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A round-up of the fourth day’s play of the second-round matches of the Ranji Trophy Super League 2009-10

Cricinfo staff13-Nov-2009Group A

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There was to be no hundred for Dinesh Karthik, but Jay Desai shone bright for Gujarat with a well-compiled 108 against Tamil Nadu in Ahmedabad. Having secured first-innings points on the third day, Tamil Nadu finally declared on 419 for 8. Karthik, continuing from 77, could add only 11 to his overnight score, as the two Patels- Mehul and Niraj – finished with three wickets apiece. Desai got some quality batting practice in Gujarat’s second innings, hitting 17 fours and three sixes during his 166-ball stay, as they finished the day on 165 for 4.
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Fifties from captain VVS Laxman and Arjun Yadav helped Hyderabad to a point in their drawn match against Punjab in Mohali. Punjab declared on their overnight score on 307 for 9 as they went in search of full points. Hyderabad began solidly during the chase of 336, as openers Tirumalasetti Suman and Abhinav Kumar put on 71. Harmeet Singh and Manpreet Gony kept the pressure on the visitors with two wickets apiece, but the 97-run partnership between Laxman and Yadav proved to be defining one as Punjab, who threatened till tea, had to be content with the three points due to a first-innings lead.
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Zaheer Khan sped back to form with three wickets as Mumbai and Orissa ended with a point apiece at the Brabourne Stadium. However, left-arm spinner Iqbal Abdullah was Mumbai’s leading wicket-taker, as he accounted for four Orissa batsmen to leave them shaky at 243 for 8 at the end of the day. Beginning from their overnight score of 184 for 3, Mumbai captain Wasim Jaffer powered on from his century and finished with an unbeaten 165 as the defending champions declared on 307 for 4. If Bikas Pati (55) provided Orissa with a strong start during the reply, they were boosted further by crucial fifties from Niranjan Behera (78 not out) and Pravanjan Mullick (50) lower down. And they had done well after 81 overs to avoid any embarrassment.
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Only 19 overs could be managed at the Karnail Singh Stadium, as the Railways-Himachal Pradesh clash fizzled out to a draw. If bad light truncated proceedings the previous day, there was less joy on the final day as both teams had to be content with a point each.”The team as well as the players lost an opportunity, ” said the Himachal coach Rajdeep Kalsi.
“Still, I think we have the ability to finish within the top three and we will put up good performances in forthcoming matches to achieve that.”The result left Railways captain Murali Kartik disappointed but full of encouragement for his team-mates. “Unfortunately, nature conspired and there is little you can do about it,” he said. “But, we did everything right in this match. As a unit we played well.”

Group A

Group B

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Baroda were content with first-innings points as their batsmen made merry against Bengal at the Eden Gardens. Resuming on 58 for 1, Baroda rode high on Satyajit Parab’s classy 154. The right-hander smashed 20 fours and two sixes as the Bengal bowlers failed to make inroads. Fifties from Jacob Martin and Yusuf Pathan did not help their cause as the visitors looked intent on batting Bengal out of the match. Pinal Shah capped off the innings with an unbeaten half-century as they eventually ended on 458 for 8.
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Chirag Pathak’s half-century at the top of the order proved crucial as Saurashtra held on for a point against Uttar Pradesh in Rajkot. Resuming on 72 for 3, UP might have left it a little too late when they declared on 148 for 9. Set a target of 277 to get in around 66 overs, Saurashtra took the cautious approach with Pathak and Bhushan Chauhan putting on 70 for the opening wicket. Even as Shalabh Srivastava and Shivakant Shukla did their best to turn the tide the visitors’ way, with two and three wickets respectively, the Saurashtra batsmen battled bravely for the draw.
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Bad light intervened to cut short what seemed a cracker of a match between Delhi and Karnataka at the Roshanara Club ground on Friday. Play began 106 minutes late on the final day and Sreenath Aravind picked up a five-for as Delhi’s last-wicket stand could add 22 to their overnight score of 255. Set 172 to win, Karnataka were on the backfoot as the Delhi seamers left them wobbling at 60 for 4. But Manish Pandey and wicketkeeper Thilak Naidu led the revival with a sixth-wicket stand of 46, with Pandey firing a quick half-century that included a belligerent six off debutant seamer Pawan Suyal.However, Naidu’s run-out for a 23-ball 22 was followed by Pandey being dismissed in similar fashion, and that left Balachandra Akhil and R Vinay Kumar to see Karnataka through. They chose safety first, batting smartly towards the target, but then bad light struck. The umpires, Kamlesh Sharma and Vilas Karhadkar, stepped in to call off play and the two captains agreed, with Karnataka needing 23 runs from 19 overs. The draw fetched Delhi a point and Karnataka three.

