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England’s coach Trevor Bayliss has said there should be no reason why Adil Rashid’s Test appearances are restricted solely to Asia

Andrew McGlashan18-Oct-2015Trevor Bayliss, the England coach, believes Adil Rashid can play a role in all conditions – not just Asia – after the legspinner produced an immense show of resolve in Abu Dhabi with a five-wicket haul to almost conjure a stunning victory.Bayliss said Rashid had remained “pretty philosophical” after his record-breaking none for 163 in the first innings. But even if he had not responded in such dramatic fashion it is very unlikely England would have lost faith so quickly. They see Rashid as a long-term investment, an attacking spin bowler who can add a vital component to a developing side.If he continues the form he showed late in the first Test – coming into his own against a nervous batting line-up with only survival to play for on a pitch that had, at last, developed some wear and tear – there is a chance England will try to fit him into their line-ups in conditions where they may previously have not considered two spinners.After the UAE tour they head to South Africa for a four-Test series followed by a home summer against Sri Lanka and Pakistan. A 2016-17 season in Asia then beckons with series against India and Bangladesh where Rashid should expect to be a key figure if his development continues.”He’s definitely not a selection for just here,” Bayliss said. “It will come down to whether he is bowling well enough to stay in the team and it’s a lot easier to keep him in the team if you’ve got Moeen Ali batting in the top six or seven and Ben Stokes in there as well. The possibilities of combinations we are able to play with those guys in the team are there.”Bayliss, who played against Shane Warne during his Sheffield Shield career and then coached Stuart MacGill at New South Wales, has brought an Australian understanding of legspin to the England coaching role. However, he said the desire to find a place for Rashid also stemmed from Andrew Strauss, the director of England cricket, during early discussions the pair had when he was appointed in May.Rashid is just England’s fourth legspinner since 1971 following Ian Salisbury, Chris Schofield and Scott Borthwick who have a combined total of 18 caps between them. Salisbury, who curiously also took five wickets on his debut against Pakistan at Lord’s in 1992, although spread across two innings, played 15 times over eight years. Schofield, picked in haste as a 21-year-old in 2000, was discarded after a two-Test series against Zimbabwe where he bowled in just one innings (although did make a brief, unexpected return in the T20 side in 2007) while Borthwick, so far, only has his appearance from Sydney when England were in disarray at the end of the 2013-14 Ashes.While not able to offer a definitive view on why English cricket has had such a difficult relationship with legspin, Bayliss suggested that too much emphasis on economy rates, and holding the game, had made them wary of a style of bowling that needs courage of conviction and often a few deep breaths. Along with England’s new approach to one-day cricket and their increasing expressiveness in Test matches – when conditions allow – Rashid is a part of New England.”Usually legspinners are a little more expensive and maybe not quite as accurate,” Bayliss said. “Maybe English cricket over the last few years has had a bit too much of an emphasis on not going for runs. My belief is that the best way to stop the runs is by taking wickets.”I think a legspinner brings a little bit of unpredictability. They spin it both ways so the batter has got to make a decision on what way it’s spinning as well as line and length. They get more work on the ball so that it can drop and a leg-spinner just seems to take wickets from nowhere. Come the fifth day that’s what you want to see from your leg-spinner. You want him to use the conditions and, especially, clean up the tail.”The other element to Rashid’s debut was the captaincy of Alastair Cook. Although Cook was skipper when Borthwick played in Sydney, he and the team were in such a bedraggled state that little worthwhile could be learned. In Abu Dhabi it was the start of a fresh contest and the building of a Test-match relationship between Cook and Rashid that will hopefully have some longevity.Bayliss praised the advisory role played by Mahela Jayawardene – who has now completed his stint with England in the UAE, although Bayliss said he would be very keen to have him back in the future – while adding that Cook will be better for the experience of the first Test.”Mahela was fantastic. Like anything for the first time, there are small tweaks with field placements we can look at – it needs the bowler bowling well – and don’t forget these Pakistan players are very good players of spin which makes it more difficult. We have recognised a few things from this Test that will hopefully be a bit different for the next that will give us a bit more of an advantage.”

