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The ECB has set April 22 as the date to hear Danish Kaneria’s appeal against the lifetime ban for involvement in fixing handed down to him by a disciplinary panel last year

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Feb-2013The ECB has set April 22 as the date to hear Danish Kaneria’s appeal against the lifetime ban for involvement in fixing handed down to him by a disciplinary panel last year. A first hearing was adjourned in December after initial legal submissions.Kaneria, who has been in London since December, is appealing against the ban, along with the £100,000 costs that were imposed on him. Despite being found guilty of corruption in relation to the Mervyn Westfield spot-fixing case, Kaneria has continued to deny his involvement and previously called for the appeal to be heard in front of an independent panel.The legspinner was barred from playing for the Pakistan national side in 2010 and the PCB has said that it would stand by the sanctions imposed by the England board, as the ICC’s anti-corruption code mandates. Kaneria’s ban from all cricket currently stands, pending the appeal result, and he has not played since March 2012.Kaneria is Pakistan’s leading Test spinner, with 261 wickets, and fourth-highest wicket-taker overall. He spent several successful seasons with Essex but was arrested in 2010, along with team-mate Westfield. Although no police charges were brought against Kaneria, he was found guilty by the ECB panel of inducing Westfield to under-perform in a 2009 limited-overs match and of bringing the game into disrepute.Westfield was jailed for four months for his part in agreeing to concede a set number of runs in an over during a CB40 match against Durham, in return for £6000. He was also banned for five years by the ECB, but can play club cricket after three.

Brendon McCullum has said BJ Watling has got “natural ability” as a wicketkeeper, and has backed him to do well with the gloves in New Zealand’s one-off Test against Zimbabwe

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Jan-2012Brendon McCullum has said BJ Watling has got “natural ability” as a wicketkeeper, and has backed him to succeed in New Zealand’s one-off Test against Zimbabwe in Napier.McCullum kept wickets for New Zealand in 51 Tests but in 2010 he decided he wanted to play as a specialist batsman. Since then Gareth Hopkins and Reece Young have played in the role, but New Zealand are now looking for a new Test wicketkeeper. Watling, who played six Tests as a batsman, will have an opportunity to prove he can fill the position long term.McCullum said the fact that Watling had only played two first-class games as a keeper was a concern but not a major one. “The only thing you worry about is if he [Watling] has got the volume under his belt. But none of that matters; if he gets a go we’ve got to get right behind him.”I know he’s got the skills to do it and I guess everyone will be taking a punt on the fact that he can handle the workload as well. He’s certainly got some natural ability. It’s just about him getting back to keeping for long periods. I’m sure he’ll do well. It’s not a bad deck to start on as well.”Ross Taylor, the New Zealand captain, said they had decided to pick Watling ahead of the other keeper in the squad, Kruger van Wyk, even before Watling scored 84 in the practice game against the Zimbabweans.”I guess every time you select someone there’s the hope they take the spot and can fill it for years to come,” Taylor said. “I think BJ always had the inside running. The way he kept in Gisborne was promising and he had a good knock with the bat in the first innings. It was always going to be BJ but it was nice to see him score some runs and keep pretty well.”Taylor also said New Zealand would not relax after beating Australia for the first time in 26 years, in Hobart in December last year. “We’ve got to build on the momentum we’ve gained from the Hobart Test,” he said. “We don’t want to dine off that for years to come; we know we created history but we want to get consistent performances. What better place to start than our first home game of the season.”New Zealand will use the same combination in Napier as they did in Hobart, with Daniel Vettori at No. 6 and four quicks in the side. McCullum said that line-up suited New Zealand’s style of play.”I like that balance; it allows the batters to play with a bit more freedom knowing they’ve got an attack that can bowl a team out,” McCullum said. “The formula for us winning Test matches consistently could well be similar to the formula we had over there [in Hobart]; play four seamers and have a little bit in the wicket.”We probably will not have high-scoring 400-500 games, but games more along the lines of trying to eke out 280-300, or if you bat well you get 350-400.”

