All posts by n8rngtd.top

Lancashire’s Liam Livingstone continued his impressive form for England Lions in Sri Lanka with a century in demanding conditions on the opening day of the second four-day match

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Feb-2017
ScorecardFile photo – Liam Livingstone was the cornerstone for the Lions innings•Getty Images

Lancashire’s Liam Livingstone continued his impressive form for England Lions in Sri Lanka with a century in demanding conditions on the opening day of the second four-day match.Livingstone’s 105, alongside a half-century from Tom Westley, led England Lions to 339 for 9 while left-arm spinner Malinda Pushpakumara took 7 for 114 from 37 overs.Such was the heat in Dambulla that Livingstone was covered in ice towels during the tea interval but managed to reach his century from 133 balls before becoming one of Pushpakumara’s seven wickets.”That’s by far the hottest I’ve ever batted in,” Livingstone said. “I suppose that’s what we do our winter training for, to get prepared for those conditions. It’s a tough place to bat for a long time but it’s our job to be in the right condition to do it.”I was pretty hot when I came off for tea – the guys had some towels in buckets of ice. I think we had to run three twos in three balls and I nearly keeled over. But that’s the reason you do your training. That’s where your hards in the gym…finally you see that they’re worthwhile. It’s all part of the challenge of playing out here. You’ve just got to embrace it and get on with it, and try your best to get through and be as fit as you can.”It was another up and down batting performance from the Lions. Keaton Jennings made 44, but when he fell to Pushpakumara the Lions were 77 for 3.Westley and Livingstone combined to add 110 for the fourth wicket, Westley making 68 off 105 balls before Pushpakumara turned one from outside leg stump to clip off.Livingstone and Ben Foakes then joined forces to add 83 as the Lions moved onto the healthy position of 270 for 4. However, Foakes was caught behind and the lower order proved less productive than it had in the previous match as Pushpakumara continued to cause problems.At 313 for 9 it appeared the Lions may not bat out the day, but the last-wicket pair of spin duo Ollie Rayner and Jack Leach added an unbroken 26. Leach, the left-arm spinner, had been brought into the side after missing the first four-day game after not being completely comfortable with his remodelled action.

Glenn Maxwell’s first Test hundred and an unbeaten century from Steven Smith highlighted the second day in Ranchi which also saw a solid reply from India’s top order

The Report by Daniel Brettig17-Mar-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details2:56

Chappell: India seem to be out of ideas on how to get Smith

Steven Smith’s latest epic, Glenn Maxwell’s first Test hundred and a spell of the highest quality from Pat Cummins showed Australia’s strengths even as India fought back with a solid opening stand on the second day in Ranchi. Some spiky help from the lower order lifted the tourists to 451 before Cummins extracted life from the friendliest pitch of the series to defeat KL Rahul.M Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara fought their way to the close, but the Australians still hold a first-innings lead of 331 on a pitch expected to get harder for batting from here on in. Virat Kohli, inconvenienced by a shoulder injury, will be able to bat wherever he chooses due to his problem being deemed external having resulted from a heavy landing when trying to stop a boundary on the first day of this match.Kohli was confined to the hosts’ viewing area and treatment table due to a shoulder strain as the tourists pushed on beyond the day’s midpoint with a sensible mixture of attack and defence. Smith sailed on past 150 to the highest tally by an Australian captain in India, with only one instant of uncertainty when he edged Ishant Sharma short of Wriddhiman Saha. Otherwise, he was in total control, and might still be batting now were it not for a lack of partners.The emotional high point of the morning arrived when Maxwell sliced a boundary through third man to pass three figures on his return to the Test team for the first time in three years. It was just reward for a highly mature and intelligent performance, one that vindicated the selectors’ decision to recall him in place of the injured Mitchell Marsh. At the same time, it also opened up an opportunity for Maxwell to begin a new phase of his career, as not only a limited-overs entertainer but also a Test-match performer.Ravindra Jadeja’s five wickets were proof that some assistance was available for the spinners, with Maxwell and Cummins both defeated by deliveries that turned and lifted after being bowled at considerable pace by the left-armer. Australia’s chances of pressing home their current advantage will depend on how the pitch continues to deteriorate.The second new ball was still shiny when Smith and Maxwell resumed, and plenty of early runs accrued from any errors of line or length from Ishant and Umesh Yadav. Maxwell was quick to 99 then briefly becalmed. One Jadeja delivery kicked and beat the bat in a forerunner of the ball that was to dismiss him five runs later.Glenn Maxwell hugs Steven Smith after reaching his maiden Test hundred•Associated Press

