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“It’s a great moment for us and for all the girls back home,” Bismah Maroof says after Pakistan won the T20I series in New Zealand

Danyal Rasool05-Dec-2023Before Sunday, no Asian women’s side had won a T20I match in New Zealand, with Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka losing all the games they played there. But over the past two days, Nida Dar’s side has changed all that in Dunedin, triumphing in the first T20I on Sunday, and on Tuesday, going one better, winning the second T20I and sealing the series in the process.Following the second win, a glowing Bismah Maroof talked about the impact this win would have, not just on the confidence of the team, but “all the girls back home”.”We’d been struggling for results for a while – it’s a big moment for us,” she said in a video released by PCB. “As a team, the way we showed character is outstanding. It’s a great moment for us and for all the girls back home. This is a morale booster for us, and we’ll carry the confidence of this, and it’s something that will give youngsters confidence too.”While Pakistan have historically struggled against the traditionally stronger sides, there are inklings that this might be beginning to change. In September, Pakistan beat South Africa 3-0 in a T20I series at home, and won one of the three ODIs in the series that followed against them. It was something Dar was eager to stress on, and she expressed the desire to build on it.”It’s been our wish for a long time that we perform this way against the big teams and beat the big teams,” she said. “Our team is gelling together nicely. The girls have taken lessons from the way cricket is played around the world and their intent is now obvious. Now we’re getting results; we won a series against South Africa and now New Zealand. I’m sure it’s onwards and upwards from here.”It’d be nice to get a whitewash – we got a whitewash against South Africa, so we want to do it against the White Ferns. The conditions [in Dunedin] suit us, though it’s a bit windy, which can cause us problems. But the girls are responsible and [are] executing their roles perfectly and that makes me very optimistic.”It was Pakistan’s bowling that set the stage for both wins, with 22-year-old medium pacer Fatima Sana leading the way each time. Across the two games, she has registered figures of 8-0-40-6, with vital top-order wickets each time setting the tone.Dar attributed the improvement to continued exposure, pointing to the need for a women’s T20 league in Pakistan. Earlier this year, three women’s exhibition matches took place in Rawalpindi, which saw players from abroad compete alongside Pakistani cricketers, with a view to testing out the viability of a full-fledged T20 league in the country.”Our bowling has improved, our bowlers now rank amongst the top women’s bowlers,” Dar said. “It’s very important for us to have a league, because you learn a lot from the foreign players, and it builds experience.”We learned from those three matches, where New Zealand and English players came too. This is the improvement we showed after three matches, so think about the strides we can take if we have a whole league here.”The third WT20I will be played in Queenstown on December 9.

Former South Africa Under-19 player had been hospitalised after an assault near Taunton in May

Firdose Moonda08-Sep-2022Mondli Khumalo, the former South Africa Under-19 and Kwa-Zulu Natal Inland bowler, has had a final, successful surgery after being assaulted in Somerset in May. He is now able to move around without a protective helmet and hopes to be able to return to professional cricket by early next year.”That was the final piece of the puzzle,” Rob Humphries, Khumalo’s agent, told ESPNcricinfo. “Now it’s about healing and the pathway back to professional cricket. He is in great spirits and physically, he is really good. He can get up and walk about. It’s about being able to get back in the gym and rebuilding his fitness. He is fit and strong and in a really good space.”Khumalo, who was on his first trip as an overseas professional at North Petherton Cricket Club, was attacked outside a pub in Bridgwater, near Taunton, where he was celebrating a win with his team-mates.A 27-year-old man was arrested and released on investigation and the case awaits the go-ahead from the crown prosecution service.Khumalo was unconscious at the scene and then placed in an induced coma for four days. He had three operations to relieve pressure and bleeding in the brain. Ten days after being hospitalised, Khumalo was able to stand unaided and his club team-mate Lloyd Irish shared a video of Khumalo catching a sponge ball.His fourth and final operation, to replace the piece of skull that had been removed to attend to the brain injury, took place on September 7. It would have taken place sooner, but was delayed by several weeks after Khumalo contracted Covid-19. He will remain in England until he is cleared to travel, with Humphries aiming for a November return. Khumalo’s mother and uncle, who made the trip across from South Africa to England soon after the attack, have already returned home and Khumalo has been in the club’s care.In June, they organised a crowd-funding campaign to help with the costs of Khumalo’s treatment, which is chargeable by the NHS, and raised £27,379. Further funding will be needed, as his bills have exceeded this amount.

