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Extended squad named for three-match series as big names head for India

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Mar-2023Chad Bowes and Ben Lister are the two uncapped players in New Zealand’s extended squad for this month’s ODI series against Sri Lanka, with a host of regulars missing due to a clash with the IPL.Lister, who plays for Auckland Aces, enters the 50-over set-up after making his T20I debut in India last month, while Bowes could make his international debut after top-scoring for Canterbury across white-ball formats this season, with 373 List A runs at 46.63 to date, and a further 359 at 39.89 in T20s.The squad will be led by Tom Latham, but will be lacking a number of senior players, including Kane Williamson, Tim Southee and Devon Conway – all of whom are playing in the ongoing Test series against Sri Lanka – as well as the left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner.Finn Allen, Lockie Ferguson and Glenn Phillips will be available for the first ODI at Eden Park on March 25, but will fly to India thereafter. Lister will then link up with the squad ahead of the second ODI in Christchurch, alongside Mark Chapman and Henry Nicholls.”It’s always exciting as a coach to have new players in the environment and to have players putting their hands up to be selected again in a particular format,” Gary Stead, New Zealand’s head coach, said.”Chad has been impressive for a number of seasons at the top of the order for Canterbury as well as being an excellent fielder.”We are set to play 16 white-ball matches between now and the start of May so there will be a number of chances for players to test themselves in familiar and unfamiliar conditions.”The series will also mark a return to the white-ball set-up for Will Young and Tom Blundell, who has been one of New Zealand’s stand-out players in Test cricket in the past 12 months, but has not played a limited-overs international since the tour of Bangladesh in September 2021.”Tom Blundell, in particular, is someone who we’ve been hugely impressed by in international cricket over the past 18 months as a leader in the Test team and then domestically with the Wellington Firebirds,” Stead said. “It’s an exciting opportunity for Tom ahead of a big year of white-ball cricket.”ODI Squad to face Sri Lanka Tom Latham (capt), Finn Allen, Tom Blundell, Chad Bowes, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Ben Lister, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Glenn Phillips, Henry Shipley, Ish Sodhi, Blair Tickner, Will Young

Captain warns that CPL doesn’t offer pathways for young players to develop

Andrew Miller21-Jan-2022Kieron Pollard, West Indies’ captain, has pleaded for patience as the region begins to rebuild its T20 fortunes in the wake of a disappointing World Cup campaign, and warned that the franchise nature of the Caribbean Premier League means that there is no longer a ready route for the next generation to arrive at international level with all the tools required for success.Speaking on the eve of the first T20I against England in Barbados, Pollard acknowledged that the team was at “Ground Zero” after their rock-bottom displays in the UAE, where a golden generation – epitomised by its two most long-serving stars, Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo – played together for the last time.West Indies come into this campaign off the back of a 2-1 defeat in last week’s ODI series against Ireland, while a new-look team – led by stand-in captain Nicholas Pooran – was beaten 3-0 by Pakistan in Karachi before Christmas. But Pollard called for the Caribbean public to accept that the rebuild could take some time, especially against an England team that routed them for 55 in their most recent encounter at the World Cup.”We need to improve the way we play, because our batting has definitely been a problem for us,” Pollard said. “The good thing is that we have some new faces in the group, guys looking to make a name for themselves in our international scene. It’s like we are starting from scratch, so we need to do the basics right. Play the situation of the game and analyse, assess, and make the right decisions, depending on what the team requires at that point in time.”Pollard’s own breakthrough in professional cricket came as a 19-year-old in the original Stanford 20/20 – the inter-island competition set up by the now-disgraced financier Allen Stanford, which Pollard’s Trinidad and Tobago team won in each of its two editions in 2006 and 2008.Now, however, that competition has been subsumed into the Caribbean Premier League, with a draft system for recruiting players and an expectation of success from the owners of the region’s various franchises. And while the money is welcome for the tournament’s established stars, Pollard warns that this causes problems for the Caribbean’s younger talents trying to make their way in the game.”We don’t have a T20 feeder system, where guys can get different match practice at different times,” Pollard said. “The CPL is results-oriented, with private owners who come in and want to win. Some guys might get to play, some guys might not, but we have to keep a bunch of guys together and give them experience. Chopping and changing, and dropping and bringing in, is not going to change our results, because these guys are actually learning on the job.Related

• West Indies crashed and burned in the 2021 World Cup. How do they turn their T20I fortunes around?

