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A round-up of the matches from the fourth day of the Faysal Bank T20, 2011

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Sep-2011Nauman Habib and Umar Gul bowled Peshawar Panthers to a 28-run victory over Islamabad Leopards on Wednesday. Habib picked up three early wickets and Gul one to reduce Islamabad to 19 for 4 in the fourth over chasing 151. Islamabad captain Naeem Anjum fought bravely to make 40 and add 57 for the sixth wicket with Sajid Ali (24). But with opener Afaq Raheem (32) the only other batsmen to reach double-figures, Islamabad’s challenge fizzled out once Gul removed Sajid. Habib finished with 4 for 17 while Gul took 3 for 27. Gul also made a quick 20 to provide a rapid finish to Peshawar’s innings. Aftab Alam was the top scorer with 36.Faisalabad Wolves eased to a comprehensive win over Multan Tigers at the National Stadium in Karachi. Opener Asif Ali top-scored with 44 and was part of a 57-run opening stand with Asif Hussain which set the foundation for a competitive score. Khurram Shehzad contributed 43 and despite a spate of run-outs down the order, Faisalabad were in a good position at the innings break. Multan built their chase steadily and were well placed for a take-off at 63 for 1 in the 10th over but when Gulraiz Sadaf (32) and Zain Abbas (28) fell in successive overs after a promising stand, their hopes began to fade. Saeed Ajmal was outstanding, with figures of five runs in four overs and three wickets that shut Multan out of the contest.The Afghan Cheetas put up a good fight but were unable to overcome Rawalpindi Rams at the National Stadium in Karachi. Samiullah Shenwari and Najibullah Zadran struck half-centuries, and in quick time, splitting six sixes between them, to help their team post 162. Brief contributions from the top order help lay a good foundation and the pair added 78 for the fourth wicket. Rawalpindi were off to a flier in the chase, Awais Zia smashing 60 in 41 balls, striking 10 fours and a six. His top-order partners didn’t give him company for long but the blistering start meant there wasn’t really a great risk of the required rate getting out of hand. Umar Amin joined Zia in a crucial stand, adding 55, and received good support from Hammad Azam, who saw his team through with seven balls to spare.

ESPNcricinfo previews the Kolkata Knight Riders v Warriors CLT20 match

The Preview by Nikita Bastian30-Sep-2011

Match facts

Kolkata Knight Riders v Warriors, October 1, Bangalore
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)Johan Botha is among the most economical bowlers in Twenty20 cricket and is closing in on 1000 runs•AFP

Big Picture

Kolkata Knight Riders have finally arrived. After an unconvincing win against Auckland in the Champions League T20 qualifiers and three consecutive losses, the team clicked against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Thursday. The bowlers prised out six wickets in the first 15 overs and kept the run rate below 7.00, before the inevitable late surge. The top order, apart from a few unsightly swings from Brad Haddin early on, were efficient.The question though remains, has it all come together a little too late for the Knight Riders? It’s still down to net run rates and other results going their way. They have all but wiped out their negative net run rate by easing past Royal Challengers, but, to have any chance of a semi-final berth, will need another big win against a team that has looked the best unit in the CLT20 so far: Warriors. In game one, against Royal Challengers, Warriors showed they had the temperament to fight their way out of a tough situation. In their second match, they blew away South Australia. A win here will all but guarantee them a place in the semi-finals.In an aside, Mark Boucher had made it clear he wants to use the tournament as a platform to re-launch his international limited-overs career. With South Africa wicketkeeper AB de Villiers picking up an injury on Wednesday during a practice session with Royal Challengers, Boucher will be eager to make a difference in this match.

Watch out for …

Johan Botha followed up his match-turning partnership with Ashwell Prince against Royal Challengers with a stifling three-over spell against South Australia, in which he picked up Michael Klinger’s wicket and conceded only 11 runs. He boasts of the best economy rate (200 overs minimum) in the shortest format – 6.01 – and is 24 runs short of 1000 Twenty20 runs. Will he get past the landmark on Saturday?Returning after a nasty concussion, Gautam Gambhir looked scratchy in the short time he spent at the crease in Knight Riders’ previous two matches. Against Royal Challengers though, he seemed to regain his touch, manoeuvring the spinners with ease and stroking sixes down the ground. His return to form is a big boost for a side that’s fighting for survival.

