Laxman Sivaramakrishnan has responded to criticism of his election to the ICC’s cricket committee by pointing to his 33-year association with the game, first as an international cricketer and then as a commentator

ESPNcricinfo staff06-May-2013Laxman Sivaramakrishnan has responded to criticism of his election to the ICC’s cricket committee by pointing to his 33-year association with the game, first as an international cricketer and then as a commentator. Sivaramakrishnan was elected over FICA president Tim May in a hotly contested election that saw hectic lobbying by both sides.”I am sure there are a lot of cricket-related matters that are going to be discussed,” Sivaramakrishnan told . “And I think I have been around for a long time. I’ve been associated with the game for around 33 years and I have a lot of contribution to make.”He was non-committal about the controversial Decision Review System (DRS) issue. The BCCI has been opposing ICC’s attempts to introduce DRS, which was recommended by the cricket committee in 2011.”I don’t know whether it is a part of the agenda. If it is on the agenda, then we will look into the matter. I am not the sole person who controls the committee, I just have an opinion,” he said. “I will say whatever I feel about the DRS in the meeting and it’s the final consensus of the committee whether to take the decision to implement DRS or leave it optional. So, it’s not entirely my call.”He has also responded to charges of proximity to the Chennai Super Kings franchise by saying his association with its parent company, India Cements – owned by BCCI president N Srinivasan – goes back 16 years, well before the franchise was created.”I am not an employee of Chennai Super Kings,” Sivaramakrishnan said. “I have been an employee of India Cements for the last 16 years and India Cements owns Chennai Super Kings. That has happened in the last six years. I have served India Cements as an employee and played cricket for them and I see no attachment with the Super Kings at all. In fact, I have done nothing at all for the Super Kings.”

Andrew Jones, the former Cricket Australia head of strategy, has been named as the new chief executive of Cricket New South Wales

ESPNcricinfo staff24-May-2013Andrew Jones, the former Cricket Australia head of strategy, has been named as the new chief executive of Cricket New South Wales. Jones will take up the role vacated by David Gilbert, who spent 11 years in the position before resigning in January amid instability at the organisation and calls for his sacking from Brett Lee.Jones, 40, is president of the University of New South Wales Cricket Club and a former player for the team, and he joined Cricket Australia in 2010 having consulted for them since 2004. At Cricket Australia he managed the Argus review and the development of the Strategy For Australian Cricket 2011-15 project.”I am excited and humbled in equal measure to be asked to lead Cricket New South Wales,” Jones said. “I was never a first-class cricketer, but I am aiming to provide the first-class leadership the fans, players, past players, volunteers, country colleagues, staff and board in this state expect.”When New South Wales cricket is strong, Australian cricket is strong and it is my aim to return this state to its rightful position as a leader of Australian cricket. To achieve that we will need to harness the great depth of experience and passion we have throughout the state. With everyone working together I am excited about the challenges that lie ahead.”Jones has previously served as a management consultant with McKinsey & Company and Centaurus Partners. John Warn, the Cricket New South wales chairman, said Jones was a good fit for the role.”The board is extremely happy to have found a candidate with the all-round credentials of Andrew Jones,” Warn said. “When we started the process of seeking a new chief executive, the absolute priority was finding the individual who had the right balance of business and cricketing backgrounds.”Andrew is someone who understands business, has consulted to CNSW at various times and has worked closely with the board of Cricket Australia in his previous role. He is also connected at grass-roots level, as the current president of the University of New South Wales Cricket Club, and has a tremendous passion for the game of cricket and a strong sense of the history and traditions of cricket within this state. I am thrilled that he is going to be joining us.”

Gloucestershire captain Michael Klinger registered his fourth County
Championship century of the summer to set up a potentially thrilling finish on the final day of the Second Division match against Kent at Cheltenham.