Hasan Ali and Shaheen Afridi took a four-for each to bowl out Zimbabwe by tea on day one

Danyal Rasool29-Apr-2021Stumps Zimbabwe may have controlled whether or not to bat after Brendan Taylor called correctly at the toss, but little else was in their control all day. A collapse of the top order left them battling against the tide from the outset, and four wickets apiece for Shaheen Afridi – who reached 50 Test wickets today – and Hasan Ali skittled the hosts out for 176. To hammer home Pakistan’s advantage, their openers, Abid Ali and Imran Butt – both out of form for quite some time – remained unbeaten through the third session, bringing up a century partnership, finishing the opening day of the first Test just 73 runs behind Zimbabwe with all ten wickets still intact.The home side had found themselves outclassed, bullied and overrun in the first session. The absence of Craig Ervine and Sikandar Raza, combined with captain Sean Williams being ruled out late yesterday, meant the batting was vulnerable. Those fears were only exacerbated when Hasan struck in his first over to get rid of Kevin Kasuza. There was an element of tragicomedy to that dismissal, with a solid defensive shot trickling back towards the stumps, Kasuza’s bucked kick never really threatening to prevent the ball dislodging the off-stump bail.Afridi at the other end was consistent as ever, suffocating Zimbabwe with unerring accuracy, giving the batters’ techniques regular workings-over. It was inevitable that would bring about a wicket sooner or later, and when Prince Masvaure pushed at one with hard hands, it flew to Butt at second slip. He could have been dismissed off the first ball of the match when a strong appeal for caught behind was turned down by the umpire, but there would be no further chances once Butt grabbed hold of a smart catch.Pakistan handed a debut to offspinner Sajid Khan, but it was his left-arm counterpart Nauman Ali who provided the next breakthrough breaching Tarisai Musakanda’s defences with a ball that went straight on. Zimbabwe’s woes were compounded when Taylor fell to an uncharacteristically irresponsible shot, reaching for a Hasan delivery well wide of off stump to give Faheem Ashraf a gift at third slip. The veteran threw back his head in frustration, clearly feeling his side’s best chances of putting up a respectable first-innings total were behind it.Resistance after lunch might have made him reconsider, with debutant Roy Kaia accumulating a spirited 59-run stand with Milton Shumba for the fifth wicket. It was the only sustained phase of the innings where the batters looked untroubled, and Pakistan slightly bereft of ideas. The partnership continued after lunch in the same vein as it had concluded before, and slowly looked to be digging Zimbabwe out of the pit the top order had left them in.But when Pakistan couldn’t dismiss them, Zimbabwe were kind enough to offer a sacrifice anyway. Shumba set off for a single within the circle there was no need or possibility for, and left himself stranded in the middle of the pitch, with even a dive failing to redeem him. Kaia soldiered on briefly with Regis Chakabva, but a devastatingly effective old-ball spell from Hasan guaranteed that any hopes Zimbabwe harboured of a more substantial revival would be swiftly extinguished. He followed up his two wickets with the new ball by taking another two in the middle, removing top-scorer Kaia two runs shy of a half-century with a pinpoint yorker, and putting paid to Chakabva moments later. After that, it was left to the bowlers to scrape together a total as close to 200 as their abilities and wiles would muster.The tail did provide brief, entertaining resistance, but the carefree approach they took was, by design, short-term, and Afridi joined Hasan’s party, each finishing with four wickets. Afridi’s 50th Test wicket has come in his 16th Test, one quicker than Wasim Akram, with Hasan just three wickets short of the same mark.Donald Tiripano frustrated Pakistan with the reverse sweep for a while, interspersed with some eye-catchingly good conventional shots, ending up as his side’s second-highest scorer. Blessing Muzarabani whacked Shaheen over cow corner en route an entertaining seven-ball 14, and before they were dismissed, the final three wickets added a useful 49 runs.It might have given them a lifeline, but it left the bowlers needing to produce something special on a slow pitch still fairly conducive to batting. The hosts, however, notably lacked the penetration they would need against the attritional abilities of Abid and Butt, each eager for a chance to cement their place at the top of Pakistan’s order. Muzarabani and Richard Ngarava were safely negotiated early on, and with Zimbabwe lacking a quality spinner, batting became easier, and the runs began to flow. Abid brought up his half-century before the day was done, with Butt just seven shy of that mark.Unless something quite special happens overnight, there’s little indication that tide can be stemmed now, with Zimbabwe facing the unwelcome prospect of a huge first-innings deficit to contend with.

