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Plays of the day from the fourth day of the 5th Test between Australia and England at Sydney

Peter English and Andrew Miller at the SCG06-Jan-2011Third time lucky
There is one statistic in this series in which Australia’s bowlers have completely trounced their English counterparts. Unfortunately the statistic in question is their no-ball count. Two further oversteps from Shane Watson took Australia’s tally to 21 for the series, compared to England’s seven – and two of those, Mitchell Johnson at Melbourne and Michael Beer at Sydney, resulted in wickets being overturned on review. Today, Ben Hilfenhaus came within millimetres of a third such reprieve, as Matt Prior thrashed uppishly at a short wide bouncer, to be caught behind for 118. After a wait that was more agonising for the bowler than the batsman, the signal was finally given for umpire Bowden to send Prior on his way. But it was a mighty close call.Watson’s woeful running
As a makeshift opener, Shane Watson has forged an impressive career since his call-up at Edgbaston in the 2009 Ashes. But there’s one aspect of his game that keeps undermining his performances, and those of his team-mates – his running between the wickets. In the first over at Adelaide he stuffed Simon Katich before he’d faced a ball, and at Melbourne last week he sold Phil Hughes a dummy to end his most promising start of the series. Today, he and Hughes reprised their comedy routine, as they jogged a single through midwicket, only for Watson to turn without thinking and hare back for a second. Hughes thought for a split-second about responding, deciding better of it, and planted his bat back in his crease, even while his team-mate continued coming unabashed. It was the seventh time in 49 innings that Watson had been involved in a run-out, but only the second time he’d emerged on the wrong end.Hughes on the way down
Despite surviving Watto, Hughes could not kick on, and his gradual improvement since re-entering the Test team has stopped. After scores of 2, 12, 16, 23 and 31, he fell for 13 in Australia’s second innings, edging a Tim Bresnan ball going away from him to Matt Prior. Katich’s heel injury in Adelaide gave Hughes three games to secure his place in the medium term, but he has failed to show he is an essential choice. Australia’s next Test series is in Sri Lanka in August and the selectors will have to pick between the experience of Katich and the unpredictability of Hughes.Tremlett’s hat-trick assault

Chris Tremlett was memorably denied a hat-trick on his ODI debut against Bangladesh in 2005 when the crucial delivery bounced off the top of Mohammad Ashraful’s bails and rolled away to safety. He didn’t quite come as close to that today, but nevertheless, Peter Siddle – who himself claimed three-in-three on the first day of the series – was still required to dig out a pinpoint yorker to prevent his own stumps being rattled. It was an inspired burst from Tremlett, who prised open the tail by bouncing out Brad Haddin, before serving Mitchell Johnson his eighth duck in 11 Tests with an inswinger that took out off stump. In a pumping atmosphere, England claimed the extra half-hour, but couldn’t quite force victory with a day to spare.Not so super Mitch
The Barmy Army have a couple of songs about Johnson and neither are complimentary. In one they say: “He swings left, he swings right, he bowls a lot of shi**”. In the other they are being ironic when belting out . Johnson was Australia’s leading bowler with four wickets for the innings, but he finished it on an expensive low. Graeme Swann was the chief aggressor when Johnson’s final two overs went for a crushing 35, taking his return to 4 for 168 off 36.Delayed Tied Test anniversary
It was a month late but the nine surviving members of Australia’s squad for the 1960-61 Tied Test finally got their anniversary lunch. The match occurred at the Gabba in December 1960, but a 50-year celebration of the event was delayed because Cricket Australia didn’t want it to diminish the start of the Ashes series. Richie Benaud remembered Bob Simpson hitting Wes Hall’s first over of the MCG Test for 18, a perfect example of a man following his captain’s orders to attack the damaging fast bowler. Neil Harvey, Alan Davidson, Bob Simpson and Ian Meckiff were some of the other former Test stars in attendance.

