The text of Rahul Dravid’s statement at his farewell press conference in Bangalore on March 9

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Mar-2012’My approach to cricket has been reasonably simple: it was about giving everything to the team, it was about playing with dignity and it was about upholding the spirit of the game’•AFP

I would like to announce my retirement from international and domestic first-class cricket. It is 16 years since I played my first Test match for India and today I feel it is time to move on. Once I was like every other boy in India, with a dream of playing for my country. Yet I could never have imagined a journey so long and so fulfilling.No dream is ever chased alone. As I look back, I have many people to thank for teaching me and believing in me. My junior coaches in Bangalore and at various junior national camps inculcated in me a powerful love of the game, which has always stayed with me. My coaches at the international level have added to my craft and helped shape my personality. The physios and trainers worked hard to keep me fit – not an easy job – and allowed me to play late into my 30s.The selectors, who rarely receive any credit in India, occasionally had more confidence in me than I had in myself and I am grateful for that. The various captains I played under offered me guidance and inspired me.The media has been kind to me and I have respect for their craft.The KSCA and BCCI have provided me a platform and the facilities to play the game.Most of all I have to thank the teams I played with. I was lucky in my early years to play for a Karnataka team that was trying to forge itself into a strong side and they were years of fun and learning. In the Indian team, I was fortunate to be part of a wonderful era when India played some of its finest cricket at home and abroad. Many of my teammates have become legends, not just in India but in the wider cricketing world. I admired them, learnt from them and I leave the game with wonderful memories and strong friendships. It is a great gift to have.A career in sport is almost impossible to manage without the support, and guidance, and reassurance of family and friends. During tough times, and there always are, this is whom we go to. I found strength and encouragement from my parents and brother and they created around me a positive environment which was essential to my success.My wife, Vijeeta, has been a remarkable partner in my journey. She has made sacrifices in her own career and has almost been a single parent as she brought up our children alone as I travelled abroad to play. Whenever challenges appeared, she was always there, as sounding board, as ally and as guide. Being away from my family became harder and harder through the years and I look forward now to spending time at home and doing the simple things, like just taking my sons to school.Finally I would like to thank the Indian cricket fan, both here and across the world. The game is lucky to have you and I have been lucky to play before you. To represent India, and thus to represent you, has been a privilege and one which I have always taken seriously. My approach to cricket has been reasonably simple: it was about giving everything to the team, it was about playing with dignity and it was about upholding the spirit of the game. I hope I have done some of that. I have failed at times, but I have never stopped trying. It is why I leave with sadness but also with pride.

Mohammad Ashraful has not been awarded a contract by the Bangladesh Cricket Board for 2012

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Apr-2012Mohammad Ashraful has not been awarded a contract by the Bangladesh Cricket Board for 2012. The BCB announced contracts for 15 players after the meeting of its board of directors on Sunday, with a salary hike of 10% from last year.

BCB’s list of contracted players for 2012

Grade A+ – Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Tamim Iqbal, Abdur Razzak, Mashrafe Mortaza
Grade A – Mahmudullah, Imrul Kayes
Grade B – Rubel Hossain, Shafiul Islam, Nazmul Hossain
Grade C – Nasir Hossain, Jahurul Islam
Rookie Grade – Nazimuddin, Shuvagata Hom, Elias Sunny

The contracts were divided into five categories, with A+ being the highest grade. Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Tamim Iqbal, Abdur Razzak and Mashrafe Mortaza retained their A+ grading from last year. Imrul Kayes, with a grade A contract, and Shafiul Islam, with a grade B contract, received upgrades.Ashraful missed out after a woeful 2011, in which he was in and out of both the Test and one-day teams. He had averaged just 5.28 in seven one-dayers, and 28.25 in two Tests. He was not a part of the squad that impressed in the recently concluded Asia Cup.Nasir Hossain, who has averaged 42 for Bangladesh in 14 ODIs with a hundred and three half-centuries, was included for the first time in the list with a grade C contract. Batsmen Nazimuddin and Shuvagata Hom, and left-arm spinner Elias Sunny who claimed a six-for on debut against West Indies in October, were awarded rookie grade contracts.Shahadat Hossain, Junaid Siddique, Syed Rasel, Raqibul Hasan, Naeem Islam and Suhrawadi Shuvo missed out on contracts this year.

