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Australia’s cricketers departed for the West Indies with two abiding sensations: weariness and optimism

Daniel Brettig09-Mar-2012Australia’s cricketers departed for the West Indies with two abiding sensations. One was weariness, after a seemingly endless summer that will now have a Caribbean postscript. The other, more significantly, was optimism following a season in which a new team was forged, benefiting from new leadership, youthful selections, improved support staff, fresh ideas and renewed purpose.Leading them for the ODI portion of the Caribbean trip is Shane Watson, the allrounder fresher for the task than many team-mates due to the hamstring and calf injuries that kept him out of six home Test matches. Michael Clarke’s absence until the Tests due to back-related hamstring trouble is a measure of how draining the summer has been for the full-time leader’s body, and Watson said he was ready to bear a greater share of the leadership and performance load on tour.”I am very fresh after missing the majority of the summer so I am very excited to be able to go and continue to play a lot more cricket,” Watson said at Sydney Airport. “I have got through [the ODIs] and that is the most important thing.”A couple of months ago it probably seemed a long way off to be able to get through playing a few games back to back, I got through well and while I haven’t been able to get the runs I wanted, it has been nice to be able to contribute as much as I have with the ball.”The team Watson takes with him is vastly different from the one he left when injured in South Africa. Skills are tighter, plans better defined, relationships are more comfortable and confidence more robust. Watson noted the greater prevalence of centuries across the summer, in both Tests and ODIs – a trend he wishes to add to with his own contributions.”Little thing skills wise [have changed], seeing from afar how guys were able to turn even fifties into hundreds and really big hundreds that was something we hadn’t been able to do previously, not consistently anyway. Even through the one-dayers there were quite a few hundreds,” Watson said. “The catching improved and that is something we have been talking about as a group.”Also our bowling, our skills, you could just see our skills improved. Peter Siddle bowled extremely well through the Test series and that really does come down to the guys putting in the hard work but most importantly the coaches who are around our group have been challenging us in a good way.”I have seen even from afar how much some of the guys have improved having Craig McDermott there and we have seen the bowlers continue to improve and it is exciting to know that the right coaching and the right resources have been able to get the best out of our players.”Then there is the depth created by the emergence of players like Nathan Lyon, James Pattinson and latterly Peter Forrest. Another fresher face in the squad is that of George Bailey, who has been elevated to the Twenty20 captaincy on the strength of his leadership with Tasmania, but now has the chance to pursue middle-order batting posts in the longer forms.”It’s a very exciting time in Australian cricket,” Watson said. “To think even 12 months ago that things were being said that the depth in Australian cricket might not be that good, to actually see the guys who are coming through, Pat Cummins for example. To see guys like that actually be able to come into the team and perform straight away is an amazing thing because I know how hard it is stepping up to international cricket as a young guy.”James Pattinson has been brilliant, Nathan Lyon … to see these guys come in and perform straight away is a very exciting thing. To actually know that we’ve got some great depth now and in the future with a few other guys still on their way back from injury and also some guys who will continue to improve in domestic cricket to put pressure on the more senior guys.”Watson said he expected Pattinson to miss at least the first two ODIs as he recovered from a buttock strain, before resuming in the latter part of the series. The first match against the West Indies will take place on March 16.

A round-up of the fourth day of the eighth round of Division Two in the Quaid-E-Azam Trophy 2011-12

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Nov-2011Peshawar completed their seventh win in eight games this season, an innings-and-ten-runs hammering of Karachi Whites at the National Stadium in Karachi. Resuming their second innings at 43 for 1, still 156 runs adrift of Peshawar’s first-innings effort, Karachi had no answers to Sajjad Ahmed’s offbreaks. Behram Khan (64) was the only batsman to come to terms with the challenge before Sajjad’s return of 5 for 61 bowled out Karachi for 189 – 52 runs short of what they managed in the first dig, and ten short of making Peshawar bat again. The result gave Peshawar nine points, keeping them at the joint top spot along with Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited.Lahore Shalimar outlasted Multan by three wickets at the Multan Cricket Stadium in a low-scoring potboiler that swung one way and another. Resuming their second innings at 40 for 2 – 176 short of victory – Lahore were made to scrap every inch of the way by the Multan attack, led by Mohammad Zahid (3 for 65). Asif Yousuf scored a half-century from No.3, but it needed 40s from Khalid Bashir and Adnan Raza to haul their side towards safety from a precarious 126 for 4. Still, at 199 for 7, it was anybody’s game, but wicketkeeper Anayat Saeed took Shalimar home with an unbeaten 18 off 19 balls.Khurram Shehzad’s century and Usman Arshad’s 76 combined to give Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) a fluent seven-wicket win against Quetta at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Seamer Asad Ali set up the win with a burst of wickets early on the final day that reduced Quetta from their overnight 201 for 6 to 226 all out. Asad finished with a six-for, leaving his side with 195 to win the match. A sprightly new-ball spell from Arun Lal left SNGPL tottering at 19 for 3, before Arshad and Shehzad got together. The pair scored their runs at a fast clip, with Shehzad in particular fairly energetic, as he hammered 15 fours and a six off 111 balls. The winning runs came in the 47th over, putting SNGPL atop the table, alongside Peshawar.

