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Mark Ramprakash, Robert Croft and the former England captain Mike Denness have been recognised in the New Year Honours list

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Dec-2012Mark Ramprakash, Robert Croft and the former England captain Mike Denness have been recognised in the New Year Honours list.Ramprakash and Croft, who both retired from first-class cricket in 2012, have been awarded MBEs while Denness, who played 28 Tests for England, has gained an OBE for services to sport.Ramprakash ended a 25-year career at the age of 42 having amassed 114 first-class hundreds, to become one of 25 players with a hundred centuries, and finished with 35,659 first-class runs at an average of 53.14.That success was rarely translated to the Test arena where he averaged 27.32 across his 52 Tests, but on the domestic scene he was often without equal for Middlesex and Surrey. He has recently returned to Middlesex as batting coach.”I think this MBE eclipses all that I have achieved in the game,” he told . “It came straight out of the blue. I think for most players representing your country is the biggest moment in your life.”When you experience winning Test matches, there is little other feeling that comes close to that. I have been lucky to play for so long and achieve things throughout my career like the 100 first-class centuries. But this is an acknowledgment of your entire career.”I have been committed to cricket for 25 years. That is a very long time but I enjoyed every minute of it. To have that acknowledgment from someone outside of what you did is an immensely proud moment.”Like Ramprakash, Croft, the Glamorgan offspinner, called time on his career at the age of 42 after scoring more than 12,000 runs and claiming more than 1100 wickets at first-class level. He played 21 Tests and 50 ODIs for England, but one of his most famous moments came with the bat when he helped save the Old Trafford Test against South Africa in 1998. He retired from international cricket in 2004 and continued to be a key part of Glamorgan cricket.”It is a great honour and a privilege to receive an MBE,” Croft said. “It’s fantastic to receive recognition of years of hard work, and especially in a team sport it’s good when an individual receives an accolade.”It’s not something that you set out to get, but it is wonderful when it comes along. I don’t think it has sunk in properly. I’m still just a Carmarthenshire boy who did quite well in cricket.”I count myself lucky that I was able to play for as long as I did and I’m grateful for the support I have received over the years from team-mates, coaches and everyone at Glamorgan Cricket.”However I don’t think I could have achieved what I did without such supportive family and friends. I owe a lot to my parents, Susan and Malcolm, my grandparents, my wife Marie and children Callum and Kara Beth.”Denness, meanwhile, is the only Scotsman to have captained England and led the team in 19 of his 28 Tests although it was a controversial tenure, particularly during the 1974-75 tour of Australia. However, his 188 at the MCG was, at the time, the highest score by an England captain in Australia. In his first-class career, where he played for Kent and Essex, he scored more than 25,000 runs. He later became an ICC match referee and president of Kent.”I never expected this and it really is a great honour,” Denness said. “This completes a thrilling year, during which I have served as Kent Cricket president. It really has been outstanding, there has been so much commitment from everybody; I thoroughly enjoyed Canterbury Week and all that it involved, and I will treasure the memories for the rest of my life.”David Collier, the ECB chief executive, said: “The award to Mike Denness is a fitting recognition for a long and distinguished career in cricket which has seen him fulfil a variety of key roles.”Mark Ramprakash was among the most supremely gifted batsmen of his generation and can be justifiably proud of being one of an elite band of cricketers who have scored 100 first-class hundreds.”Very few cricketers achieve the feat of scoring more than 10,000 first-class runs and taking more than 1,000 first-class wickets as Robert Croft did for Glamorgan during a 23-year career. His honour is richly deserved.”

Zaka Ashraf, the PCB chairman, has indicated that Pakistan players will play in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) only if the BCB agrees to a tour of Pakistan

Umar Farooq11-Jan-2013Zaka Ashraf, the PCB chairman, said Pakistan players would play in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) but indicated that their presence could depend on the BCB agreeing to a tour of Pakistan.The BPL is scheduled to begin on January 18 and several Pakistan players were sold at its auction last month. Their participation, however, could hinge on the BCB’s response to Ashraf’s comments. There has been a lot of talk of Bangladesh touring Pakistan but with security continuing to be a concern, there have been no concrete steps forward.”Bangladesh almost toured Pakistan but at the last moment they pulled out over the security concern and I don’t want to repeat this again,” Ashraf said at the unveiling of the Pakistan Super League in Lahore. “We can’t send our players like this, as Bangladesh have an agreement to fulfill. If they decide to come Pakistan and play then we will consider supporting and favoring them [in this matter].”The BPL also clashes with the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, Pakistan’s premier first-class event, and the PCB said it wouldn’t be fair to disrupt the players’ commitments to their teams.The PCB and BCB have been discussing a short Bangladesh tour to Pakistan since 2011, but have faced hurdles. A proposed tour in April 2012 was postponed because of an order from a Dhaka court, and another proposal for a tour in January this year was rejected by the BCB on security grounds. Pakistan have not hosted international cricket since the 2009 terror attacks on the Sri Lanka team bus and have played all their home matches at off-shore venues such as England and the UAE.

