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Surisers Hyderabad’s pacers derailed Kolkata Knight Riders, the two-time champions. Sunrisers in Delhi setup a clash with Gujarat Lions in the second qualifier at the same venue on Friday

The Report by Shashank Kishore25-May-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsSunrisers Hyderabad were the third team to successfully defend a score in six games in Delhi this IPL season•BCCI

A total had been successfully defended in three out of five matches on slow Feroz Shah Kotla surfaces this season. There was no reason why Sunrisers Hyderabad, with one of the best bowling attacks in the competition despite Ashish Nehra’s absence, couldn’t defend 163 in a knockout game. Kolkata Knight Riders, the two-time champions, had won six out of their eight games chasing. This was an even contest on a pitch fairly similar to the ones at Eden Gardens. But disciplined bowling and outstanding fielding by Sunrisers derailed Knight Riders and by virtue of the 22-run win, Sunrisers have set up a clash with Gujarat Lions in the second qualifier in Delhi on Friday.It wasn’t a night for manic six-hitting but Yuvraj Singh’s 30-ball 44 had all the elements that made him a feared limited-overs batsman once upon a time. Yet the effort that underlined his importance on Wednesday was a direct hit from backward point to dismiss Colin Munro early and induce panic among the Knight Riders.It also lifted a unit that applied pressure courtesy David Warner’s tactful bowling changes to escalate the asking rate. Bhuvneshwar Kumar pulled off a stunning catch at deep midwicket to dismiss the in-form Yusuf Pathan to further dent Knight Riders. At 69 for 4 in the 11th over, they were firmly behind in the game.A no-holds-barred contest came alive as Manish Pandey and Suryakumar Yadav counterpunched, their 46-run stand, laced with unorthodoxy, caused a few flutters in the Sunrisers camp, but there was always the danger of them perishing in the quest for the big hits. Suryakumar, who was reprieved in the 15th over by Mustafizur Rahman at third man, miscued a slog to Shikhar Dhawan in the next over to leave Knight Riders needing 47 off 24.Warner summoned his trump card Mustafizur for the first of his two remaining overs, and he responded by conceding just eight. With no option but to look for quick runs, Pandey kept swinging, one of which found Deepak Hooda at long-on. Bhuvneshwar, who finished with 3 for 19, followed the dismissal by spearing in yorkers and full-length deliveries which the batsmen couldn’t get underneath. It was reduced to a game of hit-and-miss from there on, much like it was in the first half when Yusuf Pathan and Morne Morkel had Sunrisers, who were sent in, struggling for early momentum.Dhawan’s early wicket forced Warner to tread cautiously. He scored his first boundary off his 10th delivery, but his methods deviated from the usual. Instead of muscular hits, he relied on the drive and dabbing behind the wicket. He was reprieved on 10 when Yusuf put down a difficult chance off his own bowling, but he would only go on to add 18 more. Henriques finished with 31 off 21 and went on to pick up two wickets as well.By squeezing three bonus overs from Yusuf in the Powerplay, Gambhir ensured he had control over the middle overs. His bowlers also limited Warner’s off-side play by sticking to tight lines. The first six was hit by Henriques, when he pulled Yusuf towards deep midwicket to signal Sunrisers’ move; the first six overs, four of which were bowled by the spinners, produced 43.Left-arm wristspinner Kuldeep Yadav, introduced in the eighth over, was hard to pick. As well as Warner and Henriques did to rotate strike, the pair found boundary hitting difficult, as a three-over period after the first six brought just one four. Kuldeep exploited the pressure to stun Sunrisers with a double-strike. After taking a skier off his own bowling to send Henriques back, he clean bowled Warner with a wrong’ un that beat his slog sweep. At 71 for 3 with 10 overs left, Sunrisers had to start afresh.Yuvraj walked out to a slip and silly point, and was put through an examination by the wily Narine. He was able to take Kuldeep apart though and one of his two lofted hits was steeped with his old swagger. He raced to 18 off 12. When he starts off in that fashion, especially on a ground with short boundaries, it points to ominous signs.Hooda was unfazed by the fuss at the other end; deep midwicket being his preferred area. He slogged two superbly-timed sixes, but his run-out after a mix-up with Yuvraj in the 16th over – Kuldeep effected a direct hit at the bowler’s end from mid-off – stalled Sunrisers’ yet again.By then, Yuvraj was in a belligerent mood as he picked three leg-side boundaries before a premeditated scoop against Jason Holder resulted in the flattening of his middle stump. Bipul Sharma smacking Morkel for two sixes in the last over gave them momentum going into the break, which they rode on to ensure IPL 2016 will have a new champion.

