaring that the World Cup final against Australia was his last game for New Zealand. The New Zealand players landed in Auckland on Tuesday after Sunday’s loss at the MCG and Vettori announced that his 18-year international career was over.”It was my last game for New Zealand, in the final, so it was a lovely way to finish,” Vettori told reporters at Auckland airport. “It would have been great to win, but I’m pretty proud of everyone, the way we’ve gone about things the last six weeks.”To be able to finish in the final, albeit without a win, I’m just very grateful for the amount of support I had particularly from Brendon [McCullum] and Mike [Hesson]. To be able to get back from a number of injuries and to be here and to be part of it … is something I’ll always treasure.”The decision was no surprise, for it was widely expected that Vettori, 36, would farewell international cricket after the World Cup. His departure marks the end of an era that began in February 1997, when at 18 Vettori became the youngest man ever to make his Test debut for New Zealand. His one-day debut arrived the following month.Vettori leaves the game as New Zealand’s all-time most-capped Test player, having appeared 112 times for his country – plus once for the ICC World XI. He is second only to Richard Hadlee on New Zealand’s Test wicket tally with 361 victims at 34.15 and he is one of only three men to have the double of 4000 Test runs and 300 Test wickets, along with Kapil Dev and Ian Botham.In one-day international cricket, he is New Zealand’s most-capped player and leading wicket-taker: his career tally including his World XI games is 305 wickets at 31.71 from 295 ODIs. He was also part of five World Cup squads: he did not play a game in 1999 but from 2003 to 2015 collected 36 wickets in 32 World Cup matches, including 15 victims this year.Despite his fitness struggles of recent years, Vettori remained a key player in helping New Zealand reach their first World Cup final over the past six weeks. He turned back the years with a leaping, one-handed catch on the boundary against West Indies in Wellington and was named in the ICC’s official team of the tournament, one of five New Zealanders to make the XI.A spinner who used his guile and mastery of dip, bounce and turn to deceive batsmen for nearly two decades, Vettori at his peak was also an especially valuable lower-order batsman who scored six Test centuries. His Test career appeared to have ended during 2012, but he made a surprise comeback for one last Test match against Pakistan in Sharjah last November as he built towards the World Cup.The successor to Stephen Fleming as the country’s captain in 2007, Vettori led New Zealand in 32 Test matches and 82 ODIs, before Ross Taylor took the reins in 2011. He also appeared in 34 T20 internationals and collected 38 wickets.

A beautiful spring day in Cardiff might well have been the occasion when Steve Davies the disillusioned wicketkeeper incontestably became Steve Davies the batsman

