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An eight-wicket margin makes it look like plain-sailing by the sea for Sussex but the hosts had to grit their teeth at times, and take their share of painful blows

David Lloyd at Hove12-Aug-2012
ScorecardAn eight-wicket margin makes it look like plain-sailing by the sea for Sussex. But while a fourth victory in six Championship matches – this one achieved with a day and almost a session to spare – could not have been much more emphatic, the hosts had to grit their teeth at times, and take their share of painful blows, on a re-laid pitch that made batting extremely tough at times.The bottom line is that Sussex, having looked relegation material a couple of months ago, are now up to second in the Division One table, 11 points behind leaders Warwickshire having played one game more than the title favourites.With two matches against Somerset and another in Durham to come, the champions of 2003, ’06 and ’07 are not only handily placed but also full of confidence thanks to this mid to late season purple patch. It is to be hoped, though, that the pitch prepared for Sussex’s last home Championship fixture, staring on September 4, will produce consistent, rather than occasionally erratic, bounce while retaining the pace that makes cricket so exciting.Here, the odd ball reared disconcertingly from the first morning and it would be a surprise if umpires Trevor Jesty and Steve Gale did not make mention of that fact in their end of match report to Lord’s. It must be pointed out, though, that Sussex, with the faster and taller bowlers, made better use of a surface that was undeniably pacey.”They outplayed us so there are no real sour grapes from us,” said Middlesex captain Chris Rogers. “It didn’t help losing the toss because I thought the wicket was quite fresh on day one but they bowled particularly well on it.”There were balls that had your name on them. At times there was just nothing you could do with some of the deliveries and then it becomes a little bit of a lottery. But you still give credit to them – they outplayed us.”Mark Robinson, Sussex’s coach, agreed that the pitch was just right for his side’s impressive pace attack of Jimmy Anyon, Amjad Khan and Steve Magoffin. “It probably wasn’t as good a wicket, consistency-wise, as the last one here [when Worcestershire were beaten by an innings] but they are re-laid so should get better from that point of view. But pace is what you want because it makes for exciting cricket. The wicket has probably got two batsmen out in the entire game.”Sussex were pushing hard for victory from the moment they dismissed Middlesex for 170 on the first day. Even taking into account that batting was never a relaxed occupation, Middlesex were up against it from then on and resumed their second innings this morning still 25 runs in arrears with eight wickets remaining.They lost one of those, nightwatchman Toby Ronald-Jones, before moving ahead. And when four more fell, inside 18 overs, it looked as though the Hove faithful would be celebrating victory before tea, rather than just after it.Much of the damage was done by Khan. The fast bowler, who played his only Test for England more than three years ago and is now in his second season with Sussex after moving from Kent, had taken only 14 wickets in his five previous matches this summer. On Sunday, though, he added three scalps to five first innings victims to finish with match figures of 8 for 64.Anyon, who seems to be bowling quicker and quicker this year, was the biggest handful when charging down the hill. But Khan had batsmen hopping as well, hitting John Simpson on the helmet with a rapid bouncer just before dismissing Middlesex’s keeper.Neil Dexter battled hard for 90 minutes to frustrate the hosts but then Anyon popped up to scythe through the tail with three wickets for eight runs in 12 balls to make the outcome a formality.Dexter was the second of those victims, taken down the leg-side to give keeper Ben Brown his sixth catch of the innings – equalling a Sussex record held by, among others, Rupert Webb, who was guest of honour at Hove while celebrating his 90th birthday.Formality? Well, Sussex lost eight wickets in scoring the 94 runs they required to beat Durham at Arundel three weeks ago so home fans were taking nothing for granted.They saw Chris Nash edge low to slip and watched open-mouthed when Ed Joyce, having taken a couple of blows to the body while facing Roland-Jones, was spectacularly caught and bowled, off a full blooded straight drive, by the diving Ollie Rayner.That was the best Middlesex could manage, though, as Luke Wells and Murray Goodwin combined to seal the deal.So Sussex for the title? “If I’m really honest we don’t see ourselves as title contenders,” said Robinson. “It’s probably Warwickshire’s to give away to a degree but we’ll try to come up on the blind side and then you never know.”