12-Jul-2013
ScorecardBen Harmison made a century before a result was set up•Getty Images

Gloucestershire captain Michael Klinger registered his fourth County
Championship century of the summer to set up a potentially thrilling finish on
the final day of the Second Division match against Kent at Cheltenham.Klinger posted an unbeaten 102 as Gloucestershire made 237 for 1 declared in
their second innings. He has now scored more than 1,000
runs in all cricket this season.Bottom-of-the-table Kent will bat tomorrow having been set a target of 411 to
win in a minimum 96 overs. Klinger and Kent skipper James Tredwell struck a deal during the lunch
interval, contriving imaginative declarations in order to arrive at a meaningful
finale.Although only nine wickets had fallen in seven previous sessions, unsuspecting
Festival-goers still looked mystified when Kent declared their first innings on
389 for 5 in the 101st over, forfeiting a fifth batting bonus point in favour
of giving themselves an opportunity to win a four-day game for the first time in
nine attempts this season.Having agreed not to enforce the follow-on, Gloucestershire commenced their
second innings 173 runs ahead with the intention of setting Kent a target to
chase on the final day.Left-hander Chris Dent picked up where he had left off in the first innings,
playing shots all around the wicket and threatening a second successive century,
albeit it against declaration bowling. Even in the circumstances, Dent was doubtless bitterly disappointed to
offer a return catch to occasional spinner Sam Northeast after rushing to 82
from 75 balls and helping himself to 13 fours.Having served as junior partner in an opening stand of 151, Klinger accelerated
during the final hour to raise three figures from 118 balls with nine fours and
a six.Ben Harmison earlier became the fourth batsman to post a hundred on a flat
College Ground pitch, realising the landmark from 141 balls in a
near-faultless innings that included 12 fours and a six. He shared in stands of 103 and 74 with Darren Stevens and Geraint Jones for the
fifth and sixth wickets respectively and helped guide the visitors clear of
danger after they had slipped to 212 for four in the morning session.Brendan Nash was bowled off his pads by slow left armer Tom Smith in the act of
sweeping for 9, while Northeast was brilliantly caught down the leg side by
wicketkeeper Gareth Roderick off the bowling of Craig Miles just six runs short
of a century.But veteran county campaigner Stevens slammed the door shut on
Gloucestershire’s hopes of enforcing the follow-on, crashing 75 runs off 71
balls in a forthright innings that yielded nine fours and two sixes.

Ray Price, the Zimbabwe left-arm spinner, has retired from international cricket

Liam Brickhill at the Harare Sports Club28-Jul-2013Ray Price, the Zimbabwe left-arm spinner, has retired from international cricket. Price, 37, was included in Zimbabwe’s squad for their ongoing one-day series against India but won’t be travelling with the team to Bulawayo, the venue for the last two games.It was widely suspected that this series would be Price’s last for Zimbabwe, but with national contracts expiring after India’s visit, he has decided to call time on his career mid-series. “I was going to wait until my contract expired to call it a day but, yes, I’ve decided to retire from international cricket,” Price told ESPNcricinfo. “I won’t be going with the guys to Bulawayo. I’m retired.”There had been some confusion over Price’s place in the squad before the series because he wasn’t named in the initial list, but coach Andy Waller insisted that he had always been part of the team. Price was ever present during Zimbabwe’s net sessions in the lead-up to the India series, and it had been thought that he would be given a chance to bid farewell with one final match.That was not to be, however, and he will finish with exactly 100 wickets in 102 ODIs, to go with his 80 dismissals in 22 Tests and 13 scalps in 16 Twenty20 internationals.”Pricey’s called it a day,” Zimbabwe captain Brendan Taylor said. “If he was going to play it was going to be here in Harare. We’re going to miss his experience, but in saying that it does give our young spinners who are coming through a great opportunity.”Price’s career straddled two distinct eras in Zimbabwean cricket. He debuted as a 23-year old in the third Test of the series against Sri Lanka at Harare Sports Club in 1999, but just as he established himself in the national side he threw in his lot with Heath Streak and the rebel cricketers and found himself ostracised. He left Zimbabwe for England and spent three and a half seasons with Worcestershire.His refusal of a new county contract in 2007 surprised many, and in November of that year he came out of exile and returned to Zimbabwe in the series against West Indies. Having left as something of a fringe player – particularly in one-day cricket – Price quickly re-established himself as a canny and economical bowler in ODIs.In 2009, he picked up 44 wickets at 20.61 and ascended to second in the ICC ODI rankings for bowlers. He remained Zimbabwe’s senior bowler for several years, and was their leading performer at the 2011 World Cup in India with nine wickets at 18.77. His last match for Zimbabwe was the Bridgetown Test against West Indies in March this year, in which he took just one wicket as the team suffered a heavy defeat.As important as his bowling was the spirit Price brought to a team struggling to find its way after all the upheavals in Zimbabwean cricket. A fierce adversary, Price bowled left-arm spin with the attitude of a fast bowler, refusing to back down no matter who the opposition and helping instill some backbone in the side.”He’s a hell of a competitor,” Taylor said. “He’s a guy that plays with his heart on his sleeve. He leaves nothing out on the field, he’ll give you everything and he’s a real team man. Unfortunately age is not on his side anymore, and he’s moving on with his family.”We’ll miss him, but I’m sure he’ll still be in the picture with our young spinners coming through and I’m sure he’ll always be contributing somewhere along the line.”Though he will no longer be part of the national side, Price will still be a regular at Harare Sports Club. He runs the sports equipment shop at the ground, and will divide his time between the shop, his family and one of his favourite pursuits: fishing.