The PCB has decided to extend the contracts of batting coach Grant Flower and fitness trainer Grant Luden, on the advice of head coach Mickey Arthur

Umar Farooq11-Jul-20161:28

Grant Flower and Luden’s contracts extended

The PCB has decided to extend the contracts of batting coach Grant Flower and fitness trainer Grant Luden, on the advice of head coach Mickey Arthur. Both Flower and Luden had signed two-year contracts, starting July 2014, and are on three-month extended contracts already. The PCB told ESPNcricinfo that the contracts will be further extended for one more year.There was a possibility of Arthur suggesting a new coaching staff but he endorsed the duo and also brought in a new fielding coach in Steve Rixon from Australia. The entire coaching staff now has one-year contracts other than Azhar Mehmood who will join the Pakistan team as bowling coach only for the limited-overs leg of the England tour. Arthur’s own contract is for one year with a one-year extension subject to performances.Pakistan’s batting had been one of their major weaknesses earlier and the PCB had turned to former captains Inzamam-ul-Haq, Javed Miandad and Zaheer Abbas to bring about improvements. With Flower’s appointment, Pakistan witnessed considerable improvements in their batsmen. Pakistan’s average runs per wicket was just 28.89 between January 2012 and February 2014. Since Flower’s appointment in July 2014, it rose to 43.82. Under him, Pakistan batsmen have converted 48.43% of half-centuries into centuries – 31 hundreds out of 64 50-plus scores – which is the most among all teams by a distance. South Africa and Australia are next with under 41% conversions.Pakistan had their highest successful Test chase last year in Pallekele when they scored 382 – the sixth-highest successful chase in Tests. Pakistan’s No. 6 have averaged 61 in Tests since July 2014, which is way higher than any other team’s No. 6. Under Flower, Pakistan’s fourth innings average is also the highest among all teams.With Luden in the staff, Pakistan developed an imposing fitness criteria that helped players raise their fitness levels. However, he has been stripped off from his additional responsibility of being the fielding coach with Rixon coming in. Mushtaq Ahmed is travelling with the team as a makeshift bowling coach only for the Tests in England.

Andre Russell struck a 42-ball century, his first in T20 cricket, to lift Jamaica Tallawahs to 195 and set up a convincing win over Trinbago Knight Riders in Qualifier 2

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Aug-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Andre Russell brought up with century off 42 balls to propel Jamaica Tallawahs to 195•CPL/Sportsfile

Andre Russell struck a 42-ball century, his first in T20 cricket, to lift Jamaica Tallawahs to 195 and set up a convincing win over Trinbago Knight Riders, sealing their place in the CPL 2016 final. After a lengthy rain interruption during the run chase, Knight Riders’ adjusted target of 130 in 12 overs always looked out of their reach, and they fell 19 runs short in the second Qualifier.After being asked to bat first, Tallawahs made halting progress in their first 10 overs. Openers Chadwick Walton and Chris Gayle got off to reasonably brisk starts, with Gayle hitting two fours and three sixes in his 26-ball 35. But both fell to Kevon Cooper before they could convert their starts into more substantial knocks. Kumar Sangakkara and Rovman Powell were dismissed in single figures to leave Tallawahs at 67 for 4 in the tenth over.That brought Russell to the crease. It did not take long for the fireworks to begin. Russell launched Anderson Phillip for two mighty sixes down the ground in the 11th over and he was away. Phillip, Cooper and Ronsford Beaton all came in for heavy punishment in the ensuing overs as Russell pummelled three fours and 11 sixes to blaze his way to 100 off 44. His 101-run fifth-wicket partnership with Shakib Al Hasan came off just 53 balls; Shakib contributed 19 off 23. In the midst of the carnage, Sunil Narine and Dwayne Bravo managed to keep things relatively tight, but that could not prevent a Russell-powered Tallawahs side from racing to 195 in their 20 overs.In reply, Knight Riders lost Umar Akmal early, to a run-out, and pottered to 18 for 1 in three overs before a lengthy rain delay led to a D/L-adjusted target of 130 in 12 overs. With his team in need of quick runs after the resumption, Colin Munro wasted no time in providing some impetus, hitting three fours off Kesrick Williams in the fourth over. More boundaries flowed from Munro’s bat, before he miscued a flighted ball from Imad Wasim to depart for 38 off 26, with Knight Riders still requiring 63 from the last four overs.Hashim Amla took over briefly, hitting a couple of fours and one six. But, in the end, the magnitude of the task proved to be too great and Knight Riders lost five wickets in the last two overs as they stumbled to a 19-run defeat.

