All posts by n8rngtd.top

If anyone in the England camp takes a look at the scorecard from this game, it will be noted that Chris Tremlett, who missed out on selection for the fifth Test at The Oval

Les Smith at Chester-le-Street22-Aug-2013
ScorecardScott Borthwick is Durham’s leading run-scorer in first-class cricket this season after making his third hundred•Getty Images

If anyone in the England camp takes a look at the scorecard from this game, it will be noted that Chris Tremlett, who missed out on selection for the fifth Test at The Oval, was the only name to feature in the Surrey wickets column. A five-for kept his team in touch against Durham and will provide further grist for those questioning England’s decision-making.That the home side were not too inconvenienced by Tremlett was largely down to the efforts of Scott Borthwick, a local lad who made his third first-class century of the season. England may well be interested in that, too.Durham is a proudly local county cricket club. Every time an outsider visits Chester-le-Street the sense of community and the bond between supporters and players is tangible.The man who leads them in their cricket, Geoff Cook, Durham’s first captain in first-class cricket and now their coach, is a Middlesbrough native. Cook is recovering from a heart attack but the spirit he brought to the club after a career with Northamptonshire and England pervades the place. His captain, Paul Collingwood, born in Shotley Bridge, has been playing for them long enough now to be termed a stalwart, and nobody in Durham will hear a word said against him.Borthwick and Will Smith, another who warrants acceptance as an adopted son, provided the runs that gave Durham cause for satisfaction at the end of a day which started with Surrey winning the toss and putting the opposition in. Whether Collingwood would have made the same decision as Gareth Batty had the coin landed the other way up is debatable, as his side entered the fixture with a depleted seam attack.Borthwick, who has been capped three times in limited-overs cricket, is a Sunderland boy and Smith, while born in Bedfordshire, was educated at Durham University. Between them they contributed 222 runs to Durham’s effort. Borthwick came to the wicket in the second over of the match after Tremlett had castled Mark Stoneman. Five hours later he had a hundred and until he was dismissed for 135 he never looked remotely vulnerable. He was tidy, compact, and seized on the loose ball to register 21 boundaries.Smith joined Borthwick after a tumbling slip catch by Zander de Bruyn saw off a promising innings by Keaton Jennings, who added 69 with Borthwick. Then the pair dug in and built a partnership of 183 in a little over 50 overs. Smith fell 13 runs short of a century and Borthwick followed him just before the close of play.Borthwick’s innings leaps off the scorecard but look further down it and you find the other outstanding contribution. Tremlett might not have been expecting to play in this game, but he was released by England and made his way up the A1. His presence in the side might well have influenced Batty’s decision to bowl first but, while the outcome at the end of the day might have disappointed, his faith in his bowler was justified.Tremlett took all five wickets to fall, bowling off 17 precisely calibrated steps before leaping into a colossal delivery stride. His accuracy rarely wavered, as evidenced by an economy rate of 2.31 and the modes of dismissal: one bowled, two lbw, and two caught behind the wicket. It was a joy to watch and he will be a potent asset for England in Australia in the winter – though some will wonder if he could have been as effective in south London this week.

There was relief and hope for Somerset: relief that their pitch had been given the all-clear following several sessions of close scrutiny, and some hope of a vital backs-to-the-wall victory

David Lloyd at Taunton04-Sep-2013
ScorecardJames Hildreth’s innings has put the match back on an even keel•Getty Images

