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Nasir Jamshed’s rapid half-century helped Chittagong Kings beat Khulna Royal Bengals with five balls to spare in Mirpur

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Feb-2012
ScorecardNasir Jamshed’s rapid half-century helped Chittagong Kings beat Khulna Royal Bengals with five balls to spare in Mirpur. They and Barisal Burners are the only unbeaten teams in the Bangladesh Premier League after two games.The Kings lost the toss at the Shere Bangla Stadium and watched the Royal Bengals openers make a strong start. Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Herschelle Gibbs had added 89 by the 11th over, when Gibbs was dismissed by Mahmudullah for 34 off 39 balls. Mahmudullah also dismissed Chanderpaul in the 15th over, for 59 off 50 balls with his team on 114 for 2. Two other West Indians, Dwayne Smith and Andre Russell, ensured the Royal Bengals had a strong finish. They scored 52 in five overs and gave their bowlers 171 to defend.Jahurul Islam fell early but Jamshed, the Pakistan batsman, gave the Kings a quick start. He had a partnership of 88 with Jason Roy for the second wicket and put the chase on course. The innings stumbled when Roy and Mahmudullah fell in the 11th over, and Dwayne Bravo didn’t make much either. Jamshed, however, held one end up, scoring rapidly to deal with the asking-rate. He hit 86 off 47 balls, with ten fours and a six, to steer the Kings to victory in the final over.

Having guided Australia through the turbulent first eight months of his captaincy, Michael Clarke is decidedly relieved to have a settled support staff

Daniel Brettig23-Nov-2011Having guided Australia through the turbulent first eight months of his captaincy, Michael Clarke is decidedly relieved to have a settled support staff – even if the new head coach Mickey Arthur was not his personal choice for the job.Clarke returned home from a dramatic but ultimately satisfying tour of South Africa on Wednesday, and though he has a surfeit of injuries to contend with, can look forward to tackling the home summer with a strong network around him.Along with Arthur, the team performance manager Pat Howard, the national selector John Inverarity, selectors Rod Marsh and Andy Bichel, Clarke will dial into the first major phone hook-up for the new selection panel on Thursday evening, to deliberate on the team for the first Test against New Zealand in Brisbane.The assembly of cricket experience and sporting intellect is striking, and Clarke also spoke warmly of the assistant coaches Steve Rixon, Justin Langer and Craig McDermott. Rixon was Clarke’s preference to become head coach, but pointed out that Arthur’s appointment would allow him to benefit from the knowledge of both.”I’m stoked we’ve got a coach. Mickey has done a fantastic job in the past with South Africa, and I’m really excited and looking forward to working with him,” Clarke said. “I’ve only spoken to him a handful of times either playing against him with South Africa or over the phone since he’s taken over with WA.”I think Australian cricket needed a coach to be appointed sooner rather than later and I’m stoked that James Sutherland and Pat Howard have put a certain amount of people through a process and Mickey Arthur’s come out on top, so I’m looking forward to working with him.”In my opinion I believe the coach needs to have the support staff around him that he wants and he needs, but if Stumper [Rixon] is the right man for the job, I’m sure Mickey will be more than supportive to see them around, as with Justin Langer and Craig McDermott.”They’re all under contract, I’m not sure how long to, but that’s a bonus for our team if you’ve got some very good cricket minds there, helping us out trying to get us to win games. I think really you’ve probably got the cake and eating it too with Mickey Arthur and Steve Rixon.”As Arthur’s predecessor Tim Nielsen observed, Clarke’s draining first few months in the job benefited from the enthusiasm of a new leader. The broadening of support beneath Clarke will now allow him to concentrate on his batting and tactical thinking as the captaincy starts to become less of a novelty.”It’ll probably make a few of our live a lot easier, that’s for sure. I’m as excited as anybody to get a coach on board,” Clarke said. “There’s been some things happening off the field for the last six months, but our job is to perform on the field.”The communication for me personally with James Sutherland has been outstanding, he’s kept me informed on everything that’s been happening, from the general manger to the selectors, to now the head coach, so they’ve tried to do their best and we’ve tried to do the same. It’s nice that it’s finished, we have our new general manager, our selectors and a head coach, so it’s another reason to be excited for what lies ahead.”Clarke delivered a chuckling “good luck” when informed that Arthur had likened the captain/coach relationship to marriage, but spoke frankly of the need to build a rapport in coming days. Only seven remain between now and the start of the first Test against New Zealand.”Since Mickey took over the job in WA, we’ve been in communication, talking about the WA player,s so there’s been back and forth communication for a while now,” Clarke said. “But the relationship is crucial, no doubt, straight away I respect him for everything he’s achieved as a player but also as a coach.”His success with the South African team is something that I’m sure would’ve played a part in him getting this job. He’s a true gentleman, a fantastic man, and I look forward to learning as much as I can from him and working together.”To me it doesn’t matter where you come from, if you’re the right man for the job, the best man for the job, then I believe you deserve to get it. The benefit of Mickey coming on board is he’s got some other great coaches around him in regard to Steve Rixon, Justin Langer and Craig McDermott. So some pretty smart cricket minds there, working together I can only see us having more success.”