David Hopps at Cardiff20-Apr-2015
ScorecardSteven Davies finished on 200 not out•Getty ImagesA beautiful spring day in Cardiff might well have been the occasion when Steven Davies the disillusioned wicketkeeper incontestably became Steven Davies the batsman. The day when a career presumed from afar to be racked by indecision became a career on the up once again and worthy of celebration.Double centuries tend to have that effect, especially double centuries as mellifluous as that Davies summoned against Glamorgan. As the joggers perspired on the banks of the Taff, alongside the ground, the sun shone most strongly of all on Davies as he extended his stand with Kumar Sangakkara to 294 in 67 overs with barely a hair put out of place.Sangakkara, more than most, knows of the mental struggle to make the change from a wicketkeeper-batsman to that of a specialist batsman. The dual role balances the side; it is exhausting and it simultaneously promotes and destroys a career. To dare to abandon the gloves is a huge undertaking: an adult version of a bicycle without stabilisers.It was a decision forced upon Sangakkara, presented by Sri Lanka’s selectors as a decision for the general good. Sangakkara is honest enough to admit in hindsight that it was a wise move. He has always had the intellectual capacity to see the big picture, although admitting that abandoning the gloves was a good thing is easier when you have in such wondrous form that you have made five centuries in six knocks and your impending retirement from international cricket later this year is regarded with general disbelief. Talk about quitting at the top.”If you are a wicketkeeper and playing Test cricket or four-day cricket it’s a pretty hard job to bat in the top five,” Sangakkara said. “Six or seven is ideal. It gets tiring especially during a long season.”In my case the decision was taken away from me and I’m pretty happy that it was because if they had asked me I would have probably wanted to stick with keeping and it would probably have been the wrong call.”As long as Stevo is comfortable with the decision he has taken, and with how he is batting, he’ll be fine. The way he batted he looked absolutely at ease. If he can bat that well he’s definitely a specialist batsman without any doubt. He is still young. I remember in my early days how difficult it was and he makes it look very easy. There was a lot in Stevo to admire from the other end.”He never looked rushed, he never looked ruffled. He had a steady rhythm right throughout his innings. His first double hundred was a fantastic achievement.”Davies relinquished the gloves last May, a decision that his director of cricket, Alec Stewart, while entirely supportive, presented as temporary. Stewart’s own England career was marked by endless changes of heart by England’s selectors about whether he should take the gloves or open the innings. No wonder he regarded any decision as something to be measured in weeks.But perhaps Davies is ready for stability. He has had an emotional few years: the death of Tom Maynard, a Surrey team-mate, struck him as deeply as anybody, he has spoken of depression, and Sir Elton John became a supportive figure during his emotional recovery. Time does not heal a dressing room at a consistent rate. There can rarely have been times when his batting has looked so composed as it did against Glamorgan.It was a benign pitch, and a modest attack, and many will want to witness harder examinations, but there were times when, if you were half watching, it could easily have been either Davies or Sangakkara who was the left-hander blithely striking another ball to the boundary.Batting for the first time with one of your heroes is something to treasure, so why not make the most of it and make it last 67 overs? It was impressive that Davies did not go all faux common-or-garden about it and pretend that it was just an everyday occurrence, but that he told it as it was. Off the field, too, he looked in good order.”There were some superstars about. Sanga: what can I say? He is unbelievable” Davies said. “He is a bit a hero of mine and to get that partnership with him was pretty special day for me personally and a great day for Surrey.”He is the best player in the world. That was the first time we have played together and he asked me what do you like during overs – do you like a lot of talking or not – and I was just like, I’m pretty chilled, whatever you said whatever, whatever you do is sweet. I was just smiling. I was happy.”Many people talk of the need to bat partnerships, but here was an example of how to do it: a batsman barely arrived in England, the sound of World Cup adulation still echoing; Kevin Pietersen, the centre of media attention, just dismissed; but the ability to respond in a giving way to the needs of a new batsman at the crease.Both Sangakkara and Davies had hundreds safely lodged overnight and they continued in similar vein on the second day. Their partnership was the second highest for any wicket for Surrey against Glamorgan, and was only 50 runs short of equalling the highest – 344 between Andy Sandham and Dick Gregory at The Oval in 1937 – when Sangakkara drove David Lloyd low to cover. Somewhere, some geese cackled. But by ten Glamorgan were in no mood to laugh.Andy Carter, on loan from Notts, persevered to collect four wickets before the declaration came upon Davies’ double hundred; a further 200 added on the second day in 50 overs. Carter persevered gamely, even if he not as much runs into the crease as approaches it carefully, as if on reconnaissance.”I’m really excited about focusing solely on my batting,” Davies said. “I want to score bigger runs – when I get in I want to go to go as big as possible. I haven’t done that in the past. I have got 70s and 80s. That is something that I am focusing on.”The wicket is pretty good. There is a little bit in there, but big runs and scoreboard pressure is the best way to go.”Davies’ abandonment of the gloves came at an unexpected time. The uncertainty over Matt Prior’s fitness, allied to his fading form in Australia, suggested to some that Davies, an inactive member of the 2010-11 Ashes-winning squad, might be in contention – although he could barely make a run at the time and England were already looking towards Jos Buttler, with Jonny Bairstow in reserve.What Stewart then called a “game to game thing” has grown into something rather more permanent. Never say never. But with two other wicketkeepers in the XI – Gary Wilson, the incumbent, and Rory Burns – the possibility that Sanga himself has packed his own gloves for an emergency and Ben Foakes signed from Essex as a wicketkeeper-batsman, even when Wilson takes leave to join Ireland, it will take quite a shift for Davies to don the gauntlets again.