There was relief and hope for Somerset: relief that their pitch had been given the all-clear following several sessions of close scrutiny, and some hope – despite the galling last ball of the day dismissal of Craig Kieswetter – of a vital backs-to-the-wall victory in this relegation nerve-tingler.ECB pitch inspector Bill Hughes was among those present yesterday when the ball turned and bounced significantly from the outset, for home spinners Piyush Chawla and Jack Leach. At the close of play, umpire David Millns confirmed the surface was being “monitored”.Today, Hughes settled down behind the bowler’s arm, alongside groundsman Simon Lee, and announced during the lunch interval that his work was not yet done. But by tea, he declared himself satisfied; meaning any threat of a points penalty had been removed.Of even more importance for Somerset – and potentially more damaging for Derbyshire – the balance of power had started to shift out in the middle. A daunting first innings deficit of 195 was eaten into by Marcus Trescothick’s sixth half-century of this, so far, hundred-less season and then wiped away completely through the combined efforts of Nick Compton and James Hildreth.By stumps, the hosts were ahead, by 36. And if only Kieswetter had defended Shiv Chanderpaul’s final delivery instead of trying to cut the now extremely occasional legspinner, they would have had seven wickets in hand. The ball cannoned into the stumps via a bottom edge and Derbyshire celebrated an unexpected and badly needed late gift.But even now, the visitors can anticipate a testing fourth innings run-chase, thanks in no small part to a stand of 116 between Compton and Hildreth.Trescothick, dropped on 35 by second slip Richard Johnson off Tim Groenewald, was unable to benefit fully from his slice of luck. And Hildreth, having looked all at sea early on against the spinners, prospered splendidly yet still failed, by 19 runs, to turn what was only his third Championship fifty of the campaign into a second hundred – under-edging an attempted pull into his stumps. But Compton remained reassuringly rock-solid throughout.The, for now at least, former-England batsman dropped down to No. 3 so he could have treatment on a stiff neck. But once in the middle he looked happy enough, negotiating 151 deliveries while accumulating 64 unbeaten runs. No wonder Derbyshire were looking hot and bothered before Kieswetter played into their hands.Last year’s Division Two champions were recently penalised for a pitch producing excessive turn during a YB40 match and at least some in their camp will believe they saw enough evidence on the first day here for Somerset to have been convicted of a similar charge.The problem, in more ways than one, for the visitors is that their spinners were unable to extract as much turn and bounce as Chawla and Leach – at least not on anything like a regular basis.They had chosen to leave out 19-year-old offspinner Peter Burgoyne, who has played in the last four games, while left-armer David Wainwright started this match with a season record of 13 wickets at 55 runs apiece. He posed some problems, inevitably, but no more than occasional tweaker Wayne Madsen. It was more in hope than expectation, then, that Chanderpaul was called upon, but what a good decision.Derbyshire had added 78 for 5 this morning which was both a fair bit better than seemed likely at 256 for 9 but ultimately just a tad disappointing when they were all out, following a last wicket stand of 42 between Tim Groenewald and Mark Footitt, with a third batting point only two runs away.Alfonso Thomas did most of the damage with the ball, taking 3 for 19 in six overs with the help of two outside edges and a bad misjudgement from Palladino, who padded up to an in-ducker.Derbyshire might have expected to face another trial by spin. Instead, Trescothick ignored left-armer Leach completely and kept Chawla’s powder dry until 55 minutes into the session. When the little Indian leggie did appear, his sixth delivery – one that hurried through – easily defeated Johnson’s ill-advised attempted pull.Johnson deserved a career-best but had to settle for 68, four short of that landmark. Still, his earlier partnership of 103 with Tim Poynton had gone a long way towards putting the visitors into a position of strength – and it did not go unnoticed by Somerset supporters that the stand was worth precisely what the hosts could muster, in total, in their first innings.That should have been just about it. Instead, the last pair made merry (when they weren’t playing at fresh air during Chawla’s five-over spell) and Groenewald’s almost-straight six off the legspinner was a treat to behold. In the end, with 300 beckoning, confidence got the better of Footitt and a sliced drive against Craig Meschede brought the curtain down.