A round up of the Under-19 World Cup matches played on January 25, 2020

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Jan-2020
ScorecardEngland allrounder George Hill, playing his first game of the Under-19 World Cup, finished with figures of 4 for 12 to help England bowl Nigeria out for 58 in 27.5 overs in the final Group D game at Kimberley. England, for whom this was their first win of the tournament, won by eight wickets with opener Sam Young finishing the game off with a six, as England racing to 64 for 2 in just 11 overs.Nigeria had opted to bat first, but the England seamers reduced them to 19 for 3 early. A 23-run fourth-wicket then took Nigeria past the forties, but then offspinner Hamidullah Qadri, who also took four wickets, and medium-pacer Hill bowled them out soon after. Nigeria captain Sylvester Okpe top-scored with 16.Young was brisk in England’s pursuit of 59, crunching five fours and two sixes in his 33-ball 39, while Hil, who batted at No.4, was not out on 7 when the winning runs were hit. Both teams will move to the Plate League stage of the tournament, having failed to come in the top two of their group. West Indies topped the group, with Australia finishing second.
ScorecardFour days after being bowled out for 41 by India, Japan slumped to 43 all out in their final Group A match, against Sri Lanka. In a match reduced to 22 overs a side, Sri Lanka chose to bowl, and took just 18.3 overs to rattle through Japan’s line-up, and only 8.3 to complete their chase.None of the Japan batsmen got into double figures, their No. 4 Debashish Sahoo coming closest with 9. Four Sri Lanka bowlers – Dilshan Madushanka, Sudeera Thilakaratne, Ashian Daniel and Navod Paranavithana – took two wickets each, with the other two coming via run-outs.Paranavithana fell early in Sri Lanka’s chase, before Mohammad Shamaz and Ravindu Rasantha steered their side home with an unbroken partnership of 38. The result confirmed that New Zealand – whose match against Japan didn’t produce a result – joined India in the quarter-finals.
ScorecardZimbabwe beat Scotland to notch their first win of the Under-19 World Cup, with Tadiwanashe Marumani leading the way. The opener smashed 85 off just 55 balls, including 12 fours and 4 sixes, as Zimbabwe won by eight wickets in just 17.1 overs after keeping Scotland to 140 all out.Put in to bat, Scotland were in deep trouble at 42 for 5 with the top five all back in the hut, but a lower middle-order rally prevented a complete rout. Allrounder Kess Sajjad made 68 off 71 from No.7, and was the last wicket to fall. He shared a 66-run stand for the sixth wicket with Daniel Cairns (28), and did the bulk of the scoring all through his time at the crease.Sakhumuzi Ndlela, the right-arm medium pacer, had done the early damage, taking four of the first five wickets. He ended with figures of 4 for 27, while Dion Myers and Tadiwanashe Nyangani had a couple of wickets each.In the chase, Marumani made it a no-contest, playing the dominant role in a 121-run stand for the second wicket that came off just 14 overs. He was out with just two needed for victory, and Milton Shumba finished things off in style, hitting a six with the scores level.Neither of Zimbabwe or Scotland have finished in the top two of Group C though, and both will thus be progressing to the Plate League knockouts. From Group C, Bangladesh and Pakistan will progress to the quarter-finals, having finished on top of the group.