Maxwell’s celebration was unrestrained, a tight embrace with Smith underlining the innings’ importance to him and also perhaps the example from whom he had gained an appreciation for the finer arts of Test batsmanship – Smith had himself once been a cricketer many doubted would mature into a five-day force.When Jadeja claimed Maxwell’s edge, Matthew Wade arrived in a busy mood and wasted little time in building a 64-run stand with Smith. Just when it seemed captain and wicketkeeper would get through to the lunch interval, Jadeja skidded a straight ball through to claim Wade’s outside edge, well taken behind the stumps by Saha.Cummins could last only two balls before his stumps were clattered by sharp spin, but Steve O’Keefe was able to get to the break in Smith’s company and endured for an hour after it with stern defence and the odd angry shot. Eventually, he fell prey to the hook shot, and Nathan Lyon did not last long against Jadeja’s bounce before Josh Hazlewood was run out as Smith tried to pinch the strike one last time.The new ball did little for Hazlewood and Cummins when they opened shortly before tea, though Cummins’ pace offered a threat commensurate with that lost to the Australians when Mitchell Starc was forced home by a foot fracture. O’Keefe found turn slow, and Lyon soon reverted to the line from around the wicket that he often chooses when a pitch is not offering much assistance.When the pacemen returned in the evening session there was a modicum of reverse swing for Hazlewood, but it was Cummins who raised his game to find a breakthrough by mixing his speeds with a series of cutters while maintaining an immaculate line. He was into his fifth over of the spell for four runs when a slower bouncer, again perfectly pitched, kissed Rahul’s top glove on the way through to Wade for a deserved wicket.An over later, Cummins was rested after a burst that returned the figures of 1 for 8 and demonstrated the rare combination of brawn and brains that had the selectors rushing him to India. Lyon came close to following up when he struck Vijay in front of the stumps from around the wicket, only to be foiled by an inside edge. A subsequent bat-pad decision referral was still more clear cut.Wickets will be hard work on day three, but Cummins, and Jadeja before him, had both shown that it can be done.

With the possibility of an ODI debut in the Ireland tri-nation series, New Zealand fast bowler Neil Wagner has said that he has worked on improving his consistency, change-up deliveries, variations and death-bowling

ESPNcricinfo staff10-May-20171:19

‘Gym session is a good top up’ – Nicholls

Five years after his international debut, New Zealand fast bowler Neil Wagner could be in line to play his first ODI in the Ireland tri-nation series, which starts from Thursday. A relatively inexperienced New Zealand squad, led by Tom Latham, will take on hosts Ireland and Bangladesh and Wagner is excited by the prospect of meeting the challenge of different skills in ODIs.”I have worked hard the last few times on consistency and skills and change-ups and a few different deliveries,” Wagner said. “The nature of the game is that you have to be able to adapt to different wickets and different types of batters around the world. Have worked on a few change-ups, trying to nail death bowling and stuff like that and a few variations as well. It’s quite an exciting part of the game to be able to do some different stuff and working with the white ball and all.”It’s refreshing in a sense. It’s quite nice to do something different again, different skills. It just freshens things up a little bit. It’s quite exciting to be able to play the role if I get a chance to contribute in some sort of way.”Wagner’s recent performances in the lead-up to the tri-series have extended the consistent form he showed over 2016 to earn New Zealand Cricket’s Test Player of the Year Award. Turning out for Essex, he has taken 11 wickets in three first-class matches, including 6 for 28 against Somerset. In four List A matches, he has taken 10 wickets with two four-fors. In five Tests this year, he has 22 wickets at 30.04 and was New Zealand’s most successful Test bowler in 2016, taking 41 wickets – ten more than Trent Boult in second place – in nine matches at 21.04.The county stint, Wagner said, would allow him to hit the ground running if he makes an ODI debut.”Obviously got a couple of county games under the belt, played some four-day games and some one-day matches for a while which has been quite beneficial before the one-day tournament, so great to hit the ground running.”There will, however, be competition for fast-bowling slots. Apart from Wagner, New Zealand have pace options in Seth Rance, Scott Kuggeleijn, Hamish Bennett and Adam Milne, who joined the squad in Ireland after being released by his IPL team Royal Challengers Bangalore. NZC had earlier specified that players involved in the IPL would join the squad in Ireland on a case-by-case basis, once their involvement in the league ended.”If a chance, it comes and you try and make the most of it,” Wagner said. “In the past, I have learned a lot about not worrying too much about things you can’t control. Obviously, getting picked and getting selected and then having to go out and do the job is a different thing.”New Zealand’s first match of the tournament is scheduled for May 14, against Ireland. The tournament will begin on Friday, with the match between Ireland and Bangladesh, with the last match to be played on May 24.