Rajasthan Royals’ offspinner Ajit Chandila said that Narendra Hirwani’s advice before the match gave him the confidence to bowl with the new ball against Pune Warriors.

ESPNcricinfo staff14-May-2012Rajasthan Royals’ offspinner Ajit Chandila, who picked up the first hat-trick of the season, said that former India legspinner Narendra Hirwani’s advice before the match gave him the confidence to bowl with the new ball against Pune Warriors on Sunday.Chandila, who played only his second match this season, dismissed Warriors’ top order with Jesse Ryder, Sourav Ganguly and Robin Uthappa falling in his first two overs and Anustup Majumdar in his last. “I asked Narendra Hirwani for his advice as it was an important match,” Chandila said. “He asked me to stick to the basics, bowl in the right areas and stop the batsmen from getting to the pitch of the ball. His words gave me a lot of confidence. I just tried to bowl in those areas and it paid dividends.”Chandila, who ended with match-winning figures of 4 for 13, said that he studied the weaknesses of Warriors’ batsmen before the match which gave him the edge. “I watched the likes of Sourav Ganguly and Robin Uthappa bat in the past, so I knew where to bowl [to them],”he said. “I just tried to bowl in those areas and got the dividends.”Chandila also credited wicketkeeper Shreevats Goswami for stumping Ganguly and Uthappa. “Goswami was brilliant behind the stumps. This is a team game and you need the help of your team-mates.”Chandila’s mentor, Hirwani, said that the key to the offspinner’s success was his accuracy. “My advice to him was to keep the batsmen in check by not giving easy runs,” Hirwani said. “He is not a big turner of the ball so I have always told him to try and concede less than 20 runs in his four overs. If he does that then he’ll invariably have at least two wickets to his name.”His biggest advantage is his height. In addition to that he has a long pause in his action, which helps him in getting just that little bit of extra time to see what the batsman is doing and possibly adjust accordingly.”Chandila is a known name in local cricket circles in Delhi, and has been part of a strong Air India corporate side for several years now. Uthappa is his team-mate at Air India, as is Rajat Bhatia, the Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi allrounder.”He has done well for Air India,” Bhatia said. “Rajasthan Royals must have seen something in him, that is why they have selected him. He did well [on Sunday]; he will need to be consistent in the future.”At the club and corporate level, Chandila is known to be a restrictive and steady bowler who does not turn the ball much. While he has not been able to play much at state level, he is a regular in the grind of local cricket, where at times a team plays a 40-over game and a 20-over game on the same day in the summer heat. But all those long hours spent toiling away anonymously pale before the limelight that the IPL hat-trick has brought for Chandila.

Eric Simons has defended the decision to leave out Morne Morkel for their knockout clash against Chennai Super Kings, saying it was necessitated to maintain the balance of playing six batsmen, four bowlers and an allrounder

ESPNcricinfo staff26-May-2012Eric Simons, the Delhi Daredevils coach, has defended the decision to leave out Morne Morkel for their knockout clash against Chennai Super Kings, saying it was necessitated to maintain the balance of playing six batsmen, four bowlers and an allrounder. Daredevils were forced to replace their injured allrounder Irfan Pathan, but instead of swapping him for an Indian bowler, they brought in the West Indies allrounder Andre Russell. That meant one of the four foreigners had to make way, hence Morkel was benched.The decision was puzzling, considering Morkel has been their best bowler and held the Purple Cap for the most wickets (25) in the tournament. With another slot available, Daredevils picked the little-known Tamil Nadu offspinner Sunny Gupta over the left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem, who had impressed in the tournament earlier. The move backfired as Gupta leaked 47 off three overs as Super Kings blazed 222 to set up their 86-run win.”Irfan was pivotal to our team. When you lose Irfan you have to find the right balance,” Simons said. “We spend hours talking about these things – do you bring in Andre Russell, do you play just six batters? It’s dangerous to sit in a situation and completely judge on hindsight.”He (Russell) gave 30 in four overs, scored 16, could have had a catch taken. He made a good contribution. The nature of the IPL is trying to find the right balance. The direct replacement for Irfan was Russell but unfortunately that meant that Morne missed out.”Morkel said the plan was to beef up their spin attack. “Taking the pace off the ball was the key here, so they went with spinners,” Morkel told . “Umesh [Yadav] and Varun [Aaron] bowled well. But unfortunately, we didn’t win.”Simons admitted that playing a debutant, Gupta, in such a crucial match was a risk, but the decision was based on Super Kings’ batting composition.”Sunny was a risk. They (Super Kings) are a well-balanced side with four left-handers and four right-handers and we had to play someone who takes the ball away (from the left-handers),” Simons said. “We’ve been very successful chasing. Had we restricted them to 180 we would have got it.”Simons gave credit to Super Kings, saying the better-balanced side won. “They sneaked into the playoffs by probably their own admission. They’re so well balanced. They started to come together from the playoffs and that’s the sign of champions. M Vijay (who scored 113) played an incredible innings.”Daredevils held the pole position in the points table for most of the tournament but stumbled in the playoffs, losing to Kolkata Knight Riders and now Super Kings. Simons said there were plenty of positives, particularly in the bowling and praised two uncapped Indian spinners, Pawan Negi and Nadeem.”Negi did nicely, Nadeem did well. In that aspect we have moved well. I’m actually quite happy with the way Umesh has bowled. Morne as moved on as a Twenty20 bowler.”

