Kane Williamson made a rousing 81 off 42 balls but it wasn’t enough for Sunrisers Hyderabad to chase down 219

The Report by Deivarayan Muthu17-May-20184:23

Swann: Williamson took the pressure off Pandey

Kane Williamson’s rousing 81 off 42 balls – his eighth fifty-plus score in IPL 2018 – threatened to bring Royal Challengers Bangalore’s campaign to a screeching halt, but Mohammed Siraj defended 19 off the last over, which also included the wicket of the Sunrisers captain, to keep his team alive.Facing an IPL record chase of 219 at the venue of their title triumph two years ago, Sunrisers slipped to 64 for 2 in eight overs. Williamson then manipulated the fields and the bowlers expertly to bring Sunrisers to within touching distance of a magical win. With Sunrisers needing 20 off the last over, he jumped across off stump and scooped Siraj’s first ball straight into the lap of Colin de Grandhomme at the edge of the fine leg boundary. Siraj did not quite nail his lengths but got away with four runs and a leg bye off the last five balls.Earlier in the evening, AB de Villiers had also manipulated the fields and bowlers expertly along with Moeen Ali in a 107-run stand off 57 balls, which formed the centerpiece of RCB’s 218 for 6.Hit-or-miss Powerplay
Parthiv Patel was dropped first ball at cover by Deepak Hooda, but he added just one before top-edging Sandeep Sharma to fine leg. Virat Kohli began with a straight drive for four off Sandeep and swatted Rashid Khan to the midwicket boundary, before being bowled attempting a slog sweep off a googly. RCB were 44 for 2, in six overs, of which de Villiers had made 29.The superman and his sidekick
De Villiers found his groove right away when he jumped outside leg, created swinging room, and cut his first ball that was only fractionally short to the right of backward point. It was a portent for how things would unfold. De Villiers slog-swept Shakib Al Hasan to the midwicket boundary and then hit back-to-back fours off Siddarth Kaul, the second of which brought him a 32-ball fifty.It wasn’t a one-man show, however. Moeen introduced his big hits and crisp timing to the IPL after warming the bench for more than three-quarters of the season. Both batsmen launched into Thampi – they took 36 off 12 balls – but it was the left-handed Moeen who was more comfortable against Rashid. He forayed down the track against a wrong’un and hoisted the ball over the long-off boundary before belting a legbreak over his head. There were some mis-hits, too, which cleared the boundary, as RCB moved to 144 for 2 in 14 overs. Against the run of play, however, the set pair fell fell to Rashid in the next over.De Grandhomme smashes ’em
The last time these two teams met in Hyderabad, De Grandhomme showed signs of his power with 33 off 29 balls. He showed his entire range on Thursday and peppered the short boundaries at Chinnaswamy Stadium with four sixes. Not even the slower cutter was safe against him. When Thampi floated one wide outside off at 97 kph, de Grandhomme reached out for the ball and scythed it flat and hard over cover. Thampi ended up conceding 70 runs in four overs – the most expensive figures in the IPL. It took a blinding one-handed catch from Rashid to dismiss the New Zealand allrounder, but by then RCB had motored past 200. Sarfaraz Khan also did his bit with an unbeaten 22 off 8 balls as RCB pillaged 69 off the last five overs.Hales lives on the edge
Alex Hales was on 19 when he pulled Umesh Yadav flat and hard to deep square leg, where Tim Southee dived forward and wrapped his fingers underneath the ball to claim an excellent a low catch. The soft signal was out, but TV umpire C Shamshuddin somehow ruled it not out. After adding four runs, Hales drilled Siraj towards mid-on, where Kohli threw himself to his left but dropped the difficult catch. RCB then needed de Villiers to pluck a catch out of thin air to get rid of Hales. When the opener swatted one over midwicket, the ball seemed destined to sail over the boundary until de Villiers leapt to his right, stretched out his right hand, and came away with the ball. All of this done with the balance of a tightrope walker. Yuzvendra Chahal had taken a more straightforward return catch to remove Dhawan for 18 off 15 balls.Another Williamson special
The highlight of Williamson’s stellar run this season has been his game awareness. That came to the fore when he cranked up the tempo and struck five boundaries in six balls after Hales’ dismissal. The pick of the boundaries was a perfectly placed shovel-flick between wide long-on and midwicket. Just like that, Williamson raised a fifty off 28 balls. By then, Manish Pandey was going at less than a run-a-ball. The re-introduction of de Grandhomme in the 15th over provided him the release. From 6 off 12 balls, he went to 21 off 16 balls with two fours and a six.Pandey then glanced Chahal past short fine leg in the next over to help narrow the equation to 55 off 24 balls. An over full of wide yorkers from Southee left Sunrisers needing 49 off 18 balls. With Williamson in imperious form, they were in with a good chance, but he faced only eight balls in the last five overs before his dismissal and Pandey could not find his timing in the end.

