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West Indies have been hit with a penalty for a slow over-rate during the first Test against England at Lord’s

ESPNcricinfo staff21-May-2012West Indies have been hit with a penalty for a slow over-rate during the first Test against England at Lord’s, which they lost by five wickets. West Indies captain, Darren Sammy, was fined 80% of his match fee, while his players received 40% fines.Roshan Mahanama, the match referee, imposed the fines after West Indies were ruled to be four overs short of their target, when time allowances were taken into consideration. Sammy admitted that with fast bowlers Shannon Gabriel and Fidel Edwards struggling he had resorted to bowling part-time spinner Marlon Samuels to try and bring the over-rate up as England closed in on victory.”Shannon went out with back spasms and Fidel was not at his best, so Marlon had to fill in some overs and make up some time,” Sammy said.The ICC’s code of conduct governing minor over-rate offences states that players are to be fined 10% of their match fees for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time, with the captain fined double that amount. Sammy could also face a one-match suspension if he is found guilty of one more minor over-rate offence in Tests during the next 12 months.

Captain Veerasammy Permaul led West Indies A’s fightback in the second unofficial Test, helping them gain a slender lead over India A after the visitors had taken the honours on the first day

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Jun-2012
Scorecard

Awana departs for the Caribbean

Parvinder Awana, the seamer who played for Kings XI Punjab in the IPL, left for the Caribbean on Sunday to join the India A squad. He was held up due to visa issues. Awana was named as a replacement for the injured RP Singh prior to the tour but, according to reports, it took a while for him to be granted a transit visa through the UK.

Captain Veerasammy Permaul led West Indies A’s fightback in the second unofficial Test, helping them gain a slender lead over India A after the visitors had taken the honours on the first day. Permaul grabbed five wickets with his left-arm spin and was well supported by the rest of the bowling crew – each of the five bowlers bagged at least a wicket. Cheteshwar Pujara, captaining his team, impressed once again, scoring his third half-century in as many innings but even he couldn’t prevent West Indies from bowling India out for 202.Veerasammy Permaul picked up 5 for 58•West Indies Cricket

Seamer Shami Ahmed brought an early end to the West Indies innings on the second day, removing opener Kraigg Brathwaite, who had batted out the opening day, for 66. He then trapped Devendra Bishoo in front to finish with 4 for 48 and keep West Indies to 217.But India were under pressure early in the chase. Abhinav Mukund, who bagged a pair in the first unofficial Test, was lbw to seamer Jason Holder for 8 while Shikhar Dhawan was cleaned up by Delorn Johnson for a duck. Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara, however, tried to bail India out of trouble. Pujara took the bulk of the strike in the 74-run third-wicket stand but Permaul struck to undermine the hard work.Permaul, who made a quick 36 in West Indies’ innings, had Rahane caught at slip for 18 before taking a return catch from Rohit Sharma to dismiss him for 1. Pujara brought up his half-century with a six over long-on off legspinner Bishoo, but he too fell to Permaul, edging to the wicketkeeper. Manoj Tiwary, who had added 27 with Pujara, followed soon.Wriddhiman Saha and the lower order, though, stepped up. Saha added 38 with Rahul Sharma. Rahul then put together 32 with Shami. The last four wickets added 79 runs for India, but Permaul completed the innings by dismissing Shami and Ashok Dinda and bagged a five-for.West Indies were six without loss in the second innings, a lead of 21.

Ed Cowan, the Australian batsman, just happened to be living in Cirencester because of his heavily-pregnant wife. He made a first-class debut for Gloucestershire and promptly won his county cap.

Alex Winter at Cheltenham11-Jul-2012Ed Cowan, seen here batting for Australia, did not have to wait too long for his Gloucestershire cap•AFP

