A strong all-round performance helped United Arab Emirates secure a crucial 46-run win over Canada in a World Cricket League Championship match, lifting them to the fourth place on the table.

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Aug-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsShaiman Anwar’s century led UAE to a comfortable win from a potentially dangerous situation•Eddie Norfolk

A strong all-round performance helped United Arab Emirates secure a crucial 46-run win over Canada in a World Cricket League Championship match, lifting them to the fourth place on the table.Put in to bat, UAE staged a strong recovery from a precarious 54 for 3 in the 12th over to finish at 269 for 4. Shaiman Anwar anchored the innings, posting a 68-run fourth-wicket partnership with Swapnil Patil and then staging an unbeaten 147-run fifth-wicket stand with Rohan Mustafa. Mustafa and Anwar began cautiously but accelerated in the last 10 overs, scoring 96 runs off 60 balls to lift UAE to a challenging total. Anwar brought up his third List-A hundred off the last ball of the match with a four off Cecil Pervez and his innings included nine fours and three sixes. Mustafa scored an unbeaten 68 off 61 balls, which included five fours and two sixes.Canada’s batsmen couldn’t replicate UAE and their chase suffered for a lack of big partnerships. They had just one fifty-plus stand between Ruvindu Gunasekera and Usman Limbada for the fourth wicket. Both batsmen eventually scored fifties but the loss of regular wickets hurt Canada. Pacer Mohammad Naveed and offspiner Nasir Aziz did most of the damage, picking up four wickets each.

The ICC has fined Australia’s coach, Darren Lehmann, over his comments that Stuart Broad had blatantly cheated in failing to walk when he edged Ashton Agar during the first Test

Brydon Coverdale22-Aug-2013The ICC has fined Australia’s coach, Darren Lehmann, over his comments that Stuart Broad had blatantly cheated in failing to walk when he edged Ashton Agar during the first Investec Test at Trent Bridge. Lehmann has been fined 20% of his match fee for the final Test over the interview with the Australian radio station Triple M this week, in which he also said he hoped spectators would “give it to” Broad during the upcoming Ashes series in Australia.Lehmann pleaded guilty to breaching Article 2.1.7 of the ICC Code of Conduct, which relates to “public criticism of, or inappropriate comment in relation to an incident occurring in an international match or any player, player support personnel, match official or team participating in any international match.”The ICC chief executive, David Richardson, laid the charge and on Thursday night, Lehmann admitted the offence and accepted the sanction proposed by the match referee Roshan Mahanama, who is overseeing the ongoing Test at The Oval.”Whilst noting the context and nature of the comments made, showing mutual respect for one’s fellow professionals – including for coaches, players and match officials – is a cornerstone of how we play the game,” Richardson said.During the radio interview, Lehmann was asked about the incident from the first Test in which Broad edged and the catch was taken at first slip after deflecting off the wicketkeeper Brad Haddin. Lehmann said it was a case of cheating on the part of Broad.”Certainly our players haven’t forgotten, they’re calling him everything under the sun as they go past,” Lehmann said in the interview. “I hope the Australian public are the same because that was just blatant cheating. I don’t advocate walking but when you hit it to first slip it’s pretty hard.”

Work on the development of Hampshire’s Ageas Bowl ground, including the construction of a hotel and media centre, has been halted after the contractor went into administration