Praveen Kumar has been ruled out of the World Cup due to an injured elbow, and his place will be taken by Sreesanth

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Feb-2011Praveen Kumar, the India fast bowler, has been ruled out of the World Cup due to an injured elbow and will be replaced by Sreesanth. The decision comes a day after Praveen underwent a fitness test at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore to gauge whether he had recovered from the injury sustained before the start of the one-day series in South Africa last month.Praveen, 24 had been sent back immediately from South Africa as a precautionary measure to recuperate at the NCA. The recovery did not go as planned, however, and he consulted Dr Andrew Wallace, a London-based surgeon who has treated many Indian players including Sachin Tendulkar. Praveen has been a regular with the Indian one-day side for the past couple of years and was set to be a certain starter in the World Cup, but his injury healed too slowly to allow him to participate in the global tournament.Sreesanth has established himself in the Test side but has been on the fringes of the one-day outfit. He has played only 51 one-dayers in more than five years since his debut in 2005, and has a bloated career economy rate of 6.01. But he proved effective in the two ODIs he’s played over the past 12 months, bagging seven wickets for 77 runs.The other fast bowlers in the Indian squad are Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra and Munaf Patel.

Kenya’s fall from Associate powerhouse to also-rans continued with their seven-wicket defeat to Netherlands at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

Cricinfo staff11-Feb-2010
Scorecard
Kenya’s fall from Associate powerhouse to also-rans continued with their seven-wicket defeat to Netherlands at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. Rocked by Steve Tikolo’s first ball dismissal, Kenya never fully recovered and were bowled out two balls short of their allotted overs for 130. Eric Szwarczynski’s 45 led Netherlands’ reply, and they chased down the target with five balls to spare.With a place in the Super Fours at stake for the winner of this game, Kenya would have been hoping for a strong performance from their top order. Tikolo’s 126-run opening stand with Alex Obanda steamrollered Canada on Wednesday, but they had added only a single run today when Tikolo hit Mudassar Bukhari’s second ball to Szwarczynski to depart for a duck.Pieter Seelaar, Netherlands’ left-arm spinner, distinguished himself with a tight spell under pressure in the win over Canada, and he performed superbly again to finish with 4 for 19 in his four overs. After Bukhari removed Obanda for 5, Seelaar worked his way through the middle order, dismissing captain Maurice Ouma, Collins Obuya, Rakep Patel and Tony Suji in consecutive overs as Kenya slipped to 67 for 6.Kenya’s final total owed a lot to Jimmy Kamande’s enterprising innings. His 42 contained three sixes, and carried Kenya to 126 before he fell to Mohammad Kashif in the penultimate over. After his dismissal, Bukhar had Shem Obado caught by Seelaar, and bowled Lameck Onyango to wrap up the innings.Kenya needed to replicate Netherlands’ early breakthroughs to give themselves a chance of victory, but Szwarczynski and Alexei Kervezee stole the game with a 72-run partnership in the first half of the innings. Kervezee eventually fell after he had compiled a domineering 33, and Szwarczynski departed five short of what would have been a well-deserved half-century, but their dismissals came too late for Kenya. Although Onyango’s effort with the ball took the match into the final over, the reality was that Netherlands won at a canter.Their reward is a place in the Super Fours, and with it the chance to make it to the World Twenty20 in West Indies. In the absence of the experienced Thomas Odoyo, the lack of incisiveness in Kenya’s bowling attack was exposed in this tournament, and they will also be left ruing the disappointing defeat to UAE in their opening game, where pedestrian batting scuppered their pursuit of 165.

“All what we ask for, we deserve,” says the West Indies coach

Karthik Krishnaswamy08-Oct-20253:31

Sammy: ‘Our problems are rooted deep into our system’

Strained finances, infrastructural issues, the skewed economics of world cricket, the pressures of franchise cricket, and the effect of all these things on the talent pipeline that leads from the grassroots to the West Indies Test team. Last week’s innings defeat to India in Ahmedabad brought all these topics back into the spotlight.Various voices have called for financial support to help West Indies cricket address these issues. It has led others, in turn, to question why the ICC and other boards must step in to help. West Indies head coach Daren Sammy has a simple answer: West Indies helped the game grow immensely when they dominated world cricket from the 1970s to the 1990s but did not reap the financial rewards for it in the way that India, for example, have done over recent decades when the game has become far more lucrative.”Look, [it’s] the history we bring, or the history we have, and the legacy we have left on this game in all formats,” Sammy said, when posed this question two days out from the second Test in Delhi. “Obviously the way we play now, everybody will lean towards that. But if we take that aside, and understand the impact that the West Indies team have had in international cricket, I think all what we ask for, we deserve.Related