Mahmudullah and Mushfiqur Rahim saw the side home in a chase of 271 that was occasionally tense

The Report by Mohammad Isam24-May-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsFile photo: Mahmudullah reached a personal landmark of 3000 ODI runs in his unbeaten 46•AFP

Bangladesh got their prized first away win over New Zealand a week before the start of their Champions Trophy campaign. The five-wicket win in front of a packed crowd in Clontarf was a tense affair at times but Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah aced the chase of 271 in some style. The win helped them climb to No. 6 on the ICC ODI rankings table.

Tom Latham, the New Zealand captain, weighs in on the loss:

On loss of set batsmen “From the position we were in, I think just about at 40 overs we managed to lose 20 for 3. So, that just stunted our momentum a little bit. [I] think we were on track to get about 300 and, probably, looking at the way they were going, 300 would have been a pretty challenging score. Just looking at the nature of how wickets fell, even through our innings – they managed to fall in clumps. We sort of went bang-bang and got a couple of new batters in and, then, you never know.
On the partnership between him and Neil Broom “When you want to put big totals on the board, you have to have partnerships. We managed to build a decent partnership for the second wicket but unfortunately, [I] couldn’t do that with Ross, so managed to get out just after Neil got out.
On Bangladesh’s late fightback “At the halfway point, we were pretty happy with 270; we managed to take an early wicket, but credit to Bangladesh. I think they played very well; they paced their innings perfectly and credit has to be given to the way Mahmudullah and Mushfiqur batted. They did a good job and managed to get themselves over the line.”

Mahmudullah hit the winning runs through midwicket, with 10 balls to spare. He was unbeaten on 46 off 36 balls with six fours and a six, while Mushfiqur was not out on a run-a-ball 45 with three fours and a six.Bangladesh were solid early in their chase despite the wicket of Soumya Sarkar. Tamim Iqbal and Sabbir Rahman – who both scored 65 – added 136 runs for the second wicket, a record for that wicket and the second-highest overall for Bangladesh against New Zealand. However, the side slipped from the relative comfort of 143 for 1 to 160 for 4 in the space of 17 deliveries.Tamim began the chase with a six, the third batsman in the last 15 years- after Virender Sehwag and Martin Guptill – to do so. He managed to hit the ball cleanly out of the park and the ball was replaced after just one delivery. Jeetan Patel Soumya Sarkar for a duck later in the over, with the new ball.Tamim and Sabbir then batted with a measured approach. With the New Zealand bowlers straying in line and bowling poor lengths, boundaries were also available and the pair capitalized. Six fours were hit in the first 10 overs and five more in the next 10 overs. In the 19th over, Patel lunged forward at deep point but couldn’t hold on to the half chance offered by Sabbir on 39.Sabbir was severe on anything short, playing the pull and the cut with glee. Tamim found fours through the third-man region twice before scoring boundaries through the covers, midwicket and down the ground. Sabbir then found more boundaries over the bowler’s head as well as past the wicketkeeper, besides using the sweep.The partnership ended when Tamim holed out at wide long-on, with Hamish Bennett running 15 yards to complete the catch. Tamim struck six fours and a six in his 80-ball knock. Sabbir fell seven balls later, caught in a mix-up with Mosaddek Hossain. Both batsmen ended up at the striker’s end with the third umpire judging that Sabbir was out as Mosaddek had reached the crease before him.Mosaddek fell in the following over, out leg-before to Patel. Mushfiqur and Shakib Al Hasan then steadied the wobble by batting with caution while controlling the required run rate. They added 39 runs for the fifth wicket before Shakib holed out at long-leg off Bennett.Mushfiqur slammed a straight six and then struck a scoop and a sweep before Mahmudullah took over as the more aggressive batsman in the partnership. He became the fifth Bangladesh batsman to score 3000 ODI runs, and got there with shots like a ramp a cover drive, an upper cut and a pull. The only hiccup in Mahmudullah’s innings came in the 44th over, when a well-hit drive burst through the hands of Tom Latham.Earlier, New Zealand suffered a late collapse despite being set up for a big score by a 133-run second-wicket partnership between Tom Latham and Neil Broom. The pair mixed boundary-hitting with sharp singles; between them, they hit a total of 18 fours. Latham top-scored with 84 while Broom reached 63. Both were dismissed in a space of two overs which hurt New Zealand.Both batsmen were also dismissed by Nasir Hossain, who had dropped Latham on 0 in the first over. Bangladesh made their way back in the game as New Zealand’s allrounders – Corey Anderson, Jimmy Neesham, Mitchell Santner and Colin Munro – fell in quick succession and the side slipped to 226 for 7 in the 44th over. Ross Taylor guided New Zealand’s slog-overs’ charge, finishing unbeaten on 60 off 56 balls, a role he may have to repeat in the Champions Trophy.Bangladesh bowled well in the last 20 overs, conceding more than 10 runs in an over only once in the period. Mashrafe and Shakib led the way, taking four wickets between them, with help from Mustafizur Rahman and Rubel Hossain. Mustafizur and Rubel curbed New Zealand well in the last five overs, conceding only 33 runs. Nasir contributed wickets but Bangladesh would have rued the dropped chances, from the first to the last over. Nasir and Mosaddek missed chances to dismiss Latham while Sarkar couldn’t hold on to a chance at deep midwicket from Broom. In the last over, Mahmudullah dropped a sitter offered by Taylor but the fielder eventually had the last laugh with his unbeaten innings.

