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Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene were overwhelmed to be able to sign off their T20 careers with a long-awaited trophy after overcoming India in the World T20

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Apr-2014Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene were overwhelmed to be able to sign off their T20 careers with a long-awaited trophy after overcoming India in the World T20 final.Sangakkara played the decisive hand in the final with an unbeaten 52 off 35 balls, his first significant contribution of the tournament after four previous innings had brought just 19 runs, and he was delighted to have been able to repay his team-mates while also ending Sri Lanka’s time as bridesmaids in major events since 1996.”It’s been a long time coming, I can’t be happier or prouder,” Sangakkara said. “I think the side carried me so I was pretty happy I could give something back to them. It means a lot to all of us; to me, to our families, to everyone back home.”Jayawardene, who made 24 before finding midwicket which appeared to give India an opening, admitted there had been added emotions around this match”We finally managed to break the jinx,” he said. “Thanks so much to family and friends but this one is for Sri Lanka fans who have been waiting since 1996. It wasn’t a normal match. There were a lot of emotions as this was the last T20. It hasn’t sunk in yet and it will take a couple of days to get the feeling.”Lasith Malinga, Sri Lanka’s captain for the final three matches of the tournament following Dinesh Chandimal’s suspension and then his omission, said the team were desperate to give Sangakkara and Jayawardene a victorious send-off from the format.”I was really lucky to captain in the last three games. Today, we thought it was Sanga and Mahela’s farewell match, the boys thought we needed to do it for them. Last few overs we bowled really well. Mahela and Sanga are world-class batsmen and it was a good opportunity for us to be able to play with them. They are still playing Tests and ODIs and the younger players need to pick all that they can from the two.”

A round-up of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy matches on March 29, 2013

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Mar-2013Group AKerala increased their chances of making it to the final after winning their third match in a row when they beat Odisha by six wickets in Indore. Batting first, Odisha were rocked by wickets by Nizar Niyas (2 for 24) and VA Jagadeesh (2 for 10). However, cameos from Lagnajit Samal (20 off 16) and Suryakant Pradhan (18 off 16) led them to 125 for 8 with an unbeaten 35-run stand. Opener Ankit Yadav top-scored with 28.Kerala lost four wickets in the chase, but Sanju Samson (41*) and Sachin Baby (33 off 24) made it easier with a 64-run partnership for the fourth wicket. Nikhilesh Surendran chipped in with 22 at the top and Kerala won with four balls to spare.Gujarat kept their hopes alive of playing the finals by beating Vidarbha by three wickets in Indore. Vidarbha were given a strong start by their top-order batsmen, Faiz Fazal (27), Amol Ubarhande (24 off 12) and Akshay Kolhar (23). But Jesal Karia struck with two blows in the 11th over. Shalabh Shrivastava (34) and Gaurav Upadhyaya (24) steered the innings from there, taking the total to 156 for 7. Jasprit Bumrah finished with figures of 3 for 33.Gujarat lost three wickets quickly within four overs but Niraj Patel, who scored 47, took them past 50 with Chirag Gandhi and past 100 with Karia. Once Niraj was dismissed in the 16th over at the score of 103, Karia’s knock of 47 from 30 balls, which included four sixes and three fours, took them closer to the target and eventually Akshar Patel (18 off 7) and Rohit Dahiya saw them home with five balls to spare.Gujarat and Kerala are the top two teams in Group A and will play each other on Saturday.Group BIn a tight, low-scoring match in Indore, Uttar Pradesh, with the help of two sixes towards the end by No. 10 Imtiaz Ahmed, clinched a last-ball victory by two wickets over Baroda at the Holkar Stadium. Chasing 129, UP lost their openers cheaply, but a 44-run stand between Mohammad Kaif and Tanmay Shrivastava, and a 42-run stand between Akshdeep Nath and the captain Piyush Chawla, steered them to a comfortable 107 for 4. However, Baroda were brought back in the contest as UP lost four wickets for six runs – with seamer Murtuja Vahora taking two of them – to be struggling at 113 for 8 in 19 overs. Ahmed struck 15 off five deliveries to take his side home.Baroda’s innings was based on a balanced effort by their top-order batsmen, with Hardik Pandya top-scoring with 37. Baroda suffered a collapse too, losing five wickets for 21 runs; spinner Amit Mishra and Vahora, with three wickets each, were the wreckers-in-chief of their respective sides in a contest that saw 16 wickets falling. With their third loss in as many games, Baroda were relegated to the last spot.A responsible half-century from Lokesh Rahul helped Karnataka beat Bengal by four wickets. Karnataka, in pursuit of 152, lost their opener Amit Verma in the second over, but Robin Uthappa scored a quick 41 to give them a rapid start amid wickets falling fairly early. His knock was backed up by a Rahul, who struck valuable stands with Manish Pandey and Stuart Binny to help them achieve victory in the final over. Seamer Shami Ahmed took three wickets, but was the most expensive bowler, giving away 39 runs in his four overs. Bengal’s innings revolved around an innings of 42 from No. 3 Sayan Mondal, and a 55-run stand for the seventh wicket between Debabrata Das (31) and Arnab Nandi (37*).Karnataka moved to the second spot in the points table after the win.

