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Zimbabwe chased a below-par total with relative ease after Brian Vitori sliced through the Bangladesh top order to become the first Zimbabwe bowler to take five wickets on ODI debut

The Report by Firdose Moonda12-Aug-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details Vusi Sibanda anchored Zimbabwe’s chase and was unlucky to miss out on his hundred•Associated PressDespite a late wobble, Zimbabwe chased a below-par total with relative ease after Brian Vitori sliced through the Bangladesh top order to become the first Zimbabwe bowler to take five wickets on ODI debut. The chase was anchored by a mature innings from Vusi Sibanda, who coped easily with Bangladesh’s arsenal of left-arm spinners and made sure that the late strikes from Rubel Hossain were in vain.Bangladesh’s bowlers were inconsistent early on and they posed little threat to the Zimbabwe batsmen, in contrast to the way Zimbabwe’s bowlers had executed their plans when the visitors batted. Led by debutant left-arm seamer Vitori, Zimbabwe restricted Bangladesh to 184 on a flat pitch. Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim put on a century partnership for the sixth-wicket to resuscitate the innings, which stood on the brink of implosion at 43 for 5 in the 17th over, but it did not do enough to post a defendable total.With Chris Mpofu, Vitori made exceptional use of the early bounce on offer and bowled a tight line, offering no width to the Bangladesh batsmen. That forced them to be circumspect in their approach, refusing to move their feet or look for singles, and they made a slow start to their innings.After two overs of teasing swing, Vitori offered Tamim Iqbal a short ball and the Bangladesh opener took the bait with a horribly timed pull that was safely taken by Elton Chigumbura at mid-on. Vitori bowled an extended eight-over spell and earned regular reward. Shahriar Nafees was bowled with a delivery that pitched on middle and uprooted leg stump as he tried to drive down the ground. Mohammad Ashraful and Imrul Kayes departed in the 14th over. Ashraful took out his frustration on a short ball that went straight to Mpofu at long leg and Kayes was trapped lbw with a full delivery that came into him and thudded into the front pad.Bangladesh continued in free-fall and even Chigumbura, who was the least threatening of the bowlers, picked up a wicket, when Mahmudullah slapped a full and wide delivery to backward point. With the change bowlers on, Bangladesh were allowed to relax and Shakib and Mushfiqur approached their innings as their team-mates should have. They rotated the strike well and took on the spin pair of Propser Utseya and Ray Price, making good use of the sweep shot.Shakib should have been stumped on 17, when he danced down the track to an Utseya delivery but Tatenda Taibu was not able to get the bails off in time. He capitalised on his lifeline and continued scoring at a good rate all around the wicket to notch up his half century. Mushfiqur provided solid support, puncturing the gaps in a spread field.The pair gathered runs at will and medium-pacer Hamilton Masakadza was brought on in the 36th over to break the partnership. Three overs later he removed Shakib, who tried to force one through the covers but could only pop it up to Utseya.With Shakib gone, Mushfiqur tried to accelerate but fell in his first attempt, giving Utseya his 100th ODI wicket. The tail was disposed off cheaply, giving Zimbabwe’s batsmen a fairly simple task on a pitch that got better for batting.Zimbabwe set off at a canter, dealing with the first three overs of seam bowling with disdain, before the spinners – Abdur Razzak and Shakib – came on. Shakib had success with his second delivery, bowling his opposite number, Brendan Taylor, with an arm ball that snuck between bat and pad.The left-arm spin didn’t frighten Sibanda, who played with characteristically nifty footwork and struck two straight drives in the next over. That prompted Shakib to make a third bowling change and bring on Suhrawadi Shuvo inside 10 overs.Sibanda and Hamilton Masakadza settled comfortably, ran well between the wickets and scored at a rapid rate, dealing with everyone from Shakib to Mahmudullah with ease. They looked set to take Zimbabwe home with minimal fuss but a little indifference crept in and Masakadza was run out. He hesitated for a single that his partner was unsure of, and by the time Masakadza stopped, he was halfway down the pitch and could not make it back in time.That opened the door for Bangladesh to strike back and Rubel stepped up. He was brought back on after just one over upfront and, with the ball just starting to reverse swing, took two wickets in two balls. Taibu was bowled by a ripper that swung into him and Craig Ervine got a fine edge through to Mushfiqur.Bangladesh showed the right intent by taking the bowling Powerplay but could not prise open the door any further. Sibanda and Forster Mutizwa consolidated, even though Mutizwa looked uncomfortable against the spin at first and Sibanda failed to control the pull off Rubel.Sibanda’s strength against left-arm spin propelled him towards a century as he struck a straight six off Shuvo, but he threw his hundred away with a hurried stroke that looped straight to square leg when he was on 96. That left Mutizwa and Chigumbura with 10 runs and ample time to win the match, and although Chigumbura was out before it was over, a measured Mutizwa took Zimbabwe home.

