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Titans part ways with coach Chris van Noorwdyk

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Chris van Noordwtk’s contract at the Titans has not been renewed for the 2011-12 season

Firdose Moonda21-Apr-2011The Titans franchise will not be renewing the contract of head coach Chris van Noorwdyk for the upcoming season. van Noordwyk was in charge for two seasons, during which the Titans failed to win any silverware.van Noordwyk succeeded former Pakistan coach Richard Pybus, who enjoyed a succesful five-year stint with the Titans. Under Pybus, the Titans won seven trophies, including three SuperSport Series, two MTN domestic titles and two Pro20s. Pybus quit in July 2009, which gave van Noordwyk, who was then his assistant, to move up to coach at the franchise level.”During his tenure as coach of the Northern Cricket Union Amateur team and Titans assistant coach, Chris had the unique ability to identify players who came through the system to play at a higher level,” Andy O’Connor, chairman of the Easterns Titans board said. “We appreciate the contributions that Chris has made and wish him well in the future.”van Noordwyk, who was born in Durban, has done all his administrative work at the Titans. Before he was appointed coach, he was the Titans’ cricket coordinator and was responsible for identifying and developing talent. Youngsters like Roelof van der Merwe and Farhaan Berhardien came through at that time. While youth flourished, when van Noordwyk took over as coach, the Titans lost some of their key players such as Dale Steyn, who moved to the Cobras, Imran Tahir, who went to the Dolphins and Paul Harris, who joined the Lions.

Zimbabwe coach looks to spin

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Alan Butcher, the Zimbabwe coach, has backed his team’s strength in spin bowling to cause Sri Lanka problems when the two teams meet at Providence on Monday

Andrew McGlashan in Providence02-May-2010Alan Butcher, the Zimbabwe coach, has backed his team’s strength in spin bowling to cause Sri Lanka problems when the two teams meet at Providence on Monday. Zimbabwe could open the bowling with two spinners and have the option to use as many as six or seven in the innings on the slow Guyana pitch.Zimbabwe have played plenty of cricket in West Indies recently – first the T20 and one-day tour then the trip to Grenada to face West Indies A – and spin has been central to their strategy throughout. Ray Price, the left-armer, often takes the new ball while captain Prosper Utseya and legspinner Graeme Cremer are the other frontline options. Utseya can also call on Greg Lamb, Timycen Maruma and Brendan Taylor depending on team selection.”We haven’t yet got the fast-bowling resources to change that strategy,” Butcher told Cricinfo, “but on the other hand why would you because spinners have done exceptionally well in Twenty20 all over the world. Taking pace off the ball is a vital tactic.”Zimbabwe produced two notable victories against Australia and Pakistan during their warm-up matches and Butcher said they couldn’t have come at a better time after a tough couple of weeks in Grenada.”The boost that the two results last week gave us has been immense. We came off the back of a pretty disappointing time in Grenada against West Indies A where we lost the four-day game and two T20s.”They [the wins] were obviously of less importance to the two teams we were playing, but on the day there was no doubt that they were trying to win and we played pretty well. You have to be happy that there is progress being made.”However, while spin bowling is clearly Zimbabwe’s strong point they still need enough runs to play with and the batting remains a concern. Elton Chigumbura, who has recently signed for Northamptonshire, showed his importance to the side with a thunderous 75 off 35 balls against Australia and 49 off 35 balls against Pakistan, but contributions from the top order have been limited.”The batting has been a problem, but over the last couple of days I’ve seen an improvement and that people are starting to work out their games better,” Butcher said, but he singled out Chigumbura for praise. “Against Australia and Pakistan he struck the ball brilliantly and he could be a star of the tournament if we do manage to sneak a win and progress.”