ESPNcricinfo previews the first ODI between England and West Indies at West End

The Preview by Alex Winter15-Jun-2012

Match facts

Saturday, June 16, West End
Start time 1045 (0945 GMT)Captains Alastair Cook and Darren Sammy pose with the trophy ahead of England and West Indies’ ODI series•PA Photos

Big Picture

The one-day leg of West Indies’ tour was widely expected to be the point when the tourists become truly competitive against England. For many they are the favourites, such is the firepower they can now call upon. With the IPL complete and disputes between players and the WICB at a cease-fire, Saturday’s XI could feature seven changes from the side that played the first Test at Lord’s.It is essential West Indies take something away from this tour; so far their only plus points are the return to form of Marlon Samuels, Tino Best’s Edgbaston rampage and Denesh Ramdin’s ability to bat with a note in his pocket. They held Australia to a 2-2 draw in the Caribbean and now need to take ‘progress’, ‘positives’ and the excuse of being a developing side and turn them into an ODI series win – something they haven’t achieved against anyone other than Zimbabwe or Bangladesh (by whom they were whitewashed in 2009) since beating Sri Lanka in April 2008.They may have caught England at a good time. Kevin Pietersen’s retirement not only removes a destructive, in-form player from their line-up but returns England to experiment mode – Ian Bell, should he be passed fit, is set to open the batting and needs to forge a partnership with Alastair Cook. Without Pietersen, England look a touch lightweight; their big guns lie in the bowling department and they are tasked with picking off West Indies’ beefier batting line-up.

Form guide (most recent first)

England: WWWWL
West Indies: LWTWL

Players to watch

He’s back: Chris Gayle, whom Ottis Gibson has described as the best one-day batsman in the world. Few would disagree with West Indies’ coach. Blessed with an outrageous hitting ability but transferring from the flat tracks of the IPL to the seaming conditions of England is a challenge that will take more than hand-eye co-ordination to overcome.The spotlight in the England team turns to the recalled Ian Bell – offered another chance in ODIs and given the backing of England team director Andy Flower that he is part of the plan for the 2015 World Cup, there is great pressure on Bell to maintain the structure England have put in place for their one-day XI. His failure could spark another major rethink – though after a knock on the chin in practice, England could yet be forced to rejig anyway.

Team news

West Indies’ side will bear little resemblance to that which began the Test series. They are stronger for it, with Lendl Simmons and Chris Gayle returning to open the batting and Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard back in the middle order. England may decide to leave out one of their few big-hitters, Jonny Bairstow, in order to field a four-man pace attack, with Tim Bresnan occupying the allrounder’s role.West Indies (possible) 1 Lendl Simmons, 2 Chris Gayle, 3 Darren Bravo, 4 Marlon Samuels, 5 Kieron Pollard, 6 Dwayne Bravo/Dwayne Smith, 7 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 8 Andre Russell, 9 Darren Sammy (capt), 10 Ravi Rampaul, 11 Sunil NarineEngland (possible) 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Ian Bell, 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Ravi Bopara, 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Craig Kieswetter (wk), 7 Tim Bresnan, 8 Stuart Broad, 9 Graeme Swann, 10 James Anderson, 11 Steve Finn

Pitch and conditions

The forecast isn’t brilliant so expect ODI conditions only found in England, with the new ball offering plenty and the totals limited by the bowler-friendly environment. That considered, James Taylor had no trouble in smashing an unbeaten century for Nottinghamshire against Hampshire on the same ground in murky conditions last month. His final 90 runs came off just 32 balls.