A round-up of the Ram Slam T20 Challenge matches played on November 13, 2015

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Nov-2015A four-wicket haul from David Wiese defied a fighting half-century from Reeza Hendricks, as Titans edged past Knights by one run in Bloemfontein. Set a meager 129 for victory, Knights began poorly, losing wickets at regular intervals, but Hendricks, who slammed an unbeaten 98 against Cobras, kept his team on course by stroking a 52-ball 63 with six fours and a six. Hendricks, however, received little by way of support from his team-mates; only two other batsmen managed double-digit scores as Wiese dented the Knights’ chase with four wickets in successive overs.Hendricks’ knock meant Knights needed nine runs off the final over. With four runs required off the last two balls, a couple of metres proved the difference, as Hendricks’ pull off Wiese landed in the hands of Lungi Ngidi at square leg. Malusi Siboto, the No.9 batsman, could only manage two off the final delivery, as Titans hung on to go second in the table.Earlier, Titans were restricted 128 for 5 after being inserted. The team was struggling at 48 for 4 before the captain Albie Morkel (46) and Farhaan Behardien revived the innings with a 54-run stand. Siboto and Shadley van Schalkwyk picked up two wickets apiece.Seamer Sisanda Magala’s five-wicket burst helped Warriors seal a 25-run win over Lions after opener Colin Ackermann’s unbeaten 59-ball 79 had taken Warriors to 155.Lions were off to a quick start in their chase, with openers Rassie van der Dussen and Devon Conway putting on 49 runs in 5.3 overs. But, Magala struck twice in the sixth over to remove Conway and Hardus Viljoen, and he followed it up with Andre Malan’s wicket in his next over. In the meantime, JT Smuts had bowled Alviro Peterson for duck.From 60 for 4, Lions recovered through a 51-run stand between van der Dussen and captain Thami Tsolekile, but Magala and Smuts shot down any prospects of a Lions victory with quick wickets in the end.After being asked to bat, Warriors had begun poorly, losing opener Smuts to Bjorn Fortuin off the first ball of the match, but Ackermann and
Colin Ingram, who smashed 52 off 36 balls, put on 96 runs for the second wicket in 68 balls. Despite Warriors losing quick wickets, Ackermann steered them to what eventually turned out to be a match-winning total.

A round-up of all the Group A matches of the 2015-16 Vijay Hazare Trophy on December 14, 2015

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Dec-2015M Mohammed, the medium pacer, took 5 for 50, his best List A figures, as Tamil Nadu brushed past Services by seven wickets to register their third win in four matches. After being restricted to 192 for 8, Services were kept at bay by Abhinav Mukund, who top scored with 85, to set the foundation for TN. The match was polished off by B Aparajith, who remained unbeaten on 66, as TN won with more than 10 overs to spare. Diwesh Pathania’s three-wicket haul came as some consolation for Services, who also have two wins in three matches in the competition.Swarupam Purkayastha’s maiden List A century was in vain as Assam lost their Group A match to Punjab by a mere one run, while chasing 328.Sent in as an opener, Purkayastha was the common factor in two century stands that revived Assam’s chase after they lost early wickets. He first added 124 runs for the third wicket with Amit Verma (71 off 67 balls) and then paired with captain Gokul Sharma (60 off 55 balls) for a 107-run, fourth-wicket partnership. He struck 18 fours and a six in his 112-ball 125 before falling in the 39th over with Assam 82 runs short.Assam brought the equation down to seven off the last over, bowled by Brainder Sran, and then needed three off the last ball. However, Amit Sinha’s run-out while trying to complete a second run denied Assam a tie, and extended their streak of defeats in the tournament to four.Earlier, Mandeep Singh’s unbeaten 117 and fifties from opener Pargat Singh (69) and Gurkeerat Singh propelled Punjab to a total of 327 for 4 after they had been put in to bat. A rapid 128-run partnership between Mandeep and Gurkeerat for the fourth wicket, which came off only 11.5 overs, provided a strong finish to Punjab’s innings. While Mandeep’s 117 came off 97 deliveries, Gurkeerat struck seven fours and three sixes in his 36-ball 62.Fifties by Ashok Menaria and Manender Singh, followed by left-arm pacer Tanveer-Ul-Haq’s 4 for 44 set up Rajasthan‘s 102-run win over Hyderabad in Hyderabad. Opting to bat, Rajasthan were guided to 250 for 8 by Menaria(55) and Manender’s(51) efforts and Puneet Yadav’s 47. Ravi Kiran restricted Rajasthan’s middle-order in the death by picking two wickets each in overs 47 and 49, ending with returns of 4 for 57.Hyderabad slumped to 148 in their chase of 251 as Tanveer-Ul-Haq dismissed opener Danny Dereck Prince in the eleventh over and came back to clean up the tail later in the innings. As many as six Hyderabad batsmen failed to convert their starts, as the highest score was Hanuma Vihari’s 39.

