Corey Anderson smashed an unbeaten 82 off 42 balls and picked up two wickets to lead New Zealand to a 95-run win in the third T20 in Wellington

The Report by Karthik Krishnaswamy22-Jan-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details1:21

Ninety-seven balls, 10 wickets

Corey Anderson limped off the field with 15 overs of the third T20 still remaining, but by then he had done enough to tilt the match, and the series, decisively New Zealand’s way. He had smashed an unbeaten 42-ball 82 to power New Zealand to a total of 196, and by the end of his second over, when he pulled up with cramps, had picked up two wickets to help reduce Pakistan to 36 for 4.A good start is critical in a chase of such magnitude, and Pakistan did not make one. Failing to get on top of a short ball from Trent Boult, Mohammad Hafeez sliced a high catch into the point region. In the next over, Ahmed Shehzad picked out deep square leg while looking to pull Anderson, before Mohammad Rizwan ran himself out hurtling needlessly from his crease. Shoaib Malik struck three sweetly-timed fours off Boult, but the required rate brought out a miscued slog in the next over; Anderson had his second, and New Zealand were firmly on the road to victory.In the end, Anderson was not required to come back onto the field as New Zealand wrapped up the match with close to four overs still remaining. Only two Pakistan batsmen reached double figures as they only just scraped past the 100 mark.This was surely not the finish Pakistan had envisioned when Shahid Afridi chose to bowl after winning the toss. But the portents were clear right from the first ball of the match, which Martin Guptill flat-batted to the cover boundary. Carrying on from where he left off in Hamilton, Guptill tore into Anwar Ali, who replaced Umar Gul in Pakistan’s seam attack, spanking him for another four and a six off the last two balls of the first over.With Guptill in an equally punishing mood against Imad Wasim’s hitherto unhittable left-arm spin, New Zealand reached the half-century mark as early as the start of the fifth over. They could have gotten there earlier, had more if not for Mohammad Amir’s efforts to tie up Kane Williamson at the other end, bowling with pace and giving him no room.Guptill was looking unstoppable until Afridi brought himself on and pulled things back with his skiddy topspinners from just back of a length. He forced Guptill to miscue a slog-sweep and hole out, and gave away only seven runs from his first two overs. In between, a brilliant piece of fielding from Rizwan at midwicket ran out Colin Munro at the non-striker’s end.Not long after, Williamson had holed out off Wahab Riaz, and Ross Taylor had retired hurt with a side strain. But New Zealand still had the momentum, with Anderson already underway with two fours and a six off his first twelve balls.Anderson was not at his most fluent, but his method of clearing his front leg to make swinging room brought him rich dividends whenever anything was pitched in his hitting zone. All four of his sixes flew over the arc between deep midwicket and long-on, with those two fielders made to look like spectators.With the leg-side boundary packed and a sweeper square on the off-side, third man was usually inside the circle. This gave Pakistan’s seamers little margin for error when they tried to fire in the yorker, as Anderson made room, freed his arms, and carved the ball over or wide of that fielder for four of his six fours, with Wahab, who went for 43 in his four overs, receiving special attention for this form of punishment.

BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur has maintained that the BCCI is not looking for an “escape route” from implementing the Lodha panel recommendations

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Feb-20163:09

‘BCCI not looking for any escape route’

