Iain O’Brien has said he and the rest of New Zealand’s bowling attack are “pretty sore but very happy” a day after winning the Dunedin Test

Cricinfo staff29-Nov-2009Iain O’Brien has said he and the rest of New Zealand’s bowling attack are “pretty sore but very happy” a day after dismissing Pakistan during a tense run-chase in Dunedin to take a 1-0 lead in the three-Test series.New Zealand went into the first match with a four-man bowling attack and, because part-timer Grant Elliott was unable to bowl because of a niggle, Shane Bond, Chris Martin, O’Brien and Daniel Vettori had to bear the increased workload.O’Brien’s performance was ordinary for the majority of the game. He had the tough job of bowling into the wind and, after a testing first spell in Pakistan’s first innings, he struggled to contain the batsmen and conceded 98 runs in 23 wicket-less overs. In the second, O’Brien toiled for 16 overs for figures of 52 for 1 before his day got worse.In the final session on the fifth day, an airy but fierce drive from Umar Akmal struck him on his finger during his follow through and dislocated it. O’Brien was in visible pain – Daniel Vettori said he saw his bowler’s eyes well up – but he was ready to bowl after getting the digit straightened by the physio.”There was no way Dan was getting the ball out of my hand at that stage,” O’Brien told . “I wanted to bowl. I wanted to be part of a Test win and to do something to change the game.”Fighting pain, O’Brien ran in and trapped Kamran Akmal lbw – a moment that Vettori said was when New Zealand started to believe they were going to win – before dismissing Umar Gul as well. He finished with figures of 3 for 63 and later said he was under pressure going into the final innings of the match.”If I didn’t come out and bowl yesterday, well that could have been me done for a while, if not for a long time,” O’Brien said. “To go out and bowl well yesterday and play a part in a Test win is pretty good. It makes me feel better about my job and role in the team.” O’Brien will have his finger assessed on Monday.O’Brien, however, was not the only one bowling in discomfort on Saturday. Bond, who was making his Test comeback, had an injured big toe and yet he finished with eight wickets, a performance that won him the Man-of-the-Match award. Bond said his toe was sore but it would be okay.

USA’s preparations for the ICC Under-19 World Cup came unstuck as they were beaten by Hong Kong in a warm-up match

Cricinfo staff08-Jan-2010USA’s preparations for the ICC Under-19 World Cup came unstuck as they were beaten by Hong Kong in a warm-up match. Afgahnistan, who beat Hong Kong earlier in the week, lost to a Canterbury A team, while Canada lost to an Auckland XI.USA only managed 182 for 9 after they chose to bat, their efforts not aided by three run outs. Hong Kong raced to 186 for 4 in 32.2 overs with captain Jamie Atkinson blasting 100 off 86 deliveries. He added 156 at almost a run-a-ball with Ashish Gadhia (59).Afghanistan went down to a five-wicket loss to Canterbury A, being bowled out for 169 after a promising start. Canterbury eased to victory in 32.2 overs, opener Kereyn Ambler leading the way with 70 off 77 balls.Auckland XI made 171 for 6 in a match reduced to 33 overs-a-side by rain. Canada struggled to keep on top of a stiff asking rate and finished on 148 for 7, although a fifty from Ruvindu Gunasekara gave them some cause for optimism.This was the last round of unofficial warm-ups as the teams all head to Christchurch for the tournament’s official opening on Sunday. Two days of official warm-ups follow before the first batch of proper games on Friday, January 15.

John Hastings dragged Victoria to the useful position of 9 for 282 after some serious slips on an eventful opening day against Tasmania

