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Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s 3 for 45, followed by fifties from Shikhar Dhawan and Dinesh Karthik, led India to a series-levelling six-wicket win in Pune

The Report by Karthik Krishnaswamy25-Oct-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details2:08

Harris: New Zealand were short of runs

New Zealand won the first ODI at the Wankhede Stadium courtesy their preparedness against India’s spinners, and the success of a key tactical move – swapping the batting positions of Colin Munro and Tom Latham. Three days later, following a trip down the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, India turned the tables with their own counter-tactics, on a pitch with just enough grass on it to allow their fast bowlers to bowl a traditional good length.Bhuvneshwar Kumar finished with three wickets and Jasprit Bumrah with two, the pair conceding only 83 in their 20 overs as New Zealand set India a target of 231 to level the series. The chase proved straightforward, with Shikhar Dhawan and Dinesh Karthik scoring half-centuries to lead India home with four overs remaining.New Zealand’s fast bowlers didn’t begin half as well as their Indian counterparts, with Trent Boult and Tim Southee routinely pitching short in their new-ball spells. India hit seven fours in the first seven overs, and five of them came off the back foot, via pulls and punches and slashes over the slips. Rohit Sharma fell early, flicking Boult in the air, but the easy flow of boundaries meant New Zealand never put any pressure on the second-wicket pair of Dhawan and Virat Kohli, who added 57 off 56 balls.Kohli fell in the 14th over, driving away from his body at one that wasn’t full enough from Colin de Grandhomme, and Karthik walked in at No. 4, joining the endless carousel of batsmen to audition for the role in recent months. He began his innings with a boundary, guiding de Grandhomme between backward point and short third man, and ended the match with another – a sweetly timed on-the-up drive through the covers – but endured a bit of a struggle in between, never entirely fluent but always serving the interests of the chase.New Zealand never managed two wickets in quick succession, with Karthik a constant thorn at one end: he added 66 with Dhawan for the third wicket, 59 with Hardik Pandya for the fourth, and an unbroken 28 with MS Dhoni for the fifth. The pitch wasn’t a belter, but it was still batting-friendly, and New Zealand hadn’t set a big enough target to force India into taking any real risks.For that India will thank their bowlers, particularly Bhuvneshwar and Bumrah. Bowling a mix of slower balls and bouncers, India’s new-ball pair exposed Munro’s leaden-footed technique, and he plodded his way to 10 off 16 balls before Bhuvneshwar slipped a knuckleball through his defences. Before that, seam movement from a good length took out Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson, both stuck on the crease, the former nicking an away-seamer, the latter lbw to an inducker, and New Zealand were 27 for 3.It was here that Latham came to the crease. During his unbeaten hundred in Mumbai, the sweep had been his most productive stroke, fetching him 26 runs off 16 balls and putting India’s pair of wristspinners off their lengths. India had responded by leaving out one of their wristspinners and bringing in the left-arm orthodox of Axar Patel – a flat, stump-to-stump, and therefore harder-to-sweep bowler. But before bringing Axar on, and as soon as the first Powerplay ended, India brought on Kedar Jadhav, who hadn’t bowled at all in Mumbai.With his round-the-wicket angle and low-arm release, Jadhav either angled the ball into Latham’s stumps or occasionally fired one wide of off stump, neither line conducive to the sweep, particularly given Jadhav’s lack of bounce. He bowled seven straight overs in his first spell, and only conceded 24, and in that time Latham played him with a studiously straight bat, only sweeping twice while scoring 11 off 23 balls.Jadhav’s spell kept Latham in check, and in the time he was at the crease – in the company of Ross Taylor and then Henry Nicholls – New Zealand only managed 91 runs in 22.1 overs. The sweep appeared more frequently once Jadhav went out of the attack, but eventually the shot cost Latham his wicket, for 38 off 62 balls, as he failed to cover for Axar Patel’s switch to left-arm around.The arrival of de Grandhomme perked up New Zealand’s scoring, the allrounder playing a number of eye-catching flicks and on-drives while adding 47 for the sixth wicket at 5.42 per over with the more prosaic Nicholls. But just when the partnership was looking threatening, Bhuvneshwar broke it in the 38th over, when he returned for a two-over second spell. Again he hit that perfect length to prompt Nicholls to drive without getting a full stride forward, and again he found just enough movement to beat the inside edge and peg back leg stump.Bhuvneshwar and Bumrah only conceded 12 in the last four overs of the second Powerplay, and perhaps this built extra pressure on de Grandhomme, who fell while trying to push the pace in the last over of spin, the 44th. Yuzvendra Chahal tossed one up wide of off stump, and de Grandhomme, reaching out for the big one, sliced a catch to short third man. Chahal’s next ball was a slider, which caught Adam Milne plumb in front.New Zealand were 188 for 8 at this point. Mitchell Santner and Tim Southee ensured they would end up with a fighting total, courtesy a ninth-wicket stand of 32, but 230 was still decidedly below par.