Group B

Anyone expecting West Indies to meekly surrender to the Australians this series clearly hadn’t counted on 21-year-old Kemar Roach

Alex Brown at the Gabba26-Nov-2009Kemar Roach’s Test career consists of a pair of defeats to Bangladesh, but his confidence clearly remains undiminished. After his first day’s play as a member of a full-strength West Indian squad, Roach spoke openly of exploiting Ricky Ponting’s weaknesses, his desire to claim the final five Australian wickets for under 30 runs on Friday and his unflinching belief that the tourists can win the Gabba Test.Anyone expecting West Indies to meekly surrender to the Australians this series clearly hadn’t counted on the 21-year-old Bajan quick. In 16 overs of lively pace bowling, Roach terrorised Ponting – striking him a painful blow to the groin, rapping him on the pads with a delivery that, if sent for review, would have resulted in a wicket – before eventually dismissing the Australian captain with the ball of the day. And all at a top speed touching 150 kmh.Such was his determination, few would have bet against Ponting converting his half-century into triple figures. Eight boundaries and a six had cannoned off his blade in the first session but Roach responded with a brisk and disciplined spell after lunch to rein him in. Then came the moment: a fuller, straighter delivery that drew Ponting into a push around his off stump. The ball flew off the edge and came to rest in the gloves of Denesh Ramdin, drawing West Indies back into the contest and providing Roach with a career highlight.Asked about his dismissal of Ponting, the third highest run-scorer in Test history, Roach appeared decidedly unfazed. “We all know what Ricky’s weakness is and I tried to exploit that,” he said. “Today it worked.”The hubris didn’t stop there. Pressed on what total he expected Australia to be dismissed for, Roach hardly needed a calculator. “Right now they’re 322, so I would say 350 at the most they will score.” Quizzed further about whether West Indies had a chance of winning the match, he momentarily bristled. “Of course,” Roach continued. “We’re always confident. We didn’t just come here to play cricket, we came here to win.”Roach’s supreme confidence will prove a welcome addition to a West Indian bowling unit struggling to come to terms with the absence of Fidel Edwards and, as of Thursday, contending with a left hip injury to Jerome Taylor. Taylor did not take the second new ball in the final session, but is expected to play a full part in the match.If not for several missed opportunities in the field, West Indies’ bowlers might well have claimed more than five wickets on the day. Roach, perhaps unsurprisingly, was confident those sins will be corrected on Friday. “I’m pretty satisifed,” he said. “The guys put in a lot of work and had a pretty good day. We had some chances, but we pulled through nicely and to claim five wickets was good.”It’s very important [to claim an early wicket] because [Marcus North and Brad Haddin] are the last pair of recognised batsmen. Once we get that wicket we can try to get the guys out in the next hour or so and get our guys in batting.”

Aaron Bird, the New South Wales fast bowler, has once again been reported for a dubious bowling action less than a year after being suspended for throwing

Cricinfo staff11-Jan-2010Aaron Bird, the New South Wales fast bowler, has once again been reported for a dubious bowling action less than a year after being suspended for throwing. Bird was mentioned by the umpires during the Blues’ Twenty20 match at the WACA last Tuesday and must have his action analysed at the AIS in Canberra within three weeks.Although Bird can keep playing for New South Wales until the tests take place, it is a setback after he was banned for an illegal action last February. Not all of his deliveries were within the 15-degree range of allowable elbow extension, although further biomechanical analysis later in 2009 gave Bird the all-clear and he was allowed to resume his career.However, last summer was not the first time Bird’s action had been under the spotlight – he was also reported in December 2006. Stress fractures in his back delayed the testing until the middle of 2007, when he was cleared.

