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His eight sixes help hosts from 112 for 7 to 319 all out in reply to Essex’s first-innings 271

ECB Reporters Network20-Jul-2022Will Jacks hit eight sixes in a remarkable 150 not out against Essex to spearhead a stunning Surrey recovery on day two of a so far memorable LV= Insurance County Championship match at the Kia Oval.Jacks, 23, batted with a maturity beyond his years to turn a superb contest on its head as Division One leaders Surrey – 112 for 7 at one stage – reached 319 all out in reply to Essex’s first innings 271.In six overs’ batting before the close, Essex then lost Alastair Cook and Sam Cook, both for 4, while staggering to 19 for 2 – a deficit still of 29 runs. Dan Worrall, fresh from his first innings 6 for 56, had former England opener Cook caught at the wicket from a ball angled across him and nightwatchman Cook well held at second slip.Jacks’ spectacular late onslaught will be long remembered at the Oval and included leg spinner Matt Critchley being plundered for 26 in an over and off spinner Simon Harmer 23 more from another. Jacks, having got to three figures, scored his third fifty from just 17 balls with six sixes and three fours.Coming in at 88 for 4, he took 105 balls for his half-century and 167 balls to reach his third first-class hundred, but this was clearly the best and most eye-catching innings of his burgeoning career. In all Jacks batted for more than four hours, facing 184 balls and hitting 10 fours besides those eight sixes.But Surrey’s dramatic rally, and Jacks’ tour de force, also owed much to the resilience of the tail, with Tom Lawes, Kemar Roach and last man Worrall featuring in stands of 55, 85 and 67 for the eighth, ninth and tenth wickets.Roach, in particular, batted with the assurance of a top-order player for his 29 from 92 balls, also negotiating the second new ball with aplomb until he was bowled by a lovely looping off break from Harmer as he pushed defensively forward.Fast-medium bowler Shane Snater was the pick of Essex’s bowlers with 3 for 35 from 21 overs. He even had figures of 3 for 8 from his first 12 overs, with seven maidens in his first eight overs, and the Essex attack initially combined superbly to put the squeeze on Surrey.But that was before Jacks, aided by his tailend partners, first guided Surrey towards parity with measured batting and then, once Roach was dismissed, accelerated to go first from 84 to 96 with two legside sixes in three balls off Harmer. Then came six more sixes, three each off Harmer and Critchley from a collection of slog-sweeps, pulls and effortlessly struck shots down the ground that fully showcased Jacks’ power.It was all so different from the day’s earlier events. Resuming on 24 for 1, Surrey first lost their captain Rory Burns for 24 in the second full over of the morning, leg before trying to whip to mid wicket a ball from Cook, who was bowling around the wicket to the left-hander.Hashim Amla, beaten twice by Snater but having batted carefully to reach 12, then mishit a pull at Jamie Porter’s medium pace and saw Nick Browne hang on to a diving catch at mid wicket at the second attempt.Ollie Pope, who hooked Cook for six but was dropped at second slip off Porter on 23, had only gone on to 26 when he lobbed a checked drive at Snater to mid off, where Tom Westley dived forward to take the catch.And, after lunch, Surrey’s top order continued to find ways to get out against Essex’s disciplined bowling when Ben Foakes (11) limply cut the first ball he faced after the interval, a short one from Snater, straight to cover point.That left Surrey 95 for 5, and it soon got worse for the home side as Cameron Steel, his feet anchored to the crease, was beaten and bowled off stump for 5 by a fine ball from Snater. Then, aiming an expansive smear through extra cover, Jamie Overton – also on 5 – was undone by a cleverly-flighted off break from Harmer which turned through the gaping gate to hit his stumps.Jacks, in what proved to be the day’s pivotal moment, had already been dropped low down by Alastair Cook at first slip on 9 off the metronomic Snater, but was clearly determined to make the most of his escape and not give his wicket away and, first with Lawes, he began to rebuild the innings from the depths of 112 for 7.Lawes, the 19-year-old all-rounder, impressed with fours on driven off Sam Cook, cut fine off Critchley and slog-swept off Harmer, but after reaching 19, he was distraught to loft a drive at Critchley straight to extra cover. Roach, however, dug in alongside Jacks and a wonderful day’s cricket, eventually, belonged to Surrey.

