Bailey defends Lyon exclusion

George Bailey, Australia's stand-in captain, defended his team's decision to leave Nathan Lyon out of their playing XI against South Africa, insisting that the offspinner's absence "did not turn the match".

Without Lyon, the part-time spin of Steven Smith and Glenn Maxwell leaked 40 runs in five overs and the seam attack fared little better as centuries from AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis helped South Africa to a seven-wicket win.

"I certainly think 327 could have been enough, but knowing that it's a pretty good wicket and only having four out and two new balls, it's always going to be a challenge," Bailey said. "You've got to keep trying to find a way to take wickets, and unfortunately we couldn't do that. I could have probably bowled our part timers a little more, or got them into the game a little earlier, but you can only have XI unfortunately."

The Harare Sports Club pitch played slow and low in the Test featuring South Africa and Zimbabwe earlier this month, and though it has quickened up a touch since then, it remains a track where the toss as well as the quick bowlers' variations once the shine comes off, remain important.

Australia were not helped by losing the toss and being sent in this morning, but Bailey admitted that their attempts to use bowling variations to temper du Plessis and de Villiers had fallen short.

"We tried taking the pace off the ball a little bit and it didn't seem to have too much effect at different times," he said. "There's no doubt that variation is going to be a key, and that's down to mixing up your pace and lengths, and how you bowl at different stages. But we've got to give a little bit of credit to Faf and AB, I thought they batted beautifully."

One thing Bailey and Australia will be pleased about is the performance of their top order in the series so far. Three batsmen passed fifty against Zimbabwe, while Phil Hughes complemented Aaron Finch in an opening stand of 92 before Finch went on to a century today.

"Hughesy batted really well, and particularly once we were sent in I thought that was a really important start for us. It was a little bit challenging at the start and I thought those guys got us off and running.

"They've been pretty consistent. Hughesy has had limited opportunities but keeps putting his hand up. Finchy seems to be getting better and better, and it was great to see him go on and turn that into a hundred today. That's something that we've spoken about, and he'd be pretty satisfied with that. I think that's the challenge for all of our top order players: to get hundreds. As you saw in the chase, it makes it so much easier when you get someone you can bat around for the majority of the innings."

Read More..

Kent blown away after Brownlie ton

New Zealand A 239 (Brownlie 112, Rutherford 56, Griffiths 3-49) beat Kent 67 (Craig 3-6) by 172 runs
Scorecard

Kent were bowled out for 67, their second-lowest score in List A cricket, as they lost to New Zealand A by 172 runs. The innings lasted for less than half the allotted overs and only two players, openers Daniel Bell-Drummond and Rob Key, made double-figures.

The 50-over match had replaced the scheduled three-day fixture, after the first two days were washed out. Kent chose to deploy something approaching a full-strength side, in preparation for their Royal London Cup quarter-final on Friday, but Brendan Nash was unable to bat due to injury and the ten other batsmen failed to make much more of an impact on the scorecard.

New Zealand offspinner Mark Craig picked up three wickets in his three overs to finish the innings, after the pace trio of Hamish Bennett, Doug Bracewell and Matt Henry and shared the first six. At 56 for 7, Kent were in danger of being dismissed for less than the 60 they made against Somerset at Taunton in 1979.

After being asked to bat, the New Zealand A effort was founded on a stand of 124 in 20 overs for the second wicket between Hamish Rutherford and Dean Brownlie. Three wickets then fell for seven runs, during a typically miserly spell from Darren Stevens, but Brownlie went on to reach his second century of the tour before becoming a third victim for David Griffiths.

New Zealand A were dismissed with ten balls unbowled but their score of 239 was to prove more than enough. Kent will hope for a better performance when they take on Gloucestershire at home on Friday.

Read More..

Aftab Ahmed announces retirement

Bangladesh batsman Aftab Ahmed has announced he will retire at the end of the 2014-15 season. He said that his focus will turn to coaching and setting up an academy in his hometown of Chittagong.

