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Former Australia captain calls time on his first-class career following Tasmania’s draw with Queensland in the final Sheffield Shield round of the season

Alex Malcolm17-Mar-2023Former Australia captain Tim Paine has bid a quiet farewell from first-class cricket at the conclusion of Tasmania’s draw with Queensland in the final Sheffield Shield round of the season, drawing to a close a rollercoaster 18-year career.Paine, 38, had not made any public announcement that he was playing his final match but had made it known to the Tasmania team that the clash against Queensland would be his last.Following the early conclusion to the match, after both captains agreed to end it after just 62 overs of the final day with a result not possible, Paine was given a guard of honour as he left Bellerive Oval for the final time.He did not do a press conference after play. It was instead left to Tasmania captain Jordan Silk to confirm that Paine was ending his first-class career.”He’s been a phenomenal player,” Silk said. “I think it’s around 22 years of professional cricket. It’s an incredible effort to have the longevity that he’s had. He’s certainly going to be missed behind the stumps. I certainly won’t play, I’m sure a lot of guys who are playing now will say that there will never be another keeper as good as Tim Paine in Australia. So we’ve been incredibly blessed down here. And we wish him all the best in whatever he chooses going forward.”Silk was full of praise for Paine given he played this final season without a contract having endured a turbulent time off the field in 2021-22 when he resigned from the Test captaincy.”Considering his age the level of the standard of keeping and he’s still been able to generate has been really incredible,” Silk said. “He’s always someone that you know is doing the work behind the scenes. I think he sets a great example for work ethic and all that sort of stuff for all of our guys.”Paine’s career ends having played 154 first-class matches including 35 Tests and 95 Sheffield Shield appearances for Tasmania. He holds the record for the most Shield dismissals by a Tasmania wicketkeeper in Shield cricket with 296 and finishes 12th all-time on the Shield wicketkeeping dismissals list.He scored 6490 first-class runs at 29.63 with three centuries including a best 215. He averaged 32.63 in 35 Tests with the bat and made nine half-centuries, but never made a Test century. He completed 157 Test dismissals.He led Australia admirably post the Sandpaper saga in Cape Town, captaining the Test side in 23 matches between 2018 and 2021 including retaining the Ashes in a drawn away series in England in 2019.But his Test career ended abruptly in a scandal of a different kind when it was revealed he had sent explicit text messages to a Cricket Tasmania employee in 2017. He was cleared of any wrongdoing by Cricket Tasmania and Cricket Australia at the time but the text messages were published on the eve of the 2021-22 Ashes series and he resigned as Test captain and took a leave of absence from the game.Paine never played Test cricket again and was dropped off both CA and Tasmania’s contract lists in 2022. He wrote a memoir in 2022 where he opened up about his off-field errors but also claimed he was hung out to dry by CA.But he played six more first-class matches for Tasmania across the 2022-23 season.He played in two of Tasmania’s only three Sheffield Shield triumphs in 2007 and 2013 making 87 in the 2013 decider against Queensland. He missed the 2011 triumph due to injury.Paine also played 35 ODIs for Australia, captaining five of them on the 2018 tour of England. He made an ODI century and played in Australia’s 2009 Champions Trophy triumph. He played in two Australia One-Day domestic titles for Tasmania in 2008 and 2010. He was player of the final in 2010 after making 100 off 118 balls against Victoria at the MCG. He also played 12 T20Is for Australia.

Head coach Walsh said the transition period in Oman was “mentally taxing” after the World Cup qualifier was called off

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Dec-2021The West Indies women have been cleared to fly home on Friday after an 11-day quarantine in Oman. The contingent was stranded in Oman since the ICC called off the women’s World Cup qualifier in Zimbabwe on November 27 after travel restrictions were imposed on large parts of southern Africa following the detection of the Omicron Covid-19 variant.Related

• New Zealand vs West Indies to kick off 2022 Women's ODI World Cup

• Two members of Bangladesh women squad test positive for Covid

• Women's World Cup qualifier in Zimbabwe called off

• NZ withdraw from 2022 U-19 World Cup due to 'quarantine restrictions'