van der Merwe scores 76, de Lange 75 as Somerset look to bat once with visitors three down in reply

ECB Reporters' Network05-Jul-2021Josh Davey’s career best 75 not out helped Somerset dominate the second day of the LV=Insurance County Championship match with Leicestershire at Taunton.The Group Two leaders began by extending their first-innings score from a precarious 242 for 7 to 461 for 9 declared, Davey sharing century stands with Roelof van der Merwe, who scored 76, and Marchant de Lange, who reached 75.Then Somerset’s seamers got to work, reducing Leicestershire to 60 for 3 in reply. They closed a final session curtailed by rain on 95 for 3, with skipper Colin Ackermann unbeaten on 21.The day began under cloudy skies at the Cooper Associates County Ground, with van der Merwe on 18 and Davey 4. The former proved the aggressor, taking successive boundaries off Ben Mike as the total advanced to 272 for 7 before the second new ball was taken.It made little difference as van der Merwe moved confidently to fifty off 70 balls, with six fours and a six. He and Davey looked untroubled in extending their eighth-wicket partnership to 102.Ed Barnes eventually had van der Merwe caught at long-on to end an innings that had transformed Somerset’s prospects. But if Leicestershire thought their troubles were over, de Lange was about to prove them wrong. On no fewer than six occasions, the powerful South African swung from the hip to clear the ropes over mid-wicket. And all the time Davey was patiently accumulating to reach his first Championship half-century for Somerset off 144 balls.Roelof van der Merwe drives during his 76•Getty Images

It was 408 for 8 for lunch, by which time de Lange had reached a 38-ball fifty and the hosts were looking to bat only once in the game.They had progressed to 446 when de Lange was caught at long-on off Callum Parkinson. It remained for Davey to go past his previous best first-class score of 71, made for Middlesex on debut against Oxford University back in 2010. At the declaration, the Scotland one-day and T20 international, often an unsung hero of Somerset’s team, had faced 169 balls and hit 11 fours.All the momentum was with the home side and they maintained it before tea, claiming the wickets of Lewis Hill, Rishi Patel and Marcus Harris to leave their opponents 60 for 3.Skipper Craig Overton dropped Hill on 14 at third slip off Jack Brooks, but responded by pinning the opener lbw with the first ball of the following over.Brooks and Davey claimed a wicket apiece before Ackermann dug in, receiving solid support from Josh Inglis in an unbroken stand of 35.The action looked set to continue beyond 7pm to make up for overs lost on day one. But heavy rain set in and the umpires called play off shortly before 6pm.

“If the ball is clipping the stumps, it should be out – whether you like it or not you lose the review”

Nagraj Gollapudi22-Mar-20215:41

Kohli: Soft signal a grey area with not enough clarity

Virat Kohli stopped short of saying that the contentious umpire’s call rule should be scrapped from the game, but did call for a relook at the rule because it creates “a lot of confusion”. The final decision on the matter lies with the ICC’s cricket committee, which recently deliberated on the matter, and has submitted its recommendations to the global body.According to Kohli, there should not be any debates on what percentage of the stumps the ball is hitting when a decision is reviewed.”Look, I have played a long time when then there was no DRS, right? If the umpire made a decision, whether the batsman liked it or not, it stayed like that; vice-versa if the umpire gave him not out and it was out it stayed like that whether it was marginal or not,” Kohli said on Monday at a media briefing in Pune ahead of the fist ODI against England. “According to me, umpire’s call right now is creating a lot of confusion. When you get bowled, as a batsman you don’t expect the ball to hit more than 50% of the stumps to consider yourself bowled. So when the ball is shown as clipping the stumps, the bails are going to fall.Related

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• Kohli: Why can't we have an 'I don't know' soft signal?