Taking care of the ball, this time by legal means, will no longer be the purview of Australia’s batsmen

Daniel Brettig in Dubai06-Oct-2018In the aftermath of Australia’s infamy at Newlands, one of the most common questions was this: how come “looking after” the ball for the pace bowlers was a task assigned not only to a batsman, but to the most junior member of the team in Cameron Bancroft?While it was the vice-captain David Warner who wore most of the blame for coaching Bancroft in how to use sandpaper, and the captain Steven Smith almost as much for looking the other way, the question lingered long afterwards, particularly when Australia’s pace bowling trio of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins strenuously denied any involvement in illegal efforts to alter the ball’s condition to enable reverse swing.Seven months later, as Australia prepare to face Pakistan in searing desert conditions more than likely to require old-ball movement for the fast men to be effective, the captain Tim Paine shed light on a significant change in approach from Newlands to now. Taking care of the ball, this time by legal means, will no longer be the purview of the batsmen – the fast bowlers Starc and Peter Siddle will take responsibility to look after their own projectile.”They’ve taken a bit more ownership of the ball and they’ve got to bowl with it,” Paine said in Dubai. “I think that’s a good idea, we’ll have some guys probably holding it a bit more while the bowlers are bowling and they’re traditionally going to be sweating a bit more, but I think in cricket team’s I’ve been in, the bowlers tend to be pushed aside and the batters take over the ball.”We’ve spoken to our quicks, we’ve got Starc and Sidds who are really experienced, they exactly know what they want to do, and it’s up to the rest of us to support them. [The pitch] looks pretty much like how I’ve always seen it here, it looked pretty flat, the interesting thing was the square around it because of the Asia Cup was really, really dry, so there’ll be some chances for quite a bit of reverse swing, but we’ll see how it goes.”Traditionally, it has been viewed as the task of the batsmen to take care of the ball because they do not sweat as much as the bowlers, given their relative lack of activity in the field. Alastair Cook was famously used by England as a “ball marshal” for many years because he was barely known to sweat at all, and Warner took increasing charge of the task for Australia, up until his heavily strapped hand faced an unusual amount of scrutiny from television cameras in South Africa during the Port Elizabeth Test that preceded Newlands.Starc, the only member of the Newlands pace-bowling trio to be playing in Dubai, said that a square worn out by the recent Asia Cup was likely to be far more abrasive than the equivalent surface in 2014, when the Australians were subjected to long hours in the field with a ball that stubbornly refused to bend after a brief few overs of conventional new-ball swing. Also different this time around is the fact that Australia’s pace bowling coach is David Saker, who for many years worked with England’s pacemen to gain old-ball movement.”The square is quite bare so there’s every chance the ball will get scuffed up just from the wicket,” Starc said. “Hopefully for the fast bowlers reverse swing plays a bit of a part, the spinners are a big weapon in this part of the world and the way Nathan [Lyon] and Jon [Holland] bowled in the tour game was fantastic for us. We change the roles of the fast bowlers over here and it’s a bit more of a supportive role and the spinners come into the game a lot sooner and a lot more effective as well.”In terms of the rhythm of the match, Paine expected an initially drab contest to gather swerve late in its journey, coincidentally not unlike the journey taken by a ball that reverses late in its path to flummox a batsman. “Traditionally over here it probably hasn’t [done] a lot until really late in the game,” Paine said. “Over here it’s about being patient, playing the long game and the first three or four days can move really slowly and we’ve got to be prepared for that and fight really hard and be as patient as we can, and make sure we get to that later stage of the game and we’re right in it.”We’ve discussed it as a group and some senior players who’ve been here before and a real key for us is a patience game over here. We’ve got to change a little bit the way Australian teams have played, we’re always an aggressive type of cricket side and obviously that hasn’t worked over here in the past. It’s a great opportunity for us to show that we’re prepared to change the way we play and adapt to different conditions.”

