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Back-to-back champions rack up 226 for 4 to hand Welsh Fire hefty defeat

ECB Media16-Aug-2025Oval Invincibles 226 for 5 (Cox 86*, Henry 2-39) beat Welsh Fire 143 (Bairstow 50, T Curran 4-15) by 83 runsOval Invincibles, led by an inspired Jordan Cox, smashed the highest score in the history of the Hundred, racking up 226 for 4 from their 100 balls as they crushed Welsh Fire by 83 runs at the Kia Oval.Asked to bat first in front of a packed home crowd, the Invincibles’ innings sprung into life inside the first 10 balls, Will Jacks hitting Matt Henry for back-to-back boundaries.Tawanda Muyeye then deposited David Payne for two sixes in a row as the home side started to put their foot down, racing to 54 for 0 after the 25-ball powerplay.Saif Zaib came into the attack and made a fortunate but much-needed breakthrough, Muyeye pulling a half-tracker into the hands of Payne on the square-leg boundary.Henry returned to the attack to remove Jacks, Chris Green taking yet another fine running catch in this year’s tournament. Invincibles reached the halfway mark of the innings on a very healthy 89 for 2.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Cox deposited Ajeet Singh Dale, playing his first game in the Hundred, for three consecutive sixes over the leg-side boundary and then sent him over the rope again from the final ball of the set with an incredible reverse-scoop.Sam Curran joined the party, hitting Green for back-to-back sixes to bring up the Invincibles 150, both he and Cox targeting the shorter boundary to devastating effect.Singh Dale dropped Cox at short-third and the batter took advantage of the life, striking Paul Walter for three sixes in a row, bringing up a 21-ball fifty in the process.Curran went caught in the deep off Green, which brought Donovan Ferreira to the middle, the South African promptly clubbing his first ball down the ground for six.Ferreira launched another six before being caught at long-on by Steve Smith to a chorus of boos. Cox, notably not named in England’s white-ball squads for the upcoming matches against South Africa and Ireland, closed out the innings with 14 runs from the final three balls, finishing 86 not out from 29 deliveries, with 10 sixes.Welsh Fire’s chase started dreadfully, Steve Eskinazi slapping the first ball from Jason Behrendorff to Muyeye who moved well to hang on at backward point.This set the tone for what would be a muted second half, the task just too tough. Jonny Bairstow made an aggressive 50 and Tom Kohler-Cadmore played enterprisingly for 31 from 16, but Fire could only make 143 all out, Tom Curran taking 4 for 15.Cox, named Meerkat Match Hero Cox, said of his power hitting: “Last game I unfortunately lost that front leg and basically had no power then. I did a bit of work in the nets with Donovan, he’s all about base, and it helped.”On the Invincibles, he added: “It’s a proper team and a privilege to be a part of it, to be honest. The depth we’ve got is incredible and it gives you that freedom for sure. We’re playing some pretty good cricket.”

Hampshire allrounder content to pursue trophies in franchise tournaments rather than chase England caps

Alan Gardner28-Mar-20242:10

Liam Dawson: Test cricket ‘completely off my radar’

Liam Dawson has conceded that his ambitions as a Test cricketer are at an end after missing England’s tour of India this winter, saying that he was happy with his decision to prioritise commitments in overseas T20 leagues rather than potentially wind up running the drinks again as an unused squad member.Dawson, who won the last of his three Test caps in 2017, was the leading English spinner in last year’s County Championship, taking 49 wickets at 20.00 – in addition to scoring 840 runs – but was not included in the group to take on India. He had previously indicated that he would have to weigh up whether to accept an England call, having agreed a lucrative contract to play for Sunrisers Eastern Cape in the SA20, a tournament that clashed directly with the start of the Test tour, and in which he ended up lifting the trophy.England instead selected the uncapped pair of Tom Hartley and Shoaib Bashir alongside Rehan Ahmed, with one Test appearance to his name, and the experienced Jack Leach. Hartley went on to be England’s leading wicket-taker on tour, with 22 at 36.13, while Bashir claimed the first two five-wicket hauls of his first-class career to finish with 17 at 33.35. Even with Leach ruled out due to injury after the first Test, there was no move to call up a replacement, with England eventually slumping to a 4-1 series defeat.Speaking at Hampshire’s media day ahead of the start of the County Championship season, Dawson said that there had been “a few conversations” with the selectors over the winter but that, at the age of 34, he felt his international career was likely behind him.Asked if he was still keen to play Test cricket, he told ESPNcricinfo: “Probably not now, no. Being honest, there’s a few things that have happened over the last year. For me, probably Test cricket now is completely off the radar. But it is what it is, I’m 34 and I want to enjoy my cricket and try to win trophies towards the end of my career.Dawson played a key role in Sunrisers’ success in the SA20•Sportzpics

