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West Zone vice-captain Ambati Rayudu insist that tournaments like Deodhar Trophy are important for players, despite the appearance that young players are not taking an interest in them

Amol Karhadkar02-Dec-2014The final of the Deodhar Trophy between East Zone and West Zone in Mumbai on Wednesday will be the last one-day game of the domestic season, before the national selectors meet to pick the list of 30 probables for the World Cup. The BCCI had pushed its one-day tournaments to the start of the domestic calendar with the World Cup in mind and it is the proximity of the tournament that has lent interest to the tournament, even as the Deodhar Trophy, like its inter-zonal first-class counterpart Duleep Trophy, struggles to stay relevant.In the IPL era, there is a perception that many young Indian cricketers do not perhaps take traditional tournaments like the Duleep Trophy and the Deodhar Trophy too seriously, but Ambati Rayudu insists that is not the case. The batsman, who is the West Zone vice-captain for the Deodhar Trophy, said players were aware of the importance of the tournaments, even without a World Cup audition on the line.”I think the players do think like that [these tournaments are important]. Whether they say it aloud or not, everyone knows the importance of playing for the zone,” he said on the eve of the final at the Wankhede Stadium. “You don’t have to tell. They are all motivated. And there are coaches, managers and senior cricketers do remind them if someone is getting carried away.”We have to look back and see how many players have played for West Zone. How many great players have walked out of these dressing rooms… that itself should give you a great motivation to do well.”Players from both sides will be looking to make an impression on the selectors before the probables are announced on Thursday. For Rayudu, who is closer to cementing his place in the Indian side, the challenge is also to maintain his recent form. His century against Sri Lanka last month in Ahmedabad has helped him in his goal of sealing a World Cup spot, and he has struck two fifties after that – one against Sri Lanka, and the other in the semi-final against South Zone on Monday. Rayudu, however, isn’t looking too far ahead.”Everything is different to be honest. As of now I shall be focussed on Ranji Trophy, which is important on its own, and not think about Australia for the moment,” he said. “I am sure if I am picked for the one-day series [tri-series in Australia] it will give me enough time to prepare for the competition.”Rayudu insists his present focus was on the final where the West Zone side will be up against East Zone who made it to the final on the back of Manoj Tiwary’s 151. Rayudu was hopeful West Zone could draw on the confidence of their semi-final win, in which they gunned down a target of 315 against South Zone. Rayudu chipped in with a fifty before Suryakumar Yadav and Akshar Patel snatched victory for the side from a tough position.”It was brilliant batting from Surya and Akshar. And Shardul [Thakur, who made an unbeaten 31 at No 10], too,” he said. “Winning games like this always boosts a team and the rest of us will like to contribute tomorrow.”

A century from Sohaib Maqsood helped Baluchistan Warriors gun down 316 in just 41 overs against Punjab Badshahs and book their place in the Pentangular One Day Cup final

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Jan-2015A century from Sohaib Maqsood helped Baluchistan Warriors gun down 316 in just 41 overs against Punjab Badshahs and book their place in the Pentangular One Day Cup final. Warriors’ one-wicket win meant took them to six points in the table, level with Badshahs, but a superior net run-rate meant it is they who will play Fighters in Sunday’s final.Warriors began the chase brightly, as the openers Azhar Ali and Bismillah Khan raced to 78 inside 10 overs. Azhar whacked 12 fours during his 56-ball 72 to give the team a solid platform, but wickets at key intervals dragged Warriors back to 185 for 4. However, Maqsood and Usman Salahuddin counterattacked with an 87-run partnership. Maqsood hit 15 fours and 4 sixes to make his way to 125 off 86 balls, but his dismissal in the 36th over opened the door slightly for Badshahs. Mohammad Talha, Raza Hasan and Wahab Riaz snared two scalps apiece to leave Badshahs one wicket away from a place in the final, but Salahuddin stayed unbeaten on 31 and batted with the tail to guide the team home with nine overs to spare.Earlier, Badshahs, having been inserted, scored 315 for 5 from their 50 overs. Their innings was built around a centurion of their own, as Nasir Jamshed blasted 158 with 21 fours and two sixes. Jamshed and Ali Waqas (86) shared an opening stand of 220, but lost a bit of momentum towards the end, as their middle order struggled to score with the same intensity.

