Darren Bravo powered Red Steel to an imposing total, and then Dwayne Bravo and the spinners dismissed all the Tridents batsmen before they made 20 to secure a 72-run win

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Jul-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsDarren and Dwayne Bravo added 59 runs in 2.4 overs•Caribbean Premier League

Darren Bravo’s late flourish converted Trinidad & Tobago Red Steel’s middling score into an imposing one, and then his brother Dwayne and the spinners dismissed all the Barbados Tridents batsmen before they made 20 to secure a 72-run win at Queen’s Park Oval. The result improved Red Steel’s standing at the bottom of the league: they are now two wins away from catching Tridents at the top, with two games in hand.Red Steel had started steadily after choosing to bat, but with no great acceleration, and that platform eroded when Cameron Delport and William Perkins fell in the space of four balls. From 50 for 2 in 8.1 overs, Jacques Kallis and Darren Bravo built steadily, adding 75 in 9.1 overs. However, when Kallis lost his off stump to Ravi Rampaul for 49 off 43 deliveries Red Steel, at 125 for 3 with 16 balls left in the innings, needed a special finish.Darren Bravo was on 36 off 32 balls at the time but now he went into overdrive and smashed 44 off his last 12 deliveries, nearly a boundary a ball. He targeted the area between square leg and long-on and finished with seven sixes, adding 59 with his brother Dwayne, who scored 14 off the four balls he faced. Rampaul conceded 16 runs in the 18th over and 25 in the 20th, while Jason Holder went for 22 in the 19th over.The Tridents chase never took off. Misbah-ul-Haq was their top-scorer with 19 and their highest partnership – between Misbah and Shai Hope for the fourth wicket – was 26. They collapsed from 65 for 3 to 85 for 8 and were eventually dismissed for 112 in 18.4 overs. Dwayne Bravo claimed figures of 3 for 16 in 3.4 overs, and spinners Samuel Badree, Derone Davis and Johan Botha had combined figures of 11-0-64-5.

Lancashire will need to take 14 wickets in the final three sessions to win their Division Two game against Glamorgan after rain restricted the teams to only 52.2 overs on the third day at Old Trafford

ECB/PA23-Aug-2015
ScorecardGlen Chapple moved closer to 1000 first-class wickets on a rain-affected day•Getty Images

Lancashire will need to take 14 wickets in the final three sessions to win their Division Two game against Glamorgan after rain restricted the teams to only 52.2 overs on the third day at Old Trafford.In the cricket that was possible before showers of varying intensity coalesced into serious rain, Glamorgan lost five more first-innings wickets, two of them to Glen Chapple, in scoring 134 runs and were 182 for 6 when umpires Rob Bailey and Richard Illingworth finally called play off for the day.Resuming on 48 for 1 in reply to Lancashire’s 462, Glamorgan lost their skipper Jacques Rudolph for 22 in the sixth over of the morning when his unwise push at a Chapple delivery which was cleverly pushed across the left-hander only edged a catch to wicketkeeper Alex Davies.Forty minutes later Colin Ingram, having batted safely enough in making 17, opted not to play a shot at a ball from James Faulkner which plucked out his off stump. That left Glamorgan on 96 for 3 but nightwatchman Andrew Salter and Chris Cooke then added 26 before Salter was stumped by Davies off Kerrigan when he came down the wicket but was defeated by a little turn.Until his dismissal, Salter had batted very well for his 45 runs and had recorded his fifth successive score above 30. Indeed he had looked far more competent than his status as a nightwatchman might imply.There were only 19.2 overs in the afternoon session before an early tea was taken but Steven Croft’s bowlers claimed two further wickets in the play that was possible to strengthen their team’s hold on the match.David Lloyd was bowled by Chapple for 15 when he played most crookedly at a ball outside his off and succeeded only in edging it onto his middle stump, thus giving Chapple his 982nd first-class wicket. Twelve overs later, Cooke, having batted in a pleasantly accomplished fashion for 31 was leg before to Faulkner, who brought the ball back from the off to trap the Glamorgan batsman on the crease.Mark Wallace was unbeaten on 20 off 38 balls when, with the sky darkening and the rain setting in, the players came off for good.Should Lancashire win this game they will clinch promotion back to Division One of the Championship with three four-day games still to be played. However, the destination of the Division Two title may well depend on the result of the match against Surrey, which begins on September 14.

