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On a day when India made questionable selections, one of the management’s moves in this series, the promotion of R Ashwin to No. 6, rescued them from 126 for 5

The Report by Sidharth Monga09-Aug-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
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Manjrekar: Saha, Ashwin save Kohli the blushes

On a day when India made questionable selections, one of the management’s moves in this series, the promotion of R Ashwin to No. 6, rescued them from 126 for 5. In testing conditions India left out Cheteshwar Pujara and M Vijay in favour of Rohit Sharma, whose inclusion led to a rejigged batting order.While this apparent push for quick runs resulted in a batting failure, West Indies were not behind in making unusual moves. There was more purpose to their attack, after putting India in, than in the first two Tests. But when they should have looked to finish things off, they opted for the patience route, which cut down the runs thanks to a slow outfield. The wickets, though, came only through the batsmen’s impatience. KL Rahul and Ajinkya Rahane threw away starts with impatient shots, but Ashwin – dropped on 26 and caught off a no-ball on 35 – and Wriddhiman Saha soldiered on to keep India from imploding.Ashwin and Saha, 46 off 122, added an unbeaten 108 for the sixth wicket. Another lower-order contribution was a continuation of a trend for India: on tough pitches in the home season, they recovered from 139 for 6 in Delhi, 125 for 6 in Nagpur, and 102 for 5 in Mohali.The big comeback, though, was that of West Indies in the series. For the first eight days of the series they were pretty much outplayed. Moral victories and psychology can be terms abused in cricket, but the Jamaica draw might have caused damage in Indian heads that might have played a part in leaving them in tatters at tea in St Lucia. West Indies won the toss and utilised the conditions efficiently without being sensational, but India helped them out with their selections.Having survived the Jamaica Test, West Indies mounted a fresh challenge against this unsteady Indian batting line-up – a different top three in each Test – by taking wickets when the pitch was fresh and then choking India out with disciplined bowling. Rahul and Rahane, the only specialist batsmen to reach double figures, helped India recover from 19 for 2 but fell in soft manner just before the two session breaks, Rahane to a full toss to end his slowest Test innings of 10 or more.The second of the wickets was the highlight. Debutant Alzarri Joseph, who impressed with his pace and his bowling mechanics in only his ninth first-class match, nicked out Virat Kohli with the new ball, a promotion in the order because of the selection of Rohit. West Indies’ resistance and the resultant draw in Jamaica led to three changes for India, two of them expected, Ravindra Jadeja and Bhuvneshwar Kumar in for Amit Mishra and Umesh Yadav.The batting selections were instructive. At the toss, Kohli, who would have batted if he had won the toss anyway, emphasised that Rohit can change a match in a session. Both Vijay, who was fit after missing the Jamaica Test, and Pujara are reputed to be slower scorers. Turns out India might have misread the pitch or underestimated the attack: the situation asked for the patience of Vijay and Pujara. Moreover, Kohli and Rahane had to give up their familiar batting positions.West Indies were more aggressive to begin with. They added Joseph to the attack, and peppered India with short deliveries. The moisture in the pitch gave them spongy bounce when they pitched short, and some seam movement when they pitched it up. Shikhar Dhawan wasted little time in falling to a short ball, tickling Shannon Gabriel down the leg side.Kohli walked in at No. 3, but the fresh pitch with the new seaming ball was not suited for his style of play: soon he shaped up to cut a Joseph delivery that was neither short nor wide, neither full nor close enough to him. Kohli was eventually done in by the extra bounce, but playing such deliveries you get away on pitches like the one in Antigua or against the old ball. A bit of a repeat of his England dismissals brought in India’s most reliable batsman, Rahane.It was Rahul who weathered most of the initial storm. After an ordinary start – missing five of the first 11 balls he played at – he punished every error in length. Every time West Indies overpitched, Rahul drove hard, even in the air. Short and wide deliveries were cut away. It didn’t matter that the good ones in between kept beating him. On a day that the rest of the team scored 169 runs, Rahul took 50 off only 65 balls. Having done the hard work, Rahul fell 18 minutes before lunch, trying to whip a shortish delivery from Roston Chase straight to the man who had just moved to short fine leg.West Indies came back attacking in the second session. Soon Rohit fell in typical manner, pushing defensively at a Joseph outswinger a set of stumps outside off. After that wicket, though, perhaps because the pitch had settled down, West Indies began to test India’s patience. It worked: minutes before tea, Rahane, seeing release in a Chase full toss, swept down the wrong line and was bowled for 35 off 133. That didn’t result in taking off the part-time spin of Kraigg Brathwaite.The middle session produced just 43 runs for two wickets, and instead of going for the wickets of the lesser batsmen West Indies began with Jason Holder and Chase in the final session. On another day, persisting with these tactics might have worked but West Indies made two crucial mistakes. When Ashwin left the crease in impatience, inside-edging Chase, Leon Johnson missed him at short leg. When West Indies looked to break the monotony, Gabriel bowled a short ball from round the wicket for a catch at point, it turned out he had cut the return crease with his back foot.Other than that, Ashwin and Saha showed remarkable patience. Because of the slow outfield West Indies could have a stacked field. Chase often bowled with a six-three leg-side field, leaving point open and bowling into the pads. Any scoring was now fraught with risk, and if he dropped the ball short the slow outfield cost him just the one run. India were in no state to take risks so the two batsmen put their head down, and kept picking whatever singles or twos were on offer.Between the fall of Rahul and the claiming of the second new ball, only 111 runs came in 61.3 overs. Against the new ball, having done the hard work, the two batsmen chanced their arms. An edge fell short here, another flew over slips there; a crisp drive was misfielded now, a bowler bowled a loose ball there, and India had 46 in the last nine overs to wrest the initiative a bit. India dropped solid batsmen for quick runs when they should have been weathering the new ball out, then they were forced to bat slowly when they should have been capitalising on the older ball and tired fielders, and finally the lesson of building long Test innings was delivered by the lower order whose first role in the team is not batting.