James Pattinson, returning from a chronic back injury, broke Sydney Thunder’s batting and scripted Melbourne Renegades’ first victory of the Big Bash League season

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Dec-2014
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsJames Pattinson returned from injury with 3 for 24•Getty ImagesJames Pattinson, returning from a chronic back injury, broke Sydney Thunder’s batting by the time the Powerplay was done and scripted Melbourne Renegades’ first victory of the Big Bash League season.Jacques Kallis’ stumps were in disarray in first over, Michael Hussey’s defences were breached in the next and Andrew McDonald’s made it three wickets in Pattinson’s first three overs. Thunder were 3 for 31 and the recovery took too much time. It took 9.3 overs for the next four to be hit, and that was off a fortuitous inside edge from Chris Hartley. He was part of a 51-run sixth wicket stand with Daniel Hughes, who made 40 off 35 balls, but they could only push the total to 114 and prevent the side from being all out.Renegades ensured the small target did not pose any tricks by belting 47 runs in six overs. Aaron Finch carved out 48 off 37 balls, including three fours in an over off Nathan Hauritz, but the offspinner found some comfort when Finch picked out deep square leg in search of another boundary. Andre Russell walked out at No. 4 and blasted a six and a four off Pat Cummins to seal the match in the 14th over.

Rahul Dravid and Graeme Smith reflect on the chances of Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and the four Associate teams to make an impact in the 2015 World Cup

06-Feb-201528:04

Associates need more exposure than just at World Cups

While the winner of the World Cup is expected to come from among the top eight ranked nations; Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and the four Associate nations that have qualified – Ireland, Scotland, Afghanistan & UAE will be hoping to pull off some upsets. In this episode of CONTENDERS, former India captain Rahul Dravid and former South Africa captain Graeme Smith reflect on the chances of these countries to make an impact. Can any of them sneak into the quarter-finals ahead of one of the big guns? Does the presence of the so called “minnows” undermine an event such as the World Cup? And have the Full Member nations, Bangladesh & Zimbabwe, made adequate progress?What they said about…The presence of smaller teams in the World Cup
Smith: With no disrespect to the smaller nations, the ICC is trying to grow the game, expose them to top teams in events like this but it creates a very long tournament that has too many soft games. In a World Cup, you want there to be tension right throughout.
Dravid: The World Cup gets talked about and noticed, this motivates amateur cricketers to play for four years. Also the funding is also based around the fact that they take part in these global events.Smaller teams being better or worse with T20 exposure
Smith: The longer the game goes, the better team generally will win. The shorter the format the more opportunity you give for the weaker teams to compete.
Dravid: A lot of them are amateur cricketers and can’t take the time out to play a long game. So, T20 is the format where you introduce a lot of these teams to international cricket.Bangladesh’s progress over the years
Dravid: When you look at the support they have in Bangladesh, you’d have to say their achievements haven’t been that good. The people in Bangladesh deserve a bit more from their cricketers.Zimbabwe’s rising above administrative turmoil
Smith: They have had a lot of challenges over finances, managing finances, a lot of players haven’t been paid. They had a walkout where a lot of quality players just walked away from Zimbabwe cricket. They’ve had unique challenges.Afghanistan’s emergence
Smith: I really hope they do well and do themselves proud. They’re going to have some challenging games, they play in Perth against top teams, that’ll be a unique experience for them.
Dravid: It’s nice to watch them play. They’re competitive and they’ve got some good skills as well.Ireland’s chances of developing further
Smith: They’re getting exposed to high standard of domestic level which in turn is improving their international game. Every ICC tournament, they’ve given us a shock.
Dravid: It’s a great example of a team that’s got limited resources. Like how we spoke about Zimbabwe not being well managed, Ireland gives you the impression that they’re extremely well managed.Scotland and UAE’s World Cup return
Dravid: There are a lot of sacrifices people make [in Scotland] to play cricket. Their performances have been good as well. It’s a nice story.
Smith: UAE would want to compete with Bangladesh and take over them and really put up strong performances against the top eight.