A round-up of the Vijay Hazare Trophy matches on February 14, 2013

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Feb-2013Andhra’s bowlers restricted Tamil Nadu to 221 to win their opening match by seven runs. Amol Muzumdar scored an unbeaten 60 at a run a ball to guide Andhra’s innings, after they were put in to bat, but ran out of partners as his team folded in 46.2 overs. Tamil Nadu bowlers Sunil Sam and Rahil Shah took three wickets each.The experienced pair of S Badrinath and Dinesh Karthik put on a 122-run stand for the third wicket, before falling in consecutive balls in the 34th over. They needed 76 runs from 16 overs, but then slipped with quick wickets to fall short of their target. Syed Sahabuddin was Andhra’s most productive bowler, taking 4 for 33.Gokul Sharma’s all-round efforts helped Assam to a comprehensive eight-wicket victory against Tripura * at Eden Gardens. Assam’s bowlers bowled economically, with Sharma taking 4 for 27, and wickets fell regularly. Ajay Ratra, the captain and wicketkeeper of Tripura, top-scored with 28.Assam’s innings started positively in comparison, they lost their first wicket with 51 runs on the board. Pallavkumar Das guided them towards the target, top-scoring with 40 off 41 balls. Sibsankar Roy and Sharma took their team home with 27 overs to spare.Mumbai’s spinners helped defend 236, to beat Baroda by 17 runs. Baroda put Mumbai in to bat, and Shoaib Shaikh top-scored with 51 and Iqbal Abdulla provided support with a rapid 43 runs off 32 balls. Baroda’s seamer Sunit Singh was the pick of the bowlers, with 3 for 34.Baroda started well in their chase, with openers Saurabh Wakaskar and Aditya Reddy scoring 61 runs together. Besides No. 3 Aditya Waghmode, who scored 42, Ambati Rayudu guided the chase with a half-century before falling in the 43rd over with the score at 192 for 7. Abdulla backed up his batting with three wickets, along with Ankeet Chavan, as Mumbai successfully restricted the flow of runs to win their opening match.Laxmi Shukla took 5 for 34 to help Bengal win by 11 runs against Odisha, despite scoring a modest 186. Bengal were put in to bat and were at a precarious 42 for 3, with seamer Basant Mohanty taking the opener’s wickets.Manoj Tiwary and Wriddhiman Saha put on 77 runs to stabilise the innings. Mohanty returned to help finish off the tail as Bengal were dismissed inside 47 overs.Odisha’s openers perished with just 2 on the board before Niranjan Behera and Govind Podder led a recovery. At the halfway point, Odisha had seven wickets in hand and needed only 93 runs. Shukla then took control of the match and Odisha lost regular wickets to fall 12 runs short of their target.Robin Uthappa’s 169 off 118 balls ensured Karnataka‘s six-wicket victory against Goa . Goa were asked to bat, and opening batsman Sagun Kamat scored 110 off 112 balls to lead his side to a strong start. Amogh Desai and Robin D’Souza scored half-centuries to help push Goa’s total to 318.But Uthappa and Ganesh Satish, for Karnataka, put on a 214-run stand to keep Goa out of the reckoning, with Satish