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South Africa’s Hashim Amla and Vernon Philander, Australia’s Michael Clarke and Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara are in the running for the ICC Cricket of the Year award for 2012

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Aug-2012South Africa’s Hashim Amla and Vernon Philander, Australia’s Michael Clarke and Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara are in the running for the ICC Cricketer of the Year award for 2011-12. The ICC announced the shortlists for the annual awards on Thursday, and the winners will be announced at a function ahead of the World Twenty20, on September 15, in Colombo.ICC Cricketer of the Year nominees’ stats

Hashim Amla: 915 runs at 65.35 with three hundreds in ten Tests, 419 runs at 52.37 with one hundred in eight ODIs
Michael Clarke: 1355 runs at 58.91 with five hundreds in 14 Tests, 759 runs at 50.60 with one hundred in 19 ODIs
Kumar Sangakkara: 1444 runs at 60.16 with five hundreds in 14 Tests, 1457 runs at 42.85 with three hundreds in 37 ODIs
Vernon Philander: 56 wickets at 16.57 with six five-fors in nine Tests

The four cricketers have also been nominated for ICC Test Cricketer of the Year, while Lasith Malinga, MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli join Sangakkara as the contenders for ODI Cricketer of the year.The nominees were picked off the ICC’s longlists, via voting by an academy of 32 people consisting of former players, members of the media, and representatives of the ICC’s panel of umpires and match referees. The players were picked based on their performance between August 4, 2011, and August 6, 2012.The Twenty20 Performance of the Year shortlist includes Tillakaratne Dilshan (for his century against Australia last August), Ajantha Mendis (for his six-for against Australia during the same series), Chris Gayle (for his unbeaten 85 against New Zealand in Florida) and Richard Levi (for his ton against New Zealand, the fastest century in international T20s).West Indies’ Stafanie Taylor and England’s Sarah Taylor are most prominent on the women’s shortlists, nominated for both Women’s ODI Cricket of the Year and Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Year.List of nomineesICC Cricketer of the Year: Hashim Amla, Michael Clarke, Vernon Philander, Kumar Sangakkara
ICC Test Cricketer of the Year: Hashim Amla, Michael Clarke, Vernon Philander, Kumar Sangakkara
ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year: MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Lasith Malinga, Kumar Sangakkara
ICC T20I Performance of the Year: Tillakaratne Dilshan, Chris Gayle, Richard Levi, Ajantha Mendis
ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year: Lydia Greenway (Eng), Anisa Mohammed (WI), Sarah Taylor (Eng), Stafanie Taylor (WI)
ICC Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Year: Alyssa Healy (Aus), Lisa Sthalekar (Aus), Sarah Taylor (Eng), Stafanie Taylor (WI)
ICC Emerging Cricketer of the Year: Doug Bracewell, Dinesh Chandimal, Sunil Narine, James Pattinson
ICC Associate and Affiliate Cricketer of the Year: Kevin O’Brien, George Dockrell, Ed Joyce, Paul Stirling (all four Ireland), Dawlat Zadran (Afg)
ICC Umpire of the Year: Billy Bowden, Aleem Dar, Kumar Dharmasena, Richard Kettleborough, Simon Taufel, Rodney Tucker
ICC Spirit of Cricket: Mohammad Hafeez, Jacques Kallis, Daniel Vettori, AB de Villiers
People’s Choice Award: James Anderson, Jacques Kallis, Vernon Philander, Kumar Sangakkara, Sachin Tendulkar

Australia’s captain George Bailey is adamant his side can still win the World Twenty20 tournament in Sri Lanka despite a shattering first-up loss to Pakistan in the series in Dubai

