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Over two weeks of heavy rain in the city meant that the deciding T20I between the two teams was abandoned without even a toss

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Oct-2017The deciding T20I between Australia and India in Hyderabad was abandoned as a result of a wet outfield. Over two weeks of heavy rain leading up to the match meant the ground had taken in a lot of water. And even though there was at least two hours of clear weather before the first ball was due, the groundstaff were unable to make good enough progress for the game to begin.In fact, when the umpires went out for their inspection they found that some patches of turf were so soggy that large divots were created when they dug their heels in. It was reported that the pitch, the square and even the bowler’s run-ups were relatively fine but certain areas beyond the 30-yard circle were unsafe. As a result, play was called off at approximately 8.30 pm and the series ended with a 1-1 scoreline.”We are all very upset,” a member of the groundstaff said. “It has been raining for 21 days in a row now. There is no way we can fight against nature or God.” According to sources, pedestal fans had been used on the eve of the match to dry the outfield.While the official did not want to comment on the drainage facilities in the ground, there are murmurs about the fact that there are only enough covers to protect the square and that the majority of the ground ends up unguarded in the event of rain.

Najibullah Zadran’s unbeaten 55 helped Afghanistan overcome a wobble and secure a final-over win that gave them an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Dec-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsNajibullah Zadran’s second T20I fifty steered his side home in a tense finish•Peter Della Penna/ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Najibullah Zadran’s unbeaten 55 helped Afghanistan overcome a wobble and secure a final-over win against United Arab Emirates that gave them an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. Zadran, who walked in to bat at No. 7, hit five fours and three sixes in his 25-ball knock to chase down United Arab Emirates’ 179 for 4 with two balls to spare.At the halfway mark in the second innings, UAE had the aces – Afghanistan needed 101 off the last 60 balls. That equation became tougher when Usman Ghani, Asghar Stanikzai and Samiullah Shenwari fell in the space of four overs to leave Afghanistan needing 64 off six overs. Najibullah broke the shackles by smashing Mohammad Shahzad for two sixes and a four to pocket an 19-run over that tilted the scales in Afghanistan’s favour.UAE, who opted to bat, lost Mohammad Shahzad in the third over. Rohan Mustafa and Shaiman Anwar gave the innings a lift with a sprightly second-wicket stand of 74 before legspinner Rashid Khan struck. Mustafa missed an attempted nudge across the line to be given out lbw.That wicket, however, did little to derail UAE’s momentum as Anwar batted through to make 60 before being dismissed off the final ball. He struck four fours and three sixes as UAE smashed 65 off the last five overs. It didn’t prove enough in the face of Najibullah’s late onslaught.

Former Pakistan captain Waqar Younis has expressed regret at the strained relationship he shared with Wasim Akram during their playing days

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Aug-20163:12

Waqar: ‘I regret having had issues with Wasim’

Former Pakistan captain Waqar Younis has expressed regret at the strained relationship he shared with Wasim Akram during their playing days. Speaking on the fifth episode of to be aired on Friday night India time on Sony ESPN, Waqar said the “issues” between them didn’t help the team’s cause.”I am really good friends with Wasim , he has always been an elder brother,” Waqar said. “He has always supported and helped me on the field, off the field. Yeah, we had issues. He didn’t only have issues with me but we had issues in the team those days, which yes, if you ask me the truth, yes I do regret at times because you know it did not really help Pakistan cricket.”But then again if you look at it, we had issues off the field but when we walked on to the field it was different ball game altogether. We wanted to compete [with] each other, we wanted to take more wickets than the other one and I think in a way, it did help. But yeah, if you ask me that particular episode, yes, we all regret it because it shouldn’t have happened. It was ugly those days but those days we were younger and we didn’t know much, now [we are] probably wiser and we want to improve things. Yeah, you can say that it was a regret.”Waqar felt the standard of first-class level in Pakistan had diminished with too many teams being involved, and advocated “serious competition” to produce quality cricketers. “I thought the system was a little bit better than what we have now. We had lesser teams, we had more quality in cricket and also we had — we still got – talent,” he said. “I’m not saying that we don’t have talent but I think this talent has been expanded and it’s been lost a little bit because we got too many teams playing first-class cricket. In those days, we had only like eight first-class teams playing and competing against each other.”It was very difficult to play first-class cricket those days. But nowadays, I feel that cricket — first-class cricket has just been, you know, been gifted away, there’ve been too many guys playing cricket. I don’t want to take cricket away from any kid from Pakistan. They all deserve it. I come from a small town so I know the importance. But I feel when you look at the bigger picture, when you look at international cricket, I think it’s important that first-class cricket should be played by fewer people. There should be a serious competition, that’s how you produce top cricketers and I feel that that is lacking in Pakistan at the moment.”Waqar said bowling fast was a natural act and credited a system where he was encouraged to go full tilt without sacrificing on pace. According to him, most of his learning was on the job, from the likes of Imran Khan and Akram. “To make someone bowl fast…you cannot teach that. You’re born with it, I guess,” he said. “You can improve maybe to a certain degree, you can improve pace, you can improve a little bit, but when it comes to genuine pace, you cannot make a medium-pacer into a genuine pacer. So, I was born with it, I was very lucky that I had that skill in me, and on top of that I had put lot of hard work into it. And I was very lucky that I had Imran Khan as a captain, as a role model. He never allowed me to slow down or just hit the areas and all. So, I was lucky that he told me to do that and I kept on doing that till the time I played.”You know I had Wasim Akram who had already played for a little while, Azeem Hafeez was just sort of finishing, Saleem Jaffar was there, we had Imran Khan and we had some serious fast-bowling chain up at the top when I came. So it was just easier to learn just by watching them, not really telling them or asking them for anything, just by watching them it teaches you a lot. I back the system through which I have come but also there were people there to help you, there to show you how things are done and I was very lucky.”Watch at 9.30pm IST on Fridays, and the repeat at 12pm on Sundays, on SONY ESPN

