Delhi Capitals fall short by 11 runs despite a late partnership from Arundhati Reddy and Shikha Pandey

Vishal Dikshit16-Mar-2023Ashleigh Gardner doesn’t get bogged down easily. She calls herself a “massive confidence player”. Like most Australians in the WPL, she has been a world champion several times, and tends to rescue her team from situations in which normal teams usually lose. She was the Player of the Series less than a month ago at the T20 World Cup, and just prior to that, for the bilateral T20Is in India in December 2022.On Thursday night at the Brabourne Stadium, she walked in at No. 4 when Gujarat Giants were in a precarious situation, in the game as well as in the league. Already languishing at the bottom of the table after losing their last two games, they were crawling along at 53 for 2 around the halfway mark with their league top-scorer, Harleen Deol, just dismissed. Opener Laura Wolvaardt was struggling for fluency on 18 off 20.Gardner, an ace finisher for Australia, walked in and operated at a different level altogether. She struck five fours in her first 16 balls and gave a similar message to Wolvaardt: “If the ball’s in your area, go for it.” It was as if Gardner had flicked a switch on in her partner’s game.In T20 leagues, where there are always some weak links in the bowling, most batters see off the gun bowlers and target the others. Gardner’s confidence was such that she and Wolvaardt went after Capitals’ most fiery and wily bowlers, Marizanne Kapp and Jess Jonassen. When Kapp bowled the 15th over, Gardner chipped the second ball over the bowler’s head for four and three balls later Wolvaardt charged down to smash a pull for four more. Wolvaardt then took on Jonassen single-handedly; a six over long-off, two more pulls for fours in the space of three balls to make it a 15-run over.With 26 runs off two overs, the Giants’ scoring rate shot up from under six to nearly seven an over.”We just kept speaking about building a partnership together because that’s what we’ve lacked doing over these last few games, we’ve lost wickets in clumps and we haven’t had those partnerships,” Gardner said at the press conference. “I said to her, ‘If the ball’s in your area, go for it’. We know what her strengths are, she hits over the off side so well. She got a couple of balls that she could throw her hands at. I think it was the Jess Jonassen over that ended up going for 15 and I think that was the momentum switch that we needed.”Wolvaardt got to her fifty off 41 balls in the next over and soon Gardner raced from 31 off 25 to a 33-ball half-century with back-to-back fours by carting Arundhati Reddy around, before going after Jonassen for two more fours to nearly touch 150. “Pressure affects people differently,” she said. “Lucky enough for me, I’ve played in a lot of high-pressure situations so I feel like I personally can stay quite calm and hopefully I can put that on to other people as well. So it’s being really calm in those situations and really calm with my language as well to other players to make sure that they stay really positive because the game wasn’t over until it was over.”Giants knew they were below-par on a pitch that was slightly slow yet batting-friendly. Back in the dugout at the halfway mark, Gardner got her team-mates together and gave them a clear message: be brave.”I just said, ‘147 is an okay score but we’re going to have to bowl well’. And we were probably going to have to bowl them out to win that game. I was just trying to reiterate the message to the girls around being brave and playing with freedom because ultimately, we needed to win these games and it was almost like we could play with freedom and just back each other up in the field. But more importantly just enjoy it. In moments like this, they go so fast and when you’re not winning, you forget about the enjoyment side of it, and that’s why we all play cricket because we love it and because we have fun playing with our friends and that’s the main thing.”And a brave combined effort it turned out to be. Uncapped left-arm spinner Tanuja Kanwar played cat and mouse with Shafali Verma to knock over her leg stump three balls after being hit for a six. When the spinners were being dispatched for boundaries, captain Sneh Rana bravely bowled the last powerplay over and sent down a flat delivery at 89kmh to trap Meg Lanning for 18.When Capitals needed 70 off 60, Deol bravely pitched one up to see Jonassen hole out to long-off, and when Gardner came on for her third, she smartly slowed the ball down, at 82.8kmh, to beat Taniya Bhatia swinging across the line and strike her stumps.”It’s being able to hit my natural lengths and be brave enough to slow my pace down a little bit,” Gardner said of her bowling on Thursday, “because as spinners you get hit and there’s no point me bowling 95kmh, because it’s going to go even further. So it’s just about being really brave and I think we were really brave tonight with the bowling attack.”Apart from some nervous moments in the tense chase when the Gujarat fielders started to fumble and leak overthrows, they also ran two big hitters out. Sophia Dunkley fired in a throw from cover to the wicketkeeper while there was a mix-up between Alice Capsey and Jemimah Rodrigues, and the former fell short. The biggest blow came in the 14th over when Kapp took off for a risky single and WPL debutant Ashwani Kumari took the stumps down with a direct hit to send back Kapp for 36 off 29 and help Giants take a big step towards their win.Eventually Capitals fell short, but they may have learnt a lesson from their opponents when under pressure: be brave.