Andrew McDonald took his first five-wicket haul in one-day cricket as he helped Victoria to a 12-run win over Queensland

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Dec-2011
ScoreboardAndrew McDonald took his first five-wicket haul in one-day cricket•AFPAndrew McDonald claimed 5 for 38, his first five-wicket haul in one-day cricket, as he helped Victoria to a 12-run win over Queensland and moved them to third place in the table.Defending 237, McDonald had Peter Forrest caught behind for 27 to reduce Queensland to 4 for 61 before James Hopes’ 39 formed a 79-run partnership with Nathan Reardon. Hopes fell to Clint McKay, whose 10 overs conceded 29, and Reardon was then run out by David Hussey for 53.Again, though, Queensland fought back as Steve Paulsen (36) and Michael Neser (22) added fifty to bring the requirement down to 37 from 33 balls when McDonald removed both batsmen in three deliveries. Cameron Gannon hit four boundaries in his 22 to keep Queensland’s chances alive, but fell to McDonald at the start of the penultimate over.Aaron Finch had led the way for Victoria with 71 from 106 balls but he received little support as Victoria slipped to 6 for 145. However, they were revived by Glenn Maxwell, who struck a 37-ball 50, and Robert Quiney (38) in a stand of 67 for the seventh wicket before Alister McDermott wrapped up the innings to finish with 4 for 30.

India are set to be without Virender Sehwag for the first two Tests against England and there is still no definite timetable for his return to the side

Andrew McGlashan at Taunton14-Jul-2011India are set to be without Virender Sehwag for the first two Tests against England and there is still no definite timetable for his return following the shoulder surgery that ruled him out of the West Indies tour.It had already been announced that Sehwag will be joining the tour two weeks late after being given extra time to recover at home but uncertainty remains over the seriousness of his problem. “We’ve heard that he’ll be over here for maybe the third and fourth Test, so we’re crossing our fingers for that,” Duncan Fletcher, the India coach, said.On the recent tour of West Indies, India had an entirely new opening combination with Gautam Gambhir also missing out with an injury. Abhinav Mukund partnered Murali Vijay for the three matches and did enough to secure a berth to England having made 147 runs at in six innings.Mukund now faces the prospect of joining forces with Gambhir to face England’s new-ball attack at Lord’s and Trent Bridge. MS Dhoni wants his side to be given a solid platform but knows Sehwag’s boots are tough to fill. “We are a side that relies on our openers quite a bit,” he said. “If we get off to a good start then we can really capitalise with the middle order we have.”As far as Virender Sehwag is concerned, there aren’t many cricketers in the world who can have the impact he can. Of course we’ll miss him, but the good thing for Indian cricket is it gives a chance to a youngster like Mukund who can have a look at international cricket and see what areas he needs to improve. Viru will be back at some point, but it’s good to have Gautam back as well.”Sehwag, though, is just one part of a formidable batting line-up that will include the returning Sachin Tendulkar along with Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman. Fletcher also believes that the tough batting conditions India faced in West Indies will stand them in good stead for the series ahead.”In West Indies, without some top players, they played on some spicy wickets – two like I’d never been involved with before – it was really quick, it bounced and seamed,” he said. “They handled it well. So we feel they are in a good space at the moment and can carry on.”Dhoni, meanwhile, isn’t overly concerned that India only have their three-day match against Somerset as preparation because the team are coming off their hard-fought series in the Caribbean, although he may have been lulled slightly by the warm day on Thursday. The forecast isn’t so promising.”The West Indian climate is quite different but there’s nice weather here for cricket. I don’t think there’s too much pressure on us to acclimatise,” he said. “The last two days we’ve had fantastic net sessions. In West Indies, wickets were slightly different. It was a challenge for the batsmen because shot-playing wasn’t very easy. Over here it might be a bit different because the outfield should be miles faster than what we had in West Indies.”

