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The Supreme Court could not conduct the final hearing in the BCCI v Cricket Association of Bihar petition as it was tied up hearing other cases that were listed earlier in the day

Nagraj Gollapudi12-Sep-2013The Supreme Court could not conduct the final hearing in the BCCI v Cricket Association of Bihar petition as it was tied up hearing other cases that were listed earlier in the day. The BCCI case was listed to be heard on Wednesday afternoon by the two-judge bench comprising Justices AK Patnaik and JS Khehar, but the court ran out of time.”They (bench) could not hear it,” a BCCI official said. “The matter was listed for 3.30 but they had no time. The bench had other matters (to hear before BCCI). So it was too late. We will wait for the matter to be listed.” The next hearing date is yet to be announced.The official said that the BCCI remained unperturbed by the development even though the board’s lawyers had decided to enter the final arguments instead of the usual procedure of replying through an affidavit to the Special Leave Petition (SLP), filed by CAB.The BCCI’s decision was aimed at speeding up the hearing on the CAB appeal, which challenged the Bombay High Court order on July 30 because the court did not appoint a new committee to probe the alleged corruption in the IPL.The main aim of this exercise is to help BCCI president N Srinivasan get his name cleared of all allegations, including his involvement in the appointment of the two-man inquiry committee. That committee had cleared the pair of Gurunath Meiyappan and Raj Kundra, who were top officials of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals respectively, of corruption charges.The Supreme Court bench was earlier hearing an appeal by the BCCI challenging the Bombay High Court order of July 30 that deemed as “illegal” the inquiry committee’s findings. The CAB, which had filed the High Court case, also filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the High Court’s decision to not appoint a new committee.In its plea, CAB senior counsel Harish Salve argued the High Court should have formed a fresh panel, because the allegations of betting and spot-fixing in the IPL were grave and a private body like the BCCI should not be empowered to make its own findings.In its order, which set off the current chain of events, the Bombay High Court had pointed out that there was a “degree of probability” in Srinivasan having had a role in the formation of the panel.

Shane Watson hopes to bowl in the nets on Monday as he aims to prove his fitness for an all-round role in the final Investec Ashes Test at The Oval, which starts on Wednesday

Brydon Coverdale at Wantage Road17-Aug-2013Shane Watson hopes to bowl in the nets on Monday as he aims to prove his fitness for an all-round role in the final Investec Ashes Test at The Oval, which starts on Wednesday. Watson did not bowl during Australia’s two-day tour match against England Lions in Northampton, which finished in a rain and bad light-affected draw on Saturday, after he suffered an injury to his right groin halfway through his 19th over in the Test loss at Chester-le-Street.However, Watson was able to bat and run between the wickets unimpeded in the second innings of that Test and again during Australia’s disappointing effort in Northampton, where he top scored with 45 from 44 deliveries. After the match, Watson said working with the team doctor Peter Brukner had given him confidence that he would be able to continue with the heavy bowling workload that has led to him sending down 80.3 overs in the series so far.”The injury I got during the Test match is something that just occasionally pops up in my groin,” Watson said. “It’s something that does settle down pretty quickly, so hopefully I’ll be bowling and building it up to be able to make sure I can do a job in the Test match. I think the plan is at the moment to be able to bowl on Monday and make sure I’m confident to be able to do a job in the Test match.”The great thing here is the doctor we’ve got here is someone who has made a significant difference to my body. The techniques he’s using to be able to release the tension that builds up in muscles has made a huge difference throughout this whole series so far, with what he’s been doing with this groin injury that does flare up occasionally but does settle down quicker than my calf or hamstring issues.”If Watson was unable to bowl at The Oval it would place his position in the team in doubt, given his lack of big scores in Test cricket over the past two years and the selectors’ desire to have a fifth bowling option. Watson looked good in scoring his 45 against England Lions, mostly against the spin of Simon Kerrigan, but like the rest of the batsmen he failed to go on after making a start.The match was particularly important for Usman Khawaja, the incumbent Test No.3, and for Phillip Hughes, the man who could replace him at The Oval. Khawaja edged behind for 4 and Hughes made a scratchy 30, and while it was notable that Hughes came in at first drop and Khawaja down at No.6, Watson, the stand-in captain, said that was a decision that had come down from the team management.”I’m a ring-in captain so I have no idea, absolutely none,” he said of the batting order. “I’m told where we’re all to bat and we moved on. I know not to interpret things. It might get me into trouble.”That no player managed a half-century was far from the result the Australians wanted after their capitulation at Chester-le-Street. Nathan Lyon bowled impressively on the first day in Northampton and Mitchell Starc was reasonable enough, but Watson said apart from the fact that most batsmen had at least got starts, there was little to take out of the batting display.”The wicket with the new ball provided a few challenges,” he said. “It wasn’t a Test match wicket, that’s for sure, so it’s hard to get a gauge of exactly where guys are at. In the end I think it was just more a case of getting out there and trying to put in a decent performance. In the end we probably haven’t got a hell of a lot out of this game from the batting side of things.”From the bowling side of things I thought Nathan Lyon bowled extremely well, especially in the first part of his spell. Mitchell Starc bowled really well with the new ball so there are some very positive signs out of this as well.”

