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The moment Ziaur Rahman hit Brendan Taylor’s pad in front of the stumps and the umpire raised his finger, Bangladesh were closer to a rare Test win

The Report by Mohammad Isam28-Apr-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsNasir Hossain stretched the Bangladesh lead•AFPThe moment Ziaur Rahman hit Brendan Taylor’s pad in front of the stumps and the umpire raised his finger, Bangladesh were closer to a rare Test win. At the end of the fourth day of the second and final Test, Zimbabwe were 138 for 4, chasing a 401-run target set up by Mushfiqur Rahim’s 93.The Zimbabwe captain’s wicket was the one Mushfiqur would have wanted more than the seven runs by which he missed his third Test hundred. After umpire Ian Gould lifted his finger, it was easy to see and hear what it meant to the fielding side which was screaming for joy. Zimbabwe were 96 for 3, with their best batsman and captain out of the equation with a day remaining.Malcolm Waller also fell to Ziaur for 15, missing a straightening delivery as his lack of footwork shackled him to the crease. Shingirai Masakadza was sent in as the nightwatchman at 118 for 4 with more than 15 overs remaining in the day, a strange decision but one which ultimately paid off. His elder brother Hamilton held his own at the other end, unbeaten on 46 off 94 balls.Zimbabwe started the fourth innings positively but in the tenth over, Regis Chakabva played inside the line of a Shakib Al Hasan delivery which spun past to strike off. Vusi Sibanda fell soon after for a 50-ball 32, driving one straight to Sohag Gazi at short cover off Shakib.Mushfiqur would thank his lucky stars that finally bowlers other than Robiul Islam stood up. Ziaur bowled a 10-over spell, mainly focused on being accurate. He hardly has pace like he did a few years ago, but managed to bring in his shoulders to generate speed. Shakib and Gazi bowled tightly too, both using a typical left-arm spinner and offspinner’s line. There was hardly a loose ball.Bangladesh declared about an hour after lunch on 291 for 9, going ahead of the home side by exactly 400 runs. Shakib, Mushfiqur and Nasir Hossain hit their second fifties of the game.Nasir stretched the lead with the tail, making an unbeaten 67 and scoring most of the 40 runs that came after lunch. Apart from his effort, Bangladesh’s dominance was also due to captain Mushfiqur’s attentiveness to the situation.He made 93 before being brilliantly caught at gully by Sibanda off Hamilton Masakadza, and his persistence was crucial to his side’s staying power. Along with Nasir, he had to see off the first half-hour, which has often produced wickets in Harare. Though they hardly found boundaries because the home side had deep fielders on both sides, they played carefully. Zimbabwe bowled wide too, and the batsmen cut out the rash shots.Mushfiqur and Nasir were happy picking up singles until the captain began to open up with a mistimed scoop and a slog-sweep – both off Elton Chigumbura. He had earlier hit a cover drive that sped to the boundary but the wicket had slowed down, and bounce was also on the low side. He and Nasir added 84 for the sixth wicket, back-to-back 80-plus partnerships for Mushfiqur, after his fifth-wicket stand with Shakib on the third evening.Taylor missed the long hours put in by Keegan Meth, who is out with a right knee injury. He was seen sitting on the sidelines with his feet up and knee strapped. Hamilton Masakadza, bowling medium-pace, took three wickets but was never going to be as big a threat to the visitors. Kyle Jarvis did not bowl with the venom of the first Test, but Shingi Masakadza remained steady and picked up four wickets.Had the Zimbabwe bowlers put up a better show even on the fourth morning, the Test match could have remained competitive. Bangladesh got most of what happened on the fourth day their way, though there again was the odd leg-before decision that they were denied. They would still take it, given they are closing in on a Test win for the first time in nearly four years.