Dean Elgar’s unbeaten 72 helped lift South Africa from 52 for 4 but they had plenty of work to do to save the game on the final day after England set them 492 or four sessions to bat

The Report by David Hopps30-Jul-20171:49

Westley and Stokes leave England cruising

The word on the streets after South Africa’s victory at Trent Bridge (or on social media at any rate, the meanest streets of all) was that England were a soft touch and could learn a thing or two from the resilience of their opponents.Such reputations have been dismantled at The Oval, where England will enter the final day only six wickets away from a victory that would put them 2-1 up in the series with one to play. It is England who have had bristled with intent with bat and ball while South Africa’s top order has crumbled twice in the match against insistent seam bowling on a surface which has always kept the bowlers interested.

South Africa’s opening woes

12.91 – South Africa’s average opening stand in their last 12 innings; their highest during this period is 21.
42.51 – Dean Elgar’s Test average as opener – he has scored 1998 runs in 51 innings. During this period, the other South African openers have together averaged 22.62, scoring 1380 runs in 63 innings.
9 – Consecutive Tests in which Joe Root has made a 50-plus score. There are only seven instances of a batsman passing 50 in more Test matches in a row.
10 – England batsmen who have passed 50 when batting at No. 3 on their Test debut, as Tom Westley did. The last England batsman to do so was Owais Shah against India in 2006; he was also the last England batsman to make his Test debut at No. 3.
1947 – The only time South Africa have played 100-plus overs in the fourth innings of a Test in England.

South Africa were up against it in the first innings in devilish batting conditions; the English summer at its most cantankerous. On the final session of the fourth day, with the weather fresher and breezier, mitigation was a little harder to find – unless it was the intimidating presence of their target of 492 to win, a target never previously achieved in Test history, or, more realistically, the need to survive for four sessions.They slipped to 52 for 4 by the 16th over. All England’s quartet of pace bowlers carried a threat, unlike South Africa. Morne Morkel has looked on the verge of something special all summer, but has only one Test left to be rewarded. Chris Morris has gone for nearly six an over in this match. The left-arm spin of Keshav Maharaj was under-used. As for Vernon Philander, he was still under the weather and incorporated 15 overs in his toilet breaks.Only Dean Elgar assembled doughty – and, at times, painful – resistance with the bat for South Africa, as he battled his way to an unbeaten 72, Temba Bavuma offering support in an unbroken stand of 65. Elgar will check his left hand gingerly on the final morning. He habitually taunted the slip cordon with his angled defensive pushes and when he did nick one, on 9, Keaton Jennings fumbled low to his left.England have even sorted out their previously incompetent methodology on umpiring reviews, replacing the Who Shouts Wins technique with a more rigorous discussion in which Root, from afar, seems to be asking pertinent questions and Jonny Bairstow, the wicketkeeper, has a central role.A lot of attention has focused on Jennings’ unproductive series at the top of England’s order, but Heino Kuhn has fared no better. His debut series has brought 78 runs at an average of 13. He survived Stuart Broad’s big appeal for lbw thanks to a big thrust forward, only to be cleaned up in Broad’s next over.Hashim Amla remains the prince of wickets: Toby Roland-Jones has given him both barrels, caught at the wicket in the first innings, held by Root at second slip on this occasion. He was happy to walk, but the umpires insisted, somewhat unnecessarily on checking the validity of the catch, the sort of things umpires do when world-renowned batsmen are dismissed by a relative unknown.Then came two in two for Ben Stokes, who has looked more of a threat here. A yorker did for de Kock, hitting his boot on the way, although the umpires might have taken a longer look at the marginal no-ball, and Faf du Plessis was lbw first ball to a leave-alone, confirmed on review. South Africa’s captain, an inspiration in Nottingham, has made 1 and 0 and left them both at The Oval.Dean Elgar drives en route to his fifty•Getty Images

