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Two more centuries joined the count of six from the last match, but rain prevented any play on the second day resulting in a draw between West Indies A and Sri Lanka A in the second unofficial Test in St Vincent

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Jun-2013Scorecard
File photo: Narsingh Deonarine added 123 runs for the fourth wicket with Kraigg Brathwaite•DigicelCricket.com/Brooks LaTouche PhotographyTwo more centuries joined the count of six from the last match, but rain prevented any play on the second day, resulting in a draw between West Indies A and Sri Lanka A in the second unofficial Test in St Vincent.Seamers Miguel Cummins and Jonathan Carter struck early for West Indies A, reducing the visitors to 33 for 2 after they won the toss and batted. But wicketkeeper Kaushal Silva and Angelo Perera took advantage of their good starts and converted them into a century and half-century respectively. Silva’s 23rd first-class century, comprising 14 fours, propelled their 112-run partnership that guided Sri Lanka to safety.Sri Lanka were 275 for 7 when Cummins and Carter returned to sweep up the tail. They shared seven wickets between them as Sri Lanka finished at 314.Rain washed out the entire second day, and the probability of another draw loomed as large as the angry clouds above the Arnos Vale Ground.Still under grey skies on the third day, West Indies sunk to 11 for 2 as Suranga Lakmal claimed Kirk Edwards and Assad Fudadin for one run each. Opener Kraigg Brathwaite and Narsingh Deonarine came together at the fall of the third wicket and notched up a 123-run partnership, the highest of the match. Brathwaite fell for 77 on the fourth morning, also plagued by overcast skies, but Deonarine, with 13 fours, would not be denied his ninth first-class century.Malinda Pushpakumara’s left-arm spinners accounted for both Brathwaite and Deonarine and added three more to his tally to claim his 20th five-wicket haul which also ensured a lead of 30 for his side.Sheldon Cotterrell removed Sri Lanka’s in-form captain Dimuth Karunaratne in the third over. But a steady Udara Jayasundera, Kithuruwan Vithanage and Perera then climbed into the West Indian bowlers, especially Cotterrell who leaked over 8 runs an over. Vithanage smashed two sixes and four fours in 34 balls, falling eight short of a fifty while Perera beat his strike-rate with 34 off 25 balls with five fours.Carter claimed both batsmen and on the stroke of Jayasundera’s fifty, the match and the series ended in a tame draw.

Auckland will decide the Test series after the final day at the Basin Reserve was abandoned without a ball bowled

Andrew McGlashan18-Mar-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsIt was nice weather for ducks at the Basin Reserve on Monday•AFPAuckland will decide the Test series after the final day at the Basin Reserve was abandoned without a ball bowled. The final decision, which had looked likely from early morning as steady rain fell, came shortly after 2pm.The tail-end of Cyclone Sandra had arrived on cue during the fourth day and the weather was worse on the final morning, with low cloud and rain meaning that players from both teams returned to their hotels when it was clear there would be no action before lunch. Although the skies brightened around midday, the outfield had taken a lot of water and there was never really a big effort to clear the area.The umpires, Asad Rauf and Rod Tucker, had a couple of inspections during the afternoon and some of the players prodded around on the outfield without anyone looked particularly keen to get out there. Further rain then made the decision easy.In a flip of the situation in Dunedin, this time England will be frustrated and New Zealand relieved. Alastair Cook had enforced the follow-on on the third evening but his bowlers only managed two wickets in the second innings on a docile surface. Even without the assistance of the weather, the home side could have saved the match – their top-order put in a stubborn display in their second innings, led by Kane Williamson’s unbeaten half-century.England’s bowlers were not at their best second time around, having worked hard to remove New Zealand for 254, and the fast men were feeling the effects of back-to-back innings in the field. Monty Panesar, while steady, did not provide the wicket-taking threat that will have been hoped for although did create some difficulties out of the rough.Both teams will now travel north with an eager eye in the pitch, a drop-in, that will be prepared at Eden Park. Bowlers from both sides have been forced to labour during lengthy stints in the field and it is not inconceivable that some fresh legs will be needed for the final match.

