All posts by n8rngtd.top

Dinesh Chandimal edged behind when he was 30 but Pat Cummins couldn’t go upstairs

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Jul-202244.1 Cummins to Karunaratne
An appeal for a catch down leg side! Given not out and Australia review! From around the wicket, this was short into the ribs, Karunaratne fended awkwardly taking his hand off the bat but he missed it as it went through to Carey. Not out remains. Australia burn a review77.5 Lyon to Mathews
An lbw appeal given not out. Australia review. This looked outside the line live but it’s close. He tried to reverse sweep but missed it. No, there is a little spike on the RTS and the third umpire says it’s bat. So it’s given not out. Australia lose the review79.1 Lyon to Chandimal
An appeal for bat pad given not out. Head threw it up in the air thinking it was out and Chandimal runs for a single. Australia review. It’s their last one. He skipped down with bat behind pad and never hit it as it came off pad to Head at silly mid off. The ball hit him outside the line too. Australia lose all three reviews and give up a leg bye89.5 Lyon to Angelo Mathews
Another appeal for lbw. Again used his feet. Just hit pad first, was quite some way down the pitch. Replay shows it was three reds92.5 Starc to Chandimal
Massive appeal for caught behind! The Australians are pleading. Starc forgets there’s no reviews left. Was short outside off, Chandimal had a waft at it. Will need to see Ultra Edge. And there’s a spike

How Ponting inspired Raza to put up a match-winning performance against Pakistan

Firdose Moonda27-Oct-20223:20

Mumtaz: Raza has come on leaps and bounds after his illness

Zimbabwe allrounder Sikandar Raza has credited Ricky Ponting for giving him the “little push” he needed to put in another match-winning performance at the T20 World Cup.After Zimbabwe stunned Pakistan by one run for their third win of the tournament, Raza revealed that when he struggled to sleep in the early hours of the day of the match against Pakistan, it was Ponting’s clip, which referred to greats of the game like Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne when discussing Raza’s form, that calmed him.”I know there was a small clip that was sent to me this morning and it was Ricky Ponting having a small word,” Raza told the broadcasters immediately after Zimbabwe’s win. “I was excited. I was nervous. I was thrilled about today. Motivation was always there, but if I needed that little push, I thought that clip did a wonder this morning. So thank you very much to Ricky as well.”..some of my friends and family members messaged and they said they had a kind of tear in the eye,” Raza said at the press conference after the match. “For me, I had goosebumps, one of the greats of this game talking about Zimbabwe and in particular me.”Not that I needed an extra kick, but if I needed that, that clip did the job for me. I wanted to stay calm, but at the same time be pumped up for this game.”In a glowing assessment of Raza’s year, in which he has won more Player-of-the-Match awards than anyone else – seven – Ponting praised the way Raza has embraced a senior role in the side and how he has been willing to face challenges head on.”In the T20 game, because it’s such a moment-based game where it comes down to the result of one particular ball, the older, more experienced guys have a better way of thinking their way through situations, knowing exactly what’s required here and now and then going and doing it,” Ponting said in a clip released by the ICC. “I said about Sikandar Raza at the start – the maturity side, he just seems to know exactly what to do, when to do it and he has been good enough to get it done.”All the best players in the game that I’ve known, and across other sports as well, is when those big pressure moments come, that’s what they want. You know Shane Warne was a great example of that, Glenn McGrath was a great example of that. Those players, they want that big moment, they want that stage and when they get there, they’re not going to let it slip. They are gonna make the most of it and make sure they get the job done. And that’s what’s Sikandar has done so beautifully.”Raza has starred with both bat and ball for Zimbabwe in this T20 World Cup. After scoring 82 against Ireland in Zimbabwe’s opener in the first round, he picked up 3 for 19 against West Indies, followed by 40 runs and 1 for 20 against Scotland. Following his 3 for 25 against Pakistan, Raza said it was the best win he has ever been part of.”I think since I’ve been part of Zimbabwe cricket, I would rate that the best victory we’ve had because there’s no better stage,” he said. “This is the World Cup, the biggest stage of all.”To beat Pakistan by one run…the modest total. You’re going to have to do everything right to defend that, which we did. I think for me that’s probably the best victory I’ve been part of with Zimbabwe.”Earlier in the tournament, Raza explained that he had to figure out a new way of bowling after surgery to remove a benign tumour from his shoulder left him unable to lift his arm but, on his return to the game, he still wanted to contribute in both disciplines. It’s that desire to keep learning that Ponting is particularly impressed by.”At the age of 33 or 34, it’s not easy to get better and improve. But he’s found a way to improve whether it be 50-overs cricket or T20 cricket, probably under the most pressure that he’s ever been under in his life as far as the player is concerned,” Ponting said. “He’s 36 years of age, but he’s playing with a more youthful exuberance. Now it looks like he’s, you know, 26 again, he’s running around in the field and enjoying himself and leading from the front.”Ponting’s praise is not the only thing Raza is going to finish the tournament with. He has already earned three watches off his captain Craig Ervine, and could add more to his name before the World Cup ends. “When we were coming to Australia, I said to my captain, ‘if you become Man of the Match, pick any watch from the catalogue and I’ll buy it for you, but if I become Man of the Match, you’re going to buy me one’,” Raza said, explaining why he demonstrated to his wrist when he was named Player of the Match on Thursday. “I was just reminding him that he now owes me three watches.”