“So, from basic cricket common sense, I don’t think that there should be any debates on that. If the ball is clipping the stumps, it should be out – whether you like it or not you lose the review. And that is how simple the game has to be: if it hits the stumps or it misses the stumps, it doesn’t matter how much it is hitting and those kind of things. Because it is creating a lot of confusion.”The umpire’s call is used in cases of the ball’s impact with pad and then the stumps, reliant on ball-tracking technology and as a concept is rooted, essentially, in the on-field umpire’s original decision retaining the benefit of doubt.According to the current ICC protocols, for “a Not Out decision to be overturned more than half the ball now has to be impacting the pad within a zone bordered by the outside of off and leg stumps (formerly the centre of off and leg stumps), and the ball needs to be hitting the stumps within a zone bordered by the outside of off and leg stumps and the bottom of the bails (formerly the centre of off and leg stumps, and the bottom of the bails)”.Ever since the ICC introduced the umpire’s call, a DRS tool that has been updated gradually, it has remained a tetchy topic and divided the cricketing fraternity. Recently the MCC said some members on its World Cricket Committee, comprising former international captains and match officials, echoed the exact sentiment expressed by Kohli, saying the umpire’s call was “confusing to the watching public, particularly when the same ball could either be Out or Not out depending on the on-field umpire’s original decision”.6:14

Does cricket need to rethink the soft-signal rule?

‘Soft signal, another grey area’
Kohli remained unconvinced about another hotly debated decision-making tool, the soft signal, which he said along with the umpire’s call was a “serious” issue the game’s lawmakers needed to tackle.The debate over the validity of an on-field umpire making a soft signal for a low catch in the outfield was reignited last week after Suryakumar Yadav was caught by Dawid Malan in the deep in the fourth T20I of the India vs England series.KN Ananthapadmanabhan, the on-field umpire, gave the soft signal as out even as Virender Sharma, the TV umpire, remained unconvinced. Although the rulebook gives the TV umpire the authority to overrule the soft signal, Sharma upheld his on-field colleague’s decision.After the match Kohli reacted strongly, saying he failed to understand why there was no “I don’t know” option the on-field umpire could use for cases where the evidence was not conclusive.On Monday Kohli felt controversial dismissals like Yadav’s also had the potential to trigger the spirit of cricket argument. “One more factor that needs to be considered is how the fielding team responds to a dismissal that is claimed is also somewhere you know defining soft signal as well,” he said. “Again, you have to question what the spirit of the game is and what those guidelines are. Because if things like that happen with the Indian cricket team overseas, then you are talking about a totally different conversation about spirit of the game, and so on and so forth.”Look, it is a serious, serious thing that needs to be considered because there is a lot at stake in future, there are big tournaments. And you don’t want some grey areas factors of the game which leave you with no clarity to be the defining factors of those big tournaments and big games.”

Abdur Razzak’s match haul of 12 for 144 helped curb North Zone after South Zone’s strong batting innings

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Dec-2018South Zone retained the Bangladesh Cricket League first-class title after their nine-wicket win over North Zone in Chittagong. This is the fourth time they have won the competition, having earlier been champions in the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons.Veteran left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak struck the decisive blows in South Zone’s last round match, taking 12 for 144 to pick up the Player-of-the-Match honours.Razzak took seven wickets in North Zone’s first innings, restricting them to 293 runs in 83.4 overs. Ariful Haque missed a century by two runs as he made 98 off 151 balls with six fours and three sixes. He added 135 runs for the seventh wicket with Ziaur Rahman, who scored 69 off 103 balls with seven fours and two sixes.South Zone replied strongly, making 541 in 125.3 overs, with centuries from Anamul Haque and Al-Amin. The pair added 176 for the fourth wicket before Al-Amin retired hurt when he was on 110. He eventually made 128 off 161 balls with 12 fours and three sixes. Anamul struck 16 fours in his 180 off 314 balls, that spanned seven hours and 44 minutes. Sunzamul Islam took 6-158.North Zone, behind by 248, were then bowled out for 280 in 82.2 overs with Razzak taking 5-75 from his 32.2 overs. Junaid Siddiqui (77), Naeem Islam (67) and Ziaur (77 not out) struck fifties but neither could push past the sixties or seventies.Anamul and Fazle completed the very short fourth-innings chase of 33, making 35 for 1 in 7.1 overs.

