On the evidence of Shane Watson and Chirs Rogers’ opening union at New Road, this might just become another triumph out of the chaos

The Report by Daniel Brettig at New Road02-Jul-2013
ScorecardShane Watson and Chris Rogers put on 170 opening the batting together for the first time•Getty Images

Australia’s last great opening pair of Justin Langer and Matthew Hayden were unearthed only when Michael Slater was dropped for a combination of poor form and wayward behaviour. Twelve years later, Shane Watson and Chris Rogers have been thrown together as the most visible on-field consequence of David Warner’s suspension and Darren Lehmann’s arrival as coach. On the evidence of their opening union at New Road, this might just become another triumph out of the chaos.Even if the modesty of Worcestershire’s attack is accounted for, Watson made batting look easy during his domineering century before lunch and Rogers provided an immediately reassuring sight at the other end. Their first stand tallied 170 in all, precisely half of the Australians’ 340 before rain brought an early conclusion to a chilly day. Fluency came less easily to Ed Cowan and the captain Michael Clarke, though both passed 50 before falling prey to run-outs.Having wrought similar destruction in his first match restored to the top of the batting order against Somerset, Watson crashed the Worcs bowlers to all parts of the ground without ever looking like he was taking undue risks. Tellingly, it was Watson’s first hundred at first-class level since his most recent Test century, against India at Mohali in October 2010. The confidence imbued by Lehmann’s decision to publicly announce him as an Ashes opener as early as last week in Taunton has returned Watson to something like his imperious best.Rogers played with far less extravagance, but appeared an ideal partner, rotating the strike and leaving the ball with precision. Their unbeaten stand meant that Cowan, made redundant as an opening batsman after 18 months in the job, remained padded up in the tourists’ viewing area for the whole of the morning.When he did appear following Watson’s exit, Cowan found the going altogether more difficult, confirming the impression that he will struggle to impose himself on a bowling attack, a skill usually expected of a No. 3. Any hard decisions about the shape of Australia’s batting line-up can be expected to be made this week. Along with Lehmann and Rod Marsh, the national selector John Inverarity is also in Worcester, ready to submit his casting vote if required.A correct call at the toss by Clarke had given the visitors first use of a friendly, even-paced surface. This allowed Rogers and Watson to commence the opening partnership identified by Clarke and Lehmann as Australia’s best means by which to blunt England’s new-ball battery next week at Nottingham and beyond.

World-leaders … in run-outs

Australia’s unwholesome penchant for run-outs was on display again against Worcestershire, maintaining perhaps the only trend in which they have been world leaders over the past four years.
Since the start of the 2009 Ashes series in England, Australia players have been run out in Tests no fewer than 25 times, the most in the world by a margin of five. While Ricky Ponting was the most frequent transgressor with five during the period, Shane Watson, Phillip Hughes and Ed Cowan have all been caught short twice.
At New Road the causes were variable, as ever. Michael Clarke was called through by Cowan for a tight single and found short by a direct hit. Cowan stumbled and fell in mid-pitch, leaving him no chance to beat a throw from cover.
Watson is no expert on successful running, but agreed such details would be critical to the outcome of the Ashes. “It’s certainly a tough enough job to bat for long periods of time let alone giving the opposition one or two wickets,” he said. “We can’t afford to have our better batsmen run out.”