Surrey have offered Graeme Smith, South Africa’s Test captain, a lucrative long-term deal that could potentially require him to give up international cricket

George Dobell and Firdose Moonda27-Sep-2012Surrey have offered Graeme Smith, South Africa’s Test captain, a lucrative long-term deal that could potentially require him to give up international cricket.ESPNcricinfo understands that Smith has been identified by Surrey as the perfect man to lead their rebuilding process after a season that saw the retirement of senior batsman Mark Ramprakash, the death of the talented Tom Maynard and the departure of former captain Rory Hamilton-Brown. Smith would open the batting and lead the side.It is not hard to see the attraction from Surrey’s point of view. Smith, who will be 32 in February, has played more than 100 Tests and, as captain, overseen South Africa’s ascent to No. 1 in the rankings. He averages almost 50 in Test cricket and scored a century in his 100th Test, against England at The Oval earlier this year.After years on the road, a period of relative stability in London might well prove attractive for Smith too. He has recently married – his wife is from Ireland – and had his first child. But, while Smith has achieved almost everything he could have wanted as a Test player and no longer warrants selection in South Africa’s T20I side, the ambition to win a World Cup remains strong.While it is possible that Surrey would consider signing Smith simply as an overseas player and be happy for him to continue his international career, it is understood from a source in South Africa that the club are looking for a long-term option and would be reluctant to accept a situation where a player comes and goes according to the international fixture list. South Africa are scheduled to play in the Champions Trophy in England next June and then tour Sri Lanka in July and August.Surrey declined to comment.

A hamstring injury to Mitchell Marsh capped off a disappointing day for Western Australia, who suffered a 14-run loss to South Australia at the WACA

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Nov-2012
ScorecardMitchell Marsh limped off after suffering a hamstring injury•Getty ImagesA hamstring injury to Mitchell Marsh capped off a disappointing day for Western Australia, who suffered a 14-run loss to South Australia at the WACA. Justin Langer’s first match in charge of the Warriors didn’t end well as their chase of 220, which seemed to be on track until Marsh’s injury came with the score at 5 for 183, ended with the last three wickets falling in the 48th over.The opener Sam Whiteman had given Western Australia a solid start with 74, an innings that ended when he became one of three victims of Daniel Christian. But on 21, Marsh hurt his left hamstring when he dived to make his ground taking a run, and he limped off the ground, unable to resume his innings.The Warriors were left needing the remaining runs from the tail but their hopes were dashed when Nathan Coulter-Nile was run out for 14 and later in the same over Gary Putland picked up the final two wickets. The day hadn’t started well for the Redbacks, who were 2 for 7 in the fourth over having chosen to bat, when Jason Behrendorff removed Phillip Hughes and Callum Ferguson cheaply.Alex Ross, playing his fourth one-day game, helped steady South Australia with 62 from 73 balls and he had support from the captain Johan Botha (46). Mitchell Johnson picked up 3 for 47 and Coulter-Nile collected 3 for 40 as the Redbacks reached 9 for 219.

Anthony Stuart has been sacked as coach of New South Wales after a board meeting in Sydney on Tuesday night