South Africa has decided not to tour Pakistan later this year for a series of three Tests, five ODIs and a Twenty20 over security fears, but the Pakistan Cricket Board has offered to host the series in the UAE

Cricinfo staff23-Jan-2010South Africa has decided not to tour Pakistan later this year for a series of three Tests, five ODIs and a Twenty20 over security fears, but the Pakistan Cricket Board has offered to host the series in the UAE.Ijaz Butt, the PCB chairman, said that South Africa’s cricket board had offered to play the matches in South Africa, but that proposal was turned down by Pakistan because it wasn’t cost effective.”South Africa were supposed to tour, but because of their security fears they declined to come and that’s why we have offered them to play this full series of Tests, one-dayers and a Twenty20 (in October and November) at the neutral venue of the Emirates,” Butt told AFP.”If we play the series in South Africa, it would have incurred losses to us, so we hope they will agree to our proposal.”Pakistan only recently played a ‘home series’ against New Zealand in New Zealand, squaring the three Tests 1-1. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have regularly hosted one-dayers and Twenty20s involving Pakistan in the recent past after teams refused to tour Pakistan due to the volatile political and security situation in the country. The Sri Lankans were caught in the crossfire when their team bus was attacked in Lahore last March during a Test match. That incident further jeopardised Pakistan’s prospects of hosting international teams and the ICC responded by stripping Pakistan’s hosting rights in the 2011 World Cup.Pakistan’s next Test assignment is in England where they play Australia, another series shifted out of Pakistan over security fears. They are scheduled to play four Tests against England on the same tour.

Shane Watson is the favourite among his team-mates for the Allan Border Medal after a spectacular home summer

Peter English14-Feb-2010Shane Watson is the favourite among his team-mates for the Allan Border Medal after a spectacular home summer. Watson didn’t join the Test side until the middle of the Ashes series, but it hasn’t stopped Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey from tipping him for Australia’s prestigious prize at tonight’s ceremony in Melbourne.Michael Clarke and Mitchell Johnson, who would become the third bowler to win in the 11 years of the award, are the other major contenders. “If you read the paper Watto can’t be beaten and is a $1.30 favourite,” Ponting, who shared the honour with Clarke last year, said. “I thought it would be Watto, Pup or Mitch.”Watson has been strong since his return to the Test team in Edgbaston and has also contributed heavily in the one-day team, while Clarke has been consistent and Johnson has had patches of brilliance sprinkled with deep troughs. “For me, Shane Watson is the favourite,” Hussey said. “He’s only played half the games, but I think in those games he’s probably polled very well.”Mitchell Johnson has been outstanding really, I think he’ll vote consistently through the whole course of the year, but having said that there’s only been two fast bowlers [Brett Lee and Glenn McGrath] that have won the award, I don’t know whether that’s a trend. Michael Clarke, his Test form over the course of the year has been fantastic and will probably poll well, and I’m sure he’ll pick up votes in the one-dayers as well. So he might be the one to come in and sweep past both them.”

David Houghton believes Zimbabwe should be back on the Test scene by the end of the year after improvements on and off the field in recent times

Cricinfo staff24-Feb-2010David Houghton, the former Zimbabwe captain who is now a consultant with the team, believes the side should be back on the Test scene by the end of the year after improvements on and off the field in recent times.Zimbabwe Cricket has laid out an 18-month plan for a return to the top flight – after Zimbabwe took a self-imposed exile in 2005 when it became clear they couldn’t field a competitive team – but as the squad arrived in Trinidad for their short tour of West Indies, Houghton said the comeback could happen more quickly.”I personally think that we should be playing Test cricket again by the end of the year,” said Houghton. “We have been playing one-day cricket, but you cannot judge a team on one-day cricket.”Since I returned to Zimbabwe four-and-a-half months ago, things have improved with their cricket. They have a very good franchise system going in their domestic tournament, and it is helping the game back home.”Zimbabwe recently appointed Alan Butcher as their new coach but Houghton will oversee the early part of the tour before Butcher joins up with the squad midway through the tour. Houghton isn’t expecting miracles from the team, despite West Indies’ winless tour of Australia, but knows how important it is that they are competitive to show a Test-match return should be considered.”We have a young team that is talented, and we are hoping to win, but more importantly we want to be competitive with West Indies,” he said. “We have some very talented players in the Zimbabwe team and they are ready for a good battle.”West Indies were blasted out by really quick bowling in Australia. We offer them a different attack, so West Indies losing in Australia is not really that important to this series.”Alongside Butcher the new coaching structure will be made up of former players Heath Streak and Grant Flower. “This is an important tour for us and the world is looking at Zimbabwe cricket in terms of our progress,” said Streak. “We have got to start winning matches and our goal is to get back into Test cricket in a year-and-a-half. The guys are working very hard at this, and this tour is very important in this regard.”Zimbabwe open the tour with a 50-over match against a University of the West Indies Vice-Chancellor’s XI on Friday before the Twenty20 international on Sunday. The one-day series then begins in Guyana next Thursday.