Cricinfo staff29-Jan-2010Victoria 9 for 282 (Hastings 82*, Hussey 72) v Tasmania

ScorecardJohn Hastings top scored for the Bushrangers•Cricket Victoria

The allrounder John Hastings dragged Victoria to the useful position of 9 for 282 after some serious slips on an eventful opening day against Tasmania. Hastings showed strong batting form again, having posted a valuable 84 against New South Wales last month, and his 82 was needed as the visitors dropped to an uncomfortable 6 for 116.Hastings and Matthew Wade (33) put on 76 to settle the side and Damien Wright added 36 to take them further forward. But it was the work of Hastings, who struck 10 fours and a six in his battling 194-ball stay, that was most effective as Victoria looked to build on their position at the top of the Sheffield Shield table following the Twenty20 break.In the morning David Hussey raced to a half-century to lift the Bushrangers from 2 for 11 and had 74 from 72 when he was caught at slip off Tim Macdonald. His dismissal added to the visitors’ troubles and left them six-down after the debutant Aaron Finch (8) and Rob Quiney (8) had both fallen to James Faulkner in his opening two overs after lunch.George Bailey’s decision to bowl first paid off quickly when Nick Jewell (2), Lloyd Mash (2) and Chris Rogers (24) went in the first session. Brett Geeves returned the best figures with 3 for 61 while Faulkner, Macdonald and Luke Butterworth had two each.

Tamil Nadu opener M Vijay and Karnataka fast bowler Abhimanyu Mithun have been picked for the third ODI against South Africa in Ahmedabad on February 27

Cricinfo staff25-Feb-2010India have made a slew of changes for the final one-dayer against South Africa in Ahmedabad on February 27. The most significant of them is that openers Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag have been rested for the dead rubber. Tamil Nadu opener M Vijay and Karnataka fast bowler Abhimanyu Mithun are among the new faces in the 14-man squad.Tendulkar batted all 50 overs during his unbeaten 200 in Gwalior while Sehwag played that match after suffering a sore back in the first game in Jaipur.Vijay has played a handful of Tests but is yet to make his ODI debut, and has had a decent run in the ongoing Vijay Hazare one-day tournament, making three half-centuries in five matches. This is the first call-up to a national limited-overs squad for Mithun, who is coming off a stunning debut Ranji season but has had lesser success in the shorter formats.The home side will be short on experience as another first-choice player, fast bowler Praveen Kumar, has been rested, while offspinner Harbhajan Singh’s break from international cricket has been extended. Add to that the injuries to Zaheer Khan, Gautam Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh, and India will line-up on Saturday without seven members of their preferred starting XI.Another addition to the pool is Mumbai batsman Rohit Sharma, who was most recently part of the national squad during the tri-series in Bangladesh last month.India have already won the three-match series 2-0.Squad: M Vijay, Dinesh Karthik, Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni (capt & wk), Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Yusuf Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja, Sudeep Tyagi, S Sreesanth, R Ashwin, Amit Mishra, Abhimanyu Mithun, Ashish Nehra

A review of the sixth round of games in the 2009-10 Plunket Shield

Cricinfo staff28-Feb-2010Auckland registered their first victory of the competition, and a stunning one at that, after proceedings in the first innings seemed to indicate the match was on its way to a draw. Wellington, who are at the fifth place on the points table, were asked to bat and they responded well, posting 477 courtesy a century from Stewart Rhodes (124). He was helped by half-centuries from Michael Pollard (60), Luke Woodcock (97) and Jeetan Patel (71). However, Auckland were far more dominating in their reply, with centuries from Tim McIntosh (171) and Richard Jones (107) taking them to 480 for the loss of just three wickets.Auckland declared once they went past Wellington with the intention of forcing a win, and that’s what they managed to achieve thanks to a combined bowling effort in the second innings. Led by legspinner Tarun Nethula, who took 4 for 17, Auckland kept gnawing away at the Wellington batsmen. Each of the five bowlers managed to grab at least a wicket, including two from the top order by seamer Gareth Shaw. Wellington folded for 122 in under 50 overs, and the Auckland openers, requiring 120 to win, knocked the runs off quickly on the fourth day to seal a morale-boosting win.Runs flowed in Rangiora as Northern Districts and Canterbury batted out a high-scoring draw. But, importantly, Northern Districts managed to secure a first-innings lead to clinch two points and retain their place at the top of the points table. The match featured five centuries, three in the first innings as Canterbury, after opting to bat, declared on 558 for 4. The opener Rob Nicol made 134 followed by Shanan Stewart (161*) and Dean Brownlie (112*), who added an unbeaten 236 for the fifth wicket to take their team to a mammoth score.Canterbury’s hopes of securing a first-innings lead were thwarted by a collective batting display from ND. Five batsmen out of the top six managed a score of at least 65, and each of the 11 who batted reached double-digits. The Marshall brothers, Hamish and James, struck centuries and added 122 for the fifth wicket. James Marshall then received excellent support from the lower order, as the total stretched to 726, a lead of 168; the last three wickets yielded 180 runs. Openers BJ Watling and Michael Parlane began the tough reply with a stand of 126, and Kane Williamson contributed 93 to set the platform for the Marshalls and the lower order to build on. Canterbury, as a result of the draw, were left at second place at the end of the round.Rain played spoilsport on the fourth and final day in Invercargill as the contest between Central Districts and Otago, which promised much, ended in a draw. Both teams were left tied on 18 points at the end of the game – CD won two points due to a first-innings lead – but Otago are ranked third due to a better quotient (0.972 as opposed to 0.958).CD were asked to bat, and Matthew Sinclair, backed by a solid top and middle-order performance, helped himself to 122. However, Otago hit back as their seamers Neil Wagner and Warren McSkimming grabbed seven wickets between them to restrict CD to 355 after they had threatened to get much more; the last six wickets fell for 26 runs.Aaron Redmond replied strongly in Otago’s innings, scoring 136, and while Sam Wells reached a half-century, CD held the upper hand at the end of their innings after Ewen Thompson picked up 5 for 64. Michael Mason supported him with three wickets to help bowl out Otago for 330 and secure a 25-run lead. But in a see-saw fixture, CD slipped to 95 for 5 in their second innings before rain erased any hopes of a thrilling finish on the fourth day.

