Tag Futebol

If you watched video footage of this match a dozen times you would struggle to understand what on earth was going on

Dan Norcross at Chelmsford04-May-20181:46

BIzarre day at Chelmsford as bowlers dominate

ScorecardThere’s a scene in Where Eagles Dare in which Richard Burton with solid support from Clint Eastwood reveals the identity of the Nazi double agent contained within a notebook. The notebook, perplexingly, is empty. The agent is both revealed within its covers and yet simultaneously not there. Shroedinger’s double-agent if you will. Burton delivers every line with mesmeric and gravelly perfection, but after watching that film at least a dozen times, I defy anyone to make sense of what the hell is going on.For Burton and Eastwood read Sam Cook and Peter Siddle. Given the opportunity to bowl first on a brownish pitch under cloudless skies after Yorkshire elected for and won the toss, they delivered their lines and lengths with irreproachable professionalism and no little flair, but Yorkshire’s batsmen were in no mood to match them.To call the Yorkshire innings a procession would be to do a grave disservice to processions in modest churches up and down the land. It more resembled an unseemly stampede to the bar by smokers in a pub garden on hearing the bell for last orders. The upshot was their lowest first-class score since 1973.Cook made the initial breakthrough in his first over when Harry Brook poked hesitantly at a ball just outside his off stump and guided the ball into Harmer’s enormous mitts at second slip, but this merely brought Che Pujara to the wicket. Yorkshire had also “strengthened” their batting with the inclusion of Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow, granted leave by the ECB to get some much needed middle practice before the Test series against Pakistan begins in three weeks time, so the visitors boasted five recent and current front line international batsmen in their top six.None presented a problem for Cook. In his second over he induced a thin edge from Lyth through to the evergreen Foster which brought forth Joe Root, shuffling and sidewinding into the middle for his first innings since April 1st. A bumper crowd got to see the familiar guard, the couple of paces to square-leg, the look round the field and one firm push at a ball beautifully landed on an off-stump line that travelled gently into the gleeful hands of his former captain Alastair Cook at first slip.Then 9 for 3 swiftly became 11 for 4 when Pujara was trapped lbw by Jamie Porter. Pujara was less than gruntled at the decision, but he wouldn’t be the last man to be undone by moderately low bounce from the Hayes Close End.Cook was not yet done with wrecking England’s Test match preparations. Next to go was Bairstow, bowled by the ball of the day; a beauty that held its line and thudded into off-stump. By the time he had Bresnan trapped in front it truly was a Wonderful Life for Cook as he registered his third five wicket haul in just his sixth championship appearance.Joe Root returns to the pavilion after a first-baller•Getty Images

His 5 for 28 was notable for great control. He was willing to pitch the ball up and make the most of what movement there was off a helpful but far from capricious pitch, was supported by superb close fielding and was aided by a truly abysmal display by Yorkshire with the bat.By the time Siddle had wrapped up the tail with a spell of 4 for 7 in 22 balls, Yorkshire had been obliterated in just 18.4 overs before lunch for 50, coincidentally exactly the same length of time it took for Australia to be famously dismissed at Trent Bridge in 2015.Sages shook their heads in bewilderment but resembled teenage headbangers by the time Alastair Cook wafted a catch to Bairstow – the second England captain to make a duck in a couple of hours – and Tom Westley played a shot uglier than a Communist-era Bucharest tower block, hurling an injudicious bat at an away swinger from Brooks and dragging back on to his middle stump to depart first ball.The opening session had yielded 61 runs for the loss of 12 wickets. By this stage, four of England’s regular top seven last summer had been dismissed for seven runs between them.The afternoon session produced no let-up in the mayhem. Ben Coad and Tim Bresnan, showing due deference to the eternal verities of line of length but at no great pace, made the ball do “just enough”, and Bresnan in particular exploited the tendency of the ball to keep slightly (but really only slightly) lower from the Hayes Close End and was rewarded with a couple of lbws for his troubles.Dan Lawrence tried the novel tactic (up to this point) of going hell for leather and for a while looked to have cracked the code with a 77 ball 48, up to that point by far the most authoritative, if still somehow skittish innings of the day. But aside from a late flurry from Simon Harmer (36) who briefly cover drove with the elegance of Wally Hammond, left the ball with the acuity of Steve Smith and marshalled what was left of the tail better than Angelo Mathews, Essex’s innings offered little more sense of permanence than the Mayfly effort that had preceded it.Three wickets apiece for Bresnan, Coad and Brooks had done the damage and tea was taken with Essex bowled out and in possession of a more than handy 92 run lead.Record books were dusted down. When was the last time a match was completed in one day (1960 Kent v Worcestershire since you ask)? Might Essex be in a position to take claim the extra half hour? Would this day ever end?Yorkshire decided to counter attack themselves. Bairstow replaced Brook at the top of the order and went after the new ball. His 44-ball 50 was full of familiar punch drives and lofted shots over the infield. Siddle managed to get the ball changed, immediately bowled Bairstow and had Lyth nibbling to second slip. At 96 for 2, Yorkshire were just in front but a late flurry of wickets would send them back to square one.Enter Brook. The press box in Chelmsford was full of the great and the good, all come to watch Root, Cook, Bairstow, Pujara, maybe Ballance and Lawrence. Instead it was the 19-year-old Brook who provided the innings of the day. Entirely untroubled, possessed of a sound technique and keen to rotate the strike, his was the only performance that will have excited the selectors.Marshalling Yorkshire, in tandem with Pujara to 161 for 2 at the close, and a more than useful lead of 65, he has the opportunity tomorrow truly to overshadow his more illustrious colleagues. Root, however, may yet have a say in that.The pitch did ease as the day went on. Wise locals will tell you that it’s hardest to bat on day one, but I defy anyone to watch today’s play 12 times and explain to me what the hell was going on.