Ricky Ponting, the former Australia captain, has been dropped from the ODI squad for the remainder of the triangular series following the worst batting slump of his limited overs career

Daniel Brettig20-Feb-2012Ricky Ponting knew the final phone call was imminent. Dropped from the Australia ODI squad for the remainder of the triangular series following the worst batting slump of his limited-overs career, Ponting accepted his fate after reaching an agreement with the national selector John Inverarity that one or the other would have to make the call.Under their terms, either Ponting would contact Inverarity to notify the selectors of his retirement from ODIs, or Inverarity would do likewise to inform Ponting he had lost his place. Scores of 2, 1, 6, 2 and 7 moved Inverarity to dial first, drawing the curtain on Ponting’s time as an ODI batsman. In a 375-game one-day international career, never before had he made five single-figure scores in a row. Twenty-six battling balls in Brisbane sealed the panel’s verdict.”Ricky and I were always clear on this, that at some stage he’d either come to me or I’d have the responsibility of going to him,” Inverarity told ESPNcricinfo. “That’s always the case with all players, isn’t it. It’s either they come to the selectors or the selectors come to the player. Ricky in the ODIs there’s been a form lapse there, yesterday he wasn’t in good form and in the five games he’s made very few runs.”Inverarity said that while Ponting would be missed, not least as a leader who had just stood-in for the injured Michael Clarke, the time had come to move on in the 50-over format.”The team will not seem the same without him, but moving on from the omission of players who have been outstanding over a long period of time is the nature of elite sport,” Inverarity said. “Ricky’s record speaks for itself. He is one of the truly great performers in the history of Australian ODI cricket, with his reputation enhanced further by him captaining Australia to two World Cup victories.”Ricky’s contribution goes far beyond his batting statistics and his brilliant fielding. The example he sets in every respect and his extraordinarily positive influence in the dressing-room is acknowledged by all. He is held in the highest possible regard by his team-mates and there is no higher accolade than this. Ricky being prepared to take over the captaincy in Michael Clarke’s recent absence for the sake of the team is yet another example of his selfless attitude and team-first focus.”Australia ODI squad

Michael Clarke (capt), Shane Watson (vc), Dan Christian, Xavier Doherty, Peter Forrest, Ryan Harris, Ben Hilfenhaus, David Hussey, Michael Hussey, Brett Lee, Clint McKay, Matthew Wade, David Warner

