Fast bowler Sohail Tanvir and left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul claimed five wickets between them to help set up a seven-wicket victory for Guyana Amazon Warriors against Jamaica Tallawahs in a top-of-the-table clash at Providence on Thursday

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Jul-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsFast bowler Sohail Tanvir and left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul claimed five wickets between them to set up a seven-wicket victory for Guyana Amazon Warriors against Jamaica Tallawahs in a top-of-the-table clash at Providence. After skittling Tallawahs for 100 in 18 overs, Amazon Warriors got to the target with 12 balls to spare on a typically slow surface. Guyana now have three wins in three matches, having already beaten St Kitts & Nevis Patriots and Trinbago Knight Riders.Tanvir laid down the marker, having Chris Gayle, who smashed 108* in his previous match, lbw with an inswinger off the first ball he faced. Permaul then struck twice in two balls, in the fifth over, removing Kumar Sangakkara and Chadwick Walton. Tallawahs crawled to 29 for 3 at the end of the Powerplay, having scored only two boundaries during that period.Three boundaries then came in the space of eight balls as Rovman Powell and Shakib Al Hasan threatened a recovery. They lofted Australia legspinner Adam Zampa for sixes down the ground, after Powell had hit a four over Permaul’s head.But then Shakib holed out to deep midwicket off Permaul. Zampa also struck, undoing Nkrumah Bonner – who had come into the XI for Andre Russell – and Andre McCarthy for ducks to leave the visitors at 80 for 6. The lower order folded, and Powell was the ninth batsman to be dismissed, for 38. Barring Powell, only Shakib managed to pass 20.The chase wasn’t easy for Amazon Warriors. They fared worse in the Powerplay than Tallawahs, scoring 13 while losing captain Martin Guptill and Dwayne Smith to Pakistan left-arm spinner Imad Wasim, who finished with figures of 2 for 6. Chris Lynn and Jason Mohammed, however, settled Amazon Warriors with a 42-run partnership for the third wicket in 9.2 overs. The stand ended when Mohammed was pinned lbw for 22 by Shakib. The wicket hardly dented the hosts though, with Lynn and Anthony Bramble teeing off for 48 in 4.4 overs to seal the chase.Permaul bagged the Man-of-the-Match award for his career-best T20 figures of 3 for 20. After the game, he said he had focused on bowling a tight line. The two wickets that I picked up earlier really set up Jamaica and we kept bowling consistently, picking up wickets at the crucial stages of the game,” he said. “It is important to bowl wicket-to-wicket [in Providence]; we know the conditions very well. It [The pitch] is a bit two-paced and keeps low.”Amazon Warriors have a day’s break before taking on Patriots at home on Saturday, and Knight Riders on Sunday. Tallawahs have three days to regroup before facing Barbados Tridents in Bridgetown on Monday.

Sussex produced their best bowling performance of this season’s NatWest T20 Blast but are out of the competition after rain robbed them of victory against Glamorgan at Hove

ECB Reporters Network28-Jul-2016
ScorecardGeorge Garton (centre) impressed with four wickets in county colours•Getty Images

Sussex produced their best bowling performance of this season’s NatWest T20 Blast but are out of the competition after rain robbed them of victory against Glamorgan at Hove.Having dismissed Glamorgan for 101 in 13.2 overs, Sussex were 30 for 1 when the rain, which had reduced the contest to 14 overs a side, returned after four overs of their reply.The teams got back out for one more ball before it started to rain again and they were unable to return to bowl the five more deliveries which would have constituted a game. Umpires Peter Hartley and Steve Gale abandoned the game at 9.50pm with both sides taking one point each.As it was Essex’s win over Middlesex at Lord’s knocked Sussex out of contention for the knockout stages anyway.Chris Nash drove to cover in the second over of the reply but Sussex were ahead on Duckworth/Lewis when the rain returned.They will rue the fact that they might have had time to face the five more balls needed to constitute a match had they not had to bowl five extra deliveries because of no-balls in the Glamorgan innings.Star of the show for Sussex was 19-year-old left-armer George Garton who bowled superbly to take career-best figures of 4 for 16. Glamorgan only got as many as they did thanks to 26 extras and a last-wicket stand of 24 between Michael Hogan and Shaun Tait.A crowd of 6,500 were rewarded for their patience when the game started at 7.30pm as the Sussex quick bowlers relished a pitch with bounce and carry while too many Glamorgan batsmen gave their wickets away with loose shots.Garton came on in the fifth over with Glamorgan already in trouble. Tymal Mills first over consisted of ten deliveries and included seven no-balls and a wide but he finished it by inducing Mark Wallace to drive his slower delivery to extra cover and give Matt Machan the first of five catches, a new county record in the competition.Colin Ingram fell in identical fashion in Mills’ next over and David Lloyd was caught at cover having been squared up by Jofra Archer.Garton has Aneurin Donald brilliantly caught by Machan running around the deep mid-wicket boundary and in his next over Garton held an easy return catch when Graham Wagg mis-timed a pull. The 19-year-old then claimed two wickets in his final over as Andrew Salter was bowled heaving across the line and Timm van der Gugten caught at short fine leg.Skipper Jacques Rudolph joined the procession when he mis-timed a pull off leg-spinner Will Beer. At 62 for 8 Glamorgan were in a sorry state but their last two wickets did manage to add 39 runs before Chris Jordan had Craig Meschede and Tait both caught at mid-off by safe hands Machan.