The USA medium pacer will undergo reconstructive surgery and is expected to be out of action for six to nine months

Peter Della Penna24-Aug-2017USA medium pacer Jessy Singh has been ruled out of next month’s Auty Cup series against Canada in Toronto due to a torn anterior cruciate ligament and torn meniscus in his right knee. Surgery has been scheduled for next week in New York City with Jessy expected to miss six to nine months.Jessy originally sustained the injury in the first week of May during a warm-up match in Los Angeles as part of USA’s preparation for WCL Division Three in Uganda. The incident occurred when he was fielding on the boundary rope and fell awkwardly while attempting to leap and knock a six back into the field of play.The injury was initially misdiagnosed as a grade two strain and Jessy continued to train with the squad as they went to South Africa for a preparation tour but pain in the knee forced him to sit out of the team’s final warm-up games in Potchefstroom before heading to Uganda. Jessy was out of the first three games in Uganda while dealing with the injury and, though he was still not 100% fit, he eventually played in the team’s fourth match against Canada, taking 1 for 30.Jessy also played the final group match against Uganda where he took the game-ending wicket that sealed a dramatic 13-run win over the hosts at Entebbe. The result ensured USA remained in Division Three while Uganda was relegated with the loss.Upon his return home from the Uganda tour, the 24-year-old continued playing club cricket in New Jersey and was subsequently included in USA’s squad to play a pair of T20s against the Jamaica Tallawahs and St Kitts & Nevis Patriots earlier this month in Florida ahead of the start of CPL 2017. However, the pain in his knee persisted, forcing him to get an MRI scan which revealed the true extent of the damage in his knee. As a result, he did not take part in either match against the CPL teams.A consultation was held this week with Dr David Altchek, attending orthopedic surgeon at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, who recommended the reconstructive knee surgery procedure to be performed on August 30. The highly respected Altchek’s credentials include his role as medical director for the New York Mets major league baseball franchise.If the surgery and rehabilitation is a success, Jessy will be back in time for the start of 2020 World T20 qualifying. Regional qualification pathway tournaments leading into the global qualifier are expected to begin in mid to late 2018. Jessy should also be fit in time to be back for the next WCL Division Three tournament, which according to an ICC source is tentatively penciled in for late 2018.Prior to the injury, Jessy’s stock had been rising throughout 2016 and early 2017 as one of USA’s most promising talents. He was Man of the Match in USA’s win over Oman in the final of WCL Division Four last November in Los Angeles. The following month, he made his first-class debut for Kalutara Physical Culture Club in Sri Lanka’s domestic competition – an opportunity facilitated by former Sri Lanka Test wicketkeeper and current USA coach Pubudu Dassanayake – where he took nine wickets in five games including a best of 4 for 38.Jessy was also included in the ICC Americas squad – comprising players from USA, Canada and Bermuda – that took part in the WICB Regional Super50 tournament in Barbados during January and February. He took five wickets in six matches, the most for any non-spinner in the squad.

Stuart Broad has already begun “plotting” a path back into England’s 50-over plans after being left out of the ODI squad announced earlier this week

Alan Gardner16-Jun-2016Stuart Broad has already begun “plotting” a path back into England’s 50-over plans. Broad was left out of the ODI squad announced earlier this week and has only played twice since the 2015 World Cup but he refuses to give up on playing white-ball cricket for his country again, to the extent that he will contemplate taking part in overseas domestic competitions to try and nudge the selectors before next summer’s Champions Trophy.Trevor Bayliss, England’s head coach, has left the door open for Broad, who retains hope of playing in the 2017 Champions Trophy and 2019 World Cup, competitions that will both be held in England and Wales. However, Broad’s involvement with the Test side, and England’s busy schedule, has prevented him from gaining any significant practice in the shorter formats: in addition to two ODIs in South Africa, he has played one List A and one T20 match for Nottinghamshire in the last 12 months.Broad’s form with the red ball saw him rise to No. 1 in the ICC Test bowler rankings earlier this year, and he could still have another 11 Test matches to play in 2015, with a home series against Pakistan and tours of Bangladesh and India before Christmas. England will then have a six-month gap without a Test, during which time Broad is planning to prioritise his white-ball game above a well-earned rest.