England’s team to play Ireland in Dublin next week will contain several of the next generation making an impression in the county game, including up to six debutants

Alan Gardner28-Apr-20151:24

‘A peek into England’s future’

England’s post-World Cup renewal will begin against Ireland in Dublin next week with a team containing several of the next generation making an impression in the county game. There could be as many as six ODI debutants in the side, to be captained by James Taylor, including Kent’s explosive wicketkeeper-batsman Sam Billings, Somerset allrounder Lewis Gregory and Surrey’s Cambridge graduate Zafar Ansari.The other uncapped players are David Willey, the Northamptonshire allrounder and son of former England batsman Peter Willey, Hampshire’s stylish top-order batsman James Vince and Surrey’s Jason Roy, who made his T20 international debut last summer.Three rising stars

Sam Billings (Kent) is another among a number of England wicketkeepers with destructive batting potential, not just Jos Buttler but the somewhat maligned Jonny Bairstow, too. Made England’s provisional squad for the 2015 World Cup when Craig Kieswetter withdraw with eye problems.
David Willey (Northants) was dubbed, tongue in cheek, as “the Northants Botham” by his captain Alex Wakely after an inspirational display in the T20 final in 2013. He hits hard and bowls brisk left-arm. Has even received an occasional nod of approval from his father, the taciturn former England allrounder turned umpire Peter Willey.
Lewis Gregory (Somerset) finished the 2014 season as one of the most improved players in county cricket. A former captain of England U-19s, he graduated through Devon age-group teams, primarily as a batsman.
David Hopps

There is also a return for Tim Bresnan, who has not played for England in any format since the 2014 World T20, while Alex Hales, recently critical of his handling by the team management, will have the chance to reassert himself as one of the country’s most exciting limited-overs talents.Although England have only named an XI to travel to Dublin, it is expected that several non-playing members of the Test squad will be added after the final match begins in Barbados on Friday. Jonny Bairstow, who last played an ODI in 2012, has already been named while Adil Rashid and Mark Wood are also candidates.After England’s humiliating World Cup, when they were knocked out during the group stage, changes were a certainty – though the proximity of the fixture to England’s tour of the Caribbean, where the third Test will conclude three days before the Ireland game, has also significantly affected the make-up of the side.Only three of the World Cup 15 are included – Taylor, Alex Hales and Steven Finn – although nine members of that group are currently in the West Indies. Eoin Morgan, who was given the ODI captaincy after Alastair Cook’s removal weeks before the tournament, is at the IPL along with Ravi Bopara, while Chris Woakes is injured.Taylor only broke into England’s one-day side on the tour of Sri Lanka that preceded the World Cup, having made a compelling case at domestic level, but his leadership qualities have been noted at Nottinghamshire, where he captains the limited-overs sides, and with the Lions.”To be given the opportunity to lead your country is a huge honour,” he said. “There are still some very experienced and talented cricketers in that team who I’d have been delighted to have as my captain, so it is a privilege and one I’m going to relish. It’s going to be brilliant leading an England team in a one-day international. We know it will be a tough game against Ireland and this match provides a great chance for us all to show we can play a huge role in limited-overs cricket in years to come.”Sam Billings netting with England Lions in Benoni last winter•Gallo ImagesIreland, who performed conspicuously better than England in Australia and New Zealand, may infer more second-class treatment at the selection of such an experimental side but, after the grim showing in 50-over cricket over the winter, England’s fans should find plenty to be enthusiastic about among the group.Ansari, who opens the batting for Surrey in Championship cricket, bowls slow left-arm and could fulfil the spinner’s role – although it is understood England plan to play Rashid. Billings, who scored 458 runs at an average of more than 100 and a strike rate of 154.20 in last season’s 50-over Royal London Cup, will compete with Bairstow for the gloves, but either could still play as a specialist batsman.Left-arm seamer Willey has been tipped for an England call-up since starring on T20 Finals Day in 2013, when he scored 60 from 27 balls and then took a hat-trick to help Northamptonshire to an unexpected triumph, before injury affected his progress last year.Finn and Bresnan – who has begun the season in good form for Yorkshire after making a change to his action – will lead an otherwise inexperienced attack. Boyd Rankin’s good form for Warwickshire has been offset by the need for an injection on a back problem, while Nottinghamshire left-armer Harry Gurney is also injured.England’s national selector, James Whitaker, said: “We are expecting a very competitive match against a talented Ireland side and this fixture gives us a great opportunity to look at players who have performed well in county cricket and for the Lions. We are starting to identify players we believe can make a real impact in limited overs cricket in the next four years as we build towards the World Cup in 2019 and these players have a huge opportunity to stake a claim for further opportunities this summer.”James Taylor has played with many of these players with England and England Lions and his experiences leading Notts make him an ideal captain to lead a young and dynamic side with Eoin Morgan currently in India at the IPL.”We will add a number of players to the squad once the side for the final Test against West Indies has been selected.”England squad: James Taylor (capt), Zafar Ansari, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Sam Billings (wk), Tim Bresnan, Steven Finn, Lewis Gregory, Alex Hales, Jason Roy, James Vince, David Willey