She plays pinch-hitter to perfection before taking a wicket in four miserly overs

ECB Reporters Network18-May-2022Issy Wong starred with bat and ball as Central Sparks beat holders South East Stars by 34 runs in the Charlotte Edwards Cup at Guildford.Wong, renowned for her quick bowling, excelled in the role of pinch-hitter with 45 in 28 balls and was well supported by England wicketkeeper Amy Jones with 40 as Sparks rattled up 170 for 6 after being invited to bat, Alice Davidson-Richards the pick of the host’s attack with 2 for 27.Chelsea-born speedster Wong returned to the day job, taking 1 for 14, including three frugal overs at the top of the Stars’ innings. She was ably assisted by Sparks’ spin twins Hannah Baker, who took 2 for 19, and Sarah Glenn (2 for 22), while Grace Potts added 4 for 36 mopping up the tail, meaning that despite 41 from skipper Bryony Smith, Stars finished well short on 136 all out.From the moment Wong clubbed Alice Capsey over the scoreboard at mid-wicket in the first over, Sparks were on the charge.Wong treated Tash Farrant’s bowling with similar disdain and with fellow opener Eve Jones taking a heavy toll on Freya Davies at the other end, the 50-stand came off 30 balls.Davidson-Richards made the breakthrough when Eve Jones top edged to mid-on, but the bowler was out of luck when new batter Amy Jones hoisted her to Emma Jones at deep mid-on only for the fielder to grass the chance.Emma Jones would partially atone when she caught Wong at cover, but the drop proved costly as Amy Jones forged on, driving powerfully to hit six fours before Smith had her caught at cover.Smith and the impressive Davidson-Richards kept some level of control, but impressive cameos from Ami Campbell and Gwen Davies saw Sparks post an imposing target.Smith got the chase off to a rattling start with three boundaries off the first over from Potts and Saturday’s half-centurion Aylish Cranstone caught the mood almost hitting an Emily Arlott delivery into the road.Wong gave Smith a life on 19 when she shelled a catch on the square leg boundary, Arlott the aggrieved bowler, but the boot was on the other foot in the following over when she too dropped Smith off Wong. Wong though wouldn’t be denied, removing Cranstone via a top edge bagged by Amy Jones as Sparks reached 44 for 1 at the end of the powerplay.The fielding lapses continued, Abi Freeborn dropping Capsey off an attempted reverse sweep. However, Baker struck twice in four balls as first Smith skied a catch behind and then Amy Jones stumped Capsey, who had given the bowler the charge.Glenn followed up with two in two to despatch Farrant and Emma Jones before Potts cleaned up.