It was quite a matter of convenience that Gloucestershire were able to employ the services of Australia Test opener Ed Cowan. But right place, right time is so often the making of so much success. Just ask Darren Bent.Gloucestershire just happened to be the county where Ed Cowan decided to stay with his heavily-pregnant wife, Virginia. He is in England for an Australia A tour and Cricket Australia were keen for him to get some cricket before their fixtures begin at Derby on July 27.Cowan is staying in Cirencester, a 16 mile trip from Cheltenham, and got in touch with Gloucestershire who signed him for six matches. But this is his only County Championship appearance. As such, his debut was greeted with the presentation for his county cap. It is quite conceivable that he could never play for Gloucestershire again. It is a disgrace, a debasement of the capping system.But maybe a cheap cap is worth a few bonus points. Cowan’s unbeaten 51 helped Gloucestershire towards their first in just over half a day’s play. Bonus points could be the only reward from this match given the forecast.”Ryan ten Doeschate was joking with me,” Cowan said. “He said it took him six years to get his Essex cap and I’ve just turned up to earn mine. But I respect the policy they have here and it’s very special to be playing my first first-class game for the club. Any time you’re capped by a county it’s a pretty special moment.”Rob Nicol, the New Zealand batsman, will be the next recipient of a Gloucestershire cap when he arrives to play for the rest of the season next week. But this week Gloucestershire have the services of a very determined man who recognises he has work ahead of him to prove his worth at Test level.”The Ashes is something that would be very special to be a part of,” Cowan said. “But we’ve got some landmark series before then. I feel I’m good enough to be in that Test team and not just chipping in but dominating games for the team. I’m yet to prove that but I look forward to doing that. And It’s nice to be playing cricket over here a year out, getting used to different conditions and different balls.”Cowan said the chance to play at the famous Cheltenham festival – which all Australians have heard of apparently – was a factor in him approaching Gloucestershire. And he immediately had a chance to bat on the college ground as Alex Gidman won the toss: possibly Cowan’s only chance to bat here.The recent weather saw the members’ car park at the college lawn end declared off limits. The wicket, although appearing a fine surface, also showed signs of the poor summer. “Having played a little bit in the UK before, it reminded me of an early season wicket,” Cowan said. “There’s not a whole heap of pace there, it’s not really conducive to a huge amount of strokemaking but not great for bowling either. But I think it will quicken up as the game goes on. I think it will turn, too. Harbhajan Singh has already spun a couple.”Cowan seemed to struggle on occasions to pick Harbhajan’s length and he conceded just 15 runs from his three spells, the last a single over before the umpires sensibly suspended play before rain brought stumps.James Foster, Essex’s captain, only gave Harbhajan six overs. Curious given that he caused problems to Cowan, a left-hander, who survived a strong lbw appeal, and that the Essex attack began to toil in a 108-run second wicket partnership between Cowan and Dan Housego – another who received his Gloucestershire cap this season. He was making his return after a shoulder injury and played a controlled innings.He struck a sumptuous cover drive off ten Doeschate through the covers before inside edging another drive for four more to bring up his half-century. But trying to play a length ball from Reece Topley into the leg side lost his middle stump.The wicket inhibited Cowan, who didn’t score for another 19 balls. He finally got going again with a mistimed cover drive for a single before manoeuvring Harbhajan to fine leg to bring up his 142-ball fifty.He walked off unbeaten having shown admirable composure in at times difficult weather, for a period against the new ball, and throughout facing the opening pairing of Topley and David Masters who together sent down 30 overs for 66 runs.Gloucestershire were in the right place at the right time to inherit the services of a fine player. And they may have hooked Cowan for the future. “I’ve really loved the dressing room and the coaching structure,” Cowan said. “It’s a really impressive set up and definitely a place I’d like to play some more cricket.” Perhaps that cap wasn’t hastily awarded after all.

For a long time, this was a day dominated by two excellent maiden Championship hundreds but Toby Roland-Jones and injudicious shot selection from Surrey’s batsmen ensured Middlesex’s victory target was limited to 254.

Tim Wigmore at The Oval17-Aug-2012
ScorecardRory Burns made his first Championship hundred to get Surrey back into the game•PA Photos