A century from Jonathan Trott helped Warwickshire into the semi-finals of the Royal London One-Day Cup with a 70-run victory over Essex

George Dobell at Edgbaston17-Aug-2016
ScorecardJonathan Trott played an innings suited to a used pitch•Getty Images

A century from Jonathan Trott helped Warwickshire into the semi-finals of the Royal London One-Day Cup with a 70-run victory over Essex. They will play Somerset at Edgbaston over the Bank Holiday weekend with a Lord’s final the reward for the winner.Trott, with his third century in five innings in the competition this season (one of the other innings was 66 against Lancashire), laid the platform for a competitive total on a used pitch – this match was played on the surface used in the Test between England and Pakistan – before Laurie Evans provided some late impetus and Warwickshire’s three spinners strangled the Essex reply.It was the fourth time in the last three seasons that Warwickshire had defeated Essex in a limited-overs knock-out match and the second time in little more than a week that Essex had been knocked out in a quarter-final following their T20 loss against Nottinghamshire. Their dressing room door remained closed for some time after the result, though their season is not over. Promotion in the County Championship is still within their reach.This was, in many ways, an old-fashioned one-day match suiting Warwickshire’s old-fashioned template. While Warwickshire, and Trott in particular, may not be the best on the sort of pitches where 350 might be considered par, on these surfaces, where a total of 270 is decent, they are almost ideal.Plan A for Warwickshire involves Trott – it could be any of the top three, but realistically it is Trott – batting for the first 40 overs or so and providing the foundation of a competitive score before Evans – it could be any of the middle-order, but realistically it is Evans – thrashing the late runs required to take the total to the required level. Get either of them early and Warwickshire have to fall back on Plan B. It is far from certain that they have one.If it sounds familiar, it is because it is how England used to play their ODI cricket. It may be unfashionable now, but it is not so long since it took England to No. 1 in the world and the brink (on this very ground) of their first global ODI title.For a while, it seemed Warwickshire may struggle to set a competitive total. After settling in against the new balls – the easiest time to bat on this wicket – Warwickshire were forced to regroup once Sam Hain was beaten by a quicker one from Graham Napier (playing the final List A match of an outstanding career that really should have earned some T20I caps) and Ian Bell fell for a duck. Three successive overs brought just one run from the bat.Gradually, though, Tim Ambrose and Trott grew more comfortable. With Essex having only one full-time spinner in Ashar Zaidi and the offspin of Tom Westley in support, they were obliged to persist with their seamers on a surface offering them little and Warwickshire’s third-wicket pair added 136 in 26.4 overs. Trott, driving fluently, running quickly and reverse-sweeping well, completed his 13th List A century – a chanceless affair – for Warwickshire from 122 balls. Only Nick Knight, with 23, has scored more List A centuries for the club.The value of Trott’s contribution was highlighted after his dismissal from a leg-side wide. Just as they needed to accelerate, they were forced to rebuild, scoring just 14 runs from the start of the 43rd over to the end of the 46th.But Evans remained. Whatever his frustrations in red-ball cricket – he has requested his release from his Warwickshire contract due to his lack of first team opportunities in the Championship side – his remains an essential part of the club’s white-ball teams. Here he thrashed an unbeaten 70 from 53 balls, striking powerfully over midwicket and taking 14 in three balls (two fours and a six) from the penultimate over of the innings bowled by the unfortunate Napier.When Essex raced to 69 without loss in 12 overs, it looked as if they might coast to victory. Nick Browne, driving sweetly, hit the usually tight Rikki Clarke out of the attack, while Westley used Chris Woakes’ pace to his advantage with some lovely drives and late cuts.But the introduction of spin was always going to be crucial. And, after Browne was stumped off another leg-side wide, Warwickshire’s spinners utilised the conditions perfectly.If the highlight was a leg-break bowled out of the front of the hand by Jeetan Patel – it was the first time Trott had seen the offspinner bowl the delivery in a match and it certainly surprised Ravi Bopara, who sliced it to backward point – Warwickshire will have been equally pleased by the contribution of their two younger spinners.Josh Poysden claimed three wickets with his leg-breaks – “I bowled 60 leg-breaks today,” he said, “with some of them turning and some of them skidding on” – while Ateeq Javid provided two more with his waspish off-breaks: one with a leg-side wide; the other with a filthy full-toss that must have been perilously close to be called for no-ball on height.In all, Warwickshire’s trio of spinners claimed 8 for 108 in 24.1 overs. Poysden bowled just the one poor delivery in his entire spell – a long-hop that was pulled for six by the impressive Ryan ten Doeschate – and, while he doesn’t turn the ball a great deal, nor did Eric Hollies. And they named a stand after him.Bell deserves credit, too. While he failed with the bat, drawn into an edge as he attempted to guide one down to third man, he juggled his bowlers masterfully and challenged the Essex batsmen to attack his spinners by keeping fielders close to the bat. The crucial wicket of Jesse Ryder, who had scored two centuries and three half-centuries in the competition this season, was claimed when Bell urged Poysden to go round the wicket and bowl into the rough. The resulting leg-break turned through the gate as Ryder advanced down the pitch.This was a much-needed result for Warwickshire. Having failed to qualify from their T20 group and seem their Championship hopes gradually descend into a relegation battle, this competition provides the final chance to salvage some success from a disappointing season. Rumblings from around the club suggest change is in the air. Perhaps a Lord’s final might provoke a re-think.

