Tag Futebol

League commissioner says since a majority of their players are South African, they need not fear losing internationals to competing leagues

Firdose Moonda13-Feb-20241:09

Graeme Smith: SA20 and Test clash should never happen again

The SA20’s reliance on a mostly local talent base will shield it from any major impact around the poaching of international talent to other leagues, according to commissioner Graeme Smith.Speaking at a press conference at the conclusion of the second season of the SA20, from where 12 overseas players jetted off to join the ILT20, Smith was not overly concerned about their movements because he felt the core of the SA20 player pool remains strong.”If you take a step back, we are a majority-based South African league. The majority of our players in playing XIs are South African. We are blessed to be able to attract top international talent who want to play here,” he said. “When we were building SA20, there was no confidence in South Africa cricket that we were able to pull it off at this level.”But we have done that. FTPs [Future Tour Programme for international cricket] are tough. Noor Ahmad got pulled out the day before the playoffs because he was selected for Afghanistan. But if we look at what we’ve created in two years – it’s amazing. We’ve gone from a place where international talent hasn’t backed our league, to where they want to be a part of it.”The SA20 was South Africa’s third attempt at a franchise T20 tournament – after the Global League T20 was abandoned in 2017 and the Mzansi Super League failed to secure a broadcaster – and has, so far, been a resounding success despite schedule clashes and a direct competitor in the UAE’s International League T20, which runs concurrently.However, Smith has always underlined that the major difference between the SA20 and the ILT20 is player composition, with South Africa drawing from an existing talent pool – this season only 37 out of the 99 players who featured in at least one match were foreign – while the ILT20 is made up mostly of an overseas contingent. And that, he says, is why league overlaps will affect the ILT20 more. “The challenge with ILT20 is they are consuming nine or ten international players per playing XI plus squad members, so it’s a lot of players to keep the ship moving.”The six SA20 team captains and league commissioner Graeme Smith pose with the trophy•Sportzpics

While the ICC recently agreed to a cap of four internationals for all new T20 leagues, the existence of the ILT20 as it is has already created concerns around player availability and management. ESPNcricinfo’s Matt Roller considered the clashes and proposed some solutions including cooling-off periods and restriction of NOCs, as endorsed by Ricky Ponting, but Smith did not agree. “It is very difficult to restrict talent,” he said. “The NOC discussion in itself is a challenge for the world game. It’s way more complicated than me answering you now behind the scenes legally and with what goes on.”Another concern for both leagues is a potential clash with next year’s Champions Trophy, which the FTP has pencilled in for mid-February to early March. Although the SA20 concludes by February 10, South Africa are due to play a triangular ODI series in Pakistan ahead of the tournament and there is also the possibility that the SA20 will clash with the preparation window for other national teams. Might that mean a shift for the SA20 dates? “We will have to consider everything,” Smith said. “The Champions Trophy dates are not set in stone. We will work with the ICC and CSA and once we’ve got confirmed information we can make informed decisions.”Related

• David Wiese: 'You can understand why players would want to get knocked out early from one T20 league to play another'

• 'A broken sport': Franchise free-for-all compromises players' incentives

• India, Australia and England boards should do more for Test cricket – Johnny Grave

