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Mumbai are still ahead by 251 runs but MP’s strong start hangs final in the balance

Shashank Kishore23-Jun-2022Madhya Pradesh slowly chipped away at the runs and have built a base camp from which they will look to scale Mumbai’s first innings score of 374 as the Ranji Trophy final is delicately poised going into the third day in Bengaluru.Having taken a wicket off the second ball to have Mumbai 248 for 6, they saw Sarfaraz Khan rally with the lower order to make his fourth century of the season. However, MP hung in there and made a solid beginning to their own innings, finishing on 123 for 1 at stumps, trailing Mumbai by 251.Yash Dubey, out to two somewhat debatable calls in the semi-finals, was unbeaten on 44. He was overshadowed by Shubham Sharma, who battled a lot more positively to keep the scoreboard moving along, thereby giving Prithvi Shaw and co something to think about as an all-out attacking field slowly spread out as the final session progressed. Towards the end, Dubey managed to even overtake Shubham as their partnership was worth 76.All said, Mumbai still have the runs to play with but MP won’t be too disappointed either, given they are also playing an extra batter in debutant Parth Sahani. Their stonewaller Himanshu Mantri would be disappointed, though, missing out on a start as he fell for 31 in the first over after tea as he played all around a full Tushar Deshpande delivery to be trapped lbw. It broke a stubborn 47-run opening stand to lift Mumbai after the fast bowlers probed away without much luck prior to the tea interval.After tea, Dubey and Shubham raised a half-century stand off 89 deliveries. Just as they were beginning to look increasingly at ease, a change of ball in the final session seemed to make a difference as Deshpande and Mohit Avasthi forced the batters to shut shop by delivering a probing spell of reverse swing bowling as stumps loomed.Reverse swing aside, Avasthi, the first-change bowler, impressed in short bursts, occasionally getting the ball to rear up to make Dubey uncomfortable, but he couldn’t sustain it for long enough. As spin came on, both batters kept milking runs. Shams Mulani, easily Mumbai’s best bowler so far this season with 37 scalps at an average of 15.64, was particularly picked off with ease. He conceded 46 runs in 11 wicketless overs. More than the runs, that he couldn’t even cause a flutter would worry the team management.The morning entirely belonged to Mumbai as Sarfaraz bailed the team out with the lower order. He found some staunch resistance from Dhawal Kulkarni as he got to a well-constructed eighth first-class century. It took him 152 balls to get to a half-century, and only 38 more for him to complete the hundred. He was particularly severe on the spinners as he used the full-blooded sweep to good effect.The first eight overs produced just 10, but Sarfaraz was happy to play himself in and temper his game to give bowlers the first hour. He reined in his shots, resisted temptation to try and pick off cheeky boundaries like he usually does, focused fully on playing orthodox cricket.After Mulani was out second ball, Tanush Kotian barely survived, pushing, and prodding against the fast bowlers before an unplayable delivery got him when Gaurav Yadav bowled him with a superb away-swinger to flatten his off stump. Yadav, who wheeled away without any luck on the opening day, had four wickets to show for his efforts by the end.Kulkarni’s stonewall for a better part of an hour allowed Sarfaraz to play big shots. He got to a century with a lofted hit down the ground off Kumar Kartikeya’s left-arm spin. His animated celebration thereafter had the sparse crowd, national selectors and his team-mates give him a standing ovation. He added 34 runs more but eventually fell playing one big shot too many. By then, Mumbai were in an excellent position, leaving MP to do all the running to try and remain in the game, which they have.

This season’s final will be played from December 29, running into the new year

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Dec-2017Indore’s Holkar Stadium will host the Ranji Trophy final for the second year in a row. Last season, it was the venue of Gujarat’s title-winning bout against Mumbai. This season’s final will be played December 29 onwards.

Ranji Trophy knockouts

• 1st semi-final: Bengal v Delhi in Pune

• 2nd semi-final: Karnataka v Vidarbha in Kolkata

• Final: December 29 onwards in Indore

The two semi-finals will be played from December 17 to 21 with Pune playing host to Bengal and Delhi in a televised game, while Karnataka and Vidarbha will face off at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, with the match being available via a live stream.Defending champions Gujarat were knocked out in the quarter-finals this time by Bengal, who took a first-innings lead in the draw in Jaipur. The other three semi-finalists proceeded with the help of wins in the quarter-finals. Delhi beat Madhya Pradesh by seven wickets in Vijayawada, Vidarbha romped past Kerala by a massive 412 runs and Karnataka handed 41-time champions Mumbai an innings defeat in Nagpur.