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.

Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq has said that dew played a role in reducing the effectiveness of his bowling attack during the day-night Test in Dubai

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Oct-20163:06

‘A special win in our 400th Test’ – Misbah

Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq has said that dew played a role in reducing the effectiveness of his bowling attack during the day-night Test in Dubai because the dampness affected the pink ball’s ability to spin and reverse swing. He also said the pitch did not deteriorate as it usually does at the venue because the dew.The day-night fixture was Pakistan’s tenth Test in Dubai, where they have won six matches and drawn and lost two each. The 56-run victory against West Indies, who were dismissed with 12 overs remaining in their chase of 346, was Pakistan’s narrowest at the venue.The pattern of the game, which was only the second day-night Test, was in contrast to the first such fixture in Adelaide, where Australia beat New Zealand inside three days in a match dominated by bowlers. In contrast, Pakistan made 579 and 123 in Dubai, while West Indies made 357 and 289.”A bit of dew in the evening session was affecting the ball. With the sogginess, the ball was getting softer so different factors contributed and helped the batsmen score runs,” Misbah said after the Test. “Spinners and fast bowlers will get more help and reverse swing will also be there in the dry weather. But in the evening the pink ball was getting wet and the seam was swelling and it got softer.”The pitch was on the slower side, I don’t know why, but otherwise the Dubai pitch normally starts deteriorating after two days. But since the dew was helping the pitch bind again and it wasn’t breaking up at the same rate it used to. But in the end it was a good Test match, both teams played really well, and it’s good for the Test cricket.”West Indies began the final day needing 251 runs with eight wickets in hand. They lost Marlon Samuels off the first ball but Darren Bravo held the chase together. Misbah said he had nervous moments until Bravo was eventually dismissed for 116 in the final session, and rued his team’s fourth-day collapse for 123 that had let West Indies into the game.”It was tough for the team and for the captain,” Misbah said. “Certainly you were ahead of them for almost three and a half days but in one session you had given the advantage to the opposition. Maybe had we batted for another 15 overs, with 400 runs on board we could have got them out early.Misbah praised Bravo for his resilience. He batted 406 minutes in the fourth innings to take the game deep and Misbah was appreciative of how the West Indian batsman had played legspin.”The way he handled Yasir Shah, that was really something special. He [Yasir] was turning the ball from roughs but he [Bravo] showed good defence and attacked him at times,” Misbah said. “That was the main reason he neutralised Yasir for quite a long time but still Yasir managed to take wickets. Every passing ball was putting pressure but thankfully we managed to win the game. You should give credit to the opposition, they played really well and it was a good game in the end.”