Sussex’s promotion ambitions were dented by a three-wicket burst by Graham Wagg and a subsequent collapse which limited their first-innings lead in Cardiff

ECB Reporters Network24-Aug-2016
ScorecardGraham Wagg has kept Glamorgan very much in the game•Getty Images

Graham Wagg’s burst of three wickets in four balls completely changed the course of Sussex’s innings and also the game as the visitors lost their last eight wickets for only 51 runs in 25 overs. The Glamorgan seamer thrived in the cloudy conditions, and during his spell also claimed his 200th first class wicket for Glamorgan.Sussex were indebted to Chris Nash, who struck the 22nd century of his career, before Glamorgan reached 50 for 1 in their second innings, a lead of 19.Sussex had resumed on 111 for 1 with night watchman Danny Briggs giving Nash useful support, and the second wicket pair had added 69 before Nash called his partner for a risky single in the last over before lunch with Briggs comfortably run out for 36.Briggs had been fortunate to survive an excellent opening spell against Timm Van Der Gugten who regularly passed the outside edge, but Briggs’ determination carried him through until his dismissal.Nash, meanwhile played watchfully, sharing a partnership of 52 with Luke Wells before Wells was bowled by Craig Meschede, and at 232 for 3, Sussex were in sight of a substantial first innings lead before Wagg’s dramatic over and the subsequent collapse.Nash had completed his third championship century of the season from 284 balls with eighteen fours, when Wagg began his eighteenth over; with his second ball Christian Davies edged to the wicketkeeper, his fourth dismissed Luke Wright who wafted outside the off stump, then the next delivery bowled David Wiese.An early tea was then taken because of bad light, which might have made the three batsmen dismissed by Wagg wonder why the decision had not been taken before the over had started.After the break, Nash’s six and half hour vigil ended when he was bowled by Van Der Gugten for 132, and the tail quickly followed with Glamorgan’s seamers rewarded for their accuracy throughout the innings. Apart from David Lloyd, who only bowled one over, Van der Gugten, Meschede and Wagg’s economy rate was under three runs an over with Hogan’s under two.When Glamorgan started their second innings, 31 runs adrift, Selman did manage to get off the mark after four successive ducks, but did not last long before he was leg before in Steve Magoffin’s second over.

Ben Duckett, the Northamptonshire left hander who has been included in England’s one-day and Test squads, has been named the Cricket Writers’ Club (CWC) Young Player of the Year

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Sep-2016Ben Duckett, the Northamptonshire left-hander who has been included in England’s one-day and Test squads, has been named the Cricket Writers’ Club (CWC) Young Player of the Year.Duckett, 21, enjoyed a prolific 2016 season for his county and England Lions. In July, he struck a blistering 220 not out off 131 balls, including 29 fours and six sixes for the Lions in a one-day game against Sri Lanka A, but his highest score of the summer was an unbeaten 282 in the County Championship against Sussex.His tally of 1,338 runs in the County Championship included four hundreds, while he also helped Northamptonshire win the Twenty20 Blast.First presented in 1950, and one of the oldest such honours in cricket, the award, which by tradition is won just once in a career, is restricted to England-qualified players under the age of 23 on May 1. Previous winners of the Cricket Writers’ Club Young Player of the Year award have amassed more than 2,500 Test caps between them. Duckett is the first Northamptonshire player to receive the award since former England batsman Rob Bailey, now an international umpire, in 1984.The County Championship Player of the Year award, presented in association with William Hill, was won by Durham’s Keaton Jennings. The 24-year-old was the leading run-scorer in the competition with 1,548 runs at an average of 64.50 with seven hundreds, including a double century against Yorkshire and another when he carried his bat against Surrey. His career-best 88 in the final was also the highest score during T20 finals day. Jennings is the fifth recipient of an award first presented in 2012.Charlotte Edwards, the former England captain, was named the first winner of the CWC women’s award. She led England to the final of the World T20 in India and finished as England’s leading run scorer, and the tournament’s second highest scorer overall, only to be removed from the England captaincy in a controversial move as team management sought a fresh start.That decision prompted Edwards to retire from international cricket after more than 300 senior matches for her country but she still enjoyed a hugely successful domestic season. Edwards captained three sides to a unique treble in leading Kent to the 50-over County Championship title, the T20 title, and the Southern Vipers to victory in the inaugural T20 Super League.The Cricket Writers’ Club Book of the Year award went to Scyld Berry for Cricket: The Game of Life, and the Peter Smith award for the promotion of cricket to the public went to Mike Selvey, the former cricket correspondent of . All the trophies were presented during the course of the Club’s Annual Lunch – which marks the 70th anniversary of the club – at London’s Merchant Taylors’ Hall on Tuesday.

