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Cheteshwar Pujara said South Africa had more reason to be disappointed after Wanderers

Sidharth Monga in Durban24-Dec-2013India and South Africa know it will be important to put the last draw behind them and start afresh for Durban – which might be difficult with only three days’ gap in between – but India continued to try to claim psychological advantage after they pushed the No. 1 side to the brink in their backyard. Cheteshwar Pujara, who scored 153 in the second innings in Johannesburg and was part of the highest partnership of the match, said South Africa had more reason to be disappointed after Wanderers.”If we look at the last game, we have more positives than them because when we batted first the ball was doing a bit,” Pujara said. “We batted well and when they batted in the first innings there wasn’t much help for the bowlers so the kind of comeback we made in [their] first innings. On the last day we were expecting more movement from the cracks but it didn’t happen. So I think they had the opportunity to bat well when the wicket was better and when we batted – even in the second innings – the ball was doing a bit. When they batted, at times there was a little bit of movement but they were lucky enough to survive.”In pushing South Africa to the edge, India also had to bowl their bowlers for longer than they would have liked considering the next Test starts in three days’ time. Two days after the match, Zaheer Khan – he bowled more than he has ever done in a Test – and Ishant Sharma gave the optional training session a miss. Pujara reassured that recovery should not be a problem.”Such close matches you expect in Test format,” Pujara said. “It was a very exciting Test. Don’t think there is any problem with the recovery. We are training a lot so we are fit enough to prepare for the next game, and there were a lot of positives for us to go ahead with a positive frame of mind in this match.”Emotional and mental recovery, though, might be a different issue. “It was difficult because we felt that we had a very good chance to win the match but just one partnership in one particular session didn’t go our way,” Pujara said. “So emotionally and mentally coming out [of it] and playing this match will be important. We have to forget what happened and focus on our plans after looking at the wicket tomorrow and work accordingly.”From what he has seen of South Africa’s batting, Pujara believes India can bowl them out twice. “The kind of batting line-up they have we have got a very good chance to bowl them out,” Pujara said. “Just AB [de Villiers] and Faf [du Plessis] were able to score big runs. Apart from them no one got big runs. So it’s a positive sign for us. We also believe that we can get them out. Also if you look at the last session, they were cautious about not going for the target so they are worried about their tail-enders not batting through. So it’s a positive sign for us.”India will take heart from the fact that Dale Steyn returned his worst figures in a Test, but will also be wary that Steyn, Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis are all unlikely to fail in back-to-back Tests. Pujara was not getting drawn into any complacence regarding Steyn. “It’s a good thing for us that he didn’t get any wickets,” Pujara said, “but he is a good bowler so we don’t want to underestimate him. And we have to be careful against him even in this match so as a team we can’t take him lightly. It’s just that we had very good success, and we will try and continue the same thing in this match.”South Africa’s spinner, though, is a different story. “Think [Imran] Tahir didn’t bowl well,” Pujara said. “Kind of expectations South Africa had of him, he didn’t bowl well enough and they also knew that they would have to bowl [JP] Duminy and him because Morne Morkel was injured in the second innings so we took the advantage and wanted to capitalise when they were on and we were successful. On that wicket there wasn’t much help for the spinners so I don’t want to rate anybody but I think we batted well and Indians are known to bat well against spinners.”South Africa look more positive about Morkel’s fitness than they did during the last Test. Pujara was not praying for his recovery, though. “It will make a huge difference for them because the kind of bounce he gets from the wicket it’s difficult to score runs against,” Pujara said. “They will have to bring in a new fast bowler, so whoever comes in hasn’t been playing for them. Even when they played in Abu Dhabi I don’t think he played that match. It’s a new guy coming in and now they have to think about their bowling line-up. Steyn and Morkel are used to bowling in partnership so it will make a huge difference.”