West Indies have been forced to name a new-look squad for the two Twenty20 in England next month due to a schedule clash with the Champions League Twenty20

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Aug-2011New-look squad

Missing men: Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo, Darren Bravo, Lendl Simmons, Adrian Barath and Ravi Rampaul
New faces: Batsmen Miles Bascombe and Johnson Charles, allrounder Nkruma Bonner and wicketkeeper Derwin Christian

West Indies have been forced to name a new-look squad for the two Twenty20 games in England next month due to a schedule clash with the Champions League Twenty20. At least seven players that would have made a full-strength West Indies squad have been left out, and four newcomers have been included.The absentees include the best of West Indian batting talent: Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo, Darren Bravo, Lendl Simmons and Adrian Barath. While the first three haven’t been included in West Indies’ Twenty20 teams earlier in the year as well since they skipped the domestic Twenty20 tournament, the other three are representing Trinidad & Tobago in the Champions League, as is fast bowler Ravi Rampaul.Darren Sammy continues to lead the side and has been named captain in all formats for the upcoming tours of Bangladesh and India as well. Barbados allrounder Dwayne Smith who has not played for West Indies since the home series against Zimbabwe in early 2010 has been recalled. Smith and Marlon Samuels, who made a comeback a few months ago after a two-year ban for his links with an Indian bookmaker, are the only experienced batsmen in the 14-man squad.The new faces are batsmen Miles Bascombe and Johnson Charles along with allrounder Nkruma Bonner and wicketkeeper Derwin Christian.Bascombe, 25, is an opener from St Vincent, who has represented the West Indies A Team. Charles is a 22-year-old St Lucian top-order batsman, and plays for the Windward Islands and has been part of West Indies A as well.West Indies’ chairman of selectors Clyde Butts was happy with the promise shown by the youngsters. “Bascombe is a Twenty20 player who has shown signs that he can take apart bowling attacks at the top of the order,” Butts said. “Charles has been consistent in the past two years and has shown that he is capable of understanding the requirements of batting in the opening position in the shortest format.”Bonner is a 22-year-old legspinning allrounder from Jamaica who has been training at the Sagicor High Performance Centre in Barbados. Christian, 28, is the most experienced of the newcomers. While the other three have only played about a dozen matches in each format, Christian has represented Guyana since 2005, and played 40 first-class matches.”We have identified Bonner as someone who, because he is exciting with the bat, ball and in the field, is a developing player we are looking to give him some exposure at the highest level,” Butts said. “Nkruma has also had excellent reports from the Sagicor HPC Batting Coach Carl Hooper.”Christian impressed the selectors during the last Caribbean Twenty20 when he batted with a cool head and won games for Guyana, he is a pugnacious batsman who we believe can be a match winner down the order.”The two Twenty20s are scheduled for September 23 and 25 at The Oval.West Indies squad: Darren Sammy (capt), Christopher Barnwell, Miles Bascombe, Devendra Bishoo, Nkruma Bonner, Johnson Charles, Derwin Christian (wk), Fidel Edwards, Danza Hyatt, Ashley Nurse, Andre Russell, Marlon Samuels, Krishmar Santokie, Dwayne Smith

