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Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s cool head saw Derbyshire to a six-wicket LV=County Championship win over Gloucestershire after a see-saw contest at Cheltenham

Press Association17-Jul-2014
ScorecardBilly Godleman gave Derbyshire’s chase the ideal base•Getty ImagesShivnarine Chanderpaul’s cool head saw Derbyshire to a six-wicket LV=County Championship win over Gloucestershire after a see-saw contest at Cheltenham.The experienced West Indian was unbeaten on 52 as his side reached their last-day target of 204 to win on a pitch that offered some assistance to the bowlers throughout.Gloucestershire had been bowled out for 219 in their second innings from an overnight position of 137 for 5. Hamish Marshall was the last man out for 71 as left-arm spinner David Wainwright claimed three wickets.It looked a testing enough target for Derbyshire with the wicket showing signs of wear, but Billy Godleman and Ben Slater eased any nerves with an opening stand of 81.When both fell in quick succession the outcome was still in doubt. But skipper Wayne Madsen helped steady things with a solid 35 and Wes Durston stroked an attractive 27 off 19 balls before Chanderpaul ensured there were no late alarms.As Durston acknowledged: “Shiv has been in that sort of situation so many times in his career and is the perfect guy to have batting for you.”We needed him to be solid at one end and that enabled me to be positive at a time when there might have been a few nerves in the dressing room.”Derbyshire took 22 points to Gloucestershire’s four from a game that provided some compelling entertainment for a Festival crowd, who basked in unbroken last-day sunshine.The home side began with hopes that 200-plus would be defendable and looked set to build a bigger lead than that when Marshall and nightwatchman Tom Smith advanced the score to 176 before Smith was run out for 33 by Slater at short-leg as he slipped having advanced down the pitch to Wainwright.Marshall reached a studied 131-ball half-century, with seven fours, and needed some assistance from the late order to put Derbyshire under real pressure.Instead, with the ball turning, Wainwright and Durston cleaned up the tail as the last four wickets fell for 43. Wainwright finished with three for 64 and Durston 2 for 22.Derbyshire’s first task was to see off the new ball as they approached their target. Godleman and Slater did that to good effect, Godleman reaching 50 off 77 balls, with six fours and a six.But just when Gloucestershire seemed to be wilting, Slater was brilliantly caught one-handed to his left by Michael Klinger at slip off Tom Smith and Godleman followed in the next over, caught behind at the second attempt by Adam Rouse off Jack Taylor.Madsen and Chanderpaul took few risks in a stand of 52, which was ended when Madsen fell lbw playing across a ball from Liam Norwell.But Durston, who had looked in prime form in the first innings, again played aggressively and his 19-ball innings, including five fours, took Derbyshire close to victory.After he fell, Chanderpaul felt at ease to abandon his watchful approach and launched sixes off Smith and Taylor, the second one ending the game and bringing him his half-century off 80 balls.Gloucestershire director of cricket John Bracewell said: “If we had set Derbyshire 240 it would have been a fantastic game. We paid for a crazy half hour before lunch.”The pitch produced an excellent game of cricket. There were positives for us, but the players need to perform at their best more often as a unit.”

Sri Lanka A cricketer Ramith Rambukwella will be fined 50% of his tour fee after he caused mild panic on a flight by attempting to open the cabin door at 35,000 feet.

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Jul-2013Sri Lanka A cricketer Ramith Rambukwella will be fined 50% of his tour fee after he caused mild panic on a flight by attempting to open the cabin door at 35,000 feet. Sri Lanka Cricket’s executive committee has also asked the board chief to serve Rambukwella with a severe warning for his behaviour, an official release said.The incident had occurred on a flight from St. Lucia to Gatwick airport in London, as the team returned from the tour of the West Indies. Eyewitnesses quoted by the had said Rambukwella appeared to be intoxicated, and wrestled with the cabin door for up to two minutes. Rambukwella, the son of Sri Lanka’s mass media minister, said he had mistaken the cabin door for the lavatory, and suggested he had been half-asleep, which is what prompted the error.After the incident was reported in the media, an initial report was submitted by the A team manager Jayantha Seneviratne, before an inquiry was launched by SLC’s anti-corruption officer, though the incident is unrelated to his usual purview. Bowling coach Champaka Ramanayake is said to have been the primary witness, after several of Rambukwella’s team-mates were unwilling to testify.