David Willey revelled in his role as Yorkshire’s stand-in captain to leave a winner-takes-all clash against Notts on Friday night

ECB Reporters Network16-Aug-2018
Scorecard
David Willey and Adam Lyth delivered a crushing seven-wicket win for Yorkshire with over four overs to spare at Northamptonshire to keep the White Rose on course for the Vitality Blast quarter-finals.Set 163, Willey and Lyth shared 150 for the second wicket in 80 balls. Neither could see Yorkshire over the line as Willey fell for 79 from 44 balls and Lyth 66 in 41 but the damage was done as the visitors won with 27 balls to spare.Yorkshire now face Nottinghamshire in their final game at Headingley knowing victory will guarantee their place in the last four.Josh Cobb was the only batsman to show for Northants with 68 not out as the home side posted 162 for 8 having won the toss but not for the first time in the competition, the Northants’ attack struggled as Lyth and Willey hammered the bowling around Wantage Road.Lyth got down one knee to slog-sweep Ben Sanderson for six before taking 22 from the fifth over of the innings bowled by Richard Gleeson. He advanced down the wicket to lift a six then four over extra-cover, carved four over point, glanced another boundary past the wicketkeeper before driving four more past mid-on. It ensured Yorkshire raced to 74 in the Powerply for the loss of Tom Kohler-Cadmore caught at point first ball.

Yorkshire sign Ravel

Yorkshire have signed New Zealand international Jeet Raval for the final four Specsavers County Championship fixtures. He has also flown in early as cover for compatriot Kane Williamson who has been nursing a bruised finger on his left hand. Raval, 29, has made 11 Test appearances since 2016 and this will be his first stint in county cricket.
Yorkshire’s director of cricket Martyn Moxon said: “We are delighted that Jeet has agreed to join us, initially as cover for Kane Williamson. Jeet will take over from Kane after the Somerset match and be with the squad until the end of the season.”

Having passed fifty in 26 balls, Lyth again went down on one knee to this time slog-sweep Luke Procter for six but trying to finish the game, miscued a drive to extra-cover.Willey was again in great touch against his old county. He flashed his opening boundary off the back foot past extra-cover, pulled Hutton over deep-square for six and sliced Sanderson over point. He swung Cobb’s off-spin over long-on for six more and struck a third six down the ground off Seekkuge Prasanna.Yorkshire were cruising at 113 for 1 after 11 overs and Willey slogged Brett Hutton for consecutive sixes before slog-sweeping Graeme White for another maximum in an over that cost 21. But he pulled Sanderson to deep midwicket shortly before Gary Balance struck the winning runs.Yorkshire were on top from the start as Matt Fisher removed both Northants openers in his first over both for 16 and both to leading edges. With his first ball, Charlie Thurston edged to third man where Kane Williamson ran in to take a smart catch and with the final ball of the over, Ben Duckett edged to backward point where Lyth leapt above his head. The wickets ensured it was Yorkshire’s Powerplay as Northants reached 35 for 2.Cobb drove his opening boundary past extra-cover but then pulled off a top-edge perfectly between the wicketkeeper running back and long leg running in. At 50 for 2 after eight overs, Northants were bumping along and Cobb cleared his front leg to smash Tim Bresnan’s first ball over deep midwicket and, as Bresnan went too full, struck a second six over long-on as the home side reached the half-way point at 72 for 2.Alex Wakely, after a patient start, flicked Liam Plunkett wide of midwicket for four but chipped the same bowler later in the same over to mid-on to fall for 14. Steven Crook arrived and immediately struck both Lyth and then Plunkett straight down the ground for six, edged Plunkett for four but holed out to deep cover for 18. And when Prasanna swung and missed at a Jack Brooks slower ball and lost his leg stump, Northants were 106 for 5 in the 15th over.Cobb pulled Bresnan for four wide of long-on before heaving Willey for consecutive sixes out of the ground to pass fifty in 32 balls. He opened the blade to steer Bresnan for four to begin the 18th over which cost 16.But just when Northants had built some momentum, Willey bowled an extraordinary triple-wicket maiden in the 19th over. He had Procter caught behind and then White caught at deep square next ball before Hutton hooked at the fifth delivery and gloved it behind. Two sixes in the final over boosted the Northants total but it was nowhere near enough.