Rashid is also part of the side but is unlikely to play as he continues to recover from a back surgery

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Jan-2024Mujeeb Ur Rahman has been picked in Afghanistan’s squad for the upcoming three-match T20I series in India. The 22-year-old mystery spinner wasn’t part of the national side for the T20I series in the UAE and was instead in action for Melbourne Renegades in the BBL. Mujeeb’s BBL stint, though, was cut short after the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) revoked his No-Objection Certificate (NoC) for the remainder of the BBL.The ACB had announced on December 25 that Mujeeb, along with seamers Fazalhaq Farooqi and Naveen-ul-Haq, would be sanctioned after telling the board they did not intend to sign central contracts for 2024. The three players were told they would be considered “non-eligible” for NOCs for the next two years, and that any current NOCs would be revoked.Farooqi and Naveen have since featured for Afghanistan in their most recent T20I series against the UAE after talks with the board in which they “demonstrated a strong desire to represent their country again”, according to the ACB.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

The T20Is in India will be Mujeeb’s first since July 2023. Mujeeb is part of a strong spin attack that includes Rashid Khan, Qais Ahmad and Noor Ahmad. Rashid, Afghanistan’s designated T20I captain, has been included in the 19-member squad, but is unlikely to play as he continues to recover from a back surgery that had also put him out of the BBL and the UAE T20I series. It is understood that he will only start bowling again in 10 days. Batter Ibrahim Zadran, who had led Afghanistan to a 2-1 series win over UAE, will captain the side in India as well. Ikram Alikhil is the back-up wicketkeeper to Rahmanullah Gurbaz.Mohammad Ishaq, Sediqullah Atal, Darwish Rasooli who were all part of the squad for the T20Is in the UAE have been left out for the series in India. Rahmat Shah retains his place in the squad; he is uncapped in T20I cricket and has not played a T20 since July 2022. Gulbadin Naib and Alikhil, who were among the reserves for the UAE series, have now been promoted to the main squad.Related

• Rashid Khan ruled out of T20I series against India

• Farooqi, Mujeeb and Naveen to get limited NOCs as ACB modifies sanctions

• Suryakumar, Hardik ruled out of Afghanistan T20Is

• Mujeeb's BBL season cut short by Afghanistan Cricket Board

• Farooqi, Naveen in Afghanistan squad after 'demonstrating strong desire to represent country'

“We are delighted to be embarking on our maiden tour to India for a three-match series,” Mirwais Ashraf, the ACB chairman, said in a statement. “India is the top-ranked side in the world and it’s very pleasing to witness AfghanAtalan competing in a three-match T20I against them. We believe that AfghanAtalan are no longer underdogs & have excelled well in the recent past and we look forward to a highly competitive series against India.”This will be Afghanistan’s first bilateral T20I series against India. The three-match series will begin in Mohali on January 11 before the teams head to Indore and Bangalore for the last two games on January 14 and January 17 respectively.This will also be the last T20I series for both India and Afghanistan before the T20 World Cup gets underway in the West Indies and the USA in June later this year.

