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Chennai grabbed a two-run last-ball victory over Kolkata in the opening game of the season

The Bulletin by Siddarth Ravindran08-Apr-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Yusuf Pathan’s dismissal was the start of Kolkata’s slide from a winning position•AFP

With the country still basking in the afterglow of a World Cup win, the IPL needed a nailbiter to grab the already sated fans’ attention and there was one at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. Three-quarters through the game, Kolkata Knight Riders were walking to victory before a brilliant run-out from MS Dhoni helped Chennai Super Kings stay in it. Then, Jacques Kallis holed out attempting a cute paddle-sweep, Eoin Morgan was undone by the part-time spin of Suresh Raina, and Gautam Gambhir added another chapter to his book of crazy running to leave the capacity Chennai crowd sensing victory.Even after the big guns of the Kolkata batting were gone, the target wasn’t exactly out of reach. Though one more of Dhoni’s gambles paid off with two massive wickets – Morgan and Gambhir – falling in Raina’s 17th over, Kolkata still needed 33 off the final three overs. That boiled down to an even more difficult 26 off 12 deliveries after Tim Southee showed off his death-over skills with a tight over.Time for another swing in the game as Suraj Randiv, on IPL debut, was hammered by Manoj Tiwary, the biggest name from Bengal in the side after the exit of Sourav Ganguly. After Laxmi Ratan Shukla’s plucky reverse-sweep fetched him a boundary off the first ball, Tiwary slammed a couple of big leg-side sixes bring it down to nine off eight. Kolkata favourites at that stage.To Randiv’s credit, he fought back with the final two deliveries of the over. He switched to round the wicket and fired it quicker and wider on the penultimate ball, and then got the breakthrough on the last delivery, sneaking it past the outside edge to give Dhoni an easy stumping.The tension-filled final over started with an outrageous stroke from Shukla, paddling a full ball from way outside off to square leg for a couple. Off Southee’s next ball Shukla was caught at short-third man, leaving two new batsmen at the crease, and five needed off three. Iqbal Abdulla slapped one over midwicket for two, before Southee resorted to inch-perfect yorkers. It came down to four required off the final delivery; after prolonged discussions with the captain, Southee sent down an into-the-legs yorker which was too good for Rajat Bhatia. Only a single resulted and Dhoni’s charmed run as captain continued.A close game seemed unlikely when Kallis had been giving another demonstration of how Twenty20 batting doesn’t need power-hitting. He capitalised when the bowler erred, highlighted by the fourth over from Southee. The bowler was too wide once, too short once and too straight once; each time Kallis dispatched him for boundaries, and as he guided Kolkata to 92 for 1 in 12 overs, Chennai’s total seemed completely inadequate.Chennai’s strong batting hadn’t made the most of a generous Kolkata fielding performance and the innocuous attack, which lacked any world-class bowlers. S Anirudha and Suresh Raina capitalised on three dropped chances to power Chennai to a strong 78 for 1, before Raina fell attempting a slog sweep. That slowed the pace down, and despite a six each from MS Dhoni and Anirudha off an over from legspinner Sarabjit Ladda, only 43 came between the 11th and 16th overs.Chennai needed some big hits towards the end, but a series of slower bouncers from L Balaji and Kallis kept the runs in check. Albie Morkel showed off his strength hitting down the ground, muscling a four and a six off the final two deliveries to lift the score past 150. It hadn’t seemed enough, but Chennai’s spinners thrived on the turn available to ensure the new-look Kolkata side didn’t get off to a winning start.

Jacob Oram’s catalogue of serious injuries is wearing him down but the lure of the World Twenty20 has motivated another comeback