A round up of Ranji Trophy Group B matches on October 9, 2015

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Oct-2015
Scorecard File photo – Tamil Nadu’s frontline offspinner Malolan Rangarajan scored his maiden first-class hundred•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Maiden centuries from J Kousik and Malolan Rangarajan took Tamil Nadu’s score past 500 after resuming the day on 225 for 5 in Indore.Kousik and Malolan put on 196 runs for the seventh wicket, after Prasanna was caught behind for 70 off Udit Birla in the 17th over of the day. Kousik, playing only his second first-class match, scored 151 off 272 balls, including 17 fours and two sixes. Malolan, who remained unbeaten on 124 at close, faced 226 balls and hit seven fours and three sixes.Kousik, who reached his century with a six off offspinner Jalaj Saxena, said the first hour and a half was “uncomfortable” to negotiate . “I was getting beaten a lot of times early on today,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “But then the wicket eased out a bit and runs started coming a little more freely. My partners [R Prasanna and Malolan] were very helpful.”I was a little anxious in the 90s and eager to get to my 100 quickly as they were bowling tight. Thankfully, I got the right ball to hit,” Kousik said.Malolan said the innings was particularly challenging as he played through high fever. “The pitch still has a nice covering of green on it,” he said. “We [he and Kousik] were constantly talking to each other, [urging each other to take it] one ball at a time.”Malolan also praised Kousik’s temperament. “It was unbelievable how calm he was for his second match,” he said. “We played for Vijay CC together about two years back. Kousik has just gone from strength to strength. It was a green wicket and he had to stand up today. He showed excellent composure,” Malolan said.
Scorecard Deepak Hooda’s third first-class hundred led a dominant batting display from Baroda, giving them a 282-run first-innings lead over Railways. Resuming with the score on 118 for 1, opener Kedar Devdhar and captain Aditya Waghmode stretched their second-wicket stand to 113, after which Waghmode and Hooda added another 124. Hooda faced 179 balls for his 122 and hit 20 fours and two sixes. Railways were at the receiving end of a third successive century stand when Hooda combined with Yusuf Pathan for a 111-run partnership. Seamer Anureet Singh picked up four wickets but Hardik Pandya’s unbeaten 41 set Baroda’s sights on a 300-run surplus, with four wickets still remaining.
Scorecard Andhra replied strongly to Gujarat’s 308 in Vizianagram, opener Srikar Bharat’s century helping them reach 196 for 1 at stumps. After his opening partner Prasanth Kumar departed for 12, Bharat put on an unbroken 159 with his captain Mohammad Kaif. Bharat, who had become the first wicketkeeper previous season to make a triple-hundred in the Ranji Trophy, hit 18 fours and a six to reach 119 off 176, while Kaif had six fours in his 44.Bharat said he had to negotiate “brilliant spells” from RP Singh and Jasprit Bumrah, before finding his rhythm. “They are quite opposite – RP gets it into the right hander and Jasprit is little quick off the wicket with short pitch stuff,” Bharat told ESPNcricinfo. “RP was bowling [from] round the wicket with a short leg and a short midwicket and a long leg, attacking me both with the short ball and the one that comes in.”Bharat said he took an off stump guard on Kaif’s advice, and things became easier. “I made sure, I will play close to the body and anything short I will leave it,” he said.Earlier, Baroda resumed on 250 for 5 and were bowled out for 308. Left-arm seamer CV Stephen took three of the five wickets to fall, including two in two deliveries in the 92nd over, when he dismissed Niraj Patel to break a 61-run sixth-wicket stand.Mumbai v Punjab – Iyer double-hundred puts Mumbai on top