All results were just about possible by the close last night but this game between two of the second division’s promotion favourites turned into the dullest of stalemates

David Lloyd at the Ageas Bowl26-May-2013
ScorecardGareth Cross made his first century for two years•Getty ImagesThere are many worse ways to spend a sunny Sunday, of course, but after teasing onlookers into believing that all results were just about possible by the close last night, this game between two of the second division’s promotion favourites turned into the dullest of stalemates.Fortunately for county cricket, it is watched, in the main, by folk who are long on patience. But if there were any first-time spectators here today then goodness knows what they made of an exercise in pointlessness for all but Steven Croft and Gareth Cross, who scored their first Championship centuries of the season.Actually, that’s not quite fair. Points were the whole point of it. Lancashire, sitting joint second in the table after this draw, remain 10 points ahead of Hampshire, an advantage which could be crucial come the end of the season. Had they pressed for a victory by declaring and lost, a gamble might have looked reckless to the Old Trafford faithful.But surely a token effort to win could have been made through the visitors giving themselves perhaps 40 overs to capture 10 wickets while denying Hampshire even a sniff of success? Instead, they batted on and on until hands were shaken, spectators were woken from their slumbers and everyone went home.Lancashire have a bit of previous on this ground. Seven years ago, at the end of a season and with nothing at stake, the then home captain, Shane Warne, was furious that the Red Rose declined to make a game of it – and he demonstrated his displeasure by bowling bouncers.This time, the only on-field retort came from occasional bowler Michael Carberry, who was tossed the ball and invited to go through a series of impressions which looked to include Makhaya Ntini and Alex Tudor.But the real villain of the piece was the weather which shortened the contest by 88 overs. And had it not been for some exciting action on the third day, no-one would have dreamed of a positive result being even remotely possible.Lancashire looked to be taking firm control when Glen Chapple struck four times in the space of six balls. Then the balance of power shifted sharply in Hampshire’s favour as they grabbed three quick wickets following George Bailey’s excellent counterattack.The best hope of a riveting contest today rested with Hampshire making regular inroads once Lancashire resumed, 100 runs ahead, on 63 for 3. But their successes were too few and too far between, although Sean Ervine did try to force the issue during a lively spell that included several sharp bouncers and he was rewarded with the wickets of Andrea Agathangelou and Karl Brown.Therafter, Lancashire made serene progress without ever suggesting they were interested in a declaration. Cross will no doubt take confidence from his first century for two years but most other people will be happy to forget the final chapter of this match.”With us being three down overnight Hampshire fancied bowling us out and we had to bat long enough to make it safe,” Lancashire coach Peter Moores said. “We had to fight pretty hard for two thirds of the day and then it was not the sort of pitch we were going to bowl them out on in 40 overs.”Moores also mentioned time lost to bad weather – a point accepted by Hampshire’s captain. “It’s a bit frustrating but losing a day to rain made it tricky,” Jimmy Adams said. “I think both sides were fairly optimistic we could have a good final day’s cricket but unfortunately it didn’t pan out that way.”

Simon Kerrigan took seven wickets as Lancashire claimed a big victory in the race for promotion with an eight-wicket victory over Northamptonshire at Wantage Road. Lancashire replace their host at the top of the table.

11-Jul-2013
ScorecardSimon Kerrigan, seen here for England Lions, took his ninth first-class five-for•PA PhotosSimon Kerrigan took seven wickets as Lancashire claimed a big victory in the race for promotion with an eight-wicket victory over Northamptonshire at Wantage Road. Lancashire replace their hosts at the top of the table.Kerrigan returned magnificent figures of 7 for 63 as Northants were bowledout for 241 with James Middlebrook top-scoring with 75 off 171 balls, givingLancashire a target of 110. The visitors wrapped up the win thanks to Andrea Agathangelou’s unbeaten 57 off75 deliveries to move a point clear of their opponents with a game in hand.Northants began the day on 123 for 4, requiring nine runs to make theiropponents bat again, with Middlebrook resuming on 46 and Andrew Hall on 3. Middlebrook was to comfortably complete his second half-century of the matchoff 113 balls as the fifth-wicket pair survived the first hour of the daywithout any alarm.Former South Africa allrounder Hall went through 10,000 first-class runs inthe process but Middlebrook went cheaply by needlessly launching Kerrigan toKyle Hogg at deep square leg.Kerrigan completed his third five-wicket haul of the season and his ninth infirst-class cricket when Agathangelou took a sharp one-handed catch at short legto dismiss Matthew Spriegel. He then claimed his third wicket in four balls whenDavid Willey was also taken by Agathangelou at short leg to depart for a goldenduck.Kerrigan took his tally up to seven by trapping Northants wicketkeeper DavidMurphy lbw, meaning four wickets had fallen for 12 runs. But Hall, who needed the aid of a runner after a muscle strain, reached 50 off 127 deliveries in the afternoon.Lee Daggett plundered 11 before he was bowled by Lancashire captain GlenChapple and Hall was the last to fall on 57 when he was superbly caught andbowled one-handed by the same man.Chasing 110, Lancashire lost Karl Brown in the second over when he edged thefirst ball he faced to Middlebrook at first slip off Muhammad Azharullah. Middlebrook then pinned South Africa batsman Ashwell Prince lbw asLancashire reached tea on 30 for 2 – still requiring another 80 runs.But any doubts the visitors may have had were eased by Agathangelou racing past50 off just 61 deliveries with opener Luis Reece contributing 40 not out. The winning run came through Agathangelou running a single off Daggett asLancashire took a big step towards a return to Division One.