Stats and trivia

• Before the match, the two main stands at West End will be renamed – one after Shane Warne, Hampshire captain from 2005 to 2007, and the other after the late Colin Ingleby-Mackenzie, who captained Hampshire to the 1961 County Championship.
• Ian Bell averages 42.88 in ODIs in England, compared to 28.64 abroad.
• Chris Gayle has played 51 Twenty20 matches for four different teams since he last played for West Indies.

Quotes

“If you hit it just over the boundary or just over the stands it is still six. Maybe if they were counting runs differently for the amount of rows back, then Chris Gayle would definitely win that contest.”
“I don’t think he is special. The kid has hardly played a lot of first-class cricket. He’s young and inexperienced. Spinners usually need a few years to mature and bowl well. In the IPL batsman had no time to look at him and Indian pitches always slow-turn so everything was in his favour there.”

The fast bowler James Pattinson will not be part of the Australia A tour of England due to an abdominal strain

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Jul-2012The fast bowler James Pattinson will not be part of the Australia A tour of England due to an abdominal strain. Pattinson suffered the problem during the final ODI against England in Manchester earlier this month and has not stayed on with the A side, which begins its tour with a three-day match against Derbyshire on Friday.Pattinson is instead expected to resume bowling next week with Victoria, having returned home to Melbourne following the ODI series. However, he is expected to be fit for the one-day series against Pakistan in the UAE next month, having been named in the squad for that tour after he suffered the injury.The Western Australia fast bowler Nathan Coulter-Nile is set to join the Australia A squad, which had already gained Alister McDermott after he was brought in to replace in the injured Pat Cummins, who suffered a side strain. The tour would have provided a valuable opportunity for Pattinson and Cummins to bowl with the red ball in English conditions ahead of their likely involvement in next year’s Ashes.Instead, the Australia A group will rely on Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Starc, Ben Cutting, Jackson Bird, McDermott and Coulter-Nile for their pace requirements. The spin contingent is made up of Nathan Lyon, Jon Holland and Steven Smith. The Australia A series includes four games against county sides and the England Lions over the next three weeks.

The IPL’s refusal to recognise player representatives has reduced the Federation of International Cricketers’ Association to an advisory role in the current payment dispute between Royal Challengers Bangalore and some of its top players, FICA chief execut

Andrew Fernando05-Aug-2012The IPL’s “frustrating” refusal to recognise player representatives has sidelined the Federation of International Cricketers’ Association (FICA), reducing it to an advisory role, in the current payment dispute between Royal Challengers Bangalore and some of its top players, FICA chief executive Tim May has said. This is a departure from FICA’s usual role in other similar disputes, where it deals directly with employers to bring about a resolution.May said the Royal Challengers and Deccan Chargers managements have not replied to correspondence from FICA regarding the salaries they still owe players. “We try to become directly involved but we never receive any responses from the Indian Premier League, which is frustrating for all,” May said.Several members of the Royal Challengers 2012 squad, including captain Daniel Vettori, are still awaiting the first instalment of their pay, while salaries are also owed to members of the Deccan Chargers side. May said FICA had advised players to make queries through their home boards, as FICA have been rendered powerless by the IPL’s stonewalling. National cricket boards’ requests for status updates on the outstanding payments were also yet to be answered, May said.”The reality of the situation is we’re sitting in the background advising the players on these particular issues. If they can’t get addressed, we’ll look into the matter in legal terms, how [we can] pursue these monies.”Payment delays such as this one and the ongoing issue with players and coaching staff who were a part of the inaugural Bangladesh Premier League, have led to FICA insisting on franchises providing bank guarantees for player salaries in the upcoming Sri Lanka Premier League.Under every identical IPL contract, signed between the player, the franchise and the IPL, the players are due 15% of their fee for the season by April 1 (before the IPL or very early into it), 50% by May 1 (during the IPL or towards its end), 20% after the Champions League and 15% by December 1. It is understood that the players emailed the management after the season finished in May, but did not receive a straightforward response. Royal Challengers’ franchise owners, the UB group, have recently hit financial strife, with owner Vijay Mallya’s airline found to be in debt of $1.3b.