Manchester United are reportedly set to complete the signing of Matheus Cunha from Wolves next week, as they agree to pay his £62.5m release clause.

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Man Utd set to seal deal for Wolves' CunhaRed Devils will trigger his £62.5m release clauseWolves boss Pereira says Cunha happy at Molineux Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Cunha has been showing some top form at Wolves since he joined the club in 2023 from Atletico Madrid. This season, the Brazilian has scored 17 goals in all competitions and has been linked with a number of Premier League giants, including Manchester United and Chelsea, among others.

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Manchester United have reportedly been very close to signing Cunha over the course of the last week, and Sky Sports has now reported that Manchester United are set to trigger the striker's £62.5 million ($83.4m) release clause to sign him this summer. The Red Devils have been struggling to find the proper number 10 to play alongside Bruno Fernandes in Ruben Amorim's 3-4-2-1 setup.

AFPDID YOU KNOW?

Despite the reports of Cunha joining United following Wolves' final Premier League game of the season, boss Vitor Pereira has continued to refuse to rule out that the Brazilian staying at Molineux Stadium past this summer.

He said, “I have the same information as you. I don’t know. I just know he’s my player. "He’s committed with the team, he’s working with happiness and we will see what happens. You must ask him. He is happy. I feel he is happy."

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WHAT NEXT FOR MAN UTD?

The Premier League season is almost over for United as they have nothing left to fight for domestically. However, they will be focusing on their Europa League final on Wednesday, May 21, as they know that new signings will be easier if they are playing European football next season.

It delays the participation of the duo for KKR in the IPL with the Test scheduled from April 4 to 8

Mohammad Isam01-Apr-2023

Shakib Al Hasan and Litton Das are in Bangladesh’s Test squad for the one-off Test against Ireland that begins on April 4 in Dhaka. There was speculation that the BCB would allow the pair to join their IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders this week but the squad announcement confirms that they will join after the Test ends.BCB president Nazmul Hassan said on Friday that the IPL franchises were aware of the departure dates of the Bangladeshi players. Mustafizur Rahman, meanwhile, has already arrived in India to play for Delhi Capitals, who play their first game on Saturday evening.”We will let them (the Bangladesh players) go to the IPL in accordance with what we informed the tournament about their availability. We haven’t changed our decision,” said Hassan.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Shakib and Litton were in Bangladesh’s last Test squad, against India in December, but there were a number of changes for the coming Test. Tamim Iqbal, Shadman Islam, Ebadot Hossain and Shoriful Islam return to the side. Tamim missed India’s tour of Bangladesh because of a groin injury. Ebadot also missed the second Test against India with an injury.Left-hand opener Shadman replaces Zakir Hasan, who is nursing a left thumb injury. Zakir made an impressive debut Test hundred against India. There was also no place for Nasum Ahmed, Yasir Ali, Nurul Hasan, Anamul Haque and Rejaur Rahman Raja.Bangladesh have already defeated Ireland 2-0 and 2-1 in the ODI and T20I series that took place in Sylhet and Chattogram in the last two weeks.Bangladesh squad for one-off Ireland Test: Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Litton Das, Tamim Iqbal, Shadman Islam, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Khaled Ahmed, Ebadot Hossain, Shoriful Islam, Mahmudul Hasan Joy

South Zone cruised to their sixth Bangladesh Cricket League (BCL) title, defeating Central Zone by an innings-and-33 runs in the final in Cox’s Bazar. Central Zone were the defending champions, but in consecutive matches now were outclassed by South Zone in this year’s league.South Zone dominated the contest from start to finish. Shadman Islam’s maiden double-century set-up his team’s big first innings score. During the course of his knock, Shadman set a new Bangladesh first-class record for batting the longest time in an innings – 674 minutes – beating Raqibul Hasan’s 660 minutes set 16 years ago.Shadman stayed firm despite seeing three early wickets fall at the other end early, but he added 154 runs with Fazle Mahmud (61), for the fourth wicket. Then came a marathon 218-run fifth wicket stand with Marshall Ayub, who smoked nine fours in his 120. The pair batted together for just over five hours, as South Zone declared on 500 for 5 in the last session on the second day. Shadman struck 29 fours and three sixes during his 448-ball 246 before falling to part-timer Mohammad Mithun.Central Zone failed to get anywhere near South Zone’s big score. They were bowled out for 230 in the first innings, with Jaker Ali top-scoring with 53. Left-arm spinner Nazmul Islam took three wickets, while fast bowler Sumon Khan and part-timer Anamul Haque picked up two wickets each.South Zone enforced the follow-on and then had Central Zone on the mat reducing them to 5 for 3, with Soumya Sarkar, Abdul Mazid and Shuvagata Hom falling quickly. Mithun made 49 while Sharifullah’s 63 and Abu Hider’s 77 helped them get to 237, but it wasn’t enough to prevent an innings defeat.Khaled Ahmed took a five-wicket haul in the second innings, while Nazmul took three wickets. Moin Khan picked up two wickets too.Roll of honour: Season-wise BCL winners2012-13 – Central Zone2013-14 – South Zone2014-15 – South Zone2015-16 – Central Zone2016-17 – North Zone2017-18 – South Zone2018-19 – South Zone2019-20 – South Zone2021-22 – Central Zone2022-23 – South Zone