England’s leading ODI bowlers

• James Anderson 269 wickets at 29.22

• Darren Gough 234 at 26.39

• Stuart Broad 178 at 30.13

• Andrew Flintoff 168 at 23.61

• Ian Botham 145 at 28.54

“It’s tricky because I haven’t played any white-ball cricket,” he said of his omission from the group to play Sri Lanka. “I think I saw a quote saying this squad had been picked on merit and I can’t argue with that at all because it’s not as if I’ve gone out there and taken a certain amount of white-ball wickets. I’m going to have to find a way to do that.”I’m going to look at scheduling, whether it’s home or abroad, to try to play some white-ball cricket and there might be a decent opportunity after Christmas this year because there’s not a lot of Test cricket then until I think July. The only way I’ll get back is by playing white-ball cricket and that’s the only way my skills will improve, too.”Broad’s focus on reclaiming his ODI spot means he would prefer to play 50-over cricket rather than appear in T20 leagues, such as Australia’s BBL – which will begin at around the same time England are expected to conclude their five-Test series in India – the IPL and the Pakistan Super League. One such option could be New Zealand’s 50-over competition, the Ford Trophy, which ran throughout January in the 2015-16 season.The changes to the county schedule for next year have also caught Broad’s eye, with the Royal London Cup set to be played in April and May, as a prelude to the Champions Trophy. He could even push for selection in the inaugural North v South series, to be played in the UAE next March.”I’m going to have to carefully plot how to do it and the schedule next year might massively work in my favour because I think the Royal London Cup is going to be played more in a chunk at the start of the season and I think the Twenty20 competition is played in a chunk too – whereas this year there’s no 50-over cricket for me to play to put my name in the hat. If I suddenly have a belting six weeks of 50-over cricket people might say, ‘Actually this bloke can bowl with the white ball. He has got a hundred-odd ODIs behind him and he could still be in the frame.'”England’s newly enlightened attitude to white-ball competition might be tested by Broad’s desire to keep pushing his case, rather than save himself for Tests. But, while England have moved on from a generation of ODI stalwarts such as Alastair Cook, Ian Bell and James Anderson, Broad is unwilling to view himself as a cricketing senior citizen, still keen to try and kick it with the kids in three years’ time.”I’m still only 29 but because I’ve played a lot of my cricket with Belly and Jimmy who are a bit older I sort of get put in that category,” he said. “A lot of people have played at World Cups at 32 and that’s certainly not an old age for a cricketer so I’ve got huge goals to be a part of that and have to pick some stuff to get involved in.”Stuart Broad tries his hand at making hoppers at a Taste of London event•Etihad

He did concede that the pace of change in the limited-overs formats had left him feeling “as if I hadn’t played in a long time” during his involvement in South Africa. The challenge seems to enthuse him, however, and the impression that Broad is chalking out new plans of attack, chewing on his pencil as contemplates the ideal level of torque on a slower ball, staying up late trying to concoct a new “slog-proof” delivery in the lab should indicate how serious he is about the endeavour.”I almost need a bit of a unique selling point in one-day cricket,” he said. “I can’t just be a regulation line-and-length bowler, I have to be something a bit different and whether that’s me going round the wicket and looking to improve my skills in that way, making the batsman think: ‘What’s he doing here?’ Not just to shut down one side but maybe changing the angle, maybe my legcutter from round the wicket would be hard to slog to the leg side. This is just me thinking aloud. There might be something I can find that batsmen will struggle with.”And while some would point to his rarefied form in Tests without limited-overs noodling to distract him, Broad prefers to look at his development – such as the “stark improvement” in his record to left-handers – and imagine how he can make similar strides with a white ball.”I don’t want to say not playing any white-ball cricket has helped my red-ball form because it weakens my argument but certainly it has given me time to improve on my red-ball performances and I did have improvements to make,” he said.”Now I need to develop my white-ball bowling as part of that improvement. For instance, I haven’t bowled round the wicket to left-handers with a white ball. I’ve had such success like that with the red ball that it might be something I have to look at.”I almost need to sit down with a pen and paper and say: ‘Right I want to play here, and this is the type of delivery I need to work at’ and hopefully we’ll be sat here next year and I’ll have some stats behind me. Then I can go to the selectors and say: ‘You told me you were picking the team on merit. Well there you go.'”Etihad Airways, a global partner of Taste Festivals, is the first ever official airline partner of the England cricket teams. Etihad Holidays will have a range of cricket tour packages for the upcoming England tours to Bangladesh and India: www.etihad.com

