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Gabriel Martinelli celebrated Declan Rice's last-minute winner with his father in the stands as emotions ran high for Arsenal away at Luton Town.

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Article continues below

Article continues below

Martinelli celebrated Rice's winner with his fatherArsenal edged out Luton in seven-goal thrillerMartinelli opened the scoring for the GunnersWHAT HAPPENED?

The Brazilian opened the scoring in Arsenal's win over Luton Town in a seven-goal thriller at Kenilworth Road on Tuesday. The Gunners squandered the lead twice in the match before Declan Rice finally sealed the 4-3 victory with a last-gasp header. As soon as the Englishman scored the winner, Martinelli ran towards the away stand to greet his father – who took in the Premier League clash alongside Arsenal's die-hard fans.

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The 22-year-old shared his celebration video on his official X profile with the caption: "A goal and a last minute winner with your Dad in the away end? Perfect."

GettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE

While the dramatic win will prove to be a massive boost for Mikel Arteta's side, who are currently five points clear at the top of the table, David Raya's form will be a matter of headache for the manager. The Spanish goalkeeper not only conceded three goals against Luton, but he also made a glaring mistake for Ross Barkley's goal in the second half which momentarily handed the Hatters the lead.

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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR ARSENAL?

The Gunners now have three very difficult Premier League fixtures coming up, starting with Aston Villa on Saturday. They will then face Brighton on December 17 and fellow title contenders Liverpool six days later.

Dimuth Karunaratne, on debut, scored 0 in the first innings and 60 in the second. Sixteen Tests on, he averages 23.58 in the first innings but 47.35 in the second dig

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Pallekele02-Jul-2015When Dimuth Karunaratne was out for a duck in his first Test innings, he was following in the footsteps of other openers in the dressing room. Batting coach Marvan Atapattu had also begun his career with a zero and the then-manager Charith Senanayake, who had awarded Karunaratne his Test cap, was no different.But it was in the third day of that match that Karunaratne set up a trend that would define his Test career to date. Having failed in the first innings, Karunaratne redeemed himself in the second, hitting a run-a-ball 60 in a small chase. Sixteen Tests on, Karunaratne now averages 47.35 in the second innings, but 23.58 in the first. Only one of his seven 50-plus scores has come in the first dig.”The way I see it, maybe I bat better under pressure,” Karunaratne said, by way of explanation. “When there is a target, or there is something concrete to be achieved, maybe I take more responsibility. I have played a few more loose shots in the first innings, because there’s no concrete goal. Maybe I was too casual. Even when I was going to school, I liked those concrete situations better. In the big matches, I preferred to chase, and I’ve taken responsibility in those situations.”Though a natural strokemaker, two of Karunaratne’s better knocks have come when a Test needed to be saved. When Sri Lanka gave up a first-innings lead of 303 in Christchurch late last year, Karunaratne withstood waves of high-quality seam bowling to grind out 152 from 363 deliveries. In the Galle Test of this series, Karunaratne hit 79 from 173 balls, with Sri Lanka standing little chance of winning that match.”Even in that match in New Zealand, we were well behind in the game, and I knew I had to bat for a long time, so that helped,” Karunaratne said. “Once the situation becomes clear in the second innings, I think that effects me.”I’ve talked to the coach about this, and what he said was that batting in the second innings was more difficult because the pitch does more, and there’s more pressure. In this next match, I have something I want to try, which will hopefully help me concentrate harder in the first innings.”In the early portion of his career, Karunaratne had largely opened alongside Tillakaratne Dilshan. However, Sri Lanka have since found a far less flamboyant batsman to partner him at the top of the order. Since 2000, of Sri Lanka batsmen with more than 1000 Test runs, Kaushal Silva’s strike rate of 40.76 is the lowest. Karunaratne said that batting with a cautious opener presents a mixed challenge.”If the ball is moving around, Kaushal has does a great job,” he said. “What I try to do in those situations is to get off the strike and let him bat. Once I do that, he plays the rest of the balls and it works well. But if we get a flatter wicket, if Kaushal rotated the strike a bit more, it would be easier for us, and for the team.””I am naturally aggressive and am usually looking for scoring opportunities. If I was to close up an end as well, we would find it tough to win matches, especially in home conditions. You need runs for that. The Pakistan batsmen, for example, usually have a better run rate than us. They give themselves a better chance of winning the match that way. So my role is to rotate the strike and look to push the team forward. But I need to cut down the loose shots as well. Because Kaushal closes up one end, I’ve got to try to score at the other.”Karunaratne said that although Kumar Sangakkara’s unavailability for this match increased the burden on the remaining batsmen, Sri Lanka should not dwell on Sangakkara’s absence. Upul Tharanga has replaced Sangakkara in the squad, and appears likely to play on Friday.”Only the Sangakkara name goes out of the team, and we can’t depend on him forever. He’s only playing two more matches, so we should take more responsibility.”It’s a good chance for us to prove ourselves, because the series is at 1-1 and Upul has played well in the practice match. He’s also a good player, and we shouldn’t put too much emphasis on Sangakkara not being here. The game plans are the same, only Sanga is missing. We can learn how to play without him.”

