All posts by n8rngtd.top

The veteran pacer wants to double up as a mentor to India’s emerging crop of fast bowlers on his return after a long hiatus

Gaurav Kalra13-Jan-20167:16

“I don’t agree that T20 is a young man’s game. It’s a fast game but I have been playing IPL, and that’s a big boost. The intensity is good as international cricket”

Ashish Nehra, who was recently recalled to the Indian squad for the upcoming T20 series in Australia, has urged greater consistency in the selection of fast bowlers for national duty. Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, Nehra said that it was important to “look after and nurture” fast bowlers to ensure they can have an extended stint at the international level.”For ODIs and T20s, you have to choose your five-six bowlers, that these are the guys we are going to back,” Nehra said. “I know it is very difficult sometimes for the captain and selectors; sometimes when you lose series you are picking different bowlers and nobody settles in. Injuries are a major part of fast bowling as well, like we’ve seen with [Mohammed] Shami, Ishant [Sharma] and Mohit [Sharma]. Even if you see Australia right now, Nathan Coluter-Nile, [Mitchell] Starc and [Pat] Cummins are all injured, so Australia is almost playing with their second string of bowlers.”If somebody says India doesn’t have talent, I won’t agree. But the only thing is you have to look after them well, nurture and support them. When Test cricket is not on and you have three-four bowlers who only play T20s and ODIs, you have to keep an eye on them. How to look after fast bowlers is very important, if you want them to sustain for 10-12 years and play for India. When they are young, 90% of fast bowlers don’t know what to do. When they mature, sometimes it’s too late.”Nehra last played for India in the semi-final of the victorious 2011 World Cup campaign against Pakistan. After missing the final due to a finger injury, he was overlooked for nearly five years before being recalled on the back of an impressive IPL season, where he finished fourth on the wicket-takers list with 22 scalps from 16 games. Nehra, who will turn 37 in April, admitted that while the disappointment of being ignored for such a long period will linger, he is looking to make the most of this opportunity on the home stretch of his career.”I was surprised when they weren’t picking me for the last two-three years to be honest,” he said. “Better late than never, hopefully I can do well, I am just working hard. If I go to Australia and play the World T20 and deliver, people will say ‘Oh he should have been there earlier.’ If I don’t, people will say, ‘It was right that they didn’t pick him!’ That’s how it works in India. Whatever is gone is gone, I am just looking forward and hopefully everything will go my way.”I have always worked hard to play international cricket. Once you have been there, you know how much pleasure you get playing for India. There were times when it was very difficult for me to motivate myself, despite not being picked, to go to the gym or ground and train. It was difficult. Age is just a number for me. If you can keep yourself fit, you can keep playing.”Since featuring in the IPL final for Chennai Super Kings in May, Nehra hasn’t played much competitive cricket. Over this domestic season he has played only one game of the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy and two games of the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy for his state team Delhi.He will not be playing in the Super League stage of the Mushtaq Ali tournament starting later this week despite making himself available as Delhi has decided to give its younger bowlers a run. Nehra though isn’t worried about the lack of match practice leading into the series in Australia.”Some people really want match practice, I am among those who wants a lot of practice,” he explained. “Most of the time I like to practice in open nets, so I get the same kind of feeling. If I am bowling well in the nets or to a single wicket, I get that confidence, that’s how I have been playing for the last seven-eight years, this is not the first time I will be doing it.”People say T20 is a young man’s game, all those theories I don’t believe in. You have to be on top of your game, especially as a bowler and the kind of job I do, bowling two-three of the first six overs and one or two in the last four. In the sub-continent or outside also these days, wickets will be flat. You have to be physically fit and mentally strong, especially as a bowler. It’s a fast game but I have been playing IPL, and that’s a big boost. The intensity is as good as international cricket.”Nehra has identified being selected for the World T20 as his major “goal” before taking a call on his international future. He is also eager to mentor India’s emerging crop of fast bowlers on his return to the dressing room after this long hiatus.”This is a short tour, but whatever little I can help the youngsters, I will,” he says. “If I can play till the World T20, I will definitely look at that job, I have done it for CSK and I really enjoyed it. Most of the bowlers have different strengths, but you can’t buy experience. I made my debut 17 years ago. In the sub-continent, somebody like me, who has had so many injuries, undergone 10-12 surgeries, still standing there and playing the fastest format of all, it has taught me something which I can pass on to the youngsters and give my experience.”

