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Mumbai came close with Tim David’s 18-ball 46, but fell short, and are now favourites to finish with the wooden spoon

Sidharth Monga17-May-20224:40

Shastri: Central contract straightaway for Malik

Sunrisers Hyderabad kept their campaign alive, but only just, with a three-run win over Mumbai Indians in a rollercoaster finish. Now joint-sixth with 12 points from 13 matches, Sunrisers are now left needing a win in their last game and a number of other results to go their way. Mumbai, meanwhile, are now the favourites to finish bottom of the table, two points behind Chennai Super Kings with a match each to go.On a five-match losing streak, Sunrisers finally dropped Kane Williamson down the order, which brought immediate dividends with Priyam Garg, his replacement at the top of the order, and Rahul Tripathi bossing the first 16 overs with help from Nicholas Pooran. Despite the sensational pace of Umran Malik, Mumbai’s inexperienced batting line-up stayed alive till the end of the 18th over, which went for four sixes from Tim David. With 19 required off 13, though, David ran himself out and Bhuvneshwar Kumar closed it out with a wicket-maiden in the 19th.A refreshing change at the top

Asked to bat first, Sunrisers came out with a new opening pair. Even though they lost Abhishek Sharma early, Tripathi and Garg counterattacked towards the end of the powerplay. It looked like a dry pitch, but the duo hit hard enough for even slight mis-hits to clear the small Wankhede boundaries. That said, they nailed their hitting almost all the time.It started with Tripathi taking on Jasprit Bumrah in the fifth over, hitting him for six, four and four, before Garg put a short ball from Daniel Sams on to the top tier of the stands at deep square-leg. Often teams maximise the powerplay and slow down as the field spreads, but these two kept going. Garg took the lead against the spinners, hitting a six off left-armer Sanjay Yadav before taking two fours in one Mayank Markande over. When Garg fell for 42 off 26 in the tenth over, he had made sure Sunrisers had their highest ten-over score this IPL: 97.Nicholas Pooran was all intent and big hits from the moment he walked out•BCCI

The wicket didn’t slow down Tripathi at all, and Pooran walked in as if coming from a net and used to the pace of the pitch. The second ball he faced, Pooran glanced Bumrah for four. He then lofted Riley Meredith for a six over long-off and then swept him for another over square leg. Tripathi wasn’t to be left behind, taking three fours off the 16th over, bowled by Sams.Mumbai survive death overs
At 164 in 16 overs, with eight wickets in hand and two set batters looking dangerous, Sunrisers looked set for a massive total. However, in the next two overs, every big shot they tried resulted in a wicket. Sams was too full for a flick from Pooran, and Ramandeep Singh too short for slogs from Tripathi and Aiden Markram. These wickets hurt Sunrisers as only two boundaries and 29 runs came off the last four overs.Rohit, Kishan set the platform

With Suryakumar Yadav out injured, Mumbai’s top order had some heavy lifting to do. They managed to mix aggression and pragmatism in the early exchanges, pouncing on their opportunities without taking wild risks. Rohit Sharma showed more intent, Ishan Kishan was more effective. But from 45 for no loss in five overs, they sort of slowed down to 61 in eight overs.Umran Malik was at it again, this time bouncing out Tilak Varma and Daniel Sams•BCCI

Umran Malik. Pace like fire

When Malik began the ninth over, familiar questions over his control started cropping up. However, even after three extra deliveries and 14 runs in his first over, Malik had clearly unsettled the batters. Rohit was hit flush in the helmet, which went for four leg-byes. Kishan was hit on the bat even before he could get into position to pull, the top-edge going for a six.However, it was Washington Sundar, who brought the first breakthrough. It was a match-up that has worked for Washington in the past. Before this match, he had bowled 19 balls to Rohit for 17 runs and two wickets. So Sunrisers were not shy of bowling him at Rohit. Eventually, he saw Rohit give him the charge, shortened the length, and had him caught at deep midwicket.The door ajar, Malik burst through. He made life difficult for Kishan, Tilak Verma and pinch-hitter Sams. Each of them was late on the ball, unable to come to terms with the pace and the bounce. Malik was now only three wickets behind the table-topper, but more tellingly, had conceded most not-in-control runs this IPL, drawing, on an average, a staggering ten false responses in each four-over spell. Malik’s burst left Mumbai needing 67 off the last five.Tim David hammered a flurry of fours and sixes in the last phase of the Mumbai innings•BCCI