One small word of warning for England: when South Africa batted for 148 overs to draw against Australia in Adelaide five years ago they were four down at stumps with a day remaining. But this is not an Adelaide pitch. And on that occasion South Africa had AB de Villiers, Jacques Kallis and du Plessis on hand.Root’s first declaration as an England captain had been a conservative one, at 313 for 8, but he would have rested easy at the close and the weather forecast was good for the final day.England received little charity from the South African attack as they moved gradually to a tea-time declaration. Only when Bairstow, with a run-a-ball fifty, and a twisted ankle in the process, emerged in mid-afternoon did England find a final dash. He added 49 in eight overs with Stokes, who planted Morris into the stands at cow corner before Morris struck his stumps later in the over as he attempted further mayhem.An abstemious maiden Test fifty by Tom Westley was the centrepiece of a heedful morning. Westley only contributed 22 out of 79 to England’s total in the session, but there was again a grace in his game that made him eminently watchable even when not scoring quickly.Some batsmen, such as Stokes, encourage roars of approval; cheers for Root are sourced in admiration; Westley, if he prospers, will bring sighs of pleasure.Maharaj then intervened with two wickets in successive overs early in the afternoon. He spotted Westley’s advance down the pitch, on 59, and found enough turn to beat his outside edge for de Kock to complete the stumping. Root also reached 50, but then swept him to deep square.Dawid Malan is as off-side dominant as fellow debutant Westley favours the leg side. His second-innings dismissal carried a reminder of what had gone before. Then he was cleaned up by an inswinging yorker from Kagiso Rabada. He again fell prey to the ball coming back sharply into his pads, falling lbw to Morris, a wicket only won by South Africa on review.As Root opted for a safe lead then more some, Moeen Ali was run out by a direct hit at the non-striker’s end from Bavuma, who dashed in in from deep midwicket as Moeen sauntered a second run. Toby Roland-Jones then had some fun larruping Elgar’s left-arm slows – a debut full of smiles.Jennings’ England career is under scrutiny. He is without a Test half-century in six knocks. He added 14 on the third morning, but his two boundaries off Morkel were unconvincing, thick edges. Rabada surprised him with a bouncer, on 48, and won a lobbed catch to gully off the glove.Rabada has the capacity to bowl an excellent shock ball whether it is the sort of yorker that unhinged Malan in the first innings or the bouncer, by far the shortest ball he had bowled in the England innings, which removed Jennings. Nevertheless, Jennings’ statuesque style is bound to be bringing growing concern for England’s selectors ahead of an Ashes tour in Australia this winter.Westley had challenges of his own to contend with. It has not taken South Africa long to cotton on to his strengths. Indeed, such is the constant analysis of a new England player that it would have been no surprise if a Romanian plasterer had wandered up to him on the platform at Bank as England travelled to the game by tube and said: “You must be Tom Westley, the one with the strong leg-side game.”Resuming on 28, under overcast skies, he did not bring up his first Test half-century until 10 minutes before lunch, courtesy of the shot that he must have been aching to unveil all morning, a graceful clip through midwicket against Morkel that, as much as any other shot in his armoury, exudes quality. There was enough time in the game for him to play in restrained fashion and he had the intelligence to do just that.

The Supreme Court has asked N Srinivasan and Niranjan Shah to explain their position, after the Committee of Administrators said the two individuals were stalling the implementation of the Lodha Committee recommendations

Sidharth Monga and Nagraj Gollapudi14-Jul-20175:55

Ugra: Old BCCI challenging Supreme Court

N Srinivasan and Niranjan Shah will have to explain to the Supreme Court of India their roles in stalling the implementation of the Lodha Committee recommendations. The pair of former BCCI office bearers were singled out by the Committee of Administrators (CoA) in a scathing appraisal of the progress – or lack of – made by the BCCI in implementing the recommendations.The court will hear the matter on July 24, two days before the next BCCI SGM to discuss the recommendations.At Friday’s hearing, Justice Dipak Misra observed that “if a person is disqualified to be an office bearer, he cannot be nominated by office bearers”.Misra’s statement is significant because Srinivasan and Shah, despite being disqualified as office bearers on grounds that they are over 70 years old and having exceeded the tenure cap, had attended BCCI meetings as representatives or nominees of their respective state associations – Tamil Nadu and Saurashtra. And according to the CoA’s latest status report, Srinivasan and Shah have prevented other BCCI members from reaching a consensus on implementing the Lodha Committee’s recommendations.

