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Marsh introduces baseball star to the rising ball

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Culture clash: Shaun Marsh lines up next to Manny Ramirez of the LA Dodgers © AP
 

It wasn’t the same as when Babe Ruth met Don Bradman, or Shane Warne showed Michael Jordan his flipper, but Shaun Marsh has traded tips with the baseballer Manny Ramirez in a cross-cultural exchange in Arizona. Marsh, the Australia one-day international, showed Ramirez, the LA Dodgers and former Boston Red Sox slugger, some of things needed to succeed as a batsman in the game Robin Williams called baseball on valium.Ramirez stepped on to the Arizona Cricket Club field on Wednesday to test himself against a “cricket pitcher” and managed to connect during the eight-ball over. “I have faced some tough pitchers before, but we don’t have to ever swing at a bouncing ball that is rising as it passes us,” Ramirez said after padding up. “Shaun is a great hitter and he gave me some great pointers.”I hadn’t watched much cricket in the past, but the game is a lot like baseball. Shaun said I definitely have a future in the game.”Marsh was impressed after his short coaching clinic. “I thoroughly enjoyed coming to the United States and being able to spend some time sharing my passion for the sport with someone who is just as passionate about his sport as Manny is,” he said. “Maybe he can return the favour next spring.”There are a few similarities for Marsh and Ramirez: they are capable of launching balls out of stadiums and are both out with hamstring problems. Marsh hurt his leg during an ODI against New Zealand last month while Ramirez is taking a break from spring training after re-injuring himself during a practice fixture against the Colorado Rockies on Sunday.The major difference between the pair is Ramirez has just signed a two-year contract with the Dodgers worth US$45m, dwarfing the US$30,000 Marsh earned playing for King’s XI Punjab in the inaugural Indian Premier League. The television channel Directv, which will show will show the upcoming IPL in the United States, organised the get-together of the two big hitters.Back in 1932 Bradman chatted to Ruth at a New York Yankees-White Sox game and in 1994 Warne caught up with Jordan, who was then playing for the White Sox. Warne later wore 23, the number made famous by the basketballer, on his one-day shirts.

Pietersen and his histrionics

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‘How on earth did I survive ‘ © Getty Images
 

Morning Colly
Armed with a new ball the West Indies quicks gave the batsmen something to think about for the first half an hour. Paul Collingwood was greeted by one which climbed and took the shoulder of the bat then saw one whistle past his nose. If there was any chance Collingwood was still dozing, he was soon right on his toes.Exaggerated KP, surely not?
Trust Kevin Pietersen to make the most of a situation. Everyone knows the pitch is likely to play a few tricks but Pietersen made sure that it was palpably obvious when the ball did something different. If they climbed past his chest he would sway out of the line, then walk down to inspect the surface. When a couple kept low he went down on his haunches as though the ball had scuttled through by his bootlaces. Was it mind games from KP?Fast-bowler Benn
Sulieman Benn is made to be a fast bowler. He’s 6ft 7in and gets plenty of bounce even bowling loopy left-arm spin. For a moment when he was bowling to Collingwood it looked liked he thought he a fast bowler. Collingwood dug the ball out back towards Benn, who picked it up and shaped to hurl it back at the batsman. He then stood there and eye-balled Collingwood before returning to his mark, all of four strides away.Daddy’s girl
England’s top-order batsman all got in (only Jimmy Anderson’s use as nightwatchman prevented the top five all getting fifties to better) but then came Andrew Flintoff’s turn. Out he strode with a platform of 405 for 5, significantly better than the 16 for 4 in Kingston last week. Two balls later he was heading back after receiving a shooter from Jerome Taylor but he managed a small grin as he walked off. His turn would come with the ball. And on the balcony containing the players’ wives, girlfriends and children, Holly Flintoff looked over the rails as her Dad trooped back and tried to calm down.No referrals, but still a referral
There aren’t any referrals in this match because of the hurried relocation of the game, but the action still managed to get held up for nearly five minutes when a decision went to the third umpire. It was the kind that has been allowed for years. Collingwood edged the ball into the ground and it ballooned back to Brendan Nash, who thought it came straight off the foot. It was fairly close, but a puff of dust gave away that ground was hit first, however the third umpire rolled the frames backwards and forwards endlessly before the green light flashed.Over the rope
Fidel Edwards tried his guts out today for scant reward. He gave Collingwood a real working over, but spent most of the day cursing his luck. Towards the back end of England’s huge innings he looked like he may get a moment to enjoy as he clung onto a superb boundary catch off Collingwood’s slog sweep. However, he couldn’t halt his momentum as he headed over the boundary, although he still had the presence of mind to flick the ball away and prevent a six. It was small consolation.A fine line
The half-way line from the football markings, that slices the pitch back-of-a-length from the Factory Road End, has been a focal point for all the quicks. Daren Powell managed to find the spot and it is also the perfect area for Andrew Flintoff’s splice-jarring length. In consecutive balls he got one to rear past Chris Gayle’s face before the next shot along the turf. Flintoff stood and grinned at Gayle but the contest was ended when Steve Harmison fortuitously had Gayle taken at mid-off. There’s a fine line between success and failure, in every sense.

