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Top-order batters both score 92 after Tash Farrant’s four-wicket haul sets Stars up

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Jun-2021Alice Davidson-Richards’ highest ever List A score helped South East Stars trounce Western Storm by six wickets at the Kia Oval.The Kent-born opener plundered 92 with a six and nine fours as the hosts made light work of chasing down a victory target of 246.Davidson-Richards shared a second-wicket stand of 154 with fellow England hopeful Sophia Dunkley, who also fell for 92 shortly before victory was secured with 41 balls to spare.Related

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Earlier, England skipper Heather Knight top scored for Storm with 73, skipper Sophie Luff making 55 in their 245 for 8, Tash Farrant claiming 4 for 58.Fi Morris’ promotion to opener backfired when Farrant nipped one between bat and pad to pluck out her off-stump.Knight survived a scare when inside edging another Farrant delivery over the stumps, but that aside looked in imperious form. A gorgeous on-drive off Freya Davies and two delicate late cuts stood out as she moved to 50 from 63 balls with nine fours.Luff provided excellent support in a stand of 91, playing two glorious inside-out off drives for four through extra cover.At 124 for 1 Storm looked in command, but Davies returned to trap Knight lbw. Luff completed her half-century in 80 balls before being castled by Dani Gregory, and despite a belligerent 27, including two sixes from Anya Shrubsole, Storm’s total looked a little light.Smith began the run-chase with a flurry of boundaries only to tickle a wide one from Lauren Filer straight to leg-slip.Davidson-Richards was given a life on 17 when wicketkeeper Natasha Wraith failed to cling on to a catch down the leg side off Shrubsole. It proved a costly miss as the right-hander, helped by six fours, raced to 50 in 62 balls.Dunkley kept pace from the other end, her backfoot drive through extra cover arguably the shot of the day as the 100 partnership was raised in 122 balls.Dunkley’s own 50 came in 63 balls before Davidson-Richards thumped a Knight delivery for six over cow corner and then brought up the 150 partnership with a sumptuous cover boundary.Sadly, there would be no century as she edged behind off Nicole Harvey with 60 needed. Harvey also claimed Alice Capsey cheaply and Georgia Hennessey bowled Dunkley with the scores level, before Stars coasted home.

Says the plan was to give him time to settle in before going after the bowling

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Apr-20211:44

Vettori: No. 5 pretty low for a player of de Villiers’ ability

The Royal Challengers Bangalore batted Glenn Maxwell at No. 4 in their chase against the Mumbai Indians specifically to give him a chance to settle in before going for his shots. Captain Virat Kohli said as much after his side chased down 160 to register victory in the IPL 2021 opening game. While things got closer than the Royal Challengers would have bargained for, and it came down to a classic AB de Villiers knock in the end, Kohli said the signs were very much there that giving Maxwell more time would be beneficial to the side.”We wanted Maxi to bat at four,” Kohli said at the post-match presentation. “The set-up was such that if we get a partnership [at the top], then Maxi comes into the game and he can do what he does [at the death]. But if we lose early wickets as well, it allows him to get into the innings and not start slogging from ball one. As a batsman, if that [hitting from ball one] doesn’t come off, it can start playing on your mind.”Today you saw the result of him playing 10-15 balls, he’s a different player then. He just took the game away from the opposition in those middle overs to be honest. His innings, I felt, in our partnership was that momentum changer and that made the job easier in the end. If he had stayed in, we probably would have finished a couple of overs earlier.”Maxwell made 39 off 28, with three fours and two sixes, and was involved in a stand of 52 with Kohli to set up the chase. This was his first game for the Royal Challengers, following a dreadful IPL for Kings XI Punjab in 2020, when he made 108 runs in 11 innings at a strike rate of 101.88, with not a single six to his name.When Maxwell fell, undone by a slower, short one from Marco Jansen, the Royal Challengers needed 57 off 35, and that became 54 off 30 before de Villiers went after Rahul Chahar, taking 14 off five balls against him to relieve the pressure. The Royal Challengers continued to fumble at the other end though, and another quiet over followed, leaving them needing 34 from 18 before de Villiers delivered again, this time against Trent Boult (14 more runs off five balls he faced in the over). There was still the matter of a Jasprit Bumrah over to negotiate, and de Villiers duly took two fours off it, before being run out in the final over and it all going down to the last ball for the Royal Challengers. To some, that might have been a familiar sight – de Villiers carrying the Royal Challengers in the end overs with not much support.Related