Debutant Zulfiqar Babar, 34, took 3 for 23 and hit the winning runs off the last ball to take Pakistan home in a thriller against West Indies

The Report by Abhishek Purohit27-Jul-2013Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsZulfiqar Babar, 34, had a dream debut for Pakistan•WICB MediaYou get a chance to play international cricket at 34, becoming the second-oldest debutant for your country. You are hit for six second ball. What do you do? You dismiss three key batsmen for just 23 runs. You are then called on to finish the game. With the bat. Understandably, you are tied down. But with six needed off six, you loft over extra cover for four. You think you have more than pulled your weight as a debutant. You have, but it is not over yet. It comes down to the last ball. One run needed. Everyone is in the circle. No sweat. You go big over mid-off, so big that you clear the rope. Zulfiqar Babar, welcome to international cricket.It should not have come down to the last ball the way Shahid Afridi sensibly steered the chase from 86 for 5. After that became 116 for 6, he did it with the tail for company. He made 46 off 27, but barring the 27th delivery, he hardly hit a desperate, reckless stroke. With eight needed off 11 though, he tried to seal it with a straight six, and mishit to long-on.West Indies sensed a chance. Babar played out a few dots. Despite that early boundary in the last over, Saeed Ajmal was run out off the fifth with the scores tied, before Babar roared one final time.The way they bowled and fielded, West Indies were lucky to have taken it down to the last ball. Shannon Gabriel took three wickets, but he crumbled under pressure each time he was called upon to deliver. Umar Amin, who played a blinder on T20 debut, took three fours off Gabriel’s first over, with a flick and two pulls.Amin then took Samuel Badree apart on a turning pitch. Never giving the ball a chance to spin, he repeatedly stepped out to loft Badree down the ground. When the bowler dropped it short, Amin pulled. When he overpitched, Amin drove. Even as Amin was toying with West Indies, the hosts were striking at the other end.The Pakistan top order fell to miscalculated hits, but Amin’s brilliance meant the asking-rate was always under control. That still didn’t stop Amin from walking out to Samuels and getting stumped to make it 86 for 5.Afridi took over now, striking Samuels first ball for six over long-off and drilling the third to the extra cover rope. Thereafter, he settled down into cruise mode, rotating the strike, picking the odd boundary and also lofting Sunil Narine to become the first man to reach 400 international sixes. He did everything right except the stroke on the ball he got out to, but then, it was to be the debutant’s day in the end.Babar, and the other Pakistan spinners, had shocked West Indies initially on the turner but the hosts recovered and then took apart the fast bowlers to post a challenging total. Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard came together at 42 for 4 and put on 56 before Darren Sammy cracked 30 off 14. Pakistan’s slow bowlers did their job, taking 5 for 74 in 14 overs but the fast bowlers, missing the yorkers too often, disappeared for 1 for 73 in six. Mohammad Hafeez, who opened the bowling and dismissed the openers, gave himself just two overs.Babar squared up and bowled Lendl Simmons with his fourth delivery and in his next over, found himself in the way of a powerful hit from Samuels, but managed to hold on. Samuels had been cutting Mohammad Irfan for boundaries amid all the wickets.Bravo and Pollard, although not always in control, rotated the strike, a refreshing thing coming from a West Indies pair. Bravo was quick to hit with the turn through the off side, and Pollard made sure he put away the rare half-volleys for boundaries. Sammy went after the fast bowlers as he and Pollard looted 53 in four overs. As Sammy said after the game, 152 should have been defended on that pitch, but Babar was to have the perfect debut.