The Supreme Court of India’s ruling on Thursday might have suggested its annoyance with a perceived lack of seriousness on the BCCI’s part in implementing the Lodha committee recommendations, but Anurag Thakur, the BCCI secretary, has insisted the board is following a due process and not dilly-dallying. The Supreme Court has given the BCCI a March 3 deadline to implement the Lodha recommendations or “We will implement it for you”. Thakur didn’t say if the court’s view was acceptable to the board, but maintained the BCCI had not been looking for an “escape route”.The Supreme Court’s latest deadline comes exactly a month after the Lodha committee made the recommendations public. The BCCI has, to date, not spoken about the merits of the report, or its objections, in public or in court. On Thursday, the BCCI submitted that its legal committee was due to meet on February 7, a response the court didn’t like.”We will take an easy way out,” Chief Justice TS Thakur told the BCCI counsel. “We will ask the very same committee to implement it. We will tell them the BCCI has some problems, so please help them in implementing it. We have seen the report. When all the members have been consulted and their views have been taken, what is the problem?”The BCCI secretary couldn’t say what was wrong with the report, but said it was justified for the board to take its time. “We need to understand it is not a one-page report,” Thakur said. “It is a detailed report, which will have a lot of consequences on the working and the functioning of the BCCI. A committee has taken close to 12 months to come up with it. We are taking close to two months to discuss, debate, and after deliberations come to a consensus to implement that report. We are not slow.”When the report came, I wrote a letter to all the state associations to call their meetings. Many state associations have already held their managing-committee or working-committee meetings. They are going to have their special general meetings before the BCCI’s special general meeting in the third week of February. So I think it is a due process. We are not slow at all. We are not shying away. We are not looking at any escape route.”Thakur did betray mild annoyance at the committee’s recommendations. “We believe in transparency and accountability,” Thakur said. “And the last nine months we have proved that the steps taken by BCCI are in the right direction. Certain changes that we have brought in have been applauded by everyone. Justice Lodha has recommended many things. We have requested the state cricket associations to look into that. They are the members of the board, they form the board. So every member has a right to look into the recommendations and come up with their suggestions.”And yes, our legal committee met. We are again going to meet on the 7th. The special general meeting has been called in the third week of February. We have requested the state associations to come up with their suggestions and recommendations before that. It is a due process that we have adopted. And as far as the details on the recommendations of the Lodha panel are concerned, during the next hearing in the Supreme Court we will definitely go and give our view on that.”If you look at the 1983 [World Cup] winners we were unable to give enough money to that team. Thirty years down the line we have done something good, which has paid off. We are one of the best-run boards in the world. It can’t be that everything is wrong in the BCCI. You can’t say that. I think what we have achieved over the last 30-40 years should also be looked at.”

Medium-pacer Deepti Sharma followed up her four-for in the previous game with figures of 6 for 20 to help India Women to a comfortable seven-wicket win against Sri Lanka Women in Ranchi

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Feb-2016
ScorecardFile photo – India Women climbed to fourth place on the ICC Women’s Championship points table after the series sweep•Cricket Australia/Getty Images

Deepti Sharma, the offspinner, followed up her four-for in the previous game with figures of 6 for 20 to help India Women to a comfortable seven-wicket win against Sri Lanka Women in Ranchi. The victory gave India a clean sweep in the three-match series and pushed them to fourth place on the ICC Women’s Championship points table.Sri Lanka got off to a solid start after opting to bat, with the openers adding 33 before Sharma took two in two to spark a spectacular collapse. Captain Shashikala Siriwardene and Dilani Manodara combined for a 32-run sixth-wicket stand but a cluster of wickets thereafter meant Sri Lanka were bowled out for 112 in 38.2 overs, from a score of 94 for 5. Debutant Preeti Bose returned figures of 8-4-8-2.India’s chase began in shaky fashion, losing Poonam Raut in the first over. Smriti Mandhana was run-out soon after for 6. Veda Krishnamurthy and Sharma, then, set about consolidating the innings. The pair added 70 in 109 balls to take India into the ascendancy before Sharma was stumped for 28. India cruised to the target on the back of Krishnamurthy’s 90-ball 61, with more than 20 overs to spare.