Alex Lees sustained Yorkshire during a tricky opening day against Durham with a season’s best 132, passing 1000 first-class runs in the process

David Hopps at Headingley06-Sep-2016
ScorecardAlex Lees gave Yorkshire a strong platform at Headingley•Getty Images

Do it for Dizzy is not yet emblazoned across Headingley, but it seems an appropriate exhortation as the Championship season reaches its climax. Jason Gillespie is heading back to Australia at the end of the season and Yorkshire would love nothing better than to send him on his way with a hat-trick of Championship titles. He has become as popular as a coach as his fellow Australian, and good mate, Darren Lehmann was as a player and that is an achievement indeed.With three games remaining, Middlesex ahead by four points, and a potential winner-takes all finale between the two sides at Lord’s, Yorkshire’s minimal task is to match them over the next two games if that third title is to come to pass. Alex Lees sustained them during a tricky opening day against Durham with a season’s best 132, passing 1000 first-class runs in the process. Yorkshire’s 341 for 5 was a decent return in testing conditions against a Durham side that nevertheless looked over-reliant on its opening attack of Graham Onions and Chris Rushworth.Lees’ reputation as an England opener-in-waiting weakened during an unsuccessful 2015 so here was another innings that suggested his career is back on track, if with a disturbing tendency to jump the rails on occasions. He believes the experience has made his game tougher and given him “nuggets of information” that will help him through when the bad times return.”Everybody has down times,” he said, and to illustrate that fact he only had to look 22 yards away for the first half of the day as he shared an assertive second-wicket stand of 163 in 43 overs with Gary Ballance, one which scotched Durham’s hopes of making use of favourable bowling conditions.Lees finally fell driving a low full toss back to the offspinner Ryan Pringle. He retains his admirers, but as much as his wish to transfer pressure back to the bowlers is in keeping with the current crop of young openers, there have been too many ungainly moments, and rushes of blood, along the way to be mentioned in England despatches just yet. It is across the Pennines where England’s attention now resides with strong indications that they are prepared to take a punt on the admirable Haseeb Hameed for the Test tours of Bangladesh and India.Lees has only 81 fewer first-class runs, but he averages 43 as opposed to Hameed’s 53 and whereas Hameed’s defences seems to have been designed on principles drawn up by the North Korean border police, Lees can be a little bit too Green Channel for his own good. He played one headstrong wipe at Onions early in his innings that would have had Hameed consigning himself to a month’s solitary confinement in self-admonishment.That Lees is finishing the season strongly, however, asserts that here is a cricketer of strength of character. He was not yet 23 when he was awarded the Yorkshire captaincy in one-day cricket. Considering that tradition in the Broad Acres once had it that you were not old enough to be allowed a word in edgeways until you were at least 30, he has coped remarkably well. Imagine the pressure of explaining a fielding change to a member only to be told: “Speak when tha’s spoken to lad.”That captaincy brought promise, but no trophy – or as they prefer to describe it in Yorkshire: “Two lots of the treble messed up so far.” Under his leadership, Yorkshire suddenly discovered how to play Twenty20, got to Finals Day but lost in the semi-finals. A home semi-final over 50 overs provided another disappointment when Surrey outplayed them at Headingley in front of a lower crowd than expected. There were letters in the complaining their one-day cricket was still a mess, which suggests that many counties must be living in considerable depravity.For Yorkshire to find consolation in a third successive Championship, they will have to manage without their England duo of Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow, who have been told to rest out the last three games in the Championship season. There were so many low-level grumbles around Headingley that one might have imagined the boilers were on the blink, but Root is a multi-format player with a bad back and, in particular, would benefit from a prolonged rest. Nevertheless, it should not be forgotten that there was an idealism in the grumbles because the commitment of Yorkshire – and others – to the Championship is keeping English cricket alive.Root, if he needs rest, should also be allowed to skip England’s one-day series in Bangladesh, although that decision would no doubt be influenced by politics as much as cricketing logic. With the tour surrounded by safety concerns, there will be a reluctance within the ECB to be accused of favouritism to certain players. The approved Yorkshire response to that, incidentally, would be to trust to cricketing logic and bugger what the rest of them think. England should follow that course.It was a sultry morning, but Yorkshire lost only one wicket to the new ball, Adam Lyth fending Onions to Keaton Jennings at gully, before Lees and Ballance took the game by the scruff. Ballance’s innings smacked of a game returning to good order ahead of the winter tour selections. It ended when he edged back to a length ball from Barry McCarthy and was caught at the wicket.The wicketkeeper was Paul Collingwood, who was forced to deputise because of a dislocated finger suffered by Michael Richardson. Richardson has only recently relinquished the gloves in a successful attempt to regain his batting form, but he had to take them when Stuart Poynter reported ill. Is there an outside chance that Phil Mustard could yet be summoned back from a loan spell at Gloucestershire for an end-of-season hero’s farewell? Some in Durham would love nothing better. As for Collingwood, it would be no surprise to learn that during the close season he has also been tasked with fixing the plumbing and painting the sightscreens.When Andrew Gale was bowled around his legs by Onions, there was a possibility that Yorkshire, at 190 for 3, could fritter away a dominant position. But Lees wore his responsibilities maturely, taking an hour to negotiate the 90s, a phase of the game in which he did not get much strike. He flicked a long hop from Pringle to the square leg boards to secure his third Championship hundred of the season – his first at Headingley since he also took one off Durham two years ago – before Jake Lehmann, with a half-century in his first appearance on a ground graced so often by his father, helped him restore Yorkshire’s superiority.