“We are pleased to confirm that the West Indies Women’s squad will soon be making their way back home,” CWI CEO Johnny Grave said.”We want to thank them for their patience and understanding as we worked with our counterparts at the ICC and Oman Cricket to facilitate their return at the earliest opportunity. We want to express our appreciation to the ICC, Oman Cricket and our operations team, who have worked tirelessly to ensure everyone was comfortable and remained safe.”Head coach Courtney Walsh said that the team is “relieved” to head back home and be with their families before Christmas and that the transition period in Oman has been “mentally taxing” on the entire team, both for the players and management staff.”As a management group, we tried to ensure that the players remained in a positive frame of mind,” Walsh said in a statement. “Our strength and conditioning coach created a fitness challenge for all of us to participate in for the duration of the quarantine period, as it was something to take our minds off what was happening. I must say thanks to our Team Manager, the ICC and Oman Cricket, for all their logistical work, in ensuring we’re on our way home as quickly as possible.”The squad was flown to Oman via an ICC private charter, with a short stopover in Namibia, along with eight other international squads. Oman was used as a staging area for the West Indies contingent while they awaited an available route home.With the ODI World Cup set to take place next March and April, the qualifier cannot be held at a later date, and the ICC said that the three remaining spots will be decided according to the rankings. Following the termination of the qualifying event, Bangladesh, West Indies and Pakistan secured their places. Hosts New Zealand, Australia, England, South Africa and India have already qualified for the marquee event.

Worcestershire pay price for sloppy bowling display as Jake Libby’s 75 not out goes in vain

ECB Reporters Network03-Sep-2020Somerset 229 for 8 (Davies 60, Mitchell 3-35) beat Worcestershire 213 for 7 (Libby 75*, Davey 4-41) by 16 runsSomerset achieved their highest T20 score away from Taunton as they defeated bottom placed Worcestershire Rapids by 16 runs in a Central Group encounter at Edgbaston. Steven Davies continued his liking for batting on the ground as he top-scored with 60 in a total of 229-8 after being put into bat.It was a total Somerset had only surpassed twice, in scoring 250 for 6 against Gloucestershire in 2006 and 235 for 5 versus Middlesex in 2011 – both on their home ground. But they were aided by some indisciplined bowling by the Rapids who conceded 14 wides and three no-balls and saw skipper Ed Barnard removed from the attack for bowling successive high full tosses.The Rapids lost early wickets but Jake Libby – with a T20 best of 75 not out – and some late hitting by Daryl Mitchell, who had earlier become Worcestershire’s leading wicket-taker in T20 cricket, lifted the final total to a respectable 213 for 7 with Josh Davey returning 4 for 41.Somerset’s second win has kept them in contention to qualify for the knockouts but the Rapids, winners in 2018 and runners-up last September, are without a win after four matches.Davies has scored centuries on his last two appearances in the County Championship at Edgbaston – in August 2019 and last month – and his assault today provided the perfect platform.Somerset welcomed back Babar Azam and Vitality Blast captain Lewis Gregory who had been on opposite sides in the Pakistan-England T20I Series at Emirates Old Trafford. Pakistan T20 captain Azam scored 578 runs in 13 knocks for Somerset in the Blast last summer with one century and four fifties at an average of 52.54. He replaced George Bartlett with the rested Craig Overton making way for Gregory.Worcestershire handed a Blast debut to paceman Adam Finch who has impressed this season while on loan to Surrey in the Bob Willis Trophy with four-wicket hauls against Essex and Kent. He came into the side for Rapids spinner Brett D’Oliveira as part of a four-pronged pace attack on the same pitch where Gloucestershire plundered 157 for 3 off 12 overs against Warwickshire the previous evening.Former Worcestershire wicketkeeper Davies clubbed Pat Brown for sixes over long-on in his first over. He picked up two further boundaries at the expense of the England T20 paceman to complete the Powerplay at 53 for 0. Barnard’s first over cost 17 runs including a six over long-on by Azam.Mitchell broke the stand with the total on 90 when Azam on 42 from 35 balls chopped a delivery onto his stumps. It meant that Mitchell became Worcestershire’s all-time leading wicket-taker in T20 cricket with 93 victims, edging one ahead of Jack ShantryDavies completed an excellent 27-ball half century with two sixes and seven fours but the Rapids enjoyed a second success when James Hildreth lofted Pennington into the hands of Riki Wessels at long-on. Davies’ excellent knock ended on 60 when he picked put Ross Whiteley at deep square leg off Pennington.Mitchell struck in successive balls in his final over as Tom Abell swung across the line and was bowled and Gregory offered a low return catch.There was another breakthrough when Ben Green cut Brown straight to short third man but then Worcestershire’s attack lost its way.Brown conceded three wides in an over and Barnard was removed from the attack for bowling successive high full tosses – which were dispatched for four and six by Roelof van der Merwe – at the start of the 19th over. Finch had to complete the over which cost a total of 29 runs although he gained some consolation with Eddie Byrom taken at long-on before Josh Davey was run out in the final over.Worcestershire had to score at more than 11 an over and they soon lost wickets in pursuit of their daunting target. Wessels skied Gregory to mid-on, Hamish Rutherford perished on the deep square boundary off Ollie Sale, who in his next over had Jack Haynes caught behind. Ben Cox then departed to a sharp return catch by Davey.Sale held on to a fine low catch at backward square to dismiss Ross Whiteley to give Davey his second scalp.Libby brought the Rapids 100 up with a six from a highish Gregory delivery in the 12th over before Barnard was lbw to a Davey full toss as he tried to work the ball to leg. Mitchell was also in good form with the bat and Green was hit for three sixes – all in the midwicket region – in the same over.Libby completed his maiden T20 fifty for Worcestershire from 35 balls with one six and four fours. Mitchell became Davey’s fourth victim to leave Libby undefeated with his 46-ball knock containing two sixes and seven fours.