John Nyumbu bowled Matabeleland Tuskers to a comfortable victory on the final day in Kwekwe to send them top of the table.

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Feb-2015
ScorecardJohn Nyumbu, seen here for Zimbabwe last summer, bowled Tuskers to victory•AFPJohn Nyumbu bowled Matabeleland Tuskers to a comfortable victory on the final day in Kwekwe to send them top of the table.Tusker began day four needing a further nine wickets to win and a comfortable target of 330 to defend. Nyumbu took the fourth wicket of the day before claiming the key wicket of Welshman Bradley Wadlan, whose 77 was the only serious challenge for Rhinos.Nyumbu also picked up wicketkeeper Peter Moor for 29 – the second-highest score on the card – to finish with 4 for 72 to secure victory by a wide margin.
ScorecardTuskers’ victory saw them leapfrog Mashonaland Eagles who were frustrated by the weather in their draw against Mountaineers in Mutare.With the second day almost entirely lost, Eagles were struggling to force a result and they could only take four wickets on the final day as Mountaineers secured the draw with Forster Mutizwa making 82.He began the day in league with Donald Tiripano and the pair added 87 for the fifth wicket to ensure there were no dramas. Shingi Masakadza also made 50 in an easy afternoon for the hosts.

Worcestershire have signed Sachithra Senanayake, the Sri Lanka offspinner, as an early-season replacement for Pakistan’s Saeed Ajmal

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Apr-2015Worcestershire have signed Sachithra Senanayake, the Sri Lanka offspinner, as an early-season replacement for Pakistan’s Saeed Ajmal. Senanayake has played one Test, 45 ODIs and 17 T20s for Sri Lanka.Ajmal, who was included in all three of Pakistan’s squads for their upcoming tour of Bangladesh, is unlikely to be available to play for Worcestershire until the second half of the season.”With Saeed Ajmal’s situation, it is always difficult with so much international cricket being played around the world and suddenly tours do come around,” said Steve Rhodes, Worcestershire’s director of cricket. “The one of Bangladesh is a late agreement to tour so it meant we’ve had to find a replacement.”But we are very happy with Senanayake, a proven international player. He has played a lot of games in the shorter formats for Sri Lanka, not a lot of the Test matches, but his first class record is excellent.”He has got a really good ratio of five wicket hauls and, when you are looking at replacing a strike bowler like Saeed, you need someone who can take wickets and he is proven at that.”Senanayake has 376 first-class wickets at an average of 19.69, with 32 five-wicket hauls in 71 matches. Rhodes was confident Senanayake could adequately replace Ajmal, who picked up 63 wickets in nine matches at 16.47 to fire their push for promotion.”What we did enjoy last year was a really good balance of our attack with having a spin bowler who could bowl plenty of overs in Saeed,” Rhodes said. “His great strength was how he could keep it tight but also attack and we are very optimistic a player like Senanayake can do something similar.”That way then we can rotate the other seam bowlers at the other end and they know that formula works so there is quite a confidence in the bowling group that type of formula will work. Last year one of the things that worked particularly well was trying to knock over some of the top order and get the middle order and tail exposed to a top international spinner.”Senanayake’s only Test appearance came last year in Abu Dhabi, where he went wicketless against Pakistan.”He has got a lot to prove regarding his four-day cricket because he wants desperately to get into that Test side and he has never played in England before so there are a lot of positives about picking up a player at the right time,” Rhodes said. “I try to sign hungry players because if they’ve got a desire to succeed and improve themselves then they are the right person for Worcestershire. We’re giving him a platform of first class cricket to impress.”