A colder spring and an earlier start to the Perth Test season has provided challenges to Matt Page and his crew

Daniel Brettig in Perth02-Nov-2016Nobody wants to atone for last year’s road-like WACA pitch more keenly than the curator Matt Page. However, circumstances of climate and schedule have conspired to increase the degree of difficulty for the ground staff commissioned to restore a slowing surface to its former glory.The New Zealand Test began on November 13 last year, 10 days later than this one, providing extra time for the surface to harden under the Perth sun. Additionally, this year, an unseasonably cold Spring has prevented the WACA’s block of 10 pitches from baking in the sort of heat more commonly associated with the venue.Moving the WACA Test to the start of summer, after more than 20 years of opening Test matches at the Gabba in Brisbane, has complicated life for Page and his staff. That decision was based around Cricket Australia’s desire to hold a second day-night Test in the 2016-17 season while ensuring both visitors – South Africa and Pakistan – played one apiece. Perth is considered too late a time zone to host a match starting any later than a day Test.Nevertheless, Page has worked off the knowledge gained last season to try to produce a livelier deck. “We’ve done things a little bit differently this year,” he said on Wednesday. “We’ve left a little more green grass on it, we’ve also adjusted our water.”Being November, we don’t usually get the high temperatures we need to bake that surface to try to give us every possibility to get something that will go through and give the bowlers a good crack at the batters. [The weather’s] not been great, but we’ve tinkered with our prep to try to get a harder surface than we would normally see here this time of year and just try to help it go through a bit quicker.”Page feels the WACA square has not been baked enough by the sun•Abhishek Purohit/ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Unlike the WACA practice pitches, which have retained their traditional clay base and have thus remained arguably the quickest in the world, successive operations on the WACA’s square have left it less settled than it should be. So some strips are faster than others, with the central one not necessarily so, to suit the commercial demands of television. This year’s pitch is the same as last year’s.”The ones on this [east] side of the block seem to be a bit quicker, they’ve all got their own little characteristics, the 10 wickets out there, they all do little things,” Page said. “There are some that are a little bit quicker than others. This one is a normal Test-match wicket. We saw a couple of one-dayers here a couple of years ago with South Africa when it went through really well.”Last year was not so good, so we’re hoping that it’s more towards that South African wicket of a couple of years ago. Hopefully it’ll [also] be something very similar to the last Shield game we had. There was a bit of bounce there, there was a bit of seam, something there for the bowlers, something there for the batters, there were three hundreds. That’s sort of what we’re looking for this time of year, being November.”Page was philosophical about the chances of getting things back to the old days, even as the construction of Perth’s new multipurpose stadium meant many major matches will be shifted elsewhere. “It’s something we’re working towards and we’ve seen wickets here since the wicket that was reconstructed that have really gone through well,” he said. “Our biggest issue is our consistency, they’re not consistently quick. That’s what we’re working towards to make sure it happens.”There’s pressure with every wicket you produce at the WACA, there’s that reputation of the pace and the bounce and getting it back consistently to the way it was in the 1970s. That’s what we try to do with all our wickets, sometimes we get there, sometimes we don’t. I’m pretty confident we’ll have a wicket that will have a bit in it for both batters and bowlers.”One form of pressure that won’t be on Page is to tailor a pitch to the specific demands of the home team. Everyone knows what to expect at the WACA – the tricky bit is meeting those expectations.