Like Mark Taylor and Steve Waugh before him, Ponting was not given the chance to choose when he would end his ODI career. As late as Sunday night in Brisbane following Australia’s win in Brisbane, Ponting said he had no intention of stepping aside, and had left his future in the hands of the selectors. Inverarity countered suggestions that Ponting might have been given a farewell match with the stark realities of professional sport.”Ricky Ponting has been dropped from the ODI side and the national selection panel has spoken about moving towards the 2015 World Cup,” he said. “The door is never closed on anybody, but it’s a strong indication there. We were very keen for Ricky to play in these games because we intended to blend in some younger players, and his influence for them has been remarkable. But we need to at some stage move on.”We’re not ruling him out because one never knows what’s around the corner … but we’ve certainly got 2015 in mind, and we knew at the beginning of the series when we wanted those young players to be blended in, in the presence of Ricky.”In elite sport there’s no place for sentiment. There are always the two schools of thought, going out on your own terms and that, and the members of the national selection panel were unanimous in their view. It was discussed by email last night, a few calls last night and was confirmed this morning. That’s the decision and that’s elite sport.”Ponting has been replaced in the squad by the allrounder and vice-captain Shane Watson, who proved his fitness after a stubborn calf injury by playing for New South Wales in a Sheffield Shield match against Western Australia in Perth. Inverarity announced one other change to the squad, recalling Ryan Harris in place of Mitchell Starc. He also confirmed that Matthew Wade had now usurped Brad Haddin as the No. 1 wicketkeeper in limited-overs matches, and that the panel intended to take both glovemen to the West Indies.”Ryan Harris has been re-included in the squad with Mitchell Starc making way for his return. Mitchell will benefit greatly from the Tests and the ODIs he has played,” Inverarity said. “His development as a player of the future is most encouraging. Shane Watson also comes back into the squad. He is an all-rounder of proven class and the NSP is keen to have him re-join the squad.”The NSP made the decision that Matthew Wade is now the preferred ODI wicket-keeper for the Australian ODI team. The intention at this stage is to have both Matthew and Brad Haddin in the West Indies together for the duration of the tour.”

Joshua McClelland took four wickets to help Australia Under-19 beat New Zealand Under-19 by six wickets at the Tony Ireland Stadium

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Apr-2012Joshua McClelland took four wickets to help Australia Under-19 beat New Zealand Under-19 by six wickets at the Tony Ireland Stadium in Townsville.Australia struck early with Pat Cummins, who is hoping to make a comeback to the senior national team after injuring his foot in November 2011, dismissing New Zealand opener Joe Carter for a duck. Michael Davidson and Ben Horne put on a stand of 68 runs for the third wicket, before McClelland trapped Davidson lbw for 37. Thereafter it was a procession of wickets, with McClelland, Cummins and Meyrick Buchanan adding to their tally. New Zealand managed to last 48.4 overs, scoring 146.Australia made a shaky start to their innings with opener Jimmy Peirson failing to score. Cameron Bancroft and William Bosisto put on a 79-run stand for the second wicket. Buchanan and McClelland took Australia over the line with 14.4 overs to spare.The match between England and India’s Under-19 teams turned out to be a cliffhanger, with England winning by four wickets and two balls to spare at Endeavour Park, Townsville.Batting first, India set England 268, with opener Manan Vohra scoring 52. The middle order also put on a good show, with Vijay Zol scoring 60 and Akshdeep Nath remaining not out on 62.The star of the day for England was Ben Foakes, who made 93, with eight fours. Foakes put on 78 for the second wicket with Daniel Bell-Drummond, who made 55 off 56 balls. England’s middle-order batsman Craig Overton and Annesh Kapil held the innings together, scoring 68 and 25 respectively. The match went down to the last over, with tailender Sam Wood hitting a six off the first ball he faced, handing his side the win.Australia will play New Zealand and England will play India in the semifinal on April 13.