'I'm just going to enjoy it' – Jayawardene

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Mahela Jayawardene: “Even though Younis [Khan] has just taken over, he has done this in the past and at the same time he is a very experienced cricketer” © AFP
 

As one leader leaves, another captain arrives. That will be the current that runs right through Sri Lanka’s two-Test series against Pakistan. Every decision a captain makes is anyway scrutinised and analysed, but the ones made by a man who knows his time is up and one by a man who knows his time has come warrant a separate category altogether. If Younis Khan can become half the captain Mahela Jayawardene has mostly been, he will be some captain.Of course Jayawardene doesn’t believe the decision to step down after this series will play any part during the series. “No not really,” he said. “I think I’m just going to enjoy it the way I’ve enjoyed the last three years. These two Test matches are going to be quite an honour for me to lead the side and decision-making will not be an issue for me.”But surely some kind of residue will float around, if not in his head, then everybody else’s. The last decisions of a man’s life, of a man’s reign, are often the most intriguing and revealing. Equally, the first few of another man’s are often the most fraught, the most tentative. Given his vice-captaincy and short-lived captaincy stints, Younis is not a brand new captain in essence, but his experience, Jayawardene reckons, will see him through.”Even though Younis has just taken over, he has done this in the past and at the same time he is a very experienced cricketer,” Jayawardene said. “Leading the team I don’t think is going to be a problem for him and the guys around him have quite a bit of experience not just playing for Pakistan but playing for counties and various other teams. It’s going to be a very good series and we are looking forward to the challenge.”There is enough in the series besides to make you curse the ICC for allowing two-Test series to prosper. Nobody will forget this is Pakistan’s first Test since December 2007, a time when the world’s economy was still booming, Obama was still hoping, cricket had yet to meet the IPL and Australia were still kings. The world has moved on and Pakistan will hope it hasn’t left them by.”I know they haven’t played Test cricket for quite some time so we have to wait and see how their approach is going to be,” Jayawardene said. “But for us it’s going to be a great challenge coming back to Pakistan and playing a Test series. I’ve always said Pakistan is a quality team.”Sri Lanka are that themselves, though that wasn’t much in evidence during their one-day thumping at the hands of India. The Asia Cup win seems to have heralded a period of ODI insecurity, but five days still gives their batsmen the platform to showcase their skills and their bowlers to work away patiently. And they have enough different faces in their Test squad to ensure the India loss feels more like a bad dream.”The Indians played better cricket than us it’s as simple as that,” Jayawardene said. “Collectively we were not up for the challenge and we just have to move on from that and concentrate on what we need to do here.”Our Test team is quite different to our one-day team and the way we play and approach is quite different so I don’t think it’s going to make a huge difference. We have fond memories leaving Pakistan last time so hopefully we will continue with that.”And of course there is Ajantha Mendis, with whom laptops, video analysis and batsmen may have caught up for now, but whose success or failure will still have a say in the Tests. India played him without hassles, but arguably Pakistan’s top order set it up with a surprisingly convincing performance during the ODI series last month.”With Ajantha and the ankle injury he had, he is just gradually getting back into things. I honestly believe the Indians played him bit better because we played India so often in the last six months. But it’s a good learning process for him. He needs to realise the surprise element might be not there but that he now learns new tricks and read the minds of the player and try and be a smarter bowler. He’s 23 years old so will take some time but we just need to give him more opportunities to do that.”