• ICC agrees overseas players cap for new T20 leagues

Should there be a direct clash, it will be the third time in as many seasons that the SA20 will be affected by international cricket. In the first season, the SA20 had to take a break to accommodate South Africa’s must-play World Cup Super League ODI series against England. In the second season, it had far bigger impact because it clashed with a two-Test series in New Zealand and because South Africa’s first-choice players were legally obliged to compete in the SA20, a makeshift Test squad was selected.While CSA tried to negotiate with New Zealand Cricket to find better dates, the overwhelming feeling in South African cricket, and it seems from the SA20, is that more should have been done to ensure the Tests were moved. “This scheduling issue should never have happened,” Smith, who considers himself a lover of Test cricket, said. “It’s disappointing. We are disappointed at what has happened. And we need to work together to make sure it does not happen again.”Smith was also quick to point out that CSA is not the only board battling to ensure they have their best players available all the time. He used West Indies as his strongest example of another. “The challenges are much deeper than this scheduling issue. We heard (CWI CEO) Johnny Grave speak after an incredible Test win (in Australia) and they lost over a million dollars on that trip,” Smith said.Grave spoke to ESPNcricinfo last month and called for a radical shift in the ICC’s revenue model to help support Test teams outside of the Big Three [Australia, England and India]. The same issue has been addressed by the MCC World Cricket Committee, who met on the sidelines of the SA20 last week and recommended the current model of home teams retaining all proceeds from tours to be looked at to ensure a more equitable distribution.”These discussions need to be happen at bilateral level,” Smith said “You only earn money when you are hosting tours. India plays more cricket than anybody else but with touring, a lot of other teams earn good revenue. But outside the top three – how does an SA or a WI keep all three formats strong?”

Inglis’ departure leaves Matthew Wade as the only wicketkeeper in Australia’s 15-member squad

Andrew McGlashan19-Oct-2022 • Updated on 20-Oct-2022Cameron Green has been called into Australia’s T20 World Cup squad after Josh Inglis, the reserve wicketkeeper and a spare batter, was ruled out due to a hand injury he suffered playing golf in Sydney on Wednesday.It means that Australia will not have a back-up wicketkeeper in their 15-member squad, and while a replacement could be added if Matthew Wade was injured, that would not cover a problem emerging on the day of a game which would leave them scrambling within their ranks for someone to take the gloves.In that – albeit unlikely – scenario, the job would probably go to David Warner, who once previously kept with during a Test against Pakistan in 2014, although captain Aaron Finch has also done it briefly in the BBL. Coach Andrew McDonald even floated Mitchell Starc as an option.Related

• Matthew Wade tests positive for Covid-19, could still play against England

• Wade: 'When you feel every tournament is your last, it makes you open-minded'

• Adam Zampa: World Cup opener will get Australia's 'juices flowing'

Australia have previously gone into World Cups without another frontline wicketkeeper, including the 2015 ODI event on home soil where Brad Haddin was the only option.”If you look back over World Cup squad selections, there have been plenty of times where Australia have gone in with only one frontline keeper in the squad,” McDonald said. “And that is to give greater flexibility to batting and bowling structures in the team. It’s a conversation about how we want to give ourselves the most options, rather than potentially covering the small risk that is there.”Inglis was assessed in hospital yesterday after his right hand was cut when a golf club snapped, and although the timeline for the recovery is not long – and there is no tendon damage – he will now miss the tournament.The selectors spent the day weighting up their options for a replacement which also included a like-for-like in Alex Carey, Josh Philippe or Ben McDermott, alongside a call-up for pace bowler Nathan Ellis, but in the end opted for Green who had been part of Australia’s T20I set-up in the lead-up to the tournament.Green had impressed on the tour of India with two rapid half-centuries opening the batting, but did not enjoy the same success against West Indies or England at home. However, before Green’s call-up was rubberstamped, McDonald had confirmed that Green would not come straight into the XI.”Does it create a headache if we bring him in? No, it probably just gives us more options,” he told reporters at the SCG. “If Cameron Green was considered in the starting XI before the tournament started, then he would have been in the 15; and he’s not, so if he was to come in, there’s no way – unless there’s another injury – that he would come into the starting XI.”Inglis, who has played nine T20Is so far, was anyway unlikely to feature in Australia’s starting XI during the tournament unless there was an injury to Wade, or a concussion substitute was required.He was also part of the squad for the previous men’s T20 World Cup in the UAE. However, he featured in just three of Australia’s games leading into this tournament: two matches on the tour of India and then the warm-up game against same opponents at the Gabba on Monday.”The whole group is flat,” McDonald said. “Even though he hasn’t played a lot of cricket, he’s an important member of the squad, [and] was part of the last World Cup campaign as well. He’s obviously gutted; it’s a tight-knit group and any time something like this happens you feel for that person.”Inglis has made a good impression in his limited opportunities, with a strike rate of 141.02 from his inventive batting. He is viewed as the natural successor to Wade whenever he retires.Also, England wicketkeeper-batter Jonny Bairstow was ruled out of the tournament due to a golf mishap too, when he suffered a badly-broken ankle caused by slipping on a tee box on the day the squad was announced.07.24GMT This story was updated after Cameron Green was confirmed as Josh Inglis’ replacement