20-Aug-2012
ScorecardNed Eckersley gave Leicestershire a good chance of dodging an unwanted double of failure by smashing an unbeaten 72 from 44 balls to snatch an unlikely Clydesdale Bank 40 victory over Worcestershire at New Road.With 92 wanted from the last 10 overs, the 23-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman transformed the game by clubbing seven sixes and two fours to see his side home by two wickets with an over to spare.The victory took Leicestershire off the bottom of Group A, moving them a point above Worcestershire with one game to play, and gave them hope of avoiding a last-placed finish in both the CB40 and County Championship Division One, where they are currently 11 points adrift.The race to beat Worcestershire’s 223 for 9 seemed to be going against them when Leicestershire skipper Josh Cobb was bowled for 51, the second of two wickets in four balls from Daryl Mitchell.This followed a valuable spell of two for 35 by leg-spinner Brett D’Oliveira as the visitors slumped to 107 for 6, but Eckersley suddenly wound up for a spectacular display of hitting.One by one he took Worcestershire’s bowlers apart, racing to his first limited-overs fifty from 29 balls in a seventh-wicket stand of 87 in 9.1 overs with Wayne White.White was lbw to Jack Shantry for 22 but James Sykes (12 not out) kept his nerve with Eckersley and nudged the winning single in a shattering penultimate over for Nick Harrison.The young paceman delivered two no-balls, one of which was driven into the press box window, while conceding the last 20 runs.After losing the toss and being put into bat, Worcestershire openers Moeen Ali (30) and Vikram Solanki (41) gave their side a brisk start with 67 on the board before Eckersley held a brilliant catch to his left to remove Moeen.Phil Hughes made only nine before finding mid-wicket off Sykes, the left-arm spinner who finished with two for 18 when Eckersley held another catch from Mitchell (five).Solanki helped his side into three figures before White claimed his second wicket when Worcestershire’s former captain, soon to depart for Surrey, failed to clear Nathan Buck at deep square leg.Neil Pinner, who scored a career-best 82 against Lancashire, lifted the scoring rate with 31 until Buck took wickets in each of his last three overs.It might have been even better for Leicestershire but for Gareth Andrew’s 28 from 21 balls.

Cricket South Africa has resolved to improve its corporate governance and review the process for awarding bonuses as their months-long internal strife appears to be reaching its end

Firdose Moonda20-Aug-2011Cricket South Africa (CSA) has resolved to improve its corporate governance and review the process for awarding bonuses as their months-long internal strife appears to be reaching its end. The board took the decision at their annual general meeting in Port Elizabeth on Saturday, where they deliberated the legal advice of advocate Azhar Bham, who was appointed to investigate possible breaches of the Companies’ Act committed by chief executive Gerald Majola.Accounting firm KPMG, who were tasked with investigating CSA’s financial affairs, produced a report which stated that Majola could have violated the act four times in relation to bonus payments made after the hosting of the 2009 IPL and Champions Trophy. CSA decided to seek legal opinion on the possible breaches at a special board meeting held three weeks ago in Johannesburg.At the time, it was expected that Majola would not be fired and that the importance of governance procedures would be stressed on CSA. The core issue appears to be the methods used to pay bonuses to staff who work on non-CSA events that are hosted by the organisation, such as the IPL. Insiders confirmed that traditionally these bonuses are awarded without going through CSA’s remunerations committee (REMCO), leaving the door open for possible indiscretion. It was this type of misconduct that CSA President Mtutuzeli Nyoka said he wanted to prevent and expose.With the findings of KPMG and subsequent legal advice, CSA have admitted that they were not vigilant enough and did not employ strict enough methods of procedure. Majola was reported to have been severely reprimanded for this at the meeting and CSA have vowed to embark on a crash course in governance in order to improve their processes.”As far as CSA is concerned this matter is now closed,” AK Khan, vice-president of CSA, who chaired the meeting in Nyoka’s absence, said. Nyoka did not attend the meeting for personal reasons and has not yet responded to the resolution.If he mounts a challenge, it would further draw out the spat between him and Majola, which started when R4.7 million (US$ 671,428) was paid in bonuses to 40 staff members after the 2009 events. The payments were picked up as an irregularity by CSA’s auditors Deloitte and the body announced that they would have an external investigation to look into the matter.Instead, they chose to hold an internal inquiry first, chaired by vice-president AK Khan. In November, the Khan Commission cleared Majola of any wrongdoing but cautioned him against making “errors of judgment.” These mistakes referred to the payments not being declared to Remco.Nyoka’s outspoken views on holding an external investigation resulted in him being ousted by a vote of no confidence in February, but he challenged the decision in the South Gauteng High Court and was reinstated in April Nyoka’s demands for an audit were also met and KPMG were chosen to conduct the investigation which, once completed, did not put an end to the matter but lengthened in with the call for legal advice.

