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Colin Ackermann hits 83 not out, Alex Lees 77 as home side run up 231 for 5

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay04-Jul-2025Colin Ackermann made 83 off 33 balls and Durham made their record T20 score as they returned to Vitality Blast action with a 49-run defeat of Nottinghamshire Outlaws at the Banks Homes Riverside.On a run-stuffed evening in the North East, the home side made 231 for 5 and the visitors replied with 182 all out, Kasey Aldridge, who had only taken two T20 wickets previously, finishing with a career-best 5 for 29 from 2.4 overs. The win is Durham’s fifth in this year’s Blast and clearly strengthens their bid to qualify for the knockout stages.The home openers, Alex Lees and Graham Clark, began in uncompromising fashion, by putting on 70 runs in six overs. They were particularly hard on Olly Stone, who was playing in his first match of the season after recovering from injury and conceded 27 runs in his first two overs.Joe Clarke’s decision to use the spinners, Farhan Ahmed and Calvin Harrison, in tandem slowed the run rate but it was Matthew Montgomery who took the first wicket on 83 when he had Clark caught on the cover boundary by Daniel Sams for a 27-ball 40Nevertheless, Durham’s hundred came up in the 11th over and Lees reached a 34-ball fifty a few deliveries later. By now faced with a battery of slow bowlers that also included Liam Patterson-White, Lees and his partner Ackermann sought to attack at every opportunity.Stone was reintroduced and was whacked for three successive boundaries before gaining his revenge with the next ball when he had the Durham skipper caught by Harrison on the deep backward square leg boundary for a 46-ball 77 that included 11 fours and one six.The dangerous Jimmy Neesham was bowled by Harrison for 3 and Ben McKinney was caught on the long-on boundary by Harrison off Montgomery for 3. Nevertheless, Durham had been well placed on 154 for 3 after 16 overs and despite the loss of three wickets for ten runs, they were able to pillage an astonishing 77 runs in the final four overs.Those efforts were assisted by two no-ball beamers from Sams, which necessitated the Australian being withdrawn from the attack. And the wheels really came off the Nottinghamshire attack in the 19th over when Ackermann smashed 32 runs of Montgomery, reaching a 25-ball fifty in the process.The Durham batsman was eventually caught at deep midwicket by Sams off Harrison but by then he had done the damage, hitting 83 off 33 balls with seven fours and six sixes, all those maximums being scored off the last 11 balls he received. Harrison escaped with the least punishment, taking 2 for 33, but every other visiting bowler conceded at least ten runs an over.Nottinghamshire’s pursuit of their distant target began poorly when Freddie McCann was dismissed off the fourth ball of their innings, caught by Will Rhodes off Callum Parkinson for 5, but the visitors were going well on 37 for 1 after 3.2 overs until Jack Haynes was brilliantly caught by Lees off Aldridge for 14, the Durham skipper running back 20 yards from mid-off to take the steepling chance.But the fall of wickets could make no difference to Outlaws’ approach. Lyndon James hit his first two balls for four and Neesham’s first over cost 19 runs. Nottinghamshire scored 76 runs in their powerplay, six more than their hosts, but their onslaught was halted by Nathan Sowter, who conceded five runs in his first six balls and had James caught at deep midwicket by McKinney for 30.Clarke was the next to go, caught at short third man by Sowter for a 25-ball 41 when attempting to ramp Neesham and the visitors reached the midpoint of their innings on 112 for 4, still needing 120 to win. That task seemed tougher still when Aldridge struck twice in four balls, bowling Moores for 5 and having Patterson-White caught at long off by Rhodes for 8.Parkinson conceded 19 runs off his next over as Outlaws dispensed with any scrap of caution but Sams was bowled by Sowter for 9. With seven overs remaining, 76 runs were still required and that was reduced to 61 off six thanks to Montgomery taking 14 off three deliveries from Parkinson.Aldridge took his fourth wicket when he had Harrison caught at backward point by Clark for 7 and Stone was run out for nought next ball after a complete mix-up. Aldridge completed his career-best figures when he had Montgomery caught behind by Ollie Robinson for 41.