Glamorgan and Leicestershire are locked together after two tough days on a pitch not eager to give rewards to all concerned

ECB/PA23-Jun-2015
ScorecardMatt Boyce struck a cautious half-cejtury [file picture]•Getty Images

At the close of an intriguing day’s play, Glamorgan were 64 for 2, a lead of 89, in their second innings on a pitch where the bowlers had to work hard for any reward. Most Leicestershire batsmen contributed but no one went on to reach the close with a substantial score, with Matthew Boyce top scoring with a patient half century.Andrew Salter, the Glamorgan offspinner, bowled a lengthy spell of 30 overs, taking 2 for 64, and although he obtained minimal turn, the pitch is likely to respond to spin as the game progresses.Leicestershire resumed on 37 for 1 and soon lost Ned Eckersley who was bowled by Craig Meschede in the second over of the day. Mark Cosgrove, the Leicestershire captain, was given a rousing reception by the home crowd as a former Glamorgan player and he put on 64 with Boyce before Cosgrove was well taken at short leg off Salter- although the batsman clearly disagreed with the umpire’s decision.Andrea Agathangelou, after a quiet start, played positively, striking Salter for three fours in an over and was nearing his fifty when he had his off stump knocked back by MeschedeNiall O’ Brien was another batsman who became established before he was dismissed, flicking the ball down the leg side to the wicketkeeper. Salter bowled nearly all his overs from the River End, with the seamers rotating from the opposite end, and they all made a contribution with Hogan taking three wickets.Glamorgan gained a slender lead of 25 on first innings, but they were soon in trouble at the start of their second innings when Bragg was caught behind from the fourth ball of the second over, while Ben Wright edged to slip in the following over.At that stage, Glamorgan were 1 for 2, and it required some stability from Jacques Rudolph and Colin Ingram to dig them out of a hole. They had to contend with some quality seam bowling from Clint McKay and Ben Raine, but both remained steadfast until the close with Ingram the more aggressive of the two.

Tamim Iqbal has renewed the call for more Test cricket for Bangladesh as they go into a three-month break

Mohammad Isam in Mirpur11-Dec-2012Tamim Iqbal has renewed the call for more Test cricket for Bangladesh as they go into a three-month break. Their next assignment will be two Test matches against Sri Lanka in March, followed by two more against Zimbabwe in April. In 2012, they’ve played the least number of Tests in a year since their admission into Test cricket.Tamim said that the first Test against West Indies, which was their first in eleven months, showed that they know how to play the game but not how to finish a Test match. “If you don’t play enough Tests, you wouldn’t have an idea of how to play the game properly. Test cricket is all about habits and the more we will play, the more we will improve,” Tamim said. “We talk of improvement but the fact is, we have never taken a Test against a better opponent into the fifth day. It is the same as scoring a hundred: if you haven’t made one you wouldn’t know how it’s done.”Bangladesh were on top for the first four days of the Dhaka Test. We lost it in the final session of the game but we were playing after almost a year. I’m not making excuses for that defeat though. We should have drawn or won that game.”Despite the defeat in the Test series and the one-off Twenty20 against West Indies, Tamim believes that, across formats, this series marked Bangladesh’s best effort to date. “It was our best series. We were competitive in the Tests, we won the ODI series and we lost in the T20 after playing our best game,” he said. “It was a very positive series for us.”Tamim said he noticed a marked change in the self-belief among his team-mates, particularly captain Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah who played pivotal roles. The younger players too caught the eye, but the opener warned that the win shouldn’t be the end of their cricket education.”Our biggest gain has been the self-belief among the players, which is very important for a team like ours. We didn’t have Shakib [Al Hasan, who was injured], which was a big blow for us. I didn’t perform in the ODIs. But our team won because the captain, vice-captain and the younger players doing well.”We have a lot to improve on though. It doesn’t mean we have learned everything by just winning the ODI series. We have a lot of areas to improve on, especially the small things. Our success rate will go up if we stop making those small mistakes.”Personally, Tamim expressed his disappointment at not scoring hundreds for yet another year. His last international century was in Manchester in June 2010 and he has made 17 half-centuries since then, including the unbeaten 88 in the one-off Twenty20 on Monday.”I dream of scoring a hundred every day, but I get out through my fault 75% of the time. I am very disappointed because 50s are not counted at the world level [when identifying] big players,” he said. “I have to take myself to the next level, by scoring more hundreds. This is one area where I can improve, though I have to learn it on my own. I have to find out where I am going wrong.””In the meantime, I have spoken to great cricketers at home and abroad, asked them what I can do after scoring a 50 … I spoke to [India batsman] Wasim Jaffer a few months ago, about scoring hundreds.”