The 19-year old offspinner was reported, and suspended, for an illegal bowling action during the 2017-18 Big Bash League

Daniel Brettig01-Jun-2018Arjun Nair, the New South Wales and Sydney Thunder offspinner, has been cleared to return to the bowling crease after further testing of his bowling action at the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane.”It has been a tough few months, but glad to say I’m back,” Nair said on Instagram. “I want to thank all those who stood by me and supported me through this hurdle. Forever grateful.”Remedial work was required to improve the purity of Nair’s bowling action after he was reported during last summer’s Big Bash League when bowling for the Thunder against the Hobart Hurricanes on December 30.At the NCC, 19-year-old Nair was subsequently found to have bowled with an action “markedly different” from the one he used in the BBL match, and under Cricket Australia’s regulations such a change incurs an automatic ban from all first-class, List A and Twenty20 cricket for 90 days.However further testing of Nair’s action last month showed that his method now stood up to technological scrutiny as within the allowable range of elbow flex for a spin bowler.”Nair opted to be re-tested on 21 May 2018, with both his offspin and carrom ball deliveries under review,” Cricket Australia said in a statement. “The assessment revealed that all deliveries were within the 15 degrees level of tolerance permitted under the regulations, with his bowling action now deemed legal.”Nair was initially tested on the 4 January 2018 at the Bupa National Cricket Centre. The results at that time found that his action was different to that of the reported match footage.”Under the procedure, a player that has a materially different action in the match to that during testing shall immediately be suspended from bowling in interstate and W/BBL cricket until such time, but no earlier than 90 days, as they submit to a fresh analysis and it is concluded that they have remedied their action.”Nair is now free to resume bowling for the Thunder and the Blues. He is part of the National Performance squad intake for 2018.

Afghanistan brought out their best in the final session once again, but the game had swung so far out of their reach that the second day of their first Test proved to be the last one

The Report by Varun Shetty15-Jun-20185:01

Manjrekar: Afghanistan batting’s defensive technique needs most attention

Afghanistan brought out their best in the final session once again, but the game had swung so far out of their reach that the second day of their first Test proved to be the last one.Purely on numbers it was a colossal defeat, by an innings and 262 runs, and the flattening reality of being bowled out twice in a day – only India and Zimbabwe had suffered that before – will take a while to get over. At different points in the day, Afghanistan were done in by different bowlers. Ravindra Jadeja got the last piece of the pie, finishing the second innings with 4 for 17.Their first innings of 109 lasted a session, between lunch and tea, and their second innings of 103 did not last much longer. India needed only 66.3 overs to take 20 wickets and complete their first ever two-day Test win.The flailing effort was best signified by how Afghanistan lost their three most experienced batsmen in the first innings: in complete surrender.Mohammad Shahzad’s innings was a race to the finish the moment it began. His first boundary came off the outside edge, his second off the inside edge, and the odd ball that hit the middle was often one he was trying to leave. After all that and several attempts to tap and run, he chose to take on Hardik Pandya at point and was promptly run-out at the non-striker’s end in the fourth over. Asghar Stanikzai came in at No. 6 and lasted 14 deliveries before stabbing ambitiously at a loopy R Ashwin offbreak without getting his foot forward. He almost fell over as the ball knocked the top of middle stump.Mohammed Nabi, the top-scorer in the first innings, looked okay for his 24 at No. 7 before miscuing a slog and being the ninth man out. The only solid batting effort by a visiting player came from left-hander Hashmatullah Shahidi, who battled 88 balls for an unbeaten 36 in the second innings.Hashmatullah Shahidi showed great heart during his resistance lower down the order•BCCI

