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Three teams will progress to the 2014 Women’s World T20 from the Qualifiers to be staged in Dublin from July 23 after the ICC announced a revised schedule for the tournament

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Jul-2013Three teams will progress to the 2014 Women’s World Twenty20 from the Qualifiers after the ICC announced a revised schedule for the tournament, which begins in Dublin on July 23.According the previous format, only the winner of the qualifying competition would progress to the 2014 finals, but following a decision made at the ICC annual conference in London last month, the runner-up and the winner of the playoff for third place will also qualify for the tournament in Bangladesh, taking the total number of participants to ten.As a result of the changed qualification structure, the originally intended Super Four stage will be replaced with two semi-finals.The ICC said the decision to expand the qualification process was part of a continued promotion and support of women’s cricket, with the recently announced event cycle including four World T20 events and two World Cups between 2015 and 2023.The three teams from the Qualifiers will join Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, South Africa and West Indies for the World T20, which begins on March 16 and will take place alongside the men’s event.Canada, Ireland, Japan, Netherlands, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Zimbabwe are the eight teams participating in the Qualifiers.

Kolkata Knight Riders dominated possession for about 80% of the match, but conceded goals in the last few minutes of either half

The Bulletin by Sidharth Monga16-Apr-2013Kings XI Punjab 157 for 9 (Gony 42, Mandeep 41, Kallis 3-24, Narine 3-33, Senanayake 2-28) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 153 for 9 (Gambhir 60, Morgan 47, Mahmood 3-21, Praveen 2-26) by 4 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsManpreet Gony: pirate of the Punjab•BCCIKolkata Knight Riders dominated possession for about 80% of the match, but conceded goals in the last few minutes of either half. Playing his first match of this IPL, Manpreet Gony won Kings XI Punjab this game out of nowhere. The hosts were dead and buried reeling under a Sunil Narine hat-trick when Gony walked out to bat, but his 18-ball 42 gave Kings XI a target to bowl to. Still, Gautam Gambhir and Eoin Morgan were cruising home when Gony came back for his second spell, but those three overs for six runs – two of them wides – and the wicket of Gambhir caused enough panic for Knight Riders to crumble.Forget the unfathomable – in Twenty20 – spin of Sunil Narine and Sachithra Senanayake, which got Knight Riders the four big wickets of Kings XI’s overseas batsmen for just 13 runs off 15 balls, it was the Indian domestic batsmen’s ineptitude against the bouncer that proved to be the decider. Kings XI lost four of their batsmen to balls pitched short, but crucially, Knight Riders’ Manoj Tiwary and Yusuf Pathan were deers in headlights when confronted with accurate bouncers.When Tiwary came out to bat at the fall of Gambhir for a third straight half-century, Knight Riders needed only 52 off 41 with seven wickets in hand. Gony bounced him again and again, and it got uglier and uglier for Tiwary as he faced seven balls for one run, slogged at more than half of them, and left Knight Riders stuck. Yusuf wasn’t much better, except that he lasted longer, and managed a top edge over the keeper in his 13 off 16.The crucial difference between the two innings was that Mandeep Singh and Manan Vohra of Kings XI had scored some runs – Mandeep managed a crucial 41 – before they were bounced. And when bounced, they didn’t waste balls, and got out. Tiwary and Yusuf couldn’t get out, and suddenly Knight Riders needed 30 off the last two overs. The problem for Kings XI was that they had run out of the overs from Azhar Mahmood, who took three wickets including that of Jacques Kallis and Morgan.Kings XI had to bowl Parvinder Awana, and they did so in the 19th over. His Delhi team-mate, Rajat Bhatia, got stuck into him, and his two sixes brought it down to 11 off seven. Awana, though, had his own back as he beat Bhatia on the pull and bowled him top of middle and leg before signing off.The canny Praveen Kumar had to bowl the crucial last over, and he nearly lost it with a huge wide down the leg side. Adam Gilchrist might be having a horror tournament with the bat, but dived full length to his left to save four runs. The game kept alive, Praveen bowled a superb final over, making sure that he was about a foot behind the front line for every ball. Whoever says he is not mentally fit for cricket is way off the mark.