Sunrisers Hyderabad kept their bid for making the playoffs more than alive after their win over Kings XI Punjab

The Report by Sidharth Monga11-May-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Parthiv Patel’s first IPL fifty in three years gave Sunrisers a big win•BCCISunrisers Hyderabad kept their bid for making the playoffs more than alive after their win over Kings XI Punjab took them level with Royal Challengers Bangalore, who are placed fourth on the table thanks to a superior net run rate. With 10 points from 13 matches, Kings XI were all but out of the reckoning.It was a scrappy match full of dropped catches, missed chances and bad shots, played on a patchy pitch. If the bowlers hit the two patches of green on the track, they derived seam movement and variable bounce. The match began with the weaker suits of both sides coming against each other as Adam Gilchrist inserted Sunrisers.The two youngsters who came into the match, Harmeet Singh and Sandeep Sharma, benefited from a mix of poor strokes and the capricious pitch, to reduce Sunrisers to 52 for 5 in the ninth over.Parthiv Patel stuck in, though, to score his first IPL half-century in three years. His previous fifty, too, came against Kings XI, but for Chennai Super Kings. The partnership between him and Karan Sharma wasn’t the prettiest thing going around, but they added 42 runs, and gave Thisara Perera some sort of platform to launch from.Perera and Parthiv, helped by a drop by Gilchrist and some ordinary death bowling, added 56 in the last 5.1 overs to take Sunrisers to what looked like an above-par total. It proved to be one, especially with Dale Steyn going for just two runs in the first over and removing Mandeep Singh for a duck.Shaun Marsh and Gilchrist kept the chase going with a 44-run second-wicket stand. Darren Sammy, however, came on and ended the chase for all practical purposes with three soft dismissals. Marsh and Gilchrist pulled at balls that were not short enough, and fell to the first two balls Sammy bowled.In Sammy’s next over, David Miller, Kings XI’s biggest hope, drove a length ball straight down cover’s throat. Game over. R Sathish and Sunrisers’ fielders tried their best to keep the chase interesting, but Luke Pomersbach’s slow innings of 33 off 40 put paid to that.

The news of Mohammad Ashraful’s admission of involvement in alleged match-fixing and spot-fixing has generated emotional reactions from Bangladesh fans. Here are some of them

Mohammad Isam06-Jun-2013Riyad Ahmed: “Ashraful was always the guy I had to back in arguments with friends. Now he has done this”•ESPNcricinfo Ltd”I am not angry at Ashraful, because he admitted his mistake. I am angry at those who brought him in this situation. He is a brave boy. Not many people have the guts to tell the truth, but he does.”
“As he accepted his wrongdoings, there is no room for withdrawing the allegations against him. It is okay to suspend him right now and the final decision may be taken by following the ICC rule, so the punishment is their concern. If he is banned for life by the law, I have no problem though I shall feel sad for him. But there is no room for corruption in cricket.”
“I will miss him if he’s banned. In my dreams I played his pull shot many times. If I were Habibul Bashar, then I would be caught at deep square leg; when I played it like Ashraful, it went for four.”
“I have never met Ashraful, but I am angry with him. For some reason or another, Ashraful was always the guy I had to back in arguments with friends. Now he has done this.”
“One always has a choice, always! In these kind of situations one is either stupid or greedy or in most of the cases, both.”
“Ashraful’s admission of guilt is not enough to save him from the punishment which he deserves. But I think he is only a small piece at the end of the funnel in this unethical game. Authorities should ensure that the major criminal responsible at the top end of the funnel beginning from the financier to each and every one in this chain is taken care of.”
“There’s no one else to blame for Ashraful’s actions. He is not a [little boy]. Ultimately, we are all responsible for our actions given the will to choose.

