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

Tamim Iqbal, one of Bangladesh’s senior players, has said he had no idea that the national coach Stuart Law was going to resign

Nagraj Gollapudi16-Apr-2012Tamim Iqbal, one of Bangladesh’s top batsmen, has said he had no idea that the national coach Stuart Law was going to resign. He was talking hours after Law announced his decision to quit as Bangladesh coach.”I’m completely taken by surprise,” Tamim told ESPNcricinfo. “But family comes first.” Law was stepping down less than a month after guiding Bangladesh to the final of the Asia Cup.Tamim said Law had added to the professionalism brought in by his predecessors as coach, the Australian pair of Dav Whatmore and Jamie Siddons. “Law gave us the belief that we can do it,” Tamim said. “And that only pumped up the players. He used to give us tremendous amount of confidence. A team like us needs the confidence and he always supported us.”The relationship between a coach and the players takes time to develop usually and with Stuey, we were almost there. Everyone was enjoying his presence in the dressing room and he was enjoying being with us as well.”Tamim also gave a personal example of Law’s influence. “When I was going through a rough patch during the Pakistan series (last December) he kept pushing me to work hard. There is one line I can never forget. He said: ‘Someone is hurt now and someone will be hurt in the Asia Cup.'” Tamim made four half-centuries in four matches in the Asia Cup and finished as the second-highest run-maker in the tournament.Tamim said he was also disappointed as he felt Law’s departure was a bit of a backward step for Bangladesh cricket. “We will miss him definitely. This is the tragedy with Bangladesh cricket: whenever we do something good, something bad happens.”Edited by Siddarth Ravindran

ESPNcricinfo previews the IPL game between Kings XI Punjab and Royal Challengers Bangalore in Mohali

The Preview by Siddhartha Talya19-Apr-2012

Match facts

Friday , April 20, Mohali
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)David Hussey hasn’t really got going for Kings XI this season•AFP

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The teams came have had contrasting fortunes in their respective previous games, and Royal Challengers Bangalore, among the most closely-followed teams this competition, have got the win they needed to revive their campaign.Not only did Chris Gayle deliver in typical Gayle fashion, smashing five consecutive sixes to give his team a strong chance in a big chase apart from a breaking a spectator’s nose in the process, Bangalore broke a run of three straight defeats to clinch a thrilling victory that included a six off the final ball. Saurabh Tiwary finally did something to justify his $1.6 million buy, hitting the winning runs while playing an important cameo and AB de Villiers was masterful, disdainfully reverse-sweeping and scooping fast bowlers for sixes.Kings XI Punjab’s previous experience was far less dramatic, in fact it was dispiriting, as they were beaten comprehensively by Kolkata Knight Riders. It broke the momentum set by two straight wins, leaving the team seeking a recovery again. They’ll be without their captain Adam Gilchrist for the game; he’s recovering from a slight hamstring tear.

Players to watch

It’ll be interesting to see if Muttiah Muralitharan is left out of the playing XI again, as he was against Pune Warriors. The man who replaced him was Tillakaratne Dilshan, who managed just 4. He is part of what is potentially the most destructive opening duo this IPL, and will be expected to play his role in this campaign even though he may not be a regular in the side throughout if the choice is between him and Murali.David Hussey has had a quiet IPL season so far, with scores of 13, 18, 32 and 10. He’s had starts in each of the four innings he’s played, only one of those has had a significant impact in the outcome. He’s expected to lead Kings XI without Gilchrist playing. Azhar Mahmood has had his visa issues resolved and is a good all-round option to consider for Kings XI in the absence of their regular captain.

2011 head-to-head

The teams played each other twice last season, and won a game each. Each victory was by a big margin. In Bangalore, the Royal Challengers, led by Gayle’s blistering ton, amassed 205 and defended it with ease. In Dharamsala, it was Adam Gilchrist’s turn to make a hundred and Kings XI won by 111 runs.

Stats and trivia

• Gayle overtook Gilchrist to become the batsman with the most sixes across the five IPL seasons. He now leads the tally with 85, one ahead of Gilchrist. Gayle’s done it in less than half the matches – 32 against 65.
• Royal Challengers have conceded 616 extras in the five seasons of the IPL, second only to Mumbai Indians’ 642. Kings XI are third on the list with 584. Among the teams to have played all five seasons, Rajasthan Royals have conceded the least – 503.
  

  Quotes

  “I am sure we are learning from our frustrations and mistakes previously made and that’s all part of the journey of cricket.”