India’s limited-overs captain MS Dhoni was careful not to underestimate Sri Lanka despite losing several players to injury

Sidharth Monga in Pune08-Feb-20162:39

‘T20 team well balanced’ – Dhoni

Sri Lanka don’t have a mystery spinner. That should be enough to stop the press, but that is not the end of the story. The cricketing shrewdness of Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara has not come close to being replaced. Even Angelo Mathews and Lasith Malinga are not there and Tillakaratne Dilshan will miss the opening game of this three-T20I series. Their coach has only just taken charge. India are thus the favourites going into this World T20-preparation series, but MS Dhoni knows all too well the vagaries of the format. He knows a player can change the game in 10 balls. Win it or even lose it.”What really happens in this format is, the difference between the sides is very narrow,” Dhoni said. “What it boils down to is how good your match winners are playing. You can have only one big hitter in the side but if it’s his day, he can take the game away from you. And it can happen in just 10 or 12 balls.”India have to find a mix between doing what is best for this series and what is best for the World T20. In Virat Kohli’s absence, batting Suresh Raina at his beloved No. 3 is best for this series, but Dhoni is also looking at what is best for World T20.”I think it will be slightly better if Raina bats at the position that he will most likely bat in the World Cup,” Dhoni said. “It will give him that exposure. Also we are not a team that plays a lot of T20Is. Usually we play one game in a bilateral series. So this gives him an opportunity to expose him to No. 4 for a consistent period of time. The opportunity is there to make him bat at three and use some other batter [at four] but I think it will be more appropriate if he bats at No. 4 and gets adjusted.”One of the targets is to watch out against the fatigue and not peak too early, although some might say their 3-0 win in Australia was their peak. “We have quite a few targets in mind,” Dhoni said. “Winning games is important. But at the same time what will be more crucial is, we have to keep everyone fit. It’s almost the same 15 that will play till the World T20. It’s important to keep everyone fit so that the best XI is always available for selection. That will be the key factor.”Dhoni is also aware perhaps that India’s recent record in limited-overs cricket on the slower pitches of Asia hasn’t been great. The batsmen haven’t been as dominant as before and added to that is the slightly unusual sand-based outfield in Pune. It is slower than usual and high balls just sit in the ground. It is just as well that the straight boundaries are short, because during the practice sessions out in the middle, balls hit in the air lost all sting upon hitting the turf.Pandurang Salgaocar, the chief groundsman, said this was a normal outfield and that the well-timed shots will travel. If he is wrong, it may well provide the much-needed balance between bat and ball if only for just one game.Practically in the middle of nowhere, seemingly halfway to Mumbai, in conditions they have not played much IPL cricket in, India will begin their home stretch to the World T20. Shikhar Dhawan at the top of the order, Yuvraj Singh at No. 6 and Hardik Pandya as the allrounder will be the unknowns they will want to know more about.For Dhoni, though, the Maharashtra Cricket Association stadium will now be his IPL home and he has already found comfort factors. Even before he went to the nets, he made his way to the much talked-about dog kennel. Twenty-four dogs here are part of the security team. Dhoni even wanted to adopt a golden retriever back in the day. As he waited on, the dog, Prince, settled down and made this ground his home, Dhoni might not get to take the dog away. Pune, though, has certainly taken to Dhoni.