England toiled hard to extract two of the ten wickets they hunted for victory in the opening Test on a dying surface, gaining a huge lift late in the day courtesy of a breathtaking slip catch from Chris Jordan, after leaving West Indies a target of 438

The Report by Andrew McGlashan16-Apr-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details0:57

Dobell: Ballance outstanding on Day 4

England toiled hard to extract two of the ten wickets they hunted for victory in the opening Test on a dying surface, gaining a huge lift late in the day courtesy of a breathtaking slip catch from Chris Jordan, after leaving West Indies a target of 438 or 130 overs to survive. Devon Smith and Darren Bravo had looked on course to bat throughout the final session before the intervention of Joe Root and Jordan, but the home side retained hope of being able to withstand the final day.The first two sessions went almost perfectly to plan for England as they scored comfortably to set up the declaration which came half an hour before tea. Gary Ballance’s fourth hundred in nine Tests, which came from 233 balls, banished doubts over his form following a difficult period in the one-day side and Jos Buttler’s brisk half-century helped propel the latter stages of the innings.Stuart Broad struck in the five-over period before tea with a perfectly directed short ball into Kraigg Brathwaite’s chest which was fended behind square to the specifically positioned backward short leg; as with Marlon Samuels in the first innings a plan had come together. Another short ball then struck Bravo on the shoulder as he turned his head, but both he and Smith, who faced 131 balls in a sixth Test fifty, showed commendable resolve during the final session.England tested Bravo with the short ball and while his technique did not always convince he was aided by a surface that was becoming slower and lower. Still, it remained noticeable that England’s quicks again found much less movement with the new ball than their West Indian counterparts had done in both innings.In the end, it was the part-time spin of Root, which has previously nipped out important wickets against Australia and India, which lured Bravo into driving out of the rough. But, as with James Tredwell’s removal of Brathwaite on the second day, the wicket owed everything to the wonderful agility of Jordan who dived to his right with the ball going fine of him. It was soon being placed into the “best people had seen” category.Smith, who had driven and cut strongly, survived a tense final six overs alongside Samuels having moved to his first fifty since 2010, just a sixth in a 37-match career which stretches back to 2003. Tredwell created some tricky moments, extracting some bounce to beat Smith, but Root gained more purchase out of the footmarks and found another edge from Smith, almost a carbon-copy of Bravo’s, which Jordan could not pluck out moments after his stunner.The wait continued for James Anderson as he searched for the two wickets to overtake Ian Botham’s England record. It was disgruntled Jimmy for stages of the second innings as the ball refused to move and he tried to create angles against the left handers by switching regularly between over and around the wicket. Reverse swing, another of Anderson’s skills, could yet be a factor and both he, and England, will remain well aware that a collapse is rarely far away for West Indies.England made positive progress during the morning session, adding 108 runs in 29 overs, as it quickly became clear West Indies were content to play a waiting game. Ballance was first to his half-century, from 125 balls, with a handsome cover drive and he looked increasingly comfortable following his first-innings battles and a tough start on Wednesday evening. Making the most of width, even on deliveries when not much was on offer, he was far more the player who churned out the runs against Sri Lanka and India last year than the one who has limped through recent ODI appearances.Gary Ballance grew in confidence at the crease during a fourth Test hundred•Getty ImagesAt lunch he was on 92 and he brought up three figures with a thumping straight drive against Sulieman Benn, who appeared keen to share a few words – perhaps not entirely congratulatory – with the batsman; Ballance later deposited the same bowler over long-on. Shortly after reaching his hundred he took a fierce blow on the arm from a Buttler straight drive, which needed some treatment, and then picked out deep midwicket, hitting against the wind rather than with it as he had earlier.Root was again very active at the crease, as was Ben Stokes when he arrived, meaning Ballance did not have to force himself out of a tempo he was comfortable with. Two strong drives off Jerome Taylor took Root to 49 and the fifty arrived from 68 deliveries. However, for the second time in the match he dragged into his stumps – this time playing a Jason Holder delivery into the ground with the spin taking it backwards – but the hard work in setting up the innings with Ballance had given England a formidable position.Stokes soon indicated that he would not be hanging around, reverse sweeping Benn for his second boundary. He was keen to keep going after lunch but was comfortably stumped as he charged at Benn in the first over after the interval. Buttler, though, was soon moving through the gears as he repeatedly reverse swept Benn and Samuels. He twice cleared the straight boundaries off Benn in an innings which showed off his full repertoire.West Indies were showing signs of raggedness by the end but, much to their credit, it did not translate into their batting. It was still a long haul, though, to pull off the save.