The players refused to take the field for more than an hour after umpires informed them of their decision to change the ball

Andrew Fernando and Nagraj Gollapudi16-Jun-2018Sri Lanka have strongly denied any wrongdoing after being charged with altering the condition of the ball during the St Lucia Test against West Indies. Their players protested the charge – and the subsequent penalty of a ball change and the award of five extra runs to the opposition – by refusing to take the field at the start of the third day’s play. The match eventually resumed after a two-hour delay, but Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) have said the players are effectively continuing with the game “under protest”.ESPNcricinfo understands that umpires laid the charge after reviewing footage of the second day’s play, and finding evidence pointing to the application of a substance to the ball. Officials privy to the case say the incident was similar to the one involving South Africa captain Faf du Plessis, who was found guilty of altering the condition of the ball during the 2016-17 Test series in Australia.

ICC laws on changing the ball

41.3.4 If the umpires consider that the condition of the ball has been unfairly changed by a member or members of either side, they shall ask the captain of the opposing side if he/she would like the ball to be replaced. If necessary, in the case of the batting side, the batsmen at the wicket may deputise for their captain.
41.3.4.1 If a replacement ball is requested, the umpires shall select and bring into use immediately, a ball which shall have wear comparable to that of the previous ball immediately prior to the contravention.
41.3.4.2 Regardless of whether a replacement ball has been chosen to be used, the bowler’s end umpire shall
– award 5 Penalty runs to the opposing side.
– if appropriate, inform the batsmen at the wicket and the captain of the fielding side that the ball has been changed and the reason for their action.
– inform the captain of the batting side as soon as practicable of what has occurred.
The umpires together shall report the occurrence as soon as possible after the match to the Executive of the offending side and to any Governing Body responsible for the match, who shall take such action as is considered appropriate against the captain, any other individuals concerned and, if appropriate, the team.

“The ICC can confirm the match officials in the second Test between West Indies and Sri Lanka changed the ball and awarded 5 penalty runs to West Indies,” the ICC later tweeted. “If there are any, Code of Conduct charges will follow as per usual at close of play.”The Sri Lankan board sent out a statement defending its players: “SLC advised the team to take the field to ensure the continuity of the match and wish to commend the decision taken by the team to continue with the game ‘under protest’ to ensure the upholding of the spirit of the game.””The team management has informed us that Sri Lankan players have not engaged in any wrongdoing,” a board release said. “SLC shall take all necessary steps to defend any player, in the event any unwarranted allegation is brought against a member of the team.”At close of play on day two, West Indies were 118 for 2 in reply to the opposition’s first-innings score of 253. Day three was due to start at 9.30am local time, half-an-hour early to make up for time lost to rain delays on day two.But even as the umpires made their way out to the middle, none of the Sri Lanka players joined them. Broadcaster visuals of their dressing room showed coach Chandika Hathurusingha, captain Dinesh Chandimal and team manager Asanka Gurusinha in discussion with match referee Javagal Srinath.When the players eventually came onto the field at 10.50am, West Indies were officially given five extra runs and umpires Ian Gould and Aleem Dar oversaw the changing of the ball. The two batsmen at the crease – Devon Smith and Shai Hope – were given the right to choose the replacement, which is the protocol under ICC Law 41.3 (see sidebar).Before the first ball could be bowled, though, the Sri Lanka players left the middle of the ground and made their way to its periphery, which became the site of further discussions among players, team management, and match officials. It took another 40 minutes for play to finally begin.Loads of people were interested in the state of the ball•AFP