Usman Khawaja, who returns to the Australia ODI squad after three years, is hopeful of becoming an all-format player and not just a Test specialist

Brydon Coverdale13-Jan-20161:23

‘Matador Cup form worked in my favour’ – Khawaja

At a time when Australia’s ODI fast-bowling depth is being tested, they seem to have no shortage of quality batsmen to call on. Centuries to George Bailey and Steven Smith won Australia the first ODI against India in Perth on Tuesday, and for the second game they will likely bring in a bloke with a List A batting average of 72.86 in the past three years. And one of the most in-form batsmen in the country probably still won’t get a game.The former is Shaun Marsh, the back-up batsman in the squad and the likely beneficiary of David Warner’s absence for paternity leave over the next two games. The latter is Usman Khawaja, who is joining the squad for the Brisbane and Melbourne ODIs, and is enjoying a remarkable run of form whatever the colour of the ball: not since October has Khawaja been dismissed below 50 in any format.Yet it is hard to argue with the probable batting line-up Australia will use in Brisbane, where Marsh is expected to open with Aaron Finch. After all, Marsh was second only to Smith on the Matador Cup run tally in October, with 390 at 65.00, and the last time he played for Australia he plundered 182 in the Hobart Test against West Indies. Khawaja’s return from injury bumped Marsh from the Test side; now Marsh looks set to keep Khawaja out of the ODIs.It is nearly three years since Khawaja last played ODI cricket for Australia, and even then he played only three games without reaching double figures. However, since his most recent ODI appearance Khawaja has thrived in one-day cricket, averaging 56.88 in List A matches, although he played only three Matador Cup games this summer due to a hamstring injury. Khawaja hopes his selection is the first step towards becoming an ODI regular.”The hunger is to play as many forms of the game as possible,” he said on Wednesday. “I’ve made it clear that I’ve always wanted to play one-dayers. But sometimes it’s about timing. If I’m going to get my opportunity, I don’t know, but when I do get it hopefully I can take it and be more than just a Test cricketer. At this moment I’m really happy with how I’m hitting the white ball.”Already 2015-16 has been a breakout summer for Khawaja in the Test team – he scored centuries in all three Tests in which he batted, in Brisbane, Perth, and Melbourne. His last two BBL innings, an unbeaten 109 before Christmas and 62 on Monday, suggest his white-ball form is indeed strong.”I’m really happy with how the Test stuff went,” Khawaja said. “There’s a lot of one-day cricket coming up in the next year. I’d love to be a part of it. Hopefully I can contribute moving forward.”However, Khawaja knows he will likely be warming the bench for the second ODI in Brisbane on Friday. “I haven’t been told anything,” he said. “I’m just using common sense – SOS [Marsh] is already there so I’d assume he’d slot into Davey’s spot and I’ll be the spare batsman. That’s what I’m expecting.”Australia will be aiming to secure a 2-0 lead in the five-match series in Brisbane, after their win in the high-scoring opener in Perth on Tuesday. India managed 3 for 309 against a new-look Australia attack featuring debutant fast bowlers Scott Boland and Joel Paris, whose combined figures read 0 for 127 from 18 overs, but Australia’s batsmen chased down the target with four balls to spare.

