After Essex had been limited to a modest 135 for 9, openers Myburgh and Tom Banton powered the hosts to their third victory of the week

Matt Roller at Taunton03-Aug-2018

ScorecardJohann Myburgh’s 42-ball hundred led Somerset to a thumping ten-wicket win against an abject Essex to take them one step closer to a quarter-final spot.Well set at 82 for 2, Essex limped to 135 for 9 after winning the toss, a score which looked a long way short of par even on a used Taunton wicket.And so it proved, as Myburgh blitzed 16 fours and three sixes in his maiden ton to seal a comprehensive victory with 52 balls to spare.”When you go out there chasing a lowish score, it gives you a bit of freedom at the top,” Myburgh said. “I like to put pressure on the other team…in T20 cricket, that’s the way you’ve got to play. Confidence has been pretty high for a while now. We’ve been pretty consistent [in T20], and we know we can win ways in different games – we aren’t relying on one formula.”At the halfway point of their innings, Essex had looked set for a competitive total. Varun Chopra – still the only member of their batting line-up to have made it to 50 in this tournament – and captain Ryan ten Doeschate were well-set. The pitch was used and sticky, but possessed few demons.The pair patiently knocked the ball around for singles, looking to put any loose balls away. But Somerset were disciplined. As usual, Lewis Gregory rang the changes – each of the final ten overs was a one-over spell – and once the wickets started to fall, Essex were unable to recover. In one 47-ball period, they hit just one boundary, as Ravi Bopara and Michael Pepper scratched around, desperate to take the innings deep in the hope of a late assault.The assault never came. Essex made only 58 for 7 in the final ten overs, and never put any pressure on the Somerset attack; Chopra’s six off the ninth ball of the innings was the only one of the innings. It was the performance of a team shorn of any confidence after a disastrous T20 campaign so far. With four points in eight games, they will need at least five wins from their final six games to have a chance of qualifying for the quarter-finals. On the basis of this showing, they’ll be lucky to get any.Somerset, meanwhile, were disciplined and ruthless with the ball. Jamie Overton bowled with the pace and hostility that has caused his name to be discussed by England’s selectors in the past two weeks, bowling fuller than his standard short-form length, and for the first time in his T20 career, he went at less than a run-a-ball while bowling his full allocation.Jerome Taylor added three final-over wickets to his 5 for 15 on Wednesday night, while Roelof van der Merwe bowled with guile and nous through the middle overs. It was a display, befitting of a side who – with Gloucestershire and Kent still to play tonight – went top of the group, albeit temporarily.The question mark looming over Somerset’s season to date was their top-order batting. In their past four T20 games (excluding their rain-reduced game against Surrey), they had won four times despite losing three wickets in the Powerplay; while their middle-order’s hitting had often been spectacular, there was a feeling that the streak was unsustainable.They decided to change things. Steven Davies, a veteran of 136 games in the format, was left out for England Under-19 captain Tom Banton. Some might have nervous filling such shoes – not Banton. Facing Jamie Porter, charging in from the River End with a point to prove after his omission from the Test side this week, Banton ramped the fourth ball he faced for an audacious six.But it was Myburgh who stole the show. With 129 runs in eight innings going into this game, there were questions over his spot in the team, but a low total and a license to free his arms left him with the perfect opportunity to swing his way into form. Essex’s only hope was Adam Zampa, their tenacious Australian legspinner who, with 11 wickets and an economy rate below seven, has been the lone star of a poor T20 campaign. He was brought on to bowl the fourth over, needing an early wicket; Myburgh whacked him for 19.Myburgh’s pyrotechnics did not stop there. Matt Coles’ first three balls were thrashed to the fence for four but he was still getting started. Peter Siddle was Myburgh’s next target, whose second over was crunched for four fours and a six. The second of those fours summed up Essex’s despair. For once, Myburgh failed to time the ball. It looped up over cover, just beyond the reach of the diving Paul Walter, who – perhaps with one eye on the start of the English football season tomorrow – headed the ball and sent in on its way to the boundary. In the blink of any eye, Myburgh had reached a 22-ball 50.At 77 without loss after the Powerplay, Somerset’s victory was a formality, and it was just a question of how many Myburgh would make. Two brutal strokes for four off Coles took him into the 70s, before a six and a four off Bopara brought him to within touching distance of a maiden hundred.With 11 needed, Myburgh stroked Walter for four past the diving cover fielder. He roared in celebration, and seven balls later, the most decisive of victories was sealed.