A round-up of the fourth day’s play from the Ranji Trophy Plate semi-finals

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Dec-2011On a closely-fought and tense final day in Nagpur, Hyderabad qualified for the knockouts based on a better run-rate against hosts Vidarbha. Hyderabad began the day in a good position, at 216 for 3, but both teams would have entertained hopes of going through. The determination of Hyderabad’s batsmen won out in the end, and they batted out the day. Though they didn’t gain a first-innings lead, they also didn’t get bowled out and their score of 486 for 8 in 166 overs came at a rate of 2.92 an over, marginally more than Vidarbha’s 2.77 for their 531 in 191.1 overs.The stars for Hyderabad on the final day came from their middle and lower order. Arjun Yadav, unbeaten on 91 overnight, progressed to make 128 and his partner Bavanaka Sandeep finished with 78. The pair fell within 47 runs of each other, and at 297 for 5, Vidarbha had the upper hand and were in with a chance of bowling out Hyderabad. But the batsmen fought on.Syed Qadri contributed 99 and was run out, agonisingly, short of a century. In the company of wicketkeeper Ibrahim Khaleel, he added 130 for the sixth wicket and played a critical role in steering Hyderabad towards safety. The pair went about their work slowly, however, and things got difficult for Hyderabad when they lost Qadri, Khaleel and Mohammed Khader in quick succession. 427 for 5 became 449 for 8, and with more than five overs still left in the day, Vidarbha had regained control. But, on a day of twists and turns, Hyderabad prevailed. Batting at No.8, Pagadala Naidu made a quickfire, unbeaten 29, off 28 balls, and added an unbeaten 37 off 32 balls with No.10 Lalith Mohan, who made 17 in 19. The duo took Hyderabad to the close, at a rate superior to that of their opponents, and in to the knockouts.Maharashtra booked their place in the Ranji Trophy quarter-finals, qualifying to the knockout phase based on a first-innings lead against Himachal Pradesh in Pune. Having bowled out HP for 236 on the third day and stretched the lead to 215, Maharashtra went about continuing their dominance in the contest and batted out the final day.HP’s only hope would have been to trigger a dramatic collapse that would give them an outside chance of a win, but that didn’t happen. The opening combination of Harshad Khadiwale and Chirag Khurana led the way for Maharashtra, adding 166. Khadiwale’s had a quiet season thus far and his first century this Ranji Trophy should give him plenty of confidence heading into the knockouts. The only consolation for HP on the final day was a four-wicket haul for offspinner Gurvinder Singh. Maharashtra finished with 288 for 5 and sealed their place in the top eight.

Big-hitting Kevin O’Brien underlined his value to Gloucestershire by terrorising the Middlesex attack for the second time in a fortnight