Akeal Hosein takes four wickets as England are derailed in series decider

Andrew Miller30-Jan-2022 West Indies 179 for 4 (Pollard 41) beat England 162 (Vince 55, Holder 5-25, Hosein 4-30) by 17 runs Jason Holder claimed four wickets in four balls in front of an ecstatic home crowd in Barbados, to put a very personal seal on an outstanding series win for West Indies. In a pulsating finale at Bridgetown, Holder built on a career-best haul of 4 for 30 from the left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein, to outlast an England team that was once again left to rue its own shortcomings at the death, as they succumbed by 17 runs to lose the series 3-2.England were set 180 for victory, after a two-paced batting display from West Indies, in which Kieron Pollard and Rovman Powell cracked 66 runs from the final four overs to re-ignite an innings that had gone flat during a masterful display of legspin from Adil Rashid.In reply, James Vince set the early tempo with 55 from 35 balls, and Sam Billings applied some precious late impetus with 41 from 28. But after Hosein had undermined England with a wicket in each of his four overs, it was left to the veteran Holder to defend 20 runs in the final over – and despite a first-ball no-ball to ramp up the jeopardy, there was never any doubt once he found his range.First to go was Chris Jordan, who picked up a low full toss with a heave across the line, but picked out the substitute Hayden Walsh Jr on the midwicket rope. Billings, who got himself back on strike as the batters crossed, then launched a similar stroke in a similar direction, as Holder trusted the full length, before Adil Rashid slapped another fifth-stump delivery high into the leg-side, where Odean Smith settled beneath the hat-trick delivery.That was already game, set and series – but even more glory was to come Holder’s way before the celebrations could begin in earnest, as Saqib Mahmood attempted to dig out a full straight ball, and inside-edged on to his leg stump, a deflection so imperceptible that it wasn’t until Nicholas Pooran started pointing in glee at the dislodged bail that Holder realised what he had achieved. As if his haul of 4 for 7 in the first match wasn’t glorious enough, this was quite the way to finish.On the front foot from the outsetAfter winning the toss for the fourth time in the series, Pollard chose to bat for the first time – his logic being that the “virtual final” nature of the contest made runs on the board all the more valuable. And, with the contest taking place on the same pitch where Powell had mown a 51-ball century on Wednesday, it was a chance to show faith in his troops as well.Mahmood was back in England’s team for similar reasons – in the wake of his maltreatment at the death in game two, this was a chance for him to prove his mettle in a high-stakes contest. The initial signs, however, were ominous. Latching on to his residual doubts, Brandon King launched Mahmood’s first ball clean over long-on for a premeditated six, and by the time Kyle Mayers had swivelled into a brace of exquisite pulls, his last two overs in international cricket had gone for an eye-watering 47 runs.And thus the early tone of West Indies’ innings was set. Reece Topley continued his impressive re-entry by conceding 11 runs from two overs, but Mayers – quite the upgrade from the off-colour Shai Hope – laid into Jordan with another brace of Lara-esque pulls through the leg-side, before King dumped a Moeen Ali length ball over long-on for the fourth six of the powerplay, one over after Billings spilled a leg-side stumping catch as he tweaked one through the gate.Rashid causes mid-innings panicSpin is one thing… but legspin is West Indies’ kryptonite. And Rashid has proven to be a particularly debilitating rival down the years. This was his 13th T20I against West Indies – more than he has played against any other nation. He now has 22 wickets against them at an average of 10.95, an economy rate of 5.69, and a strike-rate of 11.5 (more than one every two overs) – and each of those are figures that he hasn’t bettered against anyone else.At the end of the powerplay, West Indies were cooking on 58 for 0. Four balls later, there was panic in the air, as Mayers took on the long boundary with a ragged pull into the wind, and found Jason Roy back-pedalling on the rope for another routinely sensational relay catch – Phil Salt was the beneficiary as he pocketed the lob back into play while jogging round from long-on.Kieron Pollard landed some thumping blows•Getty Images

