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Sri Lanka A took a lead of 72 as Dimuth Karunaratne scored a patient 131

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Oct-2016
ScorecardFile photo – Dimuth Karunaratne scored a patient 131 to keep Sri Lanka A ahead•AFP

Sri Lanka A’s commanding start to the innings – Test batsmen Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Perera put on 167 for the first wicket – ensured they finished the second day against West Indies A in a strong position.The left-handed opening pair scored at 4.57 per over, with Perera especially going after a West Indian bowling that might have looked even more pedestrian had it not been for Leeward Islands offspinner Rahkeem Cornwall, who ended the day with 6 for 87, his third five-wicket haul in a row in first-class cricket. Cornwall has taken 42 wickets in his last ten innings.Cornwall broke the opening stand and further damaged Sri Lanka A’s momentum as he picked up Lahiru Thirimanne and Roshan Silva shortly after. However, Karunaratne dug in and scored 131, setting up a fifth-wicket stand of 85 with Niroshan Dickwella, who scored 59. Cornwall then returned to take three wickets for no runs as Sri Lanka A slipped to 337 for 8.They finished on 348 for 8, 72 ahead of West Indies A.

The former fast bowler also served Karnataka cricket as a selector in 1973-74

Varun Shetty19-Aug-2020Former cricketer, administrator and pitch curator G Kasturirangan has died aged 89 after a cardiac arrest in his Bengaluru residence. A fast bowler, Kasturirangan played 36 first-class matches and captained Mysore – now Karnataka – in a career that began in 1948-49 and spanned 14 years.He took 94 wickets at 22.02 and was to be part of the first Indian squad to tour West Indies in 1952 before pulling out. There is an uncertainty around why, with some chronicles saying it was a groin strain, while others say it was due to personal reasons. But Kasturirangan didn’t end up playing for India before retiring from first-class cricket in 1962-63.He did, however, serve Indian cricket for long after. Kasturirangan was exposed to horticulture through his father, who wrote several books on the subject, and his talents in the field might well have helped when he became chairman of the BCCI grounds and pitches committee, which was formed in 1997. He took over from Kapil Dev, who initially headed the committee, before resigning in 2003 after a communication issue with the board.”[Before ’97, there was no formal committee, gardeners used to do everything],” said Daljit Singh, who retired as BCCI’s chief curator last year. Singh was part of the committee headed by Kasturirangan. “Very knowledgeable. He was the first professional-minded chairman who gave shape to our committee and work. Very knowledgeable, very decent, very accessible. Very good human, very good colleague. And a professional. He was the one who taught us about grass and fertilisers, and soils and all.” In his immediate post-playing career, Kasturirangan played many roles in Karnataka cricket, including as the selector when Karnataka won its first Ranji title in 1973-74. Erapalli Prasanna, who captained that side, spoke of his relationship with the man who he said was pivotal to his career.”More than a cricketer-cum-captain, he was a big well-wisher of mine,” Prasanna told ESPNcricinfo. “This morning I felt very bad when I heard he was no more.”Both of us were involved in setting up the stadium with Sri Satya Sai Baba at Puttaparthi. He was very instrumental in guiding me about how to go about preparing the wicket and constructing the stadium. We had such wonderful experiences. It’s so sad at this kind of time to think that he is no more.Only a few days ago, he wished me for my birthday. He just said, “How can I forget that you are the person who took me to Puttaparthi?” When that assignment was given to me, the first person I thought of was Kasturirangan. Both of us went and heard the (prayer song) of Satya Sai Baba. And on my birthday, he repeated that – he said because of you I had a . And that’s the last time I spoke to him. He said he was keeping fine, that’s all he said. “Kasturirangan was Prasanna’s first captain at domestic level, when he debuted for what was then the Mysore team. In the first innings of his debut match, Prasanna and Kasturirangan split nine wickets between themselves.”He was a source of inspiration as far as we were concerned. In particular [as far] as I am concerned. When I became captain, he was one of the selectors. We won the Ranji Trophy and he was so proud. What previous generations couldn’t achieve, we achieved it. But he did not take anything away from our victory – he said, “You people brought us glory.””To play under him, perform well – that was a meteoric rise for me because from there I went on to play for the state, went on to play the President’s XI [and] for India. Then [I] went on to tour West Indies, bowled against Sir Gary Sobers, Rohan Kanhai and all those people. Became a fairly successful bowler. The man behind the show was Mr. Kasturirangan, and another was KS Vishwanath. All I can say is – my guru, captain, guide – rest in peace.”Former India and Karnataka batsman Brijesh Patel said Kasturirangan was a “guiding force” for him and his peers in the 1970s. Like Kasturirangan, Patel too led Karnataka and held various administrative posts at KSCA. In the mid-2000s, Patel, who is currently the IPL Governing Council chairman, fought for the KSCA secretary’s position with his rival being Kasutrirangan.”We had tremendous respect for him,” Patel said. “One of the greatest cricketers Karnataka produced. He almost played for India. He was a guiding force to all of us and would advise us on various issues, including the wickets (pitches) right from the time M Chinnaswamy Stadium [in Bengaluru] was built.”

