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Ross Taylor, the New Zealand captain, believes his team remains on top in the first Test against West Indies despite two late wickets from Sunil Narine

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Jul-2012Ross Taylor, the New Zealand captain, believes his team remains on top in the first Test against West Indies despite two late wickets from Sunil Narine. New Zealand ended the day at 232 for 4 but a few overs earlier they had been 223 for 2, before Darren Sammy’s decision to stick with the old ball paid off when Narine bowled Taylor for 45 and then denied a century to Martin Guptill, who skied a catch to mid-on for 97.The breakthroughs took some of the gloss off an impressive day for New Zealand, whose batting in the warm-up match on the same ground was disappointing. But on a pitch that is expected to become more difficult for batting as the match wears on, Taylor said he was happy with the way the New Zealanders had performed on the first day of the series.”I think we’re on top,” Taylor said. “I’m sure they would have liked to have got a few more wickets. I guess the momentum shift a little bit, getting two wickets with myself and Guptill, they would have been a little bit more happy with the day. But I think we’re on top and it’s going to be a hard batting track out there in the third and fourth innings, so we need to score a lot of runs in this first innings.”It’s not a total [that is our target]. It’s more if we can still be batting … at tea we’ll have a sufficient total on the board. It is quite hot out there and hopefully we can keep them out there as long as possible, all going well.”Taylor was especially pleased with the way the openers, Guptill and Daniel Flynn, fought through the new ball to put on 97 for the first wicket. It was just the second time in eight years that a New Zealand opening pair had reached lunch on the first day of a Test with their wickets intact, and it was all the more impressive given that Flynn batted through illness.”They batted very well,” Taylor said. “Flynny was a bit sick out there and he gutsed it out, and he scored a good 40 and it’s not often our opening partnerships go wicketless in the first session, so that’s a positive for us and hopefully they can continue to do that. [Flynn had] just a sore tummy. He was spewing up and things.”Eventually, both openers fell to the spin of Narine, who ended the day with 3 for 73, including his first wicket in Test cricket. He bowled 28 overs and Taylor said the batsmen had found him easier to handle than in the limited-overs games, despite his late wickets.”Red ball and white ball are totally different,” he said. “Red ball, we don’t have to go after him, he has to come and get us. With the white ball we have to attack him and it showed today that if you sit on him, he goes searching. He picked up a couple of wickets towards the end there, but I thought the way we played him was very good and if we can continue that good work then we can get a sizeable total tomorrow.”Narine said it had been hard work for the bowlers on the first day, but West Indies were happy with how the day had ended.”It’s a very good wicket to bat on,” Narine said. “I think once you put down your head and but I don’t think it’s much of a problem. There’s a little bounce and turn in the wicket but you still have to pitch the ball in the right areas. We’re happy the way the day has finished. The way New Zealand started it could have been worse. So we’ll take this and come out fighting tomorrow.”

The allrounder James Franklin is the surprise omission from New Zealand’s list of contracted players for the next year

