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Naman Ojha, the wicketkeeper batsman, has been included in the India squad for the fourth Test against England at Old Trafford as replacement for an injured Wriddhiman Saha

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Jul-2014Naman Ojha, the wicketkeeper-batsman, has got his maiden Test call-up taking the place of the injured Wriddhiman Saha for the Old Trafford Test against England starting on August 7.”Wriddhiman Saha is injured and will soon return to India,” BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel said. “Ojha will replace him as the back-up wicketkeeper.”Ojha, 31, has been in a rich vein of form with the India A side that toured Australia in July. He struck three centuries, including a maiden double-ton in two first-class matches. Ojha’s last stint with the national side was in June 2010 for a limited-overs tour of Zimbabwe, but is yet to make his Test debut. He has 6877 runs from 101 first-class matches, putting his average at 42.71. As wicketkeeper, he has 288 catches and 34 stumpings.Ojha’s return to the national set-up came on the back of a productive season for Madhya Pradesh in the last Ranji Trophy: 835 runs from seven matches, his best returns in over a decade of domestic cricket. He was able to capitalise on that form against Australia A striking an unbeaten 219 off 250 balls in his first hit and adding a further 101 not out in the second innings at Brisbane. He was dismissed only once during the entire tour, and that after scoring 110 in the next drawn first-class game.

India allrounder Irfan Pathan is confident of making a “comeback” to the national side, and has said he will focus on using the Ranji Trophy matches to make his presence felt

PTI28-Aug-2014India allrounder Irfan Pathan is confident of making a “comeback” to the national side, and has said he will focus on using the Ranji Trophy matches to make his presence felt. Irfan has not played for India since 2012 due to injury.”Irfan will return very soon. For that my focus is on the forthcoming Ranji matches,” Irfan said. “I will play all the Ranji Trophy matches and if you play four-day cricket, it would be easier to play one-day cricket.”Before or after the World Cup, I am sure that I will soon be playing for team India.”Irfan, who represents Baroda in the Ranji Trophy, said: “I am very excited about Ranji Trophy matches. I will contribute towards bowling and batting as well. The experience that I have gained in so many years is an advantage. I will use that advantage and try my best to make a comeback.”When asked about the India’s Test performance in England, he said: “It will not be proper to comment about it, but seeing the performance during the last one-day game, I hope the team will continue to perform like this.” He also backed the out-of-form Virat Kohli. “I think Virat will definitely get his form back. He is an excellent and confident player. Neither we nor his fans should bother about Virat’s performance during a particular season. I am very confident that what has been happening to him will make him a better player.”

Oliver Newby and Andrea Agathangelou have been released by Lancashire as the club continues their reshaping following relegation

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Oct-2014Oliver Newby and Andrea Agathangelou have been released by Lancashire as the club continues their reshaping following relegation.The confirmation that both players would not be retained came shortly after Ashley Giles was appointed the new head coach.Pace bowler Newby, 30, has been with the club 12 years but, despite showing promise, failed to secure a regular first-team place and spent time out on loan in recent seasons. In 53 first-class matches he has taken 133 wickets at 32.55.Agathangelou, born in South Africa and with a Cypriot father, joined Lancashire on a scholarship programme when he was 20. He played six Championship matches in the 2014 season but averaged just 16.81.Glen Chapple, who will be Giles’ assistant next year although has kept himself available to play if required, said: “Oliver has not been able to hold down a regular spot in the side, and I hope there is an opportunity for him to do so elsewhere.”Andrea is an extremely talented cricketer with a good attitude – and, given the right opportunity, he could reach his true potential.”

VVS Laxman, the former India batsman, has advocated the use of spinning pitches in India, and “smart preparation” before the team travels overseas for tours