• Odean Smith models ambition 'to be one of the world's top allrounders' on idol Andre Russell

• New beginnings for England and West Indies as the roadshow rolls on

“When you look at Indian cricket, when you look at the English system [the T20 Blast in addition to the Hundred], you look at the Big Bash, these have alternative T20 systems that some of the guys can come through. How many guys do we have that were made through the CPL only? When it was the Caribbean T20, there were a lot of guys coming through the system. I don’t know how we’re going to do it [in the future], but we need to find a way.”At the age of 34, Pollard is himself under pressure as a member of West Indies’ old guard, especially after making just 90 runs in five matches at the World Cup. But he is adamant his overall form still stands up to scrutiny, as he primes himself to begin the team’s post-World Cup rebuild.”Before the World Cup, there was no noise about the captaincy, but because of the campaign that transpired, it is necessary,” he said. “In each and every tournament that you have, whether it’s the World Cup or the Ashes, you expect casualties.”If I’m not the right person to lead, then so it, but cricket in the West Indies is not about Kieron Pollard. It’s about the holistic approach of getting better, and grooming the youngsters, to put them in positions where they can feel comfortable in international cricket.”I’ve never played cricket based on myself. I’ve always been based on the team and what is required at that point in time. I’m not just going to promote myself because I want to get a fifty, and I want to please the public, but if it is required, you can bet your bottom dollar, I’m going to put on that boxing glove and I am going to go there and fight for the team.”We have a rich bunch of talented young individuals. Nicholas [Pooran] has been promoted to No. 3 so that he can take more responsibility as well. We have a couple of new guys into the set-up. Each and every one of us has to play our role, and that’s the only way that the vehicle can move forward.”The stadium, the pitch, that’s our stage, we have to perform there,” Pollard added. “And the crowd is like the jury, and they want to judge. The public can go ahead. As it stands right now, going into the series, I’m going to give it my best. And let’s see what happens after that.”

Left-arm spinner holds nerve in final over after smashing 60 not out

ECB Reporters Network29-Aug-2020England spinner Sophie Ecclestone offered a glimpse of her ability with the bat as Thunder launched their Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy campaign with a four-run win over Lightning in a rain-affected match at Trent Bridge, smashing an unbeaten 60 off 61 balls.The 21-year-old, who tops the women’s T20I rankings as a bowler but rarely bats above nine in international cricket, hit six fours and two sixes, plundering 21 runs in the last over of the Thunder innings as they racked up a challenging 206 for 9 from their 50 overs.Lightning’s hopes of overhauling that total were dealt a major blow when their England opener Tammy Beaumont perished for just two. Scotland’s Sarah Bryce hit nine fours in her 52 but once she had succumbed to Ecclestone’s bowling the home side’s chances always looked slim.After 14 overs were lost to rain, a revised target of 151 left Lightning needing 32 off five overs once play resumed, but the combined experience of Ecclestone, England team-mate Kate Cross and World Cup winner Alex Hartley enabled Thunder to prevail in a tight finish.Teenager Sophie Munro – who turns 19 on Monday – was the pick of the Lightning bowlers, the right-arm seamer taking 3 for 32, including two wickets in her opening three overs with the new ball.However, a stand of 82 for the fourth wicket between wicketkeeper Ellie Threlkeld and allrounder Nat Brown rescued Thunder after a wobbly start and Ecclestone’s big hitting ensured that their hard work was made to count – although some spirited hitting by Abbey Freeborn and Lucy Higham set up a close finish after the rain.Lightning made good early inroads after Thunder had chosen to bat first on a bright morning, Munro striking with her third delivery for the Loughborough-based home side as Laura Marshall’s miscued pull went straight to Beaumont at mid-wicket.The right-arm seamer, who took 20 wickets for Nottinghamshire in county cricket last summer, was added to the England women’s training squad during the winter. She picked up a second scalp in her third over, dismissing Emma Lamb in a similar fashion as Beaumont pouched another straightforward catch.Thunder were 30 for two after 10 overs and immediately suffered another setback when Georgie Boyce was run out by Sophie Harman’s fine throw from deep cover.Sophie Ecclestone tucks one off the pads•Getty Images