New Zealand Under-19 pulled off a close last-ball, one-wicket win, their first of the series, against Australia Under-19 in the third Youth ODI between the two teams

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Apr-2013
ScorecardNew Zealand pulled off a close last-ball, one-wicket win, their first of the series, against Australia in the third Youth ODI between the two teams. The third ODI was a dead rubber as Australia had already taken a winning lead of 2-0 in the three-match series.Batting first, Australia began well as the openers put on 71 runs. Kelvin Smith scored his second half-century of the tour, hitting 52 off 76 balls. However, offspinner Dane Watson effected a breakthrough to dismiss Jaron Morgan for 36. Sean Willis and Jake Doran fell in quick succession to leave Australia at 126 for 4. The rest of the batsmen struggled to put together partnerships and it took a brisk knock of 39 from Cameron Valente to push their score to 220 for 8. Watson finished with figures of 4 for 31, while Kyle Jamieson and Arana Noema-Barnett took two wickets apiece.In reply, New Zealand were shaky at 19 for 2 before a 90-run partnership between opener Rakitha Weerasundara and Ken McClure revived the chase. Weerasundara then added 71 runs with Leo Carter to take New Zealand to 180 for 3 in the 41st over. Australia clawed back into the match as Ben Ashkenazi dismissed Weerasundara and Valente, then got wickets off two successive deliveries. Valente took another two wickets in his next over as New Zealand stumbled to 8 for 198. A run-out in the last over almost gave Australia a 3-0 scoreline, but Noema-Barnett hung on to ensure New Zealand scampered home off the final ball.

A round-up of the Quaid-e-Azam trophy matches on February 9, 2013

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Feb-2013
ScorecardA 12-wicket match haul from left-arm fast bowler Wahab Riaz, including a hat-trick, and a strong batting performance led Lahore Shalimar to a ten-wicket victory over Lahore Ravi in the first round of the Super Eights in the Quaid-e-Azam trophy. Riaz took nine wickets in the first innings as Ravi were shot out for 153, and took three wickets in their second dig, when Ravi faced an innings defeat after a 169-run first-innings deficit. Some resolve by their batsmen, however, helped them set a target of 87, which Shalimar overhauled on the final day without the loss of a wicket.Ravi’s openers started positively when they batted first, putting on 70, before Riaz had them struggling at 124 for 9. Riaz’s performance was backed up by half-centuries from Shalimar’s opener Imran Butt, Umar Akmal and his brother Kamran, which strengthened their grip on the contest.Ravi’s openers scored half-centuries to help erase their deficit, but no other batsman scored beyond 25 as Ravi were bowled out for 255. Shalimar’s Imam-ul-Haq scored an unbeaten 52 to help seal the victory.
ScorecardCenturies from Shoaib Ahmed and Babar Naeem helped Rawalpindi gain three points against Islamabad in a drawn game. The first day being washed out stole valuable time from the game, and by the end of the third day, when Islamabad scored 123 for 3, the possibility of an outright result was virtually over.After being put in to bat, Rawalpindi lost three quick wickets to be struggling at 42 for 3, before a 177-run stand between Shoaib and Naeem helped them recover. Although wickets fell regularly thereafter, a knock of 59 from Sohail Tanvir helped them get past 350. Islamabad, in reply, stuttered throughout their innings, as besides opener Raheel Majeed, who scored 78, and Imad Wasim, no one put up much resistance. Tanvir and seamer Hammad Azam shared seven wickets between them.With the lead being secured, the rest of the match didn’t have much relevance. Umar Amin scored a half-century to lead Rawalpindi to 187 for 4, before the match was drawn.
ScorecardIn Swabi, the first two days of the Bottom Six match was washed out but an all-round effort from Saeed Anwar jnr helped Multan clinch a first-innings lead and three points against Multan. Left-arm spinner Anwar took 5 for 14 off 14 overs to help bowl Abbottabad out for 131, and scored an unbeaten century as Multan reached a strong 220 for 4 on the final day, before the match was drawn.Abbottabad struggled after they were put in to bat as their top order flopped. No.7 Khalid Usman, who scored 30, was the top scorer as Anwar and fellow spinner Aamer Yamin took eight of their wickets. In reply, Multan lost the first wicket without a run being scored, before Zeeshan Ashraf, Yasir Butt and Anwar led the recovery.
ScorecardQuetta narrowly avoided defeat in the other game of the group of the six bottom teams, against Peshawar at the Arbab Niaz Stadium. With the first day being washed out, both teams forfeited their first-innings to try chase an outright result.A century from Nawaz Ahmed and an unbeaten half-century from Mohammad Rizwan took Peshawar to 322 for 7 on the third day. Opener Bismillah Khan, who scored 58, and No.3 Ali Asad, who scored a century, led Quetta’s strong reply before a collapse had them losing four wickets for 21 runs. But lack of time prevented Peshawar to get the final two wickets.