New Zealand dismissed their highly-fancied opponents for 231 and then finished at 19 for 1 as they dream of levelling the two-game series

The Bulletin by Peter English26-Mar-2010New Zealand 19 for 1 trail Australia 231 (Katich 88, Vettori 4-36, Southee 4-61) by 212 runs

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Daniel Vettori had plenty to cheer on the opening day•Getty Images

Daniel Vettori experienced the perfect start to his 100th Test after taking four wickets, running out Ricky Ponting and watching his side ruffle Australia. New Zealand dismissed their highly-fancied opponents for 231 and then finished at 19 for 1 as they dream of levelling the two-game series.Tim Southee accepted extra responsibility to back up his captain after the hosts picked two spinners and he provided a clever performance with 4 for 61. But the star was Vettori, who earned more worthy plaudits in a praise-heavy week, with 4 for 36 off 19.3 overs.New Zealand benefited from a series of errors from the most qualified Australian batsmen and then swept through the lower order in an unusual performance from the visitors. Simon Katich tried to hold the side together with 88, but when he fell two overs before tea, popping a catch off Vettori to short leg, his side was 180 for 5.After the interval the wickets continued to spill, with New Zealand at one stage capturing three breakthroughs in eight balls. Southee, who had already dismissed Shane Watson (12) and Michael Hussey (22), was on a hat-trick after Brad Haddin popped a simple caught-and-bowled chance from the last ball of his 16th over and he followed up by having Marcus North lbw for 9. In between Southee’s blows, Vettori had watched Mitchell Johnson push a catch to bat pad.Ryan Harris wasn’t bothered by the prospect of being the third departure in a row and flicked a four to midwicket. However, Harris soon became Vettori’s victim, lbw playing back on 10, and when the captain bowled Doug Bollinger Australia had lost 7 for 59. There was some help for the bowlers from the surface but not much bounce, and it wasn’t to blame for the situation.Vettori was disappointed to lose the toss but his mood improved with each Australian wicket and by the end of the day he didn’t want anything altered. Well, he would have wished Tim McIntosh defended to Doug Bollinger in the opening over of the reply instead of shouldering arms and being bowled. But when BJ Watling (6) and Mathew Sinclair, who was 8 in his first Test innings in two years, made it stumps it became a minor blemish.The touring batsmen were over-generous and probably complacent after their dominant 10-wicket win in Wellington, but they now face a fight to sweep the two-match series. Watson, Ponting and Michael Clarke were wasteful with their wickets while Hussey, Katich and Haddin were heavily at fault in their exits. New Zealand welcomed all the lapses and Southee was the pick of the fast men as he moved the ball in the air and off the pitch.In the morning Southee was lucky Watson (12) was in an overly aggressive mood, with the batsman’s adventurous pull ending in a catch at mid-on for Brent Arnel. In the middle session Hussey left after a similar departure to last week in Wellington, driving at a wider offering from Southee and being caught behind.Vettori is celebrating his milestone on his home ground and was originally hoping to bowl in the fourth innings, but was forced instead to bring himself on in the 13th over. There was turn from his first delivery and he was responsible for slowing Australia with his impressive control, allowing less than two runs an over and only three fours.Katich had been in charge of steadying the situation until he popped a strangely simple catch to Watling to give Vettori his first success. Mostly Katich was watchful and industrious, chipping and flicking his score along, and he brought up his half-century with a glance for four.Jeetan Patel, the offspinner, kept busy and gained the wicket of Clarke (28), who was caught at long-on after misjudging an attempt to clear the rope. Arnel had a mixed return and started well, but he delivered the most eventful over of the day, which contained four fours, a single and a failed referral from an lbw appeal against Hussey.Ponting knew the situation would be difficult after winning the toss, but did not expect such severe damage. He was run-out for the second time in two Tests after risking a single to Vettori at mid-off and was beaten by the direct hit. It was the 13th time Ponting had been dismissed that way, making him the most run-out batsman in Tests. It is not the sort of record Ponting craves, but he will be more concerned by his side’s predicament.