Afghanistan squad

Ibrahim Zadran (capt), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ikram Alikhil (wk), Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat, Azmaullah Omarzai, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq, Noor Ahmad, Mohammad Saleem, Qais Ahmad, Gulbadin Naib and Rashid Khan.

Spinner replaced by Lewis Hill after declining to sign extension

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Nov-2022Callum Parkinson has been stripped of the Leicestershire captaincy after declining to commit to a contract extension.Parkinson, who took over from Colin Ackermann midway through the 2022 season, is contracted to the club until the end of next season but Leicestershire said in a statement that he “does not currently consider himself to be in a position to commit to a contract extension”.Instead, they have appointed Lewis Hill as their captain for the County Championship, after two seasons leading the 50-over team in the Royal London Cup. “Whilst disappointed with the decision, Parkinson has offered his full support to Hill and the club,” Leicestershire’s statement added.Parkinson, 26, was mentioned as a prospective England spinner after taking 50 Championship wickets at 29.04 in the 2021 season, though his returns dipped last year. He has also been a key player for Leicestershire in T20 cricket, and is the club’s all-time leading wicket-taker in the format.Claude Henderson, Leicestershire’s director of cricket, said: “Firstly, we want to congratulate Lewis on his new role. We have full belief in his abilities to lead Leicestershire to success moving forwards.”We also want to thank Callum for his duties during 2022, as well as for standing firmly behind both Lewis and the club. Although we are disappointed Callum can’t commit at this stage, the club will continue to have conversations with him to try and ensure his future lies with LCCC.”Hill said: “It’s a really proud moment for me to be selected as captain of Leicestershire. I’ve loved my two seasons skippering the 50-over side, so I’m really excited for the challenge ahead.”I want to continue the good work Callum led last year. He’s still going to be an important player in our team, and I know I can draw on his experience whenever required. There are promising signs within the squad and we’re all fully focused on delivering success in the County Championship next season.”

Greater Noida Test against New Zealand was abandoned without a ball bowled, and Trott hoped it was a “good learning case”

Vishal Dikshit13-Sep-20245:26

Stead: This Test would have been useful for SL series

Drainage of the ground. Weather watch in the lead up to a game. Taking care of a wet outfield. Players’ safety on the field after heavy rainfall.These are some of the basic things that are checked at venues before an international game – and not just before a Test match – that have become the norm, but are “sometimes taken for granted”. Afghanistan head coach Jonathan Trott hopes the one-off Test against New Zealand that was abandoned without a ball bowled in Greater Noida is “a good learning case”.What might have peeved the players from both sides is that the entire match wasn’t washed out; the first two days of the match didn’t see any rain during the hours of play, but both days didn’t have any action either – not even the toss – because of a very wet outfield that had put players’ safety under threat.Related

• Cricketing nomads Afghanistan hurt by lack of dedicated home venue

• New Zealand 'frustrated' to have lost game-time ahead of Sri Lanka and India Tests

• Amid persistent rain, one-off Test between Afghanistan and NZ called off without a ball bowled

• Slushy patches, wet weather prevent Test from starting in Greater Noida

• Tests abandoned without a ball – how many times has it happened?

