The murder of Punjab governor Salman Taseer in Islamabad led to the cancellation of the sixth day of the final
ESPNcricinfo staff05-Jan-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsThe murder of Punjab governor Salman Taseer in Islamabad led to the cancellation of the sixth day of the final. The teams will meet again on January 6 to play out the extra day.
India’s selectors await fitness updates on key Test players, ahead of their meeting on Thursday to pick the squad for the two-Test home series against South Africa
Cricinfo staff27-Jan-2010India’s selectors await fitness updates on key Test players, ahead of their meeting on Thursday to pick the squad for the two-Test home series against South Africa. While Yuvraj Singh is almost ruled out of the first Test in Nagpur, the panel is not yet sure about the availability of Rahul Dravid (cheekbone fracture), VVS Laxman (injured left hand) and Sreesanth (strained hamstring). Fortunately, Sachin Tendulkar’s shoulder injury is not that serious. Given the long injury list, it’s plausible that they might name a team only for the first match.Accordingly, several middle-order batsmen will spend an anxious night if either Dravid or Laxman, or both, are indisposed. M Vijay, who replaced Laxman in the second Test against Bangladesh, should be slotted in Yuvraj’s place. S Badrinath may make it to the squad as cover, even if Dravid and Laxman are both picked. The next vacancy will interest Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina, who have both been a bit of a fixture in the ODI side of late. Mohammad Kaif, who has scored a double-century and a century in one week, in the ongoing Duleep Trophy, is also believed to have an outside chance.Other batsmen who have been doing well in domestic cricket – Cheteshwar Pujara, Manish Pandey and Ajinkya Rahane – will know that their performances in the Board President’s XI tour match against the South Africans might count for more than usual in these circumstances. The Board President’s side will also be decided on in the meeting on Thursday.If Sreesanth doesn’t recover in time, Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma should make the starting XI. Sudeep Tyagi, who was the fourth seamer for the Bangladesh Tests, should fill in as the back-up seamer. However, for the last home series, against Sri Lanka, India’s squad comprised three fast bowlers, so it’s unlikely that a replacement will be named should Sreesanth fail to recover. If they do name a replacement, Karnataka’s Abhimanyu Mithun, who led the wickets tally in the Ranji Trophy, could get a look-in.The selectors are likely to retain the spin trio of Harbhajan Singh, Amit Mishra and Pragyan Ojha – with two making the final XI. Dinesh Karthik might not be required as back-up wicketkeeper for a home series – unless MS Dhoni’s injury worries them still.
Nawaz took 5 for 19 – including a hat-trick – as Afghanistan chose the most important day of the series to put in their worst performance
Danyal Rasool07-Sep-2025A remarkable five-wicket haul from Mohammad Nawaz – including a hat-trick – on a surface that gripped on a dewy Sharjah night helped Pakistan steamroll to the tri-series title, scything though Afghanistan for 66 and securing a 75-run win. The 141 Pakistan put up in a spasmodic display after electing to bat first appeared inadequate halfway through, but an astonishing spell either side of the powerplay saw Afghanistan lose five wickets for four runs. It asphyxiated the chase before it began, giving Pakistan a handy boost ahead of the start of the Asia Cup next week.No side has lost a match after batting first throughout this tournament, and Salman Agha made no secret that was the reason he opted to set a target at the toss. Pakistan ran into early trouble when Sahibzada Farhan’s quiet series whimpered out as he fell for a first-over duck. Pakistan rebuilt cautiously but with Afghanistan’s spinners assisted by the deck, never truly breaking free. Several batters fell after starts, and by the end of the stuttering innings, none had crossed 30.But it