Queensland are looking for a new chief executive, following the sudden resignation of Geoff Cockerill, six months before the conclusion of a three-year contract

Daniel Brettig01-Apr-2016Queensland are looking for a new chief executive, following the sudden resignation of Geoff Cockerill, six months before the conclusion of a three-year contract.The state association has been through some troubled times in recent years, and Cockerill has overseen the use of strategic funding of some $4.05 million handed to Queensland by Cricket Australia, following the rejigging of the Board’s revenue model in 2012. Cockerill’s successor, not expected to be known for some months, will work closely with Kevin Roberts, the CA head of strategy, on building the game in the state.”The business has gone a long way to achieving the type of financial freedom that we had identified as a priority when I started in the role,” Cockerill said. “Whilst that is important, I also take much pleasure in knowing that the groundwork has been laid for a sound transition as Australian cricket embraces the One Team philosophy and implementation that will drive the game to greater heights nationally.”Queensland continues to generate excellent participation numbers as more boys and girls, and men and women join our shared vision of being Australia’s favourite sport, and a sport for all Australians. Strategic funding levels from Cricket Australia have never been higher, and Queenslanders are benefitting from this all around the state. I will look back on this time with pride and wish the staff and board every success as they continue on the path we have created.”Cockerill, who replaced the late Graham Dixon as CEO in September 2013, joined QC from a background in the liquor industry, where he worked selling brands like XXXX and Bundaberg Rum for Lion Nathan and Diageo. While he enjoyed a wildly successful first summer as bumper Gabba Test crowds bankrolled a $4 million profit, last season was more problematic as Brisbane played only a peripheral role in the World Cup. It is presently jockeying for a day/night Test next summer.Jim Holding, the Queensland chairman, said the association had not expected Cockerill’s resignation. “Whilst unexpected, the Board has accepted his resignation and we wish him the best for his future endeavours,” Holding said. “We will now proceed with a process that will allow us to spend the time, looking for the best candidate to lead the organisation into the future.”Geoff was able to oversee a period of significant change in that period, and assist Queensland Cricket to reach a position of stability and strength. Our financial outcomes have been strong under his guidance, he has worked diligently to enhance and grow strong relationships with our key stakeholders, and he has taken significant roles in driving national outcomes such as the OneTeam project, as well as growing the game at a grassroots level.””He should be satisfied and proud of his achievements and we thank him for his efforts.”

The Supreme Court on Monday made it clear that all state cricket associations will have to “fall in line” with recommendations of Justice RM Lodha led-panel on structural reforms in the BCCI

PTI02-May-2016India’s Supreme Court, on Monday, made it clear that all state cricket associations will have to “fall in line” with the recommendations of Justice RM Lodha led-panel on structural reforms in the BCCI. The court had tasked a three-member committee with recommending changes to the BCCI’s constitution and manner of functioning in the wake of match-fixing and spot-fixing scandal that occurred in IPL 2013. The panel presented its report in January this year.”Once the BCCI is reformed it will go down the line and all cricket associations will have to reform themselves if they want to associate with it. The committee constituted in the wake of match-fixing and spot-fixing allegations was a serious exercise and not a futile exercise,” a two-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice TS Thakur, said.The bench said that recommendations of reforms in the BCCI were made by a committee of experts after extensive deliberations with stakeholders, and the findings could not be defined as “just recommendations”. The court’s statement was in response to the Haryana Cricket Association’s argument that the Lodha panel’s findings were only recommendations and a few of them were not feasible for cricket bodies to implement.”It will no longer remain just recommendations if we say it has to be implemented,” the court said. “It was called recommendations as some of the findings of the committee were implemented by the BCCI during the deliberations itself and some were not implemented.”We are hearing the issue because we are seeing whether the recommendations which have not been implemented can be implemented or not. [The] Justice RM Lodha committee has said that what has been done is just cosmetic and what is required is not cosmetic reforms but more than that.”The apex court also pulled up the Haryana association for objecting to the recommendation of an age cap of 70 years for office bearers, and asked whether “some office bearers in cricket bodies think they are indispensable”.”Do you think that some office bearers in cricket bodies think they are indispensable? Nobody is indispensable, leave alone the cricket administrators,” the bench said. “There should be time when you have to say enough is enough, and pave the way for others to take charge.”Responding to objections raised by the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) on the inclusion of a nominee of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) on the cricket board, the apex court said that the law could be amended to pave the way for reforms.”[The] Justice RM Lodha committee has said that laws could be amended for inclusion of a nominee from CAG in governing bodies. The law doesn’t say that the governing body should only comprise members,” the bench said.Additional Solicitor General Maninder Singh, representing the Railways Sports Promotion Board and the Services Sports Control Board, opposed the Lodha panel’s recommendation to downgrade the bodies to associate members of the BCCI and take away their voting rights. The bench asked the ASG to give two reasons that justified their claim on voting rights.”Not allowing us a right to vote is just like ousting us from the decision-making process despite meeting all the required rational parameters which are applied to the states given the right to vote,” ASG Singh said. He added that that both Railways and the Services boards had a presence across India.The court had earlier pulled up the BCCI for “monopolizing” cricket in the country and had said several youngsters wanting to be Dhonis and Kohlis were not given equal opportunity if they were not on the right side of the cricket body.The court had appointed senior advocate Gopal Subramanium as amicus curiae and sought his assistance to explore how the recommendations of Lodha committee could be implemented. Subramanium will present his views before the court on Tuesday, May 3.