Mohammad Asif, one of three Pakistan players jailed for spot-fixing, will be released from Canterbury Prison early on Thursday

ESPNcricinfo staff02-May-2012Mohammad Asif, one of three Pakistan players jailed for spot-fixing, will be released from Canterbury Prison early on Thursday after completing half of his one-year sentence, his has lawyer said.Asif, 29, was handed a jail sentence at Southwark Crown Court in London in November last year, along with team-mates Salman Butt and Mohammad Amir, after being found guilty 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.”Asif’s release is a matter of few hours and I look forward to meeting him and helping him in his legal fight to restore [the] reputation he once had,” Asif’s lawyer Ravi Sukul told Pakistani TV channel Geo.Asif and Butt denied the charges against them in court while Amir, who was released in February after serving half of a six-month sentence, pleaded guilty. Asif received a seven-year ban (with two years suspended) from playing cricket by the ICC in February 2011. 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.Sukul added that Asif could stay in England while he explores the possibility of launching an appeal. “I have a strong belief that if certain procedures had been applied in Asif’s benefit at his trial, they could have persuaded the jury to come to a different conclusion,” Sukul said.Asif has previously indicated that he will appeal the ICC ban to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. His appeal against his prison term was rejected last November by the Lord Chief Justice.

Yorkshire secured maximum batting bonus points for the first time in two years as they reached 416 and built up a first innings lead of 163 on the third day against Northamptonshire

01-Jun-2012
ScorecardOli Stone claimed his maiden first class wicket but couldn’t prevent Northants conceding a large lead•Getty Images

Yorkshire secured maximum batting bonus points for the first time in two years as they reached 416 and built up a first innings lead of 163 on the third day against Northamptonshire. The visitors replied with 43 for 1 in 15 overs before bad light ended play in this Division Two match with 10 overs remaining at Headingley.Rain caused eight overs to be lost before play was able to begin at noon with Yorkshire on 190 for 3 and Joe Root needing only two more runs to complete his first century at Headingley. He did not have long to wait, steering his third ball from Lee Daggett to the third man boundary to reach the milestone in 137 deliveries. It contained 11 fours.Jonny Bairstow, 36 overnight, raised the century stand in the same over and his half-century followed from 92 balls with eight boundaries.It was another impressive display from Root but when he had reached 125 he fell to a splendid catch by wicketkeeper David Murphy, who took a sharply rising ball stood up to the stumps to Andrew Hall. The fourth wicket pair had put on 147 in 31 overs but the departure of Root slowed down Yorkshire’s progress and they lost their momentum in the afternoon session.Neither Bairstow nor new batsman Gary Ballance was able to force the pace and the usually brisk Ballance took 17 balls to get off the mark. In 10 overs together the pair scraped only 25 runs and Bairstow then lost his off-stump to Hall after making 68 from 137 balls, with 10 fours.The tempo remained flat even with the arrival of Anthony McGrath, who took 14 balls to get off the mark and Yorkshire were unable to take full advantage of Hall having to hobble off the field with a strain one ball into a new over.After McGrath and Ballance had scored 32 together in 11 overs, Ballance bobbed up a bat and pad catch off James Middlebrook to Alex Wakely at short leg to leave Yorkshire on 300 for 6 and it took Azeem Rafiq to bring some much needed impetus to the innings. He went on the attack with a series of perfectly timed strokes and, with McGrath also showing greater fluency, Yorkshire were able to go in to tea on 361 for 6 in 92 overs.But early in the evening session, Rafiq’s spree was ended by Daggett, the batsman flashing outside off-stump to be caught by Murphy for 37 from 44 balls with six fours.Two runs later, McGrath played across the line to a full-length ball from David Willey and was lbw for 47 and when Ryan Sidebottom steered Daggett to Stephen Peters at first slip in the 100th over a further 21 were still required for the fifth batting bonus point.They got there in the 104th over thanks to some clean straight drives by Mitchell Starc, and the last wicket pair added a useful 37 before Steve Patterson was bowled round his legs by Middlebrook.Coming on as first change, Starc pinned Middlebrook lbw with his fourth ball but with the light deteriorating he could be risked for only one over before giving way to Rafiq. Peters (20) and Kyle Coetzer (12) were the not out batsmen when bad light ended play with the visitors still needing to do a lot of work to deny Yorkshire a third win of the season.