Virat Kohli, who scored a century in the first ODI in Napier, said it was important to want to hit the short balls in order to play them well

Abhishek Purohit in Hamilton21-Jan-2014If India’s batsmen need advice in tackling the short ball, they can get it from their team-mate who cracked 123 off 111 in his first international innings in New Zealand, in the first ODI in Napier. Before the second match in Hamilton, Virat Kohli said that it was important to want to hit the short ball in order to get into a good position to do so, while elaborating on his approach.New Zealand had made it clear before the series started that they planned to target the Indians with pace and bounce, especially on faster pitches, and four of India’s top six subsequently fell to the short ball in Napier. Kohli said that as international batsmen, the Indians needed to be technically and physically better equipped to deal with that.”It’s a very personal choice of any team, what sort of plan they want to come up with against us,” Kohli said. “I think a lot of teams have tried to bounce us out but that hasn’t been the case for the longest time that I have seen. Mostly the bouncer is a plan to set you up for the next ball to nick you off. A bouncer is never to scare you away, it is just to put in the batsman’s head that there might be a short ball coming, another one, because you have two in the over now.Virat Kohli was one of the few Indian batsmen who played the short ball well in South Africa•Associated Press”I think as international cricketers, we have got to be good enough to stand up to that challenge and be fit enough to actually react to those deliveries. That’s where your fitness counts as well. If you are not fit enough, you might not have the reflexes to actually tackle a ball thrown at 150 kmph and you might be totally exposed or found in a very uncomfortable spot. As I said, we should be prepared to face anything. If it is a seaming wicket, if they are trying to nick us off, then we should be technically correct to tackle that. If they are trying to bounce us out, we should be technically correct to leave the ball or, if confident, pull the ball.”Detailing his own methods, Kohli said one could either strike or leave a bouncer in the end, but it was important to be balanced and set up to play the initial shot.”I think even to leave the ball on a bouncer, it is very important to want to hit the ball. If you are looking to leave the ball, your weight is already on the back foot and then you are in no position to leave or hit the ball. If you are looking to hit the ball, you take your body forwards and then you can be balanced enough to duck under it. I think that is one key aspect that a lot of people mistake.”If you are looking to leave the ball, then more often than not you will get hit on the glove or the helmet. If I am looking to hit the ball, then I can get under the ball much better, I have much better balance because my body is going forward. I have a good base to duck under the ball.Kohli said he preferred to pull rather than hook, and that too in front of square, a strategy he said gave him more control. “Even if I am not ducking, if I have a good base, then I have confidence to actually pull the ball and I look to hit it in front of square. I hardly look to hook the ball unless it is on my body, so it gives me more control. It gives you that extra half a second because you know you have to hit the ball in front of square, so you have to be quick enough to do that. You have to be quick enough to tackle the ball coming at 140.”Having a clear mind was also crucial, Kohli said. Completely backing whatever he decided to do with a particular delivery, and doing it wholeheartedly, was something he said he had picked up in South Africa.”One thing I learnt in South Africa was when you are batting, whatever you are doing, you need to commit to it fully,” he said. “Because people are bowling at you at 140-145 kph, there is not much time to decide and think later on, after the ball is bowled. Whatever you want to do, you got to read the length and commit to the shot. If you want to leave the ball, you have got to commit to that.”

Freshly crowned Ashes heroes Mitchell Johnson, Brad Haddin and Steven Smith are part of a group of 31 players that has attracted the highest base price of Rs 20 million for the IPL player auction to be to be held in Bangalore on February 12 and 13

Nagraj Gollapudi29-Jan-2014Players valued at the maximum base price

Dinesh Karthik, Praveen Kumar, Amit Mishra, Ashish Nehra, Pragyan Ojha, Yusuf Pathan, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Manoj Tiwary, Robin Uthappa, M Vijay, George Bailey, Brad Haddin, Brad Hodge, Michael Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Shaun Marsh, James Pattinson, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Alex Hales, Samit Patel, Kevin Pietersen, Brendon McCullum, Ross Taylor, Jacques Kallis, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Mahela Jayawardene, Angelo Mathews, Marlon Samuels