Acquiring the services of a bowling coach will be one of Zimbabwe’s top priorities as they look to build for future international series

Firdose Moonda16-Sep-2013Acquiring the services of a bowling coach will be one of Zimbabwe’s top priorities as they look to build for future international series. The squad has had to do without a specialist in that department since April, when Heath Streak’s contract was not renewed because of financial concerns, and new coach Andy Waller is keen to fill the gap as soon as resources allow for it.”There is no talk of getting a bowling coach at the moment but we need one. When we are able to, we will try and get someone who can run specialist clinics,” Waller said after Zimbabwe’s historic series-levelling win against Pakistan. The victory was largely credited to the pace pack, who defended 264 on a pitch that, against expectations, became easier to bat on in the final two days.Waller admitted he was pleasantly surprised by the seam bowlers in particular, who he had “concerns” about before the series began. His worry was that without attacking bowlers like Kyle Jarvis and Graeme Cremer, they would struggle to take wickets. But the foursome of Tinashe Panyangara, Tendai Chatara, Shingi Masakadza and Brian Vitori showed they were up to the task despite, as Brendan Taylor pointed out after the match, the absence of a bowling coach.Chatara, who impressed on debut in West Indies, showed considerable progress as he led the attack. “He has recognised that he was the senior bowler and he played like one,” Waller said.Panyangara was, according to Hamilton Masakadza who led in the first Test, an unexpected workhorse whose consistency and economy rate were stellar while Vitori came back to the longest format looking more determined than he had before. “Leaving him out of the first Test gave Vits a little kick and it was good for him. He came back looking like he wanted to get wickets,” Waller said.Given that Shingi Masakadza, who made way for Vitori, also put in a good performance in the first Test, the level of competition among the bowlers has left with much to work with. “We’ve got a good crop of fast bowlers and we’re in a good place right now,” Taylor said.How Zimbabwe will continue mentoring that group is the next challenge because the current crop was all nurtured by Streak. Without him, they’ve had to rely on the advice of other players and some old-fashioned DIY, as Chatara confirmed. “I’ve just been trying to work myself into international cricket and in that way I got more experience,” he said. “Playing Bangladesh earlier in the year helped a lot as well because they are on the same level as us and it helped prepare for this series.”Former national player Gary Brent has been helping the young bowlers in the national academy, who also train at the Harare Sports Club. Chris Mpofu, who is recovering from injury, has also sought Brent’s advice as he looks to make his comeback. Mpofu himself has been meting out mentorship to the likes of Chatara and Vitori, who are eager to learn from his experiences.But Zimbabwe cannot continue to rely on the generosity of former players and Waller seemed to indicate a more permanent appointment needs to be made soon. For that, they will need to be able to afford one. Funding was the primary reason behind Streak no longer being involved.He is still in the country but has recently started coaching at Falcon College, one of the best-known cricketing schools in Zimbabwe and has plans to start his own academy. If offered a financially secure deal, he could be lured back. Zimbabwe’s bowlers would not doubt welcome any attempt to re-involve him, especially as many of them credit Streak’s coaching style and attention to detail with the progress they’ve made so far.Zimbabwe are also without a fitness coach, another casualty of the austerity measures Zimbabwe Cricket has been forced to put in place. Waller would like to see someone come in to take care of strength and conditioning but for now, he and fitness-obsessed batting coach Grant Flower are doing the job themselves. “They’ve got us fit and we are working pretty hard,” Taylor said. “And we’ll keep doing that.”

An unbroken 130-run partnership between fourth-wicket pair Peter Handscomb and Hamish Marshall after tea on day three ensured Gloucestershire took charge against Lancashire at Old Trafford.