finishing on 61. Manish Pandey fell two balls later, but Karun Nair and Stuart Binny saw them home with 21 balls to spare.Maharashtra started their tournament on a winning note, beating Gujarat by three wickets. Gujarat, who scored 289, were put in to bat and were led by a maiden century from Manprit Juneja, who top-scored with 114 off 124 balls.Maharashtra’s chase was given a strong base by solid top-order batting. Opener Vijay Zol top-scored with 69 and was ably supported by captain and wicketkeeper Rohit Motwani’s 53 and Kedar Jadhav’s 64. Lower-order batsmen Akshay Darekar and Shrikant Mundhe took the team home with five balls to spare.Opener Prashant Gupta and Suresh Raina, with their attacking knocks of 87 and 70, took Uttar Pradesh to a commanding eight-wicket victory over Rajasthan in a match shortened to 35 overs due to wet outfield in Indore. In their chase of 199, the opening stand of 69 between Gupta and Eklavya Dwivedi was broken in the 15th over, when Dwivedi was out for 27. Gupta and Raina, then, added 111 in 87 balls, with Raina smashing four sixes in his 48-ball knock. He eventually took them home in the 32nd over.Rajasthan’s innings was built on fifties from Ashok Menaria and Rajesh Bishnoi, who put on 81 runs for the third wicket. A five-ball 17 from Raman Chahar got them to 198.Railways scraped through to a one-wicket victory off the last over of their match against Madhya Pradesh. Opener Amit Paunikar scored a fifty, but they looked to be facing defeat when a collapse – four wickets for 14 runs – left them struggling at 114 for 7, needing another 58 runs to win. Rakesh Mishra and No. 9 Amit Mishra kept them in the hunt with a 53-run partnership, but when they were separated in the 48th over, the eighth wicket had fallen. Another wicket, that of No. 10 Krishnakant Upadhyay off the first ball of the final over, with three more runs to win, gave MP hope. Two runs off the next two balls tied the scores, before No. 11 Shailender Gehlot sealed the contest by hitting a six.Seamer Ishwar Pandey was MP’s most productive bowler, with four wickets. For Railways, seamer Gehlot and spinner Ashish Yadav shared eight wickets between them, crippling the MP innings, as they were bowled out for 172.In Goa, seven wickets between seamers Prasanth Parameswaran and Sandeep Warrier, and a knock of 93 from Rohan Prem helped Kerala to a six-wicket victory against Hyderabad. Chasing 193, Kerala lost opener VA Jagadeesh in the first over, before Sanju Samson and Prem added 59 runs to steady their innings. Prem stuck around for most of the chase, and besides Samson, Robert Fernandez and captain Sachin Baby gave him support.Hyderabad, on the other hand, couldn’t recover from the first blow in their innings, the wicket of Kolla Sumanth. The two seamers, Parameswaran and Warrier, reduced them to 33 for 5 in the 16th over. But Hanuma Vihari scored 81, and put on valuable stands of 95 and 43 with Ashish Reddy and Amol Shinde as Hyderabad recovered to post 192.* The piece had initially stated that Tripura had defeated Assam. This has been corrected.

