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From the moment Port of Spain woke up to 2.15pm, when any hope of a resumption of play evaporated, no rain fell at Queen’s Park Oval. Yet not a single ball was bowled

The Report by Sidharth Monga19-Aug-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Port of Rain: There was little rain but the wet outfield accounted for the whole second day’s play•AFP

From the moment Port of Spain woke up to 2.15pm, when any hope of a resumption of play evaporated, no rain fell at Queen’s Park Oval. Yet not a single ball was bowled despite the sun beating down on the ground till 2pm.The umpires came out for inspection after inspection after inspection, but didn’t find the outfield to be fit for play. There was no super sopper to assist the ground staff nor was the whole ground covered when it rained. The eventual downpour at 2.15pm, 15 minutes before yet another inspection, accounted for any remaining hopes.With only 22 overs possible on the first two days, with forecast not great for the rest of the Test and given the facilities available at Queen’s Park Oval, only an unbelievable three days could produce a result. India needed to win this Test to retain their No. 1 Test ranking and not lose it to Pakistan. West Indies were 62 for 2 after 22 overs, all bowled in the first session on the first morning.

Glamorgan suffered their first Championship defeat of the summer as Essex crushed them by 248 runs in their Division Two match at Chelmsford

ECB/PA15-Jul-2015
ScorecardJesse Ryder completed a 10-wicket match haul to hand victory to Essex•Getty Images

Glamorgan suffered their first Championship defeat of the summer as Essex crushed them by 248 runs in their Division Two match at Chelmsford.After resuming on 110 for 1, having been left a target of 462, they were bowled out for 213 soon after lunch with only 18-year-old Aneurin Donald putting up much resistance. The teenager caught the eye with some fine strokes either side of the wicket before he tried to square cut a shoulder high delivery from David Masters and was caught behind by James Foster for 67.Donald’s fine innings contained seven fours and one six and served to underline the shortcomings of most of his colleagues. Admittedly, overcast conditions did provide the Essex bowlers with some assistance but not nearly as much as their efforts would imply.Poor shot-selection speeded Glamorgan’s demise and left Essex celebrating a third victory from their last four games. Fittingly it was Jesse Ryder who sealed the win by having Graham Wagg caught at long-off by Graham Napier.Wagg decided to hit out and struck two sixes on his way to 28 from 18 balls before Ryder had the last word. It gave Ryder 4 for 53 and a match haul of 10 for 100, only the second time in his career he has picked up a ten-wicket haul.The game from which Essex emerged with 21 points also provided captain Foster with personal satisfaction as he emerged with seven catches, five of them in the second innings. The first of those ended the resistance of his Glamorgan counterpart Jacques Rudolph, who added just 2 to his 45 before Ryder found the edge.This set the Welsh county on a slippery slope as seven wickets tumbled in the morning session for 72 despite Donald’s valiant attempts to keep his side’s interest in proceedings alive. But they quickly evaporated as Colin Ingram, Chris Cooke, Mark Wallace and Craig Meschede all departed within 12 overs, only Ingram managing to reach double figuresMasters, with 3 for 37, supplied Ryder with his main support while left-arm spinner Liam Dawson 2 for 34 and Jamie Porter, who ended with 1 for 41, shared the other wickets as Essex were able to avenge the 89-run defeat suffered in Cardiff earlier in the season. Glamorgan return to Wales with just three points and reflecting on a setback that put the brake on their promotion ambitions.

Australia completed a 277-run demolition of West Indies inside four days at Sabina Park to win the Frank Worrell Trophy 2-0

The Report by George Binoy14-Jun-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMitchell Starc took 3 for 34 in the second innings•Getty Images

Australia completed a 277-run demolition of West Indies inside four days at Sabina Park to win the Frank Worrell Trophy 2-0. West Indies began the day with eight wickets in hand, but their resistance was feeble. The contest was all but over after they lost 5 for 56 in the first session, and they crumbled for 114 shortly after lunch.