كشفت تقارير صحفية إسبانية، عن دخول قائد منتخب مصر وفريق ليفربول، محمد صلاح، ضمن قائمة اللاعبين المطلوبين للانضمام إلى برشلونة في فترة الانتقالات الصيفية المقبلة.

وسينتهي عقد محمد صلاح مع ليفربول بنهاية الموسم الحالي، صيف 2025. ولا يزال مستقبل الدولي المصري مغموراً مع فريقه الإنجليزي على الرغم من إعلان رغبته بالبقاء داخل جدران أنفيلد.

ويحتل محمد صلاح، صدارة ترتيب هدافي الدوري الإنجليزي برصيد 15 هدفاً، متفوقاً على المهاجم النرويجي إيرلينج هالاند، صاحب الـ13 هدفاُ. 

اقرأ أيضاً.. سبورت: برشلونة يقترب من حسم أولى صفقات الموسم المقبل

ووفقاً لما جاء في صحيفة “موندو ديبورتيفو”، فإن نادي برشلونة قد وضع 6 لاعبين من القارة الأوروبية بهدف التعاقد معهم في الصيف المقبل، مع إقتراب نهاية عقدهم مع فرقهم.

وضمت قائمة اللاعبين المطلوبين في برشلونة كلًا من مهاجم ليفربول، محمد صلاح، والغاني توماس بارتي لاعب آرسنال بالإضافة إلى المهاجم الكندي جوناثان ديفيد مهاجم ليل الفرنسي.

وشهدت القائمة أيضاً تواجد ثنائي بايرن ميونخ، جوشوا كيميتش وألفونسو ديفيز، بالإضافة إلى جوناثان تاه مدافع باير ليفركوزن الألماني.

وبحسب ما جاء في الصحف الإسبانية فإن إدارة برشلونة تعمل على التعاقد مع اللاعبين الذين تنتهي عقودهم بنهاية الصيف المقبل، نظراً للظروف الإقتصادية التي يمر بها النادي الكتالوني.

