Cricket Australia has named allrounder Mitchell Marsh as a replacement for Brett Lee in Australia’s ODI squad for the series against South Africa

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Oct-2011Cricket Australia has named allrounder Mitchell Marsh as a replacement for Brett Lee in Australia’s ODI squad for the series against South Africa. Marsh is a part of Australia’s Twenty20 squad in South Africa and will remain with the team for the one-day leg of the tour, as Lee underwent a surgery for appendicitis on Monday that ruled him out of the tour’s limited-overs games.The one-day squad, even without Lee, has four fast bowlers, so chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch said it was not necessary to pick another quick. “The one-day squad already has four specialist fast bowlers in Doug Bollinger, Mitchell Johnson, James Pattinson and Patrick Cummins, so the national selection panel did not consider it necessary to replace Brett with a specialist fast bowler.”Mitchell was very close to selection in the one-day squad when it was initially picked. He played extremely well during the recent Australia A tour of Zimbabwe and is a pace bowler who has the ability to bat in the top six, providing great balance and flexibility to the squad.”Marsh picked up 12 wickets in six matches on the Australia A tour, and contributed with the bat as well in the one-dayers. In 19 List A matches, he has claimed 13 wickets at 25.00 apiece and has four half-centuries with a highest score of 92.

A round-up of the third day of the first round of matches in the Ranji Trophy Elite 2011-12

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Nov-2011

Group A

An unbeaten double-century from Suresh Raina put Uttar Pradesh in charge against Punjab, at the Punjab Cricket Association Ground. Raina’s effort was well-supported by Parvinder Singh, who equalled his best first-class score: 138. UP had begun day three on 221 for 3, with Raina and Parvinder at the crease. The pair both scored at a commendable rate and went on to add 241 for the fourth wicket. Parvinder was snagged by part-timer Karan Goel, and Manpreet Gony got Arish Alam to edge behind not long after with UP only 100 ahead, but another big stand followed.Piyush Chawla smacked 73 not out off 67 balls as his side looked for quick runs, and put on 146 at almost six an over with Raina. The declaration came soon after Raina went past 200 and his previous top score to finish with 204 at a rate of 71.32. Trailing by 246, Punjab lost two quick wickets ahead of stumps, to finish 26 for 2. Raina’s hundred will put pressure on Yuvraj Singh and Virat Kohli to perform against West Indies in the Test that begins tomorrow, should they be picked in the XI.Karnataka took control of their match against Rajasthan at the Field Club Ground, after their bowlers struck regularly to keep Rajasthan to 255. After Karnataka piled up a mammoth 623 for 6 in their first innings, Rajasthan needed their batsmen to build long innings after getting set. But none of them managed to do that – Ashok Menaria (who consistently churned out the big scores for Rajasthan during the knockout stages last season), Robin Bist and Rohit Jhalani all got to 45, but none of them could not manage more than Menaria’s 57.While new-ball bowlers Vinay Kumar and Abhimanyu Mithun knocked over the top and middle order, taking five wickets between them, left-arm spinner K Appanna cleaned up the tail to finish with 4 for 35. With Rajasthan still trailing by 368, Vinay enforced the follow-on. The opening batsmen’s cautious approach – they scored at less than two runs an over – worked, as they safely saw off the 27 overs before stumps, finishing with 51 for 0.Orissa adopted a very cautious approach against Saurashtra at the Barabati Stadium, edging from 51 for no loss to 246 for 4 in a full-day’s play. Opener Natraj Behera scored most of the 195 runs they managed off 90 overs, carrying his bat through the day and completing his second first-class hundred in the process.Bikas Pati and Biplab Samantray afforded Natraj Behera some support, getting past 40, but neither could hang around long enough to threaten Saurashtra’s first-innings’ score of 545. In the final session, Natraj Behera found another reliable partner in Abhilash Mallick, who finished not out on 35. But Orissa will need both players to bat out as much of the final day as possible to have any chance of securing a draw. Natraj Behera is one short of his best first-class score, 113.File photo: Parthiv Patel led Gujarat’s solid reply at Eden Gardens•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Mumbai‘s spinners, Ramesh Powar and Ankeet Chavan combined to bowl out Railways for 256 at the Karnail Singh Stadium, after which Wasim Jaffer enforced the follow on. Railways had resumed on 66 for 3 and their captain, Sanjay Bangar, made a patient 89. But no one else could get a half-century, as Powar and Chavan picked up three wickets apiece. That meant Railways folded still 227 runs behind Mumbai.They began their second innings in better fashion though, going to stumps 121 for 2, trailing by 106. They lost Shreyas Khanolkar cheaply, but their other opener, Shivakant Shukla who is in his debut season with Railways after transferring from UP, held firm. He put on 89 with Faiz Fazal, before part-timer Suryakumar Yadav had Fazal edging behind just prior to stumps. Shukla finished unbeaten on 64.