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Dec-2012Anthony Stuart has been sacked as coach of New South Wales after a board meeting in Sydney on Tuesday night.Stuart took over as head coach in May 2011 and his two-year contract was due to expire at the end of this season, but Cricket New South Wales has confirmed in a statement that Stuart has finished his coaching duties with the state “with immediate effect”. Chandika Hathurusingha, the former Sri Lanka Test player who was an assistant coach under Stuart, will take over as acting head coach for the rest of the 2012-13 season.Stuart has not had a particularly successful tenure since he took over from Matthew Mott last year; the Blues won only one Sheffield Shield game last summer. This season they were sitting in fourth position with two wins at the time of his departure, and in the Ryobi Cup they had managed only one victory from four games.”At a meeting of the NSW cricket board last evening it was determined that Anthony Stuart’s contract to coach the NSW SpeedBlitz Blues will not be renewed and he has finished duties as head coach with immediate effect,” Cricket New South Wales said in a statement.The chief executive David Gilbert said: “Cricket NSW records its thanks to Anthony for his efforts and commitment over the past 18 months. We wish Anthony well in his future endeavours.”Stuart, the former fast bowler who took a hat-trick in one of his three ODI appearances for Australia, had been coach of Wellington in New Zealand before he joined New South Wales.

India have reclaimed the No. 1 ranking in one-day internationals for the first time in three years, by finishing 0.20 rating points ahead of England

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Jan-2013India have reclaimed the No. 1 ranking in one-day internationals for the first time in three years. by finishing 0.20 rating points ahead of England after their 3-2 victory in the ODI series.India had become the top ranked side after winning the third ODI on January 19 and held onto the spot, aided by South Africa’s loss in their home series against New Zealand.But they ended the series by being beaten, losing by seven wickets in Dharamsala, India’s highest international venue. MS Dhoni had lost the toss on a chilly morning and England’s fast bowlers struck three times in the first ten overs and reduced the hosts to 79 for 5 in the 22nd over.”It was a bad toss to lose. Initially, in places like Dharamsala or Guwahati, where you have an early start, the ball does a bit,” Dhoni said. “But this is good exposure for the younger batsman about how to play when the ball is seaming and swinging. The wicket eased out during the second half and it became easier for batting.”The fourth wicket of that top-order collapse was Gautham Gambhir, who cut James Tredwell to Ian Bell at point and was caught on 24. The dismissal continued a lean run for Gambhir, who had failed to pass 20 in the three ODIs against Pakistan. He began this series with a half-century in Rajkot but made only 8, 33 and 10 in three matches before Dharamsala.”Yeah, he [Gambhir] has been going through a lean patch but he is an experienced player. I believe he has batted a bit better in the last few games,” Dhoni said. “Unlike some of the earlier matches, he didn’t look tentative and was a lot more decisive about stroke-making. “I believe he is improving and don’t forget he is an amazing player of spin bowling. Ideally, we want him to bat till the 35th-40th over.”Another concern for India is the form of offspinner R Ashwin, who took 0 for 50 in Dharamsala and finished the series with seven wickets at 35.71 apiece. He was outbowled by left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja and England offspinner Tredwell. Dhoni said Ashwin’s poor returns could be because of his excessive use of variations.”Maybe he was using variations a bit too much but he has now realised his mistake,” Dhoni said. “In the last couple of matches, he has been more consistent about length. He has not used too many variations and was trying to bowl to one line. The new ODI rules, with five fielders inside the circle, has also made it slightly difficult.”India don’t play one-day cricket for quite some time now, with Australia touring for four Tests in February and March, followed by the IPL in April and May.

South Africa will be without their ODI captain, AB de Villiers, for the rest of the series against New Zealand after he was suspended for two matches for a slow over rate