Wearing the Australia coat of arms for the first time since his one Test match in 2008, Rogers began a little nervously. He was perilously close to falling lbw to Charles Morris, making his first-class debut for Worcs, and his first few runs were snicked rather than struck. But Australia have employed Rogers for his record of making consistent runs, not the manner in which they arrive, and he was soon finding his stride, scoring at a steady trot with the occasional edge here and there.Watson had not taken part in the Australians’ second innings against Somerset, following a brazen 90 on day two that expressed his joy at returning to the top of the order more succinctly than any interview could. He continued on his merry way, gliding the first ball of the match to the backward point boundary and thereafter playing his shots with complete conviction, bordering on disdain.Several of Watson’s drives scorched through fields that did not have time to move, while the left-armer Jack Shantry had one delivery deposited beyond the sight screen with rare crispness – his preference for around the wicket provided Watson with an amiable angle by which to flick through the leg side. It was with one such stroke that Watson reached three figures, drawing strong applause from a plentiful crowd and warm congratulations from his new batting partner.The afternoon did not quite find Watson in the same flowing form of the morning, and he added only another seven runs to his lunch tally before swinging an offbreak by Moeen Ali to deep-backward square leg. Rogers reached 50 and continued on with increasing certainty, making it a surprise when he popped an off-side catch from a leading edge off Shantry.Cowan clattered one six off Moeen but was otherwise circumspect, while Clarke negotiated his first ball with a thick inside edge and had trouble locating the middle of his bat for some time. Together they negotiated 38 balls without a run during the hour before tea. The sequence was broken by a fortunate Clarke boundary, edged wide of the slip cordon, but both batsmen would fall short of the substantial scores they desired.Clarke was short of his ground when the stumps were hit from square leg by Alexei Kervezee. It appeared Cowan’s call, and Clarke looked notably miffed to depart in such a manner. Cowan followed his captain to the pavilion a little more than five overs later, stumbling in mid-pitch to turn a tight-ish run into an ignominious exit.Steve Smith and Phillip Hughes did not have much time to get established before the showers arrived, but they were batting in such a comfortable scenario because Watson and Rogers had excelled in the morning. England will be taking note.

England secured a 2-0 lead in the Investec Ashes series as they completed an inevitable victory against Australia with draining efficiency at the fag-end of the fourth day at Lord’s

The Report by David Hopps21-Jul-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsJoe Root struck twice before tea adding to his memorable Test after his 180•AFP