Smart Stats

0.65 West Indies’ win-loss ratio at home over the last 10 years, the worst for any top-eight team. West Indies have played 41 home Test during this period, winning 11 and losing 17.
9 Number of times three out of West Indies’ top six batsmen have been dismissed for ducks in a Test innings. Five of those instances have come since 2000.
31 Runs scored by West Indies’ top six batsmen in the second innings, the second-fewest in a Test innings at home. The fewest runs scored is 24, also at Sabina Park, against England in 2004.
49 The eighth-wicket partnership between Veerasammy Permaul and Denesh Ramdin in the second innings, the highest in 24 years for West Indies against Australia in a home Test.
611 Balls faced (or 101.5 overs) by West Indies’ batsmen in this Test, the third-fewest against Australia when they have been bowled out twice. The fewest balls faced is 457 (or 76.1 overs) in Port of Spain in 1999.

Mitchell Starc had accounted for Kraigg Brathwaite and Rajendra Chandrika in the first over of the innings late on the third day, and he struck in the fifth over this morning. A full ball curled into Shane Dowrich after angling across him from over the wicket and brushed his front pad. Starc whipped around to appeal for lbw, not realising the ball had gone on to hit off stump. He had figures of 6-4-2-3.There was seam movement on offer in the morning and Josh Hazlewood bowled an impeccable length around off stump, moving the ball just enough to constantly trouble the batsmen. Darren Bravo eventually pushed forward with hard hands, and the deviation off the pitch caused the outside edge to carry to gully, where Shaun Marsh stooped to take a low catch. Shortly after, Hazlewood induced Jermaine Blackwood to play on to a delivery that nipped into the right-hander from a good length, and West Indies were 33 for 5.The partnership between 21-year old Shai Hope and Denesh Ramdin lasted nine overs before Mitchell Johnson let one rip from round the wicket. Hope pushed forward with a gap between bat and pad and the ball cut in to hit off stump. There was no resistance from Jason Holder this time; he fell clipping Shane Watson tamely to short midwicket.West Indies were 72 for 7 at lunch but Ramdin and Veerasammy Permaul kept Australia waiting after the break. Their partnership extended to 49 at 4.5 runs at over before Johnson broke through. He squared Ramdin up and Michael Clarke dived to his right at second slip to take a low catch.The offspinner Nathan Lyon had not been used much in the innings but in his seventh over he ended the match off consecutive deliveries. Kemar Roach popped a catch to short leg, before Jerome Taylor was bowled slogging across the line to bag a pair. West Indies had lost 20 wickets in 101.5 overs in the Test.

Pat Howard has signed on for another two years as Australia’s executive general manager of team performance

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Apr-2015Pat Howard has signed on for another two years as Australia’s executive general manager of team performance.Howard was appointed in 2011 to the newly created role recommended by the Argus review and although his contract was due to end in June, his reappointment will now take his tenure through until at least 2017.”This recognises the outstanding job Pat is doing leading the team performance function at Cricket Australia,” Cricket Australia’s chief executive James Sutherland said. “Our men’s and women’s teams continue to succeed on the world stage while strong foundations are being built to achieve sustained success in all forms of the game.”Howard’s time at Cricket Australia has been eventful and he was part of the decision to sack Mickey Arthur as coach on the eve of the 2013 Ashes series in England.However, the team has enjoyed significant on-field success in the past two years – Australia currently hold the Ashes, World Cup and the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.The major challenge in the coming months, though, will be to sustain that performance away from home, with Test campaigns in West Indies, England and Bangladesh.