“Knowing that going to South Africa, knowing I was going to play there – obviously with the [Sunrisers] coach, Adi Birrell, here at Hampshire, I knew I was going to play, which was nice. It’s not something I want to be doing, running drinks at my age anymore. I was really happy with what I chose this winter and it went well.”Dawson has won 20 England caps across three formats going back to 2016, as well as an ODI World Cup winners’ medal in 2019. He was a travelling reserve for both the 2021 and 2022 T20 World Cups, but said he did not expect to be in the mix for this year’s tournament in the Caribbean and USA.”I think with my age, 34, realistically that’s probably gone to be honest. There’s been a few things happened over the last few months. Speaking to [England selector] Luke Wright, I know where I stand. I don’t expect to play. I’m looking forward to playing for Hampshire this season, and the Hundred with London Spirit.”That Dawson, a spin-bowling allrounder, had re-entered the frame for Test selection more than seven years on from making his debut in India was in part reflective of the challenge for young English spinners to come through the system – one summed up at Hampshire by the fact the club have allowed Mason Crane (one Test cap in 2018) to join Glamorgan on loan in search of game time.With the rain teeming down at the Utilita Bowl a week before the start of the county season, Dawson said there were no easy answers.Related

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“Without doubt, it’s very, very difficult. I’m lucky enough that I bat as well, so that’s made a huge difference over my career. I’ve always batted in the top seven so that balances teams out. If you’re just an out-and-out spinner it’s not easy to play in these conditions, the time of the year we play. There’s no ideal scenario, what gives, what doesn’t? When do you play Championship cricket? It’s a tough thing to do. If you’re an out-an-out spinner it can be difficult to get game time with the weather, but I’m not sure how you can change that.”I didn’t watch a huge amount [of the Tests in India]. I was in South Africa, so I watched bits and pieces. They [Hartley and Bashir] did very well. They’re good bowlers. I faced Bashir last year here, I thought he was a really good bowler, and the same with Tom Hartley when we played them in Southport, very consistent. Hopefully they can continue to do well.”Having spent several winters fulfilling 12th man duties on tour with England, Dawson on this occasion leapt at the chance to enhance his T20 CV, playing for Melbourne Stars in Australia’s Big Bash League, followed by a full season at the SA20 – where he helped Sunrisers to retain their title – and then two appearances in the knockout stages of the ILT20 with Gulf Giants, although on that occasion he was unable to add to what is an impressive, and growing, collection of silverware.”It was a really nice winter, nice to perform,” he said. “Nice to get the opportunity as well, to play for a few different teams. But it’s always nice to come back to your home county and get ready for a season.”I’m really excited, I love coming back here. It’s the same for everyone at this time of year. We’ve got a huge goal as a team, to try and win trophies here. It’s something we’ve done over the years, we’ve competed in all formats. It’s not different, hopefully we can compete in all formats and maybe win a trophy.””

He credits “phenomenal” Mehidy for taking Bangladesh home, but rues not “batting another 10 overs and getting another 30-40 runs”

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Dec-20222:14

Jaffer: India would be disappointed with their batting display having played nine batters

KL Rahul is unaware of the exact reason why Rishabh Pant has been released from India’s ODI squad in Bangladesh. He is, however, ready to play the wicketkeeper’s role – as he did in the first ODI on Sunday – whenever required to in white-ball cricket.”We haven’t played a lot of ODIs in the last 6-7 months, but if you look at, since 2020 or 2021, I have kept wickets in the one-day format, and I have batted at No. 4 and No. 5 in the middle order,” Rahul said at his press conference after India’s one-wicket defeat in Mirpur. “It’s a role the team has asked me to be ready for.”Related