Scattered all around these efforts were batsmen rooted to the crease in anxiety against a vastly experienced bowling attack. Unlike their opposition’s debutant seamers, India’s fast bowlers sustained both a predominantly full length and near-140kph speeds in getting all three of their first-innings wickets either bowled or lbw. They stuck to the plan in the second innings as well. Umesh Yadav brought the flair, moving the new ball considerably in both innings, and Ishant Sharma looked content playing workhorse.It was Ashwin, however, who accelerated Afghanistan’s downfall and eventual folding-up before tea. At that point, given the extended final session ahead, perhaps only the probability of a follow-on was higher than that of Afghanistan being bowled out a second time.Earlier in the day, Pandya snuck in a breezy and mature innings. India didn’t have as subdued a session as they did at the end of day one, striking at more than four an over despite the four wickets they lost in stretching the overnight score of 347 to 474. Pandya was patient against Yamin Ahmadzai, who impressed with his lengths once again. He wasn’t rewarded with the new ball, however, with Rashid Khan bowling predominantly from the other end. Pandya saw through this phase before opening up.His go-to defence mechanism against pace bowling – walking across into the off side – which didn’t quite work out in South Africa was a lot more effective against the late-120 kph pace of Wafadar. And while Pandya did eventually cramp himself against the 18-year-old, it wasn’t before he had swatted the bowler into the leg side several times from various lengths, in control every time but one – and even on that occasion, deep square leg gifted him four overthrows. When the line wasn’t straight, Pandya also managed to pick up boundaries through the off side. He got out looking to accelerate but what the Indian dressing room would have particularly liked was the uncomplicated, organised manner in which he managed an innings with a 75-plus strike rate during his 94-ball 71.

Harry Podmore hounded his former county to leave Kent in tip-top frame of mind for the Royal London Cup final on Saturday and Middlesex’s Championship season in ruins

Matt Roller at Canterbury27-Jun-20181:57

Kent go top of Division Two

ScorecardMiddlesex slumped to a record first-class defeat against Kent, as Harry Podmore took a maiden five-wicket haul against his former employers. For Kent, the 342-run win secured a spot in the top two of the second division, and meant a winning start as Championship captain for Sam Billings ahead of Saturday’s Royal London Cup final.Not for the first time this season, Kent’s batsmen underwhelmed, only for the spirit of their inexperienced attack to bail them out of trouble. They sit at top of the Championship tonight – although will slip to second if Warwickshire win at Chester-le-Street – and on this showing, there is every reason to think they can seal promotion in the second half of the season.With an eye to the future, perhaps a Division One future, they have also confirmed that they have put a 28-day approach in for the Nottinghamshire seamer Matt Milnes.

Don’t blame the lights – Walker

Matt Walker, Kent’s coach, played down the impact of floodlit cricket on Kent’s win following Middlesex’s precipitous collapse on the first evening.
“I don’t really see the point of pink-ball cricket, to be honest… but the lights haven’t really played a part in it. There were about eight overs of it on the first night, and probably similar on the second night. I don’t know why the ECB are doing it – I know they’re trialling it, but I love the four-day format as it is. But look, we’ve won this game, and I’d like to think we’d have won the game if it had been a red ball starting at normal hours as well.”

Chasing an improbable 467 to win with eight wickets in hand, Middlesex went into the day with a clear task: bat, and bat long. But the game was over as a contest within the first hour. Sam Robson, Dawid Malan, and Hilton Cartwright – each a Test batsman – looked all at sea against the swinging ball, as Podmore and Grant Stewart ran riot.Steaming in from the Nackington Road end, Podmore bowled with pace and purpose to a packed slip cordon, and celebrated each wicket with a roar more guttural than the last. When Malan nicked off, he wheeled away in celebration, arms outstretched, before punching the air.The seamer never held down a place in the first team at Middlesex, and his release at the start of April was not mourned by their fans. But here, he looked every inch a Division One fast bowler, moving the ball into the right-hander and beating the bat time and again.Stewart, whose maiden century last night took the game away from Middlesex’s attack, struck first, removing the hapless Robson flashing at a wide one, before Podmore got Malan.The wickets began to tumble: nightwatchman Ravi Patel was caught at fourth slip off Stewart, before Podmore took his fifth and sixth of the innings, all before an hour had been played.Only Tim Murtagh’s bludgeoning 40 off 21 balls spared the visitors from their heaviest-ever first-class defeat in terms of runs, but that will be scant consolation. Middlesex sit fifth in Division Two, 36 points off second-placed Warwickshire; and that margin could increase depending on proceedings at Chester-le-Street.Middlesex have spoken out about the perceived injustices they have faced countless times over the past two seasons. Their relegation from Division One was blamed on the Taunton groundsman and a rogue archer outside the Oval; their struggles at home the fault of the Lord’s groundstaff, rather than their attack’s impotence.They had their excuses here, too: no doubt, they had the worse of the conditions, and they were missing as many as nine of the first-team squad due to international call-ups, injuries, or breakdowns in relationships.But the time for excuses must be over. For all their complaints about the pink Dukes ball, which swung around corners late on the first evening, and their absent stars, Middlesex were outplayed in every department by a fired-up Kent side. Today’s pathetic showing was the nadir: with no blame cast on the floodlights or the mischievous pink ball, they collapsed in spectacular fashion against a Kent attack missing its two spearheads.After an early exit in the Royal London Cup, and with a poor recent record in the T20 Blast, Middlesex’s season rests on the final seven games of the Championship season. With Nick Gubbins, Tom Helm, Paul Stirling, Eoin Morgan, and Steven Finn all in contention for those games, there is at least some reason for optimism, but the manner of the defeat here hints at a club in turmoil.Few could have foreseen the club’s current position after their dramatic, final-day title win in 2016, but their slump has come about on merit. The members will be demanding answers: why have talented young players like Podmore and Gloucestershire’s Ryan Higgins left the county? Why are two stars of the Championship-winning season now either surplus to requirements (Nick Compton) or on loan at a club in the division above (Ollie Rayner)?

