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Victoria ended New South Wales’ unbeaten run in the Matador Cup, showing the Blues are a much diminished side without the presence of their captain Steven Smith, who was out due to knee soreness

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Oct-2015
Scorecard1:20

Wade all praise for Victoria’s bowlers

Victoria ended New South Wales’ unbeaten run in the Matador Cup, showing the Blues are a much diminished side without the presence of their captain Steven Smith, who missed the game at North Sydney Oval due to knee soreness.Australia’s selectors will be nervously awaiting further updates on how Smith’s knee responds to rest. He has been managing the niggle since midway through the Ashes tour, but felt more pain than usual during his century for the Blues against Western Australia on Friday.Moises Henriques led NSW in Smith’s absence, and it looked for most of the day as though the hosts would rumble to their sixth consecutive victory in the competition.Victoria were well served by a pair of strong innings from Rob Quiney and Matthew Wade, but Mitchell Starc was ruthless as ever with the Bushrangers’ tail, claiming their last three wickets in the space of two overs and leaving 19 deliveries of the Victorian innings unused.The NSW chase began soundly, but none of Nic Maddinson, Ed Cowan, Shane Watson, Henriques or Peter Nevill could go on from their starts, leaving the Blues’ lower order exposed to a a slowing pitch and a reverse swinging ball.John Hastings bowled incisively to exploit that movement, claiming three wickets in his final spell while Dan Christian chimed in by hitting Watson’s front pad. Remarkably, six out of the top seven Blues batsmen all fell lbw.Nevill and Steve O’Keefe looked momentarily capable of carrying the Blues the rest of the way, but Scott Boland and Christian swiftly closed out the innings after Nevill’s run out, as the last four NSW wickets tallied only four runs.

A round-up of the Georgie Pie Super Smash matches played on November 12, 2015

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Nov-2015Anton Devcich and Ish Sodhi were the chief architects of Northern Districts‘ 112-run thumping of Wellington in their Georgie Pie Super Smash clash in Hamilton. The margin of victory indicates one-way traffic and it was with Northern Districts posting 184 for 4 and then bowling Wellington out for 72 in 13.1 overs to register their first win in the competition.Northern Districts, who were sent in to bat, were driven by Devcich, who made a 57-ball 66 at the top of the order. Kevin O’Brien, the Ireland allrounder, hit two fours and four sixes in his 21-ball 42 as a formidable launchpad was built. Devcich and O’Brien carved 70 runs off 40 balls and took Northern Districts to an imposing total. Amid the carnage, offspinner Jeetan Patel was the most economical bowler, finishing with 1 for 16 off his four overs.Wellington’s chase was punctured inside four overs; there was no coming back from a score of 13 for 4. Devcich opened the bowling as well and took 2 for 17. Scott Kuggeleijn, who shared the new ball, treated himself to a spell of 3.1-1-8-1 while legspinner Sodhi ran through the tail to take 3 for 12. Matt Taylor, who top-scored with 28, was only one of two batsmen who could reach double-figures and Wellington’s 72 was the lowest total by any side against Northern Districts, breaking the previous record of 85 by Otago in 2006-07.Jacob Duffy’s career best 5 for 18 and Michael Bracewell’s unbeaten 80 set up Otago‘s nine-wicket drubbing of Canterbury in Christchurch.After electing to bat, Canterbury were reduced to 28 for 5 by the fifth over of their innings. Henry Nicholls then took control of the innings, with a 41-ball 51 and received a good hand from Todd Astle, with whom he put on 73 runs for the fifth wicket. Duffy accounted for Nicholls in the 17th over and cleaned up Canterbury’s lower-order, eventually bowling them out for 134 in 20 overs.In response, Otago lost Anaru Kitchen in their first over, but Bracewell ensured the chase went off without a hitch, smacking an unbeaten 80 off 49 balls that included ten fours and two sixes. He had Neil Broom’s (42*) company during a 133-run partnership that sealed the game and put their team on top of the points table.