Australia have named a 15-player squad for the women’s Ashes tour of England, including all 14 players contracted for the 2013-14 season as well as the batsman Sarah Elliott as a Test specialist

ESPNcricinfo staff21-May-2013Australia have named a 15-player squad for the women’s Ashes tour of England, including all 14 players contracted for the 2013-14 season as well as the batsman Sarah Elliott as a Test specialist. Elliott will fly home after the one-off Test and is the only player from outside the contract list to be part of the official touring party, although the 17-year-old Jemma Barsby will join the group in a development role.Australia will be aiming to defend their Ashes title under a new system in which the trophy will be decided based on a combination of Test, one-day international and Twenty20 matches. Six points will be awarded for the team that wins the Test, to be held in Buckinghamshire from August 11 to 14, and two points will be awarded for victories in each of the three ODIs and three Twenty20s that follow throughout the rest of August.”Given the players are in the Australian off-season, the Women’s National Selection Panel felt that it was important to have a number of players resume training in readiness for the upcoming women’s Ashes series,” Julie Savage, the selection chair, said.”As many would be aware, players such as Ellyse Perry and Jess Jonassen are recovering from surgery for injuries incurred last season. It is anticipated that they will be available for the women’s Ashes series, however, the WNSP in selecting an expanded squad that includes standby players, has ensured that there are sufficient players prepared to take on the significant challenge of England on their home turf.”This is a very important series. Australia currently hold the number one ranking in all formats and England will be extremely motivated to change the status quo. The Test match at Wormsley, a venue where Australia has had very little success in the past, will be a massive challenge for the Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars.”Ashes squad Jodie Fields (capt), Alex Blackwell (vice-capt), Jess Cameron, Sarah Coyte, Sarah Elliott (Test only), Holly Ferling, Rachael Haynes, Alyssa Healy, Julie Hunter, Jess Jonassen, Meg Lanning, Erin Osborne, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Elyse Villani.

Thirush Kamini overcame a nervy start to become the first Indian to score a century in the Women’s World Cup. Her 100 set up India’s match-winning total against WI

Abhishek Purohit in Mumbai31-Jan-2013Thirush Kamini, who became the first Indian to make a hundred in a Women’s World Cup, said she had “too many things running” in her mind when she walked out to open in her first international match in nearly three years. Despite a slow start, she went on to add 175 for the first wicket with Poonam Raut, setting up a match-winning total of 284 for 6 against West Indies.Kamini’s previous match for India was in February 2010, but she calmed whatever nerves there may have been at the start to allow Raut to take charge, before opening up to overtake her opening partner. Mithali Raj, the India captain, had spoken about India’s strong opening combination going into this World Cup, unlike previous editions.Kamini said she had worked on her strokes during her time away from the national team. She had made an unbeaten 95 during the domestic Challenger Trophy in December 2012. “I was coming back from an injury. I had focused a lot on knocking,” Kamini said. “Today, I decided to take it ball by ball. I made a slow start but I knew I could make up later, which I was able to.”It was a perfect start to the tournament for the hosts as they piled on an imposing total after being asked to bat by West Indies, before defending it comfortably. Raj said she was “surprised” at being put in, and would have batted on the flat pitch had she won the toss.Raj believed chasing such a big total was a difficult task but West Indies captain Merissa Aguillera felt it was her batsmen, and not the bowlers who let the side down. Aguillera said with batsmen such as Stefanie Taylor, Deandra Dottin and Shanel Daley, West Indies should have batted much better than being dismissed for 179. Batting seemed to get slightly difficult in the evening as India’s seam bowlers got the ball to move around through the chase, but Aguillera refused to give much weight to that, saying her side should have been able to adapt to the conditions.Dottin gave India a brief scare as she cracked four powerful sixes on her way to 39 off just 16 deliveries. Her cameo lasted a little more than four overs but it was a “dangerous period”, according to Raj. “I am glad she didn’t continue further,” a relieved Raj said.The promoted Jhulan Goswami and Harmanpreet Kaur had earlier played cameos of their own as India kicked on to take 109 off the final 13 overs after the big opening stand. Raj said the team had worked on having a slog and decided to send the two batsmen before her so that they could go after the bowling.With India’s bowlers constantly keeping West Indies under pressure, Raj did not feel the fielding had been tested much and warned that tougher contests lay ahead against sides such as England.

