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Wellington, Auckland and Northern Districts registered wins in their first-round matches of the Ford Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Feb-2013
ScorecardA maiden List-A hundred from Craig Cachopa helped Auckland beat Canterbury by five wickets in their first Ford Trophy match on Monday.Having chosen to bat first, Canterbury looked set for a big score as Peter Fulton and Rob Nicol added 118 runs for the third wicket. However, pacers Kyle Mills and Michael Bates struck for Auckland. Mills had Nicol caught behind for 74 and Fulton fell to Bates. A quickfire 49 off 27 balls from Andrew Ellis towards the end of the Canterbury innings, helped the side reach 269.Chasing a target of 270 to win, Cachopa, along with Tim McIntosh and Colin de Grandhomme, ensured that Auckland were home with two overs to spare. Cachopa added 113 runs for the third wicket with opener Tim McIntosh to set a platform for the chase.
McIntosh fell for 72, given out hit wicket off Todd Astle’s bowling. After Colin Munro was dismissed cheaply, Cachopa ensured that there were no further stutters, adding 91 runs with de Grandhomme to bring Auckland to the brink of victory.
ScorecardIn Nelson, Northern Districts started their Ford Trophy campaign with an 84-run win against Central Districts. Put into bat first, N Districts were boosted by a 155-run stand between Daryl Mitchell (95 off 92 balls) and James Marshall (93 off 83). The partnership took the team to 250 in the 43rd over from where the lower order was able to push the total to 322. Adam Milne accounted for three wickets, but he was expensive, giving away 64 off his nine overs.C Districts had a disastrous start as Trent Boult struck twice in the third over of the innings. The innings was pushed into further turmoil as C Districts lost half their side by the 15th over. Ross Taylor and Kruger van Wyk scored half-centuries, but neither was able to continue for long enough to put the target under threat. In the end, C Districts were bowled out in the 39th over, handing their opponents a bonus point.Wellington 352 for 4 (Papps 162*, Murdoch 136) beat Otago 349 for 7 (Redmond 114, De Boorder 77) by six wickets
ScorecardBlistering hundreds from Michael Papps and Stephen Murdoch helped Wellington chase a target of 350 against Otago in Wellington. Papps and Murdoch put together 273 for the second wicket in 38.5 overs to win their first match of the tournament.After Otago were asked to bat, Aaron Redmond’s 84-ball 114 and partnerships of 70, 76 and 71 for the first three wickets set them up for a huge total. After Redmond was dismissed in the 34th over, Derek de Boorder (77) and Michael Bracewell (31) took them past 300 and later, cameos from Ian Robertson and Nick Beard took them to 349.Wellington lost Jesse Ryder in the second over, but it was followed by the mammoth partnership between Papps and Murdoch which took the game away from Otago. When Murdoch got out in the 41st over, Wellington were 279 for 2 and needed another 71 from 10 overs. Grant Elliott was dismissed in the next over but Papps took them home with eight balls to spare.

A round-up of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy matches on March 29, 2013

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Mar-2013

Group A

Kerala increased their chances of making it to the final after winning their third match in a row when they beat Odisha by six wickets in Indore. Batting first, Odisha were rocked by wickets by Nizar Niyas (2 for 24) and VA Jagadeesh (2 for 10). However, cameos from Lagnajit Samal (20 off 16) and Suryakant Pradhan (18 off 16) led them to 125 for 8 with an unbeaten 35-run stand. Opener Ankit Yadav top-scored with 28.Kerala lost four wickets in the chase, but Sanju Samson (41*) and Sachin Baby (33 off 24) made it easier with a 64-run partnership for the fourth wicket. Nikhilesh Surendran chipped in with 22 at the top and Kerala won with four balls to spare.Gujarat kept their hopes alive of playing the finals by beating Vidarbha by three wickets in Indore. Vidarbha were given a strong start by their top-order batsmen, Faiz Fazal (27), Amol Ubarhande (24 off 12) and Akshay Kolhar (23). But Jesal Karia struck with two blows in the 11th over. Shalabh Shrivastava (34) and Gaurav Upadhyaya (24) steered the innings from there, taking the total to 156 for 7. Jasprit Bumrah finished with figures of 3 for 33.Gujarat lost three wickets quickly within four overs but Niraj Patel, who scored 47, took them past 50 with Chirag Gandhi and past 100 with Karia. Once Niraj was dismissed in the 16th over at the score of 103, Karia’s knock of 47 from 30 balls, which included four sixes and three fours, took them closer to the target and eventually Akshar Patel (18 off 7) and Rohit Dahiya saw them home with five balls to spare.Gujarat and Kerala are the top two teams in Group A and will play each other on Saturday.