Power Surge changes run chase after Carlos Brathwaite takes four to restrict the Heat

Daniel Brettig10-Jan-2021A masterclass in finishing by Dan Christian lifted Sydney Sixers to a thrilling victory over the Brisbane Heat on the Gold Coast and returned them to the top of the Big Bash League table.The Sixers restricted the Heat to 148, aided by a pitch that offered a modicum of seam movement for the bowlers, then shrugged off an indifferent start through the calmness of Christian and the captain Daniel Hughes, who also passed 50.Christian’s combination of power, match awareness and experience shone through clearly in the closing overs, as the Heat had a few chances to snatch the match but failed to take them. On a night that was not the easiest for finding the boundary, Christian’s personal tally of five sixes out of his unbeaten 61 was more than the rest of the two teams combined could manage – four.Subdued Lynn the anchorThis match was billed, somewhat predictably, as one of big hitting and aggression, since no-one is meant to personify such things in the BBL as much as Chris Lynn. However, a spongy, seam-friendly surface on the Gold Coast quickly forced some rethinking in the middle by Lynn and the Heat after they were sent in by the Sixers. While Max Bryant reached the boundary a couple of times off Steve O’Keefe’s opening over and Lynn had similar success against Jackson Bird in the second, momentum soon began to be lost as the surface made things difficult.Chris Lynn struggled for timing•Getty Images

There were times in the past where Lynn might have proffered a rash shot in such circumstances, but here he tried instead to anchor the innings, attempting to build a platform for later acceleration even as other wickets fell around him. A 51-run stand with Jimmy Peirson gave the Heat a chance to do so, though the union was ended when Bird managed to catch Peirson in freakish fashion when he spilled the ball only to see it wedge between his knees.Brathwaite wobbles his way to four-forLynn made it as far as the 16th over before skying one off the bowling of Brathwaite, who found to his delight that the pitch allowed for his medium pacers to either move just enough laterally or offer up variation in pace off the wicket to flummox the Heat middle order. He had already defeated Joe Burns, edging behind, and went on to find a bouncing seaming delivery for James Bazley that would not have been out of place if bowled by Pat Cummins at the concurrent SCG Test.Carlos Brathwaite took four wickets•Getty Images