A round-up of the Dhaka Premier Division matches that took place on September 26, 2013

Mohammad Isam26-Sep-2013Newly-promoted side Kalabagan Cricket Academy stunned 17-time champions Abahani Limited with an eight-wicket victory in the Dhaka Premier League. KCA now have two wins under their belt, and have skipped over Abahani who have lost their last three matches.Set 189 to win after overnight rain delayed the start and reduced the match to a 34-overs-a-side affair, KCA got off to a poor start. Vusi Sibanda fell in the fifth over but thereafter, Hamilton Masakadza and Mizanur Rahman took charge. They added 166 runs in the next 25 overs, putting their side firmly in control of proceedings.Mizanur made 91 off 94 balls with seven fours and two sixes, while Masakadza remained unbeaten on a 72-ball 85 with eight fours and two sixes. Abahani’s bowling was insipid, with only Al-Amin Hossain and Nabil Samad picking up a wicket each.Earlier, 17-year-old batsman Mosaddek Hossain continued his good form with another half-century, which once again rescued Abahani from an ordinary start. He made 62 while Thilina Kandamby smashed two sixes and five fours in his unbeaten 38-ball 53. It was supposed to demoralise KCA, but the exact opposite happened.Another Dhaka giant, Mohammedan Sporting Club were beaten by a whopping 239 runs by Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club. It is the biggest margin of victory in Bangladesh’s List A cricket, besting Pakistan’s 233-run victory over Bangladesh in 2000.Mohammedan were bowled out for just 67 runs in the 23rd over, after being set 307 to win. Dhanmondi’s Elton Chigumbura took four wickets in a 2.4-over spell while Elias Sunny grabbed two. Mohammedan’s procession began in the tenth over, when an in-form Shamsur Rahman was caught behind off Abdur Razzak. From 42 for 2, they lost their last eight wickets for just 24 runs.Dhanmondi set up the massive target thanks to Afghanistan allrounder Gulbadin Naib’s whirlwind, unbeaten 93 off 54 balls. He smashed seven sixes and six fours, entertaining a small crowd that turned up at the Shere Bangla National Stadium. Dilshan Munaweera and captain Mushfiqur Rahim also chipped in with half-centuries. For Mohammedan, Ajantha Mendis picked up three wickets for 55 runs.At Fatullah Cricket Stadium, Brothers Union eased to an eight-wicket win over Khelaghar Samaj Kallyan Samity. Batting first, Khelagar were bowled out for 102 runs in 33.4 overs. Angelo Mathews took three wickets while Sachithra Senanayake picked up two with the new ball. The Sri Lanka captain took charge of the chase as well, scoring a run-a-ball unbeaten 51, to secure the win in the 25th over.

The equation is simple for Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians: The winner moves on to the playoffs, the loser pulls curtains on their season.

The Preview by Amol Karhadkar16-May-2015

Match facts

Sunday, May 17, 2015
Start time 2000 local (1430 GMT)2:55

O’Brien: Sunrisers have a pretty stable team

Big Picture

It will be the last of the 56 group stage games and it will decide the last of the four qualifiers. The equation is simple: The winner moves on to the playoffs, the loser pulls curtains on their season.There is very little to choose between the two teams. Sunrisers enjoy home advantage, but Mumbai Indians hold a slight edge. Not just because they enter the game having won six of their previous seven encounters, they also have a knack for pulling off stunners at the latter stages and make it to the knockouts.They did in in the CLT20 2013, chasing 150 against Perth Scorchers in the last league game in a little over 13 overs to scrape through to the semi-finals. They did it again in IPL 2014, edging Rajasthan Royals by running down an improbable 190 in 14.3 overs. Here they are, hoping to repeat what they are best at.But Sunrisers, in the second half of the tournament, have emerged as a formidable unit and they will hope to make it to the top four for the second time in three seasons. The last thing Hyderabadis would want is for weather to intervene like it did on Friday night. At the moment, the forecast is partly cloudy. And neither team would not want the heavens to open up.Mumbai Indians have a history of pulling off steals in the final game of a T20 season•BCCI