Mitchell Starc is out of the second ODI against Sri Lanka on Sunday after complaining of calf soreness following Australia’s opening win

Daniel Brettig12-Jan-2013Mitchell Starc is out of the second ODI against Sri Lanka on Sunday and may miss further matches beyond after complaining of calf soreness following Australia’s opening win at the MCG. The South Australian fast bowler Kane Richardson has been called into the squad as cover.As the most durable of Australia’s young fast bowlers over the past year, Starc has played successfully for the national side across three formats without injury since his Test debut against New Zealand in late 2011. However his spell of six overs in Melbourne, returning the figures of 1 for 25, resulted in the calf complaint.The injury marks an unfortunate point in the summer for Australia’s fast bowlers, meaning every paceman in the first Test squad of the season has suffered an injury of some kind.James Pattinson was first to break down with a side injury, Peter Siddle missed the Perth Test due to a hamstring problem, and Josh Hazlewood had foot stress hot spots uncovered while bowling in the WACA ground nets. Ben Hilfenhaus suffered side injury in Hobart, Shane Watson fell prey to a calf strain in Melbourne, and now Starc has suffered similarly.While the Australian team physio Alex Kountouris described the problem as minor, calf trouble is infamously stubborn, as Watson can attest after suffering a string of the injuries in recent times. “Mitchell Starc had some mild right calf soreness after the match at the MCG last night,” Kountouris said.”Whilst we are not majorly concerned about it, we have withdrawn him from the game on Sunday as a precaution. He will be reassessed over the next few days and is a possibility to play next weekend’s matches against Sri Lanka if his symptoms resolve.”If Starc’s withdrawal is another blow to Australia’s efforts to reduce the amount of injuries suffered by their fast bowlers, Richardson’s call-up is a reward for some of the more eye-catching performances in domestic limited overs matches this summer, including one haul of 6 for 48 at Adelaide Oval.”Kane has been called in as cover in the squad due to his impressive form in the limited overs formats this season,” the national selector John Inverarity said. “This provides another great opportunity for a young player as we look to build towards Cricket World Cup in 2015.”A part of Australia’s winning Under 19 World Cup team in 2010, 21-year-old Richardson has impressed many with his speed, aggression and the ability to fire in a mean yorker. He may now get the chance to debut for Australia on his home ground.Should Richardson be included he will, like the rest, benefit from the guidance provided by Brad Haddin’s presence in the dressing room. The captain George Bailey said Haddin’s influence had been notable in preparation for the opening match, helping a team of players getting used to the international game learn from a player with years of war stories to tell.”One of the challenges with the group is the lack of experience,” Bailey said. “Having someone as composed as Brad is, not only on the ground but off the ground in the way he sets up for the game, the way he prepares, it’s something that I take a lot out of. The debutants and the guys who have played even less than I have would certainly get a lot out of the way he is.”I thought he kept beautifully, and even the way he batted, I thought Sri Lanka bowled quite well at the back end of their innings, but he and David Hussey just found a way to keep that score ticking over and that was really important to get that score up around 300.”Bailey was also satisfied by the way his men had blunted the threats posed by Lasith Malinga and Ajantha Mendis. Both Malinga and Mendis were expected to be the major threats to Australia’s batting, but were to return the poorly combined figures of 2 for 123 from 20 overs, something Bailey attributed partly to the new ODI rule limiting the fielding side to four fielders outside the circle at any one time.”It’s certainly good for our confidence, that we stuck to our plans on how to play both of them,” Bailey said. “One of the advantages we will have for a brief little period is that we’ve played the four out rule for a season and a half domestically.”That’s something that we may have adjusted a little bit better to, whereas I’m not sure those guys have been exposed to that much. That does take a little bit of adjustment and a little bit of re-jigging of your plans. I certainly expect them to bounce back. For our confidence, to be able to pick off their best bowlers like that was really good.”