Alan Gardner04-Oct-2013Work on the development of Hampshire’s Ageas Bowl ground, including the construction of a hotel and media centre, has been halted after the contractor went into administration. Hampshire, however, are confident that the delays will not impact on their ability to host England matches, with a Test against India scheduled for 2014.Rod Bransgrove, Hampshire’s chairman, said that there had been “plenty of buffer built into the programme” and that the immediate priority was to minimise the impact to local subcontractors, after developer Denizen ran into financial difficulty. The ECB confirmed it had been in contact with the club and would monitor the situation but was not currently concerned about the staging of matches next summer.”We’re not anticipating any problems,” Bransgrove said. “We’ve already spoken to and are in contact with potential step-in builders. We’re fine in terms of scheduling, we had plenty of buffer built into the programme, so in terms of meeting our obligations for the summer we don’t think they’re going to be affected at all.”A new Hilton Hotel forms the major part of the development and that may now not open in time for the 2014 season, as had been planned. While the hotel is 75% complete, the state-of-the-art media centre – which, unlike the hotel, would fall within the ECB’s remit – is “virtually finished”, Bransgrove said. An inspection was made by the ECB’s major match group in September and a further visit is planned before next season to assess the ground’s readiness for India’s arrival on July 27-31, in what will be only the second Test match Hampshire have hosted.The Ageas Bowl project, which includes additional conferencing and hospitality facilities to help expand Hampshire’s business outside of cricket, is one of many in which counties have been assisted by their local councils. The £48m development has benefited from an investment of £38.5m by Eastleigh Borough Council, which anticipates 500 jobs and £50m in extra annual revenue for the local economy being created.A Hampshire statement said: “Whilst there will inevitably be a short delay to the opening of the hotel, funding to complete the project remains in place and the process to replace Denizen as the main contractor is already underway. This development will not affect the ground’s ability to host major events in 2014.”

A round-up of IPL-related news on May 4, 2015

ESPNcricinfo staff04-May-2015Allrounder Corey Anderson, who had flown back to New Zealand after fracturing his finger, has rejoined Mumbai Indians squad in Mumbai. Anderson practised along with the rest of the squad at the Wankhede Stadium on Monday, ahead of their key clash against Delhi Daredevils on Tuesday.It is understood that Anderson’s finger injury has not yet healed properly. He is still under observation and is unlikely to be considered for Tuesday’s game. With Mumbai’ qualification chances having received a boost with three successive victories over the last week, Anderson was asked to rejoin the squad. He subsequently arrived in Mumbai on Sunday night.In the four matches he played for Mumbai, Anderson scored two fifties. Despite going home earlier, Mumbai had not replaced him with another player in the squad.

A day after becoming only the second Indian umpire to be included in the ICC’s elite panel since its inception in 2002, S Ravi believes the “perception” of Indian umpires will now change