David Warner exploded at the top and Kedar Jadhav provided a fiery finish to charge Delhi to a strong 183 which they defended with relative ease

The Bulletin by Sriram Veera25-Mar-2010Delhi 183 for 4 (Jadhav 50*, Warner 33) beat Bangalore 166 for 9 ( Pandey 39, Kohli 38*) by 17 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Kedar Jadhav shone on his IPL debut, scoring a half-century that helped Delhi end a three-match losing streak•Indian Premier League

David Warner exploded at the top and Kedar Jadhav provided a fiery finish to charge Delhi Daredevils to a strong 183, which they defended with relative ease. It was Delhi’s first win after three losses and also marked Royal Challengers Bangalore’s first loss at home.The pitch was drier than the previous tracks at the Chinnaswamy Stadium and Bangalore had to do much of the damage against the new ball if they were to hunt down the strong total. However, Jacques Kallis and Manish Pandey were kept relatively quiet by tight spells from Dirk Nannes and Umesh Yadav. Nannes hit the deck hard and moved the ball enough to upset batsmen’s timing and Yadav, the fastest Indian bowler currently going around in the circuit, with speeds consistently ticking over 140 kmph, surprised the batsmen with his line, length and bounce. And it wasn’t all brawn from the youngster; he kept it relatively full to Kallis but hurled a few short deliveries at Pandey to keep him on a leash.Bangalore’s second opportunity to break free came in the eight over with the introduction of Andrew McDonald and Amit Mishra. It was the make or break moment, with Bangalore needing 129 from 13 overs, but Mishra slipped in fine spell to turn the game decisively in Delhi’s favour.
Mishra removed Kallis with a googly and induced Robin Uthappa to edge the reverse-sweep to inflict a double-strike from which Bangalore couldn’t’ recover. McDonald went for 18 runs in his first seven deliveries – Uthappa producing the shot of the day with a nonchalantly-hit six over the straight boundary – but bounced back in his second over by taking out Pandey, and when Rahul Dravid ran himself out in the same over the chase had derailed.There was just one other moment of thrilling drama and it was provided by AB de Villiers, who jumped back at long-on to take an amazing one-handed catch, even as the ball appeared to have passed him, to get rid of Praveen Kumar.The Delhi bowlers produced a disciplined performance, but it was their batsmen who set up the game. There were three phases of play in Delhi’s innings – an explosive start by Warner, a serene partnership in the middle-overs between AB de Villiers and Dinesh Karthik, and a fiery finish provided by Jadhav.It was Jadhav who gave Delhi the perfect finish, but for the majority of the innings they rode on the momentum provided by Warner. It was as though he was playing stick cricket – see the ball and give it a mighty thump. The shot that stood out was a crunchy pulled-six off Dale Steyn but what caught his impish mindset was actually a mishit against the same bowler. It was just about back of length outside off and Warner went for an ambitious pull, but the ball screamed towards the cover boundary. It was Twenty20 cricket at its best (or worst, depending on your point of view) and both the bowler and the batsman smiled.There were no smiles from any bowler for the rest of the time when Warner flat-batted length deliveries over in-field and launched mighty sixes over long-on, but the entertainment ended when he fell, unable to clear long-off with yet another of his lofted hits.When he departed in the fourth over, the score read 44 for 1 and it soon turned to 58 for 2 with Sehwag falling to Vinay Kumar, who is gaining a reputation for taking big wickets. The game changed in character from there on. de Villiers and Karthik preferred to deal in singles as they nudged and drove their way around. The period wasn’t without its shares of thrills, with de Villiers pulling and Karthik sweeping Kumble for boundaries but it was definitely a lot quieter than at the start.It threatened to get grimmer for Delhi when Karthik and de Villiers got run out – Karthik backed up too far at the non-striker’s end and de Villiers was caught short by a direct hit from Eoin Morgan at backward point – but Jadhav, an unknown commodity for many of the Bangalore bowlers, connected with a few big hits to push Delhi towards a strong total. The shot of his stay was an audacious flat-batted six over long-on to a short delivery from Jacques Kallis, and he moved around the crease and also threw in a few deft shots – a late cut against Kumble being the highlight. The bowlers, caught off-guard, didn’t know whether to bounce at him or bowl full, and Jadhav exploited that to the fullest to push Delhi to a very competitive total.