Sussex skipper Ben Brown took no part in their successful T20 Group campaign, but he made his presence felt as the Championship returned

David Hopps19-Aug-20181:40

Edwards leaves Notts with a headache

ScorecardSussex have a T20 quarter-final on Friday, but such is the nature of the English season that their immediate task is to blank it out. T20? Never heard of it. The emphasis is back on their promotion challenge in the Championship and 400 in a day against Derbyshire represented a job well done for a county currently lying second, seven points behind Warwickshire.It helped Sussex to have Ben Brown around to aid the transition. Brown does not have to blank out T20; T20 has blanked him. He has not played a game for Sussex all season, a well-meant enforced rest for a captain/wicketkeeper facing heavy demands in the other two formats, formats where his record is strikingly better. Itching to play some meaningful cricket, he struck his first Championship hundred of a highly-consistent season.It also helped Sussex that Derbyshire were looking somewhat ramshackle. Harvey Hosein, their young wicketkeeper, dislocated a finger in practice before the start so Wayne Madsen had to don the gloves while Daryl Smit travelled down from Derby. By the time he took the field at 10 to 4, Brown was on the verge of his first Championship hundred in a highly-consistent season.Smit had mixed feelings: his wife is pregnant and that was most on his mind on a relaxing Sunday morning. “I was lying on the sofa with my wife, hearing my baby boy breath through her tummy – hearing him for the first time – and five minutes later I got the call from Derbyshire,” he said. “And five minutes after that I was backing out of the drive for the four-hour drive down to Hove. I don’t think my wife was too impressed.”

Rampaul has hospital check-up

Ravi Rampaul, Derbyshire’s former West Indies player, left the field at Hove complaining of breathing difficulties and went to hospital for a precautionary check-up before returning to the ground later.
The match was delayed briefly in the final session when Rampaul, who had bowled 16 overs without signs of distress, needed treatment on the boundary edge.
Billy Godleman, Derbyshire’s captain, said: “I saw him panting at the start of his over. He’s not the kind of guy who complains easily. He told me was struggling to breath. He’s very much stable now but it’s always worrying to see something like that.”