Ashish Nehra has been ruled out of the rest of the IPL with a hamstring injury. A press release from the franchise said he sustained it while playing against Kings XI Punjab last Sunday

ESPNcricinfo staff19-May-20163:24

Sunrisers Hyderabad lose Nehra’s services

Ashish Nehra has been ruled out of the rest of the IPL with a hamstring injury. The 37-year old fast bowler had been one of Sunrisers Hyderabad’s key players, with nine wickets from eight matches at an average of 22.11 and an economy rate of 7.65.Sunrisers have to win at least one of their two remaining matches – against Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata Knight Riders – to make the playoffs. Losing Nehra, who has swung the new ball and picked up early wickets, will affect their first-choice XI.A press release from the franchise said Nehra “sustained a significant hamstring tendon injury during the match against Kings XI Punjab on May 15.”Ashish Nehra is now in consultation with a specialist orthopedic surgeon for the most appropriate course of treatment to ensure a successful return to competitive cricket. Unfortunately he will play no further part in the ninth edition of the Indian Premier League for Sunrisers Hyderabad.”It is the second time he has broken down this season. Nehra had missed four matches with a groin strain that he picked up in early April. In terms of replacements, Sunrisers may opt for another left-arm quick Barinder Sran, who has picked up nine wickets from nine matches.

New Zealand left-arm fast bowler Mitchell McClenaghan has sustained a stress fracture to his pelvis that is likely rule him out of cricket for at least six weeks

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Jun-2016New Zealand left-arm fast bowler Mitchell McClenaghan has sustained a stress fracture to his pelvis that is likely rule him out of cricket for at least six weeks.New Zealand’s next international assignments are Test tours of Zimbabwe and South Africa in July-August. McClenaghan, who is yet to make his Test debut, has not been named in the squad for those tours. He will be hoping to recover in time for the ODI leg of New Zealand’s tour of India in September-October.McClenaghan picked up the injury while representing Middlesex in the ongoing NatWest T20 Blast; he has now been ruled out of the remainder of the tournament. Middlesex’s Managing Director of Cricket, Angus Fraser, described the loss of McClenaghan as a big blow.”Losing Mitchell is a big blow for us,” Fraser said. “He is an outstanding white-ball bowler who brings variety, skill and nous to any side he plays for.”