Daniel Brettig06-Sep-2012Australia’s captain George Bailey has admitted his side stands no chance of winning the World Twenty20 tournament in Sri Lanka if their performances mirror a shattering first-up loss to Pakistan in the series in Dubai.The seven-wicket hiding was Australia’s heaviest in terms of balls to spare for the chasing team, after Bailey’s men were shot out for a measly 89, their lowest total since England rolled Ricky Ponting’s team for 79 in only their second T20I, at the Rose Bowl in 2005.What’s more, the Australians can now slip to 10th in the ICC’s T20 rankings before the global event begins. Should Pakistan sweep the series – a possibility given the lopsidedness of the opening match – then Bailey’s team will line-up for their tournament opener ranked below their opponents Ireland.”I’m very disappointed and there’s plenty to go away and work on,” Bailey said. “You don’t ever want to be setting those sorts of records. But in terms of the group we’ve got together and what we’re capable of, it certainly hasn’t altered my thoughts that we can still be a very good team.”I still think we can win it. Definitely. Absolutely. I certainly don’t think we’d win if we played like we did today. It’s hopefully just a bad performance and one that you won’t see again. Even if we gained a tiny bit of momentum, we gave it back by losing a wicket.”The poverty of Australia’s batting was stark, unable to hit a six in the innings and striking only three boundaries. Bailey agreed that the top five had to do far, far better in future and put the match down as an experience that had to be learned from, particularly given the sorts of slow, spinning pitches also likely to be seen in the World T20 in Sri Lanka.”Twenty20, all the stats we look at, you want your top four or five batsmen batting most of the innings,” Bailey said. “So to be four down at the seven or eight over mark, we were certainly behind the game. We learned a lot about the wicket, but we already knew that Pakistan were going to be very competitive in this format, and that played very well.”Despite all players having taken part in the pre-season camp in Darwin where spin was a major consideration, and most then having the benefit of the ODI series against Pakistan in Sharjah and Abu Dhabi, Australia’s efforts against the spinners were particularly poor. Bailey admitted improvements had to be made to what he described as a “real key” to the team’s chances.”The spinners are outstanding, and on the back of the one-day tournament the spinners were certainly the key to their bowling and our quicks were probably the key to ours,” he said. “So it’s a work in progress, it’s going to be a real key the way we play spin and the way we play spin heading into the World Cup too, so we’re working on it.”In terms of the World Cup there’s no better practice than playing against the world class spinners that Pakistan have in these three games.”

A round-up of the fifth round of National Cricket League matches

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Nov-2012
ScorecardRangpur Division rode on twin centuries from Dhiman Ghosh and Alauddin Babu to crush Barisal Division by an innings and 40 runs in Rajshahi. Replying to Barisal’s 245 all out, the lower-order of Rangpur led a superb fightback after they had fallen to 48 for 5 on the second morning.It started with a 144-run sixth-wicket stand between Dhiman and captain Suhrawadi Shuvo, who made 82, followed by Dhiman adding another 99 runs for the seventh wicket with Mahmudul Hasan. The big stands continued as Dhiman made 159 off 267 balls and added another 103 runs for the eighth wicket. The most entertaining part of the match was the 114-run stand between Alauddin, who scored 110 runs, and Ariful Haque for the ninth wicket.Barisal had no answer as they were bowled out for 229 runs in 93 overs. Sajidul Islam took three wickets while there were two wickets each for Subashis Roy, Ariful and Mahmudul to close out the match.
ScorecardRajshahi Division got back their groove through a 76-run win over Dhaka Metropolis in Mirpur. They withstood a second-innings century by Asif Ahmed which took Dhaka Metro closer to the 403-run target, with Shafiul Islam and Saqlain Sajib taking three wickets each to dampen any hopes of a thrilling finish.The match built up nicely though it started off as a low-scoring game. Batting first, Rajshahi made 256 with Maisuqur Rahman missing out on a century by nine runs. Abu Haider and Sharifullah took three wickets for Dhaka Metro but when they replied with the bat, they were bowled out for just 129 runs. Shafiul took four wickets to warm up well before the West Indies ODIs in which he earned a recall.Hamidul Islam then extended Rajshahi’s lead with 78 runs though he found little support from the other batsmen. The match however panned out into something of a contest when Asif began to take charge on the final day. None of the other Dhaka Metro batsmen crossed the 33-mark but Asif held firm, scoring 148 runs in five and a half hours. He was the sixth man out, and with him any hope of Dhaka Metro making a final dash for the target dissipated, and Rajshahi went on to confirm seven points and their second win in the competition.
ScorecardKhulna Division have taken a big lead in the National Cricket League after they crushed Sylhet Division by ten wickets in Rangpur. Sylhet narrowly avoided an innings defeat as Left-arm spinner Murad Khan took six wickets to take his team to a winning position in the second innings. They are now on 34 points after five straight wins.Khulna, in the first innings, rode on Tushar Imran’s 156 as they made a competitive 367 in their first innings, in reply to Sylhet’s 244. Imtiaz Hossain struck 108 for Sylhet but Abdur Razzak’s three wickets did much of the damage.Enamul Haque jnr took four wickets, but the batsmen floundered as they were bowled out for just 130 runs in the second innings, succumbing to Murad.
ScorecardDhaka Division have moved to the second position after they posted their third win, defeating Chittagong Division by an innings and 69 runs. The comprehensive victory was set up on the first day when left-arm spinners Mosharraf Hossain and Nazmul Islam took four wickets each to skittle out Chittagong for 138 runs.Dhaka replied well, piling up 401 runs, as Nadif Chowdhury scored 114 while the big-hitting Nazmul Hossain Milon smashed 77 off 88 balls.Chittagong required 263 to avoid an innings defeat, but Mosharraf’s five-for helped bowl them out for 194 runs in the 71st over, ensuring a smooth third day for Dhaka, who won handsomely.