New Zealand Cricket is “very excited” about the prospect of playing a day-night Test on their tour of Australia in late 2015

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Aug-2013New Zealand Cricket is “very excited” about the prospect of playing a day-night Test on their tour of Australia in late 2015, after Cricket Australia announced plans to trial floodlit long-form cricket in the Sheffield Shield this summer. The Australian Cricketers’ Association said that while it needed to be convinced on several aspects, particularly the durability of the pink ball, it was approaching the issue with an “open mind”.The potential to attract a much larger television viewership in the evening by roping in audiences in India and other big markets was of chief interest to NZC, according to chief executive David White. “‘We are very interested in the concept,”‘ White was quoted as saying in the . “‘I don’t think anyone is trying to make out that this is going to replace Test cricket as we know it. From a New Zealand Cricket perspective, if it’s successful we would maybe play one game a series. It will give people an opportunity to watch the game after work or after school, at the game and on the television, so that’s got commercial possibilities.”‘Our time zone with the northern hemisphere and India is not the most advantageous at the moment. By playing at night it opens up a lot more opportunity from an international broadcast point of view in terms of a better time zone. So there are strong, strong commercial opportunities there for us.'”While the administrators are enticed by the promise of enhanced revenues, ACA chief executive Paul Marsh sounded caution, saying players weren’t entirely convinced yet and would not want the “integrity of the game” to be compromised.”At the moment the support from the players is divided. It’s roughly 50-50 in terms of players who think day-night Test cricket should be pursued and that has moved towards more support over time,” Marsh said. ”Our view on any playing condition has always been that it must be trialled at domestic level before it gets to international level and I’m glad they are going down that path.”In saying that, we are sceptical about the ability of the ball to stand up and that’s been the problem… you don’t want, by going down this path, to lose the integrity of the game and if you have a ball that is not going to stand up for 80 overs, then I think you have to look at it and say it can’t be taken to Test level.”We’re going into this with an open mind but there are issues we believe exist and we would need to be convinced they can be overcome… if all goes well, it is something that could happen.”White said while it was crucial that players are not disadvantaged at any time during the match, including on the visibility front, recent progress in the development of the pink ball had been encouraging. ”There has been talk about the twilight as a difficult time to bat. The ball is really interesting. I think we’re up to version six of the pink ball and initially my understanding was that it discoloured quickly, whereas now it’s a lot better.”

Guyana Amazon Warriors defended a middling total of 140, taking four wickets in the last three overs, to set up a five-run win against Jamaica Tallawahs in the Caribbean Premier League

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Aug-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsChristopher Barnwell took two wickets in the final over and gave away just four runs•Getty ImagesGuyana Amazon Warriors defended a middling total of 140, taking four wickets in the last three overs, to set up a five-run win against Jamaica Tallawahs in the Caribbean Premier League. The win has pushed Guyana’s points tally to eight, although they still trail the Barbados Tridents on run rate.Jamaica were in a strong position with six wickets in hand and 25 needed off the last three overs. However, Sunil Narine conceded just two runs in his last over and dismissed Jacques Rudolph to finish with match figures of one for 10 off four overs. His wicket brought Vernon Philander and Andre Russell together at the crease but the pair couldn’t repeat their spectacular finish against St Lucia Zouks this time round.Russell smashed a six off pacer Krishmar Santokie in the 19th over but fell attempting a big shot off the next ball. Jamaica went into the final over needing 10 runs but pacer Christopher Barnwell, bowling his first over of the match, dismissed Vernon Philander off the first ball. A couple of balls later, he took the wicket of David Bernard, conceding just four runs to finish a close win.Jamaica’s reply was shaped largely by Chris Gayle’s 46-ball 43 and Chadwick Walton’s 36 off 20 balls. Gayle began strongly, hitting fours in consecutive overs but lost opener Ahmed Shehzad quickly. After a couple of quiet overs, Walton opened up, hitting sixes in successive overs before taking 17 runs off Mohammad Hafeez in the eighth over. Walton’s wicket, followed by Danza Hyatt’s, however, set Jamaica back and the side lost Gayle when they were still 42 runs short of the target.Earlier, Guyana squandered the advantage of a strong start, losing four wickets in the last three overs for 15 runs to finish at 139 for 6. Lendl Simmons and Martin Guptill put on 68 runs, the second-best opening stand for Guyana in the tournament so far. Once the openers fell, James Franklin took charge of the innings, pairing up with Barnwell to score 27 runs off the 16th and 17th overs before Barnwell was run-out for 11. Philander then pulled things back for Jamaica, dismissing Franklin off the first ball of the last over. Mohammad Hafeez was run-out for 6 and Philander finished the innings with the wicket of Denesh Ramdin.