Kings XI Punjab added two India uncapped players – Manan Vohra and Sandeep Sharma – to their squad for the sixth IPL season

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Mar-2013Kings XI Punjab added two India uncapped players – Manan Vohra and Sandeep Sharma – to their squad for the sixth IPL season. Vohra and Sandeep are the two new players after Aniket Choudhary was signed by Kings XI in February.Both from Punjab, Vohra is a right-handed batsman and Sandeep a right-arm medium pacer. Sandeep was a part of India’s Under-19 squad in the 2012 World Cup which India won. He took four wickets in the final and was the joint highest-wicket taker from India with 12 wickets from six matches at an average of 15.75.Both Sandeep and Vohra were part of the India squad in the Quadrangular Under-19 series in Australia and in the Under-19 Asia Cup in Kuala Lumpur in 2012. Vohra was involved in a record-chase with Unmukt Chand when India chased 164 against Australia in only 12 overs and Vohra was unbeaten on 79 off 35. Sandeep was India’s highest wicket-taker in the series with eight wickets from four matches at an average of 19.25.While Vohra has played two first-class matches, Sandeep has 12 first-class matches to his name and played for Punjab in the Vijay Hazare Trophy in which his side reached the quarter-finals.Commenting on the signings, Col. Arvinder Singh, COO, Kings XI Punjab, said, “I am very delighted to have a good performers like Aniket, Manan and Sandeep to be part of the Kings XI team and believe they will effectively contribute to the tournament. We wish them all the best and hope that they can utilise this opportunity as a platform to make a mark a niche for themselves as well.”Kings XI play their first IPL match against Pune Warriors on April 7.

BCCI president N Srinivasan has said that Indian players could participate in the newly launched Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL), if the hosts make such a proposal

ESPNcricinfo staff12-May-2012BCCI president N Srinivasan has said that Indian players could participate in the newly launched Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL), if the hosts make such a proposal. The tournament will be held between August 10 and 31 this year at Colombo and Pallekele. Each of the seven provincial teams will be allowed a maximum of six overseas players in their squads and four in their playing XI.”Last time around, there were specific reasons why the BCCI could not support the tournament,” Srinivasan said. “And we informed the Sri Lankan board at that time.”This time, if there are any proposals made, we will examine it. And we have to be satisfied that the doubts and problems we had last time will not continue.”Last year’s event was scheduled to kick off on July 19, with the final to be played on August 6. The tournament hit its first hurdle when the BCCI decided to withhold its permission to allow Indian players to take part on the grounds that Somerset Entertainment Ventures, which owned the commercial rights, would be handling the contracts for international players and that it could lead to complications, should disputes arise over payments.In order to assuage the BCCI, SLC was willing to back the Indian players’ contracts so that their financial interests were protected, but that was not enough to satisfy the BCCI. The tournament had to be postponed.Srinivasan chose not to comment on why the deal collapsed last year. The success of the Indian Premier League has led to the mushrooming of similar Twenty20 leagues in Bangladesh and Australia. However, Indian players have been absent from both.

Opening batsmen Dimuth Karunaratne followed up his first innings half-century with an unbeaten 99 in the second innings to put Sri Lanka A in a strong position in Durban

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Jul-2012Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsOpening batsmen Dimuth Karunaratne followed up his first innings half-century with an unbeaten 99 in the second innings to put Sri Lanka A in a strong position in Durban. He was involved in a crucial 110-run opening partnership with Dilruwan Perera, who scored 51, to build on Sri Lanka A’s first innings lead of 46 runs.The day had started with the South Africa A side on 211 for 8. But Sri Lanka A’s hopes of achieving a big lead were dented by an 82-run ninth wicket partnership between Wayne Parnell and Simon Harmer. By the time the stand was broken, Parnell had scored 70 – the top score in the innings.However, when Sri Lanka came into bat for the second time, South Africa A bowlers struggled to make inroads. After a century opening stand, Karunaratne continued solidly and took Sri Lanka A past 200 putting Sri Lanka A in a position to square the two-match series.