Zaka Ashraf, the PCB chairman, has expressed annoyance at the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s (BCB) decision to put their proposed tour of Pakistan on hold a second time

Umar Farooq31-Dec-2012Zaka Ashraf, the PCB chairman, has expressed annoyance at the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s (BCB) decision to put their proposed tour of Pakistan on hold a second time. He reacted aggressively, saying that Pakistan will ‘reconsider’ its bilateral ties with Bangladesh after the BCB, once again, backed down from going ahead with the tour. Pakistan, he said, will not sacrifice their interests for those who do not honour their words.The PCB, Ashraf said, had not forced Bangladesh to tour. “If they don’t want to come its their own decision and we didn’t force them,” Zaka told ESPNcricinfo. Bangladesh, he said, had confirmed the tour to the PCB and the ICC “three times and still they backed off. Now their own reputation is at stake. If they don’t want to respect their bilateral relationship then we will also respond in the same manner.”The most immediate consequences of this breakdown of relations between the two boards over the controversial tour, will be felt at the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) that will begin on January 18. The BPL is clashing with the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, Pakistan’s premier first-class event. ESPNcricinfo understands that the PCB is unlikely to release most of their top players – Umar Gul, Kamran Akmal, Abdul Razzaq, Mohammad Sami, Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal, Imran Nazir and Wahab Riaz were all signed up at the league’s 2013 auction – for the BPL.”We will take a principled stance on the BPL,” Ashraf said. “But one thing is sure: our players might not be free as we are making our own arrangements from next year.” He said that PCB-related commitments may occupy most of the players’ time and that “they may not be bothered for other things”.The PCB had begun its preparations for an impending tour after getting a positive response from the BCB. Tenders had gone out, inviting sponsorship bids for a series title sponsor, two co-sponsors and in-stadia advertising rights for two international matches (one ODI and one T20). The PCB has also moved the domestic first-class Quaid-e-Azam matches, scheduled between January 7 and 22 away from the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore to accommodate the proposed matches against Bangladesh.Ashraf said it was “almost confirmed” that Bangladesh would tour Pakistan, but found it “strange” that they had pulled out from their commitment. The PCB’s efforts to revive international cricket in Pakistan, according to Ashraf, was on track: “Soon we will manage to get a better team to tour Pakistan than Bangladesh.”

There’s little buzz in the build-up to the series, but it provides New Zealand the chance to claw back some respect and South Africa the opportunity to work on their ODI strategies