County Championship likely to have a top division of 10 teams and a second of eight from 2020

George Dobell26-Sep-2018There could be more conflict in county cricket after it emerged that the ECB executive is resisting calls from the first-class counties to increase the number of T20 Blast games played each season.ESPNcricinfo reported in August that several county chairmen were arguing for an increase in the number of matches from 14 to 16 from the start of the 2020 season.But with the ECB bringing in their new competition, The Hundred, that year and the schedule already groaning under the weight of fixtures, there is understood to be strong resistance to the move from the executive.The issue is one of those sure to be discussed at a meeting of all the county chairmen on Thursday. Other matters up for discussion will include an alteration to the County Championship programme which is likely to see a top division of 10 teams and a second of eight introduced in 2020.That would mean only one team would be relegated (and three promoted) at the end of 2019. With no plans to increase the number of Championship fixtures from 14 games, it would also mean that teams in the top division would no longer play all other teams home and away. Some counties are concerned this compromises the integrity of the competition.Some county chairmen are also understood to be looking for assurances from ECB chairman Colin Graves that he will not attempt to stand for re-election at this end of his term of office.While Graves vowed when he was appointed he would only serve one term, rumours persist that he is contemplating a longer stay in office.The meeting will also see county chairmen given a first opportunity to see an external report compiled by Good Governance Institute (GGI) following payments made to Glamorgan in return for their forfeiture of hosting Test cricket for the foreseeable future.The payments caused some unrest in the county game, with two ECB board members – Andy Nash and Richard Thompson – resigning in protest and some members of the ECB’s Audit, Risk and Governance committee expressing reservations.

The visitors hung on by two wickets to draw the Dubai Test, as Pakistan applied immense pressure in the final hour

The Report by Danyal Rasool11-Oct-2018Never mind the last over. This was never meant to go to the last session, with Pakistan having left 140 overs for themselves to bowl Australia out. But Australia, spearheaded by a superhuman effort from Usman Khawaja, who batted for 302 balls, and captain Tim Paine at the end, kept Pakistan out, ensuring a draw that simply wasn’t an option for much of this match. It required Nathan Lyon batting with his captain for the last 11 overs, when it looked like the visitors would succumb after Khawaja had been dismissed, but Paine and Lyon rallied. As Pakistan prowled, Paine dug deep.The records might be meaningless to an Australian side playing to salvage their reputations after the disaster of Cape Town a few months ago. After that, Paine said he wanted to captain an Australia side the fans could be proud of. It’s taken no more than one Test match to achieve that, with Australia summoning all their powers of grit and fortitude to ensure that they would make the opposition earn a win over their dead bodies. As it was, Australia remained alive, just, and Pakistan, having dominated for such large periods in the match, had nothing to show for it.But there were records made and records broken along the way. This was the second-highest fourth-innings score by a visiting team in Asia in history. Khawaja, who scored 141, surpassed the record for the highest-ever fourth-innings score by an individual batsman, going past Younis Khan’s 131 in 2010. Australia played one ball short of 140 overs, longer than they’ve ever batted in the fourth innings of a Test. All that work to ensure the series remained 0-0. How’s that for fighting spirit?It really wasn’t meant to be so difficult for Pakistan, who needed just seven wickets today to complete what looked like a routine win. But Khawaja and Travis Head carried on from where they had left off yesterday, batting 49 overs together and keeping Pakistan wicketless all morning to begin raising hopes, however faint, that a draw was possible.Draws between these two sides don’t come too often; the last one was 20 years and 20 Test matches ago. Pakistan looked like they were on their way again after Mohammad Hafeez – who in hindsight was perhaps a little underused – trapped Head in front two overs after lunch.Marnus Labuschagne never appeared set against the spinners, as Yasir began to look more potent than did at any point all match. He finally got his first wicket as the debutant went back to a delivery that went straight on, and was trapped plumb in front of middle.Even Tim Paine, who in the end was the man holding back a Pakistan surge, seemed particularly vulnerable for the first half hour in the middle, never quite sure of his footwork, or of which ball to leave. But some of Khawaja’s confidence rubbed off on his captain. As Paine began to get set, Pakistan found themselves having to break down the third significant partnership of the innings, with time running out.There was little drama for the first 90 minutes or so after tea, but Yasir finally broke through Khawaja’s vigil with a googly that the left-hander, for once, failed to sweep effectively. That brought Mitchell Starc to the crease, and gave Pakistan fresh hope. Within 13 balls, Pakistan had Australia eight down, and with Australia still needing to bat almost 13 overs, Pakistan were on course yet again.Crucially, though, Paine still hung around. In Lyon, he found a man able to shut out pressure, and simply focused on the task at hand. So comfortably did Lyon hold his end up that Paine never really looked to farm the strike. For a captain just two matches into the job, it is an ideal way to set the tempo for his tenure, as he embodied the virtues he wants his side to embrace, and played the game (in its true rather than vapid sense) hard but fair.The team spirit of Australia had been visible all game, even on the first two days when Pakistan’s batsmen were grinding them into the dust. The shoulders never dropped, the fast bowlers kept their pace up, and the spinners’ lines never wavered. Australia were fully focused on the task at hand, right until Paine blocked Yasir Shah’s final delivery, forcing Sarfraz to pull out the stumps and offer him a handshake.If Paine’s request to start the match with handshakes had seemed a little contrived to Sarfraz, the Pakistan captain reciprocating the gesture at the end would have been out of nothing but respect.