Group B

In a tight, low-scoring match in Indore, Uttar Pradesh, with the help of two sixes towards the end by No. 10 Imtiaz Ahmed, clinched a last-ball victory by two wickets over Baroda at the Holkar Stadium. Chasing 129, UP lost their openers cheaply, but a 44-run stand between Mohammad Kaif and Tanmay Shrivastava, and a 42-run stand between Akshdeep Nath and the captain Piyush Chawla, steered them to a comfortable 107 for 4. However, Baroda were brought back in the contest as UP lost four wickets for six runs – with seamer Murtuja Vahora taking two of them – to be struggling at 113 for 8 in 19 overs. Ahmed struck 15 off five deliveries to take his side home.Baroda’s innings was based on a balanced effort by their top-order batsmen, with Hardik Pandya top-scoring with 37. Baroda suffered a collapse too, losing five wickets for 21 runs; spinner Amit Mishra and Vahora, with three wickets each, were the wreckers-in-chief of their respective sides in a contest that saw 16 wickets falling. With their third loss in as many games, Baroda were relegated to the last spot.A responsible half-century from Lokesh Rahul helped Karnataka beat Bengal by four wickets. Karnataka, in pursuit of 152, lost their opener Amit Verma in the second over, but Robin Uthappa scored a quick 41 to give them a rapid start amid wickets falling fairly early. His knock was backed up by a Rahul, who struck valuable stands with Manish Pandey and Stuart Binny to help them achieve victory in the final over. Seamer Shami Ahmed took three wickets, but was the most expensive bowler, giving away 39 runs in his four overs. Bengal’s innings revolved around an innings of 42 from No. 3 Sayan Mondal, and a 55-run stand for the seventh wicket between Debabrata Das (31) and Arnab Nandi (37*).Karnataka moved to the second spot in the points table after the win.

Dinesh Chandimal has declined to participate in the IPL as he wants to prepare for the Champions Trophy in June, and a busy limited overs schedule to follow

Andrew Fidel Fernando31-Mar-2013Sri Lanka’s Twenty20 captain Dinesh Chandimal has made himself unavailable for the IPL, and has instead planned an intensive training programme to prepare for the Champions Trophy, and a busy limited-overs schedule to follow for Sri Lanka. Chandimal will also take English lessons and media training in Sri Lanka during the next two months, having been named captain in Twenty20s, and vice-captain in the other formats in February.”Over the next two months, I’ll be doing a lot of training,” he said*. “I still have a few issues with my technique that need to be sorted out, so I will be working very hard with the national coaches to correct those issues, looking forward to a busy season. I’m also hoping to do some studies, and spend time with family as well.”Chandimal had been approached by at least one IPL franchise, who were seeking a replacement for an injured overseas player, but although no formal offer was made, he has decided to rule himself out of the tournament.Chandimal had gone unsold in the 2013 IPL auction, and if a franchise had signed him as a replacement, his contract would have been worth his base auction price of $100,000. He is unlikely to have regularly been in the playing XI however, and may have collected significantly less than that amount. Training opportunities may also have been limited during the tournament. In 2012, he was released by Rajasthan Royals midway through the IPL to allow him to return home to train ahead of the home series against Pakistan.”Chandimal hasn’t requested a no objection certificate (NOC), and so he won’t be playing in the IPL,” Sri Lanka Cricket CEO Ajit Jayasekara said.Thirteen other Sri Lanka players have signed contracts for this year’s IPL, but will not play in Chennai, due to political upheaval over the treatment of Sri Lankan Tamils in Tamil Nadu.Sri Lanka’s next international assignment is the Champions Trophy in June, after which they play a tri-series with India and West Indies, and a home limited-overs series against South Africa, in quick succession.* March 31, 2013 6.00pm GMT This story has been updated with Dinesh Chandimal quotes