Chris Cairns has been accused by the Crown Prosecution Service of lying under oath during a 2012 libel case and could face a prison sentence of a maximum of seven years if found guilty

Nagraj Gollapudi05-Oct-2015The former Australia captain, Ricky Ponting, current New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum and the former New Zealand spinner and captain Daniel Vettori are among a cast of high-profile witnesses set to take the stand in the perjury trial involving former New Zealand allrounder, Chris Cairns.Cairns has been accused by the Crown Prosecution Service of lying under oath during a 2012 libel case and could face a prison sentence of a maximum of seven years if found guilty.Also standing trial is Cairns’ former legal counsel Andrew Fitch-Holland, who has been charged for perverting the course of justice in the 2012 case against former IPL chairman Lalit Modi, who had accused the one-time New Zealand captain of match-fixing.Former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming and opener Mark Greatbatch have been named as potential witnesses as the trial got underway at Southwark Crown Court in London on Monday morning. Also featuring on the 50-plus witnesses list, named by the prosecution and defence teams, are Cairns’ former New Zealand team-mates Shane Bond, Kyle Mills, Chris Harris and Andre Adams.There will also be some former and current ICC officials providing evidence: Ronnie Flanagan, the current head of the anti-corruption and security unit (ACSU) and Ravi Sawani, former ACSU general manager. Other witnesses are expected to include Cairns’ wife, Mel, and Mal Loye, the former England one-day batsman.Chris Cairns arrives at Southwark Crown Court on the first morning of his perjury trial•PA Photos

Although the court will reassemble on Wednesday afternoon, when a 12-person jury would be sworn in, the trial proper is likely to begin from next Monday when the prosecution begins calling on the witnesses. The first witness is likely to be former New Zealand opener Lou Vincent, who was banned for life last July by the ECB and the ICC following his confession that he had accepted money to underperform.On Monday the court was read the two charges against Cairns, the second of which is a joint action against Fitch-Holland, namely that the pair induced Vincent to provide a false witness statement during his successful libel action against Modi.Count one, which has been made against Cairns alone, was that, in the course of the same trial, Cairns “wilfully made a statement … which he knew to be false, namely that he has ‘never, ever cheated at cricket and nor would he ever contemplate such a thing'”.The trial is likely to stretch over a month with Justice Nigel Sweeney, the judge hearing the case, making it clear to the shortlisted jury that it was his “pessimistic view” that the trial would go until November 20.Cairns was first to arrive to the court as early as 8.45 am. In the morning session that lasted two hours, Cairns confirmed his identity to the court registrar, and exchanged a few words with Fitch-Holland, who sat next to him in the glass-panelled dock.The court shortlisted a jury of 16 members, out of which on Wednesday 12 would be sworn in with two spare members who would be present till the prosecution completes its arguments. The potential jury was also made aware of the fact that some of the witnesses would be facing the court through video conferencing from overseas with the time difference being sometimes as long as 11 hours for witnesses from New Zealand.The prosecution team is lead by Queen’s Counsellor Sasha Wass along with her colleague Esther Schwatzer-Weismann. Cairns’ defence team comprises Orlando Pownell and Simon Ray while Fitch-Holland is being represented by Jonathan Ladlow and Jonathan Polnay.

BJ Watling felt the pacers’ inconsistency resulted in New Zealand being run ragged on the opening day at the Gabba