Vernon Philander, the South African fast bowler, has been confirmed as Kent’s overseas for the Friends Life t20

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Jun-2013Vernon Philander, the South African fast bowler, has been confirmed by Kent as one of their overseas signings for the Friends Life t20*.”I’m really happy to be here, I hope to help the team to create some great chances and hopefully success,” Philander said. “I hope I can use my experience to help the team and also that I can be a good influence in the dressing room.”Philander will join Kent until the end of July and be available in all formats. His arrival is bound to lift an ailing county, which is enduring one of the most nightmarish Championship seasons in its history, two points adrift at the foot of Division Two.Philander tweeted at the end of his 28th birthday on Monday: “Thanks again for all the kind messages. Had a great day. Sad time again packing and saying bye to friends and family. See u soon #kentccc.”But Kent did not initially confirm the news, with chief executive Jamie Clifford saying that details had still to be finalised on only a few days before their opening T20 tie against Middlesex on Friday.Clifford said: “We are about to announce, I hope, an overseas signing. We are just waiting on visa details and no objections from the country the player is coming from. Assuming those things are in place, that player should arrive.”Philander’s Test pedigree is unchallenged, but he is yet to achieve the same level of success in one-day cricket. He has only a handful of international wickets in ODIs and T20I and South Africa omitted him from their squad for the ICC Champions Trophy.*June 26, 1300 GMT – This was updated to reflect Philander’s confirmed signing

Sussex’s Chris Nash has enjoyed a healthy relationship with Trent Bridge over the years and he survived the miserable conditions and a disputed decision to reach 45 not out on a rain-interrupted opening day at Nottinghamshire.

22-Jun-2013
ScorecardLuke Wells made 39 with six boundaries•Getty ImagesSussex’s Chris Nash has enjoyed a healthy relationship with Trent Bridge over the years and he survived the miserable conditions and a disputed decision to reach 45 not out on a rain-interrupted opening day at Nottinghamshire.Nash looked in good touch, with five boundaries in his 63-ball stay, as Sussex reached 91 for 1 before the final thunderstorm of the day brought a premature close.Nash, who hit 162 in the corresponding fixture last summer, was made to wait for his opportunity after heavy rain set in and delayed the start for three hours after the toss had been completed. By that stage Chris Read might have been reviewing his decision to insert the opposition, with the seam-friendly conditions being replaced by strong gusts of wind.Both Nash and his opening partner, Luke Wells, had scares during theirpartnership of 69. Having made 20, Nash, who had also scored a century in a 2009 visit to Nottingham, edged Ajmal Shahzad to third slip, where Steven Mullaney claimed a clean, low catch. As Notts celebrated, the batsman stood his ground and was allowed to remain after umpires Neil Bainton and Peter Hartley had completed their deliberations.The frustrations of the fielding side intensified in the next over as DavidHussey, at first slip, spilled Luke Wells – on 31 at the time – off the bowling of Andre Adams. Wells only added eight more before again pushing at Adams to present Read with a comfortable opportunity down to his left.Nottinghamshire were dealt a major blow shortly before the toss when newsfiltered through that permission to include Michael Lumb in their startingline-up had been denied. The home side had intended to begin the match with the left-hander and then replace him after two days when he needed to report for international duty with England.

Gloucestershire finally came good at the conclusion of the Cheltenham Festival to thrash Glamorgan by 10 wickets and keep alive their slender hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages of the Friends Life T20.