Three days into this series England hold a 261-run lead over a South Africa side riddled with problems, chief of which was another injury to Dale Steyn, after their batting had slumped in the morning session

The Report by Andrew McGlashan28-Dec-2015
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsThree days into this series England hold a 261-run lead over a South Africa side riddled with problems, chief of which was another injury to Dale Steyn after their batting had slumped in the morning session. Moeen Ali, who claimed 4 for 69, continued their difficulties against spin to earn a priceless 89-run advantage before England benefited from crucial fielding lapses to increase the lead steadily with Joe Root unbeaten on 60.Any hopes that a return to home soil would ease the ills of the India tour for South Africa have not come to pass early in this series with England’s impressive attack compounding the pressure on a fragile batting order. They lost 6 for 77 in the opening session as their first innings finished on 214 although Dean Elgar fought outstandingly to become the sixth South Africa batsman to carry his bat for 118.Then Steyn pulled up after the second ball of his fourth over with a right shoulder injury and an attempted return was aborted after three deliveries. After play, though, the South Africa camp said the problem was being treated as “shoulder stiffness” after Steyn had been sent for a scan and there was hope he would be able to bowl on the fourth day although it may come too late to change the course of this match.To further compound South Africa’s woes their fielding also let them down. Dane Piedt had removed both openers – Alastair Cook lbw with one that slid on and Alex Hales defeated by drift to be caught at long-on – but in consecutive Morne Morkel overs shortly before tea they had the stuffing knocked out of them.Nick Compton was shelled on 11 when Elgar missed a sitter at second slip and Root was missed on 6 when he gloved a pull which AB de Villiers, whose future was the subject of much speculation during the day, could not gather one-handed above his head.

SA frustrated by ball change

South Africa have said they were unimpressed when the umpires changed the ball in the 26th over of England’s second innings after it had been damaged by one of the advertising screens around the boundary.
The damage, which was classed as “unnatural wear and tear” occurred when Alex Hales hit Dane Piedt for six in the 16th over but the umpires allowed play to continue before deciding the impact had enabled the ball to reverse swing. The change of ball came when Hales was dismissed, caught at long-on against Piedt, while Morne Morkel and Kyle Abbott had been operating from the other end.
“The ball was changed because when it hit the LED screen…a chunk of it came out and because there was unnatural wear and tear, they had a right to change the ball,” Mohammed Moosajee, the South Africa team manager, said. “We were not very impressed but the match officials made the final call.
“When the ball goes to the boundary and it comes back, the umpire has a look. Initially he allowed the match continue and then felt that with the reverse swing, there was unnatural wear and tear.”
Law 5.5 states: “If, during play, the ball cannot be found or recovered or the umpires agree that it has become unfit for play through normal use, the umpires shall replace it with a ball which has had wear comparable with that which the previous ball had received before the need for its replacement. When the ball is replaced the umpire shall inform the batsmen and the fielding captain.”

Morkel put in sterling service in the absence of Steyn but, astonishingly, a third chance was to be missed off his bowling when Compton, on 45, edged a pearler only for de Villiers to grass another. That opportunity, at least, did not prove costly as two balls later Compton glanced Morkel down the leg side and de Villiers made amends. De Villiers puffed out his cheeks; Morkel just about managed a celebration.By then, however, England’s lead was over 200 on a surface offering considerable assistance for the spinners and a hint of uneven bounce. England’s progress was never electric but time was on their side. Root made the most of his life with a 96-ball fifty which kept the scoreboard ticking over. He collected a six with a slog-sweep off Piedt and some of his off-side driving was a delight on a surface where few batsmen have found that sort of strokeplay easy.At the start of the day there was not a consensus as to whether England had their noses in front or it was honours even. By the close there was no doubt after the match had been seized in the morning session.As when Stuart Broad started the innings, it took him just two deliveries to locate the stumps, Temba Bavuma this time defeated by some low bounce outside off and dragging on an inside edge. There was certainly some variation in bounce, but it was also the shot of a batsman who had yet to get his feet moving early in the day.In another shrewd piece of captaincy, Cook did not wait long to introduce Moeen with two left-handers now at the crease, one of whom, JP Duminy, who has had his travails against offspin. And it took Moeen just two balls to find Duminy’s outside edge with a beautiful delivery which turned from middle and off, safely held by Ben Stokes at slip.Kyle Abbott did not stay long, prodding forward at Moeen and getting a thick inside edge into his pad which was well held by James Taylor diving forward at short leg, although it needed the intervention of the third umpire after Rod Tucker had failed to spot the sizeable deflection.The support provided by Steyn to Elgar suggested that he should be at No. 8 ahead of Abbott. Their stand took South Africa to the brink of the second new ball only for Steyn to try and send Moeen down the ground and instead find mid-off where Chris Woakes held the chance with a juggle. His spell ended on 12-3-24-3 and overall it was the first time Moeen had taken more than three wickets in an innings since facing India, at Old Trafford, in August 2014.Steven Finn cleaned up the last two wickets in his first over with the second new ball to leave Elgar undefeated with his fourth Test hundred having brought up three figures from 211 deliveries. In an innings marked by his defensive technique, he continued to prosper on the leg side where two thirds of his runs came.It was his second hundred in a Boxing Day Test, following the 121 he made against West Indies last year, and this was his first 50-plus score in ten innings. When the innings ended he became the first South Africa opener to carry his bat since Gary Kirsten against Pakistan in 1997. He may have to perform a repeat to save his team.