David causes a flutter

In the closing stages of the match, Sunrisers preferred T Natarajan, who is having a nightmare tournament, to the inexperienced Malik. Natarajan frequently missed his yorker, bowling low full tosses that David hit for two fours and four sixes, including a 114-metre monster. Now they needed just 19 off 13. Off the last ball of the 18th over, David wanted a single off a deflection from Natarajan but didn’t see that the ball had hardly gone anywhere. He left himself no chance of making it, and the non-striker Sanjay Yadav was too stunned to hold his ground to keep the near end safe and sacrifice himself once David had made it to that end.The Bhuvneshwar show

Bhuvneshwar has been overshadowed of late by pacier, younger bowlers, but he has hardly missed a step himself. This 19th was a perfect example. He nailed the yorker again and again, mixing it up with a slower short ball that got Sanjay out. The wicket-maiden left Ramandeep too much to do in the final over, which Fazalhaq Farooqi closed out effectively.

Lions management stressed that Jack Leach was left out to allow him more time to prove his remodelled action in the nets before testing it in a match situation

George Dobell17-Feb-2017Jack Leach, the Somerset left-arm spinner, has been left out of the England Lions team for the first unofficial Test against Sri Lanka A in Pallekele after struggling with his new bowling action.Leach, the second-highest wicket-taker in Division One of the County Championship in 2016 with 65 at 21.88, was thought by some to be unfortunate not to win selection in the England Test squad that toured Bangladesh and India. But his action was found to be illegal during routine tests at the national performance centre in Loughborough after the season and he was obliged to remodel it before departing on tour.While Leach initially thought the remedial work had gone well, the pressure of playing in a match situation and for a national side appears to have exposed some unfamiliarity with the new action. He conceded 68 in 14 wicketless overs in the second-innings of the warm-up match against the Sri Lanka Board President’s XI – the other specialist spinner, Ollie Rayner, took 3 for 55 from 22 overs by comparison – which led to the tour management going into the unofficial Test with Rayner as the only specialist spinner. Tom Westley and Liam Livingstone will provide spin back-up as required.The Lions management have stressed that there is no suggestion Leach has been left out due to any fears of illegality with his new action. It is, they say, to provide him more time to groove it in the nets before testing it under the pressure of a match situation. He has not been ruled out of the second match in Dambulla.While a period of readjustment was probably inevitable for Leach, it may be worth noting his county captain’s views towards the end of the season. Chris Rogers suggested Leach “emotionally… still has a bit of a way to go”, and suggested he may not quite be ready for international cricket where “the challenges… are a lot more difficult.”The ECB is also painfully aware of the case of another left-arm spinner, Simon Kerrigan, who endured a chastening Test debut at The Oval in 2013 and has never fully recovered. England are keen to ensure Leach has a more robust action and, as a consequence, a more robust sense of confidence, before he is thrust into relatively high-pressure situations.

Captain’s knock revives Surrey after table-toppers make early running

Alan Gardner27-May-2021If Surrey supporters could name one thing that they missed most about not being able to come to the Kia Oval in recent times, the sight of Hashim Amla in full flow would surely have been high on the list. Amla has an imposing record on this ground, the scene of his unbeaten 311 for South Africa in 2012, not to mention a double-hundred against Hampshire a few weeks ago, and that aside there are few batters in world cricket so unarguably worth the admission fee.Those who made the pilgrimage for Surrey’s encounter with Gloucestershire were duly rewarded. Amla moved serenely to three figures during the dying embers of the day, as if to order for those wishing to slip in for a glimpse of greatness on their way home from work. Some 2500 were in the ground, and the majority of them rose to their feet as he stroked his 12th boundary through the covers, then removed his helmet to salute the four corners.This was also a captain’s innings, with Amla taking over responsibilities from Test-match bound Rory Burns. Leading with the bat has always come naturally for Amla and, having started well by winning the toss, he coasted up and down through the gears as required to ensure Surrey finished the day ably placed – an unbroken century stand with Jamie Overton quietly closing the door on Gloucestershire after they had picked off the majority of the top six without too much damage.Despite Ryan Patel’s neatly compiled half-century, Surrey had looked a little ill at ease on 181 for 5 approaching tea. Taking on the Group Two leaders, this is a game they arguably need to win to keep their prospects of being involved in Division One later in the summer alive; Amla’s third Championship hundred for Surrey (the first came back in 2013) ensured they were well placed to make good on the expected advantage of batting first on the same pitch as used against Middlesex last week.Ryan Patel celebrates reaching his fifty•Getty Images