An official present at the ground said one of the main reasons Sri Lanka did not take the field was because “the umpires informed them about the ball change just 10 minutes before the start today without evidence of any footage.”It is understood that the umpires were concerned about the condition of the ball at the end of the second day’s play. “We did see the umpires looking at the ball a few times yesterday, but there was no statement made at the end of the day,” the official said. “It all happened this morning.”The controversy comes at a time when SLC is under inexperienced and temporary leadership. Although CEO Ashley de Silva is still in his job, the board has no office bearers at the moment because the previous administration’s term had expired on May 31, before fresh elections could be held. A “Competent Authority” effectively appointed by the government presently runs the SLC, and sports minister Faiszer Mustapha – who was in the crisis meeting which advised the team – has himself only done his job for a matter of months.The SLC release did not confirm whether the team will officially contest the ball-tampering charge when an inquiry is held into the incident, after play on Saturday. But based on this official denial, it seems likely that the charge will be contested. Sri Lanka’s team management refused to comment when approached directly.This is the second time in two years that Sri Lanka have found themselves part of a controversy over the condition of the ball. Allrounder Dasun Shanaka was charged for a similar offence by the ICC in November 2017 and in that case the team accepted the sanction.A previous instance of a side refusing to take the field after a ball change came at The Oval in 2006, when Pakistan chose not to come out after tea on day four, after umpire Darrell Hair changed the ball and awarded five penalty runs to England. Pakistan eventually forfeited the Test.

Hayley Matthews, Afy Fletcher and Stafanie Taylor led the charge for West Indies as Sri Lanka collapsed from 63 for 1 to 136 all out

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Oct-2017WICB Media

The spin combination of Hayley Matthews, Afy Fletcher and Stafanie Taylor worked through Sri Lanka’s batting order to set up a six-wicket victory for West Indies in the first match between the two – which counts for points in the ICC Women’s Championship – in Tarouba. Sri Lanka’s batting floundered against the three, who picked three apiece, as they collapsed from 63 for 1 to 136 all out.Sri Lanka lost their first wicket in the 12th over after opener Nipuni Hansika was struck on the pads by legspinner Fletcher. Yasoda Mendis and Chamari Atapattu set up a 41-run second-wicket partnership, with the latter becoming the first Sri Lanka batswoman to score 2000 runs in ODI. Matthews’ charge, however, removed both the batsmen before they could build on their starts. She also dismissed the No. 5 Prasadani Weerakkody for 8.Taylor and Fletcher scythed through the rest of the order as Sri Lanka fell away quickly.West Indies were off to a shaky start as they lost Kycia Knight and Taylor inside the first five overs. With 49 for 2 on the scoreboard, Matthews retired hurt on 22 and had to be stretchered off after the third ball of the 20th over. Having pulled the ball to short square leg, she dropped on her knees, clutching her right thigh. Earlier, following the third ball of the 14th over, she had received medical assistance for what seemed to be slight unease with her left hamstring. However, later she confirmed to ESPNcricinfo: “It was just bad cramp, but I’m all good”.After Matthews departed, Chedean Nation and Deandra Dottin kept the chase ticking along before slow left-armer Inoka Ranaweera removed both of them and reached the 50th-wicket milestone in ODIs. However, Merissa Aguilleira (32 of 48 balls) and Kyshona Knight (21 off 36 balls) finished the job over the next ten overs.Matthews was named the Player of the Match for her spell of 10-2-18-3.