Gaurav Kalra05-Jun-20156:43

‘Perception of Indian umpires will change’ – Ravi

A day after becoming only the second Indian umpire to be included in the ICC’s elite panel since its inception in 2002, S Ravi believes the “perception” of Indian umpires will now change. Speaking to ESPNcricinfo from his hometown Chennai, Ravi said his elevation would convince the cricketing world that “Indian umpires are capable enough to officiate in Test matches and ODIs and get on to the elite panel.””I was working hard for this,” Ravi said. “I was expecting it because I was on the emerging panel of ICC and after having a good World Cup I thought I should be there and I got the nod from the selectors.”Last month, Ravi, 49, umpired in England for the first time in his six-Test international career, officiating in both games of New Zealand’s tour. He described the experience as “challenging” but rewarding.”It was a great experience,” he said. “The conditions were very challenging for me. When you go to England, you have to expect tough weather conditions, the ball seams and swings throughout the game, it is a tough ask for us. I was prepared for that and I thought I did reasonably well.”On the third day of the second Test in Leeds, Ravi gave an official warning to England’s leading bowler James Anderson for running onto the pitch in New Zealand’s second innings. ESPNcricinfo’s ball-by-ball commentary noted at the time that “‪Anderson isn’t impressed. Fuming is probably the correct term,” but Ravi said he had “no issues” with players from either side.”I am just implementing the laws of the game, that’s all,” he said. “Whether it is X player or Y player, the law is the same. I am there to conduct the match within the framework of the laws. That’s it, very simple.”Ravi is among four Indian umpires- Vineet Kulkarni, C Shamshuddin and Anil Chaudhary being the other three – who are serving on the ICC’s international panel of umpires, the level immediately below the elite panel. He is now convinced that more people can make the grade up, and credits the experience of officiating in the IPL over the last few years as the reason for improved umpiring standards.”In the last five-six years, the standard of Indian umpires has gone up because of our umpires standing in the IPL, which is an international standard tournament,” he said. “They get to work with elite umpires and referees from different countries. They get to interact with international players, coaches, support staff and other stakeholders. All these things have made Indian umpires better. I am sure in the near future at least one or two more will make it to the elite panel.”A couple of them (Indian umpires) are now nominated for the World T20 qualifiers in Scotland and Ireland next month. That’s a big tournament for them. If they do well, they can get on to the emerging panel and move up the ladder.”Ravi has also officiated in 12 T20Is and 24 ODIs since 2011, including three matches in the recently-concluded World Cup. The experience gained from these high-profile assignments has made him realise that intense scrutiny comes with the territory.”As umpires, who are umpiring at the highest level of the game, we are bound to be scrutinised by the media, the players, and the captains.” he said. “We should be prepared for that. If you make an error, it will be highlighted, technology will expose you at some stage or the other. You should be prepared for that, learn from that error and move on. You can’t do much about it.”Ravi credits former Australian umpire Simon Taufel, who has worked with him as an advisor and mentor to the BCCI’s elite panel of umpires, for his rise. According to Ravi, Taufel, who was the ICC umpire of the year for five consecutive years from 2004 to 2008, has helped him understand the mindset needed to succeed in the job.”I have been working very closely with Simon for the last three years almost,” he said. “I have learnt a lot from him; right from preparation to getting into the game, decision making, handling big players, match management skills, the man-management skills, how to get out of setbacks. All those skills have helped me to become a better umpire. I am very thankful to Simon, it is because of him that I have achieved this dream.”While Ravi says Taufel is his idol, the other umpire he has a lot of “respect and regard” for is England’s David Shepherd, who passed away in 2009, having officiated 92 Tests and 172 ODIs over his two-decade career.”He was a great umpire and great personality,” Ravi said. “The way he conducted himself and interacted with the players, had a good relationship with the players is something fantastic. “A keen cricketer himself, Ravi represented Madras Universities and played in the senior division league in Chennai for many years. Umpiring, he explains was the best way to “keep in touch” with the game. But due to such commitments, he will now need more time off from his day job as Special Assistant at the Reserve Bank of India, where he has worked since 1989.”The bank has been kind to me so far,” he chuckles when asked if they are happy to let him take time off to go on umpiring duties. He also says his family will “have to cope” with the additional travel required as part of the 12-man elite panel. And what about his dream assignment now that he finds himself among the world’s top umpires?”An Ashes Test match at Lord’s.”

A couple of weeks ago, Ajinkya Rahane couldn’t even make India’s ODI XI, but after surprisingly being named captain for the limited-overs tour of Zimbabwe, the batsman has said that he is “very confident to handle this new responsibility.”

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Jun-20153:55

‘I’ve learned a lot from Dhoni, Virat and Dravid’

A couple of weeks ago, Ajinkya Rahane couldn’t even make India’s ODI XI, but after surprisingly being named captain for the limited-overs tour of Zimbabwe, the batsman has said that he is “very confident to handle this new responsibility.”Rahane’s game had come under criticism during the Bangladesh ODIs, with MS Dhoni suggesting that Rahane struggled to rotate the strike on slower pitches. Rahane, though, felt the captaincy offered him an opportunity to improve his batting in the shorter formats, and said that he had a “great hunger to learn”.”I know how capable I am and I believe in myself. I have learned a lot from whatever cricket I have played in the last four-five years,” Rahane told . “I wasn’t thinking about the captaincy. I didn’t know about it. It came as a surprise, but whatever domestic and international cricket I’ve played gave me confidence. I am a very hardworking guy. I always want to be the best in the world and I know my capabilities.”While Rahane has led in just two matches in senior representative cricket, he said he had picked up a “lot of ideas” from playing under Dhoni, Virat Kohli, and Rahul Dravid, his captain at Rajasthan Royals.”Under Dhoni , I have learnt a lot from his calmness and the way he handles everything on the field. Virat’s controlled aggression, which you can see in his batting and captaincy, is something I want to learn from him.”Rahul (Dravid) likes to keep things really simple and I was with him in Rajasthan Royals. I have my own ideas and I know what I have to do on the field. Obviously the senior players who will be there with me will advise me. The three things I have learned from those three captains are calmness, controlled aggression, and keeping things simple.”This has always been a part of me and I never spoke to Rahul about captaincy in particular, but he spoke about how he would plan things as a captain. I’ve also observed Dhoni closely, how he would plan, how his mindset would be. As a captain, you need to think from different angles according to the situation which is very important.”Speaking specifically about the forthcoming challenge from Zimbabwe, Rahane said he had always taken every international side seriously, irrespective of their ranking, and that it wouldn’t change next week. He added that he had full faith in the squad picked by the BCCI.”As a captain, it’s important to back your players and give them confidence. It is very important to lead from the front, be positive and back your team. Whatever international side we play, we take them seriously. My motive would be to give all youngsters confidence; guys who came back, speak with them, give them confidence and motivate them.”I think this is a good team. Guys who did well in the IPL and domestic season have got their rewards. Every player played their part, and I’m really excited. They are great team-mates and I am looking forward to joining them.”