Simon Kerrigan spent much of Sunday still trying to soak up the “surreal” experience of being named in an Ashes squad after being handed his first senior call-up for the final Investec Ashes Test at The Oval

Andrew McGlashan18-Aug-2013Simon Kerrigan spent much of Sunday still trying to soak up the “surreal” experience of being named in an Ashes squad after being handed his first senior call-up for the final Investec Ashes Test at The Oval. However, Peter Moores, his county coach, believes he is there by right rather and not because of the difficulties being faced by Monty Panesar.Little more than two weeks ago, Panesar was part of England’s squad for the Old Trafford Test, but shortly after that his season came off the rails during a night out in Brighton, which led to him being fined for drunk and disorderly conduct. The matter is still being investigated by Sussex, but Panesar is on the brink of needing a new county and is seemingly facing a lengthy period away from the international scene.That has led to England needing to reconsider who is their No. 2 spinner to Graeme Swann and there was not really a second option behind Kerrigan despite James Tredwell’s stellar one-day performances this year. Kerrigan, with 47 wickets in the Championship, is far and away the most prolific spinner this season and has been a regular with England Lions. It was a logical progression.It would still be a surprise if he played at The Oval – two spinners, especially in a four-man attack, is rarely seen outside of the subcontinent by England – but even if he does not earn a first cap on Wednesday, he has two days to train in front of Andy Flower and Alastair Cook ahead of their deliberations over the Test squad to Australia later this year.”I found out yesterday when I got a call from Geoff Miller. I’m delighted to be selected, but it was a bit hard to take in when he rang,” Kerrigan told the Lancashire website. “It all felt a bit surreal to be honest. Hopefully I can impress over the next couple of days and be ready if they choose two spinners.”I’ve been inundated with messages of good luck and congratulations. My phone went into a bit of a meltdown this morning, and I’m grateful for all the messages and good wishes.”Moores has overseen the rise of Kerrigan since taking over as Lancashire coach in 2009, during which time Kerrigan had assumed the No. 1 mantle even before Gary Keedy’s departure to Surrey, and he now sees a potential changing of hierarchy in England’s spin options behind Graeme Swann.”Monty’s obviously had an interesting season and also an interesting few weeks and I think the one thing you would say is that Simon has statistically performed much better than Monty has this season, so that’s probably why he’s got his recognition as much as anything else,” Moores told .”The key here is Simon’s earned that right through his own performance and what he does do is get a lot of five-wicket hauls. So when he gets on a roll he seems to really be able to drive that home and make a big difference in a game, and that’s something I think would excite England.””What he does is he spins it hard, not dissimilar to Graeme Swann in that respect. Graeme does give the ball a heck of a rip and gets turn on almost any surface and Simon’s similar, he spins the ball very hard, he’s an aggressive attacking spinner.”

In a contest trimmed to 35-overs per side, Somerset batted for only a little over 25 overs as they were soundly thrashed by Nottinghamshire

Jon Culley at Trent Bridge09-Sep-2013
ScorecardJake Ball ran through Somerset’s lower order to finish with four wickets•PA Photos