He bowled 23 wicketless overs of offspin during the one-off Test against Bangladesh in Harare

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Jul-2021Zimbabwe’s offspinning-allrounder Roy Kaia has been reported with a suspect bowling action during the one-off Test against Bangladesh in Harare.Kaia bowled a combined 23 overs across two innings without picking up a wicket. With bat, he bagged a pair as Bangladesh went on to win the match by 220 runs.An expert panel will analyse the video footage of his bowling action from the Test as an in-person assessment at an ICC accredited testing centre is not possible due to various restrictions resulting from Covid-19. Until the panel makes its decision known, Kaia can continue bowling in international cricket.Kaia, 29, first played for Zimbabwe in an ODI in Pakistan in 2015, when he was picked more for his batting abilities. That remains his only appearance in while-ball cricket for the country. He made his Test debut earlier this year, also against Pakistan. The Test against Bangladesh was the third of his career.He has over 100 wickets in domestic cricket but hasn’t picked up one at the international level so far.Zimbabwe are yet to announce their squad for the ODI series against Bangladesh that starts on July 16.

Alex Hales struck 52 off 30 after a duck from Babar Azam to down Islamabad United

The Report by Peter Della Penna01-Mar-2020Unbeaten half-centuries by Luke Ronchi and Shadab Khan wound up being in vain for Islamabad United as Alex Hales’ own rapid fifty chasing a target of 184 propelled the Karachi Kings to a five-wicket win with eight balls to spare. Ronchi and Shadab added an unbeaten 106 for the fourth wicket to end Islamabad’s innings, and then maintained early momentum in the Karachi chase when Babar Azam was run out without facing a ball taking on Shadab’s arm at backward point in the first over of the reply.But in a way it backfired for Islamabad because it brought Hales to the crease, who teamed with Sharjeel in a ferocious stand, adding 58 together off just 27 balls to put Karachi in command. Sharjeel was the aggressor, turning on the accelerator in the fifth over against Faheem Ashraf when he clobbered a pair of pulls over backward square leg for sixes in the space of three balls.Sharjeel was eventually given out via DRS on 38 in the sixth over when replays revealed his attempted upper cut to a Rumman Raees slower ball was gloved on the way through to Ronchi diving forward. But again momentum shifted quickly back to Karachi as Cameron Delport picked up the slack from where Sharjeel left off, crunching three sixes in his 38 off 28 balls during a 64-run stand with Hales.The pair got out in back-to-back overs in identical fashion, bashing a six before getting out on the very next ball. But by that stage there was little work left to do. One last brief hiccup came via the run out of Iftikhar Ahmed for 1, but Chadwick Walton and Imad Wasim were largely unfazed during their unbeaten 48-run stand to close out the match. Wasim blasted Ashraf for back-to-back sixes over square leg to start the 19th over to bring the equation down to two off 10 balls. A single to level the scores was followed by a four struck by Walton over cover to clinch victory.Turning pointIslamabad could not contain their excitement in the field when Shadab’s athletic charge from backward point along with a sidearm whip from 12 yards pinged the striker’s stumps with Azam inches short of his ground in the first over of the chase. The run out was partly a consequence of Azam trying to take pressure off Sharjeel by calling for a tight run to get Sharjeel off strike after he had already gone scoreless in his first three deliveries.But rather than get mentally bogged down by the run out even further, Sharjeel responded in extremely positive fashion. His assault on Ashraf in the fifth over flipped momentum firmly back towards Karachi and his innings inspired Delport to follow suit.Star of the dayHales may have been overshadowed by both Sharjeel and Delport in his half-century stands with them, scoring at a slower rate than either. However, he lasted longer at the crease and in the process brought up his maiden PSL half-century. He reached the landmark off 29 balls in style too, driving the spin of Ahmed Safi Abdullah over long-off for six.In addition to his fifty, Hales was also superb in the field. Perhaps his most underrated contribution towards receiving Player-of-the-Match honours was his sliding catch taken after charging forward about 25 yards from long-off to snare the wicket of Rizwan Hussain, who was looking very ominous having already struck two fours and a six in his 22 off 14 balls.The big missShadab was so caught up in a fit of rage aimed at Rizwan that he missed Rizwan running out Iftikhar in the 15th over of the chase. Iftikhar had nudged Shadab behind point for a would-be single that was called for by Walton thinking Rizwan had chosen the wrong end to throw at. Walton had bolted immediately for the run and was almost in the crease by the time Rizwan had released the ball aimed at the non-striker’s stumps, triggering Shadab into furious gesticulations. Meanwhile, Iftikhar had hesitated significantly and was only halfway down the pitch when the throw was on its way, ultimately falling short. As the rest of the Islamabad squad celebrated, Shadab was still smarting.Where the teams standIslamabad blew a chance to pass the Quetta Gladiators and instead remain in third place on five points, ahead of Peshawar Zalmi on net run rate. Karachi closed the gap with Islamabad and Peshawar and are now one point behind both in fifth place on four points.