The U.S. star described the goal from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar that lifted a nation – and sent him to the hospital

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• 'PULISIC' documentary final episodes streaming
• USMNT star details iconic 2022 World Cup goal
• Looks forward to even better run in 2026

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  WHAT HAPPENED?

  It was an iconic moment, even if Christian Pulisic didn't know it at the time.

  The U.S. men's national team star recalled his famous 2022 FIFA World Cup goal against Iran, detailing the surreal scenes in the final episodes of the season of his documentary series "PULISIC" on Paramount+.

  At the 2022 tournament in Qatar, the U.S. made a Round of 16 run, Pulisic scored an iconic group stage goal against Iran. Midfielder Weston McKennie found an energetic Sergino Dest surging down the wing, and he headed the ball across the box to a sprinting Pulisic. The U.S. winger smashed home with his right boot while falling to the ground and colliding with an opponent.

  “I put so much pressure on myself in the build-up to this game," Pulisic said in the docuseries. "I was like, now it’s your time, you gotta make the difference if you want to be seen as a leader. if you want to be seen as one of the best players to put on the U.S. jersey, this is when you have to perform – this is when you have to do it. So I think we were confident for sure. But there was definitely this weight of, it’s win or you go home … so some player’s gotta step up, because now is the time."

  The USMNT needed three points in the match to ensure they advanced out of the group. Pulisic's 37th-minute finish was the lone goal in the 1-0 win, sending the U.S. to the next round. Pulisic's was injured on the play, clattering into multiple defenders and the Iranian goalkeeper.

  “It was such a weird goal because it was one of the best goals I’ve ever scored – and I didn’t get to celebrate, so it was definitely a strange one," he said. "Obviously, I got hit pretty hard, and it was just pain, and everyone just looked at me lying down in the goal. The stadium had this weird buzz to it, and obviously I was in so much pain … but had so much adrenaline going, and I was worried. Did it not count? Was I offside? So many things going in my head."

  As the clock ticked down in the match, Pulisic wasn't on the pitch – instead, he was subbed off at the break, and then transported to the hospital.

  "For sure, in the moment, my emotions for sure hit me. It didn’t feel real – obviously, I was in so much pain," he recalled. "I think adrenaline was kind of telling me, like, you’re fine – keep playing, but the doctors were like, 'No, you need to go to the hospital.' I was on the way to the hospital and sitting there. It was really strange. I was watching all the second half sitting there on my doctor‘s phone, and it just seemed surreal.

  "I just scored in this game, and now I’m watching from the hospital, like the last moment, hoping we hold out. It was just like this insane experience. From the hospital bed, it was still an incredible moment for me. I was so proud of how the guys held on. I had a part in it. I remembered we called some guys from the hospital, and they were all like in the locker room celebrating, and the emotions were so high. And obviously, they were checking in on me.

  "I just wanted to get back to the hotel and see everyone and join in the celebrations. It’s funny, all the comments on the goal were like ‘Yeah, he sacrificed it all, it was such a brave play.’ For me, it was just a play that I would make in any game. I was still in a little pain, but like, kind of the second day after the game, I already knew in my head that there was no way I wasn’t playing.”

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Pulisic will not be taking center stage for Mauricio Pochettino's team at the CONCACAF Gold Cup this summer. Pulisic requested to take the summer off to recover after two straight years of heavy match congestion for both club and country.

  “Christian and his team approached the Federation and the coaching staff about the possibility of stepping back this summer, given the amount of matches he has played in the past two years at both the club and international level with very little break,” U.S. Soccer sporting director Matt Crocker said in a statement. “After thoughtful discussions and careful consideration, we made the collective decision that this is the right moment for him to get the rest he needs. The objective is to ensure he’s fully prepared to perform at the highest level next season.”

  Pochettino said he concluded was that this was the best outcome.

  "Many people can say it's really important for us to all be together, but always as a coaching staff, we always listen to the player," Pochettino said upon his roster announcement. "Then, of course, we make the decision. We have our own ideas about everything but, I think after the consideration in every case and, in this case with Christian, I think we decided the best thing for him, the best thing for the national team is the decision that we made."