England secured a 2-0 lead in the Investec Ashes series as they completed an inevitable victory against Australia with relentless efficiency at the fag-end of the fourth day at Lord’s. Australia were four balls away from taking the match into a fifth day, with England forced to take a second new ball, the extra half-hour and finally resorting to silent prayer before completing a 347-run win in the final over.Before an impatient Lord’s crowd, eager to tick a box marked victory and head home, Australia’s last pair, James Pattinson and Ryan Harris, established Australia’s second highest stand of the innings – 43 runs awash with defiance – before the offspin of Graeme Swann trapped Pattinson lbw.At Trent Bridge, Ashton Agar and Phil Hughes registered the highest last-wicket partnership in Test history, and Australia’s highest of the match. If only the batsmen could bat, they might make a fist of this series.But Australia have lost six Tests in a row. England are vastly superior. It all feels like a reverse of 20 years ago. England are now the side in a golden era, able to relish high-class players and sound planning; Australia are a basket case.Returning on Monday morning might have been a suitable mini-punishment for England after they self-indulgently batted on for 18 minutes on the fourth morning in a failed attempt to present Joe Root with a double century. He fell attempting a ramp shot with nine men on the boundary, leaving Ryan Harris with praiseworthy match figures of 7 for 103. Aside from his wonderful innings, the manner of Root’s dismissal was unique for an Ashes Test and is perhaps worthy of an Honours Board on its own.England have four Ashes victories in a row, the strategy of dry pitches is working like a dream and Root’s 180 emphasised the gulf between the sides. The youngest English player to make a Test hundred at Lord’s, unsurprisingly he took the man-of-the-match award. “I’ve loved every minute of it,” he said.They made skilful use of a wearing Lord’s surface, with Swann predictably to the fore, and with Root also making a cheery guest appearance to break the back of the Australia innings just before tea. Australia will be particularly disturbed that they have completed back-to-back wins without major contributions from the likes of Alastair Cook and Kevin Pietersen.Australia have only straws to clutch at – Usman Khawaja acquitted himself responsibly at No. 3 to make his second Test half-century and their bowlers are displaying commendable spirit with both bat and ball – but only one side in Ashes history has ever won a series 3-2 after losing the first two Tests. England can surely assume the Ashes are as good as retained.Only one Test side, also, has ever survived for 173 overs or more in the fourth innings to draw a match. That was England against South Africa in Durban in 1939 when a Timeless Test was abandoned after nine days so England could catch a boat home. Australia’s task was to show they were not on a slow boat to nowhere, to transform a humiliation into a defeat respectable enough to keep body and soul together for the rest of the series.That task will be made more difficult while the air remains thick with corporate emails. As Australia’s players sought consolation in another defeat, Cricket Australia and their sacked coach, Micky Arthur, exchanged public statements and David Warner’s manager felt obliged to distance Warner from his own brother after he made venomous comments about Shane Watson. It cannot get much worse.Australia, bundled out for 128 first time around, were in disarray at 48 for 3 at lunch as they faced an entirely notional 583 to win. Swann led England’s victory push. Expectation of turn was enough to befuddle Rogers, who left a straight one, and Hughes, who reviewed his lbw decision, only to be reminded that, in these days of DRS, lbws are possible for offspinners operating around the wicket even if they do not straighten the ball.Before then, Watson fell in accustomed manner, lbw, this time hunted down by James Anderson. It was not the embarrassing exit of the first innings, when he planted his front pad and whipped across one and then compounded the error by wasting a review when stone dead. This time he was more respectably beaten by a ball that nipped back and, aware that there was no chance of a reprieve, shook his head mournfully at his batting partner, Rogers, and walked off.Clarke, coming in at No 5, faced a familiar story: 36 for 3. The cricketing argument for him to bat at No. 4 is offset by the statistical evidence that when he does so it halves his average. He might have departed before lunch, too, when he came down the pitch to Swann, was beaten on the outside edge by one that did not turn, only for Matt Prior, equally deceived, to miss the stumping.Root’s memorable Lord’s Test continued apace when he conjured up the wickets of Clarke and Khawaja shortly before tea, breaking their composed 98-run stand in a spell of 7-3-9-2. Clarke, Khawaja and Steve Smith all fell within the space of 21 deliveries.Root, encouraging hopes that he could develop into the fifth bowler England need on spin-friendly surfaces, found extravagant turn out of the rough to dismiss Clarke, but his dismissal was a soft one as he tickled a ball down the leg side to be caught by Alastair Cook at leg slip. Khawaja put up staunch resistance but followed in Root’s next over when he pushed at a ball that turned and edged gently to James Anderson at gully.Nevertheless, there was enough in Khawaja’s approach to suggest that he intends to battle for the right to become Australia’s long-term No. 3. He carried the fight against some short bowling from Stuart Broad immediately after lunch, in contrast to Clarke, who was struck on the shoulder and helmet in quick succession by the same bowler. He also blocked Swann out of the footholds with determination.Swann was a touch hampered by a lower-back injury, caused when Khawaja accidentally collided with him when dashing a single to the bowler’s end, and although he regularly found pronounced turn out of the footholds, with the ball travelling more than once straight to slip or gully, he required painkillers and after 17 overs eventually gave way to Root.Smith’s departure to the last ball before tea – the batsman unsuccessfully reviewing after he had been caught at the wicket off a thin inside nick against Tim Bresnan – completed a deflating end to the session after Australia’s top-order batsmen had shown as much application as at any time in the series.Australia’s frustrations were compounded by further issues over DRS after tea. Brad Haddin was adjudged lbw to Swann as he padded up to one that turned from around the wicket and then Agar’s brief cut and thrust through point – the area where he lives or dies – was silenced when England successfully turned to the review system to win a catch at the wicket off Bresnan.The TV umpire, Tony Hill, upheld it on noise (and Snicko supported him) but there was no mark on Hot Spot, inviting more grumbles from traditionalists wedded to a simpler time when an on-field umpire’s decision was law. Simpler times have gone for ever. And, in Australian cricket, there are more pressing things to carp about.

Matt Prior has suggested he would welcome England and Australian umpires officiating in Ashes Tests in an attempt to eradicate the errors that have marred the Investec Ashes series