Round-up of the first day of the eighth round of Ranji Trophy’s Group C matches

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Dec-2012
ScorecardOn a strange day in which two players single-handedly dominated the bowling and batting for their respective sides, and in doing so, created history, Jammu and Kashmir played out an evenly-contested first day against hosts Kerala. Opener Ian Dev Singh scored an unbeaten century, becoming the second J&K batsman to have carried his bat, and seamer CP Shahid, playing in his third first-class game, took 8 for 51 to register third-best figures for any bowler in his side in history. Besides opener Adil Rishi and No. 3 Bandeep Singh, who were the first two to be dismissed, all fell to him, as J&K were bowled out for 215.But wickets didn’t fall in a heap, as Ian Dev struck useful partnerships, especially for the third and the seventh wicket. None of them, however, lasted beyond 59 runs, and seven single-digit scores put paid to J&K’s hopes of a big first-innings total.
ScorecardServices captain and opener Soumik Chatterjee scored a century to lead his side to a strong 284 for 4 against Goa at stumps in Porvorim. After choosing to bat, they lost their other opener Pratik Desai in the fifth over, No. 3 Ansuhl Gupta for 31 in the 18th over and the next batsman Soumya Swain after ten more overs. But Chatterjee then combined with Yashpal Singh, who gave him able support, to give their side a strong foundation. The duo added 141 runs for the fourth wicket, before Chatterjee got out in the final session after scoring his fourth century.
ScorecardIn Guwahati, Assam built the foundation for a strong first innings against Himachal Pradesh after being put in to bat. Opener PP Das, playing his eighth first-class match, was dismissed for ten short of what would have been his maiden first-class century. Although none of the top-order batsmen scored a fifty, they featured in four productive partnerships, to help their side reach 213 for 4 at stumps.Das’ innings of 90 contained 15 boundaries, but he also played out many dot deliveries, as his innings’ strike-rate was 48.36. For Himachal, offspinner Gurvinder Singh, with two wickets, was the most productive bowler.
ScorecardJharkhand held the upper hand in their contest against Tripura in Agartala after right-arm fast bowler Ajay Yadav, in only his second first-class match, took 6 for 38 to help bowl Tripura out for 106. After a poor start to their reply, Ishank Jaggi and Saurabh Tiwary scored 85 runs together to leave their side to within 11 runs of their opponent’s total.Tripura’s innings crumbled from the beginning. Opener Shubhrajit Roy top-scored with 43, and only two others scored beyond five runs in the innings. When five wickets had fallen for 12 runs in the 11th over, Shubrajit and Debabrata Chowdhury stuck for 17.2 overs, and helped them to a better position, adding 54 runs. But Chowdhury’s dismissal led to another collapse, and Tripura were soon bowled out. Their bowlers, however, gave them a positive start with the ball, as Jharkhand were reduced to 10 for 3, but Tiwary and Jaggi batted responsibly to ensure their side’s dominance.

Kevin Pietersen has reiterated his commitment to attend the birth of his first child, even if means leaving the field mid game

Cricinfo staff30-Apr-2010Kevin Pietersen has backed Graeme Swann and Michael Yardy to carry England ‘a long way’ in the World Twenty20 but reiterated his commitment to attending the birth of his first child, even if meant leaving the field mid game.Aside from Bangladesh, England are the only Test-playing nation not to win a global tournament and have endured a dismal run in recent times. Yet they play their first game on Monday in Guyana in conditions likely to favour the slower bowlers and Pietersen feels England have the men to deliver.”I think we’ve got a good chance,” Pietersen said. “We’ve got some pretty good spin bowlers – Swanny’s obviously world-class, [Michael] Yardy’s performed brilliantly in the two warm-up games, and I think I may have a trundle in Guyana on those wickets.””If we field well, take all our catches and have some moments of brilliance, I don’t see any reason why we can’t go a long, long way. But anyone could win this tournament – it’s very unpredictable.”Should they make the final it is likely Pietersen will not be available because he will leave the Caribbean to be present at the birth of his first child, who is due on the weekend of May 15 and 16. He has made his position clear all along and has the support of the England management.”As soon as she goes into labour, I’ll be off,” he said. “No matter where it is in the tournament, I’ll be off – and it’s been cleared with the management to do that. If I’m in the middle of a match, I’ll obviously get off the field and then I’ll be on the next plane that flies into London Heathrow.”Should he leave the tournament, Pietersen would be following on from a precedent set in recent times. Andrew Strauss missed the third Test against Pakistan in 2005 and Matt Prior missed the fourth Test against West Indies last year. It’s a trend Pietersen is happy to see continue. “I think it’s pretty sad that if you have your first child people criticise you for wanting to be there, whatever walk of life.”