21-Jul-2013
ScorecardChris Dent’s half-century saw Gloucestershire cruise home•Getty ImagesGloucestershire finally came good at the conclusion of the Cheltenham Festival to thrash Glamorgan by 10 wickets and keep alive their slender hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages of the Friends Life T20.Beaten by group rivals Warwickshire and Northamptonshire at the College Ground, bottom-of-the-table Gloucestershire produced a much-improved performance to make amends in a low-scoring contest played in front of a 5,000 sell-out crowd.Glamorgan elected to bat but never recovered from the loss of early wickets and were restricted to a wholly inadequate 98 for 9, only three batsmen reaching double figures in an innings that yielded just four boundaries.Returning to action following a seven-week injury lay-off, slow left-armer Ed Young posted figures of 3 for 21 from four overs and was ably backed up by David Payne, who deployed clever variation with the new ball and at the death to claim 3 for 17.Gloucestershire openers Michael Klinger and Chris Dent made quick work of chasing down 99, reaching their target with 7.1 overs to spare.Their quarter-final ambitions already undermined by successive defeats to Somerset and Northants, Glamorgan badly needed to redress the balance against their neighbours. But a third loss was all but confirmed inside six overs as Glamorgan lurched to 31 for 5 on a College Ground pitch that offered assistance to spin.Slow left-armer Tom Smith struck in the very first over to set the tone, Jim Allenby driving high to Dan Christian at cover, while fellow opener Mark Wallace departed six balls later, taking one liberty too many against Payne’s left-arm seam and holing out to mid-on.Making his first appearance since the end of May after recovering from a broken wrist, Young announced himself with the wicket of Chris Cooke, who chipped straight to extra cover as the visitors slumped to 16 for 3 in the fourth over.Veteran campaigner Murray Goodwin also departed to a poor shot, leaning back and cutting a length-ball from Christian to backward point and New Zealand allrounder Nathan McCullum sent a leading edge back to Payne in the act of playing to leg.Charged with the task of rebuilding the innings, the sixth-wicket pair of Marcus North and Nick James applied themselves diligently to add 37 runs in eight overs. But their partnership ended when they tried to force the issue, North attempting to reverse-sweep Young and succeeding only in offering a simple chance to Alex Gidman at short third man.And Young struck again in his next over from the College Lawn end, luring Graeme Wagg into front foot indiscretion as Glamorgan were further reduced to 74 for seven in the 16th over.James hoisted Smith over square leg for the only six of the innings before being bowled by Payne for 27 in the final over, while Michael Hogan was run out as the visitors failed to raise three figures.Promoted to open the batting for the first time, Bristolian Dent continued his rich vein of form at the Festival, dominating an unbroken stand of 99 with Klinger in 12.5 overs to put the outcome beyond reasonable doubt. Demonstrating a better understanding of the conditions than their opponents,these two accrued 11 fours and three sixes between them to put Glamorgan’s innings in perspective.Glamorgan’s bowlers must be sick of the sight of Dent, who scored a superb match-winning 150 in a Yorkshire Bank 40-over fixture in Cardiff in May. On this occasion, he raised 50 from 37 balls in a chanceless knock that included eight fours and two sixes to equal his previous highest Twenty20 score of 63. Klinger finished unbeaten on 35 from 34 balls with three fours and a six.

Sachin Tendulkar has highlighted factors beyond statistics, particularly the skill to absorb pressure, as vital indicators of fresh talent

Alagappan Muthu in Bangalore18-Aug-2013Sachin Tendulkar has highlighted factors beyond statistics, particularly the skill to absorb pressure, as vital indicators of fresh talent. Former India captains Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and GR Viswanath were in agreement with Tendulkar, during a discussion on the ingredients that make a good cricketer, at an event to commemorate the platinum jubilee of the Karnataka State Cricket Association in Bangalore on Saturday.”It’s about vision,” Tendulkar said. “When it comes to selection, one has to analyse a player. Even if he fails in a few matches, one needs to see if he has the ability to withstand pressure and execute at the international level. I have seen players who are exceptionally good at the domestic level not being able to perform as well in international cricket.”That’s a scenario that is not entirely unfamiliar to Karnataka. From dominating the Ranji Trophy in the late nineties, capped with three titles in four seasons from 1995-96 to 1998-99, and at one time boasting six players from the region on the Test side, Karnataka have had no new representatives at the highest level since Vinay Kumar’s only Test in January 2012 – though Stuart Binny is currently with the A side on tour in South Africa.Dravid, the last Karnataka regular in the Test side, identified experience and a desire to learn as remedies to bridge the gap between domestic and international cricket. “Hitting it off the middle in the nets is well and good, but it’s different out in the field and under pressure,” he said. “Watching the seniors helps. Sachin and Laxman and Sourav, the way they approach the game, the kind of shots they play, the kind of shots they don’t play, the way they build an innings …”Viswanath continued in the same vein, saying hard work is an ally to talent. “When you look at four or five players, there will be somebody a little better [than the others]. But you can’t just sit on your talent,” he said. “You have to practice. You have to learn from your seniors. You have to keep working hard. Even Sachin did not become who he is overnight and I’m sure he is still working hard to stay on top of his game.”‘Players that played me best’

Kumble – My team: Sehwag, Tendulkar, Laxman, Azharuddin; opposition: Lara, Steve Waugh, Hayden
Erapalli Prasanna – Chandu Borde, Vijay Manjrekar; Garry Sobers
Bishan Bedi – Viswanath; Sobers
Bhagwath Chandrashekar – Ken Barrington, because I could never beat him. I’ve beaten Sobers, Kanhai, but I was always disappointed bowling to him