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The BCCI release that announced Pant’s withdrawal from the ODI squad was worded opaquely – it simply said he had been released “in consultation with the BCCI medical team” – and Rahul had no additional information to share.”When it comes to Rishabh I’m not very aware, to be honest. I just found out today, in the dressing room, that he’s been released – I don’t know what the reasons are, I think the medical team will be in a better situation to answer that question.”But this is a role that the team’s always asked me to be ready for in white-ball cricket, and I’ve done it before, and whenever the team wants me to play this role, I play this role.”Rahul top-scored with 73 off 70 balls in an India total of 186, and looked far more fluent than any of his team-mates on a tricky pitch with uneven bounce and natural variation of turn. He was pleased with the fruits of his efforts to adapt to the conditions in Mirpur, but felt he could have carried on for longer and stretched India’s total past 230. As it happened, he was ninth out in the 40th over, and India were bowled out in the 42nd.”It was just one of those days where, out of everybody else, I looked like I was timing the ball better and the shots that I picked, fortunately for me, went to the boundary, or every option that I took went my way,” Rahul said. “Something that I’ve been working on even in the last couple of sessions that we’ve been here in Bangladesh.,”The pitches, even at the back [nets], have been quite similar to what we got in the middle today, so I tried to challenge myself. All the preparation happens before the game, so quite pleased with such innings really give you joy as a batter, because you’re challenged and you have to really put your hand up when your team requires, so I enjoyed my batting today.”But I would have ideally liked 30-40 more runs towards the end. I did fancy 230-240 if I batted till the end. [Mohammed] Siraj was batting well with me, so if I could have batted another 10 overs and got another 30-40 runs, it could have made a difference.”India’s total of 186, in the end, proved to be nearly enough, with Bangladesh storming to victory thanks to an improbable, unbroken last-wicket stand of 51 between Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Mustafizur Rahman. The pair rode their luck – Rahul ran from his wicketkeeping post all the way to deep backward square leg to put down a steepling top-edge from Mehidy – but Rahul was philosophical about the way the result went.”Towards the end, there was only one way they could have won, and I think Mehidy Hasan played a phenomenal innings,” he said. “He took a few chances, took some big risks – which he had to, towards the end, he had to take those big risks and play those big shots – and he found the boundary, and when you only have 30-35 runs [to get], one or two big shots also puts pressure on the opposition and he did that really well.”And yeah, also a couple of dropped chances didn’t help us. Happens in cricket, and yeah, today, Bangladesh fought really hard till the end and they won the game today but we made a few mistakes and we’ll learn from it and come back stronger.”

Unbeaten 66 seals easy victory in rain-affected run-chase

ECB Reporters Network01-Aug-2021Lancashire 115 for 2 (Wells 66*) beat Hampshire 162 (Bailey 3-23, Balderson 3-25) by 51 runs (DLS)Luke Wells scored an impressive List A-best 66 not out as unbeaten Lancashire completed a comfortable 51-run Royal London Cup victory, on Duckworth Lewis Stern regulations, against Hampshire at the Ageas Bowl.Heavy rain arrived at 4.35pm, preventing any further play after Lancashire had reached 115 for 2 from 25.3 overs in reply to Hampshire’s 162 all out, with Wells hitting 12 fours in a superb 62-ball knock to put his side well ahead on DLS.But the win was really set up by Lancashire’s brilliant effort in the field earlier in the day, with Tom Bailey (3 for 23) and George Balderson (3 for 25) the stand-out performers.Bailey, Lancashire’s captain, led by example with a six-over new ball spell of 2 for 18 and later the wicket of Hampshire’s top-scorer Lewis McManus, who batted with skill and spirit with six fours in a 51-ball 45.McManus was ninth out, fighting a lone battle after Bailey and Balderson had undermined the innings after Lancashire won the toss and, with poor weather forecast, opted to bowl.Bailey’s fast-medium accounted for Tom Alsop, well-held at point for 7 in the third over, and 18-year-old Tom Prest, caught at second slip for 9 pushing indeterminately forward.Nick Gubbins looked in good order, quickly reaching 31 with six stroked fours, but then became the first of Balderson’s scalps when he carved to point.Medium-pacer Balderson, settling into a probing line around off stump and finding a little seam movement, then had both Ian Holland and Joe Weatherley leg-before, for 1 and 17 respectively.From 81 for 5, Hampshire were briefly rallied by McManus – who lofted Keaton Jennings over mid off for four and then cut him hard to the ropes – and James Fuller, who added 40.But Fuller, on 17, became another Hampshire batsman to depart playing across the line, lobbing a straightforward return catch to the pacy Liam Hurt off a leading edge as he tried to work to mid wicket.Danny Lamb had Felix Organ lbw for 7, with a full ball angled into his pads, and Scott Currie was smartly stumped by George Lavelle for 2 when slow left arm spinner Jack Morley beat the outside edge as Currie advanced down the pitch.Morley conceded just 10 runs from seven controlled overs, his excellent action catching the eye, but it was Lancashire’s seam attack that continued to do most of the damage – Bailey returning to snare McManus, caught at extra cover from another leading edge, and Lamb having Kyle Abbott caught behind for 9 to finish with 2 for 33.Lancashire’s chase began edgily, in front of a good-sized crowd, with Josh Bohannon skying a pull at John Turner to mid wicket to go for 5, and Fuller reduced them to 44 for 2 when Jennings edged a fine ball behind in the fast bowler’s first over.But former Sussex left-hander Wells soon eased any Lancashire fears. Having driven Holland’s medium pace for three fours in four balls in the 12th over, he then took two more boundaries from Fuller’s second over before hitting the same bowler exquisitely through extra cover and steering him to the third man ropes.Rob Jones also batted with quiet assurance, moving to an unbeaten 24 from 41 balls while supporting Wells in an unbroken third wicket partnership of 71 in 13 overs that confirmed Lancashire’s superiority.