Peter English21-Apr-2010Jacob Oram’s catalogue of serious injuries is wearing him down but the lure of the World Twenty20 has motivated another comeback. A torn patella tendon in the first ODI against Australia last month ruled him out of the IPL, where his price tag was US$675,000, and continued a desperate battle with his body.Oram, speaking at New Zealand’s training camp in Australia, said he is “good to go” for the Twenty20 tournament, which is a relief to himself and the side. In form Oram is one of the game’s most brutal hitters and a useful medium pacer, but he has been hampered by injuries – back, calf and Achilles problems occurred before the latest setback – throughout his career.”The knee is alright, at the moment there are no problems,” Oram told Cricinfo. “It’s nearly six weeks now since I was hurt, but it could have been a lot worse. It could have been four to six months instead of four to six weeks. It’s still been hellishly frustrating, especially missing the Australian series, which is the big one.”There was also the financial pain of losing his huge IPL fee, but throughout his rehabilitation he remained focussed on the event in the Caribbean. New Zealand open the tournament when they face Sri Lanka in Guyana on April 30 and back up against Zimbabwe on May 4.”The carrot for me was the World Twenty20, which is still a massive event, so I pinned my hopes to that,” he said. “I’ve had to start looking at the big picture. Three or four years ago I used to rush back and it doubled or tripled the time out. This time it hasn’t been like a winter break and I’m looking forward to more.”During the lay-off he was at home with his wife and six-month old son and the 31-year-old knows his life is changing. He has already retired from Tests after 33 games to prolong his limited-overs career, which includes 139 ODIs and 23 Twenty20s.With each new fitness problem Oram finds it harder to keep going. “Now it is. Maybe the first four or five lengthy injuries – going home from a tour or missing a series – didn’t worry me,” he said. “I was young and I just got back. Now it’s eroded the energy of my psyche. It weighs on my shoulders.”Oram, whose knee becomes “a bit stiff” after bowling, is not the only one in the New Zealand squad who is suffering. Kyle Mills (knee and shoulder), Jesse Ryder (stomach), Ian Butler (groin) and Aaron Redmond (groin) are also trying to eliminate doubts over their bodies in Brisbane this week. The training was restricted on Wednesday when they were forced into an indoor cricket centre after being hit by the sort of wet weather they knew they would get at home.Oram said having so many players coming back was not a problem. “New Zealand teams are used to it, a wealth of injuries,” he said. “Kyle and Jesse are very important to the team so it’s more about being excited to have them here than worried about them.”Having their core of star players firing is the key for New Zealand, who made the semi-finals in South Africa in 2007 and the second round in England last year. “If we can get everyone fit then we’re a real chance to go all the way,” Oram said. “The 40-over game helps us. For the five to 10 years that I’ve been playing, we’re always better and more comfortable with the shorter forms. If things go well it could play into our hands, but then Twenty20 is so fickle.”

Both teams suffered heavy defeats in their opening games of the World Cup

Srinidhi Ramanujam05-Oct-20252:24

A case for Annerie Dercksen’s return?

Big picture – Who will bounce back?

New Zealand and South Africa meet for the first time since they contested the 2024 T20 World Cup final in October last year, under rather different circumstances. Both teams began their Women’s World Cup campaigns with heavy defeats and there’s little to choose between them as they face off in Indore on Monday.New Zealand’s 89-run defeat to Australia laid bare familiar concerns with the bat; they crumbled in a chase of 327 despite a century from Sophie Devine. Since the start of 2024, they have lost ten of 15 ODIs – a result of their inconsistency with both bat and ball. To add to their challenges, they entered this World Cup without playing a single ODI in the six months leading up to it.While there have been individual performances, the batting unit will be eager to click collectively. New Zealand have scored 250-plus only twice since 2024. In the bowling department, they have a mix of youth and experience with Lea Tahuhu, the Kerr sisters – Jess and Amelia – along with Bree Illing and Eden Carson, forming a unit capable of making a difference.South Africa had a disastrous start against England in Guwahati, where they were bowled out for 69. They will look for a reset in Indore. They remain a top-heavy side, with Laura Wolvaardt, Tazmin Brits, and Marizanne Kapp scoring the bulk of their runs. But their last two ODI defeats – including a 115 all out against Pakistan – have been due to severe batting collapses. A third in a row will be difficult to come back from in this tournament.

Form guide

New Zealand LWWLL (last five completed matches)

South Africa LLWWWSophie Devine made a hundred against Australia•Getty Images

In the spotlight – Brits and Bates

Tazmin Brits has hit peak form in 2025. In ten ODIs this year, she has scored four centuries and one half-century, averaging 81 at a strike rate of 93.91. Known for her power game, Brits has made noticeable improvements against spin. With the in-form Laura Wolvaardt at the other end, the pair forms a strong right-hand opening combination capable of dictating terms. If they get going, South Africa could get the platform they’ve lacked in recent ODIs.Suzie Bates will make her 350th international appearance for New Zealand on Monday – a landmark in the women’s game. The veteran remains a key presence in a top order featuring Georgia Plimmer and Amelia Kerr. Although she fell for a duck against Australia, Bates has scored three half-centuries in her last seven ODI innings. As New Zealand aim for their first win of the tournament, Bates will be eager to mark the occasion with a defining innings.