There is also trouble at t’mill. Kim Barnett’s premature departure as cricket consultant because he felt cricket specialists were suffering too much interference (a regular Barnett refrain over the years) has left the county interviewing for a coach with the season far from spent; Dave Houghton, who has done the job once before, is among those shortlisted. The experiment with a specialist T20 coaching team – John Wright and Dominic Cork – is not certain to continue.Disagreements at Derbyshire are nothing new. If the club was run by only one person, they would automatically develop a split personality just so they could argue with themselves. In small clubs like Derbyshire, rich men can become all-powerful very quickly. That power needs to be used responsibly and that has not always been the case.Madsen is interesting Yorkshire, who are attracted by the reliability he brings in all competitions, the fact he will be 35 next season seemingly not an issue.But attention at Hove rested largely on Brown, another salt-of-the earth county performer. He made light of his month without a first-team fixture with his 15th first-class century, taking his season’s tally past 600, after Sussex had been under pressure at 111 for 4. Brown first put on 103 with Harry Finch and then added 142 for the sixth wicket with David Wiese to place his side in a commanding position.Derbyshire had looked dangerous on an unchanting morning marked by a stiff breeze and a light sea fret. Phil Salt, playing well away from his body, fell to a juggling catch in the slips, Tom Haines was caught low down at third slip by Matt Critchley. By lunch, Madsen also had two wicketkeeping catches: Luke Wells glanced Rampaul down the leg side and Michael Burgess edged Antonio Palladino.On a ground where Hardus Viljoen took 15 wickets for Derbyshire last season, and where Derbyshire have an excellent record (eight wins in 12 in the past 50 years), Brown’s combative qualities were in demand.He found a willing ally in Finch, who pulled Viljoen for two sixes in an over on his way to 82, before David Wiese, with an unbeaten 89, provided an emphatic conclusion to Sussex’s day.

MSK Prasad clarified that he had personally spoken to Nair after dropping him from the Test squad, and that he was “in the scheme of things for Test cricket”

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Oct-2018After controversially dropping Karun Nair from the Test squad, even though he didn’t get a chance to fail or succeed for six straight Tests, India’s chairman of selectors MSK Prasad has given the batsman an advice: “keep on piling runs” in the domestic circuit and for India A.Prasad also clarified that he had personally spoken to Nair after leaving him out of the 15-man squad for the West Indies series at home. Nair’s omission created a stir because he was given no opportunity to prove himself on the preceding England tour and the lone Test against Afghanistan at home.”I personally spoke to Karun soon after the selection of the Test team against the West Indies and also told the ways to make a comeback. The selection committee is very, very clear with regard to the communication process,” Prasad told . “He will have to keep on piling runs in Ranji Trophy and whatever India A series is there. Karun is very much in the scheme of things for Test cricket. Right now, we have advised him to focus on performing in domestic and India A matches.”Prasad further stated that Nair had been spoken to in England too, where the batsman sat on the bench for the entirety of the tour, despite being named in the squad for all five Tests. That included the much talked-about inclusion of a debuting Hanuma Vihari, who edged out Nair to replace the injured Hardik Pandya for the fifth Test at The Oval.”Communication has always been the strong point of this committee,” Prasad said. “It’s really tough to inform any unpleasant news to any player. You need to have valid reasons to explain them about their exclusion though they may not agree with it.”Having said that, we are very clear and candid in our communication process. My colleague Devang Gandhi spoke to Karun Nair at length in England to keep him motivated and wait for his opportunities.”These statements are in direct contradiction to Nair’s. Shortly before the squad for West Indies series was announced, Nair had stated that he had received no communication about why he didn’t get a chance in England even though he was picked in the squad before Vihari.”We [Nair, the selectors and the team management] haven’t had any conversations. Nothing at all,” he had said. “It is difficult, but I haven’t gone forth and asked anything, but yeah, we haven’t had any conversation.”

Eoin Morgan, who rested himself for the final ODI of the series, labelled his team’s attitude as “very poor” after they were thrashed by Sri Lanka

George Dobell in Colombo23-Oct-2018England were “extremely poor” in defeat against Sri Lanka in the fifth ODI, according to their captain, Eoin Morgan.But while Morgan, who left himself out for the match so England could take a look at Sam Curran, also labelled his team’s attitude as “very poor”, he felt the overall experience could prove beneficial for the side ahead of the World Cup campaign.He promised there would be no “papering over the cracks” when they reviewed what went wrong, having lost by a record margin of 219 runs on the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method.”It can be extremely helpful,” Morgan said. “For 50 overs today we were under serious pressure and we didn’t have a lot of answers. That gives us a good opportunity to go back and look at everything from preparation right down to the end result. That’s always better when you’ve been put under a lot of pressure.”We didn’t take our game forward today. There were areas it went backwards. Our fielding was extremely poor, our attitude was very poor and that has to be addressed. We’ll have to break down everything from yesterday’s practice. Did we do too much the day before the game? Did we overcook ourselves? We might have been a little bit fatigued. I don’t know.”We will break it down and find an answer because otherwise we’re just papering over the cracks which is not what we want to do.”Sri Lanka hit 366 – their highest ODI score against England – in the first innings of the game, plundering a bowling attack that included both Sam and Tom Curran for the first time in an international game.But Morgan defended the changes England made to their line-up on the grounds that some of these players – notably Sam Curran – could come into the World Cup squad as injury replacements.Sam Curran bowls during the fifth ODI•Getty Images