Kevin Pietersen has said that England’s hectic schedule leading up to the World Cup is “ridiculous”

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Jan-2011England batsman Kevin Pietersen has termed his side’s hectic schedule leading up to the World Cup as ‘ridiculous’. England will leave for the World Cup in the subcontinent just three days after their ongoing tour of Australia, which began in October last year.”Our schedule is ridiculous going into this World Cup,” Pietersen told . “It has been for England teams for a very long time, and that’s probably why England have not done well in World Cups.”Pietersen also criticised the format of the six-week long tournament, saying the gaps between matches were too long. “How can the England team play once and then in six days’ time play again, and then in six days’ time play again,” he asked. “It’s ridiculous but there’s nothing we can do about the schedules. I wouldn’t say we’re going to be knackered because it’s going to be the World Cup, and we all want to win this World Cup.”Despite being unimpressed with the itinerary, Pietersen felt that England had a good chance of following up their maiden ICC title victory in last year’s World Twenty20 with their first World Cup triumph. England have shown vast improvement in the limited-overs format in the last two years, winning nine of their previous ten bilateral ODI series before losing steam early to concede the ongoing seven-match ODI series against Australia.Pietersen credited England’s resurgence to enhanced skills in all departments of their game. “The batsmen have improved, the fielding is top-notch, our catching is incredible, our bowling is so skilful. I just think our skill levels are really, really good.”

Surrey’s status as the most financially stable county in English cricket has taken a blow after the club announced a pre-tax loss of £502,000 for the 2010 financial year

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Mar-2011Surrey’s status as the most financially stable county in English cricket has taken a blow after the club announced a pre-tax loss of £502,000 for the 2010 financial year.In a press release, the club described 2010 as a “very challenging year” with turnover down £5m on the previous year to £20.5m, but insisted that the prospects for 2011 are much improved, not least with a lucrative Test and ODI against India set to swell the coffers in the second half of the summer.In recent years, Surrey’s strong financial footing has come from a number of schemes which included selling the naming rights to the ground and the construction of the OCS stand at the Vauxhall End of the ground. The club also benefits from a long-term staging agreement with the ECB and in 2005 and 2009 hosted deciding Ashes Tests.That deal has allowed the county to spend large sums on attracting big-name players to The Oval including Steven Davies, Kevin Pietersen and Chris Tremlett. However, there has been no swift upturn in results with the club still stuck in the second division of the County Championship, and earlier this year the long-term chief executive Paul Sheldon announced he was leaving the club.Aside from the global financial situation, Surrey believed that their profits were hit by the scheduling of last season’s Test against Pakistan, which began on a Wednesday for the first time in the club’s history, and which preceded the following week’s fourth and final Test at Lord’s – two factors which impacted on ticket sales and hospitality. In addition, the lure of the football World Cup in June meant that crowds for Surrey’s Twenty20 campaign were down.However, the club’s new chairman Richard Thompson remained upbeat: “The start to the 2011 year has been one of the strongest for the club ever. For the India Test and ODI, we are tracking above an Ashes series which is un-heard of. We are confident that we’ve put in place measures that will return us to profit.”2010 was a difficult year across cricket in general, and all sports suffered a downturn in corporate hospitality. We are beginning to see the market improve.”

Kings XI Punjab have picked up South Africa batsman David Miller for $100,000 as a replacement for allrounder Dimitri Mascarenhas