Recalled paceman expects his experience and ability to reverse swing the ball to stand him in good stead in the UK

Umar Farooq21-May-20193:01

‘Was disheartening to be sidelined for two years’ – Wahab Riaz

A visibly excited Wahab Riaz said he was raring to go and “prove Mickey Arthur wrong”, after being picked against all odds in Pakistan’s World Cup squad.Wahab last played an ODI in June 2017 during Pakistan’s Champions Trophy title run, and was not among the 23 World Cup probables selected last month or the 17 men who were in England recently for the ODI series. Back in April 2018, Arthur, the Pakistan coach, had criticised the paceman’s “work ethic” and brought up the fact that he had not “won us a game in two years”.He did, however, do well in the Pakistan Cup 50-over tournament this year, picking up ten wickets in five games at an average of 20.70 and an economy of 4.60, as his team Khyber Pakhtunkhwa won the title.”I can’t explain in words the pain I have gone through, but I don’t want to live in the past. That’s history now,” Wahab said at a press conference before leaving for England. “Now it’s about what we are going to do in the World Cup. Obviously it’s the coach’s duty to get the best results from the players, and he wants players that can win matches for the team. I also wanted to be in the team, the only difference is I missed two years of [international] cricket. Now I am in and want to prove him [Arthur] wrong and justify my opportunity.”You can’t say it was unfair [that I was selected]. I kept on hearing that I might be chosen for the Australia series or the one against England, but it didn’t work out. It was Allah’s will that my selection was meant for the World Cup directly, but I have been praying that whatever happens should happen for good. Being named in the squad and then not being able to perform will be another unfortunate thing as there is a lot of expectation. I hope for the best and want to take this opportunity to move on and perform.”The last two years have seen Pakistan bank on the likes of Mohammad Amir, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Hassan Ali, Faheem Ashraf and Junaid Khan for their fast-bowling needs, with Wahab overlooked. He even signed with Derbyshire in a bid to reboot his international career, but to no avail. Till now.”I was extremely disheartened as I was performing for the past two years,” he said. “But since I couldn’t perform in the Champions Trophy, I had to sit out because you need to do well continuously to be a part of the team. I was trying to push my case for selection by performing wherever I could. I was very disappointed and frustrated too. I felt that I was hard done by, but at the same time the team was doing well. But I never lost hope. Now, I feel I have been rewarded.”I kept myself fully prepared for this World Cup even knowing that I am nowhere near the team. I even had dreams I was meeting Mickey Arthur and Sarfaraz Ahmad, and sometimes they would pick me, and reject me at other times. Around ten days ago, I had a dream that Inzi bhai [Inzamam-ul-Haq, the chief selector] gave me a call and told me that I have been selected and this is my last chance. It was exactly how it happened when I was called and told about the decision. It is nothing less than make or break for a player who gets an opportunity to play in the World Cup.”Can’t catch me: Wahab Riaz was too good for Zimbabwe’s tail•ICC