Mumbai proved they are the best team in the tournament and reclaimed their by now customary at the summit of the table by battering Pune at the DY Patil Stadium

The Bulletin by Siddarth Ravindran04-May-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Yuvraj Singh and Rahul Sharma were impressive with the ball, but Pune could not capitalise, as they failed with the bat yet again•AFPPune Warriors and Mumbai Indians are geographically the two closest IPL franchises but they couldn’t get any further from each other in the points table. Mumbai proved they are the best team in the tournament and reclaimed their position at the summit of the table by battering Pune at the DY Patil Stadium, whose freefall continued with a seventh successive loss that kept them firmly at the bottom.Mumbai gave another demonstration of the depth of their batting talent, as two men who have had little batting time this season, T Suman and Kieron Pollard, fired them to a competitive total. Their brilliance undermined the efforts of the Pune spinners who had initially shackled Mumbai.Yuvraj Singh, who has under-bowled himself in the IPL, removed the rocks at the top of the Mumbai batting, Sachin Tendulkar and Ambati Rayudu. Then, legspinner Rahul Sharma prised out two important wickets with the most economical spell of the season (4-0-7-2) to leave Mumbai at an insufficient 114 for 5 after 15 overs. Suman and Pollard, however, got stuck into the erratic Alfonso Thomas to lift Mumbai to a competitive score.Mumbai had briskly moved to 56 for 1 after seven overs, before Rahul and Yuvraj pulled them back. Rahul’s combination of quick legbreaks and topspinners proved hard to get away, before Yuvraj made the big breakthrough in the ninth over, getting Tendulkar to hole out to short extra cover. Yuvraj and Rahul choked the innings in a four-over passage of play that yielded only 13 runs. That forced Rayudu to attempt the big hit, but he holed out to long-off.Suman was surprisingly promoted ahead of Andrew Symonds and Pollard for his first proper hit this season, and he provided Mumbai the momentum they desperately needed. In an innings where everyone else had struggled to score at a run-a-ball till then, Suman came out blazing, racing to 19 off seven with a couple of stylish sixes.Rahul returned and removed the struggling Rohit Sharma and Suman in two overs, but in between those strikes Suman showed off his timing with a four and a six to long-off against Thomas. Pollard then provided the final flourish, unleashing his brand of brutal straight-hitting. Thomas bore the brunt as he was whipped for 27 in the penultimate over, and Pollard’s quickfire 30 made sure Pune’s batsmen had a challenge on their hands.Pune’s reply got off to a horror start as Jesse Ryder sliced the first ball to backward point. Graeme Smith has not been in the best touch with the bat for quite a while now, and that spell continued today. Manish Pandey’s timing was completely awry, and the decision to promote Abhishek Jhunjhunwala meant the big guns, Yuvraj and Robin Uthappa, were pushed too low in the order.The most expensive over in the first ten overs of the chase fetched only nine runs, and the asking-rate soared past 11 by the halfway stage. Lasith Malinga then harried Yuvraj with a series of bouncers, the last of which was awkwardly popped towards third man where Munaf Patel took a tumbling catch. It was the knockout blow, and Yuvraj was left on the floor.The big news ahead of the match was that Pune had bought former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly. Even if that does prompt a dramatic turnaround, it might be too late for Pune, as even winning all their remaining matches may not be enough to make the semi-finals.