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Nov-2014VVS Laxman, the former India batsman, has advocated the use of spinning pitches in India, and “smart preparation” before the team travels overseas for tours. Laxman, speaking at the Pataudi Memorial Lecture in Kolkata on Wednesday, said the team should “strive to be consistently successful” away from home.”In an ideal world, before we travel to Australia or South Africa, we would spend weeks together in camps, honing techniques against the bouncing ball or working out the lengths that are optimal for surfaces with pace and bounce,” he said. “But we do not live in an ideal world, what with tours packed into the calendar.”Given that our first-class season these days starts in November, players are exposed to different conditions in various parts of India. In the north, the ball darts around in the winter and tests the technical expertise of the batsmen. Unfortunately, due to the packed international calendar, the national team players don’t always get to play first-class cricket.”So today, we need to substitute extensive preparation with smart preparation. I am a great believer in playing to our strengths and maximising home advantage.”The key to doing that, Laxman said, was, of course, producing pitches that aided spinners. “We must continue to play international cricket on pitches that suit our traditional strength, which is spin,” he said, adding that that does not mean India should not work on bettering their pace prospects. He said that could be done by pinpointing venues that will help the fast bowlers hone their skills, and these venues should be put to use before overseas tours.”We must also identify at least one venue in each zone of where we can replicate surfaces we are most likely to find encounter overseas,” he said. “In that way we can have proper preparatory camps in such venues before going on tour.”Following a period of promising Test performances overseas, India’s results in such series have fallen away drastically over the past three years. After a hard-fought drawn series in South Africa in December 2010-January 2011, and a win in West Indies in June-July 2011, India have lost 13 off 17 overseas Tests. That includes the whitewashes in England and Australia later that year, and the 3-1 loss to England this summer – a particularly disheartening showing, given the team fared so dismally in the final three Tests after taking the lead at Lord’s.”It is imperative that we prepare for overseas visits with diligence and intelligence,” Laxman said, reminding the Indian team, which was in attendance for his speech, that there was no satisfaction like that gained from winning away Tests. “Performances at home can’t be devalued, but I can say from experience that the roles I played in India’s victories overseas have given me the greatest satisfaction. As a team, we must strive to be consistently successful when we travel away from our comfort zone.”

Sanath Jayasuriya, Sri Lanka Cricket’s chief selector, has said that the side’s ODI series loss in India was “a bad dream” and expected the side to bounce back in the forthcoming matches against England

Sa'adi Thawfeeq16-Nov-2014Sanath Jayasuriya, Sri Lank’s chief selector, has said that the side’s ODI series loss in India is “a bad dream” and he expects the side to bounce back in the forthcoming matches against England. Sri Lanka will host England for a seven-match ODI series, which starts in Colombo from November 26.Jayasuriya admitted that a second-string bowling attack and the inability of the top order to score big runs were the main factors behind the heavy defeats in India.”I was not expecting miracles for Sri Lanka to win the series in India and all that kind of thing. What I expected was good, competitive cricket,” Jayasuriya said. “If we are to play competitively, somebody had to bat a long innings like the Indian batsmen were doing. One of the top four needed to bat for 40 overs. Unfortunately it didn’t click, set batsmen got out. Overall, it was not the best performance but it’s a good experience for us.”The full strength of our bowlers was not there. We got the second-string bowlers for the series. It’s not easy bowling in India, we all know that. We had to give those bowlers the exposure one day, otherwise we would never get a chance. With injuries to so many bowlers, we had to put them in.”India is a bad dream and it is not the first time we have gone through a series like this. People will criticise and say a lot of things about the team that we should not have gone to India and all that. If we had done well everyone would have said that was a good experience for the team. It can happen either way.”According to Jayasuriya, the series defeat could end up as a blessing in disguise coming before a World Cup as the team still had ample time to improve their performances and start peaking in time for the tournament in February-March 2015.”It is not only the cricketers but all of us have to take the blame for the Indian defeat,” he said. “We can’t push the players into a corner, this is the time we need to support them. The entire country needs to support them.”This defeat in a way before the World Cup is like a blessing in disguise. Going through a bad patch I don’t mind that because there are 90 more days to go. If the team can start peaking from the England and New Zealand series till the end of the World Cup, that would be ideal.”

“Going through a bad patch I don’t mind that because there are 90 more days to go. If the team can start peaking from the England and New Zealand series till the end of the World Cup that would be ideal.”Sanath Jayasuriya