Press Association12-May-2015
ScorecardPaul Horton’s 168 was essential to keep Lancashire in check•PA Photos

An unbroken 130-run partnership between fourth-wicket pair Peter Handscomb and Hamish Marshall after tea on day three ensured Gloucestershire took charge against Lancashire at Old Trafford.The visitors gained a of 24 on first innings on the stroke of lunch during today’s third day, which could have been far greater but for Paul Horton who compled a 298-ball innings of 168 – his fifth score above 150 in 12 years of Championship cricket.Gloucestershire built on their slender lead second time around to close with a healthy lead of 230 and a chance to push for what would only be a ninth victory in Lancashire in their history.When fledgling Australian Handscomb and veteran New Zealander Marshall came together in the early stages of the evening, Gloucestershire were 76 for 3 in the 27th over with a lead of 100 and the contest in the balance.Peter Siddle struck twice with the new ball inside the first eleven overs as Gloucestershire’s slipped to 30 for 2, with first-innings centurion Chris Dent one of his scalps. Dent lost his off-stump as he offered no shot before Gareth Roderick, late on one that nipped back appreciably, was trapped lbw. Nathan Buck later picked up his first Red Rose wicket as Will Tavare played on for 34, and Lancashire had their tails up.But Handscomb and Marshall regained the momentum during their 36.5 overs together in what remain decent batting conditions. Both players brought up their fifties inside the last hour of play, with Handscomb’s coming off 99 balls and Marshall’s second of the match coming off 83. They will begin day four on 74 and 71 not out respectively.Not only do Lancashire have to work out a way of bowling Gloucestershire out, they also have to keep an eye on their over-rate as they ended the day at minus two.Earlier, Liam Norwell took two of the four Lancashire wickets to fall for 17 runs to finish with 4 for 95. Horton fell five short of his best score in county cricket – 173 against Somerset at Taunton in 2009 – having shared an 82-run partnership inside 28 overs for the seventh wicket with Siddle. Their stand started during the latter stages of day two, and they took Lancashire to within 41 of Gloucestershire’s total before Siddle was trapped lbw by Norwell for 40, leaving the score at 347 for 7 in the 104th over of the innings.Horton was caught behind in Norwell’s next over with 350 on the board before Craig Miles had Buck caught at second slip and Tom Smith’s left-arm spin accounted for Kyle Jarvis, caught by Norwell running from cover towards point.Gloucestershire batsman Hamish Marshall said: “It’s nice to have finished the day well. Three down for a 230 lead is a position we’d have liked to have been in at the start of the day. We’ve got that. We’ve now got to work out how we can get ourselves in a position to put pressure on Lancashire and win the game.”Siddle and Jarvis are quality bowlers, and they asked a lot of questions in the first innings. In this innings, they got some early poles. It was nice to get a partnership going and put them under pressure. If we can give ourselves some overs with runs on the board, we’ll have a crack at trying to win the game.”Lancashire bowler Peter Siddle added: “I think we batted pretty well this morning to get us into the position we got to, but it was a bit disappointing not to eek a few more runs out and get in front. The way we started with the ball that second dig with a few early wickets, credit goes to their last partnership. They batted well and batted time. They were patient. It’s made for an interesting day tomorrow.”The pitch has played pretty well for the last couple of days really. Day one was a bit up and down, and we thought it was going to deteriorate a lot more. It’s played pretty well. We need a couple of quick wickets. If we don’t get them, it does make it hard for us to get in front of the game.”

Matt Coles claimed five wickets in his opening spell as 17 wickets fell on the first day at Canterbury an followed another impressive display from Mark Fottitt

Tim Wigmore at Canterbury07-Jun-2015
ScorecardMatt Coles demolished Derbyshire’s top order with five wickets in his opening spell•Getty Images