Sri Lanka fast bowler to be reunited with former national coach Mickey Arthur

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Feb-2022Suranga Lakmal has signed a two-year deal with Derbyshire, where he will be reunited with his former national coach Mickey Arthur, after announcing that he will be retiring from all forms of international cricket following Sri Lanka’s upcoming tour of India.Lakmal, the 34-year old fast bowler, did his best work in Test cricket, having so far picked up 168 wickets from 68 matches. One-hundred-and-thirty of them came away from home.”I’m indebted to Sri Lanka Cricket for giving me this astonishing opportunity and having faith in me to bring my motherland honour, as it has been [an] absolute pleasure to be associated with the board that shaped my professional life and also enriched my personal development,” he said in his retirement letter submitted to Sri Lanka Cricket.Arthur, who joined Derbyshire as director of cricket late last year, praised Lakmal’s attributes as a bowler and a leader in welcoming him to the club.”Suranga is among Sri Lanka’s all-time greats with the ball and it’s brilliant to be able to bring him to Derbyshire for the next two seasons,” he said. “We have big ambitions for the project at Derbyshire, and Suranga’s decision to retire from international cricket and commit to the club shows he’s as excited about those plans as the other players and coaches.”He knows my standards and can set the example for our young players on and off the field, and to add his quality to our ranks gives us a whole new dimension with the ball.”Lakmal added: “Experiencing county cricket is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time and the chance to work with Mickey again was something I couldn’t turn down.”I’ve loved every second of my international career, and I would like to thank Sri Lanka for giving me the opportunity to live my dream. Hopefully I can bring that experience into this new challenge, to help the young bowlers, who are already making an impact at Derbyshire.”The spin-friendly conditions in Sri Lanka often pushed him into the sidelines, but on tour, Lakmal’s ability to hold a line and length over long periods of time and his knack for moving the ball both off the pitch and in the air made him an important asset. So far, he has a five-for in Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and the West Indies. His away average, accordingly, is an entire 15 points lower than his home average, even though his record in five Tests in England, 12 wickets at 51.83 between 2011 and 2016, bucks that trend.Lakmal has also captained Sri Lanka in five Tests, winning three of them – two against South Africa during the home series in 2018.In the last six years, Lakmal has been Sri Lanka’s seam-bowling spearhead. He has contributed to several excellent results during that time, taking 4 for 39 in the second innings to set up victory in Port Elizabeth in 2019, 3 for 25 in the second innings to fashion a win in Bridgetown the previous year, and a match haul of 7 for 119 as Sri Lanka struggled late to draw a rain-affected match in Kolkata in 2017. Since 2018, he has been especially consistent, taking 72 wickets and averaging overall 24.73 across the next four years, and 22.61 away from home.However, he departs without a real successor in place. Dushmantha Chameera has been good in limited-overs cricket, but has not been a regular member of the Test squad partly owing to fitness concerns. Lahiru Kumara and Vishwa Fernando have also only made sporadic appearances in the Test team.Lakmal made his debut for Sri Lanka in December 2009 and largely performed a holding role in limited-overs cricket, picking up 109 wickets from 86 ODIs and eight wickets from 11 T20Is.

Leading the two-Test series 1-0, Sri Lanka may once again go in with the three-pronged spin-attack that fetched them 17 wickets in the first game

The Preview by Firdose Moonda19-Jul-2018

Big Picture

Soon, Sri Lankans might be making jokes about how the captain, the coach and the manager should be banned more often. Dinesh Chandimal, Chandika Hathurusingha and Asanka Gurusinha will miss four of the five ODIs against South Africa, after the ICC meted out its most severe punishment earlier this week since the demerit points system was introduced, but that is not a concern for the next five days.The trio is also out of this second Test but, even sans their engine room, Sri Lanka had trounced South Africa so soundly in Galle that they can confidently say they don’t need the big three back just yet. Rather, it’s the other three Sri Lanka will rely on: the three spinners.Rangana Herath, Dilruwan Perera and Lakshan Sandakan made South Africa look like amateurs on a surface that was challenging but nowhere near a minefield, and they will look to do it again in Colombo. It’s difficult to imagine South Africa’s batting line-up doing worse, but stranger things have happened.For a start, South Africa have to decide on their approach against spin. Are they going to attack, with the mentality that they have to get runs before the ball gets them – something Ottis Gibson said was a tactic on seamer-friendly pitches – or are they going to show patience, bat time and trust that runs will follow? The latter sounds more sensible, the former more desperate, and desperate is what South Africa are.In 2014, South Africa reached the SSC 1-0 up in the series and were dogged in their determination not to lose the advantage. What followed was a blockathon that made the rain breaks more entertaining than play. Four years on, Sri Lanka are 1-0 up at the SSC and will want to turn the screws. South Africa will be happy to draw the series, but whether they are capable of that is the real question.

Form guide

Sri Lanka: WWDLW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
South Africa: LWWWL

In the spotlight

While Dimuth Karunaratne scored more than the entire South Africa team in the first Test, he also made more runs than any of his team-mates, which puts the onus on Angelo Mathews, among others, to step up. In absence of Dinesh Chandimal, Mathews is the senior-most batsman in the line-up and will want to show that. He was their second-highest run-scorer, behind Chandimal, when they visited India last year, before missing two of the three Test in the West Indies for personal reasons. He has not got past the 30s in his last five innings, numbers that simply won’t do for the man who should be leading with the bat.On his first tour of the subcontinent, Aiden Markram already showed improvement from one innings to the next in the first Test and will want to leave his mark on the series in Colombo. Markram faced 46 balls in the second innings, six times more than what he faced in the first, and, though he was stumped trying to charge the spinner, he showed a little more patience and a little more finesse the second time. Batting coach Dale Benkenstein expects Markram’s ability to adjust quickly to bring more rewards in the second Test.