WICB’s director of cricket Richard Pybus warned Darren Bravo that he could face action from the board’s disciplinary panel if he did not delete his tweet about board president Dave Cameron and apologise for his remarks

Nagraj Gollapudi13-Nov-2016The West Indies Cricket Board has sent a notice to Darren Bravo saying the batsman’s match contract has been cancelled due to the “disparaging” remarks he made on Twitter about board president Dave Cameron earlier in the week. In an e-mail sent to Bravo on Friday, Richard Pybus, WICB’s director of cricket, warned that if the batsman did not delete the tweet and apologise by Saturday afternoon, he could face further action from the board’s disciplinary panel.While Bravo has not made any comment in public, it is learnt he has not yet responded to the WICB. On Saturday, the WICB had replaced Bravo in the squad for the Zimbabwe tri-series for “inappropriate and unacceptable behaviour”, which breached contractual obligations. While the cancellation of his match contract applies to the Zimbabwe series for now, it could include future tours. Bravo is currently without a retainer after he declined a central contract offered by the WICB for the 2016-17 period in November.Earlier this week Cameron told , a Caribbean television network, that Bravo was offered a grade C contract (the lowest of five grades) because of his declining averages over the last two years. He also questioned how a player would be motivated if he continued getting a grade A contract despite a slip in performances.Bravo responded by tweeting: “You hav been failing 4 d last 4yrs. Y don’t u resign and FYI I’ve neva been given an A contract. Big idiot @davec51.”Cameron had pointed out that the decision was taken by a team led by Pybus, which carries out annual appraisals of players. Pybus said Bravo’s statement was a breach of his contract.”It has come to our attention that on November 11, 2016 you published a tweet on your Twitter account (@DMBravo46) disparaging the President of the West Indies Cricket Board,” Pybus said in an email to the cricketer. “We would expect as a senior West Indian cricketer, that you would recognise that your decision to vent your frustration online, as well as to denigrate the President of the WICB, was inappropriate and unacceptable as well as contrary to your contractual obligations to the WICB.”Clause 9.3.1 of your match/tour contract provides that in default by you in respect of your obligations under the contract, WICB may in its absolute discretion cancel the contract by written notice to the Cricketer. In light, therefore of your breach of your obligations to WICB in clause 4.7.2.2 of your match/tour contract, the letter serves as a written notice that your match/tour contract is hereby cancelled.”Bravo was West Indies’ second-highest run-getter in the recently concluded Test series against Pakistan in the UAE. Before that, he had a poor Test series against India at home, scoring only 139 runs in seven innings. Since November 2014, Bravo scored 1089 runs in 17 Tests for West Indies, a tally that is second to Kraigg Brathwaite’s 1258 runs in 20 matches.Pybus urged Bravo to acknowledge on Twitter the “impropriety” of his remark and stressed the batsman should not use social media sites in a manner that could embarrass the WICB or its officials, or bring the game into disrepute.”We also request you immediately remove the highlighted tweet from your account, and desist from tweeting about WICB officials in the future,” Pybus said. “We further request that you acknowledge, via your Twitter account, the impropriety of your actions and your recognition that your decision to publicly express your views on social media was not conduct befitting of a West Indies cricketer.”I strongly discourage you from continuing to use Twitter or other social networking sites in a manner which might cause embarrassment to the West Indies Cricket Team, the West Indies Cricket Board or any official of the West Indies Cricket Board and which can potentially bring the game into disrepute.”I ask that you also note that any further such action on your part, including failure to comply with our request above by 4 p.m. Eastern Caribbean time on November 12 2016, may result in further disciplinary action, including referral to the WICB Disciplinary Committee.”