Bajan hits 67 not out off 37 then takes two key wickets as Welsh Fire fall short

ECB Reporters Network16-Aug-2022A superb all-round display from ex-West Indies star Deandra Dottin led Manchester Originals to a thrilling 11-run women’s Hundred victory over Welsh Fire at Emirates Old Trafford.Dottin’s 67 off 37 balls underpinned a total of 156 for 2 having been inserted, the fourth-highest in competition history.But, in a clash between two sides who had lost their opening games, Fire were on course for victory as Dottin’s fellow Bajan Hayley Matthews whacked an equally impressive 69 off 41 from the top of the order.She shared 110 in 72 balls with fellow opener Tammy Beaumont. However, Sophie Ecclestone bowled Matthews and Dottin later struck twice in two balls with her medium pace, and Fire were left needing 19 off the final set of five. They finished on 145 for 3.Related

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The game, which saw Beaumont finish unbeaten on 45 off 42 and Dottin with 2 for 21 from 15 balls, narrowly avoided a controversial ending.Fire actually bowled 101 balls in their innings following a miscount from the umpiring team, and the rogue delivery was cut for four by Emma Lamb at the end of the third set of five. For large parts of the chase, it was very realistic that the extra four runs would come into play in the final reckoning.As it was, Dottin’s double-strike to get Australians Rachael Haynes caught at mid-on and Annabel Sutherland caught at midwicket left the score at 123 for 3 after 83 balls and brought about a telling squeeze in the run rate.Deandra Dottin picked up two wickets in two balls to hurt Fire’s chase•ECB/Getty Images

The Manchester innings included contrasting scores in the mid-thirties from England duo Lamb and Ecclestone. Dottin muscled eight fours and two sixes in 37 balls, while opener Lamb struggled for momentum in 35 before unbeaten Ecclestone added an excellent quick-fire late 36 off 18 with two sixes.Dottin, the self-professed ‘World Boss’ who retired from international cricket at the start of the month, came in at No. 3 with the score 27 for 1 after an early wicket for the excellent Alex Hartley, the left-arm spinner returning to home turf.Dottin, who reached her fifty in 31 balls, dominated a second-wicket stand of 67 with Lamb before adding an unbeaten 62 with Ecclestone in the final 31 balls.She was strong on both sides of the wicket, hitting two sixes over midwicket off Matthews and another over long-off against Katie George.Originals scored 96 off the final 50 balls of their innings, a competition record.Hartley, an Original last year and still a mainstay of the Old Trafford-based Thunder’s regional team, was superb with 1 for 17 from her 20 balls, making the initial breakthrough by getting Lizelle Lee caught at short fine leg off a top-edged sweep.Matthews was strong on both sides of the wicket, punishing anything too short or too full as she hit 12 fours.Like Dottin, she reached her fifty off 31 balls. But when she was bowled trying to cut a quicker ball from Ecclestone’s left-arm spin, it proved a key moment in an entertaining fixture wrapped up as Kate Cross defended 19 against Beaumont and Fran Wilson.

Sri Lanka, who at one stage seemed set to take a commanding lead, claimed one of only four runs and were 40 runs ahead by stumps