Group B

Hundreds from Parthiv Patel and Priyank Panchal carried Gujarat to 315 for 2 in response to Bengal‘s 560 at Eden Gardens. The pair began the day with the score on 10 for no loss, and went on to string together a 284-run partnership. Parthiv Patel’s runs came at a good clip: he hit 143 at 70.79 with 18 fours. Panchal’s 139 was his best first-class score and, though a bit slower, included 19 boundaries – 16 fours and three sixes.However, Bengal’s spinners – Iresh Saxena and Saurasish Lahiri – removed the pair in the final session, as Gujarat went to stumps 245 runs in the deficit. The hundred could boost Parthiv’s chances of a Test comeback, as the reserve opener, during the much-anticipated Australia tour that kicks off at the end of the year.Debutant Milind Kumar and Rajat Bhatia went on to complete centuries on the third day at Roshanara Club Ground, to give Delhi the first-innings’ lead against Haryana, despite a collapse. Milind fell for 119 soon after the partnership had crossed the 150-run mark. Puneet Bisht could not get going, but Pawan Negi settled in. His 41-run stand with Bhatia looked promising when Bhatia was cleaned up by Amit Vashisht for 107.That triggered a collapse in which Delhi went from 318 for 5 to 352 all out, with a 59-run lead. The bowlers shared the wickets around. Haryana lost their captain Rahul Dewan early, before a half-century stand between Nitin Saini and Sunny Singh helped wipe out the deficit. However, Bhatia struck late in the day, effectively reducing Haryana to 35 for 2.There was no play possible in the Tamil Nadu v Baroda match at the MA Chidambaram Stadium due to rain, for the third day running.

West Indies women’s cricketer Tremayne Smartt has been suspended by the ICC from all cricket and cricket-related activities for five months after being found guilty of committing an anti-doping violation

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Nov-2011West Indies women’s cricketer Tremayne Smartt has been suspended by the ICC from all cricket and cricket-related activities for five months after being found guilty of violating an anti-doping rule. An independent anti-doping tribunal comprising Tim Kerr QC (acting as chairman), Dr Anik Sax and Prof. Peter Sever took the decision at a hearing in London on Friday based on written and oral legal submissions as well as testimony from Smartt, who plead guilty.Smartt has played 15 ODIs and 12 Twenty20 internationals for West Indies.A random urine sample collected in September this year, which was tested at a laboratory accredited by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), was found to contain a prohibited substance called Furosemide. The tribunal accepted that the substance wasn’t used to enhance performance or mask the use of another performance-enhancing drug, “but that she had failed to satisfy the high levels of personal responsibility implicit upon her as an international cricketer subject to anti-doping rules.””Smartt, 26, provided a urine sample as part of the ICC’s random in-competition testing programme after the conclusion of a Twenty20 International between West Indies and Pakistan, held in Georgetown, Guyana on September 11,” an ICC release said. Her sample was found to contain Furosemide, classified as a ‘Specified Substance’ under WADA’s Prohibited List.Smartt, according to the release, had taken the substance to treat a swelling in her knee. She was found guilty of violating Article 2.1 of the ICC’s Anti-Doping code and stands suspended until March 25 next year. She has three weeks to appeal against the decision should she wish to.In a statement, Smartt conceded she did not effectively check the Prohibited List and would have to accept the consequences.