Solace for the Heat was found in the form of a punchy cameo from Lewis Gregory, who did better than the rest of the lineup in terms of locating the timing necessary to clear the rope. Gregory’s two sixes, both of them enormous, were enough to ensure the Heat made it to the cusp of 150, aided too by another strong blow delivered by Jack Wildermuth. Jake Ball’s three wickets in support of Brathwaite were, in costing 25 from two overs, a little on the expensive side.Bartlett, Wildermuth put Sixers on back footWhile Xavier Bartlett didn’t claim a wicket in his opening spell, he set a significant tone for the Heat with the away swing and seam he was able to gain to beat the bat more than once and underline how this was no straightforward chase for the Sixers. At the other end, Wildermuth was able to capitalise, having Josh Phillipe pouched at midwicket after Bryant had dropped him on the boundary forward of square leg, and winning an lbw verdict against Jack Edwards.Lynn was able to call upon Mujeeb Ur Rahman to followup, and when he coaxed James Vince to pull stylishly into deep midwicket’s hands and then clean bowled Jordan Silk with a variation that snaked back nicely between bat and pad, the Heat looked to be well and truly on course. The Sixers captain Hughes remained in occupation, and with Christian walking out to join him and the Power Surge overs still to be taken, the game was still there for the winning.Christian, Hughes turn the tablesAlthough Hughes and Christian were able to claim the extra point for surpassing the Heat’s 10-over tally, they were compelled to play with a certain degree of conservatism through until the 15th over, allowing the runs equation to blow out to 10 an over required. At this point Hughes called the Power Surge, and the flood of runs followed: 37 runs in all with four boundaries taken off Gregory and then a trio of sixes clumped by Christian off Mark Steketee.That left 25 runs required from the final four overs, and though Hughes departed soon afterwards, to be followed by Brathwaite and O’Keefe as Bazley delivered a mature spell of fast mediums, Christian remained at the crease and in control. Needing 11 from Bartlett’s final over, Christian blazed the first well into the stands at square leg to leave only five required, before a slice dropped by Wildermuth then a hectic sprint back next ball brought a pair of twos. The last ball was an obliging full toss that Christian swung to the fine leg boundary to fetch the points for the Sixers.Christian brought up two landmarks during the course of the game, taking his 250th wicket and scoring his 5000th run in his T20 career. He is only the fifth man to complete that double, following Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo, Andre Russell and Shakib Al Hasan.

Alex Lees has become Yorkshire’s youngest captain since Lord Hawke, the most formidable figure in the county’s history, upon being appointed to lead the side in one-day and Twenty20 cricket.

David Hopps05-Dec-2015Alex Lees has become Yorkshire’s youngest captain since Lord Hawke, the most formidable figure in the county’s history, upon being appointed to lead the side in one-day and Twenty20 cricket.At 22, Lees will become Yorkshire’s youngest-ever official limited-overs captain since the format was introduced in 1963. He is also the youngest-ever professional captain, Lord Hawke having no truck with anything as soiled as remuneration. Lees, as far as we know, will still draw his salary.Although Yorkshire have won the Championship twice in succession under Andrew Gale, and have supplied a steady stream of cricketers to England’s Test side in the process, their limited-overs cricket remains largely unproductive.There is even a suggestion – most regularly heard in the south – that the good folk of Yorkshire remain a little too sober-minded for the high-risk shenanigans of T20 cricket.At least Lees can be confident he takes over one of the most professional sides in English cricket. When Lord Hawke assumed control of Yorkshire in 1882, as their first amateur captain, it was said that he had taken over “a band of rogues and vagabonds”.ESPNcricinfo

