Tag Futebol

Batter racks up third straight fifty for Essex but Anderson has hosts jumping and weaving

ECB Reporters Network14-Apr-2023Lancashire 207 and 82 for 1 (Jennings 45*, Bohannon 28*) lead Essex 219 (Critchley 78, Anderson 4-70) by 70 runs Matt Critchley racked up his third fifty for Essex in three LV= Insurance County Championship innings this season on a rain-affected day against Lancashire at Chelmsford.The allrounder enjoyed the better part of an intriguing joust with England paceman James Anderson, who otherwise had Critchley’s team-mates jumping and weaving while taking two more wickets to return figures of 4 for 70.Critchley was last man out for 78 from 154 balls to follow scores of 55 and 53 in last week’s win at Lord’s against Middlesex. It enabled Essex to post 219 and eke out a 12-run advantage that at one time in the day looked beyond them.When a combination of bad light and drizzle curtailed play with 27 overs remaining, Lancashire’s unbeaten second-wicket pair of Keaton Jennings (45) and Josh Bohannon (28) had swung the pendulum back towards the visitors who hold a 70-run lead.Anderson had been almost unplayable in the first hour under slate-grey clouds as he extracted pace and movement from a pitch that had other batters looking like mere mortals. One ball was so full of life and pace that it beat wicketkeeper George Bell’s extravagant dive and raced away for four byes.England hopeful Dan Lawrence had looked comfortable enough against Anderson on the previous evening but failed to add to his overnight 39 when he fended the fifth ball of the morning into slip’s hands.Adam Rossington – who later gave up the wicketkeeping gloves in Lancashire’s second innings to Michael Pepper after damaging a hand – lasted just eight balls before he gave a thick edge to another lifter from Anderson and Luke Wells held on above his right shoulder.A third Essex wicket fell in the first half-hour when Simon Harmer, on nought, fenced at Tom Bailey and Wells snaffled again at first slip.Critchley, who had struggled for consistency last season after his move from Derbyshire, continued to hold up the other end and reached his latest fifty from 100 balls. He played first fiddle in a seventh-wicket stand of 43 in 12 overs with Doug Bracewell, though he was fortunate when dropped by Wells on 53. The enterprising partnership ended when Bracewell chased a wide ball from fellow New Zealander Will Williams and became the fourth slip catch of the morning.When Anderson was rested after a six-over burst worth 2 for 20, it gave Essex some respite and Critchley took advantage by nonchalantly angling Williams past the slips for one of his nine fours.When Anderson did return after the first of three rain breaks, there was not the same venom or spite in his deliveries. Indeed, tail-ender Sam Cook played two controlled drives to the boundary at third off England’s premier strike bowler in a pleasing cameo worth 20.The eighth-wicket pair put on 38 valuable runs that took Essex beyond Lancashire’s first-innings total of 209, but it ended when Cook dollied Colin de Grandhomme to midwicket. Essex were all out soon after when Critchley holed out to deep extra cover to give Williams a third wicket.Lancashire had reached equality when Wells departed for his second single-digit score of the game, going half-forward to Jamie Porter and being judged lbw.However, that brought Bohannon in to join Jennings and the pair patiently pieced together a half-century stand in 16 overs that was embroidered by some loose bowling from Bracewell, who was taken off after conceding a combined total of 24 runs from his third and fourth overs.