Amla’s repertoire of silk and steel is well known, but there’s nothing wrong with playing the old favourites. His first boundary of the day was a wristy clip off Dan Worrall that perfectly bisected two leg-side fielders; a few overs later he eased on to the gas a little, pinging Worrall for four fours in 10 balls, daubing the canvas on either side of the wicket. Worrall, strong of shoulder and unruly of hair, looks rather like one of the bad guys from a 1980s high school movie – but the twinkling Amla nimbly gave him the slip.The only blemish came during the evening session, when he attempted to back-cut the left-arm spin of Tom Smith only to edge a catchable chance to slip, which Miles Hammond put it down. Amla was on 76 at the time, and Gloucestershire may well have plenty more time left in the field to rue that miss.Crowds had made their return in the previous round of the Championship, but here was a balmy south London day to create a genuine frisson of excitement among those trooping along the Harleyford Road, rucksacks full and straw hats in place, and plenty came to bask in late May conditions worthy of the name. One chucklingly referred to the hand “sataniser” dispensers dotted liberally around the ground; for Surrey, who have been off the pace in their group, the devil was in the detail.There were six changes to the XI that went a long way towards winning and then almost managed to lose against Middlesex. Out went Burns, Ollie Pope and Kemar Roach to international duty, Ben Foakes to the treatment room after his hamstring tear, Jordan Clark and Reece Topley to the exigencies of rest and rotation. In came Patel, Laurie Evans and Will Jacks to fill the batting spots, with Sean Abbott, Roach’s replacement as overseas, and Overton as bolstering the seam department, and Dan Moriarty the extra spinner.The initial exchanges hinted at an Oval surface of the most benign variety – although, already somewhat worn, Surrey will hope it offers a crumble of comfort for their trio of tweakers (Jacks’ offbreaks being a genuine consideration). Mark Stoneman clipped and cut efficiently to add 50 alongside Patel, before Ryan Higgins succeeded in dragging him across his crease before angling one back to hit the pads in front of leg stump.Related

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Patel, the 23-year-old allrounder making his first appearance of the season and opening the batting in Burns’ absence, was soon comfortably riding the mid-morning zephyrs on the way to a 100-ball half-century, despite being clocked on the helmet by Worrall early in his innings. Patel was particularly dismissive on the pull, and carved Worrall for back-to-back fours in bringing up his fifty – one slashed behind square, the other flayed through the covers. He had just swatted David Payne to the backward square leg boundary when a change of ball brought his dismissal from the very next delivery, a flying edge taken by the lone slip, Kraigg Brathwaite.Gloucestershire had not done too much wrong during the morning session, with little in the conditions to assist their four-pronged seam attack. Reward came after lunch, as Patel became the first of three wickets to fall inside eight overs; Jamie Smith was undone by Payne’s left-arm angle of attack, steering a thick edge to slip, before Evans got a good one from Matt Taylor, which straightened on him from round the wicket. Jonny Tattersall, on loan from Yorkshire as cover with James Bracey set to become the first Gloster to play a Test for England since 2006, plunged to his right to hold a thin edge.Jacks then dragged on after a 48-run stand with Amla, a wide half-volley from Higgins leaving him on his knees. But with Amla immovable and Overton haring through to complete his half-century from the final ball of the day, it was Gloucestershire in need of a pick-me-up.