He will play the upcoming season's Dhaka Premier League for Brothers Union after switching over from Gazi Tank Cricketers on the first day of player transfers being held at the Bangabandhu National Stadium.

The decision comes as a surprise, since Aftab is a few months short of his 29th birthday and still fit. But he said that the state of his playing career was what prompted the decision. Last season he averaged 23.81 for Gazi Tank and 18.20 in three first-class games.

"This is my last Premier League, I don't wish to play any longer," Aftab said. "It wasn't based on any emotional factors. It is completely a personal decision. This is my last year. You all please pray that I can leave on a high."

"Cricket has become tough. Club officials think in a different way. I got a very low offer this year. So by putting everything into consideration, I thought this is the right time. If I had taken a bit longer, it wouldn't be good for me. This is how I came to this decision."

He is yet to gain higher level coaching credits, but wants to help Chittagong get out of the mire in cricket development. Not since Nazimuddin, who debuted in 2007, has Bangladesh's second-largest city produced an international cricketer.

"I am setting up a cricket academy in Chittagong, which will be opened in the near future," he said. "I want to take my coaching career to a very good level. Currently cricket in Chittagong is in bad shape, so I wish to take it to a better place."

Aftab played just 11 Tests for Bangladesh but he was more of an ODI player, winning 85 caps. He famously hit Jason Gillespie for a six in the last over of Bangladesh's miraculous win over Australia in Cardiff in 2005.

But three years later, he would join the rebel Indian Cricket League and be shunned by the BCB. He did make it back to the Bangladesh team in 2010, only to play two more Tests, averaging 17.00, and making just 80 runs in five ODIs. His last international match was in the World T20 that year.

"The start of my career doesn't really reflect what I eventually became as a player," he said. "The ICL had a profound effect on my career at a crucial time. I mean, I couldn't really end my career as I would have wanted. Still, I think people loved me for the way I played the game."

Read More..

Bangladesh bat, Mashrafe injured

Toss Bangladesh chose to bat v West Indies
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim chose to bat first against West Indies in the only T20 at Warner Park. It was the logical thing to do, and will be some respite as they would now look to post a big total.

Shamsur Rahman and Mohammad Mithun have been included in the team at the cost of Imrul Kayes and Mominul Haque who played in the third ODI. Mashrafe Mortaza has been sidelined with a groin injury while Sohag Gazi has been dropped. Abdur Razzak, thought to be out of Bangladesh's T20 plans, remains in the side.

West Indies have four medium-pace bowling allrounders filling up the spots from No. 5 onwards. Andre Russell who was one of the standout players in the recent Caribbean Premier League has been picked, while Sulieman Benn and Andre Fletcher have been benched. They will have two left-arm pace bowlers - Krishmar Santokie and Sheldon Cottrell - in the playing XI while Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo are back in the T20 side.

West Indies: 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Dwayne Smith, 3 Lendl Simmons, 4 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 5 Dwayne Bravo, 6 Kieron Pollard, 7 Darren Sammy (capt), 8 Andre Russell, 9 Sunil Narine, 10 Krishmar Santokie, 11 Sheldon Cottrell

Bangladesh: 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Anamul Haque, 3 Shamsur Rahman, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim (capt & wk), 5 Mohammad Mithun, 6 Nasir Hossain, 7 Mahmudullah, 8 Abdur Razzak, 9 Taskin Ahmed, 10 Al-Amin Hossain, 11 Rubel Hossain

Read More..

Tait one-day comeback on the cards

Fast bowler Shaun Tait could come out of one-day retirement this summer, having declared himself available for South Australia's 50-over campaign for the first time since 2010-11. Tait retired from one-day cricket after the 2011 World Cup and for the past three seasons has focused exclusively on Twenty20, but he wants to help his state win more silverware before his career ends for good.

The physicality of Tait's bowling action made first-class cricket a challenge to sustain and he retired from the longer format in 2007-08, but continued as a one-day player for another three years. Now aged 31 and having stayed active in T20 with the Adelaide Strikers and other teams around the world, Tait said he would be available for up to four matches of this year's Matador BBQ's One-Day Cup in October.