ESPNcricinfo previews the third ODI between Zimbabwe and New Zealand in Harare

The Preview by George Binoy24-Oct-2011Match FactsZimbabwe v New Zealand, October 25, Bulawayo
Start time 0930 (0730 GMT)Brendan Taylor has scored as many runs as the rest of Zimbabwe’s batsmen combined in this series•Associated PressBig PictureFor New Zealand to complete an all-round annihilation of Zimbabwe in this one-day series they need to achieve only one more thing – dismiss Brendan Taylor, for cheap.During comprehensive victories in the first two ODIs, New Zealand denied Zimbabwe’s bowlers wickets, scored with ease, benefitted from an extraordinary number of dropped catches, and ran through ten of their batsmen without too much trouble. Only Taylor has stood up to them, twice, with unbeaten centuries that dragged Zimbabwe from despair to totals that could have been defended, if his bowlers and fielders had stood by him.The third ODI in Bulawayo is the last chance for Zimbabwe’s batsmen to find form ahead of the only Test against New Zealand at the same venue. They adopted different approaches in the previous two games but both failed. In the first one-dayer, Zimbabwe’s top order tried to be aggressive but lost wickets early and quickly. In the second, they were cautious and slow at the start, but lost several wickets as the pressure to accelerate grew. Both times Taylor bailed them out with assistance from one sidekick. Zimbabwe need for Taylor to be able to launch the innings without him needing to repair it as well.Though they managed only one New Zealand wicket in the first 37 overs of the second ODI, Zimbabwe’s bowlers did create several chances. Keegan Meth, whose mix of in-and-out swing New Zealand found hard to read, had a couple of close lbw shouts turned down, and then their fielders dropped Brendon McCullum not once, or twice but four times. Zimbabwe’s out-cricket, which was a hallmark of their tenacious teams of the late 1990s, had deteriorated to worrying standards.New Zealand have only one area of concern going into the third ODI. Their middle and lower-order batsmen haven’t had enough time in the middle. Rob Nicol, Martin Guptill and McCullum have been greedy so far but New Zealand do have a tour game ahead of the Test to give the rest of their batsmen some match practice.Form guide (most recent first)
Zimbabwe: LLLLL
New Zealand: WWLWLIn the spotlightKeegan Meth’s return to the team for the second ODI, after recovering from a severe mouth injury, was an impressive one. He scored an aggressive 20 in the lower order before bowling a testing opening spell. Meth has the gift of swinging the ball both ways at medium-pace and the use of a new ball from either end increases his effectiveness. He also has pluck, and Zimbabwe could use more cricketers like him.New Zealand’s middle-order batsmen haven’t had much to do in this series. The match was all but won when they got a small opportunity in the second ODI and three of them got out cheaply, giving Zimbabwe the faintest of hopes. It was left to Kane Williamson and Jacob Oram, batting at No. 8, to secure victory. Ross Taylor and co will want to be more clinical if given the chance in Bulawayo.Team newsFast bowler Chris Mpofu had a poor second ODI, conceding 49 in 7.2 overs for one wicket. Zimbabwe could replace him with Kyle Jarvis.Zimbabwe: (probable): 1 Hamilton Masakadza, 2 Vusi Sibanda, 3 Brendan Taylor (capt), 4 Tatenda Taibu, 5 Forster Mutizwa (wk), 6 Malcolm Waller, 7 Elton Chigumbura, 8 Keegan Meth, 9 Prosper Utseya, 10 Ray Price, 11 Chris Mpofu/Kyle Jarvis.New Zealand had rested fast bowler Kyle Mills from the previous game because he had a slight groin strain. If they decide to play him, Mills could replace any one of Doug Bracewell, Graeme Aldridge or Andy McKay. Since New Zealand have already won the series, they might consider giving their inexperienced new-ball attack of Bracewell and Aldridge more match practice.They also played an all-seam attack in the previous game and a spinner, most likely Nathan McCullum, could come in if the Bulawayo surface is slower. Jesse Ryder could return for BJ Watling if he has recovered from his stomach bug.New Zealand (probable): 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Rob Nicol, 3 Brendon McCullum (wk), 4 Jesse Ryder/BJ Watling, 5 Ross Taylor (capt), 6 Kane Williamson, 7 James Franklin, 8 Jacob Oram, 9 Nathan McCullum/Kyle Mills/Andy McKay, 10 Doug Bracewell, 11 Graeme Aldridge.Stats and trivia Zimbabwe have lost their previous five matches in Bulawayo – four ODIs and a Test. Before that, they had beaten a second-string Indian side by six wickets in an ODI in May 2010. Brendan Taylor has scored 235 runs in the ODI series, which is equal to the aggregate runs scored by all of Zimbabwe’s other batsmen.Quotes”It was slightly better today but we’re up against a good side so it’s always going to be tough whatever total you post, then when the wicket flattens out it’s always going to be hard defending.”

