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Brett Lee, the Australia fast bowler, has staked his claim for selection into the national team for the ODI series against Sri Lanka starting later this month

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Oct-2010The fast bowler Brett Lee has declared himself ready for international cricket and has started his bid for a place in Australia’s limited-overs squad to take on Sri Lanka later this month. Lee made a successful comeback to senior cricket on Sunday, when he collected 2 for 37 for New South Wales against Western Australia in the Ryobi Cup.It was his first outing for his state team in almost a year, while he has not played for Australia in any format since last October. After missing the 2009 Ashes with a side strain, Lee has suffered injuries to his elbow, thumb and arm, but he has made himself available for Australia’s Twenty20 against Sri Lanka on October 31 and the three ODIs that follow.”I put my hand up, simple as that,” Lee said after his economical 11-over spell for the Blues. “I’m fit, I’m playing. If they feel that I’m ready, pick me. Pick me, I’m keen to play. I wouldn’t have played [the Ryobi Cup] if I didn’t feel I was ready to play at this level.”When you’ve had a bit of a break for a while, it’s refreshing to get out there and play. I’m just really trying to enjoy my cricket this year. I’ve trained really hard; I’m preparing the best I possibly can. Hopefully, the rest takes care of itself. It doesn’t matter who I’m playing for, I’ll always go out there and give it my best shot.”Although the World Cup early next year is the major goal for Lee, he has not set any timeline on ending his limited-overs career, although he retired from first-class cricket in February. His two wickets on Sunday came from the slower ball, while his slower bouncer also caused a run-out, but he was also happy with the speed he was able to generate.”On the slow wicket today, I felt like I hit my pace pretty well, which surprised me,” Lee said. “I didn’t think I would be at that level as yet, but the last two weeks I’ve worked really hard in the nets as far as getting that pace back to where I want it to be.”

A round-up of the third day’s play of the second-round matches of the Ranji Trophy Super League 2009-10

Cricinfo staff12-Nov-2009Group A

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Having ended shakily at 59 for 3 the previous day, Punjab were lifted by Vishwas Bhalla’s century – the fourth instance when a Punjab debutant reached three figures – against Hyderabad in Mohali. Bhalla was reprived on 12 when he popped a return catch to Abdul Khader, who failed to take it, and made Hyderabad pay dearly. He was in good touch, smashing twelve boundaries during his 240-ball stay, as the home team’s lead swelled past 300. Overnight batsman Pankaj Dharmani gave him good support, making 50.There was some cheer for Hyderabad with left-arm seamer Mohammed Khader taking a five-for. It will be interesting to see when Punjab declare on the fourth morning, in search of full points.
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Crucial fifties from S Badrinath and Dinesh Karthik helped Tamil Nadu pick up first-innings points against Gujarat in Ahmedabad. Continuing from the previous day’s score of 198 for 2, M Vijay departed soon, five short of his hundred. That set the stage for Badrinath and Karthik, who put on 76 for the fourth wicket to give Tamil Nadu full control. Gujarat fought back with two wickets for one run, reducing Tamil Nadu to 325 for 6, but it was not enough as Karthik shepherded Tamil Nadu through to the end of the day, looking strong for a hundred.
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After the first two days were washed out, only 61 overs could be managed on the third at the Brabourne Stadium. Mumbai captain Wasim Jaffer led the way with an unbeaten hundred against Orissa. Put in, the hosts were in early trouble losing openers Sahil Kukreja and Sushant Marathe with the score on 7. However, Jaffer ensured there were no more hiccups as he hit 13 fours during his 173-ball innings. Prashant Naik played the perfect foil with a watchful 67, as the two put on 175 for the third wicket, before Naik was dismissed just before stumps.
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Railways’ hopes of first-innings points received a setback after bad light truncated proceedings against Himachal Pradesh at the Karnail Singh Stadium. Only 45 overs could be squeezed in between a delayed start and the call for stumps as Himachal, resuming on 34 for no loss, finished on 125 for 2. Paras Dogra (35) and Vinit Indulkar (16) were the not-out batsmen, thwarting Railways after they had got Sangram Singh out for an even fifty. Even as Bhavin Thakkar fell early, the other overnight batsman Sangram and Dogra went about the job calmly. They negated the Railways spinners, adding 60 runs, before Indulkar joined Dogra to see them through the day’s play.Group B