McCullum defends New South Wales move

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Brendon McCullum has played a role in the Twenty20 boom © Getty Images
 

Brendon McCullum, the New Zealand wicketkeeper, has termed his much-debated move to play Twenty20 for New South Wales as innovative and one that could add “tremendous value” to his domestic side, Otago. McCullum’s hasty switch to New South Wales for the Australian domestic Twenty20 final was received with varied reactions, but McCullum has said people are entitled to their opinion and he is not offended.”This is clearly new ground, and a sign of the changing landscape that is Twenty20 cricket globally,” McCullum wrote in the . “There has been much discussion of my move, throughout Australia and New Zealand, and I’m sure that not everyone will agree on what’s right or wrong in this instance. One thing is for sure: the game has changed over the past 12 to 18 months with the development of Twenty20 cricket, and the game will continue to change as we move forward.”McCullum said it was his responsibility to “enhance rather than diminish” the value of Otago cricket, although he did not clarify how his appearance for New South Wales would help Otago. “I will not try to defend my decision, as in my mind, the motives were sound, and I also believe people are entitled to their opinion, and the decision to take offence to criticism is always in the eye of the beholder.”In a confused radio interview last week, Andrew Symonds criticised McCullum’s move, while Matthew Hayden said it was indicative of New Zealand’s “disappointing” international schedule. McCullum has brushed off Symonds’ jibe. “Andrew Symonds’ much-publicised spray, although inappropriate, has not upset me, and I feel no animosity towards him for this,” he said.In the end McCullum only scored 10 off 11 balls in the final in Sydney – which NSW won by five wickets – but said it was a fantastic experience. “It was an amazing event and, with 20,000 people turning up, it once again showed how popular Twenty20 has become.”

Ponting tempts South Africa to chase another miracle

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Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Ricky Ponting was in fine form after an early scare © Getty Images
 

Ricky Ponting is not known for his generosity to opposition teams but his sporting declaration has set up a fascinating final day at the SCG, where South Africa need 314 more runs with nine wickets in hand. The match is a dead rubber but that’s a deceptive term; a South African victory will bounce them up to the No. 1 Test ranking and Ponting would go down in history as the first captain to lead Australia to a 0-3 loss at home.However, for that to happen South Africa would need their third miracle of the series, almost enough to push for sainthood, and with Graeme Smith unlikely to bat their task is even tougher. Still, by Ponting’s conservative standards his decision to set the visitors 376 in nearly four full sessions was a brave one. This was a team that had chased 414 in Perth. Ponting had found the cracking surface easier than it looked in posting a half-century and Hashim Amla and Neil McKenzie also seemed relatively comfortable after coming together at 1 for 2.Morne Morkel was an odd choice to open in the absence of the injured Smith and it was a plan that took only two balls to fail. Morkel spooned his second delivery to mid-on to give Doug Bollinger his first Test wicket but it was the only reason for Australia to cheer in the final two hours. Amla and McKenzie were tested by balls that jagged off the cracks but they showed impressive concentration to survive and post a 60-run partnership.Brad Haddin put down a tough chance diving to his right when Amla was on 5 and it could yet prove a costly miss on a day when Australia had until then tightened their hold on the match. It was also a day when Matthew Hayden’s grip on his position at the top of the order weakened further. Hayden came into the game dead-batting speculation that it could be his final appearance but his inability to post a half-century in the home Tests has left him vulnerable. He did manage 39 in this innings and it was the first time this summer that he has scored more than his age, but openers are not there to post handy 30s.A few cracking drives and clips over leg hinted at a change of form but the teasing moments have been there all series and reality kicked back in when he tried to launch Morkel over mid-on and inside-edged onto his stumps. As he walked off the ground to a standing ovation, with onlookers eagle-eyed for any tip-off that he might retire, a small bat-raise was the only clue that it could have been his farewell. There was no cause for celebration but he had at least helped Australia move closer to a win or a draw.Ponting, Simon Katich, Michael Clarke and Michael Hussey all made contributions after Hayden departed but Australia’s effort was not breathtaking, it was more an innings than meandered like the snaking crack around which the batsmen played. The out-of-form Hussey was pleased not to lose his wicket and he finished unbeaten on 45, having struck a couple of boundaries that would bring him confidence.The declaration came when Clarke holed out to Paul Harris for 41, ending a 76-run stand with Hussey that had begun when Katich was lbw for 61. It was a strange dismissal: Dale Steyn came around the wicket and struck Katich in line but made no appeal whatsoever. However, Mark Boucher asked the question and Asoka de Silva made the fair call that the ball would have hit leg stump, surprising not only the batsman but the bowler as well.Katich’s innings was a tough grind, for him and the spectators. Early in the day he faced five consecutive maidens from Jacques Kallis and it took him 40 balls and nearly an hour to tick his score over from 17 to 18. Ponting was the only batsman who looked truly comfortable with the breaking surface and he launched nine boundaries, including some classic pulls and back-foot drives.He had come to the crease on a king pair and nearly completed it when he tried to leave his first delivery from Morkel but didn’t get the bat out of the way and the edge flew past the stumps and off to the boundary. Eventually it was an inside edge off Morkel that did for Ponting on 53 and he headed inside to ponder declaration times. Overnight he may wish he’d pondered for a bit longer.