However, Threlkeld and Brown patiently brought Thunder back into contention, Threlkeld punishing England spinner Kirstie Gordon with a series of boundaries before Brown was run out for 38 by Abbey Freeborn’s throw from point.Munro claimed her third success when Threlkeld, having completed a 76-ball fifty, gave Beaumont her third catch with another mishit pull, but though Gordon and fellow spinner Lucy Higham were able to get among the wickets as Thunder chased runs, crucially neither was able to dislodge Ecclestone, who finished with a flourish by striking Higham’s offbreaks for six, four, four and six in the final over of the innings.Sarah Bryce looked fluent from the outset as Lightning began their reply, striking Brown’s medium pace for three consecutive boundaries, but Beaumont had managed only two singles when, squared up by Brown, she squirted an easy catch to Olivia Thomas at short extra cover.Joined by older sister Kathryn, the Lightning captain, Sarah led the way in a stand of 52 for the second wicket to keep their side close to the required rate but Kathryn was run out for 17 when Sarah declined her call for a single. Soon afterwards, after completing her own half-century, the younger Bryce was bowled by Ecclestone off a bottom edge.Beth Ellis having been leg before to Hannah Jones, Lightning were still 88 short of their target with 19 overs left when rain took the players off for almost an hour, after which the DLS calculation revised the requirement to 32 off 30 balls.It gave Lightning a glimmer of a chance but Higham’s leg-before dismissal to Hartley sparked the loss of four wickets in seven balls and though Nancy Harman picked up a couple of boundaries, Ecclestone had the last word by bowling her off the penultimate ball.”It was just so nice to get out there and play some competitive cricket and I think it would have been a good game to watch if there were any spectators in the ground,” Ecclestone said. “For me, it was great to be able to bat at No. 6 when it is normally No. 9 or No. 10 for England; great to have the opportunity to get some runs.”We’re seen a bit as the underdogs in this competition but we have some good young players and it is a chance to show what they are made of.”

He will have an x-ray and a scan on Monday, CSK coach Stephen Fleming said

ESPNcricinfo staff05-May-2019With the World Cup less than a month away, Kedar Jadhav has presented India with a worry, picking a shoulder injury while fielding during Chennai Super Kings’ game against Kings XI Punjab in the IPL on Sunday. According to Super Kings coach Stephen Fleming, Jadhav will not be available for the remainder of the IPL.”Kedar Jadhav’s getting an X-ray and a scan tomorrow,” Fleming said after the match. “We’re hopeful for him. I don’t think we’ll see him again in this tournament for us. So now his attention will turn to what it looks like for the World Cup.”He’s in some discomfort but we just need to be accurate with our assessments tomorrow. Fingers crossed that it’s nothing too serious but it didn’t look that good.”Jadhav was fielding on the leg-side boundary when he injured his left shoulder while diving to stop a ball. It was the 14th over, bowled by Dwayne Bravo, and Jadhav dived to his left while trying to stop an overthrow from Ravindra Jadeja. Jadhav stopped the ball, but immediately clutched his arm, and walked out to be attended to by Super Kings physio Tommy Simsek.Jadhav did not take the field for the rest of the innings with M Vijay coming in as the substitute. To add to Super Kings’ woes, Vijay spilled a straightforward catch at point from Nicholas Pooran the very next delivery.The Indian team management and selectors will hope the injury is not too serious, considering that the squad will leave for the UK on May 22 with India playing their first group match on June 5 against South Africa. Jadhav is among four allrounders in India’s World Cup squad, and if his injury rules him out of the tournament, the selectors will look at the back-up pool of Ambati Rayudu, Rishabh Pant and Axar Patel.Jadhav had picked up an injury during the IPL last year too. He had sustained a hamstring tear in the tournament opener against Mumbai Indians and was then ruled out of the remainder of the tournament. This time, the injury will make him miss the playoffs for Super Kings.Jadhav has had an unimpressive IPL, scoring only 162 runs in 12 innings at a strike rate of 96 and average of 18, with one half-century. And he hasn’t bowled at all. All nationals teams for the World Cup can make changes to their preliminary squads by May 23 as per ICC tournament rules.