An unbeaten 58 from opener Ahmed Shehzad and 26 from Nasir Jamshed helped Lahore Lions beat Rawalpindi Rams by four wickets in the semi-final of the Super8 T20 Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff18-May-2015An unbeaten 58 from opener Ahmed Shehzad and 26 from Nasir Jamshed helped Lahore Lions beat Rawalpindi Rams by four wickets in the semi-final of the Super8 T20 Cup. Chasing 101, Shehzad and Jamshed were the only Lions batsmen to get double-figure scores as they made 105 for 6 in 19.1 overs.Rams chose to bat first at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad and found themselves at 14 for 3 in the fourth over. A 36-run partnership between Mohammad Nawaz and Tayyab Riaz for the fourth wicket took them to 50. After Nawaz fell in the 11th over it was only a 26-run sixth-wicket stand between Sohail Tanvir and Hammad Azam and the 15-run ninth-wicket stand between Jamal Anwar and Samiullah that helped Rams finish on 100 for 8 in 20 overs. Lions’ left-arm spinner Mustafa Iqbal and right-arm pacer Aizaz Cheema picked up two wickets each.Lions found themselves at 8 for 1 as Mohammad Asghar dismissed Kamran Akmal for a golden duck in the second over of the chase.But a 59-run second wicket stand between Jamshed and Shehzad, who struck seven fours for his 57-ball 58, put Lions on course. They seemed to have been pushed on the back foot when they lost 5 wickets for 31 runs but Shehzad remained unbeaten to take them through to Monday’s final against Sialkot Stallions.

Yorkshire excluded Australian stars Glenn Maxwell and Aaron Finch and then sent Nottinghamshire reeling at Headingley