ومع اقتراب نهاية عقد هؤلاء اللاعبين، يحق لهم التوقيع لأي نادي بداية من شهر يناير المقبل، ومن المقرر أن تشهد الفترة المقبلة تطورات جديدة حول إمكانية تعاقد برشلونة معهم.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has threatened pulling out of the World Twenty20 if they did not get a clear message about the security situation from the Indian government

Umar Farooq03-Mar-2016The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has threatened pulling out of the World Twenty20 if they did not get a clear message about the security situation from the Indian government. Shaharyar Khan, the PCB chairman, called for India to publicly acknowledge Pakistan’s participation in the tournament and to also promise full security to their cricket team.No Plan B – Anurag Thakur

BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur is confident that the India-Pakistan match on March 19 will take place in Dharamsala. Thakur said that Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh had, on Wednesday, assured him that he would facilitate the staging of the marquee match of the tournament.
According to Thakur, Virbhadra assured him that he would speak to families of the martyrs who lost their lives fighting in the Pathankot terrorist attacks recently as well as in Jammu & Kashmir in the past. “I am very hopeful [of the match taking place],” Thakur said at a media briefing while announcing a BCCI tie-up with a sponsor in Delhi. “The meeting [with the CM yesterday] was held in a very positive atmosphere. The state government will also try and speak to those [families and few others] who have raised concerns. I am very hopeful of a positive outcome. The state government have to announce that the match is on. From the BCCI’s side, the match is on,” Thakur said.
Thakur pointed out that while he “condemned” the Pathankot attacks, it was not appropriate to mix politics and sport. Even though Virbhadra had sent a missive to the Indian Home Minister few days ago stating the Himachal government was not in a position to provide security for the match, Thakur said the chief minister had told him the state had an adequate safety mechanism in place. “I asked the CM that if there is a shortage of security personnel in HP, you can also take the help of the central government. But he has assured that the state has enough policemen to provide security,” Thakur said.
Thakur made it clear that that the BCCI had no back-up plan or venue for the match. “There is no Plan B. It is anyway not easy to make changes at the last moment.”

The Pakistan government had initially granted the PCB permission to play in India, but the board has decided to put the visit on hold until they are guaranteed foolproof security. The PCB’s move was prompted after the Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh had expressed his state government’s difficulty in providing security for the India-Pakistan clash in Dharamsala, on March 19.”We have concerns and the threats are Pakistan-specific. Even now, the Himachal Pradesh chief minister has also said that they will not guarantee the security,” Shaharyar said during a press conference at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. “We have been informing the ICC on a daily basis about these threats which is not encouraging for us.”Although our government has already given permission, these latest threats need to be taken seriously. Political parties like Shiv Sena [threatened us], now even the Congress has also said they will not let us play along with some other groups. Those are the ones creating agitation.”It has been reported that Virbhadra, who heads the Congress government in the northern state, wrote to the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) saying that the match should not be played in Dharamsala. Virbhadra’s concerns were regarding the prevailing local sentiment in Himachal over recent terrorist attacks in Pathankot, which lies close to the Pakistan border near the intersection of the states of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu & Kashmir.”We have told the ICC that there is only one step that the Indian government needs to take and that is to issue a public statement that they are ready to welcome Pakistan and ensure full security for our team, which hasn’t come as yet,” Shaharyar said.”We have already been given permission [to travel] and we want to come, but we need reassurance and they should give a statement that will create a sense of security among us. I spoke to the BCCI and they are giving us a private assurance, claiming that it’s all about internal politics, nothing else, and that Pakistan should come.”But a public statement is important and it should come, as there are threats and we can see them. We have written to the ICC that they should come forward and we’ve asked the Indian government to assure us and give a statement. If they won’t give the statement, then I see it’s very difficult to go to India. There is no deadline in making the decision but we will have to monitor till the end and can even pull out at the eleventh hour.”Pakistan are currently in Bangladesh, where they failed to qualify for the final of the ongoing Asia Cup. They are set to return to Lahore on March 5. Nisar Ali Khan, Pakistan’s interior minister, said that a report about the team’s visit to India will be presented to the Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif after consulting with Shaharyar.

