Category Uncategorized

The Rajasthan Royals are now out after fading away in a steep chase

Saurabh Somani01-Nov-20202:10

Bishop: Cummins has kept doing the right things even if he wasn’t getting wickets

Both the Kolkata Knight Riders and the Rajasthan Royals had come into this game knowing it was not just must-win, but they needed to win it with a big margin to get some playoff security. Both teams showed the intent to go hard, and maximise their chances, but it was the Knight Riders who came out smiling at the end, having romped to a 60-run victory that vaulted them from last place in the points table to fourth, and knocked the Royals out.The margin of the win meant their net run rate had lifted to -0.214, within touching distance of the Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Delhi Capitals, with all three teams on 14 points. A big enough loss for either of those two, when they face off on Monday, could see the losing team slip below the Knight Riders, an important cushion should qualification come down to net run rates. The first game on Sunday had already seen the Kings XI Punjab crash out with a defeat to the Chennai Super Kings, smoothening the way further for the Knight Riders.Intent was shown before the game itself, when the Knight Riders included a still not fully fit Andre Russell for this match. The thinking was evident: with the season on the line, you need one of T20’s best players in the XI.Eoin Morgan led the way with the bat, while Pat Cummins was devastating with the ball, as the Knight Riders won crucial passages of play handsomely. Morgan had come in at 74 for 3, after a double-wicket over, and paced his innings to a nicety. He expertly picked the bowlers to target, and bludgeoned his way to his highest IPL score. The unbeaten 68 off 35 he scored was also his first half-century of IPL 2020. The Morgan blitz took the Knight Riders to 191 for 7, a total well in excess of what they looked like getting more than halfway into the innings.Pat Cummins sent back Ben Stokes and Steven Smith in the same over•BCCI

The Royals innings began at breakneck speed but their unravelling was equally swift. The first five legal balls brought 19 runs, the next 4.1 overs produced 18 for 5 – four of those wickets going to Cummins. It was only the fourth time ever that a bowler had taken four or more wickets in an IPL powerplay. In seven of their last eight games, the Knight Riders had gone wicketless in the powerplay, and as if to revert to the mean, they got five on Sunday. Morgan took the aggressive option and bowled Cummins for three overs in the powerplay, and was amply rewarded for it. Cummins shrugged off those 19 runs he conceded first up to eventually end with 4 for 34.Archer at one end, runs at the otherThe match began in familiar fashion for the Royals. Jofra Archer was quick, hostile, accurate at one end. The runs leaked from the other. Archer’s first spell read 2-0-3-1 but the Knight Riders still had 55 for 1 in the powerplay, with Shubman Gill in his new avatar as an aggressive opener leading the way. Gill carted the other bowlers around as the Knight Riders shrugged off the first-over dismissal of Nitish Rana to continue to hit out against all bowlers save Archer, with the rest offering ample waywardness in line and length.Steven Smith also erred in giving Shreyas Gopal the fourth over, when pace might have been more suited and with the Royals having enough options. Gopal’s over went for 17 runs and the control Archer had given them first up disappeared. Later on, Smith would also call on Gopal when Russell was new to the crease – again with pace options available since the Royals had six frontline bowlers – and that over went for 21 after a middle-overs lull.Tewatia strikesRahul Tewatia continued to enhance his reputation as one of the stars of this tournament with a canny spell in the middle overs that dragged the Royals into the game for a while. He didn’t rip the ball a great deal, but kept it flat and on difficult-to-hit lengths. He also kept it out of the strike zone of the batsmen, denying them room to free their arms. He struck twice in the ninth over to get a fluent Gill and then the promoted Sunil Narine for a duck. Later on, he took the important wicket of Dinesh Karthik, who chipped tamely to short midwicket, finishing with 3 for 25 in his four overs, bowled on the trot. When he was done, the Knight Riders had been reined in to 100 for 5 in 13 overs after a quick start.Eoin Morgan was at his explosive best•BCCI