Form guide

Sunrisers Hyderabad LWWWL (last five matches, most recent first)
Mumbai Indians WLWWW

Watch out for…

Trent Boult (and Kane Williamson) will head to England to join the New Zealand squad after Sunday’s game. And Boult will be keen to get a look in and help Sunrisers get the better of Mumbai. That Shane Bond, the former New Zealand bowling coach, will be present in the Mumbai dugout might give additional zip to Boult’s performance.He has a reputation of coming good when it matters the most. But Rohit Sharma will not enter the game with the best form. Though he has tallied 400-plus runs this season, he hasn’t been able to notch up a fifty for nine innings. The Mumbai captain will be hoping to get a big one come Sunday.

Stats and trivia

• David Warner is one shy of joining Chris Gayle as the batsman with most fifty-plus scores in an IPL season. While Warner has registered seven so far this season, Gayle had struck seven fifties and a century in 2012.
• Ambati Rayudu needs 55 runs to join Sachin Tendulkar and Rohit Sharma in 2000 IPL runs club for Mumbai Indians.
• Mumbai Indians have made the cut into the top four in each of the last five IPL seasons.

Quotes

“We can walk away very proud with that performance today. And we can take the positives from today into Sunday and make sure we play our best game in the last round.””Hopefully tomorrow we can put together forty overs of very consistent cricket and if we do that I think we will be really hard to beat”

Daryl Mitchell and Ben Cox tightened Worcestershire’s grip on their LV=Championship match with bottom-placed Hampshire on a rain-truncated day at the Ageas Bowl

ECB/PA02-Jun-2015
ScorecardBen Cox played a lively hand to help set up a Worcestershire declaration and full batting points•Getty Images

Daryl Mitchell and Ben Cox tightened Worcestershire’s grip on their LV=Championship match with bottom-placed Hampshire on a rain-truncated day at the Ageas Bowl.No play was possible until 4pm and in the 40 overs allowed, Mitchell and Cox put together an unbroken stand of 114 for the sixth wicket to enable Mitchell to declare with Worcestershire 181 ahead.Resuming at 221 for 3 in response to Hampshire’s first innings total of 222 made in 79 overs, Mitchell and his team-mates wasted no time when the weather finally allowed them back into action.New Zealander Colin Munro lifted Sean Ervine’s medium pace over the midwicket boundary for six during a stand of 53 for the fourth wicket.Hampshire were hampered by the loss through finger injuries of wicketkeeper Adam Wheater and slip fielder Will Smith but it was Wheater’s young replacement, Lewis McManus who contributed to Hampshire’s first breakthrough of the day at 267.Spin bowler Danny Briggs, the pick of a struggling Hampshire attack, induced Munro to edge behind for 34 which also included six fours.Newcomer Joe Clarke, on his Championship debut, got off the mark with a four off Gareth Berg but had made only 6 when the same combination of substitute McManus and Briggs accounted for him at 289.But that only brought Cox to the crease and there was no respite for Hampshire as the pair took Worcestershire past bonus point-gathering landmarks.Mitchell reached his first century of the season in the 75th over from the 249th ball he faced and Cox got to his half-century soon afterwards from 53 balls.Mitchell was 142 not out from 303 balls and having hit 17 fours when he decided to declare. Cox was 69 not out from 65 balls in an innings which included eight fours and was marginally the more aggressive of the sixth wicket pair.At that stage Worcestershire were 403 for 5 from 96 overs, a decisive lead gained with a full day left to play.Hampshire openers Jimmy Adams and Liam Dawson had three overs to negotiate against Charlie Morris and Joe Leach which they achieved in reducing the deficit by a single, but Hampshire face a huge task in avoiding defeat.Briggs took the only wickets to fall on the third day to finish with 2 for 67 and Berg ended with 2 for 66 but Hampshire were unable to exploit a wicket still tinged with green.