"I was playing T20 cricket and I thought in a couple of years if I'm retired, would I regret anything?" Tait told the Advertiser. "The only thing I could think of was not having some success with South Australia.

"It's been a while since I've been really determined to do something in cricket and this is one of them. I'm determined to play for South Australia and be successful, because I think the state needs it as well."

Tait was a key part of Australia's successful 2007 World Cup campaign in the West Indies, where he collected 23 wickets and was third on the overall tally, and he also took part in the 2011 World Cup. And while Australia's coach Darren Lehmann wants his fast bowlers to have genuine pace, a call-up for next year's home World Cup is not likely to be on the horizon for Tait.

"I suppose if everything is going well, if my body is going well and I'm bowling 155kph and taking wickets, why not? But it might not go that way," Tait said. "Cricket Australia have got their group of players who are pretty good at the moment, the attack against Zimbabwe on Monday night was very good, Johnson, Starc, Richardson and there's probably five other blokes in the wings.

"So they might go down a completely different path even if I am doing well. But if everything was going well, and they came to me and said 'We've got a couple of injuries, come and play' -- brilliant, I'd love to."

Read More..

'I want to play all three formats' - Lyon

Before Monday, offspinner Nathan Lyon had played 33 Tests and two ODIs for Australia. On Monday, 29 months after his previous ODI, he did not have the most effective of comebacks in the Zimbabwe triangular series, conceding 42 runs in seven overs while the hosts bowled out for just 152. His one-day bowling, Lyon explained on the eve of Australia's match against South Africa, was a "work in progress", and he said that he still wants to play all three formats for Australia.

"I was pretty nervous and excited, playing again after two years. The main aim was to try and help Australia to victory, and the challenge now is to back it up against South Africa tomorrow," Lyon said. "I want to play all three formats for Australia. I'm just always looking forward to the next opportunity. The main message I have received from the coaches is to work on my consistency. I have also been working on different variations, so it's currently a work in progress."

In his 33 Tests, Lyon has 112 wickets at 32.99, and that experience he said is a plus for him as he tries to showcase his ODIs skills to the selectors ahead of the 2015 World Cup. "I've had a few different challenges at Test level. In ODIs, things are a lot more compact and things happen a lot quicker. But I feel I've grown as a player and my experiences in Tests have definitely helped me."

It has also helped him having Muttiah Muralitharan around, he said. Murali, who has been signed on as Australia's coaching consultant for this year's Test series against Pakistan in the UAE, had worked with Lyon in Sri Lanka a couple of months ago, reportedly helping him develop a carrom ball. "Listening to Murali provides you with confidence," Lyon said. "He backed me up by saying that my skill set was heading in the right way. Getting such a compliment from him is very special."

Lyon said he expects South Africa to try and go after him, and he is prepared. "South Africa are a world class side, so it's going to be a great challenge. We need to put our best foot forward," he said. "There's no doubt they're going to target me, but I'm ready for it. It's a good opportunity for me to take some wickets."

Read More..

Mathews - 0 hundreds, 22 fifties

0 Number of times that that a 300-plus total has been successfully chased down in an ODI in Sri Lanka. The highest total that has been chased down successfully in Sri Lanka is the 288 that Pakistan had set Sri Lanka at Dambulla in 2009. There have been two instances of teams, India and Sri Lanka, scoring 300-plus runs during an ODI chase in Sri Lanka, but both came in close losses.

6 Number of Pakistan wicketkeepers to have effected 50 ODI dismissals. Umar Akmal became the latest addition on the list when he took a catch to dismiss Upul Tharanga off the bowling of Wahab Riaz. Moin Khan leads the list with 287 ODI dismissals.

22 Number of fifties that Angelo Mathews has now scored in ODI cricket. This is the most fifties scored by a Sri Lankan batsman who does not have an ODI hundred. Chamara Kapugedera with eight fifties is a distant second. Across countries, Misbah-ul-Haq holds the record, with 37 fifties and no hundred. Mathews is also one of only five batsmen to have made 3000-plus ODI runs without scoring a century.