Team news

South Africa may reconsider their XI after leaving out allrounder Annerie Dercksen – one of four batters to make a century for them since the start of 2024 – for Anneke Bosch, who has neither been a regular nor scored a fifty since December 2023.South Africa:1 Laura Wolvaardt (capt), 2 Tazmin Brits, 3 Sune Luus, 4 Marizanne Kapp, 5 Anneke Bosch/Annerie Dercksen, 6 Sinalo Jafta (wk), 7 Chloe Tryon, 8 Nadine de Klerk, 9 Masabata Klaas, 10 Ayabonga Khaka, 11 Nonkululeko MlabaLeft-arm spinner Flora Devonshire was ruled out of the World Cup with an injury to her bowling hand and seamer Hannah Rowe was named her replacement. However, New Zealand are unlikely to change the side for their second match in Indore.New Zealand: 1 Suzie Bates, 2 Georgia Plimmer, 3 Amelia Kerr, 4 Sophie Devine (capt), 5 Brooke Halliday, 6 Maddy Green, 7 Isabella Graze (wk), 8 Jess Kerr, 9 Lea Tahuhu, 10 Eden Carson, 11 Bree Illing

Pitch and conditions

Indore rolled out a flat track for the opening game and Australia piled on 326 batting first. A different surface will be used for the second match, but weather could be a factor. It rained heavily the day after the first game there and conditions are expected to be overcast with hazy sunshine. As Suzie Bates put it, “It’s all about who adapts the best tomorrow because it is a different wicket, and it can play differently.”

Stats and trivia

• Suzie Bates, the third highest run-scorer in women’s ODIs, is 104 short of 6000
• Marizanne Kapp is two away from breaking into the top five wicket-takers in women’s ODIs. She has 169 scalps from 154 matches.
• Wolvaardt and Brits have scored nine ODI hundreds between them since 2024.
• New Zealand have not scored a 300 in ODIs since the start of 2024.

Quotes

“Yeah, I think it’s a huge advantage. It’s not only playing in the same conditions, but not having to travel after that game.”
“For us as a batting unit is to just literally just knuckle down and just bat. Don’t think too much about the outcome. Just take it one ball at a time.”

Their previous tour to Bangladesh had ended on a bitter note, with Harmanpreet questioning the umpiring standards

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Apr-2024India Women’s five-match T20I tour of Bangladesh will start on April 28, with Sylhet to host all five matches.The three night games will be played in the main stadium, and the two day games will be held at the outer venue. The night games will start at 6.30pm local time and day games at 2pm.India will see this series as a preparation for the 2024 T20 World Cup, which will also be played in Bangladesh, in September-October.This is India’s second tour of Bangladesh in two years, and their third overall. In 2023, they had played three T20Is and as many ODIs. They won the T20I series 2-1, while the ODI series was tied 1-1.That tour had ended on a bitter note with India captain Harmanpreet Kaur criticising the umpires after the third ODI, which was tied. After being given out caught behind, Harmanpreet had smashed the stumps with her bat, and called the umpiring “pathetic” at the post-match presentation.”The next time whenever we are coming to Bangladesh, we’ll have to make sure we have to deal with this kind of umpiring and accordingly, we’ll have to prepare ourselves,” she had said. For her outburst, she was banned for two matches by the ICC.Smriti Mandhana, India’s vice-captain, had also hoped for neutral umpires for the next tour.The Indian team will arrive in Bangladesh on April 23.Fixtures

• April 28 – 1st T20I (night)
• April 30 – 2nd T20I (night)
• May 2 – 3rd T20I (day)
• May 6 – 4th T20I (day)
• May 9 – 5th T20I (night)