For a long time, this was a day dominated by two excellent maiden Championship hundreds, from Rory Burns and Arun Harinath. However, a combination of excellent seam bowling from Toby Roland-Jones and injudicious shot selection from Surrey’s batsmen ensured Middlesex’s victory target was limited to 254.By the close of an intriguing day they had reached 45 for 1 in pursuit. After Chris Rogers and Sam Robson exploited some loose bowling from Jade Dernbach, with Rogers creaming consecutive boundaries through the covers, Gareth Batty claimed him lbw. While Rogers only appeared to be half-forward, he was visibly angered by the decision – so much so that he may face disciplinary action for dissent. With him dismissed, Surrey may consider themselves slight favourites to secure their first championship win since the first game of the season, especially if their spinners can exploit some uneven bounce, of which there were glimpses.However, Burns and Harinath will always remember this as the day they registered their maiden championship hundreds. They reached the landmarks batting together, with Harinath’s century coming only three balls after Burns’ in a five minute spell before lunch.The experience was extra special because of the close friendship between the two. “It was a very special moment, especially to do it with Arun,” Burns said. Harinath added: “We’ve spent a lot of time together and we room a lot. He’s younger than me and I’ve seen him grow up.” He also admitted that, “I would not have liked to have sat on 98 or 99 and it was nice to get it just before lunch”. Even the normally relaxed Burns admitted to being “a little bit nervous” before reaching his hundred.The two centurions combined to add 217 runs for the second wicket, a Surrey record against Middlesex. Both Burns and Harinath displayed steely temperaments and commendable levels of concentration, while steadily accumulating at a strike-rate fractionally over 50. The understanding between them was particularly apparent in their aggressive running, which earned Surrey perhaps 15 runs in quick singles and sharp twos.However, while Burns and Harinath combined to turn around Surrey’s position in the match – and, they will hope, their championship season – their performances had very different personal values. For Harinath, aged 25 but with a previous best Championship score of 63 – against Middlesex at The Oval more than two years ago – the innings could reinvigorate a career that threatened to be stalling. While he has always had obvious qualities of adhesiveness, today he showed a more expansive side with his straight driving and impressive use of his feet against spin.Burns’ century, significant as maiden Championship hundreds invariably are, felt more like a natural progression after a season in which he has illustrated that he has the technique to flourish in Surrey’s perennial problem position of opener. There is a running joke at Surrey that every season Chris Adams says an opener is his priority, but he can’t ever find one. Well, perhaps he now has. After being bowled leaving his first ball as a Championship opener, against Lancashire at Guildford, Burns has been highly impressive and has already withstood the Warwickshire and Nottinghamshire attacks to make fine 70s. Compact, well organised, and particularly strong steering the ball through the offside or off his hips, there is a tangible sense of class in Burns’s batting.But both centurions will regret their dismissals, which exposed Surrey’s flaky middle order to the second new ball just when they appeared to be edging towards a position of impregnability. Harinath fell to a superb catch from Chris Rogers, who reacted smartly after Adam Rossington had spilled his edge; Burns’s 121 was ended when he unwisely attempted to play across the line to the tenth ball of the second new ball, only to be beaten by Roland-Jones’s seam movement.Roland-Jones exploited the opening magnificently. As Burns said, “he does enough consistently to get wickets” bowling a relentlessly nagging line and generating late seam movement. Roland-Jones took three wickets in ten balls with the second new ball, and his figures of 5 for 39 from 24 overs were well deserved. Understandably given his height – 6ft 4in – and county, there have been comparisons with Steve Finn. However, a more apt likening would be to his director of cricket, Angus Fraser, with whom he shares an aptitude for long spells and a penchant for parsimony.Well as Roland-Jones bowled, Surrey’s batsmen failed to follow the example set by Harinath and Burns as they collapsed from 230 for 1 to 341 all out. If they do fail to win, they will regard this as a bad missed opportunity, because, besides Roland-Jones and some reasonable support from Steven Crook, Middlesex’s bowling seldom threatened, with Tom Smith’s left-arm spin bereft of incision. Burns and Harinath certainly wouldn’t have envisaged reaching their tons off bowlers as unthreatening as the occasional legspin of Dawid Malan and Joe Denly.As is too often the case, Surrey’s middle order was too ambitious, too early. Rory Hamilton-Brown and Jason Roy followed Burns only in missing full deliveries attempting to work to leg, while Zander de Bruyn, after some powerful drives in his 23 hinted at a return to form, played a reckless shot outside off-stump. Skipper Batty, whose off-stump was castled by a Roland-Jones delivery that jagged back, could at least say he had little culpability in his dismissal. The same could be said of Murali Kartik, trapped lbw to a shooter from Steven Crook – a sight Surrey would probably have enjoyed more than Middlesex.Sensible batting from Steven Davies, with a sweetly timed backfoot punch for four standing out, ensured Surrey were still able to set Middlesex 254. Though Davies only made 44 before slogging Tim Murtagh to long on, his was an important innings. Especially after Craig Kieswetter’s excellent form in the “reserve Ashes”, Davies needs to amass some significant innings to retain his place as England’s reserve Test wicket-keeper when they tour India.