Ishant had missed out on two wickets in Adelaide because he had over-stepped, but the no-balls not called on the field have also attracted scrutiny

Sidharth Monga in Perth13-Dec-20180:44

Ishant will be obsessed about not bowling a no-ball again – Kohli

The role of the host broadcaster has come into sharp focus in the aftermath of the Adelaide Test. Ishant Sharma is now a marked man, and he spent a major part of the nets session a day before the Perth Test trying to get his rhythm right when bowling from well behind the popping crease.In the final innings in Adelaide, Ishant got close to getting two wickets off no-balls. One of them was given on the field, but Ishant was found to have overstepped on the DRS review. Later, during the final day, the umpire called a rare no-ball on the field when it looked like Ishant had trapped Nathan Lyon plumb in front. However, it was the no-balls that were missed that has put the scanner on Ishant. On air, Ricky Ponting pointed out four no-balls missed in one particular over.Between the Tests, has accessed footage that claims Ishant overstepped 16 times in the first innings alone. The report doesn’t mention corresponding figures for any other bowler, from India or Australia. Ishant, though, was the only bowler called for overstepping in the Adelaide Test, five times in all, on replay or not. During a particularly intense nets session two days before the Adelaide Test, it was observed neither side was too strict on policing no-balls in the nets.The end result is Ishant working on his run-up to make sure he doesn’t overstep. Experts feel it can’t be easy to do that in one training session, but that is something that just has to be done. And it didn’t take the discovery of uncalled no-balls for Ishant to think seriously about the problem. Even when India won the first Test, captain Virat Kohli said Ishant was the only one not celebrating.
ALSO READ: Kohli reveals how the no-balls ‘pissed off’ Ishant
“We were all celebrating but he was really really angry with himself and we asked him why and he said, ‘I cannot afford to bowl a no-ball being a senior guy and having played so much cricket’,” Kohli said after the Adelaide Test. “That could have been the difference at a more important stage in the series. Guys take ownership of those things but they can commit mistakes. As long as the attitude is right, we look to correct those mistakes. So this incident that has happened, I am sure Ishant is going to be obsessed about not doing it again.”Ishant spent time with B Arun, the bowling coach, standing as the umpire trying to maintain the same rhythm, energy and intensity with a new run-up. He bowled in a net without a batsman and at a single stump. Every time he landed well behind the popping crease. Arun kept a close eye on how well he was bowling. He seemed happy with what he saw, and the stint ended with Ishant high-fiving Arun.”He himself was very keen to rectify it, so I don’t think it was something that needed to be spoken about again and again,” an impressed Kohli said on the eve of the Perth Test. “He is a responsible cricketer, and he has been around for so long and he understands what needs to be corrected as all of us do in the team. So there is no need to repeat it again. He knows the problem, and he is keen to rectify it in this game.”The pressure will be on for both the on-field umpires and Ishant, but if he has successfully rectified the problem it might save both the trouble.Meanwhile, Australia captain Tim Paine was glad the issue had been raised. “It’s not something that we can control,” Paine said. “Having said that, I am glad that it has been brought up and it has certainly been spoken about. I don’t think it is a great look for the game when things like that are happening. You put your trust in the people who are in those jobs to control it and hopefully they police it really well in this game.”I spoke to them [the umpires] during one of the days really quickly because I was watching the telecast in the change-room, just to get an idea of whether they were communicating to the umpires in the middle which they said they were. What I do know is that it is not an easy job. They are standing two or three metres away and the guys are running in fast and it all happens so quickly. So I think as long as we are aware of it and we are looking at solutions that can help that process, then I am all for it but I hope this Test match it is used a little better.”