Todd Astle’s all-round performance in the both innings set up Canterbury’s 161-run over Central Districts in Rangiora

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Dec-2015
ScorecardFile photo – Todd Astle scored an unbeaten 96 and finished with a match haul of eight wickets•Getty Images

Todd Astle’s all-round performance in the both innings set up Canterbury’s 161-run over Central Districts in Rangiora.Set a target of 386 in the fourth innings, Central Districts were reduced to 34 for 3 by Canterbury with Astle and Matt Henry taking the lead. Tom Bruce then combined with opener Dean Robinson to take Central Districts close to 100 before Robinson fell for 34. Central Districts soon slumped to 99 for 5 and Bruce then found an able partner in Adam Milne with whom he added 54 for the sixth wicket. Bruce and Milne were dismissed by Astle for 67 and 61, respectively, and the legspinner ran through Central Districts’ lower order to dismiss them for 224.Canterbury built on their 75-run lead from the first innings thanks to middle and lower-order contributions by Henry, Ken McClure , Astle (45) and Ryan McCone (46). Henry and McCone added 87 runs for Canterbury’s ninth wicket. Henry’s unbeaten 52-ball 75, which included 12 fours and two sixes lifted Canterbury to a second-innings score of 310.Canterbury were driven to 320 in their first innings by Leo Carter’s 101 and Astle’s unbeaten 96, after they were put in to bat. Astle then picked up three wickets to bowl Central Districts out for 245. Will Young, the Central Districts’ captain, top-scored in the first innings with 63, while Robinson and Bruce chipped in with 42 each.

Darren Stevens led Kent’s second innings as they secured an honourable draw with Hampshire.

08-Jun-2013
ScorecardDarren Stevens’ innings was an essential rearguard action•Getty Images

Darren Stevens led Kent’s second innings as they secured an honourable draw with Hampshire. Eighth wicket pair Calum Haggett and Adam Riley held out for 22 overs
as Kent, set 342 to break a six-match winless sequence, fell 46 short at 296 for 8.Hampshire seemed to be on their way to only their second win of the season when
Kent were reduced to 41 for 4 before lunch but a stirring innings of 96 from
Darren Stevens removed the initiative from the home side which they never regained.The scene was set for an intriguing last day when Hampshire were fed 108 in 9.4
overs by Sam Northeast, who had never previously taken a wicket, and Robert Key
who had managed only three. Liam Dawson and James Vince gorged themselves on a
rich diet of full tosses and half-volleys before Hampshire declared at 207 for 3.Kent made a dreadful start in their search for a first victory, losing Key for
1 and Northeast for 13, both to David Balcombe, along with Brendan Nash
and Ben Harmison all in the first 13 overs. But on a blameless wicket, Stevens and Daniel Bell-Drummond launched a powerful
counterattack with a dynamic stand of 144 in 34 overs for the fifth wicket.The aggressive Stevens struck two sixes and 15 fours from 105 balls and
appeared certain to reach three figures before he misjudged a short delivery
from Sean Ervine and wicketkeeper Adam Wheater held the catch.At tea Kent were still not out of the reckoning at 194 for 5 and Hampshire
had a whole session to get the five wickets they needed.Bell-Drummond’s useful contribution of 66 ended with the score on 219 when he turned spinner
Danny Briggs to Vince at short leg and Geraint Jones fell to the same
combination three runs later. Kent were 222 for 7 with 32 overs remaining but they were in no mood to gift Hampshire some extra points.Haggett and Matt Coles began the resistance with a stand of 28 in 10 overs
before a mix-up over a run saw Coles beaten by a direct throw from Jimmy Adams.But that was the closest Hampshire got to a badly-needed win, Haggett and Riley
digging in with an unbroken stand of 46, surviving numerous appeals and bowling
changes to deny their desperate opponents.Young spinner Riley, who took seven wickets in Hampshire’s first innings, had
the unusual experience of recording best bowling and best batting performances
in the same match.