Hampshire were undermined by a spell of sustained hostility from Liam Plunkett
after Michael Carberry made a superb century in an opening stand of 183

21-Apr-2010

ScorecardMichael Carberry led Hampshire’s innings with a positive hundred•Getty Images

Hampshire were undermined by a spell of sustained hostility from Liam Plunkett
after Michael Carberry made a superb century in an opening stand of 183.As in Durham’s opening match against Essex, Plunkett began poorly but improved
in his third spell to take three of the wickets as the visitors subsided to
close the first day of the County Championship Division One match on 298 for 8.Plunkett did well to extract some life from another placid Riverside pitch, on
which Carberry and fellow left-hander Jimmy Adams looked totally at ease after
Nic Pothas chose to bat on a cold, bright day.With Steve Harmison and Graham Onions both still absent with back injuries, the
Durham seamers struggled early on and left-arm spinner Ian Blackwell was on as
early as 22nd over. But Carberry swept him for four then advanced to drive
another glorious boundary through extra cover.Adams glanced and pulled Plunkett for two leg-side fours as his first five-over
spell cost 29 runs and it needed a touch of beginner’s luck for Durham to make
the breakthrough.After remaining wicketless on his championship debut last week, England Under-19 all-rounder Ben Stokes struck with his first ball of the day.It was short and wide of off-stump, but Carberry cut it straight to backward point, where Plunkett held a sharp, low catch.It had all begun to look a little too easy for Carberry. After reaching 50 off
87 balls, he needed only 53 more to complete his century with 15 fours and a
six. But it was no surprise when he was out as he had begun to look a little
carefree.Three overs later the more circumspect Adams shaped to drive Plunkett but
seemed to check the stroke and got an inside edge to be well caught by Phil
Mustard for 68.South African Neil McKenzie looked totally at ease in reaching 30, but then
shaped to drive Blackwell and edged to slip. The left-arm spinner had a second wicket when Chris Benham aimed to turn him through midwicket and fell lbw, also for 30.In the final session Plunkett induced an inside edge into James Vince’s
leg-stump and after dropping Sean Ervine at gully off Mitch Claydon he quickly
made amends by claiming the wicket himself.Ervine followed a ball leaving him on off-stump to be caught behind, and three
wickets had gone down on 284 when Claydon had James Tomlinson lbw immediately
after Pothas suffered the same fate.

Mark Ramprakash scored the 110th first-class hundred of his prolific career to give Surrey the upper hand as they finished on 286 for 4

Cricinfo staff17-May-2010
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Mark Ramprakash was the mainstay of Surrey’s first innings with his 110th first-class hundred•PA Photos