Centuries from Nic Maddinson and Kutis Patterson set up a thrilling one-run win for Australia A in a run fest against India A at the Ray Mitchell Oval on Tuesday

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Aug-2016
Scorecard0:47

‘Managed my innings well today’ – Nic Maddinson

Centuries from Nic Maddinson and Kurtis Patterson helped set up a thrilling one-run win for Australia A in a run fest in the Quadrangular series match against India A on Tuesday. Australia A defended a total of 322 by one run to climb to the top of the table and set up a clash in the final with India A, who had qualified earlier.India A captain Manish Pandey’s decision to field backfired quickly as Maddinson (118) and Patterson (115), who struck his maiden List A century, powered Australia A. Pandey fought valiantly through a century of his own, but his 110, the highest of his List A career, and half-centuries from Sanju Samson (87) and Mandeep Singh (56) were not enough as India A were kept to 321 for 8 after 50 overs, losing two wickets off the last two balls of the match.India A got an early advantage after putting Australia A in, as Shardul Thakur trapped Marcus Stoinis lbw in the fifth over with just 16 on the board. That advantage was short-lived, however, as Patterson and Maddinson came together, and the fielding side had to wait another 35.1 overs for a breakthrough as they added 230 runs for the second wicket. The two fell within nine deliveries of each other, but by then, they had inflicted considerable damage. Patterson struck 16 fours in his 123-ball 115, while Maddinson’s 118 came at just over a run a ball, helped by nine fours and four sixes.India A did manage to make some late inroads after the duo’s dismissal, but brief contributions from the middle order and Cameron Bancroft’s unbeaten 14-ball 21 were enough to propel Australia A to a dominant position at the mid-innings interval.Of the seven bowlers India A used, the pacers found most success, with Thakur taking 2 for 50 in eight over, while Jaydev Unadkat, Hardik Pandya and Varun Aaron accounted for a batsman each.India A’s chase had to be all about a strong start, and Mandeep and Shreyas Iyer managed to do that. They rebuilt the innings and took the side to 68 for 1 after the early loss of Faiz Fazal for 12. Stoinis then struck with his medium-pace and had Iyer caught for 13 to end a second-wicket stand of 43. Mandeep and Kedar Jadhav, the latter Man of the Match in India A’s previous game, added 44 for the third wicket, but both perished in the space of four overs to Cameron Boyce’s legspin. Jadhav’s wicket left India A with an equation of 179 runs to get off 23 overs.Pandey and Samson then turned the game on its head, adding 157 for the fifth wicket in just 118 balls. Pandey raised his century with a single at the end of the 44th over and India A went into the last five overs, needing 32 from 30 balls. Samson played an equally good supporting role in the partnership, bringing up his own fifty off 40 balls.Towards the end of the innings, however, India A choked. Pandey fell first, edging right-arm pacer Daniel Worrall to the wicketkeeper in the 47th over. He had scored 110 off 91 balls with 10 fours and three sixes. Two balls later, Hardik Pandya was run out for 2. Samson brought the equation down to three off two deliveries but was dismissed off the penultimate ball, caught by Stoinis off Kane Richardson for a 74-ball 87 that was studded with six fours and two sixes. Thereafter, a run-out of Thakur while attempting a second run off the final ball of the innings took a tie out of the equation and gave Australia four points.Australia’s bowlers shared the wickets equally. Worrall and Boyce took two each, although the latter proved to be very expensive, conceding 71 in 10 overs. Richardson and Stoinis took a wicket each.

Clearer weather is expected on days three and four, but there is more rain forecast for day five

Karthik Krishnaswamy27-Dec-2021Persistent rain washed out day two at Centurion, with the umpires calling off play at 1.55pm local time. There had been overnight rain in the Centurion area, and intermittent showers through the morning and afternoon ensured there was no possibility of play.The weather relented twice, causing the umpires to announce inspections at 11.30am – with an early lunch taken – and 12.45pm, but rain returned on both occasions to dampen hopes of a resumption.Related

• Covid-19 after-effects, hamstring niggle forced Duanne Olivier to sit out Centurion Test

Clearer weather is expected on days three and four, but there is more rain forecast for day five, meaning there is likely to be further time lost and a diminished chance of a decisive result. Conditions so far have not been conducive to flurries of wickets, with the pitch playing flat apart from the occasional instance of inconsistent bounce.Given the state of the game, the washout has probably caused more frustration in India’s camp than South Africa’s. At stumps on day one, the visitors had laid a strong platform, moving to 272 for 3 with the centurion KL Rahul and Ajinkya Rahane at the crease, having already put on 73 for the fourth wicket.Rahul was also involved in stands of 117 for the first wicket with Mayank Agarwal, who made 60, and 82 for the third wicket with Virat Kohli. Lungi Ngidi was the only wicket-taker for South Africa, ending day one with figures of 3 for 45.As such, day two’s biggest development came off the field, with CSA confirming that Duanne Olivier had missed out on selection owing to the lingering effects of Covid-19, which he tested positive for a few weeks ago, and a hamstring niggle. The left-arm seamer Marco Jansen, chosen in Olivier’s place, endured a tough start to his Test career, ending day one with figures of 0 for 61 in 17 overs.