The former India captain said more questions will be asked of Dhoni’s World Cup spot if he doesn’t do well in Australia and New Zealand

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Dec-2018Shikhar Dhawan and MS Dhoni’s decision to skip India’s domestic tournaments has not gone down too well with Sunil Gavaskar. The former India captain has questioned the selectors for allowing this practice even as India gears up for a hectic next six months, culminating with the World Cup in May-June 2019.”We shouldn’t ask Dhawan and Dhoni ‘Why you are not playing domestic cricket?’. We should, in fact, ask the BCCI and selectors why are they allowing players to skip domestic cricket when they are not on national duty,” Gavaskar told . “If the Indian team has to do well, players have to be in prime form and for that they have to play cricket.”Dhawan isn’t part of the Test squad in Australia, and is currently in Melbourne, where he lives during the off-season. He hasn’t been part of the long-format plans since the tour of England in September and was replaced by Prithvi Shaw for the two home Tests in West Indies.Dhoni who hasn’t played long-form cricket since his Test retirement in 2014, is in the middle of an enforced break in international cricket following the ODI series against West Indies last month. Dhoni was dropped from India’s T20I squad for the series against West Indies and Australia, the first time he’s been dropped since his international debut in 2004.In all likelihood, his next assignment could be the three ODIs in Australia in January, which effectively means he wouldn’t have played any cricket over a two-month window.”He (Dhoni) didn’t play the T20Is against Australia, before that he didn’t play the West Indies Tests, and then he is not playing the Test series against Australia,” Gavaskar said. “So, he last played in October and will next play in January, which is a huge gap. But if he doesn’t do well on tours of Australia and New Zealand, then there will be more questions asked on his place in the World Cup.””As you grow older and if there is a gap in your [competitive] cricket, your reflexes will slow down. If you play any form of cricket at the domestic level, you get an opportunity to play long innings, which serves as a good practice for you.”

Aside from a Trent Boult spell and an indifferent slog-overs bowling performance in the first ODI, Pakistan have been on top of the visitors through the series

The Preview by Danyal Rasool10-Nov-2018

Big picture

With Pakistan finally showing how difficult they can be to play when they extend their T20 quality over the length of an ODI, we have a delicious series decider to savour. Pakistan applied the squeeze against New Zealand for the best part of 30 overs on Friday, something they have struggled to do in the middle overs against quality opposition. The visitors never found any momentum, and when they attempted to launch in the final overs, it was too little, too late.The levity with which they approached yesterday’s chase suggests most of the problems Pakistan have had in that department might be mental. While New Zealand didn’t bowl as well up front as they had during the first ODI, Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq’s shot selection was judicious, measured and sensible. They made the bowlers ineffective when the wickets needed early on didn’t materialise. With the sting taken out of the attack, the pair, and then Babar Azam, calmly maneuvered the innings, extending the opening partnership to the point where Pakistan never felt an pressure whatsoever.New Zealand, good as they have been recently, haven’t played great cricket this series, and Pakistan must feel they are there for the taking Sunday. The top order shows no signs of firing yet; George Worker struggled for timing while Munro has been unable to get out of T20 mode so far. That has reduced Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor to rebuilding jobs when they could be lethal if they arrived at the crease with their side in a comfortable position. Indeed, at the moment, the visitors have much to thank Taylor’s grit for, but they will need assistance from the top order if a strokemaker like him is to completely loosen up.Pakistan, meanwhile, must feel they have been on top of New Zealand almost all series. It is one explosive burst by Trent Boult and an indifferent death-overs performance that permitted New Zealand to go into the last game 1-0 up. Shaheen Afridi has been their best bowler and looks like taking the next step in what is still the gestation phase of his cricketing evolution. Shadab Khan has been almost regimental in his middle-overs discipline, with Mohammad Hafeez a more than capable sidekick. Hasan Ali’s form is a bit of a concern, as is the potential fitness of Imam-ul-Haq after a blow to the helmet on Friday, but most of the side is fit and firing, and should feel confident of mounting a stern challenge for the trophy.

