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Usman Khawaja’s maiden Ashes ton was backed up by the Marsh brothers – with Shaun going to the close on 98 not out – as Australia built a commanding 133-run lead

The Report by Brydon Coverdale06-Jan-20180:53

Khawaja and Shaun Marsh keep Australia in control

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsIf the new year is about fresh starts, then Usman Khawaja has nailed the brief. Having failed to score a Test century in 2017, Khawaja used his first innings of 2018 not only to raise his sixth Test hundred, but to bat, and bat, and bat some more, spending 381 balls at the crease in the longest innings of his decade-long first-class career. Khawaja’s 171 was the centrepiece of a day of Australian dominance at the SCG, where Shaun Marsh was also approaching triple-figures by stumps, and Australia, hoping not to have to bat again in the match, had built a 133-run lead.For England, it was a long, hot, demoralising six hours in the field. They managed only two wickets all day, and the best that could be said of their results was that they prevented Steven Smith from making yet another century. And frustrating? Was it ever frustrating for England. Mason Crane missed a maiden Test wicket due to a no-ball, and both Marsh brothers, Shaun and Mitchell, were given out only to be reprieved on review. Both were still there at stumps, Shaun on 98 and Mitchell on 63, with Australia’s total on 4 for 479.

Stats highlights

• 171 Usman Khawaja’s second highest score and sixth century in Tests. During his 171, Khawaja also crossed 2000 Test runs. This was his first century against England in 15 innings. Khawaja now has one century in each of the five major grounds in Australia. The 381 balls faced in the innings was also his longest knock in terms of balls faced, surpassing the 301-ball effort against South Africa at Adelaide.

• 73.88 Partnership average for Steven Smith and Usman Khawaja – the highest for any pair with a minimum of 15 innings. Since April 2014, the two have added six century stands – the most for Australia. In 18 innings, the two have added 12 fifty-plus stands. Five of the six century stands have come at home.

• 1993 The only other instance for Australia in which the third, fourth and fifth wicket added 100 runs or more each in an innings, against England at Leeds in the fourth Test of the 1993 Ashes.

• 5 Instances of batsmen No. 2 to No. 6 each scoring half-centuries for Australia. The previous instance was also at Sydney in 2015 against India. All the five occasions have been at home.

Crane’s bowling was one of the stories of the day. He turned some big legbreaks, and googlies, and induced the odd false stroke, but made even more false starts himself. The sight of Crane walking to his crease, entering his delivery stride, and then holding on to the ball became about as ubiquitous on day three at the SCG as pink clothing. Perhaps he was worried about no-balling, for he often landed close to or over the crease, and had missed out on the wicket of Khawaja in the final over before lunch due to a no-ball.Coming around the wicket, Crane turned a big legbreak in to Khawaja, who thrust his pad out without playing the ball, and England asked for a review of the not-out lbw decision. Replays showed that, by a small margin, Crane had failed to land his foot behind the crease. Ball-tracking went on to show that Khawaja would have otherwise been out. An exasperated Crane appeared to argue the point, pointlessly, with umpire Kumar Dharmasena. Quite how a spinner can so consistently be close to no-balling is a matter for Crane to rectify.At length, he did manage his maiden Test wicket, and it was Khawaja. But by the time Crane beat the advancing Khawaja and had him stumped by Jonny Bairstow, the batsman had 171 runs, and had been at the crease for nearly nine hours. It was a patient innings from Khawaja, who brought up his hundred – his first in Ashes cricket, and his first at the SCG – from his 222nd delivery, and his 150 from his 334th. Until this Test, the best Khawaja had to show for this Ashes was a pair of fifties; this innings alone buys him a lengthy stay in the side.His dismissal, shortly after tea, was the last breakthrough England would make all day. The Marsh brothers made it three consecutive century partnerships for Australia in this innings – Khawaja and Smith had put on 188, Khawaja and Shaun Marsh 101, and by stumps Shaun and Mitchell Marsh had compiled an unbeaten 104.England thought they had Mitchell Marsh late in the day when he was given out lbw off the bowling of Tom Curran, and asked for a review. The third umpire, S Ravi, overturned the decision on the basis of Marsh having nicked the ball, though the Hot Spot and Snicko evidence appeared far from conclusive. At least the ball was shown to be missing the stumps in any case, so Marsh would have been let off even without the supposed edge.Usman Khawaja celebrates his first Ashes century•Getty Images