didn’t matter once the chase rolled around. Shaheen Shah Afridi dispensed with Rahmanullah Gurbaz early to trigger a phase where the runs were strangled. It created the perfect conditions for Nawaz to come in and wrench the game from Afghanistan’s hands. It included four wickets in six balls before rounding the spell off with Rashid Khan’s scalp in front of a now-silenced Afghan-majority crowd that saw their team choose the most important day of the series to turn in their worst performance.Nawaz the matchwinnerOnly one place to start. Three years ago, Babar Azam famously referred to Mohammad Nawaz as a matchwinner, and over the past couple of months, the left-arm spinner has begun to fit that characterisation. Thrown the ball in the fifth over, he was slightly fortunate with an lbw shout he positively squeezed out of the umpire under duress with the strength of his appeal, before following up Darwesh Rasooli’s dismissal with an edge that got rid of Azmatullah first ball.Mohammad Nawaz hit a couple of sixes in his 21-ball 25•ACC
On a hat-trick, a lovely bit of flight drew Ibrahim Zadran out of his crease and Mohammad Haris whipped off the bails to catch him out stranded. Three balls later, an already incredible spell veered into the surreal with a fourth wicket to reduce Afghanistan to 32 for 6, trapping Karin Janat in front when he miscued a sweep. That kind of day would almost inevitably conclude with a five-wicket haul on a day Nawaz credibly looked like he might take a wicket off any delivery he wanted.Rashid Khan’s takedownPakistan’s display with the bat was little more than ordinary, but perhaps a now-forgotten over late in the first innings stood out as an exception to the trend. With the innings petering out, their run rate was just a smidge over six after 16 overs and five wickets down, Rashid Khan entered the attack for his final over to try and burrow into the tail.Salman Ali Agha was enduring a torrid time, having scratched his way to 12 off his first 23 balls. But when Rashid darted one in, he launched it towards square leg, clearing the fence before doubling up two deliveries later. Rashid did come back off the penultimate to get rid of the Pakistan captain, but Faheem smashed his first ball for four to bleed him for 17 in the over. In a game where spin found so much assistance, Pakistan’s ability to take 38 off one of the world’s best spinners was particularly impressive.
Allrounder resists temptation to make himself available for home campaign, amid stellar run of form
ESPNcricinfo staff22-Apr-2024Sunil Narine has ruled himself out of a recall to West Indies’ squad for the forthcoming T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and USA, insisting that “that door is now closed” despite his stellar form for Kolkata Knight Riders at the IPL.Narine, 35, is currently leading the tournament’s MVP standings after a remarkable run of form, including a magnificent 109 not out from 56 balls against Rajasthan Royals last week, his maiden T20 century.He is also KKR’s joint-leading wicket-taker, taking nine at 22.11 with his offspin, at an economy rate of 7.10. That form led West Indies’ T20I captain, Rovman Powell, to admit he had been “whispering in [Narine’s] ears” over the previous 12 months, ahead of what will be West Indies’ first home World Cup campaign since 2007.Narine, however, retired from international cricket in November 2023, having not played for West Indies since 2019, and in a statement issued by KKR, he insisted he was not about to change his mind.”I’m truly flattered and humbled that my performances recently have moved many people to publicly express their wish for me to come out of retirement and play in the upcoming T20 World Cup,” Narine wrote.”I have made peace with that decision and whilst I never wish to disappoint, that door is now closed and I will be supporting the guys who take the field in June for West Indies.”Guys who have worked hard for the past few months and deserve to show our wonderful fans that they are capable of winning another title – I wish you all the best.”