Form guide

(last five matches, most recent first)Pakistan WLLLW
New Zealand LWLWL

In the spotlight

Hasan Ali was arguably the best limited-overs bowler in the world last year, and the Player of the Tournament in Pakistan’s run to the Champions Trophy title. Across formats, he took 63 wickets in 29 matches at 18.85, with an ODI economy rate of 5.03. For a bowler that was often on during the death overs, this was almost superhuman. This year, though, his ODI numbers are far more sobering. With 19 wickets in 14 matches, his ODI average is a hardly eye-catching 34, with his economy rate up at 5.70. Three ODIs against Zimbabwe still flatter those figures – without them, the economy rate goes up above six and the average over 40 – and thus the general trend is that of a disappointing year. Pakistan will hope it’s a temporary blip for one of the country’s most popular cricketers. A performance on Sunday would be a fantastic way to close up an indifferent limited-overs season with fond memories.These are the sorts of matches that Kane Williamson should thrive upon. On track to becoming New Zealand’s greatest ever batsman, his team increasingly looks up to him for a talismanic role in big games. After a couple of quiet games for the visiting skipper, the stage is set to dust off the off-season cobwebs and get a busy season going with a big score. He was majestic in an ultimately losing cause in the final T20I last week, but hasn’t replicated that performance in the 50-over format yet this series. The right-hander has a fantastic ODI record against Pakistan, with an average 10 runs higher than his career average of 46.28. With Taylor in some of the best form of his career, a leading role from Williamson would go a long way towards ensuring New Zealand’s grip on Pakistan extends to yet another series.

Team news

Imam is in doubt after his helmet blow against a Lockie Ferguson bouncer. With competition for places in the fast bowling ranks fierce, Hasan Ali could pay the price for his recent dip, which could bring Usman Khan into play.Pakistan (possible): 1 Imam-ul-Haq, 2 Fakhar Zaman, 3 Babar Azam, 4 Shoaib Malik, 5, Mohammad Hafeez 6 Sarfraz Ahmed (capt. & wk), 7 Faheem Ashraf, 8 Imad Wasim, 9 Shadab Khan, 10 Hasan Ali/Usman Khan, 11 Shaheen AfridiGeorge Worker may be under pressure for his place after an indifferent first two games. Latham would be the option at the top of the order in that case, but without a solid replacement in the middle, Williamson may decide to go with an unchanged side.New Zealand (possible): 1 Colin Munro 2 George Worker 3 Kane Williamson (capt.) 4 Ross Taylor 5 Tom Latham (wk) 6 Henry Nicholls 7 Colin de Grandhomme 8 Tim Southee 9 Trent Boult 10 Lockie Ferguson 11 Ish Sodhi

Pitch and conditions

It continues to remain hot in Dubai this time of year. Both sides have been vocal up to now of their desire to bat first, and that is likely to remain unchanged.

Stats and trivia

• Williamson had three ducks to his name after his first 5 ODI innings. In 118 innings that have followed, he has been dismissed without scoring on only two occasions
• Pakistan’s record in bilateral series deciders since 2003 has been quite poor. In 15 series-deciding final matches, they have lost 12 and won just 3 – two against Zimbabwe and one against West Indies

New Zealand piled on 364, before a familiar middle-order collapse left Thisara Perera waging a lone battle as Sri Lanka sank to a 115-run defeat

The Report by Andrew Fidel Fernando07-Jan-2019New Zealand 364 for 4 (Taylor 137, Nicholls 124*, Malinga 3-93) beat Sri Lanka 249 (Thisara Perera 80, Ferguson 4-40, Sodhi 3-40) by 115 runsThe third ODI betweeen New Zealand and Sri Lanka was just like the two that had gone before, only more so.

