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Shane Watson’s hundred, the first of IPL 2013, might have gone in vain as Chennai Super Kings chased down Rajasthan Royals’ target of 186, but the Australian allrounder was relieved to be back among the runs and bowling once again

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Apr-2013Shane Watson’s hundred, the first of IPL 2013, might have gone in vain as Chennai Super Kings chased down Rajasthan Royals’ target of 186, but the Australian allrounder was relieved to be back among the runs and bowling once again.”It’s nice to finally score some runs. I felt that I have been hitting the ball really well,” he told the IPL site after the game. “In T20 you need a little luck as well to get your innings going. Unfortunately we weren’t able to finish well.”I’m very excited to get back to bowling. It’s certainly something that I’ve missed in the last three months. It will probably take me another two games to fully find my feet and bowl exactly how I want to.”Watson’s bowling return is neatly timed, coming only two days before Australia’s selectors are expected to announce their Test squad for the Ashes series in England this summer. Although he has recently relinquished the vice captaincy, he remains a strong contender to make the squad.He bowled for the first time this year in Royals’ previous game, against Royal Challengers Bangalore, following a series of injuries, the most recent of which was a calf issue. In the match against Super Kings, the final over of the game was his second.Watson said he is almost close to full bowling fitness, but not quite there just yet. “I’m getting closer to being 100%. A couple of more training sessions and games, and my body will be absolutely ready to handle the rigours of bowling. It is holding up well generally but now it’s just the matter of it getting used to bowling again.”On the whole I feel as good as I ever have. I’ve put in a lot of hard work during this period and hopefully, will reap the rewards for the coming 10 months or so. I was half-capacity without my bowling. It feels great to be bowling once again.”Though they could not pull off the win, Royals did well to get to 185 in Chennai, he said: “I think 185 is a lot of runs on any ground. At the beginning of the match our mindset was probably 160-170 and we ended up with an above-par score. We batted really well as a unit.”Speaking about Watson’s innings off 101 off 61 balls, Chennai spinner R Ashwin said the great start he gave Royals forced Super Kings to shuffle their bowling options, resulting in him coming on within the Powerplay: “This year I have bowled quite a few death overs as I have come into the attack pretty late. I have bowled a lot of 13th, 15th and 17th overs this season. We have a couple of overseas seamers and an Indian seamer, which gives the captain many options to exploit in the Powerplay,” Ashwin said. “[Today though] Watson was going great guns and the captain probably wanted to shut down [Royals’ scoring] and look to get a breakthrough. Shane Watson made sure that I had to come early into the attack.”

Varun Aaron, the India and Delhi Daredevils fast bowler, has almost recovered from the injury that has kept him out since December last year and is expected to be able to bowl in the IPL within a week

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Apr-2012Varun Aaron, the India and Delhi Daredevils fast bowler, has almost recovered from the injury that has kept him out since December last year and is expected to be able to bowl in the IPL within a week, according to franchise mentor TA Sekar.Aaron had to pull out of the Test squad for the Australia tour with a stress injury to his back. His last game was India’s second ODI against West Indies in Visakhapatnam in December 2011. He impressed with his pace and control before his short stint with the Indian team was ended by injury. Aaron has had a history of back trouble, having suffered two stress fractures soon after he made his Ranji Trophy debut for Jharkhand in the 2008-09 season.Sekar said that while Aaron was on the verge of regaining full fitness, Daredevils were not willing to take any chances with him. “He is getting very close to 100 percent fitness,” he said. “I think, in maybe a week, he should be ready to bowl in the IPL.””These fast bowler’s injuries, you cannot rush, because if it recurs, then he goes back by another two months. We are playing it very safe. He is almost ready to bowl, but we want him to be mentally [prepared], because he hasn’t played for a long time. Mentally also he should be match fit.”