ECB/PA22-Jun-2015
ScorecardRyan Sidebottom returned after a troublesome calf injury•Getty ImagesYorkshire excluded Australian pair Aaron Finch and Glenn Maxwell and then sent Nottinghamshire reeling on a green tinged pitch as a challenging opening day was restricted to 47.3 overs because of rain and bad light at Headingley.Ryan Sidebottom, back in action with the champions for the first time since an early season calf injury, claimed two wickets along with Steven Patterson, Jack Brooks and Tim Bresnan.Nottinghamshire were seven down after lunch when a downpour interrupted play until 6.00pm after which Stuart Broad, in a rare appearance for his county, reached his side’s top score of 36 before being dismissed.Finch played for the Second XI against Worcestershire at Barnt Green in a bid to improve his form while it was decided to give Maxwell a few days break after a constant period of cricket since joining the county.It turned into an unhappy day for Finch who pulled a ball from seamer, Chris Russell, into his rib cage. He retired hurt on 19 and went to hospital for an X-ray. He will take no further part in the game.Yorkshire’s director of cricket, Martyn Moxon, expanded on the decision by coach Jason Gillespie that led to both Australians being excluded. “We gave it a lot of thought but both Gary Ballance and Adam Lyth were available and Jack Leaning has been one of the best players of the season.”We couldn’t really leave Alex Lees out and we hadn’t too many options. Finch has not played a lot of cricket since joining us after his injury and Dizzy discussed it with him and it was felt it would be better for him to play for the second team and get him ready for Durham next week.”With Jonathan Bairstow added to England’s Twenty20 squad, Yorkshire included wicketkeeper-batsman, Andy Hodd – although Bairstow will return for the final two days.Put in to bat, there was little sign of the things to come for Nottinghamshire as Steve Mullaney and Brendan Taylor made largely untroubled progress against the new ball, but when Patterson and Bresnan took over in a double bowling change, wickets began to topple.Brendan Taylor, having strung together five boundaries in his 29, pushed forward at Patterson and Alex Lees bent low at first slip to scoop up the catch.Former Yorkshire batsman Michael Lumb, who was out first ball in the T20 match between the sides on the ground last Friday, fared little better this time, reaching seven before being lbw to a Bresnan yorker which hit him on the boot.In the next over from Patterson, captain James Taylor was caught behind off his first ball but he appeared unhappy with the decision and waved his bat in apparent frustration when leaving the field.Notts had lost three wickets for 10 runs in 22 balls and Mullaney also departed shortly before lunch when he was unable to avoid edging a lifting delivery from Sidebottom into Hodd’s gloves.There was no respite for Notts after the interval and in the first over Samit Patel, stepping forward, was lbw to a full ball from Brooks who then gained an lbw verdict against Will Gidman.Broad had a fortunate moment after making only a single. He edged Patterson to third slip where Jack Leaning dived far to his left and got his hand to the ball but could not make it stick.Sidebottom’s first ball back for a new spell pinned Riki Wessels lbw for 33 and Broad and Luke Wood managed to hold out until the rain came. On the resumption, Broad reached 36, the top score of the day, before he could not keep down a probing ball from Bresnan and Leaning took him cleanly at third slip.A short break for bad light lopped a further three overs off the day’s ration and on the return only nine balls were sent down before it became too dark to continue.Moxon said: “I think we stuck to our task well .There was some help from the pitch and also from the overhead conditions but you still have to put it in the right places.As for the excluded Australians, Moxon said Maxwell was “cricket mad” but it was felt he would benefit from a few days off. Maxwell had scored an unbeaten 92 in the T20 on Friday but his output of runs had not been ideal since joining Yorkshire.”He has fitted into the dressing room really well but perhaps he has been trying to do too much and it was better for him to go away for a few days and come back fresh,” Moxon added.

Alviro Petersen and Ashwell Prince took huge advantage of another pitch at Colwyn Bay to drive bowlers to distraction