Simon Katich guided Hampshire to a comfortable four-wicket CB40 win over Durham with a perfectly judged half-century

15-Jul-2012
ScorecardSimon Katich guided Hampshire to a comfortable four-wicket CB40 win over Durham with a perfectly judged half-century. Australian veteran Katich struck three sixes and a four in his 59 not out as Hampshire got home with 10 balls to spare.Durham, put in on a slow wicket, mustered 200 for 7 from their 40 overs. Gordon Muchall underpinned Durham’s total with a brave and defiant 96 not out, coming in at 41 for 3 with his side finding it hard to get the better of a wet outfield.Muchall struck five fours and two sixes off 99 balls, sharing in an important stand of 83 for the fifth wicket with Dale Benkenstein, who made 31. Paul Collingwood contributed 28 and it might have been more had he not been beaten by a throw from Jimmy Adams at extra cover when the Durham total was 59.Kabir Ali was the most successful of the Hampshire bowlers, taking 3 for 39, removing opener Phil Mustard in his first spell and then returning to get rid of former Hampshire batsman Johann Myburgh and Gareth Breese.When Hampshire responded they were given a solid base by Adams and fellow opener James Vince who put on 73 for the first wicket.Legspinner Scott Borthwick ended the stand when he removed Adams for 33 and later caused concern in the Hampshire camp by coming back to dismiss Sean Ervine and Liam Dawson. But all the while former Durham batsman Katich was in command, so were Hampshire.Katich twice hit Borthwick for six and did the same to Ben Stokes before finding the perfect ally in Dimitri Mascarenhas. With 30 required off 29 balls at the fall of Dawson’s wicket at the start of the 36th over, Katich and Mascarenhas went on the offensive.Mascarenhas lifted Borthwick for another six to take Hampshire in sight of victory before Borthwick got some measure of revenge by him lbw for 22.The sixth wicket pair had put on 28 in 15 balls and with Hampshire now needing two runs, the rest was a formality. Katich faced 62 balls and, for all his late punishment, Borthwick was the pick of the Durham bowlers in terms of wickets, finishing with 4 for 51 from his eight-over stint.

ESPNcricinfo previews the third Test between England and South Africa at Lord’s

The Preview by Alex Winter15-Aug-2012

Match facts

Thursday, August 16
Start time 1100 (1000 GMT)Graeme Swann needs a return to form if England are to retain their No. 1 status•Getty Images

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For the second series this year, England are faced with a must-win final Test in order to preserve their No. 1 status. They managed to produce a No. 1 performance in Colombo to defeat Sri Lanka and stay top of the pile. That performance followed four consecutive defeats and, once again, England have to pull something out of the bag after less-than-ideal preparation.Their cricket might have improved at Headingley in the second Test but any sign of improvement has been totally overshadowed by a social media ruckus. Twitter, YouTube, text messages and emails have ensured Kevin Pietersen’s long-term England future has dominated the news rather than the facts of the immediate future – England have to win this Test. And without Pietersen they are without the man that took the series back to South Africa and at last put them under pressure with his 149.South Africa might be a little miffed by the Pietersen saga too. They have come dangerously close to being dragged into the mire and few are discussing their opportunity to ascend the summit of world cricket, for which they need only a draw. They are by far the more settled of the two camps and have players in form and in confident mood. Several had injury worries after the second Test but they are now fully recovered and preparing to take South Africa to the top.Much will depend in this match on England’s ability to score enough runs. Sounds simple enough – and the totals they have achieved so far in this series would have been good enough to pressurise many teams – but England have found themselves with too few runs to play with against the depth, talent and mental strength of South Africa’s line-up. Twice England have squandered positions to rack up very high scores and they cannot afford to miss their chance at Lord’s, otherwise South Africa’s order could swamp them once again.

Form guide

England DLDWW (Most recent first)
South Africa DWDWD

Watch out for

There is suddenly some pressure on Graeme Swann. The stock of England’s premier spinner has fallen in the last year – he didn’t have the devastating effect the Pakistan slow men enjoyed in the UAE and laboured for 50 fruitless overs at The Oval under suspicion of an elbow injury. He took his first first-class wicket since June last week for Nottinghamshire at Taunton. Last summer, Swann used the final Test against India at The Oval, to re-establish his claim as one of the world’s best spinners by bowling his side to victory on the final day. He will be hoping for a repeat performance.Dale Steyn endured a miserable Lord’s debut on South Africa’s last tour in 2008, taking 1 for 117 as England built a huge first-innings total. He will be looking for happier memories this week and will hope to add to his 10 wickets – making him the leading wicket-taker – in the series so far.