Northamptonshire strengthened their position in the 30 overs that were possible on the second day of the Specsavers County Championship match against Sussex at Arundel

ECB Reporters Network23-Jun-2016
ScorecardBen Duckett took more runs off the Sussex attack•Getty Images

Northamptonshire strengthened their position in the 30 overs that were possible on the second day of the Specsavers County Championship match against Sussex at Arundel.Captain Alex Wakely batted through the morning session for his unbeaten 46 as Northants reached 142 for 2, just 36 behind Sussex’s first-innings 178. Rain set in during the afternoon and got steadily heavier and umpires Ben Debenham and Steve O’Shaughnessy abandoned play for the day at 5.10pm.Northants lost just one wicket in the action that was possible when Ajmal Shahzad had opener Ben Duckett caught at second slip by Chris Nash for 72, driving at a pitched-up delivery. The left-hander had added 94 for the second wicket with Wakely and took his first-class aggregate to 718 runs with his fifth 50-plus score of the season.Wakely had a scare on 17 when he edged Steve Magoffin just out of the diving Nash’s reach but otherwise batted solidly in difficult light. Wakely was joined by Rob Keogh in an undefeated third-wicket stand of 26 as Northants reached 142 for 2 at lunch when the rain arrived.

George Bailey fired a career-best Twenty20 score of 76 to boost Middlesex’s hopes of a home NatWest T20 Blast quarter-final, as they thrashed bottom-placed Hampshire by 43 runs

ECB Reporters Network22-Jul-2016
ScorecardGeorge Bailey lifted Middlesex with a rapid half-century•Getty Images

George Bailey fired a career-best Twenty20 score of 76 to boost Middlesex’s hopes of a home NatWest T20 Blast quarter-final, as they thrashed bottom-placed Hampshire by 43 runs.Overseas star Bailey was brilliantly partnered by John Simpson in a perfectly paced fourth wicket stand of 114. Ryan Higgins then took 5 for 13 – having only taken his maiden T20 wicket on Thursday evening – to make sure Hampshire’s chase never got going and give Middlesex back-to-back wins in the competition.Middlesex, after winning the toss and batting, were guided to 182 thanks in the main to a well-paced partnership between Bailey and Simpson.Dawid Malan, on the back of a record, unbeaten 185 for England Lions, was caught and bowled by Ryan McLaren. England one-day skipper Eoin Morgan fell soon after with Liam Dawson taking the catch at mid-on, before Paul Stirling was bowled by Brad Wheal to end the Powerplay 40 for 3.But that kick-started the mammoth stand between Bailey and Simpson, who never looked in trouble, never appeared to need to play the big shots.Former Australia T20 captain Bailey, following a match-winning 55 in the London derby on Thursday night, was the first to reach fifty, from 38 balls. Wicketkeeper Simpson quickly followed to the milestone in a slightly quicker 32 deliveries, helped by a trio of maximums.The partnership stretched from the seventh over to the 19th, when Simpson picked out Joe Weatherley on the midwicket rope. James Franklin and former Hampshire man Bailey, who passed his previous best Twenty20 score of 71, both departed before the close – Middlesex scoring 181 for 6.In a reply which never got going, Adam Wheater struggled to time the ball and his tortured spell was ended when he skied one to Malan, Tom Alsop copied his fellow opener’s style four balls later.Hampshire captain Sean Ervine and England international Dawson ticked along with a promising 40 stand in five overs. But the hosts were stunted again when Dawson chipped to Lions teammate Malan at short extra cover before Shahid Afridi teed up to James Fuller at deep square leg.Ervine was progressing nicely with a rapid 36 before Higgins’ slower ball pegged his middle stump back. Morgan managed to keep himself inside the boundary to hold on to Weatherley’s slog and the steady flow of wickets continued next ball when McLaren reverse swept to Bailey, off Higgins.Lewis McManus nicked off, Brad Taylor mistimed to short third man and Wheal was castled, with Hampshire losing their final five wickets in just 25 balls.