The fourth ODI between New Zealand and South Africa, which was originally scheduled to be played at McLean Park in Napier on March 1, has been moved to Seddon Park in Hamilton

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Feb-2017The fourth ODI between New Zealand and South Africa, which was originally scheduled at McLean Park in Napier on March 1, has been moved to Seddon Park in Hamilton.According to an NZC release, the inquiry launched by the Napier City Council into the abandonment of the second Chappell-Hadlee ODI at McLean Park on February 2 “highlighted a need for urgent remedial work on the venue’s turf, drainage, and irrigation system.”Both NZC and the city council agreed it was “in the best interests of McLean Park’s cricketing future” to move the ODI against South Africa and avoid the “unacceptable risk” of another drainage failure. Fans who purchased tickets to watch the game at McLean Park will receive a full refund.”There have been shortcomings identified in McLean Park’s drainage and irrigation system which need to be remedied before we can be confident of avoiding what happened in the Chappell-Hadlee fixture,” Anthony Crummy, the NZC chief operating officer, said. “The investigation concludes that drought conditions in the Hawke’s Bay necessitated significant levels of watering in the days leading up to the match which, combined with a limited drainage infrastructure and rain on match-day, resulted in a worst-case scenario.”It’s true, several measures could be employed to help mitigate this risk ahead of the South Africa match but, even then, any period of significant or extended rain in the lead-up would likely result in the same outcome. NZC, the Central Districts Cricket Association and the NCC agree this risk is unacceptable.”The city council has committed to a $900,000 upgrade of the ground – which includes a complete replacement of the playing surface, drainage and irrigation system.”By doing this, we can look forward with confidence to McLean Park hosting next summer’s ODIs between the BLACKCAPS and England, and the BLACKCAPS and Pakistan,” Crummy said.Napier Mayor Bill Dalton said he was “bitterly disappointed on behalf of the fans, the players and the Council.”In essence, we have a fantastic ground in a superb location but the turf is old and has deteriorated dramatically in the face of the recent drought conditions in the Hawke’s Bay. There are issues with the organic matter beneath the surface of the ground – issues we didn’t know about and are now urgently dealing with.”The match against Australia was the second straight abandoned ODI at McLean Park – the same fate had befallen the ODI against Pakistan in January 2016. The ground took in far more rain on that occasion, however, than it did on the morning of the Chappell-Hadlee match.

A round-up of the Ranji Trophy quarter-final matches on February 6, 2015

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Feb-2016
ScorecardFile photo: Arup Das (second from left) returned match figures of 11 for 124•PTI

Assam needed just 20 balls on the fourth day to take the final two wickets to put them in the semi-finals of the Ranji Trophy.Arup Das, who finished with figures of 8 for 83, took both the wickets in consecutive overs as Punjab could only manage 12 runs of the required 64 at the start of the day.Punjab were ultimately bowled out for 236, succumbing to a 51-run loss.
ScorecardIqbal Abdulla and Jay Bista took five-wickets hauls to bundle Jharkhand out for 94 and complete a massive 395-run win for Mumbai, booking the team’s place in the semi-finals. Jharkhand started the day at 28 for 1 in the chase of 490.Overnight batsmen Shiv Gautam (27) and Virat Singh (26) added 36 before Jharkhand suffered a stunning collapse, losing their last nine wickets for 30 runs. Offspinner Jay Bista took 6 for 16 in 6.4 overs, while Iqbad Abdulla claimed five wickets in 16 overs.
ScorecardMadhya Pradesh’s batsmen continued their plunder in the Ranji Trophy quarter-final. Harpreet Singh scored his second fifty-plus score and converted it into a hundred. He was part of a 149-run stand for the sixth wicket with Ankit Dane (69) and then a 65-run stand with left-arm spinner Ankit Sharma and was finally dismissed for 139 off 206, with 14 fours. MP set an improbable target of 788, Bengal went through the motions until stumps to finish on 113 for 3.