Jacob Oram said his running catch to dismiss Jacques Kallis and Martin Guptill’s run-out of AB de Villiers were the two key moments that propelled New Zealand to victory in their quarter-final against South Africa

Osman Samiuddin at the Shere Bangla Stadium25-Mar-2011At the centre of a magnificent fielding performance that won New Zealand their quarter-final against South Africa were two moments. The first was an exceptional running catch on the boundary by Jacob Oram that saw the back of an unperturbed and ominous looking Jacques Kallis. The other was Martin Guptill’s run-out of AB de Villiers, a few overs later and just two balls after JP Duminy’s dismissal, in a short passage of play in which was crystallised South Africa’s collapse.Kallis was progressing in typically Kallis-like fashion on 47 when, in the 25th over, he pulled Tim Southee towards deep midwicket. Oram, Man of the Match for his 4 for 39, ran to his left and back towards the boundary rope, and with a little skip, held on to the catch face-high, still running. It looked far more impressive live than on the TV screens. It was the kind of catch that wins a quarter-final.Oram’s only thought when he saw the shot was to run. “The beauty of it was that it wasn’t in the air that long. If it was a real skier where I had 5 or 10 seconds to think about it, I probably would’ve got a little bit scared underneath it.”My only thought was just run, because he did hit it so well. What helped me was just the angle the ball was coming at; with a pull shot like that, it almost curls back into the angle I was running on. So I was running back and across. Thankfully I am 6’6”. I replaced Kane Williamson out there who is about 4’6″; maybe it would have been a one-bounce four if he was out there.”Guptill’s intervention came from midwicket, exploiting a tiny moment’s hesitation between Faff du Plessis and de Villiers. The catch and Guptill’s effort, which ended the most fluent knock of the match, were, Oram said, moments that turned the entire game.Jacob Oram’s running catch of Jacques Kallis started a South African collapse•Getty Images

“My catch [was a turning point], and I’m not just pointing that out because it’s me, but because it broke a partnership that looked like it was starting to build. And the second moment which galvanised us to another level, and put the skids on them, was Martin Guptill running out AB de Villiers. That just seemed to make us all grow a foot taller, and you could see them getting a little worried.”There was a sustained level of excellence in the field throughout the match, from both sides. Daniel Vettori, the New Zealand captain, thought the fielding allowed them to keep the pressure up.”We got a little bit of luck with the Hashim Amla wicket, and there was a great piece of work with Guptill running out de Villiers,” Vettori said. “Those two things, combined with some great bowling and great fielding, allowed us to attack the whole game. The way we bowled and particularly the way we fielded, led by Guptill, probably got us through to the victory.”Another semi-final spot for a side that was stuttering until recently may have surprised others, but not Oram, who believes this is not the end of New Zealand’s run. “Did we ever think we could make it to the semis? Of course we did and we’re not finishing here, hopefully. We didn’t come across here to defeat the minnows in our pool and then lose the quarter-final and go home. Why not go on and win the semi-final and take on the winner of the other semi in Mumbai in a week’s time?”If that eventuality does occur, Oram wouldn’t mind facing Pakistan. “That’s not because we’re scared of India,” he said. “It’s because we’ve played Pakistan in a six-match series at home and we’ve defeated them in Pallekele. So we know them very well, even though they defeated us at home. But if it’s India, bring them on as well.”

Unlike Essex, conquerors of the Durham attack at Chester-le-Street, Kent’s introduction to Division One cricket has been painful

Jon Culley at Trent Bridge16-Apr-2010
ScorecardAndre Adams caused Kent a host of problems as they were forced to follow on•PA Photos