On 22, Shaun Marsh had been given out caught behind off the part-time offspin of Joe Root, and after consulting with Khawaja, he called for a review. It was hard to work out why Marsh had not reviewed immediately, for the replays showed between bat and ball a gap big enough that Cameron Bancroft could almost have been bowled through it. Marsh went on to register his fifty from 121 balls, and by stumps was eyeing off a sixth Test century.He had come to the crease after the dismissal of Smith in the penultimate over before lunch. Smith appeared destined for his fourth hundred of the series when on 83 he chipped a return catch to Moeen Ali, who was bowling around the wicket. It was Moeen’s fourth wicket of the series, and the first time he had dismissed a right-hander in this campaign. And given Smith’s recent dominance, England could have hoped that wicket turned the tide. One wicket and 205 runs later, it was clearly anything but the case.

Yasir Ali’s unbeaten 47 helped Bangladesh A overcome Andy McBrine’s four-four and register a five-wicket win over Ireland A on the final day of their four-day fixture in Sylhet

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Oct-2017
ScorecardRaton Gomes/BCB

Yasir Ali’s unbeaten 47 guided Bangladesh A to a five-wicket win over Ireland A on the final day of their four-day fixture in Sylhet. Set 132 to win in the fourth innings, Bangladesh A reached the target shortly after lunch.It wasn’t before offspinner Andrew McBrine put them in some trouble in the morning, however, when he removed both the overnight batsmen Shadman Islam and Al-Amin. McBrine’s strikes reduced Bangladesh A to 60 for 4, McBrine having picked up all the wickets. Yasir and Nurul Hasan then shut the doors on Ireland by putting on a brisk 71-run stand for the fifth wicket.They couldn’t finish the job, however, as Nathan Smith dismissed Hasan when the scores were level. Yasir then completed the chase three balls later to end up unbeaten on 47. Hasan made 31 off 41 balls with the help of three fours and a six.The match had begun with Ireland A putting up 255 in their first innings, after electing to bat, powered by Simi Singh’s maiden first-class hundred. Islam led the home team’s reply with a century of his own as Bangladesh A made 337 to pick up a first-innings lead of 82 runs. Left-arm spinner Sunzamul Islam then returned a five-wicket haul to send Ireland packing for 213 in the second innings and set up their successful chase.

The fast bowler will return home after the fifth ODI in Nagpur, as Australia eye his workload and preparations for the Sheffield Shield and the subsequent home Ashes

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Sep-20172:18

Tait: Tye, Faulkner good options to replace Cummins

With a few of their key fast bowlers nursing injuries in the run-up to the home summer, Australia have decided to rest Pat Cummins from the T20I series against India with an eye on his workload management in the build-up to the Ashes. The fast bowler is not carrying an injury but will return home after the fifth ODI in Nagpur on October 1 to “refresh, both mentally and physically” before the start of the Sheffield Shield season.”Pat has played a considerable amount of cricket this year after a long period away from the game due to injury,” national selector Trevor Hohns said in a statement.”His body has handled the return to international cricket well, but we believe the best plan for him ahead of the Ashes Series is to return home to refresh, both mentally and physically, before he prepares for Sheffield Shield cricket.”Cummins’ main focus will be on preparations for the Sheffield Shield, which gets underway on October 26, but he could play for New South Wales in the later stages of the JLT One Day Cup, if they make it to the finals on October 19 and 21. A replacement for Cummins in Australia’s T20I squad will be named at a later date.Cummins’ fitness struggles since his Test debut in November 2011 had forced Australia’s selectors to take a long-term view regarding his workload in Tests and first-class matches, although he was picked in limited-overs squads subsequently. He made a comeback in December last year – after missing the 2015-16 season due to a stress fracture to the back – and has since played 22 of Australia’s 27 international matches across formats, and also featured in the IPL.In March, he was called up as Mitchell Starc’s replacement for the final two Tests against India – after Starc suffered a stress fracture to his foot – and made a Test comeback after a gap of more than five years in Ranchi. He also led the pace-bowling duties in the Tests in Bangladesh, following Josh Hazlewood’s injury in Dhaka, and ended up bowling 63 overs in the two-match series, the second-most for Australia after offspinner Nathan Lyon.David Saker, Australia’s bowling coach, had last week stated that Cummins’ workload would be assessed on a game-by-game basis.”At this stage we’re planning for him to play all the games,” Saker had said. “We’ll look at [resting him], it’s obviously been brought up between all of us. We know that his workloads are up there, but we know it’s an important series. It’s Australia v India, you don’t get any bigger than that. He’s really determined to play well over here. It’ll be game-by-game basis, we’ll play it by ear.”Hazlewood is still recuperating from a side strain he suffered in Dhaka, while Starc is in the final stages of recovery from the foot injury. There is a likelihood, however, that Starc, and injured quick James Pattinson, could play in the later stages of the JLT One Day Cup, although the hope is they will be fit to take part in the Sheffield Shield matches before the first Ashes Test, which starts from November 23 in Brisbane.