The hosts, however, still trail by 295 runs going into the third day

Sreshth Shah03-Jan-2023Stumps A confident 74 from Imam-ul-Haq and a slow, yet solid 13 from Saud Shakeel ensured Pakistan made a steady resurgence in their innings after they briefly appeared to fall apart. The pair’s unbeaten fourth-wicket stand of 55 lifted Pakistan to 154 for 3, still 295 behind New Zealand’s first-innings total of 449.Pakistan had made a steady start in their response to 449, but the dismissals of Abdullah Shafique and Shan Masood, and then the run-out of Babar Azam made it appear like day two would completely belong to New Zealand. But that wasn’t to be, with Imam and Shakeel ensuring Pakistan pulled things back, even though the visitors remained slightly ahead in the contest after two days of cricket.All eyes in the final session were on Imam, who had turned down a third run to cause a mix-up with Babar and effect a third dismissal, but he continued his batting fluency from the first Test to hit nine fours and a six in his 125-ball innings. He struck four fours through the covers, using his feet to good effect against the ball turning away from Michael Bracewell, and also played in the region in front of square on the leg side, collecting 23 runs in that area.Shakeel, at the other end, anchored himself for the most part, taking 42 balls to score his first run off the bat. Initially, he poked at the deliveries turning away from Bracewell in what appeared to be a tricky initiation into the innings, missing a few early on. His resistance came via his dead-batting ploy to see off the day, which he successfully did, playing 75 deliveries to make 13 in an innings that saw only one boundary in it.Related

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Before that, Both Shafique and Masood were out trying to play aggressively. Shafique, the right-hand opener, had struck four early boundaries to move to 19, but then tried pulling a rising short ball from Matt Henry while taking his eyes off the delivery. He ended up hitting the shot high, and to the only outfielder in the deep on the leg side.Masood then produced a fluent beginning, hitting four fours in his first ten deliveries to race to 20. In fact, he had crunched three boundaries in a single Ajaz Patel over before trying to search for a fourth when he sliced a half-tracker to the fielder at point.That had left Imam and Babar looking to start a Pakistan recovery after tea, but that partnership could never blossom, with the captain run out, on 24, for the sixth time in his Test career.Imam-ul-Haq was unbeaten on 74 at stumps•AFP/Getty Images

Earlier in the day, both Henry (68) and Ajaz (35) put on their highest individual Test scores while also becoming only the fourth pair in Test history to post a 100-plus partnership between a No. 10 and a No. 11. That lifted New Zealand from potentially folding for under 350 to eventually finishing at a run less than 450.The two came together when New Zealand lost their ninth wicket with the score reading 345. However, Henry took on Abrar early with a four through midwicket before hammering Hasan Ali for four, four and six in consecutive deliveries. The umpires called for an extra thirty minutes of play in the first session with New Zealand nine down, but Henry and Ajaz batted right through that. Ajaz was more circumspect, freeing his arms on rare occasions in his 78-ball stay. He hit three fours and looked quite comfortable on the whole, especially against the short-pitched bowling that Pakistan tested him – unsuccessfully – with.Henry reached his fifty before lunch, and the duo added a further 16 in the second session before they eventually folded for 449. The innings ended when Ajaz attempted to sweep an Abrar googly, only to get a top-edge for slip to gobble up.Before their entertaining final-wicket stand, it was Tom Blundell who started off strongly for New Zealand after they resumed day two on 309 for 6. After Ish Sodhi fell for 11 early, Blundell, in Tim Southee’s company, reached his ninth Test fifty. But Abrar dismissed Blundell for 51 and Southee for nine in quick succession before the Henry-Ajaz stand.Naseem Shah was the most impressive of the bowlers from the first innings, finishing with 3 for 71 while having an economy of 2.95. While Abrar took a four-for, he conceded 149 and Salman, who barely bowled in the first Test, took 3 for 75.

The availability of Gayle, Russell, Bravo and Pollard makes the hosts a terrifying proposition on paper

Danyal Rasool27-Jul-2021

Big Picture

West Indies’ extended warm-up for the T20 World Cup continues apace, with Pakistan the latest side the defending champions will host ahead of the global event later this year. While there might be legitimate concern around how relevant T20 cricket in the Caribbean is to a T20 World Cup on the other side of the planet in the UAE, you can’t really argue West Indies will go into it undercooked.A slightly below-par series in Grenada saw South Africa give the home side a bloody nose and walk away with the trophy, but Nicholas Pooran’s men bounced back strongly in St Lucia to hammer Australia 4-1 and get themselves back on track. Part of the excitement around West Indies stems from the return of most of their key players that have, for one reason or another, been unavailable to them for the large parts of the previous decade. With Dwayne Bravo, Chris Gayle, Andre Russell and Kieron Pollard all back in the maroon, West Indies are perhaps the most intimidating side on paper, and will be the most closely watched.Certainly more so than Pakistan, who fly to Barbados off the back of a 2-1 series reverse in England. It’s a measure of how much expectations have been managed in Pakistan that that result was viewed as something of an over-performance, so heavily unfancied was Babar Azam’s side against England. Things don’t get much easier, though, even if Pakistan have a perfect series record against West Indies, because the side they face bears little resemblance, both in personnel and intensity, to the one they beat on these shores in 2017.Still, that positive head-to-head means Pakistan are unlikely to fear the hosts going into this Covid-shortened series. Three T20Is in England ensure they don’t come in rusty against a well-oiled West Indian machine, and with the CPL among the more popular overseas T20I competitions for Pakistan players, this land carries little of the unfamiliarity it might have done in previous years. These two sides are very different from each other, both in style and T20 philosophy, and that contrast should make for an absorbing four games over the next week.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)
West Indies WLWWW
Pakistan LWLWWHasan Ali is shaping up to be one of Pakistan’s most crucial players•Getty Images