Chad Soper took 6 for 41 to bowl PNG to a 14-run win in the second ODI against Hong Kong in Mong Kok

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Nov-2016
ScorecardFile photo – Chad Soper derailed Hong Kong’s chase early to help PNG defend 201 in the second ODI•ICC/Getty

In a low-scoring match dominated by the opening bowler from both sides, Chad Soper’s career-best 6 for 41 trumped Nadeem Ahmed’s 4 for 50 as Papua New Guinea edged past Hong Kong by 14 runs in the second ODI and levelled the three-match series.PNG opted to bat first at the Mission Road Ground in Mong Kok and were dismissed for 201 in 45.5 overs after left-arm spinner Nadeem scythed through their top-order. Like Nadeem, Soper, too, dismissed the top-three, before adding three more to his tally to bowl Hong Kong out for 187 in 48.1 overs.PNG’s innings was built on two partnerships. First, Assad Vala, their captain, who top scored with 70, added 78 for the fourth wicket with Sese Bau to lift them from 39 for 3. Vala then shared a 43-run sixth-wicket partnership with Mahuru Dai. The association ended with Vala being stumped off Anshuman Rath, the left-arm spinner. He had faced 87 balls and pinged nine fours and two sixes. PNG’s innings lasted a further 67 balls after Vala’s dismissal, but they could only score 30 runs more.Rath finished with 3 for 28 in 10 overs. Aizaz Khan took two wickets and Ehsan Khan accounted for last man out Soper.Hong Kong had a few solid contributions from the middle order, but none of them could stay on to see the team through. Like PNG, Hong Kong could also string together only two partnerships of note. Nizakat Khan (33) and Rath (21) pulled them from 31 for 3 to 80 for 4. Shahid Wasif (45) and Ehsan Khan (27 not out) then joined hands for a 56-run sixth-wicket stand. The chase ended with the dismissal of Nadeem, who was bowled by John Reva, the right-arm medium pacer, for 1.Vala followed up his 70 with economical figures of 1 for 33 in 10 overs. Dai finished his quota with 2 for 42.The deciding ODI will take place on Tuesday at the same venue.

Sunrisers Hyderabad’s all-international attack, led by Trent Boult, defended a total of 150 so well Kings XI Punjab fell short by 20 runs

The Report by Abhishek Purohit27-Apr-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details4:55

O’Brien: Kings XI can’t get anything right at the moment

Sunrisers Hyderabad’s all-international attack defended a moderate total so well Kings XI Punjab looked out just after the halfway mark of the chase. Wriddhiman Saha sparked a revival, but Trent Boult justified playing ahead of Dale Steyn again, removing the keeper and Axar Patel in a decisive 18th over. A victory margin of 20 runs showed just how far behind Kings XI’s top order had fallen.The pace and swing of Boult was followed by the control of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Praveen Kumar, barring an expensive opening over. That was followed by lack of pace from Moises Henriques and tight legspin from Karn Sharma, providing Kings XI no release.Boult kickstarted Sunrisers’ defence when he swung one in full to bowl Manan Vohra – playing instead of Virender Sehwag – off the inside edge in the third over. The next and bigger strike came off the inside edge too, when Shaun Marsh played the wrong line off Bhuvneshwar in the fourth over.George Bailey counter-attacked briefly, hitting Praveen for three fours in an over, but when he failed to clear mid-off against Henriques in the eighth over, Kings XI had slipped to 45 for 3.That became 53 for 4, as David Miller misjudged a call for two and M Vijay failed to return in time. Miller could not make up for that error, swinging Karn to long-off in the 13th over to leave Sunrisers on 72 for 5.Dropped twice in three balls, Saha, along with Axar, fought back, the pair adding 44 in 4.5 overs. Praveen, Henriques and Bhuvneshwar went for runs in three successive overs as the equation came down to 35 needed off 18 balls.That was when Boult stepped up again. Axar backed away first ball of the over, and found his leg stump uprooted with a yorker. As he usually does, Saha had relied on the pull during his 42 but Boult hurried one onto him, and square leg took the catch. The over went for just seven, including four off Saha’s leg when he missed an attempted scoop.Bhuvneshwar and Praveen were too good for the lower order.The lower half of Sunrisers’ innings had tapered off again after David Warner’s fourth fifty in seven innings this season. Warner had taken 46 of his 58 runs in boundaries. Even as the batsmen at the other end struggled, Warner kept making room and smearing boundaries through the off side.Sunrisers again failed to double the score at Warner’s exit in the tenth over. Henriques and Naman Ojha laboured to add 45 in nearly seven overs. Even though Henriques lasted till the last over, his strike-rate remained below run a ball.Ashish Reddy swung successive sixes against the run of play off Sandeep Sharma, but Sunrisers seemed to be clearly short of runs. But their attack has defended lower totals in the past.