Brydon Coverdale01-Jul-2011Allrounder James Franklin is the surprise omission from New Zealand’s list of contracted players for the next year. Since his return to the one-day side in December, Franklin has topped New Zealand’s ODI batting averages with 325 runs at 54.16, but after a disappointing World Cup, he has been left out of the 20-man list.Also gone from the list are Test fast bowler Brent Arnel, allrounder Grant Elliott, wicketkeeper Gareth Hopkins, Test opener Tim McIntosh, offspinner Jeetan Patel, fast bowler Daryl Tuffey, and retired batsman Scott Styris. The gloveman Reece Young, allrounders Rob Nicol and Luke Woodcock, and the fast bowler Trent Boult have all won contracts.There was also a return for the batsmen Daniel Flynn and Neil Broom, who missed out last year having previously been on the list. But there was no such welcome back for Franklin, 30, who was in a similar position last year when he was cut from the contract list, and considered turning his back on New Zealand and using his Irish passport to become a local player in county cricket.But the lure of the black cap was enough to keep Franklin pushing for national selection, and when he returned for the one-day series in India in December, he starred with 72 not out and 98 not out in his first matches back. Franklin was elevated to the contract list during the season and played for New Zealand in Test, ODI and Twenty20 cricket during the summer.He also won a place at the World Cup, where his major impact was blasting most of the 31 runs New Zealand took off one over against Canada, the third-best over in ODI history. The acting national selection manager, Mark Greatbatch, said it was a difficult call to leave out experienced players like Franklin, but changes were needed after New Zealand won none of their five Tests and only eight of their 27 ODIs over the past 12 months.”It was a tough year performance-wise,” Greatbatch told ESPNcricinfo. “If we keep picking the same players, we’re probably going to get the same results. It was a little bit of a cleanout. There have been some good players left out but they do have the opportunity in first-class cricket to press their claims. Some of these younger guys have caught up with some of the guys who have gone out, or gone past them, in our opinion.”Some guys are playing shorter form only. In Franklin’s case, he picked up points in the shorter forms but he only played one Test out of five last year. He’d like to get his bowling back to where it was four or five years ago in Test cricket. We don’t feel that’s there at the moment. We’ve picked a group of other players we feel can try and improve our Test cricket in the next two or three years.”Young, Bennett and Woodcock started international cricket last season and made the most of their opportunities and are likely to feature prominently in the year ahead. Both Flynn and Broom have worked hard to develop their game after missing out on an NZC contract last year and their inclusion is a clear indication to all players that the door is never closed,” Greatbatch said.Under the new captain Ross Taylor, New Zealand head to Zimbabwe later this year for a Test series, before playing two Tests in Australia. They then head home to host Zimbabwe and South Africa, before a trip to the Caribbean next year.New Zealand contracted players: Hamish Bennett, Trent Boult, Neil Broom, Daniel Flynn, Martin Guptill, Chris Martin, Brendon McCullum, Nathan McCullum, Andy McKay, Kyle Mills, Rob Nicol, Jacob Oram, Jesse Ryder, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Daniel Vettori, BJ Watling, Kane Williamson, Luke Woodcock, Reece Young.

A tie was just as good as a win for India A as they qualified for the tri-series final in a freakish run-fest at Worcester, with both teams locked on 343

Cricinfo staff06-Jul-2010
ScorecardAbhinav Mukund ensured India were always in the game•Getty Images

A tie was just as good as a win for India A as they qualified for the tri-series final in a freakish run-fest at New Road, with both teams locked on 343. India were a point behind West Indies A and needed at least a tie to get the two points to ensure qualification, and they didn’t give up till the last ball. Ian Bell’s 158 carried England Lions to what seemed like an unassailable 343, but the Indian batsmen, led by Abhinav Mukund, always ensured that they were in the game.The Lions innings was built around two century partnerships at the top of the order, both driven by Bell. The wicketkeeper Steve Davies added 107 with him for the second wicket, contributing 54 off 52 balls. Iqbal Abdulla, the left-arm seamer, got India the breakthrough when he trapped Davies lbw. It was only temporary relief for India as Darren Stevens joined Bell to script the highest partnership of the innings. The pair added a further 154 off nearly 22 overs to push the Lions towards a massive score. Stevens made 64 off 61 balls before he was dismissed by Abhimanyu Mithun, with the score at 267 in the 42nd over.Bell reached his century off 117 balls, but his next 50 came off just 21. He hit 20 fours and a six before he was dismissed by the seamer Jaskaran Singh for 158 off 143 balls. All the frontline bowlers got smashed, with the exception of Abdulla, who took 2 for 56.It was hard work for the Lions bowlers as well, as the Indian openers added 79 in quick time. Shikhar Dhawan made a brisk 44 off 26 balls before he was dismissed by Liam Plunkett. Ajinkya Rahane then joined Abhinav for a steady stand of 74 to keep their side in the contest. Abhinav then added 41 with Cheteshwar Pujara and 56 with Manoj Tiwary before he was dismissed for 114, bowled by Ravi Bopara. The well-set Abhinav’s presence meant that India were always in with a chance.Fortunately for India, the lower order didn’t disappoint after Abhinav departed. Tiwary blazed 46 off 36 balls and when he was out, Wriddhiman Saha took over. Saha added 38 in quick time with Manish Pandey to take India closer. However, a double-strike by Plunkett tilted the game towards the Lions but Saha wasn’t giving up without a fight. Abdulla’s last-ditch cameo of 13 off just five balls swung it back India’s way. There was further drama off the penultimate ball as Abdulla was run-out after taking a single. India needed two to win and one to tie but they stole a bye to level the scores and seal their place in the final, also against the Lions, on Thursday.

