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Scott Styris has labelled as “massive” the absence of Kevin Pietersen for New Zealand’s must-win game against England on Monday

Cricinfo staff09-May-2010Scott Styris has labelled as “massive” the absence of Kevin Pietersen for New Zealand’s must-win game against England on Monday. Pietersen has flown home for the birth of his first child and although he is planning to return for the semi-finals, his temporary unavailability could hurt England’s hopes in this match.England are all but assured of a spot in the final four, while New Zealand have to win to progress. Pietersen is the third-leading run scorer in the tournament so far and his 53 was crucial in winning their game against South Africa on Saturday.”It’s going to be massive,” Styris said. “He’s probably been, along with Jayawardene, one of the two best batsmen in the competition. He was outstanding yesterday against South Africa and he can win a game single-handedly. He’s world-class and without him, we know that it makes our job easier, although we still have to put the ball in the right areas.”England are going to be very difficult. They’ve been the form team in the competition, or one of the form teams. They’re playing good cricket, they’re confident, and confident teams in Twenty20 cricket are hard to beat. I like to think we’ve got some momentum – we’ve won all bar one of our games. England are playing well as well so it’ll be a good contest.”New Zealand are coming off a morale-boosting last-ball win over Pakistan, but Styris said the result could not mask the fact that improvement was needed in their batting. The New Zealanders struggled to 133 for 7 from their full 20 overs and Styris said to go on and have greater success in the tournament, the batsmen had to be prepared to take more risks.”We seemed to play with a little bit of fear yesterday,” Styris said. “By that, I mean guys were a little scared of taking risks and playing the big shots. In this version of the game, especially in big games, you’ve got to be prepared to get out. I felt that as a group we didn’t do that. I think we have to go in to the next game [without] fear of getting out and failing, and try and take the game by the scruff of the neck.”

Cameron Bancroft adds fifty as India’s Siddarth Kaul takes four on Northants debut

ECB Reporters Network10-May-2024Miles Hammond struck a sparkling 112 off 133 balls, his first century in two years to help propel Gloucestershire to 338 for 8 against Northamptonshire on day one of this Vitality County Championship match at Wantage Road.Despite hitting eight fifties last season, and three so far this year, this was the first time Hammond had gone on to reach three figures since making 169 against Hampshire in Cheltenham, the town of his birth, in 2022.While batting was never straightforward with swing on offer throughout the day, Hammond took the attacking route, hitting 17 boundaries and reaching his milestone by swotting Northamptonshire quick George Scrimshaw high over fine leg for a big six. Gloucestershire’s Australian overseas signing Cameron Bancroft also contributed a solid 53 at the top of the order.Indian international Siddarth Kaul meanwhile made an immediate impact on his Northamptonshire debut, taking 4 wickets for 58 in 23 testing overs, including three in the afternoon session. Ultimately though, his new county were unable to press home their advantage of having the visitors 119 for 3 as Gloucestershire made hay in the afternoon sunshine against some loose bowling.Northamptonshire did stage a good fightback, taking three late wickets with the new ball including one for evergreen seamer Ben Sanderson, playing his 100th first-class match for his adopted county.Northamptonshire won the toss and decided to bowl, fielding a largely new look attack, with Scrimshaw playing only his second game for the Tudor Rose, and Nottinghamshire spinning all-rounder Liam Patterson-White coming in on a one-match loan deal.Gloucestershire batted solidly during the morning, Bancroft taking on the extra pace of Scrimshaw, pulling him for four and cutting him crisply for two more boundaries.But it was the former Derbyshire bowler who made the first breakthrough, getting one to lift to Ben Charlesworth (16) who could only edge behind.Northamptonshire continued to apply pressure and create chances in the hour before lunch. New batter Ollie Price took 29 balls to get off the mark and both he and Bancroft edged balls which landed just short of the slips.After the interval, Kaul picked up the big wicket of Bancroft when he fell lbw to the third delivery of the session. The bowler, who is hoping to impress the Indian Test selectors during his Northamptonshire stint, bowled consistently all day, finding plenty of movement to trouble the batters.Kaul then accounted for Price (10) with a peach of a delivery which angled in before swinging away to take the edge, Emilio Gay taking an excellent diving catch at second slip.Hammond though looked in fine form, unfurling two glorious swivel pull shots against Scrimshaw before slapping him square for another boundary and driving Kaul firmly through the covers. He also took on the spin of Patterson-White, twice dispatching him over the infield.He was joined in a partnership of 75 for the fourth wicket by James Bracey (33) who cover drove Sanderson for two fours and hit Patterson-White over midwicket before he became Kaul’s third wicket, adjudged lbw to a full one which shaped back in.Hammond and skipper Graeme van Buuren (46) then put on 67, with runs flowing freely as Northamptonshire failed to capitalise on the movement on offer. Hammond finally fell soon after celebrating his century when he came down the wicket to Patterson-White and chipped the ball to midwicket where Ricardo Vasconcelos held a stunning diving catch.van Buuren brought out the sweep against Patterson-White to take Gloucestershire past 300 before the momentum swung back Northamptonshire’s way.Sanderson had been unlucky not to pick up a wicket earlier in the day, but had been wayward too, leaking runs down the leg side. He finally drew the edge from van Buuren with Vasconcelos taking a sharp catch at third slip. Then Tom Price (23), dropped early in his innings, was finally caught at slip to give Luke Procter a well-earned reward after toiling hard all day.Zafar Gohar became Kaul’s fourth wicket when he edged behind, but the bowler was denied a fifth in the penultimate over when Gay dropped Marchant de Lange in the slips.