Ed Barnard made an unbeaten century to lead England out of trouble on the first day in Cape Town

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Jan-2013
ScorecardEd Barnard made an unbeaten century to lead England Under out of trouble on the first day in Cape Town. Batting got easier as the day went on and Barnard relished the better conditions to put England in a fair position at the close.Barnard, a 17-year-old from Shropshire, struck 11 fours in a composed innings of 168 balls. His innings was vital because the top order had been blown away by the new ball after South Africa won the toss and chose to field.Coming in at 89 for 5, Bernard shared stands of 63 with Callum Jackson and 60 with Oli Stone to prevent his side from falling well behind in the Test match. Kishen Velani had earlier made 49 as England finally got some runs on the board but he was the third of four wickets for opening bowler Lizaad Williams just after lunch.Williams had put South Africa in firm command in the morning session, reducing England to 14 for 3 in the fifth over. Jonathan Tattersall went caught behind for 2 and Harry Finch was trapped lbw for 9, both after Dominic Sibley fell to Craig Kirsten for a second ball duck. Kirsten later left the field with a stress fracture of the lower back, an injury that could rule him out for two months.Williams went on to bowl Jackson for 49 as England’s recovery was trimmed, but with the second new ball not as threatening and Barnard in good touch, England ended the day in positive shape, adding 109 after tea.

Bruce Edgar has stood down from his role as New Zealand’s chief selector after failing to come to terms with New Zealand Cricket on a new contract

ESPNcricinfo staff06-May-2015Bruce Edgar has stood down from his role as New Zealand’s chief selector after failing to come to terms with New Zealand Cricket on a new contract. NZC said in a statement that the talent identification portion of Edgar’s role was set to be expanded from part-time to a full-time position, and Edgar did not accept the revised role and terms.Edgar had been chief selector since 2013 and had worked with coach Mike Hesson to bring a number of young players into the national side with success. His contract finished at the end of April, a month after New Zealand reached the World Cup final for the first time.”It’s been one of the most successful periods for New Zealand Cricket, and it’s been a privilege to be a part of that,” Edgar said. “In particular, it’s been great to see the progress of the New Zealand Test team, and the development of so many new players coming through. We just couldn’t come to terms.”Lindsay Crocker, the head of cricket with NZC, said Edgar could deservedly feel a sense of accomplishment in the performance of teams he helped select.”Bruce has been an excellent sounding board for Mike; a trusted colleague and a good, independent thinker,” Crocker said. “We’re certainly disappointed to see him leave … Bruce felt he was unable to accept the revised role and terms and, while it’s a decision we regret, it’s also one we respect. He departs with our gratitude for a selection job well done, and with our best wishes in future endeavours.”NZC said that changes to Edgar’s role were fuelled by the need to expand the national talent identification component of his job, which NZC “deemed a priority if recent successes on the international stage were to be sustained”. The search for a part-time selector and full-time talent ID position will commence shortly.

Shane Watson followed James Pattinson and Mitchell Starc in providing a tantalising glimpse of the destructive power to be found within this Australian side as they warmed up against Somerset

