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The Trinidadian smashed a 17-ball half-century to kickstart Knight Riders’ chase after Nitish Rana’s part-time offspin took out AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli to help restrict RCB to 176

The Report by Sreshth Shah08-Apr-2018
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details7:11

Agarkar: I’d always get a fast bowler to bowl at Narine

Sunil Narine’s 17-ball half-century and Nitish Rana’s all-round display helped Kolkata Knight Riders win their season opener against Royal Challengers Bangalore by four wickets. Asked to bat under cloudy skies, Royal Challengers posted 176, a middling total on a good batting pitch, and just as he did last season against the same opponents, Narine blasted away a significant chunk of the target in very little time. The middle-order built on his efforts to steer Knight Riders home with seven balls to spare.RCB could have made much more than their eventual total of 176 for 7, especially after being positioned at 127 for 2 after 14.1 overs, but a one-over special from part-time offspinner Rana, who took out AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli with consecutive balls, swung the momentum Knight Riders’ way.After Narine fell for 50 in the sixth over, the hosts wobbled slightly as Umesh Yadav – a former Knight Rider himself – took two wickets in two back-to-back overs, but Dinesh Karthik (35*), Rana (34) and Andre Russell (15) took them to victory without too many undue alarms.Red-hot RCB fizzle out with the batThe visitors made their intentions clear off the game’s first ball when Brendon McCullum clipped Vinay Kumar off his pads for four. In all, RCB extracted 52 off the Powerplay for the loss of Quinton de Kock, and McCullum looked for the boundary at every opportunity before his dismissal for 43 in the ninth over.De Villiers replaced McCullum and carried on in a similar vein, launching Kuldeep Yadav inside-out and down the ground for successive sixes, and following up with one more six each off Narine and Mitchell Johnson in the next two overs. His brilliance made up for an unusually off-colour Kohli at the other end, and the two put on 64 off 36 balls despite the RCB captain going at less than a run a ball.With their two best batsmen in the middle, RCB seemed set for a massive total when they were undone by the unlikeliest of destroyers.Rana’s double-whammyBefore this game, Rana had only four T20 wickets to his name. Thus, it was rather surprising when Dinesh Karthik turned to him to bowl the 15th over. Rana’s first-ball, a half-tracker, was disdainfully pulled over the midwicket boundary in what seemed a continuation of de Villiers’ dominance. But two balls later, the momentum had completely shifted.Rana’s second ball was another long-hop. De Villiers went for another leg-side heave but this time he holed out to Mitchell Johnson at long-on. Kohli took strike next ball, on virtue of the batsmen crossing, went for a drive, and ended up yorking himself against a quick and extremely full offbreak. The ball crashed into middle stump and, the visitors suddenly had two new batsmen at the crease with neither having faced a ball.The last 30 balls of RCB’s innings produced 44 runs – decent, but not great – and they could have ended up with even less if not for an 18-ball 37 from Mandeep Singh, who hit 6, 4, 6 off the first three balls of the 20th over – bowled by Vinay Kumar – before being dismissed.Ghost of RCB’s past returnsIt wasn’t unfamiliar territory for RCB when Narine walked out with Chris Lynn for the chase. The duo had hammered their way to victory the last time the sides had met. Narine, in fact, had struck what was then the tournament’s joint-fastest fifty (off 15 balls) on that occasion.So you’d think RCB would have had new plans for the Trinidadian, but he seemed to take them by surprise once again. Narine swept Yuzvendra Chahal for four and six off the first two balls of the innings, and then proceeded to cream 20 off Chris Woakes in the fourth over.Offspinner Washington Sundar was summoned to deliver the fifth over but even the Powerplay specialist wasn’t spared. Sundar kept pitching the ball up, and Narine kept clattering it down the ground. By the time the fifth over was done, Narine had already raced to his fifth T20 half-century off just 17 balls.He fell two balls later, chopping Umesh onto his stumps, but with the equation now reading 112 off 88 balls, his job was done. There were a couple of minor hiccups, but no real turn in momentum, and soon enough, Vinay Kumar swatted Kunal Khejroliya to the long-on boundary to bring up victory in the 19th over.