Jos Buttler is facing a tricky decision over whether to fight for his Test place or join Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL

George Dobell05-Jan-2016Jos Buttler is facing a tricky decision over his future as he decides whether to fight for his Test place or appear in this year’s IPL season.Buttler was dropped from England’s Test team during the tour of the UAE, having averaged 13 with the bat in the seven matches in which he played from the start of the Ashes. While he retained a place in the squad for the tour of South Africa, he has had to watch as his replacement, Jonny Bairstow, scored a maiden Test century in Cape Town to cement his role for the rest of the series.But Buttler’s limited-overs form has remained impressive. He smashed the quickest century in England’s limited-overs history in November – it took just 46 balls – and it is understood by ESPNcricinfo that Kolkata Knight Riders, the club which Trevor Bayliss coached before joining England, are particularly keen to secure his services this year.Initially Buttler was keen to return to Lancashire and attempt to win back his England place by performing well in the County Championship. But with Bairstow now assured of a prolonged run in the side and the ECB keen to see their players gain more experience of playing in overseas T20 tournaments such as the IPL or Big Bash, Buttler is rethinking that view.While it is possible that Buttler and Bairstow could feature in the same Test side – for all his excellence with the bat, Bairstow has yet to totally convince with the gloves and at some stage could be picked as a specialist batsman – it seems unlikely in the short term.The ECB are happy to leave the decision over whether to appear in the IPL to Buttler. Andrew Strauss, the ECB’s director of England cricket, has suggested on several occasions that he believes that England players can benefit from exposure to such events and there are those who believe that Buttler may benefit from pursuing a future as a white-ball specialist.But Butter, aged 25, retains Test ambitions and is reluctant to be typecast so early in his career. He also knows that, if he misses the first two months of the county season, there is no guarantee that he will displace the highly-rated Alex Davies, aged 21, as the Lancashire keeper.It leaves Buttler at a crossroads: he can work on his red-ball batting in the relatively unglamorous world of early-season county cricket in the hope it leads to a Test recall, or take the riches on offer in the IPL. It may seem, at first glance, like a simple decision. But Buttler knows that, once he slips out of the Test reckoning, it may prove hard to work his way back. With the ECB increasingly aware of the benefits of players specialising between red- and white-ball cricket, his decision could define the future direction of his career.The 2016 IPL season starts on April 9, a week after the final of the World Twenty20 in Kolkata, and ends on May 29, with players expected to report – subject to international duty – a week before the start. Players required for Test duty by England will be required to return to the UK by noon on May 6, with most non-Test players required to return by noon on May 17 to ensure their availability in the opening round of T20 Blast matches on May 20. Buttler could well be given special dispensation to remain in India for the entire tournament – as Kolkata Knight Riders are believed to have requested – at the discretion of the ECB.The ECB, who are currently involved in a budget review which has required several employees to reapply for their jobs, no longer operate a system by which they return to players the portion of their salaries forfeited for their release from county or central contracts – as they did up to the 2015 IPL season. However, it is understood they are considering topping up payments should a low reserve price result in England players making a net loss on their involvement. In previous years, players have priced themselves out of the market by demanding a higher reserve price to ensure they did not lose out financially.