Unlike Essex, conquerors of the Durham attack at Chester-le-Street, Kent’s introduction to Division One cricket has been painful. If day three goes as badly for them as days one and two they can cancel their Saturday night out in Nottingham.By close of play here, last season’s Division Two champions were into their second innings, having been asked to follow on some 256 runs behind. They had at least managed to secure a batting point, off a misfield the ball before their 10th wicket fell, but it was hardly consolation.The difference has been in the quality of the bowling. With a good covering of grass and little pace, the pitch has not been one to make a batsman feel comfortable. Yet only one of the Kent seamers conceded fewer than 3.58 runs per over. To their captain, the others must have been unacceptably expensive. At no stage were they able to offer him control.By contrast, Nottinghamshire’s attack, spearheaded by a Ryan Sidebottom clearly enthused by his selection for the World Twenty20, rarely had their hand off the tiller. Like Rob Key, Nottinghamshire captain Chris Read would have chosen to bowl first. His bowlers, hostile and generally accurate, demonstrated why.Nottinghamshire began the day in a commanding position, four runs away from a batting maximum. Nonetheless, they were eight wickets down after Andre Adams’s give-away wicket to the last ball of the opening day and Kent would have expected not to be too much longer in the field. Yet Nottinghamshire continued pretty much without restraint, almost for another 17 overs, adding another 60 runs.Paul Franks did much of the extra damage. The 31-year-old, who might have made a career as an England all-rounder had he not been bedevilled by injuries, has found a little bit of the old form lately. He scored a century against Durham UCCE last week, his first in a first-class match for five years. Here, hitting the ball cleanly and with power through the off side, he advanced to 73 before playing around a ball from Matt Coles. The score was his best in the Championship since May 2007.The wicket was a second in five overs for 19-year-old Coles, who saved his best spell until last, having dismissed Luke Fletcher via a catch at second slip with his third delivery. It is the senior bowlers from whom Key will want more. Had Stuart Clark been able to come their prospects would look a lot stronger but with Amjad Khan and Azhar Mahmood they should at least be competitive.Nottinghamshire, on the other hand, could assemble several different sets of bowlers were their full complement fit and available. Here they have no Darren Pattinson (injured) nor Charlie Shreck (rehabilitating after surgery), while it goes almost without saying that neither Stuart Broad nor Graeme Swann is available.Yet with Sidebottom fiercely motivated, the powerful Fletcher eager to build on the promise of last season, Adams developing his skills with the ball and Franks a usefully canny back-up, they still fielded a seam quartet to which most counties would doff their caps.Sidebottom made the first incisions as Kent began their reply, bowling Joe Denly and trapping Key leg before with a couple of tasty inswingers. From 13 for 2, Kent staggered to 58 for 5 as Adams claimed the next three wickets.He had some help. Geraint Jones, who had looked capable of organising a recovery, made a complete misjudgment of what would be the last ball of the morning – bowled offering no stroke. Then Martin van Jaarsveld tickled one down the leg side, although it took a super diving catch from Chris Read to make him pay for it. It was a better ball that accounted for Darren Stevens, on the back foot, giving Neil Edwards the first of five catches at second slip, handing the debutant the distinction of being the first Nottinghamshire outfielder to claim five victims since Derek Randall in 1987.The one that removed the dangerous Sam Northeast, over his right shoulder off Fletcher, was the best of the lot. The others were routine, enabling Adams to make James Tredwell his fourth victim, Sidebottom to add Coles and Franks to claim his second after first slip Ali Brown had pouched Mahmood, without whose lusty nine-four 52 Kent would have been in even worse shape.When Kent began their follow-on, with Tredwell a nightwatchman from the start, neither Sidebottom nor Fletcher was as tight as before. But then two wickets in as many overs – Fletcher bowling Key and Tredwell falling to Adams – left Kent staring at a three-day defeat, still 205 behind.

PNG gave West Indies a near-scare in their opening game and will hope to go one better against a demoralised New Zealand side

Sruthi Ravindranath16-Jun-20242:12

Time for NZ to give Ish Sodhi a go?