Twenty-year-old Bracey battled away for seven hours and 28 minutes to make an unbeaten 120 but Glamorgan got home by six wickets

ECB Reporters Network23-Apr-2018
ScorecardJames Bracey’s second Specsavers County Championship century was not enough to save Gloucestershire from a six-wicket defeat by Glamorgan at Bristol.Bracey, the 20-year-old left-hander, battled away for seven hours and 28 minutes to make an unbeaten 120, receiving excellent support from Ryan Higgins (61), Dan Worrall (50) and Matt Taylor (48), all three career-bests, as the hosts fought their way to 372 all out.That set Glamorgan 83 to win in 21 overs. Nick Selman led the way with 36 as his side posted 85 for 4, Aneurin Donald ending the game with a six in the 13th over, and took 22 points to Gloucestershire’s two.”It was really disappointing in the end because we were just a few overs away from saving the game,” Bracey said. “We had to work really hard just to give ourselves a chance of avoiding defeat and the lads in the lower order really stuck it out with me.”We all had to dig in, while taking a few chances to score our runs. In Marchant de Lange they had a bowler who was he difference in the match, with that little bit of extra pace and bounce.”I pride myself on batting time. We have lads around me who are more fluent batsmen, scoring at a quicker rate, but I think it is a real asset in the four-day game to occupy the crease and build around that.”The day began with Gloucestershire 133 for 5, needing 157 to make the visitors bat again. Bracey, who was on 34, and Higgins comfortably negotiated the first 45 minutes.Glamorgan skipper Michael Hogan made the breakthrough with the total on 184, trapping Higgins lbw playing half-forward. Gloucestershire’s winter signing from Middlesex had faced 76 balls and hit eight fours. The stand with Bracey, whose half-century occupied 141 deliveries, was worth exactly 100.Kieran Noema-Barnett contributed 12 before dragging a ball from Carey onto his stumps and departing with the total on 205.Bracey remained unruffled, even when, with his score on 57, Shaun Marsh claimed a catch at square-leg off a pull-shot, the umpires ruling that the ball had not quite carried.”We thought we had Bracey caught by Shaun Marsh, but the umpires decided otherwise and that’s all I can say about it,” Hogan saidLunch was taken at 239 for 7. Early in the afternoon session Worrall, on 27, was dropped by Marsh, top-edging a sweep off Andrew Salter.Worrall moved to his half-century off 71 balls. The Australian had gone into the game with a highest first class score of 26 and bettered it in both innings.Glamorgan took the second new ball with their opponents on 253 for 7, needing a further 37 to avoid an innings defeat. Worrall was bowled off an inside edge by Carey to make it 285 for 8.Taylor got off the mark with a leg-side boundary off Carey and when Bracey took a single off Hogan the scores were level. It was hard going for the bowlers as the pitch had died and even the new ball barely carried through to the wicketkeeper.Bracey remained commendably patient, showing immaculate defence as he moved to a hundred off 273 balls, with 14 fours.Taylor was excellent in support and by tea the pair had added 60, with Gloucestershire 340 for 8 and leading by 40 runs. Their stand had reached 77 in the final session when Taylor, two short of his maiden half-century, edged a ball from offspinner Salter and was caught behind.Liam Norwell, carrying a hamstring injury, walked out with a runner, his side on 362 for 8 and leading by 72. He helped Bracey add ten more runs before being caught behind off a short Hogan delivery.Glamorgan were left needing to score at around four an over, a task which proved well within their capabilities, even though Jack Murphy and Marsh were caught behind down the leg side, while Kiran Carlson and Selman skied catches to deep square.

The Afghanistan legspinner was pleased with the emergence of 17-year-old Mujeeb and looked forward to the team’s maiden Test in Bengaluru