Pakistan have left out Nasir Jamshed, Taufeeq Umar and wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed from the 15-member Test squad for the tour of Zimbabwe, and have included Adnan Akmal and Khurram Manzoor

Umar Farooq06-Aug-2013Pakistan have left out Nasir Jamshed and Mohammad Irfan from the 15-member Test squad for the tour of Zimbabwe. The other players to miss out from the squad that played in South Africa in February are batsman Haris Sohail, wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed, batsman Taufeeq Umar and fast bowler Umar Gul, who is out due to injury. They have been replaced by fast bowlers Wahab Riaz and Rahat Ali, along with batsman Imran Farhat (who was not part of the original Test squad in South Africa), batsman Khurram Manzoor and wicketkeeper Adnan Akmal.Pakistan announced their ODI and T20 squads too, selected by a three-man selection committee contracted to the PCB, but without a chief selector. The announcement was made via a press release without any explanations on the reasons for the changes in the squads, though ESPNcricinfo understands that Irfan has been temporarily relieved from the longer-format, while Jamshed has been restricted to the limited-overs squad to allow 27-year-old Manzoor to assume the opening slot. Manzoor last played for Pakistan during their 2010 tour of Australia.

Schedule

• Aug 23 – first T20, Harare

• Aug 24 – second T20, Harare

• Aug 27 – first ODI, Harare

• Aug 29 – second ODI, Harare

• Aug 31 – third ODI, Harare

• Sep 3-7 – first Test, Harare

• Sep 10-14 – second Test, Bulawayo

Irfan’s fitness has been a crucial factor in his cricketing life thus far, with concerns over his ability to bowl long spells. He is the tallest cricketer ever to play Test cricket at 7’1″, and has played for Pakistan since their December 2012 tour of India. He was retained for both limited-overs squads, besides the three fast bowlers – Junaid Khan, Asad Ali and Anwar Ali. Sarfraz Ahmed, who was part of Pakistan’s previous Test squad, lost his spot to Adnan Akmal. Sarfraz was decent behind the stumps, but averaged 13.83 with the bat in three Test matches against South Africa.Wahab Riaz, who played four ODIs during the recent tour of West Indies, managed to take only two wickets and was subsequently dropped from the one-day and T20 squads, with Anwar Ali replacing him in both formats. Peshawar batsman Mohammad Rizwan, who was also part of the squad in the West Indies, has been left out because of his inclusion in the Pakistan Under-23 squad.The selectors also recruited a new batsman, Multan-born Sohaib Maqsood, for the Twenty20 squad. Maqsood finished as one of the leading runs scorers in the President’s One-day Cup, where he scored 427 runs at 71.60. He also scored 402 runs at 50.25 in the Quaid-e-Azam trophy, and was the top-scorer for WAPDA in the President’s Trophy, finishing with 618 runs at 41.20. Anwar Ali, who first gained recognition with his swing bowling during the 2006 Under-19 World Cup, has only played one T20 International against Zimbabwe in 2008.Moin Khan, whose appointment as chief selector was ruled out by the Islamabad High Court two weeks ago, has been named team manager for the tour. Fast bowling coach Mohammad Akram has also been asked to continue despite his contract running out in the middle of August.Test squad: Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), Mohammad Hafeez, Imran Farhat, Asad Shafiq, Khurram Manzoor, Adnan Akmal (wk), Faisal Iqbal, Younis Khan, Azhar Ali, Junaid Khan, Wahab Riaz, Saeed Ajmal, Abdul Rehman, Rahat Ali, Ehsan AdilODI squad: Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), Mohammad Hafeez, Nasir Jamshed, Ahmed Shahzad, Asad Shafiq, Umar Amin, Umar Akmal (wk), Shahid Afridi, Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Irfan, Junaid Khan, Abdul Rehman, Asad Ali, Anwar Ali, Haris SohailT20 squad: Mohammad Hafeez (capt), Nasir Jamshed, Ahmed Shahzad, Umar Amin, Umar Akmal, Sohaib Maqsood, Shahid Afridi, Saeed Ajmal, Sohail Tanvir, Mohammad Irfan, Junaid Khan, Zulfiqar Babar, Asad Ali, Anwar Ali, Haris Sohail