Morgan’s blitzHe had been busy at the crease since his entry, though he had to temper his aggression against good bowling by Tewatia, while also setting himself up for launching in the death overs. Still, Morgan hadn’t let a scoring opportunity go, looking to attack even through the middle overs. The re-entry of Gopal for the 14th over opened the sluice gates, as Morgan smashed two fours and two sixes. Russell then showed some of his prime hitting form, even taking Archer for a six after an edged four. Though Russell was out for an 11-ball 25, Morgan stayed on, taking down England team-mate Ben Stokes in a massive 19th over that yielded 24 runs.Cummins runs through the top orderThe first ball of the chase was picked up for six over fine leg, the second was a big wide down leg. Stokes hit an audacious ramped six off the fourth and suddenly the Royals were flying. They were brought thudding to earth rapidly though. Cummins ended his first over with Robin Uthappa flicked to deep backward square leg, and from that point on, the Knight Riders stayed on top.Stokes was taken behind when Karthik leapt to his left to pluck the ball out of the air in one of the catches of the season, Smith was bowled off the inside edge and Riyan Parag was too late on a short ball that got big on him to glove it behind. In between, Shivam Mavi moved one off the seam to have Sanju Samson poking it behind.Jos Buttler fought for a while, and Tewatia tried to do what he could, but 37 for 5 in five overs, the Royals needed a miracle, and that didn’t materialise.

Welcome to ESPNcricinfo’s live updates and analysis of Bangladesh v Pakistan at Lord’s

Danyal Rasool05-Jul-2019

Opening batsman Jeet Raval, allrounder Colin de Grandhomme and batsman Neil Broom have all been added to New Zealand’s list of contracted players for 2017-18

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Jun-2017Opening batsman Jeet Raval, allrounder Colin de Grandhomme and batsman Neil Broom have all been added to New Zealand’s list of contracted players for 2017-18.Fast bowler Doug Bracewell was a notable omission, while offspinner Mark Craig also missed out and wicketkeeper Luke Ronchi was a third absentee from last year’s list, having announced his international retirement this week.Ronchi’s departure means there is only one specialist wicketkeeper – BJ Watling – in the 21-man list, with younger candidates such as Tom Blundell, Glenn Phillips and Tim Seifert set to press their claims from outside the contract group.The omission of Craig, who played just a single Test in Kanpur during the past 12 months, was no surprise, while Bracewell was left out after a year in which he played two Tests and one ODI, suffered serious injury problems, and was sentenced to 100 hours of community work for a drink-driving offence.”Doug is still viewed very positively by the selectors and has a big year in front of him in terms of bouncing back from his injury and proving his worth,” New Zealand selector Gavin Larsen said. “It’s been a difficult time for him since the knee injury but we’re all hopeful he’ll make a full and sustainable recovery.”There was also no place on the list for veteran offspinner Jeetan Patel, who played five Tests and four ODIs during the past 12 months. Patel had announced his retirement from international cricket hours after Ronchi had done so.”It was agreed the time was right for Jeetan to focus on Warwickshire, so as to allow plenty of opportunity for others to stake their claims ahead of the 2019 ICC World Cup,” Larsen said. “We enjoyed having Jeetan’s experience and skill over recent times but we’re into a new cycle now; it’s two years out from the ICC CWC, and we’re committed to bringing other players through.”Larsen said de Grandhomme, Raval and Broom were all deserving of their contract offers following productive periods in the New Zealand side.”Colin made a breakthrough last summer and is rated well in all three formats; Jeet’s Test numbers speak for themselves, and Neil, as well as averaging 43 in ODI cricket (with a strike-rate of 90) since his recall, is also seen as viable cover for the Test team’s middle-order,” Larsen said.Contracted players for 2017-18: Corey Anderson, Trent Boult, Neil Broom, Colin de Grandhomme, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Mitchell McClenaghan, Adam Milne, Colin Munro, Henry Nicholls, James Neesham, Jeet Raval, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Neil Wagner, BJ Watling, Kane Williamson, George Worker.

Medium pacer Jaydev Unadkat says the belief that Rising Pune Supergiant team leadership has shown in him by regularly using him at the death has given him the confidence to succeed