Ben Hilfenhaus has lifted himself out of the rut of predictability that made him look so innocuous during the Ashes last summer, his state captain George Bailey has said

Daniel Brettig22-Dec-2011Ben Hilfenhaus has lifted himself out of the rut of predictability that made him look so innocuous during the Ashes last summer, and will be a far more versatile performer should he bowl against India’s batsmen on Boxing Day.So says Hilfenhaus’ state captain, George Bailey, who was frank in his assessments and advice to the Tasmanian swing bowler on his return to Sheffield Shield ranks after Alastair Cook and others in the England batting line-up had so humbled his methods.Under the guidance of Bailey and the Tigers’ bowling coach Ali de Winter, 28-year-old Hilfenhaus has endeavoured to use a wider range of angles on the bowling crease this summer, a favoured tactic of skilful bowlers for more than a century. He is also striving for a fuller length.”Hilfy last year had become quite predictable,” Bailey told ESPNcricinfo. “He could replicate the same ball over and over but at Test cricket, once players were in he found it hard to actually break through and get a wicket.”So aside from getting over some niggling injuries, which he’s carried for quite some time – he’s certainly bowling a bit quicker and is a bit stronger this year – is just a bit more variety at the crease, being able to bowl wider of the stumps, and bowl different balls rather than just the outswinger.”The adjustment of Hilfenhaus’ approach has not been an entirely seamless process, for his dependable, uncomplicated character does not always take readily to change. Bailey said Hilfenhaus had needed to see results in his new methods before he committed to them fully. He also had to return his bowling action to the full-bodied style that first earned him a Test spot, rather than the self-protecting adjustments he had made to alleviate the pain of knee tendinitis, to the detriment of his pace and swing.”He’s certainly trying to come from different areas [on the crease] a bit more, Bailey said. “He’s also had a bit of trouble with knee tendinitis, and I don’t think he did it consciously but he just slightly adjusted his action and was bowling around his front knee a bit more. And he does bowl from quite close to the stumps, so if he was swinging it, it was swinging a little early, rather than coming a little wider of the crease and angling in at the stumps before taking it away.”Hilfy is someone who needs to see the results before he believes something, but there is no doubt I think if he can learn to use the crease a bit more, come from wider and angle in before taking it away, he will not need to swing it as much as he thinks he needs to.”He’s certainly done that for periods, he’s starting to bowl a better length that suits him, giving him the chance to move the ball, because he has got a skill that not a great deal of bowlers in Australia have in terms of being able to swing the ball at pretty good pace. He’s still working on those things and working pretty hard.”Bailey sensed a certain impatience about Hilfenhaus last summer, as his hard-won place in the Test team was slipping away from him. Seeking a startling bag of wickets to re-assert himself, he may have lost sight of the patience and persistence that gave him a baggy green cap in the first place.”We’ve challenged him a bit this year at Tassie to bowl into the wind a bit more, rather than being a strike bowler all the time,” Bailey said. “Whether Hilf felt it or not, I felt at times he felt his way back in was to take a big bag of wickets and so he was bowling to try to take wickets every ball, whereas this year he’s been a bit more patient and willing to do the roles.”If he’s taking wickets that’s fine, if he’s not then he can tie up an end and help Luke [Butterworth] or James [Faulkner] or Xavier [Doherty] take wickets. He’s just got back to enjoying his cricket a bit more and working hard for the team while providing a bit more variation. I’d still like to see him bowling a little fuller, but that’s something we’ll keep discussing when he gets the chance to play for Tassie.”No doubt when he’s at his best he’s in Australia’s best handful of fast bowlers. Looking at the Test series coming up and where they’re going to be in their focus, being in England in 2013, I still think he’s got a big part to play. It is good to see he’s back in the mix.”Hilfenhaus returns to an Australian pace battery that is now singing from the simple hymn sheet of Craig McDermott, who has stressed the importance of bowling a full length to draw batsmen into drives and edges, even if a few more runs may accrue. Bailey said the method was neither new nor complicated, but could certainly be effective.”It’s not new information there, I think Greg Chappell before him was big on that, if you talk to Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie that’s the length they bowled as well, I don’t think it is rocket science in terms of a mantra,” he said. “But that is the challenge, particularly as a young bowling group when you’re playing against great batsmen and certainly some of these Indian players are.”It can be pretty daunting to just keep throwing the ball up there full because you can get hurt a little bit on the scoreboard. The flipside is the rewards wickets-wise can be a lot greater, and it is as much about learning when you can go hard at that full length and when you need to restrict things and tie up an end.”