George Dobell at Old Trafford04-Aug-2013Matt Prior has suggested he would welcome England and Australian umpires officiating in Ashes Tests in an attempt to eradicate the errors that have marred the Investec Ashes series.England have become increasingly frustrated by the unpredictability of the umpiring in the series. While they are sympathetic to the on-field officials, understanding that mistakes are inevitable in such circumstances, they are less phlegmatic about mistakes after the involvement of the DRS.The latest controversy concerned an appeal against David Warner, after England were convinced his attempted pull shot had resulted in an edge to wicketkeeper Prior. Hot Spot, which has looked an increasingly unreliable tool in this series, showed nothing, but audio replays suggested an edge. The TV umpire upheld the on-field umpire’s decision of not out. Snickometer, which is not part of the DRS, also backed up England’s case.It left England “frustrated” in Prior’s words, and while he remains supportive of the DRS in general, he did suggest the system may require some examination and expressed a willingness to abandon one of the founding principles of Test umpiring in recent years: that of neutrality.”I honestly don’t care where the umpires are from as long as the right decisions are made,” Prior said. “I think that is the most important thing. You need to make sure that decisions are correct.”It doesn’t matter if they are Aussies or English or anybody else; all you want is the right outcome at the end of the day.”There was disbelief [when Warner was given not out] because he hit it. That’s why we referred it and when you are that sure and it is still given not out it is quite frustrating. That’s why there was a bit of chat around.”There wasn’t any evidence [from Hot Spot] and that is frustrating. All you can go on from a referral point of view was how you see it. Alastair Cook and I were pretty adamant he had hit it. I think Snicko shows he did. We were right in referring it, but unfortunately it did not go our way.”It is pretty frustrating for everyone at the moment,” he said. “At no time will we ever be critical of an umpire making the wrong decision on the field. Everyone makes mistakes in a day. I know more than anyone: it all happens quickly. Everyone is looking at me for DRS decisions and it happens quickly.”I have always said I am a big fan of the DRS. It works and it is the way forward but once you use a review you have to then get a decision right. Once it goes up to the third umpire the decision that comes out has to be the correct decision. Whether the technology needs to be looked at or how they use it, I don’t know. But for the players at the moment that is the biggest frustration.”ESPNcricinfo understands that the possibility of utilising non-neutral umpires in the Ashes has been discussed, but that the Australian and English boards are reluctant to set a precedent that could result in non-neutral umpires around the world. Instead, the boards are considering inviting overseas umpires to officiate in their own domestic cricket with a view to helping them develop their skills.At present, only four umpires – Marais Erasmus, Tony Hill, Kumar Dharmasena and Aleem Dar – are eligible to stand in Ashes series as the rest on the ICC’s elite panel are from either England or Australia.

More than six weeks after Cricket South Africa chief executive Haroon Lorgat offered to “apologise” to anyone who he had offended in the BCCI, Jagmohan Dalmiya, the interim BCCI chief, has welcomed Lorgat’s offer

Amol Karhadkar04-Sep-2013More than six weeks after Cricket South Africa chief executive Haroon Lorgat offered to “apologise” to anyone who he had offended in the BCCI, Jagmohan Dalmiya, the interim BCCI chief, has welcomed Lorgat’s offer.”Lorgat is a nice gentleman but it would be nice of him if he apologises,” Dalmiya said in Kolkata, when asked about his reaction to Lorgat’s offer that was made immediately after he was appointed the CSA chief executive despite the BCCI raising its objections.While this may appear as softening of the BCCI’s stand with Lorgat, the deadlock over the BCCI going to trim what was till a few days ago a tour of three Tests, seven ODIs and two Twenty20s, prevailed for another day.While Dalmiya reiterated what the BCCI president N Srinivasan had said three days ago that “the tour is on”, there was no formal exchange between representatives of the two boards. Even though Srinivasan, board secretary Sanjay Patel and treasurer Ravi Savant were together for most of the day along with other key executives at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai, it was understood that the South Africa tour itinerary “wasn’t even mentioned” in their discussions.”The sole purpose of the meeting was to proof read and sign the annual report before it goes for printing ahead of the AGM,” said an insider who was a part of the proceedings.Across the continent, CSA indicated it would send out a release on Wednesday afternoon to reassure the fans and thank them for their support, but later said they would “try for tomorrow”. Officials contacted at various franchises said they had no knowledge of any progress on the BCCI-CSA issue and were awaiting further instructions, although many of them expressed concern over a curtailed tour.It appears that unless CSA accedes to the cricket bosses in India, the situation is unlikely to change. At least till the BCCI AGM on September 29.

By the time Neil Broom had walked off at the end of the Otago innings having scored an unbeaten 117, the Perth Scorchers were looking at a target of 243 – far beyond their reach

The Report by Mohammad Isam25-Sep-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsNeil Broom hit eight sixes in his unbeaten 117•BCCI