Pitch and conditions

The Olympic archery tournament was completed less than two weeks ago so it will be interesting to see how the outfield has coped with temporary stands and artificial paths. “It’s not as pristine as you normally see Lord’s but you’ve got to give credit to them for the effort they have put in,” Graeme Smith said. The square was largely unaffected by the archery and with the drier weather in recent weeks than at the start of the season, a truer surface than during the West Indies Test should be found.

Team news

Pietersen’s absence could be the excuse England need to play five bowlers in their search for 20 wickets – something they have been loathe to do in recent times. They used Samit Patel as a fifth bowler in Sri Lanka but you have go back to Dhaka in February 2010 for a match where five specialist bowlers were picked. Swann could replace Pietersen with Ian Bell batting at No. 4 and Matt Prior at No. 6. The tried-and-tested method, however, would be to slot Jonny Bairstow back into the side.England (probable) 1 Andrew Strauss (capt), 2 Alastair Cook, 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Ian Bell, 5 James Taylor, 6 Jonny Bairstow, 7 Matt Prior (wk), 8 Stuart Broad, 9 Graeme Swann, 10 James Anderson, 11 Steven FinnSouth Africa will remain unchanged, as all their injury worries, Alviro Petersen, Jacques Kallis and Smith, have recovered.South Africa (probable) 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Alviro Petersen, 3 Hashim Amla, 4 Jacques Kallis, 5 AB de Villiers (wk), 6 Jacques Rudolph, 7 JP Duminy, 8 Vernon Philander, 9 Dale Steyn, 10 Morne Morkel, 11 Imran Tahir

Stats and trivia

• In total, the teams have met 14 times at Lord’s with England winning six and South Africa four.
• England haven’t beaten South Africa at Lord’s since 1960 – six Tests ago – when they triumphed by an innings and 73 runs.
• South Africa’s record Test total came at Lord’s in 2003 – 682 for 6 declared.
• Andrew Strauss’ 100th Test will be his 50th as captain, while Stuart Broad’s 50th Test will be his 100th first-class match

Quotes

“We expect England to be England over the next five days and we just have to be better than them at it.”

South Africa knocked England out of the Under-19 World Cup by overcoming some significant challenges to seal a comprehensive victory

The Report by George Binoy in Townsville19-Aug-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMan-of-the-Match Prenelan Subrayen triggered a collapse that brought nine wickets for 39 runs•ICC/Getty

South Africa knocked England out of the Under-19 World Cup by overcoming some significant challenges to seal a comprehensive victory: they were playing their first game in Townsville whereas England had prior knowledge of the conditions, and they were sent in to bat when it was hardest. Their batting unit, however, survived the new-ball examination to compile a competitive score through determined accumulation rather than flashy strokeplay.Defending 244, South Africa’s bowling unit did not let their disciplines slip, even though England had a century partnership for the second wicket and were thebetter-placed side after 25 overs. From 102 for 1, offspinner Prenelan Subrayen triggered a collapse that brought nine wickets for 39 runs. Two England batsmen accounted for 108 runs, extras for seven more, and they were dismissed for 141 in the 41st over.Townsville finally ran out of sunshine and there was an even cover of high cloud as Quinton de Kock and Chad Bowes took guard against Reece Topley and Jamie Overton. De Kock took most of the early strike before chasing at a wide ball from Jamie Overton and edging behind. Bowes was more fluent, moving forward to punch the fast bowlers and flicking through and over square leg whenever the ball was on his pads.Bowes and Gihahn Cloete steered South Africa past the new-ball danger and built a platform for the rest of the innings. They added 65 before both were dismissed in successive overs, in the 18th and 19th.At 82 for 3, Murray Coetzee and Theunis de Bruyn, two batsmen from Pretoria, were faced with a tricky situation but they fought through it. Coetzee, however, was lucky to survive an edge against Craig Overton in the 20th over, when Ben Foakes dived to his left but couldn’t hold on. That drop came while a convoy of numerous trucks were passing the Tony Ireland Stadium, with their horns blaring.Their partnership for the fourth wicket was worth 96 when de Bruyn was bowled for 54. South Africa were well placed for 270 when Coetzee and Shaylin Pillay were milking singles and finding the boundary but lost direction in the end. Pillay attempted a scoop that landed in the keeper’s hands and South Africa were eventually dismissed for 244 off the final ball.Their defence began on a promising note when Lizaad Williams bowled Daniel Bell-Drummond, who’s had a poor tournament, off the inside edge and celebrated in a manner similar to Shahid Afridi. He would celebrate like that once again, while England were imploding later in the innings.Ben Foakes and Alex Davies, however, gave England a superb chance. Their 100-run partnership was slow, but with nine wickets in hand, an asking rate of just over six for around 25 overs should not have been a problem. Foakes, however, was dismissed for 54 by Subrayen just when he had begun to accelerate. Jamie Overton was promoted ahead of his more accomplished twin to bring down the required rate but scored only four runs. He too fell to Subrayen. England were suddenly 112 for 3.Calvin Savage, who didn’t take a wicket until the end, created pressure through economical overs, and when he did pick up the eighth England wicket, his emotion was reminiscent of Dale Steyn’s.Only Davies, who was also out for 54, and Foakes made it to double figures for England. South Africa’s pressure in the field was relentless and their encouraging shouts to each other in the field grew louder with each step towards the next round of the Under-19 World Cup.