Should Warwickshire manage to emerge from this match with their sixth win of the season, they will deserve to be County Champions

Jon Culley at Edgbaston23-Aug-2012
ScorecardDawid Malan continued his development in first-class cricket with an excellent hundred•Getty Images

Should Warwickshire manage to emerge from this match with their sixth win of the season, they will deserve to be County Champions. With a deficit of 305 to take into the final day, to which Middlesex will hope to add at least 50 with five wickets in hand, they face a tall task.The bedrock for Middlesex’s total came in the form of a stand of 203 between Chris Rogers and Dawid Malan, both of whom made accomplished centuries. Well though the two left-handers batted, however, Warwickshire know they could have bowled better on a pitch offering good bounce and carry.There were good spells, notably by Chris Wright with the new ball and by Boyd Rankin just after tea, but not enough of them. It will have been particularly disappointing to them that Ian Blackwell’s left-arm spin did not account for a single wicket in 26 overs.Rogers made 109 and Malan is 138 not out and barely offered a sniff of a chance during the 46 overs or so that they were together. Warwickshire will surrender the Division One lead if they fail to win and Sussex complete a victory at Taunton, which seems likely, although the advantage of a game in hand will maintain Warwickshire’s position as favourites. Sussex, though, would have won six times to their five.Middlesex were seen as contenders themselves at one time, although their realistic target has been to finish in the safe ground in the middle of the table. In that respect, the experience brought by Rogers, the 34-year-old Australian who joined them from Derbyshire two years ago, has been vital.Rogers is with his fourth first-class county. His latest century is his third of the season and 55th overall, of which 30 have been scored in England and eight for Middlesex. He is close to 1,000 runs during the current season and his career aggregate now exceeds 18,000, which are impressive statistics for a batsman whose colour blindness has been said at times to impair his ability to pick out the red ball if the backdrop is not in clear contrast.Although he might have been out on 33 when an uppercut off Rankin cleared Keith Barker on the third-man boundary, he played impressively well. But then so too did Malan, who survived a hostile spell from Rankin just after tea and needs only another six to pass his career best of 143.Twice Warwickshire thought they might take the upper hand. After they had been bowled out for 333, which gave them a lead of 46, a penetrative spell with the new ball from Wright had Middlesex quickly in trouble, bringing wickets in his first and third overs. He drew Sam Robson to play at a ball that left him outside off stump and was rewarded when Tim Ambrose took the catch, and struck again when Joe Denly flashed at a wider delivery and was caught superbly by Rikki Clarke, whose leap at second slip to pluck the ball out of the air seemed unaffected by the abdominal strain that is preventing him from bowling.But then Rogers and Malan bedded in and their progress was serenely without alarm, for the most part until Rankin, returning after tea for third spell, at last began to find the right length. The Irish quick bowler finished off Rogers with his third ball, which was cut to slip, and followed up two overs later when Neil Dexter, the first innings centurion, took liberties with a ball outside off stump and fell victim to William Porterfield’s excellent reactions at gully.Rankin then tempted Adam Rossington to pull with two fielders placed in anticipation of the shot and was rewarded with a top edge that Darren Maddy did well to get under.At this point, Middlesex’s lead was 206, which did not threaten quite such a daunting run chase. However, Rankin’s third success was the last of the batch in a contest that has generally seen wickets taken in clusters. Malan, who made his name initially as an aggressive one-day batsman but is maturing into a sound middle-order player in the four-day game, maintained his concentration after completing his second century of the season off 158 balls and found another useful ally in Gareth Berg.Berg is unbeaten on 53 in a partnership so far worth 99. The new ball is due but Middlesex will hope to add another 50 to their total at least on the fourth morning and probably bat Warwickshire out of the game.