Andrew Strauss, whose alliance with Andy Flower was at the heart of England’s success, has insisted he remains the best coach available and that he should not be made a scapegoat for a humiliating Ashes series.

David Hopps29-Dec-2013Andrew Strauss, whose alliance with Andy Flower was at the heart of England’s success, has insisted he remains the best coach available and that he should not be made a scapegoat for a humiliating Ashes series.Flower’s role has been brought into question after England’s eight-wicket defeat at the MCG left them facing the possibility of a whitewash if they lose in Sydney. The last time that happened, seven years ago, Duncan Fletcher clung on as coach for a disastrous World Cup challenge before resigning three months later. Strauss, whose retirement has coincided with England’s steady decline, remains convinced that England should do everything to convince Flower to remain.”Andy Flower is one of the great coaches in world cricket,” Strauss told . If he is not the man to take England forward I don’t know who is.”The only question is whether he has the hunger and the energy to continue in the job. He is not a guy to give up easily. He will be hurting as much as anybody.”That is the territory you enter at 4-0 down. You get scapegoated.”Darren Lehmann, the Australian coach whose adventurous and aggressive style has left England in a state of tactical confusion, also give strong support to his vanquished opponent.”It is a very stressful job, but he is a very good coach and he has a done a fantastic job for England over a period of time,” Lehmann said. “I am sure he will come up with solutions.”We regard their structure very highly and we may have copied it in some shape or form.”

Centuries from Aditya Tare and Ajit Agarkar helped Mumbai take a large, confident step towards a sizeable first-innings total in their Ranji Trophy semi-final against Services.