“We certainly value contributions of people who’ve been there, and if they’ve missed out due to injury, they deserve the right to come back in”

Karthik Krishnaswamy15-Feb-202310:51

Dravid: ‘Nagpur is done, but we need to keep playing tough cricket’

Shreyas Iyer is set to return to India’s side for the second Test against Australia in Delhi, which begins on Friday, if he passes his fitness assessment on the eve of the match. Iyer missed the first Test in Nagpur with a back injury, and rejoined the squad in Delhi, where he had a long stint batting in the nets on Wednesday.India coach Rahul Dravid has said Iyer will “walk straight into the side” if he feels fine after batting on Thursday as well.”We’ll take a call after a couple of days of training,” Dravid said. “He’s had a long session today in terms of training today, we’ll assess it tomorrow as well, once he comes in for a light hit, and see how he feels in the evening. But certainly, if he’s fit and ready to go and ready to take the load of a five-day Test match, then it is without doubt that his performance means he will walk straight into the side.”Related

• Should Australia risk Cameron Green in the XI? Is there room for a third spinner?

• Starc 'still lacking a bit of strength', touch and go to be ready for Delhi Test

• Fit-again Shreyas Iyer to join India's Test squad in Delhi

• At fever pitch: Reviewing the Nagpur Test

Ever since scoring a century on Test debut against New Zealand in Kanpur in November 2021, Iyer has been a key middle-order batter for India especially in Asian conditions, and has been involved in several rescue jobs. Apart from his ability against spin, Dravid identified Iyer’s temperament and ability to find solutions under pressure as assets he brings to India’s line-up.Dravid took the examples of the innings Iyer played in pressure situations in both innings of his Kanpur debut, and the match-winning partnership with R Ashwin in Dhaka last December, which came after India were 74 for 7 in a chase of 145. He indicated that Suryakumar Yadav, who scored 8 in India’s only innings in Nagpur, where he made his debut, would probably make way for Iyer.”Without it being written in stone and without it being a rule, we certainly value contributions of people who’ve been there, and if they’ve missed out due to injury, they deserve the right to come back in, if they’ve performed, irrespective of what has happened in the time that they’ve been injured,” Dravid said.”So yes, it’s something that I can’t answer for everyone, but it’s certainly the outlook of the team management [in this case]. And yes, Shreyas has played well against spin, but what’s really stood out has been his temperament. We’ve been in quite a few pressure situations with Shreyas around, right from the first Test match that he played, his debut game in Kanpur.”We’ve been in some tough situations, and he and Rishabh [Pant] and [Ravindra] Jadeja, really, have been the ones who’ve been bailing us out and playing those critical knocks. His temperament in Bangladesh, when we were under pressure, along with Ashwin. That’s something that’s a really good sign, obviously along with his skill of playing spin really well.”He’s spent a lot of time in domestic cricket before getting in, so he obviously understands how to get runs, but I think at this level, also what really counts is your ability to deal with those pressure situations, that temperament, that ability to find solutions and find answers when we’re under pressure, and from the little sample size that we have, he’s been very good at that.”It’ll be nice to have him back, and he certainly has been one of our better players, he deserves it, and people in the team understand that as well. They know that if they are replacing someone who is injured, that person will probably come back, and the same thing will be followed for them as well – if they get injured, hopefully we’ll be able to give them the same treatment as well.”