Jesse Ryder, the New Zealand batsman, has said he will be available to play for Wellington during the 2012-13 domestic season

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Jul-2012Jesse Ryder, the New Zealand batsman, has said he will be available to play for Wellington during the 2012-13 domestic season. His manager, Aaron Klee, informed Wellington officials of Ryder’s decision on Saturday.”I’ve thought long and hard about playing cricket this summer and I think I’m going to be totally refreshed and ready to hit the summer firing on all cylinders,” Ryder told . “I’m not asking for anything different than any other player – I just want to be back playing with the Wellington boys and helping them win titles next season.”I’m setting myself some big goals for the season – I’m going to come back stronger than ever and make an impact for Wellington. This is the first step in the next stage of my career and I’m going hard out. As I said, I’m just focusing on one job at a time. I don’t have any expectations of being selected for the Black Caps [New Zealand team] this summer – if I score heaps of runs and do the right stuff, that might happen in time.”It’s all about Wellington for me at the moment – whatever happens in the future will happen. I want to play for New Zealand again, but I’m taking one step at a time.”Klee said he was proud of the progress Ryder had made since he was dropped from the New Zealand squad in March for breaking team protocol.”We’ve been through some rough times, but this is what it’s all about – Jess making the right decisions and getting the job done,” Klee said. “Jesse made the call to not sign up for the Sri Lankan Premier League. That was an easy way to earn some cash for three weeks work, but it was going to interfere with what he’s privately working away at in terms of personal goals. I think he’ll smash some records this domestic season.”Ryder had said he felt like he was “hung out to dry” in the aftermath of the incident at the Napier hotel during the ODIs against South Africa earlier this year. He said he had not done anything wrong and the whole episode, which in his opinion was blown out of proportion, diminished his love for cricket. Ryder revealed he went on an alcohol binge after he left the team and returned to Wellington.Since then, Ryder said he was taking an indefinite break from cricket but played the IPL with a support structure in place. He and the New Zealand board agreed he wouldn’t get a central contract as well until he was ready.

Duncan Fletcher has said that India have got the potential and the ingredients to be a great side, and he has been impressed by the way they have thrown themselves on the field in the heat

Sriram Veera in Antigua12-Jun-2011One of the important events of this series for India, apart from the opportunities for the youngsters to prove their worth without the guiding presence of the seniors, is the debut of Duncan Fletcher as coach. He came heavily recommended by Gary Kirsten and his approach to coaching is slowly filtering through the anonymity that he cherishes. In the training sessions, he rarely addresses the players in a group. He will pick out a player or wait for him to walk up and have a chat. Even inside the secrecy of the team hotels, he says he prefers one-on-one conversations.”If someone comes and chats to me, we just have a quiet chat,” Fletcher said. “But that’s just been the way that I have always operated and I will continue to operate like that. I have always liked one-on-one situations. People tend to be more free and comfortable in that situation. They are freer to ask questions so if they get it wrong they are not embarrassed. It’s between me and the player. Why should I get it out in the media and help them get onto the bandwagon? That’s why I go one-on-one because I think there is a lot of confidentiality required.”At the end of the third ODI, Fletcher went to Rohit Sharma and told him that he had rarely seen someone finish a game in such style and with such ease, and lavished more praise at the press conference.He also talked about his coaching philosophy. “It’s important that I come here to first observe and understand them, to gain each other’s respect, I mean that’s the first thing. Get to understand how they think. People accept messages in different ways. So it’s crucial how they communicate with other people. Sometimes if you rush in, it’s very easy to destroy a cricketer and far harder to help a cricketer. I just have to be patient.”This tour doesn’t have many Indian reporters and so far Fletcher hasn’t been hounded by the media. He did get a sneak peek, though, before the third ODI. Suddenly, a reporter asked him, “Geoffrey Boycott has said that even his mom can coach this Indian team. What do you have to say?” Fletcher didn’t show any anger, nor even slight irritation. He just said calmly, “I don’t want to comment on that.”As you would expect this is the warm-up tour for him as a coach. The time to get to know the players, settle in and be accepted and respected. Respect is a constant theme in his vocabulary. Even in his first media conference in Chennai after he was named as a coach, he said, “You have to gain their [players’] respect and they have to gain my respect. And that’s what this is about. Once you have that then it makes your job easier.”It must be hard not to come with any perceptions about players, especially in a team like India, but Fletcher says that was the most important thing that he had to do before he took up the job. “A lot of people have a lot of things to say about the players and other people involved in the set-up, but it’s very important that you go in with a very clear mind about the players and make up your own mind about them. That’s why I have stood back and observed and see how they react to things. It’s important for me that this procedure takes place.”He has liked what he has seen so far from this Indian team. “This [third ODI] was a game where we struggled but we won. It shows two things: the character of the team, which is very very important, and that we can win from those situations. That’s not easy. Most sides would crumble under that sort of pressure and so it’s good to win so that you know how to win from those situations. By winning the series three-nil already they have shown great capability with bat and ball. What has impressed me is the way they have thrown themselves on the field in this heat. They have got the potential and the ingredients to be a great side.”