ESPNcricinfo understands that following Cricket Australia’s hurried investigations into the ball-tampering incident, it has apparently emerged that David Warner “is the issue”

Daniel Brettig in Johannesburg27-Mar-2018David Warner and Cricket Australia may be headed the same way as Kevin Pietersen and the ECB, with the vice-captain increasingly isolated as the instigator of the ball-tampering incident that has blown up into a perfect storm.In reference to the view within the team that Warner had hatched the idea and delegated it to his opening partner Cameron Bancroft with the captain Steven Smith’s approval, ESPNcricinfo has been told “the truth is starting to come out”. With the CA Board holding a teleconference with the head of integrity Iain Roy and the chief executive James Sutherland following the former’s hurried investigation, sources close to the board confirmed Warner “is the issue”.The enormity of the backlash against the Australian team and CA more broadly – by corporate sponsors and broadcasters bidding for television rights in particular – has led to a determination by Sutherland, the team performance chief Pat Howard and the Board chaired by David Peever that drastic action must be taken in an attempt to reset the game’s image. In that sense, Warner, Smith, Bancroft, the coach Darren Lehmann, assistant David Saker and others will be made to pay for the outrage as much as the offence itself.Briefing against Warner has been intense over the past 24 hours, leading to reports that team-mates want him out of the Australian side and that CA management are equally keen to see the back of him – the side’s senior bowlers Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon were angry at being implicated in the scheme to get the ball moving more sharply as the Newlands Test slipped away from Australia. Counter reports emerged on Tuesday that “everyone knew” about the attempt to alter the ball’s condition.Warner’s mixed relationship with the team and CA has endured for some years, after his “rehabilitation” in the wake of the Joe Root saga in 2013. Reports that Warner has left the team’s WhatsApp messaging group and distanced himself from the rest of the touring squad are not a surprise to those who have seen his persona veer wildly at times between the attack dog seen in 2013-14 and the reserved teetotal image he sought to foster between 2015 and 2017.Divisions within the team over the issue are a byproduct of the desperation being felt, with the realisation that international careers will end in an effort to save the face of the wider organisation and to preserve its appeal to fans and, by extension, the game’s commercial value. Even so, the fallout from the affair may also lead to the end of Sutherland’s long tenure as chief executive, given he has presided over a slipping of the team’s culture.Numerous experienced observers have pointed to the fact that the CA strategy announced last year omitted the “spirit of cricket” as one of its pillars for the first time since the documents had first been drafted in the early 2000s. The current strategy, devised to chart the path for CA and the state associations from 2017 to 2022, instead featured a “how we play” clause stating: “Be real, smash the boundaries, make every ball count, stronger together”.Previous editions of the strategy included pillars such as: “Strengthen and protect the ‘spirit of cricket’; thrive at the elite level; attract, develop and keep people in the game; and ensure cricket has a strong and sustainable financial base.”The aims of the current strategy were instead: “We will be the leading sport for women and girls; we will promote cricket to inspire love for the game; we will use technology to deliver great experiences for fans, participants and volunteers; we will maximises long-term sustainable revenue to drive investment in the game.”Pietersen’s days as an England cricketer were ended in 2014 after the 5-0 loss of the Ashes in Australia. While many details of the tour were never publicised, Pietersen was removed from the team as part of an attempt to change its culture.

The India offspinner opened up a 37-point lead over the second-placed Rangana Herath in the ICC Test rankings among bowlers after taking 12 wickets against England

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Dec-2016R Ashwin, the India offspinner, opened up a 37-point lead over second-placed Rangana Herath after taking match figures of 12 for 167 in the Mumbai Test.Ashwin now has 904 points, the second best by an offspinner after Muttiah Muralitharan (920), and the fifth-best among spinners after Tony Lock (912), Derek Underwood (907) and Shane Warne (905).