Sri Lanka to tour Ireland for women's T20Is and ODIs in August

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This will be Sri Lanka’s first bilateral tour of Ireland, inclusive of two T20Is and three ODIs starting from August 11

Madushka Balasuriya01-Aug-2024Fresh off their Asia Cup triumph, the Sri Lankan women’s side will be heading to Ireland for two T20Is and three ODIs from August 11-20, Sri Lanka Cricket has announced. The team will depart for Ireland on August 6.This will be Sri Lanka’s first bilateral tour of Ireland, while it will be Ireland’s third bilateral assignment this year – their first at home, having played both Zimbabwe and Thailand in Zimbabwe and the UAE respectively.Ireland are yet to lose a bilateral game this year, but this will be a far sterner test with Sri Lanka having won 18 of the 23 white-ball matches they’ve played in 2024. Sri Lanka also hold an unblemished record against Ireland, having won each of the three ODIs and three T20Is they’ve faced each other in.This however will be the first time these two sides will be meeting since the 2017 Women’s ODI World Cup Qualifier, where Sri Lanka registered a comprehensive victory. They were also due to face each other during the 2021 ODI World Cup Qualifier, but that game was cancelled after the entire tournament was called off as a result of significant travel restrictions imposed on the region due to the Covid-19 pandemic.The tour will begin with the first of two T20Is on August 11 in Dublin. Following the conclusion of the second T20I on August 13, also in Dublin, the action will move to Belfast for the ODIs. The three-match ODI series, which will be part of 2022-2025 ICC Women’s Championship cycle, will begin on August 16..

Shai Hope evokes 2017 memories as Yorkshire push for defendable lead

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Serene innings has shades of Headingley Test win, as high-scoring match heads for end-game