Tim May will be effectively replaced by two men at the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA) with Paul Marsh and Ian Smith set to run the organisation

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Jun-2013Tim May will be effectively replaced by two men at the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA) with Paul Marsh and Ian Smith set to run the organisation. Marsh has been elected executive chairman, and will take up that role alongside his existing position as chief executive of the Australian Cricketers’ Association, while Smith has been named FICA’s chief operating officer.Smith has been the legal director of the Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA) since 2004 and has assisted May at FICA for the past few years. Smith will be responsible for the day-to-day management of FICA, which represents cricketers’ associations in seven countries, and Marsh will be accountable for the performance of the organisation and will effectively be its figurehead and spokesperson.”The FICA board is excited by the appointments of both Paul Marsh and Ian Smith,” Jimmy Adams, the FICA president, said. “Paul has been at the forefront of player advocacy for 12 years at the ACA, the past eight as CEO. He has proven to be a strong, respected and passionate leader who has also contributed enormously as a member of the FICA board.”Ian has demonstrated his dedication, expertise and passion throughout his time with the PCA and FICA and along with Paul, will ensure our member associations and their players continue to be represented in a strong, unified and tireless manner.”The two men will have big shoes to fill, for May was the major driving force behind FICA during his eight years as its chief executive. May announced his resignation on Wednesday and said he was “tiring of working in a sport that was increasingly at odds with the principles I respect”.”The contribution of Tim May to FICA and cricketers worldwide has been enormous and in many respects he is irreplaceable,” Adams said. “Our game continues to throw up issues of great complexity, and strong player representation through FICA and the individual player associations has never been more important. FICA is committed to continuing Tim’s wonderful legacy by ensuring that the voices of the players always be heard.”

Alastair Cook and Nick Compton struck centuries as they committed themselves to righting the wrongs of England’s first-innings batting debacle

The Report by David Hopps08-Mar-2013
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAlastair Cook and Nick Compton outstripped England’s first-wicket record against New Zealand, the 223 previously set by Graeme Fowler and Chris Tavare at The Oval in 1983•Getty Images

Alastair Cook and Nick Compton struck centuries as they committed themselves to righting the wrongs of England’s first-innings batting debacle. But that told only half the story. For Cook, a 24th Test hundred, timed to perfection with the new ball still five overs away, was simply a restatement of his undoubted quality. For Compton, the final stages of a maiden Test hundred possessed all the mental anguish that a first time should.These were hundreds born of mortification as England, guilt-stricken by a first-innings deficit of 293 and with five-and-a-half sessions to save the game, closed the fourth day only 59 runs behind New Zealand and with still nine wickets remaining. But if Cook added further lustre to his Test record – one to rival Sachin Tendulkar at the same age – with what has become his customary languorous elegance, Compton scraped through the 90s in more than 12 tension-ridden overs.Compton, who fell for a duck in the first innings, had steeled himself to track Cook’s progress for much of the day and if his innings was the more unobtrusive, his defensive outlook possessed a seasoned feel which illustrated why England’s director of cricket, Andy Flower, kept faith in the solidity he could bring at the top of the order. He must have been born with his back to the wall.But when Cook logged another hundred, Compton found himself on 90, and it felt an age away. Cook urged him to maintain his tempo, impending new ball or not, and when that new ball came, with him still six runs away, he would have been immediately run out on 94, risking a single to mid-on off Trent Boult, had Bruce Martin managed to hit direct.Cook must have felt like a guiding light for his inexperienced partner, but that light was then cruelly extinguished two overs before the close with Compton on 99, the England captain’s five-and-a-half hour stay ending when Boult had him caught behind.It was appropriate reward for Boult, who was the likeliest of the New Zealand attack and who conceded less than two runs an over all day, but it piled the pressure on Compton. When he next looked to the non-striker’s end for encouragement, he found only the gangling figure of the nightwatchman, Steven Finn. Two balls later – with 11 deliveries left in the day – he worked Tim Southee through midwicket, shouting with delight and applauded from the boundary’s edge by his tearful father.

Smart stats

• Alastair Cook’s century is his 24th in Tests and takes him two ahead of Kevin Pietersen on the list of England batsmen with the most Test centuries.

• Compton’s century is his first in Tests and the 100th by an England batsman against New Zealand. Compton now averages 44.28 in ten innings.