One of his direct competitors for a slot in the 15, Junaid Khan, was dropped after being part of the preliminary squad. His made his frustration and anger plain after the event, posting a photograph on social media, later deleted, that depicted him with tape over his mouth.”Every player wishes to play for Pakistan and the World Cup is the biggest challenge in your career,” said Wahab. “Obviously, he will be saddened and very frustrated, and must be thinking he had been treated unfairly. But when I was out for two years, I was thinking the same. At the end, this is the Pakistan team and its selectors, coaches and captains make the decision. I am sure this wasn’t meant to hurt someone but it’s for the country, and whatever they think is good for Pakistan.”Wahab’s selection is mainly based on his ability to generate reverse swing in what everyone expects will be batting-friendly conditions. Pakistan had not expected the pitches in the UK to be as flat as they were in the ODI series, as Inzamam pointed out, but on the evidence of those games, they realised the importance of an experienced hand like Wahab.”Obviously, there’s a lot of pressure since Inzi bhai has said that I have been brought back on the basis of my experience,” Wahab said. “I have worked hard and matured as a bowler in the last two years. I have learnt a lot and the results are visible to everyone. You can’t judge anyone on the basis of one match. I am a bowler and there are chances that I may concede 60, 70 or 80 runs, and it has happened in the past as well. But that’s doesn’t mean that I lost my skills and ability.”It is important to keep things simple on batting wickets. Variations and reverse swing are key in the death overs. With the conditions dry and wickets hard in England, there will be reverse swing and the team that does it better will have the advantage. I have expertise in reverse swing so I will try to restrict the flow of runs in the final few overs.”

Nayeem’s inclusion comes as a big surprise since he has played only four first-class matches and hasn’t been mentioned in any selection conversations in the last three months

Mohammad Isam26-Jan-2018Bangladesh have picked Under-19 offspinner Nayeem Hasan in the 14-man squad for the first Test against Sri Lanka. Seventeen-year old Nayeem is currently playing the Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand. His inclusion comes as a big surprise since Nayeem has played only four first-class matches and hasn’t been mentioned in any selection conversations in the last few months.

Squad for first Test

Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Mahmudullah (vice-capt), Tamim Iqbal, Litton Das, Mushfiqur Rahim, Imrul Kayes, Mominul Haque, Mosaddek Hossain, Taijul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Kamrul Islam, Mehidy Hassan, Rubel Hossain, Nayeem Hasan.
IN: Nayeem Hasan, Shakib Al Hasan, Mosaddek Hossain, Kamrul Islam
OUT: Subashis Roy, Soumya Sarkar, Sabbir Rahman, Shafiul Islam, Taskin Ahmed

Chief selector Minhajul Abedin said that Nayeem will be returning from New Zealand to join the Test squad.”Nayeem is a talented bowler and since we wanted an additional offspinner, we picked him,” Minhajul told ESPNcricinfo. “He is a good option. He is coming back from New Zealand since we lost to India today.”The squad sees other major changes too. Shakib Al Hasan returned as captain after he was rested for the South Africa Tests last year while Mosaddek Hossain and Kamrul Islam were also recalled. Mosaddek was recovering slowly from an eye condition but he scored a century in the Bangladesh Cricket League first-class competition last week.The selectors dropped Subashis Roy, Soumya Sarkar, Sabbir Rahman, Shafiul Islam and Taskin Ahmed. The three pace bowlers hardly made an impact in South Africa or in first-class matches recently. Soumya, too, hasn’t made many runs after being dropped from the ODI squad for poor form in South Africa.Sabbir has also been batting poorly in the ODIs and was guilty of throwing his wickets away in the Tests in South Africa.

Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara added 226 for the third wicket, both scoring centuries, to put India in control on the opening day in Vizag

The Report by Andrew Miller17-Nov-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details3:22

Ganguly: Kohli relishes pressure and responsibility

It was a day of firsts at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam. The first day of the first Test at what is now the 111th such venue in world cricket, and quite possibly the first occasion on which a pitch invasion by a stray dog has brought about an early tea interval.But, notwithstanding a trio of breakthroughs for England’s returning attack leader, James Anderson, who was playing in his first competitive fixture since August, it was also a day dominated by numbers three and four – specifically Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli, who compiled a masterful pair of hundreds in a 226-run stand for India’s third wicket that has, for the first time in this series, given their side unequivocal control of the contest.England, emulating their wholehearted efforts in the drawn first match at Rajkot, started the day with a flourish and finished it with a grind, digging deep on all fronts – with seam and spin, new ball and old – to demand that India had to work hard for their runs. But by the close, with Kohli still in situ on 151 not out, his 14th century in his 50th Test appearance, the task awaiting them was already looking formidable.India’s overnight scoreline of 317 for 4 was everything that Kohli could have wished for after winning a vital toss. First-innings runs, on a wicket that neither captain expects to last five days, will be a critical aspect of this contest, and Alastair Cook had cut an almost condemned figure after missing out on the chance to have first use. “Now we’ve got nothing to lose,” he admitted after calling incorrectly. He might wish to revise that assessment now.Ominously for England, there had been glimmers of the assistance that the pitch is likely to offer at every juncture of India’s day, including signs of turn and uneven bounce for the spinners and indications of reverse swing in the evening session. Anderson, in particular, tried desperately to exploit that aspect in a wholehearted five-over spell that yielded the vital scalp of Pujara for 119. And then, with two overs of the day remaining, he struck with his third delivery with the second new ball to unseat a tentative Ajinkya Rahane for 23.But up until those late intercessions, such was the quality of India’s third-wicket stand that England had little option but to cling onto the batsmen’s coat-tails and seek to manage the speed of their progress, rather than the inevitability.England certainly started their day’s work with a flourish. Stuart Broad struck with his fifth ball of the match as KL Rahul, Gautam Gambhir’s replacement at the top of the order, fenced outside off to poke a sharp catch to third slip, before Anderson, fit again after three months out with a fractured shoulder blade, suckered Murali Vijay with a bouncer to leave India perilously placed on 22 for 2 after five overs.But Pujara, fresh from his first-innings century at Rajkot, and Kohli, whose masterful 49 not out had averted calamity on the final afternoon of that match, were precisely the right pair to set aside the scoreline and play the conditions as placidly as they were – at this stage – proving to be.Virat Kohli raises his bat to the crowd after raising his century•Associated Press