Sri Lanka’s hero of the day, Lasith Malinga, said team batting under natural light had a definite advantage

Siddarth Ravindran in Dambulla16-Jun-2010The Asia Cup got off to just the sort of cracking start the organisers would have wanted – a tight, topsy-turvy match littered with classy batting and bowling efforts, and ending with victory for the home side. One cause for concern, though, is the quality of the floodlights at the Rangiri Dambulla Stadium, which held its first day-night match in nearly three years.Eight floodlight towers were installed in 2003, but Sri Lanka’s hero of the day, Lasith Malinga, said team batting under natural light had a definite advantage. “The lights are not good enough by international standards, it is a handicap for the side batting second,” he said after the match. “However, Sri Lanka are used to it as we have played number of matches under this condition. We faced only problems when fielding, the fielders found it a little difficult to pick up the ball at times.”The lights would have only made it harder for the Pakistan batsmen to pick the distinctive low, round-arm action of Malinga, who collected his first ODI five-wicket haul. That included the final three scalps of a see-saw game, but he felt the deciding factor was Shahid Afridi.Afridi, already charged with the task of uniting a squad notorious for infighting, had hauled Pakistan from a hopeless 32 for 4 to a position of control with one of the finest innings of his career. He dismantled Muttiah Muralitharan and overcame severe cramps to make his first one-day century since 2005, leaving Pakistan only 47 to get off the final ten overs with Afridi and Abdul Razzaq still at the crease.”I didn’t feel much pressure because we always felt Afridi had to finish off the match for Pakistan and it was solely in his hands,” Malinga said. “It was a matter of trying to contain him and putting pressure on Afridi, we felt that if we got Afridi at any stage, we would win the match.” Afridi fell in the 41st over to a blinder from Kumar Sangakkara, much to the delight of the flag-waving Sri Lankan faithful who had turned up, and the Pakistan tail was clueless against Malinga.The defeat adds to the pressure on Pakistan ahead of their high-profile clash against India on Sunday, but coach Waqar Younis remained optimistic of reaching the finals. “We are still not out of the tournament, if we win against India we are back in business,” Waqar said. “After a long time, we will be playing against India, which is good to see.”As with the batting, Pakistan’s bowlers didn’t finish off the job after reaching a strong position. “I think the way we got them down to 160-odd for 7 and then let them off the hook to reach 242,” he said. “We should have done a lot better in the field, we gave away a few too many runs.”Pakistan’s cause was also not helped by their cumbersome start to the chase, with debutants Umar Amin and Shahzaib Hasan struggling against the Sri Lankan new-ball attack. Waqar, however, was confident they would fare better in the matches coming up. “We are in a re-building process, we brought three youngsters in on the tour, and we are looking to bring in some more for the next England tour,” he said. “We’ve got to give them a chance, it’s tough out there, but that’s how you play top cricket, it was their first game, few nerves around.”The Pakistan batting wears a new look because of the absence of middle-order stalwarts, Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf, and the decision to push regular opener Kamran Akmal down the order made the top-order lighter on experience.

India enforced the follow-on after Rana’s eight-wicket haul gave them a first-innings lead of 337

Srinidhi Ramanujam30-Jun-2024For the second consecutive day, South Africa’s batters showed great grit to stay in the game after being put on the back foot by the India bowlers in the one-off women’s Test in Chennai. If Sune Luus and Marizanne Kapp fought hard on the second day after India declared at 603 for 6, Luus was at it again on Sunday, in the company of Laura Wolvaardt this time, which helped South Africa cut down the deficit to 105 runs after they were bowled out for 266 in the first innings.At stumps on the third day, South Africa were 232 for 2 in their second innings, with Luus scoring her first Test hundred and Wolvaardt remaining unbeaten on 93. South Africa will hope for more of the same on the fourth and final day to push the game to a draw.Related