Firdose Moonda20-Jan-2013South Africa will be without their ODI captain, AB de Villiers, for the rest of the series against New Zealand. De Villiers was suspended for two matches after a slow over rate in the first one-dayer in Paarl while the entire South Africa team were fined 100% of their match fees. Faf du Plessis will lead the side in de Villiers’ absence and Dolphins batsman David Miller has been called up as a replacement batsman.The match referee, David Boon, judged that South Africa were six overs short of their target. According to the ICC’s Code of Conduct, a captain receives two suspension points for a serious over-rate offence (more than two overs short). Players are fined 10% of match fees for the first two overs that go over time and for every additional over the side fails to bowl, the players are fined a further 20%. Two suspension points is the equivalent of a Test match or two ODIs.De Villiers pleaded guilty to the transgression. “We accept that the over rate was slow and we know that anything above two overs is regarded as a serious offence,” Mohammed Moosajee, South Africa’s team manager, told ESPNCricinfo.Moosajee cited various reasons for the extra time South Africa needed but did not name the power failure at the ground as one of them. An electrical outage caused the scoreboard, amongst other things, to go down during New Zealand’s innings but de Villiers said the umpires did a “good job” of keeping everyone informed on the state of the game.”It was very hot, in the upper thirties throughout the day with no wind in the afternoon,” Moosajee said. “AB is also a new captain and getting used to the pace of the game. But we take full responsibility for the slow over rate.”Ironically, team management hoped to use this series to allow de Villiers to become more accustomed to captaincy and so took the wicketkeeping gloves away from him. De Villiers has been in the job for 18 months since July 2011 and has captained South Africa in two five-match ODI series (against Sri Lanka and England), a Twenty20 series against England and the World T20 in Sri Lanka. Still, he felt he needed to develop a better understanding of leadership, which will now have to wait for the limited-overs series against Pakistan in February-March.De Villiers stood in the covers for most of the first match and felt it gave him a better grip on the game. “I missed the keeping a bit because I really got used to it in the Test matches but it was enjoyable to be out in the field,” he said. “I had time to communicate with the bowlers and get the fields right.” In the aftermath, it would seem he used up too much time in doing that.Defending a small target of 208, de Villiers needed to position his fielders carefully and South Africa able to take the match down to the wire. Immediately afterwards, he said he was pleased with the way the bowlers fought back after a sub-standard performance with the bat.”We were under pressure and we probably should not even have come close,” he said. “The bowlers did everything they could. They got nine wickets today, where we should have lost by seven or eight wickets. We didn’t get enough runs. Not batting the 50 overs in ODI cricket is obviously a sin. We put the bowlers under a lot of pressure and they responded really well. We are still finding our way and finding that team spirit that we want and we’re not far away from winning close games like this.”South Africa’s ODI building phase will now take a backseat as they prioritise victory in two must-win matches if they hope to win the series. Already, they are without the rested Jacques Kallis and JP Duminy, who is recovering from injury. With de Villiers also out, the batting line-up lacks experience.Hashim Amla, the designated vice-captain, asked not to be considered for the captaincy in order to focus on his batting, CSA selection convener, Andrew Hudson, said. Du Plessis lead South Africa to a 2-1 win in the T20 series over New Zealand last month, when de Villiers was resting.”Losing AB for the remainder of the series is obviously a big blow to us, particularly as he is still growing in the captaincy and needs every opportunity ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy in the middle of the year,” Hudson said. “At the same time it is an opportunity for David Miller who has been on the fringes of our 50-overs thinking. He is a superb finisher who had a strike rate of 98 in the domestic competition and also did very well for Yorkshire in last year’s England domestic T20 competition.”When de Villiers makes his return, he will be monitored closely. If he is guilty of slow over rates in the next 12 months, he would receive between two and eight suspension points, which would see him missing out on a significant number of ODIs – and with the Champions Trophy looming, South Africa will not want to risk that.

Shane Watson was relieved to have grabbed the opportunity to ‘spend some time in the middle’ and score a century in Canberra

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Feb-2013Australia opener Shane Watson was relieved to have grabbed the opportunity to “spend some time in the middle” and score a century in Canberra, after his layoff due to the injury he sustained in the Boxing Day Test. Watson’s knock of 122 took Australia to a series victory against West Indies, and he said it gave him confidence ahead of the India tour.”I was starting to worry a little bit that I might not have enough form going into the Indian series,” he said after the game. “But it’s nice to be able to spend some time in the middle today and bat for a longer period of time to feel like I’m back again a bit. It’s nice to be able to feel like you’ve got it still.”Watson’s decision to cut out his bowling has threatened to make his selection in the Test XI for the India series tougher, but a smooth batting wicket helped his cause in his comeback game.”In one-day cricket and Twenty20 cricket, you’ve got plenty of freedom, on nearly very good batting wickets as well. It certainly makes it a bit easier when the wicket’s nice and true.”The century, with regards to his attitude, Watson said, wasn’t different to any he had scored in Tests, where he has largely struggled to convert his 80s and 90s into hundreds. He has scored between 78 and 97 eight times in his Test career.”The more I [create chances of a century] I suppose in any form of the game, the more chances I’ve got of converting those scores into the bigger ones. That’s something that I’ve seen Michael [Clarke] do unbelievable well over the last year. Today was one of those steps along the line, just to be able to clear my mind like I did for a majority of my innings.”