Freshly-crowned Ashes heroes Mitchell Johnson, Brad Haddin and Steven Smith are part of a group of 31 players that has attracted the highest base price of Rs 20 million (US$ 320,000 approx.) for the IPL player auction to be to be held in Bangalore on February 12 and 13. They are part of the 232-strong auction list of capped players from ten countries, which was finalised by the IPL last week and distributed to the eight franchises.There are 46 Indians on the list including prominent players like Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, Dinesh Karthik, Pragyan Ojha and Yusuf Pathan, all of whom have been listed at the top base price of Rs 20 million. Irfan Pathan, the allrounder, is not in the top bracket but has been valued at Rs 15 million.One notable absentee is fast bowler Varun Aaron, who is back with the national team after a lengthy injury lay-off. It was initially thought that he had skipped the IPL, but it has emerged that he is still getting his paperwork in place.*Among the overseas players, some of the notable names missing are the Sri Lanka pair of Kumar Sangakkara and Dinesh Chandimal, Australia’s Michael Clarke and Mitchell Marsh, England’s Stuart Broad, Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler, and West Indies fast bowler Kemar Roach.With Sri Lanka touring Ireland and England this summer players like Sangakkara – who also has a young family – are likely to have decided to cool their heels before the UK trip. However Sangakkara’s team-mates Mahela Jayawardene and Angelo Mathews have decided to enter the auction even if they are bound to miss the business end of the IPL.Among the first-timers, New Zealand allrounder Corey Anderson tops the list and could likely be one of the most sought-after players. Anderson hit the fastest ODI century, in 36 balls, against West Indies. The 23-year-old, who is now the fastest to register both a century and a five-for in an ODI career, has a base price of Rs 10 million. Anderson has been the best allrounder in the ongoing one-day series against India, which New Zealand have won.Pinal Shah error

Pinal Shah, the Baroda wicketkeeper-batsman, has been mistakenly included in the list of capped players. According to the list that has been circulated among the franchises, Shah, who led Baroda to the Ranji Trophy final in 2010-11, has played “four ODIs”. However, Shah has never been included in the India squad for any of the three formats. Shah featured in 14 IPL games for Mumbai Indians in the first two seasons, and then represented Rajasthan Royals in two games during IPL 2011.

Alex Hales, currently the No. 1-ranked batsman in Twenty20 internationals, is also searching for a top-bracket deal after that became a clause in the agreement he made with his county Nottinghamshire to be allowed into the auction. Both Hales and Samit Patel will only be allowed to participate should they secure the most lucrative contracts available.The biggest England name in the list is Kevin Pietersen who is a free agent again after Delhi Daredevils opted not to retain any players. Although England’s central contracts have clauses to allow players a period at the IPL – a period that has been extended under the new deals – Pietersen’s IPL participation could well by a thorny issue again if there has been a breakdown in the relationship between him and England’s team director Andy Flower as has been suggested.As expected, Stuart Broad and Ben Stokes have not put their names forward for this year’s tournament even though both would have gathered significant interest. After the 5-0 Ashes whitewash there is a desire in English cricket for the rejuvenation of the Test side to be made a priority and both Broad and Stokes, who impressed in the Ashes, will be central to that. However, Ian Bell, who does not play T20 for England, has put his name forward.Perhaps a little more surprising is the absence of Jos Buttler, England’s explosive limited-overs wicketkeeper, who has a strong reputation in Twenty20. However, not joining the IPL means he will have an extended run of four-day County Championship cricket at the start of the English season to push his claims to be England’s Test keeper – a role that is now far more fluid following Matt Prior’s omission during the Ashes.Once again Pakistan players will be not part of the auction although two Pakistan-born players – Azhar Mahmood (England) and Fawad Ahmad (Australia) – have been listed.Australian chinaman bowler Brad Hogg, at 43, will be the oldest capped player in the auction and is listed at reserve price of Rs 15 million. Hogg was part of Rajasthan Royals till IPL 2013, though he played just the one match last season. The other 40-plus capped player is former Sri Lanka offspinner Muttiah Muralitharn (Rs 10 million), who was with Royal Challengers Bangalore last season.Ryan ten Doeschate, who was with Kolkata Knight Riders till last year, is the solitary player form the Associates (Netherlands) and has a base price of Rs 10 million.According to the new IPL player regulations, it has been decided that all players will be paid in Indian rupees from this year. Overseas players will be paid in the currency of their choice at the prevailing exchange rate on either the actual date of payment or contract due date, whichever is beneficial to the player.Click here for the full list of capped players at the auction.*January 29 4.00pm GMT This story was updated after Varun Aaron’s status was clarified

AB de Villiers acknowledged it takes more than just sound technique to face Mitchell Johnson with success, it also requires a lot of heart