Mahela Jayawardene’s graceful strokes helped Kings XI Punjab overcome the challenge set by Chris Gayle’s exhibition of bottom-hand

The Bulletin by George Binoy04-Apr-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outChris Gayle blasted 88 off 42, but his knock was overshadowed by a century from Mahela Jayawardene•Indian Premier League

There were two captivating innings of contrasting styles on show at the Eden Gardens and, eventually, it was the precision of Mahela Jayawardene’s graceful strokes that helped Kings XI Punjab overcome the challenge set by Chris Gayle’s exhibition of bottom-handed power-hitting. Jayawardene started in high gear and kept the accelerator floored all the way to his first Twenty20 century; his partnership with Sri Lankan team-mate Kumar Sangakkara ensured Punjab’s string of deplorable performances this season ended with a chase that was always several steps ahead of the asking-rate.While this victory did little for Punjab’s semi-final chances – they need to win five more in a row and then pray – it damaged Kolkata Knight Riders’ campaign. Had they won, they would have climbed to fourth in the league after nine games, ahead of Chennai Super Kings, but instead they remained fifth, just above the Rajasthan Royals. Such a helpless defence of a formidable target would have been far removed from the expectations of a noisy crowd, high on adrenalin after Gayle had blitzed 88 off 42 balls during an innings that contained a 33-run over, the costliest of the IPL.It began poorly for the hosts, with Murali Kartik fumbling the first ball of the chase at point and allowing a single, which brought Jayawardene on strike. He got on his toes as Shane Bond delivered, rode the bounce, and cut his first ball to boundary. Jayawardene, who had asked to open because Shaun Marsh was injured, continued to thread cuts through the off side, against Bond and Jaidev Unadkat, and also found the long-off boundary with a graceful straight drive. His first leg-side boundary was a lofted six off Unadkat in the fourth over. He lost his opening partner Manvinder Bisla, who biffed few boundaries as well, in the fifth over to an arm ball from Kartik, but his intensity and strike-rate did not relent.In the final over of the Powerplay, Jayawardene made room and square-drove Gayle for four, stayed back and pulled over short fine leg, and lofted the last ball back over the bowler’s head for six. Punjab scored 17 runs off the over and were 69 for 1 after six. There was rain in the air and Duckworth-Lewis equations on players’ minds. If the game ended there, Punjab were ahead. It would stay that way.Sangakkara’s contribution was vital too, for his 38 off 22 balls eased the pressure on Jayawardene, who had reached his half-century off 26 balls. Sangakkara took on Angelo Mathews in his first over, charging to loft over mid-on for four before clearing the straight boundary in his second.Punjab had raced to 105 for 1 after 9.5 overs when Jayawardene gave Kolkata a chance, spooning Mathews to short third man. He was on 51, Punjab needed 95 off 61 balls, but Kartik dropped the opportunity. He was made to regret it immediately. Jayawardene hit three fours in the next over, bowled by Ajit Agarkar, and Punjab continued to whittle down the target rapidly. The identity of the bowler didn’t matter, for Jayawardene found the boundary at will, and neither did Sangakkara’s dismissal with the score on 149. They had added 98 off 8.5 overs.Yuvraj Singh, smarting from the criticism heaped on him by the media, ensured there was no choke, clouting 33 off 16 balls. He was applauding Jayawardene’s century, off 55 balls, even before they completed