A fourth quarter-final defeat in two seasons helped further the narrative of an Essex side that never quite delivers

David Hopps27-Aug-2015
ScorecardFour wickets, but no victory for Reece Topley as another Essex quarter-final went begging•Getty Images

The sight of Yorkshire, with their England contingent back in tow, arriving at Chelmsford for a Royal London quarter-final did Essex no favours in an uncomfortable season in which Paul Grayson’s future as coach hangs in the balance. The upshot of a fiercely competitive tie was a fourth quarter-final defeat in two seasons to encourage the narrative of an Essex side that never quite delivers.Yorkshire got home by 20 runs in a match that was much closer than the margin suggests. Their 252 for 9 was par at best, and even that required a transformative, unbroken last-wicket stand of 50 in 34 balls between Liam Plunkett and Matthew Fisher at a time when Grayson must have felt Essex were strong favourites to secure their first 50-over semi-final since 2008.Plunkett’s stern-faced muscularity was witnessed firstly with the bat – a bullish, unbeaten 49 from 32 balls with Jamie Porter the chief target – and then with the ball as he recovered from early punishment, much of it met with a haughtily disapproving sniff, to return 3 for 58 in a single spell in which Yorkshire’s stand-in captain, Alex Lees, dared to bowl out his fastest bowler in search of much-needed wickets and was rewarded for his enterprise.Essex looked down and out at 129 for 5 when Bopara, edging one slid across him, became Plunkett’s final victim, but Ryan ten Doeschate and James Foster evened the tie once more with a stand of 59. Will Rhodes, the former England U-19 captain, dismissed both, ten Doeschate falling at long-on with 47 needed, but even then Yorkshire knew they had little licence for error.”Once again we have fallen at the quarter-final stage and that has to be a great disappointment – not just for me and the players, but for our supporters,” ten Doeschate said. “We felt on top for much of the game.” Lees called Yorkshire’s score “a fighting total,” a relief after losing the toss on a nibbly pitch but well below what they envisaged at 163 for 3 with 16 overs remaining.It was uncertain which Yorkshire would pitch up at Chelmsford – the Yorkshire who stand 30 points clear in the Championship with a game in hand, or the Yorkshire who fell so far below expectations in Twenty20 that they finished second bottom, never had the luxury of a settled side and responded by blooding youngsters with a vengeance. In the end, they fell somewhere in between.The first stage of Yorkshire’s innings was a procession to the wicket of slightly damaged England batsmen, regretting a summer that had not quite gone according to plan. Adam Lyth was an Ashes winner but barely averaged double figures in the series and had drawn a line by pouring out his regrets on Facebook; Gary Ballance had been dropped after two Tests, his back-foot play analysed as critically as if it was the Retreat from Mafeking; Jonny Bairstow had re-established himself but then, to the shock of many, he had been omitted from the ODI squad where he had made such an impact against New Zealand.Broken, not so; dented, without question. All made starts, all failed to deliver a matchwinning innings. On a slow pitch, they were given a sounding out by Essex’s medium pacers, who found the assistance that Essex had anticipated upon winning the toss. Pretty much every club in England has a bowler of the pace of David Masters, now in his 38th year, but like many before them Yorkshire never quite came to terms with his nibbling seam and he completed his 10 overs off the reel for 28.Lyth dragged on Porter as he tried to pull a slower ball; Bairstow was undone by the wiles of Jesse Ryder, who wanders up to the wicket with the insouciance of someone taking an empty glass back to the bar before heaving strong shoulders into the ball; and Ballance followed, the wiles this time bearing the mischievous outlook of Bopara.