Hawke soon put that right. He remains the most successful county captain ever, Yorkshire winning the County Championship a record eight times, and took an instructional view when it came to the lifestyles of those professionals under his command, instilling self-discipline and warning against the evils of alcohol. “Ye Gods, pray no professional should ever captain England,” he once said.Lees is not expected to offer lifestyle advice to his colleagues, especially as most of them are older than he is, although he does take to Twitter with a weekly recipe and to his shock has recently admitted he has become a fan of Justin Bieber. And Yorkshire’s head coach, Jason Gillespie, likes to reflect on the day’s play over a beer so an alcohol ban is unlikely.Yorkshire did reach the semi-finals of the Royal London Cup under Lees’ guidance after he took over from Gale as interim skipper in August, but their T20 cricket again disappointed large crowds at Headingley, leading the county to throw in youngster after youngster in their impatience to change the mould.Lees led Yorkshire eight times last season, but Yorkshire took time for further reflection before offering him the job full time. Gillespie said: “We thought he did a pretty good job. After considering a number of candidates, we feel Alex is the right fit for us as captain. He learnt a lot on the job last season and we think he can develop as a leader further. We are delighted to afford him this opportunity and believe that he will do a fantastic job for our club.”In 50-over cricket I thought we made some good strides last year, I thought we did a lot better than the previous year, but T20 cricket is something we still haven’t cracked. We are either very good or very ordinary.”Lees might have assumed control at a good time with the signing of David Willey, who has broken into England’s limited-overs sides, also expected to provide a catalyst when he is free from international commitments. Spin bowling, though, remains a weakness, especially when Adil Rashid is on England duty and Yorkshire’s signing of Australian batsmen Glen Maxwell and Aaron Finch did not bring the transformation envisaged.But he might regard Lord Hawke’s fate upon accepting the captaincy as a warning. He struggled for form in his first season. “I seemed to have shot my bolt – I just could not play myself in,” he recollected. Not that playing himself in is regarded as one of Lees’ priority to revive Yorkshire in T20. Quite the opposite.Lees said: “I’m really proud and it’s humbling that Yorkshire see me as the best option to take the club forward in one-day cricket irrespective of my age. With myself coming in, there’s a new direction and a new voice which will hopefully revitalise the team.””This is a big county with lots of potential and opportunity. I’m only 22, but I have a lot to offer as captain. I will be very open with my approach and will lean on the experienced players to drive us on and be successful. Everybody’s right to highlight that we have the squad to win one-day trophies now. We should seize that moment.”Yorkshire have not won a limited-overs trophy since 2002. They reached the T20 domestic final in 2012 but have disappointed since. Lord Hawke, a traditionalist to the core, would merely have sniffed and advised them to concentrate on the Championship.Lord Bradshaw, a potential new nickname, based upon the village near Halifax where Lees first took to the field as a four-year-old, may have a few things to say about that.

Thunder were left with too much to do after rain reduced the contest to a five-over shoot-out

The Report by Sreshth Shah06-Jan-2020Tom Banton struck the second-fastest Big Bash fifty of all time (16 balls) and Chris Lynn blazed to a 13-ball 31 against Sydney Thunder to set up Brisbane Heat’s win in a rain-hit game that had multiple interruptions.The eight-over-a-side game began nearly two hours after the scheduled start of play. Thereafter, another short break in the second innings broke the game’s momentum. Eventually, it was all too much for Thunder to do, as they suffered their third loss of the season. As for the Heat, they moved to fifth on the points table after winning their second game on the trot.Heat openers put on a showWith the game reduced to eight overs per side, Banton walked in with a new partner on the night. Lynn, who usually batted at No. 3 this season, took the non-striker’s end, and witnessed his young opening partner drill a six and two fours off the game’s first three deliveries. That set the tone for the Heat innings as they took 18 off the first over bowled by Golden Cap holder Daniel Sams.The second over from Chris Morris was much of the same, but this time it came from the Heat captain. Lynn cleared his front leg and and hammered three fours and a six – including two shots over the bowler’s head – to claim 21 off the second over.Chris Lynn launches one of his 11 sixes•Getty Images

Having collected 39 in the Powerplay for the loss of no wicket, the duo played out the third over from Chris Green before taking on the fourth over delivered by Arjun Nair. After playing out a dot off the over’s first ball, Banton lined Nair up for five sixes in a row to thump 30 off the over. The final six brought up Banton’s fifty in 16 deliveries. Nair’s horror over also tied the record for the most runs delivered in a BBL over.Both batsmen, however, fell over the next two overs. Chris Tremain’s wide yorker saw Banton hole out to long on while Lynn was caught at deep midwicket. It brought in new batsmen Max Bryant and Ben Cutting, with the former hitting a six in the sixth over to bring up the team hundred. However, the Heat could add only 16 more runs in the last two overs to finish on 4 for 119.Too much for Thunder to doUsman Khawaja and Alex Hales opened the batting for Thunder, needing 15 per over to win. Khawaja struck a six off the innings’ second delivery but couldn’t find any other boundary in the first over as Peter Lalor used his change-ups to force errors from the left-hander. Khawaja’s frustration came to the fore when he was bowled in the second over by left-arm wristspinner Zahir Khan. At the end of two overs, Thunder were 1 for 18.But the rain returned in the third over to send the players scampering back. At that stage Thunder needed 102 off 36 balls and looked the happier side leaving the ground, since it looked like the game may be called off.The rain stopped just in time for the Thunder chase to be adjusted into a five-over shootout, with the hosts needing 55 in 17 balls to win. But the Heat bowlers successfully bowled to their field – going full and wide to the batsmen – to strangle the run flow and seal a 16-run win.