Match details

New Zealand vs Papua New Guinea
June 17, Tarouba, 10.30am local time

Big picture: New Zealand look to end with a bang

Is it one last time for New Zealand’s golden generation in T20Is? They only have three players under 30 in their side. None of their senior batters have come to the fore in the tournament so far. Trent Boult, well, has been Trent Boult-ing, but he’s confirmed this will be his last T20 World Cup.Though Kane Williamson believes it may not be the end of the road yet for many seniors, New Zealand bowing out of the tournament early will make them rethink the future.Related

• New Zealand's decade of excellence unravels in a hurry

• Spotlight on NZ transition after Boult confirms this will be his last T20 World Cup

• 'He timed it beautifully and got his match-up' – Williamson and Powell laud Rutherford

They did come together to show their prowess against Uganda in the last game, rolling them over for 40. Though all of their bowlers made a mark, their batting unit, one of their biggest letdowns this tournament, did not get much time in the middle. The win also came a bit too late, their fate already sealed: they will not be heading to the knockout stage of a men’s World Cup for the first time since 2014.Papua New Guinea, meanwhile, will be exiting with different emotions. They gave co-hosts West Indies a near-scare in the first game. Their spinners bowled superbly in that game. Their fast-bowling unit has been impressive. This will be the first time these teams come up against each other. Can PNG’s bowlers challenge New Zealand’s demoralised batting unit?Alei Nao has been a bright spot for Papua New Guinea•ICC via Getty Images

Form guide

New Zealand WLLLW (last five matches, most recent first)
PNG LLLLW

In the spotlight: Glenn Phillips and Alei Nao

No New Zealand player is among the top 40 run-scorers at this year’s T20 World Cup. At No. 43 is Glenn Phillips with 58 runs in two innings. He top scored with a run-a-ball 18 against the unplayable Afghanistan bowling unit in the first game and followed it up with 40 against West Indies. He came in at No. 6 and counterattacked, hitting three fours and two sixes in his 33-ball stay, after yet another top-order collapse but his knock went in vain. He’s been one of the positives in New Zealand’s dull tournament.Alei Nao has been the pick of the bowlers for PNG. The 30-year old seamer struck with his very first delivery at this T20 World Cup, removing West Indies’ Johnson Charles for a duck in Providence. He has been excellent for PNG with the new ball and has taken a wicket in the powerplay in all three games. Nao has taken four wickets at an economy of 5.10 so far.

Team news: No major changes

PNG brought in left-arm quick Semo Kamea for Charles Amini in the last game against Afghanistan. Both teams are likely to go with the same playing XI barring any injury concerns.New Zealand possible XI: 1 Finn Allen, 2 Devon Conway (wk), 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Rachin Ravindra, 5 Daryl Mitchell, 6 Glenn Phillips, 7 James Neesham, 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Lockie Ferguson, 11 Trent BoultIt’s been a disappointing T20 World Cup for Kane Williamson and New Zealand•ICC/Getty Images

Papua New Guinea possible XI: 1 Assad Vala (capt), 2 Tony Ura, 3 Sese Bau, 4 Lega Siaka, 5 Hiri Hiri, 6 Kiplin Doriga (wk), 7 Chad Soper, 8 Norman Vanua, 9 Alei Nao, 10 John Kariko, 11 Semo Kamea

Pitch and conditions: Batters beware

The pitches at the Brian Lara Stadium have not been too conducive to batting. The fast bowlers have had a bit of help with the new ball, while the spinners have found some turn. It is expected to be partly cloudy in the morning, and thunderstorms can be expected in spots throughout the day.