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Sri Lanka won the toss and had made three changes to their side, but despite their best efforts, a familiar sequence of events unfolded in Nelson. New Zealand lost early wickets but recovered emphatically, Ross Taylor and Henry Nicholls hitting fine hundreds, while Kane Williamson made an effortless half-century. Sri Lanka failed to take wickets through the middle overs again, which allowed New Zealand to float into the final 10 overs with 234 for 3 on the board, before plundering 130 further runs to finish at 364 for 4.Ross Taylor and Henry Nicholls both hit centuries•Getty Images

The visitors’ reply then began gallantly, the openers hurtling to a half-century stand, and the 100 coming off just 86 balls, before a clutch of wickets fell, and the innings flatlined as the middle overs began. Niroshan Dickwella had produced the rocket-powered start, and Thisara Perera was on hand to tonk a valiant 80 off 63, but for the majority of their innings, Sri Lanka did not have the measure of the mammoth target. They fell 115 runs short, leaving 8.2 overs unused.New Zealand swept the series 3-0, perhaps saving their best batting effort for last. Sri Lanka, whose attack continues to ail, no matter which bowlers are playing or how many, are yet to win a match on tour.Taylor, for who had come into this match with five consecutive fifty-plus scores behind him, cracked 137 off 131 to raise New Zealand from 31 for 2, to a position of outright command in the match. He was involved in two century stands that formed the body of this New Zealand innings. With Williamson, he put on 116 off 130 balls, before Nicholls joined him for a partnership worth 154 off 120.He had begun with a little fortune, almost run out within minutes of arriving at the crease (he would have been on his way had Thisara hit the stumps), before nearly chopping the ball back onto his stumps in the next over. He was strong square of the wicket as usual, while Williamson prospered down the ground. Taylor’s first few boundaries came on the legside, as Sri Lanka continued to bowl into his pads, but he would later unfurl that punishing cut shot as well. He got to his 20th hundred off the 112th ball he faced, by which time the slog overs had arrived, and Taylor found himself in a position to surge. He took an especial liking to the bowling of Lasith Malinga, hoisting him for four sixes in the arc between long on and midwicket between the 41st and 45th overs. He was eventually out trying to hit Malinga for a fifth six, ending up only pulling him into the hands of deep square leg.Ross Taylor and Henry Nicholls both hit centuries•Getty Images

Nicholls, meanwhile, had arrived in the 27th over and had the opportunity to get his bearings and build an innings, Taylor doing a lot of the legwork at the time. Once he was set, though, he became almost as comfortable as the senior partner. Like Taylor, he found plenty of boundaries on the legside, and took an especial liking to Nuwan Pradeep, hitting him for 41 runs off 16 balls. He reached his half century in the 41st over, and was unstoppable after Taylor’s dismissal, looting 47 off the 18 balls he faced in the last five overs. He thumped Malinga over deep square leg for six to bring up his hundred, and finished on an outstanding 124 not out off 80 balls – his maiden trip to triple figures in ODIs.Sri Lanka had hoped Dushmantha Chameera would help take wickets through the middle overs, but unable to find much movement from the pitch, he proved to be ineffective, with Lakshan Sandakan also proving largely modest through that period. The bowling effort was not helped though, by the fact that the two most experienced bowlers often missed their lengths at the death. Between them, Malinga and Pradeep gave away 170 runs off 114 balls.They did, however, produce another bright start with the bat – Dhananjaya de Silva opening alongside Dickwella, after regular opener Danushka Gunathilaka went off the field with a stiff back halfway through New Zealand’s innings. They raced to 66 at the end of the first eight overs before de Silva was trapped lbw by Tim Southee. It was at Dickwella’s demise for 46, however, that the innings hit a wall. Kusal Mendis was run out without facing a ball (not without mild controversy – the replays did not seem to definitively show that his bat had not crossed the crease), Dasun Shanaka was lbw to Ish Sodhi after missing a sweep, and Kusal Perera was caught behind – all this happening in relatively quick succession, which meant that Sri Lanka slipped from 107 for 1 to 143 for 5.Thisara then played himself gradually into the game in the company of Gunathilaka, who came out at No. 7 visibly hampered by his injury, but despite another fine display of hitting – Thisara crashing three sixes and seven fours – the requirement always seemed beyond him. He had been dropped twice, by Tim Seifert on 62 and Ross Taylor on 74, but was out to perhaps the catch of the series. Top edging a cut off Lockie Ferguson, Thisara probably would have cleared backward point had any other fielder been stationed there but Martin Guptill. Back-pedalling quickly from his position, Guptill leapt backwards like a high jumper and with one hand reeled in the ball that was dropping quickly behind him.With that wicket went Sri Lanka’s last glimmer of hope. Within four overs, the remaining four wickets had been taken – Ferguson taking two of those to finish with an analysis of 4 for 40, while Ish Sodhi took the other two and ended with 3 for 40.