India coach Anil Kumble was confident about KL Rahul’s fitness after the opener missed out the previous Test due to an injury picked up in Vishakapatnam

Sidharth Monga06-Dec-2016The most satisfying aspect of the 2-0 series lead for India will be that they haven’t always had their best XI available. They have played only one of the three Tests with first-choice openers. They lost their No. 1 wicketkeeper after the second Test, and the leading fast bowler has been fighting a niggle through the series. When they went into a week-long break, thanks to an early finish to the Mohali Test, India had a dodgy M Vijay added back to the catalogue.Two days before the Mumbai Test, though, India took to training with fewer doubts than they had in Mohali. KL Rahul, who took a blow on the arm when fielding in Visakhapatnam, was back in the nets, taking the first hit. Vijay looked in a better space as he had a long net session too. While Mohammed Shami didn’t train on Tuesday, India don’t have a major concern over him right now.

Kumble rejects Vengsarkar’s gym comment

A newspaper report quoting Dilip Vengsarkar as saying too much time in the gym is the reason behind the spate of injuries India are having to deal with has not left Anil Kumble impressed. Kumble invited Vengsarkar to have a chat with the support staff rather than make an uninformed assessment, and also pointed out that some of the injuries have come through impact of the hard cricket ball.
“The fitness parameters of the current Indian team is the best that it has ever been,” Kumble said. “I have played in the ’90s where fitness and strength conditioning was a personal choice and not a team choice. In the 2000s, the culture changed and you could see the difference. Now it is part and parcel of modern cricket. I am sure it is a personal opinion but as a coach, and also the current Indian coaching staff and the strength and conditioning coach, plus the physio, we are happy to sit and clarify because Dilip is someone whom we really respect and he also holds a very responsible position as the director of the National Cricket Academy.
“The injuries that we had are hamstring injuries, which are very common in any sport, not only cricket. Unfortunately, Hardik [Pandya] got injured in the nets when he got hit by a ball. Rahul got hit fielding at short leg, Vijay got hit when he was batting and so did Shikhar [Dhawan]. It is something that we have got to live with.”

India’s coach Anil Kumble addressed a press conference before the start of their training session at Wankhede Stadium, but he was confident about Rahul’s fitness. “I am sure Rahul will have a hit today and will be fine, let’s see how it goes,” Kumble said.Kumble did speak about managing Shami’s workload, though. “Workload is something that we monitor, especially Shami, because he came back after 18 months after being away from the game,” Kumble said. “It is not easy for any cricketer so that is something we are constantly monitoring. It is quite a challenge when you only have a three-to-four day gap between Test matches. And this series has gone till the last day so it is important that these guys are given enough breaks”Credit to the way Shami and Umesh [Yadav] have bowled, not just with the new ball but also the way they have been able to come back and bowl in the last hour of the day. Coming back in the third spell or probably sometimes the fourth spell, and rattling the batsmen and picking up wickets is something I am pleased about.”If Shami is indeed rested, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who took a five-for in his last Test, is not a bad replacement to be waiting in the wings. “It is not just the two of them [Shami and Umesh] but Bhuvi, Ishant [Sharma], all of them have contributed significantly,” Kumble said. “To have someone like Bhuvi and Ishant sitting out is a credit to the way Umesh and Shami have bowled.”Ishant won’t be available for this Test because he is getting married on December 9. A sign of India’s confidence in Shami’s fitness could be that they have not asked for a replacement for Ishant. In Mohali, India had four quicks in the squad because Shami was not a certain starter.The one compromise India will have to make is to go in without the first-choice wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha, but his replacement Parthiv Patel more than made up for Saha’s absence, especially by volunteering to open when Rahul aggravated his injury from Visakhapatnam. Kumble was all praise for his wicketkeeper for the Mumbai Test.”He came in as a 16 or 17-year-old and now – when he still looks 16 without the beard – he has showed a lot of maturity,” Kumble said. “He saved the [Trent Bridge] Test match for India. It certainly shows that if you are really putting in the hard yards in domestic cricket, never losing your faith and believing that you can come back into the Indian team, then it is possible.”I was really pleased that he could walk into the match and not just keep wicket and bat at six or seven but when he was asked to open, he put his hand up and did that really well. That goes to show not just the individual but the character of the player and to say – team comes above self. He was not worried about failing. When you are coming into the team, making a comeback after eight years, you always want to do well for yourself but here was Parthiv who was willing to put his hand up and said ‘I don’t mind opening’. And he did that really well.”If all goes to plan, India are set to make just the one change to the side that won in Mohali: Rahul coming in, Parthiv dropping down in the order, and Karun Nair being asked to wait for a longer run. India should continue with five bowlers because the pitch at Wankhede Stadium didn’t look exceptionally dry although it is expected to turn eventually, as Indian pitches are.

Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews has emphasised the need for his batsmen to give his bowlers a chance on the tour of South Africa by getting runs in tough conditions

Sa'adi Thawfeeq10-Dec-2016Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews has emphasised the need for his batsmen to give his bowlers a chance on the tour of South Africa by getting runs in tough conditions. Mathews said the team had been batting on granite to try and get used to extra bounce ahead of the three-Test series beginning on December 26.”With Dushmantha Chameera coming back into the team and young Vikum Sanjaya earning his spot, we have got a fairly decent pace attack which can put them under pressure, but we need to score runs as a batting unit,” Mathews said ahead of the team’s departure for South Africa. “It’s going to be our main challenge; the boys have worked extremely hard in the past few weeks.”Part of that hard work was facing deliveries coming off granite surfaces to try and mimic the conditions in South Africa. “The pace the boys are used to, it’s just the the bounce and the conditions that we need to get used to,” Mathews said. “We used a lot of granite stuff, especially the batters. When you use a piece of granite, the ball is coming on to you quicker. The granite is laid down on the pitch and you can throw the ball on it so that it comes on quicker.”We’ve done everything possible to try and counterattack the South African fast bowlers and get used to their conditions. We have about 12 days before we play our first Test on Boxing Day. We’ll try and use those days to the maximum so that we get things right.”Mathews was aiming to break the predominant trend in modern-day cricket, where teams struggle to win away from home. Sri Lanka won a Test series 2-0 in Zimbabwe in October and November but South Africa, who won 2-1 in Australia recently, are significantly tougher opponents. When Sri Lanka last toured South Africa, in 2011-12, they lost the three-Test series 1-2.”Most of the teams do well and win at home but struggle overseas. It happens to any team but we want to try and achieve some wins overseas and turn the tables,” Mathews said. “I am confident that my team can do it. We got a good combination where we have five fast bowlers, two experienced spinners and a solid batting order.”Sri Lanka’s batting was boosted by the return of Mathews, who recovered from a leg injury, and Dinesh Chandimal, whose broken hand had healed. They will slot into the middle order along with Kusal Mendis and Dhananjaya de Silva. Mathews hoped that his side would have stability, which he said was a reason for South Africa’s success.”Except for one or two changes, they are pretty much a settled team for the past four-five years,” Mathews said of South Africa. “They have been going with the same sort of players, maximum 20. They have managed a set combination and now the results are showing. The settled combination is the one that has led to their success today.”We are now doing the same, we talked about it a lot. The solution is not to chop and change but be patient with the players.”Sri Lanka have a three-day warm-up game in Potchefstroom before the first Test in Port Elizabeth from December 26. The second Test is in Cape Town from January 2 and the third in Johannesburg from January 12, after which the teams play three T20Is and five ODIs.

Following his record-breaking opening stand with David Warner, Travis Head is hoping to get more chances up the order