Trent Boult and Neil Wagner picked up five wickets between them to leave South Africa at 236 for 8

The Report by Alagappan Muthu19-Aug-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsThe first day of Test cricket in August at Kingsmead felt like a play. There was the roguish charmer, Trent Boult, making the new ball weave shapes the batsman couldn’t fathom. There was the graceful warrior, Hashim Amla, finding the boundary with the softest of touches. There was the man who defies pain, Neil Wagner, summoning bouncers late in the day. There was guts from Temba Bavuma. And finally there was Mitchell Santner, the sneaky saboteur who ensured the curtains came down with New Zealand smiling.South Africa, having opted to bat, lurched from 102 for 2 to 160 for 5 and were finally holding on at 236 for 8 at stumps, with Kagiso Rabada and Dale Steyn at the crease.There was a distinct narrative in each session of play. The first was for the purists, and for those moved by drama, for Boult was slaying an old demon. Ever since a back injury in June 2015, he had looked a paler force. His average bobbed over 36, he leaked three runs an over, and some were worried he had lost his inswing. Considering a stress fracture to his back had threatened his career before it even began – he was set to make his Test debut as a 19-year-old in Australia in 2009, instead he spent two years out of the game – Boult running in and hunting for the top of off stump at 140 kph was a pleasing sight. His first spell of eight overs included three maidens, plenty of jaffas, and the wicket of opener Stephen Cook.In walked Amla. The ball cringed at the sight of him and hid beyond the boundary every chance it could. He looked in such ominous touch that his batting average of 18.62 at Kingsmead, his home ground, seemed like a computer error. He had contributed 40 of the 53 runs South Africa accumulated in the ten overs leading to lunch, favouring the cover drive. Six of his ten fours came in that region as New Zealand attempted to stay off his pads and ended up overcompensating.So Kane Williamson called on Boult again, who promptly confounded the opposition’s best batsman. An inswinger demanded Amla come forward – he couldn’t – nibbled on the inside edge and settled in wicketkeeper BJ Watling’s gloves. Boult wasn’t able to turn the tide like that on the tours to Australia in late 2015, nor was he his usual self in the home Tests that followed. But at Kingsmead, he pitched the ball on off stump with remarkable precision and the batsman did not know whether it would carry on with the angle or veer back at him. He was a sitting duck.So it was important that South Africa took the time to find stable ground. That responsibility fell on Temba Bavuma and the stand-in captain Faf du Plessis. The runs came at a trickle but their 54-run partnership was the second-biggest of the day. South Africa had expressed a desire not to accept mediocrity on the eve of the match and though each of their specialist batsmen spent at least 30 minutes at the crease it wouldn’t please them that only one managed a fifty. Bavuma came within four runs of the mark, driving serenly and pulling authoritatively. But he was trapped lbw by Santner soon after Quinton de Kock ran down the track and spooned a catch to cover.New Zealand had been patient, they had strangled run-flow when wickets weren’t forthcoming and gave themselves the chance to pounce at the slightest opening. Literally, as it turned out.In the fourth over after tea, Williamson flew to his right at gully and came up with a one-handed screamer to dismiss du Plessis. The bowler was Wagner, who had already caused frustration for South Africa and in particular JP Duminy by bouncing him out minutes after lunch. No one springs the leg-side trap quite like Wagner, going wide of the crease, summoning effort from some secret dimension very few fast bowlers have access to. He surprised Philander with another short one on what became the fourth over before bad light ended the day.Things were tough at the start too. Like freshmen at a college party, Cook and Dean Elgar had spent the first several minutes assessing conditions. They tried to keep to their little corner and hoped they eventually would feel comfortable enough to shake a leg or two. Boult hit the perfect spot in the 14th over. Cook was caught in the crease, defending inside the line and with soft hands. Had that ball carried on with the angle, he would have been safe, but Boult brought it back in and claimed the edge. Quite unplayable.Elgar was worked over in a similar manner by Doug Bracewell, who switched around the wicket to draw the batsman into pushing outside his off stump and edging to second slip. Williamson at gully put his head down and clapped his hands hard. He had said his bowlers had to be “creative” to get their wickets in Zimbabwe a few weeks ago. Nothing of that sort was required at Kingsmead, where the red ball swung just enough to play on the nerves of a top order that hadn’t played Test cricket in seven months.