Timcyen Maruma and Tafadzwa Tsiga were the stars with the bat, while Ziwira, Mavuta, and Tiripano impressed with the ball in this round

The Report by Liam Brickhill04-Feb-2019Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMashonaland Eagles slumped to their first defeat of the season against Mid West Rhinos at Old Hararians, folding for 120 on a crumbling fourth day pitch as Rhinos wrapped up a 262-run victory.Rhinos captain Peter Moor had opted to bat first on a strip that played flat and true on the first day, though Rhinos were not able to take full advantage of the benign conditions. Their top five, Moor included, all made starts but Tendai Chisoro, batting at no. 8, was the only Rhinos batsman to pass fifty in the first innings. A typically bellicose Chisoro struck three sixes in his unbeaten 56, adding 67 in 13 overs with Brandon Mavuta before Mavuta was dismissed for 33 by Elton Chigumbura, having what for him is a rare bowl these days.Chigumbura’s 71 held Eagles’ first innings together, but they still conceded a 35-run lead. Rhinos’ strong top order made a better fist of things in the second innings, with Bothwell Chapungu and Prince Masvaure both passing fifty, and Moor batting for almost four hours before falling eight runs short of what would have been his fifth first-class hundred as Rhinos declared their second innings at 347 for 8 despite seamer Honest Ziwira’s maiden five-for.Moor delayed the declaration until five overs into the final morning, which meant the Rhinos’ use of the heavy roller meant the pitch broke up a little more for his bowlers. Kyle Jarvis and Neville Madziva duly tore through the top order and the tail, while Brandon Mavuta picked up four cheap middle-order wickets with his legspin, including that of Eagles captain Tino Mutombodzi for 49 to end the match after a heavy downpour had forced the players off and temporarily frustrated Rhinos’ push for victory.Donald Tiripano in delivery stride•AFP

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAt Harare Sports Club, reigning Logan Cup champions Mountaineers made short work of a Matabeleland Tuskers side clearly missing the quality of Sikandar Raza and Sean Williams in their middle order, with both players taking part in the Bangladesh Premier League.Timycen Maruma’s 165 helped Mountaineers to recover from a shaky start against Chris Mpofu’s pace, and after he was dismissed, wicketkeeper Tafadzwa Tsiga and Donald Tiripano extended Mountaineers’ advantage with a 125-run partnership for the sixth wicket. Dominating the stand, Tsiga hit Sheunopa Musekwa over long-on for a six that hit the media centre and, 15 minutes before lunch on the second day, clipped Mpofu through midwicket to bring up his maiden first-class hundred.Their efforts allowed Mountaineers to amass 497, and Tuskers’ response ran into immediate trouble when Tendai Chatara dismissed Cunningham Ncube in the third over of their innings. Chatara had begun his spell tentatively after his long injury lay-off, but he was stirred up after Ncube had not been given out caught off the third ball of the innings. Chatara noticeably increased his pace in response and in his second over he got a delivery to rise spitefully off the pitch to take a thick edge and have Ncube caught in the gully. That set the tone for the innings and, indeed, the rest of the match as Tuskers were bowled out for 127 and forced to follow on.Brian Chari attempted a counterattack in the second dig, hitting 12 fours in his 85, but a persistent Tiripano was rewarded with figures of 5 for 56 as Tuskers’ innings was wrapped up for 256.The latest round of results leave the Logan Cup in an intriguing situation, as Eagles have 26 points and Rhinos 24 points with one match to play, and Mountaineers have 25 points with two matches in hand. On Thursday, Eagles and Mountaineers meet at Old Hararians, while Rhinos play Tuskers at Harare Sports Club.There is also one postponed match to be played next week, when Mountaineers will face Tuskers at Old Hararians, and this extra match perhaps makes Mountaineers favourites to retain the Logan Cup.