The ability to play more games and shoulder more responsibility played a key role in Ryan ten Doeschate’s decision to join Otago Volts

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Sep-2013Ryan ten Doeschate, the Otago Volts and Netherlands allrounder, has said that the chance to play more games and shoulder greater responsibility played a key role in his decision to join the New Zealand domestic T20 side.”When I joined the Volts I knew that I’ll play 10 games, bat up the order and get to shoulder more responsibilities,” ten Doeschate told the CLT20 website. “Here, I will have to take more onus and I like that idea because that’s the kind of role teams give to their key players. “Ten Doeschate played a decisive hand in Otago’s victory over Kandurata Maroons, first picking up 2 for 9 in his two overs, and then scoring 64 off 32 balls to help guide Otago to a six-wicket win.While playing for Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL, ten Doeschate realised the level of competition for spots among the foreign players. “It is very different, mindset more than anything else,” he said. “But you’ve got to accept that you are not playing games for certain reasons, and in all the big teams it is difficult to even get a handful of games. That was one thing that was very appealing to me when I went to New Zealand last year.Ten Doeschate was due to play for Essex in the current English county cricket season, but with Ravi Bopara deemed available again, he was allowed to join Otago for the Champions League campaign. “I love coming to India and have been looking forward to this competition. It was only at the last moment that I was told I wasn’t required at Essex and that I could come here and join the Otago Volts, which was great news.”Hopefully, we can win the main draw of the competition but this (qualifying in the Group stage) in itself is a wonderful achievement for the guys. New Zealand is one of the smaller cricket nations in the world, and a place in the main draw is very well admired and deserved.”During the HRV Cup, this year, ten Doeschate finished second on the runs-scorer list with 401 runs in 10 innings at an average of 50.12, but insisted it was the performance of the team as a whole which made the difference. “I might have got the most runs in the HRV Cup, but there are guys who contributed throughout the tournament. I believe that’s why we have been so good in the last 12 months or so.”He also had praise for his captain Brendon McCullum. “Brendon is a seasoned international cricketer and I think it would be foolish to suggest anything else other than he is the guy we look at to carry our hopes. But again, everyone has to chip in and sometimes, a 25 not-out is just as crucial as a 70 or an 80.”For instance, Hamish Rutherford is a fantastic talent and someone who is consistently scoring 20-30 runs now. Yes, there are match-winners in every team and it’s nice to have a few guys who we can turn to for big performances. They give us a good chance in the main draw.”Otago next face Sunrisers Hyderabad on September 20 in a dead-rubber as both sides have already qualified for the group stage.