“Sam has only played his second ODI today,” Morgan said. “If we’re going to be serious about considering him as a potential replacement if David Willey is injured for the World Cup squad we need to know more about him.”Today we learned more about him. If Sam Curran’s name goes down on that paper we know what his strengths and weaknesses are now, and we try to improve them as we go along. He needs games under his belt.”When you leave yourself out the one thing you don’t want to compromise is winning the game. That’s the best environment to learn from. But on the other hand you want to see the players who come in be challenged and put under pressure. That’s one thing we definitely saw today.”People will say you don’t want to see your bowlers hit all over the place, hit back over their head, but I think it’s necessary to learn. When we go into the World Cup and play against the better teams they perform like that on a regular basis.”It’s not that you want to get used to it but you want them to get used to the situation, and experience refocusing for the next delivery.”The time for experimentation is now over, however. England have only two full ODI series to play before embarking on their World Cup campaign – against West Indies in the Caribbean and at home to Pakistan – and have to select their squad before meeting Pakistan in May.”Today we played five out-and-out batters,” Morgan said. “We normally play six, but the balance of the team changed. I’d like to think we’ll go back to our strongest suit and strongest balance consistently going to the West Indies and then against Pakistan and Ireland in World Cup year.”

It was the fourth time that Pakistan completed a 3-0 whitewash in T20I contests

The Report by Danyal Rasool28-Oct-20180:57

The short story of an Aussie whitewash

It shaped up as the most competitive match of the series, but in the end, Australia couldn’t keep up with Pakistan. A 93-run opening stand between Sahibzada Farhan and Babar Azam – who top-scored for Pakistan yet again with 50 – took Pakistan to a total in a region that’s been too good for Australia all series. This time they reached a square 150, and even though the visitors started brightly – Imad Wasim was dispatched for 20 in the first over – the pressure of Pakistan’s bowling took its toll on Australia. Aaron Finch’s men ended up comfortably second best, bowled out for 117. That’s what they’ve been in comparison to Pakistan all tour, and that’s how they go home.In their own way, these three T20Is have been uncannily similar. Particularly so the first innings, where a big partnership up top for Pakistan (inevitably involving Babar) has set Pakistan on their way to a total that, with the right finish, would see them post in excess of 170. This time Farhan, playing just his second T20I, was his partner in crime. His first T20I had also come against Australia, in the final of the tri-series in Harare, where he had been run out for 0. This was a far more memorable game for him, as he took responsibility for assuming the Fakhar Zaman role, smashing three sixes and two fours on his way to 39. His stand of 93 with Babar, which was the biggest partnership all series, set Pakistan on their way to a score Australia would find too steep.Yet again, though, Australia hit back in the death overs with regular wickets to prevent Pakistan running away with it. Adam Zampa, who has been excellent all series, kept a leash on Sarfraz Ahmed’s men in the middle overs, and there was time for vice-captain Mitchell Marsh to bowl the penultimate over which removed both Shoaib Malik and Faheem Ashraf. Only 11 came off the last two overs, and it seemed Australia had carried the momentum with them into the chase.It showed in the way Alex Carey, promoted to open the batting for Australia, played Imad. In the first two games, Imad was the man who built the pressure for the bowlers that followed , but here Carey dismantled him spectacularly, smashing two fours and two sixes in the first over as the asking rate came sliding down to under seven with just six balls bowled. But Australia couldn’t get a partnership going, and when Finch and Carey fell within three balls of each other, Pakistan had already climbed their way back into the ascendancy.Shadab Khan choked Australia’s middle order to pick up three wickets•Getty Images