Firdose Moonda at Centurion Park14-Feb-2014AB de Villiers acknowledged it takes more than just sound technique to face Mitchell Johnson with success, it also requires a lot of heart.”You can’t show weakness,” he said. “You’ve got to be prepared to get hurt. Once you don’t have that fear of getting hurt, you can play him. Most of the time you get yourself out. He doesn’t really bowl you a peach of a delivery, you get yourself out.”De Villiers was the only South Africa batsman who had some measure of Johnson, whose short ball and searing speeds proved too much for the rest. Even though de Villiers also wore one – on the forearm late on the second day – he reminded himself of the basics he needed to apply against Johnson.”He came hard at all of us. He is an x-factor bowler, like Russell [Domingo] said. I just watched the ball, tried to move quite early and just trusted my instincts from there on there on,” he said. “If you’re lackadaisical, you are going to get hurt.”What helped de Villiers is that he also faced Johnson when the ball was older and he said as soon as that happens, conditions become easier for run scoring. “I felt comfortable from 35 overs onward.”With that knowledge, de Villiers has a plan for how South Africa can attempt to save the game in the second dig. “Once we get through the new ball, we should find it easier. If we bat well enough we may even get two new balls, so we will have to get through that as well. If we can do that, we can fight back.”Despite the fighting talk, de Villiers admitted South Africa are staring down the barrel, but suggested the hosts have not quite had the rub of the green. “It felt like anything that came off the glove when they were in the field went to hand,” he said. “I can’t count the times some of their batsmen were hit the gloves and hands and it went over slip. When one team has got confidence, things seem to happen a lot easier for them; the bowlers look more skilful. That’s the situation we are in now.”We’re in a bit of trouble obviously. Australia have dominated for pretty much the whole Test match, which is disappointing. But we’re not going to give up. There is only one team playing this Test match at the moment. But giving up doesn’t exist for us. We know the declaration can’t be too far away. We know what we are up against it.”South Africa will draw inspiration from the 148 overs they batted out in Adelaide in November 2012 and the 136 at the Wanderers last year, even though they will probably need to see out more here on a different surface. While Adelaide was flat and the Wanderers got better as the match went on, the Centurion strip has already showed signs of inconsistent bounce, which will have Johnson drooling, and its cracks are opening up.However, if South Africa are nervous de Villiers didn’t show it. “Everything that hit a crack today missed the bat by a long way so that’s good for us,” he said. “The bounce is the dangerous part. With the cracks, it was just that one or two kicked up. If we can overcome that, we could come close to an upset or saving this Test match.”

Officials from the ICC are impressed with the development of cricket in Oman, following a two-day inspection of the facilities in the Arab country

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Mar-2014Officials from the ICC are impressed with the development of cricket in Oman, following a two-day inspection of the facilities in the Arab country. Tim Anderson, the ICC’s global development manager, said Oman’s application for Associate status will come up for discussion during the ICC’s Annual General Meeting in Melbourne in June.”This (inspection) has been a terrific experience for us. We not only had an opportunity to analyse the growth but we also got a chance to witness the progress that this country is making. Overall, we are very impressed with everything that is happening at the moment,” Anderson was quoted in the .”The Annual General Meeting in Melbourne in June will be crucial. They will decide about Oman’s status, based on our report. I don’t want to disclose anything but as I said, Oman is doing a tremendous job and the inspection was very positive.”Oman, an Affiliate member, had applied for Associate status last year. Anderson and his team, including Neil Speight, chairman of ICC Associate and Affiliate Members and Imran Khawja, ICC Associate member director, inspected cricket grounds in Al Amerat and a training facility in Barka. They will submit their report to the ICC Development Committee which is scheduled to meet in May.”That ground (Al Amerat) is just marvelous. I think they did a terrific job but they can have two or three grounds more with an indoor centre for cricket and I think that will create a major foundation for cricket here,” Anderson said.Anderson, who captained Australia in the 1998 Under-19 World Cup, said Oman should first aim to qualify for the World T20 as the shortest format gives upcoming teams the best chance to participate in a world event.”There are lots of opportunities for our members to qualify and I am really excited about how it is going to turn out in Bangladesh this month,” he said. “Today, T20 has brought more people into this sport and I must say that this is the best format for Oman to make more progress in.”Oman’s neighbours, UAE, have qualified for the upcoming World T20 and 50-over World Cup in 2015. Recently, Qatar hosted a women’s T20 tri-series featuring Pakistan, South Africa and Ireland.