After three straight defeats, New Zealand Women finally claimed their first win, coasting home by six wickets in a low-scoring game in Sydney’s Stadium Australia

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Feb-2012
ScorecardSuzie Bates led New Zealand’s chase with an unbeaten 40•Getty Images

After three straight defeats, New Zealand Women finally claimed their first win, coasting home by six wickets in a low-scoring curtain-raiser to the men’s Twenty20 international (between Australia and India) in Sydney’s Stadium Australia.In front of a sparse crowd, expected to fill up for the bigger draw in the evening, Australia Women were restricted to 7 for 92 in a match reduced to 18 overs due to rain before the start of play. Kate Broadmore, the right-arm seamer, took 3 for 9 in four tight overs to restrict the Australians. The hosts were limping at 5 for 30 before Jodie Fields and Lisa Sthalekar added 43 for the sixth wicket. Fields remained unbeaten on 37, hitting two fours and a six. She tried to get innovative towards the end of the innings, fetching her only six by moving across to wide of the off stump and scooping Amy Satterthwaite over the fine leg boundary. Sthalekar made 23.Suzie Bates led New Zealand’s chase with an unbeaten 40. The teams will play the fifth and final game in Melbourne in two days.

Andrew Symonds, the former Australia allrounder, has announced his retirement from professional cricket, citing family reasons

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Feb-2012Andrew Symonds, the former Australia allrounder, has announced his retirement from professional cricket, citing family reasons. He hasn’t played for Australia since being sent home from the World Twenty20 in England three years ago, but has turned out for several domestic sides in limited-overs cricket.His only current contract was with the Mumbai Indians, but he will not be participating in this year’s IPL. “Effective immediately, I am retiring from all forms of professional cricket,” Symonds said. “It is with regret that I will not be able to fulfill my final year of the IPL with the Mumbai Indians. Mumbai Indians and the IPL have both been very supportive of me, but the impending arrival of my first child is a priority.”Symonds, 36, had cut ties with his home side Queensland before the 2010-11 Big Bash, and has only played for Mumbai since. He was snapped up for $850,000 at the IPL auction last year, but he had an indifferent time with Mumbai. Symonds failed to make a half-century in either the IPL or the Champions League T20 in 2011, and struggled to hold down a permanent spot in the line-up.Mumbai thanked Symonds for his performance in 2011. “Andrew Symonds was an integral part of Mumbai Indians in season four as well as our Champions League-winning team,” a team spokesman said. “He was a great team player and the youngsters always looked up to him for guidance.”A two-time World Cup winner, Symonds was an acknowledged master of limited-overs cricket. A combination of big-hitting, tigerish fielding and an ability to bowl either spin or medium-pace made him an indispensable part of the Australia side for much of the 2000s. Picked on his undoubted but as yet unfulfilled promise for the 2003 World Cup, Symonds crashed a match-shaping century against Pakistan, hours after the team had been stunned by Shane Warne’s withdrawal due to a drugs offence.He remained integral to the ODI team thereafter, though given to occasional bouts of indiscipline. Symonds was dropped from the team in England in 2005 when he turned up for an ODI against Bangladesh in Cardiff while still under the influence of alcohol. The issue of drinking would re-emerge in 2008.At the time it seemed Symonds had belatedly transferred his ODI influence form to Test matches, but he became embroiled in the biggest controversy of his career after alleging that India offspinner Harbhajan Singh racially abused him in the Sydney Test in 2008.The fall-out from the episode, which had Harbhajan’s original ban reduced to a fine after Cricket Australia cut a side-deal with an indignant Indian board in order to save the tour, caused Symonds to become disillusioned and increasingly wayward in his lifestyle, both with and away from the national team.His international career was hit by more trouble later that year, when he missed a compulsory team meeting to go on a fishing trip ahead of a one-day series against Bangladesh. He was left out for the India tour which followed, as well as the visit to South Africa soon after.Symonds was given a chance to prove himself once more at the World Twenty20 in 2009, but an alcohol-related issue prior to the tournament brought his Australia days to an end.