13-Jul-2011
ScorecardBig-hitting Kevin O’Brien underlined his value to Gloucestershire by terrorising the Middlesex attack for the second time in a fortnight.Having smashed the Panthers bowling all around Uxbridge to post a match-winning 119 last month, he meted out further rough treatment, plundering an unbeaten 58 from 29 balls to propel the Gladiators to a welcome 25-run Friends Life t20 victory at Bristol and consign Middlesex to bottom place in the South Group.Veteran campaigner Chris Taylor also contributed a half-century as the Gladiators made 165 for 4 after being put in to bat, the highest score in any T20 game at the County Ground this season.It proved too big an ask for the Panthers, whose lack of touch and confidence was evident as they subsided to 140 for 7. Jamie Dalrymple and Dawid Malan gave the visitors brief hope in a third-wicket alliance of 52 in six overs, but Middlesex lost momentum after the latter was bowled by academy spin-bowling product Jack Taylor for 32.Shot out for a meagre 81 by Glamorgan Dragons in their last Bristol outing on Sunday, the Gladiators owed it to their supporters to put on a better show in this, their final home game of what has been a disappointing campaign.After the swift departure of Kane Williamson, Chris Taylor provided the innings with crucial early momentum, crashing 19 runs off Ryan McLaren’s first over and dominating a stand of 38 in four overs with New Zealander Hamish Marshall.England paceman Steve Finn beat Williamson for pace and Steven Crook had Marshall caught at short mid-wicket, but Taylor continued to score fluently in the face of some wayward bowling, accruing 50 from 33 balls and smiting seven fours and a six.Ian Cockbain offered Taylor valuable support, contributing 28 from 32 balls and playing the anchor role in a third-wicket partnership that yielded 46 runs and provided vital mid-innings momentum.Taylor was eventually stumped by John Simpson for 51 in the act of giving spinner Tom Smith the charge and Cockbain holed out to deep square-leg off McLaren, after which O’Brien took up the cudgels in thrilling fashion.The big Irishman proved especially severe on the hapless Crook, crashing 20 runs from three balls at the start of the final over, twice smashing him to the long-on boundary, then clubbing him for six over cover before swatting a no-ball over square leg for another maximum to make a mess of the seamer’s figures.Middlesex never recovered from the loss in the second over of captain Chris Rogers, the Australian edging a catch behind to give the impressive Ian Saxelby an early breakthrough.It was left to the experienced Dalrymple to carry the fight to Gloucestershire and he top-scored with 36 from 34 balls. But Ed Young ended any hopes of a Middlesex win, dismissing Tom Scollay and Dalrymple with successive deliveries in the 15th over to leave the visitors with a mountain to climb.

Marcus North compiled his first Sheffield Shield century since being axed from Australia’s Test side, as Western Australia frustrated New South Wales on the opening day in Sydney

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Mar-2011
ScorecardMarcus North was unbeaten on 136 at the end of the day•Getty ImagesMarcus North compiled his first Sheffield Shield century since being axed from Australia’s Test side, as Western Australia frustrated New South Wales on the opening day in Sydney. The Blues have secured a place in the final and beating Western Australia would give them a chance of hosting it, but North and Mitchell Marsh did their best to thwart that goal.North finished the day unbeaten on 136 and Marsh was on a career-best 89, as the Warriors reached 4 for 310 having taken the risk of choosing to bat on a grassy pitch in overcast conditions. It was a fine turnaround after they were 4 for 99, with the teenager Patrick Cummins having picked up two wickets in a New South Wales attack missing Stuart Clark, who had a heel injury.They fielded an inexperienced pace group, with the debutant Nic Bills taking 1 for 85 and Trent Copeland leading the attack. Copeland bowled a remarkable 22 overs in his opening spell, either side of the lunch break, but by stumps he had just one reward, the caught-behind wicket of Adam Voges for 1.There was plenty of young talent on display in the match with the Warriors’ teenage opening batsman Marcus Harris making 21 and their 20-year-old No.4 Tom Beaton posting 27. Under Mickey Arthur, Western Australia have had a bright second half to their season, with two wins from their past three games.

Jonathan Trott will not make it back in time for the fourth Test, so Ravi Bopara will have another opportunity in the England side at The Oval

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Aug-2011Jonathan Trott will not make it back in time for the fourth Test against India, so Ravi Bopara will have another opportunity in the England side at The Oval. England have named the same 13-man squad as they did for the Edgbaston Test, and Chris Tremlett is available for selection, leaving England with the dilemma of whether to replace the impressive Tim Bresnan.”Jonathan Trott is making steady progress in his rehabilitation from his ongoing shoulder injury but he requires further treatment and won’t be fit for the fourth and final Test match,” Geoff Miller, the England national selector, said. “As such Ravi Bopara retains his place in the squad.”Chris Tremlett is available for selection following continued treatment for his back injury and he and Steven Finn are included in a broader 13-man squad for the last Test match of the summer.”Trott sustained a shoulder injury while fielding on the second day of the Trent Bridge Test, and, though he batted at No. 7 in England’s second innings there, missed the third Test. Bopara was hopeful of securing the No. 6 spot for England this summer after choosing county cricket over the IPL, but the selectors favoured Eoin Morgan for the series against Sri Lanka and India. Bopara was handed a chance through Trott’s injury but did not make the most of it at Edgbaston, where Morgan scored a century.There is little at stake for England in the final Test as they have already sewn up both the series and the No. 1 ranking.England squad Andrew Strauss (capt), James Anderson, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Alastair Cook, Steven Finn, Eoin Morgan, Kevin Pietersen, Matt Prior, Graeme Swann, Chris Tremlett