Shreyas Iyer, meanwhile, will leave the ODI squad after the first game to prepare for the Test series

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Dec-2023 • Updated on 17-Dec-2023Mohammed Shami will miss the upcoming two-Test series in South Africa because of an ankle injury. Shami wasn’t part of the Test contingent that left for Johannesburg on Friday, and is currently under the watch of the BCCI’s National Cricket Academy. India will also be without Ishan Kishan, who had kept wicket for them in their previous Test assignment in the West Indies in July; the BCCI said in a statement that Kishan had “has requested the BCCI to be released from the upcoming Test series against South Africa citing personal reasons”.*Deepak Chahar, meanwhile, will not be available for the ODI series in South Africa because of a “family medical emergency”.While announcing the Test squad late last month, the BCCI had said that Shami was “currently undergoing medical treatment” and that his inclusion was subject to fitness. A media release on Saturday confirmed that Shami “was not cleared by BCCI’s medical team” and was subsequently withdrawn from the squad.Shami last featured in a Test in June when he played the World Test Championship final against Australia. He was rested for the Caribbean tour that followed to manage his workload ahead of India’s busy white-ball season that ended with the 2023 ODI World Cup, where Shami topped the wicket-takers’ chart.Related

• Chahar eyes T20 World Cup spot after overcoming personal setbacks

• Avesh to join second Test squad to replace Shami

• Prasidh and Shardul impress for India A ahead of SA Tests

The selectors haven’t named a replacement for Shami. Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Mukesh Kumar and Shardul Thakur are the other fast bowlers in the touring party.

Bharat named Kishan replacement

KS Bharat, who last kept wicket for India at the WTC final in June, has been called up to the Test squad in Kishan’s place. Bharat had also been India’s first-choice keeper during the home Tests against Australia earlier this year but had to pass the gloves on to Kishan for the West Indies series in July, Kishan’s debut in the long format. Bharat is already in South Africa, on tour with the India A team, which is playing two unofficial Tests against South Africa A.India also have KL Rahul in the squad, who is looking to reclaim his place in the Test XI and said yesterday he would be happy to take on keeping duties in the format.As for Chahar, he also missed the T20Is in South Africa last week. Chahar made his comeback during the T20Is at home against Australia last month, but featured in just one game – the fourth game in Raipur – before flying home for personal reasons.Akash Deep, who was earlier part of India’s Asian Games-winning squad, has been called up into the KL Rahul-led ODI squad.In another update, Shreyas Iyer will leave the squad after the first ODI in Johannesburg on December 17 to prepare for the Test matches that will follow.Iyer is likely to play the intra-squad three-day fixture in the lead-up to the Boxing Day Test. His last Test was against Australia in March, after which he was sidelined with a back injury. It’s likely Iyer will reclaim his middle-order spot, which had been occupied by Ajinkya Rahane in his absence.With Rahul Dravid and his team of Vikram Rathour (batting coach), Paras Mhambrey (bowling coach) and T Dilip (fielding coach) involved in preparing the Test squad for the two-match series, India’s second assignment in this WTC cycle, the ODI side will be assisted by India A’s coaching staff: Sitanshu Kotak (batting coach), Rajib Datta (bowling coach) and Ajay Ratra (fielding coach).India’s updated Test squad: Rohit Sharma (capt), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KS Bharat (wk), KL Rahul (wk), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah (vice-capt), Prasidh Krishna.India’s updated ODI squad: Ruturaj Gaikwad, B Sai Sudharsan, Tilak Varma, Rajat Patidar, Rinku Singh, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (capt, wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mukesh Kumar, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Akash Deep

We have what we often cry out for, a T20I outside the World Cup with something on the line