The payments issue of the BPL has been stirred once again with Ian Pont, the Dhaka Gladiators coach, claiming he has not received half the money due to him

Mohammad Isam23-Jul-2012The payments issue of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) has been stirred once again with Ian Pont, the Dhaka Gladiators coach during the inaugural season, claiming he has not received half the money due to him. Pont’s allegation came two days after the six franchises missed the latest deadline – July 21 – to complete all payments.”I am personally missing 50% of my contracted amount and others are still awaiting re-imbursement of flights, expenses and original fees,” Pont wrote in an email. “Pieces of paper kept being produced showing bank transfers by the franchise, but they never took place. Players and staff have been given a whole host of excuses. Deadlines and promises remain broken.”The franchise, run by the Chowdhury family, has just stopped communicating. It’s not only very sad but totally unprofessional to run a business this way in my view.”However, Gazi Ashraf Hossain, the BPL governing council chairman, said that Pont had received his payment in full, though he wasn’t aware of any other clauses in his contract.”As far as I know, he [Pont] was the highest paid coach in the tournament and already got the full payment of $20,000,” Ashraf said. “I don’t know if there was a promise of any additional amount in the contract. If such a thing exists, I will still say that our priorities are player payments and tax issues. We will look into his claim afterwards.”In response, Pont wrote another e-mail: “I don’t really wish to talk about specific sums as they are and should be private. I can confirm that I have received half the amount stated in my contract. I don’t get the obsession with the amounts. If someone is owed a dollar, they are owed money.”Pont also claimed some Dhaka Gladiators’ players were willing to boycott their semi-final against Khulna Royal Bengals because they were not being paid. “The overseas players came to me and we had an emergency meeting where it was felt that boycotting the semi-final was a genuine option,” he said. “So much money was missing that the guys didn’t know what else they could try. But the players did not want to let the BPL down or the fans, which was the right thing to do.”I am amazed we remained focused enough to win the whole competition and it’s a testament to the players – overseas and local – when the only talk was about payments. It was hard to concentrate on the cricket with such an enormous distraction. After all, this is not simply a game for the players and staff, but it is their living.”Pont said he’d like to work in the BPL again but would quit the Dhaka franchise. “I anticipate returning to hopefully win the BPL again. It just won’t be with the Shihab Trading Company’s franchise. The fact is you cannot have players worrying if they are going to get their money. It just sends the wrong message.”Ashraf was disappointed with the irregular payments after the franchises missed yet another deadline. “We are a little frustrated with the payment issue. It would be nice for us if we could finish the inaugural tournament without any controversies, but still we have five months in hand before the next event to solve all the issues.”We have got verbal assurance from some franchises. Actually most of the franchises are now focusing on the revenue issue. You know a huge financial deal was involved in the event, so it’s not unlikely that they face some setback. I think we are in a learning process which will help us to arrange the next edition smoothly.”When asked whether the BPL would take tough action against a franchise that failed to settle the issue, Ashraf said: “The governing council will review all the things before taking any action. We hope the franchises can understand everything, so we are not in hurry.”