• WHAT PULISIC SAID

  Ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, set to be hosted in the U.S., Mexico and Canada, Pulisic is hoping he can lead the USMNT to an even better run than in Qatar.

  “I set even bigger goals for myself and for the team," he said in the docuseries. "In these major tournaments, we haven’t had that really, really big win and that big finish – that’s for me, that’s the next step for us. I’m always looking forward, and, l yeah, up our game and take this team to another level.”

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  WHAT NEXT FOR PULISIC?

  With the 26-year-old taking not in the USMNT camp, his next games will likely be in late summer as AC Milan begin their preseason. The are scheduled to face Liverpool at the state-of-the-art Kai Tak Stadium in Hong Kong on July 26.

Pep Guardiola and new sporting director Hugo Viana have their hands full revamping the squad at the Etihad Stadium

Last summer, Manchester City had an uncharacteristically quiet transfer window and paid a heavy price for it. After spending only £20 million ($27m) to sign Savinho while re-signing Ilkay Gundogan on a free, City went on to have their worst season in nine years. Pep Guardiola's side did not just surrender their Premier League crown – they finished third on 71 points, the lowest points total in the serial-winning coach's 16-year career. City also failed to reach the last 16 of the Champions League in another unwanted first for the Catalan, while they failed to win a major trophy for the first time since Pep's debut campaign in 2016-17.

Guardiola has since recognised that he made a mistake in showing loyalty to the core of players who won four league titles in a row, and last week chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak admitted, "last summer we probably should have been more aggressive in some of the changes we needed to do. We didn't do that and that ended up costing us this year."

City began their overdue rebuild in January by spending £180 million ($243m) on Omar Marmoush, Nico Gonzalez, Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis, and Khaldoon has pledged for the overhaul to continue at a frenetic pace: "We have clearly identified who exactly are the targets, in what positions, and we have our clear number one option, our clear number two option. And we'll go about our business, and it will be very clear, very swift."

City need to act fast as they have two transfer windows to operate in, one which closes on June 10 before the Club World Cup begins, and another that runs between June 16 and September 1. As Khaldoon suggested they would, the club have wasted no time in getting going, with talks ongoing regarding moves for AC Milan midfielder Tijjani Reijnders and Lyon forward Rayan Cherki, while Wolves left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri has also emerged as a priority target.

More big-money deals will be necessary as City begin the daunting task of finding a successor for Kevin De Bruyne and addressing the other concerns around their ageing squad, which appeared to lose the insatiable hunger that used to define it.

GOAL sets out the key transfer decisions Guardiola and new sporting director Hugo Viana need to make to ensure the squad is fully equipped to fight to win their Premier League title back after this summer…

Getty Images SportPrioritise full-backs

Guardiola convinced City to spend £130m ($175m) on three new full-backs in the summer of 2017, and he would have good reason to make a similar statement now as the club urgently need to strengthen both at right- and left-back.

Kyle Walker, who was one of the three to arrive eight years ago, had a nightmare first half of the campaign before being loaned out to AC Milan in January and will surely need to find a new permanent home. Rico Lewis, meanwhile, was expected to be Walker's long-term replacement at right-back, but he is still developing amid a growing belief that is a more natural midfielder. City, therefore, are crying out for a specialist right-back after Guardiola used makeshift Matheus Nunes there for many games in 2024-25.

The position of left-back is also up for grabs after Nathan Ake missed much of the season due to various injuries while Josko Gvardiol was moved into central defence for the final two months so as to make way for Nico O'Reilly. The youngster had a great impact when he broke into the team, but is too raw and inexperienced to lock down the position for next season. It is also not his natural position, which is midfield.

Ait-Nouri, who directly contributed to 11 Premier League goals last season for Wolves, is seen as the likely answer there, but City will then need to focus on getting a right-back in to complete their new-look backline.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportSign a long-term No.1

Both of City's goalkeepers performed badly last season, and new blood is needed between the posts. Ederson actually wanted to leave last summer after receiving tempting offers from Saudi Arabia, only for Guardiola to convince him to stay. Yet despite assisting a remarkable four goals, the Brazil international endured one of his worst campaigns when it came to keeping the ball out of the net, above all in the Champions League.

Ederson lost his place to Stefan Ortega on a couple of occasions, but the Germany didn't prove as reliable as in the previous campaign, when he made the title-winning save to deny Tottenham's Son Heung-min in the season's penultimate game. Instead, the defining image of Ortega in 2024-25 was him being yelled at by Guardiola for conceding a sloppy late equaliser at Brentford.