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Given how central he repeatedly is to their fortunes, did they err in shifting him down to No. 5 and not letting him bat for longer? “It’s a difficult one,” Kohli said. “AB is probably the only player in our team who is so versatile, and he can do what he did on slow pitches, today. A lot of other people will find it difficult to execute.”If there’s a partnership [at the top], you might see a totally different batting order. But in a tricky chase, you know you need experience in the back also. And a player that the opposition knows, ‘if he doesn’t get out, anything can be chased down’… Then the bowler gets into a different kind of headspace. So that’s something we want to bank on. But if Dev [Devdutt Padikkal, the Royal Challengers’ first-choice opener who missed out on Friday having just recovered from Covid-19] and me get off to a start and we bat through till nine-ten overs, we could see a totally different approach straightaway from ball one.”Kohli also expressed confidence in debutant Rajat Patidar, who batted at No. 3, making a run-a-ball 8. “Rajat is a very solid player, probably didn’t see enough of him in this game but he’s a really exciting prospect for us. He plays spin really well, good against fast bowling too. He’s going to be one to watch out for.”

Preview of the first Test of the series between England and South Africa at The Oval

The Preview by Alan Gardner18-Jul-2012

Match facts

Thursday, July 19
Start time 1100 (1000 GMT)
Andrew Strauss and Graeme Smith will lead their sides in contesting the Basil D’Oliveira Trophy•Getty Images

Big Picture

This series could be all about cart-wheeling stumps, bonce-bothering bouncers and catches in the cordon, as the world’s two best bowling attacks go head to head in conditions favourable to pace and swing. It could also be overshadowed by the weather and the Olympics, with its attendant bureaucratic bungling, amid grumbles about the inadequacies of a three-Test encounter. For now, we can savour the prospect of a potentially thrilling clash between the two best sides in Test cricket – even if the rankings would perversely deny the fact.Despite the ICC’s annual recalculation dropping South Africa to third, victory in the series would lift them above England to No. 1 – a position they last occupied, briefly, in 2009. Graeme Smith was the last touring captain to secure victory in England, going back to the historic series success of 2008, and South Africa are also unbeaten away from home since losing a two-Test rubber to Sri Lanka in 2006. With four batsmen – AB de Villiers, Jacques Kallis, Hashim Amla and Smith – in the top ten, they have a top-order on which to build a successful campaign; in Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander, the bowlers to torment England in a manner they are more used to dishing out.South Africa’s last two tours have resulted in the end of an England captain’s tenure but, fortified by back-to-back Test hundreds against West Indies, Andrew Strauss will fancy his chances of ending the hoodoo. Under Strauss and Andy Flower, England have become ruthless bullies in their own conditions, winning seven home series in a row. The quicks are programmed to bowl an relentless line and length – something which South Africa’s attack are still adjusting to here – and in Graeme Swann, England may hold the trump spin card. His fitness after a twinge in his troublesome right elbow, as well as The Oval’s receptiveness to spin, could be a determining factor in the first Test.Posturing aside, there will be a touch of sadness when the teams take the field, at the absence of Mark Boucher, who was set to reach 150 caps and more than 1,000 dismissals in international cricket during the series. Both teams have plenty of motivation but neither is confident enough to mutter “you guys are history” just yet.

Form guide

England DWWWL (most recent first)
South Africa DWDWL

Watch out for

England’s No. 6 is just about the only area of long-standing uncertainty in the side and, after Jonny Bairstow’s difficult introduction to Test cricket against West Indies, Ravi Bopara has been given another chance to establish himself in the middle order. He enjoyed a successful ODI series against Australia and seems more comfortable about meriting his place, though he is often a slow starter and South Africa’s bowlers won’t give him any help in getting going.AB de Villiers is one of South Africa’s most accomplished batsmen but he will have to perform both in front of and behind the stumps, in the wake of Boucher’s enforced retirement. De Villiers said he is looking forward to a rest whilst wearing the wicketkeeper’s gloves, rather than running around at point, but there will be greater demands on his concentration, not to mention his back. His record as ODI keeper suggests he may be up to the challenge.

Pitch and conditions

This will be the first Test pitch produced by The Oval’s new head groundsman, Lee Fortis. Spinners have often prospered here, though more often at the back end of the season, and given the damp summer thus far the surface could be lower and more seam friendly than before. The forecast is grey and rain-spattered, which will probably have both sets of bowlers sniffing around the toss.