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“You know you speak to so many other teams. The inspiration that Vivian Richards’ team had, or the impact it had, even here in India, the impact these guys had on the next generation, West Indies contributed to that. I remember watching [West Indies playing] five Test-match series [around the world]. It’s like India now. Everybody wants India to tour, because that’s where the financial gains are. India brings that to the home territory. That was West Indies in the past.”But we did not reap those financial rewards. We were playing five Test matches, three-four months in one place, entertaining the world, where other parts benefited. So for now, when we, over the years, whether it be through lack of management, whatever it is, we are in need of those financial resources to help us grow and move forward, I think we deserve that. Because of the impact we’ve had.”West Indies lost the first Test against India by an innings•AFP/Getty Images

In the present moment, Sammy is aware he can only work with what is available to him in terms of the talent that’s ready to play Test cricket for the West Indies, and the facilities they presently have. He knows it’s unlikely that young players in the Caribbean will react to being picked for the West Indies team as he did back in 2004 when he learned of his selection to the ODI team when he was in the UK playing for an MCC Young Cricketers team.But Sammy feels there’s one area in which West Indies can and should still match other teams in: working hard and smart on their preparation.”For me as a coach, when I call a player and I tell him that he has been selected for West Indies, and I’m hoping that he accepts the selection, that tells us where our cricket is,” he said. “As a kid, I remember in 2004, me being at Lord’s, MCC Young Cricketers, and getting a call. Once I saw the area code 1268, I knew it was from Antigua, I was hoping it was a call from the West Indies Cricket Board, and how excited I was.”Times have changed. We [can] only work with what we have, and who’s willing. And the inability to match some of the franchises across the world [financially], it has been an issue.”But what I always tell these guys [is], if we complain about not having the best facilities, not having enough manpower like the other teams, not having the best technology, all these things which the other teams are superior to us [in], then why the hell are they still outworking us? The only way we could match up [and] compete at a consistent level is if we as the coaches and the players are prepared to outwork the opposition, and we’re not doing that.”So that’s where I’ve actually challenged them. When you practise, when you train, when you strategise, to be more precise, more purposeful. And I must say, again today, I’ve seen them starting to understand what we’re trying to do.”When Sammy, who had previously only been West Indies’ white-ball head coach, took over the Test team in April, the next three series they had lined up were against Australia at home, India away, and New Zealand away — all immensely challenging assignments. It has put in sharp focus the difficulty he has had as a coach in trying to establish a process-driven approach in the backdrop of constant external pressure stemming from results.”When I took on this Test job, I wanted to change the way we played, the results that we have,” Sammy said. “What we did was look at, especially from the batsmen, look at our most consistent batters in international cricket, whether it be T20, whether it be ODIs, whether it be Test matches, and put it together and see how best we could get a batting group. And that’s what we’ve done. It’s been, I think this will be the fifth Test match with that regime, and it’s not worked.”Mind you, when I look at the job I had, I saw Australia in the Caribbean, India in India, and New Zealand in New Zealand. I knew it was going to be very difficult. It will be probably the three most challenging series that we’ll have, whether it be home or away.”And I understand what we try to build. The director of cricket, the vision that we have, and also the players that we want to play. So I take all that into consideration. But what we cannot have, like I said is, against all the odds, the opposition is still outworking us. And that’s the biggest issue for me.”When I took on this Test job, I wanted to change the way we played, the results that we have”•Getty Images