ESPNcricinfo staff06-May-2017When Jaydev Unadkat was picked up by Rising Pune Supergiant for INR 30 lakh at this year’s IPL auction, all he would have likely wanted was more game-time. Unadkat, 25, has turned out for three franchises – Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata Knight Riders – and over the last two years he has played only two matches, one each for Daredevils and Knight Riders respectively.Life at Rising Pune, though, has turned out to be pleasantly different for Unadkat. Having been preferred to the misfiring Ashok Dinda in the early stages of the tournament, Unadkat has not only nailed down a first XI slot but has also played a key role in Rising Pune winning seven of their last eight games. With 17 wickets at an economy-rate of 7.71, Unadkat is Rising Pune’s second-highest wicket-taker behind Imran Tahir (18) having played four fewer games.On Saturday, his spell of 5 for 30 against Sunrisers Hyderabad was special on more than one count as he defended 13 runs off the last over. As if bowling a maiden wasn’t jaw-dropping enough, he raised the awesomeness quotient with a hat-trick as Sunrisers fell short chasing 149. Unadkat dismissed Bipul Sharma off the second delivery and then induced a skier from Rashid Khan to complete a caught-and-bowled chance before snaring Bhuvneshwar Kumar. All three deliveries came off slower balls.Two weeks ago, Unadkat was entrusted with the responsibility of bowling the last over against Mumbai Indians. Mumbai needed 17 runs to win, but Unadkat picked up two wickets, including that of Rohit Sharma as Rising Pune scraped through by three runs. The experience of bowling well at the clutch, Unadkat said, prepared him for the Sunrisers challenge.”To have been already through it, having been there, done that, you have the confidence in yourself, your skills,” Unadkat told iplt20.com. “To bowl those cutters is something that has been working for me. I have been hit for some runs in the last game and some other games as well. But, as we talked in the meeting as well, just sticking to those plans and just doing what I am good at, bowling to my strengths has been working well. Really happy we defended that low-scoring total and have gone up in the points table.”If not for Unadkat’s decisive final act, Ben Stokes would have been a unanimous choice for what would have been his fourth Man-of-the-Match award of the tournament. Stokes first smashed a 25-ball 39 to boost Rising Pune’s total and then removed Sunrisers’ top-three batsmen – David Warner, Shikhar Dhawan and Kane Williamson – to scuttle their chase.After the match, though, Stokes was happy to take turns with Unadkat to play interviewer-interviewee in a light-hearted chat. When Stokes asked if Unadkat reckoned he could secure a hat-trick in the last over, the latter laughed and shook his head in disbelief, not least because he had gone for 21 runs in the 19th over against Knight Riders in Rising Pune’s previous game.”It’s crazy. To go for some 20-21 runs in the last match, and to then come out here and defend 13 runs is something special. Keeping it simple is what has been working well for all of us,” Unadkat said. “All of us have been helping each other; to take those wickets in the Powerplay, middle overs. At times I have taken those wickets, at times you [Stokes] have. Immy bhai [Imran Tahir] has been brilliant for us as well. I think taking those wickets throughout the innings is what has been helping me in the death overs as well.”

Hashim Amla’s 23rd ODI hundred and Imran Tahir’s 7 for 45 led South Africa to a bonus-point win against West Indies at Basseterre