MS Dhoni scored India’s slowest half-century in 16 years as India failed to chase down 190 on a slow pitch against a spirited attack

The Report by Sidharth Monga02-Jul-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Jason Holder took his maiden five-wicket haul as he led West Indies to victory•AFP

The wine is oxidising fast. Add Antigua 2017 to the list of matches MS Dhoni has failed to finish off since 2014. He scored India’s slowest half-century in 16 years as they failed to chase down 190 on a slow pitch against a spirited attack that managed to tide over a costly drop and a tactical blunder in the concluding stages. Jason Holder compensated for bowling Roston Chase in the 44th over with a maiden five-for, but it was Kesrick Williams, playing only his second ODI, who frustrated the hell out of Dhoni, conceding just 13 in four overs after the 40th and taking Dhoni out with the last ball he bowled.Four years ago, in the West Indies, Dhoni found himself in a similar situation on a similarly slow track, chasing 202, leaving himself 15 to get in the last over with the last man for company. He got it in three hits.Here, India needed 16 off the last two, but Dhoni couldn’t inflict any damage against Williams’ mix of slower deliveries and quick length ones. Perhaps it was the bigger boundaries than Queen’s park Oval’s from four years ago, perhaps he doesn’t trust himself that much anymore, but here Dhoni pulled the trigger sooner. He could have taken a single off the last ball of the 49th and left himself 13 to get in Holder’s final over, but he blinked first and drilled a length ball straight into the lap of long-on.Moments after the match, Dhoni was seen sitting dejected in the balcony, a little lost even, when a member of the India squad had to shake him physically to shake his hand. Dhoni knows this is the kind of chase he has built his reputation on. It will be harsh to talk of him when the batting around him failed more miserably, but everybody – Dhoni himself – knows these are Dhoni finishes.When Dhoni walked in, he brought a sense of calm to a faltering batting. Shikhar Dhawan departed early, not respecting the slowness of the pitch and driving Alzarri Joseph on the up. Joseph’s grandmother, operating the manual scoreboard at Sir Viv Richards Stadium, cheered on.The bigger blows were to follow. West Indies’ adherence to their bowling plans has never been more apparent than when they have bowled to Virat Kohli when he is new at the crease. They believe he doesn’t like the bowl up at his throat, and 41% of their bowling to Kohli has been in their own half. Different batsmen react differently to plans against them. Kohli hates to watch a plan succeed for a while before overcoming it. He wants to dominate. Out went his trusted weaving and ducking, and in came the hook shots. Holder’s third bouncer in the sixth over produced the top edge, and we had a game on now.Dinesh Karthik, replacing the injured Yuvraj Singh, and playing ahead of Rishabh Pant presumably because he was selected in the squad before Pant, did worse against the bouncer. After taking 13 balls to get off the mark, he top-edged one that was barely chest high.In came Dhoni to join Ajinkya Rahane, who had again looked comfortable against the new ball and had been dropped on 23. The two began to bat cautiously; the asking rate was not an issue at this point. The old maxim of “India win if they bat 50 overs” still held true even as Rahane and Dhoni laboured through their 54-run partnership.West Indies were markedly different from two nights ago when they had failed to squeeze India after taking two early wickets. Here there were no easy singles as first Williams and Devendra Bishoo, and then Ashley Nurse, dried up the runs. While Rahane did get the odd boundary, Dhoni said an absolute no to taking any risk.MS Dhoni’s 54 off 114 balls was the slowest ODI fifty for India since 2001•AFP