Pakistan A’s tour to Sri Lanka, which commences in Matara on Sunday, is being looked at by both countries as one that could help fill vacancies created in their senior sides

Sa'adi Thawfeeq25-Apr-2015Pakistan A’s tour to Sri Lanka, which commences in Matara on Sunday, is being looked at by both countries as one that could help fill vacancies created in their senior sides.Pakistan have been the first country to suffer from the aftermath of the 2015 World Cup following retirements of senior players after suffering a 0-3 ODI series whitewash in Bangladesh. Along with Pakistan, Sri Lanka also had some senior players quitting ODIs after the World Cup. Both sides are going through a period of rebuilding.For Pakistan, where no Test-playing side has gone after the Sri Lanka team bus was attacked by terrorists in 2009, the resumption of A tours is a windfall. They are due to play three one-day matches and three four-day unofficial Tests against Sri Lanka A.”In the past it has been the policy of the Pakistan Cricket Board to have A-team tours but suddenly all A tours came to a stop,” Col Naushaad Ali, the Pakistan A manager, said. “But now with Sri Lanka taking the initiative it has started again. It’s a wonderful idea to have an A series before the senior team arrives in Sri Lanka.”The senior Pakistan side is due to tour Sri Lanka in June for three Tests, five ODIs and two T20Is. Pakistan A, led by Fawad Alam, have seven players with international experience in their squad.”A-team tours is something that we have been missing for the last four-five years,” Mohammad Akram, the Pakistan A coach, said. “We have been going through tough times back home with no international sides coming to us. It’s not easy going and playing cricket always in Dubai and Sharjah. We have some good players coming through and there is no better place than Sri Lanka to start A tours again.”The Test and one-day series is a great opportunity for both boards to test their young new players. Both teams are going through a transition period and the tour affords youngsters a great chance to perform at this level and claim a place in the national side.”We had a good 10-day camp before we came here and the boys played some good cricket. We have a good mixture of experienced and young cricketers. We know the conditions here are going to be tough and how hard the Sri Lankans play their cricket but we are fully prepared.”Romesh Kaluwitharana, the Sri Lanka A coach, said the tour was very significant as the hosts were beginning a new era.”After a World Cup there always come new ideas, new thinking and new players. This series will be a good opportunity for the players to showcase their talent and try and fill several openings that will become vacant in the senior side,” Kaluwitharana said.”Ashan Priyanjan (the captain), Kithuruwan Vithanage and Kusal Perera have at some stage played in the senior side. Kusal is a good ODI player but we need to see him scoring consistently. We also want to see whether he could be turned into a good Test player.”Kithuruwan has been playing only Tests. Why not try him out in ODIs and T20Is? He is such a good cricketer. Those are the things we can really work on during an A series.”We are playing against a very good side who are also rebuilding and they also want to come back very strong. With this new set of players I am confident that we will give Pakistan a very good run, hopefully win both series and produce a few potential players who can be earmarked to play for the national side in the near future.”Kaluwitharana, who has been the A-team coach for the past five years, said that he has been delivering at least seven-eight players to the national side consistently but this series would be a challenge for him as he has been given a new set of players to work with. “It’s a big challenge but I am confident of delivering.”The one-dayers will be played in Matara, Hambantota and Colombo and the unofficial Tests in Colombo, Pallekele and Dambulla.