Trent Johnston has stressed on the importance of beating Pakistan in Belfast, saying that another Full-Member scalp will strengthen Ireland’s case to be considered for the 2015 World Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff29-May-2011Trent Johnston, the Ireland allrounder, has stressed on the importance of beating Pakistan in the second ODI in Belfast, saying that another Full-Member scalp will strengthen Ireland’s case to be considered for the 2015 World Cup. Ireland are 0-1 down in the two-match series after losing the first game, in which they were dismissed for 96, by seven wickets.”It’s important we put in a performance because Ireland and the next World Cup are in the limelight,” Johnston told the BBC. “The issue is on the tips of people’s tongues that the Associates and Ireland should be allowed a qualification process [for the 2015 World Cup]. Because of that we really need to keep the fire burning and produce a performance against Pakistan.”We know it is not the be all and end all, because we have been consistent in our performances for a while now and think we deserve a chance. But at the same time we can help our cause if we beat Pakistan tomorrow and get another Full-Member scalp.”The ICC will re-evaluate its decision to limit participation in the 2015 World Cup to the Full Members at its annual conference in June, after there was widespread criticism over their move to axe the Associates from one-day cricket’s showpiece event. Ireland were the best Associate team in the 2011 World Cup, beating England and Netherlands, and running West Indies and Bangladesh close.Ireland’s cause, and that of the Associates, received a boost at a recent meeting of the ICC’s Cricket Committee, which unanimously supported a qualification system for the 2015 World Cup. Johnston was the Associates representative at the meeting at Lord’s and was encouraged by what he heard.”It was pretty resounding among the people at the meeting that they were happy with a 10-team World Cup, but they were uncomfortable with it being a closed-shop,” he said. “The consensus was that it is unfair and that there should be some sort of qualification process.”You look at the last World Cup and while there were some lop-sided results with the minnows, ourselves and Holland had some pretty good performances, while a young emerging team like Afghanistan should be given a chance as well. It was pretty unanimous and we even had the CEO of New Zealand [Justin Vaughan], which is a Full-Member nation, back us as well so that is reassuring.”The final decision, however, will be down to the same people who took the initial decision to shut out Ireland and the other Associates from the tournament in Australia and New Zealand. “The committee that will discuss it next month is the one that made the decision for a ten-team, closed-shop World Cup,” Johnston said. “Obviously the talk around the cricket world has been they got the decision wrong initially, so hopefully they look at what’s been said and decide differently this time.”There is a lot of backing for us, people have come out and said it is unfair. The only thing we can do now perhaps is help our cause with a better performance against Pakistan on Monday.”

Australia’s young allrounder Glenn Maxwell has declared he will be his side’s “x-factor” in the World Twenty20

Daniel Brettig17-Sep-2012Glenn Maxwell is headed for a breakout display at the World Twenty20 … or a sobering brush with reality at the same tournament.Having turned heads with a handful of spiky performances in his first appearances for Australia during their recent ODI and T20 series in the UAE, Maxwell has arrived in Sri Lanka flushed with confidence ahead of his team’s opening match against Ireland on Wednesday.He has spoken with plenty of brio about the sorts of displays he is capable of producing over the next three weeks, which in his mind will be match-turning efforts of the kind produced by the world’s very best. They are bold words from a 23-year-old with six international matches to his credit, and Maxwell will now need to back them up with plenty of action.”I’m very confident I can perform now at this level. Hopefully I can be that x-factor that Australia needs to win this tournament,” Maxwell said in Colombo. “I feel like I can become that x-factor in all three facets of the game and hopefully be that flair that Australia really wants to see.”That could mean a run out, a brilliant catch, a breakthrough wicket with the ball or big hitting. I’m really embracing that ‘x-factor’ tag. I don’t really have too many doubts, I don’t think I’m going to try to back down any time soon either.”Among a series of useful cameos in the UAE, Maxwell said he gained most from an unbeaten half century to guide Australia home in the third ODI in Sharjah. That innings clinched the series for Michael Clarke’s team, and gave Maxwell the belief that he could follow it up with even greater things at the World T20.”When I got the boys over the line at the end, that gave me the confidence to do anything in the squad,” he said. “I feel like I can give Australia more runs at the top of the order rather than the bottom. Hopefully a hundred is not too far away and it comes in this tournament.”Running his eye over other teams in the tournament, Maxwell said he expected England to shrug off the loss of Kevin Pietersen, the player of the tournament when Paul Collingwood led the team to victory over Australia in the final of the 2010 edition.”England has been a bit of a powerhouse. KP is one of the world’s best players but they’ve been able to cover for him pretty well,” Maxwell said. “I don’t think they’re going to miss him too much.””Their middle order is quite strong. Eoin Morgan gives them amazing versatility, he’s a great finisher and a really tough player to get out. Their bowling attack is excellent. They’ve got a great bowling coach in David Saker who has drilled them really well.”Maxwell’s words carry as much conviction as some of his strokes have done so far. Australia will hope for more of the same from Wednesday.