Romario Shepherd, once again pushed up the order with a licence for carnage, duly obliged by greeting a Liam Livingstone full-toss with a slam over long-on. But before the over was out, he’d been utterly undone by the ball turning out of his arc – beaten on the slog one ball, then skewing a fat outside edge to point the next, and West Indies had slipped to 67 for 2.Pooran attempted to take Rashid down with an airy first-ball flog over long-on, but having failed to connect properly, he then retreated into his shell – as if mindful of not exposing his team-mates to the threat. At the other end, King’s previously sparky innings came to a tame end as Livingstone made it three wickets out of three for the leggies, and it would be seven full overs before West Indies would break the shackles with another boundary. By then, Rashid had signed off for the night by bowling Pooran with a googly for 21 – his figures of 2 for 17 from four overs had applied the emergency break.Powell, Pollard pick up the paceFor that period of West Indies’ mid-innings reticence, their Manhattan chart began to resemble a stumble down a flight of cellar stairs. But as soon as the death overs began, England’s increasingly infamous frailties surged to the fore. Topley, so excellent for so much of this series, was collared on the pull by Powell, whose arrival in the 15th over was eyebrow-raisingly late given his form.Pollard, a sheet-anchor for his first 12 balls, then picked off a full toss in the same over to kick-start his innings, and when Topley’s best ball of the over, a pinpoint leg-stump yorker, was deflected fine through third man for four more, England’s dismal record between overs 16-20 – it’s now more than 11 runs per over since the start of 2021, worse than any other ODI team – was sounding like a stuck record.Jordan has been especially culpable in that regard of late – not least in that pivotal over in the World Cup semi-final against New Zealand – and when he missed his mark four times in the space of six balls, Powell and Pollard were primed to cash in (although one of Powell’s sixes in particular, a flat smash through midwicket off an otherwise faultless yorker, was really just a heady confluence of skill and confidence). Another 66 runs had flooded from England’s final four overs, to go with the 67 they had conceded in their second match. After five taxing matches, that’s an issue that they seem no closer to resolving.Akeal is England’s Achilles HeelRoy on strike? How about some left-arm spin? It’s become a pretty transparent ploy from teams the world over, but with good reason, given that Roy was talking in the lead-up to the World Cup about having to banish some “darker thoughts” when faced with that ominous mode of attack.For two balls, it seemed that West Indies had out-thought themselves, as Roy responded with a brace of feisty boundaries – a slotted drive through long-off, and a short-arm thump through the covers. Before the over was out, however, Roy was traipsing off, shaking his head in dismay, after under-edging a slog-sweep into his pad and into Pooran’s gloves as he ran round from behind the stumps.That was the end of his work for the first half of the innings – it was the startling pace of the recalled Smith that dominated the rest of the powerplay, as Tom Banton paid the price for nailing one pull for six by splicing another to Pollard on the edge of the rope, before Moeen was dropped first ball as he steered a snorter to Holder at slip.Holder would eventually atone for that error by ending an unusually laboured stay from Moeen – there was never any danger of a repeat of his four consecutive sixes from game four as he flicked his first ball after drinks into the covers to trudge off for a boundary-less 14 from 19. But given his reputation for taking down spinners, Moeen’s departure was the cue for Hosein to return, and he did so with a devastating triple-whammy.Livingstone was the first of his mid-innings victims – caught at point as his campaign ended with a miscued slap – and though Vince carved consecutive fours to rattle past a 30-ball half-century, his attempted slog-sweep in Hosein’s next over plopped tamely into the hands of deep midwicket. Phil Salt didn’t get past the slog aspect of his dismissal – a rowdy gallop led to him being stumped by a distance for 3 – and as Hosein finished his spell of 4 for 30, England took a sickly scoreline of 124 for 6 into their own death-overs effort.

A star-studded West Indies line-up proved too powerful for their World XI counterparts on an entertaining if one-sided evening at Lord’s

The Report by Andrew Miller31-May-2018West Indies XI 199 for 4 (Lewis 58, Ramdin 44*, Samuels 43) beat World XI 127 (Perera 61, Williams 3-42) by 72 runs