Team news

Knight Riders got their opening combinations just right on Thursday – Jacques Kallis bowling up front and Haddin at the top of the batting order worked well. They have finally seem to found some rhythm, so it seems unlikely that they will tamper too much with their XI. One change they will ponder is whether to bring back the experienced L Balaji for Jaydev Unadkat, who went for plenty against Royal Challengers.Warriors made only one change in their last match, playing Kelly Smuts in place of Justin Kreusch down the order, and are unlikely to tweak their line-up much here either. The big-hitting Craig Thyssen has been dismissed cheaply in both games, but as he hasn’t had much of a chance to get going, he should play.

Stats and trivia

• So far in the tournament, JJ Smuts has the most runs from boundaries in an innings – 52 off his 88 runs against South Australia came in fours and sixes
• Kallis and Gambhir’s century partnership against Royal Challengers is the second-highest for any wicket in the tournament

Quotes

“Brett and Kallis bowled tremendously in the first six overs [against Royal Challengers]. But we have concerns regarding our bowling at the death and that needs to be addressed.”
“We would like to finish first.”

An inexperienced West Indies top order rose to the occasion to trigger a strong comeback in Mirpur after Bangladesh had enjoyed the better of the drawn first Test in Chittagong

The Report by Siddhartha Talya29-Oct-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Kieran Powell made a fluent half-century•Associated Press

An inexperienced West Indies top order rose to the occasion to trigger a strong comeback in Mirpur after Bangladesh had enjoyed the better of the drawn first Test in Chittagong. On a track that promised plenty of runs and just as much discouragement for the bowlers the trio of Kieran Powell, Kraigg Brathwaite and Kirk Edwards struck half-centuries to lay the foundation for a substantial first-innings score. But the performance was undermined, somewhat, when Bangladesh grabbed three wickets in the final session to give themselves hope of thwarting a West Indian attempt to bat them out of the Test.It didn’t take long for the Bangladesh bowlers to discover that there was no swing, hardly any movement off the pitch and not much turn. It didn’t help that the hosts were also missing Elias Sunny, who grabbed seven wickets on debut in the opening Test on a supportive pitch, due to a stomach upset. The attacking fields quickly grew defensive, spin was introduced as early as the sixth over and opportunities created were largely a result of the batsmen’s own misjudgement. The West Indies approach was cautious for much of the day, largely devoid of risks and reliant on quiet accumulation.A back injury to Lendl Simmons meant a game for Powell, and he, along with Brathwaite, shrugged off some early moments of discomfort to bat out an entire session with assuredness and solidity. Both were just a Test old before this game but capitalised on a flat track to help themselves to individual landmarks that should only boost their future Test prospects. There was little room for error on the part of the seamers early on and the pair was prompt to dispatch any bad balls that came its way. Rubel Hossain and Shahadat Hossain were often guilty of bowling too short, and kept providing periodic openings for the batsmen to break free.Brathwaite was also at ease when the ball was pitched up. He drove Shahadat through the covers and past mid-on, worked the strike by clipping the ball through the leg side and later slashed him through point. He’d been a little vulnerable against Rubel, who persisted with an off-stump line against him and should have had him when he cut one just wide of gully before lunch. He finally had his man, who chased a slightly wide delivery once too often, caught on 50.At the other end, Powell looked more fluent. His shots lack flourish but the stand-out feature of his batting is his timing. His maiden half-century was laced with languid punches and drives through the off side with a minimum of effort and unlike Brathwaite, who was restrained against spin, Powell was more authoritative in his treatment of the slower bowlers. He got going, pulling Shahadat through square leg before driving a meaty full toss, stood tall to crack the ball through the gaps on the off side and reached forward to drive the spinners when they pitched up. He looked good for much more than 72 – after adding 100 with Brathwaite and 55 with Edwards – but was bowled playing inside the line to debutant left-arm spinner Suhrawadi Shuvo.Edwards had been scratchy in Chittagong but was at greater ease against the minimal turn and made a committed effort to use his feet, get to the pitch and play through the line. He collected plenty of runs, driving through mid-on, when the slow bowlers offered flight and even stepped out to clear the in-field on one occasion. Like the others, he was more confident against pace. Rubel was pulled for successive fours, Shahadat clipped through fine leg. Shahadat was taken for runs by Marlon Samuels as well, after Bangladesh fought back post tea.West Indies had been going along well at 180 for 2, Darren Bravo having settled in with a couple of boundaries. But like Powell he too misread a straighter one, and was trapped lbw by offspinner Nasir Hossain who kept the batsmen in check through his round-the-wicket line. Among the spinners, he managed to turn the ball the most and got some extra bite with the second new ball that was enough to induce an edge from Shivnarine Chanderpaul that was feathered to the keeper. Nightwatchman Kemar Roach had no answer to an arm ball from Shakib Al Hasan two overs later, and the two quick wickets just prior to stumps kept a check on a far-improved West Indies batting effort.