Surrey ran through Derbyshire in the extra half hour, with Gareth Batty taking four wickets, after James Burke and Dominic Sibley contributed important innings

Paul Edwards at Derby23-Jun-2015
ScorecardJames Burke’s maiden first-class half-century helped set up a three-day victory for Surrey•PA Photos

Much has been made of the players who are unavailable for selection by Surrey at the moment, rather less of the opportunities their absence affords to others. If Graham Ford, their coach, had been given a full-strength squad from which to choose, it is almost certain that neither Dominic Sibley nor James Burke would have got the nod for this game against Derbyshire, which Surrey won when they took three wickets in the extra half-hour as the home side’s later batsmen seemingly lost all contact with their powers of resistance or competitive spirit.Surrey captain Gareth Batty took the last four wickets in 6.5 overs on an evening when straight balls suddenly became lethal. From 78 for 6, when Wayne White was plumb as you like lbw to Tom Curran for 23, Derbyshire lost those last four wickets for 44 runs with Mark Footitt slogging 20 before he holed out to Burke at deep midwicket, thus ensuring that Surrey’s defeat to Glamorgan last week at Guildford could be consigned to the “blip” category much beloved of coaches everywhere.”We needed a reaction and we got it,” Batty said. “I think the boys to a man were magnificent and all of them should be really proud of themselves.”Yet the Surrey hierarchy should be careful. They will rarely encounter batting quite as gutless as some of Derbyshire’s was in the closing stages of this game. In his Daniel Defoe enthused that he found “a great deal of good and some gay company” in Derby. Well, Derby folk remain cheerful and welcoming in the 21st century but Defoe would have been hard-pressed to find the city’s cricket community in a sunny mood after they had watched the tripe their players served up on Tuesday evening. “Here we bloody go,” said a local, when Billy Godleman played on to Curran for 10 in the fifth over. The trouble was the old boy had it dead right. Thirty-five overs later the players were shaking hands.Yet when one’s shock at the craven submission of Derbyshire’s middle and lower order had subsided, it was clear that the challenge of scoring 348 in the fourth innings had proved far too much for Madsen’s batsmen. Perhaps this was hardly surprising given that the county have never scored so many to win a game in their history and that not since 1985 have they more than 300 for victory in the fourth innings.But in this chronicle of poor cricket, we are in danger of forgetting the excellent stuff served up by Sibley and Burke, and that will never do. It was the contrasting innings played by these talented young cricketers which seized a decisive advantage for Surrey on the third day before loanee Luke Fletcher’s accurate seamers rammed home the visitors’ superiority with the scalps of Hamish Rutherford and Wayne Madsen. Both batsmen edged catches to the slips and both, it should be noted, were got out; they did not present their wickets to the bowlers.Burke and Fletcher’s contributions will be fairly plain to anyone glancing at the completed scorecard in next year’s Wisden. In only his third first-class appearance, the 24-year-old Burke recorded his maiden first-class fifty and his 73 was the highest individual contribution of a match in which, irony of ironies, batting was particularly difficult until the third afternoon He then dismissed Chesney Hughes and Ben Slater as Batty’s bowlers ran amok in the sunlit evening.But the smooth ease with which Surrey asserted their dominance on the third afternoon and evening should not obscure the hard work done by Sibley to build his side’s winning position. When the morning session began, Surrey’s No. 3 had already batted for 88 minutes, almost all of it in Monday evening’s murk and drizzle.Sibley then gritted it out for another 95 minutes, adding just 26 more runs before he was fourth out, unluckily leg before to White for 46. By then, though, Surrey were 143 for 4 and their lead was 175. Foundations had been laid. Burke was able to make hay when the sun shone because Sibley had gritted it out when it had rained.At first, though, Burke did not have things all his own way. Rattled on the helmet by Footitt, he scored most of his runs behind the wicket before he grew in confidence. After the loss of Ben Foakes and Gary Wilson, both of whom were bowled by Derbyshire’s left-arm spearhead and England hopeful, Burke added 83 for the seventh wicket with Batty, whose savvy company probably helped him as he reached his fifty. The pair’s stand was the highest of the match and it broke Derbyshire.”Burkey copped a few in the chops from Footitt but he just kept battling through,” Batty said. “He played a magnificent innings and I think it turned the game.”As for Footitt, while he bowled all four of his victims and is undoubtedly rapid, he also sent down 11 no-balls and three wides. Nearly a quarter of the runs he conceded therefore required the batsmen to do no work at all. Charity runs are rarely a characteristic of Ashes Tests but then there can rarely have been a team quite as charitable as Derbyshire were on a remarkable Tuesday when 18 wickets fell. Happily for the club’s many supporters, Madsen and his players did not find their coach Graeme Welch in a particularly forgiving or benevolent mood when they returned to the pavilion. The doors remained locked for an over an hour while Surrey’s players celebrated both their win and an unexpected day off just a few yards away.