Draped in sunshine, this was a day that showed off Canterbury at its picturesque best: a time for suntan lotion, ice cream and fun on the bouncy castle. When Kent chose to bat after winning the toss, their bowlers would have envisaged a lazy Sunday afternoon enjoying their batsmen’s attractive strokeplay.No one, anywhere, was talking about Wirksworth 1874. That game, 141 years ago, was the scene of Derbyshire’s lowest score – a paltry 36 – against Kent. It was a record that seemed briefly threatened as Matt Coles decimated Derbyshire’s top order. His new ball burst of 5 for 8 rendered Derbyshire’s commendable efforts with the ball rather futile.Coles has just turned 25 yet the mantle of attack leader sits easily on his broad shoulders, as the broad grim he wore leading Kent off in the evening sunshine was testament to. Recent weeks have confirmed him as a cricketer of rare talent: the sight of Kumar Sangakkara being beaten for pace, as Coles managed at Beckenham, is rarely spotted in the shires.After Kent’s disappointing total of 205, Coles took it upon himself the challenge of wrestling Kent back into the game. Pitching the ball up and moving it late at pace, Coles removed Ben Slater’s middle stump and then snared Chesney Hughes lbw before the opening over was out. Tillakaratne Dilshan survived a vociferous lbw appeal off his first ball; it looked like he had been saved by an inside edge.It mattered not. Dilshan drove aerially at a delivery that moved away in Coles’ next over, and Derbyshire were 0 for 3. Ten minutes from Coles had undone the hard-earned gains Derbyshire’s bowlers had won over five excellent hours.Worse was to follow. Twenty-seven balls of toil for Billy Godleman, Derbyshire’s skipper here in lieu of Wayne Madsen, ended when he was neatly snaffled by Sam Northeast in the slips. Scott Elstone followed in Coles’ next over, trapped lbw on the crease for a duck.Coles had been cheered on by a boisterous bunch on the bank who, as Derbyshire slumped to 23 for 5, took delight in mocking them with a few renditions of ‘Can we play you every week?’ Darren Stevens ensured they had no reason to stop as two batsmen perished lbw to his nagging wicket-to-wicket bowling; when Wes Durston was dismissed, he had scored 35 of Derbyshire’s 37 runs.As they closed amid the wreckage of a scorecard that read 67 for 7, how removed Derbyshire’s mood must have been from a few hours earlier. In ordinary circumstances, limiting Kent to 205 batting first at Canterbury would have been cause for celebration.In an international summer that will largely be defined by how well England play left-arm pace – they didn’t begin well against Trent Boult and now Australia’s two Mitchells lie in wait – Mark Footitt is tantalising some with the prospect that England might be able to retaliate in kind.
Not that you would suspect as much from his run-up. Footitt begins rather diffidently, only accelerating onto the crease with his last few paces. Even then there seems to be something missing; Footitt has a lazy right-arm that falls away in his delivery stride.It is an apparent chink that some coaches have tried to rectify. They shouldn’t have bothered. Under Graeme Welch’s astute guidance, Footitt has embraced his flawed action to produce startling results. Following a back operation after the 2012 season, Footitt took 42 first-class wickets in 2013 – then a career best – and doubled his tally in 2014.Here, he took his ninth first-class five-wicket haul since the start of 2014. Showing the timeless value of a left-armer who can jag the ball back to the right-hander from over the wicket, Footitt trapped Daniel Bell-Drummond and Rob Key lbw in the day’s very first over. As one would expect, and hope, of a bowler who can touch 90mph, Footitt has a venomous short ball, delivered with no discernible change in his action. But he deployed it as a weapon of shock rather than stock, and all five of his wickets came with deliveries pitched up.Unlike Footitt, Tony Palladino has no such England aspirations, yet he is scarcely less valuable to Derbyshire. Armed with a sweatband on his left wrist, Palladino’s action is immaculately grooved. While he normally shapes the ball away from the right-hander, Palladino can get deliveries to nip back, as Fabian Cowdrey found out when a ball that he left alone removed his off bail. It was testament to Palladino’s parsimony that he did not concede a boundary until his 104th delivery; only at the end of his 18th and final over did his economy rate nudge above one.Yet Kent had significant spells when they seemed unperturbed. Northeast’s straight drives had the locals purring during a stand of third-wicket stand of 96, at over four runs an over, with Joe Denly. When Calum Haggett and Adam Riley later added an untroubled 53 for the ninth-wicket, there was no hint of the bedlam that was to come in the final two hours of the day.As three wickets fell with the total on 146, a Kent supporter captured the mood by grumbling: “Dilshan’s looking at it thinking this is a bloody good wicket.” But on this barmy, utterly intoxicating day, the Sri Lankan would be one of eight batsmen to be dismissed for a duck.