Three of the tournament’s top five teams face off in Saturday’s games at the Women’s World Cup

The Preview by Sreshth Shah07-Jul-2017

We are into the second half of the Women’s World Cup and with Sri Lanka, Pakistan and West Indies needing a miracle to qualify to the semi-finals, the focus has shifted to the top five teams and three of them will be in action on Saturday.

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South Africa and India face off in Leicester in a rematch of the recent World Cup Qualifier final in Colombo. That game went down to a last-ball finish, with India hitting a six to seal victory, and it shouldn’t surprise anyone if this one turns out to be equally thrilling.Five wins seems the bar for teams to feel confident of being in the final four in this Women’s World Cup. South Africa currently only have two, having endured a washout. While their batsmen have been quite reliable, recording the first instance of a team making 300 in a chase even if they couldn’t win it, the bowlers have been rather up and down. Last Sunday, West Indies were dismantled for 48, but three days later, England were allowed to make 373, helped by a stretch of 209 balls in the middle overs without a wicket. Considering South Africa are up against India, another batting powerhouse, Dane van Niekerk has some issues to sort out.Batsman Andrie Steyn, meanwhile, suffered an ankle injury at training and has been ruled out of the tournament. Medium-pacer Odine Kirsten, who picked up 4 for 10 in her last ODI in January, has been called up as replacement.India, with four wins in four games, already have one foot in the final four. Opener Deepti Sharma scored a crafty 78 against Sri Lanka, and the ever-dependent Mithali Raj has been hitting fifties for fun – she now stands on the cusp of history, 34 short of becoming the top-scorer in women’s ODIs. But India will still be wary that in the two games Smriti Mandhana has fallen early, they have not been able to score as quickly as they usually do.India’s spinners, led by their joint-leading wicket-taker Ekta Bisht, have done particularly well to defend whatever their batsmen have scored, be it 169 or 232. The contest between them and South Africa’s hard-hitting openers Laura Wolvaardt and Lizelle Lee will be fun to watch.In three matches, New Zealand’s top-scorer Suzie Bates has struck two fifty-plus scores and has been dismissed only once•ICC/Getty Images

The day’s second match features a potential mismatch. New Zealand’s captain Suzie Bates began her campaign with a century and their wicketkeeper Rachel Priest smashed the fastest fifty in Women’s World Cup history and finished with 90 off 55 balls. By contrast, Pakistan’s batsmen are barely maintaining a strike-rate of 50.New Zealand enter their fifth group match at fourth place after they thumped West Indies emphatically on Thursday. That meant they jumped above their other rivals from the Southern Hemisphere into the final qualifying spot, despite South Africa’s destruction of the same opponents only a few days earlier.Lea Tahuhu’s swing bowling at the top has troubled unsure batsmen and Pakistan’s top-order features such wobbliness. Tahuhu, who passed 50 ODI wickets on Thursday, will be featuring in her 50th ODI on Saturday. “When I started off, I was in and out of the team a little bit and in the last two years I have been really able to cement a place in the team and look to lead this bowling attack,” she said. “I take great pride in it and it will be a special thing to play my 50th game. It was nice to get to 50 wickets [against West Indies] but at the same time it was nice to get a good team win.”Combine Tahuhu’s pace with the wily spin of Amelia Kerr and the returning Leigh Kasperek and you have a well-rounded bowling unit. Their batting has been slow to start off at times, like in the game against Australia, but if Thursday’s win was any indication New Zealand’s batting has gone up another gear. Rachel Priest played like she was in a hurry to get to her team hotel while Suzie Bates once again oozed class with her batting. The two set up a sturdy middle order that has yet to come to the party in this tournament. With the group stages winding down, their strategy will have to ensure their net-run rate continues to remain better than South Africa at the very least.Pakistan have fallen away after their spirited, nail-biting opening display. Over their next three games, Pakistan have lost by over 90 runs every time. A high dot-ball percentage has hurt their scoring. Their top scorer of the tournament, Nahida Khan, has only 105 runs in four innings. Their highest total in their last three matches has been 131. They need their batting to click if they are to have any chance of arresting their losing streak.Their bowling has been far better, but has been let down by poor fielding. Sana Mir continues to break crucial partnerships, and how she uses herself and the other spinners will hold the key in their search for their first win. What has been most disappointing, though, has been Pakistan’s seeming lack of intent in searching for the win. Against Australia, chasing 291, it appeared that Pakistan simply looked to bat out their 50 overs; they eventually lost by 159 runs.