Australia finished the Powerplay with exactly as many runs as Pakistan had managed in that passage of play – 54 – but the eighth over was the one that really killed them off. Shadab Khan broke through with his first delivery, with Lynn holing the ball to deep midwicket as he tried to play against the turn. But the gut punch was to follow four balls later.Ben McDermott had been playing adroitly in a cameo that might, with more luck, have become a match-winning innings. But a nasty mix-up with Glenn Maxwell at the other end saw him race through for a single even though Maxwell had stopped after no more than two steps. He was well past the point of no return before he became alert to the danger, and for the third time in three matches, McDermott had been run out. It is the only way he has ever been dismissed in international cricket; the only other game he played he ended his innings unbeaten. Even the most ardent Pakistan fan might have been able to spare some sympathy for him as he dragged himself off, seething.From there on, Pakistan’s fielding was on a different planet altogether. More precisely, it was simply the Shoaib Malik Show. The bowlers began to circle as they smelt blood, and the 36-year old Malik was just as watchful of the moment. The first, to dismiss Maxwell off Shadab, was simple enough, but as they got harder, Malik rose to the challenge. Mitchell Marsh holed out with a half-hearted shot to long on, and Malik had to scamper across to take a smart, diving catch.The third one was best of all, driving the final nail into an already fairly secure Australian coffin. D’Arcy Short pulled a back of a length Usman Khan ball to the midwicket boundary, and while it didn’t have enough to clear the ropes, it seemed he might get a couple. Malik was in no mood to allow that, though, as he sprinted left from long-on at speeds 36-year old legs didn’t seem capable of sustaining. He got there with the ball inches from the ground, sliding to complete a remarkable catch that had Mickey Arthur purring in the pavilion.From that point on, Hasan Ali toyed with the Australian tail as Australia’s miserable tour began to draw to an equally bleak conclusion. Sarfraz showed impressive reflexes himself to take a diving catch to his left off Hasan, and off the first ball off the final over, Zampa holed out to extra cover. 33 runs was the final margin of victory as Pakistan whitewashed Australia in a three-match series for the first time. It completed 26 wins in 30 matches under Sarfraz’s captaincy in the format, while Australia were left to ponder over numbers that will not look remotely as impressive in Justin Langer’s post-mortem.

In an Under-23 match, the Uttar Pradesh left-arm spinner completed a full rotation in his run-up, just prior to delivery, only for the umpire to signal dead ball

Sreshth Shah08-Nov-2018The cricketing world may have been denied future glimpses of a unique bowling action – the bowler rotating 360 degrees in his run-up, just prior to delivery – after a signal of dead ball from the umpire. The incident occurred on the third day of a CK Nayudu Trophy (four-day domestic tournament for India’s Under-23 state teams) match between Bengal and Uttar Pradesh in Kalyani, on the outskirts of Kolkata.During Bengal’s second innings, UP left-arm spinner Shiva Singh – a member of India’s victorious team at this year’s Under-19 World Cup – jogged in and completed a 360-degree turn before delivering the ball. Umpire Vinod Seshan promptly signalled dead ball, to the bemusement of Shiva and the UP fielders.ESPNcricinfo understands that the game came to a brief halt as Seshan discussed the incident with his on-field partner Ravi Shankar before telling Shiva and UP captain Shivam Chaudhary that a repeat offence would force the umpires to continue deeming the balls as ‘dead’.

What the Laws say

20.4.2 Either umpire shall call and signal Dead ball when
…
20.4.2.7 there is an instance of a deliberate attempt to distract under either of Laws 41.4 (Deliberate attempt to distract striker) or 41.5 (Deliberate distraction, deception or obstruction of batsman). The ball shall not count as one of the over.