Virender Sehwag has been appointed captain of North Zone for their Duleep Trophy game against West Zone that begins in Chennai on October 6

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Sep-2012Virender Sehwag has been appointed captain of North Zone for their Duleep Trophy game against West Zone that begins in Chennai on October 6.Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh were also included in the 15-man squad. The decision was taken at a zonal selection meeting at the Delhi and District Cricket Association on Monday. Sehwag had earlier been named the captain of Delhi’s Ranji Trophy squad for the 2012-13 season.The five internationals are currently on national duty in the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka and the selection committee also announced their replacements, should India qualify for final, which is on October 7. The replacements are Ian Dev Singh, Rahul Dewan, Uday Kaul, Vipul Sharma and Gurvinder Singh.North Zone squad: Virender Sehwag (Delhi, captain), Gautam Gambhir (Delhi), Virat Kohli (Delhi), Yuvraj Singh (Punjab), Shikhar Dhawan (Delhi), Paras Dogra (Himachal Pradesh), Rajat Bhatia (Delhi), Mayank Sidana (Punjab), Harbhajan Singh (Punjab), Nitin Saini (wicketkeeper, Haryana), Ishant Sharma (Delhi), Parwinder Awana (Delhi), Harshal Patel (Haryana), Vikas Mishra (Delhi), Rishi Dhawan (Himachal Pradesh).

Yuvraj Singh has answered questions over his fitness with his double-century against Central Zone, according to Shikhar Dhawan and former cricketer Ajay Mehra

Abhishek Purohit15-Oct-2012Yuvraj Singh has answered questions over his fitness with a double-century against Central Zone in his first first-class match since recovering from cancer, according to two men who watched the innings closely. Shikhar Dhawan, Yuvraj’s North Zone captain, said no one could play such a long knock without being fit. Ajay Mehra, the former first-class cricketer who is working as a commentator on the game in Hyderabad, said Yuvraj had proved a lot of critics wrong with his performance. His former India team-mate and opposition captain, Mohammad Kaif, said Yuvraj had displayed impeccable timing through most of the innings*.Yuvraj’s innings lasted over five-and-a-half hours and he took the field after lunch on the second day during Central Zone’s innings, standing in the slip cordon for most of the day. Dhawan, who made 121 and batted for over 20 overs with Yuvraj during their third-wicket partnership, praised his senior partner’s mental strength.”I felt really good for Yuvi ,” Dhawan told ESPNcricinfo. “He is such a motivation for all youngsters. It was a classy innings. I loved seeing him from the other end. The way he came in and started batting, I [laughing] told him he had almost finished the game. He is a very strong man mentally.”If someone is scoring a double-century, he has to be fit. He was running very fast during the innings. We ran several quick singles and threes.”Yuvraj was selected for the recently concluded World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka without having played any competitive match since November 2011, though he trained at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore. He showed signs of rustiness in Sri Lanka and he looked tired after running twos and sharp singles, leading former players to question the timing of his comeback.Dhawan, who also trained at the NCA when Yuvraj did, spoke about the effort he had put into his preparation at that time. “I trained with him in the NCA as well before he went to Sri Lanka for the World Twenty20. Even then, he was sprinting hard with high intensity. Of course, it takes time for things to get together for one in a match.”Mehra said Yuvraj had the option of taking some more time off the field but it was good to see that he had chosen to turn out for North Zone in the Duleep Trophy. “It was a test for him,” Mehra said. “He was playing the longer format for the first time since recovering from cancer and he has proved a lot of critics wrong. He could have easily opted out of the Duleep Trophy. He could have said that he wanted some time to get fitter. What was good to see was the way he slogged it out in the middle. He looked very determined and focused. It was pleasing to see the way he applied himself.”There is nothing like match practice. The more he plays, the more he will improve. He has worked hard on his fitness and is looking much better than he did during the World Twenty20.”Kaif, while also expressing disappointment at the runs coming against his team, praised Yuvraj’s “impressive” showing. “The hallmark of this particular innings in Hyderabad was his timing – one of his strengths over the years. When he times the ball well he becomes a completely different batsman and that is what he did during his long stay at the wicket over the first two days of the [match],” Kaif said in the . “What was as impressive as the number of runs Yuvraj scored was the fact that he was able to bat over five hours across two days and he must be very pleased with his level of fitness, which is key when you play the longer versions of the game.Though he scored a large number of runs in boundaries on way to his double hundred he also showed that he could sprint between the wickets. At different points in the game he did steal quick singles.”*05:53 GMT, October 16: This story has been updated with the Mohammad Kaif quotes

All that is to watch out for in the second round of Ranji Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Nov-2012