South Africa wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock has been ruled out of the third Test against England, which starts today in Johannesburg, after suffering an injury to his right knee on Wednesday evening

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Jan-2016South Africa wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock has been ruled out of the third Test against England in Johannesburg after suffering an injury to his right knee on the eve of the match.Dane Vilas, who was set to play a Sunfoil Series match in Port Elizabeth, was called up as an immediate replacement and reached The Wanderers midway through the first session.Scans showed only a mild sprain. De Kock will continue to receive treatment over the next few days in the hope that he might be considered for the final Test.Dr Mohammed Moosajee, the South Africa team manager, said that de Kock sprained his knee at home on the eve of the Test – a mishap that was later discovered to have occured when he was walking his dogs.”Quinton slipped and sprained his right knee at home late yesterday afternoon,” Moosajee said. “Initially he didn’t think it was too serious but woke up after midnight in pain and with a swollen knee. He will have investigations done later today to ascertain the extent of the injury.”De Kock, who was recalled earlier this month to the Test squad after nearly six months, scored 5 and took three catches in the New Year’s Test against England in Cape Town.This is the second time in just over a year that de Kock has suffered a freak injury. In December 2014, he rolled his ankle during warm-ups on the third morning of the Centurion Test against West Indies. Then, AB de Villiers took the gloves.This time, South Africa could not turn to de Villiers, who has just been named Test captain. Instead, they had to get Vilas on the 8:40am flight out of Port Elizabeth to play his first Test at home. Vilas has played five Tests since debuting in Bangladesh in July 2015 and was dropped after the India tour, in which he, like all South Africa’s batsmen, failed to score significant runs.Vilas has enjoyed a return to form since his snub, however. He score a career-best 216 not out for the Cobras against the Lions in a first-class match last week. In the same match, JP Duminy, who was dropped from the Test XI after the Boxing Day match, also notched up his career-best.Duminy’s unbeaten 260 almost earned him his place back in the team, but de Kock’s injury denied him and saved Stiaan van Zyl, who might otherwise have made way to allow de Kock to open the batting alongside Dean Elgar. The last-minute injury meant those plans could not materialise, and South Africa had to stick to their usual line-up.

A century of the highest class from Quinton de Kock helped South Africa complete the highest successful run-chase in an ODI at Centurion and keep the series against England alive

The Report by George Dobell09-Feb-2016 South Africa 319 for 3 (de Kock 135, Amla 127) beat England 318 for 8 (Root 125, Hales 65, Stokes 53) by seven wickets