ICC top five rankings

• Test batsmen: 1. Steven Smith 2. Virat Kohli 3. Joe Root 4. Kane Williamson 5. Hashim Amla

• Test bowlers: 1. R Ashwin 2. Rangana Herath 3. Dale Steyn 4. James Anderson 5. Josh Hazlewood

• Test allrounders: 1. R Ashwin 2. Shakib Al Hasan 3 Ben Stokes 4. Ravindra Jadeja 5 Moeen Ali

Ashwin, who has scored 239 runs in six innings, including three half-centuries, in the ongoing Test series, also consolidated his position as the No.1 allrounder with 483 points, 78 ahead of the second-placed Shakib Al Hasan.Ashwin’s spin partner Ravindra Jadeja is ranked fourth in the allrounder’s list, just one point behind Ben Stokes’ 341. Jadeja’s six wickets in the Mumbai Test meant he rose to a career-best sixth in the bowlers’ list.India Test captain Virat Kohli, meanwhile, reached a career-best second rank among batsmen after his 235 in Mumbai. The knock earned him 53 points and an average of over 50 in Test cricket too. Australia captain Steven Smith occupies the top spot with 897 points, 11 ahead of Kohli.Kohli, who is also placed second in ODIs, and first in T20 internationals, has the chance to secure the top ranking in all three formats next year.India opener M Vijay and offspinning allrounder Jayant Yadav also moved up the batting rankings following their centuries in Mumbai. Vijay jumped up five places to 24th while Jayant vaulted to 56th from 87th.

The question of why criminal charges were not brought against Lou Vincent has been raised by Chris Cairns’ defence in his perjury trial at Southwark Crown Court

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Oct-2015The question of why criminal charges were not brought against Lou Vincent has been raised by Chris Cairns’ defence in his perjury trial at Southwark Crown Court. Vincent is one of the key witnesses against Cairns but has faced no legal action despite admitting to match-fixing and money laundering in the UK.Vincent, who has previously said Cairns ordered him to fix matches, was banned from cricket for life in 2014 under ICC regulations and his evidence forms a large part of the case brought by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).Vincent was not given any guarantees that he would not be charged by officers investigating the case but Oliver Pownall QC, representing Cairns, suggested the Metropolitan Police was only interested in material that could be used against Cairns.The court also heard of CPS concerns that not pursuing charges against Vincent could “seriously undermine the prosecution”. Notes from a meeting in February 2014 questioned whether Vincent was “rushing to the door” to implicate others and minimise his own role.However, detective chief superintendent Michael Duthie said that his main concern had been investigating the allegations of perjury, emphasising that issues to do with fixing were for the ICC and ECB. Cairns is accused of perjury and perverting the course of justice during his 2012 High Court libel action against Lalit Modi.”My decision was to investigate what happened at High Court, not match-fixing,” Duthie said. “I knew [Vincent] cheated and lied. We didn’t give any immunity or promises. If he started giving evidence about criminality in interviews with our staff, we would have stopped and cautioned him.”Pownall suggested that the idea Vincent would have been pursued for his crimes was a “sham” and that officers feared he would not give evidence against Cairns if he was also charged, something Duthie denied.Duthie and detective constable Lucy Wade were the final witnesses to be called by the prosecution. Cairns, who denies all charges against him, is due to the take the stand next week.The trial continues.

Gautam Gambhir has said that he should be fit in time to play the first match of the Indian Premier League against Delhi Daredevils on April 3

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Mar-2013Gautam Gambhir has said that he should be fit in time to play the first match of the Indian Premier League against Delhi Daredevils on April 3. Gambhir, who was dropped from the Test squad against Australia for the first two Tests and then missed out due to a bout of jaundice, had resumed training and was keen on getting back into the groove.”I started out slowly as I hadn’t played for 10 days, and the fatigue is still there,” he said in an interview to the . “But I should be available for the first match (April 3). We have a long break after that, which should give me enough time to recuperate.”Gambir, who captained Kolkata Knight Riders to their first IPL title last year and was the second-highest run-getter in the season, said that he didn’t regret not being part of the side that beat Australia by a historic margin of 4-0. “Playing for India is my biggest motivation, but not the only one,” he said. “As a sportsperson, I want to keep performing. I hadn’t played for Delhi in a long time, so it felt great to be back. That we won the Vijay Hazare Trophy after 17-18 years made it doubly special. I just want to make runs that help my team win. I don’t want to complicate things. I want to keep my cricket and my life simple by scoring runs.”His lack of match practice going into the IPL, however, isn’t a cause for concern. KKR coach Trevor Bayliss said that Gambhir and Jacques Kallis were players who would prove their experience once the competition begins. “At the same time, we have a squad with highly effective players in the middle order, who can handle the responsibility they have been entrusted with,” Bayliss added.Bayliss also admitted there would be pressure on KKR in the tournament as they seek to defend their title. “In a way, our achievements last season do bring in a bit of extra pressure,” Bayliss said in an interview to the . “But at the end of the day, it’s a good feeling to start a competition as the defending champions. We need to carry on with the momentum we had gained last year.”England batsman Eoin Morgan, Lakshmipathy Balaji and left-arm spinner Iqbal Abdulla joined the team in Kolkata on Thursday.