Sharda Ugra in Delhi17-Jan-2013
ScorecardFile photo: Ajit Agarkar scored his first Ranji century in three years•ESPNcricinfo LtdCenturies from Aditya Tare and Ajit Agarkar helped Mumbai take a large, confident step towards a sizeable first-innings total in their Ranji Trophy semi-final against Services. On a slow, sluggish day of cricket, interrupted by bad light and a spot of rain, Mumbai had reached 380 for 6 when play was suspended as the light worsened.Tare was batting on 108, his second century for Mumbai this season, while Agarkar’s 113 not out was his first Ranji century since the 2009-2010 season against Himachal Pradesh.The unbroken 211-run seventh-wicket partnership between Tare and Agarkar has given Mumbai an iron-fisted control of the semi-final and Services all the grief they would not have wanted after a promising first day. They lost their strike bowler and leading wicket-taker of the season, Suraj Yadav, who had to go off the field due to a twisted ankle after bowling four overs in the morning just shortly after the introduction of the new ball. Off the 65 overs of play that happened today, Mumbai scored 181 runs without losing a wicket.Tare’s was the slower of the two centuries, uncharacteristic when it comes to his batting, but typical of his performances for Mumbai this season. He has opened the batting in five matches, batted at No. 3 and 4, and No. 7 once, before being slotted into the conventional No. 6 slot meant for the wicketkeeper. The value of his contributions, said Agarkar, is what has enabled Mumbai to play five bowlers. Tare is better known for flamboyant shot-making but on Thursday, collected the runs with a quality well-known in the old Mumbai school of batting – accumulate when available, don’t throw your wicket away and don’t get ahead of yourself. Tare showed patience to wear down the bowlers, and did not try to force pace with dazzling but dangerous improvisation.Agarkar thinks Tare’s batting has been exceptional this season, and the performance in Palam, was a sign that he had “adapted to a demanding situation.” In keeping with his better-known side, he pulled out a reverse sweep against left-arm spinner Avishek Sinha to take Mumbai past 300, and got to his century by guiding a yorker-length ball from Nakul Verma to third man for four.At the other end Agarkar moved at a quicker clip, but played without risk, offering occasional entertainment with attractive strokes around the ground. Shadab Nazar was punched off the backfoot through covers, Nishan Singh was driven straight down the ground and the spinner Sinha punished similarly. This was his fourth first-class century and his second Ranji century for Mumbai. His first two first-class centuries have come in unusual surroundings – in Peshawar for India A on a 1997-98 tour and the second at a Lord’s Test for India in 2002 – before he scored two more for Mumbai. He was asked to name his favourite shot of the day among his fourteen boundaries at Palam and Agarkar said, dead-pan, “the single to get to a hundred.”Despite their sturdy performance in the field on day one, Services found the second line in their bowling attack significantly weaker from the discipline of their three medium-pacers. When they began to resort to part-time options as the long second session dragged on, Mumbai accelerated, scoring 23 in the last five overs before tea. In the final 15-over second session curtailed by bad light, Mumbai scored 59. Start of play was delayed by 45 minutes due to bad light, then truncated after 9.5 overs due to the combination of bad light and a light drizzle. The very long second session produced 97 off 40.1 overs.Mumbai now have the collective gleam in their eye: the wicket, Agarkar said, had required the batsmen to grind, slow but holding steady. “We’ve got enough batting to survive on a difficult wicket and surviving today was important. It’s a six day match and we want as many runs as we can get.”The Services camp will be nursing hurting calves and some pride this evening, but said they could only do the one thing they knew best: fight. “We’ve got this chance after so long, we won’t let it go.” While the weather and the wicket promise many a slow session of cricket, a tussle underneath the surface will always be on. It is what Ranji Trophy semi-finals should ideally be about.

Bilal Shafayat made 93 in his first appearance for Hampshire while Jimmy Adams’ century helped lead the hosts to 352 for 8