Aditya Tare and Suryakumar Yadav’s unbroken fourth-wicket stand of 190 extended Mumbai’s lead to 429 with seven wickets in hand at stumps on day three

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Feb-2016
ScorecardSuryakumar Yadav hit 18 fours and a six in his unbeaten 97 as Mumbai extended their domination over Madhya Pradesh•Fotocorp

Suryakumar Yadav and Aditya Tare stamped their authority over Madhya Pradesh in Cuttack as Mumbai put one foot in the door of the Ranji Trophy final.Mumbai, who took a 144-run lead early on day three, pressed forward courtesy an unbroken fourth-wicket stand of 190 between Suryakumar (97 not out) and Tare (90 not out) to end the day on 285 for 3, thereby opening up a lead of 429.MP’s hopes of eating into a deficit that stood at 174 at the start of the day were hinged on Naman Ojha, but his dismissal on his overnight score of 79 to Abhishek Nayar put paid to those hopes. MP, resuming on 197 for 5, were bowled out for 227, with Balwinder Sandhu, the medium pacer, who picked up three wickets in the morning, finishing with 5 for 43.Mumbai started shakily in their second innings as Akhil Herwadkar fell for a three-ball duck to Ishwar Pandey. But Bhavin Thakkar and Shreyas Iyer built the lead with an 85-run stand; Iyer did the bulk of the scoring in his 46-ball 58 before falling to Puneet Datey.The wicket of Thakkar shortly after, gave MP a lift, but it was all too brief as Mumbai’s current and former captain stamped their authority to put their team within touching distance of a place in the final for the first time in three seasons.

Jos Buttler’s hundred powered England to 399 for 9 and that was enough to put them 1-0 up in the series when the rain curtailed the South Africa run chase