David Hopps08-Apr-2023 Yorkshire 517 and 220 for 4 (Hope 83*, Hill 57*, Wharton 52) lead Leicestershire 415 (Handscomb 112, Rehan 85, Milnes 3-72, Thompson 3-86) by 322 runsYorkshire’s coach, Ottis Gibson, expressed the wish on the eve of the season for a new groundstaff to bring more life to Headingley’s surfaces as they seek to return to Division One at the first attempt, but there have been no signs of an instant cure against Leicestershire as a docile surface has left batters in the ascendancy and bowlers having to labour for their rewards.For all that, this match enters the final day with a positive result still possible. Yorkshire lead by 322 with six wickets remaining and must time an awkward declaration on the final morning, earplugs in to ignore the cries from the outer of “declare”. They will surely need around 370 to feel entirely safe and their inability to bowl sides out last season – Gloucestershire at Bristol was their only victory – will be foremost in their minds. A forecast of a cloudy day might help to steel their minds.Yorkshire have bowled solidly, without much penetration, but for all that, quick bowlers on both sides must be looking askance on the speed-gun figures displayed on the county’s live stream. They appear to be a good 4 mph lower than those seen on TV, and whilst it is tempting to wonder mischievously whether TV companies like to ramp them up a little (surely not), the truth appears to be the opposite. Run-of-the-mill club cricketers who might routinely practice against bowling machines set at 68/70mph might like to imagine that the likes of Ben Coad bowl at the same speed, but he would happily offer a net session to prove that he does not.That the match is not dead owes much to the positive intent of both sides, but particularly Yorkshire, who scored at more than five runs an over in the first innings, and almost that second time around despite the potential inhibitions caused by the loss of three wickets to the new ball after establishing a first-innings lead of 102. Those prematurely shouting “declare” tonight would be just as likely to shout “rubbish, Yorkshire” tomorrow if things take a turn for the worst.Naturally, there has been much personal satisfaction to be had for batters on both sides. Peter Handscomb, who was overlooked this week, when Australia announced their annual contracts – Cameron Bancroft was another omission – will have found meaning in making 112 from 201 balls in his first time out.International selectors do not often turn first to Leicestershire’s scores – and Gloucestershire’s Marcus Harris, who did win a contract, also struck a century and does seem to be ahead of him as an Ashes possibility this summer. But Handscomb fared better than some of his colleagues on Australia’s recent tour of India and an innings of impressive certainty suggested he is not about to lose hope yet. He has six games with Leicestershire to push his claims and called the Headingley pitch “a lovely surprise” which is probably the nicest thing anybody had said about Yorkshire for a while.For Yorkshire, as well as Finlay Bean’s maiden Championship hundred and the continued dominance of Dawid Malan on this ground (although he failed in the second innings), there was also a maiden Championship fifty for James Wharton and arguably the most serene innings of all, Shai Hope’s blissful unbeaten 83 only a couple of days after arriving in England on a short-term deal.Hope’s equanimity brought back memories of his two hundreds in a match on this ground in 2017, the first time it had ever been achieved at Headingley, and which put him in an illustrious band to have achieved the feat. At Headingley, they will observe a Test average of 25 in 38 Tests – with those two hundreds looking increasingly lonesome – and wonder quite how it has remained half the size of his impressive returns in ODIs.Responsibility for tweaking the nature of Headingley’s pitches rests primarily with Richard Robinson, who has the former head grounds manager, Andy Fogarty, as a consultant. Fogarty stood down because he no longer wanted to work full-time – and it is not known if anyone dared to suggest that the easiest way to achieve that was a succession of three-day finishes. With diversity much on people’s minds at Yorkshire, it is also worth reflecting that Jasmine Nicholls, a former international race-walker, has become only the second woman to work on the groundstaff on an English international ground. Meg Ley, who hails from New Zealand farming stock, became the first at Bristol last season.Yorkshire’s serious commitment to changing the culture of the county has also been seen in a female hide of media/comms and the election of the first female president, Jane Powell, a former captain and head coach of England women. These are all positive balancing moments in Yorkshire’s history and, with Championship crowds undoubtedly thinned out this season, with some former members taking a view on the racist ructions that have beset the county, Yorkshire will be desperate for a new wave of supporters to show commitment to a new era once the T20 Blast comes around.With Leicestershire still more than 300 adrift at the start of the third day, half the side dismissed and Matt Salisbury only fit enough to bat with a runner, Yorkshire must have hoped for a quick kill. But Handscomb and Rehan Ahmed resisted in a sixth-wicket stand of 141 in 34 overs. What alarms there were came from run-out opportunities with Dom Bess and Wharton both missing shies at the stumps, Wharton’s opportunity coming as Handscomb dashed a single to mid-off to secure his hundred. Yorkshire’s slip catching remains as fallible as ever with both George Hill and Bean fumbling inviting opportunities.It was the first over after lunch when Rehan succumbed for 85, Jordan Thompson managing to get one off the straight for Hill to hold on at first slip. Handscomb was lbw to one from Coad that shaded back, but the last two wickets weighed in with 83 as Chris Wright hit about him for an unbeaten 66 from 82 balls. Bess has worked with Australia’s Nathan Lyon over the winter, but Wright hit him for three sixes over long-off and he finished with 0 for 69 in 11 overs. Never trust an Aussie in an Ashes year.

Peter Handscomb's superb century defies South Australia

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Brendan Doggett took four wickets but it was not enough to force victory