New Zealand will follow the England blue-print for defeating Australia in the two Test matches to be played in December, the coach John Wright has said

Daniel Brettig16-Nov-2011New Zealand will follow the England blue-print for defeating Australia in the two Test matches to be played in December, the coach John Wright has said.As he named the 13-man squad to play Tests in Brisbane and Hobart, Wright also said the visitors expected to be challenged by pace, and forsaw the 18-year-old fast bowler Pat Cummins playing a significant role in the Australian attack.While New Zealand have not won a Test match in Australia since 1985, Wright felt the combination of England’s example last summer, and the traumatic events of the Cape Town Test when Michael Clarke’s team was splintered for 47 to surrender a commanding position, gave the tourists a chance.New Zealand’s last Test resulted in a narrow win over lowly Zimbabwe, but the team will be bolstered by the return of the swing bowler Tim Southee and the aggressive batsman Jesse Ryder from knee and calf injuries, respectively.”We’ve got a fair idea [of how to beat Australia], England provided a really good example of how to bowl at them particularly last year, and the batting of Alastair Cook was exemplary at the top of the order, he was very patient, played very straight,” Wright said. “So England did provide in some ways a template of how to play best against Australia.”You look at that and then you look at your own side. To be honest, game-plans at this level aren’t that complicated, we know we have to bat four sessions, and we’ve got to find a way of taking 20 wickets. We’d like to keep as settled a line-up as we can. I think we’ve got the basis there, we have to be patient, but there’s some very talented young players who look like they might have an opportunity to succeed at the next level.”You can only go there in good form and with belief, it is a big step up from Zimbabwe. Australia have got a good record in Brisbane, but that’s what we’re hoping to create, that belief that if we apply ourselves and work really hard, and win our sessions, that we’ll be very competitive.”Cummins may yet debut for Australia against South Africa in Johannesburg, and Wright reckoned he would play a part in Brisbane or Hobart. New Zealand’s batsmen have been ratcheting up their bowling machines to maximum velocity in preparation.”I’ve heard he’s pretty quick, and that will be interesting because we have a feeling they might look to expose us to a lot of pace, and we’re going to have to stand up and be brave,” Wright said. “But having said that, those types of bowlers can provide you with scoring opportunities.”That [speed] is one adjustment we’ll have to make, because we don’t have too many bowlers in this country running around bowling 145kph plus. The boys are aware of that and have been doing some work on bowling machines etc. to simulate those conditions.”The new face in the New Zealand squad is the left-armer Trent Boult, who has turned heads in domestic cricket and will provide another swing bowling option to support Southee and Chris Martin at the Gabba if conditions are suitable.”[Trent is] the player who’s really stood out in the last two games, so his efforts in the first two games have earned him the opportunity,” Wright said. “I think a left-armer’s always handy, but he does swing the ball, and possibly that’s an area we’d like to exploit. The conditions in Brisbane sometimes suit swing bowling, but it does give you a different balance.”