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details2:05

‘Showed a lot of hunger on the field’ – De Villiers

A century of the highest class from Quinton de Kock helped South Africa complete the highest successful run chase in an ODI at Centurion and keep the series against England alive.With England having won the first two games in the five-match series, South Africa required a win to sustain their hopes of avoiding their first double defeat – in the Test and ODI sections of a tour – at home for 14 years.But when they conceded 318 it left them requiring a record run chase at this ground on a pitch that had appeared cracked and two-paced during the England innings.Yet they made light of their target, with an opening stand of 239 in 36.5 overs between de Kock and Hashim Amla racing them to victory with seven wickets and 22 deliveries remaining. They made it appear easy.It is a pretty special batting performance that eclipses a century from Amla, but so sweetly did de Kock time the ball, so wide was his range of stroke, so little margin for error did he allow the bowlers that a pitch on which few England batsmen looked comfortable was made to appear something approaching a batting paradise.The statistics of his de Kock’s career are worth dwelling upon for a moment. Despite only celebrating his 23rd birthday in December, this was his 10th ODI century in his 55th match. To put that in perspective, nobody has reached the milestone at a younger age (Virat Kohli was the previous holder of that record) and it is as many ODIs centuries as Graeme Smith managed in his entire 196-match ODI career.England will be relieved South Africa did not select de Kock earlier in the Test series. He has now scored three centuries against them (one in the Centurion Test and two in this ODI series) in his last four international games.Such is his ability, he forces bowlers to alter their natural length and then punishes the resultant full or short deliveries. Twice in the first over, he eased David Willey through the covers for four. Minutes later he was treating Reece Topley the same way and following it with a perfectly timed drive straight back past the bowler.Moeen Ali’s first delivery was delightfully late cut for four before he was slog-swept for six and when the seamers dropped short in search of a solution, they were pulled with dismissive power. One pick-up pull for six off a Chris Jordan delivery that was only fractionally short was probably the stroke of the day.With both sides set to name their World T20 squads on Wednesday, there was food for thought here for England. Despite all the progress they have made, with their batting in particular, their bowling attack remains both green and a little lacking in pace. In conditions where there is little swing available, they lack the weapons to dislodge well-set batsmen. Steven Finn might have made a difference, but there may also be a temptation to recall Stuart Broad, an unused member of this ODI squad.Amla was only marginally less impressive than de Kock. Using his crease to upset the line of the England bowlers, he stroked some balls off his off stump through midwicket and others through extra-cover. When the bowlers reacted by bowling wider of off stump, he unveiled that familiar, flowing drive that has featured in each of his 22 ODI centuries. Only AB de Villiers, with 23, has scored more for South Africa.Earlier the biggest of Joe Root’s seven ODI centuries took England to an apparently challenging total. By the time South Africa struck for the fourth time, they could have been quietly satisfied with their work. Jos Buttler, again promoted to No. 4 to build upon the strong start from England’s top order, had fallen first ball clipping to an intriguingly placed leg gully, while Eoin Morgan had laboured for 24 deliveries over his eight runs.But then Ben Stokes joined Root in a fifth-wicket stand of 82 in eight overs that took England’s total from the average to the strong. While Root was not entirely fluent in the early stages of innings, so wide is his range of stroke and so impressive his fitness levels that even when he was struggling to find the boundary, he was accumulating steadily. His 125 was the highest ODI score made by an England batsman against South Africa.Recognising that, once the shine had left the ball, the pitch became somewhat sluggish, Root started to skip down the pitch to hit the seamers off their length and over mid-on. With the bowlers struggling to hit upon a length that contained him, he punished the resulting short balls with one uppercut for six off Morne Morkel the stroke of the innings. Twice he thrashed full-tosses from Imran Tahir for six over mid-wicket.He gave one chance, on 44, when de Kock was unable to lay a hand on a tough chance offered off the bowling of David Wiese – a dab to third man that went a little finer than Root intended – but that moment apart, it was another masterful innings by Root.While de Kock went on to redeem himself, perhaps a key passage of play occurred far earlier. With seven overs and a delivery remaining of their innings, England had six wickets in hand, two batsmen well set and a target in excess of 330 in their sights.But then Root was run-out following a mix-up with Stokes – Root’s drive crashed into the stumps at the non-striker’s end and, in the confusion, the pair were caught mid-pitch – and Kyle Abbott, in particular, bowled with control and skill to stall the charge. He dismissed Stokes and Jordan with successive deliveries and, in five overs up to the end of the 48th over, England added just 24 runs.Such is the depth of England’s batting, that even their No.9 and No.10 – two men with 12 first-class centuries between them – are capable of attacking and Adil Rashid and Willey struck a six apiece in plundering 25 from the final two overs. But perhaps that lost momentum in the final seven overs cost them dear.Maybe Eoin Morgan will also reflect on his decision to bat first. de Villiers made no secret of his desire to bowl first, had he won the toss, and it did appear that conditions eased for batsmen as the lights came into play and the light dew allowed the ball to come on to the bat a little more readily.Or it may just be that, as with the best innings, the quality of the batting made it seem that way. The sense remains that, whatever England did with the ball and whenever they bowled, on this form de Kock was too good for them.

Australia will consider bringing Aaron Finch back into the side to face Bangladesh despite Usman Khawaja’s solid opening innings in the loss to New Zealand in Dharamsala