Sri Lanka’s limited attack stood exposed in Mohali

Sidharth Monga04-Mar-2022Sri Lanka managed to deny Virat Kohli even a fifty in his 100th Test. They didn’t let Hanuma Vihari convert his fifty into a hundred in his 100th first-class match. By the end of the day, though, they might have regretted getting them out because it brought Rishabh Pant to the middle, who went from 50 to 96 in 19 delightful balls and ended up dismissed in the 90s for the fifth time in his career. India racked up 357 for 6 in just 85 overs.Sri Lanka’s limited attack stood exposed on a day-one Mohali pitch, which offered turn from full lengths and promised more in the coming days. Their lack of resources were apparent at the toss when they announced they were playing three fast bowlers on a track that the hosts picked three spinners.One of them, Lahiru Kumara, broke down in 10.5 overs. The others hardly drew any uncertainty: India batted with 89.4% control. When this is happening and the pitch is not offering you much, you expect your bowlers to keep the scoring under check, but India could hit boundaries without taking risks. They managed 44 of them on the day; Sri Lanka could string together just six maidens.. The lone specialist spinner, Lasith Embuldeniya, started off well, but lost control of his lengths as the game wore on.In a way, Sri Lanka were lucky they got the first five wickets with just 41 mistakes induced in the first 61.1 overs of the day. Rohit Sharma looked ominous, charging to 29 off 28, but found long leg with a third attempted pull to the boundary in the same Kumara over. He clearly fancies himself against the short ball, but since April 2018 he has been out to the pull or the hook seven times at an average of 27.4.Embuldeniya then managed to get past the inside edge of Mayank Agarwal, another heavy scorer in Indian conditions when he gets in. And he had got in with 33 off 49. What Embuldeniya did presented a sense of threat on a pitch that had a clear, differently-watered dry area on a spinners’ full length. He got some drift, pitched right at the start of that full area, and the ball would either turn or go straight on because of the rougher surface.In the same over, Emduldeniya drew a leading edge from Kohli too. This, though, would be the last time in a while that Sri Lanka would see a mistake from the batters. Vihari, replacing Cheteshwar Pujara at No. 3, had already got himself set. Vihari and Kohli added 90 from 25.5 overs for the third wicket without having to strain themselves. They did nothing more than keep the good balls out and score off the bad ones. That they could score at 3.6 an over tells you the proportion of good balls was low.Virat Kohli made 45 off 76 in his 100th Test•BCCI

In the middle of the second session, though, Embuldeniya did Kohli in with his trajectory. It was a flatter delivery, which made Kohli go back, but it still pitched full, about a foot inside the dry patch. It now had the time to turn past Kohli’s bat but not past the off stump. A remarkable crowd that turned up on two days’ notice was left as stunned as Kohli walked off, along with unfulfilled hopes of a 28th Test hundred.Vihari effortlessly made his way to 50 in 93 balls, but in the one period of credit to Sri Lanka’s bowling as a unit, they pushed him into a spell where he could score just eight off the next 35 balls. So for the first time they forced batters to take risks to score. On the first occasion, a catch was dropped off what turned out to be a no-ball. On the second, Vishwa Fernando managed to get a chop-on, making it 175 for 4.Pant came out to bat ahead of Shreyas Iyer, Ajinkya Rahane’s replacement. Iyer, too, managed a start but fell to Dhananjaya de Silva’s part-time offspin. Now check Pant’s presence: a team that had just taken two wickets for five runs had three men on the leg-side fence. If you can scare oppositions into having defensive fields as soon as you walk in, there are quite a few easy runs to be taken. That’s what Pant did in the early parts of his innings, never mind the one huge six and one lofted cover drive off Suranga Lakmal early on. They were happy to give him singles, he was happy to pick up singles.Pant was on an even 50 with five overs to go to the second new ball when he launched an all-out assault on the spinners. Embuldeniya was the first to cop it: six over midwicket, six over wide long-on, punch through the covers, late cut, and he had taken 22 off the 76th over. de Silva is supposed to turn it away but it didn’t matter as he took 10 off three balls in the 77th over.Within 10 minutes, Sri Lanka had gone from “hang on, what if we get a couple of quick wickets” to looking completely listless. The idea seemed for Pant to get to his hundred before the new ball, but he didn’t get enough strike to be able to do so. When the new ball did arrive, though, Lakmal kissed the top of his off stump from over the wicket.Pant went down on his haunches, and took an age to get back. He is now behind only Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar as Indians with dismissals in his 90s, and this one would have hurt the most because he got out trying to defend. There is always solace if he gets out in the 90s trying to hit a six for that is the facet of his game he backs more.Immediately at the other end, Ravindra Jadeja consoled him and applauded him: it was the 96 that he scored that mattered more than the four he didn’t.