“We’re disappointed. We’d geared ourselves up, and we’d trained really well,” Trott said in particular about the first two days. “So really disappointed. The thing was we got to train on the square [on] the days before, so we got to see the pitch. The guys were starting to get there; their appetite for the game was growing even more. So heartbreaking not to be able to play.”What I hope it is, it’s just a good learning case that things can crop up… everything has got to be checked out and made sure that it’s ready for Test-match cricket. And I think sometimes we take it for granted when we go and play all these things that have already been done in the past for other nations or other venues – with regards to drainage or ground staff, all those sort of things.”I think the ground staff have worked, obviously, very hard here. It just unfortunately hasn’t materialised, and we’ve had a freakish amount of rain for this time of year because that’s what I’m being told by the locals. They’ll probably know better than me.”Compared to the first two days, the third and fourth days saw overnight rain and early showers too, which led to both days being called off even before the scheduled start of play at 9.30am local time. Since the outfield was not playable even under the sun on the first two days, rain on the next two worsened the ground situation so much that the fate of the fifth day was pretty much known on the fourth morning itself.The third and fourth days’ play in Greater Noida was called off even before the scheduled start•AFP/Getty Images

Trott said that despite being able to play intra-squad warm-up games after arriving in Greater Noida, which is an adopted home ground for them, and getting used to the conditions well before New Zealand’s arrival, seeing the first two days without play was not ideal as his players would have learnt a lot from this experience.”The real sad thing is I think it was going to be a really good pitch, and it would have been a good contest, which is a disappointing thing,” Trott said. “So that’s the most disheartening thing, I suppose, for all of us. I think we could have gained whether we won or lost. I think the players would have learnt a hell of a lot in this format of the game, which is the challenge going forward in red-ball cricket for Afghanistan. But it’s the occasion as well. The historic moment of playing against New Zealand for the players – they would have been very proud of that.”A lot of questions are being raised about the standards of the preparation of the ground, especially the outfield, which were highlighted by how a patch of grass in the midwicket region was plucked out and replaced by a similar patch of the nets, even as Trott rued the fact that no play could occur at all.”I think it’s a case of time of year,” he said. “To try and play a Test match this time of year is always tricky… obviously disappointed that we haven’t been able to play, and the amount of water that’s come down is unprecedented for this time of year or the last three days. But it would have been nice to play some cricket for sure.”Afghanistan had a rare opportunity to play a Test match against a much higher-ranked side, with their next three Test series against Zimbabwe (two series) and Ireland in the following 12 months. Their immediate focus will now move to the ODI series against South Africa later this month, but Trott also wants to see the Afghanistan Test side grow “in the same manner” as they have in the white-ball formats in recent years, including their maiden semi-final appearance in the T20 World Cup in June this year.”For me, it’s a case of making sure that the players are looked after, [and] that the players are able to flourish and grow as a side in this format of the game,” he said. “We’ve seen the development in the last two years in the white-ball side of the game. So I’d like to see that progression, and that desire and hunger for it to grow in the same manner.”And I want to see Afghanistan have the same sort of passion and desire in the red-ball [format] as much as it is in the white-ball formats. So I think it’s attainable. But like anything, it’s going to take time, and it’s going to take a lot of effort. It’s going to take a lot of communication between the management, and the players and coaches.”I think if you want to progress, you need to start at the grassroots before you see the benefit of that. I don’t think enough red-ball cricket is played. But again, it’s very new to the format. I think facility-wise, it maybe is the issue. I think there certainly isn’t a lack of players. People are desperate to play cricket, and so the passion is there. It’s about now being able to match the passion with the ability to allow the players to enhance and get better at this format of the game. But I think it’s maybe an issue worldwide with regards to red ball – the lure of white-ball cricket, and the glitz and the glamour.”