Dwayne Bravo, the West Indies allrounder, has picked up an ankle injury and will miss West Indies A’s two four-day matches against Bangladesh A this month

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Nov-2011Dwayne Bravo, the West Indies allrounder, has injured his ankle and will miss West Indies A’s two four-day matches against Bangladesh A this month. Bravo, who was named captain of the A side for the series, picked up the injury during the team’s warm-up session the day before the first four-day game, which is scheduled to start in Antigua on November 5, and has travelled back to Trinidad & Tobago. Veerasammy Permaul will take over the captaincy of the West Indies A team, while a replacement player has not yet been named.Bravo’s career has been blighted by injury in the past few years, since he suffered a serious ankle injury in 2008 which kept him out of the game for eight months. He suffered a big blow this year when his World Cup ended due to a knee injury he sustained in West Indies’ first game of the tournament. He returned for the home one-day series against Pakistan but asked for a break after the first two ODIs against India in June to work on his game.Since then Bravo has turned out for Chennai Super Kings in the Champions League T20 and for Trinidad & Tobago in the Regional Super50 tournament. The matches against Bangladesh A were to be his first first-class matches since the Tests in Sri Lanka last year but his return to the longer format has now been delayed further.

On a rain-hit day in Canberra, the Indians’ top order did not make use of what could be their last chance to bat in a competitive match ahead of Boxing Day

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Dec-2011
ScorecardVirender Sehwag was out cheaply on a rainy day•Getty Images

On a rain-hit day in Canberra, the Indian top-order batsmen did not make use of what could be their last chance to bat in a competitive match ahead of the Boxing Day Test. They slipped to 4 for 84 against the CA Chairman’s XI, after play had begun two hours and 40 minutes late, before a positive partnership between Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma steadied the innings.Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid were rested for this tour match, while Virender Sehwag, MS Dhoni and Zaheer Khan were included in the thirteen after sitting out of the first game. Ishant Sharma, whose fitness is still doubtful, also missed out.After choosing to bat on a gloomy day – there was an interruption for bad light soon after the play finally began – the Indians lost Sehwag for a run-a-ball 12, caught off the bowling of Peter George. Gautam Gambhir, like he had in the first tour game, fell after getting a start. He was bowled for 24 by Jason Behrendorff, who was the most economical of the Chairman XI bowlers with figures of 1 for 8 in nine overs. Ajinkya Rahane, India’s reserve opener on the tour, also failed for the second time in two innings, and when he and Gambhir were dismissed in quick succession India had crawled to 3 for 53 in 21 overs.VVS Laxman showed signs of repairing the innings with Virat Kohli. Laxman struck a couple of fours – including a well-timed on drive – before missing one from left-arm spinner Jon Holland while trying to work it to the leg side. Holland had replaced Doug Bollinger from the Telopea Park end, after the fast bowler – who’s looking to work his way back into Australia’s Test team – had failed to pick up a wicket.Rohit Sharma was dropped first ball at short leg, after pushing at a delivery. Kolhi, who’s in a race with Rohit for the No. 6 spot in India’s batting line-up, counterattacked. He too had a bit of luck early on, edging wide of the slip cordon, but he made the most of it, driving through the covers, pulling and punching down the ground for boundaries.Kohli brought up his fifty, and Rohit too began to show some aggression. He drove twice through the covers and lofted the ball over long-off to bring up India’s 150. The pair added 78 off 104 balls before stumps – though Rohit was dropped once again, by Usman Khawaja in the slip cordon off legspinner Cameron Boyce – to take the Indians to 4 for 162.The Chairman’s XI captain, David Warner, left the field a couple of times during the day to get treatment for a sore back, though it wasn’t deemed a serious problem.