Teja's fight holds up Mumbai's victory charge

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Scorecard

Ramesh Powar relied on loop and flight to complete his second five-for in the Ranji Trophy this season © Getty Images
 

Mumbai are on the brink of an innings victory against Hyderabad, who need another 185 runs to clear the deficit after they were forced to follow-on. Resuming at 82 for 2, Hyderabad folded up for 251 in the first innings. Ramesh Powar took five, ending the visitors’ challenge with an attacking spell. Hyderabad, who have six wickets in hand and opener Ravi Teja unbeaten on 107, will hope to bat out the final day for a draw.On a pitch where patience was needed all round, Teja pulled, hooked, drove, lofted and cut with impunity en route to his second century of the season. Ajit Agarkar was hit for two sixes, Usman Malvi was hooked for one and Powar was lofted over long-on for a fourth. Preferring the big strokes over running, he brought up his hundred with a back-foot drive past cover for four.However, there was no fight from Hyderabad in the morning session, which Powar dominated. With the fast bowlers not getting any assistance from the pitch and the dry conditions, he posed the biggest hurdle for the visiting batsmen.Hyderabad began steadily, with TS Suman and Anoop Pai carrying forward the momentum built the previous evening. Suman started the day with two fours off Agarkar. He went past 50 with another four, a forward push past mid-off, and followed it with a flick over the empty square-leg region. Powar replaced Agarkar in the 11th over of the morning and Suman, having read the length well, stepped to hit the offspinner past long-off for a four and then freed his arms for the first six of the day, over long-on.On a lifeless pitch that hardly turned, and with no breeze to aid the ball drift, Powar had to fall back on his strengths: flight and loop. Smartly, he took the cue from Suman’s aggression and tried to draw the batsman further out with variations in flight. Against one such loopy delivery, Suman stepped out to hit a big one, but the leading edge was picked up well by Amol Muzumdar at cover. Abhinav Kumar offered an edge off Malvi soon after. Arjun Yadav was far from settled despite his first five scoring shots being fours – the first four were edges that sneaked through the slips and gully.Hyderabad now relied on Pai, but he got bogged down by the tentative batting of his partners after reaching his half-century and was eventually dismissed while trying to defend against Powar, giving keeper Vinayak Samant his third catch of the innings.Hyderabad’s hopes of a fightback were dented by a double-strike by Powar in the over before lunch. Yadav’s bat-pad push went straight to Vinayak Mane at short leg, and the following ball, MP Arjun tried to play a forward defensive to flighted delivery, but the thin edge was picked brilliantly by Jaffer, who swiftly leaned to his left side. Powar completed his second five-for of the season when he castled Shoaib Ahmed behind the legs.Powar bowled an unbroken spell of 21-1-40-5. Jaffer’s ploy to persist with him worked wonders yet again: in their first round, against Rajasthan, Powar had a spell of 20-3-44-5.Hyderabad’s second innings started ominously. Dhawal Kulkarni picked a wicket in his first over for the second time in the match, trapping Suman, Hyderabad’s top scorer in the first innings, plumb in front. At 38 for 3 Hyderabad seemed to be falling apart, but Teja started his assault and got good support from Arjun Yadav. But at the fag end the day, the Hyderabad captain prodded at a legbreak from Sairaj Bahutule, who got his first wicket of the match after Jaffer latched on to another sharp catch at first slip.