Tom Maynard, the Surrey and England Lions batsman, whose death shocked the cricketing world on Monday, was electrocuted before he was hit by a train on London underground accotrding to

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Jun-2012Tom Maynard, the Surrey and England Lions batsman, whose death shocked the cricketing world on Monday, was electrocuted before he was hit by a train on London underground, British Transport Police have confirmed.An inquest was formally opened and adjourned at Westminster Coroner’s Court on Friday morning. The circumstances of Maynard’s death will be established later this year.British Transport Police have appealed for information from residents in Wimbledon Park and confirmed that Maynard, 23, had been electrocuted by the live rail on the District Line before he was struck by a train shortly after 5am.The initial results of a forensic post mortem, conducted by a Home Office pathologist have indicated that Maynard suffered burns as a result of coming into contact with the live rail as well as suffering multiple injuries from being hit by the train.Police stopped Maynard in Ryford Road, next to Wimbledon mosque, after reporting that he was driving “erratically”. Maynard then fled from the scene, leaving police and BTP officials anxious to discover information about a period of roughly 45 minutes between his escape and the report of the collision from the tube driver.The funeral will be held on Wednesday, July 4 at Llandaff Cathedral at 12 noon with a service at Thornhill Crematorium at 1.15pm. This will be followed by a gathering at Pentyrch Rugby Club where friends are encouraged by the Maynard family to bring personal photos of Tom to compile a montage. All three events are open to the public.Surrey will play their first match since Maynard’s death on Friday night against Essex at Chelmsford. The county postponed the Twenty20 game against Hampshire that was scheduled for The Oval on Wednesday.Rory Hamilton-Brown, Surrey’s captain, who shared a house with Maynard, has been left out of the squad on compassionate grounds, leaving Gareth Batty to lead the team.Chris Adams, the Surrey director of cricket, said: “It has obviously been an incredibly difficult few days for the club and the players but this game against the Essex Eagles is a step back into some sort of routine. Playing cricket is what we do and tonight will give the players a sense of normality in such a tragic situation.”

It ended in stalemate with two weary – and, ultimately, wary – teams shaking hands on a draw after 11 sessions of cut and thrust cricket and one of cat and mouse.

David Lloyd at The Oval19-May-2012
ScorecardGeorge Dockrell was disappointed he couldn’t bowl Somerset to victory•Getty ImagesIt ended in stalemate with two weary – and, ultimately, wary – teams shaking hands on a draw after 11 sessions of cut and thrust cricket and one of cat and mouse.A draw was not what either team anticipated for most of this terrific match and, for much of the final day, it seemed the least likely result. But with Surrey unable to maintain their early momentum in pursuit of an always daunting victory target of 305 and Somerset kept at bay for 34 overs by the skill and determination of seventh wicket pair Rory Hamilton-Brown and Gareth Batty, winning proved just out of the question.It went almost all the way, mind. Batty’s dismissal with 11.4 overs remaining rekindled Somerset’s interest – especially as a second new ball was coming into view.But there was to be no shifting Hamilton-Brown – or the loyal Jon Lewis, for that matter – and the visitors finally accepted the inevitable with two deliveries remaining. Surrey finished on 239 for 7, 66 runs away from what would have been a remarkable victory and with their young captain undefeated on 70, having faced 161 balls during an innings that spoke volumes about his growing maturity as a batsman.Hamilton-Brown was the final individual winner of a match full of outstanding performances.For Surrey, fast bowler Stuart Meaker was the star of the show, finishing Somerset’s second innings with the stunning career-best figures of 8 for 52 from 21 high octane and high quality overs. “He’s a phenomenal bowler who keeps doing it for us,” said Hamilton-Brown. “I just hope the England selectors don’t take notice!”They will not be able to avoid Meaker if he keeps bowling as he did here – and, no-one will be more delighted, of course, than Surrey’s captain if and when the call does come.As for Somerset, their first innings batting was just what a team missing injury victim Marcus Trescothick would have wanted with Arul Suppiah and James Hildreth hitting splendid centuries. And, while there was no hundred in this game for Nick Compton, the country’s leading run-scorer again showed his class.Today, though, most eyes were on the visitors’ 19-year-old left-arm spinner George Dockrell. The Dubliner bowled his team to victory on the final afternoon of the season’s opening match, against Middlesex, and he went mighty close to repeating the trick here.Coming onto to bowl immediately after lunch with Surrey going well and only one wicket down, Dockrell quickly settled into a wonderful rhythm. Even better, he soon struck three times in the space of 11 balls to remove Jason Roy, Jacques Rudolph and Zander de Bruyn through a combination of bounce, turn and flight.Suddenly, Somerset were in command. And they stayed that way as Peter Trego won lbw decisions against Tom Maynard and Chris Jordan to leave Surrey tottering at 148 for 6.On and on Dockrell bowled, twirling and toiling his way through 32 overs unchanged. But with Hamilton-Brown and Batty taking root, Somerset could not get the one more wicket they desperately wanted before tea.Thereafter, the cat and mouse began. Dockrell went over the wicket, bowling into the rough outside leg stump, to see whether Surrey would chance their arm, try for victory and do something silly. It was not to be – but the ploy meant that the runs dried up almost completely until a point was reached when Somerset could once again attack with impunity.It almost worked, too, with Dockrell getting rid of Batty with his arm ball. But neither the young spinner nor Vernon Philander could apply the killer blows.Given that Somerset are seriously depleted by injuries, and considering they lost the services of another bowler this afternoon when seamer Craig Meschede hurt his shoulder in holding the catch that removed De Bruyn, the visitors had good reason to feel more than satisfied with their performance here.Dockrell, though, was thinking about what might have been. “I’m a little bit disappointed, to be honest,” he said. “It was a spinning wicket and not to be able to bowl them out is a little disappointing. But as game, it had everything and either side could have won going into the final day.”As for Hamilton-Brown, he felt Surrey “lost the right to win the game on the first day” when they bowled poorly and set Somerset on their way to a first innings total of 512. And the run-chase? “Batting was always going to be tough on the last day and I thought going into it that if we came out with a draw then we would have got out of jail.”