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Jan-2017Travis Head, who hit his maiden ODI century against Pakistan in the fifth ODI in Adelaide after being pushed up to open, hopes to get more chances at the top of the order.”As a batter I would love to bat as high as I possibly can, if there’s that opportunity as there was in this series,” Head, who put on 284 with David Warner, said after Australia’s 57-run win. This was the second time Head has opened in his young ODI career of 20 games. The first of those chances to open came in the first ODI of the series, in Brisbane, where he was out for a run-a-ball 39.”I got the opportunity at the Gabba and felt like I was in good form, but I wasn’t able to get a massive score,” he said. “I was very disappointed after that, then going back down the order, that I wasn’t able to capitalise.”So it was nice to get out there today, get first crack at it and get runs. But I’m happy to do the job wherever is needed in the side. I’m happy to go game by game and just be in the side. The preparation for the Champions Trophy, I think we’re playing the right brand at the end of this series. So wherever I fit, it’s fantastic.”With David Warner guaranteed to open, barring injuries, the search is on for a second opener for Australia leading up to the Champions Trophy in England in June. Usman Khawaja and Aaron Finch have been tried there. Khawaja opened in the middle three ODIs of the Pakistan series. Finch, who was dropped for the series against Pakistan, has been recalled for the Chappell-Hadlee series against New Zealand.Head too is part of the squad, and hopes to find himself among the runs to merit automatic selection. “I felt like I’ve been in good form in the series but I just haven’t been able to get a big score, and it’s probably been like that since I debuted,” he said. “It’s nice and satisfying to get runs, but the head moves quickly to New Zealand and try and back up the good form and keep the ball rolling.”Head said batting with Warner, who now has six tons in 11 ODIs and was battling a cold and later on fatigue in this game, made his job much easier. The pair set a new Australian ODI partnership record – beating the 260-run second-wicket stand between Warner and Steven Smith against Afghanistan in the 2015 World Cup. They missed the all-time ODI opening partnership record by two runs.”He [Warner] told me he was going for 200, so I don’t think his mind was set on coming off [due to health issues],” Head said. “He was pretty fatigued, we did a fair bit of running. But I don’t think that hindered him in any way, he just got on with the job. He was struggling a little bit but he was definitely focused on getting a few more runs. It’s easy at the other end – he makes it easy for me. He does it consistently, backing up massive scores and it’s another match-winning effort from him.”

The visibility of the pink ball when catching was a concern in the Plunket Shield, but Eden Park, the proposed venue for the day-night Test against England next year, was given a positive review

Andrew McGlashan09-Mar-2017The visibility of the pink ball when catching was one concern cited during the round of Plunket Shield matches played under lights in New Zealand this week but Eden Park, the proposed venue for the day-night Test against England next year, was given a positive review.The round of matches was designed to test the pink ball in New Zealand conditions ahead of rubber-stamping a floodlit Test against England next March. The weather had a significant impact with two days getting washed out in Auckland. Hamilton was also severely disrupted and only the match in Wellington had more than two innings.Legspinner Ish Sodhi, who claimed 7 for 107 against Central Districts at Seddon Park, said it was tricky judging distance in the field. “Catching under lights was very tough, the perception of the ball is different. I personally found it hard to figure out how far it was from my face whenever the ball was coming towards me. You think it’s a little bit further away than what it is and it gets to you a little bit quicker.”In that match Central Districts declared nine down during the night session on the opening day and then seamer Seth Rance ripped through Northern Districts under the lights. He had 4 for 6 by the close and finished with 6 for 31 in the rain-ruined contest. Henry Cooper, who faced Rance during that night-time spell, said that the visibility of the ball was fine but swing caused the problems.”It did swing around quite a bit,” Cooper said. “The pink ball wasn’t too tough to pick up; it was just the sort of swing that went on late last night. It was tricky to deal with and obviously we didn’t deal with it as good as we could have.”It did move around for our seamers at the start of the day as well. I think it was the night factor made it feel like it was maybe doing a little more than it possibly was.”Donovan Grobbelaar, the Auckland pace bowler who played in the Eden Park match, had no concerns about the conditions. “I had no problems [with visibility],” he said. “We found it pretty easy viewing. At Eden Park it’s got pretty exceptional lighting so it helps.”Michael Papps, the Wellington opener, scored New Zealand’s first pink ball century – beating Andrew Ellis to the mark by a few minutes – and said that while adjusting to conditions between the middle and last session was demanding, the ball itself behaved well.”The first two sessions were quite similar but the third session certainly did feel quite different, before went off for dinner there was still a lot of natural light but coming back out the lights had definitely kicked in and it took quite a bit of adjusting to the artificial lights. There might have been a bit of uncertainty with the pink ball but to be fair it’s played pretty well and hasn’t done out of ordinary.”Kane Williamson, the New Zealand captain, who played in the inaugural day-night Test in Australia recently said he was a supporter of innovation in the game but cautioned about there being to vast a difference between the conditions for day-night and traditional Tests.Eden Park and Seddon Park are the two likeliest venues for day-night Test cricket in New Zealand in the future although the Westpac Stadium in Wellington, which hosted its first first-class match in this round, and McLean Park in Napier could be options.”We believe this time of the year is the best time of the year,” David White, the NZC CEO, told ESPNcricinfo. “We are just going through that trial now to make sure. We’ll know more after this round but the most obvious thing is to see how the ball performs in New Zealand conditions and from a visibility point of view how it reacts. We played the first day-night Test in Australia so are very comfortable with the prospect but are just going through our due diligence.”The ground in Napier is currently undergoing extensive remedial work on the outfield after the abandoned ODI against Australia, which led to them losing the South Africa fixture, but White said there would not be a black mark against them in the future.”We’ve worked very close with the local authorities and they will invest a lot in the facilities. It is very important for us to have cricket throughout the country.”