• 'Strong in attack and strong in defence' – Determined Sune Luus stonewalls India

• The obstinate ways of Kapp against spin

It was an eventful opening session for India on a hazy morning where Sneh Rana’s sensational bowling on a pitch offering more turn fetched her five wickets – to go with three from Saturday – to give her figures of 8 for 77. South Africa lost six wickets for 30 runs after starting the day on 236 for 4.Rana got the first breakthrough in her third over, the fifth of the day, when she dismissed a well-set Kapp for 74 with an almost unplayable delivery. Kapp was done in by the extra bounce as the ball, after pitching on off and middle, popped up to beat her outside edge and take the top of off stump. This triggered a collapse as three balls later, Rana removed Sinalo Jafta, who inside-edged one to Shubha Satheesh at short leg.Three overs later, Deepti Sharma picked up her second wicket. This time the ball stayed low when debutant Annerie Dercksen missed with her prod and was hit on her back pad. South Africa took the review but it was in vain. In the following over, Rana took her sixth when Nadine de Klerk perished whipping towards square leg where Rajeshwari Gayakwad dived in front to complete the catch. No. 7 and No. 8 came soon after as Rana finished off the innings.Rana became only the second Indian woman to pick up eight wickets in an innings in Test cricket after Neetu David, now India’s chair of selectors, who took 8 for 53 in a two-run loss against England in Jamshedpur in 1995.Sneh Rana finished with a career-best 8 for 77 in the first innings•BCCI

India enforced the follow-on with South Africa 337 runs behind. They then lost Anneke Bosch early to low bounce when she was trapped in front by Deepti in the first over. But Wolvaardt nailed her cover drives and looked assured in her approach.At lunch, South Africa were 29 for 1. India struggled from that point, going wicketless for close to 66 overs across the second and third sessions.In this period, Luus and Wolvaardt shared a mammoth 190-run partnership for the second wicket to provide South Africa hope of a draw. It was South Africa’s highest partnership for any wicket in women’s Tests.South Africa came out in the afternoon session determined to play the long game and they succeeded, scoring 95 runs in 34 overs to take tea at 124 for 1. Luus, who made 65 off 164 balls in the first innings, carried forward that form and temperament, moving to 64 off 121 balls at the end of the second session.Having been trapped lbw to one that kept low from Rana in the first innings, Wolvaardt used the depth of the crease more in the second dig. She pulled short deliveries through square leg and drove the fuller ones to long-on.Deepti Sharma dropped Marizanne Kapp off her own bowling in the last over of the day•BCCI

India toiled hard to break the stand with Harmanpreet Kaur trying as many as seven bowlers, including herself. But they weren’t disciplined with their lengths and speeds. Perhaps not being used to such a long time in the middle affected them. Deepti also dropped two catches – Kapp benefitting both times – in the last two overs of the day. The first was at slip off a Rana delivery that Kapp edged, and the second was a straightforward return catch.Wolvaardt and Luus, though, reaped the rewards of patience on a pitch that got slower after the first session.Consuming more than 200 balls meant Luus and Wolvaardt also had gotten used to the low bounce, with only the odd delivery popping up in the last two sessions of the day. Luus spent 234 minutes at the crease, hitting 18 fours. When she reached her half-century, Luus brought out the rocking-baby-cradle celebration, a gesture for the team’s strength and conditioning coach Zane Webster, who is an expectant father. She scored her maiden century in the final session, and became only the second South African to score a hundred in India in women’s Tests.The huge stand was finally broken by Harmanpreet when she cleaned up Luus in the 74th over. The low bounce came to her aid as Luus went back to pull but missed.With Kapp at the other end, Wolvaardt marched on to finish unbeaten. That has raised hopes of a South African lead on the last day, a scenario that looked near-impossible at the start of Sunday.For India, Jemimah Rodrigues was off the field for a majority of the last two sessions because of cramps.