Group A

Punjab v Bengal in Mohali
The Punjab quicks had a good time on the Mohali track in winning by an innings against Hyderabad. There is no reason Sourav Sarkar, Ashok Dinda and Veer Pratap Singh won’t like it. Watch out for Jiwanjot Singh, the Punjab opener who scored a double-hundred on debut. Punjab 7 points, Bengal 3 pointsRajasthan v Mumbai in Jaipur
Mumbai go to Jaipur sans all the Test stars and Ajit Agarkar. Rohit Sharma will captain them against the defending Ranji champions who managed just one point in their first match. Watch out for Pankaj Singh, who took nine wickets in the first match and might even have harboured thoughts of a Test call-up. Rajasthan 1, Mumbai 3Gujarat v Saurasthra in Surat
When Saurashtra had Cheteshwar Pujara available, they weren’t playing. Now that Pujara is gone to India Test camp, they kick off their season with this Gujarat derby. Gujarat are coming off a frustrating finish when they came close to sealing six points against Madhya Pradesh. Watch out for Parhtiv Patel, who scored 162 and 80 in the first match. Gujarat 3, Saurashtra yet to beginHyderabad v Madhya Pradesh in Hyderabad
Despite the presence of VVS Laxman, Hyderabad have got off to yet another disastrous start. Who said it was going to be easy? They could learn from their next opponents, Madhya Pradesh, whose lower order fought and fought to register one point against MP. Watch out for Jalaj Saxena, the India A spinner, who must consider himself the best spinner outside the Test squad. Hyderabad 0, MP 1

Group B

Delhi v Odisha in Delhi
Delhi, who lost their first match outright despite the presence of four Test stars, will miss not only them but also Ashish Nehra, who has been rested in order to fight the tight schedule. And they are still missing Rajat Bhatia, who got injured in the Champions League T20. Odisha hosted a rained-out match last week, and will hope for a drier time in the capital. Watch out for Parvinder Awana, who is one of the quicker bowlers in Indian domestic cricket but didn’t get to play in the presence of Ishant Sharma and Nehra. Delhi 0, Odisha 1Maharashtra v Uttar Pradesh in Pune
This is the impressive Subroto Roy Sahara Stadium’s first-class debut, and Maharashtra’s first game this season. This is also the game to watch out for Suresh Raina, who has been dropped from the Test side. Reports say he was sombre and didn’t even have lunch the day the announcement of his exclusion was made. Maharashtra yet to begin, UP 6. Read more here.Baroda v Vidarbha in Baroda
Vidarbha are coming off an outright win over Haryana, but will be missing Umesh Yadav who is away for Tests. Baroda, too, will be missing Irfan Pathan, who is out with a knee injury. Watch out for Yusuf Pathan, who failed twice in the previous match, scoring 24 and 0. Baroda 3, Vidarbha 6Tamil Nadu v Karnataka in Chennai
A rivalry that once was. Nowadays they play each other in front of 30 people or so. This will be a battle of the Karnataka bowling against the Tamil Nadu batting, although they will be missing the services of M Vijay, who has been called up for Tests. Tamil Nadu 1, Karnataka 1

Group C

Jharkhand v Assam in Jamshedpur
Big match in Group C. Assam and Jharkhand have emerged as early leaders in the group with seven points each. Watch out for Dheeraj Jadhav, who scored the first double-century of this Ranji Trophy.Andhra v Tripura in Anantapur
Two teams with ordinary starts to the season. Tripura lost by an innings in Guwahati, and Andhra conceded a first-innings lead in a rain-interrupted home match to Services at home. The weather is expected to be better this time. Watch out for Amol Muzumdar, who is 81 short of becoming the highest overall run-getter in Ranji Trophy. Andhra 1, Tripura 0Goa v Jammu & Kashmir in Porvorim
This is Goa’s first game of the season, and also their imported keeper Manvinder Bisla’s first since December 2010. Bisla was without a Ranji side in 2011-12, before he became a star through his innings in the IPL final. J&K will look to prove wrong those who have started calling them walking seven points after their innings defeat to Jharkhand. Goa yet to begin, J&K 0Himachal Pradesh v Services in Naduan
Himachal Pradesh came close to beating Kerala outright, but had to do with three points. Services are at three too. Watch out for Rishi Dhawan, who scored a century and took three wickets in Himachal’s first. Himachal 3, Services 3

Michael Hussey has said he’d have liked an earlier crack at international cricket, but the long spell at the domestic level honed his game to perfection