With no play possible on the final day of the deciding Test in Hamilton, South Africa took the draw and secured yet another series win away from home

The Report by Alagappan Muthu29-Mar-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAugust 2006 to March 2017. That’s five months shy of 11 years. And in that time, South Africa have only lost one Test series away from home. With a 1-0 win over New Zealand, not only was that record safe, it was made better. So what if they needed a little help from a little rain (51 mm, according to Met Service predictions)? They’ve deserved it. Few teams in the history of cricket have been such indomitable travellers.Inherent in that is praise for Kane Williamson’s team too. They were stripped of three of their biggest match-winners – Ross Taylor (16 centuries), Trent Boult and Tim Southee (a combined 394 wickets). They lost the toss. They conceded a total of 314 and then took a lead of 175. At stumps on day four, they were five wickets away from beating South Africa for the first time in 13 years.And then, there was no more cricket. Overnight storms spilled over into the playing hours, and Faf du Plessis, who was at the crease even as his colleagues succumbed to the fatigue of spending 162.1 overs on the field, was denied the chance to add to his many blockathons. He had seen his side careen to No. 7 in the ICC rankings at the start of the summer. “A dark time,” he called it at the post-match presentation. On the April 1 cut-off date, du Plessis will be confirmed as the captain of the No. 2 team in the world. With a bumper season at home coming up later in the year, he and his men could easily think about going one better.

The India seamer, who became available when he went unsold in the IPL auction, should be available for five County Championship fixtures and eight Royal London One-Day Cup matches

George Dobell15-Feb-2018

Ishant Sharma is to join Sussex for the first two months of the 2018 county season as an overseas player.The India seamer, who became available when he went unsold in the IPL auction, is expected to join the club on April 4. That means he should be available for five County Championship fixtures and eight Royal London One-Day Cup matches. He will provide a significant boost for a squad that will be without Jofra Archer and Chris Jordan for much of that period due to their IPL commitments.”Securing Ishant’s services has been very important for us,” Sussex’s director of cricket Keith Greenfield said. “Once Jofra and Chris were picked up in the IPL draft, it became crucial to sign an experienced international-quality seam bowler who could provide valuable support and know-how to the rest of the seamers.”Ishant has the attributes to be very successful in early season English conditions and a great role model. He fits the bill perfectly and we look forward to welcoming him to Sussex Cricket.”The signing may not please everyone, however. England coach Trevor Bayliss has previously expressed frustration at the way in which the counties allow overseas players to prepare ahead of Test series in England and, with India playing a five-Test series in England in the second half of the year, Ishant will have an ideal opportunity to adapt to the conditions and the Dukes ball.He is far from inexperienced in such conditions anyway. As well as having toured with India’s Test squad in 2011 and 2014 – when he was named Man of the Match for his Test-best 7 for 74 in the second innings as India won at Lord’s – he played in the 2009 World T20 and 2013 Champions Trophy teams, with his spell in the 2013 final (he dismissed the well-set Eoin Morgan and Ravi Bopara from successive deliveries) proving crucial.The signing continues the recent relaxation of rules as regards India players featuring in foreign domestic competitions. Appreciating that increased experience of such conditions could help India improve their overseas record, the BCCI also allowed R Ashwin to play for Worcestershire towards the end of the 2017 season – where he played a significant part in their County Championship promotion – while Virat Kohli has already expressed a desire to follow suit should a suitable gap in his schedule be found. Cheteshwar Pujara, who has become a regular face on the county scene after spells with Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, has already confirmed he will return to Yorkshire for the early part of the 2018 campaign.Whether there is scope for further members of the India Test squad to feature in county cricket this year remains uncertain. Their schedule – which includes a one-off Test against Afghanistan in Bengaluru in mid-June – is hectic and, while the Test series in England does not start until August 1, the limited-overs section of the tour beings in early July.While Chadd Sayers, the Australian swing bowler, had claimed last week he was hoping to sign for Sussex for the same period, it appears the club had accepted that gaining a work permit for him (he has not played any international cricket) could have become a significant challenge.”We’re delighted to secure the services of an experienced and very skilful international seamer,” Sussex head coach Jason Gillespie said. “We believe Ishant will fit right into the Sussex dressing room and we are all really looking forward to welcoming him to Hove.””It’s a great honour to represent Sussex CCC, the oldest first-class county, and I am looking forward with excitement to my maiden stint in county cricket,” Ishant was quoted as saying in a club press release.”I would like to extend a special thanks to Sussex for taking note of my ongoing performances and deeming me suitable for this opportunity. I hope to add value during my time as part of the Sussex family this season.”