Queensland swept to victory over Western Australia on the final day at the WACA ground to clinch a place in the Sheffield Shield final, where they have the chance to defend last year’s title

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Mar-2013
ScorecardQueensland swept to victory over Western Australia on the final day at the WACA ground to clinch a place in the Sheffield Shield final, where they have the chance to defend last year’s title.James Hopes, Ryan Harris and Nathan Hauritz were the chief wicket-takers for the Bulls as WA never threatened their fourth innings target of 273. Both sides needed an outright win to clamber across a tightly packed Shield table and reach the final, and it was the visitors who were rewarded for fighting hard and well after a poor start to the match.Still catching up from their first innings dismissal for 164, the Bulls began the day with a narrow lead and only four wickets in hand, but half centuries from Michael Neser and Ryan Harris stretched the advantage so effectively that Hopes was granted the luxury of declaring at lunch.The Warriors quickly slipped to 5 for 71 and this time there were to be no late order heroics from the hosts, who had pushed themselves into contention for a spot in the final with a trio of remarkable comeback wins in the three rounds prior to this one.

Full text of the PCB’s release on the Integrity Committee Recommendation on Nadeem Ghauri and Anis Siddiqui

13-Apr-2013Pursuant to allegations that 2 Pakistani Umpires, Nadeem Ghauri and Anis Siddiqui, were willing to accept money/financial remuneration to grant favourable/dubious umpiring decisions leveled by an Indian television channel, India TV, in its expose in the first week of October 2012, the PCB had constituted an Inquiry Committee to probe in to the matter.
The Inquiry Committee comprised of Mr. Ehsan Sadiq Director Vigilance and Security, Mr. Intikhab Alam, Director Game Development and Barrister Salman Naseer, Manager Legal. The Committee obtained unedited video footage from the India TV along with all relevant evidence available with the International Cricket Council (ICC). After authenticating all the adduced evidence, inclusive of an exhaustive forensic investigation with the assistance of a specialist body in Punjab Forensic Science Agency (PFSA), the two umpires, Ghauri and Siddiqui, were asked to give a written submissions explaining their version of events, and were subsequently cross examined by the Inquiry Committee.Inquiry Committee’s Observations and Recommendations
The Committee noted that after coming to know about the exaggerated amounts to be paid to them for umpiring assignments, both umpires failed to exercise caution and sound judgment, which resulted in their entrapment in the said Sting Operation; despite their skepticism about the true credentials of the persons they were talking to and the methodology adopted by them, the two umpires remained engaged with them in prolonged and questionable conversations with regard to potential umpiring roles and dubious decision-making; the submissions made by both umpires failed to corroborate/correlate with the contents of the authenticated video footage of the said Sting Operation; and that, prima facie, there is sufficient material to initiate disciplinary proceedings against Nadeem Ghauri and Anis Siddiqui.”The Committee recommended referring the matter to “PCB’s Integrity Committee for further necessary action, and also that both Ghauri and Siddiqui not be considered for any umpiring assignment or participation in any form of cricket till the matter is pending before the Integrity Committee.”Other recommendations included, increasing of awareness programs inclusive of lectures and training workshops to be conducted by PCB to ensure that the umpires fully comprehend the parameters/guidelines of the Codes of Conduct in order to safeguard against such incidents taking place in future; adopting a proactive approach to ensure the prevention of such incidents involving umpires and any other match officials; and bringing all players, support personnel and match officials associated with PCB under a strict vigilance regime and comprehensive monitoring mechanism at the earliest.In accordance with the recommendations of the Inquiry Committee, Chairman Ch. Zaka Ashraf presided over a meeting of the Integrity Committee of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) today at the National Cricket Academy (April 13, 2013) to examine and determine the guilt of Nadeem Ghauri and Anis Siddiqui in relation to the allegations leveled against them.The following members of the PCB Integrity Committee were in attendance:
M. Zaka Ashraf, Chairman
Justice (R) Sheikh Abdul Rashid, Member
Subhan Ahmad, Member
Zakir Khan, Member
Intikhab Alam, MemberThe report of the Inquiry Committee was perused by the members of the Integrity Committee, relevant clips of the Skype conversations which incriminate both the umpires was viewed and the Committee personally heard both the said umpires.The matter was deliberated by the members of the Integrity Committee at length and they were of the unanimous view that substantial incriminating material was available on record suggestive of the fact that both the umpires were willing to compromise their integrity in discharge of their professional duties. The members of the Committee were thus unanimous in their view that the said two umpires cannot be cleared of the allegations leveled against them. Consequently, the Integrity Committee unanimously recommended as under:
”
1. That Mr. Nadeem Ghauri being a former test cricketer and also elevated to the elite panel of umpires of ICC and PCB’s International panel (with 13 years standing) straight away agreed to extend undue favours for material gains, therefore, he cannot be cleared for consideration of appointment as an umpire/match official or in any other capacity in any form of cricket held/organized/supervised/conducted/controlled under the aegis of the PCB for a period of four years from the date of institution of Inquiry i.e. 11th October 2012. Further, during the said period he may not be considered for association/appointment with PCB in any other form or position.2. That Mr. Anis Siddiqui being only a domestic umpire with lesser experience of only 8 years did not straight away fall prey to the undue suggestions made by India TV Sting Operatives and kept on resisting their undue demands repeatedly, but finally conceded to them on their persistence. Keeping in view his limited exposure to International Cricket and Codes of Conduct, his case is of mitigating circumstances and therefore he cannot be cleared for consideration of appointment as an umpire/match official or in any other capacity in any form of cricket held/organized/supervised/conducted/controlled under the aegis of the PCB for a period of three years from the date of institution of Inquiry i.e. 11th October 2012. Further, he may not be considered for association/appointment with PCB in any other form or position.The Pakistan Cricket Board has endorsed these recommendations.
Commenting on the occasion Chairman PCB Ch. M. Zaka Ashraf said, “The PCB has a zero tolerance policy for corruption or indiscipline. We are committed on creating awareness amongst our players and officials with regards to the possible pitfalls, and are determined to adopt all vigilance and security parameters, which are in line with the laid out procedures of the ICC. Today’s decision reiterates the commitment of the PCB to keep our great sport free of all corrupt practices”.

