All posts by n8rngtd.top

Tamil Nadu captain banned for one Ranji Trophy match after being found guilty of breaching the BCCI Code of Conduct

Cricinfo staff14-Nov-2009Dinesh Karthik, Tamil Nadu’s captain, has been banned for one Ranji Trophy match after being found guilty of breaching the BCCI Code of Conduct and has been warned over his future conduct. Karthik, the wicketkeeper-batsman, was found guilty of a Level 1 and 2 offence during Tamil Nadu’s Super League match against Gujarat in Ahmedabad.Sanjay Patil, the match referee, found him guilty of breaching Level 1 and 2 of the conduct rulebook, which refers to bringing the game into disrepute by excessive appealing and charging toward the umpire. Karthik was fined 75% of his match fee.The incident took place when Jay Desai was on 68 during Gujarat’s second innings and Karthik excessively appealed for a catch off offspinner R Ashwin, who was also issued a verbal warning for arguing with the umpire. Desai went on to score 108 as the match ended in a draw.Elsewhere, in Mohali, Hyderabad captain VVS Laxman was fined 20% of his match fee for bowling five overs less during Punjab’s second innings. The rest of his team-mates were docked 10% of their match fees per the BCCI’s ruling. Punjab just escaped copping a fine after their captain Ankur Kakkar rushed through 20 overs during the last hour of play on the final day, using a bunch of spinners.At the Eden Gardens, match referee Sanjib Paul fined both Bengal and Baroda captains, Connor Williams and Laxmi Shukla, 20% of their match fees for a slow over-rate. The players were fined 10% each. Satyajit Parab, on whose classy 154 Baroda made merry against the hosts, was given an official reprimand for aggressive appealing during Bengal’s innings.

Dwayne Smith, the West Indies allrounder, has been picked up by New South Wales as an overseas player for Australia’s domestic Twenty20 competition

Cricinfo staff14-Dec-2009Dwayne Smith, the West Indies allrounder, has been picked up by New South Wales as an overseas player for Australia’s domestic Twenty20 competition. The Blues won the inaugural Champions League tournament in India in October and are chasing qualification for next year’s lucrative event by making the final in the local campaign.After missing out on Keiron Pollard, who went to South Australia, New South Wales signed Smith, who has played 10 Tests, 71 ODIs and five Twenty20s. He is highly qualified in the domestic Twenty20 format, having appeared with Deccan Chargers and Mumbai Indians in the IPL, and Sussex in the Champions League.David Gilbert, New South Wales’ chief executive, said the Blues had been attracted to Smith’s power hitting in the middle order and his deceptive medium pace. “His experience in this form of the game will be a big plus for our squad,” Gilbert said.Smith said the Blues line-up looked amazing and would be full of confidence after winning the Champions League. “I look forward to working with Matthew Mott and the whole squad to help ensure success for New South Wales in their Twenty20 campaign this summer,” he said. They play their first game in the tournament on December 30 and the final is scheduled for January 23.

Sriram Veera previews the tri-nation tournament involving Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka in Dhaka