the run that got him there. The match ended with successive boundaries from Jayawardene – one helped past fine leg, the other pulled in front of midwicket – off the first two balls of the 19th over, but the Eden Gardens faithful had been silenced well before that.Unlike Punjab’s chase, which was fuelled by consistently expensive overs, Kolkata’s innings relied on Gayle awakening from a run-a-ball torpor to reach 200. He had faced only 24 balls in the first half of the innings and scored only 24, with no sixes. Ramesh Powar, the offspinner, had restricted him by bowling into his pads from over the wicket, varying his pace and trajectory. Gayle had tried to play the sweep but his timing wasn’t fluent.Finally, in the 11th over, Gayle stirred. Powar had bowled 3.5 overs for 17 runs, when Gayle advanced to his final ball and muscled it over the long-on boundary. Powar finished with 0 for 23 off four overs; his team-mates were not going to be as fortunate.Kolkata were 89 for 1 when Bopara came on to bowl the 13th, and carnage was around the corner. Manoj Tiwary rotated the strike with a single off the first delivery, and Gayle heaved the second and third over the midwicket and long-on boundary, losing the ball in the construction rubble. He had sped to 50 off 30 balls, scoring 26 off his last six balls, and more was to follow. For the fourth ball, Gayle created some room, stayed low and launched it flat over the cover boundary. The fifth was lost in the long-on rubble again. Bopara, reeling from four consecutive sixes, let slip a wide which beat the wicketkeeper too. At the end of the over, Kolkata were 122 for 1, and Gayle was on 62 off 32.Gayle then skied a mis-hit off Chawla. The bowler wanted to take the catch himself and made a mess of it, much to Ganguly’s mirth in the dug out. Jayawardene, however, ensured that Ganguly would not be the last one laughing on the night.

Round-up of action from the Clydesdale Bank 40

02-May-2010Warwickshire overcame a defiant innings by Leicestershire prospect James Taylor to register their second win in the Clydesdale Bank 40 competition at Edgbaston. After piling up 321 for 7, the Bears had restricted the Foxes to 235 for 7 when the umpires took the players off in the 35th over because of bad light. The conditions failed to improve and, with Taylor stranded on 92 after facing 77 balls, Warwickshire secured a 41-run victory under the Duckworth/Lewis method.Ashwell Prince and Steven Croft shared their third century partnership of the summer to help Lancashire open their Clydesdale Bank 40 account at the expense of Glamorgan at Old Trafford. The Red Rose pair helped their side recover from 89 for 3 in pursuit of 272 with an unbroken 186 to win by seven wickets with 16 balls to spareAfter a rousing display with the bat, Yorkshire then had the better of the difficult conditions as they beat Northamptonshire by 35 runs under the Duckworth-Lewis method. Chasing an initially revised target of 245 in 30 overs, Northants were four for one after two overs when rain caused a further stoppageNew signing Steven Mullaney took three quick wickets to rip the heart out of the Hampshire batting and set up a convincing 35-run win for Nottinghamshire in their clash at the Rose Bowl. Mullaney, signed from Lancashire in the close season, finished with 3 for 24 as Hampshire’s poor start to the season continued. Hampshire have now lost all five matches in both competitions and there was never any doubt they would lose this encounter after overnight rain and persistent drizzle reduced the match to 24 overs each.The Kent v Durham, Surrey v Unicorns and Middlesex v Essex fixtures were all rained off.