Peirson made 82 and Steketee added 48 not out after Bartlett took 5 for 32 as Victoria crumbled with the bat

AAP07-Dec-2024Jimmy Peirson has batted Queensland towards hope of their first Sheffield Shield victory of the summer against Victoria, after a helter-skelter day two at the MCG.On a day where 15 wickets fell in the first two sessions, Queensland went to stumps at 195 for 8 in their second innings and leading by 244.Peirson was out pulling for 82 just before the close, but not before combining for a crucial 119-run eighth-wicket partnership with Mark Steketee, who made 48 not out.The two-and-a-half-hour vigil between the pair was at complete odds with the rest of the day, and left the low-scoring match hanging slightly in Queensland’s favour ahead of Sunday’s play.After Victoria began on Saturday at 43 for 2, they lost Peter Handscomb in the first over when he edged Xavier Bartlett to Matt Renshaw at second slip.That set the tone for the next four hours of play, as Bartlett finished with 5 for 32 and rain hovered around the MCG for part of the morning.Only Marcus Harris (42), Handscomb (24) and Tom Rogers (11) reached double figures for Victoria as they were all out for 123 to concede a 49-run first-innings deficit.The chaos then continued into Queensland’s second innings. In-form Fergus O’Neill took two wickets in his first over to remove Bryce Street and Angus Lovell, while having another lbw shout turned down.Renshaw looked in imperious form for Queensland, driving in the air and punching the ball off his pads. But he too fell inside the first 10 overs, caught down legside off O’Neill as Queensland’s batting began to falter.Jonathan Merlo also claimed a brilliant one-handed diving catch at point to remove Ben McDermott, as one of three quick wickets for quick Sam Elliott.Queensland then found themselves 67 for 7 just before tea, and a drought-breaking first win of the season against ladder-leaders Victoria was looking shaky.Enter Peirson.He and Steketee became the only batter to look comfortable all day, with the wicketkeeper-batter driving the Victoria quicks when they erred too full. Peirson also cut and pulled well as the innings went on, and hit spinner Todd Murphy for two boundaries through the covers in one over.Steketee also did some damage, hitting four boundaries in his knock and sending Murphy deep over the long-on boundary.And while Peirson was set up by late by Mitch Perry and caught in a stacked legside field, he and Steketee had given Queensland the slight advantage.

India put on a chasing masterclass in Ahmedabad after their bowlers – led by Deepti Sharma’s 3 for 39 – restricted New Zealand to 232

Ashish Pant29-Oct-20243:55

Mandhana: ‘Team still had half a mind on World Cup, series win will boost confidence’

After scores of 5 and 0 in the first two ODIs, Smriti Mandhana regained her touch in the series decider as she cracked her third ODI century of the year, helping India beat New Zealand by six wickets and take the three-match series 2-1. She was ably supported by first Yastika Bhatia (35) and then Harmanpreet Kaur (59 not out) as India put on a chasing masterclass in Ahmedabad.Batting first, New Zealand rode largely on Brooke Halliday’s career-best 86 off 96 balls as she lifted her side from the depths of 88 for 5 in the 24th over to 232 all out in 49.5 overs. Teams batting first won both ODIs in the series, but India were having none of it as the top order shone through in the chase as they romped home with 34 balls to spare.Mandhana had fallen to the outside-the-off-stump trap twice in two innings in this ODI series. In the first game, she carved Jess Kerr to backward point. Two days later, she did it again, chipping it straight to point for a duck. So, when Mandhana came out in pursuit of New Zealand’s target of 233, she was circumspect to the point that in the first three overs, she shouldered arms to at least five balls. She was ready to be patient and build her innings. The move paid dividends.Mandhana has had a good 2024 in ODIs, having scored two centuries and a half-century in six innings coming into this game. On Tuesday, she played the patient game. She was on 9 off 26 balls at one point, but did not throw it away. She had a slice of luck when she seemingly inside-edged a Lea Tahuhu full-length delivery on to her pad in the third over. Replays later suggested the ball had hit her pad first and had New Zealand reviewed, she would have been out. It was the luck Mandhana needed, and she did not look back.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