Chennai Super Kings have more match-turning batsmen than any other side in the tournament, and that was on display yet again as they hunted down 186

The Report by Siddarth Ravindran22-Apr-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Michael Hussey, yet again, adapted his game to the match situation, smashing 88 off 51 deliveries•BCCI

Chennai Super Kings have more match-turning batsmen than any other side in the tournament, and that was on display yet again as they hunted down 186 against Rajasthan Royals. Michael Hussey, who made the slowest 40-plus score in the IPL in the previous match, showed off his versatility with a boundary-filled 88, the out-of-form Suresh Raina powered his way to a half-century, MS Dhoni narrowed the gap to the target though he couldn’t close out the game this time. It was left to Dwayne Bravo to pound a final-over six and deliver victory, before breaking out into a joyous dance.The endless depth in Super Kings’ batting meant that Shane Watson’s typically power-packed century, the first hundred of the season, and James Faulkner’s pinpoint death bowling was not enough for the perennial underdogs Rajasthan Royals to pull off another upset.Royals have won all 15 matches in which they have had to defend more than 162, but once the Super Kings chase began, Royals never looked outright favourites. Ajit Chandila continued to have success with his seemingly harmless and variation-less offspin bowling, dismissing M Vijay cheaply, but Hussey began with a barrage of boundaries, including a six over midwicket to ensure Super Kings kept pace. It was a shot he used often and effectively as he shed his usual role of anchor, and turned into an aggressor.Raina was no slouch either, playing two of his trademark strokes – the slog over midwicket and the inside-out lofted hit over extra cover – as the pair, helped by some erratic bowling, powered Super Kings past 100 in the 10th over.Faulkner gave Royals some hope by getting Raina lbw, but with Cooper bowling too many wide deliveries that were easily guided by Hussey to behind backward point for four, and the finishing expert, Dhoni, in the middle, Super Kings were still ahead.A spot-on direct-hit from Dravid to send back Hussey renewed Royals’ fight, before Faulkner bowled two superb death overs, getting rid of Ravindra Jadeja for a duck, and then dismissing Dhoni caught at wide long-on. It was down to Bravo to score 11 off the final over, off Watson who has only recently re-started bowling. Watson missed the length on one and was drilled over sweeper cover for six to virtually kill off the contest.It was a bittersweet match for Watson, who had been in imperious touch earlier. The carnage started in earnest from the third over, as he coolly launched Mohit Sharma’s first delivery over the bowler’s head for six. Chris Morris was helped over deep backward square leg for six, the giant West Indian fast bowler Jason Holder proved ineffective on debut and by the end of the seventh, Royals had whooshed to 71.The over which defined the innings was the 17th, bowled by Jadeja. The first ball was a hit-me full toss that was clobbered over long-on for six. Jadeja, already taken for 27 in his first two overs, was flustered by the big hitting, and sprayed the next ball miles outside off stump. It was followed up by another full toss that was deposited for six, and another shocking wide, several metres outside off.Watson ended that over on 99, and brought up the first hundred of the season with a gentle nudge behind square leg in the next over. With Stuart Binny regularly scything the ball over the off side, Royals ran up what seemed a terrific total of 185. Not against Super Kings.

Jim Allenby and Murray Goodwin held sway in the sunshine as Glamorgan assumed the upper hand against Gloucestershire