Team news

After a month away from international cricket, Kevin Pietersen returns to the England fold, while Bopara finally gets his opportunity at No. 6 – barring a stubbed toe or ricked neck between now and 11am tomorrow. With Graham Onions nursing a tight hamstring, England’s only decision is likely to be between Tim Bresnan and Steven Finn for the third fast bowler’s spot.England (possible) 1 Andrew Strauss (capt), 2 Alastair Cook, 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Ian Bell, 6 Ravi Bopara, 7 Matt Prior (wk), 8 Tim Bresnan, 9 Graeme Swann, 10 Stuart Broad, 11 James AndersonThe shock departure of Boucher from the touring party aside, South Africa are a settled team. De Villiers is expected to take the gloves, with JP Duminy, who scored a century on his last outing, coming in to add depth to the batting as well as a back-up spin option. Alviro Petersen has recovered from a foot problem, so Jacques Rudolph remains at No. 6.South Africa (possible) 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Alviro Petersen, 3 Hashim Amla, 4 Jacques Kallis, 5 AB de Villiers (wk), 6 Jacques Rudolph, 7 JP Duminy, 8 Vernon Philander, 9 Dale Steyn, 10 Morne Morkel, 11 Imran Tahir

Stats and trivia

• South Africa have not won in 13 visits to The Oval, losing their last three
• This is the earliest an Oval Test has been held since 1983, when New Zealand began a four-match series in south London on July 14
• Andrew Strauss needs 70 runs to reach 7,000 in Tests and one century to equal the England record of 22, jointly held by Wally Hammond, Colin Cowdrey and Geoffrey Boycott
• Graeme Smith is set to play his 100th Test but it will only be his 99th for South Africa, as he captained the ICC World XI against Australia in 2005
  

  Quotes

  “The rankings say we are number one but we’ve got to go out there and prove it.”
  “There’s a real feeling of contentment and clarity. We’re at the point where we want to be and just want this series to start now.”

Greg Chappell has criticised Virender Sehwag’s work ethic, calling him one of the great frustrations of his time as India coach

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Sep-2012Greg Chappell has criticised Virender Sehwag’s work ethic, calling him one of the great frustrations of his time as India coach. Sehwag’s lackadaisical attitude threatens to squander his great god-given gift, Chappell wrote in the . Chappell coached India from 2005 to 2007, a controversial stint just after which Sehwag was dropped from the national side.Sehwag made a stirring comeback from that low, but is currently in an extended lean patch. His last Test century came in November 2010, but outside the subcontinent that date extends back to January 2008. His fitness and fielding have been a worry for the team management, and he has played only 13 ODIs since the World Cup, with only two innings of note – the double-century and a 96 against Sri Lanka.Sehwag was “rested” for India’s second league game in World Twenty20, one of India’s more complete T20 performances. That has brought Sehwag’s form into focus once again. “To say that Viru was one of the great frustrations of my time with the team is an understatement,” Chappell wrote. “Sadly, he continues to disappoint and is in danger of squandering his God-given talent. The person who is least likely to be fazed by all of this is Virender himself.”What I soon learned about him was that Viru did not want to dedicate himself to taking his talent to its zenith. He was happy to turn up and play and accept what came his way. No amount of cajoling from me could shift him from his insouciant way.”Only lack of runs, according to Chappell, could make Sehwag work hard, but that wouldn’t last. “This often happens to those with the greatest gift,” Chappell wrote. “Because he had never had to work hard at developing such a skill, Viru did not know how to dedicate himself to disciplined training. It was only during periods of relative poor form that he was prepared to spend time getting things back on track. As soon as he made some runs he slipped back into old habits and appeared content to practise in the same old profligate way; until his form evaporated again.”Chappell also spoke of a lack of responsibility and fitness. “The other area of frustration for me was that he did not keep himself in good shape and would often be troubled by a back ailment that restricted him in the field and made him even less likely to want to put time into expanding his ability. Apart from his batting skills, he is a very talented offspin bowler and he should have been the best slip fielder in the team, but he eschewed the responsibility at every opportunity.”Chappell said not much has changed on that front. “Seven years on, nothing much has changed,” he wrote. “He has worked on his fitness and appears to be in better condition, but on the evidence of his training in Australia early this year, he still practises the way he has always done and the results, unsurprisingly, are similar.Chappell also had a dig at Sehwag’s reported captaincy aspirations. “Strangely, for someone who only wants to play the game on his terms, he harbours a desire to captain his country,” he wrote. “I have no doubt that he could do it for he understands the game well, but what he fails to grasp is that with the honour comes responsibility. In fact, the responsibility to show personal leadership has to come before one can earn the higher honour. He wants the prize, but has been unwilling to pay the price.”More damningly, Chappell suggested that his selfish attitude towards batting cost India matches. “The surprising thing was that when Viru got runs in 50-over cricket, India often lost,” Chappell wrote. “For one thing, he seemed more concerned with his strike rate than the bigger picture. He would play shots from the first ball and not stop until he got out, which was often just when the team needed him to go on to a big score.”Usually, if he got a start, he would get away to such a flier it would get everyone at the ground excited, including his team-mates who would then think that they should score 300 plus. Once Virender got out, the good start was often squandered by the loss of multiple wickets as others tried to maintain the frenetic run-rate and generally the game would slip away.”However, like the rest of the world, Chappell admired Sehwag’s talent, and also said that the opposition will only be relieved if he plays no part in the upcoming matches. “Despite my frustrations with him during my tenure as Indian coach, I could not help but love him,” Chappell wrote. “He is, after all, a loveable rogue. And he can bat better than most. In fact, he is the most gifted ball striker that I have seen…”It is unlikely that Sehwag will ever change. It is probably too late now. But if Dhoni and the selectors have decided that enough is enough and that they have a better chance of winning the World Twenty20 without him, I reckon the Australian bowlers will breathe a little easier on Friday.”