Preview of the match between Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad in Mumbai

The Preview by Nikita Bastian12-May-2013

Match facts

May 13, 2013
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)Can Sunrisers Hyderabad’s batting stand up to Mumbai Indians’ bowling?•BCCI

Big Picture

We have arrived at that stage of the tournament where the scramble to make the playoffs is in full swing. While the numerical possibilities say otherwise, Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals are in all likelihood through while the bottom four are out. That leaves a middle cluster of three teams vying for the remaining two playoff spots. Both Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad are in this cluster, meaning their encounter on Monday at the Wankhede will be vital.After 13 games each, Mumbai Indians have 18 points and Sunrisers have 16. Sunrisers face the tougher of the tasks on hand, and not just because they have fewer points; Mumbai have won six out of six games at the Wankhede so far this season. While Sunrisers too have a very good home record – they’ve scored points in five of six at Uppal – they have won only three away matches, all against teams below them on the points table.They can draw some confidence, though, from their showing on Saturday in Mohali against Kings XI. There they first recovered from 52 for 5 to 150 with smart batting, before their bowlers once again did the job. Also, as has been their style at Uppal, they had restricted Mumbai Indians to 129 earlier in the tournament, and then chased down the target with ease, courtesy Shikhar Dhawan. They’ll need all the confidence they can get when facing Mumbai at home.

Form guide

Mumbai Indians: WWWLW (most recent first)
Sunrisers Hyderabad: WLWWL

In the spotlight

The Mumbai Indians bowling v the Sunrisers Hyderabad batting. The Mumbai attack has lorded over the opposition batsmen in their previous two games, first against the might of the Chennai Super Kings and then against Kolkata Knight Riders. Mitchell Johnson has been particularly lethal with his swing at high pace, and will provide the stiffest of challengers on a relatively quick track for the unfancied Sunrisers line-up, which is most at home on the slow surfaces at Uppal. The numbers show why this line-up is not thought a lot of: they’ve played 13 matches, but only one batsman aggregates 200 runs so far. Apart from Dhawan, who missed the first seven matches due to injury, none of the specialist batsmen average even 27. Dhawan is just 30-odd short of topping Sunrisers’ run chart, despite playing only half their games. He will be central to their fortunes at the Wankhede.

Stats and trivia

• Parthiv Patel became the first Sunrisers Hyderabad batsman to touch the 200-run mark in the tournament, taking his aggregate to 218 at 24.22 with his 61 in the previous game
• Sachin Tendulkar is closing in on 300 IPL fours. He needs eight more to get there, and will be the first player in the league to do so

Quotes

“You get a leg up over everyone else by spending time here. [It’s] going to help me a lot in the future.There are a lot of tournaments in India throughout the year, so you have got to adapt to playing here. It is a massive advantage to get used to the conditions over here.”
“Yes, she is. Probably I should make another one to get even luckier.”

The West Indies captain is hoping to take control of the match on the third day on a pitch that has offered little help to the bowlers