Gloucestershire put themselves on the path to redemption after two wickets late on the second day gave them control at Chelmsford after they had declared their first innings on 409

Alex Winter at Chelmsford11-Apr-2013
ScorecardJames Fuller played domestic cricket in New Zealand over the winter•Getty Images

Gloucestershire put themselves on the path to redemption after two wickets late on the second day gave them control at Chelmsford after they had declared their first innings on 409.Last year, in the opening fixture on this ground, they were humiliated by an innings and 38 runs – the first of six defeats that saw them finish bottom of the County Championship. The same fixture to open this season gave them an immediate chance to exorcise that ghost.They have done it before. In 2011, a seven-wicket victory at home to Derbyshire in the first match of the season put right one of the worst defeats in their modern history the year before. Chasing 125 to beat Derbyshire at Bristol they were skittled for 70; contriving to lose having bowled Derbyshire out for 44 on the first morning.That defeat saw the team gradually unravel. Over the next two winters Steve Kirby, Jon Lewis and Chris Taylor, a core of what was a competitive side, left the club owing to financial pressures and wanting to play at the highest level. The county dropped to arguably the lowest ebb in their history.But 2013 could be a year for them to begin an upward curve. The director of cricket, John Bracewell, has demanded improvement, saying inexperience is no longer an excuse for his side, and the first two days of this fixture have demonstrated the talent that exists in their squad.They haven’t seen enough of the Hamish Marshall that made 149 here – his third-highest score in England. But a move down to No. 5 may benefit his flourishing strokeplay. Dan Housego managed a run better – his highest first-class score – and looks capable of providing stability at the top of the order, so lacking in recent seasons.In James Fuller they have a genuine strike bowler. He bowled a few loose balls on the pads but swung the new ball and bowled with pace to first beat Rob Quiney’s defensive stroke on the crease and then draw Ben Foakes into a loose drive outside off. They were important breakthroughs. Gloucestershire will have to seize every moment they get on the field for the rest of the match, with such a concerning weather forecast.They did seize the moment with the bat when play finally got going at 3.10pm, with the floodlights just keeping the gloomy skies at bay.Marshall and Housego were busy and very alert to any chance of a single – Marshall almost pushed his luck too far taking on mid-off. They added 41 in the first 10 overs, most of which came off Maurice Chambers. Mediocre on day one, he was awful on day two, bowling both sides of the wicket and conceding 22 in three overs and dropping a sharp return catch offered by Marshall.One shy of his 150, Marshall uppercut Tymal Mills to third man having added a dashing 29 to his overnight score. But Housego doesn’t seem much of a dasher and his concentration continued; a big stride forward and roll through point for a single to bring up the landmark indicative of his work. A positive declaration soon followed but Gloucestershire sent down only seven of the 18 overs that remained owing to bad light.It was curious that David Masters only bowled an additional two overs having conceding just two runs. Perhaps James Foster needs the game to move along too.

ESPNcricinfo tracks the developments around the IPL 2013 spot-fixing crisis

ESPNcricinfo staff17-May-2013

Glenn Querl, the Unicorns’ fast bowler, and Gloucestershire spinner Jack Taylor have been suspended from bowling by the ECB with suspected illegal actions.

ESPNcricinfo staff28-May-2013Glenn Querl, the Unicorns’ fast bowler, and Gloucestershire spinner Jack Taylor have been suspended from bowling by the ECB with suspected illegal actions.Both were reported on two separate occasions within a 12-month period and underwent independent analysis on May 20. The reports from the analysis were received by the ECB on May 28 and identified the bowling actions of each player as displaying elbow extension in excess of the permitted 15 degrees.As such, both players have been suspended from bowling immediately and must undergo remedial work on their actions and fresh independent analysis.Querl, 24, is a right-arm seam bowler from Zimbabwe who has played 14 first-class matches for Matabeleland and, having played one-day cricket in England for the Unicorns since 2010, was taken on trial at Hampshire.Querl was called for throwing in January by umpire Russell Tiffin playing for Matabeleland against Mashonaland. But Zimbabwe Cricket does not have the equipment available to test bowlers’ actions and Querl was allowed to play the two remaining Logan Cup matches.But in the first of those, the MidWest opening batsman initially refused to face Querl in the second innings and an anonymous source from the club said: “He should not be allowed to bowl, his action is suspect and his short ball endangers the lives of the batsmen. Our umpires do not have the courage to call him, only one umpire has done so.”Taylor is a 21-year-old offspinner who has come through the Gloucestershire academy and made his first team debut in August 2010. He began the 2013 season as Gloucestershire’s No. 1 slow-bolwer in the County Championship, taking six wickets in four matches.Both bowlers were subject to analysis of their actions that follows the same procedures used by the ICC. This marks a change for ECB testing whose previous analysis, conducted by the school of Sport, Exercise and Health Science at Loughborough University, was not recognised by the ICC.Dr Mark King, a senior lecturer at Loughborough, had previously used a different methodology to the ICC-approved testing at the University of Western Australia. Dr King, in research published in Issue 30 of The Journal of Sports Science, claimed the UWA testing was not as accurate and they had not published a validation of their procedure.