Sriram Veera in Dhaka03-Jan-2010This tri-nation tournament is not worth any hype: It’s being contested by a weakened Sri Lankan side, a Bangladesh outfit that has only played against weak teams in the recent past and an Indian team which, though filled with attractive batsmen, is suffering from poor bowling form and abysmal fielding. And it’s being played at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium in Mirpur, a venue where dew is such an important factor that all the matches in the recent series between Bangladesh and Zimbabwe were won by the chasing team. The combination of these factors doesn’t make for compelling competition but the timing, a year before the 2011 World Cup, gives the teams something to work towards and plug holes in their game.Bangladesh
An almost inexhaustible supply of left-arm spinners, flashy batsmen prone to self destruct, no permanent set of seamers and 26 different opening combinations in five years has been the story of Bangladesh cricket. They’ve had mixed results in 2009: they beat Zimbabwe and a depleted West Indies but according to Jamie Siddons, the coach, it hasn’t helped in determining the scale of their progress.This series will help gauge how far they have come. According to Shakib-al-Hasan, a good fallout of playing teams like Zimbabwe and second string West Indies is that Bangladesh are learning how to win and getting used to it. What has been the stand-out feature of Bangladesh – and it’s what offers hope for the future – is that unlike other teams in nascent stages, they don’t have to wait for the bigger teams to have a really bad day to win; they can win on their own strength, by a collective burst of inspired performances. They go into this series with an inexperienced seam attack and yet again, will depend heavily on their spinners – Siddons has already said Abdur Razzaq will bowl in the Powerplays- and it’s to be seen how their batsmen play.One thing to watch out for: Tamim Iqbal has been speaking in recent times about focusing on facing more deliveries with the knowledge that runs will come if he stays at the crease. It’s easier said than done for an impulsive stroke player but, as they say, you have made a start to solving the problem by admitting there is one and by acknowledging its solution. Will this be the series where Tamim grows up?India
Two major areas of concern have emerged from recent series: wayward bowling and shoddy fielding. India’s bowlers can be effective on helpful pitches but on flat surfaces, like the ones on which the World Cup will be won and lost, they have looked increasingly toothless. Nobody bowls yorkers. Nobody possesses a venomous bouncer. Nobody has a great slower one. They bowl with hope and not conviction on flat beds: Zaheer Khan might strike with the new ball, Ashish Nehra might be able to bowl tightly in the Powerplays, Harbhajan Singh hopefully won’t fire it in flat on middle and leg stump. Ishant Sharma, once the next big thing, has been replaced by Sreesanth, who was also once the next big thing.There are more hopes and mirages around the bend: Yuvraj Singh can make breakthroughs with his “easy action and that straight ball”, Virender Sehwag can strike with his “natural drift”, and who can forget what Sachin Tendulkar did a decade ago with the ball. And if all fails, there’s Suresh Raina (“How intelligently he pauses sometimes before release; surely he can turn into a decent offbreak bowler”). And let’s not waste time dwelling on India’s fielding (“Poor outfields, you know, they didn’t grow up diving” and that lovely gem: “It’s about conservation of energy; why dive when you can kick it away”).One thing to watch out for though: During this series Virat Kohli could break away from the pack of contenders and cement his place in the ODI team. He has the game to do it but has he the mental fortitude?Sri Lanka
Kumar Sangakkara had arrived as a messiah who would lead Sri Lanka into a brave new world but his honeymoon period was short and it’s clearly over now. They said he wouldn’t be as abrasive a leader and a freedom fighter as Arjuna Ranatunga was but he wouldn’t be a passive as Mahela Jayawardene either. Sangakkara was supposed to be cool, confident, aggressive without being brash and tactically brilliant. Perhaps too much hope and pressure was piled on Sangakkara too early and perhaps it won’t be too long before all those adjectives can be used to describe his leadership.To be fair to him, Sangakkara did not inherit Jayawardene’s settled side because Chaminda Vaas retired and Muralitharan is not the world beater that he was. Not all is rosy on the island: Sanath Jayasuriya, it seems, is being nudged and pushed towards retirement, Muralitharan’s magic fingers and wrists are getting weary, Ajantha Mendis is getting used to reality devoid of any mystery (perhaps it might be the best thing that happened to him), Jayawardene keeps slipping into patches of bad form, Thilan Samaraweera hasn’t fixed a spot in ODIs, Chamara Kapugedera has been finally dropped, Thilina Kandamby has improved but is yet to learn to finish games and there is a whole set of new seamers that seem to change every other series.One thing to watch out for: Upul Tharanga showed signs of maturity in the series against India and, with the decline of Jayasuriya, his progress in the series will be a keenly-followed event.

A round-up of the second day’s action in the fifth round of the RBS Pentangular Cup