The Report by Firdose Moonda15-Jun-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details Hashim Amla scored his 23rd ODI hundred and brought up 1000 runs in the format against West Indies as South Africa put on their best batting display and the only 300-plus score of the tri-series so far. But that was only half of how the visitors boosted their hopes of qualifying for the final.Imran Tahir claimed 7 for 45 – the best ODI returns by a South African bowler, and he also became the fastest to 100 ODI wickets from the country – to deny West Indies, who have never been successful chasing a target over 300.South Africa bundled West Indies out for 204, secured a bonus point, and topped the table. The result meant the St Kitts’ segment of the series ended with all three teams in the same position as they were after the Guyana leg. Australia, South Africa and West Indies have played four matches, won two and lost two.In the lead up to Wednesday, Amla stressed the need for the top six to take more responsibility. On Wednesday, he stood by those words and shared a 182-run opening partnership with Quinton de Kock. Allrounder Chris Morris, who returned from a hamstring niggle, was promoted to No. 3 and provided a cameo before Faf du Plessis led the late assault. South Africa plundered 105 runs off the last 10 overs.Although this was the best surface for batsmen in the series so far, West Indies’ bowlers lacked control and penetration. Four of their six-man attack conceded more than six runs an over with only the spinners, Sunil Narine and Sulieman Benn, able to hold up an end. The pacemen could not find the right lengths and runs came easily for South Africa.Amla dominated the early exchanges, outscoring de Kock. The pair brought up 50 in nine overs, 100 at the start of the 18th, and 150 inside the 27th during a chanceless stand. Amla attempted to accelerate further after he brought up his century, off 89 balls. He got low to scoop a ball to the fine-leg boundary, flashed hard and edged one to third man, and eventually holed out to long-off looking for his first six.The stage seemed set for de Villiers’ entrance but Morris was pushed up. It seemed a mistake when, in the next over, de Kock’s off stump was taken out by a Jerome Taylor yorker. The left-hander had made 71 off 103 balls. Still, de Villiers did not appear.Morris struck a flashy 40 off 26, including four boundaries, before he found deep midwicket. De Villiers finally arrived, and along with du Plessis, played Narine out before cutting loose. The pair plundered 64 runs off seven overs to take South Africa over 300. Du Plessis stayed unbeaten with 73 and got them close to 350.A similar breakneck pace was set by West Indies’ openers Andre Fletcher and Johnson Charles as they took advantage of Kagiso Rabada and Wayne Parnell’s insistence on bowling short. The score raced to 58 in the first six overs before Tahir was brought on. The legspinner made the first incision at the end of his second over thanks to a stunning catch by Farhaan Behardien on the midwicket boundary. Fletcher swung hard but Behardien grabbed it inches off the ground, with the ball dying on him.Morris and Tabraiz Shamsi helped Tahir keep West Indies in check. The spinners were exerting their control as Shamsi foxed Charles with a googly that he sliced to long-off. Realising the help on offer, Parnell resorted to offbreaks and bowled Darren Bravo to leave Marlon Samuels having to stage a coup. West Indies needed 254 runs in only 204 balls with seven wickets in hand.Denesh Ramdin hung around before top-edging a googly from Shamsi to deep backward square leg for 11. Then Tahir took over. He picked up his 100th wicket in only his 58th match when Samuels edged to de Kock, and knocked over all three of West Indies’ big-hitting allrounders in the same over. Jason Holder was trapped lbw for 19 off 31, Carlos Brathwaite was handed a golden duck, and Kieron Pollard was caught at deep midwicket to give Tahir five.West Indies lost their last five wickets for 35 runs and were bowled out in 38 overs.

To suggest that Adam Lyth and Alex Lees were facing a minor crisis when they opened Yorkshire’s innings on a placid Taunton pitch would be a slight exaggeration but it was a telling session nonetheless

David Hopps at Taunton16-May-2016
ScorecardPeter Trego hits out during his 94•Getty Images

To suggest that Adam Lyth and Alex Lees were facing a minor crisis when they opened Yorkshire’s innings on a placid Taunton pitch would be a slight exaggeration. Yorkshire, after all, entered this round of matches one point ahead at the top of Division One as they seek to become the first team to win a hat-trick of titles since they achieved just that 48 years ago. Most would settle for that.Nevertheless, it felt like a telling moment. Yorkshire, to general agreement, have yet to hit their straps this season, and Joe Root and, in particular, Jonny Bairstow, last season’s perpetual batting get-out clause, are now occupied with England. Somerset’s 562 for 7 conveyed the feeling that there were runs to be had, but it was not a time for fripperies.Yorkshire’s prime concern was to avoid the follow-on figure of 413, and Lyth’s unbeaten 80 fulfilled their needs as they closed solidly on 127 for 1, but at the current rate of progress of 2.50 an over, security would not be achieved until the final morning. It would be difficult to conjure up something from that.Unless Somerset prosper, it is hard to see how this match is going anywhere other than the draw column which is where most matches have ended up this season. Flatter pitches have not been without a certain amount of spectator pain.The first half of the day was pleasing fare nonetheless – the completion of the serenest of hundreds by James Hildreth and another excellent ninetysomething from Peter Trego – the third of the innings. Among the Somerset supporters there was contentment, but Yorkshire’s travelling supporters were not enchanted by fielding lapses that included overthrows, balls careering cruelly off newly-laid drains past despairing hands, and some limping from the captain, Andrew Gale, who went into the match with a bruised knee. A little bit of grouching was reported outside the Ring O’ Bells pub.”Flat,” said Hildreth – 166 from 217 balls. “Tough,” said Adil Rashid, who emerged with 4 for 140.A vigilant opening stand of 103 in 41 overs reflected the seriousness of Yorkshire’s task, at which point Lees, whose laborious 33 had been assembled from 122 balls – half the score of his partner from the same amount of strike – drove at Jamie Overton and was caught at second slip. He left with a frustrated kick of the air: hard work that had brought limited reward.The appearance of Will Rhodes at No. 3 emphasised the extent of Yorkshire’s challenge. Rhodes, a 21-year-old, is fancied to kick on with bat and ball this season, but first drop is a big challenge all the same. Last season, Gary Ballance and Jack Leaning shared the role, but both are down the order. Rhodes survived: a big task ahead.Yorkshire’s position could have been more unstable if Somerset had held their catches in the hour before tea. Lyth might have fallen for 2 had Tim Groenewald been able to hold a stooping catch in his follow-through in his first over – and second of the innings. Left-arm spinner Jack Leach also deserved Lees’ wicket, on 7, when Jim Allenby grassed a comfortable chance at second slip, enough to spark his detractors in front of the Colin Atkinson pavilion into another impromptu routine.Most encouraging for Somerset was the form of Jamie Overton. The Big O looked by far the quickest pace bowler in the match, and bowled with decent control, too, putting Lyth on the seat of his pants as he evaded one delivery and beating him on the drive on several occasions. Lees was even more circumspect against him. He is an imposing and rough-hewn figure, looking as if he has arisen for a game of cricket from Giant’s Chair, on Grabbist Hill, where on a clear day you can see all the way to Dunkery Beacon.Jason Gillespie, Yorkshire’s head coach, had even pronounced himself “a happy coach” after Somerset closed the first day on 342 for 4, inviting the thought that by the time they declared at 562 for 7 he must have been beside himself with ecstasy.Somerset rattled up another 220 from 42 overs before declaring 40 minutes after lunch, a hard-fought opening hour giving way to batting dominance. Trego’s 94 continued a run of productive form before his derring-do against Rashid caused his downfall – a catch at the wicket with a hundred in his sights. As forearms as thickly coloured as an artist’s palette swung heartily, he scattered the inhabitants of a hospitality box in the Botham Stand and also christened the new pavilion with the first blow onto the upper tier.Overton, promoted up the order for a slog, put Steven Patterson into the River Tone before holing out against the same bowler at deep midwicket. Rashid is unlikely to be enamoured by the thought that it is Leach, not himself, who is most likely to be bowling on the fourth afternoon. Not that many of the locals anticipate fierce turn – like Neil Sedaka, this Taunton square finds that Breaking Up Is Hard To Do.