Anurag Thakur in the clear

Anurag Thakur, the former BCCI president, was cleared of perjury charges for a letter he had written to the ICC asking it to intervene, saying the Lodha Committee reforms amounted to government interference in the board. A day before Friday’s hearing he filed an affidavit, apologising unconditionally.

Over the last month, a special committee was formed by the BCCI to shortlist the most significant problems the board had with those recommendations in order to put them before the court for reconsideration.However, according to amicus curiae Gopal Subramanium, when the wider BCCI body held special general meetings to discuss and ratify the shortlisted recommendations, the meetings were “hijacked” by Srinivasan and Shah.”Till now, most recommendations were by and large accepted,” Subramanium said, but Srinivasan and Shah kept repeating “nothing can be implemented”.Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing on behalf of Srinivasan and other state associations, responded on behalf of his client, “I am a member of TNCA. Nobody can take my membership away.” The states have argued that the disqualified office bearers – such as Srinivasan and Shah – are not attending the meetings as office bearers but as representatives, and that the Lodha Committee’s eligibility criteria did not apply to representatives.In the status report submitted to the court on July 12, the CoA said disqualified office bearers were “impediments” to the implementation of recommendations.The BCCI secretary Amitabh Choudhary, in an affidavit filed in the court on Tuesday, said that five state associations – Tamil Nadu, Saurashtra, Karnataka, Kerala and Goa – had objected to the implementation of the recommendations at the SGM on June 26. Choudhary noted the efforts of the CoA, which had met the state associations twice and “stressed” that it could work with the BCCI in “canvassing the impracticality or difficulties that may arise in implementation of some clauses” of the recommendations.Choudhary said that in addition to the three shortlisted recommendations, the special committee wanted restrictions waived for representatives of states attending board meetings, and members who sit on different committees. “The house also felt there should not be any disqualifications in terms of age, tenure or cooling off for representatives, nominees of the associations and the BCCI and the members of the BCCI committee.”The court did not hear the other requests in the CoA’s status report, which will be heard on July 24. The court accepted the resignations of CoA members Vikram Limaye and Ramachandra Guha, and Subramanium submitted six names as possible replacements. Sibal argued that his clients should also be allowed to suggest names; the court granted him the request and decided to hear the matter on July 24.The lawyer for Railways argued that they had been relegated to Associate status under the one-state-one-vote policy, and despite being regular contributors to Indian cricket, they were not invited to these meetings to decide their fate. They requested a “recall” of that specific part of the order. Subramanium argued this issue had been discussed at length previously, but the court agreed to hear the matter on September 5.

Charlotte Edwards has announced her retirement from the professional game after leading Southern Vipers to a runners-up finish in the second Kia Super League

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Sep-2017Charlotte Edwards has announced her retirement from the professional game after leading Southern Vipers to a runners-up finish in the second Kia Super League.Edwards, 37, quit international cricket last year, after being removed from the England captaincy. She continued to play domestically and lifted the inaugural KSL title in 2016 but could not repeat the feat at Hove, where her side lost to Western Storm.Afterwards, Edwards confirmed she would no longer be involved in professional leagues, such as the KSL and Women’s Big Bash, which have only recently become established in the women’s game.”I think I would like to play some county cricket but in terms of this competition and playing overseas this is it, my time is done and I want to pursue other things such as coaching and perhaps some media work,” she said. “I am happy and content with what I have achieved in my career, I have loved every minute of it.”Edwards was a pioneer of women’s cricket, having begun when skirts were still the uniform and ended shortly after the introduction of professional contracts.Since hanging up her bat after a 20-year England career, in which she lifted the World Cup and World T20 as captain, Edwards has taken up commentary roles with Sky and the BBC. She was also recently engaged to do some coaching work with the USA women’s team.”I haven’t got anything final lined up in terms of coaching,” Edwards said. “I have spoken to the ECB about potentially working with their junior age groups and hopefully help a lot of the good talent we have got in England develop. I am not envious of the youngsters, I just hope they can grab the incredible opportunities there are now. It is a brilliant time to be involved in the women’s game and hopefully the game in this country will continue to grow.”Edwards scored an unbeaten 20 from eight balls in her final innings, batting down the order at No. 7, but could not prevent Western Storm from coasting to a seven-wicket win.”I just wanted to enjoy today and full credit to the Western Storm, they played brilliantly and it was a fantastic innings by Rachel Priest for them,” she said.