ESPNcricinfo assesses Northamptonshire’s prospects for 2014

George Dobell29-Mar-2014Northamptonshire
Last year 2nd, CC Div 2 (promoted); Champions, FLt20; 2nd in Group A, YB40.2013 in a nutshell
Excellent. Hailed as the “best season we’ve ever had” by chief executive, David Smith, Northants’ won just the fourth trophy in their history – the Friend Life t20 – and gained promotion at the expense of richer rivals with more high-profile players in the Championship. They also only missed a Yorkshire Bank 40 semi-final on run-rate.Bearing in mind how awful they had been in 2012 – no team had won fewer games across all three competitions than Northants – it was a remarkable improvement and vindicated the appointment of David Ripley as replacement for David Capel midway through 2012 and the appointment of Stephen Peters and Alex Wakely as captains across the formats.A feature of Northants’ Championship cricket in 2013 was the depth of their batting, with the lower-order regularly disheartening their opposition with impressive fightbacks. So 171 for 8 against Essex became 399 all out; 236 for 6 against Glamorgan became 453 all out – both setting up innings victories – and 172 for 7 against Hampshire became 425 for 9 declared.With the ball, Trent Copeland proved an inspired addition and was well supported by David Willey and Stephen Crook. Andrew Hall, released from the burden of captaincy, enjoyed an excellent season with bat and ball.Willey enjoyed a fine T20 season and was rated the competition’s most valuable player, with Richard Levi and Azharullah, the top wicket-taker in the competition, also featuring in the top 10. But it was fitting that in the final Willey scored the fastest half-century of the season and claimed a hat-trick to seal the title.2014 prospects
Northants have not enjoyed the perfect run-in to the season. They have already learned that their limited-overs captain, Alex Wakely, is out for the season after sustaining a ruptured Achilles tendon on the pre-season tour of Barbados, while David Willey is recovering more slowly than expected from a stress fracture of the back and, less than two weeks before the start of the season, has barely bowled and reports more pain in the affected area.Trent Copeland, so effective as an overseas player in 2013, cannot return due to (self-defeating) work-permit regulations while his replacement, Jackson Bird, has had his stay curtailed on the orders of Cricket Australia.But there are grounds for optimism, too. Batsmen Rob Newton and Peters are both back to fitness after injury problems last year, while the club have added seamer Maurice Chambers and spinner Graeme White. Olly Stone should also boost the seam attack after an injury-ruined 2013. While survival in the top division should be deemed a success, it is not beyond Northants and there is no reason they should not continue to challenge in the limited-overs formats.Key player
Steven Crook should probably have been in Bangladesh with the England World T20 squad. A powerful batsman and deceptively quick, skiddy bowler, he is just the sort of allrounder England required. But, whether it is age, 30, his Australian heritage or the fact that he plays for an unfashionable club, he seems to have been oddly overlooked. But England’s loss is Northants’ gain and Crook should continue to have a large impact at county level. As well as proving counterattacking batting or acceleration, he has the pace and variations to surprise well-set batsmen on good wickets. It would underline his influence on the side if he was promoted to the captaincy of the limited-overs teams this season in the absence of Wakely.Bright young thing
It bodes well for Northants’ future that there are several options in this category. Ben Duckett, who looks likely to benefit from Wakely’s absence, appears to have a bright future as a keeper-batsman, while 20-year-old Olly Stone is a highly impressive seam bowler. But it is Rob Newton who could surprise opposition this season. The 24-year-old was injured for much of last year but has the compact technique and range of strokes that looks capable of helping him emulate the success of David Sales.Captain/coach
Ripley remains head coach, with Peters captain of the four-day team. No replacement has been named for one-day captain Wakely, though Crook is the favourite for the role.ESPNcricinfo verdict
Despite the injury setbacks, Northants should be capable of avoiding relegation. While the depth of their squad is not huge, they have more quality within it than Derbyshire had in a similar position last year and a better crop of young players developing through the club’s system. Repeating the success of the FLt20 will not be easy but Northants should remain challenging opponents in both limited-overs formats.