The eclectic talents of Italy almost caused a major upset in Abu Dhabi, as Ireland squeezed home by two wickets with two balls to spare

The Report by Ger Siggins in Abu Dhabi15-Mar-2012
ScorecardGary Wilson’s composed innings ensured Ireland didn’t suffer a second upset in three games•Barry Chambers/International Cricket Council

The eclectic talents of Italy almost caused a major upset at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, running Ireland to the final couple of deliveries.Italy rely heavily on players of Italian heritage – rather than those born in the country – and were a match for Ireland until the very last over. Italy’s batting was below par, barely scraping past 100, but the slow bowling and fielding ensured a tight finish for Phil Simmons’ men. In the end the margin was two wickets with just two balls to spare as Gary Wilson kept his head in a tense finale.The left-arm spin of Damian Crowley was almost Ireland’s undoing as the Nottinghamshire 2nd XI player took 3 for 12 off four magical overs.Gary Wilson admitted it had been a “smash and grab” win for Ireland. “All we can take from the game are the two points – and run,” he said. “Two or three guys got starts and didn’t go on so we wouldn’t have been in that position if one of them did.”William Porterfield was even more critical of his batsmen. “We made it hard for ourselves in the middle order with a couple of soft dismissals,” he said.Italy won the toss and batted on a slow surface. The Irish fielding was its usual tigerish self and the Italians struggled to get on top of disciplined bowling. Ireland kept the boundary count down once again, conceding just three fours and a pair of late sixes clouted by captain Alessandro Bonora.Ireland offspinner Paul Stirling was given the new ball and responded with two immaculate overs costing just one run, as well as picking up the scalp of Andy Northcote. There was also the novel sight of a 37-year-old New South Welshman bowling to a 38-year-old Tasmanian. Trent Johnston won that contest, bowling a maiden first up, but Michael Di Venuto played a backbone role to top score with 23 off 44 balls as wickets fell around him.After five overs Italy had made just 16, and the half way score of 39 for 2 was no platform for expansion. Middlesex allrounder Gareth Berg stuck around for 19 before he played an awful shot to square leg to give his club mate Stirling a second wicket.Berg and Di Venuto had taken the score to 55 but the Italians lost five wickets for 22 runs as first the spinners cashed in and then Boyd Rankin returned.The 6ft 8in paceman had recorded a T20 career best the day before, and improved on that with two lethal deliveries to send Crowley and Hayden Patrizi back to the pavilion. The Warwickshire bowler has concentrated on bowling at the stumps and was rewarded by seeing the poles cartwheel twice in a fiery second spell.Max Sorensen, who came in for Andrew White, was entrusted with the 18th and 20th overs, and picked up Carl Sandri to a catch in the deep. Bonora took the total into three figures when he just cleared the fielder on the square-leg rope.”If it ain’t broke don’t fix it,” they say, but Ireland failed to heed that old saw and separated the pairing of Stirling and William Porterfield that saw them to a ten-wicket win over Kenya. Kevin O’Brien was promoted and carved the first ball to the third-man boundary but perished to the first delivery of the second over, bowled by Carl Sandri. The Melbourne-born offspinner has been in fine form in the tournament and picked up two more scalps to take his total to eight.Porterfield and Stirling put on 25 before the Italians found their range and the Middlesex man edged behind to Patrizi. Ireland then made heavy weather of getting the runs as the middle order departed in a flurry.Crowley caused all sorts of problems as Ireland almost became unstuck.A fantastic piece of fielding by Di Venuto saw John Mooney depart to a direct hit and Ireland were confronted with the serious possibility of an early departure from a tournament they were expected to win.As the tension mounted the cool head of wicketkeeper Wilson was required and he tapped judicious singles before taking on Northcote in the final over. With eight wickets down Ireland still needed seven off five balls, but a reverse sweep reached the fence, followed by a two and a clubbed straight hit to leave Wilson unbeaten on 30 and Ireland joining Italy on two wins out of three.Edited by Alan Gardner