Mohammad Isam in Khulna22-Nov-2012Marlon Samuels and Darren Bravo took full advantage of a batting paradise and got the most out of their starts, which was exactly what the West Indies openers and Bangladesh’s top seven batsmen failed to do. Darren Sammy is now hoping to extend their unbeaten 198-run third-wicket stand deep into the third day to take control on a pitch that is unlikely to aid the bowlers.”We need to get [a lead of] 250-plus,” Sammy said. “The way we bat tomorrow will determine how the Test match goes. If we bat to our full potential, we will score over 500 or 600 runs. We want to give them a 200-plus lead and take ten wickets in their second innings.”I think the wicket is getting a little slower and turning a little slower. It looks a little drier after the day’s play. Three days are left in the Test match, so there’s no hurry. It’s Test cricket, you have got to exercise your patience,” he said.Patience was exactly what Samuels and Bravo applied when they came together to bat in the first session of play. They rode out the threat posed by Rubel Hossain and when Shakib Al Hasan and Sohag Gazi bowled, they only looked for runs off deliveries that were either really short or full. Samuels never went for the extraordinary in his 282-minutes stay. He batted out 107 balls to reach the half-century and took roughly the same – 110 – to score the next fifty runs. He took out his lucky yellow scarf, but probably there were only two occasions when he needed luck – on 15 and 19 – when he survived two big leg-before shouts by Shakib.Samuels has now completed three Test hundreds this year – five overall. The impact of his measured approach, Sammy believes, is crucial to the team’s position in the Test match.”Marlon [Samuels] has been [an integral part of the team] for the last year and a half,” Sammy said. “I think he has scored over 700 runs for this year, and in all formats he has been batting really well. We have asked guys to take responsibility, and I’m happy to see him do that.”He didn’t have a score in the last game. Before he came here, he was looking to score three international hundreds. The way he went about it, that’s what we are used to from him. Bravo had a good knock in the second innings in Dhaka. He looks really good.”Bravo, too, was impressive and undertook a cautious approach from the beginning. By the time he ended the day unbeaten on 85 off 197 balls, it was his eighth fifty-plus score in the subcontinent out of his twelve such innings in his career.The two stroke-players also saw off periods where the boundaries had dried up as Mushfiqur Rahim employed the in-and-out field. It worked for Bangladesh and it was just the staying power of the two batsmen that stopped them from creating more chances. They batted at a run rate of 2.95 in the first session, 2.80 in the second and just a tad over three in the final session of play.”We as a team normally score quickly. The wicket looks easy to bat out there, the two guys have played really well. They would know the pace of the wicket, and the tempo in which they could score.”The key is to bat once in this Test match. If the pair can give us a solid start, it would be good with the likes of Shivnarine Chanderpaul and the rest of the batsmen coming in next”.

An interactive list of IPL players, what they sold for, and who bought them

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Feb-2013
table.StoryengineTable thead tr th, table.StoryengineTable tfoot tr th {
padding: 4px;
}
table.StoryengineTable thead tr .header {
cursor: pointer;
background-repeat: no-repeat;
background-position: right center;
padding-right:10px;
}
table.StoryengineTable thead tr .headerSortDown {
background:url(“https://i.imgci.com/espncricinfo/arrow_btm.gif”) no-repeat;
background-position:right;
}
table.StoryengineTable thead tr .headerSortUp {
background:url(“https://i.imgci.com/espncricinfo/arrow_top.gif”) no-repeat;
background-position:right;
}
Can’t keep track of which player has gone to which team, or for how much? Our interactive auction list makes it easy for you. Sort this list by clicking on column headers.

Unsold

Aaron Finch – base price $200,000
Upul Tharanga – base price $100,000
Martin Guptill – base price $100,000
Darren Bravo – base price $100,000
Herschelle Gibbs – base price $200,000
Adam Voges – base price $100,000
Matthew Wade – base price $200,000
Tim Paine – base price $100,000
Matt Prior – base price $200,000
Kaushal Silva – base price $20,000
Prasanna Jayawardene – base price $50,000
Dane Vilas – base price $20,000
Denesh Ramdin – base price $50,000
Dinesh Chandimal – base price $100,000
Ravi Bopara – base price $100,000
James Hopes – base price $100,000
Vernon Philander – base price $100,000

Doug Bollinger – base price $200,000
Cameron Boyce – base price $20,000
Veerasammy Permaul – base price $20,000
Suraj Randiv – base price $50,000
Devendra Bishoo – base price $50,000
Steve O’Keefe – base price $100,000
Paul Harris – base price $20,000
Rangana Herath – base price $100,000
Sulieman Benn – base price $20,000
Aaron Phangiso – base price $20,000
Farveez Maharoof – base price $50,000
Scott Styris – base price $100,000
Ben Cutting – base price $100,000
Josh Hazlewood – base price $100,000
Travis Birt – base price $100,000
Henry Davids – base price $20,000
Ben Rohrer – base price $50,000
Rilee Rossouw – base price $20,000
Kevin O’Brien – base price $50,000
Rory Kleinveldt – base price $50,000