A sizzling counterattack by New Zealand captain Ross Taylor produced a high-speed century that was the spark that led to an improved display from the visitors on the opening day of the second Test against India

The Report by Sharda Ugra31-Aug-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsRoss Taylor got to his hundred at over a run a ball•Associated Press

A sizzling counterattack by New Zealand captain Ross Taylor produced a high-speed century that sparked an improved display from the visitors on the opening day of the second Test against India. At stumps, New Zealand, who had elected to bat, were 328 for 6. Led by Taylor’s incandescent 113, New Zealand’s batsmen had, in the course of a single day, scored more runs than they had in both innings in Hyderabad.Play was stopped due to bad light and eventually called off for the day about half an hour before the scheduled close, the umpires offering light to the batsman after Umesh Yadav bowled half of his first over with the second new ball. Kruger van Wyk and Doug Bracewell strode off, van Vyk batting on a deftly engineered 63 and Bracwell on 30. The two had found themselves at the crease after Taylor’s departure, and within an hour had put on 82 for the seventh wicket.Taylor’s seventh Test century formed the bulk of the New Zealand batting effort. It was buffeted by two fifties, one by Martin Guptill at the top of the order which ended in dismay and the other by keeper van Wyk. It ensured that New Zealand could dismiss the innings and 115-run defeat in Hyderabad as a nightmare that need not be repeated.After the departure of New Zealand’s top three batsmen before lunch, Taylor let his aggression and intent take over. It was a fearless innings, the runs scored both robustly and in fine style. Taylor slog swept Ashwin for six before the lunch interval and when he returned, cranked the scoring up a gear. The India bowlers were hit all around the Chinnaswamy Stadium, with lusty slog sweeps, crisp straight drives and spanking shots through cover. New Zealand, or rather Taylor, was scoring at nearly seven runs an over in the hour after lunch. The hardworking Ojha was punished with four boundaries in his second over after lunch, Zaheer for two including a disdainful straight drive in his second spell, Ashwin was guided fine down to the boundary past leg slip. Taylor got to his century in 99 balls, cutting Ojha to the point boundary and two balls later, hit him down the ground for his second six over long-off.For a captain who had a miserable first Test – losing the toss, dropping catches in slip and scoring nine in two innings – Taylor’s innings on Friday was a more just exhibition of his batting abilities. On New Zealand’s miserable tour of the West Indies in July, it was Taylor who had scored the sole New Zealand century, in the fourth ODI in St Kitts. New Zealand’s previous Test century had come six months ago from Kane Williamson in a drawn Test against South Africa in Wellington.Taylor’s innings lit up the Bangalore crowd that grew through the day; his aggressive mode of batting had also been welcomed at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, when he had played for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL. The reception he received after his hundred against India, also, didn’t lack in either enthusiasm or warmth.

Smart stats

• Ross Taylor’s century is his seventh in Tests and his third against India. He is one among five New Zealand batsmen to score three Test centuries against India.

• Taylor’s strike rate of 88.97 during his knock of 113 is his second-highest for a fifty-plus score. It is also the fifth-highest strike rate for a visiting batsman in India (centuries only).

• The 107-run stand between Taylor and Daniel Flynn is the fourth-highest fourth-wicket stand for New Zealand against India. It is, however, their highest fourth-wicket stand in India.

• The 82-run stand between Kruger van Wyk and Doug Bracewell is the fifth-highest seventh-wicket stand for New Zealand in India.

• Pragyan Ojha, who picked up 4 for 90, became the first specialist Indian spinner to open the bowling in a Test. The last Indian spinner (non-regular spinner) to do so was ML Jaisimha in 1969.