Tymal Mills and Dawid Malan have been named in England’s T20 squad to face Sri Lanka next month while Jonny Bairstow has been included for both the ODIs and T20 but there is no place for Stuart Broad

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Jun-2016Tymal Mills, the Sussex left-arm fast bowler, and Middlesex batsman Dawid Malan have been named in England’s T20 squad to face Sri Lanka next month. Jonny Bairstow has been included for both the ODIs and T20 but there was no place for Stuart Broad.Alex Hales, Joe Root and Moeen Ali were rested for the T20, which takes place at the Ageas Bowl on July 5. There was no place in either squad for Jake Ball, who was part of the Test squad through the series against Sri Lanka.Mills, who was forced to retire from first-class cricket last year after being diagnosed with a congenital back condition, is limited to the four-over workloads of T20 cricket but has the ability to bowl above 90mph. Prior to his diagnosis he was already on England’s radar because of his extreme pace – he was used as a net bowler during the 2013-14 Ashes tour – and continued to be involved in the fast bowling programme during last winter.”The guy can bowl quickly. It’s a shame his back has robbed him of first-class cricket, but he seems to have thrown all his efforts into becoming a really skilful one-day bowler,” Alastair Cook, England’s Test captain, said. “He’s obviously worked on his skills: he can change-up from a 93mph thunderbolt to a slower ball. There’s no substitute for pace. I’ll be very excited to watch him bowl.”In a recent televised T20 Blast match against Somerset, Mills was clocked at 93mph when he gave Chris Gayle a working over before shattering his stumps, and also showed his variety of slower balls he often uses at the death. On Friday he claimed 3 for 15 from his four overs against Kent.Earlier this month he told ESPNcricinfo about his ambitions to be a T20 specialist for England. “In a perfect world I could make a career doing this for a long time. I’ve just got to stay fit,” he said. “Everything I do is aimed at being a top T20 player. I want to play for England even if it’s just in T20 cricket.”Malan was rewarded for impressive form against Pakistan A in the UAE, where he scored 253 runs at 50.60 and a strike rate of 131.77 in the five T20s, alongside 211 runs in four one-day games. He will likely open the innings alongside Jason Roy, with Hales given a brief break after the five-match ODI series. Liam Dawson, the Hampshire allrounder who was part of the World T20 squad but did not make his debut, retained his place.”Tymal Mills has been one of the standout performers with the ball in the NatWest T20 Blast competition this season and deserves his chance,” James Whitaker, the national selector, said. “Dawid Malan has made great strides as an attacking batsman, both with Middlesex and the England Lions. We were particularly impressed with his three fifties during the winter tour of the UAE against Pakistan A.”The 14-man one-day squad had a familiar look except for the enforced absences of Ben Stokes (knee injury), Reece Topley (back injury) and James Taylor. Liam Plunkett, the Yorkshire fast bowler, retained his place with the other pace bowlers being David Willey, Chris Jordan, Chris Woakes and Steven Finn. Moeen and Adil Rashid again offer the option of a twin-spin attack.”We have made good progress over the past 12 months in all white ball cricket, which has been very encouraging,” Whitaker said. “The six matches coming up against Sri Lanka will give the players a good test of their credentials. It is important for this group of players to make a mark this summer as we continue to improve ahead of hosting the ICC Champions Trophy tournament this time next year.”ODI squad Eoin Morgan (capt), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Steven Finn, Chris Jordan, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, James Vince, David Willey, Chris WoakesT20 squad Eoin Morgan (capt), Jonny Bairstow, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Liam Dawson, Chris Jordan, Dawid Malan, Tymal Mills, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, James Vince, David Willey