Both batsmen made punchy fifties to set up a 52-run victory in front of a packed home crowd

The Report by Danyal Rasool28-Feb-2020
It is a carnival of cricket this week in Multan, and having bought a ticket, the home side Multan Sultans are in no mood to leave just yet. Having swept aside Peshawar Zalmi a couple of days ago in front of a packed home crowd, Karachi Kings were consigned to a similar fate on a Friday afternoon where the ground seemed to have filled up before a ball was even bowled. Half-centuries from Player-of-the-Match Moeen Ali and Shan Masood, two men they would have banked on but have failed until today to produce significant performances, came to the party together with devastating effectiveness, overwhelming Karachi Kings by 52 runs, who were bowled out inside 17 overs, chasing 187.Masood struggled for fluency in the first half of the innings, at one stage having only limped along to 12 off 19 balls, but once he cut Cameron Delport for a pair of fours on the off side, he shot straight from first gear to fifth. He would score a whopping 49 off his last 23 balls, while Moeen took the pressure off while Masood searched for rhythm, when he dispatched Iftikhar Ahmed for 21 runs in an over on his way to a 42-ball 65.Questions could be raised of Imad Wasim’s captaincy when Karachi bowled, with Umer Khan, who topped the wicket charts for the franchise last season, not bowling at all, while Imad himself bowled just one over. That quota was filled by Cameron Delport and Iftikhar Ahmed, who went for a combined 79 in their seven. The reason might lie in Imad’s belief both himself and Umer Khan are best suited to bowl at right handers and Multan went with four left-handers at the top, but if he believed Delport and Iftikhar were better suited to turn their arms over instead, their figures comprehensively suggested otherwise.Karachi’s chase started well with Sharjeel Khan spanking Mohammad Irfan for a six and a four in the first over, but would fall in the second to Moeen for a nine-ball 16. It was a theme that continued to repeat itself throughout the Karachi innings, with too many batsman producing cameos and none managing to kick on and provide a sustained challenge. Alex Hales and Babar Azam got Karachi beyond 40 in four overs, but once Hales sliced Afridi to point, Karachi slumped. Four wickets fell for 21 runs as the middle order folded with little resistance, and when Iftikhar Ahmed and Umaid Asif landed some late blows, they were merely adding respectability to what was by then a certain defeat.Turning point
The dismissal of Hales in the eighth over will most likely be looked at as the sliding-doors moment of this game. Until then, Karachi had managed a respectable enough start, recovering well from the early losses of Sharjeel and Babar. Hales looked like he was returning to his best form, with 25 off his first dozen balls, which included four fours and a six. Karachi were 64 for 2 in seven, well ahead of Multan and keeping up with the asking rate. But when a soft dismissal forced him to leave, carnage erupted. Tahir snared Delport two balls later, and Afridi struck to remove Imad in the next over. Sixty-six for 2 quickly became 87 for 6, and Karachi’s fate looked sealed.Innings, not starts
T20 cricket may prioritise quick scoring over run accumulation, but this was a reminder that batsmen have more time in the format than they realise. Moeen and Masood both failed to get out of the blocks quickly, and at the time,it looked like Multan’s momentum was coming to a screeching half. However, once they got their eyes in on the pitch, both found themselves able to score at a rate that would be the envy of the most free-scoring batsmen in the format. Masood smashed nearly 50 off his last 23, and Moeen 51 off his final 26 balls. But early on, neither batsman was close to scoring at a run-a-ball. In the final analysis, both faced 42 deliveries, with Moeen scoring 65 and Masood 61.By contrast, Hales’ 21 was the highest number of balls any Karachi Kings batsman managed to stay at the crease for, with no one managing to score more than his 29. No fewer than five batsman fell between 13 and 20, and while all but No.s 10 and 11 struck at least one boundary, it was telling that Hales aside, no one managed more than three. Where Multan had constructed an innings, Karachi’s innings read like an accumulation of slapdash, ephemeral cameos.Where the teams stand
Karachi slip to fourth with just one win in three, and sit above Lahore Qalandars and Peshawar Zalmi on two points. Multan move to the top of the table with three wins in four matches, supplanting Quetta Gladiators on net run-rate.