Mortaza delighted at pacers stepping up for the team, says BCB could use Mirpur as a venue to develop quicks

Mohammad Isam08-Jan-2022Senior players Shakib Al Hasan and Mashrafe Mortaza have praised Bangladesh after their historic Test win against New Zealand in Mount Maunganui a few days ago. Shakib, who withdrew from the tour to spend time with his family, said that the victory proves the visitors don’t have to rely just on the senior players alone.”I don’t think my presence was necessarily important (in New Zealand),” Shakib said. “I am actually happy that they did it without me. Not just me… (but the others too). I think what really delighted me was that the notion, particularly in the media, that not many players apart from the four or five senior ones can win games for the team – that will be changed. If they are handed the responsibility, these youngsters will play better.”Related

• Mominul expects other teams will view Bangladesh differently after drawn series in NZ

• New Zealand look to bounce back against joyous Bangladesh

• Ebadot: 'If you are fit enough as a fast bowler, you can do anything'

• Bangladesh 'crossed all the barriers to bring a wonderful win'

• Mominul Haque 'didn't sleep at all' leading into final day

Shakib said that the victory was sweeter coming off a year of disappointing performances. The team endured two winless streaks of 10 matches each in 2021, from February to April and then from October to December.”We made an unbelievable start to 2022. I am very happy. Credit goes to all the players and coaching staff for playing well under so much pressure and in these conditions. Everyone tried hard. This was always going to be a challenging year after a difficult time in 2021 for us. I hope we can continue in this manner. Bangladesh do not play this well all the time”Not everything will change after a Test win. But it creates the opportunity for change. I think if we can hold onto this belief, particularly the BCB, we can do well in the World Test Championship,” Shakib saidMashrafe, who is preparing for this season’s BPL, said that fast bowlers winning a Test match for Bangladesh was their biggest takeaway. Bangladesh pacers picked up 13 wickets at Bay Oval, the most they have ever bagged in a Test match. Their previous highest was 11 against Zimbabwe in Harare in 2013.”Taskin (Ahmed) and Ebadot (Hossain) proved that if they put in the hard work, they can improve. It is good to see the pacers winning a game for us, but this win doesn’t necessarily answer all the questions.”This is not a reply to all the criticism in recent times. Rather, we should learn from this, that we can win matches if we give players the opportunity. Cricket boards should invest and see what’s happening so that it could bring better results in the future,” Mashrafe said.He also heaped praise on Ebadot for being patient and spoke about how the fast bowler has reaped the rewards after being given a long rope in Tests in the last two years.”Ebadot’s improvement isn’t recent. He has been playing for a while and has been kept in consideration in Tests. He must have been given assurance that he will play. He knows this is his career, his future. He has to serve the team.”Ebadot’s wickets [in New Zealand’s second innings] won us the game. It could have been a drawn game. You have to give the player a bit of time. He got set slowly. Rahi has been giving service for a long time (unclear). Giving them a bit of time always brings a good result,” he said.Mashrafe said that the BCB could look at turning one of their major venues to develop fast bowlers. “I think they could look at Mirpur to help the fast bowlers since the ball here goes up and down. It, however, depends on how much you depend on the fast bowlers. So it is good that the pacers won us the game,” he said.