Stats that matter: NZ’s batting woes

• New Zealand have the best economy rate of 4.22 in the powerplay in the T20 World Cup 2024
• PNG have scored at a run rate of 5.22 this tournament, the third-lowest behind Uganda and Sri Lanka
• New Zealand have the second-lowest batting average (12.60) among Full Member nations at this T20 World Cup behind Ireland

Babar Azam was the star with the bat, hitting 64 off 39 to give Zalmi 183 to work with

Danyal Rasool16-Mar-2023Peshawar Zalmi were the side with the weakest death bowling, Islamabad United the team with the most fearsome power hitting. United were the imperious chasers, while just last week, Zalmi failed to defend 240 against already-eliminated Quetta Gladiators. The data, as Shadab Khan almost didactically likes to point out United operate by, all pointed to a United win, especially when fifties from Alex Hales and Sohaib Maqsood put their side 56 runs away with six overs and nine wickets to go. But, in defence of 183, Zalmi’s bowlers produced a monumental comeback, a masterclass of yorker bowling from Salman Irshad and Aamer Jamal battering down United’s defences. As the yellow storm surged, United were left high and dry, in the end falling comfortably short of the target by 13 runs.United had opted to chase, flying in the face of the partiality Gaddafi Stadium has shown this season to the side batting first; all six matches until tonight had been won by the defenders. But Shadab’s decision looked to be paying dividends when Hales and Maqsood struck up a magnificent second wicket partnership, accumulating 115 runs in 77 balls. Maqsood’s targeting of Azmatullah Omarzai was the catalyst after he smashed two fours and a six in the fourth over, and Alex Hales tore Wahab Riaz apart in the over that followed, plundering 18 of it. By the end of the powerplay, they had put together 67, and were on track.Zalmi continued to appear toothless as the field spread out, and the game looked set to be one of those clinics United put on every now and then. The stand was chanceless, and even Mujeeb ur Rehman found himself copping punishment by his final over as Babar Azam looked to be running out of cards to play.In fact, he, and Zalmi, had been holding out their best for last. Jamal bowled a toe-crushing yorker to burst through Maqsood’s defences. Yorker bowling suddenly became contagious, with Salman Irshad repeating the feat to see off Azam Khan cheaply, before Jamal saved his best for last, a peach that Hales had no answer to.While the toes were being threatened, Islamabad also lost their heads. A run borne of muddled thinking brought about Faheem’s run-out at the non-striker’s end and, all of a sudden, the runscoring trickled to a halt. It didn’t help that Colin Munro chose this moment to have his worst PSL game in ages, unable to find timing on anything before he fell for a limp nine-ball four.United were done by now, needing 24 off the final over. Against such quality, the very notion they might get close was fanciful, with Jamal duly closing out with United 13 runs away.The wheels for the Zalmi win, as Shadab pointed out post-match, had been set in motion in the first ten overs of the game, when Babar and Saim Ayub took the attack to United’s bowlers. The first nine balls saw six boundaries scored as Babar and Saim split them, and the 50 was brought up inside four overs. Shadab lamented the lack of intensity from his side, but with Ayub in sizzling form and Babar toying with the field, it was difficult to see what United could do. When Muhammad Waseem removed Saim, Haseebullah duly took his place, as Babar brought up a 28-ball 50 at the other end.Crucially, he didn’t slow down after the first six overs, and with Mohammad Haris at the other end, there was no respite for United. By 13 overs, Zalmi had soared to 137 before United’s bowlers finally turned things their way. Shadab was expensive, but changed momentum by trapping Babar in front, before Haris’ departure dragged Zalmi back. The final five overs saw just three boundaries scored as United established control, and a Zalmi side who had been on track for over 200 limped to 183.It didn’t look like it might be enough, and all the data suggested it wouldn’t be once Hales and Maqsood sunk their teeth into the chase. But Jamal, and Zalmi found something special in the moments that mattered, conjuring up a stirring finish to rip up all scripts and spreadsheets.