By the time Rahane took his last risk, sweeping Bishoo against the turn, the asking rate hovered around 4.55. It was still in Dhoni’s control. You still felt Dhoni just needed to bat through. However, Dhoni was not batting like Dhoni does. He struggled to time balls, but more worryingly failed to find gaps. Bishoo and Nurse bowled 68 balls to him for 28 runs, slower than his innings strike rate of 47.36. Dhoni was even forced to play a sweep shot, which is the ultimate last resort for him against spin.As Kedar Jadhav fell, bat-pad to Nurse with Shai Hope leaping from behind the stumps, the asking rate closed in on a run-a-ball. Hardik Pandya ramped one for four to buy some breathing space, Dhoni began to take risky singles, and in the 40th over, India needed more than six per over. Would it still be an India win if they batted through?Dhoni definitely thought so. He kept waiting for the mistake from the opposition, a principle he has built the second half of his limited-overs career on. A tenet of captaincy he has handed down to Kohli. The mistakes weren’t forthcoming, though, as Williams began to bowl the gun overs perfectly.Holder is a leader by example, but his being at the forefront had cost West Indies 65 runs in 4.5 overs at the death in the last two matches. Perhaps he wanted to do the prudent thing. Perhaps he wanted to continue with offspin after Nurse’s success. Whatever be the reason, after three conservative bowling innings, with 55 required off 42, with that painstakingly increased asking rate at stake, Holder asked Chase to bowl his offspin for the first time in the series. Chase proceeded to gift Dhoni a boundary down the leg side – his first in 103 balls, then bowled a wide and then went for a six to Pandya to bring the equation down to 39 off 36. Surely now India win if they bat through?Surely not. Holder came back immediately to make amends with a leg-stump yorker to send back Pandya. In came Ravindra Jadeja who has got a bit of a reputation of being headless under pressure in limited-overs cricket. When the singles ought to do it, he went for the big hit, sending a Holder slower ball down long-on’s throat, making it 17 off 15. Dhoni should still have it, right?It seemed so as he took a single next ball, leaving Kuldeep Yadav, batting for the first time in ODIs, two balls to face from Holder. Both were dots. Williams began the 49th with a slower ball. Dot. Then, calmly, still as if in the middle overs of an innings, Dhoni pushed a single. Nothing wrong with it. That’s how Dhoni is. Last over it shall be, one on one, me vs you.Williams, though, squeezed out two dots against Kuldeep before bringing Dhoni back on strike for the last ball. And that’s when Dhoni blinked. That’s when he did the uncharacteristic thing. After having backed himself for so long, Dhoni didn’t back himself to do it all in the last over.Holder finished the innings with a flourish, making up with his bowling for the direction and purpose they lacked with the bat. When West Indies batted, you wondered if they would choose not to bat at all if there was a provision for the two captains to just negotiate and decide a total India had to chase. They would still have brokered a better deal than the 189 that they got, joint second-lowest total for a side batting first and playing out its allocation of 50 overs since the 2015 World Cup; the lowest belonged to Zimbabwe.If the lack of direction showed in the 192 dot balls faced by West Indies – at one point, Evin Lewis, a T20I centurion against India, had faced 15 straight dots from Umesh Yadav – they managed only tame dismissals whenever they tried to push the scoring rate. However, there was another factor at play, the slowness of the pitch, which they exploited decisively in the second half of the match.

Super Kings crashed to the bottom of the points table after another feeble effort with the bat

Deivarayan Muthu19-Oct-20203:20

Could Dhoni and Jadeja have approached the innings better?

After legspinners Shreyas Gopal and Rahul Tewatia pinned down Chennai Super Kings to 125 for 5, Jos Buttler knocked them over to the bottom of the points table with a powerful 70 off 48 balls. Rajasthan Royals climbed to fifth place, boosting their chances of making the playoffs.Earlier in the evening, Gopal and Tewatia didn’t concede a single boundary and bowled 23 dots between them. All up, the Super Kings batsmen faced 51 dots and never got going in any shape or form.Their seamers Deepak Chahar and Josh Hazlewood, though, got swing going and dismissed the Royals’ top three within five overs. Steven Smith particularly struggled in the early exchanges, but Buttler showed his range, finishing the chase with seven wickets and 15 balls to spare, thereby improving their net run-rate as well.Jos Buttler celebrates a well-compiled fifty•BCCI