“You don’t need talent to work hard. You don’t need talent to be motivated. It’s not a skill. The skill you need is to go and play. But the mindset. That’s what it takes. And I’m trying to continue to instil that in the guys.”Hopefully the guys who’ve gotten the opportunities [will start performing]. If it doesn’t work, obviously I’ve got to go back and see what’s there in the Caribbean. But again for me, dealing with all of that is just trusting the process. And don’t look at the result before the process has been executed.”West Indies’ long-running issues in Test cricket at a time when they have continually produced top-tier T20 talent, Sammy felt, had contributed to something like a self-perpetuating cycle of talent production in the Caribbean.”Growing up, we had heroes,” Sammy said. “[Brian] Lara, Sir Viv, [Curtly] Ambrose, [Courtney] Walsh, [Richie] Richardson. We had so many different heroes. Ian Bishop. So many, that me watching cricket with my father, I would say, ‘Oh, I want to be like this guy.'”There’s a challenge here now. I always challenge the guys [in the team], which kid in the Caribbean is watching you, and you are inspiring? If you notice, we’ve been, over the last decade, the format where the heroes come from has been the T20 format. And that’s why you see some of the direction in which the younger players are heading. That’s where the heroes are. That’s where they see people they want to be like from the Caribbean.”So it’s hard, but we will not stop trying, because winning builds and shows that it could be done, and we’ve not been able to do that for a long time.”The problems in West Indies cricket are so deep-rooted, and have taken root over so many years, Sammy felt, that he turned to a distressing metaphor for it: cancer.”I mean, the last time we won a series here in India, I was just born. My mom had just had me, in 1983. So the troubles that we have didn’t start now. In 1983, some great players were playing. So I know now I’m under the microscope, I’m in the middle, and we’re open to being criticised by everybody. But the root of the problem didn’t start two years ago. Something way back.”It’s like a cancer that’s already in the system. And you know, if you don’t beat cancer, you know what happens. And again, I think it’s Breast Cancer [Awareness] Month, so it’s a good way to put it, that our problems don’t lie on the surface. It’s rooted deep into our system. And that is something we will continue to change. The immediate thing is, try and encourage the guys, train better, better mindset and all these things. And hopefully steps could be taken in the right direction.”

Seifert’s half-century and Clarkson’s late push for an unlikely win proved futile for New Zealand

Danyal Rasool27-Apr-2024It got a little hairy at the death, but Pakistan just about managed to salvage some pride in this series, scraping to a 9-run win to level the T20I series 2-2. Babar Azam’s 43-ball 69 and late fireworks from Fakhar Zaman saw Pakistan post 178, the third successive time that has been the first innings total this series.But New Zealand were looking like they would make short work of the chase despite the early loss of Tom Blundell, but Pakistan’s bowlers hit back hard in the second half of that chase, with 4-30 from Shaheen Shah Afridi and crucial middle-overs strikes from Usama Mir derailing a chase that had looked on course until the eight-over mark. Josh Clarkson’s unbeaten 26-ball 38 kept New Zealand’s interest alive right till the death, but he would run out of partners with a pair of frenetic final-over run-outs as Pakistan edged through in a tight contest.Babar Azam stamps his authorityIt may not solve any of Pakistan’s problems or address the underlying causes of criticism Babar receives, but there’s little doubt the impact the Pakistan captain’s knock had on Pakistan today was decisively positive. Saim Ayub has struggled for runs this series, and his early dismissal shunted Babar into a position of even greater prominence in this Powerplay, and he marked the moment by taking the attack to Zak Foulkes and Ben Sears, racing to 30 off 15.Babar Azam powered Pakistan’s fast start•AFP/Getty Images