Mystery bowler claims 6 for 34 after captain’s knock lays the foundation for win over Northern Diamonds

Graham Hardcastle27-Sep-2020Charlotte Taylor’s game-changing six-wicket haul ensured the Southern Vipers defended 232 to beat Northern Diamonds by 38 runs and claim the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy title at Edgbaston.An enthralling game which swung back and forth throughout saw the Diamonds well placed at 74 for 1 in the 15th over of their chase, only to slip to 96 for 6 in the 23rd as brilliant off-spinner Taylor struck the decisive blows.She had opener Hollie Armitage caught at backward point for 26, Alex MacDonald out hit wicket, Jenny Gunn trapped lbw and Bess Heath caught at deep mid-wicket.The Diamonds were later bowled out for 193 inside 43 overs, with 26-year-old Taylor also trapping Beth Langston lbw and having Netherlands international Sterre Kalis caught at mid-on for 55 on the way to a fabulous 6 for 34 from her 10 overs – the best return from any bowler in the competition. Kalis became her sixth wicket shortly after reaching 50 in the 37th over, and Taylor finished with a competition-high 15 wickets in five appearances.Taylor, who was drafted into the Vipers’ side after the competition had already started, was thrilled with her performance, and the result.”That’s the best I’ve ever bowled,” Taylor said. “I couldn’t have asked for anything better. I’m proving to myself week in and week out that I can play at this level.”Armitage, [Lauren] Winfield-Hill and Kalis got them off to a good start, but we took wickets at key times, and I’m so happy I was able to contribute. Lots of people wouldn’t have seen me play too much cricket, and I think that works to my advantage, especially with my bowling.”This team is so young. Myself, Georgia (Adams) and Carla (Rudd), we’re some of the oldest at 26. And some of these girls are 16, even 15. So for us to win seven games out of seven with such a young side, it’s really impressive and bodes well for the future.”Vipers’ captain Georgia Adams continued her stunning form with 80 off 102 balls, including eleven fours, at the top of the order as she underpinned 231 all out and moved to 500 competition runs in the process.She shared a century opening partnership with Ella McCaughan, who posted 35, having been inserted, only for the Diamonds to drag things back impressively as leg-spinners Katie Levick and Armitage shared five wickets.Georgia Adams lofts one over the leg side•PA Images via Getty Images

After Adams and McCaughan shared 100 inside 24 overs, their side’s fourth century opening stand in seven games, the South Coast side were in a dominant position at 150 for 1 in the 32nd over. Adams was particularly strong square of the wicket, reaching 50 for the fourth time in this competition off 68 balls.Maia Bouchier, however, looked more fluent at the crease and was punishing through the covers and over the top on the way to 28. Together with Adams – they shared 50 inside eight overs after McCaughan had feathered left-arm spinner Linsey Smith behind – a total nearing 300 was not unrealistic on a pacy and true surface with a fast outfield.But things changed in a flash. Diamonds captain Lauren Winfield-Hill, back from England’s T20 bubble, brought Armitage into the attack, and she struck first ball with a long hop which Bouchier pulled head high to mid-on, leaving the score at 150 for 2 in the 32nd.Almost 12 overs later, the Vipers were 191 for 8, with Armitage striking again plus three wickets for Levick, who trapped Charlie Dean and Carla Rudd lbw and removed Adams, caught at deep mid-wicket. Levick’s first two overs had cost her 19 and she finished with 3 for 49 from eight.Miserly former England seamers Langston and Gunn both contributed significantly in dragging things back and finished with a wicket apiece.However, there was to be a late twist as the Vipers were boosted by an industrious 37 off 48 balls from Emily Windsor to ensure they went beyond 230.Winfield-Hill rued a number of what she called “soft dismissals” for her side.”A lot of people got themselves out rather than being got out,” she said. “But we’ll learn from that. We just need to be playing in these finals and find a way to win.”They started well with that big partnership up top before we clawed it back in the middle and kept them to a score. At one stage we thought it was a 260 pitch, but in the end they probably got 20 or 30 too many with people down the order chipping in. That proved to be the difference.”