Wicketkeeper found first series “mentally draining” but open to additional responsiblity vs Sri Lanka

Matt Roller14-Aug-2024Jamie Smith has revealed that he found his first three weeks as a Test cricketer “mentally draining”, but he is open to shuffling up England’s batting order to No. 6 against Sri Lanka in Ben Stokes’ absence.Smith kept wicket tidily throughout England’s 3-0 clean sweep against West Indies and made two attacking half-centuries down the order: 70 from No. 7 on debut at Lord’s, and 95 from No. 8 at Edgbaston after Mark Wood was deployed as a nightwatcher. And if England opt to replace the hamstrung Stokes with a seamer, Smith could be promoted to No. 6.Related

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“It won’t bother me at all,” he said. “One of the things that’s been great in my career so far is I feel like I’ve batted in a variety of different positions and roles anyway, and I’ve gained some of these experiences. They might be at a lesser level in the County Championship, but I still feel like I’ve been able to adapt and get some experience under my belt – and the difference between No. 7 and No. 6 isn’t a massively great one anyway.”England have opted against calling up a replacement for Stokes, which leaves them with two options as to how they balance their side against Sri Lanka. They could bring in the uncapped Essex batter Jordan Cox at No. 6, leaving them with four frontline bowling options; or they could shift Smith and Chris Woakes up a spot, and replace Stokes with a seamer in Matthew Potts or Olly Stone.Smith has primarily batted at No. 4 in the Championship over the last two seasons – albeit as a specialist batter, with Ben Foakes taking the gloves for Surrey. Keeping wicket contributed to his workload against West Indies, and he admitted that he found Test cricket “more intense” than anything he had experienced previously in his career.Smith made two half-centuries in his first Test series, including 70 at Lord’s on debut•Getty Images

“The games didn’t go five days,” Smith said, “but for me, it was just mentally quite draining. It probably took more out of me than I was expecting, with all the emotions that came with it, the expectation, and a bit of added pressure… It’s been different for me. Mentally and physically, it was quite a lot in three weeks, going from county cricket into that, and with the potential for more stuff to come.”It prompted Smith to ask Birmingham Phoenix, his Hundred team, to miss their match against Southern Brave straight after the third Test. “It was nice to have just an extra week of a breather, basically,” he said. “I was very thankful to Birmingham for allowing that to happen.” He is now back involved as they push for a spot in the knockout stages.The break allowed Smith time to evaluate his first few weeks as a Test cricketer. “It was nice to have a little bit more reflection time,” he said. “It was a successful start, but it’s only just the start. It was nice to get out there and experience it all, and be in an environment which allows you to thrive, and where you can play with good confidence and be yourself.”Playing in the Hundred has also given Smith the chance to continue keeping ahead of the Sri Lanka series. “If I didn’t play in this, I would have had no match practice,” he said. “It will be difficult again going back to the red ball: it brings its own unique challenges when keeping. But there will be enough time to practise that in the lead-up to the series.”Smith made an impressive start to his Test career•Getty Images

Smith made his international debut last September in an ODI series against Ireland and England see him as an all-format player in the long term. But it will be a challenge to manage his workload in the next four months: they have a white-ball series against Australia straight after the Sri Lanka Tests, followed by Test series in Pakistan and New Zealand and a white-ball tour against West Indies sandwiched between them.”It’s in the back of your mind slightly with how busy the schedule is,” Smith said. “There seems to be a bit of a backlog over the next few months. It’s my aspiration to play all formats for England… but you are always looking further down the line on potential workloads, and jumping around series to series is not sustainable for anyone, really, with it being so crammed at the moment.”Smith’s situation is further complicated by the fact that he and his girlfriend are expecting their first child in December, which could affect his availability for some of England’s Test series in New Zealand. “It’s not been massively discussed,” he said. “I’ll just play it by ear… there’s no guarantee that I’ll be selected for anything moving forward anyway.”KP Snacks, the Official Team Partner of The Hundred, is continuing its initiative to build 100 new community cricket pitches across England and Wales, with 35 brand new pitches going down in 2024. To find out more and search for your nearest pitch, click here.