05-Jun-2013
ScorecardJim Allenby and Murray Goodwin held sway in the sunshine as Glamorgan assumed the upper hand on the first day of their Championship second division match against Gloucestershire at Bristol. Glamorgan’s fifth-wicket pair staged a restorative stand of 185 in 50 overs as the visitors recovered from 85 for 4 to reach 318 for 5 by the close after
being put in to bat by Gloucestershire skipper Michael Klinger.That decision appeared a good one when Craig Miles and David Payne took two wickets each with the new ball, but Allenby and Goodwin redressed the balance to help Glamorgan bank three batting bonus points with the prospect of more to come on the second day.Fresh from scoring a career-best 138 not out in his last innings against Leicestershire at Grace Road, Allenby raised his second hundred inside a week to alter the complexion of the game. He eventually succumbed to the second new ball, pinned lbw on the front foot by James Fuller having mustered 105 runs from 159 balls in a forthright knock that included 16 fours.Goodwin and Allenby fell just short of Glamorgan’s record fifth-wicket stand in matches against Gloucestershire, established by Michael Powell and James Franklin at Cheltenham in 2006. Rather more circumspect in his approach, Goodwin was still there at stumps, having chiselled an unbeaten 96 from 212 balls with 12 fours and added a further 48 runs with Mark Wallace for the sixth wicket.Klinger’s decision to insert Glamorgan raised a few eyebrows among County Ground regulars, but the tactic paid dividends initially as Gloucestershire’s seam bowlers made the most of early moisture to rip through the top order.Miles continued his rich vein of form when accounting for openers Ben Wrightand William Bragg in successive overs after being switched to the Ashley Down Road end. Having already claimed 20 first-class wickets at an average of 20.55 in four previous outings this season, the 18-year-old Academy product further pressed his claims for an England Under-19 call up on a flat County Ground pitch.Offering his team-mates an object lesson in line and length, Miles induced Wright to prod defensively at a ball outside off stump and offer a regulation catch to Gareth Roderick behind the stumps. Bragg succumbed in Miles’ next over, pushing tentatively outside off stump and directing a thickish edge to Dan Housego in the gully for 23.Payne’s left-arm swing ensured the home side made further in-roads while the shine was still on the ball, former Gloucestershire overseas batsman Marcus North and Stewart Walters departing either side of the lunch interval.Australian North was squared up by a ball that came back into him and was caught at the wicket having contributed just four runs, while the aggressive Walters fell to a poor shot. The former Surrey batsman had scored 28 when he flashed at a wide delivery from Payne and was held by the dependable Roderick.

To the tangible relief of the tour party, not to mention half of Australia, captain Michael Clarke is fit to play in his side’s first warm-up match ahead of the Investec Ashes Tests

Daniel Brettig in Taunton25-Jun-2013To the tangible relief of the tour party, not to mention half of Australia, captain Michael Clarke is fit to play in his side’s first warm-up match ahead of the Investec Ashes Tests, while Darren Lehmann’s coaching residency has begun aggressively as promised with the selection of five bowlers.Clarke trained freely at the County Ground in Taunton on Tuesday morning, and vice-captain Brad Haddin said there had been no indication of the back trouble that forced Clarke to stay in London, away from the team, during a horrid and dysfunctional Champions Trophy tilt that sealed the fate of the former coach Mickey Arthur.”Michael’s playing,” Haddin said. “It’s great news, first game on tour and the Australian captain’s pretty excited. He’s in a good spot, he had a good catch and a bit of a net. It’s our first day on tour, and it’s not hard to get up for an Ashes campaign. This is the first day. If you can’t have a smile on your face and be excited about what lies ahead, you’re never going to be up for a cricket contest. Morale’s good.”Chris Rogers was made to wait another week for his chance to play for Australia once more, but Haddin said this was largely as a result of his abundance of time in the middle over recent months for Middlesex.”That’s the side we’ve decided to go for in this practice game, we’ve got another one just before the Test and it was important that we wanted to give this group a hit,” Haddin said. “It makes sense that Chris has been playing a lot of cricket over the last couple of months so he’s in pretty good touch.”James Faulkner’s inclusion is perhaps the most significant choice in the XI for the match against Somerset, as it opens up the possibility of Australia making full use of their major strength by choosing an extra bowler at the expense of a relatively mediocre collection of batsmen. Faulkner’s confidence and poise has impressed many members of the squad.”I’m not going to think about where I’m going to bat or bowl,” Faulkner said this week. “The games I’ve played so far in domestic cricket, I’ve batted everywhere, so it’s just a matter of when you get told where you’re batting you get your head around what your job is and do it the best you can. You don’t think about fifties or hundreds or five-fors or anything like that, just go out there and play your natural game and back your preparation.”I feel a bit of responsibility I suppose and in any game I play in as an allrounder, you know you’re going to be in the game and you know there’s going to be moments when you have to step up. There’s going to be times when things don’t go to plan as well.”Among Somerset’s XI will be Nick Compton, now effectively deposed as a Test opener by Joe Root’s selection ahead of him in England’s team for a pre-Ashes fixture against Essex. Not that this was any concern of Haddin. “I haven’t seen their squad and my job’s to make sure we’re ready to go tomorrow and get ourselves right for these first two practice games,” he said. “I’m not here to second guess who’s in their team and who’s not.”Ryan Harris and Jackson Bird were left out after their return from injuries for Australia A against Gloucestershire in Bristol, though there are no concerns over their fitness.Australians squad: Michael Clarke (capt), Ed Cowan, Usman Khawaja, Shane Watson, Phillip Hughes, James Faulkner, Brad Haddin (wk), Peter Siddle, Mitchell Starc, James Pattinson, Nathan Lyon