Jayasuriya was hopeful the team could recover from the negative impact of the India series before their matches against England: “There will be some negativity after the losses but history shows that we have gone to India and got thrashed and have come back and done well most of the time. We need to get our confidence back from here onwards and have an idea of what the World Cup squad is going to be.”One of the areas Sri Lanka will be looking to address before the World Cup is the second opener’s slot. Upul Tharanga and Kusal Perera have been tried as opening partners for Tillakaratne Dilshan but have not done well. Mahela Jayawardene’s recent statements, expressing his desire to open the innings, has also added another dimension to the issue.”We have discussed a few things recently with the captain, coach and we need to come up with a plan and implement it in such a way that it will be beneficial for the team till the World Cup,” Jayasuriya said.He also stated that developing the part-time bowling skills of batsmen was a key area to fill the gap of the fifth bowler in the side, allowing Sri Lanka to play a seven-batsmen-four-bowlers combination.”We don’t have batsmen who can also bowl a few overs,” he said. “During my time, I used to bowl, there was Aravinda de Silva and Kumar Dharmasena. This is the issue we have in the middle – the batsmen who can bowl a bit.”We can go with seven batters and four bowlers if we have someone to perform the role of fifth bowler. At practice, players like Dilshan and Ashan Priyanjan need to concentrate and bowl a little bit more so that they will be able to play the role of fifth bowler.”

A century from Sudip Chatterjee set up a dominant day for Bengal, as they led Baroda by 369 runs heading into the penultimate day in Vadodara

The Report by Amol Karhadkar in Vadodara08-Dec-2014
ScorecardFile photo: Laxmi Shukla struck twice to leave Baroda rattling at 86 for 3•FotocorpSwapnil makes his chance count

Swapnil Singh stole the limelight almost nine years ago when he became the youngest first-class player for Baroda. At the age of 14, Swapnil made his debut against Hyderabad. However, like many players his age, he struggled to cope with the early attention and lost his place when he was still a teenager.
But on Tuesday, Swapnil picked his second five-for, against Bengal. It was the first time in three years that Swapnil was bowling in a first-class match, and his consistent line and lengths hinted at him having matured into a classy spinner.
“It was difficult to come to terms with the fact that I was sidelined and had to compete in the age-group tournaments, but I had no one to blame but myself since I wasn’t bowling well consistently,” Swapnil said. “I am delighted to have been able to deliver in my first game in three years.”
Swapnil, who was drafted into the side as Baroda’s first-choice spinner Bhargav Bhatt is sidelined with a fractured finger, acknowledged Balwinder Singh Sandhu, the former India bowler and one of the senior-most coaches in Indian cricket, for helping him make “minor technical adjustments” over the last 18 months.

Swapnil Singh marked his return to first-class cricket after three years with a five-for, helping Baroda stage a collapse in the latter stages of Bengal’s first innings. Still, Sudip Chatterjee’s big hundred, and late strikes from the visiting captain Laxmi Shukla meant Bengal held a clear advantage at the end of the second day’s play at the Reliance Stadium in Vadodara.In reply to Bengal’s first-innings total of 455, Baroda were reeling at 86 for 3 at stumps. After Veer Pratap Singh had induced an edge off Dhiren Mistry’s willow to Manoj Tiwary early in the last session, Shukla struck twice in a late spell. Shukla first saw Saurabh Wakaskar’s attempted leave take the bottom edge off the bat and ricochet on to the stumps, and then trapped the Baroda captain Aditya Waghmode in front of the wickets.If Baroda are to somehow collect an innings lead on a placid track, they will be looking up to Kedar Devdhar and Yusuf Pathan to put up a huge partnership, and then hope for their deep lower order to fire. While Devdhar appeared to be in good touch, Yusuf Survived a jittery 20 minutes before the close of play. Both Devdhar and Pathan will have plenty of cues to take from the youngster Chatterjee, who stole the show for the second day running.Chatterjee, who began the day on 91, started with an edge off Munaf Patel in the opening over that went wide off gully for a brace. He then completed his century with an elegant flick off his pads, once again off Munaf, which raced to the square-leg fence.Most of the opening day had Chatterjee displaying his grit and defensive technique. But once he had passed the landmark, he started making optimum use of every scoring opportunity. He continued scoring evven after his 156-run association for the fourth wicket with Shreevats Goswami came to an end when Goswami nicked Yusuf behind on 87.Chatterjee had hit just four fours on day one, but added nine more in the opening session of day two. The highlight strokes of the day were his twin boundaries off Munaf in an over soon after Shukla had joined him at the crease. Chatterjee first flicked a fuller delivery through mid-wicket, and then rocked on to the backfoot to cut the next ball through point.Shukla was just as aggressive at the other end, hitting Yusuf for a six over long-on and following it up with another off Swapnil Singh in the left-arm spinner’s first over of the day. Swapnil was brought on only in the 33rd over of the day. With Chatterjee and Shukla having already added 68 runs for the fifth wicket, Baroda were in a danger of being batted out of the game.However, Swapnil started the comeback by inducing a top edge off Shukla for Yusuf to complete a catch running a few yards backwards from slips. Debutant Subhajit Banerjee was then caught brilliant at forward short leg by Devdhar immediately after opening his account.Chatterjee was still going strong at the other end, having paced his innings extremely well. After taking 194 balls to complete his century, he took just 67 more to cross 150. He went at at run-a-ball in the second session of the day and entered the 190s with a steer off left-arm pacer Gagandeep Singh that sped to third-man fence.He was however denied what would have been a well-deserved double-century after his forward prod off Gagandeep resulted in an edge to Pinal Shah behind the stumps. Chatterkee walked back to a standing ovation from his team-mates.Swapnil then wrapped up the Bengal tail quickly, with the visitors losing their last six wickets for just 47 runs. The damage, however, was already done by then.