East London and Kimberley are in a battle to become the home cities for one of two new South African franchises while Potchefstroom may be the base for the other as CSA looks to expand its domestic structure

Firdose Moonda08-Feb-2016East London and Kimberley are in a battle to become the home cities for one of two new South African franchises while Potchefstroom may be the base for the other, as CSA looks to expand its domestic structure. An insider revealed to ESPNcricinfo that there is talk of increasing the number of franchises from six to eight in order to deepen the talent pool and create a larger professional structure.”It makes sense for Potchefstroom to have one of the franchises. They have such a good stadium there, all the facilities are within a small distance of each other and there’s a population that’s very interested in the game and all live just around the ground and university,” the source said. “There is obviously the political considerations and with CSA’s transformation agenda, putting a franchise in East London may be an option. With administrative issues there and between Kimberley and Bloemfontein, there may be a case for a separate franchise there too.”In 2004, South Africa revamped its domestic system in an attempt to create a strength versus strength structure, similar to Australia’s. The 11 provincial teams were contracted into six franchises, with each retaining their identity in the second-tier amateur competition. The function of the provinces is to feed players into the franchise system. It has since become semi-professional and grown to 13 teams.When the franchises were formed, not all the provincial sides were happy to merge. Border (based in East London), together with Eastern Province (Based in Port Elizabeth), became the Warriors, while Griquas (the Kimberley-based team) and Free State (in Bloemfontein) became the Eagles (now renamed the Knights). However, there as been history of infighting in both. At the Warriors, the argument was whether Port Elizabeth or East London would be considered the main host venue while Griquas initially refused to merge with Free State before agreeing to a joint shareholding of the franchise a season later.Both East London and Kimberley are considered hotbeds of talent for players of colour. East London is the heartland of black African cricket and with an increased focus on speeding up the pace of transformation, there have long been calls for a team based in the city. Peter Kirsten is one of the people who have long championed the cause for a team there. Kimberley has a significant population of mixed race people so it would make transformation sense for a team there as well.Potchefstroom, who are currently the second ground of the Johannesburg-based Lions, would not be able to offer those benefits but it does have some of the country’s best sports facilities at its High Performance Centre. Touring international teams, most notably Australia, choose to start the stay in South Africa at this venue while in 2010, the Football World Cup winners, Spain, were based there. Potchefstroom recently hosted the Varsity Cup Cricket, a week-long tournament between the country’s university teams. It is a venue known for jovial, student, sports-mad crowds, which may also work in its favour when CSA considers where to base a franchise.The new structure could come into place as early as next season, which would not give the new franchise teams much time to contract players and would also significantly increase the running costs of domestic cricket. “CSA needs to be very careful about this because even though they might have the money for it at the moment with the Rand-Dollar exchange rate, it’s a long-term decision,” the source said. “And with all the criticism over the strength of the domestic game, maybe it will dilute that even more.”Recent results across the international level has put the domestic system under severe scrutiny; South Africa’s Test team lost back to back series, the ODI side are two-nil down against England, the A team has lacked competitiveness and the Under-19s were booted out of the age-group World Cup in the first round. Everything, from the quality of coaches to the extent of the quota system which now requires franchise teams to field six players of colour including three black Africans, is currently being examined.