ScorecardA star-studded West Indies line-up proved too powerful for their World XI counterparts on an entertaining if one-sided evening at Lord’s, as a quartet of cameos from Evin Lewis, Marlon Samuels, Denesh Ramdin and Andre Russell set up a hefty 72-run victory in the one-off Hurricane Relief T20 Challenge.With the cricket world rallying round the West Indies, and in particular those islands in the north of the region that were devastated by the twin hurricanes Irma and Maria eight months ago, a crowd of approximately 15,000 witnessed some outstanding feats of big-hitting as well as one or two more eclectic sights – not least the appearance of Nasser Hussain as an on-field “roving reporter” (an experiment from the broadcasters, Sky Sports, who were providing the global feed for the event free of charge).There was yet another comeback, too, for cricket’s very own Frank Sinatra, Shahid Afridi – who, due to the official T20I status of the match, was featuring in his 99th such contest, more than two years after his previous retirement at Mohali in March 2016.This time, and probably for the first time, Afridi looked like a player for whom there was no coming back, as he creaked through four overs of geriatric, if effective, legspin. And inevitably, he still managed to pull it off like the showman he has always been. His second ball drew Andre Fletcher down the track then spun past his edge for a simple stumping, whereupon Afridi embarked on that familiar star-shaped celebration, just as he had done on this very ground in 2009, after hitting the winning runs in the World T20 final.The hitting, on this occasion, was largely restricted to the West Indians – most particularly Evin Lewis at the top of the order, who left his opening partner, Chris Gayle, for dead in rattling along to 58 from 26 balls with five fours and five sixesRashid Khan eventually pinned Lewis lbw with the third ball of his spell, but Gayle at the other end was never allowed to get going. In particular he was flummoxed by the fierce pace and cunning change-ups of Tymal Mills, who did not concede a single run until his 11th delivery, by which stage he had also struck Gayle a glancing blow on the helmet for good measure. But sadly for Mills, who has had terrible luck with injury, he was unable to complete his spell after leaving the field with a quad strain, and he did not come out to bat either.Gayle was finally bowled by Shoaib Malik for 18 from 28, whereupon Samuels marched onto centre stage with a fusillade of sixes – two in two balls off Malik, and a gargantuan mow down the ground to welcome the Nepalese legspinner, Sandeep Lamichhane, to Lord’s. Ramdin joined the fun with 44 not out from 25, as did Russell to spectacular effect in the penultimate over – three massive sixes took Rashid for an eye-watering 24 runs.In reply, the World XI spluttered under the floodlights. Before they’d found their bearings they’d been reduced to 8 for 4, with Samuel Badree scalping Luke Ronchi and Denesh Karthik for ducks in his opening over, either side of Russell seeing off the opener, Tamim Iqbal and Sam Billings.Thisara Perera wasn’t done yet, however, and his 28-ball half-century kept the crowd entertained in the gloom – as did some comical running between the wickets when Afridi, limping with a knee injury, appeared at five-down with Billings alongside him as a runner. Officially, runners are no longer permitted in full international fixtures, but the ICC were happy in the circumstances to give him special dispensation. After all, the night was about much more than just cricket.

“In many ways, I had already retired as a cricketer, but hadn’t been able to make a formal announcement”

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Dec-2021Harbhajan Singh has announced his retirement from all formats of the game. In a video message on Twitter, the former India offspinner said that “in many ways, I had already retired”, but because of his commitments with Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL, he was forced to delay the announcement.”There comes a time in your life when you must take some tough decisions and move ahead. I have been meaning to make this announcement for the last few years, but I was waiting for the right moment to share it with all of you: today, I am retiring from all formats of cricket,” he said. “In many ways, I had already retired as a cricketer, but hadn’t been able to make a formal announcement.”I haven’t been an active cricketer for a while. But I had a commitment to Kolkata Knight Riders, and wanted to spend the (2021) IPL season with them. But during the season itself, I had made up my mind to retire.”Harbhajan last turned out for India in March 2016, in a T20I against UAE in Dhaka in that year’s Asia Cup. Harbhajan, now 41, made his international debut back in March 1998, in a Test match against Australia in Bengaluru, picking up two wickets in an eight-wicket defeat. He went on to play 103 Tests, for a haul of 417 wickets – still the fourth-highest for India – at an average of 32.46, with an innings best of 8 for 84 and a match best of 15 for 217, both recorded in India’s two-wicket win over Australia in the Chennai Test of 2001, which gave them a 2-1 win in an iconic series. In the previous Test in Kolkata, made famous due to VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid’s batting all day while following-on – Harbhajan had played a major role too in India’s stunning come-from-behind win, bagging 13 wickets in the match.Harbhajan also turned out in 236 ODIs from 1998 to 2015, taking 269 wickets at 33.35 and an economy rate of 4.31. He played 28 T20Is, taking 25 wickets at an average of 25.32 and an economy rate of 6.20. His overall tally of 707 international wickets is the second-highest for India, behind Anil Kumble’s 953.Harbhajan has had great success in the IPL too, taking 150 wickets in 163 matches, fifth on the all-time list. Harbhajan also took 20 wickets in 22 Champions League T20 matches, leading Mumbai Indians to victory in the competition in 2011. Harbhajan’s longest association with a franchise was with Mumbai Indians, who bought him in the 2008 auction and retained him ahead of the mega auctions in 2011 and 2014. Released ahead of the 2018 mega auction, Harbhajan had two years with Chennai Super Kings before finishing up with Knight Riders.”It has been a beautiful journey over 25 years, right from the of Jalandhar to becoming the Turbanator of India,” he said in the statement. “Nothing has been more motivating for me than stepping out on the field while wearing the India jersey.”Like every [Indian] cricketer, even I wished to bid goodbye in an India jersey, but fate had something else in store for me. Irrespective of the side I represented, I have always given my 100% commitment to ensure my team finishes on top – whether it was India, Punjab, Mumbai Indians, CSK [Chennai Super Kings], KKR or the county teams of Surrey and Essex.””My first real happiness was the hat-trick I took in Kolkata”•Hamish Blair/ALLSPORT