An independent tribunal that is looking into whether Andre Russell breached a WADA Code by missing three whereabouts filings is expected to give its decision in the matter by 2-3 weeks

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Nov-2016A decision on whether West Indies allrounder Andre Russell breached the World Anti-doping Agency code by being negligent about filing his whereabouts is likely to be announced by an independent anti-doping tribunal in the next two-three weeks.In March this year, the Jamaica Anti-doping Commission (JADCO) alleged that Russell had failed to file his whereabouts on three occasions in 2015, citing the dates of January 1, July 1 and July 25. Under the WADA code if an athlete fails to file their whereabouts three times in a year, it amounts to one failed doping test. If found guilty Russell could face a maximum ban of up to two years.”They have promised a decision I think in the next two to three weeks, but a date would be sent to us shortly,” Patrick Foster, Russell’s lawyer, said after both parties made their final submissions in front of the three-member panel on Thursday in Kingston.During the hearing, which lasted nearly six hours, Foster told the tribunal that Russell had always adhered to the rules and had complied with tests, both at the local and international level. Foster stressed there was confusion in communication about the third filing failure, and Russell could not be penalised for no fault of his.According to the , while summing up his arguments during Thursday’s hearing, Forster reportedly told the tribunal that if firm evidence of negligence was indeed established and Russell was found guilty then, keeping in mind his history of complying with testing protocols in the past, he ought to be banned for not more than one year.Forster, however, insisted that the evidence presented by JADCO against his client was thin. “Our contention is to prove an anti-doping violation there must be three filing failures,” Forster said. “And we have said, based on the evidence that they should not be comfortably satisfied that there have been three filing failures; in which case the complaint should be dismissed. Our position is evidence is not sufficient to disclose three filing failures. And if the three cannot be proved the case cannot be made out.”JADCO’s legal counsel, Lackston Robinson, did not speak to the media but reportedly told the tribunal that Russell’s failure to file his whereabouts in 2015 could not be absolved by his compliance with tests in various jurisdictions. Robinson specified that the dates by which Russell had to inform JADCO whether he would be filing his whereabouts were December 31, 2014, June 30, 2015 and July 24, 2015.Robinson said that JADCO had no obligation to prove Russell’s “gross negligence”. He stated that as far as JADCO was concerned, the case was simple: Russell had to meet the deadlines for filing his whereabouts and he did not comply.Russell, a sought-after player in T20 leagues around the world, has spoken only once since JADCO laid the charge. In July, while playing the Caribbean Premier League, Russell said he found the allegations stressing and depressing. Russell had also missed the T20I series against Pakistan in the UAE in September.

Can Afghanistan sustain momentum in lead-up to the T20 World Cup?

Shashank Kishore18-Mar-2021

Big Picture

Cricket is a confidence game. Afghanistan, searching for a spark in the first Test in which they were ambushed in less than two days, found it a week later in the second Test. And they’ve carried that forward into their favourite format, the T20s, breaking little sweat in seeing off Zimbabwe in the series opener.Rashid Khan, a global T20 superstar, one of the architects of their series-levelling second Test win, singlehandedly works magic for them. His presence automatically lifts a young side, many of whom are slowly spreading their wings in leagues like the BBL, CPL and the Abu Dhabi T10. Most times, his four overs are like an insurance policy when they defend or are under sustained aggression from opponents.While he lived up to his reputation on Wednesday too, the star was opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who displayed a ferocity to his batting to make a 45-ball 87 at the top of the order. Asghar Afghan, chipping in with just his fourth T20I fifty in his 64th innings, may have steered away from some of the “is he good enough” debates. Only a week ago, he also became the country’s second Test centurion. And it all bodes well for Afghanistan: the batting not being dependent on just one or two people alone is something they’d want to cultivate as they build up to the T20 World Cup in India in October.Zimbabwe have no immediate requirements of that kind, because they won’t be playing in that showpiece event after failing to qualify for administrative reasons – their board was suspended at the time of the qualifier. But there’s plenty of pride at stake and an opportunity to look a year into the future, when there’s another T20 World Cup in Australia in 2022.For a while now, Zimbabwe’s schedule hasn’t been defined. So having an intense stretch of games such as this in a span of four weeks by itself is a positive sign. Now the next step is for them to overcome the batting dependency on Sean Williams and Sikandar Raza, if they’re to put up tall totals or chase down scores like the 199 were faced with in the first T20I. There’s also a streak to break. They’ve lost each of their last five T20Is, including nine of the last 10 against Afghanistan.