The whiff of relegation hangs in the air for both these counties in the Championship, rather strongly for Somerset, who will not have the consolation of a Lord’s final a week on Saturday to take their minds off their troubles. In a contest trimmed to 35-overs per side, they batted for only a little over 25 overs as they were soundly thrashed by Nottinghamshire, who will be favourites to beat Glamorgan on September 21.Jake Ball, a 23-year-old right-arm seamer who has yet to play Championship cricket, took 4 for 25, his best figures in senior cricket, as Somerset were dismissed for their lowest YB40 total of the season – by some distance – and provided a familial link with Nottinghamshire’s last appearance in a Lord’s final, when they beat Essex by three wickets in 1989.That match was famous for Eddie Hemmings hitting the winning boundary off the last ball of the match. At the other end was Bruce French, whose sister, Debbie, became Debbie Ball and would a couple of years later give birth to Jake.Peter Trego hit 40 off 53 balls to offer some substance to Somerset’s cause but once he had been out-thought by Steven Mullaney, who drew an ankle-height return catch from a slower ball, they lost their last six wickets for 28 in an abjectly dispirited display. Mullaney finished with 3 for 35 as Somerset were dismissed in just 25.4 overs, their total of 119 some 103 runs fewer than their previous lowest in this year’s competition, their form in which – until this performance – had been the highlight of a dismal season.Nottinghamshire lost Alex Hales in the second over of their reply but once Michael Lumb had imposed his presence by hitting 46 off 38 balls, including 10 boundaries, before he top-edged Jamie Overton to be caught behind, the result was not in any doubt.With the freedom to let rip, Samit Patel completed the night’s work by smashing an unbeaten 43 off just 26 deliveries – including three fours in one over off Overton, who was released from England’s one-day squad to take part – as Nottinghamshire passed their target in a mere 16.2 overs.Young Ball’s career has not progressed as quickly as it seemed it might when he made his first-class debut against MCC in Abu Dhabi in 2011 but on the basis of this performance is surely worth another look.Unlucky not to strike with his first delivery, which beat Trego all ends up but somehow missed the stumps, he conceded 13 runs and bowled a wide in his second over, at which point he was taken out of the firing line. When he came back, for one over, he took out James Hildreth’s middle stump, before a third spell yielded the wickets of Piyush Chawla, Alfonso Thomas and Jamie Overton, the last-name pair off consecutive balls before Steve Kirby survived the hat-trick attempt.It was a pretty poor effort by Somerset, whose decline this season has been quite startling given that between 2009 and last season they were runners-up twice in both the Championship and the 40-over competition, and three times finished second in the Twenty20.Put in by Nottinghamshire with cloud and rain about – the start was delayed by 50 minutes – but on an essentially good wicket, they lost Marcus Trescothick to the fourth ball of the match when the skipper thin-edged pushing at Harry Gurney, but Trego and Craig Kieswetter made decent progress until the latter, having just launched Ajmal Shahzad over cover, bottom edged an attempted pull and was caught behind. Nonetheless, 41 for 2 was a decent platform at the end of the seven-over Powerplay.But Nick Compton gave his wicket away carelessly, attempting to hit Mullaney out of the ground in an over that had already yielded 10 runs. Without Jos Buttler, away on England duty, they needed Compton or Hildreth to deliver but Trego, who has made more than 1,000 runs in white ball cricket this year, was their only serious contributor, and Craig Meschede tried gamely to add runs in the closing stages, none of his lower-order partners lasted more than six balls.The trip to Lord’s gives Nottinghamshire a chance to add a late shine to a season in which they lost in the quarter-finals of the Twenty20 and have not won a Championship match since May. The quality of their batting line-up, in particular, with six internationals in their top seven, demands a trophy win, which may now come.Director of cricket Mick Newell described the night as “an excellent all-round performance”.”We may have neglected one-day cricket in the last few years as we have concentrated on the four-day game but I identified this competition as one we could do well in as I think we now look a decent one-day side,” he said.”We’ve played well in both white-ball competitions this year and it is nice to have gone one step further and reached the final in this one.”

The Mumbai Police chargesheet on the IPL betting scandal has listed the matches involving CSK that were under its scanner, including one match where Gurunath Meiyappan allegedly bet against his own team