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Even though Shikhar Dhawan scored a second hundred in two matches, Delhi were left struggling to get enough runs on the board to try and reverse the first-innings result against Karnataka at the Roshanara Club Ground. At 255 for 9, with a second-innings lead of just 149, Delhi needed a stirring job from their bowlers. Resuming on 93 for 2, Delhi were powered by the 135-run partnership for the third wicket between Dhawan and Rajat Bhatia (64). Dhawan struck 13 fours en route to his century, but once he was run out there Sreenath Aravind and first-innings hero R Vinay Kumar gave Karnataka the upper hand with four and three wickets respectively.Sourav Ganguly’s stroke-filled 76 wasn’t enough for Bengal•AFP

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A sparkling 76 from Sourav Ganguly – who completed a personal milestone of 15,000 first-class runs – was not enough as Bengal conceded first-innings points to Baroda at the Eden Gardens. Murtuja Vahora and Irfan Pathan shared seven wickets between them to wipe out the little advantage Bengal held overnight at 102 for 3, still 205 adrift.Ganguly was in fine nick, raising his half-century off 54 deliveries with ten fours. When he reached 40 his partner, Arindam Das, had yet to add to his overnight score of 52. Das’ dismissal for 61, adjudged lbw to Vahora even though he pointed to his bat for an inside edge, brought the captain Laxmi Ratan Shukla to the crease. He and Ganguly added 76 for the fifth wicket, leaving Bengal well placed to take the lead. Right-arm seamer Vahora, though, ended their hopes, picking up the last three wickets for 14 runs; Bengal slumped to 293 all out from 257 for 5. Baroda lost captain Connor Williams for 5 during their second innings as they looked to build on their lead of 14.

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Four wickets apiece for RP Singh and Shalabh Srivastava helped Uttar Pradesh take a 128-run lead against Saurashtra in Rajkot. Resuming on 125 for 3, Shitanshu Kotak (75) and Pratik Mehta (69) set about strengthening Saurashtra, before RP and Shalabh sparked a collapse. Once the 131-run stand for the fourth-wicket ended, both UP bowlers struck at regular intervals to bowl out Saurashtra for 267. The last seven wickets fell for 77 runs, and the last five for 35. In their second piece, UP lost three wickets before first-innings centurions Shivakant Shukla and Parvinder Singh saw them through to stumps.

Rahmat became Afghanistan’s highest run-scorer in Tests with an unbeaten 231 while Shahidi struck his second Test ton

Sreshth Shah28-Dec-2024Almost exactly 100 years since Jack Hobbs and Herbert Sutcliffe became the first pair to achieve it in Test cricket, the Afghanistan pair of Rahmat Shah and Hashmatullah Shahidi batted out a full day of a Test match without being dismissed. In the process, Rahmat became the holder of Afghanistan’s highest Test score (231*), Shahidi struck his second Test ton (141*), and the pair comfortably broke the record for Afghanistan’s best Test partnership (361). All in all, their addition of 330 runs across 95 overs on the third day has taken Afghanistan to 425 for 2, now only 161 behind Zimbabwe’s 586.Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo ranks among one of the best places to bat among Test venues, and Zimbabwe’s first-innings score across the first two days suggested a placid third-day surface, which it was, barring the occasional ball that stayed low.The Zimbabwe bowlers were made to grind by the strong defensive game showed by Rahmat and Shahidi, but they were also let down by their fielding. There were atleast four catches dropped, all off Rahmat, along with a few half-chances. Both spin and pace proved ineffective to get a breakthrough, and the set batters pounced on the loose deliveries from the inexperienced bowlers, a regular occurrence through the day.Starting the day afresh from an overnight partnership of 31 and staring at a mammoth 491-run deficit, Rahmat took a single in the first over of the day to bring up his fifty. But some disciplined bowling from Blessing Muzarabani and Trevor Gwandu kept the run-scoring in check. It took 12 overs for the day’s first boundary when Rahmat picked up one, by cutting left-arm spinner Sean Williams for four, and it would be a ploy he would use against all three Zimbabwe spinners. With no variable turn off the pitch, the pair could also trust their game when coming down the track against the spinners, something Shahidi did often against the part-timers Brandon Mavuta and Brian Bennett. Five overs before lunch, Shahidi brought up his half-century, and two overs later, Rahmat had completed his second Test ton.Rahmat Shah claimed the Afghanistan record for the highest individual score•Zimbabwe Cricket