The bowling attacks of both teams have done well in the series so far but the difference has been Australia’s failure to execute with the bat

The Preview by Nikhil Kalro23-Sep-20171:19

Tait: Handscomb should be played in the middle order

Big Picture

In 11 completed innings during Australia’s previous ODI tour of India in 2013, 3569 runs were scored, at an average of 324.45 runs per innings. On this tour, 872 runs have been scored in two matches, including a 21-over innings in Chennai, an average of 218 per innings. If ODIs were a stock market, projected on a year-on-year graph, the batting standards would be the bull market and bowling, the not-so-scary bear. With the advent of T20s, that trend is changing. Bowlers are honing and executing their defensive skills better than ever before, and the balance between bat and ball is slowly being restored.An example is India’s bowling attack. All five bowlers are capable of bowling at any stage of an innings and can adapt their roles – holding an end up or attacking – to the situation of the match, the IPL contributing to this development. And Australia’s batsmen have failed to raise their own game, particularly against wristspin. They have scored 339 runs against pace and spin in this series for 19 wickets, an average of 17.84 per wicket.The same can be said of Australia’s bowlers, who have not allowed a strong Indian batting line-up to cross 300 – a benchmark modern-day ODI total – in either game. In Chennai, they dominated the first half of their bowling innings, and in Kolkata, the second half. Both teams’ bowling line-ups have delivered in tough bowling conditions, but the difference has only been Australia’s failure to execute with the bat. A flat surface in Indore may help. A win for India, meanwhile, in addition to clinching the series, can help them climb to No. 1 on the ICC rankings for ODI teams.

Form guide

India WWWWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Australia LLLLL

In the spotlight

Hardik Pandya may be having the best year of his life: another terrific IPL season, a sensational debut Test series and now an indispensable cog in India’s limited-overs set-up. He has the attributes to be the seam-bowling allrounder India are yearning for. He is already one of the cleanest hitters in world cricket, he can hit 140 kmph and use the bouncer effectively. All those elements have already been seen in this series so far. Can he just build on that confidence?While the rest have been plagued by inconsistency, Steven Smith and David Warner have carried Australia’s batting on their backs over the past few years. Smith struck a measured half-century in Kolkata, while Warner has failed twice. Australia need them firing in Indore, not just for their runs, but also for the boost in morale they desperately need.

Team news

After another failure in Kolkata, will India persist with Manish Pandey? If not, KL Rahul may come in at No. 4.India (probable): 1 Ajinkya Rahane, 2 Rohit Sharma, 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 Manish Pandey/KL Rahul, 5 Kedar Jadhav, 6 MS Dhoni (wk), 7 Hardik Pandya, 8 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Yuzvendra Chahal, 11 Jasprit BumrahOn Saturday, Aaron Finch, recovering from a calf injury, batted in the nets for 20 minutes, testing shots off both feet, and running twos and threes between the wickets. Peter Handscomb also took the gloves during training. Both could come in at the expense of Hilton Cartwright and Matthew Wade, strengthening Australia’s weaker suit, their batting. They may also consider bringing back wristspinner Adam Zampa for fingerspinner Ashton Agar on a batting-friendly surface.Australia (probable): 1 David Warner, 2 Aaron Finch, 3 Steven Smith (capt), 4 Travis Head, 5 Peter Handscomb, 6 Glenn Maxwell, 7 Marcus Stoinis, 8 Pat Cummins, 9 Nathan Coulter-Nile, 10 Kane Richardson, 11 Adam Zampa/ Ashton Agar

Pitch and conditions

Short boundaries and a flat surface, that’s how ODIs have been played in India for the last few years. The Holkar Cricket Stadium may provide the first 300-plus score of the series, maybe even two. Also in a first for the series, rain is not expected to intervene.

Stats and trivia

• In the last year, since September 2016, India’s top-seven batsmen have averaged 58.13 runs per wicket in ODIs, the best for any team. In contrast, Australia’s top seven average 33.26 runs per wicket
• Since the 2015 World Cup, India have used 11 batsmen at No. 4

Quotes

“It’s about that middle period, against the spinners, we have to look to rotate the strike, minimise damage and that’s what you try and do in any one-day format, doesn’t matter who is bowling.”
“When you end up winning matches even after scoring 240-ish totals, you establish yourself as the No. 1 team.”