The former Kerala legspinner fills the vacancy left by Nitin Menon’s promotion to the Elite panel

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Aug-2020Former Kerala legspinner KN Ananthapadmanabhan has been promoted to the ICC’s international panel of umpires. Ananthapadmanabhan will be the fourth Indian umpire on the international panel and fills the vacancy created by Nitin Menon’s move to the ICC Elite Panel.The other three Indians on the international panel are C Shamshuddin, Anil Chaudhary and Virender Sharma.Ananthapadmanabhan has officiated in nearly every domestic tournament in India, including the IPL, an England Lions match, and Women’s List A and T20 games.Before moving into umpiring, Ananthapadmanabhan played 105 first-class matches for Kerala, starting in 1988-89, and represented them until 2003-04. He was the first player from his state to achieve the double of 2000 runs and 200 wickets in the Ranji Trophy, and was briefly in the reckoning for an India cap. Playing for India A against the visiting Australians in 1998, he took the wickets of Steve Waugh, Ricky Ponting and Darren Lehmann.

After leaking 27 in his first two overs, the seamer gave away only ten runs in his last two while claiming the wickets of Rahul and Sarfaraz

Deivarayan Muthu in Chennai06-Apr-20194:42

Harbhajan and Tahir created pressure on Kings XI – Fleming

Scott Kuggeleijn bashed a hard length and cranked it up to 140kph for Northern Districts in the Super Smash, New Zealand’s domestic T20 competition. It was his hit-the-deck bustle that prompted Chennai Super Kings’ coach Stephen Fleming to get him on board as the injured Lungi Ngidi’s replacement.On the eve of the game against Kings XI Punjab at Chepauk, Super Kings received another major blow, with their designated death-overs bowler Dwayne Bravo joining Ngidi on the injury list.Three days after arriving in Chennai and after two training sessions, Kuggeleijn was asked to cut off his pace and, instead, make the batsmen manufacture it in the end overs. Kings XI Punjab needed 46 off the last three overs with eight wickets in hand. On IPL debut, Kuggeleijn was tasked with bowling two of those overs in front of a vociferous Saturday crowd. This, after he had repeatedly missed his lengths and leaked 27 runs in his first two overs.Kuggeleijn turned the tables on Kings XI, giving away only ten runs in his last two overs while claiming the crucial wickets of the well-set KL Rahul and Sarfaraz Khan, who had put on 110 off 93 balls for the third wicket.Having been punished for bowling too full in the early exchanges, Kuggeleijn dragged his length back and mixed it up with cutters that gripped on a tired Chepauk pitch. The slower balls tricked both Rahul and Sarfaraz into holing out in the outfield.”[Kuggeleijn] interests me because he had some pace and played international cricket,” Super Kings’ coach Fleming said at the post-match press conference. “The thing we can’t understand without working with him is his temperament. He has been here for only three days and to throw him in a big game in a home ground was a big ask and the first two overs was just that.”It was about being firm on what we wanted: hit the middle of the wicket and bowl your cutters which is what we saw a bit during scouting. We were strong with him during that [strategic] break. It was just very instructional so that to take away any doubt from him and just do that and he did that well. Once he had confidence that it was working, he was able to get into that. He was fractionally full [early on] and that can be nerves and the whole environment. I was a bit worried we were going to be putting him in a situation which was going to be tough and he responded well.Fleming believes that Kuggeleijn’s impressive IPL introduction could help fill in the void created by the injury-enforced absences of Bravo and Ngidi, and David Willey, who has withdrawn from the tournament citing personal reasons. Fleming, however, hinted that Willey could return at the fag end of the season.”[We] just have to back him [Kuggeleijn]. MS [Dhoni] is very supportive,” Fleming said. “It is a culture where if it [the plan] hadn’t worked, we are not scathing. We understand how tough it can be. When we bring someone in we look at what skills they bring and try to get the best out of them. Today was a massive step for him to be part of the group and to win a game. To be part of the last part of the game, to make a big contribution goes a long way in making you feel part of the group.”We are a little bit thin; there’s no doubt about it, so that’s why the introduction of Scott was important just to see how thin we were. We have to work hard; at home we can get away with spinners. The bowlers are trying hard to make sure they can contribute and today they did. Keep that in mind that our spinners were outstanding as well. We know we have holes and we’re just scrapping hard to hide them.”