Mark Ramprakash scored the 110th first-class hundred of his prolific career to give Surrey the upper hand as they finished on 286 for 4 after a hard-fought first day of their County Championship game against Middlesex at The Oval.Ramprakash, who finished the day on a chanceless 125 not out, has an impressive record against Middlesex, the county he left following the 2000 summer after 14 seasons. This was his 14th first-class innings against them for Surrey – he now totals 1,183 runs against them at an average of 118.30, with five centuries.At The Oval, too, his run-scoring has been the stuff of legend throughout his career for Middlesex, Surrey and England. He now has 31 first-class tons on the ground, and he averages well over 70 here across his 24-year senior career.Surrey really needed this latest Ramprakash effort, too, as they began this
match stuck at rock bottom of the table. Middlesex, who began the season with four successive defeats but are now in mid-table after successive wins, will have come to The Oval with a real desire to add the scalp of their suffering local rivals.A flat pitch greeted them, though, and Surrey captain Rory Hamilton-Brown had no hesitation in opting to bat first when he won the toss. But the early wicket of Laurie Evans, bowled through the gate by a Tim Murtagh
break-back, gave Middlesex hope of embarrassing the home side with the new
ball.A mid-morning shower and a half-hour break for rain also enabled Murtagh and the dangerous Steven Finn to bowl, in effect, two separate opening spells and before lunch it was simply a case of Ramprakash and Arun Harinath making sure they occupied the crease and blunted the impressive Middlesex pace attack.At the lunch interval Surrey had scored only 46 for 1 from 24 overs, but
Ramprakash began to play some strokes in the afternoon and even the defensive Harinath opened up with two superb offside fours against Shaun Udal’s offspin.On 39, however, Harinath edged behind attempting to force Udal square and
Hamilton-Brown came in at number four to help Ramprakash take the game to the Middlesex bowlers.Hamilton-Brown completed a feisty 55 from 60 balls, with nine fours, before
skying an attempted big hit at Udal to deep mid-on but Ramprakash remained and was joined in a further sizeable partnership by Usman Afzaal.Ramprakash and Hamilton-Brown had added 86 in 22 overs for the third wicket, but he and Afzaal put on another 99 in 32 overs before Afzaal, on 42, drove the last ball of the day – from Udal – into mid-off’s hands. It was a foolish shot, especially as the pair had just seen off eight overs of the second new ball.By the close Ramprakash, who had completed his hundred from 222 balls with 13 fours, had batted for 344 minutes. After reaching three figures after a 20-minute wait on 99, he hit Udal high over long-on for six and had also hit 15 fours in total.

Graeme White’s first five-wicket haul took Nottinghamshire up to second place in the Clydesdale Bank 40 Group C as Scotland suffered a second defeat in as many days in Edinburgh

Cricinfo staff23-May-2010
Scorecard
Graeme White’s first five-wicket haul took Nottinghamshire up to second place in the Clydesdale Bank 40 Group C as Scotland suffered a second defeat in as many days in Edinburgh. Half-centuries from Alex Hales (69), the recalled Matt Wood (60) and former England allrounder Samit Patel (61) set Championship leaders Nottinghamshire up for a big total of 256 for 6 after they won the toss at the Grange. Scotland were 213 all out in 35.3 overs in reply, to lose by 43 runs.Thrashed by Kent by nine wickets yesterday, the home side got off to a flying start chasing down Notts’ total and were keeping pace with the run rate until left-arm spinner White (5 for 35) intervened with four wickets in less than eight overs.Home captain Gavin Hamilton (42) was the first to fall in the 13th over when he was caught and bowled by the 23-year-old after helping his side reach 83 without loss. George Bailey (12) followed in identical fashion in the 19th over, with White striking again four balls later when he had 18-year-old debutant Freddie Coleman caught behind by former England wicketkeeper Chris Read.Former Scotland captain Ryan Watson was White’s final caught-and-bowled victim, departing in the 20th over having struck 48. The home side had fallen well below the required run rate and continued to ship wickets as they attempted to up the pace.Neil McCallum made 19 before being removed by Steven Mullaney and Majid Haq contributed just six, falling to Andy Carter (1 for 28). Richie Berrington, batting at No. 5, was providing decent, if futile, resistance as he edged towards a half-century.But batting partners continued to desert him, keeper Marc Petrie (6)succumbing to Paul Franks, Gordon Drummond (1) undone by returning England World Twenty20 hero Ryan Sidebottom and Goudie (11) by Mullaney. Berrington, who top-scored with 54, was last to fall when he was stumped by Read off White.Notts’ 250-plus total was down to a real team effort with the bat but Hales was the star with nine fours and a six in his 51-ball innings. His was the second wicket to fall in the 18th over after fellow opener Neil Edwards departed for 11 inside seven overs.Their scalps were claimed by Drummond and Ross Lyons, respectively, but Goudie proved Scotland’s star with the ball, taking three of the next four Notts wickets to finish with 3 for 56. His victims included Wood, former England international Ali Brown (4) and Mullaney (23). Captain Read was unbeaten on 22 alongside Franks (1).