“To bat with pretty minimal intent on day one when you get the best of conditions, to say you’re trying to win the Test is not in my realms of thinking,” said Australia’s coach

Daniel Brettig13-Nov-2017Australia’s coach Matthew Mott has criticised England’s approach to the inaugural day-night women’s Test match, questioning whether the visitors ever had genuine intentions of trying to win after they showed little willingness to take the game on after opting to bat first on a pristine North Sydney Oval pitch.In a result that left the multi-format Ashes series open leading into the final Twenty20 leg – England must win all three matches to prevail – Australia were unable to force victory on the final day after Ellyse Perry’s epic double century had built up a big first-innings lead. However, Mott was dubious about England’s first-innings approach, soaking up 116 overs to make 280 before the hosts tallied 448 from only another 50 overs.”I think both teams have got to be honest about whether they were trying to win the Test match,” Mott said in Sydney. “To bat with pretty minimal intent on day one when you get the best of the conditions, I think if you’re going to sit back and say you’re trying to win the Test is not in my realms of thinking.”We certainly would’ve been disappointed with that scoring rate on day one. That slowed the whole Test match up and made it difficult to get 20 wickets for both teams. I thought it was a monumental effort for us to bowl them out for 280 given they won the toss and batted first on that wicket.”We were really pleased with that, but I suppose that backed us into a bit of a corner with the game taking a slow path, that we had to bat big in that first innings and get right ahead and roll the dice that we could get 10 wickets and not have to bat again. It certainly wasn’t the way we wanted to play the Test but I’m pretty sure if there was maybe a bit more grass on day one and two, got the first innings through a bit quicker, that we might have seen that result.”England’s coach Mark Robinson argued the issue was more to do with the type of pitch prepared for the match, which lacked the grass to be exploited by the seamers early in the match and then dried out into a slow and low surface where sharp spin was about the only assistance on offer.”Ultimately we want to play on better wickets … the biggest disappointment is it wasn’t a fresh wicket, which I don’t get for this one-off Test, pink ball and we haven’t got a fresh wicket,” he said. “You’ve got a young leg spinner [Amanda Wellington], she needs bounce. You’ve got Perry, [Katherine] Brunt, I take my hat off to [Megan] Schutt, all of them, they run in hard and then sometimes you want them to deserve better.”I sat on the edge [of my seat] yesterday unfortunately having to watch Ellyse Perry relentlessly go on in her quest of excellence, which it was, and I actually felt like I was in something special again and it reminded me of the day at Lord’s [the World Cup final]. It was a special day to have nearly 4000 there for a pink-ball Test match to watch a player relentlessly go on.”Yes we’ll talk about the wicket and we should play on better wickets but hopefully that’ll show the ICC and a lot of other people that there is an appetite for Test match cricket. We’ve got to understand our product don’t we, we’ve got to entertain people. We want all of these 12,000 to come back.”