Irfan Pathan has said he is fit and fresh, and in line to better his performance in his debut season for India

Nagraj Gollapudi and Tariq Engineer04-Dec-2011Irfan Pathan has said he is fit and fresh, and in line to better his performance in his debut season for India – 2003-04 – after emerging as the leading wicket-taker in the Ranji Trophy’s Elite group so far, with 21 wickets. It’s a timely return to form with the selectors due to name Praveen Kumar’s replacement for the tour of Australia on Monday.”I feel I am one step ahead of what I wanted to be in terms of the way I am bowling,” he told ESPNcricinfo.He did not want to talk about selection but reasserted his goal. “My dream is still to play for my country, play for that jersey, play for the pride. I would do anything. I would go and bowl 100 overs if need be; I would keep performing to fulfil my goal.”Irfan’s last international match for India was during the 2009 World Twenty20; his last Test match was against South Africa in April 2008. He spent most of last season out with a severe back injury and even his IPL stock was plummeting as his bowling lost its prodigious swing.”The whole experience was enlightening,” Irfan said about his recovery from the back injury. “When you are fit you do not concentrate on yourself, you concentrate on the batsman – how to set him up, how to lure him into your trap. At least you try; it might work at times and it might not at other times. When you are not fit, when your action is not within your control; that is when the trouble starts.”The trouble, though, seems to be in the past. This Ranji season Irfan has had three five-wicket hauls – the first two, against Madhya Pradesh and Haryana, came in the second innings, but last week he overwhelmed Delhi in the first innings with both the new and old balls to pick up a seven-wicket haul.”At the moment the way the ball is leaving my hand is nearly the way I want it to leave,” Irfan said. “It is a very good sign. At the same time I have been quite lucky and quite blessed to perform well for Baroda so far. If things progress in the same fashion I really think this season is going to be even better than the 2003-04 one.” He had announced himself during India’s tour of Pakistan in March-April 2004 during which he took 12 wickets in the three Tests.In the past Irfan had said he regretted being the first-change bowler for India, as bowling with the old ball did not help him get as much swing as would have liked. Now, though, he says he has learned how to use the old ball much better. “The new ball has been wonderful, but I have a very good feel of the old ball and that is a positive sign for me. If you are getting set batsmen out with the old ball, it is most pleasing.”Irfan said the guidance of fast-bowling coach TA Sekar, who worked on Irfan’s bowling action after the 2011 IPL, has played a big role in him re-building his confidence. “He worked hard with me for a couple of months post the IPL with the idea that by the time the domestic season arrived my [tweaked] action would be second nature.”Sekar had helped Irfan in 2007 when Irfan had a disastrous year: he was sent back to India midway through the South Africa tour. He lost his confidence then but Sekar worked hard with Irfan to make sure he would not fall apart.This time the pair worked closely again with Irfan sending Sekar his match videos. Sekar even travelled to Rajkot to watch Irfan during the Syed Mushtaq Ali domestic Twenty20 tournament. “Primarily, he changed my whole body alignment going towards the target,” Irfan said. “In the past I was bowling with a mixed action but we corrected that. That has actually made my line much tighter, it has helped me keep my wrists straight and importantly allowed me to bowl where I want to bowl.”Irfan played the JP Atray tournament, the Challenger Trophy and the Syed-Mushtaq Ali Trophy to refine his action. “I knew by the time the Ranji Trophy comes I should be on top of my game, I should be match fit and I should be bowling the way I want to bowl. It was a process of two months but by the first match of the Ranji season I was on top of my game.”Irfan said he is spending less time in the gym than in previous years but “more and more” time on the ground.One of the reasons Irfan had been dropped from the India setup was that he had lost a few yards of pace. He said he is bowling at good speeds now but does not bother about what the speedometer’s readings say. “It is very important for me to have that zip off the pitch with which I can get a batsman lbw. When I lost out on a lot of things, when my action went wrong, people started talking about my pace, my wrist position, my swing. A lot of things were not going towards the target. But after the IPL if you look at my dismissals I have got them bowled, lbw, caught-behind or caught in the slips. That is a sign that I am getting the right zip from the pitch and I am bowling at the correct speeds.”I need to stop looking at the speedometer. If I can concentrate on dismissing batsmen by swinging it late, or making them play and miss, keeping them troubled with my lengths, then speed can take care of itself.”He said a good example of the way he should bowl was his performance on the first day of the match against Haryana, when he took just one wicket but kept the batsmen guessing. “I was beating the bat and I was very happy with my bowling.”