The Report by David Hopps03-Feb-2016

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details Farmers in Bloemfontein have been praying for rain, so when livelihoods are at stake it is wise not to be too despondent when it comes, but before the storm broke – and gave England a rain-affected victory in the first ODI of this five-match series – Jos Buttler and Quinton de Kock harvested two excellent centuries worthy of grateful looks to the heavens.Buttler’s last ODI innings was the fastest hundred in England’s history, against Pakistan in Dubai more than two months ago. An enforced rest has done him no harm. Back in an England shirt, he made a hundred once more, not quite as fast but still eye-wateringly impressive, as England set a formidable 400 to win.Buttler is the poster boy of an England ODI side playing an attacking brand of cricket that, in the extent of its ambition, surpasses anything previously envisaged. Three days before the IPL auction, his 105 from 76 balls (remarkably, the slowest of his four ODI hundreds) could not have advertised his talent more persuasively. He will surely attract great rivalry from the franchises.De Kock was a $20,000 ingénue when he first played in the IPL in 2013. His progress is now apparent. The boy with the baby face is now a baby-faced assassin. He is on a roll. Scores of 103, 33 and 109 were at the heart of South Africa’s ODI series win in India and he added a century in his Test comeback at Centurion for good measure.When rain intervened, his unbeaten 138 off 96 balls had out-Buttlered Buttler. South Africa, at 250 for 5 in the 34th over, were deemed to have lost by 39 runs, but with de Kock at the crease it felt closer, adding to the suspicion that the rain tables have yet to adjust to exhilarating recent trends where domineering batting on good pitches has become the norm. AB de Villiers suggested South Africa were “spot on” but, had de Kock fallen, they would have been clocked off.The stats were stacked in England’s favour. Their 399 for 9 was their second-highest ODI score, outdone only by their 408 for 9 against New Zealand at Edgbaston last June – that also powered by a Buttler hundred.Mangaung Oval has a reputation as a batsman-friendly ground, but South Africa had only once chased so many to win: the famous 438 for 9 against Australia in Johannesburg, 10 years ago now. No side had previously made more than 351 to win here, nor chased a total of 300-plus under lights. And this spotless pitch was not quite a batsman’s benefit: as the England innings progressed, there were occasional signs of grip and reverse swing to give the bowlers hope.Buttler sat out the Test series against South Africa as England opted for Jonny Bairstow. But in limited-overs cricket his batting Manhattans promise to be so dominant that Boris Johnson could gladly adopt them as a plan for London’s skyline, selling them in advance to the Russians and the Chinese. They are not garish innings, full of flashing neon lights, but assembled with a gentle brutality that few can rival.He fell eight overs from the end, driving Farhaan Behardien to de Villiers at cover. Of his five sixes, a politely dismissive step-across to cow corner against Marchant de Lange took some beating, as did another stooping six over midwicket off the jerky offspin of JP Duminy, a venomous flick that carried inconceivable force.No South Africa bowler curbed him for long. Behardien did demolish his stumps on 54 but it was a free hit, and the same player almost intervened in the field when Buttler was 68, flinging himself to his left at deep square leg to try to hold a blow off the legspinner Imran Tahir, but spilling it on landing. They were brief moments of hope as de Lange went even faster off the bat than he did on to it and the fifth-bowler combination of Duminy and Behardien went for 93.By the time that Buttler perished, at 317 for 5, England had a sniff of 400, only to come up one run short as the No. 11 Reece Topley failed to make contact with the last two deliveries – a reminder of normality.Chris Morris responded most vigorously for South Africa, his four new-ball overs spilling 29 but finding some swing from a full length late in the innings to reap 3 for 74. But then he only bowled five deliveries at Buttler.England launched their innings with immediate élan, recognising rare vulnerability in South Africa’s pace attack. Jason Roy is the catalyst, committed in his relatively young career to an aggressive start. He had to pass a late fitness test after back spasms, but he had 43 of England’s 56 by the sixth over. South Africa started poorly. England never looked back.Alex Hales, after an unproductive Test series, was encouraged ahead, one of three England players to support Buttler’s hundred with a half-century. When Hales departed to a miscued hook, Buttler was promoted to No. 4 with the score an inviting 130 for 2 in the 18th over. Just think, there was a time when England would have looked askance at their laptops and saved Buttler for the slog. He told Sky TV he was nervous, driven by adrenalin.Joe Root chivvied away alongside him for a half-century before Morris summoned an excellent swinging yorker. Even the muscular figure of Ben Stokes then adopted an understudy role, quickening after Buttler’s dismissal to make 57 from 38 balls, his innings silenced by a pre-meditated scoop shot to have his stumps rattled by a low full toss.In response, de Kock carried the fight virtually single-handedly. Anything too straight was wristily flipped through the leg side, often making use a stiff breeze. The spinners felt the pressure as did Chris Jordan, whose last ODI spell against New Zealand last June went for 97 and who leaked 56 in 5.3 overs before rain put him out of his misery.South Africa’s chase was all the more remarkable considering that their two star turns, Hashim Amla and de Villiers, scrambled only 14 runs between them. Amla dragged on to David Willey, a lack of footwork evident, and after Faf du Plessis had helped de Kock marshal the chase with a half-century, de Villiers came to the crease with three successive ducks to his name, the residue from South Africa’s Test series defeat.A wind had sprung up, strong enough for the batsman weathervane on the scoreboard to be playing switch hits, and a storm seemed to be brewing. South Africa were keenly aware that they had to lift the rate around the 20-over mark, at which time the match could be settled by rain recalculations. Three balls before the match became valid, de Villiers’ role in it ended, courtesy of Stokes’ brilliant chase and thrust of a right hand at long-on to intercept a flat drive. If the wind had not blown the boundary back a yard it would have been tight.De Kock’s milestone, off 67 balls, came up with computerised precision: his ninth ODI hundred logged at 187 for 3, one ball short of halfway. But compared to Buttler his support was lacking. Duminy, outwitted by Topley’s slower ball, chipped back a simple return catch and Rilee Rossouw gave Moeen a third wicket when he toe-ended to long-off. By the time the rain fell, de Kock was feeling short of company. His consolation was the Man-of-the-Match award and Buttler, gentle guy that he is, would not have complained.

Don Robson, the driving force behind Durham’s emergence as a first-class county, has died at the age of 82