Semi-final draw

Sunday, September 6: Yorkshire v Gloucestershire 1030
Monday, September 7: Surrey v Nottinghamshire 1130

It could have been worse. Lyth and Ballance narrowly avoided run outs and Ballance escaped when Reece Topley, diving close to a pitch mat at short midwicket, allowed the ball to spill from his grasp, a fact confirmed by the TV umpire.Topley’s most costly drop, though, was that of Jack Leaning, who has grown in stature this season while Yorkshire’s England trio have been otherwise engaged. The subsidence to 202 for 9 was damaging enough – six wickets lost for 39 in 11 overs with Rashid’s attempt to get off the mark with a six over midwicket the most outlandish contribution – but without Leaning’s 72 from 99 balls, his fifty brought up by flaying Porter over mid-on for six, the collapse could have been terminal.Topley silenced him with a skied pull into the deep, one of four wickets in a decent bowling night ahead of what he hopes will be an England T20 debut against Australia in Cardiff on Monday. His languid left-arm found swing with the new ball and his back-of-a-hand delivery offers solid variety in the later overs.Essex’s innings had early misfortune when Tim Bresnan ran out Mark Pettini, backing up, in his follow through, but they rallied with a second-wicket of 97 in 16 overs between Nick Browne and Tom Westley, the latter producing a half-century replete with handsome drives until Plunkett struck his stumps.The plucked-out stump that stuck in the mind, though, belonged to Ryder. Few cricketers play the game in such a relaxed fashion, but when Plunkett, from around the wicket, followed a delivery that whiplashed back into him with one that held its line to uproot his off stump, his look of befuddlement was proof of the quality of the delivery.

Guyana Amazon Warriors have signed Pakistan batsman Umar Akmal for the 2015 edition of the Caribbean Premier League

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Jun-2015Guyana Amazon Warriors have signed Pakistan batsman Umar Akmal for the 2015 edition of the Caribbean Premier League. Akmal is expected to join the CPL franchise on July 3 after finishing his stint with Leicestershire in the ongoing NatWest T20 Blast.If he is picked for the Pakistan limited-overs side, however, Akmal will have to proceed to Sri Lanka on national duty for the five ODIs and two T20Is, with the first ODI on July 11 and the second T20 on August 1. The CPL runs from June 20 to July 26.It will be Akmal’s second appearance in the CPL after he played for Barbados Tridents in 2013. He had a disappointing return of 49 runs from six games before he suffered a seizure on a flight to Jamaica and was called back to Pakistan by the PCB for medical examination.Akmal has been in good form recently. He debuted for Leicestershire three days ago with an unbeaten 76 off 49 against Nottinghamshire. He was also the second-highest run-getter in the Super8 T20 Cup in Pakistan last month with 216 runs from four games at a strike-rate of 151.

Gareth Batty effectively admitted that he made a mistake “in the heat of battle” in not withdrawing appeal after Murali Kartik after he had run out a Somerset batsman while backing up