Cricinfo staff26-Jan-2010Habib Bank Limited’s middle order complemented the efforts of Mohammad Aslam on day one to put their side well on top against Karachi Blues at the end of the second day at the National Stadium. Resuming at 95 for 2, Habib Bank were jolted early, losing Khaqan Arsal’s wicket for the addition of only two runs. Hasan Raza settled the nerves with a steadying hand, and added 53 with the resolute Khan Masood to put his side in sight of the first-innings lead. Farhan Iqbal and Humayun Farhat then ensured that it would be a substantial advantage, adding 86 for the sixth wicket. Raza made an even 50, while Iqbal fell for a strokeful 70. Facing a 150-run deficit, Karachi Blues’ second dig got off to a dismal start as four wickets fell for the addition of 79 runs.Saeed Anwar jnr’s 81 led a strong riposte from The Rest before they lost two late wickets to leave their match against Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited on the balance at the National Bank of Pakistan Sports Complex. SNGPL’s hopes of extending their score hinged on overnight centurion Naeemuddin, but he could only add 20 more runs, as the innings folded for 321. Tabish Khan picked two wickets, while Zulfiqar Babar picked one, as both finished with three-fors. The Rest’s innings was jolted by opening bowler Samiullah Khan who picked a wicket with the first ball and went on to reduce them to 38 for 3. Saeed Anwar then began the recovery with Saeed Bin Nasir and the duo added 69 for the fourth wicket, before Nasir was stumped off Yasir Shah’s legspin. Sharjeel Khan seamlessly took over the reins and continued to support Saeed Anwar, who stroked ten fours and a six in his measured innings. They seemed set to take their side to stumps before medium-pacer Imran Ali intervened, dismissing both batsmen. Naeem Anjum and Arun Lal will resume The Rest’s quest to erase the deficit which is a further 126 runs. Their performance tomorrow could well decide the final line-up, as Habib Bank look set for full points in Karachi.

A series win in India is a big box any team other than India needs to tick if it wants to be the best in the world

The Preview by Sidharth Monga13-Feb-2010

Match facts

February 14-18, 2010
Start time 0915 (0345 GMT)

Big picture

VVS Laxman’s return means plenty to India•AFP

This is not merely about the ICC rankings. A series win in India is a big box any team other than India needs to tick if it wants to be the best in the world. Think Australia in their modern heyday and the frustration and the eventual satisfaction the “Final Frontier” brought them. India, on the other hand, pride themselves on their home record, and their claims to being the best will take a big beating if they lose.A hurriedly planned series plays into South Africa’s hands: they have to protect their lead for only one match. In 2008, before they beat both England and Australia in away series, South Africa were in a similar situation – a draw short of a series win in India. Then they failed at one of the more difficult tasks in Test cricket: beating India on a raging turner in India. When South Africans talk of that Kanpur loss now they don’t complain about the surface, but what they say has that “Final Frontier missed” ring to it.Less than two years later, Kolkata is not quite the raging turner. Kolkata is not quite the Final Frontier either: South Africa’s last two series have been a loss and a draw at home to Australia and England respectively. Yet this could mark the start of South Africa’s return towards the top a fortnight after turmoil hit them through the sacking of their coach and selection committee. The No. 1 ranking, should they win or draw, will be a bonus. Between that and now stands a hurt Indian side that will give it its all to protect that proud record at home.Not for no reason do India hold that proud record at home. South Africa know that. Only seriously good teams can win series in India, injury-hit or not. Of late this Indian side’s immediate response to a Test loss has been a resounding win. After Sydney came Perth, and after Colombo came Galle. After Nagpur, what?

Form guide (last 5 completed matches, most recent first)

India LWWWW
South Africa WWDLD

Watch out for

Nothing calms the Indian dressing room like VVS Laxman does. No one handles crisis like Laxman does. India are in right trouble, and Laxman usually delivers at such times.Dale Steyn is on a roll. Bowling fast, accurate, and swinging it both ways. He has got the ideal support from Morne Morkel and Paul Harris. He knows his job is not done yet.Gautam Gambhir is not known for going easy on himself. He may have scored five centuries in consecutive matches, and 11 fifty-or-above scores in consecutive matches, but his failure in the Nagpur loss will hurt him more than the preceding success pleased him. And once again, he will be facing Steyn and Morkel at their freshest.Graeme Smith has announced via Twitter that he is ready to play, despite a fracture in one joint of the small finger on the left hand. “It really is about dealing with pain…” he said in the pre-match press conference. Don’t worry about him, though. If he can hold the bat, he will be there. The sight of Smith, still in batting gear, mobbed by his mates, looking the biggest, the most imposing of them all, after the Edgbaston win that finally brought them a series win in England, is still fresh in memory. He won’t pass up a chance of similar heroics. Not if he can hold that bat.