Danyal Rasool01-Sep-20220:29

Pakistan players sweat it out in the nets

Big picture

It still feels like early days in the Asia Cup, but one of Hong Kong or Pakistan will see their tournament draw to a close on Friday. The format for the first round means one defeat can place any side under instant pressure. With India having pulled clear through wins over both opponents, there is clarity to the mission for both the Associate and the Full Member, the giants and the would-be giant killers.There may be limited cricketing or historical evidence to suggest Hong Kong could mount a serious challenge to a side with Pakistan’s firepower, but they will be well aware a knockout in the shortest format presents a golden opportunity to spring an upset. Against India, it was the bowling that let them down, even if a spirited batting performance demonstrated the threat the side can pose. Babar Hayat, Zeeshan Ali and Scott McKechnie provided the big hitting, while Ayush Shukla, Ehsan Khan and Yasim Murtaza kept things tight, allowing just 82 runs in their 12 combined overs.

Watch live on ESPN+

If you are in the USA, you can watch the Hong Kong-Pakistan game live on ESPN+, both in English and Hindi.

Pakistan, however, might feel this game plays into their hands to some extent. Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan do not come flying out of the blocks, but the template they follow was similar to one that India executed against Hong Kong on Wednesday. They opened their innings conservatively, before the middle order put the bowlers to the sword, smashing 98 in the final seven overs. And while India’s approach may have been a game plan tailored to the opposition they were facing, scoring their big runs in the final overs is how Pakistan play anyway against nearly all opposition.And so we have what we often cry out for, a T20I outside the World Cup with something on the line. It might, on paper, be a mismatch, but across the tableau of relatively context-free bilateral T20Is, it is rare to find a game with as much riding on it as Pakistan against Hong Kong on Friday. It’s a game Hong Kong will savour, but they will tell themselves it might just be one they could also win.

Form guide

Pakistan: LLWWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)

Hong Kong: LWWWL

In the spotlight

At his best, Khushdil Shah is perhaps Pakistan’s most powerful hitter of the ball, but in Pakistan’s colours in T20I cricket, he has never come close to hitting those heights. In the game against India, which saw a limp performance from almost every Pakistan batter, Khushdil’s innings – a timid 2 off 7 balls – still stood out for its total lack of intent. Perhaps a game against Hong Kong, whose bowlers don’t quite offer the same threat as India’s is just what he needs to produce a statement innings.Kinchit Shah has come into the Asia Cup on the back of some decent form•AFP/Getty Images

Hong Kong vice-captain Kinchit Shah has had a memorable time of late. The allrounder was in decent form at the Asia Cup qualifiers and the Cricket World Cup Challenge Group, striking a half-century against Uganda and 139 against Bermuda, and picking up a four-wicket haul against Kenya. He was steady, if not quite explosive, with the bat against India, scoring 30 in 28 balls. Off the field too, things have been good. After the game against India, he proposed to his partner. A win against Pakistan to go through to the next stage would cap a blissful few days for Kinchit, both personal and professional.

Pitch and conditions

The weather is expected to be oppressively hot throughout the tournament, and Friday in Sharjah will be no different. The slower bowlers have tended to prosper here of late, although the small boundaries might be a temptation for the batters too

Team news

There’s a cloud around Naseem Shah’s fitness. In the event of his absence, Mohammad Hasnain would be the like-for-like replacement.Pakistan: (probable): 1 Babar Azam (capt) 2 Mohammad Rizwan (wk) 3 Fakhar Zaman 4 Iftikhar Ahmed 5 Khushdil Shah 6 Shadab Khan 7 Asif Ali 8 Mohammad Nawaz 9 Mohammad Hasnain 10 Haris Rauf 11 Shahnawaz DahaniDespite the defeat to India, Hong Kong will have been encouraged by their performance, with the bat in particular. Expect an unchanged side.Hong Kong (possible): 1 Nizakat Khan (capt) 2 Yasim Murtaza 3 Babar Hayat 4 Kinchit Shah 5 Aizaz Khan 6 Zeeshan Ali 7 Scott McKechnie (wk) 8 Haroon Arshad 9 Ehsan Khan 10 Ayush Shuka 11 Mohammad Ghazanfar

Stats and trivia

• Pakistan are yet to win a T20I in 2022. The two games they played in the format – against India and Australia – have ended in defeat
• Haris Rauf is five wickets shy of matching Shaheen Afridi’s T20I tally of 47. Should he get there against Hong Kong, it will have taken him five fewer innings than Shaheen to get there.