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Feb-2022South Australia 357 (Drew 130, Weatherald 122, Perry 4-57, Boland 4-61) and 213 (Hunt 57) drew with Victoria 264 (Maddinson 82, Harris 58, Pucovski 54) and 6 for 236 (Handscomb 148*, Doggett 4-51)Victoria captain Peter Handscomb produced a magnificent century to earn his team a draw in Adelaide on a day dominated by the concerning news of another concussion suffered by Will Pucovski.South Australia pushed hard for their first win of the season and when Victoria were 3 for 49 they had a good chance. Later in the day they removed Matthew Short and Travis Dean, Pucovski’s concussion sub, in quick succession to leave Victoria five down with more than 30 overs remaining but they could not find a way past Handscomb who faced 280 balls. Legspinner Lloyd Pope went wicketless through 24 overs.Sam Harper played his part in a stand with Handscomb that spanned 21 overs and when he was lbw to the impressive Brendan Doggett, Will Sutherland stayed with his captain through to the close although there were some nervy near misses with edges into the slips.Doggett was the standout performer for South Australia on the final day and made the first breakthrough when Nic Maddinson, opening in place of Pucovski, edged behind and when Marcus Harris flashed a drive into the slips in the next over Victoria were 2 for 7.Handscomb and Jonathan Merlo built a stand that lasted 24 overs – Victoria were never a realistic chance of the chance after the early wickets – before Merlo edged Doggett.Short’s innings was ended when he was sharply caught by substitute Ryan Gibson at second slip, who was standing so close he wore a helmet, which revived South Australia early in the final session. They were further boosted when Doggett pinned Dean with a reverse-swinging yorker which the umpire ruled struck pad before bat.Handscomb brought up his century from 212 balls at which point he had 100 of Victoria’s 149 runs. There was chance it would still not be enough, but he found the required support to maintain the team’s unbeaten Sheffield Shield season.

Steven Smith available for first game against CSK, confirms coach Andrew McDonald

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Smith did ‘a bit of zig-zag running’ on Sunday and will be hitting the nets in Sharjah on Monday

Shashank Kishore21-Sep-2020Steven Smith , the Rajasthan Royals captain, is available for selection for their IPL 2020 opener against the Chennai Super Kings on Tuesday in Sharjah, according to head coach Andrew McDonald. Smith missed Australia’s ODI series against England earlier this month because of concussion.”Fantastic news that Steve is available,” McDonald said in a Royals release. “It’s fantastic especially on the back of some setbacks back in the UK. It is obviously great to have your skipper available for the first game, as I have said before we are in really good hands. In terms of the rest of the squad, we couldn’t be happier with their preparation. We’ve got what we needed, having been here nice and early to get our preparation going on the back of the long lay-off.”ALSO SEE: Rajasthan Royals vs Chennai Super Kings live score 22nd September 2020Smith arrived in the UAE on September 17. He has since been monitored by the Royals support staff in consultation with Cricket Australia’s medical team. On Monday, Justin Langer, Australia’s head coach, said Smith seemed “visibly ill” as he tried to prove his fitness ahead of the ODI series decider on September 16. On Sunday, after two days of rest in Dubai, Smith was put through the paces at training, and was confirmed to be fit enough to train on match eve.”Yesterday (Sunday) I did a bit of zig-zag running, which is part of the protocols to pass to get back to play, and today (Monday) I’ll have a hit in the nets,” Smith said. “Hopefully, [I will] pull up well from the hit and be good to play tomorrow.”The guys have been here for a month now and from all reports, the training’s been magnificent. It’s been good to catch up with both the old and the new Royals. We’re in a good place and have got a really good squad this year, really strong and we’re ready to get going.”The Royals are among the few sides to have had multiple training sessions in Sharjah, the venue for their opening game. McDonald believes the familiarity with the ground will give his batsmen some advantage.”We’ve trained at Sharjah a couple of times. Most of our players have got a really good feel for the surface,” he said. “We’ve had some net practice in the middle which is always a positive rather than just nets out at the back. The guys have been able to feel what it’s like batting at the center and have had plenty of fielding down there, so they are quite familiar with the stadium.ALSO READ: Australians in the IPL: ESPNcricinfo’s one-stop guide“It’s clearly a different surface to Dubai or Abu Dhabi in terms of runs and the size of the venue, so it’ll create some difficult challenges there for the bowling unit, so no question there being a high-scoring ground. But we feel the team will put out their best show to be able to combat what CSK will throw at us.”McDonald also underlined the depth of his squad, despite not having the services of Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes. Buttler arrived in the UAE with his family from the UK and will be on extended quarantine. Stokes, meanwhile, is still in New Zealand with his family, with the franchise awaiting confirmation about his participation.”We have got the bases covered and have some really good depth in the squad and really looking forward to seeing what it looks like in a real competitive match against CSK,” he said. “They had a fantastic first game, they’re one game into the tournament which is a slight advantage when you come out against the team that’s already played and performed. So, we’ll definitely have our work cut out and really looking forward to what our guys can bring to the table and we’re really excited about what the journey presents.”