Form guide

Afghanistan: WLWWW (completed T20Is, most recent first)
Zimbabwe: : LLLLL

In the spotlight

Twenty-two-year old Karim Janat, brother of Afghan, is developing into an allrounder. He first showed shades of his brilliance against West Indies in November 2019, after his selection had become somewhat of a talking point because at that stage, he had averaged 31 with the bat, while his bowling numbers weren’t that impressive either. Then, he shredded a power-packed West Indies by first making a freewheeling 18-ball 26 and then taking 5 for 11, Afghanistan’s second-best T20I figures, in a win. Over the past year, while his bowling has come on superbly, he’s fallen behind slightly with the bat. For an opener, he’s yet to hit a T20I half-century. Can he on Friday?Can Karim Janat continue to improve as an allrounder?•AFP

A prodigious batting talent at 16, Wesley Madhevere has found the transition to international cricket tough. A member of two Under-19 World Cup squads and a heavy scorer for Eagles in domestic cricket, Madhevere’s struggled for runs on tour. He’s made two ducks in his first two Test innings and, on Wednesday, managed just 2 before being foxed by Rashid trying to slog. It speaks of the side’s confidence, perhaps, that he’s also batting at a lowly No. 7 currently. He didn’t bowl either in the opening game, so there is much to prove.

Pitch and conditions

It’s likely to be a good surface in Abu Dhabi, but one of the square boundaries will be considerably shorter. The heat at this time of the year isn’t yet intense by UAE standards, but it’ll still test the fitness and endurance of the players nonetheless.

Probable XIs

The status of Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Gulbadin Naib is as yet unclear after the two were among a group of five players whose UAE visas were delayed.Afghanistan (probable): 1 Rahmanullah Gurbaz, 2 Usman Ghani/Gulbadin Naib, 3 Karim Janat, 4 Asghar Afghan (capt), 5 Mohammad Nabi, 6 Najibullah Zadran, 7 Afsar Zazai (wk), 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Naveen Ul Haq, 10 Amir Hamza, 11 Fareed Ahmad/Mujeeb Ur RahmanZimbabwe (probable): 1 Tarisai Musakanda, 2 Tinashe Kamunhukamwe, 3 Sean Williams (capt), 4 Sikandar Raza, 5 Ryan Burl, 6 Richmond Mutumbami (wk), 7 Wesley Madhevere, 8 Donald Tiripano, 9 Brandon Mavuta, 10 Blessing Muzarabani, 11 Richard Ngarava

Stats and trivia

• Mohammad Nabi, now just a white-ball player, hasn’t picked up a wicket in his last 12 T20I bowling innings. This is the longest streak without a wicket for any player who’s bowled regularly in this format.
• Rashid Khan will make his 50th T20I appearance on Friday.
• Rashid is currently the joint-fourth-highest wicket-taker in men’s T20Is, with Shakib Al Hasan. He needs two more wickets to go past Tim Southee (93 wickets). Lasith Malinga (107) and Shahid Afridi (98) occupy the top two spots

Alex Doolan’s maiden first-class half-century is unlikely to save Tasmania from defeat at the Gabba, where Ben Cutting’s three wickets put Queensland within sight of victory at stumps on the third day

Cricinfo staff04-Nov-2009Queensland 382 beat Tasmania 156 and 219 (Doolan 59, Marsh 49, Cutting 6-37) by an innings and 7 runs

Scorecard
Ben Cutting picked up 6 for 37 and finished with eight wickets for the match•Getty Images