The Preview by Firdose Moonda18-Jan-2013Match facts January 19, 2013
Boland Park Paarl
Start time 1000 (0800 GMT)Will Martin Guptill be awesome like in the Twenty20s or awful like in the Tests?•Gallo ImagesBig Picture You can tell a lot about a place by simply browsing through its newspapers. A quick glance at the local media in South Africa will reveal that three-match ODI series against New Zealand is almost not happening.The back page has been taken over by football’s African Nations’ Cup which is being hosted in South Africa and begins on the same day as the first ODI. The inside pages are a mixture of Super Rugby previews, Australian Open action and look ahead to the Test series against Pakistan. Only a few lines have been set aside for the New Zealand contest and most will say, deservedly so given the mis-match of the Test series.New Zealand’s media is also not taking the series too seriously. The two newspaper journalists and one radio reporter who covered the Tests have left South African shores. their parting words were that they would return home to concentrate on the upcoming England series and would only keep this contest in the very periphery of their vision.Even if it is of little interest, the series will be of some use to both participating sides. For New Zealand, it is an opportunity to claw back some respect after they were humiliated in the Tests. They are still without some of their key players but at least look a more capable unit in this format than the longer ones. Specialists such as Kyle Mills, Rob Nicol and Grant Elliott have been brought in to bolster their ranks and New Zealand will hope to compete and maybe even spring a surprise or two.South Africa will see this as phase 1 in the long-term preparations for the 2015 World Cup. Although two years away, South Africa’s 2013 schedule means they can focus this period on fifty-over cricket. They played 13 ODIs in 2012 and could play as many as ten more this year, depending on how far they go in the Champions Trophy. Winning that competition will go a long way to ensure the chokers label starts peeling off and coming with ways to win that start in this series.Form guide (most recent first, completed matches only)
South Africa: WLLWW
New Zealand: LLLLLIn the spotlightIt’s tough to keep a proper eye on a coach but Gary Kirsten’s strategies will be under the microscope as he looks to create an ODI unit that win ICC silverware. Kirsten has earmarked 2013 as an important period for ODI development in a similar way to how 2012 was identified as the time for the Test team to shine. The success in the longest format has come through consistency and a solid team culture which Kirsten said will take longer to embed in the limited-overs side. His first task is to find the right combinations, then to ensure the continually indecisive AB de Villiers is comfortable in his role as captain and lastly, to get the tactics right. In between that and managing workload ahead of the Pakistan series, Kirsten has his plate overflowing for the next week.After an inept show with the bat in the Tests, Martin Guptill returns to the white-ball game with a point to prove. He has already had success in the Twenty20 series where his unbeaten century singlehandedly levelled the series for New Zealand and his capability in the shorter forms is much lauded. His tendency in Tests to hang his bat out to dry gets shelved in limited-overs where he plays with freedom and finesse. Good performances in the three ODIs won’t stop the questions about his ability against the red ball but it may buy him some time.Team news: A new wicketkeeper in Quinton de Kock means that de Villiers will be free from the glovework in this series. De Kock batted at No. 3 in the Twenty20s but came in lower in this format, although South Africa’s batting line-up will remain flexible. Colin Ingram could find himself back in the starting XI with Farhaan Behardien likely to make his ODI debut and both will compete with Ryan McLaren, depending on whether South Africa want an allrounder. Robin Peterson will do the spinning duties while any combination of two of the four quicks will play.South Africa: (probable) 1 Graeme Smith 2 Hashim Amla 3 Faf du Plessis 4 AB de Villiers (capt) 5 Quinton de Kock (wk), 6 and 7 Colin Ingram/Farhaan Behardien/Ryan McLaren 8 Robin Peterson, 9, 10 and 11 Dale Steyn/Morne Morkel/Lonwabo Tsotsobe/Rory KleinveldtGuptill and Nicol should open the batting with Brendon McCullum at No.3. Williamson will have to move up a spot because of Ross Taylor’s absence. James Franklin should have recovered from the hamstring injury which ruled him out of the Port Elizabeth Test. The allrounder’s spot will be decided between Colin Munro, Jimmy Neesham and Elliott while one of Neil Wagner or Mitchell McClenaghan could make their ODI debuts.New Zealand: (probable) 1 Rob Nicol 2 Martin Guptill, 3 Brendon McCullum (capt), 4 Kane Williamson, 5 James Franklin, 6 BJ Watling, 7 Colin Munro/Jimmy Neesham/Grant Elliott 8 Nathan McCullum, 9, 10 and 11 Kyle Mills/Neil Wagner/Mitchell McClenaghanStats and Trivia: Despite last playing an ODI in September, South Africa are currently the No.1 ranked ODI team, one point ahead of England. New Zealand are ranked ninth. Paarl, which is one of South Africa’s smaller grounds, is hosting its second ODI in as many summers as part of the drive to spread the game. Last January, Sri Lanka were bowled out for 43 at this venue, chasing 302 for victory. New Zealand’s are without their top-ranked batsmen Ross Taylor (No.18 overall) and bowler Tim Southee (No.15) because of mismanagement and injury respectively. South Africa’s highest places batsman on the rankings is Hashim Amla (No.1) and their best bowler is Lonwabo Tsotsobe (No.4). Both are in the squad. Quotes:”For them, the change of format will be quite refreshing. New Zealand have always done well in World Cups, which means their very good at white-ball cricket as a unit. It will be a closer series.”
“I’m going to bat at No. 5. That will allow the aggressive guys up front followed by guys who know how to build an innings at 3 and 4.”