David Lloyd at West End11-May-2012
ScorecardHampshire captain Jimmy Adams scored 122 to end a run of poor form•Getty ImagesSome counties wait all season for a successful comeback but Hampshire had two in a day here, with Bilal Shafayat making 93 and Jimmy Adams pressing on to 122 after the hosts had been stuck in on what appeared, at first sight, to be a seamer’s dream of a pitch.Shafayat’s return to centre stage was especially remarkable, given that his Championship career looked as though it might have stalled, never to start again. Released by Notts at the end of the 2010 season, he played only second XI cricket last year and was signed up by Shropshire for their Minor Counties campaign this term. In some ways, though, Adams’ innings was even more pleasing for Hampshire. Their captain missed the last two Championship games for undisclosed “personal reasons” and, before that, four innings had brought the opener only 24 runs.Prospects did not look great for any batsman when, after two days of rain, the covers were removed this morning to reveal a green pitch. No wonder table-topping Derbyshire opted to bowl first – and no surprise, either, when Hampshire found themselves one down through Liam Dawson snicking a catch to second slip.In truth, though, the hosts were not required to play nearly enough against the new ball and when they did find themselves pressed into action, it came off the surface so slowly that adjustments could be made. But, that said, the stand of 164 between Adams and Shafayat was still special enough to have home supporters purring with pleasure.Shafayat looked to have the cricketing world ay his feet during the early stages of his career. He made a Championship debut for Notts in 2001, when still a week short of his 17th birthday, scoring an eye-catching 72. Soon enough, the youngster was not only playing for England Under-19s but also captaining them and huge things were expected. Somehow, though, Shafayat failed to kick on. A spell at Northamptonshire did not do the trick, nor did a return to Trent Bridge, and when Notts decided to let him go in 2010 he had averaged less than 12 across six Championship matches and his career figure was down to a distinctly modest 29.72.Since then, Shafayat’s only first-class cricket has been played in Pakistan but neither that nor a second XI double century for Hampshire last season had persuaded anyone over here to take a serious punt on him – until now. Hampshire decided to register the 27-year-old last Friday on a short-term basis and a combination of events this week (with Michael Carberry playing for England Lions and this game being reduced to a two-day affair, thereby encouraging the hosts to leave out a front-line bowler) brought about his selection.It will take more than this knock – lasting 93 balls and containing 17 fours, many of which were clipped, turned and forced through the leg side – to remove ‘riled Ricky Ponting’ from the top of Shafayat’s CV. But it’s a good start. “I don’t want that to be my only claim to fame,” he said with a smile when reminded of how he annoyed Australia’s captain while serving as England’s 12th man during the tense final stages of the drawn 2009 Ashes Test in Cardiff.Required, on two occasions, to take gloves and water to last pair Jimmy Anderson and Monty Panesar, Shafayat felt the rough edge of Ponting’s tongue for playing his part in what the boys in Baggy Green saw as a dastardly time-wasting plot. Here, Shafayat appeared all set to celebrate a century until chasing a wide one from seamer Jonathan Clare to edge a catch behind. He left to warm applause but looked particularly disappointed, and understandably so.As for Adams, he showed why his name was in the England frame not so long ago, producing a steady stream of straight and cover drives. His hundred was reached off 176 balls and the left-hander looked set for a big one until he was rightly sent back by Sean Ervine and run-out. Still, Hampshire’s stall had been well and truly set out and, although wickets fell regularly during the second half of the day, the home side were more than happy with their 352 for eight. And they may be happier still if they can persuade Derbyshire to set up a contest on Saturday through the forfeiture route.”I think they are keen but we’ll talk again in the morning,” Adams said. “We want to have an entertaining final day if we can and hopefully we’ll have a game for everyone tomorrow.”And as for the two major run-makers? “It was pretty obvious I’ve been short of runs so it’s nice for me to get back and make some,” said Adams. “But I thought Bilal played magnificently and it was a pleasure to bat with him. He has scored buckets of runs for our second team, it was a great effort from him today and it gives us a few good headaches and some tough decisions for next week.”

An imperious display of strokemaking by Virat Kohli powered an Indian fightback conspicuous in its absence recently, made a mockery of an imposing score and kept India’s finals hopes alive