Sri Lanka will arrive in Dhaka on May 16, shortly after the Eid ul Fitr weekend, and complete a three-day quarantine

Mohammad Isam05-May-2021The upcoming three-match ODI series between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka will be held at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka, the BCB has announced.The matches, part of the ICC’s ODI Super League, will be held on May 23, 25 and 28, within a bio-bubble stretching between the team hotel and the ground.Sri Lanka will arrive in Dhaka on May 16, shortly after the Eid ul Fitr weekend, and complete a three-day quarantine. Their first practice session will be on May 19 at the National Cricket Academy ground, adjacent to the stadium. The visitors will then play a practice match at the BKSP on May 21. At the conclusion of the ODI series on May 28, the Sri Lankan team will depart on the following day.This will be Bangladesh’s third ODI series within the ICC’s World Cup qualifying campaign. They are currently in sixth place, having beaten the West Indies 3-0 at home in January, but lost to New Zealand 3-0 in in March. Sri Lanka lost to West Indies 3-0 last month, are now in 12th place.The two teams only last week played out their final World Test Championship series, which Sri Lanka won 1-0 after a 209-run win over Bangladesh in Pallekele.Sri Lanka will become the second international team to arrive in Bangladesh since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. The BCB successfully hosted West Indies in January-February this year, in a three-ODI and two-Test series in Dhaka and Chattogram.This will however be a different situation, since Bangladesh are in the middle of a strong second wave of Covid-19 cases. The country has been under a lockdown since April 5. The international flight suspension ended on May 1, but the country’s lockdown has been extended till May 16.Bangladesh will be without their fast-bowling coach Ottis Gibson, with the team opting to use a local coach instead.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Dhruv Jurel has been named vice-captain in the squad of 15

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Dec-2019Priyam Garg will hope to join Mohammad Kaif, Virat Kohli, Unmukt Chand and Prithvi Shaw, the India Under-19 World Cup-winning captains over the years, when he leads the team at the 2020 edition in South Africa in January-February. Wicketkeeper-batsman Dhruv Jurel, Garg’s team-mate from Uttar Pradesh, has been named the vice-captain.Garg is already a first-class regular for his state team. He finished the 2018-19 Ranji Trophy as the second-highest run-scorer for Uttar Pradesh, making 814 runs at an average of 67.83, with two hundreds including a career-best 206. He also featured in the Deodhar Trophy recently, top-scoring with 77 for India C in the final. He has played 15 List A matches and 11 T20s.The 15-member squad also features 17-year-old Mumbai batsman Yashasvi Jaiswal, who has been making waves in the 50-overs format. During the Vijay Hazare Trophy in September-October, Jaiswal became the youngest player to hit a List A double-century, while also topping the run charts for Mumbai. In all, he made 564 runs at an average of 112.80 with three hundreds and a fifty.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

ALSO READ: Yashasvi Jaiswal: From selling pani-puris to smashing List A double-tonAtharva Ankolekar, another Mumbai player who has also been making headlines, has also named in the touring party. The left-arm spinner had helped India Under-19 defend only 106 against Bangladesh Under-19 in the Asia Cup final in September with returns of 5 for 28.Karnataka’s spin-bowling allrounder Shubhang Hegde, who recently led India U-19 for three games in their 3-2 series win over Afghanistan Under-19 in Lucknow, was in the squad too. He first impressed as a 15-year-old in the Karnataka Premier League and has a solitary first-class game under his belt too.Tilak Varma, from Hyderabad, forced his way into the squad on the back of a solid Cooch Behar Trophy in 2018-19, scoring 779 runs in just six matches, including four hundreds and three half-centuries, averaging 86.56. In the one-day competition, the Under-19 Vinoo Mankad Trophy, he followed that up with 507 runs in eight games at 84.50, with one century and four half-centuries.”We are very confident with the process and preparation we’ve set up,” Rahul Dravid said last week on the sidelines of the series against Afghanistan in Lucknow.Atharva Ankolekar celebrates a wicket with Dhruv Jurel•Sri Lanka Cricket