David Lloyd at Taunton30-Aug-2012A contrite Gareth Batty effectively admitted that he made a mistake “in the heat of battle” in not withdrawing the appeal that resulted in Somerset’s Alex Barrow being run out for backing-up too far – a practice known outside England at least as ‘Mankading.’The Surrey captain accepted full responsibility for the decision and said: “The last thing I wanted was to bring the spirit of cricket into disrepute.”Although it has always been strictly acceptable within the laws, ‘Mankading’ is regarded by many within the English game as being a breach of etiquette and is an unpalatable act for many players, as well as fans.County cricket has remained wedded to such mores since the late nineteeth century but attitudes are now blurred, especially outside England, to the point where for the tradition to survive it might ultimately have to be written into England’s domestic playing regulations.Law 42.15, as adapted by ECB playing regulations for championship cricket, simply states: “The bowler is permitted, before releasing the ball and provided he has not completed his usual delivery swing, to attempt to run out the non-striker”Somerset and their supporters were incensed when Murali Kartik, their former spinner, removed a bail and appealed for a run out after non-striker Barrow had wandered out of his crease.The young batsman had already been warned by Kartik, earlier in the over, for leaving his ground too soon – a caution the bowler did not need to deliver under the laws, but one which if delivered traditionally protects the bowler from allegations of sharp practice.*As captain, Batty was asked by umpire Peter Hartley whether he wanted the appeal to stand. “In the heat of the battle I made the decision that, according to the letter of the law, it was the correct decision for him to be out,” said the former England spinner.Batty said that “hindsight was a wonderful thing” and suggested that if – like India during last summer’s Test at Trent Bridge when Ian Bell was reinstated following a controversial run-out incident – he had enjoyed the luxury of a 20-minute tea interval to reconsider events, a different outcome would probably have resulted.”People obviously think the spirit of the game has been brought into disrepute – that was not my intention and I thoroughly apologise for that,” Batty said.He added that he would be speaking to Marcus Trescothick, Somerset’s captain. “I want to make sure it is right with Marcus and his team,” he said.Trescothick is not the sort of person to hold a grudge but he was clearly cross with what he had witnessed. “It’s not what you come to expect in county cricket – I’ve never seen it before,” the former England opener said. “That was quite astonishing and disappointing. The game doesn’t need to come to that. It’s not the game we like to play. It annoys the players and upsets the players. But we’ll move on, come back tomorrow and carry on playing the game.”Chris Adams, Surrey’s team director, was also in placatory mood. “I think in terms of upholding the laws of cricket it was the right decision but I think the situation certainly challenges the spirit of cricket,” said Adams. “That is regrettable.”I will support the captain in this because I have been out there in many, many situations where it is very intense. These are very intense days for a lot of teams, but especially us. It has been a very, very difficult summer [Surrey’s young player Tom Maynard died in an accident on London underground in mid-summer] and we find ourselves in a position where every point, every wicket and every run appears to be of the highest premium.”Adams also recalled the dismissal of Bell against India last year, run out after he thought tea had been called. “In that incidence they India had 20 minutes of a tea-break to reflect, discuss and consider and whether it was right to change that decision,” he said.”I think we all breathed a sigh of relief when that decision was overturned. I would like to think that had we been afforded the same 20 minutes that perhaps we would have come to the same outcome. Perhaps we wouldn’t.”I would suggest maybe in the goodness of time we could all say that the one thing that hasn’t been totally upheld is the spirit of cricket, and that is regrettable.”The issue has come to the fore because of a recent change in the ICC playing regulations – adopted by the ECB for domestic cricket – which now allow the bowler to run a batsman out until the point where he has completed his delivery stride – not entered his delivery stride as stated in the MCC laws. That has made the practice easier for the bowler and confused players and spectators alike.As for Kartik, he apparently could not understand what all the fuss was about, tweeting: “Everyone get a life please… if a batsman is out on a stroll, in spite of being warned, does that count as being in the spirit of the game?”*2:50 GMT August 31: The report had erroneously stated that the law relating to Mankading was rewritten last year.

Kevin Pietersen will be at September’s World Twenty20 – not as a player but as part of ESPN STAR Sports’ team of television presenters

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Aug-2012Kevin Pietersen will be at September’s World Twenty20 – not as a player but as part of ESPN STAR Sports’ team of television presenters. The news comes soon after it was confirmed that Pietersen would not play the World T20 for England following his spat with the ECB and his team-mates – whose performance he could now be commenting on from the outside.ESS*, who hold the broadcast rights for ICC tournaments, said on Friday that Pietersen – who was named player of the tournament when England won it in 2010 – would be on their ‘presentation and analysis team’ during the marquee tournament. Players have done commentary stints on series they’ve had to miss through injury but this could be the first time a player omitted in such controversial circumstances will be at the mic.Following his spectacular century in Leeds against South Africa, in a series which resulted in England losing their No. 1 Test ranking, Pietersen had spoken at a press conference about how he’d like to “carry on but there are obstacles that need to be worked out … and points I’m trying to sort out in the dressing room”. The issues included his desire to play the IPL in its entirety, text messages he sent to South African players during the series – allegedly about England captain Andrew Strauss and coach Andy Flower – and a parody Twitter account that he suspected his team-mates of starting.He had since apologised and released a video where he committed himself to international cricket but, as the matter grew more complicated, he was left out from the squad for the final South Africa Test, and was not among the 15 England players named for World T20 on August 21.Apart from analysis, the ESS release said, Pietersen will also play an important role in the publicity and promotion of the broadcast of World T20.*ESPN STAR Sports is a 50:50 joint venture between Walt Disney (ESPN, Inc.), the parent company of ESPNcricinfo, and News Corporation Limited (STAR)