Gary Putland and South Australia completed a memorable week in Melbourne with a four-wicket victory over Victoria in the domestic limited overs match at the MCG

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Nov-2012
Scorecard
Gary Putland and South Australia completed a memorable week in Melbourne with a four-wicket victory over Victoria in the domestic limited overs match at the MCG.Backing up from a match haul of 12 for 92 in SA’s Sheffield Shield win over the Bushrangers, Putland claimed another match award by claiming 4 for 44 as the hosts were restricted to 8 for 241.In reply, the Redbacks were given the perfect start by Michael Klinger and Phillip Hughes, the openers adding 164 before a collapse of 6 for 48 gave Victoria some hope of snatching the points.However the wicketkeeper Tim Ludeman and the captain Johan Botha rallied the chase to overhaul Victoria’s total with 22 balls to spare.Putland’s haul included the wicket of the Bushrangers’ top scorer Peter Handscomb, who was yorked after making an attractive 64.SA’s wobbles in the chase came via a combination of diligent bowling by Scott Boland and a series of ill-advised swings at short-pitched deliveries, offering a series of catches to the Victorian fielders before Ludeman and Botha settled the affair.

Pakistan allrounder Shahid Afridi was on song again as Hampshire surged to the top of the Friends Life t20 South Group with a 35-run win over Sussex at the Rose Bowl

27-Jun-2011
ScorecardPakistan allrounder Shahid Afridi was on song again as Hampshire surged to the top of the Friends Life t20 South Group with a 35-run win over Sussex at the Rose Bowl.Afridi opened the innings and hit 29 off 17 balls as Hampshire mustered 126 for 8 in their 20 overs, then took three quick wickets as Sussex collapsed from a position of authority.At one stage Sussex looked to be coasting at 52 for 1 in the seventh over, needing only another 75, but then collapsed against Afridi and Imran Tahir, the Pakistan-born South Africa spinner. Champions Hampshire seized on the breakthrough when Afridi had Lou Vincent caught in the deep at 52 and the rest followed, offering minimal resistance.Sussex lost their last nine wickets for 39 as Hampshire raced to their seventh win in 10 fixtures, placing them two points clear of nearest challengers Somerset and Sussex.When Hampshire batted they struggled against the spin of Monty Panesar and Ollie Rayner, with Afridi’s innings, which included two fours and two sixes, making him top scorer. Umar Gul and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan also took two wickets each at the death as Hampshire struggled to put a decent score together.Their cause looked lost despite Sussex losing opener Chris Nash at 20 but it all changed when Afridi came on to bowl. In his first over he dismissed Vincent and Luke Wright and Sussex never recovered.Murray Goodwin went in the next over to a catch at the wicket off Tahir and Sussex could find no way out of their spiral. Afridi bowled Ben Brown in his next over, then Danny Briggs got rid of Rayner to make Sussex a perilous 65 for 6.Tahir continued the Sussex destruction by dismissing Naved-ul-Hasan and Gul in the space of three deliveries in the 14th over and the match was over as a contest.Chris Liddle and Andy Hodd kept flickering Sussex hopes alive with a stand of 18 for the ninth wicket but Dominic Cork came on for the 18th over and wrapped up the innings by sending back Liddle to a smart catch by Briggs and Panesar first ball to have Sussex all out for 91.Hampshire’s victory came with 13 balls to spare as Afridi finished with figures of three for 10 from three overs. Tahir took 3 for 13 from his four-over allotment.

Scott Walter grabbed five wickets after Chris Swan did the early damage, but Queensland lost both openers to leave the game delicately poised