Paul Edwards at Colwyn Bay19-Jul-2015
ScorecardAlviro Petersen shared a 321 stand with fellow South African Ashwell Prince•Getty ImagesOne rather doubts that the songs of George Formby feature prominently in Lancashire’s post-match victory celebrations; judging from what can be heard near the dressing room: a strident beat recognisable from rugby league matches and the repetition of the county’s name does the job perfectly well. Still, there were times on the first afternoon of this game when it seemed that Alviro Petersen and Ashwell Prince could play Glamorgan’s bowling with “little sticks of Colwyn rock”.By the close, Petersen and Prince’s unbroken third-wicket stand of 321 had steered Lancashire to 425 for 2, a score which already puts the Division Two leaders in a virtually impregnable position. They had inflicted suffering on the grand scale, destructive almost as soon as they began their partnership and they wreaked progressively more havoc as the afternoon drifted into the evening. In the final session 192 runs were scored off 32 overs.The Port Elizabethan pair’s demolition of Glamorgan’s seven-man attack was appreciated by all the 2200 spectators and it gave partisan pleasure to at least half the crowd. While this may be Glamorgan’s home game, the delightful Penrhyn Avenue ground is only an hour and a half’s drive from Formby’s birthplace in Wigan; it is far easier to get to for most local Lancashire supporters than it is for the Glamorgan followers living in the valleys, where some rather different singing goes on.The red rose was, therefore, as well represented as the daffodil in the throngs enjoying their burgers and pints on the popular side. There were plenty of Lancastrians, too, on the attractively-tiered green slope. Indeed, some might argue that this outground is the envy of millions of people in the Western economies at the moment: they have a bank which is conveniently situated and it makes them money.They may have applauded even more loudly had their team been steered to prosperity by two batsmen whose development had taken place in Lancashire but they are also aware that they lead Glamorgan by 47 points, albeit having played a game more. Should Lancashire win here, promotion will soon be a matter of quite simple arithmetic.The truth, however, is that neither side should lose this game, for it is being played on a wicket as flat as the most avaricious batsman could desire. Add to that, short boundaries and a fast outfield and you have the sort of conditions ripe for plunder and record-breaking.Neither Petersen nor Prince passed up the opportunity to boost their already healthy averages. One therefore had to be careful not to be sucked into a swamp of statistics by the sort of cricket that sends Opta men into numbers nirvana; much better, surely, to select the most significant records that were broken.Let it be noted, therefore that when Prince and Petersen returned to a standing ovation from the members in the pavilion at close of play, their stand was already a third-wicket record for matches between these sides. The pair had set a comparable record when they put on 258 against Derbyshire at Southport in May but their partnership is also now the second highest third-wicket stand in Lancashire’s history. Only Michael Atherton and Neil Fairbrother’s 364-run partnership against Surrey in 1990 lies ahead of them.The stroke-making of both players was close to faultless. They performed with the confidence of batsmen who had absolute trust in the surface on which they were playing. One lost count of the times Prince crunched the ball through midwicket or the occasions on which Petersen drove relatively blameless bowlers through the covers. Boundaries, rather than wickets, came in clumps but by the end of the day, the pair were not sated. There could have few more ominous sights for Glamorgan’s bowlers than seeing Petersen pat back Dean Cosker’s final over.Petersen will resume tomorrow on 205 which is only five short of his career-best first-class score; he has already hit 27 fours and a straight six off Cosker which landed in the gardens of one of Penrhyn Avenue’s russet-roofed houses. Three Lancashire players were sent to look for the ball for there was little prospect of them having anything else to do.By contrast, Paul Horton’s part in the day was long completed by the time Petersen and Prince came together. The Lancashire opener was trapped leg before in the seventh over by a ball from Michael Hogan which perhaps kept a little low. Horton took his leave with a reproachful glance at the pitch although he had probably changed his opinion by the end of the day.The rest of the morning was taken up with Karl Brown batting as felicitously as anyone to make his sixth fifty in seven Championship innings. Timing the new ball with seemingly little effort, Brown batted with grace and style but then frustrated his supporters when he was bowled when playing across a straight ball from David Lloyd. Some thought that a Brown century was going to be the main course at Colwyn Bay; instead it was merely the amuse bouche.As for Glamorgan’s bowlers, they did their best on a surface they must have come to loathe. In the 85th over Hogan was driven three times in succession to the extra-cover boundary by Preince; a few minutes later Petersen hit Lloyd for six fours in seven balls.”Come on Glammy, give us a wicket!” some yelled but it was a voice crying in the wilderness. By that stage Jacques Rudolph’s bowlers could have been forgiven for reckoning that they would have been better employed following George Formby’s example and cleaning a few windows instead of playing this wretched game.