Daniel Brettig30-Dec-2012No-one made more runs before being handed a baggy green cap than Michael Hussey, and it is highly likely that no-one ever will have to again. In addition to leaving an enormous hole in Australia’s batting order, Hussey’s exit from the game at 37 also poses a major question about the development of players capable of filling it.Was Hussey robbed of an even more illustrious career by a selection panel that scorned his talents until he was 30, or was the wonderfully dextrous and adaptable player he became a direct result of all those years spent honing his game for the opportunity? As he looked forward to more time at home, though he will continue to play for Western Australia and Chennai Super Kings in the IPL, Hussey said he wished he had been given an earlier chance, but reasoned that the completeness of his game and the maturity of his approach stemmed from the extra time he was left to shape it.”I would’ve loved to get an opportunity earlier, there’s no question about that,” Hussey said. “I would’ve maybe liked to go through what young players go through at international level where you come in, you’re so excited to be there, probably go through some hard times and then come out the other side a batter player.”But in a lot of ways it probably did help me to be able to perform consistently at international level, to have so much first-class cricket behind me. To learn about the game and learn about batting and learn about myself as a person, I think held me in very good stead when I came to the international game when there’s so many distractions externally, to be able to put them aside and concentration my game. Knowing what worked for me helped me definitely.”With Hussey soon to be gone from the team, Australia’s selectors are left to pick from the meagre batting options they have left. Usman Khawaja is part of the current squad and has worked at rounding out his game in the manner of Hussey, while the Twenty20 captain George Bailey has a fighter’s instinct and a leader’s brain and attitude, if not quite the record of batting achievement that suggests he will make as instant an impression at 30 as Hussey did after he debuted in 2005.

Hussey’s most cherished moments

“The 2007 World Cup was just an amazing experience – the way the team played throughout that tournament was just incredible cricket,. So to be a part of that was absolutely fantastic and a huge highlight for me. Being part of an Ashes series where we won 5-0 here in Australia and to play with some of the true legends and greats of the game I’m really thrilled to play with these guys and to play in such a fantastic Ashes series like that. They’re the two that standout most to me over my career.
“From a personal point of view my favourite moment would be hitting the winning runs in the second Test in Adelaide in that Ashes series [in 2006]. I’m not sure how many I made that day, but that feeling I got, to win that amazing Test match and to be out there to hit the winning runs, was a fantastic honour.”

Hussey himself believes his 35-year-old brother David deserves a chance, while Chris Rogers is of the same age and the possessor of endless first-class experience in England. Other young batsmen like Joe Burns in Queensland, Kurtis Patterson in New South Wales, Alex Doolan in Tasmania and Peter Handscomb in Victoria will in time press their claims, but their readiness for international cricket and all its myriad challenges will depend on how – and for how long – they are groomed.A major reason for Hussey’s exit is that he is no longer prepared to separate himself from his family for the long tracts of time required by international tours, but another is the wearing down effect of Test match pressure, be it from opponents, media, supporters, team-mates and the man himself. The support Hussey has been given from the likes of his first-grade batting coach Ian Keevan, the former Northants coach Bob Carter, and his wife Amy allowed him to push through much of it, and those relationships were also built up over the years he spent waiting for his chance.”There’s so much pressure, stress and tension around international cricket, on all the guys,” Hussey said. “I’m amazed how the guys handle it at times. But I think it’s very important to have a good support network around you, people who keep believing in you all the time, and keep you in a positive frame of mind when sometimes it’s quite easy to get yourself down and put more pressure on yourself. I’m very lucky to have that network around me that’ve remained really positive and confident and believed in me.”It’s a little bit sad and I will miss certain parts of it. But there’s so much more to life than just playing cricket, and I have those fantastic memories, but there’s going to be a lot of things I certainly won’t miss, like the really sick feeling in the stomach when you have to go out and bat in a Test match, the constant time away from home, training, travel, hotels and airports. It does wear you down after a while.”It’s taken me a long time to learn how I play my best cricket. It’s going to be different for everyone, but for me personally when I do relax, when I do enjoy the game I just stick to my very good preparation, and I just know and believe I will perform.”Hussey’s final summer has been played without the self-imposed expectations he had previously lived with, for he knew that retirement at the end of the season was always his most likely path. That allowed him to relax and play his best, just as he did not gain a start for Australia until after he had virtually given up hope of earning one.”I do feel like the pressure’s been off a little bit,” he said. “I was very keen to do well in this particular summer. Like every summer I guess. But I felt like I could go out there with nothing to lose a little bit because I knew in my own mind that it was probably going to come to an end at the end of the Australian summer.”So I could play with a bit more freedom and just go out there and relax. Maybe there is a lesson in there to be learnt – I have always been someone that has put a lot of pressure on myself and tried sometimes too hard and when you just relax and play and enjoy the game, that’s when I’ve played my best cricket.”There is a lesson in that for all those who will follow Hussey into Australia’s Test team, one of many that can be learned from observing the career and achievements of a cricketer who tried to – and usually did – do everything right.