Then came the first big chance in the 69th over with Afghanistan at 198 for 2 and Rahmat on 107. Bennett got a length ball to turn lesser than expected, Rahmat’s prod brought an outside edge, and the ball flew past Craig Ervine’s left at first slip. On 134, Rahmat survived a dropped chance at long-on, and on 152, escaped two catching opportunities in one Muzarabani over. In between, the pair brought up their 200 stand by finding the fence through midwicket or cover when Muzarabani and Gwandu overpitched their deliveries. And going into tea, Afghanistan were 298 for 2, with 203 runs collected in the first two sessions.Fresh off the two dropped chances in the penultimate over of the second session, Zimbabwe were further deflated at the start of the post-tea session when Rahmat struck three fours off Nyamhuri in the first over after resumption. In the same Nyamhuri spell, Shahidi cut him for four to move to 99 and next ball, picked up a single to claim his second Test ton.As the second new ball also turned old, the boundaries dried up again, but a four through cover from Rahmat to start the 108th over brought up the 300-run stand. When Rahmat moved to 199 with a single soon after, the partnership ticked over to 308, a new record for Afghanistan.Shahidi, the only double-centurion for Afghanistan previously, then watched on from the other end as Rahmat joined him on that list, and it came not in the form of a circumspect single but a full-blooded drive through mid-on. As the ball trickled to the boundary, Rahmat was applauded by his team-mates and by the sparse home crowd as he also went past Shahidi’s score of 200* from 2021 to claim the Afghanistan record for the highest individual score.As the final hour of the day began, and it dawned on Zimbabwe that they might have their first-ever day of Test cricket without a single wicket, Ervine tempted the two batters with some unusual fielding positions – perhaps to buy a wicket or force them to do something different – but there was no budging.If anything, Rahmat and Shahidi reined in their strokes. Only three boundaries were scored in the final 13 overs – only three fours and one six – as it was clear their aim was to finish the day unbeaten. As Williams bowled the final over of the day without much drama, Rahmat and Shahidi walked back with smiles, were congratulated by a few Zimbabwe fielders, and were welcomed with a standing ovation by their team-mates and support staff.

The legspinner claimed career-best figures against West Indies in Melbourne

AAP12-Oct-2023Australia captain Alyssa Healy has backed Alana King to play a significant role in the upcoming tour of India after the legspinner’s sparkling return to the national team.Having been left out of the T20I series and opening one-dayer against the West Indies, King took career-best figures in the latter form, claiming 3 for 16 from five overs on Thursday.The 27-year-old put Australia in a strong position, with the tourists reduced to 107 for 8, but the fixture at Melbourne’s Junction Oval was abandoned because of bad weather.Related