In the spotlight

Is the greatest batsman in T20I history now a liability for West Indies? Chris Gayle is difficult to omit whenever he makes himself available, the 41-year old now appears to be a pale shadow of the man who carried his side’s T20I hopes for a decade and a half. No longer a basher of the ball from the outset, Gayle likes to take his time settling in before unleashing, except more often than not, the opposition get rid of him before that actually happens.In 12 T20Is this year he averages under 18 with a strike rate of 120.88, down from a career figure of 140.16. If he’s looking to play himself in, he doesn’t do much of that either; just two of these 12 innings have seen him cross 21. The PSL is the league he’s struggled in more than any other, so it isn’t like Pakistan’s bowlers don’t know how to keep Gayle quiet either. Expect an engaging battle.If there’s one Pakistani player who might feel at home in the West Indies side, it’s Hasan Ali. Not that there aren’t other members of the visiting squad good enough to get into a West Indies team, but there’s something delightfully Caribbean about Hasan’s charismatic personality and outgoing disposition. There’s a swagger about him that should endear him to any crowds allowed to attend.It isn’t just style, though; there’s substance to go with it. He missed the first two T20Is against England, but played crucial parts with both bat and ball in the thriller at Old Trafford. His nascent rise as perhaps Pakistan’s most valuable power hitter down the order is perfectly timed, coming as it does ahead of a series in the nation that has revolutionised the power game in the shortest format.

Team news

Kieron Pollard is slated to captain West Indies, but did not play the T20Is against Australia, with Pooran standing in.West Indies (possible): 1 Lendl Simmons, 2 Evin Lewis, 3 Chris Gayle, 4 Shimron Hetmyer, 5 Nicholas Pooran (wk), 6 Andre Russell, 7 Kieron Pollard (capt)/Fabian Allen, 8 Dwayne Bravo, 9 Hayden Walsh, 10 Obed McCoy, 11 Fidel Edwards.Misbah-ul-Haq admitted after the England series Pakistan weren’t making much headway in working out how to resolve their middle-order issues. That, arguably, is what series like these are for, so expect some tinkering over the next few games.Pakistan (possible): 1 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 2 Babar Azam (capt), 3 Fakhar Zaman, 4 Sohaib Maqsood, 5 Mohammad Hafeez/Sharjeel Khan, 6 Azam Khan, 7 Shadab Khan/Usman Qadir, 8 Imad Wasim, 9 Hasan Ali, 10 Mohammad Hasnain, 11 Shaheen Shah Afridi

Pitch and conditions

Showers are expected for the late morning in Barbados, around the time the game starts. A shortened contest likely benefits the big-hitting West Indies, but there are enough dry spells tomorrow to perhaps get a full contest in.The Kensington Oval isn’t the highest-scoring T20I ground, but with no T20I played here for four years, predicting how the pitch might turn out is something of a fool’s errand.

Stats and trivia

• This will be just the fourth four-match T20I series between two Full Member nations. One of the others also involved these two sides, when Pakistan beat West Indies 3-1 in 2017. The most recent such series took place in April, when Pakistan triumphed 3-1 in South Africa.
• The last T20I in Barbados took place in 2017. It was also a West Indies-Pakistan game, a low-scoring contest with Pakistan chasing 113 and winning by six wickets.

Quotes

“All those bad mistakes we committed in England, we don’t want to repeat them. We discussed them and we are taking forward all the learning curves. Batting and bowling is one thing but we are putting extra, a lot of time into fielding in practice. This is an important series in a way that we will check out different combinations and check our bench strength.”