Team news

Laxman will be back, but he might not bat at No. 3, as is being implored by many, the former coach John Wright included. The idea is to split up the two inexperienced batsmen in the middle order and have them bat at Nos 3 and 6, as opposed to 5 and 6. Amit Mishra is a doubtful starter with the ball after his wicketless sojourn in Nagpur. There are two scenarios that can see him out: Pragyan Ojha coming back or India playing three seamers on a pitch that has some grass, an eventuality MS Dhoni didn’t rule out. Sreesanth should come back in any scenario after Ishant Sharma went wicketless in the first Test. India could also fiddle with the idea of getting a left-hand batsman, Suresh Raina, in to break Harris’ leg-stump line to the right-hand batsmen.India: (probable) 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Gautam Gambhir, 3 M Vijay, 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 VVS Laxman, 6 S Badrinath, 7 MS Dhoni (capt/wk), 8, Harbhajan Singh, 9 Zaheer Khan, 10 Amit Mishra/Pragyan Ojha/Ishant Sharma, 11 Sreesanth.South Africa will like to go in with the same XI, but it all depends on how painful Smith’s finger fracture is. Should Smith be ruled out, Alviro Petersen is the back-up opener. It doesn’t help that Mark Boucher is still not 100% with his back. He passed the gloves to AB de Villiers midway into the training session on match eve and did some low-back exercises.South Africa: (probable) 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Ashwell Prince, 3 Hashim Amla, 4 Jacques Kallis, 5 AB de Villiers, 6 JP Duminy, 7 Mark Boucher (wk), 8 Paul Harris, 9 Wayne Parnell, 10 Dale Steyn, 11 Morne Morkel.

Pitch and conditions

Ever since it became obvious India were losing in Nagpur, speculation was rife that another underprepared track might come to India’s rescue in the decider. Not this time. “There is a bit of grass on the wicket so I think the seamers will get a bit of help,” MS Dhoni said of the pitch. “It looks quite hard… I don’t see much turn happening on the first two days.”Because the Eden Gardens is being redone, the atmosphere won’t quite be the same. Forget 90,000, they will struggle to get 45,000 in. “There is no stands on one side of the ground so you can see a bit of breeze going across the field so there will be a bit of help for the seamers,” Dhoni said.

Stats and trivia

• Virender Sehwag’s 109 in Nagpur was only his fifth score between 100 and 150 – out of 18 centuries.
• Among bowlers with a minimum of 100 Test wickets, Steyn’s strike-rate of 38.7 is the second-best, behind only George Lohmann who took 112 wickets at 34.1. Steyn is also just five short of becoming only the fifth South African to have taken 200 wickets.
• Laxman and Harbhajan Singh are the big Eden Gardens players. Laxman’s average at the Eden Gardens is 81.63 as opposed to a career average of 45.70/ Corresponding figures for Harbhajan are 23.1 and 31.3

Quotes

“I know players have been saying that the rankings are really not at the forefront of our minds, and it’s the truth. For me, to look back and know that you have won a Test series in India, that is a terrific achievement. If you look back at some of the things you have achieved as a team, those are the sort of things to have memories of.”
“It is challenges that make our life interesting. We are looking forward to coming back in the series and doing well, but if it was so easy it would not be called international cricket. We are expecting from the players who are part of the side right now to try to level the series.”
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Nothing can be enough preparation for an Indian comeback from the dead at Eden Gardens

The Bulletin by Sidharth Monga14-Feb-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
HawkeyeAlviro Petersen’s footwork was decisive and he scored at a good clip•Getty Images