In his final act as South Africa coach, Gary Kirsten did not shy away from the team’s uncomfortable history of failing at pressure stages in major events, admitting they “choked” against England

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Jun-2013In his final act as South Africa coach, Gary Kirsten did not shy away from the team’s uncomfortable history of failing at pressure stages in major events, accepting they “choked” against England, a term he called “horrible”, and that it does not reflect well on his time as coach.The word has been associated with South Africa since the 1999 World Cup when they fell at the semi-final stage in an agonising tie against Australia. It was the same hurdle that proved too much this time as they were thrashed by seven wickets at The Oval, having crashed to 80 for 8 on their way to 175.Before the match, AB de Villiers spoke of it being a chance to shed the tag which has haunted them for more than a decade but instead the outgoing coach has ensured it will remain firmly associated with them until at least the 2015 World Cup.”I think we did choke in the game,” Kirsten said. “It’s an uncomfortable word but you’ve got to make yourself comfortable with it. It’s a horrible word, it does get used, we’ve spoken about it, we are open about it.”We let ourselves down. You’ve got to accept that’s what it is. They bowled exceptionally well but that doesn’t mean your batting line-up should be 80 for 8.”If we had the secret recipe to turn it around, we would certainly have packaged it and be selling it. We give it our best shot in our preparation, we try different things. It’s definitely a dark mist that hangs over South African cricket in knockout events.”At some point we are going to have to try and cross the line. It’s going to require some real charisma, some real guts and glory to get over the line. It might not be pretty but at some point we are going to have to do it. It is an unfortunate thing. It’s not for lack of trying. It does require an enormous amount of resilience, maybe certain types of individuals who can do it for us.””These guys play really good cricket year after year. At some point, you need to cross the line because people will continue looking at you and saying you can’t do it. I don’t think as individuals they get emotionally hijacked because they play brilliantly for other teams. It will require some really tough individuals to overcome it.”Kirsten did not hold back during his press conference, where he attended instead of de Villiers, and admitted the team’s lack of global one-day silverware did not show his tenure in a good light despite his achievements in the Test arena.”We haven’t improved, he said. “That’s where the question mark needs to come over me so maybe it’s not a bad thing I am leaving. As a coach you always want to take the team forward. There are some good signs. We are playing some good one-day cricket but in events of this nature, we haven’t gone forward.”We haven’t been consistent. That’s maybe because we’ve explored quite a lot of combinations over the last few years. We’ve broadened our base. When you play in important tournaments like this maybe you get exposed. We’ve given it our best shot to try and overcome it and we haven’t.”Dale Steyn was forced to sit out the semi-final with a groin injury – following a side problem earlier in the tournament – which meant South Africa were missing four senior players; Jacques Kallis ruled himself out before the event, Graeme Smith pulled out due an ankle injury and Morne Morkel flew home after the first game.When it was suggested that Kallis left a particularly large hole to fill, after his personal decision not to play the tournament, Kirsten said that the team could not rely on always having someone who is in the latter stage of his career.”In high pressure games, you want your most experienced players,” Kirsten said. “But at the same time they can have a lot of scarring from past events. South African cricket has got to move past Jacques Kallis.”We’ve got to start finding other players, which I think we have. Our strength was our batting line-up and we focused our attention on the middle order. Bowling-wise, we’ve explored the talent. There is still more out there. At some point you need to find some stability.”