Hashim Amla’s romance with The Oval is set to continue after Surrey announced the signing of the South Africa batsman for the final six championship games

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Aug-2013Hashim Amla’s romance with The Oval is set to continue after Surrey announced the signing of the South Africa batsman for the final six championship games. Amla replaces his national team-mate JP Duminy, who will be involved in the Champions League T20 in India in September.”The Oval holds a lot of fond memories for me personally,” said Amla, whose last Test outing there was an unbeaten 311 against England in 2012, “I look forward to returning there this year and hopefully enjoying similar success.”Alec Stewart, director of cricket at Surrey said Amla’s experience, playing Test cricket and for Essex over the years, would help him get into his stride quickly. “You want continuity and because Duminy wasn’t available for all six [matches], I made the decision that I wanted someone available for six [matches] and when I found out that Amla was very much available it was a no-brainer, really.”Amla is the fourth South African to be linked with Surrey this year, with Graeme Smith drafted in to lead the side and an informal query made to Sri Lanka coach Graham Ford, during the Champions Trophy, if he would be interested in taking over as coach following the departure of Chris Adams.”The dressing room was very, very happy,” Stewart said “We’ve had two high-class batters already in Smith and in Ponting and now we’ve got a third one. But we can’t just rely on the one man, we’ve got to make sure the whole team performs so that we get some wins on the board”Amla will make his Surrey debut on August 22 against Durham at Chester-le-Street.

Veerasammy Permaul led the way with a haul of 3 for 32 as Guyana Amazon Warriors beat Trinidad & Tobago Red Steel by 19 runs

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Aug-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsLendl Simmons’ 42 helped Guyana Amazon Warriors reach a competitive total•Getty Images

A disciplined bowling performance by the Guyana Amazon Warriors, led by left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul’s 3 for 32, helped them win their opening match of the inaugural Caribbean Premier League against Trinidad & Tobago Red Steel by 19 runs in Providence.T&T won the toss and put Guyana in to bat, but they couldn’t contain the Guyanese openers Lendl Simmons and Martin Guptill who added 74 runs for the first wicket. The partnership was eventually broken by Samuel Badree when he got Guptill leg before for 32.With the score at 102 for 2, Simmons had helped Guyana set a platform for a big finish. T&T captain Dwayne Bravo, however, thwarted those plans with two wickets in the 16th over, accounting for Simmons (42) and Christopher Barnwell, who fell for a second ball-duck. Narsingh Deonarine was dismissed in the next over to leave Guyana at 106 for 5. Late fireworks from Ramnaresh Sarwan, who struck 21 off 12 balls, and James Franklin, who scored a 20-ball 26, ensured Guyana reached a competitive total of 155 for 5.T&T’s innings started steadily, as the openers had added 28 runs before Hafeez fell in the sixth over. Justin Guillen (22) and Darren Bravo (23) got starts, but were unable to guide the chase. Permaul, who came in to bowl in the ninth over, had immediate success, dismissing Davy Jacobs off the sixth ball of his first over. Ross Taylor’s dismissal in Permaul’s next over had T&T struggling at 50 for 3, with 106 needed off 57 balls.Wicketkeeper Nicolas Pooran, blitzed a 24-ball 54, which included six sixes, to keep T&T’s chase alive. But the wickets of Darren and Dwayne Bravo increased the pressure on Pooran and he perished in the 18th over, holing out to Mohammad Hafeez near long-off. T&T finished their innings at 136 for 9, 19 runs short of the target.