Twenty-year-old legspinner Ish Sodhi’s progress has impressed New Zealand coach Mike Hesson, and he has earmarked the bowler as one for the future

Mohammad Isam14-Oct-2013Twenty-year-old legspinner Ish Sodhi’s progress has impressed New Zealand coach Mike Hesson, and he has earmarked the bowler as one for the future. However, the team was still missing the services of Daniel Vettori, who has not played Test cricket for over a year due to an Achilles tendon injury, Hesson admitted.Sodhi and left-arm spinner Bruce Martin combined to take only five wickets in the first Test against Bangladesh, in Chittagong, while part-timer offspinner Kane Williamson picked up one wicket. Williamson was introduced before the two specialist spinners in the second innings, but that was mostly down to having the left-handed Tamim Iqbal at the crease. Sodhi later picked up the wicket of Marshall Ayub to a delivery which he tried to play from deep inside the crease but missed it to be adjudged leg-before.He had conceded 112 runs at 3.88 per over in the first innings, where he looked innocuous at times. In the second innings he was more attacking, and gave away 57 runs at 5.51 per over. Hesson believed there is something about Sodhi that is exciting. “I thought he got better as the Test went on,” Hesson said. “Ish is 20, a young man. He was nervous. He learned a lot. He created a number of opportunities.”On a surface that didn’t have a lot of bounce, he hit the gloves a couple of times. He is a good prospect for us. He is not a finished product yet, but he is worth investing in for the future.”Sodhi was also highly recommended by Vettori himself ahead of the Bangladesh series. It was Vettori who invited Sodhi to bowl at a trial in Auckland, after which they became team-mates.Vettori is in another class, though, Hesson said. “He is a fine performer. Any side that New Zealand puts out without Dan Vettori is a weaker side. That’s just the fact.”Vettori’s record against Bangladesh provides several reasons to miss him. He has taken 51 wickets in nine Tests against them, 34 of which have come in four Tests in Bangladesh. His batting average is 40.62 against them, with three fifties. “Any side would miss Dan Vettori, and we have been without Dan for a little while now,” Hesson said.Hesson was pleased with his side’s batting effort in both innings. New Zealand posted a competitive 469 in the first innings, with Williamson showing his ability to dictate against spin in the subcontinent. He made 114 and 74, top scores in both innings. Wicketkeeper BJ Watling too scored a century, the second of his Test career.”I am really pleased with Kane Williamson. He got a great hundred in P Sara last year. He plays spin well,” Hesson said. “He timed the ball nicely on a wicket where scoring three an over was tough. He looked at ease.”After a bit of fortune early on, BJ [Watling] also played very well. He trained a lot in the winter. We are all delighted for him. He showed his skills in these conditions.”Both teams will now go into a three-day break as there are two major religious festivals on in Bangladesh: the Durga Puja will be ending this week, with Eid-ul-Adha starting on October 16. New Zealand will not be training for three days, until Friday.”We have plenty of things planned for the next few days,” Hesson said. “We have a chance to freshen up, get some physical work done in the gym.”We will also do a bit of scouting. Our guys enjoy the travelling side of international cricket. We want to get to know different cultures as much as we can. I think we won’t be spending three days in the hotel.”

For an hour or so, Joe Root’s little finger was of almost as much interest to England on day three of the tour match in Sydney as Kevin Pietersen’s knee and Matt Prior’s calf have been for most of the week

Daniel Brettig15-Nov-2013
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‘England breathe after Root knocks’

For an hour or so, Joe Root’s little finger was of almost as much interest to England on day three of the tour match in Sydney as Kevin Pietersen’s knee and Matt Prior’s calf have been for most of the week. During an innings of 75 in which he reacquainted himself with the No. 6 position following a demotion from the top of the order, Root was struck a stinging blow on the glove by Josh Lalor and after his dismissal was sent to hospital for scans.He returned soon after to field, however, and looked on happily enough from the slips as Jonny Bairstow completed a neat day with the bat and the gloves as he weighs up his chances of filling the same role in Brisbane next week. Bairstow’s partnership with Root provided a glimpse of what may be an important middle-order alliance, should Prior not be fit, and they added 106 together before an expansive stroke sent the wicketkeeper back to the pavilion.Afterwards Bairstow refused to admit to even the slightest hint of enthusiasm for an unfavourable injury report on Prior, though that news would return him to the Test team as the gloveman only one match after he was dropped as a batsman for the final match of the earlier Ashes encounter in England. Confident in his glovework under the tutelage of Bruce French, Bairstow acknowledged the location of big scores was the major obstacle to his development thus far.”Everyone’s hoping Matt’s fit for English cricket – who wouldn’t want him to be fit and taking the stage for the Gabba in that first Test?” Bairstow said. “But if that isn’t the case it’s an opportunity to go out there and play for your country. Over the last couple of days I’ve been happy with the performance I’ve put in behind the stumps with the gloves and if that is the case then so be it.Finch swoops on Swann