After failed negotiations with the Emirates Cricket Board, the PCB has formally approached Qatar to host its domestic Twenty20 league in Doha in February 2016

Umar Farooq01-Aug-2015After failed negotiations with the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB), the PCB has formally approached Qatar to host its own Twenty20 league in Doha, in February 2016. ESPNcricinfo understands that a formal proposal is being sent to the Qatar Olympics Association, asking to upgrade the only cricket stadium in the country.The PCB had initially planned to host the franchise-based T20 league in UAE, Pakistan’s virtual home since 2009. However, when the board approached the ECB to secure the venues during the third week of June, they learned that the organisers of the Masters Champions League – a tournament for retired international cricketers – had already booked the stadiums for the February window. The MCL was unveiled at the Burj Al Arab on June 3, with former cricketers Brian Lara, Adam Gilchrist and Wasim Akram all in attendance as icon players.The ECB, which is the sole regulator of cricket in the UAE, refused to lease out the three stadiums to Pakistan, given the MCL had already locked the deal. Zafar Shah, the chairman of the MCL, independently tried to chalk out a way to accommodate both the leagues within the February window, but the dates could not be worked out.It is likely the PCB will wait another month before going forward with Doha as the alternative venue for the inaugural version of the league. It is understood that Pakistan even see Doha as a potential venue to host their Under-19, Women and A games on a long-term basis.The PCB has been floating the idea of hosting their own T20 league for the last five years, though the talks never really materialised into anything substantial. Logistical issues led to an indefinite postponement of the league in 2013, and while there was an attempt to revive the tournament in 2014, with the PCB inviting various parties to acquire rights for the Pakistan Super League (PSL), the quality of the bids meant that the board put their plans on hold again.The PCB’s chairman Shaharyar Khan and executive committee head Najam Sethi have both been at loggerheads in public over the tournament, but the board recently defused the situation by issuing a press release stating that both men were supporting each other. The PCB is racing against time, but the board said it was “determined” to host its first league involving high-profile players from around the world.During Zaka Ashraf’s regime, the PSL business model – unveiled in January 2013 – was expected to fetch the PCB “in excess of $100 million”. The PCB had also announced the base prices of players for a proposed auction, though they did not reveal the pool of players who had signed up for the tournament. The current design of the league is based on the draft system, according to which the distribution of top players among the five franchises will be equally managed.