Harbhajan had plenty of success across formats, including being part of two World Cup winning teams with India – in 2011 and in 2007 for the inaugural T20 World Cup. His greatest achievement, arguably, remains the performance in the series against Australia in 2001, where he bagged 32 wickets in three Tests, where no other Indian bowler took more than three wickets. Harbhajan’s feat included taking a hat-trick in Kolkata.”If you ask me about my cricket career, my first real happiness was the hat-trick I took in Kolkata, becoming the first Indian bowler to do so in a Test match. I also got 32 wickets in the three Tests in that series, which is still a record,” he said. “Following this, the T20 World Cup win 2007 and the [ODI] World Cup win in 2011 were most important for me. Those were moments that I can neither forget nor express in words as to how big that happiness was for me.”As for the future, Harbhajan said that he has “no idea” what he would do, but indicated that it would be connected to the game.”Cricket was, is and will always be an important part of my life. I have served Indian cricket for years, and will continue to strive to serve them in the future,” he said. “I have no idea about the future, but whatever I am today is because of cricket. I will be immensely happy if I can be of help to Indian cricket in any role in the future.”Now I begin a new chapter in my life, which starts with its own challenges. Believe me, your Turbanator is ready for the examination! Just keep showering your love on me.”

The former India allrounders are part of Jo’burg Giants and Bloem City Blazers respectively

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Aug-2017S Sriram and Robin Singh are set to coach Jo’burg Giants and Bloem City Blazers respectively in the inaugural edition of South Africa’s T20 Global League in November.Sriram, who played eight ODIs for India between 2000 and 2004, is currently the spin consultant with the Australian team on their tour of Bangladesh. It is a role he performed during their tours of India and Sri Lanka last season, as well as the World T20 in 2016. Giants, incidentally, is owned by GMR, the parent group that owns Delhi Daredevils, where Sriram has worked as an assistant coach.Robin Singh, who played 136 ODIs and one Test for India, has coached T20 sides across the globe in the past. He was the head coach of Deccan Chargers in 2008 before assuming duties with Mumbai Indians, with whom he has been associated since, first as head coach and later as batting coach. He has also worked with Barbados Tridents in the CPL, Khulna Titans in the BPL and Uva Next in Sri Lanka’s T20 competition.On Monday, Graeme Smith, the former South Africa captain, was unveiled as head coach of Benoni Zalmi. Jacques Kallis (Cape Town Knight Riders), Mark Boucher (Nelson Mandela Bay Stars), Paddy Upton (Durban Qalandars) and Stephen Fleming (Stellenbosch Monarchs) are the other high-profile appointments.