England Under-19s fell just short in their run chase to go 2-0 down in the five-match series against South Africa

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Feb-2013
ScorecardEngland Under-19s fell just short in their run chase to go 2-0 down in the five-match series against South Africa. Daryn Dupavillion claimed three wickets and another display of lower-order hitting from Jamie Overton was not enough to prevent South Africa closing out the game.When Overton joined Ed Barnard at the crease with England on 122 for 6, the match was heading South Africa’s way, as five different wicket-takers chipped in and only Callum Jackon (42) had made it past 18. Overton and Barnard put on 77 in 12.1 overs, with the former scoring 48 from 46 balls, but by the time he became Corbin Bosch’s second wicket the run rate had risen to an onerous degree.South Africa’s 241 had been based on several solid contributions, Murray Coetzee top-scoring with 58. After a 68-run opening stand between Coetzee and Clyde Fortuin, wickets fell at regular intervals, Olly Stone taking 2 for 42 on his return, but a 49-run stand for the seventh wicket between Greg Oldfield (32) and Jason Smith came in good time and pushed South Africa to a defendable total.

William Porterfield played a captain’s innings in guiding Ireland to a comfortable six-wicket victory over UAE in Sharjah

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Mar-2013
ScorecardIreland look set for qualification for the 2015 World Cup after comfortably beating UAE for a second time, winning by six wickets in Sharjah. The result continued their dominant campaign and gave them a six-point lead at the top of the World Cricket League Championship.UAE were put into bat and found themselves in a spot of bother after a double-strike from Trent Johnston removed Abdul Shakoor and Faizan Asif with the score just 8. UAE did get starts from batsmen Khurram Khan (30), Swapnil Patil (30), Shaiman Anwar (39) and Mohammad Azam (34), yet none of them could capitalise and build a solid score.Ireland’s seamers took control of the innings, with Trent Johnston leading the way with 4 for 25. He was ably supported by Alex Cusack, who picked up 2 for 40, and John Mooney who finished with 2 for 46. UAE were skittled out for 196 with two balls to spare in their innings.Ireland’s chase was led by captain William Porterfield, who after losing Paul Stirling with the score at 29, put on a 48-run stand for the second wicket with Ed Joyce. Porterfield continued to anchor the innings, as he batted in partnership with Niall O’Brien, putting on 47 for the third wicket.Porterfield fell on 77 in the 39th over with the score 138 for 4, but Gary Wilson and Kevin O’Brien remained unbeaten on 39 and 25 respectively, to finish off the chase with two overs to spare.”It was a great performance and fantastic to get four points,” Johnston said. “It was very hard to come here and get two wins from these guys. They were unbeaten in four games at home, so we probably have one foot on the plane to Australia. We haven’t spoken about it yet but Simmo [Phil Simmons] will want us to go out and win those four remaining games – that’s our goal.”

Worcestershire have signed New Zealand allrounder Jacob Oram as an overseas player for their 2013 Friends Life t20 campaign.

George Dobell05-Mar-2013Worcestershire have signed New Zealand allrounder Jacob Oram as an overseas player for their 2013 Friends Life t20 campaign.Oram, 34, is one of a raft of players to have retired from other forms of cricket to allow him to pursue a career as a T20 specialist. He negotiated his release from his New Zealand central contract just before Christmas and, having just played in the Bangladesh Premier League, will also appear in the IPL for Mumbai Indians.”The opportunity to play for Worcestershire in this season’s competition was something I could not turn down,” Oram said. “While I have never played county cricket, it has always been a goal of mine so I am very excited at the prospect.”Another attraction to Worcestershire was the chance to play at the picturesque New Road cricket ground. I have played a few games there for New Zealand, in 2004 and 2008, as well as the New Zealand Youth Team in 1996. It’s a beautiful ground and one that I will be privileged to call home, at least for a month.”Worcestershire are one of only two counties – Derbyshire are the other – never to have progressed beyond the quarter-final stages of the domestic T20 competition. But they did make it to the quarter-finals in 2012 for just the third time in the 10-year history of the competition and Rhodes hopes that Oram’s versatility will help them go a step further in 2013.”I have admired Jacob’s all-round qualities for some time now and his t20 experience, which he has gained from global competitions, is a major plus factor in our desire to have a successful Friends Life t20 campaign,” Worcestershire’s director of cricket, Steve Rhodes, said. “He can bowl at the start, middle or end of the innings and can clear the ropes as a batsman, so our supporters will enjoy watching his exciting performances.”Oram made his ODI debut for New Zealand in January 2001 and played his first Test the following year. During a career frequently interrupted by injury, Oram played 160 ODIs, 33 Tests and 36 Twenty20s. A big-hitting batsman and canny medium-pace bowler, he will be of several allrounders in the Worcestershire side along with Gareth Andrew, Aneesh Kapil, Moeen Ali and the club’s other overseas player, Thilan Samaraweera.