Tariq Engineer07-Apr-2011Kings XI Punjab have signed South Africa batsman David Miller for $100,000 as a replacement for allrounder Dimitri Mascarenhas. Miller, who also bowls offspin, is expected to join the squad on Friday. He is the second replacement player signed by the franchise, with South Africa allrounder Ryan McLaren coming in for Stuart Broad.Broad picked up a side strain during the World Cup, while Mascarenhas has not yet recovered from surgery to fix his achilles heel injury.Miller, 21, has played six T20 internationals for South Africa since his debut in May 2010, with a highest score of 36*. He has also played in four ODI series, the last against India earlier this year, and was named in South Africa’s preliminary 2011 World Cup squad, but did not make the final 15.”The coach and captain were of the view that we wanted a batting all-rounder,” Aravinder Singh, the chief operating officer for Punjab, told ESPNcricinfo. “[Miller is] a young guy who has proved his value in South Africa cricket and debuted for South Africa recently. He is very excited about being here and we are expecting him to play a crucial role for us. “Under IPL rules, the replacements have to be chosen from the pool of players who went unsold in the January auction, and cannot be paid more than the players they are replacing, though they can be paid less, depending on their base price in the auction.

A round-up of the action from the seventh round of the Regional Four-Day Competition

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Mar-2011Chris Woakes hit a defiant, unbeaten century to guide England Lions to a competitive 340 for 9 at stumps on the first day against Jamaica at Sabina Park. England chose to bat but got off to a poor start, losing their first three wickets with just 41 runs on the board. Jimmy Adams and Andrew Gale were dismissed off successive deliveries in the 19th over. Craig Kieswetter followed soon after and when captain James Hildreth fell to leave England at 103 for 5, after an attacking 40, the visitors looked in danger of folding up cheaply. James Taylor (41) and Ben Stokes calmed the nerves with a steady 58-run partnership. Taylor’s dismissal brought Woakes to the crease, and he and Stokes combined to seize the momentum with a run-a-ball 71-run partnership. Stokes was dismissed by Jamaica captain Tamar Lambert for 63, but Woakes remained firm to reach his third first-class century. He ended the day on 104, in the company of No. 11 Nathan Buck, who survived 16 deliveries before the close of play. Lambert used seven bowlers, with six of them among the wickets.

Ian Blackwell smashed 98 off 64 balls and then took three wickets to lead Durham to a 69-run victory over Leicestershire

02-May-2011
ScorecardIan Blackwell enjoyed a wonderful match as Durham won comfortably•Getty Images

Ian Blackwell smashed 98 off 64 balls and then took three wickets to lead Durham to a 69-run victory over Leicestershire in the Clydesdale Bank 40 Group B clash at Grace Road.Put into bat, Durham totalled 285 for 9, helped by Blackwell’s boundary-laden innings plus six additional runs awarded because of the Foxes’ failure to complete their overs in the allotted time. Blackwell then claimed three of the first four Leicestershire wickets to fall, including that of Josh Cobb, who hit a limited-overs best score of 87.Cobb’s effort, however, was not enough to keep the Foxes in contention and they were dismissed for 216 with 16 balls still remaining to give the Dynamos their second win of the season.Durham did not make the best of starts to their innings, with Kyle Coetzer caught at cover off Alex Wyatt in the third over. But a half-century off 39 balls from 19-year-old Ben Stokes launched the recovery, with Gordon Muchall also chipping in with a useful 32. But the innings only really took off when Blackwell arrived at the wicket. He made his intentions clear with two early sixes off Cobb and Wayne White and, after surviving a difficult chance to wicketkeeper Paul Dixey, reached 50 off 41 balls.The scoring rate then rocketed when the Dynamos took the batting powerplay. Blackwell and Gareth Breese hammered 54 off the four overs, with both batsmen piercing the field with a succession of boundaries, including further sixes. When Breese eventually skied a catch to long-on, the sixth-wicket pair had put on a record stand of 144 in 17 overs. Breese’s share was 44, with three fours and a six.Blackwell looked set for a century but, two runs short of it, popped up a return catch off a slower ball from Wyatt, having hit five sixes and seven fours in his blistering 64-ball innings. It was his best limited-overs score for Durham and his best for six years.Graham Onions claimed a quick wicket when the Foxes replied, but a second-wicket partnership of 97 between Cobb and James Taylor put them back into the game, with Cobb twice pulling Onions for six over square leg. However, Blackwell once again changed the course of the match with the wickets of Taylor, Paul Nixon and then Cobb, who he bowled for 87. Cobb hit two sixes and seven fours in his 78-ball knock.That ended Leicestershire’s hopes and Stokes also completed an excellent all-round performance, claiming three late wickets for six runs as the Foxes collapsed to 216 all out with 2.4 overs remaining.