Runaway campaign comes to a crashing halt as Vince, McDermott set stage

David Hopps07-Jul-2022Hampshire 186 for 6 (McDermott 61, Brathwaite 4-30) beat Birmingham Bears 82 (Fuller 4-17) by 104 runsBirmingham were the bullies of the North Group. They reached 200 in half of their 14 matches, overpowering most of their opponents at will. But the 15,000 or so who came to Edgbaston at such short notice for this Vitality Blast quarter-final with their anticipation whetted found the bullies receiving their come-uppance in no uncertain manner as Hampshire routed them with a 104-run win.Hampshire’s 186 for 6 was decent, founded upon an opening stand of 91 in 9.1 overs from James Vince and Ben McDermott – Vince, 31 from 22, the slightly sulky stylist, McDermott, 61 from 36, after a careful start as pugnacious as he has been all summer. But they bowled with great intelligence, too, finding more purchase from the pitch than Birmingham did and making their big-hitting batting line-up seem ponderous and one-dimensional as they dismissed them in only 13.3 overs.For the second successive season, Hampshire have repaired a potentially disastrous start in South Group to reach Finals Day yet again. Group form, and home advantage, both in Yorkshire’s defeat of Surrey 24 hours earlier, and here at Edgbaston, has so far been immaterial.This season’s sequence of big scores at Edgbaston suggested Hampshire’s score was around par, and a sun-drenched crowd sat back for the expected onslaught. But perhaps a clue to the contrary lay two pitches away – the surface on which Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root put India to the sword in the Test. The groundstaff have had limited preparation time and Hampshire found just enough seam and swing to place pressure on Birmingham that they were unable to withstand.Birmingham, who had shown their propensity for wholesale collapse when they were dismissed for 101 at Edgbaston by Yorkshire earlier in the season, had another bad night. They lost three wickets in the Powerplay. Paul Stirling was deceived by an excellent back-of-the-hand slower ball by Nathan Ellis, the Australian seamer who left Punjab Kings in the IPL for Hampshire but who has had an uneventful campaign. Alex Davies was bowled by Brad Wheal’s first ball, still on the move as he attempted a ramp shot and lost his middle stump. Sam Hain, who would have been run out on 5 had Tom Prest hit direct from extra cover, tried to charge Wheal and picked out deep midwicket; such advances down the wicket have been a key element in Hain lifting his strike rate this season, but Wheal appeared to read his intentions.James Fuller’s stock has never been higher. With bat and ball, he has been an influential figure in Hampshire’s recovery. He prevented any middle-overs recovery with a spell of 4 for 17. Adam Hose, who can pepper deep midwicket at will if he has chance to free his arms, was expertly yorked. Chris Benjamin, of similar mould, was presented with a full, wide delivery and hauled it inexpertly to mid-on. Carlos Brathwaite took a view at 64 for 6 and two balls later he was walking back to the pavilion, too, as he holed out at mid-on. The fourth was Dan Mousley: an offside slice. The rest was just a matter of time.Hampshire’s innings had started without a care in the world, only to come to a sudden halt. There are people on the internet who are obsessed with how much deceleration a human body can stand. it’s not the fall that gets you, just the sudden change in G-force at the end, although some scientists have it that you are better facing backwards.Hampshire tested the theory. They decelerated suddenly – from 93 without loss in 9.1 overs when the innings threatening to head off into outer space, co-pilots McDermott and Vince at the helm, as if Babylon Zoo by Spaceman was blaring them forward, to 94 for 2 off 9.3. They hit a force of nature name of Carlos Brathwaite. Hampshire eventually recovered. For the songsters among you, that is more than can be said for Babylon Zoo.Brathwaite has been given the captaincy of the Bears at the age of 33 and he did not want to miss a Finals Day on his home ground. Hampshire had broken Birmingham’s left-arm spinner, Danny Briggs, who spilled 33 from his first two overs, and he needed to act. He resorted, almost without variation, to the wide yorker and his figures of 4 for 30 suggested he resorted to it well.Vince’s eyes were popping out of his head when he was dismissed, caught at the wicket, but not because of deceleration, only because he felt the noise was his bat scraping against the ground. He left with a mournful expression engaged. McDermott followed three balls later, dragging on as he tried to run the ball to third man.Prest soon departed lbw, reverse-sweeping a flatter delivery from Mousley, but Joe Weatherley and Ross Whiteley restored the innings with a fourth-wicket stand of 69 in 39 balls. While Brathwaite honed his wide yorkers, Hampshire made progress at the other end with Briggs and Lintott conceding 76 between them from six overs. Birmingham held some daunting skiers in the closing stages as they tried to keep a foothold in the game.From the final ball of the innings, Brathwaite hurled himself to his right at the bowler’s end to prevent an overthrow off his bowling. He had reason to feel that he had done everything to keep the Bears in the match, but it turned out that he had done nothing of the sort. It is Hampshire who will return to Edgbaston in nine days’ time to face the winners of Saturday’s match-up between Somerset and Derbyshire.