At the other end, Shafali, though, had no such luck. She got going with two crips fours, but was caught down the leg side after a faint nick in the fourth over.Mandhana was joined by Bhatia in the middle and the two kept their composure in the chase. Mandhana struck her first four in the ninth over, a swivel-pull against Sophie Devine, followed by a chip down the ground off Eden Carson. Bhatia also struck a few smart boundaries. They added 76 runs for the second wicket before Bhatia was caught and bowled by Devine.Harmanpreet walked out at No. 4 and with a platform set, the two went about their innings calmly. Mandhana brought up her half-century with a short-arm jab through midwicket and soon started finding the fence with more regularity. Harmanpreet, too, was wary initially but soon found the measure of the surface and the runs started flowing from both ends. They brought up the 50-run stand for the third wicket in the 31st over.Harmanpreet did go down with cramps not long after, but that was not going to stop her. She unleashed an array of drives and pulls with Mandhana also going after Devine. Harmanpreet reached her half-century off 54 balls while Mandhana got to her century, the eighth of her career, off 121 balls with a push down the ground. She fell without adding another run, cleaned up by Hannah Rowe, but the job was done by then.Jemimah Rodrigues walked out and immediately got four fours away as India could see the finishing line. She fell lbw to Fran Jonas with India needing a run, and Harmanpreet fittingly finished off the chase in the 45th over.Brooke Halliday hit three sixes despite tiring in the heat•BCCI

Earlier, Halliday braved the scorching Ahmedabad heat as she strung important stands with Izabella Gaze and Rowe, before Tahuhu smashed an unbeaten 24 off 14 balls to get New Zealand past the 230-run mark.It was a much-improved Indian fielding show on display in the third ODI. They had dropped as many as six catches in the second ODI, to go with multiple misfields, as they went down heavily. But they came out as a unit on a mission on Tuesday, led by the two usual fielding stars, Radha Yadav and Rodrigues, as they frustrated the New Zealand openers, Suzie Bates and Georgia Plimmer, in the powerplay.Rodrigues was into the act in the third over as she almost effected a run-out after a stunning save at short extra-cover, with Bates having to dive full length to just about make her crease. Rodrigues’ brilliance came to the fore in the seventh over again when there was a spot of miscommunication between the two batters and this time Bates was caught well short of her crease despite the dive.Plimmer had, meanwhile, started to find the hang of the red-soil surface. She got her boundary-counter running with a solid on-drive off Renuka Thakur before piercing the gap between mid-off and cover off the same bowler. Saima Thakor was also driven for two fours in three balls in the sixth over, but she bounced back with the wicket of Lauren Down, removing her with a gentle length ball that tailed away late and caught her outside edge.Devine, the star of the second ODI, looked ominous from the get-go, striking two authoritative fours within her first seven balls. But she was undone by a stunning wrong’un from Priya Mishra as she went back to a delivery that she ideally should have been forward to, and the ball crashed into her middle stump.Deepti Sharma was named the Player of the Series•BCCI

Halliday, though, looked the part all the way. She got off the mark with an elegant off drive, but regular wickets at the other end pinned New Zealand down. Plimmer was removed by Mishra, who induced a thick outside edge, with Deepti Sharma taking a sharp catch at slip – she was guilty of dropping three catches in the second ODI.New Zealand then lost half their side when another miscommunication ensued between Maddy Green and Halliday, with the former stuck in the middle of the pitch. Rodrigues was again in the thick of things at point.Halliday had to do the repair job, and she found an ally in Gaze. Halliday struck her first six in the 38th over off Mishra, and soon reached her sixth ODI fifty with a flick in the 40th over.Gaze fell chipping a full toss meekly back to Deepti for her first wicket, but Halliday and Rowe carried on by adding 47 off 41 balls for the seventh wicket. Halliday, who was spent by that time, put her foot on the pedal, even showing off a few innovative reverse hits and paddles. She managed to generate enough power to clear the ropes twice – once off Harmanpreet Kaur and then off Deepti – but fell in the 46th over caught at deep midwicket.Rowe fell soon after but Tahuhu smashed two fours and a six to help New Zealand end on a high. Eventually, they were well below par.