Australia may be strong favourites to retain the Ashes, but Graeme Swann believes there is little to fear from them

George Dobell21-Jun-2015Australia may be strong favourites to retain the Ashes, but Graeme Swann believes there is little to fear from them.Swann, the highest wicket-taker when England won in 2013, suggested that Mitchell Johnson, who played such a key role in the whitewash of 2013-14, was unlikely to retain his place in the side, and suggested Steven Smith, the No. 1 rated batsman in Test cricket, could struggle against the swinging ball. But he does fear the influence of Mitchell Starc who, he believes, could define the series.”I don’t think Mitchell Johnson will play in the team,” Swann said at a Chance to Shine school in Nottingham where he helped launch a new card game for the charity. “He’s not the Mitchell to worry about. Mitchell Starc is above and beyond the best match-winning player they’ve got at the minute.”Forget about the batsmen. If Mitchell Starc bowls well, I don’t think England have got any hope of winning the Ashes. If they nullify him in some way, then they’ve got a chance.”While Swann described Smith’s form over the last 18-months as “incredible”, he remains unconvinced by his technique and suggested flaws would emerge as his career continues.”I didn’t think he was a great player,” Swann said. “I still don’t think he’s got a great technique. He bats five. I don’t think he would score runs at three if it’s swinging.”He’s a very good player of the short ball. He picks it up extremely quickly for his pull shot. He pulls the length that most people just fend at and nick. And he’s been incredible over the last 18 months. He must have surprised himself, as well as everyone else, with his output. The trick for him is to try to keep that going. Whether he can, time will tell.”In Australia, when we were going through them, he still hung around a lot. Normal balls that get normal batsmen out don’t get him out because of his weird technique.”But a bit like Jonathan Trott, how he was stellar at the start of his career, the more people study, the more they find weaknesses. Weakness will emerge with Steve Smith. He’s not like a Steve Waugh, where there’s no obvious ways of getting him out. He doesn’t strike fear in you like the Aussies used to, with Matt Hayden or Adam Gilchrist.”Chance to Shine Schools and Yorkshire Tea are giving young people the opportunity to play and learn through cricket. Download Switch Hits for free at bit.ly/switchhits

Persistent rain forced the match between Namibia and Nepal to be abandoned after only 7.4 overs of play in Bready in the World T20 Qualifier

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Jul-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsStephan Baard struck a 26-ball 39*•ICC/Sportsfile

Persistent rain forced the match between Namibia and Nepal to be abandoned after only 7.4 overs of play in Bready in the World T20 Qualifier. The start to the game was delayed to the weather and the match was first reduced to 17 overs a side. The weather relented for a brief period as Namibia, who were inserted in to bat before the interruption, kicked into gear immediately.Stephan Baard and Gerrie Synman hit five fours and two sixes together and added 36 runs in 29 balls before Synman was caught off the bowling of Paras Khadka. Baard and Raymond van Schoor took Namibia to 54 for 1 in seven overs as rain forced another break in play. They managed to get on for another four balls, but unrelenting rain finally forced the game to be called off.