'If the situation arises, Russell will bat higher' – Kallis

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The KKR coach said that while the team was frustrated after losing five matches in a row, they know they aren’t out of the qualifications race yet

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Apr-2019In the aftermath of their fifth consecutive defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad, a part of which could be attributed to Andre Russell’s under utilisation with the bat, Kolkata Knight Riders coach Jacques Kallis admitted they could have done things differently, and will consider doing so in the future should the situation call for it.Batting first, Knight Riders had gotten off to a flying start before losing four wickets in a flurry, but it was Rinku Singh who came out to bat in the ninth over at No.6, with Russell only getting a hit when a little more than four overs were left. While Russell had said that a move higher up the order might benefit the team, captain Dinesh Karthik later quashed the suggestion that the allrounder was unhappy with his batting position, asserting that ‘he has a clear role in the team which he’s trying to achieve every time he goes out to bat’.Kallis had a different take on the subject. “Rinku went in in the eighth over and we certainly haven’t sent Andre in that early, in hindsight we could sent him a bit earlier,” he said at the Eden Gardens on Tuesday.”It certainly hadn’t been one of our plans but if the situation arises then it’s something we’ll think of. It’s a matter of what the team needs in such a situation and what the captain and management come up with, and we feel where each player is suited to play. But like I said, if a situation arises where Andre or someone else can come up the order, we’ve got to perhaps try one or two things a little differently.”Despite Russell’s devastating form – he has 392 runs at an average of 65.33 and a strike rate of 217.77 – Knight Riders have now slipped to sixth in the points table after the loss against Sunrisers. The team had a four-day break between that game and their next one, against Rajasthan Royals at home, and they’ve used the break to give players some downtime. The aim is to get the team refreshed and ready to turn their season around. During the break, a few players – including captain Dinesh Karthik and Robin Uthappa – travelled to Mumbai to get in some extra practice sessions.”We felt that the guys needed a break. They were given the freedom to do what they want for the next couple of days,” Kallis said. “It has been a disappointing couple of games for us, so we thought that guys can go away and do what they want. They could go home if they wanted to, and some guys felt they wanted to get a little practice which they couldn’t get here, so they went to Mumbai. Our practices here are optional, so it’s just about getting guys refreshed and mentally up for the game.”I think they are frustrated, but I wouldn’t say they are negative,” Kallis said of the mood in the team. “They do realise we’ve still got a chance of qualifying. We’ve just got to play some good cricket. I’ve said all along that in this format, it’s the little percentages you need to improve to turn things around and we’re not far off. We just need to do the little things a little bit better.”Kallis pointed to the team’s inability to take wickets upfront as one of the major reason for the string of losses. On a sluggish surface in Hyderabad, Knight Riders were unable to pose a challenge with the ball, as Sunrisers romped home to their target of 161 with nine wickets and five overs to spare. In the match before that, they conceded 213 against Royal Challengers. Overall, Knight Riders have taken only 35 wickets this season, the least among all teams, coupled with the worst economy rate of 9.04 runs an over.”The frustrating part of this season has been not taking wickets and if you don’t take wickets upfront you are under pressure for the whole innings,” Kallis said.”I think we’ve probably taken 20-21 wickets in ten games, which has put us under a lot of pressure. Yes, your bowling unit is going to be under pressure, you can’t quite be as attacking, you almost have to be defensive when there are wickets in hand. So yeah, the key for us is taking more wickets upfront, and making life a little easier in the middle and end period.”