CSK’s sleepwalk
Jofra Archer ambled in, hit speeds north of 145kph, and regularly beat pinch-hitting opener Sam Curran’s outside edge. Then, when Archer hit 150kph and the outside edge, Curran poked it past slip. After managing only eight off 13 balls against the rapid pace of Archer and Kartik Tyagi, Curran went searching for an escape route against Gopal, but the spinner clevely dangled a wrong’un away from his reach and had him holing out for 22 off 25 balls. At that point, the Super Kings were 53 for 3 in the ninth over, having lost Faf du Plessis and Shane Watson as well.In the next over, Tewatia had Rayudu caught behind off a weak sweep with a front-of-the-hand flipper. MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja sleepwalked through the middle overs, and no Super Kings batsman tried to unsettle the two legspinners. The Super Kings went 50 balls without a boundary and although Jadeja helped end the drought with four fours, the Super Kings ended with the lowest score batting first this IPL.Jos the Boss
While the Super Kings got only 13 fours, Buttler alone hit nine. While his captain Smith was barely striking at 75, Buttler nearly doubled that strike rate.He got cracking with a reverse-sweep over point off Jadeja’s first over. Neither Jadeja nor Piyush Chawla, who was introduced into the attack only in the 13th over, found as much grip and turn as the Royals’ spinners had done. Having seen off testing spells from Chahar and Hazlewood, Buttler laid into Shardul Thakur and Chawla, taking them for 48 off 27 balls.Buttler raised his fifty off 37 balls by depositing Chawla’s wrong’un for six and then rushed the Royals home.

Veteran allrounder steps down after 15-year-career and three world titles

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Oct-2019Jenny Gunn, England’s veteran allrounder, has announced her retirement from international cricket after a 15-year career.Gunn made her debut as an 18-year-old in 2004, and went on to make 259 appearances across formats, winning three World Cups and five Ashes series. Only Charlotte Edwards (309) has represented England Women more often.Her maiden England appearance came in the world’s first T20 international – against New Zealand at Hove in August 2004, a year before the men followed suit – while her final outing came against West Indies at Chelmsford in June.As a probing, accurate seam bowler, Gunn’s strength lay in her wicket-to-wicket discipline, allied to a range of slower balls including one, nicknamed the “whiff” by her team-mates, which barely registered on the speed gun.She finishes her career as England’s second-highest wicket-taker in ODIs and third in T20Is. Her ODI tally of 136 wickets at 28.10 was recently overhauled by Katherine Brunt, while Anya Shrubsole (87) and Dani Hazell (85) nudged ahead of her T20I total of 75.In the course of her career, Gunn was forced to endure accusations of chucking – her long-term team-mate, Sarah Taylor, even gave her the nickname “Chucky” – but she kept plugging away with a pared-down action that was as effective as it at times looked awkward.In Test cricket, her best figures of 5 for 19 in 18 overs came in her final Test outing, against India at Wormsley in 2014, and her impact as a lower-order batsman was always valuable. In all, she amassed 2702 runs in all three formats for England, with seven half-centuries and a best of 73 against New Zealand in 2007.Gunn was born into a sporting family, with her father Bryn playing in the Nottingham Forest side that won the European Cup under Brian Clough in 1980. And that achievement was ultimately matched by Gunn’s three World titles – two World Cups in 2009 and 2017, and the World T20, also in 2009.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“I have made one of the hardest decisions and decided the time has come to retire from international cricket,” said Gunn. “I started as a young kid playing the game I loved for fun and I could only dream of becoming a professional cricketer.”I’ve been lucky enough to play in some great teams and to be part of some amazing battles over the years but as a small girl I always said I wanted to put a World Cup medal next to my dad’s European Cup winner’s medal, and there are now three of them next to his medal on the mantelpiece!”I’m so grateful for the support throughout my career and I couldn’t have done it without my friends. But most of all, I couldn’t have done it without my family, all of whom have been there for me every step of the way.”Managing Director of Women’s Cricket, Clare Connor, said: “Jenny has been the most tremendous servant to England Women’s cricket throughout the 15 years she has played for England.”Her longevity, work ethic and commitment have been hugely impressive across both the amateur and professional eras and on countless occasions she has delivered match-winning performances for the team with both bat and ball.”Very few international cricketers have carried themselves with so much humility and shown such care for her team-mates as Jenny. She will be very missed by players and staff alike.”