India A bowlers did not find much help from the final-day pitch at the Krishnagiri Stadium as England Lions ended the day on 214 for 5, with an overall lead of 14 runs

Sruthi Ravindranath in Wayanad10-Feb-2019India A bowlers did not find much help from the final-day pitch at the Krishnagiri Stadium in Wayanad, as England Lions batted through the last day, with Ollie Pope and Sam Hain making half-centuries to salvage a draw. Lions started the last day on 20 for 0 in their second innings, trailing by 180 runs, and ended the day on 214 for 5, with an overall lead of 14 runs.Pope played with composure, and was circumspect on his way to a well-crafted 63 off 122 balls. While the pitch did not offer much for the quicks, the two wickets left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem got later in the day gave some evidence of spin available from the Pavilion End. But the English batsmen stuck around and saw through the rest of the day, avoiding any risky shots.A couple of wickets earlier in the day kept India A interested in victory, but resistance from Pope and Hain over two sessions chastened their ambitions. Lions lost Ben Duckett early to a poor shot, when he was tempted by Avesh Khan to slash at a ball that was well outside the off stump, only to find a thick outside edge flying to KL Rahul at first slip. A couple of overs later, Max Holden fell to a dodgy decision – he was convinced the ball had hit the ground before it was pouched by Abhimanyu Easwaran at silly point off Saxena.India A suddenly had a spring in their step, but Pope and Hain motored on for the next two sessions, although the runs didn’t come quickly on a pitch that seemed a bit slower for expansive shots. But Pope fell soon after lunch, when Nadeem got a full ball to grip, turn, and bounce that caressed his outside edge for the wicketkeeper.Captain Sam Billings followed soon, pressing forward to Nadeem and popping a catch to silly point. Hain’s dismissal within the next five overs, trapped lbw by Saxena, would be the last wicket to fall on the day.Bad light halted play for about 15 minutes with more than an hour’s play left in the day, but it eventually resumed, only to be stopped again due to bad weather. With Steven Mullaney and Will Jacks at the crease, the players shook hands with 12 mandatory overs remaining.

India will play more than half their cricket against Australia, England and South Africa between the World Cups of 2019 and 2023, if the proposed FTP is ratified

Sidharth Monga11-Dec-20171:17

New FTP could usher in big Four era

India will play more than half their cricket against Australia, England and South Africa between the World Cups of 2019 and 2023 if the proposed Future Tours Programme (FTP) – agreed to in principle by the BCCI at its special general meeting (SGM) on Monday – is ratified and signed. They will play fewer Tests and more T20Is, play more of their cricket at home, and will prefer to restrict their southern-hemisphere tours to the new year.The FTP includes no matches against Pakistan outside ICC events, a state of affairs the PCB has challenged. The total workload of the players will reduce, too: according to the BCCI, India will have played 390 days of international cricket plus ICC tournaments in the four-year cycle that ends in 2019, but will only have about 350 match days over the next cycle, including two home ICC events.The SGM has also mandated the office bearers – acting president CK Khanna, acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary and treasurer Anirudh Chaudhry – to nominate a working group that will deal with all the details and intricacies of the FTP, including the Members’ Participation Agreement (MPA). ESPNcricinfo understands the working group will be formed from among the general body. By doing so, the BCCI wishes to retain some control and leverage when it comes to playing arrangements. In the past, India’s participation has been used by the board as a negotiation tool at times, and a diplomacy device at others. While there had been a broad FTP in the past too, each tour needed a final stamp of approval from the participating teams. It is understood the body was not in favour of losing that power.A final approval on the working group will need to be given by the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA). The CoA had already given its nod to the broad FTP, prepared by the BCCI operations team led by its CEO Rahul Johri. Representatives from all boards and the ICC met in Singapore on December 7 and 8 to flesh out the FTP.In particular, the operations team has tried to eliminate the imbalance typical of India’s FTPs. They didn’t want a repeat of the 2016-17 home season in which India played 13 Tests, nor did they want another season like 2017-18 in which the only three home Tests they played came against Sri Lanka. The new FTP seeks to eliminate the home-away imbalance: most of India’s cricket since their last overseas cycle has come at home, and almost all of the important cricket they play next year will be overseas.At the press conference, Choudhary and Johri said they were pleased with the proposed FTP. Choudhary said India’s home matches would go up from 51 to 81, which is about a 60% increase, but also said the match days would only increase by 20% – a clear indication of the reduction of Test cricket. India’s tours, as is obvious from the increase in home cricket and reduction in overall playing days, will be fewer and staggered to meet the team management’s demands of not spending long periods away from home.The new FTP will look to some as a continuation of the infamous Big Three, with the addition of South Africa to a lesser degree, but that, according to those present at the meeting, was also a demand of the broadcasters. It has become difficult to market Test cricket that doesn’t involve the four main Test-playing nations. Asked if this was a sign of things to come, if Test cricket was going to be played extensively only among the top four nations, Choudhary said: “Well you can say so. You can say so. But then time is not constant. There will be changes. These are things that will keep happening, and we will have to continue dealing with them.”India’s engagement with other Test teams is likely to be capped to two matches per series, which is the minimum requirement of the ICC Test Championship. If anything, this only formalises what has been apparent for a while. In the cycle between the World Cups of 2011 and 2015, 80 of India’s 166 international matches were against Australia, England and South Africa.Another contest that did not enjoy patronage from the broadcasters was the Champions League T20. It has long been discontinued, but the BCCI has retained the three-week window in September originally meant for the Champions League, which means another T20-related event cannot be ruled out.About securing a fixed home season, Choudahry said: “Traditionally speaking our season begins in October and goes on till March. While we were negotiating and preparing for the FTP conferences, we made certain assumptions. One of them was that it was a long season so let’s qualitatively assign them into two parts.”We decided October, November and December are our primary season. And January, February and March are our secondary season. The reasons mostly being the fact that you will attract more home crowd and there will be more certainty of matches in the first three months than the next three. The next three months, half of India will have other difficulties.”We have tried to make sure that our home matches fall in our primary home season firstly, and otherwise secondary. We know that the seasons of Australia, South Africa and New Zealand will clash with ours, and we will tour them but will prefer to do so in January, February and March.”