Mike Yardy, the last link with the Sussex side that won the Championship three times between 2003 and 2007, has announced his retirement at the end of the season

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Jul-2015Mike Yardy, the last link with the Sussex side that won the Championship three times between 2003 and 2007, has announced his retirement at the end of the season.Yardy, 34, was part of the England side which won the World Twenty20 title five years ago but his England career ended in Colombo the following year when he left the World Cup with depression.Injuries have also become a burden with Mark Robinson, Sussex’s director of cricket, praising his contribution over recent weeks “in defiance of physios’ advice”. Robinson said: “He is an integral part of the club… the last bastion. He has been a fantastic role model and is a strong and hard man who leads by example. He plays tough cricket.”Yardy played 42 times for England – 28 ODIs and 14 T20Is – as a defensive left-arm spinner and useful batsman, his talents respected if rarely extolled. But it is at Sussex where he has made the greatest impression, playing 449 matches in all formats since making his Sussex debut in 1999. He has scored more than 10,000 first-class runs.He skippered the county from 2009, leading them to the Twenty20 title in the same year before he stepped down soon after announcing that he was suffering from depression. His form has been affected by injury this season, with only one half-century and one wicket in five Championship matches.”I have found the last few years increasingly more difficult and frustrating and want to look back on my career with pride and fondness,” Yardy said. “After lots of conversations with my wife, now is the time to start a new journey away from playing cricket. I’m excited for the next couple of months and doing anything that is possible for us to have successful season.”

The Melbourne Stars have named David Hussey their new captain and James Faulkner the vice-captain for the upcoming fifth season of the Big Bash League

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Sep-2015The Melbourne Stars have named David Hussey their new captain and James Faulkner the vice-captain for the upcoming fifth season of the Big Bash League. The Stars had to pick a new captain after recently retired Michael Clarke, who was supposed to lead them, pulled out of the tournament, and Cameron White, who led them last season, switched to Melbourne Renegades.Hussey was upbeat about captaining the side with Faulkner as deputy and described his appointment as “interesting”.”It’s an interesting decision by the Melbourne Stars,” Hussey told . “James Faulkner’s going to be the vice-captain and he’s going to be a great person to bounce ideas off. I’ve also learnt from two great captains before me in Shane Warne and Cameron White. In terms of me being captain, it’s a tough one.”The Stars have made the semi-finals in all four seasons so far, but have not reached the final even once. Addressing that was Hussey’s main concern. “I’m really focused on helping the Melbourne Stars. I want to win some silverware,” he said. “It is frustrating. We’ve been semi-finalists every year since the inception of the competition.”Hussey, 38, was not sure of his appointment as a long-term plan and said Faulkner could be the future captain of the Stars in the coming years. Hussey had played only four matches last season with an unimpressive tally of 37 runs at an average of 12.33 and strike rate of 97.36.”I’m always for never standing in the way of a younger player coming through,” he said. “James Faulkner, hopefully we can work together and maybe he’s going to be a future captain of the Melbourne Stars, maybe next year or the year after.”The Stars will also have a new coach for this season – former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming who has coached IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings. Fleming was banking on the familiarity he shares with Hussey and was eager to have their international star Kevin Pietersen in the camp. Their other international recruit is an England batsman as well – Luke Wright.”It’s nice to have a strong Victorian presence as captain,” Fleming said. “To be working with him is quite a key component because I know him so well.”There’s been a lot written about Kevin, and whether or not he should be playing international cricket. I’m pretty pleased he’s playing with the Stars,” Fleming had said after his appointment earlier this year.The Stars will start their tournament on December 18 against the Adelaide Strikers at the Adelaide Oval.

South Africa won their first-ever bilateral series in India after Faf du Plessis’ first, Quinton de Kock’s second and AB de Villiers’ third centuries of the series, which helped the visitors soar to 438

The Report by Firdose Moonda25-Oct-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details4:51