Cites disagreement with SportScotland over attempts to move on from last year’s damning racism report

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Mar-2023Cricket Scotland chair Anjan Luthra has announced his immediate resignation after just six months in the role, amid the ongoing fallout from last year’s damning report into racism in the Scottish game.Luthra tweeted a statement on Friday morning in which he expressed his disagreement with the way SportScotland – the body that oversaw his appointment as chair – was looking to run cricket, claiming it was bowing to “the demands of a lobby group and a handful of individuals associated with them – even if that means the wider sport and community will be negatively impacted”.Cricket Scotland was placed into special measures last year after the Changing the Boundaries report found 448 examples of institutional racism in the game.Luthra said in a six-month update earlier in March that progress had been made on diversity, only for his comments to be criticised by anti-racism organisation Running out Racism. According to the BBC, four members of Cricket Scotland’s equality and anti-racism working group subsequently resigned in protest.”Cricket Scotland can announce that Anjan Luthra has resigned as chair with immediate effect,” the board said in a statement. “The organisation thanks Anjan for his hard work and input during his time as chair.”The Changing the Boundaries report, carried out by Plan4Sport, was commissioned after revelations by former players Majid Haq and Qasim Sheikh, both of whom have been critical of the board’s recent efforts.As well as lacking a chair, Cricket Scotland is also currently without a chief executive, after it was announced that interim CEO Gordon Arthur would be stepping down for personal reasons at the end of April.

India captain wants to use Jadeja “a lot more with the bat”, citing example of his promotion in the T20I series

Andrew Fidel Fernando06-Mar-20225:44

Rohit: Jadeja just ups his game every time we see him

R Ashwin is an “all-time great”. Ravindra Jadeja is one of the “top allrounders”. This is what captain Rohit Sharma had to say about India’s two most consistent match-winners at home, after they took 15 wickets between them in the innings-and-222-run victory over Sri Lanka in the first Test in Mohali.In the second innings, in which Ashwin took four wickets, he surpassed the tally of Kapil Dev, finishing with 436 Test wickets to Kapil’s 434. This makes Ashwin the second-highest wicket-taker for India, only behind Anil Kumble.”To me, he is already an all-time great,” Rohit said of Ashwin. “He has been playing cricket for the country for so many years, his performances have been so good over the years. He has given many match-winning performances.”Related

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Jadeja, meanwhile, was easily the most impressive cricketer in a one-sided match, hitting 175 not out in the first innings, before grabbing 5 for 41 and 4 for 46, as Sri Lanka batted twice in succession. It was Jadeja’s highest score in Test cricket by a distance. His batting average, which has been on a linear incline since 2017, has also never been higher than 36.46, where he currently sits after that knock.”To me, he is one of the top allrounders,” Rohit said while heaping praise on Jadeja. “Look at the performances: to score 175 not out and take nine wickets in the game, he’s just upping his game every time we see him. He’s very hungry, as you can see. That hunger is something that drives athletes to move forward. When I talk to him about certain things, he is very open-minded. He wants to take the responsibility, he wants to take the challenge.”The example was there in the T20 series against Sri Lanka. I just casually asked him if he would want to bat up the order, and he was open for it. This is why we asked him to go up in the first T20.”As a captain, I want to use Jadeja a lot more with the bat. We all know his bowling. Everyone knows about his fielding. He brings so much balance to the team as well.”India’s lower order also scored heavily in the Mohali Test. At one stage, they were 228 for 5, in seeming danger of being dismissed for less than 300. However, for the loss of only three further wickets, the hosts added a whopping 346, thanks largely to Jadeja. Ashwin also scored 61, and Mohammed Shami contributed an unbeaten 20.”It’s very, very crucial in Test matches – the lower order coming to the party,” Rohit said. “I clearly remember back in 2015 when Virat [Kohli] took over as captain, we wanted to create a strong lower-order contribution and a strong foundation for that.”This is why we kept emphasising how important it is for all the bowlers to go out and bat in the nets; try and improve one or the other skill. If possible, go put that contribution out.”

Both teams have made a habit of losing from strong positions, and that’s reflected in the points table

Karthik Krishnaswamy21-Oct-20208:25

Is Stokes at the top working for Royals? Should Warner continue in the middle order?