Whether Kevin Pietersen’s Ashes form was a freakish deluge or the start of a new phase in his ceaselessly fascinating career is a question that looks set to dominate England’s early-season agenda

Andrew Miller in Cardiff24-May-2011Only three Tests have elapsed since Kevin Pietersen produced the highest score of his international career, an unanswerably dominant 227 against Australia in Adelaide that ended the longest run-drought of his career. Whether, however, that was a freakish deluge or the start of a new phase in his ceaselessly fascinating career is a question that looks set to dominate England’s early-season agenda.Pietersen was certainly talking the talk as he faced the press in Cardiff ahead of Thursday’s first Test. With a firm desire to look to the future, but an avoidable urge to hark back to the recent past, he reiterated his ambition in all three formats of the game, while at the same time taking a swipe at those in the media whom he believes are out to get him.In particular, he took umbrage at reports that surfaced during the World Cup that he was preparing to retire from one-day cricket. That story gathered momentum when Pietersen turned down Andy Flower’s invitation to “bite the bullet” after being diagnosed with a hernia, and instead flew home from the campaign to undergo surgery – via a night out in a notorious London nightclub.When asked if it was a mistake to be seen out on the town while his team-mates were struggling to avoid early elimination from the World Cup, Pietersen was defiant. “Not at all. I don’t see why I can’t spend some time with friends and family members I have not seen all winter. I was really, really down at the time and wherever I went, whatever I was going to do, it was going to make the papers. Would I do it again? Yes I would.””I was in ridiculous amounts of pain, trying hard to get through it game-by-game,” he said of his injury. “I was shocked [by Flower] because I knew the pain I was in, but it’s gone, I have dealt with all that kind of stuff. I don’t want to look back. Everyone tries to bring me back in press conferences but I just want to forget about stuff and continue looking forward. I am fit, very ready, and very raring to go. The bug is back.”But beyond the bravado, the doubts still linger. As England embark on the start of a new four-year cycle, with the stated aim of becoming the No. 1 nation in world cricket, Pietersen’s place in the pecking order has never seemed so precarious, not least because his mindset has never been harder to second-guess. He finished the 2010 home season on the sidelines after being dropped for the first time during the one-day series against Pakistan, while his scores for Surrey this year – 30 and 48 against Cambridge MCCU, and 58 (out of 506) against Essex – are hardly definitive proof of his renewed hunger.With England’s top three of Andrew Strauss, Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott set in stone, and Ian Bell firmly embedded in the middle order, Pietersen is at best the fifth batsmen out of six on the current team-sheet. With Eoin Morgan and Ravi Bopara scrapping hard for that final berth, it could be that such pressure is what he needs to push on towards the greatness he still believes is within his grasp.”There is a lot of chat about all these pressures on players,” said Pietersen. “I think the strength in depth in English cricket is amazing and there are probably only a couple in the team who are not under pressure and that’s great.”But there are so many people who say I’m not loving it, that cricket’s not my thing anymore,” he added. “I love cricket, cricket is my everything. I’m 30 years of age right now, what would I do tomorrow if I didn’t have cricket? I have only achieved half of what I’ve achieved in the game. I want to get 10,000 Test runs, I’m only four or five hundreds away from having the most for an Englishman [22]. I’m not far from what I want to achieve in the game.”I just want a fair crack at it, because there’s a lot of people saying things about me that are not true. A lot of people writing things about me that are not true, saying I want other things. I’m 30 years of age, I want to play for another five years. I don’t want any more bouts of surgery, I want to get through doing what I want to do.”I had a bad couple of years. I went away last September to do some soul-searching and sort myself out and tick some ticks and work with people who really know me inside out, and a month later I got a double-hundred in Adelaide and averaged 60 in the Ashes and I’m back playing as well as I have ever played. I am happy where I am as a cricketer at the moment.”Whether England are happy with where he is, is another matter entirely. Six years ago, when Pietersen exploded into Test cricket with his starring role in the 2005 Ashes, he was driven by a furious desire to prove his doubters wrong, and silence all those who criticised his motives and questioned his switch of allegiance from South Africa. Now, the doubters are mounting once again, but for vastly different reasons. Nevertheless, he knows what he needs to do to secure the last word.