Mohammad Asif, the Pakistan fast bowler, has been released from jail after completing half of his one-year sentence for spot-fixing

ESPNcricinfo staff03-May-2012Mohammad Asif, the Pakistan fast bowler, has been released from jail after completing half of his one-year sentence for spot-fixing, his lawyers said. He was freed from Canterbury Prison in southeast England on Thursday morning.Asif, 29, was found guilty at Southwark Crown Court in November 2011 of conspiracy to cheat and conspiracy to accept corrupt payments over deliberate no-balls bowled during the Lord’s Test between Pakistan and England in August 2010. He is still under a seven-year ban (the last two years of which are suspended) imposed by an ICC tribunal in February last year.His team-mates Salman Butt and Mohammad Amir were also found guilty. While Asif and Butt denied the charges against them in court Amir, who was released in February after serving half of a six-month sentence, pleaded guilty. Butt, who is currently serving a 30-month jail sentence, was banned for ten years (with five suspended), while Amir got five years.Mazhar Majeed, the agent who was accused of setting up the deal that was uncovered by a newspaper sting operation, was imprisoned for 32 months.

Michael Beer took seven wickets after Liam Davis had soared to a triple century as Western Australia minced New South Wales by an innings and 323 runs

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Feb-2012
ScorecardMichael Beer took 7 for 46, his first haul of more than three wickets in a first-class innings, after Liam Davis had soared to a triple century as Western Australia minced New South Wales by an innings and 323 runs in the Sheffield Shield match in Perth.The result, the biggest margin of victory in Western Australia’s history, took the Warriors to the top of the Shield table, pending the result of the match in Hobart between Tasmania and Queensland. It was also a wretchedly low moment in an unhappy season for the Blues.Nathan Hauritz and Shane Watson provided the only token resistance as the visitors were rounded up cheaply a second time, Michael Hogan and Nathan Coulter-Nile taking the early wickets of Phillip Hughes and Usman Khawaja before Beer worked his way through the rest to finish with seven.Watson’s 31 concluded a fair return to first-class cricket after a stubborn calf problem, but it was an unhappier time for Brad Haddin, who popped a return catch to Beer to complete a pair for the match.Lacking Marcus North due to a finger dislocation that required surgery, the Warriors went on to 5 for 560 before declaring, after Davis took his chance to pass 300. On 299 he swung the ball to fine leg, where Timm Van der Gugten dropped the catch and allowed the ball to reach the boundary. Davis’ stand with Adam Voges reached 379 before Voges was out to Nathan Hauritz. The partnership was Western Australia’s third largest of all time.