Peter Borren, the newly-appointed Netherlands captain, has backed his team to upstage Scotland in the upcoming Intercontinental Cup fixture in Deventer

Cricinfo staff09-Jun-2010Peter Borren, the newly-appointed Netherlands captain, has backed his team to upstage Scotland in the upcoming Intercontinental Cup fixture in Deventer. Netherlands will be fielding a depleted side with some players unavailable due to injury and work commitments, but Borren said his side has the wherewithal to improve their position in the points table – they are currently placed fifth – with a win.”I think we certainly have the bowlers to take 20 wickets in the match,” Borren said. “The trick for us will be scoring the runs and I will be looking to our top order to give us a good start. If one can score a century and two or three others support him with 50s then I think we will be in a very strong position.”It can be a difficult transition from one-day cricket, which is what we have mostly been playing, to the four-day competition. Our batsmen will have to build innings and take it one session at a time in order to occupy the crease and spend some time out in the middle.”Scotland are placed second, eight points behind Afghanistan, and a win against Netherlands will take them to the top. Scotland, who won the inaugural edition of the tournament in 2004, have seven players in their squad who are on full-time contracts – Richie Berrington, Qasim Sheikh, Gordon Goudie, Majid Haq, Steven Smith, Ross Lyons and Moneeb Iqbal.Netherlands (squad): Peter Borren (capt), Wesley Barresi, Tom de Grooth,
Mark Jonkman, Ruud Nijman, Pieter Seelaar, Eric Szwarczynski, Steven de
Bruin, Adeel Raja, Wilfred Diepeveen, Berend Westdijk, Floris Kingma, Rifaiz
Bakas.Scotland (squad): Gordon Drummond (capt), Dougie Lockhart, Preston
Mommsen, Qasim Sheikh, Richie Berrington, Neil McCallum, Gregor Maiden,
Majid Haq, Moneeb Iqbal, Matthew Parker, Gordon Goudie, Ross Lyons, Simon
Smith.

Yorkshire have lost their opening two Friends Provident t20 matches after going down by 21 runs against Worcestershire at New Road

Cricinfo staff05-Jun-2010
Scorecard
Yorkshire have lost their opening two Friends Provident t20 matches after going down by 21 runs against Worcestershire at New Road. Facing a victory target of 209 as they sought to bounce back from their disappointing 65-run defeat at home to Derbyshire, the visitors were restricted to 187 for 7.Worcestershire, in front of a crowd of around 4,500, launched their campaign by making 208 for 7, James Cameron top scoring with an unbeaten 51 off 31 balls. After winning the toss, they got off to a speedy start by smacking 18 off the game’s opening over, bowled by spinner Azeem Rafiq.Skipper Vikram Solanki was quickly in full flow until he holed out to Anthony McGrath at mid-on off Steven Patterson for 30, made off 13 balls with two sixes and three fours. His opening partner Phil Jaques also fell for 30, bowled while going for a big hit during Rich Pyrah’s first over.McGrath then held a one-handed catch on the boundary to dismiss Alexei Kervezee off Adil Rashid while Moeen Ali had his middle stump knocked back by Rafiq, and at the halfway stage in their innings Worcestershire were 101 for 4.Rashid also accounted for Daryl Mitchell and Australian rising star Steve Smith, who made 34 on his debut, to finish with figures of 3 for 30. Ben Scott fell to Patterson in the final over, leaving Cameron unbeaten with three sixes and four fours.Yorkshire, without Herschelle Gibbs who was suffering from a stiff neck, lost Andrew Gale in the third over when he departed to an excellent running catch by Jack Shantry off Gareth Andrew. Adam Lyth was removed for a duck by Imran Arif before Andrew struck again thanks to a great diving catch by wicketkeeper Scott which saw off Jaques Rudolph.Smith collected his first wicket for Worcestershire by ousting Gerard Brophy and after ten overs Yorkshire were finding the going tough on 75 for 4. Their difficulties increased when Mitchell dismissed Jonathan Bairstow, although McGrath and Rashid did their best to boost the visitors’ fortunes.They put on 65 in 6.2 overs before the partnership was broken by Shantry, who removed Rashid for 34. McGrath followed in the next over to signal the beginning of the end for Yorkshire.