90 Number of 50-plus scores that Mahela Jayawardene has made in ODI cricket. There are only nine players who have made 90 or more such scores, an elite list led by Sachin Tendulkar (145) and Ricky Ponting (112). The only others with 100 or more 50-plus scores are Kumar Sangakkara (105) and Jacques Kallis (103).

2 Number of times that Seekkuge Prasanna has got to double digits in his 11 ODI innings. Prasanna batted at No. 6 today and was dismissed lbw for 1 by Mohammad Hafeez. Apart from his scores of 42 and 22, both versus Pakistan, Prasanna's highest ODI score is 8*.

19 Number of balls that Sri Lanka needed to go from 250 to 300. The breakup of Sri Lanka's 50s throughout the innings was erratic and makes for interesting reading - the first fifty came off 46 balls, the next off 70, the third off 42, the fourth off 75 and the penultimate fifty came off only 40 balls.

30 Number of times that Hafeez has taken two or more wickets in an ODI innings, without ever taking a four-for. He returned figures of 3-39 in this game. The only player to have two or more wickets on more occasions, without ever taking four wickets, is R Ashwin, who has done this 37 times in ODIs.

75 Number of balls (or 12.3 overs) in which Pakistan got their first 100 runs. This is Pakistan's fourth fastest 100 since 2001. Their fastest 100 in this period was in 10.4 overs against India at Kanpur in 2005. Earlier in the innings, Pakistan had got to 50 off 40 balls - their fastest in the last seven years, since another game against India at Kanpur in 2007.

45 Hafeez's ODI average in the 33 innings when he has batted at No. 3 for Pakistan. He batted at No. 3 today and scored a brisk 62 off 49 balls. In the 110 innings that he has opened the innings, his average is only 28.2. Only four of Hafeez's nine ODI hundreds have come when he has opened the innings, with the remaining five coming at No. 3.

15 Number of times that a Sri Lankan player has made a 50-plus score and taken three wickets in the same ODI, Thisara Perera becoming the latest. Sanath Jayasurya has done this on six occasions, with no other Sri Lankan having done it more than thrice. In all ODI cricket, this has been done 174 times.

Read More..

Taylor's best earns Nottinghamshire semi-final

Nottinghamshire 313 for 5 (Taylor 146*, Patel 55) beat Derbyshire 228 (North 67, Patel 4-49, Shahza 3-33) by 85 runs
Scorecard

Highlights: Nottinghamshire thrash Derbyshire

James Taylor would be quite justified in asking what more he must do to be given the chance to relaunch his England career. As Nottinghamshire advanced to the semi-finals of the Royal London Cup, it was their captain who made it possible, marking his 100th appearance in List A matches with his third century in five outings, his 11th in the format overall, going on to finish with a career-best 146 not out.

The first of the aforementioned three in five was for England Lions, whom he also captained, in the 50-over tri-series against Sri Lanka and New Zealand's A teams earlier this month, which would seem to be as good a place as any for him to advertise his form.

Given that they have lost both Alex Hales and Harry Gurney at a key point in their season, his Nottinghamshire team-mates would have been seriously inconvenienced if England had wanted Taylor for the one-day matches against India as well, yet they must wonder why he was overlooked. Interestingly, his average in one-day cricket is 52.33, compared with 36.55 for Hales.

On a slow pitch, this was a wonderful, beautifully paced innings, sensibly cautious at the start, when the bowlers were getting some movement under heavy cloud cover following Monday's deluge, nicely measured thereafter as Samit Patel, Riki Wessels and James Franklin played the key supporting roles, and with an explosion at the end.

He and Patel added 136 for the third wicket despite the best efforts of the latter to bring about his demise, calling for a single not once but twice and sending his captain back when halfway down the pitch. Thus, on 26 and then 71, Taylor had to propel himself through the dirt and hope his bat was grounded at the critical moment. Patel did at least make some runs of his own, passing fifty for the first time this year in 50-over cricket.