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The outcome left Australia clinging to a 1-0 lead in the three-match series ahead of Saturday’s decider at the same venue.King was called in as a replacement for injured quick Darcie Brown, and will look to build on her performance ahead of the India tour.”It’s hard [for batters] because she challenges both edges of the bat,” Healy said. “You’re kind of playing for that big, ripping legspinner because she puts so much work on the ball, but the natural variation of one skidding on actually makes her more effective.”She gets a lot of batters lbw, especially in Big Bash cricket, so she’s a proper handful for us. Pink ball, white ball, red ball – it doesn’t really matter.”She’s going to be a great asset to our side, so hopefully she can maintain that and keep sticking her hand up for selection.”King spent a month in Perth working hard on controlling her length after returning home from the Hundred in August and is reaping the benefits.”Her speed through the air at the moment and her control with her spin and her length has been impressive right throughout the week,” Healy said. “It was actually really easy throwing her the ball as the first spinning option knowing that she was going to get the job done.”I’m pumped to see her back out here for Australia, and the passion and the energy that she brings is great for our group. It was nice to see her get rewarded.”Healy lauded Australia’s patience with the ball on Thursday on what looked like a good batting wicket.Plans to restrict Hayley Matthews paid off when the West Indies captain and star batter was bowled by Kim Garth for 20 off 20 balls.Matthews will again be crucial to the tourists’ hopes of causing an upset to deny Australia another series win.”We want to win games of cricket and win series, and that won’t change heading into Saturday,” Healy said.  “We’re looking to come out here and be as clinical as what we have in the last two games.”

Saini’s 5 for 72 helps knock Warwickshire over for 225

ECB Reporters Network20-Jul-2022Joe Denly’s compact unbeaten half-century dug Kent out of trouble and left their vital LV=Insurance County Championship tussle with Warwickshire finely poised at the halfway stage.Trailing by 60 on first innings, the visitors closed the second day at Edgbaston on 198 for 4 – 138 ahead – with Denly unbeaten on 70. Kent were in peril at 105 for 4 but the former England batter joined forces with Jordan Cox (40 not out) to add an unbroken 93 to keep their side in with a chance of a vital victory in a contest between the two sides just above Division One’s bottom two.In the morning they bowled Warwickshire out for 225 with the impressively pacy Navdeep Saini taking 5 for 72 on his debut. Four of the Indian’s wickets were among seven catches in the innings for wicketkeeper Sam Billings. It was Billings’ second haul of seven, though the Kent record remains eight (Steve Marsh v Middlesex at Lord’s in 1991).Sam Hain defied discomfort from a sore back to lead Warwickshire’s batting. He was last to fall, for 99, as the home side acquired a lead that was useful rather than commanding.During an overcast morning, Warwickshire made bitty progress as Hain battled to cajole runs from the tail. As Kent’s refurbished seam attack plugged away manfully, the last four wickets were all snaffled by Billings. Danny Briggs edged Matt Henry and when Henry Brookes and Craig Miles nicked Saini, it was left to No. 11 Olly Hannon-Dalby to try to escort his team to a batting point and his partner to 100. The former happened but the latter did not as Hain bottom-edged a cut at Matt Milnes.Second time round, Kent again started falteringly and lost both openers before the deficit was erased. Ben Compton edged Hannon-Dalby to third slip and Zak Crawley chipped Will Rhodes to mid-wicket.Daniel Bell-Drummond collected 27 from 44 balls but fell lbw to Hannon-Dalby and when Craig Miles hit Jack Leaning’s off-stump with a beauty, Kent were 105 for 4 – just 45 ahead.Denly and Cox played with composure and patience to first stabilise the innings and then accelerate gently against the softening ball as the pitch appeared to start to flatten. Denly continued his return to form by reaching 50 in 92 balls and celebrated with a straight six off Briggs. Cox batted impressively for the second time in the match and that the sixth-wicket pair stayed intact to resume in the morning tilted the balance of power in this fluctuating contest narrowly Kent’s way.