Yuvraj Singh has said his first game for India after his battle with cancer was “a big emotional moment

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Sep-2012Yuvraj Singh has said his first game for India after his battle with cancer was “a big emotional moment.” He bowled two overs for 14 runs, took a catch, and scored 34 runs off 26 balls in the second Twenty20 international against New Zealand in Chennai. However, Yuvraj was dismissed in the final over of the chase and India lost by one run.”There are mixed emotions,” Yuvraj said after the game. “We lost a game that we should have won, but for me personally it was a big emotional moment to get on the field. I had tears in my eyes when we were fielding, luckily the cameras did not catch it. I think I am timing the ball well and it can only get better from here.”Yuvraj’s return was much awaited and he got a standing ovation from the spectators when he came in to bat at No. 4. “It was good to see Yuvraj come back and score some runs. It was a big game for him,” MS Dhoni said. “I personally feel that he gives us the right kind of balance we need. He is not someone who will bowl all four overs in a T20 game, but he is a variation that I can use especially since we have to play with four specialist bowlers.”India managed 24 runs between overs 14 and 18, making a chase that appeared in control slip out of hand in the last two overs. Dhoni said the slowness of the pitch in the second half of the chase made it tough for the batsmen to score.”The wicket slowed down and it was difficult to hit,” Dhoni said. “It’s among the bigger grounds. It was holding up and not all the balls had same bounce. In the end it became quite difficult. But we should have won this game.”Chasing New Zealand’s 167, India were boosted by a quick start from Virat Kohli, who opened in Virender Sehwag’s absence. Kohli’s 41-ball 70 included seven fours and a six, and he was well supported by Suresh Raina and Yuvraj. Sixteen runs came off the 13th over, but Kohli’s wicket in the next dried up the boundaries for India.Dhoni, who scored 22 off 23 balls, said the team was worried about the nature of the wicket towards the end of the match. “After the 10th or 12th over, it got tough. Had it remained the way it was in the first half, we would have fancied our chances.”However, Dhoni expressed satisfaction with the form of India’s top-order batsmen and said it bode well ahead of the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka. “Virat gave us a very good start. After that, Raina and Yuvraj also batted really well. It is a positive for us before the start of the World Cup. To play a few games before getting into the World Cup is very important. Two more games in Sri Lanka … that means we will get into the groove.”India are scheduled to play two warm-up matches – against Sri Lanka and Pakistan – before their first Group A match against Afghanistan on September 19.

ESPNcricinfo previews the Super Eights game between England and New Zealand in Pallekele

The Preview by Alan Gardner28-Sep-2012

Match facts

September 29, 2012
Start time 3.30pm local (1000 GMT/1100 BST)England’s bowlers will have to tame the tournament’s leading run-scorer, Brendon McCullum•ICC/Getty

Big Picture

Group 1 of the Super Eights may be a collection of runners-up but second-best is an accurate summary of England and New Zealand’s performances so far. After this match, one team is going to be propping up the group and, depending on the result of Sri Lanka versus West Indies, potentially checking the departures timetable from Bandaranaike International.Of the two, New Zealand should enter the match in better fettle, having scrapped like cornered kiwis in their exhilarating Super Over defeat against the tournament hosts. They also pushed Pakistan – fast turning into one of the favourites – all the way in the group stage and in Brendon McCullum they have the World T20’s leading run-scorer. By contrast, England made their lowest T20I score against India in Colombo and then followed that up by ushering Johnson Charles to his best showing in all senior cricket, and West Indies to a first win.Unsurprisingly, England’s green (not to mention KP-free) batting order has been the problem. Stuart Broad was explicit in blaming the batsmen after the failure to chase 180 against West Indies and first-over performances of 0 for 1, 2 for 1 and 0 for 2 in their three games have given England more of a stop than a start. If they can get through the first six balls, one crumb of comfort may be the fact that New Zealand’s slow bowlers are of the orthodox finger-spin variety.For New Zealand, the challenge is to convert the disappointment of two close defeats into match-winning momentum. The Black Caps are often dark horses but they have still tended to fall before the final fence. Their only T20I win against England came during the inaugural World Twenty20 in 2007, when they progressed to the semi-finals; the teams also met in the 2010 Super Eights, when England went on to lift the trophy. Of those two precedents, a repeat of the former looks more likely than the latter.