Usman, Afridi take Karachi through to playoffs

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In a must-win game, the Karachi bowlers came through to dismiss Islamabad for 124 and set up a qualifier clash against the same opponents in two days

The Report by Danyal Rasool16-Mar-2018
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsIn a nutshellIf Kamran Akmal’s heroics meant Peshawar Zalmi had thrown down the gauntlet to Karachi Kings, fast bowler Usman Khan and his fellow Karachi quicks picked it up and ran with it like it was a baton, dismantling Islamabad and sealing a comfortable seven-wicket win. That took them through to the playoffs, Eoin Morgan’s men finishing second in the final standings.A thrilling spell of raw fast-bowling from the 23-year old was too hot for league leaders Islamabad United to handle, as he burst through Islamabad with four wickets for 17 runs. Mohammad Amir and Tymal Mills were nearly as impressive, if not quite as prolific as far as the wickets were concerned. Shahid Afridi also chipped in, taking two wickets as Misbah-ul-Haq’s men were bowled out in 19 overs for just 124.Karachi Kings needed to score just 109 to ensure safe passage into the playoffs, but they never looked like falling short of the real target. A characteristically truculent knock from Joe Denly on his 32nd birthday set them on their way, the former England international smashing 36 off 28 balls. Besides that, the pace of the chase was sedate, but then again, it needn’t have been any more than that. All the excitement had come in the first innings, and this was simply going to be a procession. Babar Azam and Colin Ingram played calm innings to see their side through, meaning Karachi finish in the top two, and will take on Islamabad United in the first playoff again on Sunday. The game might not have been the most exhilarating for the neutrals – and certainly not for a helpless Multan Sultans, now eliminated from the tournament – but Karachi will feel there’s plenty of time for that in the coming week or so.Where the match was won
Ermmm…maybe before the match began? Islamabad, whose six-match winning streak meant they were guaranteed top spot before Friday’s double-header, were especially conservative with their team selection, leaving out key performers in Luke Ronchi, Samit Patel and Mohammad Sami. A drop in intensity may have played its part; this was, after all, a game with nothing riding on it for the 2016 champions, while for Karachi, it was a virtual eliminator.There was no question they wanted it more, and from the start, they played like it. Islamabad were slightly sluggish all evening, almost as if saving some energy for the upcoming playoffs. Islamabad never quite got going, while Karachi never let up. It’s certain to be a different story in two days’ time.The men that won it
Batting partnerships are often raved about, with bowling partnerships not nearly getting the same kind of credit. Karachi’s fast bowlers teamed up like a band of brothers, closing in on the batsmen together, and stifling them over by over, body blow by body blow. The wickets might mainly have fallen to Usman, but if ever wickets could be granted assists in the way goals in football are, Friday would be a good day to begin.Mohammad Amir built up the pressure while Tymal Mills intimidated the batsmen. The looming threat of elimination had united the Karachi side, and it wasn’t wickets or personal glory that concerned them as much as putting two points on the board and going to the sharp end of the competition. Having stuttered in recent games, their vaunted bowling attack came together in devastating fashion. These performances aren’t easy to reproduce, but Karachi fans will be salivating at the prospect of their side reaching the final and treating them to a similar spectacle.The T20 specialist, the bygone maestro
Islamabad’s good form has managed to keep it under wraps somewhat, but even causal observers of the PSL would have noticed how peripheral to his team’s successes Misbah-ul-Haq has been. There may still be very few questions of his astuteness – or even modernity – as a captain. But he is self-aware enough to realise that he may not be best-placed when it comes to meeting the demands of contemporary T20 batting. Having slipped further down the order throughout the season, he came in at No. 4, with Islamabad looking like they needed a rebuilding job.But Tymal Mills, the wiliest of fast bowlers in this format, had cottoned on to Misbah’s vulnerability, and, off his first five balls, pegged him back with sharp, nasty bouncers. Two of them found inventive routes to hammer into to Misbah’s gloves. It was hard to watch after a point. His dismissal, if anything, was even further evidence of his waning powers; Afridi lobbed one up that Misbah used to hit for six in his sleep. He was deceived in the flight, and ended up having an ungainly hoick at the ball. He missed, and the ball, perhaps mercifully, crashed into his leg stump.Where they stand
With the group stage now over, Islamabad have finished top, and will take on second-placed Karachi Kings in the first playoff. Quetta Gladiators and Peshawar Zalmi will play in an eliminator on Tuesday at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, while Multan Sultans and Lahore Qalandars bow out.