With the World Cup coming up, the focus has been on the ODIs and those plans are ‘pretty much nailed down’, says West Indies captain

George Dobell in St Kitts11-Mar-2019Jason Holder insisted he was “not too disheartened” by West Indies’ defeat in the T20I series against England.While West Indies had appeared to have turned a corner in recent weeks, they rounded off England’s tour of the Caribbean by subsiding to two of the heaviest defeats in their T20 history in the last couple of games.But while Holder, the West Indies captain, admitted the results were disappointing – not least for the good-sized crowd of locals that packed Warner Park to watch despite bush fires blowing smoke and ash across the ground – he felt they had to be kept in perspective.”We’re a bit disappointed,” Holder said, “but there are still a lot of positives. I definitely would have accepted these results when England started their tour. Winning the Test series was exceptional and parts of the ODI series were equally as good.ALSO READ: England’s World Cup puzzle just got harder – Bayliss“We probably let ourselves down in other parts of the ODI series but England played some great cricket as well. And we were just outplayed in the T20 series. But we’ve seen Sheldon Cottrell come into the side and do well and Oshane Thomas, too. And Chris Gayle has been outstanding. So overall, I’m pretty pleased.”Holder refuted the suggestion that his side’s batting had “fallen apart” despite being bowled out for 45 and 71 within 48 hours, but accepted they had failed to adapt to a pitch he characterised as “two-paced”. He also pointed out that West Indies had decided to keep their ODI side together for this series with a view to the World Cup that follows and that, as a result, they were left wanting a little tactically.”We just didn’t adjust to the wicket,” Holder said. “It was a bit two-paced and England bowled a really hard length and asked us to hit them off that length.”The batting didn’t fall apart. We just didn’t play the surface as well as we would have liked. I still feel the batsmen are pretty confident, but the batting is a bit inconsistent in terms of our T20 performances. We need to be tighter at the top to build partnerships.”We don’t want to brush this result aside, but we obviously kept the ODI squad together to play the T20s. And then, we didn’t adjust to the T20 format. We have our plans pretty much nailed down for the ODIs and we played a really good series in that format.”So there’s still a lot of improvement to be had and I’m obviously disappointed. But I’m not too disheartened by the performance. Overall the guys had a pretty good ODI leg and I feel there’s a lot to build on.”

Paul Horton guided his side to 99 for 1 chasing 230 to win at Hove after Sussex collapsed during the morning

ECB Reporters Network07-Apr-2019Leicestershire were on course to claim their first County Championship win over Sussex for 17 years after making a positive start to their pursuit of a target of 230 at Hove. Skipper Paul Horton made an unbeaten 53 to take his side to 99 for 1 when rain arrived at tea and play was abandoned for the day at 5.35pm with Leicestershire still needing 131.Debutant Hasan Azad helped Horton put on an unbroken 72 for the second wicket after David Wiese had pinned Ateeq Javid lbw with an in-swinger for 11.Horton reached his half-century off 79 balls with seven fours but he needed a check by the Leicestershire physio after ducking into a Chris Jordan’s bouncer which struck him on the helmet.Their victory charge had been set up earlier in the day by offspinner Colin Ackermann, who finished with career-best figures of 5 for 69, and seamer Tom Taylor, who claimed four more victims to add to his six in the first innings for a match haul of 10 for 122, also a career-best.Sussex had resumed on 211 for 2 – a lead of 132 – and in good batting conditions must have been confident of setting the visitors a target of more than 300. Instead, they lost their last eight wickets in adding a further 97, three of them for 11 balls at a cost of two runs during the morning session.Taylor made a breakthrough in the first over when Stiaan van Zyl (41) feathered an outswinger to Lewis Hill, one of four catches for the Foxes’ wicketkeeper.Luke Wells and Harry Finch added 23 with few alarms before Sussex’s middle order was wrecked by Taylor and Ackermann. Wells lost patience on 48 and also lost his middle stump aiming an expansive drive at Taylor. In his next over Taylor had Wiese leg-before to a ball which kept a touch low while Sussex captain Ben Brown was lbw playing back to Ackermann for his second duck of the match.Sussex rebuilt through Finch and Jordan, who added 49 for the seventh wicket, but when it appeared that they were wresting back the initiative Ackermann completed his five-for with two wickets in three balls thanks to athletic catches at short leg by Azad. Jordan was held off a top-edged sweep and Ollie Robinson became the sixth Sussex batsman to go for a duck in the match, again off a misjudged sweep.The innings ended shortly after lunch. Danny Briggs was caught behind off Taylor’s outswinger and Finch, with only last man Mir Hamza for company, drove at Chris Wright and Hill did the rest behind the stumps.