A round-up of the National Cricket League 2016-17 matches that ended on October 11, 2016

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Oct-2016​Tier 1Rain affected proceedings for the second consecutive day in Cox’s Bazar as both the Tier 1 matches in the third round of the 2016-17 National Cricket League ended in draws, with no cricket possible on the third and fourth days.At the Sheikh Kamal Academy Ground, Dhaka Division opted to bat against Barisal Division, and amassed 523 in 132 overs on the back of Taibur Rahman’s fourth first-class century.Coming in at 213 for 4, Rahman made 147, with eight fours and four sixes. He was supported by Nadif Chowdhury (75), with whom he put on 158 for the sixth wicket, and wicketkeeper Zahiduzzaman (57), with whom he put on 113 for the eighth wicket, at a rate of 5.39.
Earlier, opener Abdul Mazid missed a seventh first-class century by four runs after putting on 176 for the opening wicket with Rony Talukdar, who was bowled for 84. Left-arm spinner Monir Hossain, who removed both of them, finished with 5 for 152.In reply, Barisal were 103 for 1, with Fazle Mahmud unbeaten on 55 and opening batsman Shahriar Nafees giving him company on 40, when rain truncated the rest of the game. Barisal picked up only five points as opposed to Dhaka’s seven, but it was enough to put them on top of Tier 1.In the other Tier 1 game, Nurul Hasan rescued Khulna Division with an unbeaten 103 to take them to 293 against Dhaka Metropolis.
Khulna were reduced to 67 for 5 after electing to bat, and it took a 101-run stand between Hasan and Ziaur Rahman to bring them back into the game. Hasan also stitched together seventh and eighth wicket stands of 51 and 57 with Mehedi Hasan Miraz (26) and Abdur Razzak (45) respectively in his four-and-a-half-hour vigil.Arafat Sunny took three wickets for Dhaka Metro, while right-arm medium-pacers Shahidul Islam and Shykat Ali took two each.In reply, Shadman Islam and Mehedi Maruf, the Dhaka Metropolis openers, batted for 20 overs and took the team to 59 for no loss, before rain arrived. Dhaka Metropolis picked up six points, while Khulna got five.Tier 2Sylhet Division narrowly missed their first win of the season after bad light ended play early, with eight overs remaining in their match against Chittagong Division in Fatullah.Chittagong’s decision to bowl backfired as Sylhet piled on 444, courtesy Alok Kapali (137), who scored his 18th century, and Shahnur Rahman (102), who raised his maiden ton in only his third first-class game.Shahanur followed up his century with a five-for to help Sylhet dismiss Chittagong for 315 and take a first-innings lead of 129. Yasir Ali top-scored with 95, while Tasamul Haque made 57. There was some late resistance from Mohammad Saifuddin (56), who came out at No. 8, and No. 9 Iftekhar Sajjad, who chipped in with 36. Shahanur ended with figures of 5 for 66, while left-arm spinner Emanul Haque jnr took 3 for 54.Sylhet batted aggressively in the second innings, racing away to 243 for 5 in 42 overs. Zakir Hasan top-scored with 86, and Kapali came good again, slamming two fours and four sixes en route to an unbeaten 58 off 31 balls.Set a target of 373, Chittagong were reduced to 26 for 4, with offspinner Rahatul Ferdous running through the top-order. Yasir Ali and Saeed Sarkar, who top-scored with 68, fought back through an 87-run stand for the fifth wicket, before a second collapse saw Chittagong lose five wickets for the addition of 33. However, with Sylhet one strike away from a win, bad light forced the players off the field.Sylhet picked up nine points, and Chittagong ended with seven.Over at the BKSP-3 Ground in Savar, Rajshahi Division drew with Rangpur Division after rain forced delays on all four days.After being inserted, Rangpur put up 234, courtesy half-centuries from Tanveer Haider and Suhrawadi Shuvo, who made identical scores of 53, and Ariful Haque, who chipped in with 39. The trio’s efforts helped revive Rangpur’s innings after they found themselves in an early wobble at 39 for 4. Rajshahi’s bowlers hunted in a pack, with Farhad Reza and Mukhtar Ali, who shared the new ball, taking three wickets each, while Taijul Islam took two and Mamun Hossain accounted for one wicket.Rajshahi were reduced to 99 for 6 in their reply, before a seventh-wicket stand of 120 between Junaid Siddique (126), who struck his first century this season, and Sunzamul Islam took them past the 200-mark. Siddique carried on after the partnership was broken and was the last man dismissed, by which time he had helped Rajshahi eke out a 24-run first-innings lead. Right-arm medium pacer Saddam Hossain led Rangpur’s charge with the ball with career-best figures of 4 for 46.Rangpur scored 233 for 7 in their second innings, courtesy half-centuries from openers Saymon Ahmed (94) and Jahid Jabed (52). Sunzamul took 4 for 106, while Mamun took three wickets.