A round-up of IPL-related news on April 28, 2014

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Apr-2014McCullum enjoying batting with ‘intelligent’ Smith
Chennai Super Kings went into the IPL season with a fresh opening pair in Brendon McCullum and Dwayne Smith. So far, the two have responded with starts of 123, 23, 35, 11 and 85. McCullum said he was enjoying batting with Smith, and added that despite their aggressive styles, they were complementing each other, which MS Dhoni had pointed out earlier.”It is great to bat with him because he is so powerful and has a lot of options in his batting,” McCullum told the tournament website. “He is a very intelligent cricketer as well. I enjoy how wise a head he has about his game. He has certainly shown his experience in this format of the game. We seem to have a good rapport and get a good partnership going. We are pretty lucky that both of us hit the ball and hit it in different areas. I saw a comment from our captain earlier in the week when he said that Smith and I don’t compete against each other but we complement each other, which is nice to have in an opening partnership.”McCullum said that the team management also had a role to play in the pair’s success. “The captain and the coach have complemented our abilities to play our games. They don’t want us to be too aggressive, but just play the style of cricket which has got us to where we are in world cricket at the moment. It is always nice to get a leadership team like that to give the confidence to go out and play. What we have seen are reasonably aggressive starts from us, which are in character with how we are as players. We are not trying to be what we are not; we are just trying to play our natural game.”Modified action helping Mohit
Mohit Sharma has tweaked his action on the advice of India bowling coach Joe Dawes and that has helped him increase his speed, according to his coach Vijay Yadav. Mohit has taken eight wickets at an economy-rate of 6.69 so far in the IPL and is behind only Sunil Narine at the moment.”He has made a slight technical change,” Yadav, also a former India wicketkeeper, told . “His hand used to go back a little more and because of that his body used to form a big arch. But now that arch has been reduced a bit, after his ankle injury, and due to this the load on his back is also less. Mohit told me he is more comfortable now and in the IPL I have noticed that his speed has also improved.”Vijay targets consistency
M Vijay wants to be more consistent with his batting. The Delhi Daredevils opener had an underwhelming start to the season before he made 52 against Sunrisers Hyderabad and 40 against Mumbai Indians. “I am working on that aspect,” Vijay said. “As far as my batting is concerned, I have been batting well. Once I get consistency in my batting, I will get going. I have been batting pretty well in the domestic season and have been hitting the ball really well. I just want to carry forward my good form to this IPL season.”Vijay said he should have finished the chase of 126 against Mumbai Indians after leading his side to 79 for 1. “I should have won the match from there. There was no pressure on the team and on myself. I knew the batsmen coming in would find it difficult. I will try and finish the next game for the Daredevils.”Parnell waits for his opportunity
Wayne Parnell, the Delhi Daredevils fast bowler, has said his time away from the South Africa side has taught him to be patient and capitalise when he gets the opportunity. Parnell made his Test debut in early 2010 but had to wait another four years for his next match in the longest format. “Over the last 12 to 16 months, after being out of the national team, I went back to domestic cricket and put up some decent performances to get back into the South African side,” Parnell said. “I have also learnt to wait for my chances and do well for the team when I do get a chance. You have the likes of Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn in the pace attack for South Africa, and for me as a young guy, I have to hang in there and perform well when I am required.”

Adam Lyth and Alex Lees both struck disciplined hundreds as Yorkshire threatened to turn their clash with bottom club Northants on its head