They must have read about it. They must have heard about it. They must have planned for it. Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis and Hashim Amla have played a Test there before. Nothing, though, can be preparation enough for an Indian comeback from the dead at Eden Gardens.On Sunday, South Africa met the devil himself, and didn’t know what to do. They had reached 218 for 1 in 58 overs, via assured and quick centuries from Amla and debutant Alviro Petersen, when the famous Eden Gardens turnaround began. Eight wickets fell for 43 runs, Harbhajan Singh took three in two overs, VVS Laxman ran from first slip to short fine leg to take a catch, the crowd seemingly intimidated the batsmen, two of the middle-order batsmen just froze, AB de Villiers ran himself out, Zaheer Khan hit with a pick-up-and-throw, and the batsmen forgot about scoring runs.And, by the way, there were only about 35,000 present in the ground because half the stands have been brought down for renovation. And it was virtually a two-man attack, with Ishant Sharma and Amit Mishra looking innocuous for most of the day. And Amla and Petersen had all but beaten the hapless looking fielding unit into submission.Parallels with were inescapable. Australia had pummelled India in Mumbai back in 2000-01, much like South Africa did in Nagpur. Australia had reached 193 for 1 in Kolkata when the Harbhajan show began with the wicket of Matthew Hayden.Today, though, it was Zaheer who started the magic. Ishant had just bowled a spell full of bouncers in the afternoon, hitting Amla – not out on 100-plus – on the arm guard once, but had overdone the short stuff. Zaheer, though, got the wickets, dismissing a centurion either side of tea. He did Petersen in with slight seam movement away from off, and then got a top edge from Amla. Two wickets for 11 runs, game on again.Harbhajan, who had got drift and bounce, looked better than he did in Nagpur, and had Amla dropped when on 60, could now sense it. He tossed the ball up nicely, got dip and drift, Kallis and de Villiers tried to hit him off rhythm by lofting him for straight boundaries. Harbhajan kept at it, didn’t fire deliveries into the pads, didn’t overdo doosras. Only six times he pitched on middle and leg to the right-hand batsmen, that too when bowling from round the stumps.The breakthrough finally came when Kallis looked to slog-sweep him, and top-edged a sharp topspinner. It went high towards short fine leg, Laxman – a dropped sitter in his account already – ran back from slip and made this blinder. Harbhajan held arms aloft, gestured towards the crowd, and they responded. They were going to be the 12th man now.In his next over, Harbhajan got Ashwell Prince, back in the middle order but still low on confidence. This was no magic delivery, just a straight topspinner, and Prince played for the big offbreak. Harbhajan knew he had got him when he appealed, ran straight towards the boundary, and sent the crowd into delirium. The crowd fed off Harbhajan, Harbhajan fed off the crowd. JP Duminy should have known better than playing for an offbreak, instead he got Harbhajan’s ball of the day. Drifting, dipping, going straight with the arm, and getting another plumb lbw. Dale Steyn survived the hat-trick, but the day had turned.Harbhajan Singh led India’s riposte after tea•Getty Images

In the next over, de Villiers wanted a single and the strike, Steyn reckoned there was no need to panic, and sent him back. Zaheer ran in from mid-off to cover, picked up and threw in one motion, and found de Villiers short. Ishant and Mishra came back too, getting their first wickets of the series, in their 43rd and 71st overs of the series. Sitting inside the dressing room, Petersen must have wondered just what had happened to what was supposed to be his day.After the early fall of Graeme Smith, both Petersen and Amla batted with clarity of thought that sets apart teams that are ahead in a contest. Amla began as if 253 not out overnight, and took his tally to 367 runs in the series before he got out. Petersen, a late bloomer in first-class cricket, took little time to get into his stride and became only the third South African to score a century on Test debut.Both of them counterattacked – without fuss, without manic hitting, without needing to go in the air – bringing up the 100 in 20 overs, hitting 17 boundaries in that period. Ten of those came from Petersen, who was composed and decisive in his footwork.Petersen’s plan revolved around the front foot: press forward whenever possible, defend if the line is good, and go for runs if it is either too wide or too straight. No runs down the ground, four flicks for boundaries, and two gorgeous cover-drives worked fine for him in the first half of his effort, after which he became more circumspect and let Amla lead the scoring.The first ball Amla faced, he moved across to Zaheer, and eased an accurate delivery past square leg for two – not much power, just good timing. The two gorgeous cover-drives he played early on in the innings, one each against Zaheer and Ishant, put him into the high strike-rate mode too. Throughout his effort Amla confidently whipped from in front of stumps, and cut with ease.In the middle session, Amla survived a good spell from Harbhajan, and even played his first aerial shot of the series, clearing mid-off, Mishra, by inches. Both the batsmen reached their centuries without further incident, but Kolkata was up to mischief soon after.