Allrounder was subbed out of Australia A game due to concussion scare

Alex Malcolm14-Dec-2020Australia coach Justin Langer is hopeful that Cameron Green could be available to make his Test debut in Thursday’s first Test against India in Adelaide.Green suffered a mild concussion and was subbed out of the Australia A game against India when he was struck on the side of the head by a fierce straight drive from Jasprit Bumrah.Green flew to Adelaide on Monday with the Test squad members who were involved in the Australia A game that concluded on Sunday in Sydney. The selectors also called up Moises Henriques to join the Test squad on Monday as cover for Green.Related

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Langer met with Green after he arrived and said on Monday night that he was optimistic about his availability.”Fingers crossed,” Langer told . “The guys from Australia A arrived a couple of hours ago. He turned up with a big smile on his face. [There’s a] massive opportunity potentially ahead for him to make his Test debut. He looks in really good spirits. He’s got training tomorrow and Wednesday. Fingers crossed he’ll be right to go – he’s a real talent.”Langer would not be drawn on who would open the batting, given the form issues of Joe Burns and the absence of David Warner and Will Pucovski.”Wait and see on Thursday,” Langer said. “We’ve got a very got team no matter which way we go.”Dave Warner no doubt was a huge loss for us a few weeks ago, but I’m really confident that we’ve got enough batting to make a big difference in this series.”The majority of the Australian squad that didn’t play at the SCG held a rare centre-wicket practice on the Adelaide Oval under lights.”It was almost a luxury,” Langer said. “To be under lights, centre-wicket – it was a real treat for us. There’s some life in the wicket though, so it should be a great Test match.”

Bumrah was seen clutching his abdomen repeatedly on the third day of the Sydney Test

Shashank Kishore12-Jan-2021India’s tryst with injuries continues as they look to put together a fit XI for the series decider at The Gabba. A day after Ravindra Jadeja was ruled out of the tour on Monday, and it emerged that Hanuma Vihari (right hamstring injury) and R Ashwin (back tweak) batted through pain to save the Sydney Test, there is an injury cloud over Jasprit Bumrah ahead of the fourth and final Test starting January 15.Bumrah was seen clutching his abdomen repeatedly during Australia’s second innings on the third day’s play in Sydney. He even left the field once for medical attention. However, he bowled 25 overs in all, in a total of 87 overs that India sent down before Australia declared.Bumrah has had the most workload among fast bowlers among both sides, bowling 117.4 overs across the six innings so far in the Tests. Bumrah, who was rested for the T20I leg of the tour to play India’s warm-up fixture in Sydney, has so far featured in each of the three ODIs and the three Tests.Related

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While the physio may have to work overtime to get him ready, India’s already inexperienced attack will further be depleted if he is ruled out. If that happens, Mohammed Siraj – all of two Tests old – will be the spearhead, alongside Navdeep Saini and one of the uncapped T Natarajan or Shardul Thakur. India have one other reserve fast bowler in the squad – rookie Kartik Tyagi – who has been used as a net bowler. Tyagi, however, featured in the first warm-up fixture.Meanwhile, if Ashwin too is deemed unfit, India may have to turn to Kuldeep Yadav, the left-arm wrist-spinner, or allrounder Washington Sundar, who stayed back to assist the side after being part of India’s T20I series win in December. Kuldeep, who was one of India’s finds of their tour in 2018-19, was left out of the five of the six white-ball matches and went wicketless in his only first-class game on tour in Sydney.