Team news

The major decision South Africa have to make is whether or not to leave out Vernon Philander – who, despite his efforts with the bat, bowled only 11 of the 112.1 overs they delivered in the Galle Test – and finding a suitable replacement. If it’s an extra batsman they’re looking for, Theunis de Bruyn will slot in. If it’s a bowler, Lungi Ngidi could come into contention.South Africa: (possible) 1 Dean Elgar, 2 Aiden Markram, 3 Hashim Amla, 4 Temba Bavuma, 5 Faf du Plessis (capt), 6 Quinton de Kock (wk), 7 Vernon Philander/Theunis de Bruyn, 8 Keshav Maharaj, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Dale Steyn, 11 Tabraiz ShamsiHaving had success with a three-pronged spin-attack against Australia at the SSC in 2016, Sri Lanka will probably go with a similar strategy.Sri Lanka: (possible) 1 Dimuth Karunaratne, 2 Danushka Gunathilaka, 3 Dhananjaya de Silva, 4 Kusal Mendis, 5 Angelo Mathews, 6 Roshen Silva, 7 Niroshan Dickwella (wk), 8 Dilruwan Perera, 9 Suranga Lakmal (capt), 10 Rangana Herath, 11 Lakshan Sandakan

Pitch and conditions

The SSC surface is expected to take substantial turn in the latter half of the Test, but it does also tend to be conducive to seam bowling on the first morning and generally has more runs in it than the Galle pitch.Some rain is forecast for every day of the match. However, the second day is the most likely to be affected, with an 80% chance of showers.

Stats and trivia

• Hashim Amla needs three more runs to become the third South African, after Jacques Kallis and Graeme Smith, to 9000 Test runs.
• Angelo Mathews is eight runs away from 5000 runs. He will become the ninth Sri Lanka batsman to reach the milestone.
• In Galle, South Africa lost 17 of their 20 wickets to spin. In Colombo in 2014, they lost the same number of wickets to Rangana Herath and Dilruwan Perera, but managed to draw the Test and win the series.
• Irrespective of the outcome of the series, both South Africa and Sri Lanka will remain in their current positions – No. 2 and No. 6 respectively – on the ICC rankings table. If Sri Lanka win 2-0, they will gain six points, and South Africa will lose six. If the series is drawn 1-1, Sri Lanka only gain two points and South Africa lose two.

Quotes

“It is very important that we win a series, and that we win at home. They are the No. 2-ranked team. We need a victory to gain confidence, so it’s a very important game.”
“I will give him a kiss on the cheek.”

Imran Haider, the legspinner, took four wickets in his second ODI to help United Arab Emirates record a six-wicket win over Hong Kong in their tri-series fixture in Dubai

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Jan-2017
Scorecard
Shaiman Anwar steered UAE home with his seventh ODI half-century•Peter Della Penna

Imran Haider, the legspinner, took four wickets in his second ODI to help United Arab Emirates record a six-wicket win over Hong Kong in their tri-series fixture in Dubai on Thursday. UAE got to their target of 175 in 38.1 overs to finish the series on top of the points table.Hong Kong were put in to bat and lost wickets in clumps, tottering at one stage at 85 for 5. Nizakat Khan, the No. 4 batsman, held the lower order together in making a 111-ball 93 including seven fours and three sixes. Nizakat’s 67-run stand for the eighth wicket with Ehsan Nawaz, who made 11, was the highest of the innings which folded in the penultimate over.Haider removed Babar Hayat, the Hong Kong captain, and Shahid Wasif for ducks. At one stage, he had three wickets in as many overs; he eventually finished with 4 for 25 off his 10 overs to take his wickets tally to seven in two matches.UAE started solidly courtesy a 76-run opening stand between Rohan Mustafa and Mohammed Qasim, before losing three quick wickets – two of which were picked up by Ehsan Khan, the offspinner. Shaiman Anwar then took charge to make a half-century to take UAE to within 27 runs of victory before giving Ehsan his third wicket. Muhammad Usman (20 not out) and Mohammad Naveed (9 not out) then saw the chase through.