With both shot-stoppers about to enter the final year of their respective contracts, the time is ripe for City to make a statement signing in goal. Diogo Costa of Porto would be the ideal choice, but he has a high price tag given he is the Portuguese side's club captain and one of their highest earners. Joan Garcia of Espanyol, meanwhile, has emerged as one of the most exciting young goalkeepers in Europe and City are among the many top clubs to have expressed interest in signing the 24-year-old, who has a €25m (£21m/$28m) release clause.

AFPFind a De Bruyne successor

A lot has been said about the importance of De Bruyne, his legacy as City's best-ever player and the rights and wrongs of him being allowed to leave for free. But a lot less has been said, at least in public, about who will replace him. The Belgian became City's most expensive player when he signed from Wolfsburg in the summer of 2015, but the club have not shown the same ambition when it comes to finding his heir.

Florian Wirtz stuck out as the outstanding candidate to take the baton from De Bruyne, but City turned away from a potential deal for the Bayer Leverkusen schemer due to the soaring costs of a potential deal. Morgan Gibbs-White would be the next-best available option available, though City do look to be going down the Cherki route for now.

De Bruyne is truly irreplaceable, but City will at least need to make sure they have another match-winner to turn to with him now out of the picture.

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GettyRejuvenate the midfield

One of the most memorable outbursts from a City player during the fraught campaign came after March's FA Cup quarter-final win at Bournemouth, when Bernardo Silva confronted journalists about the perception that the squad was getting on a bit. "Give me names," he demanded. "I'm 30, [Mateo] Kovacic is 30, you're not talking about guys that are 36. We had four bad months and out of nowhere we're old, we're not good enough? That’s people who don't understand the game, never played the game."

Bernardo made his point emphatically, but there was also an element of the midfielder protesting too much. City's squad aged, and not like a fine wine. There had even been an admission from the club in January when they signed three players aged 23 or under, with Marmoush, who turned 26 in February, the oldest of the quartet of winter signings.

Midfield was the area with the most players on the wrong side of 30, given City also had Jack Grealish (30), Gundogan (34) and De Bruyne (33). The strain of playing twice a week got too much for the veteran grouo, and Kovacic could be the only player in that age bracket who survives the summer. Bernardo is thought to be on the brink of leaving while Guardiola questioned whether Gundgogan should stay and Grealish needs to leave for his own sake. Reijnder's presumed arrival might not be the last in terms of fresh midfield blood this summer.

Surrey go back to the top of Division One after Middlesex fail to put up a fight on day four