Andrew Fidel Fernando17-Jul-2022Prabath Jayasuriya terrorised Pakistan in the first session before Babar Azam struck a valiant 119, much of it in the company of No. 11 Naseem Shah, as the hosts surged back into the match either side of tea. Between Jayasuriya’s 5 for 82, and Pakistan’s 70-run last-wicket stand, the teams ended day two roughly even in the context of the match.Sri Lanka, who at one stage seemed set to take a commanding lead, claimed one of only four runs and were 40 runs ahead by stumps. They had lost captain Dimuth Karunaratne to the left-arm spin of Mohammad Nawaz. Nightwatcher Kasun Rajitha was at the crease alongside Oshada Fernando.Babar’s century was extraordinary for how many of his runs came in the company of the tail. When Pakistan lost their seventh wicket, he was on 28. When they lost their eighth, on 36. One wicket to go, he was on 55. And this was when he started farming the strike beautifully, facing 133 of the 185 balls Sri Lanka delivered to the last-wicket pair.It wasn’t as if he suddenly switched to hyper-aggression either. Sri Lanka put their field back for Babar, routinely putting at least seven fielders on the boundary while he was on strike, then bringing the field in for Naseem. Thanks in part to Naseem’s resolute defence, and refusal to be tempted into big shots even when the spinners tossed it tantalisingly into the air, Babar kept pressing. Occasionally, he would have enough of merely taking the single off the fourth or fifth ball, and ventured boundaries. Against Kasun Rajitha, for example, who he smoked down the ground, lashed over midwicket, then whipped aerially through deep square leg, to hit three successive boundaries off the last three balls of the over.This was after Naseem had proven his mettle, though. Next over, he saw six Jayasuriya balls out, much to the frustration of the bowler, who kicked the turf when his last ball – a quicker one at the stumps – was blocked out. Naseem’s contribution to a 70-run partnership was just five runs. But he survived, unbeaten, for 52 balls.Prabath Jayasuriya celebrates his five-wicket haul•AFP/Getty Images

This pair having come together roughly midway through the second session, Pakistan went to tea with Babar needing five more for his hundred, which he got three balls into resumption, whipping a full toss from Maheesh Theekshana through wide mid-on for four, before nurdling a single square on the legside to completed his seventh Test hundred, and third against Sri Lanka. He’d turned down many singles for the sake of keeping the strike before this.He hit two more boundaries – a six over wide long-on off Jayasuriya, and four through square leg off the same bowler, before eventually Theekshana spun an offbreak through his defences and hit him in front of the stumps. The last-wicket stand had taken them from 148 for 9, to 218.Earlier, it had been Jayasuriya who ran the show. First ball of the day, he had Azhar Ali chipping to cover, only for Dimuth Karunaratne to shell the chance. It didn’t matter. He slid one into Azhar’s pad two balls later. Bowling unchanged at the fort end right through that first session, he also removed debutant Agha Salman with a straighter one, then claimed the wickets of Mohammad Nawaz (jumping down the pitch, clipping straight to short leg who held a chance that hit his chest), and Shaheen Afridi (lbw) off successive deliveries.Having also dismissed Abdullah Shafique the previous evening, this completed Jayasuriya’s third five-wicket haul in as-many bowling innings. He was not quite so good against the tail, failing to break through after lunch, as Yasir Shah, and Hasan Ali put on useful stands worth 27 and 36, respectively, with Babar. In his 39 overs, during which he secured figures of 5 for 82, Jayasuriya repeatedly beat right-handed batters’ outside edge, and threatened their pads with his straighter one. Ramesh Mendis, who took 2 for 18 from his 13 overs, was more economical and gained greater turn. But no one threatened like Jayasuriya.

Bravo retired hurt on the fourth morning of the Jamaica Test, having suffered a blow to the helmet in the last over of day three