• The 231-run stand between Cook and Compton is the 18th double-century opening stand for England and their first against New Zealand since Graeme Fowler and Chris Tavare added 223 at The Oval in 1983.

• It is the 13th time that both England openers have scored centuries in an innings. The last time this happened was against Australia in Brisbane in 2010.

• The strike rate of 125.42 is the highest for a fifty-plus score for Brendon McCullum. Overall, the strike rate is the sixth-highest for a New Zealand batsman against England (fifty-plus score).

• The 77-run stand between McCullum and Bruce Martin is the sixth-highest eighth-wicket stand for New Zealand against England and their second-highest against England in Dunedin.

• The lead of 293 is New Zealand’s third-largest against England (completed innings). The highest is the 298-run lead at Lord’s in 1973. Click here for a list of matches when New Zealand have batted first and here for a list of matches where New Zealand have batted second.

Cook and Compton settled to a laborious task without much ado, outstripping England’s first-wicket record against New Zealand, the 223 previously set by Graeme Fowler and Chris Tavare at The Oval in 1983.Their resistance on a cold and cheerless day gave the crowd another reason for forbearance. It was Saturday, but the mood was so workmanlike it felt like Monday morning. New Zealand’s bowlers ran in eagerly, their spirits high and their lengths fuller than their English counterparts, and the captaincy of Brendon McCullum was business-like, more proactive perhaps than his predecessor, Ross Taylor.But for all New Zealand’s vigour, a stodgy brown surface showed no signs of deterioration. Cook essayed an occasional attractive square cut or clip off his legs, so intent upon not driving down the ground that only one single in his hundred came in such a manner; Compton just bedded in, his mental approach as upright as his stance, his footwork decisive but rarely expansive.There was a hint of swing for the left-arm quick, Neil Wagner, the least accurate of New Zealand’s fast-bowling trio, and when Cook squirted Bruce Martin’s slow left-arm off his pads to reach his fifty, there might have been a semblance of turn, but any excitement was tempered by the low bounce that made it easier to counter.England’s openers took time to settle. Cook, on four, needed an inside edge to survive Southee’s resounding lbw appeal and New Zealand lost a review against Compton, on 16, when the same bowler appealed for a catch down the leg-side, replays suggesting that the ball had brushed his thigh pad. Wagner also found enough inswing to give Compton some uncomfortable moments. But after staving off 22 overs before lunch, they were in orderly mood throughout an attritional afternoon. That both have the temperament to bat long was not a matter for debate, but while Cook’s Test record has few equals at this stage of his career, Compton’s talent remained unchartered.It was all an abrupt change of tempo from New Zealand’s enterprising start to the day as they added a further 58 in less than nine overs before declaring with nine down. McCullum, 44 not out from 42 balls overnight, flogged England to distraction, thrashing another 30 from 17 balls.McCullum swung Stuart Broad over deep square-leg to reach his fifty, the ball sailing over two Union Jacks at the back of a temporary stand and a bus as it flew out of the ground. He then pulled and drove James Anderson for further sixes. To compound Anderson’s misery, McCullum escaped potential catches by Cook, at first slip, and Compton, at deep cover, by inches before he skied Broad high to mid-on where Anderson held an awkward catch.McCullum’s mood also rubbed off on the debutant left-arm spinner, Martin, who pulled about with gusto until he was caught at the wicket for 41 off Finn attempting another leg-side hit. It was an enterprising start to the day, but it was about to be replaced by something more serious and, ultimately, more significant, too.

Rohit Sharma, the India batsman, has said that Australia have a weakness against swing bowling that India will seek to exploit