Abbas, Abbott apply finishing touches to humiliating three-day loss at Wantage Road

David Hopps22-Apr-2023Hampshire 482 for 8 dec (Vince 186, Gubbins 125) beat Northamptonshire 149 (Cobb 44, Fuller 6-37) and 63 (Abbas 4-31, Abbott 3-9) by an innings and 270 runsTo concede 482 for 8 and then be dismissed twice in 72 overs represents quite a pummeling and it is bound to leave Northamptonshire deeply anxious about the Championship season that lies in store. They were overwhelmed by a Hampshire seam bowling attack that grew in authority with every passing over and mercilessly exposed their shaky confidence.Hampshire’s victory by an innings and 270 runs was the biggest in their history, an emphatic pronouncement of their title pretensions. From Northants’ perspective, things were not as rosy. This represented their eighth heaviest County Championship defeat as they lost 15 wickets in three hours on a pitch that offered decent bounce and just enough movement to keep the bowlers on their mettle.James Fuller’s six-wicket haul in Northants’ first innings was one of the most feel-good performances of a fast-bowling career that has reached fruition on the south coast. Northants were already in a predicament at 95 for 5 overnight and Fuller’s morning burst of 4 for 9 in 27 balls took him to 200 first-class wickets and invited you to wonder how he had taken so few.If Northants were shaken by their first-innings fate, worse was to follow as they lasted only 22.3 overs second time around. Hampshire’s seasoned campaigners, Kyle Abbott and Mohammad Abbas were just too good for them. Their top order suffered for faltering footwork and the lower order, at times, resorted to a bit of a hit. They were also without Lewis McManus, who was unable to resume his first innings because of a broken finger suffered while batting and who took no further part.Hampshire’s captain, James Vince, was thrilled to have bounced back so impressively from last week’s defeat against Surrey. “There are a lot of draws here,” he observed. “It’s as complete a performance as we could wish for.”Northants will be grateful for next week off as they seek a fast-bowling replacement for Chris Tremain, whose visa cannot be extended. His envisaged replacement, Lance Morris, has pulled out of his deal because of what Cricket Australia’s chief selector, George Bailey, called “a bit of a de-load.” By the time David Willey completes his IPL stint with Royal Challengers Bangalore, his much-anticipated return to his former county will be sorely needed.Fuller is the sort of bowler who can get onto a hot streak when others cannot stop the game from drifting. From the moment he had bowled Luke Procter the previous evening with an inswinging, thigh-high full toss it appeared that the force might be with him. He ripped out Gareth Berg’s middle stump as he gated him on the drive and in his following over added Josh Cobb, who had played better than most, with a superb delivery that left him to strike off stump. After Ben Sanderson mistimed a short ball to cover, Tremain offered up the first of two unbridled yahoos – clearly a bowler who prefers a bit of a de-load with a bat in his hands. Exhibit A: a step-back outside leg stump, a swing and a miss.With an unsettled forecast for the final day, Northants had good cause for resolve. Such thoughts were banished when the follow-on was enforced and they plunged to 24 for 5 in 13 overs before lunch. This time Abbott, full-bodied and flavourful, from over and around the wicket, was the chief instigator. This was Abbott approaching his best. He had three by lunch, beginning with Ricardo Vasconcelos, who suffered for a lack of footwork as he was bowled pushing down the wrong line. It is difficult to get forward to Abbott as he pounds out a perfect length and as much as Sam Whiteman sought to do just that, he was bowled by a top-notch delivery that shaded away from him. Rob Keogh pushed forward to be lbw. Abbas’ first spell had lacked its usual accuracy, although he did add Hassan Azad, caught at first slip as he offered up a crooked defence.Madness then descended upon Northants, in the shape of Cobb, who displayed an unexpected appetite for a second run to Abbas at long leg. Maybe gossip had gone round the circuit that his throwing arm had gone? The throw was as dependable as it needed to be. Cobb fell a foot short. Abbott, the bowler, had watched this play out in mid-pitch, his hands resting on his head. Surprised to find Cobb rushing past him to his doom, he punched the air in satisfaction.After a heavy-hearted lunch, Northants found no respite. Fuller defeated Procter’s drive, Abbas tightened his line and improved his figures. At 48 for 8, they were still two runs short of their lowest total against Hampshire in first-class cricket. Some lusty blows from Tremain avoided that before another slog, timed at 2.34pm, brought the sorry proceedings to a close.Hampshire’s seamers had been warned that in the absence of Keith Barker they would have to bowl more overs, but they had not had to bowl too many at all. They will face stiffer opposition than this, but when their pace attack is fit and firing they are a match for anybody.