Shafiul Islam raised Bangladesh’s World Cup campaign from the dead, as he turned yet another astonishing contest on its head

The Bulletin by Andrew Miller11-Mar-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMahmudullah kept his cool alongside Shafiul Islam to take Bangladesh home•Getty Images

Shafiul Islam raised Bangladesh’s World Cup campaign from the dead, as he turned yet another astonishing contest on its head with a breathtaking assault in the batting Powerplay to leave England stunned by their fifth cliffhanger in consecutive contests, and facing their own make-or-break encounter with West Indies in Chennai next week.In another unbearably tense finale, Bangladesh’s ninth-wicket pair of Shafiul and Mahmudullah transformed a futile situation with a glorious blaze of strokeplay, as they turned an asking rate of 57 in 62 balls into an emotional victory with an over to spare. The honour of the winning hit went to Mahmudullah, who belted a Tim Bresnan full-toss through the covers for four to cue pandemonium among the most passionate cricket supporters in the world, but it was Shafiul’s refusal to accept defeat that ultimately paved the way for glory.On a sluggish track in which runs had, for the most part, to be grafted, England batted first and were bowled out for 225 – a total that was no better than par, and which owed everything to a chalk-and-cheese stand of 109 between Jonathan Trott and the fit-again Eoin Morgan. In reply, however, and in dew-laden conditions that made the ball tricky to grip – particularly for their cantankerous spinner, Graeme Swann – Bangladesh were on cruise control at 155 for 3 in the 31st over, before a calamitous run-out gifted their opponents a way back into the game.The man who had the game in the palm of his hand was the eventual – and rightful – Man of the Match Imrul Kayes, the less-vaunted of Bangladesh’s opening batsman, who slipstreamed Tamim Iqbal during a captivating 38 from 26 balls that put Bangladesh firmly ahead of the run-rate, before settling down to play the holding role with a chanceless 100-ball 60.Chanceless, that is, except for his sketchy running between the wickets. For it was his ill-advised decision to take a second run to deep square leg that ended a fourth-wicket stand of 72 with Shakib Al Hasan that looked to have broken the back of England’s resistance. In the next five overs, as Bresnan and Paul Collingwood applied the emergency brake, Bangladesh were limited to seven singles before Shakib – gasping to lift the tempo after a doughty 58-ball innings – aimed a loose sweep at Swann and was bowled for 32.Mushfiqur Rahim had been virtually strokeless since the run-out, with two runs from 18 deliveries before the re-introduction of Ajmal Shahzad persuaded him to drive expansively through the covers. But one ball later he edged a beauty on off stump through to Matt Prior, and before another run had been added, Shahzad produced another superb delivery to take out Naeem Islam’s off stump for a duck.It was a near-replica of the delivery that had earlier sent Raqibul Hasan on his way in the same manner, and with eventual figures of 3 for 43, Shahzad was England’s most successful bowler of the day. In between whiles, however, his line had been all over the shop – a performance that too many of his team-mates had been willing to emulate, not least James Anderson, who had borne the brunt of Tamim’s early onslaught, and later served up a dreadful nine-ball first over of the batting Powerplay – including five wides first-ball – to give Bangladesh real belief in the closing stages.That belief had been ignited by the swinging blade of Shafiul, who turned a bad day for Swann into a dreadful one by leathering his final over for 16, including the only six of the day, over wide long-on. Up until that point, Swann had been more preoccupied with the wet and slippery ball, with Andrew Strauss forced to intervene during a heated row with umpire Daryl Harper, but those blows brought the requirement down to 39 from 48 balls, and brought an abrupt halt to the flow of disgruntled fans who were trooping out of the stadium.This was the day that Bangladesh had been rehearsing for all through 2010. They got to know England’s cricketers and strategies through the course of back-to-back series at home and away, and having ended their run of 20 consecutive defeats with a tight victory at Bristol in their last-but-one encounter in July, they knew they had what it takes to spring a surprise. But, having collapsed in a heap to be bowled out for 58 in their last World Cup fixture against West Indies, the chance to start from the position of rank outsiders seemed to suit their purposes every bit as much as the favourites’ tag unsettled their opponents.