Bodenham promoted to first-class list

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Martin Bodenham, the former FIFA referee turned umpire, will become the first man to officiate in top-flight football and first-class cricket in England and Wales when he stands in 2009, after being promoted to the full list.Bodenham is one of four umpires elevated for next season, the others are Nick Cook, the former England offspinner, former Durham batsman Martin Gough and former quick bowler David Millns. The ECB now has 25 full-time, professional umpires on the list.”I began playing cricket when I was around 10 or 11 years old and love the game,” Bodenham said. “When I retired as a football referee ten years ago I took up umpiring and continued to play 2nd XI league cricket. Cricket is and always has been my major sporting passion.”After umpiring in the Sussex League, it was England coach, PeterMoores, who encouraged me to apply for the ECB reserve list and I thankPeter for helping me realise my potential.”ECB umpires’ manager, Chris Kelly, said: “We have a pool of talentedumpires supporting our first-class game and Martin, Nick, Michael andDavid have earned their promotion.”

Sri Lanka dominant but captain looks for improvement

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Despite his team claiming a comprehensive six-wicket win over Zimbabwe in the opening ODI, the Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene is still looking for improvement.The visitors had an easy stroll in the park and only needed 33.2 overs to chase a paltry 127 set by Zimbabwe who were earlier blown away by Muttiah Muralitharan, the Man of the Match.”Winning games at this stage is always important and it does not matter who you are playing against,” Jayawardene said. “It was, however, not a good performance from our players and we were looking for a much better standard than what we showed today. I think we should have bowled them out for a much [smaller] score than 127.”Jayawardene also paid tribute to Muralitharan for his match-winning spell. “It’s not only today that he was outstanding with the ball. It is always a good option to have Murali in the team because he can come in any situation and completely turn things around in our favour. Murali was the main difference in this match because Zimbabwe were looking good.”At 124 for 3, with Tatenda Taibu and Stuart Matsikinyeri still at the crease, it seemed Zimbabwe would set a challenging target, perhaps even as high as 250. But Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis were brought into the attack, blitzing the Zimbabwe middle and lower order. They lost five wickets in 12 balls.Prosper Utseya, the Zimbabwe captain who yesterday said Muralitharan was “not as effective” as he once was, conceded they had underestimated his impact. “We need to revisit our technique in the next matches because we have learned a lot of things from this one,” he said. “Although Murali got four wickets I think we were coping with his turn.”Looking at the match Taibu and Stuart were in control of the situation and if only they had continued in that same vein maybe we would have got a huge total. If we revisit our technique we will be in a better position to counter him in the next game.”The second of five ODIs gets underway on Saturday.

I refused ICL offer – Mortaza

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Mashrafe Mortaza says his priorities lie with Bangladesh © TigerCricket.com
 

Mashrafe Mortaza, the Bangladesh vice captain, has said that he too was approached by the ICL to play for the Dhaka Warriors but “refused the offer straightaway” because his priority is “playing for Bangladesh”.”I had received a few phone calls from India, before going to Australia, to join the ICL and build a team but refused the offer straightaway,” Mortaza told Tigercricket.com. “That was the end of it for me. I didn’t think it was necessary to inform anyone because I was not interested in the offer.”Mortaza also said he didn’t think Bangladesh’s performance in Australia was affected by the ICL offers. He believed the players “tried their best” and attributed the 3-0 defeat in the one-day series in September to poor batting. Three players from the tour – Farhad Reza, Dhiman Ghosh and Alok Kapali – are among the ICL signees.Mortaza did not want to mull over the decision taken by 13 Bangladesh players to join the ICL for which they were banned for ten years by the board. “We got to move forward with what we have. I think we have some pretty good players who have come in and they all want to do well,” Mortaza said.After the series defeat against Australia, Mortaza went to Melbourne to see Dr David Young, the surgeon who had operated on his knees five years ago. “He checked my knees and told me there weren’t problems with the ligaments,” Mortaza said. “That was a big relief as I was obviously a bit tense when I felt pain there.”However, there was a bit of fluid collection in the left knee but that won’t stop me from playing. Dr Young has told me to continue with my natural bowling and has suggested I should get the fluid cleared sometime over the next six to 12 months.”Mortaza said he will need to take six to eight weeks out of the game when he undergoes that minor surgery. Bangladesh are hosting New Zealand for three ODIs and two Tests from October 9.