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Dec-2011Rohit Sharma, the India batsman, has said that Australia have a weakness against swing bowling that India will seek to exploit during the upcoming Test series.”I heard they’re having some problems against swing bowling, so we are very much putting all our thoughts together,” Rohit said. “We will try and come hard at them where swing is concerned. We have a very good bowling unit which can put pressure on the Australians.”Rohit’s comments echoed those of Zaheer Khan, who said on Thursday that India’s bowlers will be aiming to exploit Australia’s problems against the moving ball.Australia were dismissed for less than 150 five times over the last two years, and collapsed for 47 against South Africa and 136 against New Zealand in their last two Test series. But Rohit said India were focussed on their own preparations rather than their opponent’s struggles.”We’re not really concerned about what’s going on their side. We want to focus on our preparation. It’s a good sign they are having a batting camp, so we know their weaknesses and what they’ve gone through the last couple of weeks. We have all kept that in mind going into the first Test match. We will walk out there and we need to put pressure on them rather than taking the pressure on us.”India drew their two-day game against CA Chairman’s XI, making 6 for 320 in reply to CA’s 6 for 398. Rohit scored an unbeaten 56, while Sachin Tendulkar made 92 and VVS Laxman 57 before both retired to give others a chance to bat.”It was a good preparation. We just wanted to get into the groove first. There’s another practice match as well. [There wasn’t] much for the bowlers on a flat track and the batsmen also got the runs, so I think we should be very happy with the way things have gone for batters and bowlers.”There was some concern for India when Ishant Sharma left the field after bowling only 5.3 overs on the first day, but Rohit said it was “just some discomfort” and that Ishant had seen a doctor and should be ready for the Boxing Day Test.India have never won a Test series in Australia and Rohit admitted it was something that they think about, but “we would like to take one Test match at a time and see how it goes”.The first Test is at the MCG, where Tendulkar will resume his quest for his 100th international hundred. “Me and my team-mates, all of us and all the Indians, we don’t want him to wait for too long now,” Rohit said. “It’s been a while, but I hope he gets the 100th century in the first game.”

West Indies Players’ Association has become the first players’ organisation to give the green signal to their cricketers to take part in the IPL

Cricinfo staff25-Feb-2010The West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA) has expressed satisfaction with the security arrangements being made for the IPL, becoming the first players’ organisation to give the green signal to their cricketers to feature in the Twenty20 tournament.Player safety has become a major issue after an independent report, commissioned by the players’ unions in England, South Africa and Australia, had said there was a credible security threat to the IPL, and suggested moving the tournament out of India.WIPA’s comments backing the Caribbean players’ participation in the 2010 edition comes a day after Lalit Modi, the IPL commissioner, had insisted the tournament would be held in India and strongly criticised those who had expressed security concerns.”Apart from being in contact with a number of key IPL personnel, WIPA has also sought independent advice from organisations which have conducted similar security tests,” WIPA said in a press release.”WIPA is convinced that the organisers and the government are sparing no effort to ensure that players’ welfare and security are not in any way compromised. WIPA will therefore support its players’ participation in the IPL tournament.”Among those who have been most concerned over safety are Australian cricketers, whose players’ association helped formulate a list of security demands for IPL organisers earlier this week following a meeting attended by a majority of Australian cricketers due to play in next month’s tournament.Tim May, the chief executive of the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations, had also warned earlier this week of a spate of player withdrawals from the IPL after the England team’s security adviser Reg Dickason said the threat from the 313 Brigade was credible and that security could not be guaranteed in India.

Rachin Ravindra and Glenn Phillips gave it their best shot, but the Washington Freedom batting didn’t have enough firepower to overhaul MI New York’s 180

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Jul-2025It went down to the last over: 12 to get from six balls for either MI New York or Washington Freedom to win their second MLC title. Rushil Ugarkar, a 22-year-old USA medium pacer who has never played international cricket, had the ball. Across him, Glenn Maxwell, to start with, and Glenn Phillips. Two white-ball superstars. But all Ugarkar conceded was six. And he sent back Maxwell with a slower offcutter, allowed Phillips strike for just one ball, and won MINY the title when everything was stacked against him.Till that over started, the momentum was very much with Freedom and it was chiefly down to Phillips. At the end of the 17th over, in which Trent Boult had conceded just seven runs to Phillips and Maxwell, and Phillips was 25 from 27, the asking rate was upwards of 13 an over. But Phillips targeted Tristan Luus and Boult in back-to-back overs. He took Luus for two sixes in the 17-run 18th over, and Boult for one more in the next, which went for 12, making it a potentially gripping last over. But he got to face just one ball from Ugarkar, who bowled a set of six cutters to spark the celebrations in the MINY camp.The result completed a remarkable turnaround for MINY, who qualified for the playoffs as the fourth-placed team on the league table, with three wins from ten games, and have since beaten San Francisco Unicorns (Eliminator), Texas Super Kings (Qualifier 2) and now Freedom in the final.The chase started with Boult picking up two wickets in the first over of the innings to dent Freedom. However, to be fair, despite opener Rachin Ravindra scoring 70 from 41 balls after early jitters and Jack Edwards chipping in with 33 from 22, the Freedom innings didn’t seem to find the next gear they needed till Phillips got going. Maxwell, not for the first time this tournament – he largely struggled apart from when he scored 106* in a win over Texas Super Kings back on June 17 – couldn’t get the scoreboard moving at the rate required. And three MINY bowlers, including Ugarkar, went at eight an over or fewer, with Tajinder Singh’s three overs costing just 18 runs.