Ryan Higgins’ departure from Middlesex focuses attention on counties trying to balance the ambitions of four-day and T20 players and could quicken calls for greater compensation

David Hopps03-Oct-2017Ryan Higgins has left Middlesex for Gloucestershire in a transfer which illustrates the growing challenge for counties to compete successfully in both the four-day and T20 formats.Higgins, who has represented England at Under-19 level, was an ever-present in Middlesex’s unsuccessful Blast campaign in 2017, where he produced a number of uninhibited innings, but he has ended his association with the county because of a wish for greater Championship experience.
Middlesex, stocked with Championship batsmen (although their relegation suggests not as stocked as they imagine) have been unable to offer the openings that Higgins expects to achieve with Gloucestershire.Higgins’ departure is a big blow for a T20 side that was packed with big names but which failed to gell and did not achieve the expectations generated by the arrival of Dan Vettori as a specialist T20 coach – Middlesex being one of only two English counties to go down that route.Angus Fraser, Middlesex’s director of cricket, suggested that the county could not give Higgins the guarantees about regular cricket that he wanted, an echo – if a gentle one – of Surrey’s inability to keep Dom Sibley earlier in the summer.Sibley joined Warwickshire with Alec Stewart, Surrey’s director of cricket, not disguising his irritation at Sibley’s seeking of a promise that he would bat top-order in all formats.Fraser was more measured in his comments. “It is obviously disappointing to lose a young cricketer who has come through your system that you would like to keep at the club,” he said.”In the past couple of years Ryan has shown glimpses of the cricketer he could become and he was very much part of our plans moving forward. What we couldn’t do was guarantee Ryan the batting positions he wanted.”Everybody at Middlesex wishes Ryan well at his new club and we look forward to playing against him in 2018.”A county season now played in blocks has added to the frustrations of players not chosen across all formats. T20 specialists are limited to a two-month season whilst players used only in the Championship figure only at the beginning and end of the season and sit idle in midsummer when cricket is at its most attractive.Such practical considerations are limiting the extent in which counties can field two specialised sides as well as contributing to a quickening transfer market with mid-season moves much more common.No wonder that the ECB is currently looking into whether current levels of compensation to counties who commit heavily to producing players and then see them move on before they have provided many benefits in return are outdated and inadequate.Now 22, Higgins burst onto the scene in 2014 with an outstanding unbeaten 44 in his senior debut to help Middlesex to victory in their first NatWest T20 Blast victory that season.Gloucestershire will keenly anticipate Higgins’ arrival after feeling his potential in the opening match of the Cheltenham Cricket Festival.In front of a sold-out NatWest T20 Blast crowd, Higgins was the star man hitting a magnificent 68 off 28 balls, including six sixes, to salvage an unlikely tie.Gloucestershire head coach Richard Dawson said: “He has a lot of potential in all formats of the game and has already shown that he is a very dangerous T20 and one-day player.”Higgins said: “I’m really excited to be joining Gloucestershire. I enjoyed working with Richard Dawson during my time with the England Under-19’s and am aware of the young talent within the squad he has put together.”I am keen to continue with the development of my game in the next few years with a special emphasis on my red ball batting. The key though, of course, is to contribute to team success which I am confident can be achieved.”

Tamil Nadu power ahead against Odisha while current group toppers Andhra ride on DB Prasanth’s century versus Tripura

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Nov-2017M Vijay’s 21st first-class ton and his century-stands with N Jagadeesan and Baba Indrajith took Tamil Nadu to 292 for 3 against Odisha on the opening day in Cuttack.Having elected to bat first, Tamil Nadu lost opener Abhinav Mukund early to a run out. Vijay battled through to add 145 for the second wicket with Jagadeesan, who contributed 88, before Govinda Poddar sent back the wicketkeeper. Tamil Nadu didn’t let the momentum slip as Vijay then found an ally in Indrajith. Vijay was set on 140 before being caught and bowled by fast bowler Suryakant Pradhan late in the day. Indrajith (41*) and Vijay Shankar (8*) were set to resume batting on the second day.DB Prasanth’s unbeaten 120 lifted Andhra, the current group toppers, to 252 for 2 at stumps as the visitors started strongly against Tripura in Agartala. Andhra, put in to bat first, lost opener KS Bharat early for 18. This brought Prasanth together with Hanuma Vihari (62*) as the pair put on 108 for the second-wicket. Vihari, the captain, was dismissed post lunch, following which Prashant put up a century-stand with Ricky Bhui (49*).