Tim Southee will lead side in Pakistan, Williamson to remain white-ball skipper
ESPNcricinfo staff14-Dec-2022Kane Williamson has stepped down as New Zealand’s Test captain after six years in charge and will be replaced by Tim Southee for the upcoming tour of Pakistan.Williamson, who led New Zealand to victory in the inaugural World Test Championship final against India at the Ageas Bowl in 2021, will continue as ODI and T20I captain and also reiterated his desire to keep playing all three formats.”Captaining the BLACKCAPS in Test cricket has been an incredibly special honour,” Williamson said. “For me, Test cricket is the pinnacle of the game and I’ve enjoyed the challenges of leading the side in the format.”Captaincy comes with an increased workload on and off the field and at this stage of my career I feel the time is right for this decision. After discussions with NZC, we felt that continuing to captain the white-ball formats was preferable with two World Cups in the next two years.”Related
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After taking over from Brendon McCullum in 2016, Williamson led New Zealand in 40 Tests: winning 22, losing ten and drawing eight games. He averaged 57 and scored 11 hundreds as captain, both of which are records for New Zealand. He now hands over the leadership to Southee, who will become New Zealand’s 31st Test captain when they play the first Test against Pakistan in Karachi on December 26.”I’m excited to support Tim as captain and Tom [Latham] as vice-captain,” Williamson said. “Having played with both of them for most of my career, I’m confident they’ll do a great job. Playing for the BLACKCAPS and contributing in all three formats is my number one priority and I’m looking forward to the cricket we have ahead.”Southee, who has previously captained in 22 T20Is and one ODI, said: “It’s been a surreal few days and it’s just a massive honour to be appointed as Test captain. I love Test cricket, it’s the ultimate challenge and I’m really excited by the opportunity to lead the team in this format. Kane’s been an outstanding Test captain and I’m looking forward to working with [coach] Gary [Stead] on how we can build on that.”New Zealand coach Gary Stead hailed Williamson’s leadership and said that Southee would bring in a fresh perspective as a bowler-captain. “Kane’s guided the Test team through an immensely successful period which is testament to his ability to bring people together and work towards a common goal.”He’s certainly led from the front with his own performances and that was very much the case during our push to win the World Test Championship. We hope by lessening his workload we can continue to see the best of Kane Williamson for longer on the international stage, and we know he will remain a key leader in this group.”Tim’s a quality leader with a good cricket brain,” Stead said. “We’ve seen his captaincy skills on display with the T20 side and I’m sure he’ll continue to bring an aggressive style, whilst still maintaining the core fundamentals of how this BLACKCAPS team operates in the Test arena. He will also come from a slightly different perspective in being a bowler which I’m sure will also bring with it new ideas and fresh thinking.”
Middlesex thwarted by two runs on DLS despite Handscomb and White fifties
ECB Reporters Network27-Jul-2021Durham 288 for 8 (Borthwick 76) beat Middlesex 225 for 9 (Handscomb 75) by two runs (DLS method)Durham skipper Scott Borthwick top-scored with 76 and then delivered a crucial over to secure his side’s second straight Royal London Cup success as they edged a rain-affected clash with Middlesex at Radlett.Borthwick struck 76 in Durham’s total of 288 for 8, supported by half-centuries from Graham Clark and Luke Doneathy, only for Peter Handscomb and Robbie White to put Middlesex on track for victory with a fourth-wicket partnership of 130.But both fell in quick succession just before rain forced the players from the field at 173 for 5 from 32 overs – which was enough to push the home side behind under Duckworth-Lewis-Stern calculations.They returned for a further four-over thrash – with Borthwick conceding just four from his six balls and, despite a valiant flurry of boundaries by Thilan Walallawita, Middlesex fell just short of the revised target of 228.Clark – who had struck a career-best 141 against Kent two days earlier – continued his form when Durham won the toss and batted, hammering three boundaries from Tim Murtagh’s opening over.Despite the early loss of Alex Lees, well held by Sam Robson at midwicket, Clark and Borthwick scored freely in their partnership of 108, aided by some ragged Middlesex outfielding.Luke Hollman spilled a pull from Clark on the boundary and the opener progressed to 65 before he went after Robson’s long-hop and picked out the diving Handscomb in the deep.Hollman made amends for his earlier drop by removing Cameron Bancroft for a second-ball duck, but Borthwick found a willing ally in David Bedingham, who pummelled 41 from 31 deliveries to dominate their brisk stand of 66.At 193 for 3, Durham looked on course to post a daunting total, only for Borthwick to squander his opportunity of a maiden List A hundred by holing out off Murtagh and Bedingham departed in the next over, caught behind off James Harris.The visitors’ innings threatened to stall entirely, but a fearless knock by 20-year-old Doneathy – who clubbed five fours and a sweetly-struck straight six off Harris in his maiden 50 from 48 balls – gave them renewed impetus.Middlesex were soon floundering at 37 for 3 in reply, with Max Holden falling to Jack Campbell and Varun Chopra lbw shuffling across against Chris Rushworth, who then bowled Robson with one that nipped back to hit off stump.Handscomb and White undertook the reconstruction job, with the skipper employing the sweep shot to good effect and using his feet against spin in a knock of 75 from 71 balls.White opted for placement rather than power and picked the gaps consistently, reaching his first 50-over half-century with a leg-side boundary off Borthwick – but Campbell made the breakthrough, returning for a second spell to have him caught behind for 55.When Handscomb fell in the next over, Durham shot ahead under the DLS calculation – and that was how it remained when a downpour descended on the ground soon afterwards.