Chris Martin believes Phillip Hughes will be under serious pressure when it comes time for Australia to begin their chase at Bellerive Oval

Brydon Coverdale at the Bellerive Oval10-Dec-2011Chris Martin turned 37 on the day two at Bellerive Oval. His birthday present was a second consecutive strong bowling effort against Australia. This time, his team-mates were just as good. And if they back it up in the second innings, victory over Australia will be theirs for the first time in a generation.To skittle Australia for 136 is the kind of performance Martin has dreamt of for a decade. Before this series, he had played ten Tests against Australia and had taken 15 wickets at 86.53. It was hard to say if he was more embarrassed about his bowling record against them or his batting figures.That started to change in Brisbane, where he took four wickets, and in Hobart he collected three, as did Doug Bracewell and the debutant Trent Boult, while Tim Southee picked up perhaps the most important victim, Ricky Ponting. At no point did they let the pressure drop significantly and as a result, Australia recorded their lowest total at home against New Zealand.The ball seamed and swung, and Australia’s batsmen struggled to handle the movement. After New Zealand were rolled for 150 in their first innings, there appeared every chance the match could be over in three days. The weather might not allow that, but all the same Martin said it had been a long while since he had seen a Test surface with so much in it for the bowlers.”In a Test match it has been a long time,” he said. “If you look around the world there’s not too much variety in pitches. A day’s Test cricket like that definitely makes people watch. It’s difficult. I’ve toured places like India and the subcontinent and it’s always a tough, long day with plenty of runs. But if you’re a connoisseur of swing bowling, seam bowling, then today is a really enjoyable day’s cricket.”By closing the second day with a lead of 153 and seven wickets in hand, New Zealand have given themselves their best chance in ten years of beating the Australians. And although the pitch is expected to become less difficult for the batsmen over the next two days, their advantage over Australia was already alarmingly large.”It’s a tough ask for any top-order batsmen out there today to feel comfortable, to feel in,” Martin said. “It’s one for the bowlers today. I suppose 150 on that pitch on the first day has turned out to be a reasonable score. It’s quite a tough picture to paint with the rest of the Test, with how it’s going to go. I know that sitting here at 150 runs in front we’re feeling good. I don’t know how many runs are needed. We’ll just see how we go tomorrow.”Martin believes Phillip Hughes will be under serious pressure when it comes time for Australia to begin their chase. Hughes will walk to the crease in the second innings playing for his Test future. Three times from three innings in this series he has been caught by Martin Guptill, either at gully or slip, off the bowling of Martin, the angle across him proving hard to handle. His best score in the series has been 10.”I feel like I’ve put the ball in a good spot to him,” Martin said. “He’s feeling for it a little bit and he’s nicked a couple. I suppose for a guy who’s struggling, this isn’t the sort of pitch that you want to feel for your next knock and where your runs are coming from. He’s under pressure, I suppose. We just have to keep bowling in the right spots.”I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing. He’ll be feeling under pressure and that’s never a good place. I’ve felt under pressure for my spot in the past, so it’s always a difficult challenge and one if you get on top of you’re a lot stronger for it.”First though, Australia need to find a way through the rest of the New Zealand order. Ross Taylor and Kane Williamson were both well set at stumps, having judiciously left the ball and played wisely. At times, the Australian fast bowlers strayed startlingly down leg or with bouncers that easily sailed over the batsmen’s heads, and Peter Siddle said it was important to stick to what worked in the first innings.”It’s always nice to get a wicket that is a little bit bowler-friendly, but it’s not always that easy [because of that],” Siddle said. “There’s still a lot of work has to be done by us bowlers, we do have to bowl some good lines, good areas and be patient. Sometimes on these wickets you can tend to go searching a little bit and try too hard and end up with figures that you’re not very proud of.”When the sun does come out and you get a bit of heat on that wicket, to dry it out a little bit, it does quicken up a little bit and does seem a little bit easier to score. Hopefully tomorrow morning the clouds are out and it’s a little bit overcast for us in the first session.”