Amol Karhadkar22-Sep-2013The Mumbai Police chargesheet on the betting scandal in IPL 2013 has listed the matches involving Chennai Super Kings that were under its scanner, including one match where Gurunath Meiyappan allegedly bet against his own team winning. It also brings out, through transcripts of phone conversations, the alleged close links between Gurunath and the actor-punter Vindoo Dara Singh, to whom he provided match-related information that was then passed on to bookies.”During the match between Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings on May 12, a conversation is available between Meiyappan and Randhawa [Vindoo Dara Singh] at 20:58,” the chargesheet said. “It mentions Meiyappan telling Randhawa [that] Chennai Super Kings will score 130-140 runs. Chennai Super Kings scored 141 runs that day. Such information is useful for session betting. Numerous conversations are available during the match that despite being the Team Principal of Chennai Super Kings, Meiyappan has placed bets on Rajasthan Royals winning the match.”The chargesheet also mentioned a recording at 9.59 am on May 14 in which Gurunath is supposed to have told Vindoo that the game between Super Kings and Delhi Daredevils scheduled for later that day will not take place because the stadium in Chennai did not have a stability certificate.The match did go ahead and the chargesheet contained further details of telephone conversations between Vindoo and Gurunath later that day. At 14:44, Meiyappan was on his yacht when he got this call from Vindoo – or, as the chargesheet put it, “Randhawa is heard scolding Meiyappan for being in his boat”. “You are the boss, go there … what those people is thinking, I want exactly.””At 19:26.34 on May 14, Randhawa [Vindoo] is heard querying to Meiyappan about the toss. In the same conversation, Meiyappan is heard telling Randhawa, ‘We win hundred percent.’ At 19:53 on May 14, Meiyappan is heard telling Randhawa, ‘no other changes in team.'”The chargesheet also includes Gurunath mentioning games between other teams. “At 15:56 on May 12, Meiyappan is heard instructing Randhawa based on internal information he has while discussing about the game between KKR and RCB in Ranchi. At 10:54 on May 13, Meiyappan is heard informing Randhawa that Sunrisers will win against Mumbai Indians on the match that was scheduled for the day. Meiyappan’s voice sample has been sent to the laboratory and we are awaiting the report.”The Mumbai police said they had established Gurunath’s association with the Chennai Super Kings team through material evidence. “We have confiscated materials and kit of Chennai Super Kings with the team logo from Meiyappan’s residence on May 26. It mentions him as ‘Team Principal’ on a few visiting cards. This establishes his association with Chennai Super Kings.”Witness Naresh Himmatlal Makani has said Meiyappan is an IPL team owner and has also recorded in his statement that BCCI president [sic] Rajeev Shukla has sent an email to Meiyappan as a team owner on 24-12-2011 and 09-01-2012. He has also recorded in his statement that he has been cheated since a team owner indulged in betting and has passed on information to bookies.”Gurunath’s Super Kings connections were widely known. As reported by ESPNcricinfo, he was present at the Chennai table during IPL auctions and represented the franchise at team meetings; he had a gold IPL accreditation card meant only for team owners.Gurunath was charged under sections 415, 420 and 417 of the Indian Penal Code, which deal with cheating and fraud, and section 130 of Bombay Police Act, which concerns cheating at games. He was also been charged under section 66A of the Information Technology Act, because police claimed that he had used mobile phones and an I-Pad for illegal betting, and two sections of the Gambling Act.

ESPNcricinfo previews the one-off ODI between Ireland and England at Malahide

Alan Gardner07-May-2015

Match facts

May 8, 2015
Start time 10.45am (0945 GMT)3:20

We want to play with freedom and confidence – Porterfield

Big picture

The UK is going to the polls but the outcome is likely to be weeks of uncertainty and procedural wrangling. Although we will have an idea of the results by the time Ireland and England begin their match in Dublin on Friday morning, the bargaining to form a government and choose a Prime Minister will have only just begun. If only it were as simple as a small committee of people identifying and appointing the right man for the job.Then again, maybe that isn’t such a straightforward process. A year ago, Peter Moores was about to take charge of England for the second time, starting with a bedraggled ODI in Aberdeen, having been declared “the outstanding coach of his generation” by Paul Downton, then England’s managing director. Now, with Andrew Strauss reportedly being measured up as Downton’s replacement in a new role as director of cricket, Moores has been forced to appeal for more time to finish the job; he might have some sympathy for David Cameron.Defeat to Ireland will probably not swing things either way for Moores, particularly as England have picked a young and experimental squad, but after a harrowing World Cup and the failure to win in the West Indies, his ratings are once again dangerously low. According to some, the votes may already have been cast. Nevertheless, Moores has flown straight from Barbados via Gatwick to take charge of things in Dublin.England’s squad is one for the future while Ireland are about to begin life under a new regime. John Bracewell will not take his place at the dispatch box across from Moores, as he is awaiting a work permit, but the New Zealander will be there in an observational capacity as Ireland target a first home win over England. The squad is much the same as that which did markedly better than England at the World Cup and, should the weather cooperate, there is the prospect of another big crowd to barrack from the back benches.Two years ago, England needed centuries from Eoin Morgan and Ravi Bopara to secure victory at Malahide, after Ireland had reduced them to 48 for 4 in pursuit of 270. This time both are at the IPL – where Morgan, England’s captain that day and at the World Cup, has just made his first significant score for Sunrisers Hyderabad – and Niall O’Brien has gone as far as to suggest Ireland are favourites. In Friday’s tightly contested marginal, England might rue the absence of their big beasts; whatever the result, Moores could still be short of a majority.