Both sides will expect more from their top order to lead the way, with the series now at 1-1 with two more to play

The Preview by Kanishkaa Balachandran20-Jul-2013

Match facts

Sunday, July 21, 2013
Start time 0900 local (1830 GMT)Will West Indies shuffle their batting order and promote Lendl Simmons?•WICB

Big Picture

Attribute it to the impact of Twenty20 if you may, but with the recent trend in one-dayers, even a cushion of 15 runs to defend off the final over may not be enough for fielding sides to feel safe. Ask Pakistan. In the last two months, they have choked while defending the exact number, first against Ireland and yesterday against West Indies. Both ended in ties. More recently, Sri Lanka too cracked under pressure against last-minute specialist MS Dhoni, the only difference being they conceded the match and the tri-series trophy to India. Such is the standard of death bowling these days that it is possible for Nos 9 and 11 to finish off improbable chases.Friday’s game was Pakistan’s to lose with West Indies needing 39 off the last three with two wickets remaining. A combination of poor field placings and equally poor bowling cost them. Even with 15 to defend off six, Pakistan were better off saving boundaries than cutting off singles. Wahab Riaz bowled length instead of firing in yorkers, that Junaid Khan did so effectively. One of the commentators suggested that Mohammad Hafeez would have been a better choice.Despite the choke, Pakistan had positives to draw from the game, most notably their fielding. Excluding a couple of blunders that cost boundaries – a misfield from Shahid Afridi at the start of the chase and Riaz moving the wrong way at long-on during the climax – the commitment was pleasing. Ahmed Shehzad and Hafeez took a couple of sharp catches and the number of sliding stops inches from the rope only made West Indies’ task harder. In the batting, Umar Akmal and Riaz played positively in the slog overs to take 52 off the last 4.2 overs. Misbah-ul-Haq laid the platform with 75, but it was another laborious knock that consumed too many balls.One thing the two sides have in common is an undependable top order. A spectator held a placard asking for Chris Gayle to be demoted down the order, given his lackluster form. Gayle has been struggling against two new balls and a quality seam attack, so it may not be a bad idea for him to swap places with an in-form Lendl Simmons. West Indies have also put more pressure on themselves by not rotating the strike enough. Pakistan don’t really have a weak fifth bowler, so the batsmen can’t expect too many boundary balls. As the captain Dwayne Bravo said after the match, the tie was not a satisfactory result for the hosts because the batsmen had no business leaving the dirty work to the tailenders.

Form guide

(most recent first, last five completed matches)
West Indies TWLLL
Pakistan TLWLL

In the spotlight

A glance at the scorecard shows that Marlon Samuels‘ 46 was the second-highest score of the match. A closer look reveals an unpalatable strike rate of 43.39, that of a painful 106-ball stint that really slowed West Indies down. He hasn’t been himself in these three matches, facing 246 balls for 92 runs. Something’s been bothering him. It could be the nature of the pitches or a quality bowling attack, or both. West Indies might still place their faith in him to rediscover his touch, but will the short turnaround time between matches be enough?Pakistan experimented with a one-dimensional left-arm seam attack and among the three, Mohammad Irfan was the most probing, with his steep bounce and angle that made the likes of Gayle and Samuels think twice about going for their shots. He has the pace as well to go with those attributes, making him a handful in the bowler-friendly conditions.

Team news

The teams could go in with unchanged line-ups.West Indies: (probable) 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Johnson Charles (wk), 3 Darren Bravo, 4 Lendl Simmons, 5 Marlon Samuels, 6 Dwayne Bravo (capt), 7 Kieron Pollard, 8 Darren Sammy, 9 Kemar Roach, 10 Sunil Narine, 11 Jason HolderPakistan: (probable) 1 Nasir Jamshed, 2 Ahmed Shehzad, 3 Mohammad Hafeez, 4 Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), 5 Haris Sohail, 6 Umar Akmal (wk), 7 Shahid Afridi, 8 Wahab Riaz, 9 Junaid Khan, 10 Saeed Ajmal, 11 Mohammad Irfan

Stats and trivia

• Kieron Pollard has six ducks in 2013. The record-holder for the most ducks in a calendar year is Herschelle Gibbs, who had eight in 2002
• Misbah-ul-Haq is currently the leading run-scorer in 2013 with 692 runs at 53.23
• Pakistan and West Indies have been involved in three tied one-dayers, the first two coming in Lahore and Guyana
• Since making a comeback in September 2010, Mohammad Hafeez has played 125 consecutive internationals for Pakistan

Quotes

“At this level, the number of dot balls in our innings was unacceptable. We need to come up with a plan to cut down on that, go back to the drawing board.”