Ganguly, though, was swift to point out that every player, while picking the brains of his seniors, must trust in his own style of play and be careful not to copy another’s game. “No two players’ techniques are the same,” he said. “It’s all about the basics, going back and going forward.”Dravid agreed: “Individuality is important. Everyone has unique skills. You need to build on your game and keep improving. I was never going to succeed if I batted like Sehwag.”The mantle of teacher need not necessarily be limited to one’s seniors, Anil Kumble, the current KSCA president, suggested. He said he considered himself fortunate for having high-quality players of spin in his dressing room. “Bowling against Tendulkar, Ganguly, Sehwag, and Mohammad Azharuddin was a great education for me,” he said.Video footage is another useful tool for a young player, the panel indicated, which had not been available before. Tendulkar remembered his debut series against Pakistan in 1989, when practice sessions were not as organised. “Now we have laptops which provide direct access [to match footage] within seconds to help plan better,” he said.Though far from perfect, as evidenced in the recent Ashes series, Bishan Bedi believes the DRS is here to stay. “In due time it will improve and everything will fall into place,” he said. “Cricketers of the modern generation could also help eradicate umpiring blunders by being honest with themselves.””I see a lot more shots in Tests. We are getting more results,” Ganguly said, when the conversation turned to Twenty20 cricket. “Scores of 350, 400 in ODIs. There has been innovation in the game, no doubt.””Captains are also being creative,” Tendulkar added. “They are taking more chances [even if it means] going for runs and trying to get wickets with the ball.”But the fundamentals for success in the longer format still apply, Dravid said: “If you look at Chris Gayle, Michael Hussey, AB de Villiers, they are all very good players in Tests. It is easier for a player with good basics to adapt to T20, but it rarely happens the other way around.”

Just weeks after their redeveloped ground was unveiled during the Investec Ashes series, Lancashire are to dismantle and rebuild large parts of two new stands at Old Trafford

George Dobell12-Sep-2013Just weeks after their redeveloped ground was unveiled during the Investec Ashes series, Lancashire are to dismantle and rebuild large parts of two new stands at Old Trafford.Work to dismantle the top tiers of the new southeast and southwest stands, either side of the new player and media facilities at the Brian Statham End, will begin as soon as the current County Championship match against Leicestershire is over.While the stands were being built, in 2012, one of the contractors, Sabre Structures Ltd, went into administration. That caused a delay that could have rendered the stands unfinished ahead of the 2013 season, so the club installed support columns as an intermediate measure to allow the stands to be used and enable the ground to host the international cricket that is so vital to its future.These support columns resulted in an obstructed view for some spectators, however, and were always viewed as a temporary solution.Now, aiming to find a longer-term fix, the club will strengthen the tiers with the installation of additional structural steel which will, in turn, allow the removal of the support columns.Work was also held up in March 2012, when one of the steel beams supporting the upper tier of seating twisted out of place, but the club insist that was an isolated incident and not relevant to the installation of the support columns.ESPNcricinfo understands that Lancashire will not be financially liable for the extra work – the cost will be met by the construction company involved – and the club are confident it will be completed in advance of the 2014 season. The club also state that the work has been scheduled for six months.Lancashire came close to having to abandon the ground, as a legal dispute threatened the £44m redevelopment, but the unveiling of new Pavilion in June preceded Test cricket’s return to Manchester for the first time since 2010.

The BCCI has invited Cricket South Africa president, Chris Nenzani, for discussions on the proposed bilateral series, whose details are yet to be agreed upon and finalised

Amol Karhadkar08-Oct-2013The BCCI has invited Cricket South Africa president, Chris Nenzani, for discussions on the proposed bilateral series, whose details are yet to be agreed upon and finalised.”I have formally invited Mr Nenzani to come down to India and discuss the nitty-gritty of the series,” BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel said. “The date and venue will be finalised once all formalities are completed.”Patel, however, made it clear that the BCCI had not invited CSA chief executive Haroon Lorgat, whose appointment is believed to have led to the breakdown of relations between the two boards. Lorgat and Patel had met on the sidelines of the ICC chief executives’ committee meeting in Dubai last month, but had failed to reach a consensus over itinerary.Though an agreement has been elusive so far, Patel was confident the tour would take place. “We are very positive about the tour and don’t see any reason to take the extreme step.”He elaborated on what the BCCI’s grouse with the schedule announced by CSA was. “All that we are aggrieved about is the fact that we were taken for granted and the itinerary was announced unilaterally. Besides, our priority is the Board’s and our players’ interests. My boys are not machines, they need a break. Who are you (CSA) to tell them they should be on the road for more than three-four months?”