Form guide

(completed matches, most recent first) England LLWWL
New Zealand LLWWL

Watch out for

The sceptics have increasingly begun to circle Craig Kieswetter‘s name at the top of the order with red ink. Having not made a duck his first 21 T20I innings, Kieswetter has picked up two in three matches at this tournament. His anxiety to play the six-hitting blunderbuss, with Alex Hales a more subtle opening partner, appears to have clouded Kieswetter’s mind – he has made four of his six single-figure scores this year – while there is also concern about the number of dot balls he faces. Needs a big innings.Daniel Vettori has had a quiet World T20 so far, with one wicket at a cost of 83 runs and a 16-ball 18 when promoted to No. 4 as a pinch hitter against Pakistan. His experience and economy (Vettori’s rate of 5.63 is among the most miserly in T20 internationals) mean he remains a valuable member of the side and one who can remember what it is like to beat England, having played in Durban five years ago. England’s much-discussed uncertainty about how to tackle spin bowling adds further spice.

Team news

England set a lot of store by continuity and, even if they didn’t, their options are limited. Ravi Bopara’s batting form is unlikely to have improved while carrying the drinks and replacing Kieswetter with Michael Lumb at opener would be a gamble that would also require either Jonny Bairstow or Jos Buttler to take over the wicketkeeping duties.England (possible) 1 Craig Kieswetter (wk), 2 Alex Hales, 3 Luke Wright, 4 Eoin Morgan, 5 Jonny Bairstow, 6 Jos Buttler, 7 Samit Patel, 8 Stuart Broad (capt), 9 Graeme Swann, 10 Steven Finn, 11 Jade Dernbach.New Zealand might be tempted to give Ronnie Hira a run-out, in light of the knockout matches being played in spin-friendly Colombo. His left-arm spin may not be exotic, and would replicate Vettori’s angle of attack, but after the gentle welcome England gave West Indies’ Samuel Badree it could be a tempting option.New Zealand (possible) 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Rob Nicol, 3 Brendon McCullum (wk), 4 Ross Taylor (capt), 5 James Franklin, 6 Kane Williamson, 7 Jacob Oram, 8 Daniel Vettori, 9 Nathan McCullum, 10 Tim Southee, 11 Kyle Mills.

Pitch and conditions

Broad described the Pallekele pitch as a “batter’s paradise” after the first round of Super Eight games there, with minimal spin or seam movement and plenty of pace. Saturday is expected to be clear, which should help the runs flow again.

Stats and trivia

• England have won four out of five T20 internationals against New Zealand, their only defeat coming at the 2007 World T20
• Graeme Swann needs two wickets to become the fourth man – and first non-Pakistani – to reach 50 in T20Is

Quotes

“We back the guys up there [at the top of the order], we know they’re all dangerous players. But losing wickets in the first over, especially, is not acceptable.”
“Personally, I don’t keep an eye on the strike rate or balls faced. If you can get your boundaries and your ones and twos, the strike rate is going to take care of itself.”
US readers can watch the match live here, coverage starts 30 minutes before the game begins.

Cameron Gannon’s six wickets helped Queensland wrap up an innings and 123-run hiding of Tasmania in the Sheffield Shield match in Hobart

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Nov-2012
ScorecardCameron Gannon’s six wickets helped Queensland wrap up an innings and 123-run hiding of Tasmania in the Sheffield Shield match in Hobart.The Tigers were rushed out for 142 after the Bulls’ first innings concluded at 360, Aiden Blizzard’s 49 providing the only semblance of resistance as Gannon plucked the first five wicket haul of his first-class career.Queensland were indebted to their No. 3 batsman Usman Khawaja for a first innings 138 that towered over every other innings, and he was a clear choice for the match award.Tasmania, meanwhile, have a few questions to ponder, having suffered their second consecutive outright loss at home on a Bellerive Oval surface that has been treacherous for batting this season after being relaid.