Big picture

It’s that time of the season. No team is as yet out of the playoffs race, at least in theory, but it might take just a result or two for some of them to slip out of contention. The “some of them” subset presently includes the Rajasthan Royals, who have four wins from ten games, and the Sunrisers Hyderabad, who have three wins from nine.ALSO READ: Fantasy-team suggestions for Royals vs SunrisersThese two teams are closely matched in many ways, one of them being a tendency to lose matches they should win. The Sunrisers suffered one such heartbreak – Super Over and all – in their last match against the Kolkata Knight Riders, while the Royals recently had a winning position snatched away by AB de Villiers and another – they needed 39 off 30 balls, with five wickets in hand – squandered by their own batsmen.Those chances are lost. Whatever last chances remain cannot go ungrabbed.

In the news

Kane Williamson injured his adductor muscle during the Sunrisers’ last match against the Kolkata Knight Riders. It’s not yet clear if he’s fully recovered.

What’s at stake

Sunrisers Hyderabad Played 9, Won 3, Lost 6The Sunrisers have five games left and have a positive net run rate. They can afford to lose one more game but with the Royals and Kings XI Punjab picking up momentum, the Sunrisers would not want to be left behind. A win against the Royals would put them in fifth place with a healthy net run rate. The Sunrisers still have games against the top three teams remaining and would not want to leave it too late.Sunrisers Hyderabad have decent alternatives if Kane Williamson isn’t fit•BCCI

Rajasthan Royals Played 10, Won 4, Lost 6By beating the Chennai Super Kings convincingly, the Royals have put themselves in a position to make the playoffs. However, like most of the lower-ranked teams they need to win three out of their next four games. Beating the Sunrisers will take them to 10 points. The Royals are also behind in terms of net run rate (-0.591) and would need to win convincingly in at least two of their next four games to challenge the likes of the Sunrisers and Kings XI if it comes down to that number. Three of the next four matches for the Royals are against teams they are competing with for a playoff spot and every win for the Royals will pull the others down.

Previous meeting

At the same ground, on October 11, the Sunrisers posted a below-par 158 despite losing just four wickets, but seemed poised to win when the Royals slipped to 78 for 5 in their chase. Riyan Parag and Rahul Tewatia, however, took the game away with an unbroken sixth-wicket stand of 85 from 47 balls, finishing it with a ball to spare.

Likely XIs

Rajasthan Royals: 1 Ben Stokes, 2 Robin Uthappa, 3 Sanju Samson (wk), 4 Steven Smith (capt), 5 Jos Buttler, 6 Rahul Tewatia, 7 Riyan Parag, 8 Jofra Archer, 9 Shreyas Gopal, 10 Ankit Rajpoot/Jaydev Unadkat, 11 Kartik TyagiSunrisers Hyderabad: 1 David Warner (capt), 2 Jonny Bairstow (wk), 3 Manish Pandey, 4 Kane Williamson/Mohammad Nabi/Fabian Allen/Jason Holder, 5 Priyam Garg, 6 Vijay Shankar, 7 Abdul Samad, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Sandeep Sharma, 10 Basil Thampi/Khaleel Ahmed, 11 T NatarajanRashid Khan and Jofra Archer – key to the bowling plans of their respective sides•BCCI

Strategy punt

• Unable to run normally as a result of his injury, Williamson opened the batting against the Knight Riders in a bid to make use of the powerplay field restrictions and hit as many boundaries as possible. He did just that while scoring 29 off 19 and giving the Sunrisers a start that should have brought them a comfortable win. Though the result didn’t materialise, the Sunrisers could look to continue that approach, possibly with Williamson remaining at the top of the order to try and exploit the field restrictions. David Warner, who hasn’t been in the best ball-striking form of late, is adept at placing the ball into gaps and sprinting twos – if he stays in the middle order, he could use the middle-overs fields and large outfield in Dubai to his advantage while getting set.
• Williamson opening could also help the Sunrisers combat Jofra Archer, who has bowled 27 balls to Warner in T20 cricket and dismissed him three times while only conceding 23 runs. Williamson, on the other hand, has scored 27 runs off 15 balls from Archer, without being dismissed.
• If Williamson isn’t fit, the obvious swap for him would be Mohammad Nabi. The Afghanistan allrounder has only played one game this season, for no fault of his, and would probably be a regular at some other franchises. The Royals, though, only have two left-handers in their top seven in Ben Stokes and Tewatia, and may not therefore be the best match-up for Nabi’s offspin. This could perhaps prompt the Sunrisers to pick Fabian Allen instead. In addition to his explosive lower-order hitting (his overall T20 strike rate is 164.89), Allen bowls left-arm spin (economy rate 7.43) and is a gun fielder.
• Of all batsmen to have faced at least 40 balls this season, Archer (193.61) has the second-best strike rate behind Kieron Pollard (200.00). He’s only faced 47 balls through the tournament, though, so the Royals could look to bat him a little higher than they usually do, especially since he’s hit nine of those 47 balls for sixes. They don’t have to play him in the top six, necessarily, but No. 7 – especially if they are batting first – might be a good place for him, with someone like Parag or Tewatia to follow.