Bangladesh produced most of the unexpected passages in the game. But when it came to the critical moments which decided the match, Pakistan proved superior

The Report by Abhishek Purohit11-Mar-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMohammad Hafeez followed up his 89 with two wickets, off consecutive balls, in the second innings•Associated Press

Pakistan built, nearly self-destructed and counterattacked with the bat. Bangladesh built, nearly self-destructed and counterattacked with the bat. Pakistan’s base was strong enough to weather the near-self-destruction. Their counterattack proved sharper in the end as they stopped hosts Bangladesh short of what would have been their highest successful chase at home.Bangladesh produced most of the unexpected passages in the game. They reduced Pakistan to 198 for 7 from 135 for 0. They recovered from 135 for 5 to become the favourites towards the closing stages of the game. But when it came to the critical moments which decided the match, Pakistan proved superior.Umar Gul smashed his highest ODI score of 39 from 25 deliveries to convert 198 for 7 into 262 for 8. With Bangladesh requiring 39 off 40 with five wickets in hand, Gul and Saeed Ajmal took 5 for 17 between them to ensure that Shakib Al Hasan’s heroic innings ended in frustration and disappointment.Shakib had induced the Pakistan batting collapse, along with Shahadat Hossain. Like a fighter who has resolutely accepted the fact that he will always have to battle more than his fellow soldiers, he brought his side back into contention after they threatened to implode in the chase.Young Nasir Hossain matched his former captain stroke for stroke in an 89-run sixth-wicket partnership at a run a ball. Shakib drove, Nasir pulled, Shakib slashed, Nasir pulled harder, and Bangladesh hoped.When Nasir took consecutive fours off Gul in the 44th over, Bangladesh seemed to have moved decisively in front. Gul is made of sterner stuff, though. He found nip off the pitch and movement in the air with a 21-over old ball and bowled Nasir for 47. Ajmal, who had gone for 11 in the previous over, stepped in now.With the asking-rate under six, Abdur Razzak decided to slog at a full delivery only to get bowled. Mashrafe Mortaza saw the flight but did not read the doosra. Bowled again. Shafiul Islam had two deliveries to keep out in the next over, the 46th. Gul hurled in the inswinging yorker first up. Gone leg-before.A shocked Shakib steadied himself and squeezed the first ball of the next over, bowled by Ajmal, for four past point. With last man Shahadat at the other end, Shakib was forced to play out most of the over to keep strike for the 48th.He tried to take two off the the first ball of the 48th but managed one. Shahadat blocked out the next five. The equation had rocketed to 22 off 12 by now. Shakib had no choice. He tried to slog Gul but only managed to play on. Game over.Gul had earlier rescued Pakistan with the bat after they lost 7 for 63. He showed that his ODI batting average of 9.28 did not reflect his flicking and pulling capabilities. He savaged Mortaza for 16 runs in the 49th over, hitting the bowler for three consecutive boundaries in his lone counterattack.Pakistan’s innings could be summed up as accumulation, panic and aggression. After Mohammad Hafeez and Nasir Jamshed put on 135, Shahadat and Shakib