Quick hopes elbow injury won’t prevent involvement in Test summer
ESPNcricinfo staff12-May-2020Jofra Archer has suggested that crowd noises should be played over the public address system if England play international cricket behind closed doors this summer to compensate for the lack of spectators.England hope to return to some form of training before the end of the month, ahead of a potential start date of July 8 for a three-match Test series against West Indies. There are also Tests and T20Is scheduled against Pakistan, plus white-ball series against Ireland and Australia, but any fixtures are likely to be staged in ‘bio-secure’ conditions with no fans permitted.ALSO READ: ECB Test plans boosted by latest government strategyWriting in his column, Archer suggested that the noise of a crowd is “one of those things you don’t realise how much you need until it’s gone”, and said that playing sounds and music in the ground could help “make it as normal as possible”.”Playing in complete silence will take some getting used to, I would imagine,” he said, “so I think it might be useful to play some music, some simulations of a crowd, something to create an atmosphere.”The best solution, if we do have to play behind closed doors, might be to have cheers and clapping when someone hits the ball for four or a wicket falls. These are the little things that will make it as normal as possible even though it won’t be a normal occasion.”Archer said that his injured elbow – which ruled him out of all of England’s South Africa tour except the first Test, the scheduled tour of Sri Lanka and the planned window for the IPL – “feels fine”, but that he would “have to bowl seriously to really find out”.With England expected to name squads of around 30 players to cover for potential illnesses and to allow for intra-squad practice games, Archer is certain to be called up, fitness permitting. That leaves open the prospect of nine weeks staying in an on-site hotel at Emirates Old Trafford or the Ageas Bowl, but Archer said there was nothing in a squad Zoom call with team medical staff that concerned him.”I don’t want to get my hopes up too high, too soon, and won’t do until dates are actually penned in but personally there was nothing within what we were told that concerns me, really,” he said.”While we have yet to be given a provisional date, we know that any anticipated start we do receive could be pushed back further into the summer and it has been stressed that the most important thing is the health of the players.”So, I’d be very happy to undergo coronavirus and temperature tests daily. Obviously, if you got infected, you would have to leave the group. And the prospect of being all together in a hotel for several weeks does not bother me at all. I haven’t seen the guys in a while and I am sure it will feel more like a reunion than a term in prison.”