The fast bowler did not think the early exit was the lowest point of his career, but admitted that he had slipped up with his execution during the tournament

Sharda Ugra at Lord's24-Jun-2019Having taken just six wickets in seven games at an average of 50.83, Kagiso Rabada has been far from the spearhead South Africa had expected him to be at the World Cup. The fast bowler has admitted that his performances at the tournament have only been “okay”.”These [World Cups] are the tournaments you really want to stand out in… In this tournament I would have like to have done better,” Rabada told reporters on Sunday, after South Africa’s exit-confirming loss to Pakistan at Lord’s. “I have just done okay. I think there have been times where we have been really unlucky, and some times where we have kind of let ourselves down.”Rabada, who is playing in his first World Cup, said he would not call the early exit the lowest point in his career, which began in the aftermath of South Africa’s heart-breaking semi-final defeat in the 2015 World Cup. “I wouldn’t say it was the lowest point in my career – this is what comes with the game. All of us, we don’t go to a game looking to lose. We go to a game prepared. We try to prepare, we do our analysis, and we come in with a good mindset.”He however cited his own case in failing to bridge the gap between planning and on-field performance.”Execution is just one thing that you know that has been a question mark for us, and especially for myself at times,” he said. “And you can’t just do okay.”Rabada said he had at times tried to “take it it upon myself to really stand up. I thought I played just okay. I don’t think it’s the lowest point. The next time this happens, it’s a challenge really to come out on top.”In comparison to his captain Faf du Plessis, whose media briefing was marked by the heaviness of his team’s failure, Rabada’s response to the defeat against Pakiatan reflected his relatively baggage-free World Cup experience and the fact that he was not the man carrying the load of the team’s leader.Of the match against Pakistan he said, “I think Pakistan turned up and we didn’t.” South Africa’s bowlers, he added, had slipped up at key moments in the match. “I think we knew we had them in the field and we let it slip and then they outbowled us. They got our batsmen out.”According to Rabada, the fourth-wicket partnership between Babar Azam and Man of the Match Haris Sohail – 81 in 11.2 overs – was “where they really got momentum with their batting, and I think their bowlers really bowled well to restrict our batters, so I think we were just outplayed, simple as that.”The defeat was to give to Rabada “plenty of learnings and that’s how we play this game. It’s not easy.”He then spoke not as a philosophical young man dealing with defeat but a young cricketer grappling with the lessons he had been given by the game. “As much as you want to be at the top. you’ll never find it smooth sailing. It’s extremely tough. When you are playing out there you experience all of this. And all these feelings, highs and lows, and that’s what comes with it.”South Africa’s last two World Cup group matches, dead rubbers as far as they are concerned, are spread over the next ten days, the first against Sri Lanka in Chester-le-Street on Friday, June 28, and then Australia in Manchester on July 6.So while Rabada did say that “the key is to bounce back and plan forward and stay positive”, he will find the empty time on his hands far tougher to deal with than he realised today. Just ask du Plessis.

Cricket West Indies is offering its contracted and non-contracted players major pay hikes as an incentive to play the series of three T20 internationals in Pakistan next month