Yorkshire outclass Kent

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Scorecard
Yorkshire outplayed Kent in all departments of the game to win a convincing victory by seven wickets. Richard Pyrah was the best of a mean seam bowling attack, backed up by some superb catching, while Anthony McGrath played one of his special one-day innings to lead the charge home. Kent will be disappointed by their feeble batting and inaccurate bowling, while their fielding merely qualified as average.One hour before play started, the scene at the North Marine Parade cricket ground in Scarborough looked like a county treasurer’s dream – a massive crowd stretching far down the road outside. This was partly due to the strange delay by the local club in opening the gates but once they were inside, the attendance was estimated to be 3,000 – perhaps quite conservatively, but not as large or as vibrant as is usual at this venue.Yorkshire won the toss and put Kent in to bat, expecting the ball to move around a bit, and not being disappointed. In the end, Kent did well to total 189 for 9, as they struggled to reach four runs an over for those of their innings. Deon Kruis almost yorked Joe Denly with the first ball of the match, a foretaste things to come.In his next over Denly hit him superbly straight for four, while at the other end Rob Key survived a massive appeal for a catch at the wicket off Tim Bresnan. His escape did him little good, as shortly afterwards he nudged the same bowler to slip to depart for 9, and Martin van Jaarsveld (0) followed one outside off stump to edge Kruis to the keeper. Then Justin Kemp, before scoring, edged a ball just wide of slip, and Kent were truly struggling. After 10 overs the score was just 28 for 2.There was a brief rally: Simon Cook opened his account with an excellent cut for four backward of point, and Kemp pulled short balls with power and disdain, mostly from Rana Naved. However, he needed a runner, having aggravated a back problem, and soon afterwards mistimed a straight drive, which was superbly caught by Jacques Rudolph at long off; he made 36.Despite his efforts, though, the hundred only came up in the 26th over.Pyrah, virtually a one-day specialist and a very effective one, rocked Kent with two wickets in successive deliveries: a superb fast yorker beat and bowled Cook for a creditable 42, while the next ball cut back and had the new batsman Ryan McLaren caught behind off the inside edge. Kent were 120 for 6 in the 30th over.The rest of the batting was the story of Darren Stevens. The tail gave him negligible support, but he played a superb lone hand, lofting Adil Rashid for a very high six over long-on and playing the major part in scoring 17 off the final over, bowled by Darren Gough. His 50 came off 38 balls and he finished unbeaten with 60, a most impressive fighting innings. Pyrah was the best bowler with 4 for 35, with Kruis taking 2 for 35. It was a puzzle why Bresnan, 1 for 10 off 5 overs, was not used again, but in the end it didn’t matter. Gerard Brophy, the wicketkeeper, took four catches, two of them superb, and Adam Lyth also held a fine catch.Much now depended on the performance of Kent’s bowlers in these conditions. Amjad Khan was taken off after three erratic overs, by which time Yorkshire had scored 39 off six. He was replaced by McLaren, who immediately had Andrew Gale (14) driving a catch to cover. Inexplicably Naved came in next, to be sent packing, caught wicket reaching outside off stump, second ball.Rudolph was batting well, especially superb with the cut and cover-drive, but he now reined himself in and settled down to forge a worthy stand with McGrath. Cook and McLaren also bowled very well in partnership, giving little away. Then McGrath began to get on top of Cook, hitting him for 19 in an over, the 16th of the innings, after which Yorkshire were 89 for 2. After this it was Yorkshire all the way. James Tredwell replaced Cook, but Rudolph hit him straight for six, and the hundred came up in the 19th over.Runs were coming easily and Yorkshire were cruising when Robbie Joseph surprised Rudolph with a faster ball, which he edged to the keeper for 41 (56 balls). But with Brophy at the wicket, Yorkshire scarcely missed a beat, and McGrath went to his 50 off 52 balls. His most productive stroke could be called the off-glance, a nudge that went so fine that once it bisected the keeper and slip; invariably it reached the boundary.Yorlshire did not falter, and the crowd realised victory was assured when McGrath lofted Tredwell for two leg-side sixes, although the second was almost caught. They had almost seven overs to spare when McGrath hit the winning runs, taking his score to 85 off only 80 balls. Brophy played an unsung but invaluable role for 38 not out.Much the best bowler was McLaren, who bowled just five overs to take 2 for 16; Kent erred in keeping, presumably, his remaining three overs for the ‘death’ which never came.