Selectors claimed they picked Sabbir Rahman for the New Zealand ODI series because the captain specifically asked for him
ESPNcricinfo staff25-Jan-2019Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza has refuted chief selector Minhajl Abedin’s claim that he had asked for Sabbir Rahman to be part of the ODI series in New Zealand starting February 13.Sabbir was suspended for six months in September 2018 but the BCB reduced that sentence so that he can be part of the squad. When the squad was named two days ago, Abedin said, “Let me make one thing clear, he is totally the captain’s choice”.However, on Thursday, Mashrafe told that he only “suggested” Sabbir’s name because he wanted Mahmudullah to bat higher up the order and was in need of a good No. 7. “[Mahmudullah] Riyad definitely does this job quite well but should we be playing him at No 7 for so long? Isn’t it unfair on him to be batting so low? He doesn’t complain but as a captain I have to understand everyone. We have Shakib and Mushfiqur at No 4 and 5, so we should at least have Riyad batting at No 6.”I want a 15-ball 25 or a 20-ball 35 from my No 7. Imagine who he will be facing at the World Cup – Starc, Cummins, Bumrah, Shami, Bhuvneshwar, Rabada, Steyn, Woakes, Stokes, Boult, Southee, Hasan Ali or Amir. Give me one batsman who can play shots with power or improvise against these bowlers. I think Sabbir has the ability. We don’t have any batsman doing this in the BPL even, and we have all seen how others have done in this position recently. I am not saying that he has proved himself but Sabbir’s strike-rate at No. 7 and his batting style tells me that he has the ability. In theory, he has the most ability among those who have batted in this position.”Since his ODI debut, Sabbir has a strike-rate of 99.41, which is the highest among all Bangladesh batsmen who have batted at least five times between Nos. 6 and 8.Mashrafe also reiterated that he didn’t strongarm the selectors into making any decisions. “Do I have the authority to place a demand?” he said. “Am I part of the selection committee? I gave my opinion when they asked for it. There was cricketing logic behind my opinion. It is up to the selectors if they want to pick someone in the side. They possibly thought that my logic was good enough. We would see a different side had they not agreed with my logic. I never asked them to pick Sabbir. I only gave logic behind my opinion.”The coach and selectors had picked 14 out of the 15 players. They wanted my opinion about the 15th member. They placed several options in front of me, asking me who would be better to pick among Imrul [Kayes], Mosaddek [Hossain], [Abu Hider] Rony, [Nazmul Islam] Apu or Sabbir [Rahman].”Soumya and Liton were there to open with Tamim. Nayeem [Islam] is there for spin cover for Shakib and [Mehidy Hasan] Miraz. We didn’t need the extra spinner. I have Mustafizur, Rubel and Saifuddin in the pace department. If it was a 16-member squad, I could have kept another pacer.”I had Sabbir and Mosaddek as choices for No 6 or 7. Mosaddek hadn’t done that well in the BPL till Wednesday, and whether he is right for the No. 7 role is something that even the media has questioned a number of times. Was there an option other than Sabbir?Mashrafe did add, however, that if Sabbir doesn’t mend his ways after getting suspended twice in 2018 for beating up one fan and abusing another on Facebook, it could spell the end of his career. “What could be more example-setting than the board suspending a cricketer like Shakib [in the past]? Still Sabbir did wrong things and got banned. You can’t do much when a player fails to understand.”He got an opportunity this time but that doesn’t mean he got it all. If he cannot manage himself, then he has a dark future.”Sabbir, meanwhile, termed the recall as a “second life”, and said he will try to focus on batting in his own way. “When I will play the first game, it will be my second debut. I will try to do better from here. I will try to bring back the old Sabbir. If I fail, I will keep faith in myself and do what the team management tells me to do.”