In his role as the director of the NCA, Dravid oversees the progress of the Under-19 team and attended the junior selection committee meeting at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai on Sunday as a special invitee. “We have got a good balance in the team,” he said. “Depending on the conditions in South Africa, if they aid fast bowlers, we have got a pretty good attack. We have got batting all the way down to seven-eight-nine. We have got spinners, if conditions suit.”The World Cup begins on January 17 with India slotted in Group A with New Zealand, Sri Lanka and first-time qualifiers Japan. There are four groups with 16 teams in all and the top two sides from each will qualify for the Super League stage. The final will be played in Potchefstroom on February 9. This will be the 13th edition of the Under-19 World Cup and India have won four titles so far, the most, including the last edition in 2018 in New Zealand.The junior selection committee also picked a squad of 16 that will tour South Africa just before the World Cup for a bilateral series of three one-dayers with the hosts and a quadrangular series also featuring New Zealand and Zimbabwe. The only addition to the squad for those series will be Hyderabad’s CTL Rakshan, who played three matches against Afghanistan Under-19 last week.Squad for South Africa bilateral and quadrangular series: Priyam Garg (capt), Dhruv Jurel (vice-capt & wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, Divyaansh Saxena, Shashwat Rawat, Divyansh Joshi, Shubhang Hegde, Ravi Bishnoi, Akash Singh, Kartik Tyagi, Atharva Ankolekar, Kumar Kushagra (wk), Sushant Mishra, Vidyadhar Patil, CTL Rakshan

Former captain endorses David Warner’s aggressive style, but old adversary Simon Katich says he’s ‘missing the point’

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Nov-20184:28

A Nation’s Shame: How do Australia bounce back?

“Australia are ‘not going to win s**t” by playing nice, according to former captain Michael Clarke. But an old adversary of Clarke has said that he is “missing the point”. Simon Katich, whose relationship with Clarke fell apart after an argument over singing the team song in 2009, said that Australia’s problems stemmed from more than just their aggression, but rather that they premeditatedly cheated.Clarke endorsed the aggressive style in which David Warner played his cricket even though he was seen as a central figure in some of the most controversial episodes, including the ball-tampering scandal at Newlands, which tipped Australian cricket into the abyss.In the wake of the South Africa tour and cultural reviews, new coach Justin Langer and captains Tim Paine and Aaron Finch have made a conscious effort to rein back the team’s approach on and off the field, including pre-match handshakes, the introduction of a Players’ Pact, and the emergence of the term “elite honesty”.None of this has gone down well with Clarke while the team continues to struggle on the field ahead of the Test series against India, which begins next week.”Australian cricket, I think, needs to stop worrying about being liked and start worrying about being respected,” Clarke told Macquarie Sports Radio. ”Play tough Australian cricket. Whether we like it or not, that’s in our blood.”If you try and walk away from it, we might be the most liked team in the world, we’re not going to win s**t. We won’t win a game. Boys and girls want to win.”Katich, however, differed and felt that Australian cricket needed to rectify the reputation garnered from the Newlands incident and years of bad on-field behavior.”Once again we find someone missing the point,” he told SEN radio. “What’s been forgotten in all of this is we blatantly cheated. The point is, we were caught for blatantly cheating and we have to rectify that as soon as possible to earn back the respect of the cricketing public in Australia and worldwide.”We’ve been a disliked team for a number of years through that on-field behaviour and it obviously came to a head in Cape Town.”Speaking specifically of Warner, who had confrontations with England and South Africa players during the two series before his year-long ban, Clarke said the aggression Warner showed on the field was an attempt to have it fired back at him when he batted, and described it as a “turn on”.”He brings that positive approach to the Australian cricket team. You can’t ask him to bring that and then, on the other hand, blame him or ask him to be a pussy cat when it comes to giving it,” Clarke said. “David Warner gives it to certain blokes on the field because he wants them to give it to him when he’s batting. It’s like a turn on, it makes him play better.”It’s his style; he’s very upfront, in your face. What you see with David Warner is what you get. Your greatest strength can be your greatest weakness. To me, I always loved having him in the team I was captaining because he brought that aggression that I wanted. In saying that, there was always a line, he knew that. We had a number of conversations one-on-one about that line he couldn’t overstep.”Oppositions have noted Australia’s attempts to change their ways, with South Africa captain Faf du Plessis saying they felt “tame” as compared to in the past, something Langer took him to task on.”I’m not sure what people want from us,” Langer said. “We can’t confuse the messages. On the one hand, we’re too aggressive and probably stepped over the line. Now we’re getting called tame.”We’re going to play good, hard cricket. It’s what the fans want to see. It’s what Australia wants to see. When you lose a series, it’s easy for someone to come out and say we’ve been a bit tame. You can’t have it both ways.”