Melinda Farrell20-Mar-2016Australia will consider bringing Aaron Finch back into the side to face Bangladesh despite Usman Khawaja’s solid opening innings in the loss to New Zealand in Dharamsala.Khawaja made a free-flowing 38 off 27 balls before being run out pushing for a second with David Warner, but coach Darren Lehman is sticking to the policy of flexible selection, which could see several changes made to the Australian XI in Bangalore for Monday’s game.”[Khawaja] played beautifully, he played beautifully,” Lehmann said. “It’s not unfortunate [he was run out], he can say no. He’s just got to get better at running between the wickets, all the little things we didn’t do well enough.”He played beautifully, but it depends. We’ve got Bangladesh in Bangalore, so work out what the best option is for that game and play it from there.”Lehmann spoke glowingly of Finch, lauding the “brilliant” manner in which he handled the news of his omission for Australia’s opening match.”He has been fantastic,” Lehmann said. “He has been unbelievable. We only made the final decision when we arrived. One final look at the conditions, the wicket and the weather and that’s what we decided but he’s been brilliant. Can’t speak highly enough of him.”Lehmann echoed the sentiments of captain Steven Smith after New Zealand’s eight-run victory, blaming Australia’s batting through the middle overs for the loss but struggled to put his finger on the reason behind their poor shot selection.”Smith, Warner, Maxwell, Marsh, the whole lot of them – they need to be smarter,” he said. “They know that. They don’t mean to play the shots they play. At the end of the day we’ve just got to be better. We had a really good start. We should close that game out. Not comfortably, but we should close it out from 1 for 50.”I don’t know [why they didn’t play smarter], you’d have to ask them. They’re out there batting. Also understand it’s a pressurised game. It’s easy for us sitting back watching in the media box or as a coach, so it’s pressurised out there and the wicket was slow and spun and that’s what we’re going to get.”But we’ve got to be better at finishing those sort of scenarios. As long as they learn and understand the pressures of World Cup cricket and now knock-out cricket. Basically you lose, you’re out for us. Can’t explain why we played how we played after six overs but as long as they get better at it.”Australia’s preparations for their vital match against Bangladesh – although they consider every game to be do-or-die from here on – weren’t helped by the dreadful weather in Dharamsala on Saturday. Massive hailstorms and treacherous icy roads prevented the team leaving their high-altitude hotel as scheduled, with roads blocked and their morning chartered flight unable to land at Dharamsala airport.While they were eventually able to reschedule travel arrangements and arrived in Bangalore in the evening, it was hardly helpful with such a tight turnaround and Australia can ill-afford any further slips in this tournament.”Every game is a must-win when it is such a short tournament and you have to win three out of four,” Lehmann said. “You want to win the first game and get the tournament off on the right note. But at the end of the day we have still got to beat Bangladesh, we have still got to beat Pakistan we’ve still got to beat India, so you’ve got to win enough games and if you do that you qualify.”That is the great nature of the tournament. It is so quick you haven’t got too much time to think about it.”

Cricket Australia has struck another obstacle in its plans to play back-to-back day-night Tests next summer, with Australia’s players arguing that one is sufficient

Brydon Coverdale29-Apr-2016Cricket Australia has struck another obstacle in its plans to play back-to-back day-night Tests next summer, with Australia’s players arguing that one is sufficient. The final Test of the summer’s first series against South Africa will be a day-night fixture in Adelaide if CA can convince the players of both sides to agree, while the first Test of the second series will be a day-nighter against Pakistan at the Gabba.However, South Africa’s cricketers have expressed their concerns about playing under lights with a pink ball, and the Australian Cricketers’ Association has now also raised queries about the wisdom of playing two day-night Tests in the summer. Alistair Nicholson, the ACA CEO, met with Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland on Thursday, and a wider meeting involving the players is expected to take place after the IPL.”The recent media regarding whether South Africa will or won’t play a day-night Test is only one part of the equation,” Nicholson said. “There are many other factors to be considered. The feedback we are receiving from our playing group is that there still remain concerns over day-night Tests and whilst there is acknowledgement that this format may grow the game, at this stage the players would prefer to only play one day-night Test in 2016-17.”Pink-ball Tests are a fundamentally different game to traditional red-ball Test matches. We continue to be concerned about the durability and visibility of the pink ball, both the changing light conditions and the specifically prepared pitches are altering the conditions that the players are used to at each venue.”Last year’s inaugural day-night Test between Australia and New Zealand at Adelaide Oval was over within three days, as extra grass was left on the pitch in an effort to protect the ball from too much wear and tear. Australia’s captain Steven Smith said on Cricket Australia’s website recently that last year’s Test was “probably two millimetres of grass away from a four-day game”.South Africa captain AB de Villiers said he had met with Smith and some of the Australia players earlier this year to discuss day-night Test cricket, and “the consensus from our talks were that there are just too many unknowns”. Smith said he was surprised at the comments from de Villiers and said the Australians would be happy to play a day-night Test if the South Africans wanted to.However, the ACA said in a statement that “the legitimate concerns of the players had to be heard” in the current discussions involving Cricket Australia. He said that while the ACA welcomed the news that Cricket Australia and Cricket South Africa would continue their talks on the possibility of the Adelaide Test being day-night, the players wanted to be part of the discussion.”The players are supportive of innovation and certainly see the bigger picture,” Nicholson said. “It’s about growing the game through high quality cricket, accessible to as many people as possible. That’s why we urge more formal discussions with the players having a seat at the table. On behalf of the players the ACA would welcome that.”