The Report by Siddhartha Talya28-Feb-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Virat Kohli was “in the zone” during his 133 not out off 86 balls•AFPTurnarounds don’t come any better. Fortunes don’t change more dramatically. And emotions don’t bear a starker contrast. At the halfway stage, Sri Lanka would have felt they had one foot in the final, having left the India bowlers deflated after a dominating performance with the bat. And they would have been right to think that way, the Indian batting having shown little promise in the series and the team on the brink of elimination.But Virat Kohli put on an imperious display of strokemaking, his malleable wrists powering an Indian fightback conspicuous by its absence on what had been, until now, two forgettable overseas trips. Kohli’s innings made a mockery of an imposing score, kept India’s finals hopes alive and left Sri Lanka having to beat Australia for a third time in the tournament to knock India out.Given India’s poor outings with the bat in their recent games, one would have expected them to struggle to chase a target of 321 in 50 overs. They achieved it in 36.4 – needing to chase it in 40 to stay alive in the series – and did so with Kohli finishing things off in a blaze of glory. Kohli was in the zone; he dismissed anything that came his way with clinical precision, found the boundary at will whether the field was in or pushed back, ran swiftly between the wickets to catch the fielders off guard and middled the ball with scarcely believable consistency.While Kohli was the protagonist in India’s successful chase, the other characters played their due part. Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar would have wanted to do more but gave India the explosive start they desperately needed to stage a counterattack; Gautam Gambhir continued to be fluent, just four boundaries in a knock of 63 off 64 balls showing the toil behind the runs; and Suresh Raina, under pressure to perform, kept Kohli valuable company in a matchwinning stand.If India were insipid with their bowling, Sri Lanka were far worse, as wides flowed, gift balls were doled out with regularity and the fielding buckled under the pressure of an unexpected fightback. Both innings were replete with fumbles, misfields, wayward throws – one of them, had it been on target, could have run Kohli out – making batting even more profitable on the easiest track in the series thus far. The brisk start to the chase and the subsequent consolidation by Gambhir and Kohli meant India were in with a fighting chance with two Powerplays still remaining, and both proved highly lucrative.Kohli made both his own, first targetting Nuwan Kulasekara in the 31st over, which began with India needing 91 in 10 overs for a bonus point. He carted three consecutive fours as attempted yorkers failed to meet their desired lengths and served as tempting length balls. Two were whipped – in trademark Kohli fashion, a momentary turn of the wrists imparting tremendous force to the ball – and the other sliced over point in an act of improvisation.The Sri Lanka fast bowlers misfired badly but even when they got it right, like an accurate yorker from Malinga, Kohli was able to shuffle across and expertly work it past the short fine fielder. He took 24 from Malinga in the 35th over, flicking him for six, sending one through the covers for four and then picking up three more fours past short fine, and finished the game with two thunderous drives through the off side. A pump of the fists was followed by a roar of elation and relief as MS Dhoni calmly trudged on to the field to join in the celebrations.A win this dominating seemed a distant possibility when Kohli joined Gambhir at the fall of Tendulkar’s wicket. Tendulkar had walked across too far to be caught plumb by Malinga, ending an innings in which Tendulkar seemed devoid of pressure and completely uninhibited in his approach. Sehwag and Tendulkar batted with freedom, the former smashing Malinga into the grassbanks behind deep midwicket in a fiery opening stand of 54, and Tendulkar going over the top on the off side, and displaying an adeptness in picking Malinga’s variations. But at 2 for 86 in the 10th over, with India’s two most experienced batsmen back in the pavilion and the required-rate still very high, Kohli and Gambhir faced a daunting task.That both took little time to get going was crucial in maintaining the tempo that had been set. Gambhir steered Kulasekara for four off his third delivery before punching one past midwicket, and Kohli warmed up with one of several whips off Malinga off his second ball. The pair didn’t get bogged down despite a 35-ball boundary drought, running swiftly between the wickets, converting ones into twos by putting the outfielders under pressure and making the fielders inside the circle appear redundant by stealing quick ones.Kohli broke that drought with a drive off Thisara Perara past extra cover and later clobbered Angelo Mathews over the wide long-off boundary. At the halfway stage in the chase, the pair had notched up half-centuries, laying a solid foundation for the onslaught to follow with ten Powerplay overs still remaining. After Gambhir fell to an accurate throw while trying to steal a second, Raina infused the innings with greater urgency, providing a quicker partner at the other end to Kohli and indulging in some power play of his own to help hasten the finish.The Kohli show overshadowed an assured and commanding performance by Sri Lanka with the bat, and centuries from Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara, who capitalised on a palpably below-par show from India’s bowlers.Dilshan shrugged off his initial unease against the swinging ball to gradually open up and march towards his 11th ODI century and Sangakkara played an innings as attractive as several of his abruptly terminated cameos this tournament, only longer in duration this time, full of confidence and more pleasing on the eye. The determination and focus of trying to bat India out of the game was unwavering in their innings, and the smiles on their faces and the India players’ drooping shoulders suggested a one-sided game. But body-language is not always a reliable indicator, for it had taken an about turn in three hours’ time.Edited by Dustin Silgardo

Mumbai showed exactly why they can be backed almost blindly in important contests, as they shredded the Saurashtra batting to take charge of the final