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Jun-20181:44

Playing first Test a big achievement for Afghanistan – Rashid

The emergence of another mystery spinner from Afghanistan – Mujeeb Ur Rahman – has eased the pressure off their leading bowler Rashid Khan.”Mujeeb was exceptional. The way he came in and performed [in the IPL],” Rashid told ESPNcricinfo at the CEAT cricket awards, where he was named the T20 bowler of the year. “He has joined the national team as well. He has played only like 10-15 ODIs and coming from that stage and playing in such a big league is a big achievement for him. He is capable of this and the turn he gets suits him and he has done really well.”Mujeeb has had a memorable 2018 already. In February, the 17-year old bowled Afghanistan to the Under-19 World Cup semi-final in New Zealand. In March, he helped Afghanistan win the World Cup qualifiers in Zimbabwe and sealed their place in the 2019 World Cup. Then in his maiden IPL stint in April-May, he claimed 14 wickets in 11 games at an economy rate of 6.99 before missing Kings XI Punjab’s last three games with a hand injury.”Unfortunately, he got injured in the last few games,” Rashid said of Mujeeb. “He’s a very good bowler, clever bowler, and even I am happy to have him in the national side because he’s the kind of bowler who takes a little bit of pressure off me. Because earlier the national team was only dependent on me. Now, having him in the side is a plus point for me.”Mujeeb has recovered from his injury and will combine with Rashid, again, in Afghanistan’s maiden Test in Bengaluru, which starts on June 14. Rashid talked up the occasion and hoped the team would perform well.”It’s a big achievement for us to get Full Membership and now playing Test cricket against India in India,” Rashid said. “It will be a very big day for us and the whole country to play the first Test against India in Bangalore. I’m really excited about that. Hopefully, we will give our best performance in that.”Three Afghanistan players played in the IPL this season – Rashid (Sunrisers Hyderabad), Mujeeb (Kings XI Punjab), and Mohammad Nabi (Sunrisers Hyderabad). It could have been four had left-arm wristspinner Zahir Khan, who had been picked at the auction by Rajasthan Royals for INR 60 lakh, not suffered an injury that sidelined him from the entire season. Rashid said that more players from Afghanistan would play in the next IPL season if they continued to do well in domestic cricket.”If you see our domestic cricket, lots of spinners are there. Hopefully, in the upcoming year there will be like five or six more spinners [in IPL],” Rashid said. “I have seen them in domestic cricket. They’ve taken lots of wickets in the four-day first-class [competition]. If they do well in domestic cricket, hopefully they will get a chance in the IPL.”

England’s limited-overs captain does not expect his team to specifically target the Australians in the wake of the ball-tampering scandal

George Dobell09-Jun-2018Eoin Morgan has scotched rumours that Jofra Archer could feature in England’s World Cup campaign.As well as denying any knowledge of any attempt to change the eligibility requirements – Barbados-born Archer, who plays for Sussex, is not scheduled to qualify for England until 2022 – Morgan suggested that it may prove disruptive to change the squad shortly before the tournament.There had been speculation that, such was Archer’s ability, the ECB may look at cutting the qualification period from seven years to four; the length it was before the ECB lengthened it in 2012. That, potentially, could see him qualify to represent England early in 2019; in time for both the World Cup and the Ashes that follow it.But while Morgan, England’s limited-overs captain, is clearly an admirer of Archer’s ability, he does not envisage him featuring in the World Cup.”Jofra is a very impressive player,” Morgan said. “He’s a guy who, if he was England qualified, we’d have looked at after maybe the Bangladesh league at the end of last year. He’d have gone on some Lions and from there we’d have seen what happened.”But are we looking to break some rules? Absolutely not. They’re the rules. I had to qualify even though my mum is English and I’ve had a British passport since I was born.”Is it too late if he did qualify at the start of next year? Yes, I think it is. Providing everybody is fit, I think it is.”Meanwhile, Morgan does not expect his team – or his team’s supporters – to inflict any extra pain upon Australia during the upcoming ODI series. He does not believe it comes naturally to his team to engage in much sledging and he hopes that crowds in England and Wales will not subject the Australian players to the abuse England players have, at times, come to expect in Australia. Instead he continues to view the example of New Zealand – who play tough, uncompromising cricket without any posturing or abuse – as the template.”No, I don’t want to see any abuse of players,” Morgan said. “And no, I definitely don’t want to see what might happen in Australia replicated here. It’s not what we’re about culturally. Certainly within cricketing circles. The humility about the way we play cricket sets an example for the majority of other countries around the world. So yes, there might be a laugh and a giggle but predominantly it will be harmless.”The way New Zealand played at the 2015 World Cup changed cricket. The way they went about it epitomised the way they are as a nation. And that’s important for us.”For years we were guilty of trying to replicate whatever the best side in the world at the time did. And that doesn’t work as it doesn’t come naturally. Or it’ll work for a short period and we won’t be able to sustain it.”Morgan also confirmed that, while England players would be allowed to appear in the IPL in 2019, the window for their availability was likely to be significantly shorter which could make them less attractive to franchises.”They’ll participate in some of the IPL,” Morgan said. “But it will be a shorter window. We’re playing a five-match ODI series against Pakistan and we want a full-strength side ahead of the World Cup.”England begin their 2018 home season of white-ball cricket with the ODI against Scotland in Edinburgh.Royal London, proud sponsors of one-day cricket, is celebrating unconventional greatness in the game by championing the independent spirt of players and fans.