Exactly at which point Neil Broom had begun to take off is hard to tell. It could be when he struck Burt Cockley for three consecutive fours in the 14th over, or just the sight of Ryan ten Doeschate at the other end, upon which he hit the first of his eight sixes. One can be quite certain that Simon Katich had no idea, because by the time Broom had walked off at the end of the Otago innings having scored an unbeaten 117, the Perth Scorchers captain was looking at a total – 242 for four in 20 overs – far beyond the reaches of his young team.And it remained so, as they made 180 for 6, and Otago finishing with an emphatic 62-run win. With the win, the New Zealand side not only kick-started their Champions League campaign, they set a few records on the way.They have now completed a streak of 14 consecutive Twenty20 wins, second only to Sialkot Stallion’s 25-match winning streak. They had made the highest team score in the Champions League, as well as their best as a team, and Broom became only the fourth batsman to score a hundred in the competition, and the first in two years.Broom was the main man for Otago, hammering, swatting and cracking sixes and fours on his way to a 56-ball unbeaten 117. He smashed nine fours and eight sixes. He played out 14 dot balls, most of them at the start of his innings when he saw two wickets fall in consecutive balls in the third over. There were some nervy moments during his 67-run third wicket stand with Derek de Boorder but that was, as it was later understood by Otago’s continuous onslaught, a way to unnerve the Scorchers’ bowlers. There were some close calls, including a dropped catch at slip by Adam Voges when de Boorder’s slash only found the edge in the fourth over.After de Boorder fell to Voges after making 45 off 28 balls with five fours and two sixes, ten Doeschate weighed in. The Dutch allrounder straightaway went after the bowling, and increasingly, Broom too became aggressive.Broom saw ten Doeschate survive a catch at long-on, the ball trickling over the rope, and still go after the bowling. Both were now on the charge, hounding the younger bowlers with boundaries off the first ball of their overs. They brought up their 100-run stand in just 39 balls, and Otago reached the 200-run mark in the 18th over.Soon, Broom reached his maiden Twenty20 hundred with a swivel pull, one of many leg-side sixes during his marauding knock. He struck three consecutive sixes in the 19th over, the second of which brought up his century. His second fifty came in just 17 balls.The Scorchers’ torment worsened when Liam Davis holed out at third man off the first ball of their innings. Ashton Agar, the other opener, fell off the last ball of the over, top-edging to the keeper. And as it happens in such dire situations, there was a run-out, Katich becoming the victim of poor calling with Voges. From 11 for 3, a successful chase looked improbable, to put it mildly.Otago’s blitz from 9 for 2 to 242 for 4 should have inspired the Scorchers but they didn’t find a Broom among themselves. Only a 65-run fourth wicket stand between Hilton Cartwright and Voges took them out of the slide, before Cartwright added another 51 runs for the fifth wicket with Ashton Turner. Cartwright was unbeaten on 69 off 53 balls with six fours and a couple of sixes.But this will be the most memorable day in Broom’s Twenty20 career, having not played for New Zealand since 2010. Otago too have proved themselves as a strong domestic side, though they have a lot to prove in the rest of this tournament.