Dimitri Mascarenhas took three early wickets as Hampshire strengthened theirgrip at the top of the Friends Life t20 South Group, with their tenth win in 13matches

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Jul-2011
Scorecard
Dimitri Mascarenhas took three early wickets as Hampshire strengthened their grip at the top of the Friends Life t20 South Group with their tenth win in 13 matches. Two stoppages for rain reduced Essex’s target, but they failed by nine runs, leaving Hampshire in a strong position to qualify for the quarter-finals as group toppers.Mascarenhas took his tally for the competition to 15 for the season by dismissing Adam Wheater and Tim Southee in his first over and then Mark Pettini in his third. The Essex chase never fully recovered although Owais Shah and Ravi Bopara attempted a recovery with a stand of 55 for the fourth wicket. Shah struck four fours and a six off Shahid Afridi in a knock of 38 of 34 balls, but it was not enough.When Essex came back out after a second rain stoppage they required 56 from five overs and soon lost Ryan ten Doeschate, before Bopara perished going for a big hit at 109. Bopara made 48, his side’s top score, but was stumped down the leg side off Afridi and with him went Essex’s last hope of salvaging a surprise win.Hampshire, after choosing to bat, made a competitive 151 for seven from their 20 overs. Key to their success was a stand of 85 for the fourth wicket between James Vince and Sean Ervine. Vince, the match’s top-scorer, made 55 from 46 balls in an innings that included six boundaries before he was lbw to Phillips in the 16th over with the total on 117.Ervine’s contribution was almost as valuable, striking 45 from 35 balls. He was the third victim of the innings for Southee, who finished with creditable figures of 3 for 30 from his four overs, while the all-important wicket of the dangerous Afridi went to Bopara. Afridi made only four before he lofted Bopara to Pettini.Essex, though, were always struggling once Mascarenhas made early inroads that left them 18 for three, and never looked like keeping up with the required-rate.

Jitendra Patil, the left-arm pace bowler from Maharashtra, has been charged with ball tampering in an Under-22 CK Nayudu Trophy match against Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Oct-2010Jitendra Patil, a left-arm fast bowler from Maharashtra, has been charged with ball tampering in an Under-22 CK Nayudu Trophy match against Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday. This is the first time such an incident has occurred in Indian domestic cricket.Harvinder Sodhi, the match referee, confirmed the incident, but said he was yet to take any action. “Since the umpires report came a bit late, I would only be taking a decision tomorrow [Thursday],” Sodhi told the . “I have fixed a hearing for this on Thursday [the final day of the game].”An official from the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association said there was no provision to immediately suspend the offending player or prevent him from bowling.Patil was allegedly caught applying cream on the ball, four deliveries into Maharashtra’s 39th over, on the third day of the game. As soon as it was noticed by the umpires, they ordered a ball change, and later awarded five penalty runs to Uttar Pradesh. As per the BCCI rules, the batsmen had a choice of seven balls to choose from, including a new one.