All ten matches of the West Indies tri-series, featuring Australia and South Africa, will be played under lights

ESPNcricinfo staff14-May-2016

All ten matches of the tri-series in the Caribbean, featuring Australia, South Africa and West Indies, will be played under lights. It is the first time every match of a series in the Caribbean has been accorded day-night status.The series, due to begin on June 3, features nine group games – three each at Guyana National Stadium, Warner Park in St. Kitts and Kensington Oval in Barbados. Kensington Oval will also host the final on June 26. Each match will begin at 1 pm local time (1700 GMT).Roland Holder, WICB’s cricket operations manager, said the board wanted to cater to the fans better. “We looked at ways to enhance the appeal and the spectator experience and it is accepted that fans like the day/night matches. I’m sure we will have a win-win situation for players and fans and everyone will enjoy the afternoon start and the finish under lights.”

This season’s eliminator and second qualifier will be played at the MCA Stadium in Pune on May 23 and 25

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Mar-2018

The IPL governing council has decided to allot two of this season’s playoff matches – the Eliminator and second Qualifier – to the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) in Pune. The games will be played at the MCA stadium in Gahunje on May 23 and 25.”For the play-off, there was a suggestion that since Rising Pune Supergiant (now defunct) were the runners-up last time, we should give first priority to Pune,” IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla said after a governing council meeting on Friday. “If the stadium and the wicket is ready, the first priority would be given to Pune, if not, then we will consider Kolkata for the playoffs.”The eliminator and the second qualifier are usually held at the home venue of the previous-season’s runners-up, and by this logic Pune would have got the two games anyway. However, Rising Pune Supergiant, who lost last season’s final to Mumbai Indians, are no longer part of the tournament. Other state associations, including those of Bengal and Uttar Pradesh, had been pushing to host the games, and in a move to eliminate rival states from staking claim, MCA president Abhay Apte had sent an email to Shukla, stressing the “unwritten rule” that the previous year’s runners-up host the playoff games.

A victory in the opening match of the Championship season will inevitably have supporters quietly asking themselves if this could be the year