Afternoon showers on day three put an outright result in serious doubt as only one session could be played out

The Report by Sidharth Monga02-Jul-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Misbah-ul-Haq declared after making a quick half-century and taking Pakistan past 550•AFP

Afternoon showers on day three put an outright result in serious doubt as only one session could be played out. In that session, Pakistan added 63 to their overnight 488 before declaring. In the next 70 minutes, Sri Lanka were put through a sterner test than the Pakistan openers, but they lost just one wicket.Pakistan’s quicks generated more response from the pitch than their Sri Lankan counterparts, but that didn’t translate into too much success as Tillakaratne Dilshan rode his luck. An overnight declaration on 488 was a consideration because of the weather: 45 overs had already been lost on day two, and forecast for the rest of the Test wasn’t the brightest either. However, Pakistan went for the scoreboard pressure, and declared only after they reached 550.Pakistan didn’t meander aimlessly, though: Misbah-ul-Haq went at a strike-rate of 82.50, much higher than his ODI career statistic, and Abdur Rehman hit two straight sixes in his 18 off 13. It took Pakistan little under an hour, and 12.4 overs, to score the 63 runs that took them past 550. In the process Misbah reached his 17th half-century, scoring 37 off 40 balls on the third morning. The fields were spread far out so he had to rely more on well-placed ones and twos as opposed to boundaries. Asad Shafiq and Adnan Akmal perished for the cause, but Rehman provided the required thrust with sixes off both spinners. Rangana Herath bowled one over fewer than a whole ODI innings.Ten minutes later, with runs on board already, Pakistan made a spirited start with the ball. Aizaz Cheema and Junaid Khan bowled faster and hit the seam more often than the Sri Lankan bowlers. As a result, they bowled more threatening deliveries in one spell than Sri Lanka did in the whole innings. Cheema began with a short-of-a-length delivery that reared towards Tharanga Paranavitana’s chest. Paranavitana never settled in, and was caught bat-pad to a Junaid delivery that seamed in. This was Paranavitana’s seventh duck in his 28th Test, a high rate for a Test opener.Tillakaratne Dilshan, at the other end, tried every trick in the book to get out, but the pitch and luck smiled on him benevolently. The seam movement in Junaid’s first over seemed to have rattled him, and he hoicked at the last ball of that over; the leading edge fell straight of mid-on. Until lunch, Dilshan kept slashing and flashing, twice edging short of the cordon, once bisecting keeper and first slip. In Saeed Ajmal’s first over, minutes before lunch, he survived a desperately close lbw shout when he was hit just above the knee roll bang in front and inside the crease. However, nothing stopped the aggressive Dilshan: he followed that lbw shout with two lofted fours, a response not too different to the rest of his innings. By lunch he had raced along to 46 off 54.Kumar Sangakkara was much more reassuring for Sri Lanka, clipping the first ball he faced for four, and continuing to do so. The only moment of concern at Sangakkara’s end arrived when he got a thick inside edge onto his pad, but it was too meaty for Azhar Ali at short leg to react in time.No play was possible after lunch.

Mohammad Asif is this week expected to become the second of three Pakistan cricketers jailed for spot fixing to be released