The Report by Daniel Brettig27-Jun-2013Stumps
ScorecardMichael Clarke looked in no discomfort in his first innings back from injury•Associated PressShane Watson followed James Pattinson and Mitchell Starc in providing a tantalising glimpse of the destructive power to be found within this Australian side as they warmed up against Somerset. In sending Watson up to open the innings and promising he will stay there, the new coach, Darren Lehmann, appeared to bring an immediate change to the allrounder’s previously drifting game.An innings of 90, on a blameless pitch against presentable bowling, does not quite indicate that Watson is to regain the Test match effectiveness that won him two Allan Border Medals, and had him named as Michael Clarke’s deputy in 2011. In fact the score itself was emblematic of Watson’s career aversion to making Test hundreds. But the clarity of his stroke production and the ease of his rapid scoring was exactly what Lehmann will hope for against Jimmy Anderson and company.It was a marked contrast from Watson’s previous innings, a brief affair against Sri Lanka in the Champions Trophy when one cover drive was followed by a horrid attempt to cut in line of the stumps. Wasteful dismissals such as these have been a significant factor in the failure of Watson to deliver on a promise that has hung in the air around him for a decade now, but there was nothing muddled about the way he opened up at Taunton, driving when the bowlers overpitched, pulling or glancing when short, and leaving most in between.Michael Clarke also offered a promising cameo, finding touch in his first innings of any kind for three months before rain brought an early end to day two. A pair of low scores for Ed Cowan and Usman Khawaja did not enhance either left-hander’s chances of winning a place in the XI for the first Investec Ashes Test at Trent Bridge. As the others proved, these were ideal conditions for batting.Phillip Hughes and Brad Haddin were easing their way towards useful tallies when the showers arrived. Haddin lofted George Dockrell down the ground with typical flourish to have the ball pounding off the scorers’ window in the Taunton press box. When the match resumes, Hughes should have the opportunity to press his case for retention after Cowan and Khawaja had failed to capitalise on their precedence in the batting order.Watson ran up a huge percentage of his runs in boundaries, his straight drives a particular delight. He also took full advantage whenever Craig Meschede angled into the pads, flicking with wristy power between midwicket and mid on. He briefly threatened to collar a century before lunch, but a front edge from the bowling of the slippery Craig Overton ended a stay that lasted only 94 balls, 20 of which reached the rope.Clarke’s start was a little less forthright, as could be expected for someone who had not batted since the Mohali Test match against India in March, when the suspension of four players for failing to follow instructions was followed by the flaring up of his chronic back condition. But he punched a couple of drives through cover off the back foot to get going, and showed familiar balance and footwork against Dockrell’s left-arm spin. It took a precisely-pitched away swinger from Meschede to dislodge Clarke, although by then he had probably given his back enough of a work out.Cowan, whose odds of playing in Nottingham were lengthened somewhat by the coach Darren Lehmann’s declaration that Watson would definitely open, fell in the very first over of the morning when he was deemed to have touched a Gemaal Hussain delivery on its way through to the wicketkeeper Alex Barrow. The dismissal had Cowan pointing agitatedly towards his trouser or pocket, but whatever the merits of the decision it now means one less opportunity to make the runs that would shore up his place, which may need to be earned again to some extent under Lehmann.Khawaja survived somewhat longer for his 27, but it was a scratchy effort with numerous angled deliveries troubling him outside off stump. He was struck on the body when trying to pull Overton, who was slippery, and fell in an unsurprising manner by wafting at Meschede to be pouched in the slips. Hughes had time to snick one streaky boundary before the morning session concluded.Minus Watson, the afternoon’s scoring was more sedate, but Clarke’s lack of discomfort was a welcome sign that his back has settled, and Hughes worked the ball around effectively with only the occasional flirt through the slips. He remained a little more hesitant against spin, but at least managed to get off the strike every now and then, which represented progress from India. Like Watson, a fresh start may be about to do him some good.

Ahead of the decider against South Africa, Angelo Mathews says Sri Lanka need “nothing out of the ordinary” to seal the series

Andrew Fidel Fernando11-Jul-2014Formula and fight have been the cornerstones of Sri Lanka’s limited-overs cricket for some time. Sri Lanka have stuck with the same plan for so long now, fans could draw up a checklist of their tactical manoeuvres for a game of cricket bingo.There is often a fast start and an early wicket, when they bat. Then Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara join hands for a sometimes promising, often plentiful, stand. When Sri Lanka win, one of those two has usually crossed fifty. There is often then a middle-order failure, before someone – often Angelo Mathews – finishes the innings with several big blows. With the ball, Sachithra Senanayake bowls in the Powerplay, Lasith Malinga bowls length at the start and yorkers at the death, and Nuwan Kulasekara swings it in until the third seamer takes over.The extended success of this game plan has fostered an air of calm around the Sri Lanka side, win or lose. Before the second ODI, Mathews said he would not seriously reshuffle his batting order. Now ahead of the decider, he says Sri Lanka need “nothing out of the ordinary” to seal the series, even against the South Africa pace attack.”I think we don’t have to do anything special,” he said. “The way we handled their fast bowlers in the last two games was good. Their strength is pace but they have a couple of good spinners as well. In the last match, we played a good style of cricket, so we’ll hope to do that again and win this match.”Sri Lanka have also come back from difficult situations on many occasions this year, doing so most dramatically in a must-win World T20 match against New Zealand and in the recent Test at Headingley. Having to win games on the trot to earn a series victory is nothing new, Mathews said.”We’ve been in this situation more often than not – to lose the first game and be under pressure to perform in the second and third games. We’ve been there so many times and we’ve overcome those situations as well.”We normally do perform well under pressure. It’s just a matter of absorbing it. We’ve done pretty well in the past six months and I hope the team will continue to do so. Our batting clicked in the last match, even though no one got a hundred, I thought everyone contributed in their own way.”The wind at the Hambantota stadium often puts an uncommon spin on the cricket, with teams strategising not only on how to mitigate its effect, but also on how to use it to their advantage. Sri Lanka have often bowled inswing from one end and outswing fron another, with a similar plan for the spinners, depending on which way they turn the ball. With another windy day on the cards for Saturday, teams may tweak their game plans in light of the conditions.”The wind is quite strong, so you never really know how the wicket plays,” Mathews said. “It’s the first time we’re playing a day match here as well, and we have to adapt to that as cricketers. The pitch looks like it might play slow. No matter what the conditions are, we still have to play well.”