Colin Benjamin19-Mar-2018Cricket West Indies (CWI) is offering its contracted and non-contracted players major pay hikes as an incentive to play the series of three T20 internationals in Pakistan next month.West Indies will announce a 13-man touring squad to tour Pakistan when the ongoing World Cup Qualifier concludes. CWI did not confirm or deny the amount but it is being suggested that the touring squad are being offered around US$25,000 each for the three matches in Karachi on April 1, 2 and 3.Depending on the contract status of players, that means they will be getting anywhere between 70% more and double what they would ordinarily be paid. Under the new CWI contracts announced in January, many of non-contracted T20 specialists got a raise of US$1725 to US$5000 per game, along with double match fees for all three formats.Though CWI will be paying the players, the money for that to happen has come from a payment made by the PCB to CWI for this series – as it is outside the Future Tours Programme (FTP) as it stands. According to a PCB official, that payment to a touring side by the host board is standard for non-FTP series and one the PCB benefited from in a 2013 ODI tour to South Africa.”Pakistan are looking to play more cricket at home, by playing half of the PSL in Pakistan next year and a number of matches in upcoming bilateral series under the current FTP,” CWI CEO Johnny Grave told ESPNcricinfo. “However what they can’t continue to do is pay international players additional fees to tour Pakistan or PSL.”So, considering this tour is outside the Future Tours Programme, the PCB have made a payment to CWI that is being fully utilised. CWI isn’t making any money from the series, just supporting cricket going back to Pakistan.”The issue of paying players extra to tour Pakistan, which hasn’t hosted regular international cricket since the March 2009 terror attacks on the Sri Lanka team, is a delicate one for the PCB. They paid Zimbabwe’s players US$12,500 each for a tour in 2015, the first by any international team to Pakistan since 2009.Foreign players were also offered extra money on top of their contracts to play in the PSL final in Lahore last year. The players that toured Lahore as part of a World XI last September were also paid by the PCB.It is an extra cost the board could easily do without but, because the aim is to bring back cricket to Pakistan, it is seen as a long-term investment. The PCB gradually wants to end the practice – no extra money was paid to Sri Lanka when they played a single T20 in Lahore last year, although it was a heavily depleted squad that came.Grave did confirm that the boards have a separate agreement to play T20 matches in USA and Canada. According to an ESPNcricinfo source, CWI has reserved dates at the Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, Florida for the weekend of August 4-5 to play a pair of T20Is. This is the last weekend ahead of the start of the Caribbean Premier League, for which all West Indian players were announced to be available from August 8-September 16 since it does not clash with any FTP requirements.”As a trade off for this, we have their agreement to play regular T20 games in USA or Canada outside of the FTP to try and build interest in cricket in our timezone,” Grave said. “We [CWI] have been very up front with players and told them all money we are getting for this series they will be getting.”It is unclear which members of the current squad in Zimbabwe will tour Pakistan, however. According to sources close to players none of five of the Bravo brothers, Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine and Andre Russell – whom chief selector Courtney Browne attacked for choosing PSL over the World Cup Qualifier – were selected. There will also likely be no place for Darren Sammy.Russell and Dwayne Bravo are currently injured, while Narine also elected not to visit Pakistan, even before doubts resurfaced over his action after he was reported in the PSL.According to his representatives, Pollard does not feel comfortable traveling to Pakistan at the moment. He had already decided not to travel with his PSL side, Multan Sultans, if they had made it through from the group stage.Whether Darren Bravo was contacted about playing is unknown, but some likely squad members include veteran legspinner Samuel Badree, Rayad Emrit and potentially a recall for Denesh Ramdin.Badree is set to visit Pakistan with Islamabad United and has the experience of going there with the ICC World XI last year. Emrit, who was recalled for the January T20 series in New Zealand for the first time in a decade, also visited Pakistan for the PSL final in 2017.

The ECB could be about to lose one of the key architects of their new T20 competition more than two years before it is launched

George Dobell20-Feb-2017The ECB could be about to lose one of the key architects of their new T20 competition more than two years before it is launched.ESPNcricinfo understands that Gordon Hollins, the ECB’s chief operating officer, has been shortlisted for the role of chief executive at MCC. Derek Brewer, the current MCC chief executive, has already announced his intention to retire at the start of 2018.Hollins has been with the ECB since 2007. In that time, he has performed the role of Head of Venue Partnerships (2007-2012), Managing Director – Professional Game (2012-14) and, since 2014, the COO role which gives him responsibility for professional and recreational cricket in England and Wales.In those roles, he has been heavily involved in the major match allocation process as well as the Morgan Report (2011-12), which saw the revival of 50-over cricket, the re-scheduling of T20 cricket on an ‘appointment to view’ basis and recommended a cut to the County Championship programme. Before joining the ECB, he was commercial director at Durham CCC.Often acting as the bridge between the ECB executive and the counties, it was noticeable that the relationship between them deteriorated sharply during a period when Hollins was absent due to ill health. Now fully recovered, he has been heavily involved in thrashing out something approaching an agreement between the ECB executive and the counties over the introduction of the new T20 competition in 2020.With his experience across the game and his relationships with those in power at the ECB, the attraction of Hollins to MCC is not surprising. Concerned at the prospect of losing one of the two Tests they currently host most years, MCC seem increasingly keen on being at the forefront of the new domestic T20 competition.Others favoured for the MCC role are understood to be John Stephenson, who is currently head of cricket at the MCC, and Guy Lavender, who is currently chief executive at Somerset CCC.