Hampshire’s Dimitri Mascarenhas took three wickets as Kent slumped to the fourth lowest total in domestic Twenty20 history en route to a 69-run defeat

30-Jun-2011
Scorecard
Hampshire’s Dimitri Mascarenhas took three wickets as Kent slumped to the fourth-lowest total in domestic Twenty20 history en route to a 69-run defeat in this Friends Life t20 encounter at the Rose Bowl.The hosts could only put together a modest 141 for 6 from their 20 overs after Dominic Cork had won the toss, but it proved more than enough as Kent capitulated, losing their top three batsmen within the first 14 balls.Mascarenhas put behind him more than a year of injury problems to undermine the Kent batting, dismissing Joe Denly with the third delivery of the innings and then snaring his fellow opener Rob Key – both for ducks – and later Wahab Riaz (11) as Kent fell away, never looking likely to get anywhere near their victory target.Mascarenhas finished with figures of 3 for 29 from his four-over allotment as Hampshire raced back to the top of the South Group with their eighth win in 11 fixtures. Kent were all out for 72, although batsman Martin van Jaarsveld was unable to bat because of a finger injury sustained while fielding.Hampshire struggled on a pitch offering plenty of turn and their top scorer was South African batsman Neil McKenzie who hit five boundaries in his 46-ball 48, sharing in a stand of 50 for the fifth wicket with Sean Ervine.Champions Hampshire were never at ease against the occasional spin of van Jaarsveld, who took 3 for 20 from four overs having previously only ever taken seven wickets in the competition.But if Kent thought seven an over was a reasonable proposition, they were in for a shock as they lost Denly, Azhar Mahmood and Key with just two on the board. With Riaz quickly dismissed only Darren Stevens offered any resistance, striking six and two fours in his 20 before he was bowled by Danny Briggs.Sam Northeast was run out for 3 and Kent were beyond redemption at 40 for 6 at the start of the eighth over. Shahid Afridi, who was out first ball when Hampshire batted, accounted for Adam Ball in the 11th over and the innings was quickly wrapped up by Imran Tahir who sent back Geraint Jones and Charl Langeveldt.Hampshire’s victory was their sixth in succession at the Rose Bowl and for Kent there was at least a small consolation of having avoided the lowest total in the English version of the competition. That remains the 67 Sussex made, coincidentally against Hampshire, in 2004.

Offspinner James Middlebrook recorded his best figures for Northamptonshire as
they dominated the first day of their County Championship match against
Glamorgan at Swansea