Round-up of the Pro50 Championship matches that took place on December 7, 2013

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Dec-2013A combined bowling performance helped Southern Rocks defend a meagre 140 against Matabeleland Tuskers in the opening day of Zimbabwe’s domestic season, in Masvingo. The Tuskers failed to put on decent partnerships and were struggling at one stage at 70 for 5, dented by strikes by Tinashe Panyangara and Trevor Garwe. A 42-run stand for the sixth wicket between Tawanda Mupariwa and Bradley Staddon helped the Tuskers recover, but timely strikes by the offspinner Roy Kaia brought Rocks back into the game. There was no fight left in the Tuskers and they folded for 129. Rocks, after being put in to bat, started steadily, moving to 80 for 2 before they too collapsed. Richard Mutumbami resisted with 45 but he and the rest succumbed to the seam duo of Mupariwa and Christopher Mpofu, who shared seven wickets between them.In another low-scoring game, at the Harare Sports Club, Mashonaland Eagles chased 119 to beat Mid West Rhinos by three wickets. The Eagles were on track at 54 for 1 at the chase but lost their way when three wickets fell for 14 runs. Chamu Chibhabha held the chase together with a patient 43 off 110 balls before he was dismissed by Mkhululi Nyathi, with his side needing a further 21. Joylord Gumbie steered his side home with an unbeaten 25. After being put in to bat, the Rhinos never recovered properly from their top-order collapse. Most of the damage was done by the right-arm seamer Admire Manyumwa, who reduced the Rhinos to 37 for 6. Neville Madziva and Nyathi resisted to take the score past 100, but the Rhinos were bowled out with seven overs to spare.

England appear to have won the battle over Sam Robson, the Middlesex batsman, by including him in the Performance Programme squad to tour Australia.

Alex Winter23-Sep-2013England appear to have won the battle over Sam Robson, the Middlesex batsman, by including him in the Performance Programme squad to tour Australia.Robson, born in Sydney, qualified for England earlier this season having played for Middlesex since 2009. Australia responded by relaxing their own qualification regulations – dubbed the “Robson rule” – allowing dual-nationals to appear as a domestic-qualified player in more than one country.The change prevented Robson from having to choose between Middlesex and New South Wales and making an immediate decision on his international future but England have struck a significant blow in including him among their back-up party. Robson is the second-highest runscorer in Division One of the County Championship this season with 1,180 runs at 47.20.Sam Robson’s international loyalty is up for debate•Getty ImagesAlso selected in the performance squad are several players who have regularly appeared for England Lions, among them Worcestershire’s Moeen Ali, who has scored more runs than anyone in the County Championship this season, and Chris Jordan who appeared for England in the recently-concluded one-day series against Australia.Two omissions from the performance squad are Nick Compton, who began the season opening the batting against New Zealand and James Taylor, the spare batsman for the Ashes. Neither will have a chance to impress in Australian conditions are now further away from the Test side than at the start of the season. But this party is not a reserve squad per se, unlike the group that shadowed the Test squad in 2010-11. England Lions are scheduled to tour Sri Lanka in January,Along with Robson, Mark Wood, the 23-year-old Durham bowler, is the other player selected in an England squad for the first time. Wood is a highly thought-of right-arm seamer and took 27 wickets at 24.07 in helping Durham win the County Championship. He and Somerset’s Jamie Overton won’t travel to Australia but will remain at Loughborough for strength and conditioning work.The entire squad will meet up in Loughborough for a preparation period before leaving for Australia on Novemeber 14. They will spend a month initially in Brisbane at the Cricket Australia high performance centre and then at the University of Western Australia in Perth. The tour includes two three-day matches in Brisbane and a final match in Perth.England Performance Squad
Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), Danny Briggs (Hampshire), Jos Buttler (Somerset), Varun Chopra (Warwickshire), Ben Foakes (Essex), James Harris (Middlesex), Chris Jordan (Sussex), Simon Kerrigan (Lancashire), Alex Lees (Yorkshire), Tymal Mills (Essex), Jamie Overton* (Somerset), Sam Robson (Middlesex), Reece Topley (Essex), James Vince (Hampshire), David Willey (Northamptonshire), Mark Wood* (Durham)*To remain in the UK and specialise in strength and conditioning at the National Cricket Performance Centre

It was a big night on the field for Malik Tillman but it was his hair that was the main subject of debate in the CBS studios after the game.