Yuvraj Singh’s spell of left-arm spin upended England’s innings and then his burst of hitting smoothened India’s path to a comprehensive victory

The Report by Siddarth Ravindran20-Dec-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Yuvraj Singh showed why he is indispensable in limited-overs cricket•BCCI

Smart stats

• India’s win is their third in six Twenty20 internationals against England. However, it is their first win in home Twenty20 matches against England.

• The number of balls remaining after the win (13) is the highest for India in a successful chase of 150 or more. The target is also the fourth-highest chased by India.

• This is the second time that Yuvraj Singh has made a 35-plus score and picked up three or more wickets in the same game. Overall, there have been 13 such instances in Twenty20 internationals.

• Yuvraj’s 3 for 19 is the joint sixth-best bowling performance for India in Twenty20 matches. It is also the second-best performance for India against England after Harbhajan Singh’s 4 for 12 in Colombo earlier this year.

• The strike rate of 160 for Alex Hales is the highest for an England batsman against India (50-plus scores only).

Yuvraj Singh’s decade-long attempt to secure a permanent spot in the Test team may have been thwarted once again this month, but in the first Twenty20 against England he once again showed why he is indispensable in limited-overs formats. First, his spell of left-arm spin upended England’s innings and then his burst of hitting smoothened India’s path to a comprehensive victory.In the first international match at the Subrata Roy Stadium in Pune, Alex Hales and Luke Wright had muscled 68 in seven overs for the second wicket as England rattled along at more than 10 an over. Hales began with two powerful pulls for four in the first over, and then showed off his straight-hitting to sprint to a 26-ball half-century, his fourth for England. Unlike Hales, Wright hadn’t spent time in India with the England Performance Programme squad but he too played a fluent boundary-filled innings, not flustered by the change in conditions from the Big Bash League in Australia.Yuvraj’s introduction in the ninth over transformed the game. He was the seventh bowler MS Dhoni turned to as India desperately searched for ways to stall the runs, and he immediately delivered. Five of the previous six overs had been punished for 10 runs or more, but Yuvraj in his first gave away just five singles. In his next, he had Luke Wright caught at long-off. In his third, Hales was dropped by Dhoni, then bowled before England captain Eoin Morgan gave long-on a catch. The triple-blow sucked out the momentum from the innings, and by the end of his spell the run-rate was down to around seven-and-a-half.Ashok Dinda, leading India’s pace attack though he himself is fairly new to international cricket, delivered the perfect penultimate over, taking two wickets and giving away only two runs. Either side of that though, Dhoni’s go-to bowler in Twenty20s, R Ashwin, and debutant fast bowler Parvinder Awana were hit for two sixes in an over each as Jos Buttler’s unbeaten 33 lifted England to 157.That was a score India looked happy to concede on a good track in a stadium with short boundaries. Their task was made easier by the poor line of England’s new-ball bowlers, who gifted plenty of runs down the leg side. Ajinkya Rahane, a near-permanent fixture on the India bench, finally got a chance in the middle, and he jumpstarted the chase with a couple of straight sixes.Though Tim Bresnan got his first international wickets since September by removing both Rahane and Gautam Gambhir in the fifth over, Yuvraj kept the large crowd cheering with a 21-ball 38. That included an onslaught on left-arm spinner Danny Briggs, who was taken for 18 in his only over of the game. Soon after, Yuvraj top-edged a pull off Luke Wright for six and though he connected solidly on the next delivery as well, it soared too high and didn’t clear the rope, falling in the hands of Stuart Meaker.India were already 93 for 3 in the 10th over by the time Yuvraj was dismissed, and Suresh Raina and Dhoni weren’t unduly troubled as India knocked off the runs required to confirm victory in the 18th over.