Stats that matter

• The Sunrisers haven’t won a single game while chasing this season, losing on all four occasions when they have bowled first.
• Since starting his season with two fifties on the trot, Sanju Samson has only scored 77 runs in eight innings, at an average of 9.6. He’ll be facing his favourite opponents, though. In 15 matches against the Sunrisers, he has 449 runs at an average of 40.81, including an unbeaten 102 – one of two hundreds he’s made in the IPL overall – last year.
• Of all bowlers who have sent down at least 100 balls across the two phases this season, Archer has the best economy rate over the powerplay and middle overs (4.66), just ahead of Rashid Khan (5.35).
• Ankit Rajpoot is one wicket short of 100 in T20s.
• Steven Smith is one six short of 100 in T20s.

Zimbabwe likely to miss T20 World Cup Qualifer after becoming the first Full Member to be hit with suspension

Liam Brickhill18-Jul-2019Zimbabwe have been suspended from the ICC with immediate effect. ICC funding to Zimbabwe Cricket has been frozen, and representative teams from Zimbabwe will not be allowed to participate in any ICC events while under suspension, making Zimbabwe’s participation in the Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier in August and Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier in October highly unlikely.After several rounds of meetings in London this week, the ICC Board unanimously decided that Zimbabwe Cricket was in breach of Article 2.4 (c) and (d) of the ICC Constitution, and that the actions of the Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) in suspending the board in June constituted government interference in Zimbabwe Cricket’s affairs.”We do not take the decision to suspend a Member lightly, but we must keep our sport free from political interference,” ICC Chairman Shashank Manohar said. “What has happened in Zimbabwe is a serious breach of the ICC Constitution and we cannot allow it to continue unchecked.”ESPNcricinfo understands that a major part of the ICC’s reasoning in blocking funds to ZC was that it was concerned the money might be diverted to the Zimbabwe government instead of being utilised for the development of cricket and the players.Zimbabwe is in the midst of an economic crisis, with inflation figures increasing exponentially and price increases at a 10-year high as government coffers empty. According to an official who attended the meetings this week, since the ICC disburses funds in US dollars to member boards, it feared that the Zimbabwean government would seize the funds and hence the extreme step of barring ZC its funding had to be taken.Zimbabwe’s sanctioning marks the very first time a Full Member has been suspended by the ICC – although Sri Lanka were warned in 2015 by the then ICC chief executive David Richardson that they were at risk of immediate sanction for government interference in their administration. Various Associate Members are currently under suspension, including Nepal. However, Nepal’s national teams have been allowed to continue participating in ICC events during suspension, as had USA during their recent suspension and expulsion period from June 2015 through January 2019.The ICC has directed that the ZC board originally elected in mid-June be reinstated to office within three months, and progress in this respect will be considered again at the next board meeting in October. “The ICC wants cricket to continue in Zimbabwe in accordance with the ICC Constitution,” Manohar added.At least one member of that board will not be taking up a position, however, as Ed Rainsford, the former Zimbabwe fast bowler, released a statement on Thursday through his lawyers indicating that he would decline to accept his nomination.Representatives from both the SRC and Zimbabwe Cricket were heard by the ICC Board this week. Dave Ellman-Brown, the chairman of the SRC-appointed interim committee and a former Zimbabwe Cricket Union chief executive, was in attendance in London, and Tavengwa Mukuhlani took part in the board meeting, seemingly in his official capacity.Mukuhlani, who has played various administrative roles in Zimbabwean cricket at provincial and national level since 2004, had been re-elected as board chairman in those June elections. But that the elections took place at all marked the start of ZC’s conflict with the SRC – officially, at least.Since then, Zimbabwean cricket has been in lockdown – and meltdown. Mukuhlani, acting managing director Givemore Makoni, and the entire board were suspended by the SRC and ZC’s offices were literally locked, with a police detail dispatched to guard the property, “to ensure that no assets or other documents, especially of a financial nature, left the premises,” according to SRC chairman Gerald Mlotshwa.The ICC immediately froze Zimbabwe’s funding upon the suspension of the board in June, and as a result Zimbabwe’s women were unable to take part in a scheduled tour of Ireland. The men’s team, already in the middle of their tour of Netherlands and Ireland, completed their trip and have since returned to Zimbabwe.A member of the touring squad confirmed that players had not been paid match fees or salaries for the tour, and that “everything” has been frozen. ESPNcricinfo understands that the ICC will leave the question of player welfare to ZC while they are under suspension.