“If the shoe was on the other foot, I would have a deep think about the whole spirit of the game”

Osman Samiuddin02-Jul-20231:50

Cummins and Stokes respond to controversial Bairstow dismissal

Ben Stokes says he would have withdrawn the appeal if his side had dismissed a player in the manner that Alex Carey stumped Jonny Bairstow on the final day of a thrilling Test at Lord’s. Australia won a see-sawing Test by 43 runs, surviving a Stokes scare along the way, but a pivotal moment came when Bairstow was dismissed shortly before lunch.England were settled, having only lost Ben Duckett in the morning session when Bairstow ducked a Cameron Green bouncer, the last ball of the 52nd over. He walked out of the crease, without having checked with either umpire whether the over had been called, as Carey collected the ball and without pause, under-armed a throw to the stumps. He hit and though Chris Gaffaney at square leg called for a TV review, Bairstow was well out of his crease at impact.Related

• The Test documentary reveals Cummins' role in controversial Bairstow stumping

• Jonny Bairstow reignites Ashes stumping row

• Ashes: MCC bans one member, suspends two others over Long Room fracas

• Simon Taufel: Which part of the Spirit of Cricket did Australia breach?

• James Anderson: Don't blame my age for off-colour Ashes display

The dismissal riled up the Lord’s crowd – leading to a brief fracas between Australian players and members in the Long Room – and turned up the heat on the field, with the incoming batter Stuart Broad immediately getting involved in ongoing chatter with a number of Australian players.After the game, Stokes pointed to the grey area between the time the ball went to Carey and both the umpires motioning as if to end the over, though not calling it.”When is it justified that the umpires have called over?” he said on BBC’s TMS. “Is the on-field umpires making movement, is that signifying over? I’m not sure. Jonny was in his crease then out of his crease. I am not disputing the fact it is out because it is out.”If the shoe was on the other foot I would have put more pressure on the umpires and asked whether they had called over and had a deep think about the whole spirit of the game and would I want to do something like that. For Australia it was the match-winning moment. Would I want to win a game in that manner? The answer for me is no.”Asked whether he would have withdrawn the appeal, Stokes said, “Yeah.”Pat Cummins – “I thought it was totally fair play. That’s how the rule is. Some people might disagree. That’s how I saw it”•Associated Press