The Report by Siddarth Ravindran in Mumbai26-Jan-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
File photo: Dhawal Kulkarni was the most effective of Mumbai’s bowlers on the first day•ESPNcricinfo LtdBased on this season’s form, there was no reason for Mumbai to start the final as overwhelming favourites against Saurashtra. But when it comes to big matches, the formbook can be ripped apart. At the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday, Mumbai showed exactly why they can be backed almost blindly in important contests, as they shredded the Saurashtra batting to take charge of the final.Before the game, it was assumed that Mumbai’s strategy, if they won the toss, would be to bury the opposition under a mountain of runs, as they had done to perfection in the quarter-final against Baroda. Surprisingly, they chose to bowl. At times, there were three slips and two gullies in place and Saurashtra’s run-rate was almost always below two an over, even though the track was not a batsman-killer. It had decent bounce and a bit of movement in the morning, but was certainly not tricky enough to merit the visitors’ collapse to 50 for 5. Perhaps Saurashtra were overwhelmed by the occasion, and Ajit Agarkar looked to exploit that by banging in a bouncer on the first ball of the match.Agarkar’s new-ball partner Dhawal Kulkarni was the star of the morning session with his opening spell of 7-4-6-2 that kept the Saurashtra batsmen on edge. Opener Sagar Jogiyani retreated towards leg and pushed his bat out, edging to second slip in the second over of the day. Rahul Dave, unsure whether to duck or pull a Kulkarni short ball, got himself tangled up before providing another slip catch. One of the best deliveries of the day was the one that accounted for Sheldon Jackson, Saurashtra’s highest run-getter this season with centuries in the quarter-final and semi-final. Kulkarni got it to bounce and swerve away just a touch, making Jackson prod the ball to the keeper. He finished the innings with figures of 21.3-13-24-4.The experienced opener Shitanshu Kotak hardly played a forceful shot in his two-hour stay, as he tried to stabilise the rocky innings. He fell, though, in a manner which had some resemblance to his semi-final dismissal – caught at slip while trying to force a spinner off the backfoot.While Saurashtra struggled, their captain, Jaydev Shah, down with a fever, decided to demote himself from his regular No. 4 spot, walking in after four wickets had fallen. If he had hoped the extra time in the dressing room would have allowed time for the moisture in the track to evaporate, he needn’t have bothered as he clipped left-arm spinner Vishal Dabholkar to midwicket for a duck.Saurashtra showed more spine after lunch with Aarpit Vasavada, the bespectacled left-hand batsman who has been one of their success stories this year, battling to a half-century filled with slaps and edges around point. Kamlesh Makwana, a regular source of runs in the lower order, also resisted and the pair cautiously played out almost the entire session.With the track flattening out, Saurashtra raising hopes of a competitive total and Mumbai’s bowlers unable to make the breakthrough, the home side turned to their crisis man, Abhishek Nayar, who duly delivered by removing both batsmen a few minutes short of tea.The Saurashtra tail hung around for a while, riding their luck as they repeatedly swished and missed at Kulkarni’s deliveries outside off. The batting collapse aside, Jaydev Unadkat’s run-out would have disappointed Saurashtra coach Debu Mitra, who had spoken before the match about how he had worked hard to imbibe some cricketing nous in the team during his long stint. Unadkat didn’t show much evidence of that. The bowler, who took off a lackadaisical single after hitting to point, didn’t try sliding his bat in to beat a throw from Dabholkar. He was out for 22. It was the sort of schoolboy mistake that famously makes Sunil Gavaskar livid.Unadkat could have made up for that mistake as early as the first ball of Mumbai’s innings when he jagged the ball in to beat Wasim Jaffer’s bat only for the loud lbw appeal to be turned down due to the height. Mumbai reached stumps without losing any wickets and a bigger crowd than the thousand-odd who showed up on the first day will be on hand to cheer them on Sunday, when they look to bat Saurashtra out of the match.