Pakistan seamer unable to take up deal due to overlap with Pakistan Super League

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Jun-2021Kent have signed Adam Milne, the New Zealand pace bowler, as a replacement for Mohammad Amir, whose Pakistan Super League commitments will prevent him from appearing in the Vitality Blast.Amir had been due to play for Kent in the second half of the Blast, after the completion of the PSL – but the shifting dates for the rearranged competition, which begins on Wednesday, and quarantine restrictions for arriving in the UK from Pakistan mean he won’t be taking up his deal.Instead, Milne will arrive for his fourth spell at Kent, having taken 38 wickets in 28 appearances between 2017 and 2019. He is expected to be available for Kent’s ninth group game, against Somerset at Canterbury on June 28, onwards.”We’re delighted that Adam will be coming back to be a Kent Spitfire once more,” Kent’s director of cricket, Paul Downton, said. “He is a world-class T20 bowler who has made a significant difference to our side every time he has played for the Spitfires. I am sure our Members and supporters will be excited to welcome him back for the later stages of the Vitality Blast.”Milne was part of the Kent side that reached the quarter-finals of the Vitality Blast in 2018, and narrowly missed out on reaching the knockouts a year later. He has also featured at the IPL and the Big Bash, as well as being capped 23 times in T20Is by New Zealand.Milne said: “I love being a Spitfire and I’m really excited that the opportunity has arisen for me to come back to Kent for a fourth time. It’ll be great to see familiar faces in the dressing room but I’m also looking forward to working with the new talent that has joined since my last stint in 2019.”Kent’s other overseas options include South African batter Heino Kuhn and the Afghanistan legspinner Qais Ahmed, who is expected to be available after quarantine from June 13, when the club face Gloucestershire at Canterbury.

Sri Lanka Cricket’s elections may be postponed by as many as 17 days, the sports ministry said, after an inquiry to assess whether Thilanga Sumathipala can lawfully contest the election

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Mar-2013Sri Lanka Cricket’s elections may be postponed by as many as 17 days, the sports ministry said, after a complication with one of the nominees’ applications resulted in a government inquiry to assess whether he can lawfully contest the election.Member of Parliament Thilanga Sumathipala’s possible links to the betting industry and a newspaper business are being investigated, after complaints that his nomination contravened Sri Lanka’s sports law. The law states that sports administrators contesting an election cannot be involved in either betting, media, or sports goods industries.Sumathipala has denied that his application is unlawful, while speaking to the local press and on TV channels. He was the joint managing director of a business conglomerate named the Sumathi Group, which owns local newspapers and has links to a betting business named Sporting Star. He has said, however, that the specific businesses, which could be potentially problematic to his application, are among several that are managed entirely by other family members, without his involvement.”As we don’t yet have the results of the inquiry on Mr. Sumathipala, the sports minister has decided to extend the deadline for the election until April 16,” the sports ministry’s media secretary said. “If the report comes through from the attorney general this week, as we expect, the elections may be held sooner than that, but the April 16 is the final date on which they might happen.”The SLC annual general meeting, at which the winners of the election will be announced, was originally scheduled to take place on March 30. However, SLC members must have at least two weeks in which to select a nominee and would thus need to wait and find out if Sumathipala is a legitimate candidate, before the voting process begins. The parliament inquiry forwarded its findings to the attorney general on Thursday and the attorney general’s report will determine Sumathipala’s legitimacy as a candidate.Last year’s SLC elections were the first board elections after seven years, before which a series of interim committees administered cricket in the country.