This followed a double calamity in the fourth over after Taylor had won the toss and elected to bat first. Michael Lumb, looking in good touch as he hit the erratic Mark Footitt for four boundaries in the third, was run out at the non-striker's end as Ben Cotton deflected a firm drive by Steven Mullaney into the stumps. Two balls later, Mullaney pushed at one outside off stump and edged to Wayne Madsen at first slip.

Patel fell, hooking Footitt into the hands of Bill Godleman on the square-leg boundary, during a batting Powerplay that added 40 between the 33rd over and the 38th, advancing Nottinghamshire's total to 198 for 3. Wessels hit 28 off 19 balls before he was caught at midwicket off a mistimed sweep, Franklin 27 off 26 before he was run out, and Taylor, once he had completed his hundred off 134 balls, let rip to add 46 more from 20 deliveries, including three sixes off Cotton and another off Tony Palladino.

David Wainwright, the left-arm spinner, bowled nicely, conceding only 35 runs from his 10 overs, but the frontline bowlers leaked runs at more than seven an over, with Footitt a particular disappointment after enjoying a good season in general, his county's leading wicket-taker in this competition and the Championship.

Derbyshire would have needed to make the highest total in their history to win a one-day match batting second and though they kept pace with Nottinghamshire's scoring rate for the first 20 overs or so they fell away steadily thereafter, despite Marcus North's 67. Patel denied North the chance to inflict any further damage and was supported to greatest effect by Ajmal Shahzad, who took 3 for 33.

Shahzad, having bowled Godleman off an inside edge for 25, struck an important blow when Madsen drove a slower ball in the air to Sam Wood at cover. Patel bowled Alex Hughes and had Scott Elstone caught behind thanks to the still extraordinary reflexes of wicketkeeper Chris Read before Derbyshire's chance diminished to the point of mere academic possibility during the batting Powerplay, when North went down the pitch to be stumped off Patel and Gareth Cross, who had threatened briefly by smiting 23 off 14 balls before a miscue that Taylor took very well over his shoulder at cover gave the left-arm spinner his fourth success in the space of 22 deliveries.

Wainwright gamely gathered 41 off 30 balls coming in at nine as Nottinghamshire allowed the last two wickets to add 65 but it was labour in vain.

Read More..

Decision on Rajasthan's domestic participation likely within a week

The decision over whether Rajasthan teams will feature in the upcoming domestic season is likely to be made within a week. ESPNcricinfo understands the BCCI omitted Rajasthan teams from the fixtures of all domestic tournaments across age groups, including the Ranji Trophy, since the deadlock between the Rajsathan state government, the Rajasthan Cricket Association and the Indian board continues and time was running out for distributing the season's schedule.

The BCCI top brass is likely to take a call based on a report by the ad-hoc committee, which was appointed by the Indian board to oversee the running of the game in disputed members' territories. The committee had recently got the cold shoulder by Rajasthan government officials, but the Brijesh Patel-led committee is likely to make another attempt to sort out the impending issues and have the RCA's cricketing affairs managed by itself in conjunction with the state government.

Since the BCCI has to allow for enough time for the selection process and logistical arrangements to be put in place, the ad-hoc committee has been advised to submit its report by the end of the week. On Saturday, BCCI interim president Shivlal Yadav told ESPNcricinfo the decision will have to be taken before the inter-state junior cricket tournaments start in early October.

Meanwhile, the RCA executive board will meet on Tuesday to decide its future course of action.

While a theory had been floated that Rajasthan players may be allowed to field a team under a different title, it has been clarified that that is impractical, as the BCCI rules allow only full member teams to participate in inter-state tournaments.

Rajasthan's omission from the domestic programme has expectedly raised concerns among the players. Some senior Rajasthan players confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that they hadn't heard from the RCA or the BCCI, and were hoping that both sides will not let the players suffer.

The RCA conducted a pre-season fitness camp in July. During the camp, it was hinted that Rajasthan, which had heavily relied on signing professionals in the last five years, would not hire any professional players this season. Since then, the players have been waiting to hear details on the team's training camp ahead of the domestic season.