Jon Culley at Wantage Road01-Jun-2014
ScorecardAdam Lyth was one of two Yorkshire openers to strike hundreds•Getty ImagesAdam Lyth is a fine batsman when the moment seizes him, capable of strokeplay as pleasing on the eye as most in the Championship, his natural inclination being to attack, particularly against the new ball. Less impressive in his career so far has been his tendency to lose patience, a flaw that has cost him many a soft dismissal. He has made 10 first-class centuries, but you suspect it should have been more.Yet perhaps the best is still to come. His latest hundred, half of an extraordinary opening partnership, unbroken as yet, with fellow centurion Alex Lees that has turned this match on its head, was typically Lyth in parts, at least in his first half-century, but then most untypical, involving long periods of circumspection, self-restraint and deep concentration, notably in the most patience-testing passage of all, between 90 and 100.The left-hander, who had reached 50 off 68 balls, faced 53 deliveries between the single off Maurice Chambers by which he reached 90 and the four to the cover boundary off James Middlebrook that took him to his hundred. Anyone blessed with similar patience and access to Lyth’s career history might find that this is a record for him. He celebrated extravagantly, leaping in the air as if he had done it on his debut in a Test match.If he has acquired new powers of concentration, they have come from an unusual source: a golf course putting green.”Simon Hatley, our sports psychologist, devised this exercise that involves us doing two-foot puts, one after the other, concentrating on not missing,” he said. “I got 213 in a row over an hour and a half before I missed one.”It was Lyth’s third hundred of the season, two of them in the Championship, and his seventh time past 50 in first class matches.”I suppose my celebration was a bit over the top because although it is my third hundred this season I probably should have got a few more,” he said. “I probably have become a bit more patient. I still look to hit it for four if it is in my area but this time they bowled a bit negative and you had to be patient.”Lyth’s 116 alone robbed Northamptonshire of the rare prosperity they had glimpsed earlier in the day, when 19-year–old Ben Duckett’s 51 — a nice innings from a wicketkeeper-batsman of promise — supplemented James Middlebrook’s 70 on the opening day to establish a first-innings lead of 116.It was only the second time this season they had actually been in front. Yet they learned again on a day almost as noteworthy as the first, when 17 wickets fell, that a session or two won, even three and a half sessions as here, means nothing unless superiority is maintained. There may be turns to come but having lost the next two and half sessions, they may be heading for a fifth defeat.Lyth and Lees reached the close still together after scoring 237 runs, the largest opening partnership of the Championship season so far, for any county.Pitches here have a tendency to flatten out but the contrast with the first day could not have been much more extreme. Northamptonshire lost their last three wickets in the first 65 minutes of play, but until the 61st over of Yorkshire’s second innings, an hour after tea, when Lees scrambled home for a single on 76 despite David Sales scoring a direct hit to the bowler’s end from mid-off, there was not another chance. As it happens, Lees survived another two runs later, dropped by Rob Newton at midwicket, off Matthew Spriegel’s off-spin.Lees regained his composure and completed his hundred 100 off 222 balls with his 13th four, his first of the season and celebrated with a little more reserve than Lyth.

Sunrisers are trailing Mumbai and Royals in their scramble for a playoff spot. They need a resounding victory over Kolkata Knight Riders, who are on a six-match winning streak

The Preview by Alagappan Muthu23-May-2014Match factsSaturday, May 24, 2014
Start time 2000 local (1430 GMT)4:11

Guha: Sunrisers have to win well

Big PictureShikhar Dhawan has begun to covert his starts for Sunrisers Hyderabad•BCCISunrisers Hyderabad have a laundry list of odds to beat if they are to clinch the final playoff spot. A dismal net run-rate of -0.231 puts them well behind their contenders, Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals. They travel to Eden Gardens, one of the largest stadiums in the country, which has routinely and vociferously been behind Kolkata Knight Riders, who have won their last six games quite convincingly. Gautam Gambhir’s men are in sight of their their longest winning streak and a spot in the top-two on the points table.Three of the strongest hitters in T20s wear the Sunrisers orange. However, only David Warner has bolstered his threat with performance on the field. Aaron Finch and Darren Sammy haven’t yet caused the damage they are capable of. With the backbone buckling and their limited Indian talent taking too long to hit their stride, the Sunrisers bowlers needed to pick up the slack once again. Only they couldn’t. Sunrisers claimed 100 wickets in 17 matches last season at an average of 23.03, but in 13 matches this year their tally is 64 at 31.78.A upturn in form since the IPL returned to India and Robin Uthappa’s remarkable consistency at the top of the order has put Knight Riders through to the playoffs. They are now in contention to displace Chennai Super Kings, with whom they are level on 16 points, from the No.2 spot.Form guideKolkata Knight Riders: WWWWW (completed games, most recent first)
Sunrisers Hyderabad: WWLLLWhere they standKolkata Knight Riders: Third place, with 16 points from 13 games
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Sixth, with 12 points from 13 gamesPrevious encounterThe Sunrisers think-tank had picked the top-order’s inability to push on as their major drawback this season and this game was another example. David Warner lasted 18 balls and his 34 was the top score as Umesh Yadav’s three wickets helped Knight Riders limit Sunrisers to 142. A string of 30s and a 40 from Uthappa took the visitors to victory by seven wickets.Watch out forDavid Warner has been shuttled up and down the order but his performance has not been affected. He has the most fifties in the tournament so far – the first came at No.3, the next three at No.4 and the last two while opening the batting. His 90 off 45 against Chennai Super Kings might well have ended his musical chairs up and down the order.At the other end is Sunil Narine, whose mechanical consistency – 20 wickets at an economy rate of six – is the major reason for Knight Riders’ confidence in their bowling. The battle between the two could well decide the result of the game.Stats and trivia Gautam Gambhir is the only batsman to have scored a half century in the three IPL games played between Knight Riders and Sunrisers Sunrisers won four out of six times when they posted a total below 150 in 2013. This year, they have managed only one win in four triesQuotes”We knew that we have the bowling attack to defend anything. But to chase has been my personal decision as lot of people have been tagging us as chokers and I wanted to rid of it.”
“I wanted to applaud every shot he played because he was batting magnificently”