Shakib Al Hasan’s five-for against Zimbabwe, meanwhile, moved him to eighth in the ODI bowling rankings

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Jul-2021Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan and England’s Liam Livingstone have made the most significant gains in ICC’s latest rankings update for T20I batters. Rizwan, who was the top scorer during the T20I series between the two sides with 176 runs in three innings attained a career-best seventh position while Livingstone’s 147 runs in three innings – including a maiden T20I ton – propelled him up 144 places to 27th, having played only eight matches in his career so far.The latest rankings update, which includes the final two T20Is between Australia and West Indies and the series-opener between Ireland and South Africa, also sees Evin Lewis move from tenth to eighth on the batting charts after scores of 31 and 79. Dawid Malan, Babar Azam and Aaron Finch maintained their rankings as the world’s top three T20I batters.

Full rankings tables

• Click here for the full team rankings across formats

• Click here for the full player rankings

In the T20I bowlers’ rankings, four wickets each for Shadab Khan and Mohammad Hasnain have moved them to 36th and 41st, while Sheldon Cottrell’s three-for in the final match against Australia helped him gain six positions to reach 16th. Wristspinners Tabraiz Shamsi, Rashid Khan and Wanindu Hasaranga remain the top three T20I bowlers.In ODIs, South Africa’s Quinton de Kock moved into 10th among batters after smashing a 91-ball 120 against Ireland in the final ODI in Malahide. Shikhar Dhawan’s 86 in his first ODI as India’s stand-in captain against Sri Lanka lifted him to 16th. Azam, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma continue to hold the top three batting positions in ODIs.Shakib Al Hasan was the most significant gainer among ODI bowlers on the back of his five-wicket haul against Zimbabwe in Harare. He moved up nine places to break into the top 10 once again, and into eighth position. He remains first on the ODI allrounders’ list.

Adelaide Strikers will back their impressive bowling attack to make their mark again

AAP26-Nov-2021Perth Scorchers import Sophie Devine is ready to carry Beth Mooney off the ground if her fellow star opener can put in one more heroic display in Saturday’s WBBL final against the Adelaide Strikers.Devine and Mooney have formed the best opening partnership in the WBBL, with the duo both named in the team of the season.National team mainstay Mooney has plundered a league-leading 528 runs at an average of 52.80 and a strike rate of 132 for the Scorchers this season, while New Zealander Devine has scored 407 runs at an average of 33.92.The duo loom as key figures against a powerful Strikers’ bowling attack that has strangled the Brisbane Heat and Melbourne Renegades in back-to-back elimination final wins.Related

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A top of 36 degrees is forecast for Perth on Saturday, but Devine is confident Mooney will be able to handle both the heat and the Strikers’ attack.”She’s an absolute machine,” Devine said. “It probably doesn’t look like it at times in the past. I think I was watching replays of her in the Heat colours – she was crawling pretty much in between overs.”But she’s an absolute champion. She’s done this time and time again – not just in Australian colours, but for the Scorchers and for the Heat as well. I’ve got no doubt about her preparation. She’s the ultimate professional, she knows what she needs to do.”Fingers crossed she has a big one out there. If I have to carry her off, so be it, I’ll take that.”Strikers captain Tahlia McGrath was straight to the point when asked about the key to beating the Scorchers.”For us it’s about breaking the partnership of Soph and Moons really early. That’s going to be a crucial decider in the game,” she said.While the Scorchers earned direct passage into the final after finishing on top of the table, the fourth-placed Strikers had to win two elimination games in the space of two days to get there.Adelaide thrashed the Heat on Wednesday and destroyed the Renegades on Thursday before making the flight to Perth on Friday. McGrath is adamant her team won’t enter the decider weary.”Everyone was full of energy at the airport this morning,” McGrath said. “There’s a lot of belief, there’s a lot of fight in the group. It’s a dream group to captain when everyone knows their role and performs. We’ve definitely got one more left in us.”The Scorchers are hopeful of attracting a crowd in excess of 42,000 for the match at Optus Stadium.