Darcie Brown and Hannah Darlington are in line for international debuts as New Zealand gear up to host three ODIs and three T20Is

Daniel Brettig23-Feb-2021Ellyse Perry, Meg Lanning, Rachael Haynes, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen and Megan Schutt are the core of one of the greatest Australian Women’s sides yet to take the field. Their quality has helped the national team to victories at each of the past two T20 World Cups and dominant runs of victories in bilateral series, in addition to their pioneering place in the game’s vault into full-time professionalism in Australia.While this generation remains a lauded bunch still vital to the team’s fortunes, the national selector Shawn Flegler is having to plan for the days when they begin to sidle off into retirement, either one by one – as he would no doubt prefer – or as a group leaving an enormous hole. The delay in the next ODI World Cup, meant to have been played in New Zealand presently but postponed by a year ostensibly due to the Covid-19 pandemic, means it is a younger squad going across the Tasman for a series against New Zealand.

Australia tour of New Zealand schedule

• 1st T20I: March 28 – Seddon Park, Hamilton

• 2nd T20I: March 30 – McLean Park, Napier

• 3rd T20I April 1 – Eden Park, Auckland

• 1st ODI: April 4 – Bay Oval. Mount Maunganui

• 2nd ODI: April 7 – Bay Oval. Mount Maunganui

• 3rd ODI: April 10 – Bay Oval. Mount Maunganui

This is partly to add to the options Australia have available this time next year, notably the re-addition of Tayla Vlaeminck after she missed the 2020 T20 World Cup on home soil with serious injury, but it is also part of the bigger-picture plans to keep “topping up” the Australian XI with fresh generations, much as Sophie Molineux, Georgia Wareham, and Annabel Sutherland have emerged as regulars over the past couple of years.Related

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“We’ve got an amazing team right now. It’s a strong team, we’ve been able to introduce some young players over the last couple of years in Annabel and Sophie and Georgia, Tahlia McGrath’s had a couple of games here and there as well,” Flegler said. “But you’ve got to keep evolving as a team, you can’t sit still; the competition from around the world is going to keep getting stronger.”You saw that Indian side with a few of their young players like Shafali Verma, a 16-year-old, so they’re getting international experience and it’s important our best young players get that experience where possible as well.”That’s the challenge over the next few years, we’ve got some of the best players in the history of Australian cricket playing right now, but at some point the end comes for everyone, so we need to make sure that team keeps evolving and keeps getting stronger.”That wider focus goes some way to explaining why the likes of Sammy-Jo Johnson, Erin Burns, Molly Strano, Heather Graham and Elyse Villani are missing from the ranks as well as they have played in recent editions of the WBBL. Instead, Darcie Brown, Hannah Darlington are set to experience their first international games, while Sutherland can expect graduating levels of exposure as a batting allrounder who was encouraged wherever possible to go on the attack with the Melbourne Stars.”Darcie had an outstanding WBBL, a fast bowler, bowling outswing at 17, nearly 18 years of age, an exciting prospect, I’ve seen her since she was 13 or 14, first saw her at the Under-15 national championship,” Flegler said. “So, she’s always had that ball speed within her, she’s improved her accuracy over the last 12 months, but really exciting prospect and I’m sure she’ll enjoy the opportunity over there.Head coach Matthew Mott with Ellyse Perry and Tayla Vlaeminck•Getty Images