A round-up of all IPL related news on April 23, 2015

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Apr-2015Delhi Daredevils fast bowler Mohammed Shami has been ruled out of the remainder of the IPL season due to a knee injury. The IPL technical committee has approved a replacement for the team, though a player is yet to be named.Earlier this month, Daredevils had confirmed that Shami was unavailable for selection because he had “a minor knee injury” and was “consulting a specialist to chart a quick recovery process.”During the World Cup, Shami had missed the group game against UAE due to a left-knee injury, but recovered from that setback to finish as the fourth highest wicket-taker in the tournament, with 17 scalps from seven matches.Shami was one of 10 players retained by Daredevils last December when the franchise decided to overhaul the squad and released 13 players.Munro likely to replace Finch
Colin Munro, the left-hand New Zealand batsman, is likely to replace the injured Aaron Finch in the Mumbai Indians squad. Finch was ruled out for 12 weeks after undergoing surgery for a hamstring injury he suffered during Mumbai Indians’ match against Rajasthan Royals on April 14.Munro has played 14 T20 internationals for New Zealand. He has scored 1216 runs from 70 T20 games at a strike-rate of 140. He has been in prolific form of late, albeit in first-class cricket, with three centuries in his previous four matches, the latest being 281 off 167 balls for Auckland against Central Districts last month. He hit a record 23 sixes during that innings.Du Plessis ‘learning’ the finisher’s role
Faf du Plessis bats in the top order for South Africa. In previous IPLs, he’s opened the batting for Chennai Super Kings too. This season, however, he hasn’t batted higher than No. 4 for the franchise, and says he is getting used to the role of a finisher.”My role is more of gelling the rest of the batting unit together,” du Plessis told iplt20.com. “We have so many power-hitters and I am not necessarily one of them. I am a power-hitter when I am opening the batting but coming in at the latter stages and hitting is a different skill. I am not used to it but I am learning. My batting position is flexible in the team. If we lose wickets upfront, I go in at No. 4 and if we have a good opening partnership MS goes in ahead of me.”It is a role similar to what S Badrinath performed for Super Kings before he was let go. Du Plessis batted at No. 6 against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Wednesday, making 33 off 18 balls, and did not get a chance against Sunrisers Hyderabad despite Super Kings losing four wickets. MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja and Dwayne Bravo were promoted ahead of du Plessis in that game.”It is a new thing for me and something that I want to improve on. My whole life I have batted higher up the order and it is good for my game that I have been given an opportunity to learn how to finish games.”I wouldn’t mind going back up the order. But we have such an explosive opening pair now and they are doing a great job. I’ll just do whatever the captain and the coach tell me to do, but opening the batting is nice.”Enjoyed taking Dhoni ‘s wicket
One of Royal Challengers Bangalore’s best performers in their 27-run defeat to Chennai Super Kings was legspinner Yuzvendra Chahal, who took 3 for 40. His scalps were those of Brendon McCullum, Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni, arguably three of the most dangerous opposition batsmen.”I enjoyed taking Dhoni’s wicket,” 24-year-old Chahal told iplt20.com. “To get a batsman like him in the slog overs is huge. We know what he is capable of doing in those last few overs.”Dhoni was dismissed for 13 off 13 balls in the 15th over, but Chahal’s challenge had begun in the second over of the game. “[Daniel] Vettori sir had told me beforehand that I would be bowling with the new ball,” he said. “It was our plan to stifle McCullum with spin early on. I was just trying to bowl accurately with a few subtle variations. I happened to bowl a slower wrong one and it got me McCullum’s wicket.”Chahal got hit for three sixes by Raina, but he was not too concerned. “Two of them went from the toe of the bat and this is a small ground. So, I wasn’t worried about those sixes.” He had Raina caught next ball.”Virat and Vettori sir have given me a lot of confidence in that regard,” Chahal said. “Vettori sir tells us not to think about the ball you’ve been hit. Forget about it and concentrate on the next ball. That really helps in a T20 game. Virat always tells me not to worry about being hit for sixes. He backs me to bowl whatever I want to bowl and keep a big heart.”

Heavy monsoon rain in the first half of the day in Fatullah meant no play was possible on the second day of the Test

The Report by Sidharth Monga11-Jun-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
4:08

Muthu: India face opening dilemma

Heavy monsoon rain in the first half of the day in Fatullah meant no play was possible on the second day of the Test.A quick 150 from Shikhar Dhawan on the first day, complemented by M Vijay’s 89, seemed to have made up lost time on day one, but a loss of a whole day on a slow and low pitch was a severe blow to chances of a result.With only 56 overs of play possible on the first day and the forecast for the remaining three days not looking decidedly better, the one-off Test seemed headed for a draw. Which should not come as a surprise: there is a reason this is the first time a Test is being played in June in Bangladesh. June is when the monsoon hits the country with all its intensity.If the Test is drawn India, placed currently at No. 3, will slip to No. 4 in the ICC Test rankings. While a draw will give take Bangladesh to 41.21 rating points from 39, it won’t bring about a change in their ninth rank, ahead of only Zimbabwe.

Chris Gayle only met his Somerset team-mates hours before the match but three years after they first tried to sign him he delivered in style with a domineering innings to set up a last-ball victory

Tim Wigmore at Chelmsford29-May-2015
ScorecardChris Gayle delivered – and how – on his first appearance for Somerset [file picture]•BCCI

The Gayle has landed. Three years ago Somerset were salivating over the prospect of Chris Gayle playing for them in the T20 Blast, only for his rapprochement with the West Indies Board to scupper those plans. But Gayle had always said that, when he made his belated debut in England’s T20 competition, it would be for Somerset.The standing ovation that greeted his dismissal spoke of the impact Gayle had made upon the Chelmsford crowd, supposedly one of the most raucous away crowds he could have faced. So too did the desperation of hoards of fans afterwards to get autographs, selfies or, in the case of a few, even a kiss on the cheeks. It spoke of a cricketer with transcendental power.Chelmsford had enjoyed – endured even – an archetypal Gayle T20 innings, even down to the almost ostentatious care with which he played himself in. After leaving a succession of balls, holding his bat carefully inside the line, it took Gayle until his sixth ball, a gentle push to midwicket, to get off the mark. Eighteen balls in and Gayle had only six runs.