Smart Stats

• Bangladesh’s two-wicket win is only their second against England in 15 ODIs. It is also their fourth win over a Test-playing team in World Cups.

• The target of 226 chased by Bangladesh is the highest successfully chased one in ODIs in Chittagong. The previous best was 222 for 9 by Bangladesh against Zimbabwe in 2009.

• The 58-run stand between Mahmudullah and Shafiul Islam for the ninth wicket is the third highest for Bangladesh in ODIs.

• Eoin Morgan scored his first fifty in World Cups. He now has 154 runs from ten innings at an average of 15.40. In ODIs overall, he averages nearly 39 with four hundreds and 11 fifties.

• Ajmal Shahzad’s haul of 3 for 43 is his third-best in ODIs and his best performance in World Cups.

• The two-wicket win is the fourth in World Cups and the third such win to come against England.

With the honourable exception of the fit-again Morgan and the unflappable Trott, England simply did not look comfortable at any stage of the day. After losing the toss and being asked to set the agenda, they shipped three tame wickets in the space of their first 17 overs, as they dribbled along to 53 for 3, and though Trott was admirable in grinding out a 99-ball 67, it was Morgan’s departure for 63 to a fine catch by Kayes at backward square that derailed their ambitions of a 250-plus total. Their batting Powerplay once again proved problematic, with 33 runs and two wickets coming in five overs, and from 162 for 3 with 11.3 overs remaining, England were bowled out for 225 with two balls of their innings remaining.The left-arm spin of Abdur Razzak was especially impressive. It was he who stunted England’s ambitions with his first-ball removal of Matt Prior (who produced one of the doziest dismissals of the tournament to date, when he set off for a single with the ball already nestled in Mushfiqur’s gloves) and he did not concede a single boundary until Ravi Bopara larruped the third ball of his final over through the covers. Even then, Razzak had the last laugh, as two balls later Bopara tried the same trick and picked out Naeem Islam in the covers.It was Razzak’s earlier spell that set the tone, however, as he and Naeem squeezed all ambition out of England’s top-order in a boa-like alliance that resulted in 19 singles and nothing else between overs 7 and 16. Strauss reclaimed his status as the tournament’s leading run-scorer in the course of his 31-ball 18, but the fluency that had been the hallmark of his previous performances was nowhere to be seen as he eventually took on a cut shot that was too close to his body, and skidded a fast edge to Junaid Siddique at slip. And then Ian Bell, nominally England’s best player of spin, produced a timid aberration of an innings, which ended with a flaccid flick to short midwicket off Mahmudullah.England’s own trump spinner couldn’t come close to matching the efforts of Bangladesh’s quartet. Right from his first over, Swann was troubled by the dew-sodden ball and struggled to locate the flight, line and length that had proved so devastating in a similar situation against South Africa last week. England regained a small measure of control when the umpires agreed to a ball-change after 21 overs, and Swann was instantly in the thick of things with a tidy fourth over that went for two runs. However, the more notable aspect of the over was Swann’s petulance when called for a leg-side wide that might have brushed Shakib’s pad. Aside from the extra run, it was a sign that England were getting very seriously rattled.In the final analysis, however, there could be no quibbling with the result. The only reason that England were even given a chance of victory was that both sides knew of Bangladesh’s tendency to collapse under pressure. Sure enough, the choke when it came was dramatic and could have been game-changing, but thanks to the guts of Shafiul and Mahmudullah, justice was served in the end.Last week Bangladesh were being showered with brickbats – literally – after a spineless surrender in Dhaka. This evening those same players will be garlanded by a jubilant nation, and with a match against Netherlands still lying in wait, they now have a real chance to propel themselves to the quarter-finals. England, meanwhile, must ride the rollercoaster for the sixth match in succession. Another slip-up, and this time it really will be the end.

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