brought Bangladesh back with a flurry of wickets before Gul hit back.Pakistan would have never thought that they would need Gul to bail them out after the start given by Hafeez and Jamshed. Hafeez put his lean run against England behind him with a patient knock – his first fifty in ODIs in four months – and along with his latest opening partner, Jamshed, gave Pakistan a strong start to their Asia Cup campaign. Jamshed justified his selection ahead of Azhar Ali with a busy innings that afforded Hafeez the space to overcome his scratchy beginning. Shakib apart, Bangladesh’s attack was steady at best and allowed Hafeez to work himself into some form.As Hafeez and Jamshed brought up their fifties, Bangladesh’s decision to bowl on the flat pitch seemed set to hurt them further, until Jamshed’s slow response to a call for a single gave them an opening. Bangladesh barged into it whole-heartedly as Pakistan’s batting crumbled without warning or justification.Younis Khan succumbed to a leading edge off Shahadat after playing his flick early. Shahadat, who had been average till then, immediately found some menace and produced two sharp bouncers to lure Hafeez and Asad Shafiq into fatal pulls.Umar Akmal, never one to change his hit-everything style, slog swept his wicket away to Shakib, who was to get more reward for being the bowler who troubled Pakistan the most. Shahid Afridi did not get the time to display his brand of hit-everything, as he bunted a return catch to Shakib first ball.Drama has a way of somehow squeezing itself into everything Afridi is involved in. Shakib fumbled the catch on the first attempt, prevented the ball from touching the ground on the second, lobbed it up into Misbah-ul-Haq’s helmet and still had enough balance left to take the rebound on the third attempt. Misbah himself did not get the opportunity to use his crisis-recovery skills as he was soon bowled through the gate. Bangladesh were on top at that stage but would not have accounted for Gul the batsman.Afridi had lasted one delivery with the bat but struck in successive overs to leave the new cautious avatar of Tamim Iqbal and the Bangladesh middle order with a climbing asking-rate. The hosts’ chase was on course at 90 for 1 in the 21st over when Afridi bowled Jahurul Islam and Mushfiqur Rahim in the space of five deliveries. Till Afridi’s strikes, Bangladesh had gone about the chase with unusual calm. With Tamim clearly looking to anchor the innings, Nazimuddin and Jahurul did the attacking.Both batsmen were well-set when they gave away their wickets. Nazimuddin slashed a wide delivery to third man while Jahurul was bowled as he missed a slog off a flighted Afridi delivery. Afridi dealt a bigger blow to Bangladesh when he bowled Rahim who tried to cut his faster one.At the other end, Tamim went on accumulating serenely, finding the boundary every now and then to keep the required-rate in check. He got to his fifty off his 75th delivery, but Hafeez further dented Bangladesh with a double strike. Tamim dinked an innocuous delivery onto his stumps, and Mahmudullah was adjudged leg-before first ball, though replays showed the ball would have missed leg stump.At 135 for 5, Bangladesh were staring at a familiar ending, but Shakib was determined to swim against the tide. His misfortune was that, in the end, he was the only one with that resolve.