West Indies threw New Zealand their stiffest challenge of the series in the third and final Test

The Report by Abhishek Purohit19-Dec-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details0:00

McGlashan: West Indies spinners found turn

West Indies threw New Zealand their stiffest challenge of the series in the third and final Test. First, their last two wickets added 60 to stretch the innings to 367. And then, Sunil Narine dealt the home batsmen a serious examination by spin. Narine picked up only two wickets, but he could easily have had more in an unchanged spell of 22-9-43-2. Kane Williamson made a fluent half-century before suddenly turning clueless against Narine. Ross Taylor went past 400 runs for the series with another calming fifty; he also had better fortune than Williamson and managed to survive the day.Narine and Veerasammy Permaul sent down 45 of the 64 overs New Zealand played, and West Indies are yet to use their two part-time spinners. The pitch remained unhelpful for the fast bowlers, but afforded quick and sharp turn for the slow bowlers.Taylor and Williamson started quite positively against the spinners from 43 for 2 after New Zealand lost their openers for contrasting knocks. Hamish Rutherford fell to his own premature exuberance and Peter Fulton went in Narine’s first over after failing to rotate the strike for an hour and a half. Both wickets owing more to Darren Sammy’s excellent catching than the quality of the deliveries.Shivnarine Chanderpaul completed his 29th Test hundred•Getty ImagesSammy first bent low in his follow through to pluck a low catch as Rutherford drove hard in the sixth over. In the 22nd over, he snapped up an extremely sharp reflex chance at backward short leg as Fulton flicked Narine. Fulton batted 71 deliveries to make just 11. While he left well, he also hit deliveries hard and straight to the fielders.Williamson wasn’t free-flowing as well in the company of Fulton, but opened up as Taylor came in. Both batsmen looked to take singles every over against both spinners after Sammy gave way following a spell of 10-5-17-1. They would stretch forward not looking to just smother the spin but to eagerly work the ball into gaps. Anything slightly short outside off was cut and guided for boundaries.Even initially, though, there were problems. Taylor survived a review for leg-before by West Indies in Narine’s second over, and Williamson escaped a few times, uppishly driving Permaul perilously close to fielders. The singles continued to accrue, though, and both batsmen motored towards fifties.Sammy was moved to bringing back Tino Best for a four-over burst which was wayward but things turned around suddenly after that. Williamson first began to have difficulties against Narine, unable to handle the sharp turn on the offbreaks. He just escaped being bowled twice in succession, and then decided to move outside off stump to try and tackle the spin. He soon played outside the line of an offbreak to be trapped in front, his review going in vain, and the partnership ending on 95.Narine had sparingly used the carrom ball till then. Now he began ripping them across the right-handers from round the wicket. Brendon McCullum was given three successive such balls when he came in; he missed the first two by a long margin, the third he managed to edge for a single. Taylor was left groping at a few straighter ones as well and New Zealand would have been relieved that most of the drama happened towards the close.In the morning, Shivnarine Chanderpaul equalled Don Bradman’s 29 Test centuries, went past Allan Border’s tally of 11174 runs and remained unbeaten for the 45th time in 260 innings. Best and Permaul contributed twenties to push West Indies past 350, a mark that had seemed unimaginable at 86 for 5 on the first afternoon.New Zealand could have ended the innings on 339, but Fulton dropped Best in the slips off Corey Anderson, another blot on the hosts’ catching in this game. Best was on 4 then, and went on to make 25, his innings a mix of typical slogs and unusually sensible batting, before edging a heave to the wicketkeeper off legspinner Ish Sodhi in the 117th over. Permaul clubbed a run-a-ball 20.The efforts of Nos 10 and 11, along with the indefatigable Chanderpaul, turned around a poor morning start for West Indies. Tim Southee began with his outswingers on target, getting Sammy to nick behind in the sixth over of the day. Sammy blocked his way to 3 off 28, following from his pair in a day in Wellington. But in the second session, he made some amends with his catching and bowling, setting the stage for Narine.