Zimbabwe batsman Hamilton Masakadza has been picked in a World Cup squad for the first time despite having made his ODI debut in 2001

Firdose Moonda07-Jan-20151:53

Moonda: Zimbabwe squad a mix of experience and youth

Hamilton Masakadza will play in his first World Cup after 14 years as an international cricketer, having made his debut in 2001. He was included in Zimbabwe’s 15 for the first time, after missing out on the 2003, 2007 and 2011 events because of inexperience, injury and poor form.Zimbabwe also included Stuart Matsikenyeri, who last played for them in the 2012 World T20, Chamu Chibhabha, who has been overlooked since March 2013 and Prosper Utseya, even though he was banned from bowling his main discipline, offspin, because of an illegal action last year. There was also a recall for Sean Williams, who was not selected for the November tour to Bangladesh after a dispute with the selectors, but no space for the out-of-form Vusi Sibanda or left-arm seamer Brian Vitori.That gives Zimbabwe a well-balanced squad with experience at its foundation and youth to prop it up. Elton Chigumbura, who was in charge at the 2011 World Cup before being relieved of the role, will captain Zimbabwe again and head the experienced core. He will have Brendan Taylor, who is still Test captain, Masakadza and Utseya to form part of the think-tank.Utseya’s inclusion may strike as surprising because he will not be able to offer his main discipline – restrict opposition with offspin – but he has been working on other skills. He was recently on a tour to Uganda with Takashinga Cricket Club, coached by sacked Zimbabwe coach Stephen Mangongo, and resurrected his career as a medium-pacer. Peter Kirsten, who is in charge of Uganda and was at that series, said Utseya’s prospects of becoming a threatening medium-pacer are “promising” because of his ability to bowl cutters, which is what Zimbabwe hope he will do at the tournament. “He is our mystery spinner, bowling mediums and cutters and his experience will be vital for us,” Givemore Makoni, Zimbabwe’s selection convener said.Although Zimbabwe will miss Utseya’s spin, they have given themselves plenty of choice in that department. Legspinner Tafadzwa Kamungozi will be their attacking spinner while Sikandar Raza and Matsikenyeri will bowl offspin and Williams, left-arm spin. Given the conditions, their seam bowlers could prove more important to their chances of bowling teams out but Zimbabwe left out the man often referred to as their most threatening wicket-taker, Vitori.The left-armer has bounced in and out of the national squad as he battled injuries and interruptions in form and Zimbabwe decided his inconsistency was too risky for a major tournament. “The bowlers we have gone with have done better than him,” Makoni said when explaining why Tinashe Panyangara and Tendai Chatara will be asked to lead the attack.They will be joined by an additional quick in Tawanda Mupariwa, who has not played international cricket since 2009. Mupariwa was on Zimbabwe’s A tour to Bangladesh, where he took three wickets in two matches at 19.33.Other returning faces include Chibhabha, who made his case with 155 off 146 balls in a match between Zimbabwe A and Canada , which took place a day before the squad was announced. Matsikenyeri, who has spent time in South Africa before returning to try and resurrect his international career in Zimbabwe, also played in that match and scored 50 and Craig Ervine, is also involved in that series.Zimbabwe A are currently in the midst of a four-match series against Canada as part of their preparations for the World Cup. They will also hold a camp in Dubai with new coach Dav Whatmore, who said he was “happy with squad” and had “spoken to all those who missed out and assured them they are still part of the future.” The only member of the squad who will not be part of the preparations is Solomon Mire. He is playing in the Dhaka Premier League and will meet up with the team in New Zealand ahead of the tournament.Although Whatmore has not been given an official mandate for the World Cup, he has stated his goal is to get Zimbabwe out of the group stage and into the last eight. Whatmore’s deal with Zimbabwe will be renegotiated at the end of the tournament.Squad Elton Chigumbura (capt), Sikandar Raza, Regis Chakabva, Tendai Chatara, Chamu Chibhabha, Craig Ervine, Tafadzwa Kamungozi, Hamilton Masakadza, Stuart Matsikenyeri, Solomon Mire, Tawanda Mupariwa, Tinashe Panyangara, Brendan Taylor, Prosper Utseya, Sean Williams