West Indies have picked uncapped batsman Johnson Charles and recalled fast bowler Tino Best to the squad for the first three home ODIs against Australia in St Vincent in March

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Mar-2012

West Indies squad for first three ODIs

Darren Sammy (capt), Denesh Ramdin (vc), Tino Best, Devendra Bishoo, Darren Bravo, Dwayne Bravo, Johnson Charles, Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard, Kieran Powell, Kemar Roach, Andre Russell, Marlon Samuels
In: Johnson Charles, Tino Best, Devendra Bishoo, Dwayne Bravo
Out: Adrian Barath, Danza Hyatt, Anthony Martin, Jason Mohammed, Ravi Rampaul, Lendl Simmons

West Indies have picked uncapped batsman Johnson Charles and recalled fast bowler Tino Best to the squad for the first three ODIs against Australia in St Vincent in March. The 13-man squad does not include fast bowler Ravi Rampaul, who is ill, and batsmen Lendl Simmons and Adrian Barath, who have finger injuries.Dwayne Bravo also returned to the side after being sidelined by an ankle injury, but Fidel Edwards was missing because he is not being considered for ODIs by the WICB. The other exclusions from the side that toured India in December 2011 were batsman Danza Hyatt, legspinner Anthony Martin and offspinner Jason Mohammed.”Johnson has shown marked improvement in his batting and deserves another opportunity at international level [he has played T20Is],” chairman of the WICB selection panel Clyde Butts said. “Tino, over the last two years, has been very consistent with his performance in the shorter format of the game, and Dwayne looks like he has returned to form and has been consistent, plus his on-field experience will be of value to us.”Charles, a Windward Islands batsman, was picked in the Twenty20 squad for the two matches in England in September 2011 and he made 57 runs with a best of 36. Best’s last international appearance was at the ICC Champions Trophy in South Africa in September 2009. Edwards hasn’t played an ODI for West Indies since May 2009 either.”Fidel is being considered for two formats of the game at this time – Tests and Twenty20s,” Butts said. “It is all about workload management as we approach a long and demanding schedule of cricket, so we have to handle him with care, considering the injury problems which he has had in the past.”The first ODI against Australia is on March 16.Edited by George Binoy

In one of the more one-sided games of the tournament, Kolkata Knight Riders breezed to an eight-wicket win and made amends for fluffing a chase against the same opponents, Kings XI Punjab, three days ago

The Report Kanishkaa Balachandran18-Apr-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsGautam Gambhir led by example with an unbeaten 66•AFP

In one of the more one-sided games of the tournament, Kolkata Knight Riders breezed to an eight-wicket win and made amends for fluffing a chase against the same opponents, Kings XI Punjab, three days ago. A deflated Kings XI limped to 124 on their home surface after winning the toss but there were no twists as Knight Riders, led by Gautam Gambhir, attained the target with a risk-free approach.The pitch had a layer of grass and offered movement off the seam, but it didn’t have the kind of moisture that gave the bowlers an edge in the previous Mohali game, against Pune Warriors. Nevertheless, the batsmen didn’t have the freedom to hit through the line – a staple fare in the plenty of games so far in the IPL.None of the Kings XI batsmen could bat through. Adam Gilchrist kept the momentum going with a couple of boundaries through the on side, but pulled a hamstring while completing a quick single. He had to retire, and his untimely departure in the sixth over dented the run-rate.Kings XI were going along at 7.50 but post-Gilchrist, it had declined to as low as 5.93. The Knight Riders bowlers didn’t allow any big partnerships to develop, nothing higher than 24.Much depended on Marsh to give the team momentum, but he departed for 33, albeit in controversial circumstances. He chased a wide delivery from Lee shaping away and got a thick outside edge which dipped to the wicketkeeper, but Manvinder Bisla immediately claimed the catch. The umpires conferred and took Bisla’s word, but replays couldn’t confirm if he had his gloves underneath the ball. Marsh accepted the ruling, but the team owner Preity Zinta didn’t appear too pleased with the decision, querying one of the match officials before Gilchrist stepped in to restore calm.It triggered off a steady collapse as David Hussey fell shortly after due to bad calling, before Dimitri Mascarenhas and Paras Dogra perished going for the big shots. Gilchrist returned in the 17th over to pick up the pieces and he struck the only six of the innings, in the final over. That Kings XI managed only three boundaries in the last ten overs showed how Knight Riders tightened the noose.Brendon McCullum got the chase off the blocks with forceful pulls to the on side, but ironically fell to an embarrassing shot in the same region. Piyush Chawla bowled a long hop way down the leg side but somehow, McCullum contrived to find short fine leg, prompting a disbelieving grin from Chawla.Gambhir remained strong square of the wicket on both sides, cutting when given width and nudging away deliveries on the pads.Bisla launched Harmeet Singh for a six over mid-off but was bowled dragging one on to his stumps just before the halfway stage. With a paltry target to defend, Kings XI could have attacked more, kept a slip or a couple of men in close catching positions to force a mistake. Gambhir had the freedom to use his feet against the spinners, getting to his half-century off 36 balls.Gambhir had earlier demanded more application from his middle order. Today, he led by example.Edited by Siddarth Ravindran

England Lions moved into a 104-run lead against the West Indians in Northampton after the visitors had fought back during the morning sessions

Andrew McGlashan at Northampton11-May-2012
ScorecardLions captain James Taylor gave the England selectors a nudge with an impressive century•Getty Images