Pat Cummins, the Australian captain, said the attempt was pre-meditated, as Carey had noticed Bairstow walk out of his crease and up the pitch several times during the over.”I think Carey saw it happen a few balls previously, three or four balls previously, and there’s no pause, catch it, straightaway and throw at the stumps,” Cummins told Sky TV during the post-match presentation, comments that prompted more boos from the remaining crowd. “I thought it was totally fair play. That’s how the rule is. Some people might disagree. That’s how I saw it.”Cummins also suggested in his post-match press conference that Bairstow had attempted the same move when keeping himself.”You see Jonny do it all the time,” Cummins said. “He did it on day one to Davey Warner. He did it in 2019 to Steve [Smith]. It’s a really common thing for keepers to do if they see about a batter keep leaving their crease. So Kez [Carey], full credit to him. He saw the opportunity. I think Jonny did it a few balls beforehand. Rolled it at the stumps. Jonny left his crease. You leave the rest to the umpires.”Brendon McCullum, England’s coach, was not happy with the dismissal either, arguing that it goes against the spirit of the game. McCullum is no stranger to such dismissals, straddling the line between the laws of the game and its spirit. He was, famously, the wicketkeeper who whipped off the bails as Muttiah Muralidaran completed a run and wandered off to celebrate Kumar Sangakkara’s hundred in a Test in Christchurch in December 2006.A year before that he had done something similar in a Test against Zimbabwe, when running out Chris Mpofu to end a comfortable victory in Bulawayo. McCullum publicly apologised to Sangakkara and Muralidaran while addressing the MCC’s Spirit of Cricket lecture in 2016, saying that while he recognised the dismissal was within the laws of the game, it was against the spirt and he regretted effecting it.Reacting to Bairstow’s dismissal, he again called for players to protect the spirit of the game. “I think firstly, it was probably more of a thing in terms of spirit of the game that developed as you become a little bit mature and you’ve been around the game for a long period of time, and you realise that the game itself is something you need to protect, and the spirit is such an important part of that,” he said on BBC’s Test Match Special.”You’ve got to make decisions in the moment. They’re not easy to make and sometimes they can have pretty big effects on not just games but also on people’s characters as well.”It’s a tough one. To the letter of the law it was out. From our point of view, Jonny felt he was certainly not trying to take a run and he felt that as far as the umpires were concerned, they had effectively called over so therefore they thought the ball was dead.”It’s one of those really difficult ones to swallow. And when you look at a small margin at the end of the day, and you think of a player like Jonny Bairstow so many times in chases, has stood up. It’s incredibly disappointing, but in the end, lots of people will have their opinion on it. They’ll sit on both sides of the fence and then probably the most disappointing aspect is probably going to be the most talked about part of what was a great Test match, and that’s pretty disappointing to have two teams who have played in front of full houses and millions around the world and it would have been great if it was for the cricket.”Asked if the incident could impact relations between the two teams, McCullum said: “I can’t imagine we’ll be having a beer anytime soon, if that’s what you’re asking. From our point of view, we’ve got three Test matches to try and land some blows and try and win the Ashes and that’s where our focus will be.”

While Andile Phehlukwayo seemed to be the target of his comment, the Pakistan captain tweeted that it was not ‘directed towards anyone in particular’

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Jan-2019Sarfraz Ahmed, the Pakistan captain, has issued a general apology on Twitter for his controversial on-field taunt during the second ODI in Durban on Tuesday. But Sarfraz did not apologise to – or even mention – Andile Phehlukwayo, the South African allrounder at whom his comment, which included a racist epithet, seemed to be aimed. Instead, Sarfraz said his remark – which seemed to specifically reference the amount of fortune Phehlukwayo enjoyed while batting – was “not directed towards anyone in particular”.

During the 37th over of South Africa’s chase, Sarfraz was caught on the stump mics saying, in Urdu: Translated literally, that is: “Hey black guy, where’s your mother sitting today? What [prayer] have you got her to say for you today?”*On Wednesday night, the PCB issued a statement expressing its regret over Sarfraz’s comments, and said the incident “highlighted the importance and significance of player education and training at all levels”.”The PCB expresses regret over the remark made by their captain Sarfaraz Ahmed and picked up by the stump mic during the second ODI against South Africa in Durban,” the statement said. “The PCB neither endorses nor supports any comments that have the potential to cause offence, and firmly reiterates their zero-tolerance approach towards racist comments made; in whatever context.”This incident has also highlighted the importance and significance of player education and training at all levels. The PCB endeavors to improve their player education programmes to ensure these types of incidents do not happen again.”Sarfaraz is one of the most respected cricketers in the world. However, captaining Pakistan is a massive honour and any hurtful remarks by any cricketer, let alone the captain, are not acceptable to the PCB.”The PCB is confident that this incident will not affect the series, which has been played in great spirit with some excellent performances from both side [sic]. The PCB is also hopeful that the crowds will continue to turn up in big numbers for the remaining matches to support cricket.”Until Sarfraz’s tweets and the PCB’s statement, only CSA of the involved parties had made any public comment on the matter. South Africa’s team manager Mohammed Moosajee confirmed that the ICC had taken note of the incident. It is believed that Ranjan Madugalle, the match referee, has met with Sarfraz to discuss the incident, but the ICC has not made a public statement yet.”The ICC and the match officials have noted the alleged incident,” Moosajee said. “They have started the necessary procedures to investigate the matter. We can only comment once we have received the results of the investigation. Any further clarification/updates have to go through the ICC.”In fact, nearly 24 hours after the incident, there is no clarity yet on whether the incident, if any action will be taken against it, is to be treated under the ICC’s code of conduct for player behaviour or the ICC’s anti-racism code. While insulting or obscene and offensive language falls under the code of conduct, language that is deemed “likely to offend another person on the basis of their race, religion, gender, colour, descent, national or ethnic origin” falls under the anti-racism code.Depending on what the code violation turns out to be, the window for reporting an offence can be anywhere between 48 hours to seven days.*GMT 1820 The story was updated to include the PCB’s statement.