27-Jul-2011
ScorecardOffspinner James Middlebrook recorded his best figures for Northamptonshire as
they dominated the first day of their County Championship match against
Glamorgan at Swansea.The Division Two leaders bowled Glamorgan out for 252 in their first innings,
with Middlebrook recording figures of 4 for 63 in 17 overs. Only Stewart
Walters, with 81 not out, offered any real resistance for the Welsh county. In reply, Northamptonshire openers Stephen Peters (28) and Mal Loye (35) took
their side to 67 for nought at the close.After winning the toss Glamorgan seemed to make a solid start on a slow St
Helen’s pitch against the left-arm opening attack of Chaminda Vaas and David
Lucas.Vaas, who got some swing with the new ball in the warm conditions, had three
lbw appeals against Gareth Rees turned down by Steve Gale. But the fourth
decision was upheld as Glamorgan found themselves 40 for one and that became 44
for three as Will Bragg and Alviro Petersen were out in consecutive overs.First, Bragg played a loose shot, edging to Rob White at third slip to give
Lucas a wicket with his first ball from the sea end, before captain Andrew Hall
trapped Petersen with one that kept low. Petersen had looked untroubled until
that moment, having struck seven fours in his 33.Glamorgan were able to launch a pre-lunch recovery helped by Walters, preferred
in the side to Ben Wright, dispatching Lucas for a six and a four in the same
over. After reaching 93 for three at lunch Glamorgan proceeded to lose seven wickets
in the afternoon session.The regular fall of wickets started with slow left-armer Paul Best, on loan
from Warwickshire, bowling Michael Powell, before Jim Allenby clipped a ball
straight to mid-wicket – the first of Middlebrook’s four wickets.Mark Wallace went leg before playing round his pad, James Harris was bowled
behind his legs and Graham Wagg was stumped giving Middlebrook his impressive
return. Vaas returned to remove Robert Croft and Dean Cosker, leaving Walters
stranded on 81 after nearly three hours in the middle. He faced 132 balls and
hit seven fours and two sixes.In reply Peters and Loye both played sensibly and also prevented James Harris,
the England Lions seamer, from taking his 200th first-class victim. Just before the close Loye survived a confident leg before appeal by Cosker.

Ijaz Butt is likely to have an informal discussion on the Pakistan Task Team’s (PTT) report with the ICC’s top brass and PTT members during the Lord’s Test between England and India

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Jul-2011PCB chairman Ijaz Butt is likely to have an informal discussion on the Pakistan Task Team’s (PTT) report with the ICC’s top brass and PTT members during the Lord’s Test between England and India beginning on July 21. It will be the first, albeit unofficial, meeting between the PCB, the ICC and the PTT since the report was published.”The chairman will be going to Lord’s, although there is no formal meeting scheduled there,” PCB’s chief operating officer Subhan Ahmad told . “But it is likely he will have informal discussions with ICC president [Sharad Pawar] and chief executive [Haroon Lorgat], and Giles Clarke, the head of the Task Team, and some of its members.”The Pakistan board, in its reply to the PTT’s recommendations, had pointed out that apart from a short visit by Dave Richardson, the report had been prepared without the Task Team actually visiting Pakistan. It, the PCB response said, raised “serious questions on the observations given in the report”. There have been reports of Clarke and Lorgat visiting Pakistan, and it could be one of the issues that come up at Lord’s, according to Ahmad. “So far we have no official intimation about the Task Team visiting Pakistan soon, but at Lord’s this could be discussed by the ICC and the Task Team with our chairman.”We told the task team many times that they needed to visit Pakistan while compiling their report,” Ahmad said, adding that the board would still welcome any proposed trips by members of the panel to Pakistan.In a further sign of a potential thaw between the board and the ICC over the matter Ahmad said the board had only dismissed the recommendations it felt were redundant or based on inaccurate information. “The constructive recommendations and proposals by the task team which are good for Pakistan cricket are under consideration,” Ahmad said. “We are looking at ways to implement them soon.”Ahmad dismissed suggestions that the PCB’s initial cold response had soured relations with the ICC. “We appreciate the ICC and task team’s intentions to help and support Pakistan cricket. Our relations remain very good and there is no confrontation on this matter,” he said.The ICC set up the Task Team, following the attacks on the touring Sri Lankan team in Lahore in March 2009, to look into reviving Pakistan’s reputation as an international cricket host. Since then, the parameters of the PTT have grown to take in integrity and governance issues. At the ICC’s annual conference in June, the PTT had presented a 38-page report listing 63 far-reaching recommendations, which included changes to the board’s administration, to the process of selection, managerial appointments, the central contracts pool and even the kind of ball used in domestic cricket.