A hundred for Asad Shafiq and fifties for Haris Sohail and Babar Azam moved Pakistan into a dominant position on the second day against Northampton

Alex Winter in Northampton05-May-2018
Asad Shafiq keeps an eye on the movement of the ball•Getty Images

After so little first-class cricket in the past 12 months, batting practice is what Pakistan are most in need of before the opening Test of their UK tour that begins on Friday. They were handed a perfect chance on a golden second day in Northampton and Asad Shafiq took advantage of the conditions – as well as two dropped catches – to make his 20th first-class century and hand his side a sizeable lead by the close.Shafiq has not only the second-highest number of Test caps in the Pakistan squad but has played more first-class cricket than most of the touring party in recent months. By complete contrast, before last week’s match at Kent, Haris Sohail’s last domestic first-class match was all the way back in 2014. The pair shared a stand of 136 for the third wicket to set the day up for their side.As preparation for the Test matches to come, this has been a true assignment for the tourists and they were kept in check for two-thirds of the day. Northamptonshire took two early wickets and had Shafiq been held by Ricardo Vasconcelos in the gully on just 13 – a sitter straight to the fielder at chest height – Pakistan would have been 70 for 3 and three of their top order left with successive failures to begin the tour.But the partnership steadily built either side of lunch. Sohail, despite – or perhaps because of – his recent experience being almost exclusively against the white ball, was initially the more fluent of the pair. He began with a back-foot punch and a front-foot drive through extra cover before skipping down to Rob Keogh’s offspin to lift another boundary over mid-off. And after being struck a nasty blow on the neck ducking a Gareth Wade short ball that didn’t get up, he went through to fifty in 107 balls with seven fours.A century loomed for Sohail but he produced a leading edge to point trying to flick Keogh over midwicket against the spin. Steven Crook took a smart diving catch and should have taken Shafiq’s top-edged sweep diving in the opposite direction next ball. But the second chance Shafiq offered went down and he was left to dominate the day.Shafiq made 363 runs at 30 in Pakistan’s Quaid-e-Azam Trophy last season without a century but here took his chance to reach three figures. He slog-swept his second six off Keogh before clipping the same bowler to long-on to raise fifty in 98 balls. A steer behind point moved Pakistan into the lead shortly after tea before a fine sweep brought up his century, Pakistan’s first of the tour.Later, just when Northants had ambitions to limit the deficit after three wickets with the second new ball, Shafiq took three boundaries in an over off Wade with a leg glance, a fierce pull and an uppercut over cover.But the innings of the day belonged to Babar Azam, who breathed life into a sleepy afternoon with a bright, punchy 57. Azam already has seven ODI centuries and could become one of world batting’s stars. Three of his first four scoring strokes were boundaries and as he cut Luke Procter wide of third man to raise fifty in just 61 balls with six fours, the day began to drift from Northants. One hundred and forty three runs came in 33 overs after tea as the lead approached three figures and Pakistan achieved the solid batting day they had hoped for.It did not appear that would necessarily be the case as both opening batsman failed. Imam-ul-Haq, having scratched around for 60 deliveries for only 11 runs, was beaten on the inside edge by Keogh to be trapped lbw and Azhar Ali, the most experienced member of the Pakistan squad, fell lbw to Wade. The wicket was just Wade’s second in first-class matches, having missed the majority of last season with a stress fracture of the back. He said he enjoyed the challenge of bowling to a high-class batting line up but it was a challenge successfully met by Shafiq, Sohail and Babar.