ZC’s cricket committee has suggested appointing a director of cricket to oversee all training programs and splitting the captaincy across formats

Firdose Moonda11-Jul-2014Of the many labels that can be slapped on Zimbabwe Cricket, modern, slick and well-functioning are not among them. The administration is caught in a debt spiral, the national team has barely enough fixtures to justify their Full Member status and the domestic structure that appears to be crumbling at the foundations but ZC may put all that aside as they look to implement a major restructure.The two major areas under consideration are coaching and captaincy. ZC’s cricket committee has suggested appointing a director of cricket to oversee all training programs and splitting the leadership role across formats. ZC’s board will consider the proposals at a meeting on July 24 and an insider said they believed the recommendations will be ratified.Practically, that will mean a shift in power in Zimbabwean cricket. Current head coach Andy Waller will likely be elevated to the director position which will leave him to oversee everything from development to the senior side but will strip him of direct authority over the national team, which is where the concerns begin to sprout.”Theoretically it is a good idea but it should have been done when there were coaches around to choose from and if there was money to pay them,” a source close to ZC said.The dearth of quality in coaches in Zimbabwe, largely as a result of the financial crisis, means there are not many candidates to choose from when it comes to appointing a head coach. Neither Grant Flower nor Heath Streak are around any more after they accepted jobs with Pakistan and Bangladesh respectively. Gary Brent, who was coaching the academy side, did not have his contract renewed and has sought work in another field.ZC’s precarious financial situation also means they will probably not be able to hire someone else to work in the coaching structures. That leaves only Waller’s assistant, Stephen Mangongo, who was also Alan Butcher’s No. 2, to take over the national team.Mangongo is a seasoned coach, having come through the ranks at Takashinga cricket club, through which the likes of Tatenta Taibu, Elton Chigumbura and Prosper Utseya were developed and has stood in as Zimbabwe’s head coach on previous occasions including a series against Bangladesh.However, Mangongo is known as a tough task master who has rubbed some players up the wrong way and even had an altercation with a young player last year. “I don’t know how the players will respond to Stephen being appointed and being directly in charge,” the source said.The other idea the players may not warm to immediately is a change in leadership. Brendan Taylor has been in charge of Zimbabwe since June 2011, has presided over the Test comeback and wins over Bangladesh and Pakistan. He is a popular captain and has the support of his team although his tactics in managing bowlers have occasionally been questioned. Taylor is also burdened with the responsibility of keeping wicket and being the anchor batsman, which may be prompting the move to ease his load but Zimbabwe do not have too many options for who can relieve him.Although the cricket committee has not named anyone as a possible leader, Hamilton Masakadza is the obvious, and perhaps even only, choice. He stood in for Taylor when the latter was on paternity leave for the first Test against Pakistan in September last year. He has also captained at ODI level previously albeit only for seven matches between 2008 and 2009 at a time when Zimbabwe were rotating captains with comical frequency. Masakadza is a guaranteed starter and one of Zimbabwe’s most reliable batsmen and has the respect of his team-mates but whether he wants to be elevated to the captaincy has yet to be established.