Crucially, there wasn’t a pronounced post-Powerplay slump as Babar held one end up while keeping the runs ticking over, and looking in great touch in the process. A huge six off Ish Sodhi as Fakhar Zaman took his time to bed in ensured the visitors couldn’t build too much pressure on Pakistan, and by the time Sears cleaned him up with a stunning yorker, the infrastructure that allowed Pakistan to lift off had been constructed.Fakhar tees off after good fortuneShould Fakhar have been dismissed before the most explosive phase of his innings got underway? Tim Seifert certainly thought so. Fakhar was beaten by a slower delivery as he tried to heave it towards midwicket, and was casual as he regained his shape, with his bat hanging loosely behind him as it tipped the bails off.New Zealand appealed and the umpire referred it upstairs, but the third umpire deemed the ball to be dead by then. New Zealand’s frustration was compounded as Fakhar plundered 14 off the next three balls to set Pakistan up for a big finish. Shadab joined in as well as the hosts took 39 off the last three overs, as well as some of the momentum going in at the halfway stage.Tim Seifert, Powerplay fireworksPakistan have spent much of this series engaged in a familiar debate about how best to utilise the Powerplay. Two days ago, New Zealand opener Tim Robinson gave them a glimpse into how to go about it. Today, his replacement, another Tim – Seifert – illustrated it just about perfectly once more.Pakistan had kept things tight the first three overs, but by the time Mohammad Amir came in to bowl, Seifert launched. He picked the leg cutter early and clobbered it over long-on for a colossal six, before following it up with a pair of boundaries that got the visitors going. Abbas Afridi, too, saw his first ball launched out of the ground, and another loose delivery clipped around fine leg. Amir would return for more punishment as Seifert smashed him for three boundaries off the back foot to race along to a 30-ball half-century. It wasn’t until he was dismissed that the game began to turn; by then, New Zealand had raced along to 81 in eight overs.Spin strikes backUsama had a torrid fourth game and with a surfeit of legspin options for Pakistan, time to impress was fast running out. He’d laid a solid platform, conceding just three in the first over as runs rained all around him, but this was his moment to shine. Seifert lost his shape as he tried to slog it over the onside and found his furniture disturbed in the process. It would end up being a wicket maiden that changed the course of the game as Mir cleaned up Chapman in his following over. Shadab Khan and Imad Wasim got in on the act with wickets in the following two overs as Pakistan burrowed deep into the New Zealand lower order.Shaheen would have his say to effectively kill the game off with two wickets in two balls as New Zealand lost 6-40 in 39 balls. They would never recover from that barrage of body blows, and Pakistan would salvage a series draw despite Clarkson’s best late efforts.

Tagenarine Chanderpaul made more runs and the visitors had a chance of victory on the final day

AAP26-Nov-2022Incapacitated Raymon Reifer and gritty Joshua Da Silva declined to chance their arm at notching the West Indies’ first first-class win on Australian soil in more than 25 years, instead defending grimly to fight out a draw in the pink-ball tour match against the Prime Minister’s XI at Manuka Oval.Chasing 309 for victory after the PM XI’s sporting declaration at 221 for 4 late on day three, the tourists shut up shop at the fall of the eighth wicket with eight overs to go.Da Silva started aggressively before putting up the shutters in the last hour, while Reifer remained unbeaten off 26 scoreless balls. Not expected to bat due to a groin injury, Reifer did not even look to score, declining even the easiest singles hit to the outfield.Related

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West Indies’ most recent first-class win in Australia came in the fifth Test of the 1996-97 battle for the Frank Worrell Trophy.Courtney Walsh’s tourists – piloted by Brian Lara’s century and Curtly Ambrose’s seven wickets – thumped Mark Taylor’s side inside three days at the WACA.”It was just the right time,” PM XI captain Josh Inglis said of his generous declaration late on Friday which paved the way for the nail-biting finish. “We wanted to set up the game, which made today really exciting.”It’s a great occasion. Every time you’re gearing up for international cricket, it’s a great challenge. And to play against an international side is great. I think our boys had a really good week.”All results were possible when the West Indies entered the dinner break at 221 for 5, requiring a further 88 runs for victory off a minimum of 31 overs.The last session started horribly for them when Roston Chase succumbed after just three balls, beaten in flight by Ashton Agar, miscuing and lofting a catch to Joel Paris at mid-off.West Indies batted out the final few overs•Getty Images

The pendulum swung the tourists’ way when Da Silva and Alzarri Joseph combined for an enterprising 48-run seventh-wicket stand.Joseph, who swung lustily and impressively, was grassed on 24 by Aaron Hardie in the slips before guiding Mark Steketee to Michael Neser at gully four overs later.When Steketee had Kemar Roach gloving a short ball to Peter Handscomb at slip, the West Indies fell to 273 for 8 and duly parked the bus.Tagenarine Chanderpaul was named player of the match for his fine double innings (119, 56), which should surely earn him a Test debut against Australia at Optus Stadium, starting on November 30.”It was nice to get some runs,” the softly spoken Chanderpaul said. “I knew it was going to be tough…just happy to get some runs.”Matthew Renshaw (81, 101 not out) and Handscomb (55, 75) hurtled themselves into contention for international recalls with their contributions for the home side.