“Beautiful,” says Gayle

“Beautiful, it’s a great start,” Chris Gayle said after summoning a matchwinning 92 on his first innings for Somerset, hours after meeting his team-mates for the first time. “A last-ball thriller in my first game so I can’t really complain. We got across the line. It’s a short stay over here, so I’m looking forward to entertaining the fans as much as possible.”
As so often in T20, Gayle batted with caution in the Powerplay before exploding later.
“It’s too cold for me but I stuck it out,” he joked. “It was something myself and Trescothick discussed in the middle. I didn’t want to make such a slow start and then get out because I know with my capabilities, I knew the runs would come so I’m very happy.
“It’s been good, I haven’t really had a chance to have a net, I’ve been in London and this was the first day catching up with the team. It’s a mental thing, it won’t happen like that all the time.”

Then it happened. Flats were cleared, marquee roofs were hit and dozens of spectators who had parked their cars were left fearing for the safety of their vehicles. Having cleared humongous grounds the world over, Gayle seemed like a man affronted by the puny size of Chelmsford’s boundaries. With laconic foot movement – and with such power and timing, why bother? – Gayle swatted deliveries through mid-on and cleared the legside boundary with six sixes, each more awesome than the last.Gayle’s impact goes beyond his mere runs. That much was clear from how Essex coped once he had located his swagger: they bowled five wides to him after he had reached 50. Straight after reaching that landmark, Gayle cut Reece Topley to third man. It was hard and low, but David Masters was in a perfect position and should not have shelled it. Gayle’s next shot seemed like an innocuous forward push, but thundered through mid-on for four. After another four, Gayle launched the final ball straight over the scaffolding behind the bowler’s arm.Suddenly, Somerset were cruising towards their target of 177. It looked, too, as if Gayle, representing his 12th club in T20 cricket, was en route to his 15th T20 century. But after he was sharply taken at Greg Smith at midwicket on 92, Somerset almost contrived to make a mess of the 13 required in ten balls.Tom Cooper nonchalantly flicked his first ball for six over square leg, but was run out in a moment of panic next ball. Essex entrusted Ravi Bopara with the final over, and he almost succeeded in preventing Somerset get the five more they required to win. But a single scampered from the final ball, after Lewis Gregory had dropped the ball into the legside, ensured Gayle’s belated Somerset debut had the result it deserved.However enticing the prospect of a Gayle-Trescothick opening partnership, the Chelmsford crowd also longed for Essex success after three defeats in their first four T20 games.And for all the focus on Gayle, exuding a typically unperturbed air patrolling the infield, Essex have a belligerent left-handed overseas opener of their own. In the third over of the innings, Jesse Ryder played three ferocious pulls off Sohail Tanvir, the second sailing over the square leg boundary for six. With his classical technique, Tom Westley provided an ideal folly; together the two added 90 in only 8.1 overs.It was a position from which Essex would have had designs on 220. Jim Allenby ensured otherwise, bowling wicket-to-wicket at a speed that forced the batsmen to generate their own pace. Besides the openers, no other player passed 16.Yet again, Somerset were grateful to the death bowling nous of Alfonso Thomas, whose final over yielded three runs and three wickets. In the process he became the fourth ever bowler to pass 250 T20 wickets. Few bowlers have more T20 pedigree, which is why South Africa attempted to entice him out of his Kolpak deal with Somerset in 2012 to play in the World T20.