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Sep-2019West Indies have drafted Jermaine Blackwood into their XI for the Jamaica Test as a concussion substitute for Darren Bravo.Bravo retired hurt on 23 on the fourth morning of the Test, having just driven Jasprit Bumrah to the cover boundary in the fourth over of the day. He had taken a blow to the helmet in the last over of day three, off a bouncer from Bumrah. The ball had struck the right side of his helmet, and sent his stem guards – which protect the batsman’s neck area – flying. He faced two more balls on the third evening, and a further ten balls on Monday morning.A medical examination confirmed a concussion, and match referee David Boon subsequently approved West Indies’ request for Blackwood to come into the game as a substitute.A CWI spokesperson said Bravo had undergone a concussion test after the end of the third day’s play, and passed it.”He obviously got hit yesterday evening, but there weren’t many balls left in the day’s play, so he got through that and came off and he thought he was doing alright. He didn’t show any signs of being dizzy or concussed,” West Indies captain Jason Holder later said. “But he came this morning, and I don’t know if it was because of the heat or what, you know, he was feeling a little bit dizzy, he had a headache, so we took the precautionary route and we pulled him off.”In what was to become the first instance of 12 batsmen playing in a Test innings, Blackwood came into bat at the fall of the fourth wicket, and scored 38 off 72 balls. West Indies, chasing 468 for an unlikely win, eventually slumped to a 257-run defeat.Blackwood wasn’t in West Indies’ original squad, but is from Jamaica, and had earlier fielded as a substitute during the match. The last of his 27 previous Test appearances came in Bulawayo in October-November 2017. He becomes the second concussion substitute in men’s Test cricket, after the Australia batsman Marnus Labuschagne, who came in for Steven Smith in the Lord’s Ashes Test last month.As with Bravo in this Test, Smith passed a concussion test on the day he suffered the blow, but experienced delayed symptoms the next morning. A Cricket Australia spokesperson had said then that 30% of all concussions in Australian cricket are delayed.

Joe Denly demonstrated immense powers of concentration in the sweltering heat with a career-best double century to steer Kent into a position of strength on day three of the Specsavers County Championship clash with Worcestershire at New Road

ECB Reporters Network21-Jun-2017
ScorecardJoe Denly’s double hundred transformed the match•Getty Images

Joe Denly demonstrated immense powers of concentration in the sweltering heat with a career-best double century to steer Kent into a position of strength on day three of the Specsavers County Championship clash with Worcestershire at New Road.The 31-year-old batsman resumed on his overnight 69 and batted for a total of nearly eight hours in scoring 227 out of 474 all out to leave Worcestershire a 399 target. His marathon knock surpassed his 206 not out against Northampton at Wantage Road last season.It rescued Kent from the real possibility of losing inside three days, after they had lost their sixth wicket shortly before lunch when their overall lead was only 129.Now they will have high hopes of pushing for victory tomorrow with Pakistan wrist spinner Yasir Shah the ace up their sleeve on what is still a good wicket for batting.It was a cruel turnaround for Worcestershire who had strong hopes of a win that would revive their promotion challenge against the side in second place.On the longest day of the year, Denly’s superb knock must also have felt never-ending for the wilting Worcestershire attack which stuck gamely to its task but was gradually worn down in the soaring temperatures.It was his second century in three Championship matches and has giiven Kent a strong platform to test the resolution of the home side in the top three promotion battle.He was given excellent support by keeper Adam Rouse (68) in a stand of 149 in 39 overs – a Kent seventh wicket record in matches against Worcestershire.Denly had batted for a total of 468 minutes, had faced 320 balls and struck 24 fours and five sixes when he finally holed out to Ed Barnard at long off against Joe Leach.It had been a different scenario at the start of the day after Worcestershire skipper Joe Leach had bowled an impressive opening spell which yielded two wickets.Joe Weatherley had not added to his overnight score when he was caught at second slip by Daryl Mitchell and then Darren Stevens shouldered arms and was trapped lbw.Denly went to three figures in the grand manner with a six over long on off Moeen Ali.When Will Gidman drove at John Hastings and nicked through to Ross Whiteley at first slip, Kent were in a position of some discomfort at 205 for 6.
But then Rouse proved a willing ally for Denly and the pair flourished with the former reaching a determined half century off 105 balls.A wicket did not fall in the afternoon session until the last ball before tea when Rouse popped a Moeen delivery up to short leg.There was no respite after the resumption for Worcestershire as Matt Coles clubbed 39 and Yasir Shah 27 in stands of 54 and 41.Denly’s double ton came up off 299 balls with 23 fours and three sixes and a two off Josh Tongue brought him his new career best.Worcestershire openers Daryl Mitchell and Brett D’Oliveira negotiated five overs in reaching 16 for 0 by the close.