The board announced a bonus for the two senior selection committees for the impressive performances of the men’s and women’s teams in recent times

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Aug-2017The BCCI will award INR 15 lakh each to the members of the men’s and women’s senior selection committees for having selected “good teams”. The decision was communicated at the end of the meeting between the board’s office bearers and the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) in Delhi on Wednesday.”They have been rewarded for selecting good teams,” CoA member Diana Edulji told reporters.The men’s selection committee, headed by MSK Prasad and comprising Sarandeep Singh and Devang Gandhi, has overseen a fruitful period for India since its appointment in September last year. During the last 12 months, India registered Test series wins in West Indies and at home over New Zealand, England, Bangladesh and Australia, before sealing the ongoing series in Sri Lanka 2-0. India also had a good run in limited-overs cricket, winning home series against New Zealand and England, and being runners-up at the Champions Trophy in June.The Hemalata Kala-led women’s panel, which includes Lopamudra Banerjee and Shashi Gupta, has also enjoyed much success over the last year. Mithali Raj’s team won the Asia Cup and the Quadrangular tournament featuring South Africa, Ireland and Zimbabwe, before making the final of the World Cup in June.In other developments, the question of India’s participation in the Olympics, Edulji said, would be decided by the BCCI’s general body. The other point of discussion was the revision of domestic players’ wages for which Edulji said BCCI treasurer Anirudh Chaudhary was entrusted with firming up the modalities of the revised arrangement. The matter would be taken up during the CoA’s next meeting on August 23 in Mumbai. On the subject of payment of former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin’s pending dues, Edulji said it had been referred to the board’s general body. She also said that the legal team was studying Sreesanth’s case after the Kerala High Court overturned his life ban imposed by the BCCI.

Wahab Riaz’s spell at Essex has been cut short by two games after he was required to join up with Pakistan’s training camp ahead of Test series against England

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Jun-2016Wahab Riaz’s spell at Essex has been cut short by two games after he was required to join up with Pakistan’s training camp ahead of Test series against England. The news is a further blow to Essex’s NatWest T20 Blast campaign, after Adam Milne’s involvement in the second half of the group stage was ruled out by injury.Wahab had signed as Essex’s second overseas player – alongside Jesse Ryder – for the first seven games of the Blast, with Milne expected to replace him for the final seven. New Zealand quick Milne suffered a hamstring tear during the IPL, in which he played one game for Royal Challengers Bangalore, and subsequently required surgery on a shoulder injury.Essex are currently bottom of the South Group, having won one out of five games in the Blast, and have been looking for a replacement overseas signing.Although Wahab only managed to take four wickets in five matches, at an average of 46.50 and with an economy of 9.45, he said he had enjoyed his time at Chelmsford. He could return if Essex manage to turn things around and reach Finals Day.”Wonderful to be a part of the Essex team,” he said. “I have enjoyed it a lot there, it’s been fun with these guys, everyone really supportive and treated me well. I’ve learnt a lot about how to bowl in these conditions, so hopefully the experience I am taking from Essex I will try to put into my Test bowling.”Pakistan’s Test squad are currently based at Hampshire’s Ageas Bowl, where they will undertake a two-week conditioning camp before the first tour game against Somerset on July 3.Essex’s coach, Chris Silverwood, added: “It is a shame Wahab’s spell has been cut short. Obviously we understand that his international commitments come first and that is the risk you take when signing international quality players. We thank Wahab for his efforts and his commitment to the club during his spell.”