Pakistan went into free fall in the final session on day two at the Gabba, against the the swinging, bouncing, pink ball under lights

The Report by Daniel Brettig16-Dec-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details3:44

Coverdale: Pakistan’s batsmen needed to be more circumspect under lights

Australia and Pakistan on night two in Brisbane resembled nothing so much as Australia and most of the rest of the world during the great recession of 2008. Having planned and saved soundly in the good times on a slower day one pitch, the hosts were able to absorb the shock of tougher batting conditions, helped by a Peter Handscomb stimulus package.Pakistan had no such safety net, and when the crash came under the Gabba lights against the wobbling pink ball, they went swiftly into free fall. The visiting batsmen jutted their bats out at the bad real estate offered by Australia’s canny bowlers like so many reckless traders, and were left observing the ruins of their first innings like former employees of Lehman Brothers.The main reason for the day’s violent swerve from 1 for 43 to 8 for 67 was the quickening of the surface, which clearly did not need a single millimetre more grass than the two the curator Kevin Mitchell Jnr. left on it. One wonders how swiftly the match might have moved with the 6mm preferred by Adelaide’s groundsman Damian Hough.Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Jackson Bird had far too much speed, accuracy and movement for Pakistan’s batsmen, cowed as they already had been on slower, seamier pitches in New Zealand. Of the tourists only Sami Aslam gave any indication of permanence, and even that was of the painful, white-knuckle kind as he wore two blows on the helmet before glancing Bird into Matthew Wade’s gloves.Handscomb’s chanceless century, in only his second Test, ensured that the quality spells bowled by Mohammad Amir and Wahab Riaz did not result in a similar level of mayhem. Amir’s figures were his best since returning to the Pakistan side, but he was unable to dislodge Handscomb, who showed patience beyond his years and deep trust in his way of batting. Gleefully, he leapt from 91 to 101 with a powerful six off Yasir Shah then a delectable square drive off Amir. Bird and Nathan Lyon bolstered Australia’s total with a pesky stand of 49 – runs measured in value through the deepening furrow in Misbah-ul-Haq’s brow.Steven Smith and Handscomb had begun intent on a long occupation, but the captain appeared to decide it was time to go on the attack after the fourth wicket stand went beyond 170 runs. First he tried to deposit Yasir into the Gabba stands only for Amir to drop a swirling chance, then flayed at Wahab to end an equal parts fine and fortunate innings.Nic Maddinson was not confronted by floodlights and a swinging ball, but the extra pace off the pitch did appear to trouble him against both spin and pace before he was unable to withdraw his bat from Wahab in time – having already been turfed at short leg off Yasir. Wade and Starc both offered up catches to the slips off the persistent Amir before Handscomb was able to reach three figures, doing so with an exultant yell and matching fist pump.Despite the late flurry from Bird and Lyon, Pakistan’s openers did have the advantage of starting in daylight. Starc gained some early swing, but it was a ball angled across with bounce that found the edge of Azhar Ali’s bat – expertly snaffled by Usman Khawaja. For a little more than 15 overs, the resolute Sami and a seemingly composed Babar Azam held the Australians at bay, even as the lights took effect.It was clear they stuck around longer than the hosts preferred, as evidenced by Starc’s ever more prominent snarling in Sami’s direction. But it was to be Hazlewood who signalled the start of the downturn by tempting Babar with a delivery just wide enough to drive, and just short enough to make it risky. The resultant edge was well held by Smith, turning his body, and next ball Wade had a far simpler task to collect a thinner edge from a fencing Younis Khan.Though Misbah survived the hat-trick, he seemed mesmerised by the bouncing, seaming ball, and it was no surprise when his searching bat succeeded only in edging low to Matt Renshaw at first slip. By now the Gabba had taken on full Colosseum mode, as near enough to 25,000 spectators willed further edges into the Australian cordon.They got them too, as Asad Shafiq and Yasir offered further catches to Khawaja, either side of a return catch from Wahab and a forlorn touch down the leg side by Sami. His determination to keep his bat from harm had been the closest any Pakistani came to a workable method in such bouncy conditions.Late in the piece, Sarfraz Ahmed and Amir managed to hang around until stumps while inching the total towards three figures – the former was reprieved when Wade failed to glove a stumping chance off Lyon. If Pakistan look about as healthy as numerous major economies did in late 2008 there is one troubling divergence from that tale: the Gabba doesn’t tend to do bail-outs.