Rajshahi and Rangpur post substantial victories in Tier 2

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Oct-2016Tier 2Rajshahi Division posted their biggest win in first-class cricket by crushing Chittagong Division by an innings and 242 runs at home, in an NCL Tier-2 match that ended within three days. In doing so, they surpassed their previous best, an innings-and-207-run win over Barisal Division in December 2006.After bowling out Chittagong for just 141, Rajshahi declared on 558 for 9. Mizanur Rahman and Jahurul Islam made 144 and 131 respectively, while Junaid Siddique, Hamidul Islam and Muktar Ali struck fifties. Jahurul scored his first first-class hundred in nearly four years. He was also the only Rajshahi player involved in their previous record win, scoring a century in that match as well.In the second innings, Chittagong were shot out for 175 in 56.2 overs. Muktar Ali, Mamun Hossain and Habibur Rahman took three wickets each. Farhad Reza and Saqlain Sajib, who shared seven wickets in the Chittagong first innings, weren’t required to bowl in the second.In the other Tier-2 game, Suhrawadi Shuvo’s second innings seven-for gave Rangpur Division an unlikely 56-run win over the home side Sylhet Division.After winning the toss, Rangpur were bowled out for 217 before Sylhet grabbed a 30-run lead that rode on Zakir Hasan’s third first-class ton.Rangpur were then shot out for 183, leaving Sylhet to get 154 that should have been achieved easily. However, Sylhet were bowled out for 97 in 34 overs, with left-arm spinner Shuvo taking career-best figures of 7 for 45.Tier 1Dhaka Metropolis fought hard on the final day to secure a draw against Barisal Division in Khulna.
After electing to bat, Barisal were held together by Sohag Gazi’s seventh first-class hundred.He made 142 and shared a 139-run stand for the fifth wicket with Abu Sayeem, who missed out on his maiden hundred by two runs. Gazi then added 111 runs for the seventh wicket with Monir Hossain, as Barisal finished on 419.
Arafat Sunny and Mohammad Ashraful had taken four wickets each for Dhaka Metro, but their efforts were nullified as Dhaka folded for 245 in their first innings. With the follow-on enforced and five sessions left, Dhaka began solidly and were aided by a rain delay at the start of the final day.
Fifties from Shadman Islam, Asif Ahmed and the captain Marshall Ayub ensured safety before Zabid Hossain and Abu Hider resisted in the final hour to secure a draw after 127 overs in their second innings.The Shaheed Chandu Stadium in Bogra hosted the drawn game between Khulna Division and Dhaka Division. Rain only allowed play for four hours and 18 minutes on the first day, washing away the rest of the game.
Khulna were on 172 for 1, with Anamul Haque unbeaten on 84 and Mosaddek Iftekhar 71, when play stopped at 1.48pm on the first afternoon. Both teams picked up three points as a result.

The Bangladesh team is hungry enough to not let their customary end-of-season fatigue get in the way of their improvement in Test cricket, according to Tamim Iqbal