The series ended tied at 1-1 after the umpires called off the deciding match at the Sylhet Stadium

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Jul-2018Rain had the final say in the one-day series between Bangladesh A and Sri Lanka A as the third match met an early end in Sylhet. The series ended tied at 1-1 after the umpires called off the match at 4:20pm after play was stopped at 2:55pm due to heavy rain.Sri Lanka A reached 240 for 9 in 45 overs, with the innings being disrupted once due to a shower. Sadeera Samarawickrama and Ashan Priyanjan struck 75 and 53 respectively, and shared a 130-run second wicket stand. Later, skipper Thisara Perera made a run-a-ball 44 as the home side fought back through Sunzamul Islam’s four-wicket haul.In reply, when the Bangladesh A openers had taken the score to 12 for no loss in the fourth over, heavy rain arrived at the Sylhet Stadium. Perera was named the player-of-the-series.Sri Lanka A had earlier won the three-match unofficial Test series 1-0.

SLC delegation meets with ICC, in part to ease any concerns over undue government interference in board affairs

Madushka Balasuriya30-Aug-2018Sri Lanka Cricket will hold its board elections by February 9 next year at the latest. SLC confirmed this after a delegation, including Sri Lanka’s sports minister Faiszer Mustapha, petitioned the ICC for more time.Others members in the delegation, which met ICC chairman Shashank Manohar and CEO David Richardson, were SLC competent authority Kamal Pathmasiri, senior deputy solicitor general of the attorney general department Sumathi Dharmawardena, and SLC CEO Ashley de Silva.A four-member management committee is also to be appointed to run SLC affairs alongside the sports ministry-appointed competent authority, which has been running day-to-day operations since May 31.The SLC elections have been delayed indefinitely since May 31 after a court of appeal, adjudicating on a petition filed against then SLC president Thilanga Sumathipala by SLC presidential candidate Nishantha Ranatunga, found that the election protocol had been flouted.The petition itself had sought to disqualify Sumathipala’s candidacy on grounds of his familial relations to Sri Lanka’s gaming industry. While refusing that request, the court found constitutional discrepancies in election procedure during their deliberations, and subsequently suspended the elections.Since then, the court has lifted the ban, but the ongoing court case against Sumathipala has meant elections have failed to materialise. This has drawn the ire of the ICC, which has been critical of undue government interference in SLC affairs in the past as well.Mustapha’s meeting with the ICC was in part to ease any concerns on the part of the governing body, as well as to avoid any possible sanctions against SLC.Mustapha has provided assurances to the ICC that a fresh election committee would be appointed by the SLC general body at least a month prior to elections. That committee would then vet and finalise the voters’ list.There will be a one-week period allocated for all parties to challenge the selections made for the election committee with an appellate body consisting of three retired Supreme Court judges.

The Queensland trio of Labuschagne, Neser and Doggett were also named in the 15-man squad. The first Test begins on October 7 in Dubai