WA captain ‘shed a few tears’ after winning the Sheffield Shield for the first time in his 21-year career

Alex Malcolm04-Apr-2022The tears said it all. Shaun Marsh has had countless triumphs over a 21-year professional career. He’s made 13 international centuries for Australia, won Ashes series, Border-Gavaskar trophies, been the leading runscorer in an IPL, won multiple BBL and Australia domestic 50-over titles.But raising the Sheffield Shield aloft as Western Australia captain, something his father Geoff Marsh had done, something no WA captain had done in 23 years, could be his greatest achievement as a cricketer.”It’s pretty emotional to be honest,” Marsh said. “I’ve shed a few tears.”It’s definitely up there. Dad always spoke about his Shield wins as being the highlight of his career and this feeling that I’ve got inside my body now it’s definitely up there and I’m just so happy for the playing group.”Related

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It might be the perfect way to finish for Marsh. He began his Shield career as a 17-year-old with Western Australia in 2001, three years before his current team-mate Teague Wyllie was even born. But the 38-year-old, who has a year to run on his state contract with WA and has signed a two-year contract extension with Melbourne Renegades in the BBL, has not decided on his future just yet.”I’m not too sure,” Marsh said. “I’m not going to worry about it for a few days. I’m really going to enjoy this moment and enjoy it with the boys. We’ve really earned this moment. It’s been a few years in the making this and I’ll sit down with [coach Adam Voges] at some stage and we’ll see what next year looks like but at the moment I’m not even going to think about it. I’m going to celebrate with the boys and really cherish this moment.”WA were made to earn the title by an unrelenting Victoria outfit. They narrowly claimed the bonus point lead in the first innings thanks a superb 141 from Cameron Bancroft. Victoria coach Chris Rogers said it was the best he had ever seen Bancroft bat.Shaun Marsh lifts the Sheffield Shield•Getty Images

Then Aaron Hardie and Joel Paris orchestrated a Victoria collapse taking three wickets each after the visitors looked poised to snatch the bonus point lead and give themselves the opportunity to take the title with a drawn game. It gave WA a first-innings lead of 80.But there was one more twist in the tail on day four. Two quick wickets saw WA slump to 5 for 110, with a lead of just 190, and over five sessions left in the match. However, Sam Whiteman and Hardie both made centuries to put the game to bed and ease Marsh’s nerves.”I battled through day four,” Marsh said. “It was probably the best and worst day of my life to be honest. The emotions were going through my body and I couldn’t be more proud of Sammy and Hards in that partnership.”The game was in the balance and the way those two came out and batted it was just incredible and really put us into a commanding position. That partnership [is] up there with the best I’ve seen in 21 years.”Hardie finished with 174 not out, his highest first-class score, while Whiteman made 123 to go with his 85 in the first innings and faced over 500 balls in the match to be named player of the final.It was a special result for Whiteman, who played alongside Marsh, Bancroft and Voges in WA’s only other Shield finals during their 23-year title drought. Both were losing draws against New South Wales in 2013-14 and Victoria in 2014-15.Sam Whiteman and Aaron Hardie both made centuries•Getty Images

“It’s very special,” Whiteman said. “It means a lot to everyone in the group, and it varies from person to person. But you think of Shaun who’s played for 20-odd years. A lot of the group has played for 10 years now and we probably messed up a few chances along the way. You start doubting whether it’s going to come but it feels amazing.”Whiteman’s performance is made all the more extraordinary given he has reinvented himself as an opening batter, after playing as a specialist wicketkeeper in WA’s previous two finals before a finger injury forced him to give away the gloves.”Before the game my wife said to me, who would have thought you know, seven or eight years after your last Shield final that you’d be playing as an opening batter,” Whiteman said. “And yeah, I wouldn’t have guessed it, going from the keeper to opening. It’s special to be part of the team, play my small role, and, yeah, just pumped for WA cricket.”Victoria captain Peter Handscomb was left to ponder several decisions he and his side made throughout the five days including sending WA in after winning the toss and failing to chase the bonus point lead harder in the first innings.”I’m still okay with the toss,” Handscomb said. “I think hindsight is an interesting one. Looking back, we probably could have gone harder at the bonus point and then we get to try and control the game and try and get the draw that way. But at the time, we thought the wicket would deteriorate a little bit more than it did. We thought we’d be able to force a result somehow whether it be a win or a loss.”We didn’t really expect the pitch to kind of play like that. To see no cracks on a WACA wicket day four or five is a little bit interesting.”Handscomb had no qualms with WA batting Victoria out of the game noting his side would have done the same had they been in the same position. As disappointed as he was with the result, he was delighted for Marsh, who he played alongside for several years with Australia.”Bloody happy for Sos,” Handscomb said. “He’s a good mate of mine. It’s good that he’s been able to do that.”