BCCI president N Srinivasan has decided not to travel to London for the ICC annual conference but he may attend the three ICC sub-committee meetings via vide-conferencing

Amol Karhadkar and Nagraj Gollapudi24-Jun-2013BCCI president N Srinivasan has decided not to travel to London for the ICC annual conference, to be held from June 25 to 29. Srinivasan has stepped aside from BCCI functioning till the completion of probe into alleged IPL corruption scandal.However, it does not necessarily mean that Srinivasan won’t attend the three ICC sub-committee meetings, including the important finance and commercial affairs (F&CA) committee, of which he is a member in individual capacity.A close associate of Srinivasan confirmed that he “will not” travel to London but didn’t deny the possibility of Srinivasan attending “some of the meetings” via video-conferencing.Last week it was decided that while Jagmohan Dalmiya, who has been taking care of day-to-day BCCI affairs since Srinivasan stepped aside, will represent the BCCI in the ICC board meeting, Srinivasan will attend the sub-committee meetings.BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel was going to attend the ICC chief executives’ meeting, while Sundar Raman, the IPL chief executive officer, was going to attend the working group meeting of the CEOs.A BCCI source revealed that since the BCCI contingent was getting bigger and the fact that Srinivasan would be at the conference but wouldn’t represent the BCCI in the board meeting, it “wouldn’t have reflected well on the board’s image. So the president agreed not to travel to London. In case he is pressed (by the ICC) to give his inputs during the sub-committee meetings, he may join them via video-conferencing,” he said.The F&CA committee primarily recommends to the ICC board regarding the shape ICC’s commercial rights should take. The ICC is looking to negotiate the next tranche of rights for eight years after the 2015 World Cup. The committee also decides on when the various primary ICC-owned events take place, how many events should be included, who might host those events, what sort of fees might accrue to host those events, the format of the event, what should be the strategy to sell the rights for these events, to whom should they go, should the rights be sold as a bundle, as was the case last time. The broadcast rights are sold as a bundle but the sponsorship rights are sold on an individual basis and that is managed by the ICC. Even though the committee has been discussing the commercial rights issue, the decision over the next tranche of rights is unlikely to be finalised this year. It is expected to be finalised in the first quarter of 2014.Meanwhile, Patel and Raman will hold the key in continuing BCCI’s opposition to implementation of the DRS in all Tests. Ever since the DRS was first used in a Test series featuring Sri Lanka and India in 2008, the BCCI has not allowed the technological aid for umpires to be used in any of its home series.While Patel, who was appointed the secretary earlier this month, will attend his first ICC meeting, Raman has enjoyed an increased profile over the last couple of years with regard to BCCI’s functioning and been a regular at recent ICC meetings.Raman had been inducted into the CEOs working group, which included representatives from the ECB and Cricket Australia (Dean Kino) with the ICC adding on two of its own representatives to carry out backroom work in preparation for contractual arrangements to be put in place by the time the final rights agreements discussions begin.Meanwhile, the ICC annual conference is likely to discuss anti-corruption measures in detail, following the spot-fixing scandals which erupted in the Indian and Bangladesh Premier Leagues. Besides, the fate of Bangladesh as hosts for the next year’s World Twenty20 may also be decided since the BCB has admitted lack of adequate facilities.