Former England batsman Geoffrey Boycott said that India batsman Virender Sehwag may have played his last game for India

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Apr-2013Former England batsman Geoffrey Boycott has said that Virender Sehwag may have played his last game for India. Sehwag was dropped for the last two Tests against Australia earlier this year and was also excluded from the list of 30 probables for the Champions Trophy.”I don’t think he’ll play again,” Boycott told ESPNcricinfo on the fortnightly show . “I think it’s because India have gone the right way. It took a little while to come around to it. They’ve given youth a chance. After they lost to England, I kept saying you have to give these young batsmen a chance. You have to get them in and you have to build again for the World Cup. I’ve never changed my view on that. You are world champions in ODIs, you have to move on, and it doesn’t matter who you are, I always say, age is not the barrier, it’s about performance.”Sehwag has had a poor run of form in the last year. In eight Test matches since April 2012, he scored 408 runs at an average of 31.38, with a highest score of 117. In six ODIs, in the same period, he scored 183 runs at an average of 30.5 and was dropped for the ODI series against England. His last ODI century was the record-breaking double-hundred against the West Indies in December 2011.Calling Sehwag one of the best batsmen of the last 20 years and praising him for his “effortless strokeplay”, Boycott said that the lack of a defensive technique was perhaps his only shortcoming. “He played it his way and, at times, on certain pitches, was highly successful,” Boycott said. “But when it comes to the ball moving around and it was a bit more bouncy, his defensive technique was exposed. But trying to tell him and make him play differently, how do you do that? Sehwag has got all his runs playing his way.”He also stressed that it was difficult for a player like Sehwag to change the way he played the game. “His nature, his personality, is a more happy-go-lucky, generous, easy-natured, friendly, affable sort of personality that fits in with the way he batted,” Boycott said. “He used to bat freely, with lots of strokes. It’s not in his nature to play carefully, steadily. I’m sure people have tried to say, ‘Can you play a little more carefully? You are older now, you maybe don’t pick the ball up quite as well or quickly, or you’ve still got lots of talent and use your experience.’ You tell everybody all these things but it’s very difficult to change people from what they are. And, it’s too late now. I think he’s just going to play a bit of IPL and then, sadly, fade away.”

Niall O’Brien and Josh Cobb both hit centuries as Leicestershire launched their Yorkshire Bank 40 campaign in style with a resounding victory against Gloucestershire at Grace Road

04-May-2013
ScorecardJosh Cobb struck a confident hundred and followed that with three wickets•Getty ImagesNiall O’Brien and Josh Cobb both hit centuries as Leicestershire launched their Yorkshire Bank 40 campaign in style with a resounding victory against Gloucestershire at Grace Road.Cobb smashed 107 and O’Brien hit 104 in an opening partnership of 193 that was the cornerstone of the Leicestershire’s total of 289. It proved too much for Gloucestershire, who never recovered from a nightmare start to their innings and were dismissed for 174 to lose by 115 runs, with Cobb following up his heroics with the bat by taking 3 for 34Cobb, the Leicestershire one-day captain, and O’Brien, on his one-day debut for the county, gave an electrifying display after Gloucestershire won the toss and decided to field first. They raced to a 50 partnership off 35 balls with O’Brien hitting five boundaries and Cobb four. By the end of the power play it was 63 without loss, and the runs continued to flow.Cobb was first to his half century off 47 balls having hit a huge six off David Payne. O’Brien soon followed, reaching his 50 off 44 balls, and both batsmen then put their foot on the accelerator. They pierced the field at will with O’Brien offering the only chance when he was dropped in the deep off Benny Howell on 86.He reached his century off 79 balls with a six and 12 fours before holing out to long off in the 27th over. Cobb went to his century off 89 balls with eight fours and three sixes. But he too perished going for another big hit.After that wickets fell at regular intervals with only Matt Boyce (28) offering much resistance as Leicestershire lost their last eight wickets for 74 runs in 10 overs with Payne taking 3 for 45.Gloucestershire made a disastrous start to the runs chase slumping to 44 for 5 in 10 overs with both Michael Klinger and Chris Dent run out by some sharp fielding from the Foxes. Then Cobb came on to bowl his offspin and capped a Man of the Match performance by taking the wickets of Ian Cockbain, Gareth Roderick and Will Gidman to finish with competition best figures. Robbie Williams also took 3 for 34 and the game ended with 35 balls remaining.