David Hopps11-Mar-2016Don Robson, the driving force behind Durham’s emergence as a first-class county, has died at the age of 82.Durham became the 18th first-class county in 1992, the first since Glamorgan in 1921, defying the general assumption that county cricket was certain to decline rather than expand bravely into what became its most northerly outpost.After difficult beginnings, they went on to dominate the professional game, winning six trophies between 2007 and 2014, including three Championships, and also staging international cricket at their purpose-built Chester-le-Street ground.The death of the man who was chiefly responsible for delivering that dream comes at a challenging time when Durham are under considerable financial strain, inviting questions whether regular England cricket in the north-east is sustainable.Robson, immensely proud of the north-east, would have had no truck with such pessimism. As leader of Durham county council (the youngest ever when he was appointed in 1973) and an influential member of the regional assembly, he had political clout in the region and he put it to good use in a straightforward, immensely committed style.His ambition was to provide a home for the succession of cricketers developed in the north-east but who had previously had to leave the county to fulfil their ambitions to play professional cricket.Gordon Hollins, the ECB’s chief operating officer, knew Robson well from his time as commercial director at Durham.He said: “Don played a leading role in gaining first-class status for Durham prior to their inaugural season at the top table in 1992. The north-east was going through a really tough time economically and Don’s efforts therefore didn’t just help cricket, they also helped the region regain some pride.”The success of Durham on the field, the development of several England players and the staging of international cricket at the Emirates Riverside are all achievements that would not have been possible without Don’s contribution”Don was equally committed to the recreational game – I would often see him watching Greenside CC play in the Tyneside & Northumberland league on a Saturday afternoon.”Robson became Durham’s first chairman as a first-class county, but this was no political sop. He led the fundraising drive, lobbying extensively and continuing his involvement in cricket in the north-east.He was involved when Durham were England’s dominant minor county through the 1970s and ’80s – going 65 games unbeaten between 1976 and 1982 – managed the Under-19 team for a while and represented the county at several committees on the Test and County Cricket Board – the forerunner of the ECB.In April 1992 they played their first match as a first-class county – a Sunday League fixture against Lancashire at the Racecourse Ground in Durham. Ian Botham and Wayne Larkins, two high-profile signings, opened the batting and Durham won. It was a decade and more before winning became a habit.Most importantly, Durham secured land for a permanent headquarters on the outskirts of Chester-le-Street, adjoining the River Wear and with Lumley Castle providing a striking backdrop. A Chester-le-Street farmer had been willing to end his lease because the land was too wet. In May 1995, Durham played their inaugural game on the ground against Warwickshire and the pavilion was named in Robson’s honour and opened by the Queen in 1996.Geoff Cook, Durham’s director of cricket – the longest-serving county coach in the game – said on the their website: “You had to be involved at the time of Durham’s emergence from minor counties cricket to appreciate the enormity of Don’s involvement in the whole scheme.”To be the first new county for 70 or 80 years was a big thing in its own right, but the practicalities of getting the finance and the ground in place were vital to us having a realistic chance of succeeding.”A tremendous amount of balls were up in the air at the same time, but Don remained completely focused throughout the process and at the same time he progressed his business as well as his political career.”It was amazing to be on hand to witness his mental and physical energy and the way he was able to pull things together. He really was a remarkable man. He had a ferocious energy and a determination to satisfy his vision.”No matter the size of the hurdles that got in his way, he always felt he could surmount them. He was formidable, but he had a lot of warmth and he was a caring person.”Before awarding first-class status, Durham had to have at least £1m in the bank and guarantee to secure a permanent ground within five years.Robson used his political contacts to win major support from such companies as Scottish and Newcastle Breweries, but he was a politician who also had a strong connection with the public and they trusted him with a rush of small donations and offers of help in the belief that he would achieve his goal.He was awarded a CBE for services to local government in 1997 and received an honorary doctorate from Sunderland University in 2002 in recognition both of this and his role in securing Durham’s first-class status. He also played professional football as a centre-forward with Doncaster Rovers and Gateshead.

The Pakistan Cricket Board has reportedly agreed to a proposal from the England & Wales Cricket Board to implement a points system for their tour of England later this summer

Andrew Miller29-Apr-20163:44

Can a multi-format points system work?