Vithushan Ehantharajah14-May-2023Surrey 380 (Smith 97, Burns 88) and 73 for 1 beat Middlesex 209 (Robson 76, Malan 66, Worrall 5-48) and 240 (Holden 43, Clark 4-25) by nine wicketsIt bodes well for Surrey and not for the rest of Division One that while they did not perform to their best against Middlesex, they still won convincingly. Not just by nine wickets in the end, but with 46 overs to spare on day four. Considering the amount of time lost to rain, that last number reinforces the difference between them and their London rivals.From 128 for 3 overnight, Middlesex were rolled for 240, with three to Jordan Clark who finished with 4 for 25 from his nine overs. That he came on third change says all you need to know of the depth of talent at the 2022 champions’ disposal. A target of 70 took just 16.4 overs to polish off, with Ryan Patel taking charge at the end with a flurry of boundaries to pocket some decent red ink.Could there have been more tension? No doubt. Certainly, if Rory Burns’ dismissal had been followed up by that of Dom Sibley four deliveries later. The opener edged Toby Roland-Jones just wide of third slip after Tim Murtagh had forced Burns to find first. Perhaps at 17 for 2, panic might have ensued. In the end, Sibley and Patel made light work of the remaining runs, a half-century stand coming up in 60 balls, before Patel heaved the part-time offspin of Mark Stoneman to the midwicket fence to confirm victory by 3.05pm .A day that offered Middlesex the opportunity of pulling off something special or frustrating Surrey fell away quickly. The morning loss of three middle-order batters for just 55 runs dented hopes of the remarkable and the defiant.Make no mistake, the visitors conceded this match on day one, certainly hopes of winning it, with their last nine first-innings wickets falling for just 43 runs. A position of 166 for 1 relinquished would always be hard to make up. That they made Surrey bat again was a small, small victory.Even so, Thursday’s capitulation did mean the prospect of losing seven second-innings wickets before making up 43 runs felt very plausible. Three runs and 3.3 overs into the day, Kemar Roach got the first. The quick kill, perhaps even an innings victory, was on.A big one, too, in Max Holden. A patchy start to the summer punctuated by a half-century in the successful chase against Nottinghamshire looked like being joined by a second.Patience had got him to 42 overnight, but he could only add a single when Roach did what he does to left-handers: around the wicket, tempting a push, leaving them for dead. Surrey (and Roach) had gone to bed cursing Holden’s presence after Will Jacks dropped an easy catch at second slip when he had just 18.The second to fall was via a spectacular bit of work from Ben Foakes. Sean Abbott rasped one across John Simpson around the wicket, who helped the ball on its way down the leg side. Even before contact, Foakes was on his way, and a dive got him all the way across to pouch the ball with his right hand.Poetic, in a way, considering Simpson’s own exemplary keeping on day three had started with the wicket of Foakes while stood up to the stumps. Though it’ll probably take a bit of time before the Middlesex gloveman appreciates it as such.Out walked Pieter Malan, pushed down the order after suffering with some unspecified stiffness, accompanied by Mark Stoneman as his runner. His movements were clearly inhibited, though the trio of boundaries struck by Ryan Higgins to bring the scores level were simply the allrounder being his usually punchy self rather than shouldering extra burden.A lead of 10 was established before Gus Atkinson struck with his third legitimate delivery, getting Malan to push a little too far forward for a catch to Patel at backward point.Just eight deliveries later, Clark served up a passable Roach impression with a worldie from around the wicket that left Hollman driving at thin air – all but the edge – as Foakes leapt across first slept to take another smart catch.It should have in fact been three wickets in 11 deliveries, but Sibley palmed up a firm edge from Higgins, on 28, off Atkinson, and not even Foakes in this form could nab the rebound.Sibley would get the chance to make amends, albeit for Clark’s benefit, when Roland-Jones advanced and flinched at a delivery pulled back of a length for a bread-basket grab at first slip.With two wickets remaining and the lead only 27, Higgins decided now was the time to pick his team up over his shoulder and carry them once more. Middlesex’s leading runscorer possess the kind of attitude and skill to suggest you’d not go too badly with XI of him. Unspectacular yet effective, average height with above-average demeanour, particularly in this world of cruiserweight-boxer shaped allrounders.One of the latter – Clark – struck him on the arm, snarling at Higgins as he returned to the umpire to retrieve his cap. Having ascertained Higgins was not in great strife, Clark walked away satisfied he had inflicted pain. Out came the Middlesex physio to tend to his left wrist, which had worn a bouncer as he attempted to advance down the track for a second boundary of the over.The physio was back on again the next over, tending to Ethan Bamber’s top hand after the bowler failed to hook a well-directed bouncer from Atkinson. Bamber had better luck as Dan Worrall took over from Clark at the Pavilion End. A well-executed swish to deep square leg got him off the mark, even forcing Burns to move the fielder back to the fence.A second boundary came at the end of the over, gloved just beyond the reach of a diving Foakes. Another half-chance from Bamber came with the lead on 52, as Jamie Smith failed to reach a pop-up at short leg.By lunchtime, Bamber was looking steady on 20, walking off to the break after keeping out a yorker from Worrall. Higgins had grown to trust his junior partner, and even with the hosts managing five wickets in the session, a lead of 63 was a handy jumping-off point for a dart at some quick runs on a glorious Sunday afternoon.That’s certainly what Higgins was about. The eighth ball after lunch, he pulled Clark to the square leg fence – but Roach was lurking, moving to his right to take a catch a couple of feet in from the boundary. Out Tim Murtagh came and soon back he went, bowled by Abbott, though not before Bamber had struck another boundary.It would never be enough, and a run of consecutive victories now ends for Middlesex. At the very least, they leave this game having showcased some positives from the victories over Nottinghamshire and Kent, even if errors and the opposition’s superiority overhwelmed them.For Surrey, this third victory out of five – they remain unbeaten – lifted them back to the top of Division One after Warwickshire held the position for 24 hours. Surrey are home again next week for the visit of Kent, with a great opportunity to go into the international break well set to defend their crown.

Chennai Super Kings may be playing their 10th IPL final, but there’s a tinge of nervousness as if it’s their first. Stephen Fleming, their head coach, believes that isn’t necessarily a bad thing ahead of Sunday, when they take on Gujarat Titans at their home venue in Ahmedabad.”We’re excited, but there’s a bit of nervousness as well,” Fleming said at the pre-final press conference. “It’s a big stage, a big occasion, and there’s a lot of work that goes into getting to this point. We’re proud of what we’ve done, and we’re looking forward to the opportunity.”Fleming was asked to elaborate on why he felt there was nervousness. After all, CSK have won four titles, next only to Mumbai Indians, who have five. Shouldn’t there be an air of intimidation about them, then?”It’s a big occasion, the game doesn’t change, but the outcome does; it’s really hard not to look too far ahead,” Fleming explained. “And the dream is of winning it again, right from the coach to a guy who hasn’t played a game. To be part of that [final] is what we set out to do at the start, that’s our purpose. Trying to contain that excitement and trying to stay in the present is one of the great challenges as we get towards the end of the tournament.Related