• New Zealand’s run-rate at the end of 80 overs (3.95) is the fourth-highest for a visiting team in Tests in India. The highest (80-over run-rate) is Australia’s 4.28 in Nagpur in 2004 followed by Sri Lanka’s 4.11 in Mumbai (Brabourne) in 2009.

It was vital for New Zealand that their batting continued forcefully, after Martin Guptill had shaken off the early dismissal of Brendon McCullum in the morning. Guptill played the aggressor in his 63-run second-wicket stand with Kane Williamson. After being troubled by Ojha and dropped off Zaheer on 17, Guptill found his groove, his innings resolute in judgement and positive in strokeplay. He struck three boundaries off Yadav in a single over and two off Zaheer, including a cracking backfoot drive through extra cover. Less than half an hour before lunch though, Ojha pulled in the fielders, tossed one up and lured Guptill. It was the perfect bait: the ball didn’t turn, Guptill’s intended shot on the on-side ended up in Gautam Gambhir’s hands at midwicket. Despite India’s slow bowling tradition, Ojha was the first specialist India spinner to open the bowling in a Test match, and took four of the six New Zealand wickets to fall today.Taylor, who owned the second session, was out in the fifth over after tea, forced to sweep against Ojha with the off side plugged. The ball was tossed up and Ojha hit Taylor in front of off and middle. His innings of 113 off 127 balls had slowed down only at the fall of Daniel Flynn’s wicket, bringing to an end New Zealand’s biggest partnership on this tour: 107 runs for the fourth wicket. Flynn had hung on gamely over an hour for 33, but for the third time in three innings, was leg before trying to sweep Ashwin. The loss of James Franklin – he hit a full toss from Ojha to a diving Suresh Raina at midwicket – had New Zealand stuttering at 215 for 5.But inspired by Taylor’s bold batsmanship, the undefeated 82-run seventh-wicket partnership between van Wyk and Bracewell added 32 runs in five overs following the captain’s departure. Van Wyk’s was an innings almost patented by chirpy, pocket-sized keepers; he was only 12 when Taylor was out and took charge, happy to have the quicker bowlers bowling at one end. Zaheer Khan was guided past slips, van Wyk taking 13 off the 16 balls he faced off him, and the quick-but-struggling Yadav went for 14 runs in six balls, including two fours an over. The partnership took New Zealand past 300, but they will be sobered by the knowledge that in the previous Test held in Bangalore in 2010, Australia had scored over 400 in their first innings and still lost.

Richard Pybus has been given time till October 24 to decide if he wants to continue as the Bangladesh coach for the forthcoming West Indies series

Mohammad Isam19-Oct-2012Richard Pybus has been given time till October 24 to decide if he wants to continue as the Bangladesh coach for the forthcoming West Indies series. The Bangladesh Cricket Board has written to him, the outgoing chief Mustafa Kamal said on his last day at the board headquarters.”The BCB will write to him officially to come before our West Indies series. If he doesn’t decide to come then we will take a decision based on his action,” Kamal said, flanked by Nazmul Hassan, the man succeeding him as the BCB president, after a five-hour meeting on Friday. Kamal had to chair the meeting as issues such as the one concerning Pybus and the Bangladesh Premier League franchises’ non-payment remain unresolved. Kamal, however, said that both issues will be tackled in the October 24 meeting, which he will also attend.”We will have another meeting on October 24. There have been family issues with Pybus. He hasn’t been able to convince his family to come here. We can’t agree to his demands. We can’t give him long leaves just for him to meet his family abroad. He is a professional coach, but we can’t make this provision for him.”If he doesn’t come then we’ll have to appoint someone else. I don’t think it’ll be a good idea to appoint Richard McInnes as it will disturb the development aspect of the BCB,” Kamal said, contradicting his earlier statement that the Australian could be appointed on a short-term basis.The other urgent issue for the BCB is the continuous failure of the BPL franchises to complete payments to all players who took part in the Twenty20 competition. It was announced earlier that teams who do not complete payments will be re-auctioned on November 7, but there are 54 cricketers who have remained unpaid including six overseas ones. The board will review the teams’ payment details in its next meeting, Kamal said, which will be four days after the deadline of October 20.”We have asked the franchises to make themselves updated in all areas. They should complete all the payments. We gave them a date till October 20, to complete all their payments, foreign or local.”If they don’t, then we will take a decision on October 24 regarding BCB’s relationship with these teams. We won’t want the BPL’s value to be diluted, this is a cricket board’s property and we want this to run properly.”