Agarkar: AB the best batsman in the world in all formats

South Africa won their first-ever bilateral series in India after Faf du Plessis’ first, Quinton de Kock’s second and AB de Villiers’ third centuries of the series helped the visitors soar to the highest total in the five matches, the highest at the Wankhede and the highest against India. They did not subject India to their biggest margin of defeat, but they did bowl them out more than 200 runs short of the target, no mean feat in batsmen-friendly conditions.South Africa’s line-up enjoyed the track, which offered almost no bounce or turn, and applied aggression in waves reminiscent of the day nine years ago when they scored this exact number of runs against Australia at the Wanderers. Then, South Africa were chasing, this time they were making India’s bowlers do that. India have never conceded more runs in an ODI; South Africa have scored more but only by one. This was their sixth score over 400 and fourth in 2015 alone, and it underlined their ability to dominate opposition on their own turf.India will be disappointed by the way their challenge died in both departments. Their bowlers began with an over-reliance on the short ball and then just ran out of ideas while their batsmen showed the right intent upfront but lost wickets trying to sustain the scoring rate. In the end, they conceded a second series to South Africa on the tour with the main event, the Tests, still to come.The signs of South African authority were evident from the start. They raced to fifty inside six overs during which Hashim Amla became the fastest batsmen to 6,000 ODI runs. Amla was dismissed cheaply for a fifth time in the series but that did not have an impact on South Africa’s morale.De Kock owned the pull shot and with the seamers failing to generate anything, MS Dhoni introduced spin in the seventh over. Harbhajan Singh kept things tight at first but the tension was routinely broken at the other end. South Africa grew in confidence, brought up 100 in the 15th over and appeared unstoppable until de Kock hit Amit Mishra in the air to mid-off and presented a chance. Mohit Sharma got fingertips to the ball but could not hold on. De Kock was on 58 at the time and Mohit’s mistake would prove costly.He was seeing the ball well and found the rope so regularly, there was barely a need for singles. More than two-thirds of his runs came in boundaries but he reached his century, his fifth against India and eighth overall, with a single.Du Plessis had almost been a spectator in the proceedings and allowed de Kock most of the strike but when de Kock was caught on the long-off boundary, he knew he had to take over. With de Villiers egging him on, du Plessis upped the ante, assisted by Dhoni using part-timers Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli against South Africa’s two most destructive batsmen. They pierced the gaps and hit with power as the intensity increased.De Villiers injected impetus into the innings with his scoring rate – his fifty came off 34 balls – and du Plessis followed suit. After taking 61 balls to score fifty, he needed just 44 more deliveries to get a century, even as he battled cramps to get there.South Africa entered the last ten overs on 294 for 2 but would have been wary of the squeeze that can strike with the new playing conditions. This time, they were not strangled. Du Plessis plundered 24 runs off the 43rd over, bowled by Axar Patel, even though he could barely stand up and had to retire hurt on 133.Then, it was de Villiers’ turn. His century came off the 57th ball he faced to chants of “ABD” from the Wankhede crowd. South Africa were on the brink of 400 when de Villiers edged an attempted pull and was caught behind and India had finally got through the senior batsmen. Farhaan Behardien and David Miller had free reign to slog as hard as they wanted and they made the most of what time they had. South Africa scored 144 runs in the last ten overs. By the time India had that many, it looked as though a thriller might just play out.India lost Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the first eight overs of the reply but Shikhar Dhawan, who had been middling until this match, and Ajinkya Rahane kept them in it. Rahane was particularly severe on Dale Steyn and Imran Tahir but neither of them targeted South Africa’s fifth bowler, Behardien, as much as they should have. Still, they applied pressure, forced mistakes from South Africa in the field and were on track despite the length of the journey.Then it all changed when Kagiso Rabada proved there is no substitute for pure pace. He was brought back on in the 23nd over, angled a fuller ball across Dhawan and drew the leading edge. Hashim Amla fell face first taking the catch and India were faltering. In Rabada’s next over, he dished up a leg-stump yorker than snuck past Suresh Raina and broke the back of the Indian chase.Rahane, who batted with composure and class and scored 50 off 41 balls, was feeling the heat. He holed out to midwicket off Dale Steyn, whose veins popped. In South Africa, the corks would have been doing the same as the series was all but sealed. India lost their last five wickets for 29 runs and South Africa secured a second limited-overs series on their longest-ever visit to India.