“Hannah has been involved in the pathway all the way through as well, change-up in pace, that sort of closing death bowler option. With Delissa [Kimmince] unavailable for selection, we thought Hannah would be a great addition, particularly for the T20Is, that’s the focus for Hannah. The bonus is with her leadership qualities as well, I’ve seen that in the pathway, she’s captained NSW Metro and has been selected as vice-captain for NSW – I don’t think they’re particularly happy with me selecting her for this tour, but a great opportunity.”Vlaeminck’s return allows Australia to look again to the sorts of plans they had before the T20 World Cup, namely to use her express pace in the way that Perry’s was once harnessed, in balance with the swing of Schutt and the spin of Jonassen, Wareham and Molineux. “For someone like Tayla, who 12 months ago when she got that injury, you would’ve thought the World Cup was out of the question for her, but now we’re 12 months out from the World Cup, she has the opportunity to go over to New Zealand and test her skills over there,” Flegler said.”It’s another 12 months into playing Darcie and Annabel, even Georgia and Sophie Molineux, another 12 months of international cricket is great for those players, so while it was disappointing, to have this opportunity to go over there and play some games in those conditions 12 months out from a World Cup is an absolute bonus, whereas we wouldn’t have been doing that if the World Cup was on right now. So, [it is] a great opportunity.”I can’t imagine we’ll be able to play Tayla in all the matches, she’s coming back from a big injury and we’re still managing her workloads. It’s really important we see her as a really long-term player for Australia and she’s a high-risk athlete. You watch her bowl, it’s exciting, but she’s on the edge the whole time. We want to make sure she’s still bowling for Australia in 10 years hopefully, so we need to look after her, make sure she gets through this series.”Australia ODI and T20I squad: Meg Lanning (capt), Rachael Haynes, Darcie Brown, Nicola Carey, Hannah Darlington, Ashleigh Gardner, Alyssa Healy (wk), Jess Jonassen, Tahlia McGrath, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham, Belinda Vakarewa, Tayla Vlaeminck

He cited his inability to continue amid “various pulls and pressures” within the organisation

Press Trust of India16-Nov-2019Rajat Sharma has resigned as president of Delhi & Districts Cricket Association (DDCA) on Saturday, citing his inability to continue amid “various pulls and pressures” within the organisation.The veteran television journalist was appointed in July last year, after winning the elections at the annual general meeting, beating former India allrounder Madan Lal to the post.”The cricket administration here is full of pulls and pressures all the time. I feel that vested interests are always actively working against the interest of cricket,” Sharma said in a statement.”It seems that it may not be possible to carry on in DDCA with my principles of integrity, honesty and transparency, which I am not willing to compromise at any cost.Sharma was part of the BCCI general body meeting when the elections took place on October 23 in Mumbai. DDCA secretary Vinod Tihara had opposed his appointment to represent the state association at this meeting, writing to BCCI electoral officer N Gopalaswami that Sharma had been illegally nominated by the Apex Council, but Sharma received unequivocal support from the board’s executive committee to attend the meeting.”In my endeavour though I faced many road blocks, opposition and oppressions, just to keep me from discharging my duties in fair and transparent manner, however, somehow I kept moving ,” Sharma said. “That’s why I have decided to call it a day and hereby tender my resignation to the Apex Council from the post of president, DDCA with immediate effect.”

Marcus Trescothick bagged a pair but Azhar Ali ensured that Surrey would have to work hard for a victory against their closest challengers

ECB Reporters Network20-Sep-20181:38

Worcestershire relegated after Essex hammering

ScorecardSurrey were frustrated by the weather and some stiff Somerset resistance on the third day of the Specsavers County Championship match at Taunton.By the close of a day limited to 49.3 overs by rain and bad light, the hosts had reached 168 for three in their second innings and required a further 171 to avoid an innings defeat.The match looked set to end inside three days when Somerset crashed to four for two, following on, Marcus Trescothick bagging a pair when dismissed by Morne Morkel for the second time in the match.But from there the home side found a resolve that was missing from their first innings batting, James Hildreth making 60 and Azhar Ali ending the day unbeaten on 61.Overnight rain prevented play getting underway until noon and when it did Somerset’s last wicket pair of Josh Davey and Jack Leach added 24 before Davey looked to drive Morkel and was caught at point by Mark Stoneman.Somerset were all out for 146 and were soon in trouble in their second innings as Morkel bowled Trescothick in the opening over.Tom Banton hit a sweet on-drive for four off Tom Curran, but was bowled next ball and the hosts’ brittle batting in recent games looked set to repeat itself.Surrey could sense victory in the air as Hildreth walked out to the middle to join Azhar. Bu the third-wicket pair gradually grew in confidence and in the 13th over a blistering cover drive from Azhar off Conor McKerr saw the Somerset 50 up.The duo continued to prosper and Hildreth went to his half-century with a single off McKerr to square cover, his runs coming off 68 balls with eight fours.Two overs later Azhar edged McKerr to the third-man boundary to bring up 100, shortly after which the players left the field for bad light for an early tea.When play resumed only two more balls were possible before the players went off again due to more bad light.After an hour, play resumed with the loss of 16 further overs. Tom Curran switched to the Somerset Pavilion End and in his second over made the vital breakthrough when he tempted Hildreth to drive at a fuller ball and edge to wicketkeeper Ben Foakes.In his next over Curran was unlucky to have Azhar put down at second slip when he was on 30. The former Pakistan captain survived and rode his luck, taking two boundaries to deep backward square leg in the young paceman’s next over.Azhar went to his fifty with a boundary to backward square off McKerr, having faced 97 balls and hit nine fours.Somerset had moved onto 168 for three off 42.2 overs, when bad light stopped play bringing an early close to proceedings, by which time Azhar and Tom Abell (21 not out) had added 61.