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“We’ve got to stay very present against Gujarat, one of the most consistent sides in the tournament. They’re an excellent side, and we can’t afford to dream too much, but this is why we’re here. The excitement levels and the nerves of the big stage slowly simmer away, but it’s a good thing to have, it’s just how you work with them in your system.”We’ve worked very hard at that. We’ve got some good people around us. We look forward to this challenge, but you have to have a certain level of anxiety and nervousness to be at your best, I guess. It’s about how you manage that and how quickly you can sync into the game. That’s what we will be looking to do.”Fleming then offered a perspective on why it’s so difficult to win the IPL. It may seem he’s being modest at first, but as he peeled off different layers to managing a team, the emotions, results and staying balanced, there was a sense in why he and MS Dhoni keep focusing on “process” as a buzzword.”It’s a big process,” Fleming started. “What I will say is margins between success and failure have gotten closer and closer each year. We may have been ninth [in 2022] or seventh [in 2020], and you look back, and there are a number of games that could’ve gone differently. Maybe, last-ball finishes or a great performance. So they’re small defining moments that determine where you finish on the log.”Process” is the buzzword Stephen Fleming and MS Dhoni operate on•PTI

“It’s just getting closer and closer as teams get smarter about the players they pick or conditions they play in. This year’s been no different, it’s been the hardest. Each team you come up against it feels like an incredibly difficult challenge. The thing we’re really proud of is that when we’ve had a bad season, we’ve been able to bounce back.”A part of it is to do with how we finish a bad season. We’re always looking for the positives, giving players opportunities that we can work into the following year; we don’t write it off. There are a lot of things to learn when a season goes well, but equally, a lot more things to learn when it doesn’t. So, we’re always looking to get better.”We are realistic about how difficult it is to get to this stage. That’s why we are proud of our record of being consistent over a period of time. The greatest challenge of this competition is when you get a new team that’s going really well, you’ve got to disband, and you can only keep four players. The fact that we’ve been able to stay consistent with those rules in place is something we look back very proudly on.”Fleming also underlined how playing on different types of surfaces in Chennai this time, as against playing on just the one kind of surface that they’re accustomed to at home, has geared them up to be a better team away.”[In the past] we geared ourselves up for Chennai so well that we struggled in different conditions at times in the away games,” Fleming said. “So, the finals are always a little bit of a challenge, our record is about 50% [won four, lost five finals] maybe, that’s due to the style of game that we created.”The victim of being so good at home is that we had to make adjustments when we went to a neutral venue. This year we’re a bit more rounded, we’ve had to be because of that reason. Going back to Chennai [this season] was hard [in terms of conditions]. I wanted to bowl [first vs Mumbai], MS was the other way and in Qualifier 1, it was the opposite. So we were well off the mark in trying to get the conditions right, but this time around, the team is rounded enough to put performances together come the finals. We’re not too worried about the conditions we will get. We’re mentally in a lot better place than what we’ve been in the past.”

Stafanie Taylor, Chinelle Henry also slam fifties, while Gaby Lewis’ 83 proves insufficient for the visitors in Gros Islet

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Jun-2023

Captain Hayley Matthews’ all-round show where she scored 109 and followed it up with a three-wicket burst helped West Indies ease to a 58-run win over Ireland in the opening women’s ODI in Gros Islet.Batting first, the hosts lost debutant Zaida James cheaply, but Matthews and Stafanie Taylor brought out their experience to shepherd the innings after a slow start. The duo added a 156-run stand off 153 balls for the second wicket.Matthews was the aggressor as she reached her half-century off 53 balls and picked up the pace after reaching the landmark. It did not take her long to breach the three-figure mark, reaching there in 96 balls, with the help of nine fours and two sixes. Taylor reached her fifty off 62 balls but fell soon after for 55 to legspinner Cara Murray.Taylor’s wicket produced an opening for Ireland, with West Indies losing 3 for 6 in ten balls, but Chinelle Henry came in and slammed an unbeaten 37-ball 53, her innings laced with seven fours as West Indies reached a formidable 297 for 6. Murray was Ireland’s most successful bowler, picking up three wickets.Ireland were circumspect in the chase, only managing 35 runs in the powerplay. Opener Gaby Lewis held the innings together, adding a 67-run stand with Orla Prendergast (37) for the second wicket and following it up with a 71-run partnership with captain Laura Delany (40).Matthews then struck with the ball, too, taking out Lewis for 83 before removing Delany. None of the other batters could put up much of a fight as Ireland finished on 239 for 9 in their allotted 50 overs. Matthews finished with 3 for 53 in her ten overs, while Afy Fletcher and Qiana Joseph chipped in with two wickets apiece. Matthews was named Player of the Match for her all-round effort.