The Pakistan Cricket Board has joined Sri Lanka Cricket in agreeing in principle to a proposal from the England & Wales Cricket Board to implement a points system for their tours of England later this summer.The PCB have given their blessing to the same suggestion that was put to SLC earlier this month, ahead of their own tour of England in May and June. The idea comes in the wake of the successful implementation of a similar system for the last three Women’s Ashes contests.Pakistan are due to play four Tests, five ODIs and a one-off T20I on their two-month tour from July to September, with the suggestion being that four points should be available for each Test victory and two points for the limited-overs contests.That would tally with the weighting given in last summer’s Women’s Ashes, which Australia won by 10 points to six.Initially six points had been on offer for the one-off Test match in the Women’s Ashes, but that figure was reduced to four after the 2013-14 series in Australia, in which England retained the Ashes after winning the Perth Test despite losing both of the limited-overs series 2-1.With a possible 28 points to be made available over the course of the ten fixtures in Pakistan’s tour, but with the Tests due to be played first, a 4-0 clean sweep for either team would be enough to secure 16 points and, with it, the series.The proposal has met with a mixed response from England’s cricketers, particularly those who might expect to play a part in all three formats.”Whatever it is, it’s going to make it extremely competitive and it might bring all three formats together a little bit more,” said Joe Root during an Investec golf day last week.However, his team-mate Ben Stokes was less enamoured, particularly by the suggestion that the idea might eventually be rolled out to the men’s Ashes.”I think it would be rubbish,” he said. “They’ve changed a lot of things, but Ashes is Ashes, it’s a massive series for England and Australia and I don’t see why it should get changed.”People who watch the game and follow the game, especially in the Ashes, would get a little bit like ‘why are we doing this?’ and I’d probably be in the same boat.”An ECB spokesman confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that the prospect of a points system was taking shape.”We have received an agreement in principle from the boards of both Sri Lanka and Pakistan and will release further details of the proposal in due course.”4.30pm BST: This article was updated with a response from the ECB

Darren Sammy and Shahid Afridi, Hampshire’s World T20-winning overseas stars, have echoed Jos Buttler’s criticisms of the NatWest T20 Blast

Andrew Miller06-Jun-2016Darren Sammy and Shahid Afridi, Hampshire’s World T20-winning overseas stars, have echoed Jos Buttler’s criticisms of the NatWest T20 Blast, admitting that the tournament’s once-a-week “appointment to view” format makes it hard for specialist players to maintain their form and focus over the course of an elongated tournament.Buttler, who recently completed his maiden stint in the IPL with Mumbai Indians, told the Daily Mail that English cricket needed a “Big Bash-style tournament” if it wanted to bring out the best in England’s white-ball cricketers.”It’s frustrating for the players and the fans that we don’t have a competition like the IPL,” Buttler said. “It feels as if our domestic players are missing out. After all, we did create Twenty20, but we’ve not taken it on.”Our teams don’t have to have different names, but we should have fewer teams, and go with a Big Bash-style tournament. And if you hold it as a block, you’re going to attract the best players.”His sentiments were echoed by two men who have ruled the world in T20 cricket – Sammy, who captained West Indies to victory in both the 2012 and, most recently, the 2016 World T20, when England were beaten in a thrilling final in Kolkata, and Afridi, who was Man of the Match when Pakistan beat Sri Lanka in the 2009 World T20 final at Lord’s.”It’s a difficult tournament, at least three months, it’s long,” Sammy told ESPNcricinfo. “It can be frustrating playing one or two games every weekend. It’s Twenty20, you’ve got to be playing it fast.Sammy and Afridi both played in Hampshire’s double-header over the recent weekend, at home against Kent and then away against Glamorgan, but their next outing will be a trip to Canterbury on Wednesday, leaving a lot of down-time for the players to fill.”I want my six-pack again,” Sammy joked. “I am probably going to have a set schedule to do some gym. Most of the time the first team is away during the week, so I’ll get some training in with the second team. I’ll probably visit London with my family, and get some net practice in.””England is my second home, I always enjoy my cricket here,” added Afridi. “But I’ve already talked to a few officials, that we should organise it and finish it in a month. It’s not easy playing one game then a four-day game then another T20, but as a professional cricketer you can adjust yourself.”The players’ comments echo the remarks of the ECB chairman, Colin Graves, who denounced the NatWest T20 Blast as “mediocre” before a ball had been bowled in this season’s tournament. For Sammy, who was in England during the inaugural year of the Twenty20 Cup in 2003, the difference between then and now is stark.”I remember back in 2003, when I was here in June, everybody’s on the train wearing helmets, I was like ‘what’s going on?’ It was T20, England started this thing and now, to see it going on all over in that period of time…”But the standard has always been of good quality, and that’s the most important thing,” he added, citing the progression of England’s team to the final of the World T20 in Kolkata, where only Carlos Brathwaite’s astonishing six-hitting in the final over stood between them and a second World T20 title.”I was not surprised they made it to the finals, actually. We played them in the very first match in Mumbai, we defeated them but since then they didn’t look back,” said Sammy. “We met again in the finals, Carlos did his thing in the last over, but it shows England have quality T20 players.”Joe Root is a world-class player, Ben stokes, Jos Buttler – they’ve come through playing T20 in England. The standard is good so I wasn’t surprised to see England play well. They’ve won a World Cup before [World T20 in 2010] and I know they don’t play much around the world, so whatever T20 they are playing here, it’s about high standards. That’s why they are making it to finals of world tournaments.”