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Oct-2010Queensland 2 for 40 trail New South Wales 262 (Rohrer 69, Khawaja 60, Walter 5-63) by 222 runs
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Scott Walter built on the fine early work of Chris Swan•Getty ImagesScott Walter grabbed five wickets after Chris Swan did the early damage, but Queensland lost both openers to leave the game against New South Wales delicately poised. The Blues were dismissed for 262 late in the afternoon at the Gabba, with Walter capturing 5 for 63 and Swan collecting 4 for 56.The hosts’ good mood dimmed when they slipped to 2 for 40 at stumps. Wade Townsend (9) was caught at third slip off Mark Cameron, who also had Ryan Broad (10) lbw in an important spell.New South Wales chose to bat and were in early trouble after losing Phil Jaques and Phillip Hughes by the eighth over. Usman Khawaja prevented further damage with a composed half-century, but he fell caught behind to Swan for 60 shortly after Peter Forrest went the same way.Walter yorked Peter Nevill to leave the visitors 6 for 142 but Ben Rohrer and Scott Coyte reorganised them during a stand of 77. Rohrer moved to 69 before he top-edged Walter to give Chris Hartley his fourth catch of the innings.Walter had Scott Coyte (48) lbw with another yorker and finished off the innings by having Cameron caught behind for Hartley’s fifth dismissal. Nathan Hauritz, who is captaining in the absence of Stuart Clark and Moises Henriques, showed his muscle with two sixes in his unbeaten 23.

BCB chief Nazmul Hassan has said Bangladesh will only tour Pakistan if the security situation in the country improves

Mohammad Isam31-Dec-2012Bangladesh will only tour Pakistan if the security situation in the country improves, BCB chief Nazmul Hassan has said. Hassan, who addressed a press conference in Dhaka on Monday, was noncommittal on the issue, not saying ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to the proposed tour, but made it clear in various ways that the January visit is ruled out for the moment.”The ICC minutes have it that we have made an unconditional commitment to tour Pakistan. But there is concern among us about the country’s security situation, it has deteriorated. We don’t think it will be wise to visit Pakistan at this time,” Hassan said. “We have sent them [the PCB] a letter three days ago, telling them of our stance. We will again contact them when their security situation improves. And we will go in the future, because we are committed to go there.”Two months ago, Hassan had said that the BCB – without mentioning who in particular – had committed to tour Pakistan in an ICC meeting. But concerns remained in Bangladesh, and it was learnt that the players wanted full-proof security guarantees from all parties before heading to play the series.However, the PCB has begun its preparations for an impending tour. It has already placed a tender in one of Pakistan’s top newspapers, inviting sponsorship bids for a series title sponsor, two co-sponsors and in-stadia advertising rights for two international matches (one ODI and one T20). The PCB has also moved the domestic first-class Quaid-e-Azam matches, scheduled between January 7 and 22 away from the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore to accommodate the proposed matches against Bangladesh.Hassan’s comments came at an “exchange of views” programme on Monday, which the BCB had arranged to discuss some of the issues in Bangladesh cricket with the media. Hassan said the BCB was aware that putting the tour on hold could sour relations with the PCB. “It isn’t an easy decision for us. If we say we want to go, many people in the country will be hurt. If we don’t go, there will be repercussions,” he said. “We know the consequences, they may not want to send their players to the Bangladesh Premier League and our Dhaka leagues. They will probably not want to help us or support us.”The PCB had used the upcoming BPL as a bargaining chip ahead of the T20 league’s player auction on December 20: the Pakistan board had not handed out No-Objection Certificates to their players to play in the tournament, the understanding being they were waiting for an official announcement from the BCB, confirming that the proposed tour would go ahead.Several Pakistan players were however bought at the auction. The prominent ones among them included Umar Gul, Kamran Akmal, Abdul Razzaq, Mohammad Sami, Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal, Imran Nazir and Wahab Riaz, whose participation in the tournament is now unclear.The PCB and BCB have for some time now been discussing a short tour of Pakistan that would mark the return of top-flight international cricket to the country for the first time since the March 2009 attack on the Sri Lanka team bus in Lahore. A window had been created by the PCB to accommodate an ODI and T20 between January 10 and 15 ahead of the BPL, which starts from January 17. That window will now be missed.The BCB have a ‘written commitment’ to tour Pakistan and, earlier this month, Hassan had said that they were in the second phase of talks with the PCB about going ahead with the tour, as the first phase that dealt with security issues had been completed satisfactory.However, on December 22, Hassan said the tour was still unconfirmed, as the BCB was awaiting a security assessment to be conducted by the ICC.Bangladesh was all set to tour Pakistan in April 2012 after a deal had been cut between the two boards, by which the PCB would back the BCB president Mustafa Kamal as the nominee for the ICC vice-presidency and Bangladesh would tour Pakistan in 2012. However, the tour was postponed after a Dhaka court order embargoed the series. At the time, the ICC had introduced a special dispensation by which bilateral series can take place even if the ruling body determined it unsafe to appoint its officials for the series. As per the dispensation, such series could be manned by “non-neutral match officials”.