Defending champions knocked out as India set up semi-final clash against Australia

Sreshth Shah29-Jan-2022Bangladesh’s hopes of defending their U-19 World Cup title ended in the quarter-final stage as India’s bowlers rolled them over for 111.Left-arm seamer Ravi Kumar took three wickets in his first spell. Left-arm spinner Vicky Ostwal then took two. Two Bangladesh batters were run out, and if it wasn’t for SM Meherob’s 30, India could’ve been chasing even lesser.Although India had a brief hiccup in the chase, they eventually got home with five wickets in hand.The returning Yash Dhull opted to field on a surface where the Afghanistan-Sri Lanka quarter-final had produced only 264 runs across both innings, and Ravi found swing and rattled Bangladesh with his 3 for 14 up top. He first broke through Mahfijul Islam’s defense before Iftakher Hossain cut a wide ball to backward point. Then, soon enough, Prantik Nawrose Nabil was walking back after edging an attempted drive that was going across him.From the other end, Rajvardhan Hangargekar troubled Bangladesh with his pace, his yorkers, and a mean short ball. Together, Ravi and Hangargekar strangled the run flow, aided by sharp fielding inside the circle.Left-arm spinner Ostwal then found grip off the surface and was rewarded when he had Ariful Islam nicking. Then he clean bowled Md Fahim as he attempted a reverse sweep. Aich Mollah, the No. 4, batted patiently for 47 balls to make 13 before he was run out. At this point, Bangladesh were tottering at 56 for 7.Meherob, the No. 8, offered a brief resistance by putting on a 50-run partnership with Ashiqur Zaman (16) to drag Bangladesh’s score into triple digits. But both fell in one over and Hangargekar then finished off the innings with a short ball.India lost Harnoor Singh for a duck, but Angkrish Raghuvanshi (44) and No. 3 Shaik Rasheed (26) consolidated by reining in their shots early on with Mondol and Zaman bowling full to induce them to drive.The longer they batted, the more Bangladesh erred, with boundaries a common fixture in the second half of their 70-run partnership. Raghuvanshi whipped boundaries off his hips, Rasheed played in the ‘V’, and both put away half-trackers offered by the spinners.Their stand effectively quashed whatever little hope Bangladesh had despite both falling in quick succession. Mondol returned to take three more wickets to finish with 4 for 31, but it was too little too late for the defending champions.Dhull, back into the XI after a Covid-enforced break (along with vice-captain Rasheed), remained unbeaten on 26 along with Kaushal Tambe (11*) as they he saw off what could’ve been a tricky final period of play. The match was sealed when Tambe hit a six over long-on.India now face Australia in the second semi-final on February 2. The first semi-final is on February 1 between England and Afghanistan.

Mumbai Indians bowling coach wants his team to exploit KL Rahul’s middle-overs sluggishness