Barinder Sran’s 4 for 10 sprung the trap on Zimbabwe, Jasprit Bumrah’s 3 for 11 made sure they couldn’t even think about escape and India levelled the series 1-1 with a 10-wicket victory

The Report by Alagappan Muthu20-Jun-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details1:17

‘We implemented our plans well’ – Mandeep

” [Don’t do anything],” screamed MS Dhoni. Zimbabwe were 57 for 5 at the time and they were gifting their wickets away.Left-arm fast bowler Barinder Sran picked up three in a single over and recorded the second-best figures by a debutant in T20I cricket. His 4 for 10 sprung the trap on Zimbabwe, Jasprit Bumrah’s 3 for 11 made sure they couldn’t even think about escape and India levelled the series 1-1 with their first ten-wicket victory in T20 cricket.If a team was kept to 99 for 9, it would be reasonable to think that conditions had been bowler-friendly. But a 1pm start in Harare with not a cloud in sight reduced the chances of swing. The pitch was being used for a third time on the tour, which gave the team batting first a slight advantage. Zimbabwe gained that advantage when the coin fell in their favour. If they had put up a big enough total, the natural wear and tear of the surface could have made the chase that much more difficult.Instead, Zimbabwe were 35 for 4 after the Powerplay on the same deck they had made 170 on only two days ago.India gave the new ball to two debutants for a second time in as many matches and Sran made sure to extract as much as he could from it. Only one delivery in his first spell of three overs was pitched short.His first wicket was excellently constructed. Zimbabwe could not find a single run off the bat in nine balls. Chamu Chibhabha came on strike. He had found eight of his 10 runs through boundaries. Sran sensed the batsman would go for a release shot and bowled his offcutter. The batsman mistimed his swipe over mid-on and Ambati Rayudu snapped up an excellent catch over his shoulder while running towards the boundary.Hamilton Masakadza got his first run off his seventh ball with a fearsome drive through the covers and moved into double figures with a thump down the ground. To the next ball he faced – an inswinger, pitching on a good length – he heaved across the line and lost his middle stump. Sran welcomed the new batsman Sikandar Raza with a wide slip and he obliged by steering his second ball to that fielder. Tinotenda Mutumbodzi fell for a golden duck, though replays indicated he was incorrectly adjudged lbw by umpire Russell Tiffin. The batsman was struck above the knee roll and Hawk-Eye suggested enough of the ball had pitched outside leg stump.Nevertheless, Sran had three wickets in an over and Zimbabwe were on course for a terribly underwhelming performance. Not even one of their eleven batsmen could reach a strike-rate of 100 – only the fourth time that has happened in 559 T20Is.Peter Moor, brought in for the injured Richmond Mutumbami, top scored with 31 off 32 balls. His presence would have given Zimbabwe hope but Dhoni played a mean trick. Knowing the opposition was in recovery mode – in other words fearful of losing any more wickets – he called on his spinners to rush through the middle overs. Yuzvendra Chahal deceived an advancing Malcolm Waller in the flight, and refused Elton Chigumbura the leverage he so desperately wanted.With the score at 73 for 5 after 14 overs, panic set in for Zimbabwe. India preyed on that by bringing back their premier fast bowler – Bumrah. Moor never saw the slower delivery coming and was caught at point, Chigumbura’s stumps were bulldozed a few minutes later, and with all their specialist batsmen dismissed, the best Zimbabwe could do was play out the 20 overs. Bumrah, now, has 24 wickets in 2016 – the most by any bowler this year.The chase was straightforward. Mandeep Singh cruised to his maiden T20I fifty, but he could have been caught in the fifth over had Malcolm Waller, rushing forward from deep square leg, and Taurai Muzarabani, running back from short fine leg, communicated better. In the end the ball fell between them and trickled for four. The India opener offered another chance on 22 when he pulled straight to Donald Tiripano, the fielder on the square-leg boundary, who parried over the rope for six. It was just that kind of day for Zimbabwe. They struggled with the basics from start to very early finish.