Chances to unsettle their progress were few and far between, as is often the way in the subcontinent, and England were left ruing two fleeting moments in particular: first, a crazy over from Adil Rashid midway through the morning session, when Pujara might have run himself out twice in three deliveries – his belated response to Kohli’s clip to midwicket was especially close to curtains.And then, in a moribund passage of play in the first hour after lunch, Kohli was dropped on the hook by Rashid at fine leg when he had 56. Ben Stokes by this stage had settled into an aggressive back-of-a-length line in a bid to slow India’s progress to a crawl and Kohli, who had survived a similar miscue for his second boundary of the day off Anderson, took the bait but Rashid’s fingers couldn’t spring the trap.It would prove to be a costly miss, but it was Pujara who responded most immediately to that sense that England had lost control of the contest. He signalled India’s charge in the final half-an-hour of the afternoon session by lambasting Zafar Ansari for six and four in consecutive deliveries, before making a mockery of Broad’s 8-1 off-side field by picking the solitary gap at backward point for his 11th four of the innings.As Cook fumbled for his options, Moeen Ali, England’s senior spinner, was curiously overlooked until the 40th over of the innings – an inexplicable delay, notwithstanding the early control that Rashid in particular had been able to exert. Instead, armed with a flat ball, he encountered Kohli in full exhibition mode and his seventh over was banished for three fours through cover, third man and mid-on respectively.It was the left-arm spin of Ansari to whom Cook first turned, in the 11th over of the innings, but despite his tendency in his first two Tests to create chances, today his 12 overs were milked for 45 runs. Both Pujara and Kohli had surged into the nineties when the afternoon session was brought to a close four balls early, when a local mutt chose to lead the groundstaff on such a merry dance that the umpires pointed the players to the pavilion.The distraction might well have played into England’s hands – not even the most assured of cricketers like to dwell over their landmarks. But Pujara in particular was not standing on ceremony. A yawning six off Rashid, high over the midwicket boundary, brought up his tenth Test century from 184 deliveries, and his third in succession, following on from his whitewashing-sealing effort against New Zealand at Indore last month.Kohli followed suit three overs later, with a punch through the covers to welcome Anderson back for his third spell, and before the close he had marched past 150 for the fourth time in Tests, with scarcely a shot out of place. He had one last moment of good fortune on the stroke of 80 overs, when he missed a reverse-sweep against Moeen that was shown, on review, to have been clipping leg. England took the second opinion in the knowledge that they would be getting their top-ups one delivery later. It was a shot to nothing, and nothing was the upshot.By the close, England’s worries weren’t limited to the scoreline, or the state of the wicket, which was already showing significant rough in the bowlers’ footmarks. The fitness of Broad was also a significant concern. His morning spell had been prematurely – and inconveniently – halted after three overs when he reopened a cut on his right wrist while diving in the outfield, and though he did front up to bowl a solitary new-ball over before the close, he appeared to be hobbling badly and had already left the field for a change of boots.England will need a change of something if they are to haul their way back to parity in this contest, but not for the first time, it was their application, not their attitude, that had been found wanting. Anderson, armed with the new ball and a good night’s sleep, might be their best hope. But Kohli already has 151 reasons to be supremely satisfied with India’s position.