Shashank Kishore30-Sep-2020Fast bowlers need to show adaptability – quickly – in the face of changing surfaces in the UAE as IPL 2020 progresses, according to Shane Bond, the Mumbai Indians bowling coach, who has been spending a lot of time with his bowling group as the team looks to rebound after two losses in their first three matches.”We have to adapt as quickly as we possibly can,” Bond said ahead of Thursday’s clash against Kings XI Punjab. “We have a simple theory: we try to bowl seven metres as a fast-bowling group, five metres as a spin-bowling group [from the batsman]. We practise those lengths consistently. Regardless of the pitch and conditions, if you are in those areas, you are in the right slots.”Bond insisted yorkers may not always be the most effective delivery in a given match situation. With the Mumbai Indians having played two games in Abu Dhabi, he feels short deliveries into the pitch, especially at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, which has bigger boundaries, could prove equally effective. In their previous game, Jasprit Bumrah went searching for yorkers at the death but missed his lengths and was dispatched for 14 runs off three balls by AB de Villiers. However, he was able to find the perfect length in the Super Over. When he later switched over to a short ball, de Villiers managed to find a top-edge that flew to the boundary to effectively seal the game. “It comes down to if you have to change your pace, go wide or straighter, depending on the pitch and conditions, the boundaries,” Bond explained. “So we talk about them. I think the yorker is one of the many balls fast bowlers have in their armory. Abu Dhabi has got big square boundaries and the pitches are on the slower side. So you could argue that a length ball or a slower bouncer is harder to hit for six rather than perhaps taking pitch out of play, miss your yorker and get hit back over your head.”It’s definitely not a ball that’s been just ruled out for us. I think you saw Bumrah bowl that at AB de Villiers but missed it and got hit for a couple of sixes. But he went back to it in the Super Over and executed it brilliantly. Look, it’s a tough ball to hit under pressure and also, if you miss that ball, the likelihood that it’s going get hit for a boundary back over your head goes higher.”Mumbai are big on match-ups. They meticulously look at past records, which batsman has fared well or has struggled against what kind of bowling. As he spoke of their plans for Thursday, Bond touched upon KL Rahul’s form and his past record – he scored 100 off 64 balls when the two sides met in Mumbai last year.”From our point of view, we have a whole range of different balls. We look at the batsmen and analyse where they score at the back of the game, what are their preferred zones,” Bond said. “And we try to make it as hard as we possibly can with an element of unpredictability, so that the batsman isn’t quite sure what length or line the bowler is bowling and has a field that gives the bowler options to bowl two or three different balls.”Bond stopped short of revealing Mumbai’s plans for their upcoming game, but identified shortcomings in the opposition line-up they could look to exploit. One such weakness is Rahul’s tendency to slow down against spin once he settles down.Among all the batsmen to have scored 100 or more runs against spin after the powerplay since IPL 2019, Rahul is the slowest to find the fence and has lowest boundary percentage of 35.30. In the record-breaking thriller between the Kings XI and the Rajasthan Royals, Rahul nearly batted through but his sluggishness against spin and in the middle overs was only covered up by Mayank Agarwal’s aggression as the latter brought up his maiden IPL century.”He has got runs against us in the last few games against us as well,” Bond acknowledged. “We know he’s a dynamic player who scores all around the ground. We also know that he takes his time generally through the middle overs, so that’s perhaps an opportunity if he gets that far to create that pressure on him and the batsmen around him. We will have specific ideas about how we’re going to get him out.”In the end, we can’t allow him to score in areas where he’s very strong. He scores well over extra cover, the pick-up over fine leg. We have a quality bowling unit, so we just have to put as much pressure on him and Mayank who have been the two key batters for Kings XI. If we can get those boys out early and put pressure on the middle order early, hopefully we can restrict them or stop them from scoring the runs we can get on the board.”

Offspinner’s 12-wicket haul sees Essex to an innings win and up to third in the table