He has been the best death bowler in the IPL this season, and CSK have won most of their matches by being unflappable in that phase. What will happen when the two meet?

The Preview by Alagappan Muthu16-Apr-20198:09

Will Sunrisers break their losing streak against Super Kings?

Big picture

The tables have turned. Chennai Super Kings come into this game as the best bowling side of the IPL with the second-lowest economy rate (7.1) in the Powerplay and the best in both the middle overs (6.5) and at the death (8.3).

Form guide

• Sunrisers Hyderabad: lost to Delhi Capitals by 39 runs, lost to Kings XI Punjab by six wickets, lost to Mumbai Indians by 40 runs

• Chennai Super Kings: beat Kolkata Knight Riders by five wickets, beat Rajasthan Royals by four wickets, beat Kolkata Knight Riders by seven wickets

Sunrisers Hyderabad, meanwhile, have slacked off a bit in the back end. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, for example, has an economy rate of 12.6 from overs 16 to 20 and was seen practicing various versions of the cutter with head coach Tom Moody on the eve of the game. Much of this contest will hinge on how Sunrisers can stop CSK in the back end (and so much of this preview will focus on that)

In the news

• CSK have a couple of injury worries: Harbhajan Singh did not travel to Kolkata for their last game with a stiff neck and while playing that game, MS Dhoni pulled up with back spasms.
• It is reported that Bangladesh will call Sunrisers’ Shakib Al Hasan back from the IPL next week for World Cup preparations.
• Former Sunrisers captain David Warner put down their 8 for 15 collapse in the last game to a lack of experience in the batting order. So based on that, it would seem Manish Pandey and Yusuf Pathan have a good chance of returning to the XI.

Previous meeting

The 2018 final, which CSK won, chasing down 179 thanks to Shane Watson’s century.

Likely XIs

Sunrisers Hyderabad: 1 David Warner, 2 Jonny Bairstow (wk), 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Vijay Shankar, 5 Manish Pandey, 6 Deepak Hooda/Yusuf Pathan, 7 Abhishek Sharma, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Sandeep Sharma, 11 Khaleel AhmedChennai Super Kings: 1 Shane Watson, 2 Faf du Plessis, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 Ambati Rayudu, 5 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 6 Kedar Jadhav, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Deepak Chahar, 10 Shardul Thakur, 11 Imran Tahir.Rashid Khan celebrates a wicket•BCCI

Strategy punt

• The Sunrisers middle order is pretty crumbly, especially if Vijay Shankar can be knocked off early. And the best bet to do that seems to be with a spinner. The allrounder has made only 80 runs off 86 balls against them since IPL 2018. Moreover, in that same period, his dot-ball percentage (44%) and balls-per-boundary rate (14.3) are the third-worst of all the batsmen who have faced at least 75 deliveries of spin.
• To sweeten the deal for CSK, Vijay has already been dismissed twice in 12 balls by Mitchell Santner and he’s only ever made 13 runs off 20 balls against Ravindra Jadeja. (PS – he’s never faced Imran Tahir in a T20)
• There’s a similarly large head-to-head bulls-eye on Dhoni. He’s made only 14 off 22 against Rashid Khan and over half those deliveries have ended up being dots. The Super Kings captain is a massive force in the final overs of a T20 game but can he defy data (again) if Sunrisers save a couple of Rashid’s overs specifically for him?

Stats that matter

• Even otherwise, Rashid is Sunrisers’ best death bowler. He may have only taken six wickets in seven matches this season – but four of them have come from overs 16 to 20. His economy rate – 6 – and dot-ball percentage – 50 – are the best out of everyone who has bowled at least five overs in this phase of an innings in IPL 2019.
• Sunrisers would certainly need performances like that because they have a terrible record against CSK: 10 matches, 8 losses.
• There is a very clear vulnerability in the defending champions’ game plan, though. Their line-up is filled with slow starters. Listing this year’s batsmen with the lowest strike-rates in the first 20 balls of their innings, Ambati Rayudu at No. 1 (77), Dhoni at No. 4 (108) and Suresh Raina at No. 5 (110). Each of those batsmen, as is the CSK mantra, backs himself to make it up in the end but if Sunrisers can reprise their death-bowling masterclasses from 2018, we could be in for a great contest.
• Since 2015, the average total in T20Is and IPL matches played in Hyderabad is 158.