The India allrounder could feature in three County Championship games and the 50-overs Royal London Cup

Deivarayan Muthu and Matt Roller21-Jun-20223:29

Shastri: ‘Washington is going to be one of India’s premier all-format allrounders’

India allrounder Washington Sundar will turn out for Lancashire in county cricket this season, subject to fitness and visa clearance, ESPNcricinfo has learnt.Washington, 22, could be available for up to three County Championship games, from July, and the entire 50-overs Royal London Cup. He could become the second Indian to feature in English county cricket this season after Cheteshwar Pujara, who racked up 720 runs in eight innings at a stunning average of 120 for Sussex in division two. Shreyas Iyer had signed up as Lancashire’s overseas player for the Royal London Cup in 2021 but had to eventually pull out because of a shoulder injury.”I am extremely excited to play county cricket for the first time with Lancashire Cricket,” Washington Sundar said in a media statement from the county. “To play in English conditions will be a great experience for me and I can’t wait to play at Emirates Old Trafford.”I would like to thank both Lancashire Cricket and the BCCI for allowing this opportunity [to] happen and I’m looking forward to joining up with the squad next month.”Mark Chilton, Lancashire’s director of cricket performance, welcomed Washington into the set-up. “Washington is a multi-format all-rounder whose skills with both bat and ball will be a great addition for us in the Royal London Cup and County Championship this summer,” he said. “His international and IPL experiences will be invaluable in the development of our younger cricketers, many of whom he will be playing with during his stay. The addition of Washington is one that will excite our members and supporters, along with helping our continued push to bring silverware back to Emirates Old Trafford.”Lancashire are currently third on the County Championship division one points table, behind Surrey and Hampshire, with 108 points. They will resume red-ball cricket with a clash against Gloucestershire from June 26 after their Vitality Blast T20 games.Washington is currently working his way back from a hand injury at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru. The red-ball games in England will be Washington’s first since he sustained a finger injury while playing a three-day tour game against a County Select XI in Chester-le-Street in July 2021. The injury had sidelined him from that England tour and the second leg of IPL 2021.Washington has suffered multiple setbacks because of injury and illness since last year. He was lined up to return to action for his state side Tamil Nadu in the 20-overs Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, but it is understood that the Indian team management had then warned Tamil Nadu against rushing him back into action.He then made a successful return in the 50-overs Vijay Hazare Trophy, taking 16 wickets in eight games at an economy rate of 4.77 in Tamil Nadu’s run to the final. It paved the way for his India white-ball return, for a three-match ODI series in South Africa, but he had to miss that after testing positive for Covid-19.Washington Sundar has suffered multiple injury setbacks in recent times•BCCI

Washington marked his comeback with all-round contributions at home in the ODI series against West Indies, but that was short-lived, too, as he sustained a hamstring injury ahead of the T20Is.More recently in IPL 2022, he hurt his webbing twice and played just nine games for Sunrisers Hyderabad, scoring 101 runs and claiming six wickets. The franchise’s head coach Tom Moody pointed out that the injuries to Washington and T Natarajan shook up the balance of the XI.Washington’s Lancashire gig will clash with the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL), which kicks off on June 23 in Tirunelveli. Washington is with Salem Spartans in the TNPL, but it is understood that he did not take part in the side’s preparatory camp in Chennai.The red-ball games for Lancashire could be Washington’s opportunity to prove his form and fitness. While speaking on ESPNcricinfo’s analysis show T20 Time:Out during the IPL, Ravi Shastri, the former India coach, talked up Washington as a future all-format allrounder for India.”He is going to be one of India’s leading allrounders,” Shastri had said. “He is the future. You have [Ravindra] Jadeja today. Three years down the line, if Jadeja is still fit, he will play. There is Axar [Patel] around. But this guy is your premier allrounder across all three formats of the game. Hear what I am saying. Three formats of the game.”This guy is a serious cricketer. He is still very young, he has got to understand his own game, how good a player he is. Shot selection will come, especially for the white-ball format. [If he] works on his fitness so that he is not injury-prone, India have got a serious cricketer in him. Across all formats of the game. I think it is up to him really to do the hard yards on fitness. No excuse. He can’t depend on X, Y, Z. He has to look at himself in the mirror and say I want to work hard and I want to be the leading allrounder in Indian cricket over the next three years. And he can do it. Easy.”