Brydon Coverdale at the Gabba05-Nov-2015BJ Watling, the New Zealand wicketkeeper, felt New Zealand’s inability to build pressure with the ball contributed to their dismal opening day at the Gabba, where Australia finished at 2 for 389. That Australia scored at 4.42 per over was indicative of New Zealand’s lack of consistency, and it was a disappointing result for them after Tim Southee started the morning with three maidens with the swinging new ball.”It was a tough day’s cricket,” Watling said. “They played extremely well. There were two very good innings that hurt us. We just didn’t quite manage to control the innings like we would have liked. I thought Tim bowled some outstanding spells today. We just didn’t quite back it up in good partnerships with the ball.”We’ll look to rectify that tomorrow, come back and look to take some early poles in the morning. We just missed our lengths at times. There were some good spells but we didn’t quite hang in there for long enough. It was a tough day but they played well.”Australia’s new opening combination of David Warner and Joe Burns were able to move to 161 before the first wicket fell, and apart from a missed run-out chance, there were no other close calls before Burns edged behind. Warner said he believed the New Zealanders had erred by bowling too short to make the best of the conditions.”We had to try to negate the swing early on and obviously getting through that first session, which we know is always challenging at the Gabba,” Warner said. “As an opening pair I think we found they were bowling a fraction too short. It didn’t allow us to drive many balls early, which is nice as a batsman.”The lopsided scorecard at the end of the first day – Southee and Jimmy Neesham were the only wicket takers and Australia’s first two partnerships both passed 150 – means New Zealand have plenty of work ahead of them to fight their way back into the Test. Watling said they had expected day one to be hard work in the field.”There’s a lot of cricket to be played,” Watling said. “We’re obviously not in the ideal situation. But Test cricket is a long game. If we hang in there for long enough, and take this game deep, we’ll see where it goes. The first hour was good. We asked a lot of questions and then they got through that. Good start, but we didn’t build pressure up for long enough on that wicket.”

A round-up of the Ranji Trophy Group B matches on November 9, 2015

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Nov-2015
ScorecardFile photo: Jalaj Saxena ended with match figures of 16 for 154, the second best in Ranji Trophy history•BCCI

Jalaj Saxena produced the second-best figures in Ranji Trophy history, taking 16 for 154 to help Madhya Pradesh rout Railways by nine wickets inside three days. After collecting 8 for 96 in the first innings, Jalaj ran through Railways’ line-up again in the second, picking up 8 for 58 to dismiss the team for 131 in 51.1 overs. Jalaj’s haul matched those taken by former Rajasthan fast bowler Pradeep Sunderam against Vidarbha in 1985. Anil Kumble currently holds the best ever figures in a Ranji Trophy match – 16 for 99 for Karnataka against Kerala in 1995.As was the case in the first innings, a few of Railways’ top-order batsmen made starts, but nobody could cross 26, as Railways folded to set the hosts a simple chase of 112. Madhya Pradesh began the chase positively, with the openers Jalaj and Rajat Patidar adding 72 off 75 balls. The hosts eventually overhauled the target in 19.1 overs, but the wicket of Patidar cost them a bonus point. The defeat left Railways rooted to the bottom of Group B, with just six points from six matches.
ScorecardHeavy rain in Chennai washed out play for the second straight day to all but rule out any chance of an outright result in the clash between Tamil Nadu and Andhra. Tamil Nadu are currently fourth in the table with 15 points, while Andhra are sixth with nine.
ScorecardUttar Pradesh’s top and middle order dug in to help the team make its way to 350 for 5 against Mumbai at the Wankhede Stadium. UP, who began at 51 for 0 in reply to Mumbai’s 610 for 9 declared, lost Tanmay Srivastava early in the day, but Himanshu Asnora and Umang Sharma (53) combined for a 92-run partnership. Mumbai clawed their way back with two quick wickets, but Asnora once again led a recovery with another crucial stand – 70 for the fourth wicket with Sarfaraz Khan. Asnora was denied his maiden first-class ton, falling for 92, but Eklavya Dwivedi and Piyush Chawla both struck half-centuries during an unbroken 104-run partnership to keep UP’s slim hopes of first-innings points alive.
ScorecardBaroda were left staring at an innings defeat against Gujarat in Valsad after losing 11 wickets on the penultimate day. Baroda, who began their first innings at 82 for 3, were bowled out for 252. Ambati Rayudu (47) and Irfan Pathan (58) held the innings together with a 58-run partnership, but no batsman was able to really produce a score of meaning. Axar Patel was the pick of the bowlers with 3 for 81, while RP Singh, Jesal Karia and Rujul Bhatt took two each. With a massive lead of 253 in hand, Gujarat enforced the follow-on, and made further inroads as Baroda lost four more wickets in their second innings before the close of play. At stumps, the team was tottering at 81 for 4, still needing another 172 runs to make Gujarat bat again.