The match between Gujarat and Rest of India could be a crucial audition for the two wicketkeepers ahead of India’s five Tests at home

Arun Venugopal19-Jan-2017The match-up between Parthiv Patel and Wriddhiman Saha for a Test spot didn’t appear on the horizon until a couple of months ago. After MS Dhoni had retired at the end of 2014, Saha seemed to have finally sewed up his place in the side. His credentials as arguably India’s best specialist wicketkeeper remained unchallenged, but his back-to-the-wall hundred in St.
Lucia and two unbeaten half-centuries on a tricky pitch in his hometown of Kolkata, against New Zealand, made him one of the more valuable members of the side.His captain Virat Kohli singled out Saha for praise, and said success couldn’t come to a nicer team-man.
Nothing could go wrong now. Or could it? During the second Test against England, Saha strained his left thigh. Enter Parthiv for the third Test. It wasn’t an altogether surprising choice given Parthiv’s improved glove-work, and the fact that he has never averaged less than 45 in the Ranji Trophy since 2012-13.

Siraj replaces injured Shardul

Gujarat captain Parthiv Patel has said batsman Bhargav Merai has been dropped for the Irani Cup game. Seamer Mehul Patel will also miss out after sustaining a fracture in an accident back home. The pair will be replaced by 18-year-old batsman Het Patel, who was part of the victorious India Under-19 team in the Asia Cup, and Mohit Thadani.
Rest of India have called up Hyderabad seamer Mohammed Siraj in place of Shardul Thakur, who, it is understood, has an ankle niggle. With 41 wickets, Siraj was the third-highest wicket-taker in the 2016-17 Ranji Trophy. Siraj, 22, also picked up nine wickets in the quarter-final against Mumbai.

In Mohali, Parthiv was safe with the big gloves, but by no means electrifying. He made an impression with the bat, though, playing two spunky knocks of 42 and 67*, the half-century in India’s chase of 103. With Saha still recovering, Parthiv held down his spot for the next two Tests and smashed a useful 71 in the final Test in Chennai. Parthiv then went back to the Ranji Trophy and smashed 90 and 143 in the final against Mumbai to drive Gujarat to their maiden title.Ahead of the Mohali Test, India coach Anil Kumble had said Saha was India’s first-choice wicketkeeper. After Parthiv’s returns in the England series, it might not be such a straightforward decision after all. With national selector Sarandeep Singh doubling up as Rest of India coach, the Irani Cup match could be a crucial audition ahead of the five home Tests this season. While Parthiv will lead Gujarat, Saha will feature in his first competitive fixture since the Vizag Test.On the eve of the match, Saha is almost through with his wicket-keeping drills at the Brabourne Stadium. He has taken a few catches towards the end of the session, and wears a smile as Cheteshwar Pujara, the Rest of India captain, and a few other team-mates appear to be joking around. Most of Rest of India’s players have headed back to the dressing room, but Saha calmly walks back to the middle and takes a seat under an umbrella near the practice net. A couple of net bowlers seek him out for a chat.Wriddhiman Saha has been India’s No. 1 choice behind the stumps, but a thigh-strain saw him out of action for the last three Tests against England•Associated Press

On the other side, Parthiv, having just completed a meeting, briskly bounds in to chat with the media. Like with any Parthiv interaction, there is plenty of political correctness, a pleasant smile, and overall optimism. Immediately after the presser, he scoots off to the nets for a hit.Stillness is not something you associate with Parthiv – he is either chirping behind the stumps or cutting, pulling and doing the dab-and-run routine with the bat. Meanwhile, Saha, normally a man of few words, is still talking. A few other boys seem to have approached him for cricketing advice and he appears to be more than generous with it.Watching Parthiv, 31, and Saha, 32, is a fascinating exercise not least for the contrasts they offer. While it is tempting to speculate what’s going on in their minds, you can be sure that neither of them is going to reveal much. When asked about them competing for the same slot, Parthiv expectedly took the diplomatic route. “It’s just a game between Gujarat and Rest of India, so we will stick to that,” he said. “I think it’s not a game between two players. We all know he [Saha] is a very talented player. There is a game to be won and we will be focusing on that.”From a neutral standpoint, Pujara could see the benefits of such competition. He felt having back-up players in every department was essential for a strong India side. “If we want to be No. 1 in the world we need to have some back-up players not just wicketkeepers but even other departments,” he said. “We need a bunch of players who are always ready and when they come in to the Indian team they perform. I always believe that if you have a healthy competition it is very good for the Indian team.”Someone like Karun Nair is a prime example. He was doing well in the India A team and when he got the opportunity he scored a triple-hundred. Both [Parthiv and Saha] are hard-working players and have performed well for India and at the domestic level. I wish them luck.”