After injury-plagued career, fast bowler’s chance to be involved over-rides any fear of failure

Aadam Patel24-Jan-20221:15

How injury setbacks help Topley perform for England

For Reece Topley, an exceptional return to T20 international cricket demonstrated exactly why England gave the tall left-armer a debut in 2015, aged just 21, and exactly why Eoin Morgan sees Topley as a crucial asset to England’s hopes – not just for this series against West Indies, but also at the T20 World Cup later this year.That he has only represented England 20 times since his debut speaks of a career filled with undoubted talent, yet one that has been damaged by career-threatening injuries. In 2018, Topley was phoned and told that he’d be a part of the England ODI squad against India that summer, only to be told the same day that he would need back surgery.His terrific new-ball spell at Kensington Oval on Sunday evening set England up to level the series in a thriller in Barbados and marked the completion of a remarkable comeback into the England T20 side, almost six years since he last played the shortest format of the game at international level.It was enough to indicate that maybe, there is a new phase ahead for Topley and England. For a man whose journey has required incredible patience, through continuous injuries and a period of depression and falling out of love with the game, Topley insisted that his career trajectory perhaps enabled him to see the game in a different light and not get too carried away with the highs and the lows of sport.”I’ve probably had it slightly differently than other people that play international cricket, in terms of the journey that I’ve had,” Topley said. “I think my perspective is quite unique and last night, I just embraced all the emotion after the game, and all the messages that came through.”Speaking the morning after the second T20I, he added: “I embraced it all, but then I’m very good at parking it. This morning, it’s a new day and it’s all about recovering and focusing on the third T20 [on Wednesday]. I don’t really get too caught up in it. I’m lucky to be playing and I really enjoyed it at the end of the day. Almost having this second opportunity just makes me value it all a lot more.”Related

• England climb off the canvas to level series with one-run victory

• Death-bowling problems return to take shine off England win

• Moeen expects Mahmood to 'learn from' off-night at death

• Pooran hails Windies hitting depth after thrilling near-miss

On his first appearance in a T20I since playing for England at the 2016 T20 World Cup, Topley was the pick of the pace bowlers, trapping Brandon King for a duck with a full inswinger, before pulling off a spectacular run-out off his own bowling to remove Shai Hope after a devastating yorker. Ironically, replays showed that had England reviewed, Topley would have had one more in the wickets column.He was denied another scalp when Nicholas Pooran was dropped by Liam Dawson but figures of 1 for 18 in his four overs – including 1 for 10 from three overs in the powerplay – summed up a thoroughly impressive and winning return to the England side.Topley insisted that those experiences throughout those years ravaged by injury helped him to deal with difficult match scenarios, as it allowed him to see things from a different perspective.”Even when I’ve been injured so much, you’d almost bite someone’s hand off to play in a T20 and bowl four overs for 40-something,” he said. “It’s almost like, at least I’m out there. So then those bad days it’s like, it won’t be the last bad day I have. It’s not like I haven’t got this competitive instinct, it’s just that I’m very realistic about things now, and very level-headed.”I think that has boded well for me since coming back and playing, because those pressure scenarios, I just embrace them. I almost feel like it’s normal to be nervous and it’s exciting because it’s a game on the line for your country. Who wouldn’t be nervous? It’s almost like it’s normal, and I accept it. So, I think that’s the perspective that I’m pretty lucky to have stumbled upon really.”Topley pulled off an athletic run-out of Shai Hope•Getty Images

Topley was a late addition to the England squad at the recent T20 World Cup as a replacement for the injured Tymal Mills and despite not playing in the UAE, he believed that the experience of being back within the T20 setup was invaluable.”I’ve been around the squads so that made it pretty easy for me to fit back into things,” Topley said. “I’ve been around the guys and training pretty well, so it was just more of the same, taking it out into the middle and a credit to everyone for helping with such a seamless transition. The white-ball squads are pretty similar in ODIs and T20s so being around that for the last few years has definitely helped.”After the World Cup, Topley joined the Melbourne Renegades – a team and a city close to his heart – after spending two summers in Melbourne during his prolonged rehabilitation from injury. It was where he rediscovered his love for the game.Making his debut at the Big Bash was a decision also made with the intention of getting himself back within England’s first-choice squad ahead of next winter’s World Cup in Australia. Topley impressed taking nine wickets in seven matches, including 3 for 27 in the local derby against the Melbourne Stars.On the pace-friendly wickets down under, England will certainly need quality options and given their recent problems with death bowling in the format, his display in Barbados stood out from the rest. While Chris Jordan went for 23 runs in the 18th and Saqib Mahmood went for 28 runs in the last, Topley followed up his wicket-taking new-ball spell with a penultimate over that was executed brilliantly, going for just eight.”As a bowler, my currency is wickets,” Topley said. “If you ask me I’d say that I can take wickets at any stage and in any format at the end of the day. It’s what I get up in the morning for – to try and get batsmen out essentially. It’s why I fell in love with cricket.”If Topley can carry on doing what he loves and closing games at the death, then there is every chance that he will be an integral part of England’s ambitions of holding both the 50-over and the 20-over World Cups simultaneously, when they head to Australia in October.