Akram Khan will leave his position as chairman of Bangladesh’s selection committee on the day the BCB election dates are announced

Mohammad Isam04-Jul-2013Akram Khan will leave his position as chairman of Bangladesh’s selection committee on the day the BCB election dates are announced. He confirmed this on Thursday after being asked to continue in the role till September, along with the other selectors Habibul Bashar and Minhazul Abedin.In the meantime, the BCB will formally ask the National Sports Council, Bangladesh’s sports regulatory body, to announce the board election dates. According to BCB president Nazmul Hassan, that could very well be this month.Akram has apparently been assured by the NSC that he will be elected unopposed as one of their designated directors on the board. In the 2008 elections, the number of NSC directors on the board was one, but it has not been made certain which constitution will be followed in the forthcoming election.”I will leave this position the day the election dates are announced,” Akram said. “If it happens to be before my term ends in September, I will let the board know. I am not interested in contesting elections in the present situation. I have been given an assurance. I may become a director through NSC’s quota.”I have already told the board regarding my desire to become a director, and I have done that before my tenured ended on June 30. I plan to make cricket better in the country, at all levels. I have a lot of plans about school cricket and age-group cricket. I have been a selector for six years, and I have worked with honesty and hard work.”

Everywhere you look at Edgbaston, there seems to be a picture of Chris Wright and Keith Barker, grinning broadly, one hand each on the LV= Championship trophy, but Varun Chopra had an equal part to play.

Jon Culley at Edgbaston12-Apr-2013
ScorecardVarun Chopra settled back into the old routine with runs for Warwickshire on a dismal day•PA PhotosEverywhere you look at Edgbaston, there seems to be a picture of Chris Wright and Keith Barker, grinning broadly, one hand each on the LV= Championship trophy. And with good reason. With 118 wickets between them, their strike bowling partnership was the key to many a Warwickshire victory.Yet there was another key alliance at the heart of Warwickshire’s success and the scoreboard at the close of day three in this rain-ruined beginning to their title defence might indicate that it remains in fine working order. The Varun Chopra-Ian Westwood partnership at the top of the order developed into one of the most reliable in the competition. Both batsmen ended the season averaging in the forties and five times they gave the Warwickshire innings the perfect platform by scoring more than 100 runs without being parted.It was a contribution not to be underestimated. If the ability to take 20 wickets is key to winning Championship matches, then amassing totals that can be defended comes a solid second. The left-handed Westwood has endured some tough times in the last few years, fulfilling a career ambition by landing the captaincy but giving it up at the end of the 2010 season when he struggled for form. Subsequently, his place in the side was often little more than a stop gap when Ian Bell was on England duty.He started last year slowly but his form picked up in the second half, when the partnership with Chopra was at its most formidable. In one six-innings sequence the pair compiled stands of 100, 175 and 136. Westwood made two centuries in August, 19 days apart.Westwood’s recovery has been to Chopra’s benefit, too. The more at ease Chopra has become in the partnership, the more consistent has his form been. The only other England qualified batsman to pass 1,000 first-class runs in Division One last season was Nick Compton, who earned his elevation to the Test side as a result.Chopra, a 25-year old right-hander, has prospered, like his team-mate, Wright, since moving to Edgbaston from Essex. He made 1,000 runs in 2011 as well. His reward — alongside Wright — was a place in the 17-man England Performance Programme squad in India and a Lions tour to Australia, where he scored centuries in two 50-over matches, the second in the first meeting with Australia A in Hobart. Like Wright, he has been named also in in the provisional squad for the ICC Champions Trophy.Those spectators with the patience to wait for some action at a dank and gloomy Edgbaston yesterday saw Chopra and Westwood finish 10 short of another three-figure partnership, which will offer Warwickshire encouragement from a match destined to end in a draw. After the fragmented action that followed a 3.30 start, about 90 minutes of play was possible, and the conditions, in terms of pitch and atmospheric conditions, and the need to focus and refocus as stoppage followed stoppage, were hardly ideal for batting. Yet Chopra and Westwood set about their business with a familiar efficiency.Derbyshire might consider themselves a little unlucky. Tim Groenewald saw Chopra dropped on 10, albeit off a very hard chance high in the air to Ross Whiteley at point, and edge just short of first slip on 19. But Chopra picked off nine boundaries to illustrate to the newcomers how narrow are the margins for bowling error in First Division cricket as Warwickshire finished the day with a platform for a decent yield of batting points on the last day, if nothing else.