The news coming from Chelmsford of concerns surrounding Ravi Bopara’s fitness added extra interest to events on the second day in Northampton, where James Taylor, the England Lions captain, went about reaffirming his international credentials with a superb century while Jonny Bairstow produce another eye-catching innings. The West Indians were left facing a tough challenge to avoid defeat ahead of the Test series as they closed in trouble on 28 for 3, still 166 behind.Bopara is widely expected to be given the No. 6 spot for the start of the international season, having carried the drinks during the two winter Test series against Pakistan and Sri Lanka. This latest injury worry appears to be at the minor end of the scale but even if it precluded him from bowling for a period that should not dent his Test chances, unlike they did in Sri Lanka when a side strain cost him a likely opportunity. On that occasion England felt they needed a reasonable fifth bowler, whereas in England during May the four frontliners will be more than enough.However, if batting cover (or ultimately a replacement) was required it would come from this Lions side so it was a timely moment to impress, although it is Bairstow who is probably ahead of Taylor at the current time, despite the latter’s hundred. Taylor has slipped down the pecking order over the last six months, to the extent that he was not included in the 26-man England Performance Squad for the season ahead, which is a rough guide of the way the selectors are thinking. He had a disappointing winter with the Lions during the one-day tours of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, so this was an important innings to put him back on the agenda.Last season he impressed in Lions colours with 76 against the Sri Lankans at Derby, where he opened the batting, followed by 76 and 98 against Sri Lanka A back in the middle order. Before this match Taylor said he saw himself as a middle-order player – although, as players do, he added he would bat anywhere – and it does appear his natural home. Here he was at No. 5, the same position he currently occupies for Nottinghamshire, with Samit Patel, who did not do himself any favours with a lazy chip back to the bowler, above him; although anyone with aspirations to bat top six for England should ideally bat top four for their county.This innings was exemplary and the only life he got was on 104 when he was caught at slip off a no-ball from Fidel Edwards. He had initially played second fiddle to Bairstow, but caught up as he moved to fifty off 91 balls and became increasingly dominant as he started to lose partners. The pull shot was working well and the West Indian bowlers did not always adjust their length and he was lightning between the wickets which helped with the outfield remaining sluggish.When Jack Brooks was ninth out Taylor was on 86 but Jade Dernbach, who took a painful blow on the arm from Edwards which prevented him from taking the field, hung around to see his partner towards three figures, which arrived with a thumping cover drive. The confrontation between Dernbach and Edwards was feisty and included a few words from the fielders which led to the umpires stepping in to calm the situation. The final-wicket stand was extended to a 64 in 10 overs as Dernbach and Taylor opened their shoulders and the final three wickets added 130 to take the Lions lead from useful to intimidating.During the morning session a lead of such a size was a long way off as the Lions slipped to 98 for 5, which brought Bairstow to the crease to join his captain. Entering the game in good form, having made two Championship centuries for Yorkshire this season, he stood tall and played impressively through the off side off front and back foot. His fifty came from 89 balls before, against the run of the play, he lofted Shane Shillingford to mid-off just as the tourists were starting to flag.The only member of this Lions team certain to be in the first Test squad is Ian Bell, who asked to play in this match after Ben Stokes withdrew with injury and he played confidently for his 29. At one stage when facing Shillingford he had to pull out of his stance as Andy Flower, the England team director, who is at the ground with the other selectors to discuss the squad for the first Test walked behind the bowler’s arm. Flower immediately raised his arms in apology and Bell had a smirk on his face but that turned to a grimace when Ravi Rampaul, the pick of the West Indian quicks, nipped one between bat and pad.The tourists will need to decide which of this four-man attack makes way for Darren Sammy at Lord’s. Edwards had moments when he cranked up the pace but continued to have no-ball problems and spells of lethargy, while Kemar Roach left the field after claiming his third wicket, although if all the quicks are fit it could be Shillingford who misses out. They may not get the chance of another run-out before the Test as the top order stumbled again before the close, as Brooks and Matt Coles shared three wickets, and the visitors will have to make huge improvements to be competitive next week.