Offspinner Bilal Asif will join the Pakistan Test squad in the UAE after undergoing a test of his bowling action in Chennai, while Azhar Ali will return home following the death of his mother-in-law

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Oct-20150:57

Bilal joins Pakistan squad as cover

Offspinner Bilal Asif will join the Pakistan Test squad in the UAE after undergoing a test of his bowling action in Chennai on Monday. Asif was reported for a suspect action following the third ODI against Zimbabwe in Harare earlier this month, but has been selected to provide spin cover for Pakistan, after legspinner Yasir Shah missed the first Test against England because of a back spasm.With Yasir unavailable, Pakistan were forced to field a three-man pace attack in Abu Dhabi. Zulfiqar Babar was the only specialist spinner and Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq had expressed his disappointment at the absence of adequate spin cover in the squad. Yasir is expected to be fit for the second Test in Dubai, but Asif’s presence will give Pakistan an additional all-round spin option. Asif is allowed to bowl until the result of his test is known, which is likely to take another couple of weeks, making him available for the second Test starting on October 22.Geoff Allardice, the ICC’s general manager – cricket, said there was an effort being made to reduce the time between a bowler being reported and the results of the test on his action being released. “We are trying to get the turnaround times on reports a lot faster. We have shortened the time that the player has to be tested by and that the report has to be presented,” Allardice said. “Yes, it may mean they play a match in between – certainly at an ICC event we can be quick as the players are all in the same place – but it’s a trade-off of having the scientific validity verses the turnaround time. At this stage, in-match testing I don’t think it will happen in a hurry – our testing centres will deal with it in the short to medium term.”Meanwhile, Pakistan batsman Azhar Ali will miss the second Test after leaving the squad to return home because of the death of his mother-in-law. Azhar had missed the first Test after sustaining a toe injury on the Zimbabwe tour but Pakistan hope to have him back for the third match, in Sharjah.

The quick turnaround time of one day was hardly enough for Zimbabwe to get its act together and challenge the hosts, after West Indies had posted a competitive 158

The Report by Kanishkaa Balachandran03-Mar-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsKieron Pollard’s big hitting took the initiative away from Zimbabwe•Randy Brooks/WICB Media

The quick turnaround time of one day was hardly enough for Zimbabwe to get its act together and challenge the hosts, after West Indies had posted a competitive 158. West Indies were hardly stretched during the chase and once the Zimbabwe top order succumbed to the spin of Samuel Badree, it was all one-way traffic. West Indies took the T20 series 2-0, adding to their three consecutive wins in the one-dayers, extending their winning run in a one-sided tour.The only time Zimbabwe kept the hosts under check was in the first ten overs of the match. The bowlers followed a plan of containing the batsmen, but they couldn’t maintain that control against a power-packed middle order. Kieron Pollard and Darren Sammy blazed 56 together in their fifth-wicket stand to give the innings a push and though Zimbabwe hit back with late wickets, Pollard ensured he stayed till the end, helping West Indies to a match-winning total.After getting pasted in the opening T20 on Saturday, Zimbabwe needed to work out a plan to keep the number of boundaries in check and in general make the batsmen work harder for runs. An obvious change was the way the spinners bowled it flatter and fuller and not allowing the batsmen to go for big hits. Lendl Simmons, who smashed six sixes – mostly slog sweeps – in his unbeaten 63 off 49 balls on Saturday, managed only two big hits in his 41 off 39 today. He found it harder to get under the bounce and slog thanks to the lengths bowled by the spinners.Johnson Charles, Dwayne Bravo and Simmons all perished while trying to push the scoring. The first 12 overs had 29 dot balls, showing the sort of control the Zimbabwe bowlers had.Pollard and Sammy came together at the start of the 15th over and the run rate surged. Sammy launched Christopher Mpofu out of the ground when the bowler overpitched and Pollard was merciless against Chatara, ransacking 23 off an over that included two sixes and two fours. The extra pace worked to West Indies’ advantage, and the seamers erred by not bowling it fuller. As a result, the batsmen helped themselves to some powerful blows down the ground.Zimbabwe conceded only 64 off the first ten overs, but the last five leaked 60. Zimbabwe did hit back towards the end with quick wickets, but Pollard’s was the one they wanted, but never had.Zimbabwe needed a rousing start from their top order but their twin failures in the two T20s will be the biggest concern ahead of the Tests. They were undone by Badree, who nipped out three of the top four. Chamu Chibhabha made too much room to cut against the turn and lost his middle stump; Vusi Sibanda slashed towards point but Bravo’s sharp reflexes had the better of him; Brendan Taylor fell to a leading edge to cover. Taylor’s failures in both games put pressure on the middle order. Hamilton Masakadza played the lone hand with an unbeaten 53, but his knock was overshadowed by what was a sorry response from Zimbabwe.There was no passage of play during which West Indies were challenged – only seven fours were scored in the first 15 overs and there were no sixes. Batting out 20 overs was no consolation.