A round-up of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy matches on January 3, 2016

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Jan-2016

Highlights of the day

After losing their first game of the season against Services, Karnataka bounced back by holding on for a one-run win against Mumbai in Cuttack. Karnataka, after being inserted, were boosted by a 38-run blast from Stuart Binny, which lifted the team to 162. Binny then struck with the ball, accounting for the crucial scalps of Shreyas Iyer and the captain Aditya Tare to peg Mumbai’s chase back. However, Abhishek Nayar stayed firm, stroking 49 off 32 balls, to reduce the equation to 19 needed off 10 balls, with two wickets in hand. Nayar got Mumbai to within two runs of victory, but was caught behind off Vinay Kumar in the penultimate ball of the match, leaving the final pair of Pravin Tambe and Dhawal Kulkarni to collect the winning runs. Tambe, though, was run out off the final ball, putting Karnataka on the board.Tamil Nadu posted their second win on the trot, after compiling a total of 151 and then bowling Bengal out for 82 in Nagpur. Rahil Shah was the pick of Tamil Nadu’s bowlers, collecting 5 for 12, while M Ashwin chipped in with 2 for 9.Harbhajan Singh shone with the ball for Punjab, his 3 for 8 setting up a comprehensive eight-wicket victory against Jammu & Kashmir. Harbhajan dismissed Mithun Manhas, Parvez Rasool and Zahoor Sofi in successive overs, restricting J&K to 105. Punjab then gunned down their target in 14.3 overs, thanks to an unbeaten 45-ball 58 from Mandeep Singh.Delhi‘s Nitish Rana was the star of the show in Vadodara, smashing 97 off just 40 balls to fire the team to a 111-run win against Andhra. Rana drilled eight fours and sixes each during his blitz, and shared a 119-run stand with Milind Kumar (58) as Delhi compiled a total of 236 for 9. Andhra failed to gather any momentum in the chase and were shut out for 125, with Suboth Bhati, Pawan Negi and Shivam Sharma snaring two wickets apiece.

Other brief scores

Central Districts comfortably defended the Ford Trophy after crushing Canterbury by 156 runs in the final in New Plymouth

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Jan-2016
ScorecardFile photo – George Worker smashed 12 fours and seven sixes in his 151-ball 159•Getty Images

Central Districts comfortably defended the Ford Trophy after crushing Canterbury by 156 runs in the final in New Plymouth. Central Districts piled on 405 for 6, equalling the highest List A score at Pukekura Park, on the back of a 159 from George Worker and Tom Bruce’s 23-ball 71 – the fastest fifty in New Zealand List A history – which included six fours and seven sixes. Jesse Ryder (62 off 50) and Will Young (51 off 32) also contributed with brisk fifties.Worker, who surpassed 3000 List A runs during the innings, forged stand of 80, 109, 92 and 63 for the first four wickets to decisively turn the match in Central Districts’ favour. However, Bruce helped put it beyond Canterbury by helping put on 61 off the last 20 balls.Captain Andrew Ellis picked up two wickets but went for 97 in his 10 overs. Ed Nuttall was the most economical of the bowlers with figures of 0 for 44 off his eight overs.Canterbury were never in the chase from the start after losing their openers within the first eight balls. Todd Astle (65) and Ellis combined to put on 121, but it was a task too far. Ellis went on to make his maiden List A century (101 off 76 balls), but Canterbury were bowled out for 249 in the 38th over. Bevan Small claimed three victims whereas Seth Rance, who finished as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with 19 wickets, returned 2 for 17.