Kaushal Silva’s 80 and 77 from Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews helped Sri Lanka finish the second day of the second Test with a lead of 166 runs

The Report by Rachna Shetty26-Jun-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAngelo Mathews held Sri Lanka’s innings together after a wobble in the second session•AFP

Kaushal Silva’s 80 and 77 from Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews helped Sri Lanka finish the second day of the second Test with a lead of 166 runs. The hosts will, however, be disappointed with a few of their dismissals on the day, which held them back from a more dominating performance. For Pakistan, Yasir Shah was the best bowler, picking up 5 for 95 – his second, successive Test five-for – and crossing a few personal milestones on the way.Mathews was the common thread between two partnerships that stabilised Sri Lanka after wobbles had threatened to erode the advantage of a lead. In the first session, Mathews and Silva came together after Kumar Sangakkara and Lahiru Thirimanne had been dismissed within a short span of time. The pair added 72 for the fourth wicket, seeing the side through to a crucial period of play before lunch, and then capitalising on the loose deliveries on offer from a Pakistan attack that had to shoulder the extra burden of Wahab Riaz’s absence.It was Mathews’ partnership with Dhammika Prasad, however, that was far more crucial for Sri Lanka. The lead had been gained but the advantage seemed to be slipping away when Silva, Dinesh Chandimal and Kithuruwan Vithanage were dismissed for an addition of 11 runs to the score. Mathews, himself, received a few reprieves. He came close to being run-out for 25 in the 69th over when a throw from an off-balance Yasir Shah bought him time. He was dropped on 32 when Yasir Shah couldn’t hold on to a top-edge at mid-on, and then poor communication resulted in Silva’s run-out.He then had to watch as Dinesh Chandimal and Kithuruwan Vithanage played poor shots to fall quickly before Prasad held steady at the crease after surviving an lbw appeal off his first ball. The onus of scoring rested largely on Mathews, but Prasad didn’t hold back on poor deliveries, even stepping out to Babar to score a four over mid-off. By the time the partnership was broken Prasad had contributed 35 runs to Mathews’ 36. That partnership helped Sri Lanka’s lead swell from 64 to 137.Mathews, who came into bat a few overs before lunch, started off with a four off Yasir, using his wrists to play against the turn and he steadily accumulated runs, seeing Sri Lanka through a tricky period before lunch. He favoured the legspinner’s bowling, taking four of his eight boundaries off Yasir, including a powerful reverse-sweep, where he dragged the ball from outside leg stump and played it past point. He even came down the track to Junaid Khan, drilling it straight down the ground for a four.Unfortunately for Sri Lanka, both batsmen were dismissed in successive overs. Prasad was trapped plumb in front by Mohammad Hafeez, while Mathews became Yasir’s 50th Test wicket. The Sri Lanka captain was hit on the pads by a quicker delivery that stayed straight and kept low. He reviewed the on-field umpire’s call, but replays showed there was no inside edge. That wicket helped Yasir become the fastest Pakistan bowler to 50 Test wickets. Soon after, he got rid of Tharindu Kaushal to overtake James Anderson and Stuart Broad as the top Test wicket-taker in 2015 with 24 wickets.The five-for was also a just reward for long spells of bowling, a burden that all Pakistan bowlers had to bear after Wahab was ruled out of the Test due to a knuckle fracture he suffered on the first day. Yasir bowled 34 overs in the day, Babar bowled 25 and Junaid Khan bowled 17.2 overs. Mohammad Hafeez who did not bowl during Sri Lanka’s session on the first day, pitched in with ten overs and took Prasad’s wicket.Resuming from an overnight score of 70 for 1, Sri Lanka were cautious in the first session as Kumar Sangakkara and Silva strove to negate any early-morning advantage the Pakistan bowlers might have. There was little on the track, however, and the first wicket of the day came against the run of play, after the pair had settled down.At the start of the 44th over, Sangakkara made it back to the striker’s end just in time to avoid being run out after a misunderstanding with Silva. When Babar tossed the ball up, Sangakkara stepped out and his lofted shot was held by Asad Shafiq at long-on, who completed an overhead catch.Babar came close to another breakthrough, when Thirimanne turned the ball to Azhar Ali at short-leg. The fielder couldn’t hold on to the catch, but the drop did not prove too costly for Pakistan, as Thirimanne fell to a similar shot off Yasir Shah only three overs later.Silva’s confidence grew as the session progressed. He brought up his half-century with a square-drive off Junaid Khan and he pushed Sri Lanka into the lead with another four off Babar, this time a pull through midwicket. He was finally dismissed for 80, stranded mid-pitch after a poor call while batting with Mathews.