Mahela Jayawardene wasn’t perturbed that Sri Lanka will most likely have to win tomorrow against Pakistan

Siddarth Ravindran in Mirpur14-Mar-2012Sri Lanka’s previous engagement before landing in Dhaka was the Commonwealth Bank tri-series, the longest ODI tournament outside the World Cup and the Champions Trophy. With eight matches per team in the league phase, Sri Lanka had to wait almost a month to find out if they would make the final. In the Asia Cup, they could be eliminated three days after their first game – a loss to Pakistan tomorrow, and an India victory on Friday would end both Bangladesh’s and Sri Lanka’s chances.Mahela Jayawardene wasn’t perturbed that Sri Lanka will most likely have to win tomorrow against Pakistan. “It is (a do-or-die match), but we are used to that. In Australia we had quite a few of those. It’s still in our control so we don’t have to depend on anybody else,” he said. “I quite like that situation. We know how important the match is going to be tomorrow, so looking forward to that.”Pakistan took on Sri Lanka last November and comfortably won the one-day series, as the spin of Shahid Afridi and Saeed Ajmal proved too good. “Ajmal has improved tremendously in the last year and it shows in his record. In Dubai when we played against him, we had good and bad times,” Jayawardene said. “Hopefully we’ll have to handle him better tomorrow because it’s a one-off game for us. Umar Gul is also one of the top fast bowlers and Afridi can be a handful.”Sri Lanka’s own bowling would get a lot more teeth if their pace spearhead is deemed fit enough to play tomorrow. Lasith Malinga was rested from the first game as he was recovering from an injury which he carried in the finals of the CB series. He didn’t seem to be in too much discomfort as he bowled and batted during Sri Lanka’s practice session in the afternoon, and they will be tempted to pick him, considering their final league match is against relative lightweights Bangladesh.One of Malinga’s biggest weapons is reverse swing, which he uses devastatingly to slow down teams at the death. Brett Lee has complained about how the use of two new balls was reducing the amount of reverse swing available, and as a result reducing the effectiveness of fast bowlers.Jayawardene, though, said that was not the case in the subcontinent. “Probably in conditions in Australia and England to a certain extent, but even yesterday we saw after about 30 overs, our guys managed to start getting reverse back,” he said. “Surfaces are much more dry here and the balls do get older. You still can reverse the ball. I thought that [Suranga] Lakmal, Kula [Nuwan Kulasekara] and even [Farveez] Maharoof, to a certain extent, did reverse the ball.”In other countries like England, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, you don’t need reverse swing. With the two new balls and the wicket helping you (fast bowlers), it’s quite a handful (for the batsmen).”Edited by Abhishek Purohit

Surrey all-rounder Yasir Arafat returned to his old stomping ground in Kent to help dismiss his former county for 266 on the opening day of the 160th Canterbury Festival Week clash

10-Aug-2011
Scorecard
Surrey all-rounder Yasir Arafat returned to his old stomping ground in Kent to help dismiss his former county for 266 on the opening day of the 160th Canterbury Festival Week clash.The Pakistan all-rounder bagged three wickets for 62 runs in his 22 overs to assist Surrey’s County Championship promotion push, while limiting Kent to just two batting bonus points from their first innings that concluded within 82 overs.Batting first in seemingly ideal batting conditions, Kent posted 80 through opening partners Joe Denly (49) and Robert Key (35). The pair looked untroubled for the best part of 20 overs until home captain Key, on the drive, edged to Mark Ramprakash at fourth slip to make it 80 for one.Denly, having proffered a half-chance to third slip when on 14, reached 49 from 73 balls until his dismissal on the cusp of lunch. Pushing well forward to a Tim Linley off-cutter, he was sent packing leg before and Kent went in to lunch on 104 for 2.Sam Northeast’s disappointing season continued when he shuffled forward to Zander de Bruyn to also go leg before for 20 and Martin van Jaarsveld had reached 13 when he was out in similar fashion to Jade Dernbach when playing across the line.Geraint Jones’ ambitions got the better of him against Arafat, who plucked out off stump to send the former England wicketkeeper back to the pavilion with only nine against his name.Darren Stevens, having posted a crisp and watchful 31 from 67 balls, hit his third boundary over extra cover off the left-arm bowling of Zafar Ansari, but perished from the very next delivery. Aiming an apologetic cut at a ball too close to his body, Stevens edged to wicketkeeper Davies and sloped off leaving his side in deep trouble at 184 for 6.Kent limped to their first batting bonus point with six wickets down but, one run later James Tredwell went leg before wicket to Arafat and soon after Adam Ball wafted outside off stump to be caught behind again off Arafat. Tail-enders Matt Coles and Wahab Riaz hit out lustily to add 16 and 34 respectively before Gareth Batty’s off-spin outfoxed Coles and Riaz played across the line to go to Linley.With 12 overs of the day remaining, Surrey put the excellent batting conditions into perspective with a trouble-free unbroken stand between openers Rory Hamilton-Brown and Davies that took the visitors comfortably to stumps on 50 without loss.