At just 22 years old, she may well also be the youngest ever umpire to stand in an international since George Coulthard in 1878-79

Liam Brickhill01-Feb-2019Lauren Agenbag became the first South African women’s umpire to stand in a T20I when she officiated the game between South Africa and Sri Lanka at Newlands on Friday. At just 22 years old, she may well also be the youngest ever umpire to stand in an international since George Coulthard in the 1878-79 Ashes Test in Melbourne.The ICC does not have official records, but Agenbag is much younger than Simon Taufel, who stood in his first ODI when he was 27, and Leslie Reifer, who worked the T20I between India and West Indies at Fort Lauderdale during his last week as a 26-year old.”I actually, funnily enough, I think I played with her when she was really young,” South Africa captain Dane van Niekerk said of Agenbag. “It’s awesome. It’s good to see. I congratulated her and I complimented her on being really composed today. She made really good calls. It’s awesome to see, especially at that age, the maturity she showed. She didn’t get bullied or anything on the field.”Agenbag had to make a couple of difficult, marginal calls during her first outing. First, when she was at square leg, she was consulted on the decision to no-ball a high, dipping delivery from seamer Masabata Klaas that beat an advancing Umesha Thimashini above waist height but still clipped the bails off the stumps.Later, while standing at the Wynberg End, Agenbag turned down a forceful appeal for lbw against van Niekerk when the batter missed a reverse-sweep against Inoka Ranaweera and was struck on the thigh. Replays showed van Niekerk was struck just outside the line of off stump.Agenbag’s performance earned praise from CSA as well. “Congratulations to Lauren on this very special day in her umpiring career,” Chief Executive Thabang Moroe said. “This is a very significant moment for umpiring in South Africa and I am sure Lauren will be an inspiration to others who want to live their dreams as international match officials.””She held her own,” van Niekerk added. “And it’s awesome to a see a woman out there doing really well. I wish her all the best and hopefully we’ll see her in the new future on the international circuit.”She must be pretty special at what she does if she gets this opportunity. I haven’t played when she’s umpired before, but I said to her before the game that I’d heard really good things about her and I was excited to see her out there today.”

Mashrafe said he is pursuing the political opportunity because of his open-ended future after the 2019 World Cup, which he hinted could be his last international tournament

Mohammad Isam04-Dec-2018Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza has said that he will not be distracted by his election campaign in the lead up to, and during the upcoming ODI series against West Indies. After the three ODI series ends on December 14, Mashrafe is scheduled to contest in the Narail-2 constituency elections in his home district, with the polls scheduled to be held on December 30Mashrafe said that he is pursuing the political opportunity considering his open-ended future after the 2019 World Cup which, as he had suggested previously, and also on Tuesday, could be his last international tournament.”My mindset is completely focused on training and the ODI series that’s coming up,” Mashrafe said. I will only concentrate on that [the election campaign] after December 14. If I play till the World Cup, I have about seven or eight months remaining in my playing career. I don’t know what I am going to do in the following four-and-a-half years. The Prime Minister has given me an opportunity to serve the people.”Mashrafe said that he particularly held the press conference a day before the ODI side began training so that it wouldn’t cause a distraction like how it had on the day his nomination was confirmed by the governing party, Bangladesh Awami League.”I don’t want to talk about politics during the ODI series, which is why I held a press conference today. I personally felt that if there are to be questions about my political career, it should be today.”I discussed it with [media manager] Rabeed that I would have to face these questions, so it should be before the series gets underway,” he said.Mashrafe’s fitness had kept him from retiring after the 2017 Champions Trophy, but this time around, he said he would “review” his career path at the end of next year’s World Cup.”My mindset was made up for the World Cup. At one point I didn’t know if I could go further than the Champions Trophy [last year], but fitness kept me going. I will review my decision if I feel differently after the World Cup. My personal goal was to play till the World Cup, which is eight months away. During this time I will be playing within my plan. Whether I will review my decision [to quit after the World Cup] or not, time will tell,” he said.