The outcome of the age discrimination and unfair dismissal case brought by Peter Willey and George Sharp against the ECB is a hard one for even experienced lawyers to call

Ivo Tennant05-Feb-2015The Central London Employment Tribunal is accustomed to dealing with distraught individuals whose careers have been terminated in their relative infancy. As senior judge Joanna Wade mentioned this week, presiding over the futures of two cricket umpires in their mid-60s, with glowing testimonies as to their unimpaired abilities, is an altogether different matter. Hence the outcome of the age discrimination and unfair dismissal case brought by Peter Willey and George Sharp against the ECB is a hard one for even experienced lawyers to call.The ECB’s final review of Willey, after 22 years as an umpire in both international and county cricket, reads: “Another very impressive year from a very senior umpire whose influence on colleagues cannot be over-estimated. As ever, your match control, overall awareness and presence, and a tacit concern always to serve the game’s best interests are sterling qualities for which we are grateful.” No reason, you would think, for any employer to wish to dispense with his services. Nor those of Sharp, who has 23 years’ experience to his name following a long career as a player.There is no doubting, too, the willingness of both men to assist younger colleagues. And they have an all-important reputation for being able to deal with any trouble on the pitch. Tales of arm-wrestling between Willey and Ian Botham, however fanciful, have long worked in Willey’s favour. Both he and Sharp, however, have reached the statutory retirement age of 65; or at least Willey has and Sharp will have done before the start of the new season. The ECB’s take is that they have to make way for younger, newly retired cricketers who wish to stay in the game by ascending from the reserve umpiring list to the first-class panel.Under changed employment legislation, introduced in 2011, employers have to come up with a justification as to why individuals must retire at 65. In addition to their competence, no one is questioning the fitness of either Willey or Sharp. An optometrist examines the eyesight of every umpire each year and has found no fault with either. There is little, if any, doubting, that they would continue to enhance the game.One of the prime arguments put forward by Chris Kelly, the ECB’s umpires manager, for adhering to a rigid retirement policy, was that he would not wish to have to terminate their careers if and when they began to lose their faculties. John Holder, the retired umpire called in support of his two former colleagues, said they would still be capable of standing in the middle all day, judgements unimpaired, when they were 80. Kelly believes men of their standing should quit when at the top of their game, in a dignified way.Kelly said that, in not allowing Willey and Sharp to carry on, he had their standing in the game in mind. “I did not want their dignity to be threatened” he said, although he admitted there was no evidence of physical or eyesight deterioration to support the theory. He emphasised the importance of health and safety issues through knowing of three umpires who have struck by balls driven by batsmen.”The umpires all tell me the game is constantly speeding up and they feel more vulnerable when the ball is hit in their direction,” Kelly said. “The physical and mental demands on them are greater. Would it be sensible to have umpires still standing at 75 or 80? I suspect not.”Another aspect emphasised was that Willey and Sharp do not want to leave the game they love. Evidently neither wants to sit around at home. Willey, who made his first-class debut at the age of 16 and has been in the game for 49 uninterrupted years, said in his witness statement that for personal reasons he had not been able actively to seek employment since his enforced retirement. Willey said that his family were concerned he had been suffering from depression over his uncertain future and were worried what would happen to him psychologically if he remained unemployed come the start of the new season in April.”I have been very distressed that I have not been allowed to continue in my job,” he said. “I felt that after 49 years in the game, 22 as an umpire, still respected for my umpiring and as a person around the first-class circuit, all my knowledge was being cast aside because of my age, not my ability.”Sharp, who also gave evidence, said he had been unable to find employment since the end of last season and was undertaking a course in cricket scoring to try and remain in the game. “My loyalty and dedication have been totally disregarded by the ECB when considering my desire to continue. To this day I cannot understand the policy,” he said in his statement.The plain talking of both men was in marked contrast to the long-winded approach of their legal teams, who were not cricket experts and went off, at times, down cul-de-sacs of third and reserve umpires. Asked by Ms Wade about how he would feel if he were to receive a tap on the shoulder by the ECB to stand down, should he continue umpiring, Sharp responded: “I’ve had the sack before. I got on with life.” He told the tribunal he would know when his standards were dropping. “I was offered a two-year contract extension as a player by Northamptonshire when I was 35, but I knew it was time to give up.”A tribunal judgement is expected before the end of February.