Ben Cutting scythed through Tasmania’s tail to deliver Queensland victory by an innings and seven runs within the first hour of the fourth day at the Gabba. Tasmania began the morning at 6 for 209, needing a miracle to avoid defeat, but the speed of their capitulation was surprising all the same.It took the Bulls 45 minutes to pick off the final four wickets and Cutting grabbed three of them to finish with his best first-class figures of 6 for 37. First he had Brett Geeves caught behind for 17, having added one to his overnight total, and then Cutting removed Brady Jones and Brendan Drew for ducks.Chris Swan finished the task when Daniel Marsh was caught behind for 49 and the Tasmania collapse was so sudden that they had only added 10 runs to their overnight score. It meant Queensland did not have to bat again and consigned the Tigers to their second defeat from their opening two matches.Queensland have one win and one draw, having taken first-innings points against Western Australia last month. The Bulls now travel to Adelaide to begin a match with South Australia on Sunday, while Tasmania have a fortnight off before their next game against New South Wales in Sydney.

Kent stay just out of reach as New Zealand quick defends 18 off final over

ECB Reporters' Network02-Jul-2021Adam Milne took a hat-trick off the final three balls to clinch a thrilling 11-run victory for Kent Spitfires over Surrey at Canterbury, smothering the visitors in the death overs to leave them on 180 for 6, in reply to the Spitfires 191 for 4.Milne took 4 for 38 and defended 18 in the final over, bowling Ollie Pope with the fourth delivery and getting Kyle Jamieson caught on the long-on boundary with the penultimate ball to make the result all but certain. He then had Laurie Evans caught off the last ball of the innings to seal an astonishing recovery.Surrey looked heavy favourites when Will Jacks smashed a T20-best score of 87 from 54 balls, but after putting on 92 for the second wicket with Evans, who made 57, the run rate steadily increased.Kent had posted a challenging 191 for 4, thanks to another hefty partnership between Jordan Cox and Jack Leaning, who hit 61 not out and 50 respectively.After winning the toss and choosing to bat, Kent lost skipper Daniel Bell-Drummond to the second ball of the innings, lbw to Jacks, for nought. Zak Crawley made 24 before he was bowled by Jordan Clark and Joe Denly top-edged Gus Atkinson to Pope for 36. The run rate slowed before, not for the first time this season, Leaning and Cox rescued Kent with a stand of 90 for the fourth wicket.Leaning reached 50 and although he was out next ball, driving Jamie Overton to Clark, Clark’s final over went for 19, Alex Blake hitting 12 not out and Cox ending the innings with a six over cow corner.Surrey made a ferocious start. Fred Klaassen ripped out Jamie Smith’s middle stump for 9, but Evans and Jacks batted through the next 10 overs until Klaassen had the latter lbw.Kent were right back in it when Jamie Overton holed out off Milne, caught by Qais Ahmad for 6, and Surrey needed 34 from the last two overs. The penultimate, bowled by Klaassen went for 16, and Milne’s first three balls cost six runs, but the fourth splayed Pope’s stumps and needing to hit successive sixes, Jamieson perished in the deep.

The primary reason for the postponement is because “participants are still not vaccinated and as such, are vulnerable” to the virus

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Dec-2021The Under-16 Vijay Merchant Trophy, which was scheduled to begin in January 2022, has been postponed following a fresh surge in the number of Covid-19 cases in India and the growing threat of the Omicron variant. In a letter to the affiliated units of BCCI, which ESPNcricinfo has seen, BCCI secretary Jay Shah said that the primary reason for the postponement is because “participants are still not vaccinated and as such, are vulnerable,” as those below 18 years of age are still not eligible to take the vaccine in the country.”We have been closely monitoring the situation in lndia and across the world, and it is estimated that the caseload will shoot up in the immediate future if the situation is not controlled now,” Shah said in the letter. “After consulting experts and seeking views of the medical teams and operations team, it has been decided that keeping health and safety in mind, the U16 Vijay Merchant Trophy is postponed for this season.”We must exercise caution and not be adventurous and put the health of our talented cricketers at grave risk.”On Thursday, India reported 13,154 new Covid-19 cases, the number of active cases stands at 82,402.The BCCI announced in July that it was confident that all tournaments, including those for various age groups and women, will be played this season.”Ahead of the domestic season, we had said that will endeavor to have a full season across age groups,” the letter further said. “We started off well and are now mid-way into the season having completed 748 matches when we have again encountered a serious issue, The cases across lndia are spiraling and despite being a large number of adults doubly vaccinated, they have still been infected.”The tournament was scheduled to be played between January 9 to 21, in four venues across Agartala and Guwahati.