He countered Vidarbha’s bowlers with a 37-ball half-century, and then struck with the new ball along with Dhawal Kulkarni

Deivarayan Muthu10-Mar-2024

Shardul Thakur rescued Mumbai with the bat for the second game in a row after their middle order had collapsed either side of lunch on the first day of the Ranji Trophy final at the Wankhede Stadium. Fast bowler Yash Thakur and rookie left-arm fingerspinner Harsh Dubey had set Mumbai up for that collapse by sharing six wickets on a grassy surface.Captain Ajinkya Rahane and Shreyas Iyer fell for 7 each, but Mumbai waded past that passage of play and finished with a respectable 224, thanks to Shardul’s 37-ball half-century. When Shardul was lining up Vidarbha’s spinners, just like he had done against Tamil Nadu’s in the semi-final, Mumbai were in with a chance of posting a 250-plus total. But Umesh Yadav eventually had him holing out for 75 off 69 balls to restrict them as Shardul was the last Mumbai batter out.Shardul then struck with the new ball, as did Dhawal Kulkarni, who was playing his farewell game for Mumbai in place of the injured Mohit Avasthi, to leave the final dangling on a razor’s edge. Vidarbha were 31 for 3 at stumps, with Atharva Taide unbeaten on 21 and nightwatcher Aditya Thakare unbeaten on 0. Kulkarni, in fact, had struck twice to dismiss Aman Mokhade (8) and Karun Nair (0). Taide could have also been dismissed on 8 had Shardul latched onto a difficult one-handed return catch in the seventh over.Kulkarni, 35, pushed the ball too wide of off in the early exchanges against the left-hander Taide, but had both right-handers Mokhade and Nair nicking behind with perfectly-pitched deliveries.Earlier, after having opted to bowl, Vidarbha didn’t glean as much movement with the new ball. Umesh and Thakare offered Prithvi Shaw and Bhupen Lalwani freebies, allowing them to settle in. Shaw was particularly severe on anything that was remotely full from the quicks, while Lalwani was more circumspect was the other end.Mumbai were 75 for 0 at the first drinks break, but Yash struck soon after the resumption, having Lalwani tickling one behind, with Akshay Wadkar pulling off a spectacular one-handed grab inches from the turf. Shaw then tried to slog-sweep Dubey against the turn and ended up seeing his off stump knocked back for 46 off 63 balls. Dubey had got it to drift in, dip, and then break away past the bat-swing of Shaw.Umesh Yadav got two wickets, including that of Shreyas Iyer•PTI

In his next over, Dubey pinned Musheer Khan lbw for 6 with an arm ball from wide of the crease. Dubey also had Rahane slicing a catch to mid-off to vindicate his selection, ahead of veteran offspinner Akshay Wakhare, against a right-hander heavy Mumbai line-up. Dubey, 21, is playing only his eighth first-class game, but has been a consistent performer for Vidarbha in age-group cricket. He also has exposure outside of Nagpur, having worked with India spinner R Ashwin in club cricket in Chennai.”I enjoyed dismissing Rahane,” Dubey said after the first day’s play. “I had thought before the game that I would dismiss him. I was determined to do it and it was one of my best dismissals in Ranji Trophy. I tried to get him to drive since the ball was coming off slower at that length and I was successful in what I had planned.”Soon after, Umesh bested Iyer with a brute of a delivery – a length ball that reared up and seamed away to hit the outside edge near the shoulder of the bat. A crease-bound Iyer simply hung his bat out to give Nair slip-catching practice. Thakare also probed away outside off and was rewarded with the wicket of Hardik Tamore (5).When Shardul walked out to bat, Mumbai had lost six wickets for a mere 30 runs, but that didn’t stop him from stepping out to his third ball and pumping Dubey to the left of Dhruv Shorey at wide long-off. Shardul then crashed Dubey to the square-leg boundary, and Aditya Sarwate over long-on for six. Shardul had similarly dismantled R Sai Kishore and S Ajith Ram with vicious slog-sweeps and down-the-track lofts in the semi-final.Yash, though, tested Shardul more with hard lengths and extra bounce outside off, but Shardul kept slashing him through or over gully. Yash even drew a leading edge from Shardul in the 50th over, but it eluded the reach of Dubey at mid-off. Yash worked his way around Shardul and got rid of Shams Mulani and Tanush Kotian.Umesh, the leader of the pack, then returned to apply the finishing touches. He stuck out his right boot in his follow-through, and deflected the ball on to the non-striker’s end to catch Tushar Deshpande short in the 63rd over. In his next over, Umesh banged the ball into the pitch and had Shardul splicing a pull.But Shardul wasn’t done yet. He trapped Shorey lbw for a duck with an inducker, and saved the day for Mumbai once again, along with Kulkarni.