Mominul Haque, the Bangladesh batsman, has said he is not thinking about his impending opportunity to become only the second batsman after AB de Villiers to score fifties in 12 consecutive Tests

Mohammad Isam08-Jun-2015Mominul Haque, the Bangladesh batsman, has said he is not thinking about his impending opportunity to become only the second batsman after AB de Villiers to score fifties in 12 consecutive Tests.”You remind me of it [the record] but then I forget about it,” Mominul said. “I don’t feel pressure. I will not think about it after you all go from here. I will try not to remember it next time too.”De Villiers scored his 12 successive fifties between November 2012 and February 2014. Mominul started his streak in October 2013 when he scored his maiden Test century against New Zealand in Chittagong. He made 13 and 68 in Bangladesh’s previous Test, against Pakistan in Mirpur last month.Mominul said he will not change his training methods, and would go about his preparation for the Test against India the same way he has throughout his career. “I am nowhere near him [de Villiers],” Mominul said. “You know he is the king of all forms of cricket. I don’t think of myself as his competitor. I am not thinking about who I will sit next to, or not. I will try to achieve a similar target that I have had in previous matches. I will prepare similarly so that I can fulfill the expectation of the public and my own target.”He remained steadfast when asked if he feels the pinch of being called a Test specialist. Mominul lost his place in Bangladesh’s ODI side after failing twice in the World Cup earlier this year. “It is not about whether I accept something or not. I am doing well in Tests so some people are saying I have become a Test player. They will praise me if I do well in other formats. But I don’t want to think too much about it. I just need to improve where I have gaps in my game.”Mominul felt that the pitch for the Test against India at Fatullah would not have much pace. “I think the wicket will be on the slower side. I will see on Wednesday how the wicket behaves. I don’t get wickets much. I try to play in this way.”

South Africa sounded out an early warning to Bangladesh after a resounding 10-wicket win over the Bangladesh Cricket Board XI in a T20 tour game, their only practice match on the tour

Mohammad Isam03-Jul-2015
ScorecardSouth Africa sounded out an early warning to Bangladesh with a resounding eight-wicket win over the Bangladesh Cricket Board XI in a T20 tour game, their only practice match on the tour.David Wiese took three wickets while Kyle Abbott, Aaron Phangiso, JP Duminy, Kagiso Rabada and legspinner Eddie Leie also chipped in. South Africa’s T20 captain Faf du Plessis used up nine bowlers in a bid to give everyone a go but the home side were bowled out for only 99 runs in 18 overs.Three children injured in crowd rush

Three children were injured while attempting to scale a wall and enter the Fatullah Cricket Stadium to watch South Africa’s practice T20 match against BCB XI on Friday. The injuries occurred when they were trying to get into the northern galleries.
Free entry prompted thousands of locals to flock the gates of the main premises. Ground authorities failed to control the rush as many in the crowd tried to scale the wall and the wire mesh on top too. The injuries occurred at this time, said a police officer.
BCB’s security committee member secretary Mohammad Ali said that once they saw the stands were full, they closed the gates to prevent any more entries.

The slide started when Abbott bowled Rony Talukdar and Anamul Haque in the third over. Imrul Kayes, the BCB XI captain, made 29 off 24 balls with three fours but he was caught at the long-off boundary after a combined effort from David Miller and Hendricks. Only two other BCB XI batsmen got into double-figures – Shuvagata Hom holed out easily at mid-off after making 18 off 19 balls while Sohag Gazi scored 13.The South Africans were comprehensive in their line and length, getting five batsmen bowled and one out lbw.Their reply was clinical, too, as Quinton de Kock and AB de Villiers added 64 before both retired at the end of the seventh over. De Kock went off after making 36 while de Villiers was on 25. Duminy and David Miller made 17 and 20 not out respectively, ending the chase in 12 overs.Gazi, the only bowler in the BCB XI who is in the current Bangladesh T20 side, bowled only two overs for 18 runs without a wicket.