Nottinghamshire Outlaws claimed their second NatWest T20 victory in as many days after defeating Northants Steelbacks by 12 runs under the DLS method

ECB Reporters Network22-Jul-2017
Nottinghamshire Outlaws claimed their second NatWest T20 victory in as many days after defeating Northants Steelbacks by 12 runs under the DLS method at Trent Bridge.Set a victory target of 196, the Outlaws had reached 52 without loss after 5.1 overs when heavy rain set in and prevented any further play. DLS at that time showed 40 as being the target.Richard Levi clubbed 88 off 43 balls but finished on the losing side•Getty Images

Alex Hales was unbeaten on 30 at the time, with Riki Wessels, who scored a century in Friday evening’s win over Derbyshire, on 14.Earlier, the visitors made 195 for 8 after being asked to bat first by Notts captain Dan Christian. Richard Levi top-scored with 88 from just 43 balls for the Steelbacks, bludgeoning seven fours and eight sixes in a brutal display of ball-striking.New Zealand legspinner Ish Sodhi claimed 3 for 39 for the home county, while Harry Gurney picked up two wickets in the final over to finish with 3 for 46.Levi’s innings gathered momentum in just the third over of the match, with Jake Ball twice being hit into the crowd. The South African clubbed three more sixes in his 26-ball half century, which boosted the Steelbacks’ total into three figures by the ninth over.Luke Wood stemmed the flow of runs with a brace of wickets from consecutive deliveries in the eleventh over. He had been made to wait until his fifth outing in this format before striking for the first time but he then bowled Ben Duckett for 28 and had Rory Kleinveldt caught at point from his next delivery.The youngster would also have added Levi to his tally but he over-stepped and was called for a no-ball as the opener lofted down the ground and into the hands of Steven Mullaney, when on 81.Levi only added seven more runs before Sodhi, who had earlier removed Adam Rossington for 17, had him taken by Hales on the midwicket fence, to the relief of most of the 7,638 crowd.Alex Wakely made 19 from 16 balls but he became Gurney’s 100th victim in T20 cricket when he picked out Wood at deep backward square leg when looking to accelerate.The paceman dismissed both Rob Newton and Steven Crook in the closing over before Ben Sanderson launched the final ball of the innings into the pavilion seats.It took Hales and Wessels only 4.3 overs to bring up the Notts’ 50 as they began their pursuit of 196. Light drizzle then began to intensify and the umpires had no option but to take the players from the field after just one delivery of the sixth over.The outcome lengthens Northants’ unhappy record at Trent Bridge, where they have never won in T20 cricket and where their last win in any format was a one-day success in 2003.They did taste success in their last meeting with the Outlaws, however, winning their semi-final clash at Finals Day last season.After losing their opening two matches, this time around, Notts now have four points from four games, whilst the defending champions missed out on a chance to take top spot in the north group but remain second on seven points from six matches.

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.