Late strikes dent Bangladesh's standing

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A hectic last half-hour when Bangladesh lost three wickets in six overs has hurt their standing in the Wellington Test against New Zealand

The Report by Alagappan Muthu15-Jan-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details1:15

Isam: New Zealand back in it courtesy injuries and collapse

Bangladesh claimed a lead of 56 by bowling New Zealand out for 539 and swelled it to 122 by stumps on the fourth day, but not without casualties. The biggest of them was Imrul Kayes, who was stretchered off the field with what looked like an injury to his upper left thigh. He had kept wicket for 148.2 overs, substituting for the injured Mushfiqur Rahim and the strain of returning immediately to open the batting caught up with him while attempting a quick single in the last half hour of play. He had to dive into the crease, landed awkwardly and just lay there motionless. When the physio made his way out and tried to rouse Kayes up to his feet, he basically buckled. He just could not support his weight on his legs.New Zealand were able to send back three more Bangladesh batsmen in the last half hour to set up a final day for which entry is free at Basin Reserve. They had begun bowling thinking the draw was the only result. With two innings left to pack into a day and bit’s play, not many would fault them for that assumption. But with each wicket, they began planting close catchers and benefited from the opposition batsmen making bad choices.Tamim Iqbal was caught napping by the first instance of sharp turn. A ball spat out of the footmarks in Mitchell Santner’s fourth over and bowled him as he tried playing a cut. Then Mahmudullah tickled a harmless short ball – rare considering it came from Neil Wagner – to BJ Watling behind the stumps. And finally the nightwatchman Mehedi Hasan ran himself out looking for a second run off what became the last ball of the day.The good thing for Bangladesh though was Mushfiqur was seen padded up and they also have first-innings double-centurion Shakib Al Hasan in the shed, who should give them the stability they need when play resumes at 10:30 am on Monday.

Imrul Kayes’ record

  • 177 Tom Latham’s score, his highest in Tests. This is the second-highest score by an opener in Wellington. The only higher score by an opener here was Jackie Mcglew’s unbeaten 255 in 1953. Latham’s 177 is also the fourth-highest score for a New Zealand opener at home, and the fourth-highest for New Zealand against Bangladesh in Tests.

  • 5 Number of catches taken by Imrul Kayes – the most by a substitute wicketkeeper in one innings of a Test. Previously the record was Majid Khan’s four catches against West Indies in Kingston.

  • 3 Number of instances where Bangladesh have taken the lead against New Zealand in 12 Tests. This is the first time they have got the lead in New Zealand. The other two instances came in Chittagong in 2008 and 2013.