Fresh from ODI century, batsman scores 63 before hosts bowl Essex out in time to win first leg of double-header

ECB Reporters Network16-Jul-2021Hampshire kept alive their flickering hopes of reaching the Vitality Blast quarter-finals beating Essex by 18 runs to wrap up a third successive victory in the first match of a double-header at the Ageas Bowl.Essex looked on course to chase down the 172-run target after England batsman Dan Lawrence and Tom Westley put on 80 for the second wicket, only for Hampshire’s bowlers to claw back control as the Eagles lost nine wickets for just 68 runs to be bowled out for 153.Hampshire started the match well after winning the toss, with James Vince, fresh from his fine century for England against Pakistan, continuing from where he left off at Edgbaston with a superb 63 that included eight boundaries and a six. Vince and D’Arcy Short put on 69 after eight overs, laying the foundations for a potentially huge target.However, the Eagles fought back well when Aron Nijjar dismissed Short and Liam Dawson inside three balls to slow down the home side’s progress.Vince continued to score freely and put on a 56 with Colin de Grandhomme before the Hampshire skipper mistimed a big shot over mid-off off spinner Simon Harmer and caught in the deep by Jimmy Neesham.De Grandhomme fell for 34 when the veteran Ryan ten Doeschate took a sharp catch off Sam Cook’s bowling in the 16th over as the Hawks’.hopes of passing the 180-mark took a huge dent.The outstanding Harmer and Nijjar continued to slow down the scoring with wickets falling regularly as Joe Weatherley, Chris Wood and James Fuller all exited cheaply.Lewis McManus thumped two huge sixes in the final two overs to help his side to a decent total despite the Hawks losing two wickets in the final over to Cook..Wood struck in the first over of the Essex innings, dismissing former Hampshire wicket-keeper Adam Wheater for a second-ball duck,before Lawrence and Westley steadied the ship. But Westley, who reached 39 almost effortlessly, was then deceived by the flight of a Mason Crane ball and McManus whipped off his bails for a smart stumping.Dawson and Short continued the good work by the spinners with the wickets of the dangerous Neesham and Michael Pepper for single-figure scores.Crane struck again to dismiss ten Doeschate for nine when he holed out to James Fuller after 15 runs had been scored from the first five balls of the leg-spinner’s over.But Essex’s hopes of victory dissipated when Lawrence departed for 60 after he gloved Scott Currie to McManus, who claimed his third victim.
With 31 needed from the last two overs, Essex fell well short with Brad Wheal taking two wickets in as many balls to dismiss Essex with four deliveries to spare.

Dane van Niekerk and Marizanne Kapp enjoyed fine all-round performances as England struggled with the bat