Dave Richardson, the ICC chief executive, has said BCCI is still a “long way” from accepting the Decision Review System (DRS)

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Mar-2013Dave Richardson, the ICC chief executive, has said the BCCI is still a “long way” from accepting the Decision Review System (DRS). In Auckland for the third Test between New Zealand and England, Richardson said persuading India’s administrators will take time and that a former player, such as Anil Kumble, could play a role if he could be convinced about the system’s benefit.”They are a long way from saying ‘it’s a good idea,'” Richardson told . “I don’t think it’s necessarily only the administrators, say people like Anil Kumble for example. He’s going to take some persuading.”India, along with Sri Lanka, were the first users of the DRS in 2008, when Kumble was India’s captain. Since technology was not as enhanced as it is now, Richardson said it could take longer to convince the BCCI, the only board not to have accepted DRS. “He [Kumble] was captain of the India team when they first trialled it and the technology wasn’t very good. The players weren’t used to it so every time the Indians asked for a review it went against them.”I think it was Sehwag or one of their star batsmen who was given out by mistake by ball-tracking. It’s going to take a lot of influencing. So Kumble is a very influential guy in Indian cricket at the moment, he is on their technical committee, their working group. He’s also now the chairman of our [ICC] cricket committee. Once these people start to see the benefits of DRS, that influence will probably filter back to the Tendulkars and the Dhonis. And once they are convinced, then the administrators will follow.”Richardson also spoke about the ICC’s preparation for the World Test Championship, the first such event, which is expected to be played in the summer of 2017.”Once the Champions Trophy is finished, we’ll then make an effort to really promote the road to the World Test Championship finals,” Richardson said. “Every series that gets played [between 2013 and 2017] will essentially be counting to the qualification for the Test championship.”It’s a four-year period. We’ll start playing all the Test series in 2013 and around about January 2016 or 2017 will be the cut-off time. The top four at that time will go through to the semi-finals to be played in England in June or July in 2017.”The tournament was initially scheduled for 2013, but was delayed due to the ICC’s commitments to its broadcaster and sponsors.

Sunrisers Hyderabad made a winning debut in the IPL as they defended a low score at their home ground on a slow, difficult pitch