Despite folding to 219 all out in Bulawayo, the tourists are confident they can make the most of spin-friendly conditions to fight back
Liam Brickhill in Bulawayo21-Oct-2017Shai Hope’s last five Test innings have brought two centuries, a fifty, and now an unbeaten 90 against Zimbabwe in the first Test at Queens Sports Club. He is the rock of the West Indies batting line-up, but it was not so long ago that he was in a struggle to keep his place. After all, he had made only one half-century in his first 11 Tests.So what is the secret behind his recently-found success? “Simplicity,” Hope said. “Keep it as simple as possible. Try not to complicate your game and put too many things in your head. Rotate the strike.”I just try to simplify it as much as I can, playing the ball late. Pick the gaps and keep the score rotating as much as possible. You don’t really want them [spinners] to settle on one batsman, because that makes it much easier. They know where to bowl consistently. In the end they’ll get you out.”West Indies had done well, at least initially, to avoid such a predicament in Bulawayo. Hope and the opener Kieran Powell, who reached a half-century of his own, had shared in a 75-run stand for the third wicket to help lay the foundation for a big total.”I would say we were ahead of the game at that stage,” Hope said. “I can see his [Powell’s] confidence is good, he’s playing a lot better. He’s adapting to the conditions well as well.”But then came the collapse, from 175 for 3 to 219 all out. While Hope himself flourished, drawing from a familiarity with the conditions having played here during last year’s tri-series against Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka, his team-mates were caught unaware by the amount of turn that was available.”It’s always an advantage to be playing at a ground you’ve played on before,” Hope said. “Last year it spun quite a bit, so it wasn’t as much of a surprise, despite it being a first-day pitch. We might not have expected it to spin quite as much though.”Hope was ultimately left stranded 10 runs short of what would have been his third Test century, but having been in the middle for 201 balls, he knows first hand how difficult it is to score runs on this pitch and that meant West Indies were not out of the contest yet.”Honestly, it was a very slow outfield,” Hope said. “So that 219 could easily have been closer to 300. When I was batting, I hit quite a few balls through the gap, but scoring was never easy. It’s under par, it’s under what we were expecting, but I still think we have a chance.”
Ireland climbed to the top spot on the Intercontinental Cup table with a 70-run win over Hong Kong in Belfast on Friday
ESPNcricinfo staff02-Sep-2016
ScorecardTim Murtagh removed the Hong Kong openers and derailed their chase of 310•Middlesex CCC
Ireland climbed to the top spot on the Intercontinental Cup table with a 70-run win over Hong Kong in Belfast on Friday.Having taken a 79-run first-innings lead, Ireland put up 230 in their second innings to leave Hong Kong with a target of 310 to win. They began day four on 199 for 6, but managed to add only 31 as left-arm spinner Nadeem Ahmed polished off the tail. Fast bowler Tim Murtagh then picked up 4 for 29 as Hong Kong were bowled out for 239.Nearly half of Hong Kong’s 239 came from Nizakat Khan, who was the last man dismissed for 123. The significance of his contribution to Hong Kong’s score was underlined by the fact that no other batsman in the line-up crossed an individual score of 30. The 24-year-old batsman’s maiden first-class century in his third match included 14 fours and a six.”I need to give credit to Mark Wright who has helped me with my batting and to Cambo (Ryan Campbell) and Cooky (Simon Cook),” Nizakat said after the match.”It felt really good to make a hundred – when I came here I just wanted to score a hundred and it was an amazing feeling – it wasn’t easy but I just fought to the end. I’m happy with myself but I know I still have a lot of improvement to make.”Left-arm spinner George Dockrell added to his first-innings haul of three wickets with two more in the second, including Hong Kong captain Babar Hayat for 28, while Kevin O’Brien also picked up two wickets.Nizakat had also contributed a 69 in the first innings, one of two half-centuries as Hong Kong mustered 237 in response to Ireland’s first innings score of 316. In that innings, he shared a 101-run stand for the third wicket with Ninad Shah to help Hong Kong rebuild slightly after stumbling to 3 for 2 in the 10th over. The second fifty of that innings came from Anshuman Rath, who top-scored with 73* off 163 balls.Ireland’s first innings total, after they had opted to bat, was built around William Porterfield’s 88 and Gary Wilson’s 95. Ed Joyce and George Dockrell also got starts – the latter striking 32 lower down the order – but Porterfield and Wilson steered the middle and lower orders respectively, sharing in crucial partnerships. The best stand for Ireland was the one between Wilson and Dockrell for the seventh wicket which yielded 65 runs.Tanwir Afzal and Nadeem were the most successful Hong Kong bowlers, each taking a four-for in Ireland’s first innings and backing it up with three-wicket hauls in the second.The full 20 points for Ireland took them to the maximum 80 points after four rounds, 19 ahead of Afghanistan who now sit in second place. Hong Kong meanwhile remain tied for fourth with Scotland in the Intercontinental Cup table at 30 points, 16 behind third-placed Netherlands.