The Report by Andrew McGlashan23-Feb-2020In her 100th T20I, Mignon du Preez struck a six in the final over as South Africa held their nerve to secure just a third victory over England in the format in what could be a very significant result early in the World Cup.It was a thrilling end to a chase that South Africa won and lost on multiple occasions in the closing stages, before it came down to needing nine off the last over bowled by Katherine Brunt. The first two balls went for singles before du Preez swung that six over fine leg then clubbed a sweep through square leg (which got to the boundary, but by then the batters had crossed for what was the winning run, so it counted as a single*) to set off wild South African celebrations.The bulk of the chase was put together by a stand of 84 between captain Dane van Niekerk and Marizanne Kapp, but both fell in the space of five balls as England threatened to turn it around.However, it was with the bat where England really let themselves down as they laboured to a total that, while not that far from being enough to win, was an unconvincing way to start their tournament except for Nat Sciver’s half-century. South Africa, though, were outstanding with the ball and, in the end, it did not go waste.A dramatic final fiveSouth Africa needed 34 off 28 balls when England hauled themselves back into the match through their spin twins Sophie Ecclestone and Sarah Glenn. Glenn had Kapp caught and bowled and in the next over, without a run added, the pressure told on van Niekerk as she sliced Ecclestone to point. England squeezed to such an extent that the target blew out to 33 off 18 balls. The 18th over, from Sciver, went for 14 to reignite South Africa’s hopes and when Chloe Tryon, who had struggled to middle the ball, cleared the fence off Ecclestone it came down to nine off eight. Amy Jones then missed a stumping chance only for Ecclestone to spear one through Tryon (who would have been lbw without scoring had England reviewed in the 17th over) meaning Brunt had nine to defend in the last. The third ball of the over was dropped short enough for du Preez to get far enough underneath it to clear the rope. Finally, that was the game.Allrounders stand tallAlthough for a moment it appeared their fine work would come to nothing, Kapp and van Niekerk had outstanding days. Kapp got South Africa up and running by ending a lively start from Jones in an exceptional display which included 12 dot balls across her four overs. With the bat she produced the shot of the match when she drove Brunt off the back through the off side on the final ball of the powerplay. Van Niekerk had gone for just five an over in four overs, without conceding a boundary, and claimed the key wicket of the in-form Heather Knight. While her innings was never quite at the tempo to emphatically put the chase to bed, she twice sent Anya Shrubsole for six and at the end of the contest could reflect on one of the better wins of her captaincy career.Pace and varietyShabnim Ismail only managed one wicket, when Brunt carved to third man, but her performance was another reminder of the priceless commodity of pace she brings to the South Africa attack. She clocked in at 125kph and regularly pushed 120kph, forcing the England batters back in their crease. As a whole, South Africa’s attack was always offering something different to contend with. It was a surprise to see left-arm spinner Nonkulueko Mlaba bowl the first over – and it cost nine as Jones started positively – but although she was the most expensive there wasn’t a weak link, to the extent that Sune Luus wasn’t even required.Sciver salvages EnglandFor a significant part of her innings, Sciver found the going as tricky as the rest of the England batting but crucially fought through and was there to catch up towards the end. From having 24 off 29 balls, she then collected 26 off her next 12 balls which included the lone six of the innings when she deposited Mlaba over wide long-on. She also brought out the scoop – a shot favoured by a few of the England batters – and her half-century came up off 40 balls. However, she was defeated by an excellent slower ball from Khaka which prevented her taking advantage of the final two overs. In a match of such fine margins, that could well have proved crucial.*

Shahid Afridi’s 25-ball 39 not out sealed an opening win for Comilla Victorians off the penultimate ball

Mohammad Isam06-Jan-2019

How the game played out

Shahid Afridi’s unbeaten 39 took Comilla Victorians to a four-wicket win against Sylhet Sixers. While the result was sealed off the penultimate ball – with Afridi sweeping Alok Kapali for a four through fine-leg – Victorians were in control of the 128-run chase, first through the efforts of Tamim Iqbal and, later, Afridi.Tamim had held the chase together with his 35, shepherding the side through a few early wickets, before falling in the 17th over with 31 still needed. Afridi, along with Mohammad Saifuddin, added the required runs in only 3.2 overs, with Afridi hitting five fours and two sixes in his 25-ball knock. Steven Smith, who led Victorians, had fallen in the ninth over for a 17-ball 16, out caught behind following a review.The Sixers paid the price for their sluggish batting and early wickets in the first half of their innings. The innings got a push only after Nicholas Pooran cracked five fours and two sixes in his 26-ball 41 and Pooran’s sixth-wicket stand with Alok Kapali took them past the 100-run mark. Mohammad Saifuddin, Mohammad Shahid and Mahedi Hasan took two wickets each, apart from giving away only 59 runs in their combined 10 overs.

Turning points

• Pooran and Kapali added 55 runs for the sixth wicket after the Sixers slipped to 56 for 5 in the 12th over.
• With 31 runs required off 22 balls, Tamim Iqbal was run-out at the non-striker’s end after Shahid Afridi refused him a single.
• Taskin Ahmed conceded 15 runs from the 18th over, that included a six over cover, reducing the target to 12 off the last two overs.

Star of the day

Before partnering Afridi in the final overs, Saifuddin had contributed with the ball, with returns of 2 for 13 in three overs. He bowled two overs at the death, keeping the Sixers’ batsmen down with several slower balls, some being yorkers.

The big miss

Sixers’ captain David Warner’s innings lasted only 13 balls before he was run-out for 14 in the fifth over, after a mix-up with debutant Towhid Hridoy, which left both of them at the striker’s end. Replays, however, suggested that the third umpire may have wrongfully given Warner out instead of Hridoy, as the latter had his bat out of the crease at the striker’s end when Shoaib Malik broke the stump at the other end.

Where the teams stand

Victorians would be pleased at having completed the opening win with their experienced squad. Sixers, on the other hand, may feel hard done by despite getting a competitive score.