Aimee Watkins will lead the 14-member New Zealand women’s squad in the World Twenty20 to be held in West Indies from April

Cricinfo staff23-Mar-2010Aimee Watkins will lead the 14-member New Zealand women’s squad in the World Twenty20 to be held in West Indies from April. The final squad was pruned from the 30-strong longlist of probables that was announced earlier this month.The core of the squad is from the team that beat Australia 3-0 in the recent Twenty20 series. Allrounder Lucy Doolan returns after successful rehabilitation from knee surgery. Rachel Priest is the only specialist wicketkeeper in the squad, with cover provided by Maria Fahey and Doolan.The White Ferns are in Group B alongside India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan with their first match against India on the May 6. All women’s Twenty20 matches are based in St Kitts.”We have an exciting blend of youth and experience in this squad with plenty of versatility to cover the different options that are required in the variable West Indian conditions,” said Gary Stead, the team coach.”With the exception of Wellington Blaze middle-order batsmen Liz Perry, who was in excellent from during the North-South series, each member of the team has international experience. There are a number of power hitters in the team and that could be a key on the small Warner Park ground,” Stead said.The team will begin its final preparations for the tournament with a training camp at Lincoln on the 10th and 11th of April.Squad: Aimee Watkins (capt), Amy Satterthwaite (vice-capt), Suzie Bates, Erin Bermingham, Kate Broadmore, Nicola Browne, Sophie Devine, Natalie Dodd, Lucy Doolan, Maria Fahey, Sara McGlashan, Liz Perry, Rachel Priest (wk), Sian Ruck

Kent emerged as the winners in a battle of cricketing wills in Canterbury when seventh-wicket partners James Hockley and James Tredwell batted their side into a position of strength against leaders Yorkshire

Mark Pennell at Canterbury23-Apr-2010

ScorecardKent emerged as the winners in a battle of cricketing wills in Canterbury when seventh-wicket partners James Hockley and James Tredwell batted their side into a position of strength against leaders Yorkshire. Tredwell, with an unbeaten 65 from 107 balls, will go into the final day with power to add and his side sitting pretty on 327 for 7 and an overall advantage of 361.Hockley, who was released by Kent in 2002 only to be hired for a second time last summer – seemed destined to post a maiden first-class hundred in reaching 82 in a shade over three hours. With 11 fours to his name he had already surpassed his previous career best, a modest 72 against Zimbabwe in Canterbury a decade ago, but three figures eluded him once more when he departed three overs from the close. Aiming to glance against left-arm spinner David Wainwright, he was smartly held down the leg-side by keeper Jonathan Bairstow to end a stand worth 113 in 29 overs.When the pair came together the game was still very evenly poised and, with Kent on 207 for 6, Yorkshire still fancied their chances of a third straight win in this the 200th game between the clubs. Having secured a slight 34-run first innings lead, the hosts made another dreadful start by losing both openers to the new ball before lunch. Joe Denly chased a drive against Tim Bresnan to the keeper then Key, working to leg, fell leg before to Oliver Hannon-Dalby.Kent rallied bravely with a 59-run stand between Geraint Jones (53) and Martin van Jaarsveld, but their fun ended eight overs after lunch when Jones, in aiming to reverse sweep against Wainwright, fell lbw. Sam Northeast leg before on the back pad to Bresnan, then Darren Stevens slog-sweeping to mid-wicket against Wainwright, also headed back to the dressing room within four overs.Hockley initially dropped anchor in tandem with van Jaarsveld, but the South African’s resolve ended for 78 from 121 balls – including the only six of the day – when he missed an Adil Rashid googly to go lbw. Though Hockley and Tredwell were finally parted 10 minutes from stumps, Yorkshire captain Andrew Gale must already have been pondering the fluctuating fortunes of a game that has seemingly slipped from his side’s grasp.The day had started with Yorkshire losing their last two wickets in the space of 22 minutes to concede a first innings deficit. Ajmal Shahzad went leg before to Amjad Khan (3 for 60) then Azhar Mahmood took his tally to 4 for 58 by snaring last man Hannon-Dalby lbw.