David Warner has spoken for the first time about the prospect of a “rebel” cricket league bankrolled by the Essel Group tycoon Subhash Chandra

Daniel Brettig19-Jun-20151:58

Brettig: Warner’s Essel Group warning must not be ignored

David Warner has spoken for the first time about the prospect of a “rebel” cricket league bankrolled by the Essel Group tycoon Subhash Chandra, saying the vast sums of money mooted for the signatures of the world’s leading cricketers could be impossible to ignore.Alongside Australia’s captain Michael Clarke, Warner was reportedly near the top of the Essel Group’s list of targets, with a story in the suggesting he would be in line for a contract worth $50 million over 10 years if he made the leap. While stressing his commitment to Test cricket and national duty, Warner said such figures could not simply be rejected out of hand and challenged other athletes to be honest with the public about the role financial rewards played in their thinking.”At the moment I’m contracted to Cricket Australia, the fact is I’m playing for Australia, it’s what I do, it’s what I love,” Warner told ESPNcricinfo. “But these guys are talking about big sums of money and, let’s be honest, if people are saying to you that they don’t play for the money then they’re having a laugh, because every single person who gets offered this or gets offered that, what happens? They always take it. I think athletes in general have to be a bit more honest and say that’s what’s happening.”This is a company that’s coming in and trying to take over world cricket. At the end of the day if this company comes in and wipes out who you play for and you want to play cricket, what happens there? Who pays you? That’s the thing. Ultimately we’re working, we love what we do, I cherish the baggy green and if Test cricket exists I’ll continue to keep playing Test cricket, because from where I’ve started to where I am now, I love that and I’ll keep cherishing that.”David Warner: “I think at the moment the players have got a lot to think about and a lot to weigh up.”•Getty Images

The scope of Chandra’s plans remains somewhat murky, from the registration of business names and online domain names for alternative boards in all cricket’s major nations to less ambitious public pronouncements about an improved version of the Indian Cricket League of 2008. Warner, though, indicated that cricket’s present structure may not have room to co-exist with the new venture.”Everyone says you can’t put a price on the baggy green, and you can’t,” he said. “But the simple thing is if the rebel league comes and takes off, I don’t think there is going to be Test cricket. That’s where people are going to be like ‘who are these people, where is Cricket Australia going to go with this, how are we going to play every other Test nation when some of those nations are definitely going to go on board’.”I can’t talk on their behalf, but if you weigh the numbers up I think what they’re talking about sum-wise it’s going to be hard for a lot of the minnow countries to say no, and that’s the scary thing. Then it’s going to be Australia versus England versus India all the time. Cricket’s in a great position at the moment. It’s interesting times ahead and I think at the moment the players have got a lot to think about and a lot to weigh up.”Warner’s comments could raise some eyebrows, notably in the months after Cricket Australia sought to protect their playing stocks by offering numerous players the added security of multi-year national contracts, a privilege commonly reserved for only a select few.As of the start of Australia’s tour of England, these deals were yet to be formally signed by the players ahead of the expiry date of existing contracts on June 30. The team performance manager Pat Howard has been working diligently to find out as much as he can about the Essel Group’s plans.While the current mix of ICC-sanctioned international tours and domestic Twenty20 tournaments has provided plenty of additional income streams for players, the game is entering a newly uncertain and entrepreneurial phase with a succession of new tournament concepts springing up, many under the guide of “exhibition matches” for retired cricketers.”I consider myself lucky and others would as well, with what’s going on in today’s cricket,” he said. “The opportunities to play three different formats of the game in 10 different countries at different times of the year is a special thing, and the rest of the world is seeing a lot more talent out there.”

Rachel Priest’s maiden half-century in T20Is powered New Zealand Women to a six-wicket win against India Women in Bangalore, victory also sealing the series for the visitors

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Jul-2015
Scorecard2:50

‘We want to have a clean sweep’ – Priest

Rachel Priest’s maiden half-century in T20Is powered New Zealand Women to a six-wicket win against India Women in Bangalore, victory also sealing the series for the visitors.Set 137 for the win, New Zealand lost their captain Suzie Bates off the second ball of the innings, and slumped to further trouble when Sophie Devine, who broke the record for fastest T20 fifty on Saturday, was caught by Jhulan Goswami off her own bowling. However, Priest led a recovery, marshaling a 71-run stand for the third wicket to Leigh Kasperek to put the team back on track. Priest drilled 10 fours and two sixes during her 34-ball 60, but both she and Kasperek fell within quick succession of each other by the 11th over to open the door slightly for India.
However, Amy Satterthwaite and Katie Perkins remained unfazed, chipping in with handy twenties to take the team home inside 18 overs.Earlier, India, after being inserted, were pegged back by early strikes from Devine and Hannah Rowe. Vellaswami Vanitha top-scored with 41 and strung together crucial partnerships with Harmanpreet Kaur (30) and Veda Krishnamurthy (29), but were unable to really accelerate and push on to a big total.