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Tillman quizzed on 'Bobby V' hairstyleHaircut price confusion sparks studio laughterUSMNT star wins penalty to earn PSV drawGettyWHAT HAPPENED?

Tillman won the penalty that earned PSV a valuable draw in their last 16 tie against Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday night. But pundits Micah Richards, Jamie Carragher and Thierry Henry were keen to discuss the USMNT star's choice of hairstyle in their post-game interview, leading to a bizarre misunderstanding.

Richard's got the ball rolling, asking Tillman about the style he compared to R&B star Bobby Valentino. Quizzed about how much it costs to get a haircut in Eindhoven, the forward replied "Three euros fifty," which the panel took to mean €350.

Henry then weighed in to ask if the barber also cooked for him with a rate that high, only for Tillman to clarify that he meant €3.50, triggering a cacophony of laughter in the studio.

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Hair chat aside it was a big night for the 21-year-old who played the entire 90 minutes and was at the centre of the night's most controversial incident. Tillman was judged to have been fouled in the area by Mats Hummels for a penalty that allowed Luuk de Jong to level the game.

Hummels was irate, claiming to have made incidental contact with his opponent after winning the ball cleanly. VAR chose not to intervene leaving the German international fuming and immediately looking for his phone after the game to vent his frustration on social media.

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GettyWHAT NEXT FOR MALIK TILLMAN?

The young American has plenty of time to treat himself to another bargain haircut before PSV travel to PEC Zwolle on Saturday looking to extend their already formidable lead at the top of the Eredivisie standings.

Sharjeel Khan scored the first hundred of the Pakistan Super League to charge Islamabad United to the final of the tournament, with a 50-run win against Peshawar Zalmi

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Feb-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details0:30

‘Very special innings from Sharjeel’ – Mohammad Akram

Sharjeel Khan scored the first hundred of the Pakistan Super League as Islamabad United galloped into the final with a comprehensive 50-run win against Peshawar Zalmi. Sharjeel’s 50-ball hundred powered Islamabad to 176 for 3 before left-arm spinner Imran Khalid’s four-for made sure Peshawar were bowled out for 126 with two overs to spare.Put in to bat, Islamabad put together a 108-run opening stand in 13.1 overs, a majority of the runs coming off Sharjeel’s blade. Dwayne Smith, the other opener, struggled to get bat on ball during his stay of 37 balls to score 19 runs without a single boundary.In the ninth over, Sharjeel unleashed two sixes and a four against left-arm spinner Mohammad Asghar. He followed that up with an attack on Shahid Afridi too in the next over to bring up his fifty. The most eventful over, though, was the 14th in which Shaun Tait dismissed Smith and Brad Haddin off consecutive deliveries, but Kamran Akmal dropped Khalid Latif to deprive Tait of a hat-trick. Sharjeel then struck the next two balls of the over for a four and six.He brought up his hundred, studded with 12 fours and eight sixes, in style with a straight six in the 16th over and helped Islamabad score 46 in the last five overs. He was run-out for 117 in the last over of the innings.Peshawar started slow in the Powerplay and were dented when Samuel Badree dismissed Dawid Malan in the fourth over. Kamran kept the score ticking till the 11th over before Khalid struck. Peshawar’s main source of resistance was opener Kamran Akmal, who made 45 from 32 balls. But with the next four batsmen scored only in single digits, the writing was on the wall.Khalid removed Mohammad Hafeez and Kamran in consecutive overs, and Brad Hodge and Darren Sammy in the same over – the 13th – to reduce Peshawar to 80 for 5. By then, the required run rate had shot up over 13 per over.Afridi provided his team with a few late strikes, but it was not enough. Khalid finished with 4 for 20 from his three overs and Andre Russell took three lower-order wickets, including Afridi’s, to end with 3 for 37.