Andrew Flintoff, the former England captain and allrounder, has revealed that he went through a phase of depression during the 2006-07 Ashes in Australia

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Jan-2012Andrew Flintoff, the former England captain and allrounder, has revealed he went through a phase of depression during the 2006-07 Ashes in Australia, where, as captain, he was at the receiving end of a 5-0 whitewash. Flintoff admitted he wasn’t aware then of what exactly he was suffering from, but the illness drove him to drink and lose his love for the game.A year earlier, Flintoff was the toast of the nation for helping England regain the Ashes after 18 years.Flintoff is now among several high-profile cricketers, particularly from England, who’ve been plagued by the illness during their playing careers. Flintoff, who quit the game in 2009, will explore the problems suffered in private by sportsmen in a BBC 1 documentary: .”I was having a quiet drink with my dad Colin on Christmas Eve 2006 and as we made our way home I started crying my eyes out,” Flintoff told the . “I told him I’d tried my best but that I couldn’t do it any more, I couldn’t keep playing. We talked and, of course, I dusted myself down and carried on. But I was never the same player again.”I was captain of England and financially successful. Yet instead of walking out confidently to face Australia in one of the world’s biggest sporting events, I didn’t want to get out of bed, never mind face people.”Flintoff took over the captaincy from the injured Michael Vaughan after the 2005 Ashes win and enjoyed mixed results. He helped England square the Test series in India in 2006 and the expectations grew when England landed in Australia at the end of the year. It was also the same series in which his team-mate Marcus Trescothick suffered a breakdown at the start of the tour due to depression and separation anxiety and never played for England again after that.

I didn’t understand what was happening to me. I knew when I got back to my room I couldn’t shut off, which is why I started having a drink. It got to the stage where I was probably drinking more than I should

After leading England to a come-from-behind win in the one-day tri-series in Australia, Flintoff handed the captaincy back to Vaughan before the World Cup. Flintoff was stripped of the vice-captaincy after a drunken night out following England’s defeat against New Zealand in a World Cup match in St Lucia, which culminated in falling off a pedalo.”The whole time I was on the field and throughout that World Cup all I could think about was that I wanted to retire,” Flintoff said. “I didn’t understand what was happening to me. I knew when I got back to my room I couldn’t shut off, which is why I started having a drink. It got to the stage where I was probably drinking more than I should.”All I wanted was for the doctor to tell me what was wrong but no one suggested it was depression.”He said his condition was so serious that even victory meant nothing. “There’s a certain sense of shame when I remember sitting in the dressing room after winning a one-day international in the West Indies,” he said. “The lads were celebrating and I didn’t want to be a part of it, I didn’t want to do anything but sit on my own in the corner.’Cases of depression in modern sport aren’t uncommon and Flintoff admitted that he wasn’t as aware of the problem as he should have been. “Because sporting stars earn high salaries and have a privileged life compared to the majority of people, there’s a perception that they can’t possibly suffer from mental health issues. They don’t want to seem ungrateful or whingeing and may be hiding their suffering rather than getting help for it.”Besides Trescothick, other England players who’ve admitted suffering from depression include Flintoff’s close friend Steve Harmison, Michael Yardy and Matthew Hoggard. New Zealand players Iain O’Brien and Lou Vincent have also suffered similar problems.