David Hopps at Chelmsford17-Jun-2019The debate over whether Simon Harmer is the finest spin bowler in Essex’s history has sounded premature for a player contesting only his third Championship season, but the evidence is growing at a rapid rate. Twelve more wickets, at a cost of only 61 runs, dispensed of Hampshire before tea on the second day at Chelmsford. Harmer was irrepressible, but in considerable part that was because Hampshire were dire.No county can host a result within five sessions and feel entirely comfortable about the outcome and a post-match conversation between the Essex groundstaff and the ECB’s cricket liaison officer, Stuart Cummings, a former Rugby League referee, was inevitable, but there was no sense whatsoever that they saw anything too untoward about a surface that had also been used for a women’s ODI between England and the West Indies last Thursday.During that match, a West Indies player was reportedly sick on the pitch. Presumably on a length. For a spin bowler operating from the River End.Hampshire’s two innings spanned only 63.5 overs as Harmer rushed Essex towards victory as inexorably as a river flows to the sea. He is now the leading Championship wicket-taker with 42 and the Chelmsford pitches do encourage him, as did the rough created by Hampshire’s left-arm seamer Keith Barker.But as well as he bowled, Hampshire’s supposed Championship challenge – they began the round in second place – should surely be categorised under Fake News. They met Harmer with an air of defeatism disguised as counterattack. Even Harmer felt obliged to politely chastise them, saying: “There was turn and bounce with the new ball. They needed to be more patient before taking me on. When it flattened out it would have been easier.”Joe Weatherley, showing the circumspection Harmer advocated, batted through the second innings for 29 from 80 balls. The India international Ajinkya Rahane made a pair and lasted only three balls in the match, twice edging Jamie Porter to the wicketkeeper; decisive breakthroughs because he might have had the wherewithal to play Harmer with aplomb. As for Rilee Rossouw, he succumbed to two of the wildest slogs imaginable.Adi Birrell, Hampshire’s coach, summed things up fairly enough. “Harmer bowled fairly well but the ball wasn’t turning square, it wasn’t impossible to bat,” he said. “Joe Weatherley batted through. He applied himself and needed someone to bat through with him.”It is a painful and hurtful result. Hopefully it is a defeat in isolation. We can’t afford to let this affect us. It was a very bad two days.”Essex had begun the day on 147 for 3 but were themselves bowled out before lunch, as they lost seven wickets for 67 runs, seven to lbw decisions with Kyle Abbott the main recipient as he jagged the ball back sharply.Observe Harmer from behind the arm and he flows into the crease. Watch him from side-on, however, and he is a more unprepossessing sight. Dare it be suggested, his run is little more than a gentle waddle, but the snap of his fingers fills his action with energy.He was on by the fourth over, initially because pace bowler Sam Cook had limped from the field. In the time needed to sneak off for a cheap haircut close to the ground, Hampshire’s second innings had been snipped back. When Harmer is bowling, do not attempt this if you have a luxuriant head of hair.Facing a first-innings deficit of 96, Hampshire lost seven wickets for 32 in only 13.5 overs before finally coming to grief 15 minutes before tea. They were in danger of registering their lowest score against Essex – they made 54 at Southampton in 1931 – but at least that ignominy was avoided.Harmer began by having Sam Northeast stumped; advancing down the pitch he contrived to let the ball squeeze between bat and pad and his ponderous efforts to regain his ground allowed Adam Wheater enough time to stretch to his right to gather and complete the stumping.In the same over, Rossouw paddled his first ball for four then tried to slog over long-on and edged a simple catch into the off side. Aneurin Donald slog-swept a non-turning delivery to midwicket before Harmer took two wickets in his seventh over, having James Fuller lbw, leaving a ball that turned out of the footholds, and finding gentle turn as Barker, reaching forward, edged to first slip.Harmer rounded off the victory as Mason Crane was caught in circus-trick style with the edge running down Adam Wheater’s chest at which point he expertly volleyed it, left-footed, to forward short leg. Never criticise all those pre-match football kickabouts ever again.This was Harmer’s third 10-wicket haul for the county, and fourth of his first-class career. He has taken four five-wicket hauls in his six innings bowling at Chelmsford this year. Essex, who have comfortably won all three of their Specsavers County Championship at home, have moved within seven points of Hampshire, and boast a game in hand.If they beat the leaders Somerset at Chelmsford next week, they will begin to believe a repeat of their title triumph of 2017 is not beyond them. When Harmer has the ball in his hand, anything is possible, but surely Somerset will play him better than this.

The BCB announced the allrounder had sufficiently recovered from his finger injury and is expected to arrive in Colombo on Thursday

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Mar-2018Shakib Al Hasan will join the Bangladesh squad on Thursday, ahead of the final league match against Sri Lanka, the winner of which will progress to the final of the Nidahas Trophy. The BCB announced Shakib had recovered sufficiently from his little finger injury, and is expected to arrive in Colombo on Thursday afternoon.Shakib’s return will bolster the Bangladesh line-up, particularly the bowling attack which has looked threadbare in all three games. He will also take over the captaincy from Mahmudullah, who was filling in as T20I captain during the tournament.Shakib had hurt his finger during the January 27 tri-series final against Sri Lanka, after which he missed the Tests and ODIs against them at home. He also missed the Pakistan Super League, as well as the first three games in the Nidahas Trophy.During this time, he saw specialists in Thailand and Australia, before taking up gym and training sessions in Dhaka earlier this week.