Aaron Finch has counselled Australia’s batsmen to attack Graeme Swann in the forthcoming Ashes series, arguing that it was important the hosts do not let the world’s best classical offspinner settle on harder Australian pitches that are less likely to afford him the spin available earlier this year on dry surfaces in England.
After clattering 59 from 60 balls for the Invitational XI at the SCG, Finch said aggression was vital to neutralising Swann, even if his own attempt to follow that path ended with a skied drive and a dismissal just when he appeared to be in command. Having played under Darren Lehmann in Twenty20 and ODI formats, Finch felt sure the national coach would offer similar advice.
“I think we saw towards the end of the Ashes last time they tried to attack him quite early and had a bit of success doing that,” Finch said. “When you let a world-class spinner like that settle in and keep bowling, chances are he’s going to get a wicket eventually. So I suppose if you can get on the front foot to him, attack him and put him under pressure it can help guys through the middle order.
“We’ve got very good players of spin, Pup, Smithy, Watto and Bails now, so if that’s a part of their game plan, being attacking and free-flowing against someone like that can’t be a bad thing. Knowing ‘Boof’, for the right-handers especially it will be a bit of a gameplan.”

“It’s obviously important after you make starts and go on and get that big one. That is something I didn’t necessarily do in the summer and if I do get the opportunity to play that will be something I will be looking to do in this series. But it was good, tough cricket playing in the summer against Australia, the first time I’d played against them. It was a very enjoyable experience and something I’ll look back on very fondly.”Joe Root needed treatment and a quick, precautionary, trip to hospital•PA PhotosEngland’s innings was wrapped up quite quickly on a wearing surface after Root’s exit, the 20-year-old legspinner James Muirhead scooping four wickets for the innings to maintain the glimpses of promise he showed against Ian Bell and Pietersen on day two. That meant England’s lead was only 114, and it soon dwindled as Aaron Finch set about the bowling in his preferred aggressive manner while accompanied by the more obstinate Ed Cowan.Their stand of 81 was ended when Finch aimed one too many hearty blows at Graeme Swann, who gained some spin while dropping on to an increasingly precise length, and skied a catch to backward point. A more muted passage of play followed, as Boyd Rankin and Steven Finn both put in decent spells in their final opportunity to convince the team director, Andy Flower, of their worth as the third seamer behind James Anderson and Stuart Broad.While he was again expensive, Finn gained some appreciable reverse swing as a rain-interrupted day drew toward its close and bowled Callum Ferguson between bat and pad with perhaps the ball of the match. Rankin was less visibly able to move the ball, but was again the more economical paceman. Bairstow acknowledged that movement with the old ball would be of major importance to the outcome of the series.Finch’s innings was what he hopes will be the first step towards bringing his brazen limited-overs style to the first-class arena, where he has struggled for some time with an approach muddled by orthodoxy when his primary skill is to play with instinct, flair and little time for steady accumulation. He was unfussed about ending the innings on a somewhat ungainly note, stating that he was now resolved to following that approach come what may.”I’ve tried to curb my aggression for probably two years now and I’ve made about eight runs,” Finch said. “I thought I’d keep going, it wasn’t to be unfortunately but I still thought it was the right shot to play. I wasn’t too disappointed about it. If that goes for six, who knows. I’m comfortable with myself doing that, if I try to block them I get angry at myself, so if I get out every now and then hitting one straight up I can wear that.”It’s just about assessing conditions, the stage of the game, we were a bit behind in the game and it wasn’t going to be a long session so I thought it was a good opportunity to play some shots and try to put them on the back foot a little bit. It is risk/reward when you play like that and sometimes you’re going to look like a bit of a goose, but I got away with it for a little while today.”