Mohammad Isam28-Jul-2015The Bangladesh team is hungry enough to not let their customary end-of-tour fatigue get in the way of their improvement in Test cricket, according to Tamim Iqbal. Although there is a considerable threat of rain on all five days of the second Test in Mirpur, the pursuit of one last achievement is set to drive the home side.The question comes up whenever Bangladesh are ending a series or a tour. There have been many instances when they have impressed at the start but end with a poor defeat. Against Pakistan earlier this year, they won the ODI series 3-0, the lone T20 and drew the first Test. But they lost the second Test, the last game of the tour, by 328 runs.It happened against India too, when they drew the solitary Test and won the first two ODIs but lost the third one. Against South Africa, Bangladesh lost the T20 series 2-0 but fought back to win a maiden ODI series. Also, having dominated parts of the drawn first Test against South Africa in Chittagong, the team now believes that a better result is possible in Dhaka.Tamim said that the coaching staff has kept everyone interested in training by trying things differently. They have been successful as the Bangladesh players have felt relatively fresh despite playing continuously since the World Cup.”I think it depends on each individual’s mindset,” Tamim said. “It is true that before this year, we haven’t been able to achieve anything big. But we have done that in one-day cricket this year. Every player is hungry. They want to improve in Tests. We have a lot to improve on and if we get tired mentally, it will affect our performance.”The physiotherapist and trainer are working closely with us. They try different types of training every day, so that nobody gets tired. We now enjoy training and team meetings. I think that if we are enjoying what we are learning, it gives you better results.”While they have won more matches in 2006 and 2009, this year has been significantly better than any other in their international cricket history simply for the quality of opponents they have beaten. Since last October, they have won a bilateral series in each of the three formats.While these are genuine signs of improvement, their progress in Tests has not been as rapid this year. They did well against Pakistan in one Test but from selecting a lopsided line-up to batsmen performing below par, they are yet to become a better Test team.Tamim sounded out a warning that despite the confidence from the Chittagong Test, playing at their best is a prerequisite to stay competitive. He said that starting as well as they did in the first Test would be important to have a good game in Mirpur.”2015 has been a good year, especially in ODIs,” he said. “We have a considerable break after this game, we all know that. We also know that the remaining match is against the No. 1 Test team in the world. We have to perform in all departments if we are to have a good result.”We have to play at our best. We have to execute our plans. We cannot leave anything to chance because we are playing against the No. 1 side. Starting well will be important, with the bat and ball.”Tamim will be responsible for one part of that job. Alongside Imrul Kayes, he gave Bangladesh a good start in the first Test but got out to the part-time left-arm spin of Dean Elgar. Tamim was bowled around the legs to a full toss after batting solidly for nearly four hours to score 57 off 129 balls. He, however, said that he would keep playing the shots he prefers even if they have some risk attached to them.”I think I made one mistake in the whole innings, I shouldn’t have played that shot,” he said. “I don’t think I tried to do anything else in the other deliveries I faced. But you need to play one ball poorly to get out.”I will try to play watchfully but at the same time, I have to play my shots. If I get out trying to play my preferred shots, I will not be disappointed.”

It took eight rounds across 31 days for Chris Gayle to deliver and yet, incredibly, Sydney Thunder lost again to gift the Melbourne Stars a semi-final berth

The Report by Alex Malcolm08-Jan-2013
ScorecardChris Gayle hit the fastest fifty of the BBL, off 25 balls•Getty Images

It took eight rounds across 31 days for Chris Gayle to deliver and yet, incredibly, Sydney Thunder lost again to gift the Melbourne Stars a semi-final berth. The Stars’ tournament chances had seemingly slipped after setting what appeared an underwhelming target of 146 for Thunder to chase.When Gayle lit up the MCG with the fastest fifty of the BBL, off just 25 balls, Thunder’s 12-match losing streak looked to be dead and buried along with the Stars’ season. The Sydney franchise had not won since Gayle was last the Man of the Match, for a 54-ball century in December 2011 against Adelaide Strikers at the ANZ Stadium.Gayle hurtled towards three figures here as he displayed his brutal power. He thumped Jackson Bird over the sightscreen in the second over, showing utter disdain for Bird’s Test match form.
Gayle then clubbed 19 runs from John Hastings’ first over, including a flat-bat down the ground, a ramp over third man, a conventional cut to point, and a contemptuous slap that cleared the longest boundary on the ground at midwicket.He had some luck, with Cameron White failing to lay a hand on a towering sky ball, and it seemed then that the prize scalp of Gayle and a semi-final berth might have escaped the Stars’ grasp. Gayle scored 50 of the 59 runs that came in the Powerplay, with Simon Keen the only wicket to fall.Matt Prior played a slow hand by comparison to Gayle. His 16-ball 7 ended when he holed out to a superb running catch at long-on by Bird. But it brought the in-form Usman Khawaja to the crease and the chase seemed a fait accompli. Thunder needed 55 from 48 balls with Gayle and Khawaja in complete command before Gayle tried to clear the rope for a fifth time, only to be caught by Glenn Maxwell for 65.Khawaja inexplicably sliced Bird to Brad Hodge at deep point the following over and what seemed impossible at the start of the 13th over suddenly appeared inevitable.Thunder conspired to lose their last eight wickets for just 41 runs to be bowled out 13 short of their target and consign themselves to a winless season and a 13th straight loss as a franchise. All the Stars bowlers were gifted at least a wicket each. James Faulkner bagged three and Dimitri Mascarenhas picked up two in his first game for the Stars as a replacement for Lasith Malinga.Earlier, Stars looked to have blown a golden chance to make the semi-finals when they compiled only 8 for 145 having elected to bat.Luke Wright ran himself out early. Rob Quiney appeared to have found some much needed touch only for his promising innings of 22 to end when he hit Sean Abbott straight up in the air and was caught by Khawaja.Brad Hodge and David Hussey were left to mount a rescue mission, as they have done so often on this ground together. Hodge again showed his class making 39 from just 26 balls before he played around a full delivery from Dirk Nannes. Hussey did as a Hussey so often does, compiling a busy 32 that featured only one boundary.But the innings fell away badly from there. The Stars managed just 18 runs from the last 25 balls, and lost four wickets in the process. Fortunately for the Stars, Thunder’s finish was even more calamitous and Shane Warne will get another chance to captain his side having been forced to watch tonight from the confines of the change rooms due to his suspension.