Nevertheless, it was a disappointing end to the day for the visitors, particularly considering the discipline they showed with the ball. Kamrul Islam Rabbi and his accurate bouncers off his slingy action were particularly hard to deal with. He struck Wagner on the shoulder once, then on the grille, which shifted back to bruise his chin and the back of his neck as well. The batsman required medical attention from the physio multiple times but refused to go off the field until he top-edged a pull to the wicketkeeper. It was Kayes’ fifth catch of the match, the best haul by a substitute gloveman in Test cricket.While everyone knew that wicket was coming, part-timer Mahmudullah’s scalps were huge surprises. He often bowls in limited-overs cricket, especially at home, on slow, turning pitches. But Basin Reserve was nothing like that. The healthy grass cover on the surface made sure it held together well enough that even on the fourth day there was little spin. The bounce and pace was true and the ball kept coming onto the bat, so a spinner had to deceive batsmen in the air.So naturally it was a silly old short ball down the leg that made things happen. Watling, on 49, wound up, trying to pull it to the fine-leg boundary, but all he could do was feather an edge through to Kayes, who had run three feet or so to his left, desperate to stop byes against his name. He had his eyes turned away from the ball when it settled snugly in his gloves.This sequence of pure comedy was so baffling that umpire Paul Reiffel didn’t spot the edge. Shakib, taking over leadership duties briefly with vice-captain Tamim off the field at the time, opted for a review and when confirmation of the nick came the entire team erupted in laughter. Four balls later Tim Southee was trapped lbw by Mahmudullah and Bangladesh were in splits.There was one person who was decidedly stormy at that turn of events. Tom Latham. He was in the middle for 329 balls to make his highest Test score of 177. Since his first-class debut in 2010, only twice had he and the batting crease spent more time together. In 2013, he lasted 423 balls for an unbeaten 241 and in 2014 when a 383-ball investment gave him 261 runs. He fell attempting a shot that contributes a lot to him being an all-conditions batsman – the sweep.Latham misjudged the line as Shakib tossed the ball up on middle and off. There was no room to work with, and it was a tad too full as well, sneaking under his bat to hit his front pad in front of middle stump. His 177 made it to the top 10 scores by an opener in New Zealand and he walked off to warm applause from the Sunday crowd, who at one point might have been wondering if play would begin on time.Steady rain was forecast and it remained overcast in the morning – misty, even. But the umpires thought conditions were still good enough to start play on time at 10.30 am. That had to be pushed back by three minutes considering the New Zealand team was only just getting to the ground.The home fans must have been chuffed with Santner though, who despite being ruffled by a short-ball barrage from the Bangladesh quicks, showed a willingness to fight it out. He took a blow to the helmet from Taskin Ahmed and nearly gloved Rabbi to the wicketkeeper but persevered through troubling times and began smacking the ball around in the final session – his cuts and pulls vicious – until he was last man out for 73 with six fours and three sixes. Bangladesh beat New Zealand to 10 Test wickets in an innings on this tour. Who would have bet on that?While Santner has impressed ever since he was drafted into the Test team in Australia in 2015, Henry Nicholls has been the opposite. The selectors clearly trust his talent; they’ve kept persisting with him at No. 5 despite an average below 30. He had the chance to repay their faith on a flat pitch but, having worked hard to make 53, he tickled a drifter from Shakib heading down leg stump to a gleeful Mehedi at leg-gully. It was like catching practice.Colin de Grandhomme hammered a four and six and then inside edged Subashis Roy to Kayes to give the debutant his first Test wicket.

Parnell 99 powers Cobras win

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Opening the batting, Wayne Parnell blitzed 99 – his first T20 fifty – to help Cobras hunt down 154 against Lions at Johanessburg

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Nov-2015
ScorecardFile photo – Wayne Parnell cracked nine fours and five sixes•AFP

Opening the batting, Wayne Parnell blitzed 99 – his first T20 fifty – to help Cape Cobras hunt down 154 against Lions with six wickets to spare in Johannesburg. The win took Cobras to second place with 20 points, eight behind Titans.Parnell struck back-to-back fours off Dwaine Pretorius early in his innings before tucking into the spinners. He brought up his fifty off 32 balls after the fall of Andrew Puttick but the wicket did not hamper him. Eddie Leie was swept over midwicket, Hardus Viljoen was hit over the covers and long-on. Parnell then moved from 87 to 99 with a brace of sixes but missed the century as he skewered one to backward point. He fell with his side eight runs away from the target but Rory Kleinveldt put the seal on the win with a six over midwicket.Earlier Kleinveldt had bowled a tidy spell, backing up Justin Kemp, despite some late blows from Pretorius and Thami Tsolekile, who added an unbroken 53 for the sixth wicket in 4.3 overs. The top order, though, did not convert starts – opener Devon Conway’s 37 off 36 balls was the highest score. Alviro Petersen managed 20 but eventually the total of 153 turned out to be inadequate.