Somerset have signed Albie Morkel, the South Africa allrounder, as one of their overseas players for this year’s Friends Life t20 campaign

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Jan-2012Somerset have signed Albie Morkel, the South Africa allrounder, as one of their overseas players for this year’s Friends Life t20 campaign. Another South African, Roelof van der Merwe, who played for Somerset in last year’s Friends Life t20 and in the Champions League T20, had been expected to join the county from the start of June, from the Friends Life t20 onwards; but difficulties in obtaining a work permit for him led Somerset to seek an alternative.Morkel, who has scored 2285 runs and taken 131 wickets in Twenty20 cricket, as well as played in 31 Twenty20 internationals, will join Chris Gayle as Somerset’s overseas signings for the Friends Life t20. Somerset have finished as runners-up in England’s domestic T20 competition in each of the last three seasons.”The club has signed Albie Morkel from South Africa as our second overseas player for the T20 competition this season,” Somerset’s director of cricket Brian Rose said. “Albie is an immensely gifted cricketer and especially exciting one-day player, and fits in well with our setup in the T20. The combination of Gayle and Morkel is a mouth-watering prospect for our supporters.”Rose said that visa problems had delayed Somerset’s signing of van der Merwe and bringing in another player for the latter stages of the season would become a priority, should the left-arm spinner fail to get clearance.”As we went through the detailed paperwork process it became apparent that Roelof van der Merwe was highly unlikely to be granted a work permit due to current Home Office legislation, though the door remains open for him at Somerset if the situation can be resolved,” Rose said. “In the event of Roelof being unable to gain Home Office clearance in time for this season, I will be actively looking for an overseas replacement for July, August and September.”

Victoria were one wicket from taking first-innings points at stumps on the second day in Adelaide, where South Australia also faced the prospect of following on

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Feb-2012
ScorecardVictoria were one wicket from taking first-innings points at stumps on the second day in Adelaide, where South Australia also faced the prospect of following on. The Redbacks finished at 9 for 215, still 222 runs behind, and they had no specialist batsmen left at the crease, with the debutant bowler Cameron Williams on 17, about to be joined by Peter George.The Bushrangers had struck in the final over of the day, as the medium-pacer Alex Keath made an impressive return to the bowling crease. A knee injury had prevented Keath from bowling for the past 18 months, but having regained fitness he sent down his first over for Victoria in the dying stages of the second day, and struck with his second delivery.Keath had Joe Mennie caught when an inside edge onto the pad bobbed in the air and was snapped up by the wicketkeeper Ryan Carters, and Keath struck again in his next over – the last of the day – when Jake Haberfield was bowled. It meant Keath finished with figures of 2 for 2 in 1.4 overs, and he was one of four Victoria bowlers who ended up with two wickets for the day.The opener, James Smith (76), and the No.5, Tom Cooper (42), were the only South Australia batsmen who showed any real resistance as the Redbacks struggled in reply to Victoria’s 437.The Bushrangers had added 93 to their overnight score for the loss of their last three wickets, with Jayde Herrick finishing unbeaten on 62, his maiden first-class hundred.