ESPNcricinfo previews the first Test between New Zealand and South Africa in Dunedin

The Preview by Andrew McGlashan07-Mar-2017

Match Facts

March 8-12 2017
Start time 11.00am local (2200GMT)1:37

Moonda: South Africa’s quicks could heat up Dunedin

The Big Picture

This match-up has a one-sided history. New Zealand have only won four Tests against South Africa and two of those came in 1962 when they shared a rare five-Test series 2-2. Since then, they won the first meeting after readmission, at Johannesburg in 1994, and their only home victory was inspired by Chris Martin at Eden Park in 2004.South Africa also plunged New Zealand towards their most recent nadir. At Newlands in early 2013, they were bowled out before lunch on the opening day. Nothing so one-sided is expected this time. Since South Africa last visited for a Test in 2012, New Zealand have only lost one series on home soil, against Australia last year.For their part, South Africa have been one of finest touring sides in the last decade with last year’s defeat in India being their first overseas since Sri Lanka in 2006. They overcame Australia late last year (although given subsequent events that feels a lifetime ago) and despite New Zealand’s strength on home soil, start the series as favourites.The key will be whether New Zealand can put enough runs on the board because in Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Neil Wagner they have the bowlers to put pressure on South Africa. It should be a series of quality pace bowling with Kagiso Rabada and Vernon Philander leading the opposite line.

Form guide

(completed matches, most recent first)
New Zealand WWWWL

South Africa WWWLW

In the spotlight

Tom Latham and Jeet Raval will face one of their toughest challenges: seeing off Rabada, Philander and Morne Morkel. Latham’s confidence has to have taken a knock after his horror run in ODIs which saw him lose his place. Raval has played just four Tests, although showed impressive composure against Pakistan before giving away a few starts against Bangladesh. Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor are the key to New Zealand’s batting, but they have a better chance if not exposed to the new ball too soon.Two of South Africa’s batting engine room, JP Duminy and Temba Bavuma come into the series under a little scrutiny but for different reasons. Duminy regressed during the one-day series, scratching around and wasting starts when he made them, but elevated his Test game against Australia and Sri Lanka. Bavuma, meanwhile, made just 21 runs in five innings against Sri Lanka so he could do with reviving memories of England at Cape Town and Australia in Hobart. The latter, given likely conditions, could be relevant.

Team news

Williamson kept the door open for two spinners, but it is also Colin de Grandhomme verses James Neesham so it would be a major surprise if they omitted one of the three frontline quicks.New Zealand (probable): 1 Tom Latham, 2 Jeet Raval, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Henry Nicholls, 6 BJ Watling (wk), 7 Mitchell Santner, 8 Colin de Grandhomme/James Neesham, 9 Neil Wagner, 10 Tim Southee, 11 Trent BoultFaf du Plessis confirmed that Morne Morkel will play his first Test in more than a year, being preferred ahead of Duanne Olivier. They will also play a specialist spinner in Keshav Maharaj.South Africa (probable): 1 Stephen Cook, 2 Dean Elgar, 3 Hashim Amla, 4 Faf du Plessis (capt), 5 JP Duminy, 6 Temba Bavuma, 7 Quinton de Kock (wk), 8 Vernon Philander, 9 Keshav Maharaj, 10 Morne Morkel, 11 Kagiso Rabada

Pitch and conditions

This is the first Test surface for a new University Oval groundsman, but New Zealand don’t expect much different to normal. Dean Elgar termed the pitch “juicy” two days out but local knowledge from Neil Wagner indicated that the temperature was as important to the amount of movement on offer. The forecast for the first three days is good, but the weekend isn’t too promising at the moment.

Stats and trivia

• Excluding series involving Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, the New Zealand win-loss ratio against South Africa is the joint lowest in history alongside West Indies against South Africa.
• University Oval is New Zealand’s only unbeaten home venue. They have won three and drawn four at the ground. The final day of the 2012 Test against South Africa was washed out.
• Williamson’s average as captain of 55 is the best by a New Zealand skipper, fractionally ahead of Martin Crowe.
• The captain winning the toss has bowled first in New Zealand on 22 consecutive occasions. The last time a captain batted first was Daniel Vettori against Pakistan, at the Basin Reserve, in 2011.

Quotes

“I don’t get ahead of myself with silly ideas like that. We want to have a look at the surface, it can change. We don’t want to delve into that before we have any outrageous thoughts.”
Kane Williamson isn’t getting ahead of himself about what to do at the toss“With slower conditions here, our strongest team is the balance of three seamers and a spinner. If the wicket is slow, your spinner does become important.”