ESPNcricinfo staff01-May-2012Mohammad Asif is this week expected to become the second of the three Pakistan cricketers jailed for spot-fixing to be released. Asif will have completed half of his one-year sentence and becomes eligible for release from Canterbury Prison under British law.The disgraced Pakistan trio – Asif, his fellow fast bowler Mohammad Amir and captain Salman Butt – participated in a betting scam involving the deliberate bowling of no-balls for financial gain during a Lord’s Test match between England and Pakistan in 2010.Asif and Butt were found guilty at Southwark Crown Court in November 2011 of conspiracy to cheat and conspiracy to accept corrupt payments. All three lost an appeal that their sentences were “manifestly excessive” to the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, who upheld the sentences later in November and said that widespread corruption could “destroy the game”.Amir, the youngest at 18, pleaded guilty before the trial and was released from a young offenders’ institution midway through his six-month sentence earlier this year. Butt will not become eligible for release until next February, when he has served half of his 30-month sentence. Mazhar Majeed, the agent who was accused of setting up the deal, received a 32-month jail term.Asif is 29 and his Pakistan career could be over unless he overturns a seven-year ban (the last two of which are suspended) imposed by an ICC tribunal in February last year. Butt was banned for 10 years (five of them suspended) and Amir for five years.Mohammad Haroon, who described himself as “a friend and cricketer” told the AFP news agency that Asif still intended to go through with his appeal against the ICC ban to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. “Asif has already appealed against the 12-month sentence and he will also appeal against the ICC ban,” Haroon said.Amir has no plans to appeal and has taken part in an anti-corruption video produced by the ICC.

Mohammad Amir has been released from Portland Young Offenders Institution in Dorset after serving half of his six-month sentence

David Hopps01-Feb-2012Mohammad Amir, the Pakistan fast bowler, has been released from Portland Young Offenders Institution in Dorset after serving half of a six-month sentence for his part in a spot-fixing scam.Amir is expected to spend the next few weeks in London before returning to his native Pakistan. He will meet his lawyers to draw up an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against the five-year ban imposed on him by the International Cricket Council.He has a visa to stay in England until the end of March and there is no suggestion that he risks the threat of deportation.An ICC tribunal banned Amir for five years in February last year, his team-mate Mohammad Asif was given a seven-year ban, with two years suspended, and the captain, Salman Butt, was banned for ten years, five suspended. Shortly after the decision Amir announced his intent to appeal the decision to the CAS, an arbitration body set up to settle disputes relating to sport.Amir and his two team-mates were sentenced in November 2011 at Southwark Crown Court of conspiracy to accept corrupt payments and conspiracy to cheat at gambling after a plot was uncovered in a sting operation to bowl deliberate no-balls in a Test against England in 2010. Amir and Butt lost an appeal against the sentence in November in the Court of Appeal in London.The judge, Mr Justice Cooke, ruled at Southwark Crown Court that the affair was “so serious that only imprisonment will suffice”. Butt was sentenced to two and a half years, Asif was jailed for one year, and Amir for six months. Mazhar Majeed, the players’ agent, received a sentence of two years eight months. Under the terms of UK law, all were eligible for release after serving half their sentences.Majeed had boasted to undercover reporters that he could arrange for Pakistan cricketers to rig elements of games for money. He was surreptitiously filmed accepting £150,000 in cash from a journalist.Mr Justice Cooke said: “‘It’s not cricket’ was an adage. It is the insidious effect of your actions on professional cricket and the followers of it which make the offences so serious.”Amir apologised through his lawyer for his involvement in spot-fixing, stating: “I want to apologise to all in Pakistan and all others to whom cricket is important. I did the wrong thing. I was trapped, because of my stupidity. I panicked.”The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, said in the Court of Appeal that the corruption had been “carefully prepared” and the cricketers had betrayed their team, their country, their sport and the “followers of the game throughout the world”. Lord Judge accepted that Amir’s guilty plea should be counted in his favour.Amir seemed to contravene his playing ban last summer by appearing for Addington 1743 Cricket Club in the Surrey League. He insisted that he had been told it was only a friendly and that he had made an innocent mistake. It was later reported that the ICC had decided to let Amir off with a warning.

The quick’s five-for won the day for the hosts despite Brendan Taylor’s fighting century