George Dobell at Taunton22-Apr-20182:57

Defending champions Essex off the mark

ScorecardExperience should have taught Somerset supporters better. Years of near misses have tempered expectations at Taunton and they remain, painfully, one of just three of the first-class counties never to have won the County Championship title. Northamptonshire and Gloucestershire are the other two.They’ve been second a few times. Including, in 2010, when they finished on the same number of points as the winners (Nottinghamshire) but missed out on the basis of having won fewer games. A period in which they were second so often in so many different competitions that it led to a sense of fatalistic acceptance. Such experiences tend to leave scars.And yet… somehow, at this time of year, the hope like the sap rises. A victory in the opening match of the Championship season – the first time they have managed that since 2012 – will inevitably have supporters quietly asking themselves – in weak moments and against their better judgement – if this could be the year. Not many, not even the most fervent supporters of other clubs, would begrudge them.There were encouraging signs here, certainly. It must have been some time since Somerset won a home again without their spinners taking a wicket. Or, indeed, bowling until 39 wickets had already fallen in the match. They have several skilful seamers who, in this second innings in particular, harnessed the conditions very well. Matt Renshaw, too, settled in quickly and may prove to be an astute overseas signing. They have now won three in a row at home.But Somerset will know that life is going to get much harder. Worcestershire, for all the all-round excellence of Ed Barnard, produced two flimsy displays with the bat – Tom Fell has not scored a half-century in any form of the game since September 2016, Brett D’Oliveira has scored 10 in four Championship innings so far this season and George Rhodes has two runs in his last three innings – and dropped several chances. Crucially, James Hildreth was put down twice in each innings.And Somerset will know that, against more resolute opposition, their own frailties may be exploited. Their batting, to some extent masked in this match by Renshaw’s resilience and Hildreth taking his chances so well, remains a concern, while Marcus Trescothick is starting to become a bit of a worry at slip. He put down two chances in Worcestershire’s second innings and might have been a touch slow to go for a couple that might be termed half-chances. When you’re aged 42, people will start to ask questions though it is true that slip fielders of all ages drop chances.There was just a touch of controversy at the end of the match. Steve Magoffin, clearly struggling with a hamstring injury, failed to make his ground when attempting a second run and was beaten by Renshaw’s throw from the cover boundary in front of the Caddick Pavilion. Those close to that boundary – and the dressing rooms of both sides overlook it – insisted that one foot was over the rope when he intercepted the ball leaving Joe Leach, the Worcestershire captain, to politely but clearly remonstrate with the umpires.To be fair to Renshaw, who as a replacement for Cameron Bancroft must be desperate to avoid any negative publicity, he might not have known his foot had crossed the rope. There was no way the umpires or most of those in the crowd could tell, though those close to the incident seemed pretty certain. As a local wag put it: “He was so far over, he was in bloody Dorset.”Leach was pretty philosophical about it. He accepted Worcestershire’s fielding was more relevant to this result than Renshaw’s but frustrated that, for all the glimpses of quality his side have shown in their first two games, they have lost two from two and find themselves already a little off the pace”As we lost by more than 80 runs, the run-out probably wouldn’t have made any difference,” he admitted. “But there have been big last-wicket partnerships and you never know.”In the end our fielding has cost us the game. We’ve let ourselves down. I don’t know how many catches we dropped, but it was too many, and if you drop six or seven chances you’re going to struggle. In both our opening games we have had periods of control and I have no doubts about our ability to compete in the First Division as the season progresses.”Not for a moment did it appear Worcestershire would chase down their target of 279. Lewis Gregory claimed two wickets in his opening spell, Travis Head flashed at one off the back foot and, while Barnard added 74 for the last two wickets, it always looked likely to be too little, too late.Gregory bowled beautifully in that first spell. Having sneaked one through the gap between Daryl Mitchell’s bat and pad to knock out both off and middle stumps, he set up Joe Clarke with a series of outswingers and trapped him with one that tailed back just a little.He later denied any knowledge of an approach from another club, though Jason Kerr – Somerset’s head coach – admitted it was “inevitable” and confirmed Gregory had been offered a new contract at Somerset. “He wants some time to think about it and that’s okay,” Kerr said. “We’re in discussions.”Somerset, meanwhile, are awaiting news of scans on Jamie Overton and Eddie Byrom, who dislocated his shoulder while fielding.It will be no consolation to Worcestershire, but this match was, in many ways, the perfect antidote to news from elsewhere in the game over recent days. To see two teams stuffed with home-grown players – there were nine in the Worcestershire side and six in Somerset’s – contesting an entertaining match in front of a good number of spectators (more than 5,000 over the three days) was heartening.For those of us who aren’t entirely sure what a Kardashian is, don’t recognise who the ‘celebrities’ entering the jungle are and don’t much care whether they leave it or not, it was a reminder that this great game doesn’t need too many gimmicks to retain its charm or value. If only those that run our sport believed in it as much as those that watch it.