Australia’s assistant coach David Saker has said that they were horrified when captain Steven Smith looked up to the dressing room for DRS advice during the Bengaluru Test, and said suggestions that the communication was systematically used are absurd

Brydon Coverdale09-Mar-2017Australia’s coaching staff was “horrified” when captain Steven Smith looked to the dressing room for advice on a review during the Bengaluru Test, assistant coach David Saker has said. Saker also described as “absurd” suggestions that Australia systematically used such forbidden communication between on-field and off-field personnel when deciding on whether to ask for reviews.After the heated final day in Bengaluru, India’s captain Virat Kohli claimed that he had seen Australia’s players look to the dressing room for review advice on two occasions earlier in the match, and was quick to object when Smith did so while batting. Smith later owned up to his mistake, calling it a “brain fade”, and the ICC has since confirmed that no sanctions would arise from the Test.Australia’s integrity has been vigorously defended by coach Darren Lehmann and Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland, while India spinner R Ashwin compared the Smith incident to something out of “an Under-10 game”, saying it was “completely unheard of”. But if the Smith incident surprised the Indians, Saker said it was equally jarring to the Australians.”It’s pretty much absurd,” Saker said of suggestions that Australia used such a communication system. “I think when actually Steven Smith did look up, we were more horrified than anyone else because we had never seen that before. We haven’t got any elaborate sign system, and when he did do that, it was quite a surprise to us. But that’s never happened to me anywhere in my time in cricket.”After the match, Smith said he had consulted his batting partner Peter Handscomb when given out lbw, and Handscomb had suggested Smith look to the dressing room for advice. Smith said that he did so was “a brain fade”, while Handscomb has since said that his own relative inexperience in using the DRS meant he had not known his suggestion to Smith was against the rules.”It’s still new in my international career, so I haven’t had a lot to do with the DRS and I’m now a lot more familiar with it,” Handscomb said. “Just completely unaware that you couldn’t do that. But now I know – I’ve been well and truly informed and just looking forward to moving on from this.”Although Kohli did not use the word “cheat” in his post-match press conference, the term has been used in the media following on from Kohli’s accusations. Saker said that while it hurt the Australians to be described in such a way – “you should have to back up what you say,” he said – they would aim to brush off the issue and focus on the third Test in Ranchi.”It’s really offensive,” Saker said. “Probably the worst thing you can be called is cheats. That’s an offensive thing and we have never done something like that and never will. We will rub it off, get on to Ranchi, and try and win there.”However, Saker said that while he was unaware of any team using signals from the dressing room to indicate whether a player should ask for a review, he conceded that the length of time allowed – players have 15 seconds from the ball becoming dead in which they are permitted to ask for a review – meant that it was not implausible.”I think the ICC might be looking at something, maybe shortening the time the captains are given,” Saker said. “Because there is a lot of time, that could actually happen if you wanted to do it. I’ve never seen it and I’ve never heard anybody ever talk about it until yesterday, so as I said, it’s nothing that we’ve ever done and I’ve never heard of.”The DRS controversy aside, the second Test was a disappointing one for Australia after they took a 1-0 series lead in Pune. They had also held the advantage after the first day in Bengaluru. Saker said that while the pitch made batting difficult, it had at least made for a fascinating Test match – though one that was difficult for Australia’s coaching staff to watch towards the end.”It was horrible being a coach,” he said. “I can only imagine how hard it was for the players. That was a seriously tense game and we can talk about the wicket probably wasn’t up to Test standard. But it made for a fantastic game of Test cricket, so you can argue it was up to Test standards.”