Danyal Rasool30-Oct-2020
Pakistan withstood a stunning fightback led by Brendan Taylor to hang on for a thrilling win in the first ODI against Zimbabwe in Rawalpindi on Friday. Shaheen Afridi was the architect of the victory, carving chunks out of the Zimbabwean batting line-up when the others appeared to have run out of ideas, and finishing with yet another five-wicket haul, while Wahab Riaz chipped in with four wickets to stop the visiting sides 26 short.The result might appear somewhat routine, but it was anything but guaranteed when Taylor was at the crease, on his way to stroking a glorious century that, alongside a fighting half-century from Wesley Madhevere, took Zimbabwe to the brink of a famous win. But, as the final five overs loomed and the asking rate began to creep up, Madhevere chopped Riaz on to end a 119-run fifth-wicket partnership. Taylor was undone by a slower Afridi delivery soon after, and things unravelled quickly thereafter.Zimbabwe were bowled out for 255, and in a game of fine margins, Pakistan’s wagging tail earlier on made all the difference.Set 282 to win, Zimbabwe looked to have a structured sense of pacing the chase, going hard in the powerplay at debutant Haris Rauf, undeterred by the loss of Brain Chari in the first over. While Afridi, who was tremendous throughout the innings whenever called upon, gave them little to attack, some loose deliveries from the other end were all they needed, and Chamu Chibhabha, followed by Craig Ervine and Taylor, made the most of the fielding restrictions, speeding to 56 in the powerplay. It was well over what Pakistan had managed, and set Zimbabwe the base from which they moulded their chase.Brendan Taylor drives on the up•PCB

While Taylor looked comfortable for much of the innings, Ervine found himself flustered by Pakistan’s tightness in the middle overs, and a rash reverse sweep spelt the end of him. Sean Williams never looked up to the mark on the day, meaning 20-year-old Madhevere was tasked with being the support act for Taylor. He did that with immense class, showcasing an attractive batting technique and, when things got hairier, a certain steel that bodes well for the career that lies ahead of him. The punches off the back foot against pace were especially eye-catching, and out of nowhere, it seemed, he had brought up a half-century.By this time, Taylor had found the zone he occasionally enters, which marks him out as one of the most inventive shotmakers of this generation. The uppercut off the short ball was nigh-on perfect each time, while a scoop over short third-man off a 149kph Afridi yorker is destined to be one of the shots of the series, and when he brought up his 11th ODI hundred, Zimbabwe looked like they were ahead of the chase.That’s when Riaz returned to show why he still remains a firm part of Pakistan’s plans, his sheer pace accounting for Madhevere before the Afridi show took over. Once Sikandar Raza was felled by Riaz, Afridi took charge against the tail, removing Carl Mumba to complete a five-for he richly deserved. By this time, the game was done, and Pakistan would walk away with a win, and a bit of a scare.Earlier, Pakistan won the toss and batted, but the rustiness of not having played an ODI for 13 months was evident. They stuttered their way to 281 for 8, getting there in the end thanks to some untidiness on the part of the visitors at the death after an exceptionally disciplined bowling performance for the best part.Imam-ul-Haq and Haris Sohail finish up at the same end•AFP via Getty Images

Half-centuries from Imam-ul-Haq and Haris Sohail kept Pakistan chugging along without ever really moving through the gears. Zimbabwe picked up wickets quietly from time to time, and, all of a sudden, Pakistan found themselves six down for 205, and facing a battle to post a total their bowlers would feel comfortable defending.They had opted for the more circumspect Abid Ali in place of Fakhar Zaman at the top, and as such, while they made a solid start, there was no evidence of the powerplay aggression that has become the norm for successful ODI sides. It helped Zimbabwe that Richard Ngarava and Blessing Muzarabani – back after two years away from the national side – were very disciplined, giving little by way of extras or loose deliveries to either batsman. And when Ali tried to play across the line to Mumba, he was trapped in front.What would – or should – disappoint Pakistan is their overall approach. For all the talk of this series being the beginning of the next four-year ODI cycle, there are few signs that with it has come a change in their philosophical approach to the format, and the lack of intent in the first ten overs was followed by similar wariness through the middle overs. Only Babar Azam tried to up the ante, but crucially for Zimbabwe, he wasn’t at the crease for long, a poke at an outswinger from Muzarabani bringing about his downfall.Thereon, Zimbabwe were on top as Pakistan went into a shell that they really should have stayed away from for much of the innings. Imam and Sohail began a rebuild that ended in a mix of farce and comedy when they found themselves at the same end, both diving to get ahead of the other and survive at the keeper’s end while Raza whipped off the bails at the other. Imam was the unlucky one, allowing Sohail to anchor the innings as Iftikhar Ahmed and Mohammad Rizwan came and went.Despite all that, Pakistan ended with a decent total, with the late sloppiness from the Zimbabwe death bowlers proving decisive. At 203 for 6, getting bowled out was a keen possibility, but Imad Wasim and Faheem Ashraf ensured a sharp uptick in runs that seemed to ward off any Zimbabwean ideas of aggression, sending them into run-preservation mode instead. That allowed Pakistan to get to their final tally, setting up a win that might provide them more relief than delight.