Ireland are out of the World Cup after losing to South Africa, but their captain William Porterfield says he is proud of the performances his team have put in during the tournament

Firdose Moonda at Eden Gardens15-Mar-2011An Irish journalist, one who has followed the team through their various divisions, arrived at Eden Gardens with hope in his heart, but reality in his head. “It’s not like the last time,” he said. “Then you only had to win one of our three games to get to the next round; now even if you win three games you are not assured of a place in the knockouts.”The “then” he was referring to was the 2007 World Cup, when Ireland’s stunning win over Pakistan, and later Bangladesh, shook the cricketing world. So surprising was their performance that it may have played some part in the 2011 tournament structure. The two groups of seven, with the next round being the quarterfinals, is a format designed to send the Full Members through to the knockouts and the Associates home.By its very foundation, this edition of the World Cup was built to disadvantage the smaller teams. If they wanted to challenge the system, it would require a consistent effort over a month of competition, in which they would face four Test playing nations. It means that they wouldn’t be rewarded for one case of luck; they’d need to show that good fortune is matched with good skills and that they are able sustain their intensity over a period of time.Ireland were the one Associate that stood a chance of doing that. After pushing Bangladesh to within 27 runs of a loss, they beat England, gave a respectable account of themselves against India and lost a by a margin of less than 50 runs against West Indies. Their last chance to qualify for the quarterfinals was to beat South Africa, a task as daunting as they get, and after a crushing 131-run defeat, the sparks they lit at the tournament have been put out. They still have a match to play, but it will have no impact on whether they qualify for the knockouts. The dream is over, but there is time for reflection on the highlights.Porterfield was a proud man despite the weaknesses his side displayed.•Getty Images”We knew today was a final for us in terms of keeping hopes alive for qualifying,” William Porterfield, the Ireland captain said. “We’ve done a lot of good things in this tournament. The result against England stands out, but the way we bowled and fielded throughout the tournament, especially our ground fielding has been right up there with anyone.”Ireland’s commitment was on display again on Tuesday, when they threw their bodies around Eden Gardens from ball one, when Gary Wilson prevented a run from being scored. The effort they put into cutting off the run flow was undone by the two catches they dropped and it’s that kind of consistency that Ireland lack.They’ve been able to play well for periods of matches, but only once, against England, did the whole package come together. Issues of finishing, both with bat and ball, are some of the concerns they need to address, and Porterfield spoke about wasted opportunities.”We got ourselves into a lot of winning positions. In the game against the West Indies we were right in the game. We should have won the game against Bangladesh in the end too.” Against South Africa, they had big name opposition with their backs against the wall at 117 for 5 but then let them accumulate 272.Porterfield was not unhappy with the bowling, even though they did not bowl South Africa out, saying that he was satisfied with the effort they made to take more wickets. “Boyd [Rankin] came back; he is our principle wicket-taker. We wouldn’t have done things very differently. We weren’t too distraught at half-time.”Their chase, dented by wickets, is what Porterfield thinks should have gone better. “Throughout the tournament, we formed a few good partnerships but we never backed up one partnership with a second.” Their highest partnership against South Africa was 41 runs, between Kevin O’Brien and Gary Wilson, but they have had two century partnerships, against England and India, in the tournament.Porterfield was a proud man despite the weaknesses his side displayed. He felt his team had played with a lot of heart and that they will benefit from the experience as a whole. “The more we play against [big] teams, the more we are learning as a unit. We are going to take a lot out of this tournament.”Their last match, on Friday against the Netherlands, will be their last hurrah, for this World Cup and possibly for a long time, as the fifty-over tournament will become smaller from the next edition. That match, which is all about playing for pride, will have a much deeper context to it, because the two teams that meet may disappear from the ODI stage for an indefinite period. “It’s not going to be difficult to get the guys up for it,” Porterfield said. “It’s probably the first match we are going into as favourites.”