Daniel Brettig11-Sep-2018Glenn Maxwell and Peter Handscomb have been deemed surplus to requirements in the first Australian Test squad since the Newlands ball-tampering scandal. They were left out, while the experienced Victorian pair of Aaron Finch and Peter Siddle were called into the team for the two-Test series against Pakistan, to fill the lack of experience left by the injured Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, and the banned Steven Smith and David Warner.Another member of Australia’s previous Test team, Joe Burns, has also been discarded, with the South Australia captain Travis Head granted a long-form opportunity. The conscientious Bulls middle-order batsman Marnus Labuschagne made a late run for inclusion in the squad after being called up to Australia A as injury cover for Matt Renshaw, who has also been included.The all-out pace of Brendan Doggett has seen him win a place alongside Michael Neser. Ashton Agar will serve as the back-up spinner to Nathan Lyon and the Victorian Jon Holland. The new coach Justin Langer’s loyalty to Mitchell and Shaun Marsh has seen both included, the former a likely candidate for vice-captaincy when the Cricket Australia Board deliberates on the identity of Paine’s lieutenant in the coming days.The exclusion of Maxwell, at a time when Australia’s Test-batting stocks have seldom been lower, is a grim sign for the 29-year-old’s future Test-match prospects. Trevor Hohns, the selection chairman, explained that the omissions of Burns, Maxwell, Handscomb and fast bowler Jhye Richardson were intended to exhort them to demand a place via domestic performances.”Joe, Peter and Glenn were players we discussed when selecting the batting group, but we had to take into account the conditions and competition we are set to face in the upcoming series,” Hohns said. “All three remain on our radar for Test cricket, but we want them to perform for their states and continue to push their case ahead of what is going to be a big Australian summer.”Jhye is a player who has a bright future in all formats, and has been impressive in his international opportunities to date. He is one of a number of developing bowlers adding to the depth of our fast bowling group, and we see him potentially having an important role to play in the shorter formats of the game in the immediate future.”In selecting Finch and Siddle, Langer and the selection panel appear to have tried to infuse the team with experienced leaders, capable of helping Paine to rebuild the team’s culture and identity after the traumas of South Africa. Siddle, described as a “warrior” by Hohns, last played a Test for Australia in 2016 at the WACA Ground, when he broke down with an injury after being rushed back into the team.”Peter is a proven performer in the Test arena, who has been in outstanding form in his recent first-class outings over in England,” Hohns said. “His experience will be crucial for this bowling group, and we know that he is a warrior who can bowl the type of long, tight spells which may be required in the conditions we expect to face.”Aaron is in sensational form, and this is the right time to give him a chance to play Test cricket. He has performed well in the Sheffield Shield in recent seasons, and brings added experience and leadership to this group. Travis has improved his game immensely over the past 12 months, and is the type of player we want in this environment. He’s a hard worker who has performed well with the bat in his recent four-day opportunities for Australia A and South Australia.”Michael is a strong all-round cricketer – he bowls and bats well, and is a mature player coming off a fantastic Sheffield Shield season for Queensland. He has impressed us with his performances for Australia A and in his white-ball opportunities for Australia. Marnus is a young player with plenty of potential and a great work ethic. He has performed well in the Sheffield Shield, has shown he’s a good player of spin for Australia A in India, and is an elite fielder who offers added variety with the ball as a leg-spin option.”Doggett’s selection, after only nine first-class matches – including the current Australia A fixture – maintains Australia’s obsession with bowlers of high pace. Hohns characterised Doggett as a backup for Starc, and he would also become the second indigenous male cricketer to earn a baggy green cap – after Jason Gillespie – if he starts.”Brendan is an exciting prospect, a fast bowler with raw pace and wicket-taking ability,” Hohns said. “He provides an additional option to Mitchell Starc if extra pace is called for, and this is an ideal opportunity to get him involved in a national set-up for the first time after his recent showings for Queensland and Australia A.”There has been significant change to our Test squad, due to the unavailability of a number of key players. That said, we firmly believe the squad selected is up to the challenge ahead, and is capable of playing a brand of cricket that can perform well in this series against Pakistan. There are five potential debutants in the squad, all of whom have earned selection through their performances and deserve this opportunity.”It’s a blend of experienced players who have a significant amount of either Test or first-class cricket, and a number of younger players who we are confident are ready for the Test arena. Looking at the conditions we may face in the UAE, we believe this squad covers all bases. We have selected four front-line fast bowlers and three spinners, with Mitchell Marsh ready to play as an all-rounder and a number of top-order batsmen who also offer part-time spin options.”Australia squad: Tim Paine (capt, wk), Ashton Agar, Brendan Doggett, Aaron Finch, Travis Head, Jon Holland, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Michael Neser, Matthew Renshaw, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Starc
Out: Joe Burns, Glenn Maxwell, Peter Handscomb, Jhye Richardson