Was the media at fault for talk of a rift in the Indian team, as MS Dhoni has claimed? ESPNcricinfo has transcripts of the relevant press conferences to let you decide

Sidharth Monga26-Feb-2012MS Dhoni has said the India dressing-room has had a good laugh at the reports of a rift•AFP

MS Dhoni has blamed the media for quoting him selectively to Virender Sehwag, to elicit replies that suggested a grave communication gap in the team. He said no such problem existed, and there was no need to straighten it out. He did, though, say it created an awkward situation because it was possible Sehwag might have actually believed what the press told him. He hadn’t, Dhoni added.However, a reading of the transcripts (below) of the two press conferences in question confirm a variance in statements between the captain and his deputy.”You must have asked him something,” Dhoni said at his pre-match press conference on Saturday. “Why don’t you ask yourself the same question?”You have the press conference on tape. It will be interesting if you watch the whole press conference. You will get the answer yourself of what exactly I said. And what exactly I meant. Often what’s important is, you can’t see just that particular answer. Maybe the build-up from the first question as to what you are answering [is important]. Often we don’t answer because the first part of the first question that we answer is actually an answer of the second question or the third question. If you see the whole press conference, it will offer a valid point as to what was said.”Dhoni said the dressing-room had had a good laugh at the reports. Asked if he was happy with the communication flow within the team, Dhoni said, “Yeah, yeah. It has always been there. It is not this series or last series. It has been perfect. And we enjoy it actually when things like this happened. It’s the talk of the dressing room. We try to get the positives out of it. It’s half an hour of good talk in the dressing room, because that’s the best we can get out of it.”Reproduced below are excerpts from the two said press conferences with all relevant questions and the build-up that led to Dhoni and Sehwag saying what they did.The first one is, from February 19, after India had lost to Australia. This is MS Dhoni answering questions.Q: MS, you mentioned that the top order needs to perform, but we are in the second stage of this tournament. Do you reckon the best XI should be playing now? Or do you want to continue…
Dhoni: You have to see what the best XI is. If you talk about the best XI being the players who have scored runs in the tournament then also we may find it difficult to feature the XI. Or if you talk about the number of games we have played or the experienced guys have played, so it’s about everyone going. Everybody needs to contribute. Gautam has done well, he needs to keep on going because he is among the senior guys who will be batting up the order. Then you have Virat who has done well, Rohit who is getting his chances and then Raina also. So we need to contribute as a unit, and that’s what should be the key. You want to field a very good fielding side also. We have seen in these close games that you can’t really afford to score always 20 more runs just because your fielding is not good enough on the big field. We have to be careful and hopefully it will be sorted out.Q: Is this series more about bringing something home after a disastrous Test series or is it about building a team for the 2015 World Cup?
Dhoni: It should be both because you want to do well. As I said you know the opposition team played well, they outplayed you but at the end of the day you feel bad, in the sense if you are not winning games you feel bad. We want to get a bit of both. You want the youngsters to play the games but of course we need to get into the finals first because it’s important to get into the finals. Then it’s a three match series in the finals. You have to be consistent in two games to win the tournament. But you want to see these youngsters, they will be coming here again and again. Maybe for the next World Cup also. They should know how you need to play in these situations or conditions against a bowling attack that is world class, so overall you want to get the best for the side.Q: Coming back to what you say, will there be a scenario – we are at the business end of the tournament, you haven’t made the final yet – will there be a scenario where you play all three – Sachin, Sehwag and Gambhir?
Dhoni: That may happen. It will affect our fielding in a big way, which means there will be more pressure on the batsmen to score those extra 20 runs, but if the middle order does not perform consistently well you may have to go with the experienced guys at the top of the order, and let the scoring do, you know, from the bottom-most batsmen. In the sense, 5, 6 and 7.[A break, and then this question.]Q: You spoke about the fielding in the case you play all the three seniors. Is it really – suppose if Viru [who didn’t play that day] plays instead of either Rohit or Raina, is it worth 20 extra runs in the field?
Dhoni: Definitely. Because people often talk about that one run, but that one run that you save, it changes the strike and if the next ball, the batsman plays a big shot – a six or a four, it can have a big impact. If you see, the last few games that we played, we got two or three run outs and that really had a big impact.Also, what we need to see, it’s not only these three players that we are talking about. We also have quite a few other players who are slow on the field. It will just add on to that and we will be left with just two or three really good fielders. It’s not that these fielders are bad but for this environment and these conditions and big outfields, they are slightly on the slower side. They will be exploited. Once the ball goes to them, the Australians or the Sri Lankans will try to exploit the doubles or three runs. It means it will put more pressure on their body because the throwing needs to be good and the diving needs to be good, so they will be under constant pressure. So ultimately it will be a pressure game.This was reported as it was, and two days later Virender Sehwag took questions.Q: Do you agree with Dhoni when he says that you, Sachin and Gambhir can’t be played together in the same XI because you are slow fielders?
Sehwag: I don’t think so, we played together in the World Cup and we won games. Just because we want to give chances to youngsters and it’s good for every team, just keep rotating players and they will get good … and they will be fresh for next game, so that’s what I think.[A break, and then this question.]Q: Were you surprised when you heard that Dhoni came out and said if you three play together, you will concede 20 runs more. And did you have a chat with him?
Sehwag: No we didn’t know that. I didn’t know what he said and what’s going on in media. But we decided, we had a meeting, he chatted with everyone, with Gautam and myself and Tendulkar. He explained that he wanted to give chances to youngsters, so youngsters can play all the matches here, and the next World Cup is also here, so they’ll get to know the idea of how the wickets behave in Australia, so when they come for next World Cup, so they will prepare themselves.Q: The thrust of Dhoni’s argument the other night was that top three batsmen – you, Gautam and Sachin – could concede 20 runs extra. Good fielders but slow fielders.
Sehwag: We are same for the last 10 years. Nothing has changed.Q: Even if you concede 20 runs extra, Sehwag plays a big knock, you win the match single-handedly. These youngsters are saving 20 runs, but aren’t scoring…
Sehwag: You have to ask Dhoni again. What he told us is, he has to give chances to youngsters. They will come here and play the next World Cup. That’s what he told us.Q: Will you have a chat with him?
Sehwag: Why should I have a chat with him? When he has said he is the captain, he is the leader, if he and coach thinks we should give breaks to the top order, that’s fine, I am okay with that. I don’t have any issues with that.[A break again.]Q: Do you feel you, Tendulkar and Gambhir are liabilities in the field?
Sehwag: Have you seen my catch?Q: You said that the reason given to you three separately was they wanted to give the youngsters more chances. Now, you come to know through us that the other night another reason was given. Will you now have a chat with him?
Sehwag: I am available for all the matches. It depends on the captain and the coach what XI they will pick. If they give me the reason that we want to give chances to youngsters and you take a break, I am happy with that.*07:54 GMT, Feb 26: This article’s introduction has been changed