Shiva told ESPNcricinfo that this was not the first time he had bowled in this peculiar manner. He claimed he had tried the 360-degree style against Kerala in the Vijay Hazare Trophy (senior 50-overs tournament) last month, and was not pulled up by the umpires.Shiva said he felt his action was perfectly fine and that the bowler – like batsmen, who are permitted to switch-hit – should be allowed an element of surprise. “I use different variations in one-dayers and T20s so I thought of doing the same because the Bengal batsmen were developing a partnership,” Shiva said. “The umpires said dead ball, so I asked “why are you calling it a dead ball?””I delivered this 360-degree ball against Kerala in the Vijay Hazare Trophy as well, where it was fine. Batsman always go for the reverse-sweep or the switch-hit against bowlers. But when bowlers do something like this it’s deemed a dead ball.”The comparison, however, is wrong, according to Simon Taufel, the former Elite Panel umpire, who finds a difference in “intent” between a bowler turning 360 degrees in his run-up and a batsman playing the switch-hit. “The intent of the reverse action is different,” Taufel told . “One is necessary to play the shot, the other is not in order to maintain the same mode of delivery.”Taufel said he agreed with Seshan’s interpretation of the incident saying Shiva’s action was unfair. “The umpire is entitled to call and signal dead ball under Law 20.4.2.1 (unfair play) or 20.4.2.7 (deliberate attempt to distract/deceive/obstruct). It’s up to the umpire but one would have to ask why the bowler did this and have to assume the only reason would be to distract or put the striker off. Doesn’t seem right or fair to me. If it is his normal bowling action then maybe a different outcome.”Responding to the situation, the MCC, cricket’s law-keepers, said in a statement that it was up to the umpire to interpret the facts at hand: “Unless the 360 degree twirl was part of the bowler’s run-up for every ball, the umpire may need to consider whether he/she feels that the twirl was done in an attempt to distract the batsman in some way. This is particularly so if there was no apparent advantage to be gained from the twirl, unlike, for example, the bowler varying the width of the release point or the length of his/her run-up, which are entirely lawful.”If the batsman is distracted, he/she is entitled to withdraw from his/her stance and, if the umpire feels there has been a deliberate attempt to distract, then the procedure in Law 41.4 will be followed, including the awarding of 5 Penalty runs.”If the striker has not been distracted, play can continue as normal unless the umpire intervenes and calls Dead ball…”The umpire in this example felt that Law 41.4 had been breached, but it is not clear from the footage or reports whether or not he awarded 5 Penalty runs to the batting side.” ESPNcricinfo understands no penalty runs were awarded.One of the Bengal batsmen said he had faced Shiva’s 360-degree ball in the past as well. “I know Shiva and I’ve played him before, and he has uncanny ways of distracting the batsman,” the Bengal player said. “But I wasn’t fazed by it. The umpire did call it a dead ball and he explained to the UP captain and bowler that under MCC’s latest laws, if the bowler turns around in that manner, then it’s a disturbance or distraction to the batsman. And he told the captain that every time he bowls that ball, it would be deemed a dead ball. The UP captain argued for a few minutes and play continued thereafter.”Shiva is a spinner who is capable of bowling a bouncer because of his strong left shoulder. He has a couple of different actions – sometimes he doesn’t lift his non-bowling arm. Sometimes he walks up to the crease like a zombie, but he’s got good control over them. But even when Shiva turned around and bowled, I wasn’t aware of the distraction rule and if he bowled more than once, I would be totally cool to face him. But the umpire was clear on his action being a “distraction” to the batsman, so Shiva did not repeat that action.”Shiva’s inability to continue with the 360-degree style did not affect the result of the game. UP inflicted an innings win over Bengal in three days, with Shiva taking four wickets in the match.

The Brisbane Heat opener smashed 19 boundaries, including six sixes, to consign Melbourne Stars to a ten-wicket defeat

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Dec-2018Three years and a week since she lit up the inaugural edition of the WBBL with the first century of the tournament, Brisbane Heat opener Grace Harris smashed the tournament’s fastest hundred, off only 42 balls, in her side’s ten-wicket win over Melbourne Stars at the Gabba.During her unbeaten 101, studded with 19 boundaries, including six sixes, Harris attacked the three Stars wristspinners – Alana King, Kirsten Beams and Ange Reaks – with particular ferocity, taking 50 off 20 balls against them. The winning hit – a six over long-on off King – also brought up her hundred.
Harris put on 77 runs in the Powerplay with Beth Mooney, whose contribution in that time was a mere 10 runs – and carted Beams for 4, 4, 6, 6 in a 23-run sixth over. Along the way, she reached her fifty off 23 balls – the joint third-fastest in WBBL history, alongside Harmanpreet Kaur’s effort last week against the Heat.Having brought up their century stand off only 50 balls, Harris and Mooney took 24 runs off the 10th over – the most expensive of the match – with Harris clattering Reaks for two sixes.In what turned out to be a one-woman onslaught, Harris helped knock off the target in a mere 10.5 overs, after left-arm spinner Jess Jonassen had taken 3 for 17 to restrict Stars to 132 for 7. Mooney faced 25 balls for an unbeaten 28, and the unbroken opening stand steered Heat to their third win in five games this season, propelling them to the third place on the points table as the only side with a net run rate in excess of 1.Harris’s ton, the second-fastest in all women’s T20s, behind West Indies allrounder Deandra Dottin’s 38-ball hundred against South Africa in the 2010 World T20, is the third century of the season after 102 not-outs from Stars’ Lizelle Lee and Sydney Sixers’ Ellyse Perry. Harris’ is the eighth century across the four WBBL seasons. She is the only player with two WBBL tons to her name.