Players and their families will not be required to serve out a mandatory quarantine upon arrival in India

Shashank Kishore01-Jun-2022In a change from what has been the norm in the last couple of years, the BCCI has decided to do away with stringent biobubbles for India’s upcoming T20I series against South Africa starting June 9. ESPNcricinfo understands that players and their families will not be required to serve out a mandatory quarantine period upon arrival either.The Indian team is expected to link up in New Delhi, the venue for the series opener, on or before Saturday. The South African team, led by Temba Bavuma, is expected to arrive in the city on June 2. Their touring contingent includes as many as ten players who featured in IPL 2022.The change in regulations also means that player movement in and out of the hotels and stadia would not be restricted. However, everyone has been advised to remain cautious and avoid large gatherings, as far as possible. It is understood that Covid-19 tests will only be carried out if someone reports symptoms, as against the policy of regular testing earlier.Related

• 'Going to try and bring that into my game' – Pretorius hopes to emulate Dhoni's calmness

• India's T20I line-up: Who will be the second spinner? Or the back-up opener?

• Rahul to lead; Hardik, Umran, Arshdeep in India squad

• Bavuma puts spotlight on 'inclusive leadership group'

• Bavuma: 'IPL win will do Miller's confidence a world of good'

The BCCI’s decision to open up multiple venues for the same series is encouraging. It’s a practice they have slowly embraced over time, since last November, when they hosted New Zealand and Sri Lanka at multiple venues.For a brief while in February, they reverted to hosting an entire leg in one city due to the omicron threat when West Indies toured. The ODI leg was played in Ahmedabad before Kolkata hosted the T20I leg. This time around, players will travel across five venues – New Delhi, Cuttack, Visakhapatnam, Rajkot and Bengaluru – across 12 days. There will also be no cap on crowd attendance at any of the five venues either.The decks have also been cleared for all state associations to begin the sale of tickets, allowing 100% attendance, across all venues. Sunday’s IPL final in Ahmedabad witnessed possibly the biggest crowd at a cricket match in India, with the official number pegged at 104,859.India’s declining number of active Covid-19 cases have led to the easing of restrictions. The country recorded 2745 active cases on May 31; the corresponding numbers for the same date in 2021 stood at a whopping 127,510 cases.Most cricket boards around the world have moved on from stringent biobubble measures to managed environments, with minimal restrictions. For example, Bangladesh’s recent home Test series against Sri Lanka was held without any bubble restrictions. The upcoming England vs New Zealand Test series, starting June 2 at Lord’s, will also be hosted on similar lines.However, New Zealand Cricket has asked its players to “avoid mass gatherings and events of high exposure”, while making masks mandatory when indoors with people from outside the environment and unable to socially distance. They will also carry out immediate testing in case of symptoms and five days of isolation if there is a positive case. The ECB has specified no such restrictions on their part.

Sussex seamer played more than 350 games in 17-year professional career

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Jul-2021Mitchell Claydon, Sussex’s Australia-born seamer, has announced his retirement from professional cricket at the end of this season.Claydon, 38, was born in New South Wales but used his British passport to play county cricket, with spells at Yorkshire, Durham, Kent and Sussex, and also played domestic cricket in New Zealand. He was part of the Durham squad that won three County Championships and a Friends Provident Trophy, and won promotion with Kent in 2018.Claydon was an excellent death bowler with a good yorker in one-day and T20 cricket, and has taken 310 first-class wickets at 31.90 with the red ball. He is expected to stay in the game as a coach, and already has experience working with Sydney Sixers as an assistant coach.”After 17 years as a professional cricketer, I have decided that 2021 will be my last,” Claydon said in a statement. “I’m so proud that my shocking rig has got me through 371 games – over a hundred in each format – but all the overs are taking their toll, and everything is starting to hurt. I’m committed to finishing the 2021 season and ending on a high.”Big thanks to Canterbury, Central Districts, Durham, Yorkshire, Kent and Sussex for giving me the opportunity to play the game for a living all these years and all the coaches and support staff at those clubs for their help.”I’d like to give a special thanks to my family both in the UK and back home in Australia. I’ll miss life in the changing rooms more than anything. The fun I’ve had with so many people over the years will provide me with fantastic memories for the rest of my life.”Claydon has only played sporadically for Sussex since signing for them in 2019, appearing in four first-class matches and two T20s. He is yet to make a first-team appearance in 2021. He was banned for nine games following a ball-tampering controversy last year in which he applied hand sanitiser to the ball, which also saw the club docked points.