An all-round show from Shane Watson, coupled with a patient kock from Sarfraz Ahmed took Quetta Gladiators to another win in the PSL

The Report by Danyal Rasool10-Mar-2018Quetta Gladiators 158 for 4 (Sarfraz 45*, Watson 37) beat Peshawar Zalmi 157 for 5 (Smith 49, Watson 2-26) by six wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsIn a nutshellThe previous few games in the PSL almost made T20 cricket lose its shape. There were one-sided duds, exceptionally low-scoring matches and domino collapses, but this was (if indeed we can begin to call it that) good old-fashioned T20 cricket. Quetta Gladiators chased down Peshawar Zalmi’s 157 with a cold-hearted, ruthless performance, powered to the finish by a world-class 74-run partnership between their captain Sarfraz Ahmed and Rilee Rossouw.Quetta tried to stay on top of the asking rate right from the outset, aided by Shane Watson, whose outstanding form has seen him become the top scorer in the tournament. A 25-ball 37 from him sent Quetta on their way, with a cameo from Kevin Pietersen allowing them to keep the required rate in check. However, Peshawar were clawing their way back in with regular wickets, and when Quetta were reduced to 84 for 4, the importance of the Rossouw-Sarfraz partnership appeared impossible to overstate. Both players rose to the occasion with a professional, dispassionate class, managing to keep the runs ticking in the face of magnificent death bowling by Wahab Riaz and Hasan Ali. They took it to the final over, but they never looked like blowing it. The result, however, meant that Lahore Qalandars – like the last two seasons – were out of playoff contention.Peshawar were guilty of a slow start, but Dwayne Smith compensated with a lusty, powerful innings up top, thwacking five sixes in a 33-ball 49. But soft dismissals were the scourge of their innings, and the next four batsmen fell to straight-forward deliveries spooned straight into the air in the inner circle, as Peshawar lost momentum regularly. They only managed to get to above 150 thanks to a brilliant rearguard from Captain Fantastic Daren Sammy – still only partially fit, whose 19-ball 36 powered them to 157. It was respectable, but not quite enough.Where the match was wonMohammad Nawaz has made a bit of a habit of taking early wickets, and the beauty that bowled Kamran Akmal for a golden duck put Peshawar on the back foot straightaway. For the first four and a half overs, they scored at under 5, meaning much of the Powerplay was squandered without runs on the board. Though Smith and Sammy did well to catch up, that early stumble meant a potential total of 180 was confined to merely 157. In a tight, last-over run chase, those extra runs were made to count.The men that won itT20 cricket can have a bit of a reputation as a “hit and hope” sort of format, but the chanceless nature of the Rossouw-Sarfraz partnership was spectacular. When they came together, Peshawar had the edge, but the pair seemed to trust each other, and found reassurance and confidence batting together. A classy inside out cover drive off the left-arm spinner from Sarfraz sent them on their way, and from thereon all they did was nail the basics. They got a boundary an over, kept the strike ticking along, and never gave Darren Sammy any reason to be hopeful, snuffing the fire out of Peshawar. We may not see a better partnership under pressure all season.Fast bowlers in unisonUmaid Asif, Wahab Riaz and Hasan Ali are all different fast bowlers in their own way, but they all appeared to have the same effect on Quetta. At least, that’s how it appears if all you did was take a cursory look at the scorecard. Each of them took one wicket each; Wahab and Umaid’s figures were indeed identical: 4-0-26-1. Hasan Ali’s numbers read 4-0-25-1. It isn’t often three fast bowlers from one side perform to that level and end up on the losing side, but that only illustrated the fine margins in this game, and the nervy contest it ended up becoming.Where they standQuetta go to the top of the table with 10 points, while Peshawar, with three losses and five wins, are dangerously close to elimination, sitting in fifth place. The result also officially eliminates Lahore Qalandars, who cannot now mathematically finish in the top four.