Form guide

Ireland LLWLW (most recent first)
England WLLWL

In the spotlight

Ireland’s XI is so settled that they are likely to field nine players who took part in their famous World Cup win in Bangalore four years ago. Less has been seen of Andy Balbirnie but the elegant Middlesex batsman looks likely to become another fixture in the middle order. He made his maiden ODI half-century against South Africa at the recent World Cup and then helped set up victory over Zimbabwe with 97.England have selected a clutch of talented tyros for this match and the sight of James Vince, Sam Billings and David Willey in one-day colours will enthuse many. Perhaps more significant than the debutants will be a return to international competition for Adil Rashid, who is likely to win his first cap since 2009. With current spin resources severely depleted, a bright display from Yorkshire’s one-time future star would strengthen England’s hand for the challenges to come.

Team news

The loss of Tim Murtagh to injury is a blow – he took 3 for 33 two years ago – but Ireland will otherwise be able to send out their best XI. Whether that includes Craig Young or the more all-round talents of Stuart Thompson – or even another spinner in Andy McBrine – may depend on the pitch. William Porterfield, meanwhile, is set to captain Ireland for the 200th time.Ireland (possible) 1 William Porterfield (capt), 2 Paul Stirling, 3 Ed Joyce, 4 Niall O’Brien, 5 Andy Balbirnie, 6 Gary Wilson (wk), 7 Kevin O’Brien, 8 John Mooney, 9 George Dockrell, 10 Alex Cusack, 11 Craig Young/Stuart ThompsonJames Taylor is set to lead England for the first time and there will be at least five ODI debutants in the side. Jonny Bairstow was named as wicketkeeper in the original squad but Billings is more than capable of playing as a specialist batsman. Zafar Ansari could miss out if Rashid, as expected, fills the spinner’s brief, while Somerset’s seam-bowling allrounder Lewis Gregory is the other option in the 13.England (possible) 1 Alex Hales, 2 Jason Roy, 3 James Vince, 4 James Taylor (capt), 5 Sam Billings, 6 Jonny Bairstow (wk), 7 David Willey, 8 Adil Rashid, 9 Tim Bresnan, 10 Steven Finn, 11 Mark Wood.

Pitch and conditions

The surface at Malahide has previously provided a good contest between bat and ball, although this is the first time an ODI has been played there in May. A green pitch would not be surprising, although the sun has been shining in Dublin. That might change, however, with rain forecast for Friday afternoon.

Stats and trivia

• Ireland and England have met six times previously in ODIs, with Ireland winning once, at the 2011 World Cup
• England have played four times in Ireland – twice in Belfast and twice in Dublin – and never lost
• The last time England played five debutants in an ODI was against Pakistan at Old Trafford in 1996; their record, other than in the first-ever ODI, is the six fielded against West Indies at Headingley in 1973 (courtesy of Ask Steven)
• Tim Bresnan is the most experienced member of England’s squad, with 84 caps; the rest have 94 between them. Ireland’s 13 men have played in a combined total of 609 ODIs.

Quotes

“A lot of these guys thought they probably should have been at the World Cup – and to be honest, when you look at the strategy that was needed there, a lot of them perhaps should have been. They’ve got some big points to prove, and justify their case. So I don’t think they’ll be a soft target, that’s for sure.”
“It is an important game for everybody, not just Peter Moores. The whole team are right behind him, and it’s up to the individuals now to put in a match-winning performance in the middle.”