Pragyan Ojha has revealed that he went “literally blank” when he was banned last December for chucking, but has come through the troubling period with a successfully remodeled action and is looking forward to the new season

Deivarayan Muthu07-Oct-2015Pragyan Ojha has revealed that he went “literally blank” when he was banned last December for chucking, but has come through the difficult period with a successfully remodeled action and is looking forward to the new season.”I was literally blank for a couple of days,” Ojha told ESPNcricinfo. “I really could not understand what to do and how to go about it.”Ojha credited the strong support system he had for helping him bounce back.”I felt this should not end like this,” he said. “I was very emotional about what happened but I was lucky to have great support and encouragement from my family and [VVS] Laxman . They connected to me everyday, they took my feedback, and also gave their feedback. The passion towards playing for the country pushed me.”Having confirmed his switch from Hyderabad to Bengal in a bid to compete in the top tier of the Ranji Trophy, Ojha is looking forward to winning games for his new team.”Mentally and physically I am in a good space now,” Ojha told ESPNcricinfo. “My aim is to take wickets, do well for the Bengal side, and win games for them.”Ojha became the third-fastest Indian to 100 Test wickets in March 2013 and eight months later went on to claim match figures of 10 for 89 in Sachin Tendulkar’s farewell Test. Soon after, however, his fortunes slid drastically.First, he was left out of India’s squads for the tours to New Zealand and England. Then, in December 2014, he was banned from bowling in competitive cricket, and was subsequently withdrawn from the Hyderabad squad.Ojha reported to the ICC-accredited testing facility at the Sri Ramachandra Medical College [SRMC] in Chennai, where former Tamil Nadu spinners D Vasu and M Venkataramana helped him correct his action. Vasu identified unwanted body movement that was breaking his ‘kinetic chain’, thereby affecting his action.”The training was pretty serious and intense,” Vasu said. “We focused on the wrist position. We have constant video feedback; it’s a live feedback the way you correct muscle memory. We have a software in SRMC when a bowler bowls, and after about six seconds he can come back and watch it. Right now he looks fine.”Ojha said his action was now more side-on, but he hadn’t made too many other changes. “Definitely [the action is more side-on],” Ojha says. “We tried different types of action to see which would suit me and helped me make things right. The unwanted body movement was corrected. It wasn’t like I changed everything completely.”Was there any specific method or exercise to correct his action? “No, there is no set or fixed pattern,” Ojha said. “It is an individualistic process, if I can say that.””Initially I used to do some visualisations but slowly and gradually [the correction] sunk in and I started doing well. After playing five-six domestic games, it become more of a natural thing.”On his return in February, after the BCCI cleared his new action, Ojha took three wickets in an over against Himachal Pradesh. He wheeled away for 42 overs in HP’s only innings and finished with a four-wicket haul. He picked up another four-for in the Irani Cup against Karnataka, before returning career-best T20 figures of 4 for 15, against Andhra, in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.Ojha also showed good form in the two-match unofficial Test series against Australia A, finishing with ten wickets. India A coach Rahul Dravid lauded Ojha for his control and bowling with a half-sleeved shirt.”He has taken the bull by the horns: ‘I have nothing to hide and I want to bowl with half-sleeves’. He must be applauded for that,” Dravid said. “Because he has gone out there [with the thought] that I’m confident in my action and bowling and confident enough to wear a half-sleeve t-shirt.”Asked if preferring to bowl in a half-sleeved shirt was an emphatic statement, Ojha said: “That is up to you experts. But the compliment from Dravid boosted my confidence. It really inspires me to do well.”Ojha’s immediate task is to fill a troubling hole in Bengal’s bowling attack. While Ashok Dinda and Veer Pratap Singh led Bengal’s pace attack last season with handy back-up options in Shib Paul and Sourav Sarkar, spin was an area of concern.Left-arm spinning allrounder Amit Banerjee, who made his debut last season, took nine wickets in four matches, while Iresh Saxena managed only two wickets. Offspinner Saurashish Lahiri, who led Bengal to the knockouts in 2013-2014, has tailed off and has been left out of the squad for the match against double-treble champions Karnataka. Ojha’s guile and experience add weight to a revamped bowling line-up that also includes the former India Under-19 offspinner Aamir Gani.Should Ojha solve Bengal’s spin quandary and bag a sizeable wicket haul this season, a national recall could follow. Ojha, though, emphasised that he was not thinking that far ahead. He said his immediate focus was to take wickets in the Ranji Trophy and maintain his fitness.”The only things in my control are my bowling and my fitness. If I keep these things right, everything will fall in place. Other things are not in my control. I want to keep it as simple as that.”