Russell Domingo will have to reapply for his position of South Africa coach if he wants to continue after the England tour in May-August 2017

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Jan-2017Russell Domingo will have to reapply for his position of South Africa coach if he wants to continue after the England tour in May-August 2017. Cricket South Africa (CSA) have confirmed they will begin a recruitment process to appoint a head coach after the England tour and through to the 2019 World Cup.”The Board of Directors also resolved to commence the recruitment process for the appointment of the Proteas Head Coach to take charge after the tour to the UK until after the 2019 edition of the ICC World Cup,” CSA said at the end of a release about a review into domestic cricket.Domingo, who took over in May 2013, has twice had his contract extended. It was originally set to run until the 2015 World Cup, before CSA took a unanimous decision to extend it till April 2016. Then, last October, it was decided to extend it till the end of the England tour.Until then, Domingo’s position had seemed less than secure, after a string of below-par performances including the loss of two major Test series in 2015-16 – in India and against England at home – an early exit from the 2016 World T20, and a bottom-place finish in an ODI triangular series in the West Indies. A four-person independent panel assigned to review South Africa’s performances over that period was expected to put Domingo’s position under scrutiny, but the cancellation of the review process gave him some breathing room.Since then, South Africa have bounced back, winning Test series against New Zealand and Sri Lanka at home either side of beating Australia 5-0 in a home ODI series and 2-1 in an away Test series.In a press conference at the end of the Sri Lanka Tests, Domingo had outlined his vision of how he would like South Africa to play under him, but refused to look too far beyond his current contract.”I could go tomorrow,” he had said. “Nothing is certain. I by no means look too far ahead in my coaching career. I take it one series at a time. You never know what’s around the corner in coaching. I’ve always felt that the support that I’ve got from the players is the most important thing. If you’ve still got the support of the players, that’s all that matters. I’ve always felt I had that. It’s out of my control, what happens happens.”

The seventh-wicket pair put on 166, the third successive century partnership of the innings

Himanshu Agrawal13-Mar-2022Jharkhand posted a mammoth 769 – their highest score since they began playing first-class cricket from the 2004-05 season onward – on the back of wicketkeeper-batter Kumar Kushagra’s commanding knock of 266 and No. 8 Shahbaz Nadeem’s unbeaten 123, his highest score in first-class cricket. These followed Virat Singh’s innings of 107 from Saturday, as Nagaland stared at a mountain to climb after spending 177 overs on the field across two days.It was a day where multiple records tumbled: Jharkhand achieved their highest first-class score by far, eclipsing the 556 they had made against Hyderabad in 2015; Eden Gardens witnessed its second-highest first-class total; and Kushagra bagged the second-highest score by a Jharkhand batter in first-class cricket.Kushagra and Nadeem added 166 for the seventh wicket, capitalising on some ineffective bowling as well as poor fielding from Nagaland, who dropped Kushagra on 132 on the second morning after also giving him lives on 10 and 44 on the first day. Eventually, Kushagra took only 269 balls to hit 266, 160 of which came in boundaries.He reached his double century off 213 deliveries in the morning session, and displayed a range of strokes throughout the day: a drive to bisect cover and mid-off, a pull between fine leg and deep square leg, a punch off the back foot and a loft over the bowler’s head, among others.At the other end, Nadeem displayed the patience and application of a frontline batter, grinding his way to a second first-class century. He got to his fifty off 100 balls, and reached the three-figure landmark off 196 deliveries. He hit 14 fours, and one effortless six, a casual walk down the pitch to legspinner Khrievitso Kense followed by a gentle loft over long-on.Nagaland’s frustrations on the day were summed up when a straight drive from Nadeem off medium-pacer Raja Swarnkar in the 161st over hit the stumps at the bowler’s end and ricocheted to the rope for four.Earlier, overnight batter Anukul Roy had got to a half-century before falling for 59 to end a 128-run partnership with Kushagra. Jharkhand were 489 for 6 at that point; if Nagaland thought they would soon be done chasing leather, Kushagra and Nadeem rid them of that notion by putting on the third successive century stand of the innings.