Teenager Nauman Anwar’s 54-ball 97 helped Sialkot Stallions post a total of 197 before their spinners throttled Lahore Lions by 74 runs in the final

ESPNcricinfo staff18-May-2015
ScorecardFile photo: Haris Sohail shared a 111-run stand in 11.2 overs with Nauman Anwar•AFP

Teenage opening batsman Nauman Anwar’s 54-ball 97 helped Sialkot Stallions post a total of 197 before their spinners throttled Lahore Lions by 74 runs in the final.Electing to bat, Stallions lost three wickets inside four overs, but managed to race away to 39 by then. Anwar and Haris Sohail, who scored 47 off 34 balls, then put on 111 runs in 11.2 overs, effectively batting Lions out of the game. By the time Anwar was dismissed in the 16th over, he had struck 10 fours and six sixes.Despite no other batsman contributing significantly – only two others crossed double figures – Stallions ensured the scoring-rate didn’t drop. Aizaz Cheema picked up four wickets while left-arm spinner Qaiser Ashraf claimed three scalps.Lions’ chase began on the wrong note, as they lost Ahmed Shehzad and Mohammad Hafeez inside the first two overs before slumping to 25 for 4. Umar Akmal and Saad Nasim shared a 37-run stand, but after Umar was removed by off-spinner Bilal Asif for a 30-ball 35, there wasn’t much by way of resistance. Stallions’ spinners – Asif, Sultan Ahmed, Mukhtar Ahmed and captain Shoaib Malik – picked up seven of the eight wickets to fall.

Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq believes the Pallekele Test is his team’s best chance to beat Sri Lanka in their backyard, since the hosts will be without both Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara

Umar Farooq in Pallekele02-Jul-2015Pakistan might have been a dominant team in Sri Lanka before 2009, but in the last six years, they have enjoyed little success, having last won a series in the island nation in 2006. This is the first time since then that Pakistan have come close to registering a victory, with the series locked 1-1 ahead of the third and final Test. Misbah-ul-Haq, Pakistan’s captain, felt his team had a big chance to create history since the hosts will be without both Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara for the final Test.Misbah felt Pakistan had big chance to create history. “We have the best chance against Sri Lanka because they are without their big players like Mahela and Sanga,” Misbah said. “I think we never will get such a chance to beat them here with a series locked at 1-1, as we’ve never come that close. So we are definitely wanting to win this. That is the only sense in the dressing room.”All the three Tests played at the Pallekele International Stadium thus far have been drawn, with rain affecting substantial chunks of play. Misbah, however, hoped to have five full days play so that Pakistan could force a result.”We will definitely try to have a result as the way cricket is being played, it always gets you a result,” he said. “But at the same time it’s important to have play for all five days so that it gives you a full chance and allows you to produce a result. In the last two Test matches, we lost a lot of time in between five days and hopefully here in Pallekele, we will have a full five days play uninterrupted.”Pakistan’s fine performance in the first Test in Galle was followed by a recurrence of their batting problems in the Colombo Test, where they lost 10 wickets in a day for 138.”Everybody knows our batting didn’t do well in the Colombo Test and still I am hoping they will come hard and score some runs. They are all experienced players and have been scoring runs from three to four series recently, so there isn’t really a worry as each one of the batsmen have ample runs under the belt. Now we are just looking forward to improve our performance with the bat.”What happened in Colombo (batting collapse) was a rare setback. In the last four to five series otherwise, if you look back, our batsmen have been scoring big runs against every team, even against the top sides. These kinds of things do happen sometimes, but hopefully the batsmen have realised their mistakes and learnt from them, and wont repeat them. “While Pallekele is likely to affected by the weather over the next five days, the surface is generally seen as seam-friendly. Pakistan have drafted Rahat Ali into the side to replace the injured Wahab Riaz, but there are chances that Imran Khan might also get a game. Mohammad Hafeez, who will face an ICC test in India on July 6, is likely to be replaced by Shan Masood, who had a good outing in Sri Lanka with Pakistan A in May. He scored 182 against Sri Lanka A in Dambulla.”We understand that the first two-three days are very well suited for the seamers but at the same time, we are lucky to have a legspinner (Yasir Shah) who is very effective in any kind of surface. We felt that in Pallekele, finger spinners are not that much effective and the legspinner is always going to have a role to play here, especially when you have a hard and bouncy pitch. So he is quite useful for us.”I think every player here representing Pakistan is good enough to replace anybody. We are confident and have got good resources. But at the same time, Shan is there and he, with the Pakistan A team last month, had scored a big century. He might get a chance as he is good enough replacement, and also a good batsman who has been knocking well in the nets.”