Mahela Jayawardene, Sri Lanka’s new captain, has said his second term will be for a year at most and that his priority is to rebuild the team after a string of defeats

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Jan-2012Mahela Jayawardene, Sri Lanka’s new captain, has said his second term will be for a year at most and that his priority is to rebuild the team following a string of defeats in Tests and ODIs after the 2011 World Cup. The tri-series in Australia, involving the hosts and India, will be Jayawardene’s first assignment after taking over the leadership from Tillakaratne Dilshan.”I took up the captaincy once again, for one year. Our target is to win matches, to regain our place as one of the top four Test-playing nations,” Jayawardene said in Colombo. “We have failed as a team in the past but we have to look past that and move forward. We face India and Australia next month. We need to take the positives from South Africa and focus on winning matches again.”Jayawardene was ODI captain from 2004 till 2009 (he took over as Test captain in 2006). He resigned in 2009, saying he wanted his successor to have sufficient time to build the team for the 2011 World Cup. Kumar Sangakkara took over from Jayawardene but stepped down after leading Sri Lanka to the final of the World Cup. Dilshan led Sri Lanka for nine months after the tournament, but resigned following series defeats in both Tests and ODIs in all his four assignments.”This is a juncture where the Sri Lanka cricket team needs someone’s help,” Jayawardene said. “I told the selectors that I will at the most remain the captain for a year, and we came to an agreement. To remain as the skipper I will have to contribute to the team. If I’m not doing a perfect role as a player, then I should not hold the captaincy.”I will turn 35 this year and I don’t have any intention to even remain in the team if I’m not making my contributions as a player. It’s a short-term decision. We will work on grooming the team and a future captain as well.”Dilshan backed Jayawardene’s appointment and said his tenure should be for more than a year. “Twelve months is not enough to groom a young Sri Lanka cricket team and a new captain. My opinion is that Mahela should be there for at least two years and we as players are willing to offer our support to him.”Sri Lanka’s next series will not only be under a new captain but also a new coach, Graham Ford, who replaced Geoff Marsh. Both Jayawardene and Dilshan did not comment on Marsh’s departure as Sri Lanka coach. Marsh had been appointed in Sepetmber 2011 but his tenure ended after defeats in the UAE and South Africa.”That is not my area. That is up to the selectors,” Jayawardene said when asked about Marsh. “My focus is to work with what I have got. Graham is experienced, and we need his services to rebuild, harness new players and win games.”Dilshan said: “There was criticism after we lost games about my leadership, so I resigned. The coach [Marsh], I don’t know, that is a decision of the selectors.”