If there is a David vs Goliath battle in the quarter-finals, it is this one – the defending champions Karnataka versus Group C toppers Assam. Karnataka, however, will need to guard against complacency

The Preview by Amol Karhadkar15-Feb-2015Match factsFebruary 16-20, 2015
Start time 0930 ISTBig pictureIf there is a David vs Goliath battle in the quarter-finals, it is this one – the defending champions Karnataka versus Group C toppers Assam. Karnataka, however, will be aware of what happened last year when, at the same stage, last season’s Group C toppers Maharashtra ousted defending champions Mumbai in the round of eight. Naturally, there will be no room for complacency for Karnataka.Karnataka have lived up to their billing by topping Group A. Vinay Kumar’s boys, however, had a little slip-up towards the end of the league stage once their qualification was assured. They nearly lost to Baroda and then conceded the first-innings lead to Mumbai in their last league game.Resting KL Rahul and Karun Nair against Mumbai has also created a sweet selection dilemma for them, with R Samarth and Shishir Bhavane grabbing the opportunity at Wankhede Stadium. Despite the recent hiccups, Karnataka look all set to cruise into the semis.If Vinay Kumar and Co’s juggernaut has to be halted, then Assam will need captain Dheeraj Jadhav to get back to scoring big runs. The left-hander has dropped himself down the order, letting the new import KB Arun Karthik open the innings, but hasn’t scored a hundred so far. Still, Jadhav has lead the Assam side well by helping them return to the top tier after a five-year struggle in the Plate group.The only eastern outfit to have made it to the knockouts, Assam have been as consistent in the lowest rung as Karnataka were in Group A. In fact, they tallied the most number of points across all three groups in the league stage. It may still not be enough to keep their campaign alive after this weekend.In the spotlightAssam’s Swarupam Purkayastha had a forgettable first stint when he was dropped five years ago after his action was questioned. The offspinner made a strong comeback this year. He took five consecutive five-wicket hauls and followed that up with a hundred against Andhra.Karnataka captain Vinay Kumar reiterated in Mumbai last week that Shreyas Gopal was picked primarily for his leg-break bowling. But the legspinner surprised everyone by amassing 574 runs with the bat, second only to Robin Uthappa’s run tally in the Karnataka squad. In eight games, he has taken 18 wickets at an average of 31.44. As happy as they are with his batting exploits, Karnataka will be hoping Gopal can strike more with the ball now.SquadsKarnataka: Vinay Kumar R (capt), CM Gautam (vice-capt, wk), Robin Uthappa, R Samarth, Manish Pandey, KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Shreyas Gopal, Udit Patel, A Mithun, S Aravind, HS Sharath, J Suchith, Shishir Bhavane, Kunal Kapoor.Assam: Dheeraj Jadhav (capt), Abu Nechim, Arup Das, Gokul Sharma, KB Arun Karthik, Krishna Das, Pallavkumar Das, Sibsankar Roy, Swarupam Purkayastha, J Syed Mohammed, Tarjinder Singh, Arlen Konwar, Dhiraj Goswami, Kunal Saikia, Pritam Das.Stats and Trivia Swarupam Purkayastha is third in the list of highest wicket-takers of the season, with 36 dismissals so far. Rishi Dhawan (40) and Basant Mohanty (37) lead the list. Karnataka have been unbeaten in the Ranji Trophy for 24 games now. Their last loss was well over two years ago, when they lost to Odisha by 65 runs in November 2012.