Three-wicket hauls from fast bowler Ashok Dinda and legspinner Adam Zampa crafted Rising Pune Supergiants’ 19-run win via D/L method and hurt Delhi Daredevils’ chances of making the playoffs

The Report by Deivarayan Muthu17-May-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAshok Dinda took 3 for 20, including a maiden, to set up Rising Pune Supergiants’ fourth win•BCCI

Rising Pune Supergiants completed the double over Delhi Daredevils whose chances of making the playoffs received a jolt with a 19-run loss via D/L method in Visakhapatnam. Daredevils can still qualify for the playoffs with 14 or 16 points, but their net rate of -0.125 means they may need to win by a substantial margin in their remaining two games.Fast bowler Ashok Dinda knocked over the Daredevils openers within five overs, before R Ashwin and Adam Zampa found sharp turn to smother Daredevils to 121 for 6.Karun Nair, who showed considerable application to top score with 41, later said that his team was 25-30 runs short. Rain handed Daredevils two reprieves in their defence, before the game was called off by midnight. Ajinkya Rahane’s steady 42 not out steered Supergiants ahead in their chase and helped drag the side off the bottom of the table.The pitch on Tuesday was the same one used for the last two matches in Visakhapatnam. The conditions – both overhead and underfoot – and Supergiants’ improved fielding offered no breathing room for Daredevils until Morris blazed away. He struck the first six of the match in the final over of Daredevils’ innings and capped an otherwise sluggish innings with another muscled six over midwicket. But the game was Supergiants’ after they had kept Daredevils to 28 for 2, their third sub-30 score in the Powerplay this season.Dinda got his first ball to swing prodigiously and rapped Quinton de Kock’s pad with an inducker. That was heading down leg, but Dinda had de Kock lbw for 2 with a similar ball in his second over. Dinda then prolonged the lean patch of the returning Shreyas Iyer when he bounced the opener out for his fifth single-digit score in six matches in IPL 2016.Nair began fluently with drives and pulls against the seamers before the advent of spin restored Supergiants’ ascendancy. Zampa worked Sanju Samson over, having him stumped with a perfect legbreak that followed a brace of skiddy, quicker balls. He went on to dismiss Rishabh Pant and Nair in his next two overs. Daredevils were reduced to 70 for 5 in 14.3 overs.Ashwin, who was introduced in the 12th over, sent down an uninterrupted spell that read: 4-0-23-0. JP Duminy hung on for a run-a-ball 14 before he scooped Dinda to short fine leg.Morris mowed six boundaries, including two sixes and two fours off the last four balls of the innings, to finish with an unbeaten 38 off 20 balls.Supergiants opener Usman Khawaja threw away another bright start when he sliced Morris to backward point for 19 off 13 balls, but Rahane gave the chase substance with three off-driven fours and an upper cut off a Nathan Coulter-Nile bouncer. A top-edge off another hurrying bouncer from the Australia fast bowler detached George Bailey’s helmet before rain forced a delay of nearly an hour. Supergiants needed 65 off 70 balls when play resumed at 11.30pm and Bailey shook off the blow by getting on top of another lifting ball and whipping past midwicket.Sixteen balls after the first interruption, rain made another appearance. This spell brought an end to the game.