Reigning County Champions Durham need another 102 runs with seven wickets in hand to wrap up their second win of the campaign after a fluctuating third day against fellow strugglers Kent that saw 17 wickets fall

19-May-2010
Scorecard
Reigning County Champions Durham need another 102 runs with seven wickets in hand to wrap up their second win of the campaign after a fluctuating third day against fellow strugglers Kent that saw 17 wickets fall.On a Canterbury pitch showing signs of uneven bounce, Durham lost their last four first-innings wickets for 77 before dismissing Kent for 162 inside 50 overs to leave themselves 18 overs plus the entire final day to score 169 for victory.In the 90 minutes before close Durham reached 67 for three after 18 overs as Kent did their best to make amends for a dismal second-innings batting performance. Kyle Coetzer fell for one to a Makhaya Ntini off-cutter that moved through the gate to hit middle stump, while Michael di Venuto (10) needlessly pulled an Azhar Mahmood bumper into the hands of Amjad Khan at deep mid-wicket.Young left-hander Scott Borthwick (14) dragged an attempted pull against Amjad Khan onto his off stump, but experienced duo Ian Blackwell (18) and Dale Benkenstein (24) survived without further alarm to strengthen Durham’s hopes of knocking off the required runs.Kent lost their way in the match by losing six wickets for 114 in the mid-session, having worked hard to muster a first-innings lead of six. Skipper Rob Key (14) drove on the up to short extra-cover to make it 34 for one and, without addition, Joe Denly (20) was unfortunate to be given lbw when pushing outside the line of off stump.Geraint Jones (17) bottom-edged an attempted cover drive onto the base of off stump against Chris Rushworth, before Sam Northeast was dismissed by a Ian Blackwell arm-ball which hit off stump low down.Top-scorer Martin van Jaarsveld (44) drove two feet outside off to edge a full ball from Steve Harmison to second slip and, to the last ball before tea, Azhar Mahmood played outside the line of another Blackwell arm ball to go lbw.Kent’s slide gathered momentum when, six balls after the break, Rob Ferley (one) played across the line of a Scott Borthwick leg-spinner to drag onto off stump and Alex Blake (seven) was bowled through the gate by left-arm spinner Blackwell after one turned out of the foot-holds.Teenager Borthwick picked up a second when he had Simon Cook (five) caught at slip from a ball that grazed the outside edge of the bat and Phil Mustard’s right glove before going to first slip before last man Ntini was caught behind off Steve Harmison.At the start of the day South African Makhaya Ntini had bagged 5 for 84 – his first five-for return for Kent – as Durham were dismissed for 418. Ben Stokes reached a career-best 161 not out but Ntini, bowling down the slope from the Nackington Road End, proved too much of a handful for the Durham tail-enders as Ben Harmison and Mitchell Claydon both edged drives to second slip.Stokes should have gone to a catch at deep mid-wicket on 131 but Joe Denly was unable to hold on, but was left high and dry when Chris Rush sliced to point and Azhar Mahmood had last man Steve Harmison caught behind.

Jaidev Unadkat launched his first-class career in spectacular style, running through West Indies A with a spell of penetrative fast bowling to finish with figures of 7 for 41 on the second day at Grace Road

Cricinfo staff11-Jun-2010
ScorecardJaidev Unadkat launched his first-class career in spectacular style, running through West Indies A with a spell of penetrative fast bowling to finish with figures of 7 for 41 on the second day at Grace Road. West Indies were shot out for 144 and then India’s batsmen ensured they cashed in on the bowlers’ performance, to finish the day on top, with a lead of 39 and eight wickets intact.After the first day was lost to poor weather, Unadkat’s spell on the second morning seemed intent on making up for lost time. Devon Smith perished in his second over, edging to Manish Pandey for five to begin the procession. Omar Philips and Kraigg Braithwaite followed soon after, leaving West Indies stuttering at 26 for 3. Kirk Edwards pitched tent, contributing one run in fifty minutes of defence, and adding 37 runs with Andre Fletcher, before Unadkat intervened in dramatic fashion. Edwards was caught in front and Chadwick Walton’s castle was breached first ball to complete Unadkat’s five-for. In between the strikes Dhawal Kulkarni got rid of Fletcher and West Indies were staring down the barrel again.David Bernard, Imran Khan and Andre Russel managed to take them past three figures, but 144 still seemed woefully inadequate, and India’s top order ensured the advantage was driven home. Abhinav Mukund and Ajinkya Rahane struck fifties, and the latter was unbeaten at stumps as India surged into the lead. Giving him company was Cheteshwar Pujara who had rushed to 34 off 37 balls with five fours, and the pair look good for more runs on day three.