Tom Sears, the former chief executive of Derbyshire, has been appointed as the new chief executive of Cricket Kenya

Cricinfo staff30-May-2010Tom Sears, the former chief executive of Derbyshire, has been appointed as the new chief executive of Cricket Kenya. He moves into a position which became vacant in December when Tom Tikolo was forced to resign after mismanaging board funds.Sears, 40, who has been head of business development at New Zealand Cricket since 2008, was commercial director at Worcestershire between 2000 and 2005 and then spent three years as CEO with Derbyshire. He was widely credited with turning round Derbyshire’s finances. When he took over they were making losses, but a restructuring programme had led to them reporting profits in his last two years.Before that he was involved in rugby administration and also spent time as a journalist.His first job will be to accompany Samir Inamdar, the board’s chairman, to the ICC annual conference in Singapore in late June.Cricket Kenya received more than 70 applications for the post.

South African captain Jacques Kallis has said Wayne Parnell’s performance with the bat, under pressure, was one of the positives they could take out of the game

Cricinfo staff21-Feb-2010Reflecting on their thrilling one-run defeat against India at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, South Africa captain Jacques Kallis has said Wayne Parnell’s performance with the bat, under pressure, was one of the positives they could take out of the game. Parnell, batting at No.9, scored 49 and was run out off the final ball with South Africa needing three runs to win.The left-arm seamer didn’t make much of an impression with the ball, taking 1 for 69 off nine overs. He walked in in the 36th over of the chase with South Africa in trouble at 180 for 7. Kallis and Parnell had added 45 for the eighth wicket, but when the captain fell, India were still well in control. But Parnell’s stand of 65 with Dale Steyn gave their side a fighting chance of pulling off an improbable win. Steyn smashed a 19-ball 35 before falling in the final over, as South Africa’s hopes rested on the well-set Parnell.”He’s a talented cricketer and he’s going to take a lot away from today. Everytime he plays he’s going to learn. He’s still very new to the subcontinent,” Kallis said. “He’s got all the attributes of becoming a good allrounder and that’s something that he’s working on. He’s a man for the moment, so he’s certainly got a bright future ahead of him.”One of the biggest turning points in the chase was Sachin Tendulkar’s save at the boundary in the final over. Charl Langeveldt pulled the ball to long leg where Tendulkar dived full length to his right and pulled it back before the rope. Replays weren’t conclusive if Tendulkar had simultaneously made contact with the rope and the third umpire gave the benefit of the doubt to the Indians. The South Africans ran three but that extra run was the difference between a tie and an Indian win.Kallis accepted the third umpire’s call but referred to another bizarre incident, also involving Langeveldt, in the final over of India’s innings. Langeveldt’s yorker to Ashish Nehra had hit the stumps but the bails weren’t dislodged. To add to South Africa’s ill luck, the ball deflected to the third man boundary, adding a crucial four runs to India’s total of 298.”That’s not our call – that’s what third umpires are there for and he saw that it wasn’t four and we’ve got to accept it and get on with it,” Kallis said of the Tendulkar incident. “I think what came back to haunt us was Charl Langeveldt’s second last ball that hit the stumps and went for four, which was incredible.”Kallis said he was pleased they had managed to restrict India to just under 300, but the real worries were with the batting. Kallis scored 89 but the rest of the batsmen failed to rise to the challenge, which left plenty for the lower order to handle. The recognised batsmen struggled against the left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja, who took 2 for 29 from his 10 overs on a good batting pitch.”I think on the whole we’re pretty happy with the way things have gone, although obviously there are things we need to work on. Our death bowling has been a problem for a while but the guys did really well there. At one stage it looked like India would make 330,” Kallis said. “On the batting front we need to make sure we don’t lose wickets along the way and get some big partnerships going to set the game up. Perhaps we’ve got to come up with ideas for the way Jadeja bowled – I thought he bowled really well and tied us down for a while, so we’ve got to make sure that we’re strong on our game plans there.”Indian captain MS Dhoni, on the other hand, said India needed to work hard on their bowling.”It was a team effort and from that perspective it was a good show, but we need to do better with our bowling,” Dhoni said. “We cannot give away the runs we did with the new ball, although we were a bit hampered by the absence of Sehwag in the field. He made himself unfit while batting and could not bowl.”When there are so many runs needed and when the No.9 and 10 batsman are at the crease, you don’t really expect your best bowlers to get hit the way they did. Credit must go to the batsmen, but I’m sure we would do better in the next game if the conditions are the same.”The second ODI will be played in Gwalior on Wednesday.