Michael Clarke has suggested that there could be changes to Australia’s line-up for the third Test in Mohali

Brydon Coverdale05-Mar-2013Michael Clarke has suggested that there could be changes to Australia’s line-up for the third Test in Mohali after what he called “unacceptable” performances from both the batsmen and bowlers in the first two matches. Clarke also conceded that the shot selection of the batsmen had been “horrible” so far on the tour and called on them to show more patience in the middle, as their Indian counterparts had done.Speaking straight after the defeat by an innings and 135 runs in Hyderabad, Clarke did not foreshadow what team alterations could occur, other than to confirm that he would move up the order from his No.5 position. None of the top four batsmen have averaged more than 30 during the first two Tests, while James Pattinson is the only bowler averaging under 30.The squad includes three men who are yet to play a Test on this trip – Mitchell Johnson, Usman Khawaja and Steven Smith – and the other two players left out of Hyderabad after the Chennai loss, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon, will also be in consideration. The team has eight days to regroup ahead of the third Test and Clarke said the batting and bowling departments would both be under the microscope.Michael Clarke: “There’s plenty of people that not only watch us on TV but fly around the world to support us and watch us and we know we’ve let them down”•BCCI

“We have to look at both areas that’s for sure,” Clarke said. “Both have been unacceptable, both aren’t good enough. We have to try and find ways to improve and if that means making changes that’s what we have to do. We made a couple of changes for this Test match. I want to pay credit to India, the way [Cheteshwar] Pujara and Vijay played. Our bowlers in patches bowled really well but they were able to stay together and not lose their wicket and bat patiently.”While the bowlers only claimed one victim on the second day of the Test as Pujara and M Vijay put on 370 for the second wicket, it was the team’s first-day batting that really started the rot. After Clarke won the toss and chose to bat Australia struggled to 237, a paltry effort compared to the 503 compiled by India.The accurate seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar accounted for three of the top four batsmen in the first innings and spin then troubled the rest. Clarke and Matthew Wade looked comfortable during their 145-run partnership but only three other stands reached double figures. That was followed by a second innings collapse on the fourth morning and the entire innings lasted less than two sessions. But the most damning statistic was that Australia made less in the whole match than Pujara and Vijay did in one partnership.”I think they scored 50 runs in the [first] session, but they had the discipline and the patience to bat long periods of time because they knew as the game went on, second session, third session, they would catch up,” Clarke said. “It gets easier. It does. That’s the fun part about batting. You do the work at the start of your innings, you get the reward at the end of your innings. At the moment our shot selection has been horrible.”We need to be smarter with our shot selection, that’s for sure. You have seen in the first few Tests too many guys getting out playing across the line of the ball and against the spin especially early in our innings. So I think we have to be more disciplined with our shot selection. But I don’t want guys to curb their natural instinct, I don’t want guys to try and play a way they aren’t comfortable doing.”We’ve had the best of conditions, won the toss and batted on both wickets. We knew before coming to India how important the first innings was going to be. There is more variable bounce, more spin, it is harder to bat in the second innings. That doesn’t excuse today, that’s for sure. We still should be doing than we did today and yesterday but our first innings has really let us down as a batting unit.”The result was Australia’s first innings defeat since the Sydney Ashes Test in 2010-11, when Clarke found himself in charge of the Test side for the first time as the stand-in captain when Ricky Ponting was injured. When asked to offer his overall thoughts following the second-innings collapse for 131, Clarke was blunt in his assessment.”It’s probably more polite of me by not putting it into words,” Clarke said. “It’s obviously unacceptable. Very disappointing. I certainly don’t want to take any credit away from India, I thought they played very well yesterday, they showed us once again how to bat in these conditions, they showed us once you get in how to go on and cash in and make a big score.”Our performances in these two Test matches have been unacceptable, certainly nowhere near the standard we are trying to set as an Australian cricket team. There’s plenty of people that not only watch us on TV but fly around the world to support us and watch us and we know we’ve let them down.”