Jharkhand sniff a chance against a Mumbai team weakened by retirements and international call-ups, in a top-versus-bottom clash at the Wankhede

The Preview by Abhishek Purohit05-Dec-2013This is a hopeless mismatch, going by reputation. Forty-time champions against a side promoted from the bottom group. This is a hopeless mismatch even on current form. Mumbai have three outright wins this Ranji season, and lead Group A with 19 points from four games. Jharkhand are last with three from five, and, as their captain Shahbaz Nadeem conceded, have little hope of making the knockouts.But forget reputation for a moment, delve deeper into Mumbai’s matches this season, and suddenly, this does not appear a mismatch.Sachin Tendulkar had to bat five hours in Lahli to prevent his domestic farewell from ending in a party for Haryana. Zaheer Khan delivered one of his bursts-out-of-nowhere to deny Delhi the first innings lead, and claimed 16 wickets in four games before boarding the flight to South Africa. Ajinkya Rahane helped shut Vidarbha out with a big hundred before doing the same.Dhawal Kulkarni is still out injured. Kaustubh Pawar, who can be relied upon to blunt the new ball, has been dropped for poor form. Mumbai’s spin stocks are at an all-time low, to the extent they have had to turn to 42-year-old Pravin Tambe on the basis of his club and Twenty20 franchise performances. Their seam attack is so short on experience they are happy Shardul Thakur, all of six first-class games old, was sharp in the nets today. Their first-choice spinner Vishal Dabholkar, albeit in superb form, has played two more matches than Thakur.Nadeem, also Jharkhand’s lead spinner, will be playing his 50th first-class game. Jharkhand also have the quick Varun Aaron, who kept hitting batsmen on the gloves and thigh pads during practice without extending himself. Rahul Shukla can be pretty awkward to handle, and Saurabh Tiwary has six fifties in eight innings. Jharkhand’s worry is that the rest of the batsmen combined have scored only ten half-centuries in the season, and there have been no hundreds.”We are a very good side on paper but we have not been delivering,” Nadeem said. “That is the problem we are facing. It has been the batting. Our bowlers are doing well. If we can post around 350-400… our bowling is strong.”The only time Jharkhand played Mumbai after separating from Bihar was in February 2011, when they beat them, albeit in the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy. Nadeem was reminded of that game, and promptly replied that he had played a crucial role in the victory. “We are excited to be playing Mumbai. We have come here to give them a good fight. We played against them three years ago and won,” Nadeem said. “I was the Man of the Match. But the one-day format is completely different to the days format. But it also does not mean that we cannot beat them in the days format. We have quality players such as Varun, Saurabh, (Ishank) Jaggi, two-three other players as well. We had five players in last year’s Duleep Trophy (for East Zone). It is just that we are not delivering.”Abhishek Nayar, leading Mumbai in the absence of Zaheer and Rohit Sharma, was asked the inevitable question about how Mumbai would cope in the absence of so many first-choice players. “No one is really worried about who is there and who is not,” Nayar said. “We have all accepted it over a period of time. It is challenging with or without the seniors. Ranji Trophy is challenging. Nothing changes that. We have two or three new faces, but everyone else has been part of the team.”Nayar suggested that not having big players could actually work in Mumbai’s favour. Having bigger reputations around meant increased pressure to win, he said. “Expectations are still there, but it also a chance for everyone to enjoy themselves.”Tackling the Jharkhand pace attack would be a challenge, Nayar admitted, especially on a Wankhede pitch he felt was seamer-friendly. “Most of the teams we have played this year have had decent fast bowlers. A lot of the pitches we have played on have been good seaming conditions or good turning conditions, not like the regular flat track we played on last year.”Unexpected, unseasonal showers in southern Mumbai yesterday morning have added another dimension. Some of the practice pitches were still damp and the ball kicked on occasion; the match wicket wasn’t watered too much. Nayar said they would wait till the morning of the game to see how much the track had dried and would then decide whether to play a third seamer.Nadeem’s assessment of the surface was far removed from Nayar’s. “It looks like a flat wicket,” Nadeem said. “Does not have too much of grass and it is bound properly. It looks like a batting wicket.” Opinions as far apart from each other as Mumbai and Jharkhand are on the points table. Still does not appear a mismatch though.