What pleased captain Kumar Sangakkara most about Sri Lanka’s win against West Indies in their warm-up match was that they chased a competitive total of 281 batting under lights

Sa'adi Thawfeeq16-Feb-2011Sri Lanka completed their World Cup preparations on a high note defeating West Indies by four wickets at the R Premadasa Stadium on Tuesday. What pleased captain Kumar Sangakkara most about the win was that they chased a competitive total of 281 batting under lights, and won with 15 balls to spare.”Mentally we are slightly better than a couple of years ago. I always maintained it was hard to chase under lights at one time but sides have done it before,” Sangakkara said.”Sometimes you get too caught up with thinking you can’t do things under lights. It’s more about believing that you can. If it doesn’t work out, try to analyse and see what went wrong and how you can do things better.”Sri Lanka have had nine successful run chases out of 13 under lights in the last two years, but the last three times they had to bat second in a day-night match at the Premadasa, they fell short. Though most teams win the toss and bat first in Sri Lanka, as West Indies did on Tuesday, Sangakkara said he wanted to bat second in the warm-up game to prepare for any situation during the World Cup.”We were anyway going to bat second if we had won the toss. The wicket was much better than we expected. It had good bounce, enough turn and all in all was a good track to bat on even chasing.”Even though Sri Lanka have won both their warm up games, against Netherlands and West Indies, Sangakkara said there was still work to do before the World Cup. “Preparation wise there is still a lot of work to be done and we don’t have much time. The first 15 overs [of the match against West Indies] were not good enough for World Cup cricket. We cannot allow 100 runs off the first 11-12 overs. Chasing, we should have finished the game off with one or two wickets less than what it cost us.”Sangakkara stated that his team was pretty settled with their XI although in the two warm-up games they played all 15 players, with the batters getting a bat and the bowlers a bowl.”The guys need to be able to go out there and play. If a few of the players don’t play any warm-up games sometimes they feel left out. It’s nice to be in a group who’s always playing.”