Reaction after Sourav Ganguly says Indian T20 event would take place on the sidelines of the IPL

Annesha Ghosh02-Aug-2020Healy, Player of the Final as Australia won the T20 World Cup earlier this year, kicked things off, saying that hosting the T20 Challenge while the WBBL would be on may not be a good idea after all. Haynes, the vice-captain of the Australia side, said that the women’s game needed its best talents on the field, and not competing in different parts of the world. The T20 Challenge would not have clashed with the WBBL if it had taken place when it was scheduled to, on the sidelines of the IPL in April-May. Now, with the IPL moving to September-November, things have changed.From the point of view of the premier Indian women cricketers, there was also the opportunity to get some match time if the white-ball tour of England hadn’t been cancelled. That was due in July-August, but after it was postponed, the ECB had suggested playing a tri-series also involving South Africa in September. The BCCI, however, opted out.India ODI captain, Raj, meanwhile welcomed the news as a start to preparations for the ODI World Cup, the planning for which, the ICC has said, continues even as further assessments are made by NZC. Goswami, who, like Raj, represents India only in ODIs, expressed her eagerness to get back to playing, as did Poonam Yadav. Aside from the T20 Challenge, BCCI’s cricket operations team is working out a schedule where India Women are likely to have two full-fledged white-ball series against South Africa and West Indies before playing the ODI World Cup in New Zealand next year, according to PTI.
As reported by ESPNcricinfo last week, at least three top-drawer India players were WBBL-bound, pending no-objection certificates from the BCCI. Healy wondered about overseas players’ participation in both tournaments now that there’s a clear clash in the scheduling. New Zealand veteran Suzie Bates also joined in the debate. Bates, along with her compatriots Sophie Devine and Lea Tahuhu, have been a part of both editions of the T20 Challenge so far. Devine and Bates were also part of runners-up Adelaide Strikers at the WBBL last season, and the former is set to sign up with the Perth Scorchers this year. And then there’s a third domestic tournament: the Hundred. Although Covid-19 has pushed back the inaugural edition of the English 100-ball competition – both men’s and women’s – to 2021, Charlotte Edwards stressed that the health of the women’s game depended on all three domestic tournaments co-existing. Jess Jonassen, the Australia allrounder who was recently named two-time defending champions Brisbane Heat’s captain, also weighed in. A last-minute stalemate between the BCCI and Cricket Australia in the lead-up to the T20 Challenge last year had led to the Australians missing out on the Indian tournament. The Indian players, meanwhile, could not participate in the WBBL last season as they focussed on preparing for the T20 World Cup instead, with assignments against South Africa and West Indies. The last thing players from both countries would want is another standoff between the two boards.

England’s women made it five wins out of five on their tour of Sri Lanka, after easing to another untroubled eight-wicket win

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Mar-2019England women 109 for 2 (Jones 36, Wyatt 37) beat Sri Lanka women 108 for 6 (Brunt 2-31) by eight wickets
England’s women made it five wins out of five on their tour of Sri Lanka, after easing to another untroubled eight-wicket win in the second T20I in Colombo.After their 3-0 clean sweep in the ODI leg of the tour, England ensured they wrapped up their second trophy of the trip with a match to spare as well, after restricting Sri Lanka to 108 for 6 in their 20 overs.The spoils were shared around, with five different bowlers claiming a wicket, and Katherine Brunt claiming a brace to finish with figures of 4 for 31. Freya Davies, who opened the bowling with Linsey Smith, didn’t pick up a wicket but set the tone for England’s performance with four economically delivered overs conceding just 15 runs.Sri Lanka started their innings with resolve, adding 45 for the first wicket in seven overs as Chamari Atapattu and Imalka Mendis laid something of a foundation.But Nat Sciver struck with her first delivery to bowl Atapattu for 24, before Shashikala Siriwardene and Mendis fell to Sophia Dunkley and Heather Knight in consecutive overs to keep the run-rate in check.In reply, England wasted little time in getting ahead of the requirement. Amy Jones, in a fine vein of form, added 79 in 7.2 overs with Danni Wyatt before Wyatt was stumped off Siriwardene for 37.And when Jones fell to the same bowler with 19 runs needed, Tammy Beaumont and Sciver knocked off the final requirement with 37 balls to spare.