Azim Bassarath, the president of the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Association, has asked the country’s government to help ensure that T&T players represent their country and not the IPL franchises in the 2013 Champions League T20

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Jan-2013Azim Bassarath, the president of the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Association, has asked the country’s government to help ensure that T&T players represent their country and not the IPL franchises in the 2013 Champions League T20. T&T qualified for the CLT20 for the third time in a row – and fourth time overall out of five editions – after beating Guyana in the Caribbean T20 on Sunday.T&T made it to the inaugural CLT20, in 2009, and then the 2011 and 2012 editions. In the inaugural tournament, several of their players caught the eye with their performances, and they finished runners-up behind New South Wales. Those performances – and the ones that followed in later editions – got some of their players, including Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine and Kevon Cooper, IPL contracts. Thereafter, based on which IPL teams qualified for the CLT20, these players and Dwayne Bravo – who had an IPL contract from the outset – represented the franchises ahead of T&T in the tournament.”For the past two years that we went to the Champions League, T&T didn’t have their best players available. This year, I want to ask for the assistance of the government,” Bassarath was quoted as saying in the . “What I think we should do is that, as early as possible, put something in place where we can negotiate with the personnel of the Indian Premier League, asking and begging and requesting that we have available to us all our international stars.”Bassarath pointed out that this could possibly be the last time that T&T, the country, is represented at the CLT20; from next season, the Caribbean Premier League, a franchise-based tournament, will replace the region-based Caribbean T20 as the West Indies’ domestic T20 competition. He said: “We should leave no stone unturned to make sure that we have our best team available for the 2013 Champions League. If we [the officials] have to travel [to India] before the tournament, as I said before, we should travel and we will be begging the Government in that regard.”Last year too, there was uncertainty over who the players would represent after the T&T sports minister, Anil Roberts, said that Pollard, Bravo and Narine would play for the country in the CLT20 instead of their respective IPL teams. An ‘agreement’ had been reached with the three players to represent their national team, he said. However, the three still turned out for Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders in the tournament.

Twenty20 cricket is where teams like New Zealand hope to compete when they come up against a side with the reputation and form of South Africa, and assistant coach Bob Carter said they go into the T20s with optimism

Firdose Moonda17-Dec-2012Adapting to foreign conditions is the test all touring teams want to pass on the road. South Africa have become masters of that art, having not lost a series away from home since 2006. New Zealand, with wins in Hobart and Colombo in the last year, are still learning.The shortest format may be the ideal place to do that. With conditions only playing a small role and margins between teams much smaller, Twenty20 cricket is where teams like New Zealand hope to compete when they come up against a side with the reputation and form of South Africa.”We can go into the T20 series with a great deal of optimism” Bob Carter, the New Zealand assistant coach, said. “We’re very much up for it. The boys have gone into their training really well, with lots of energy, and we’re really looking forward to the challenge of playing in South Africa. Who wouldn’t? It’s a good place to tour and there are exciting times here with cricket.”The sport has captured the attention of the public after the South African Test team rose to No.1 on the Test rankings in August with victory in England and stayed there when they beat Australia in their own backyard. Since scaling those heights, South Africa have not played in front of their home fans, who are eager to watch their team in action again.But they will have to cheer on a new-look side. South Africa’s T20 squad contains four uncapped players and a new captain as they attempt to revolutionise things ahead of the next ICC tournament.It’s with that in mind that New Zealand go into the series. Allrounder James Franklin does not think there is “too much to fear” even though his team is the clear underdog. “We have to pick our ranking up and the only way we can do that is by winning,” he said.New Zealand too have five uncapped players in their squad, some of whom will get a run in the practice match on Tuesday against South Africa A. For them, having these fresh faces around is “exciting”, as Franklin and Carter put it. “Theirs is youthful exuberance, they’ve got no baggage and they just want to get stuck in and see where they fit in terms of the team and international cricket,” Franklin said. “You’ve got to run a little bit faster and try and keep up with them. But hopefully it will rub of both ways. They rub off on me in terms of me trying to keep up and from me, if they want, a little bit of guidance.”These young players bring a fresh energy to the squad, which had been weighed down by internal strife, including the withdrawal of Ross Taylor, before the tour. “Their enthusiasm, their joy at being picked for New Zealand and the way they have gone about their business has been really good,” Carter said. “They have really flung themselves at training and it’s good to have them on board.”Carter also had a word of warning for the team about their opposition. “[Even with the newcomers] South Africa have still got a very fine side with Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel and others,” he said. “That will be a really good test for us and a really good challenge. Every South African side is a good one.”