Haseeb Hameed responded to a century from Australia Under-19’s Caleb Jewell with an unbeaten half-century of his own to guide England to a comfortable draw in the Youth Test at Chester-le-Street

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Aug-2015
ScorecardMatthew Parkinson finished with nine wickets in the match•Getty Images

Haseeb Hameed, the Lancashire batsman, responded to a century from Australia Under-19’s Caleb Jewell with an unbeaten half-century of his own to guide England to a comfortable draw in the Youth Test at Chester-le-Street.The two teams shook hands mid-way through the evening session after Jewell’s innings had left the hosts needing 308 in 47 overs, a prospect that was never seriously considered.Max Holden fell early to David Grant for 2 but thereafter England were not seriously troubled, with Tom Alsop following his first-innings 66 with 39 from 49 balls in a second-wicket stand of 63.Hameed, who struck 11 fours in his 92-run innings, enjoyed productive stands with Dan Lawrence and Callum Taylor, both of whom avoided pairs to make 27 and 34 not out respectively.Earlier, Australia built steadily on their overnight 91 for 3, adding a further 161 runs in 47.1 overs with Jewell resuming on 38 not out. He added 132 for the fourth wicket with his captain, Jake Doran, who made 76, with Matthew Parkinson and Ben Green sharing three wickets each. Parkinson, the legspinner, finished an impressive match with overall figures of 9 for 222.The five-match one-day series gets underway at Gosforth on Tuesday.

A round-up of all the Ranji Trophy Group C matches on October 10, 2015

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Oct-2015
ScorecardFile photo: Jalaj Saxena was unbeaten on 99, and put up 181 for the first wicket with Aditya Shrivastava•MPCA

Baroda opened their Ranji account with a bonus-point win in Vadodara, as the hosts toppled Railways by an innings and 113 runs inside three days. Baroda were already at a commanding 448 for 6 when the day began, and Hardik Pandya’s 85-ball 64 lifted the team to 500, after which they declared. Railways needed to score at least 334 to make Baroda bat again, but just like in the first innings, the visitors lost early wickets to stumble to 44 for 5. Prashant Awasthi (67) and Karn Sharma (51) put up a brief resistance by stroking fifties and stringing together a 108-run partnership, but no other batsman contributed with a significant knock. Pandya capped off a fine all-round display by picking up 3 for 30 – taking his match tally to eight wickets – as Railways were eventually bundled out for 221. Yusuf Pathan, Bhargav Bhatt and Sagar Mangalorkar ended with two scalps each.
ScorecardThere was little to separate Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu in Indore, as Tamil Nadu compiled 596 for 9, only for the hosts to make a solid reply, scoring 181 without the loss of a wicket by stumps. Tamil Nadu, who began at 517 for 7, suffered an early setback as their overnight centurion Malolan Rangarajan was dismissed for 131 five overs into the day. However, the visitors’ tail continued to frustrate MP, as L Vignesh, the No.10 batsman, stroked a brisk 50 to take the team close to the 600-run mark, after which Tamil Nadu declared.MP, though, were unfazed, as the openers Aditya Shrivastava and Jalaj Saxena batted together for 65 overs without any damage. Shrivastava stroked 10 fours for his 73 not out, while Saxena was unbeaten on 99, with 17 fours.
Scorecard A brace of middle-order half-centuries from Murumulla Sriram and D Siva Kumar helped Andhra consolidate their strong start and take a first-innings lead of 113 against Gujarat.Having begun the day on 196 for 1, Andhra lost Srikar Bharat early for 127, but Mohammad Kaif went on to score a half-century and take his team towards earning first-innings lead points. He added 66 for the third wicket with AG Pradeed but then there was a slump during which Andhra lost four wickets for 29 runs.Sriram and Siva Kumar, however, took Andhra past Gujarat’s score of 308 during a seventh-wicket stand of 94. Rush Kalaria had taken a five-for for Gujarat, claiming five of the top six wickets, and his team-mates mopped up the tail – taking the last four Andhra wickets for 27 runs. The hosts were dismissed for 421.Gujarat lost Samit Gohel for 1 in reply, and ended the day on 24, 89 runs behind with nine wickets in hand.Mumbai v Punjab – Punjab fight, but Mumbai inch towards win