At the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane, Nair bowled with an action “markedly different” from the one he used in the BBL match, which incurred an automatic ban for 90 days

Daniel Brettig19-Jan-2018Arjun Nair, the Sydney Thunder spinner, has been suspended for a suspect bowling action after undergoing testing at the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane.The testing followed a report questioning his action, which was filed by the officiating umpires in the Big Bash League match between the Thunder and Hobart Hurricanes on December 30.At the NCC, 19-year-old Nair was found to have bowled with an action “markedly different” from the one he used in the BBL match, and under Cricket Australia’s regulations such a change incurs an automatic ban from all first-class, List A and Twenty20 cricket for 90 days. He remains free to bowl in the Sydney club competition and is still a part of the Thunder squad as a batsman.”Arjun is a talented and popular member of our club,” Thunder general manager Lee Germon said. “We believe he will have a long and successful career with Sydney Thunder and shall support him through this process.”Nair has delivered his overs economically for the Thunder this season, and has been a bowler of some interest in Australian cricket for his ability to turn the ball both ways. He has spoken previously of developing his method by watching footage of the West Indian Sunil Narine on YouTube and trying to follow suit.”I was mainly a batsman who bowled part-time leggies,” Nair said in 2016. “Then I started watching a bit of YouTube, clips of guys bowling carrom balls and stuff. I’d watch clips of past matches, slow it down, watch replays and pick things up here and there.”I started trying that for fun at the backyard with my dad and he couldn’t pick it. At first I couldn’t get many revs on the carrom ball, but over time and getting used to it, I’ve started to get more on it and my accuracy has improved.”I was 15 when I started bowling it, and I was bowling it in matches about four months after that. So it wasn’t too long, but because batting was my main thing, it was just fun for me, I didn’t really think about it too much, there wasn’t pressure on me to quickly work on it. Now my bowling is getting ahead of my batting, so it’s worked both ways.”In addition to his T20 and limited-overs appearances, Nair has played four first-class matches, the most recent being a Sheffield Shield match for New South Wales against Queensland in February 2017.

The Andhra Cricket Association (ACA) has promised a “neutral pitch” for Visakhapatnam’s Test debut

Arun Venugopal15-Nov-2016The Andhra Cricket Association (ACA) has promised a “neutral pitch” for Visakhapatnam’s Test debut a day after K Sriram, the BCCI curator who has been overseeing the pitch preparation at the venue, was quoted by as saying it would turn from lunch on the second day. Sriram’s comments came a day after Virat Kohli had expressed displeasure at the amount of grass on the pitch for the first Test in Rajkot, which ended with India having to fight out a draw.G Gangaraju, the ACA secretary, said there was no request from the Indian team management for a rank turner. “They didn’t ask for anything,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “We [also] don’t entertain anything like that. It’s a neutral pitch for both the teams. Both the teams have seen the pitch, and they are very happy. Both the curators – the board curator Mr K Sriram and our ACA curator Mr K Nagamallaiah – have done a very good job.” Ashish Bhowmick, the BCCI curator from the East Zone, is also at the venue to oversee preparations.India coach Anil Kumble, though, said at a press conference before the team’s training session that he hadn’t seen the pitch yet. “Whatever pitch we get, we will make our strategy around it and select a team accordingly,” he said. “We play to take 20 wickets and win the match.”The pitch in Visakhapatnam has been under scrutiny lately after 17 wickets fell on the third day of a Ranji Trophy game between Assam and Rajasthan last month. After Assam were bowled out for 69 inside 21 overs, their coach Sunil Joshi took to Twitter to slam the “unpredictable” pitch. Gangaraju, though, played down the controversy, and said the pitch to be used for the Test was different to the ones that staged the Ranji Trophy game, and the fifth ODI between India and New Zealand, where the visitors slumped to 79 all out chasing 270. The pitch used for the ODI was slow, batsmen struggled to time their strokes, and there was appreciable turn for the spinners, with Amit Mishra picking up 5 for 18 in six overs.An ACA official, who is closely involved in the preparation of the pitch, said the bounce was likely to remain consistent throughout the Test.”The pitch has very less grass. It won’t be to the same extent as in Rajkot, where there was not much turn even on the fourth day,” he said. “There was some uneven bounce on the fourth [third] day of the Assam-Rajasthan game, but here I think the bounce will remain consistent all the way. It is something we have worked a lot on.”He said conditions in Visakhapatnam wouldn’t allow for the ball to turn right from the first day as had been the case in some of the Tests against South Africa last year, but would remain good for batting for the most part.”The pitch is a mixture of 50% black soil and 50% clay,” the official said. “The cracks won’t open up here too much; the clay is different [to pitches seen against South Africa], and the climatic conditions are different.”