In a round of barn-burning finishes, neither side at the Ageas Bowl wanted to be left out

Vithushan Ehantharajah at the Ageas Bowl24-May-2016
ScorecardHarry Gurney chipped away at Hampshire’s top order, but they retained the edge•Getty Images

In a round of barn-burning finishes, neither side at the Ageas Bowl wanted to be left out.With that in mind, the visitors, taking their lead from Hampshire and their clown car of a physio room, brought some injury news with them this morning. Chris Read was ruled out of taking the field for the remainder of this match, having damaged his hand while batting yesterday evening. While he would eventually recommence his innings when the ninth wicket fell, he spent the remainder of the day with his feet up on the away balcony, watching on as Steven Mullaney took on captaincy duties and Riki Wessels kept wicket.Not wanting to be outdone, Hampshire dropped their own bombshell in the afternoon. Reece Topley, who had been expected to return this week from a hand injury picked up on the first day of the season, is now set for another three months out with a partial stress fracture of the lumbar spine. He has still yet to bowl a ball for his new county.It would be easy to caveat this match with a list of those not present, from the enforced to the elated (Jake Ball arrived in Durham this morning). But to do so is to ignore the quality that was on show. Those present have ensured the game has moved on in a manner that suggests neither are as bad as recent results suggest.At the forefront was Harry Gurney. After four wickets in Hampshire’s first innings, which stopped the lower order in its tracks, he did a number on the top order in the second. With an 81-run lead to play with, those at the front were undone by some fine swing bowling. Michael Carberry was exposed outside off stump before a beauty left Liam Dawson’s forward defence hanging and took his off stump for a wander.You would be forgiven for forgetting that Gurney is an international player. Or was. His name rarely comes up in selection debates for either white ball format. Even his worth as a long-form player is often filed over as simply “a left-arm option”. But Gurney’s used to being underrated.Even Nottinghamshire were not totally convinced that he would be a multi-format player for them when he joined from Leicestershire in 2012. Director of cricket Mick Newell admits that the motivation behind signing Gurney was that the left-armer always seemed to do well against Nottinghamshire in limited-overs cricket.His development into a skilled and highly valued part of their bowling cartel has pleasantly surprised many at the club. Deep down, he was confident in his own ability. When another player followed the familiar route from Grace Road to Trent Bridge, Gurney wrote a message in his locker: “If you improve half as much as I have since joining here, you’ll be a helluva player!”Luke Fletcher’s persistence throughout his 13 overs was rewarded with the wickets of Jimmy Adams caught at second slip and then Adam Wheater at mid-on, after the wicketkeeper played what might be one of the worst shots of the season. But both Fletcher and Gurney had to cede to Will Smith and Sean Ervine for the best part of 26 overs, as 78 was put on for the fourth wicket.Smith, captaining in the absence of Test newbie James Vince, displayed the sort of street smarts that saw him regularly bag around 900 runs a season while playing his cricket up at the seamers paradise that is Chester-le-Street. The first time he broke the 1,000 first-class runs mark was his first summer at the Ageas Bowl.His first half-century of the season, which came from 141 balls, was patient yet he kept the score ticking along. He ensured he presented a straight bat, while also getting down on one knee to lap Samit Patel over his shoulder. Everything in moderation – including moderation.Patel would get his share, though: a double-wicket maiden accounting for Smith, caught at midwicket, and Tino Best lbw for a pair. Ryan McLaren’s reverse sweeps, while a strong quiz team name, also helped Hampshire bring up a lead of 270 as the day drew to a close.Hampshire may already have enough. Mason Crane, the 19-year-old leg spinner, impressed with three wickets earlier in the day when he pitched the ball on a length that forced batsmen to play. He kept tabs on Dan Christian who tried to hit him out of the park but could only play onto his stumps. Brett Hutton, replacing Jake Ball in the match, swiped across the line only to find Adams at square leg, before Fletcher went for a heave and missed completely.It was only Wessels who had something to cheer for Nottinghamshire with the bat: a measured 72 from 159 balls adding some worth to an innings that always looked like coming up short. The final throes of the reply saw Gurney cart Dawson for two sixes down the ground before he lost his middle stump to Best.The pitch, for all its wear and turn, is still rewarding composure at the crease. Hampshire have just two wickets left and Nottinghamshire will be going to bed tonight thinking a chase of around 300 would be better than they expected.If the final day’s play is half as intriguing as this, we are in for a helluva finish.