The RCA is headed by former IPL chairman Lalit Modi, who was announced as elected president in May. However, since Modi has been expelled from the BCCI, the BCCI suspended RCA on May 6. Modi could enter the RCA polls through the door that was made open to him by the Rajasthan Sports Act, which governs the RCA's constitution.

When suspending the RCA, the BCCI had said it would not let the Rajasthan players suffer.

Read More..

Ramdin, Bravo centuries flay Bangladesh

West Indies 338 for 7 (Ramdin 169, Bravo 124) beat Banglandesh 247 for 8 (Mushfiqur 72, Tamim 55) by 91 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Denesh Ramdin wouldn't have had as much fun on a cricket field as on Monday afternoon at Warner Park. His malevolent 169 was part of the highest third wicket partnership in ODIs with Darren Bravo, who also accumulated a century, and ensured West Indies completed a 3-0 whitewash by 91 runs.

The hosts were catapulted to 338 for 7 in 50 overs, a score that was well out of Bangladesh's reach especially at a time when their batsmen are scraping the bottom of the confidence barrel. But they are due some for bouncing back after such a hiding, making 247 for 8, having lasted their full quota.

Bangladesh were 2 for 2 in the second over and were threatening to sink further, but Tamim Iqbal struck his first international fifty in more than nine months and 18 innings. Mushfiqur Rahim top scored with 72, but since he holed out in the deep the last hopes his team had faded away.

West Indies' bowlers could bide their time thanks to Ramdin and Bravo. The duo clattered 19 sixes, the most by West Indies in an ODI en route to amassing 258 runs for the third wicket, beating the previous record held by Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers by 20 runs. For most of their union, it was hard to see past their bats as they dined on a bowling attack that was at times perfect for big hitting.

Mashrafe Mortaza and Al-Amin Hossain, despite the early promise, barely clocked above 130 kmph while Abdur Razzak, Sohag Gazi and Mahmudullah persisted with shortish darts. With a moderate-sized ground, a flat surface and with a bit of wind behind them, West Indies simply took off.

The early losses of Lendl Simmons and Chris Gayle were forgotten with Ramdin and Bravo using singles to ease the pressure. But there was a change is tactics in the 19th over - 10 runs were taken off it, 19 was smacked in the 22nd over, with Ramdin peppering the crowd behind midwicket and Bravo opting to go straight.

Ramdin razed three sixes off Mortaza in the 38th over and hurtled to his second century in four ODIs. Bravo reached his hundred soon after, a knock that was a long time coming as he has struggled to convert fifties into three-figure marks in ODIs.

Ramdin struck 11 sixes while Bravo contributed eight and while they made merry, although none of it would have happened if Bangladesh had held onto their chances

Mushfiqur missed a stumping off Bravo, batting on 10, when Abdur Razzak beat him in length. The ball was so poorly fumbled that the wicketkeeper flailed at air when he tried for a second time. Razzak had his own gaffe when he didn't get under a looping ball in mid-on after Ramdin skied Mashrafe on 35.

Razzak lost his form, bowling much too short and far too quickly. Gazi's struggles might be understandable, considering the scrutiny surrounding his bowling actions. He hardly found a rhythm, and was perhaps wrongly entrusted with the first over of the match with all the focus on him. Al-Amin was the only saving grace, ending up with his second four-wicket haul in ODIs, both coming in this series. But he could rein in the West Indies batsmen.

West Indies also faced difficulty with Bangladesh's third-wicket stand. Mushfiqur and Tamim added 99 runs with a bit of style, but the bluster was obviously missing. Anamul Haque and Imrul Kayes were gone by the first eleven balls, the latter to Kemar Roach's stunning one-handed catch at mid-on. Mahmudullah offered some more resistance through a 55-run fifth wicket stand with his captain. The contest faded away in the 22nd over when Tamim got out, and the rest of the game couldn't have ended sooner.

The abiding memory from the first-ever day-night match at Warner Park, though, would be what happened during day time. Ramdin and Bravo slamming one six after another made to keep the fans singing and dancing.

Read More..