The Report by Abhishek Purohit05-Apr-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsDale Steyn took three in four balls to close out the match•BCCISunrisers Hyderabad made a winning debut in the IPL as they defended a low score at their home ground on a slow, difficult pitch. Thisara Perera, Sunrisers’ $675,000 acquisition, did not begin too badly for his new franchise, top-scoring with a quick 30, taking the first two Pune Warriors wickets and causing a run-out. Amit Mishra wasn’t too far behind, his legbreaks leaving Warriors confounded on a helpful surface. Dale Steyn left the Warriors top order dazed with his outswingers and returned to blow away the lower order with three wickets in four balls.Not many would have given Sunrisers a chance when they almost sleepwalked their way to 126 after being put in, barring a brief effort to break free from Perera. Deccan Chargers, the franchise Sunrisers replaced, had an atrocious record at this ground, and Sunrisers appeared set to extend that in front of a lukewarm turnout. But they came out a different unit with the ball.Steyn, charged up as almost always, beat the Warriors openers repeatedly with quick outswingers. Ishant Sharma was accurate and testing, as he can be in helpful conditions. The wickets came Perera’s way, though.After running him fine for a boundary, Robin Uthappa tried repeating the stroke and went caught behind. Marlon Samuels gave the lone slip catching practice in Perera’s next over, Kumar Sangakkara deserving credit for sticking with the fielder and the bowler.Warriors’ batting line-up stretched way down to No. 8 Mitchell Marsh, but it was to come unstuck as Mishra brought out his control and variations. Yuvraj Singh, on IPL comeback, walked down, and was easily beaten and stumped. Manish Pandey’s struggle to put bat to ball ended with a mishit slog off Mishra, as the asking-rate started mounting.Almost everything clicked for Sangakkara on the field. He needed young Ashish Reddy to bowl a decent 17th over, and the bowler responded by uprooting Ross Taylor’s leg stump with a full, slower delivery.With 33 needed off three overs, Perera was to make another important contribution. Angelo Mathews, who came in at No. 7, smashed a full toss straight back at Perera, who stuck out his right hand, and the dangerous Marsh was caught short of his crease at the non-striker’s end.Warriors’ lower order panicked against Steyn, trying to attack the fast bowler while their captain looked on helplessly from the other end, ruing the fact that his team left as many as seven deliveries unused.Sunrisers used up their quota when they batted, but weren’t able to find any momentum. The top four got only starts, and it was down to Perera to breathe some life into a suffocating innings. He began with consecutive fours off Rahul Sharma and slogged Marlon Samuels’ darts for two more boundaries before mishitting an Ashok Dinda full toss in the 18th over. Perera’s fall meant Sunrisers weren’t able to finish well with the bat, but they were far more determined with the ball.

Chennai Super Kings continued with their formula of tough pitch: go at roughly a run a ball for the first 10 overs keeping wickets in hand, and then explode to take 10 an over off the last 10

The Report by Sidharth Monga30-Apr-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
A six down the ground, off the back foot•BCCIChennai Super Kings continued with their formula of going at roughly a run a ball for the first 10 overs, keeping wickets in hand, and then exploding to take 10 an over off the last 10. On a pitch on which the ball seamed and bounced variably, they reached 55 for 2 after 10 overs, but Suresh Raina, S Badrinath and MS Dhoni looted 109 in the rest of the innings to set up an easy 37-run, sixth consecutive win, which kept them at the top of the table and Pune Warriors at the bottom.With the ball seaming around, Super Kings lost their openers for 28 runs, that too thanks to generous umpiring. However, out came their crisis man Badrinath, and did his job without any fuss. He and Raina added 75 off 59, without taking risks, and picking the rate up progressively. Raina kept providing the odd boundary, and Badrinath found the gaps for ones and twos.It was in the 13th over that the real charge began. Badrinath drove consecutive deliveries from Rahul Sharma down the ground and through point for fours to take his strike past 100. Raina’s was already a healthier strike rate, but he accelerated by sending Kane Richardson over midwicket for a six in the next over.Badrinath fell in the 16th over, but he and Super Kings will know he fell at just the right time, after just the right innings of 34 off 31. Dhoni came out and took four and six off the first two balls he faced. The six was a demoralising – for the fielding side – punch off the back foot, over extra cover.Dhoni then took apart Ashok Dinda, a bowler he is often criticised for not giving enough chances. He took 25 off eight Dinda’s deliveries, two of them swept boundaries, and one a six off the last ball of the innings. Seamlessly Raina went from being the dominant partner in the earlier partnership to taking back seat and watching Dhoni subdue the bowlers. Along the way he brought up his second half-century of the season.The target was bigger than ever chased in Pune, which became more daunting because of the seam movement available. Mohit Sharma, the Haryana fast bowler who has been the find of the season for Super Kings, utilised it to end the chase for all intents and purposes with an unbroken four-over spell. With successive deliveries in his first over, he got rid of Aaron Finch and T Suman. He missed the hat-trick, but got Yuvraj Singh to edge behind, making it 43 for 4 in the fifth over. There was no way back from there.