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.

ESPNcricinfo previews the IPL match between Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Daredevils in Jaipur

The Preview by Kanishkaa Balachandran30-Apr-2012

Match facts

May 1, 2012, Jaipur
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)Royals are back at their fortress, where they have a 100% record against Daredevils•AFP

Big Picture

Rajasthan Royals will still be wondering how they botched the chase against Delhi Daredevils two days back. With 15 needed off 12 balls, with nine wickets in hand, you would back yourself for a comfortable chase. Yet, what ensued reiterated the theory that all it takes is good over to tilt the scales in Twenty20s. Leave too much to the end, and the joke’s on you. Royals have a chance to set things right against the same opponent, in their Jaipur fortress. They will be boosted by the arrival from the West Indies of the Australian Shane Watson, who will have to conquer jet-lag first, and Morne Morkel next. If Watson does play straightaway, the question is who will make way – either Brad Hodge or Owais Shah. Three consecutive defeats will be at the back of their minds when they take on the in-form Daredevils.With 14 points, Daredevils are still on top. Should they lose, they will remain in that position. Luck’s going their way and their season has been a marked improvement from last year. This will be Kevin Pietersen’s last game before he flies back home and his presence as an impact player will be missed. A big plus for Daredevils is the contribution of two low-profile Indian players – Shahbaz Nadeem and Yogesh Nagar. Nagar was the unsung hero of the previous game, making the most of the final over to give the score some respectability.

Form guide

(most recent first)
Delhi Daredevils: WWWLW
Rajasthan Royals: LLLWW

Players to watch

Though Morkel’s tight penultimate over in the chase hogged the attention, Umesh Yadav‘s effort in the final over cannot be ignored. Though he had 12 to defend, he was parsimonious in his first three deliveries, giving away only two runs. A freak six by Ajinkya Rahane nearly overshadowed his efforts, but Yadav held his nerve for the final ball, beating the well-set Rahane for pace.Royals’ Amit Singh picked up two wickets, but was the most expensive bowler at the Kotla, giving 41 runs. Twenty of those came off his final over, the last of the innings, which made the difference in the final analysis. If Siddharth Trivedi returns, Amit Singh’s place could be in trouble.

Stats and trivia

• Royals and Daredevils have played each other twice at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium. Royals won both games.
• Daredevils run-rate in the last six overs stands at 9.15, while their bowlers concede 8.11 per over in the last six.
  

  Quotes

  “We probably bowled the best of any teams against Delhi, who have such a formidable batting line-up.”

  “Great spirit shown by the team. Brilliant stuff from Morne. Must have been heartbreaking for Ajinkya though.”

Michael Yardy, the Sussex captain and England limited-overs allrounder, has been given another rest period by the county to aid his treatment for depression

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Jun-2011Michael Yardy, the Sussex captain and England limited-overs allrounder, has been given another rest period by the county to aid his treatment for depression.Yardy was forced to return home early from England’s World Cup campaign in March and he missed the first month of the county season with the illness. He then returned to action in the CB40 match against Netherlands, at Hove, on May 2 and played his first Championship game against Nottinghamshire the following week.Though Yardy played in last Friday’s Friends Life t20 match against Middlesex at Hove he left the field after he had bowled his four overs. His absence was explained as a groin niggle at the time.He will now miss Sussex’s t20 match against Somerset at Hove on as he has been given a further period of time out of cricket. A statement issued by the club said that Yardy expects to return to action soon: “Michael has played a lot of cricket over the last six weeks and feels that a short break now will assist his continued recovery, and enable him to return to competitive action soon.”