Pakistan lost their opening two matches of the World Cup; Ireland won their opening two matches. But it is the former who progressed to the quarter-finals with a reasonably polished seven-wicket victory in Adelaide

The Report by Andrew McGlashan15-Mar-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsPakistan lost their opening two matches of the World Cup; Ireland won their opening two matches. But it was the former who progressed to the quarter-finals with a reasonably polished seven-wicket victory in Adelaide to mean that the knockouts will be populated solely by Full Members.An opening stand of 120 ensured against any concerns for Pakistan and Sarfraz Ahmed, just two matches into his comeback, struck his maiden ODI hundred – their first century of the tournament – although it was reached in slightly farcical scenes as Umar Akmal blocked ball after ball when it appeared Sarfraz would finish short. Ireland’s spirit never dimmed, but there were some resigned looks long before Umar finally clubbed the winning boundary.On the biggest day of Ireland’s cricket history their captain William Porterfield had stood tall with his seventh ODI hundred, but the next best score was Gary Wilson’s 29 and ultimately the skill of the Pakistan quick bowlers, even without the injured Mohammad Irfan, prevailed especially at the death.The pacemen have been central to Pakistan’s recovery after the heavy opening defeats to India and West Indies and this time the last ten overs of the innings brought 49 for 5 with just three fours and a six against outstanding death bowling from Rahat Ali, Sohail Khan and Wahab Riaz. However, Ireland would also ponder the number of well-struck shots that hit fielders – more than half the deliveries in the innings were dots – and they struggled to rotate the strike.In contrast to Pakistan, Ireland’s bowling is comfortably their weakest department. A chase of 238 was enough that a couple of early wickets would have created some jitters but, like against India, they could not break the opening stand before significant damage had been done. The first seven overs brought 28 runs against Alex Cusack and John Mooney, then Sarfraz and Ahmed Shehzad began to cut loose.George Dockrell’s introduction, for the tenth over, marked a change in tempo as Shehzad and Sarfraz collected two boundaries apiece. It was smart play because on a pitch where the ball had occasionally stopped, or gripped, Dockrell should have been a key weapon for Ireland but he was not given the chance to settle.Ireland’s first chance to break through was spurned when Wilson, standing up the stumps to Kevin O’Brien, dropped Sarfraz on 37. By the time Shehzad pulled straight to mid-on against Stuart Thompson, Pakistan were half way to the target and Haris Sohail’s run out two overs later was only a momentary blip.Sarfraz had hit three boundaries by the end of the tenth over and did not add to that until the 37th when he took back-to-back fours off Cusack. It was a sign of how he calmly worked the field and judged that there was no need for anything reckless. Misbah-ul-Haq was more aggressive and the pair added 82 before Misbah trod on his stumps, but by then it had long been obvious there would not be scenes to match Jamaica 2007, almost eight years ago to the day.Porterfield opened that day at Sabina Park and batted 100 minutes for 13. This time his hundred was the first by an Associate captain at a World Cup. It was an innings of immense character and composure, but had similarities with his previous ODI century – against a Full Member, England, and ending in defeat.He scored at a consistent pace throughout, the fifty coming off 59 balls and his hundred from 124. He could have been caught on 84 had Rahat moved faster at third man to intercept an upper cut or run out on 94 with a better throw from Sarfraz, but the three-figure moment came when his punchy drive burst through Wahab’s left hand in the follow through.The early passage of Ireland’s innings was a case of Porterfield dominating the scoring but not finding a long-term ally. Paul Stirling has been unable to build on the aggressive 92 he made in the opening match against West Indies and this time he was caught on the crease playing across a full delivery from Ehsan Adil in his second over of the tournament.Porterfield’s pulling was a stand-out feature, but Ed Joyce did not find the same success when he was caught out by the extra pace of Wahab and top edged to point. Then, with another stand starting to build, and the run rate very acceptable, Niall O’Brien drove to cover when a ball from Rahat stopped in the surface.Although Pakistan’s catching was generally safe, their ground-fielding left plenty to be desired. But a misfield in the deep played a role in the fourth wicket when Porterfield made the most of a fumble in the deep to take three which gave the strike to Balbirnie, who top edged a sweep off Sohail’s fourth delivery to short fine-leg.Porterfield went into the 90s with a sweet drive wide of mid-off but his demise, pulling low to Shahid Afridi at mid-on the over after reaching his hundred, began Ireland’s slide as Pakistan’s expertise in the late overs shone through. Ireland’s last chance of a strong finish rested with Kevin O’Brien but the accuracy of Sohail and Wahab kept him quiet. He was dropped on 7 by Ehsan at deep square-leg but fell next delivery when he spliced a pull to midwicket.