For the first time since readmission, the majority of South Africa’s television viewers could be left without any live Test cricket on their screens for the 2012-13 season

Firdose Moonda19-Dec-2012For the first time since readmission, the majority of South Africa’s television viewers could be left without any live Test cricket on their screens for the 2012-13 season. The national broadcaster, the SABC, has decided it will only air Twenty20s and ODIs and show highlights packages of up to two hours from the upcoming Tests against New Zealand.This comes after it was revealed that the SABC was under financial constraints, which led it to consider not broadcasting any cricket this summer. Cricket South Africa and the SABC were engaged in talks early this week to negotiate and reached a compromise where the free-to-air channel paid ten times less this season compared to last.In a press release, CSA said it hoped that the following series against Pakistan, which includes three Tests, five ODIs and two T20Is, “will be shown by the SABC in its entirety”. The first of two Tests against New Zealand begins on January 2.”It is a huge disappointment for us that the Tests matches won’t be shown live although we are pleased the other games will,” Jacques Faul, CSA acting chief executive told ESPNcricinfo. “We want to grow the game and the communities we want to reach out to will not have access to the matches.”Although CSA sold production rights for home internationals to subscription channel SuperSport, it still controls the broadcast rights. The package it sold to SuperSport excludes the free-to-air rights, which CSA holds back for the SABC. “Even though it means we get less money from those rights we carve them out so we can get the free-to-air broadcast,” Faul said.Last season, the SABC reportedly paid in the range of R30 million (US$3.5 million) to broadcast matches. CSA initially offered the SABC a deal for about half that but it was rejected. It has since had to resort to an even lower rights fee, partly because the parties ran out of time to negotiate further. The first match of South Africa’s home summer, a T20 international against New Zealand in Durban will be played in two days’ time and CSA were anxious for the deal to be sealed.It has, however, led CSA to question its arrangement with the SABC going forward. “We will definitely assess our relationship with them in future because we do not want to do business like this,” Faul said.CSA’s only other option would be to look at an arrangement with e.tv, the other non-subsciption channel in the country. International cricket matches played in South Africa are regarded as “listed sports events” by the Independent Communications Authority, which means they must be available on free-to-air television.Despite those regulations, the SABC does not believe it has failed its remit. “The decision to broadcast these matches is a clear indication that we take our mandate seriously and we are cognisant that the public of South Africa deserve to see their cricket team,” it said in a statement.Cricket is the second-most popular sport in South Africa and almost five times as many people watch T20 and ODI matches on the SABC compared to SuperSport. Almost seven times more watch Test cricket on the national broadcaster and those could now face a blackout on live coverage. SuperSport will continue to show all matches live and the SABC’s main sports radio station, 2000, will provide live ball-by-ball commentary at all the games.