Sri Lanka lost their first three wickets to Keshav Maharaj, but remain in a position to push for victory over the next three days, after taking a first innings lead of 161

The Report by Firdose Moonda13-Jul-2018
Keshav Maharaj gets a breakthrough for the visitors•AFP

Sri Lanka took control of the first Test on a 13-wicket day in Galle, where spinners dominated. After South Africa were shot out for 126 – their lowest total in Sri Lanka – with seven wickets falling to the spin trio of Rangana Herath, Dilruwan Perera and Lakshan Sandakan, Sri Lanka lost their first three wickets to Keshav Maharaj, but remain in a position to push for victory over the next three days, after taking a first innings lead of 161 runs.On a surface that is taking substantial, but not unplayable turn, anything over 300 would be daunting. For a South African side who woke the ghosts of India 2015, the lead is perhaps already too much.In South Africa’s last eight innings in the subcontinent, they have only managed to score more than 200 runs once and the last time they scored over 300 in Asia was in the Galle Test four years ago. While there are elements of technique that are wanting – the left-handers playing across the line is an example – their confidence is the bigger concern. Collapses of 6 for 51 and 4 for 11, which sandwiched the 64-run seventh-wicket stand between Faf du Plessis and Vernon Philander, would have done nothing to boost their belief.Herath made the first incision into South Africa at the end of the opening day when he removed Aiden Markram, and he did the same on the second morning when he beat nightwatchman Maharaj with an arm-ball. And then the wickets tumbled.Dean Elgar played across a Dilruwan Perera delivery that took the outside edge to offer first slip a catch, Hashim Amla was given out caught at short leg on review off Dilruwan, Temba Bavuma dragged a Sandakan ball onto his stumps as he swept, a shot he had employed with success earlier in his short innings and Quinton de Kock was bowled by Dilruwan, also playing across the line. Shortly after the first drinks, South Africa were 51 for 6, and left du Plessis with the tail.Philander showed the patience the top order lacked and defended solidly, while du Plessis tried to play a more positive role in also searching for runs. The pair ushered South Africa past their lowest total since readmission, 79, and over the 100 mark. Philander was fortunate when Sri Lanka missed a chance to review a Herath delivery that would have gone on to hit middle stump – the last of three opportunities they did not take – and reviewed successfully when he was given out two overs later. He faced 86 balls, only two fewer than du Plessis, before he was out for 18.Du Plessis, celebrating his 34th birthday, played with as much intent as he could and compiled 49. But when Philander went, he followed within three balls. After several inside-edges, du Plessis missed a Suranga Lakmal ball that nipped in and was bowled. Lakmal had not used himself before the 37th over but enjoyed the last bits of reward when he also bowled Rabada and had Steyn caught at first slip.Already low on morale, South Africa’s situation only worsened when Danuskha Gunathilaka and Dimuth Karunaratne put on 51 for the opening stand, denied Dale Steyn the two wickets he needs to overtake Shaun Pollock as South Africa’s leading Test wicket-taker but offered three other chances.Maharaj appealed for lbw against Gunathilaka, but the opener had shuffled far enough across enough to get umpire’s call on impact. Then, Gunathilaka lap-swept Maharaj in front of backward square but Bavuma could not hold on to the catch. Later, Gunathilaka reverse-swept Maharaj between the wicket-keeper and first slip. And this time, Maharaj got his man, and two others, when Gunathilaka picked out deep mid-wicket, Dhananjaya de Silva, who was bowled and Kusal Mendis given out lbw.As he had done in the first innings, Karunaratne anchored Sri Lanka and became only the second batsman after Kumar Sangakkara to score a century and a half-century against South Africa in a Test. He took on the spinners with success, used his feet well and his placement was impressive but he was eventually undone with Kagiso Rabada having him caught at slip.There was no further damage done to Sri Lanka before the close, which gives them the resources to add to their total on the third day.