Leicestershire allrounder Andrew McDonald is leaving the county because of visa problems

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Sep-2011Leicestershire allrounder Andrew McDonald is leaving the county because of visa problems. McDonald’s visa issue has arisen because the time that has elapsed since he last played for Australia in January 2009 means he no longer qualifies as an overseas player in county cricket. McDonald joins the retiring Paul Nixon and Nottinghamshire-bound Harry Gurney in leaving the county.”Visa regulations mean Andrew cannot return next season and we thank him for the impact he has made over the past two years,” said Leicestershire chief executive Mike Siddall. “It’s really sad to have to say goodbye to three guys on the playing staff who have made a fantastic contribution to winning the t20 this year and taking Leicestershire into the Champions League.”McDonald, 30, was Leicestershire’s Twenty20 player of the year this season, scoring 584 runs and taking 14 wickets during the county’s successful run to the domestic title. His loss will be tempered by the fact that Pakistan allrounder Abdul Razzaq, who scored 262 runs and took 18 wickets this summer, will return to play Twenty20 cricket at Grace Road next year.”It is a major boost for us,” said head coach Phil Whitticase. “There are fewer Twenty20 games next season so it will be important we have a similar type of team. He has shown us all what he can do and we look forward to having him back with us.”Leicestershire have also secured the services of batsman Martin van Jaarsveld, who has moved to Leicestershire from Kent. “With Andrew unable to return next season it was important the club signed a senior batsman as we are unlikely to have an overseas player in the LV County Championship in 2012,” explained Siddall.

Ricky Ponting will have surgery on his broken finger on Tuesday but he remains on track to start Australia’s World Cup defence next month

Peter English at the SCG03-Jan-2011Ricky Ponting will have surgery on his broken finger on Tuesday but he remains on track to start Australia’s World Cup defence next month. The decision was made late on Monday afternoon after the physio Alex Kountouris felt an operation was the best way to help Ponting’s recovery.”Ricky had further x-rays today on his fractured finger which have shown that the bone fragment has further displaced and will not heal without surgery,” Kountouris said. “He is expected to miss the one-day international series against England and recover in time for the World Cup on the subcontinent.”Ponting fractured the little finger on his left hand in Perth two weeks ago and while he played in the Melbourne Test, he was ruled out of the final match of the series at the SCG. The injury leaves his Test career in some doubt as he is 36 and Australia’s next series is scheduled for Sri Lanka in August.Despite his recent batting struggles, Ponting remains a key man in Australia’s one-day side and has not lost a World Cup match in two tournaments as captain. The event begins in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh next month and Australia will be aiming for their fourth consecutive victory.

Much of New Zealand’s plight today, when they conceded 329 runs for three wickets, was to be expected

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Nov-2010Much of New Zealand’s plight today, when they conceded 329 runs for three wickets, was to be expected. The bowlers were sure to struggle, and they did. Virender Sehwag, their chief tormentor, summed it up perfectly: “One bowler [Hamish Bennett] was on debut and the other [Chris Martin] was not experienced in Indian conditions. And it’s difficult for spinners to bowl in the opening session of the first day on an Indian pitch.”It was expected that New Zealand, even after such a hard day, would accentuate the positive. “India were looking like they would finish on 400 at the end of the day at one stage and to finish on 300-plus was [due to] some good work from us,” Jesse Ryder said.He also saw some hope in the pitch. “The pitch was two-paced and a bit up and down in the end[of the day],” he said. “Hopefully it looks like it will flatten out a little bit more. It shouldn’t be too bad; we have to see over the next couple of days.”Sehwag – again, perhaps as expected – sought to sow some doubts in the opposition minds by projecting real and imaginary fears. “The pitch will get slower as we go on. You have to be really patient as a batsman,” he said.It was expected, too, that Sehwag in the mood would upset any bowling and fielding plans. “We had our plans against Sehwag,” Ryder said. “We knew he would have a go at us. At times we didn’t bowl to our plans and we let him get away. It’s hard to stop a batsman who is going like that unless you stick to your plans, and we didn’t always do that. We wanted to tuck him up and not let him free his arms but we gave some width early on. That didn’t help us.”What wasn’t expected, though, was New Zealand’s catching – four chances were dropped. Rahul Dravid was dropped on 28 and 92 by Gareth Hopkins, who was up early in the first instance and couldn’t get his palms around the ball in the second. Sehwag was dropped on 144 and 155: Jeetan Patel offered the first reprieve- a very tough chance, he would have been happy to literally save his face – and the substitute Martin Guptill dropped an easy chance, running in from long-on to drop a skier.Ryder described the agony of it all: “You come here to play on their home turf and it’s been a long day on the field. And it’s really disappointing to drop those catches. Catches are always vital; if we had taken those the story might have been different.”Of course that’s without legislating for the unpredictable Sehwag, who made this game sound incredibly easy: “I just told myself I’d score a hundred if I survived the first hour.” He duly did both, and was then asked for his reactions to Sachin Tendulkar’s 50th hundred (he’s on 49). “Has the 50 happened? I will speak when it happens. (Don’t hex it!)”