Mitchell Starc and Michael Clarke impressed for the Australians although it was another uneven display against Essex

Daniel Brettig in Chelmsford03-Jul-2015
Scorecard1:08

Clarke leads Australia on low-scoring day

If day three in Chelmsford produced more mixed fortunes for the Australians, the forward strides made by two of their most spinal contributors was enough to obscure other more ambiguous outcomes against an Essex side that is far from the most threatening combination in county ranks.Mitchell Starc, indifferent in his initial spells, returned to the sort of rhythm and swing that made him the player of the World Cup, as his six wickets hurried Essex from 291 for 1 late on the second evening to 414 all out on the stroke of lunch. Then the captain Michael Clarke played his most substantial innings since braving a bad back, torn hamstring and the emotional weight of Phillip Hughes’ death to compile a memorable hundred in Adelaide last December.These two performances provided a reminder of Starc’s danger and Clarke’s value, while also ensuring the pair will be feeling confident and settled entering into the first Investec Ashes Test against England in Cardiff, with wickets and runs behind them. Clarke’s crisp knock was especially timely, going some way to proving he will be capable of something more than the flashy cameos he has indulged in since returning from hamstring surgery.Michael Clarke made his first substantial score of the tour•Getty Images

Regular wickets at the other end meant that the tourists needed Clarke to stand up, on a very good Chelmsford pitch that was showing welcome signs of deterioration late on day three, as all good first-class surfaces should but few enough contrive to do. Chris Rogers, Adam Voges and Shane Watson all completed matches without major scores, while David Warner and Mitchell Marsh were unable to follow-up their first-innings success.It is fair to assume Rogers, Voges and Watson have all done just enough to maintain their spots in the Test team, leaving Shaun and Mitchell Marsh as the unfortunate men to miss out. That being said, the final day of this fixture will provide the opportunity for Watson and the younger Marsh to again match wits as bowlers, leaving the selection chairman Rod Marsh and the coach Darren Lehmann to deliberate on who best to choose.Essex’s vim in the field ensured that Clarke’s men could not skate away to an unassailable lead, meaning the final day should provide decent entertainment on a July Saturday as Tom Westley and Ravi Bopara attempt to reprise their first-innings heroics against a touring team now eager to get to Cardiff. None more so than Starc.At one point on the first evening, Starc’s figures of 11-3-26-0 were flattering, for he had barely made the batsmen play and more often challenged the reserve gloveman Peter Nevill to limit a mounting tally of byes. But a move around the wicket had him swerving through Westley and the nightwatchman Jamie Porter, and there was more the following morning.Swung around to the River End by Clarke after Bopara had taken further toll on the finger spin of Nathan Lyon, Starc zoomed through the final four wickets of the innings in the space of 20 balls at a cost of five runs. Thus did 0 for 26 become 6 for 51, a turnaround reminiscent of a tour match two years ago in Taunton, but also the sort of damage once wrought by Wasim Akram for Pakistan and Lancashire. The need for Starc to find his best with regularity during the Ashes grows with every minute team medical staff fret over the state of Ryan Harris’ right knee.Batting a second time, Australia’s batsmen looked a little hazy in focus, something reflected by Warner’s drag on to the stumps, Rogers being dropped on nought before edging behind at 32, then Voges and Watson both missing straight balls – the latter’s a full toss he would have expected to make solid contact with. Clarke’s gaze looked rather more fixed, and in the company of Marsh he ensured the avoidance of embarrassment.As the close of play drew near, Clarke appeared good for a century, only to be done in when a flatter delivery from Aron Nijjar skidded through low to disturb the stumps. Frustration passed understandably across Clarke’s face, but it was doubtless leavened by the thought that he was now tracing towards a three figure score in the matches that matter most of all.

It was a day when optimism got the better of everyone. Another match at Uxbridge, another droll pitch – another draw.

Vithushan Ehantharajah at Uxbridge24-Jun-2015
ScorecardAustralian overseas player Joe Burns played an important hand to steer Middlesex from trouble on the final day•Getty Images

It was a day when optimism got the better of everyone. By the end, there were some notes: Joe Burns registered his highest first class score in England – a composed 87. James Harris showed some nice touches with the bat to score his maiden first-class fifty for Middlesex. James Franklin backed up 135 in the first innings with an unbeaten 91 in the second. He was happy to put the team’s needs ahead of his own. Another match at Uxbridge, another droll pitch – another draw. “I wanted to get our over-rate up and get out of here,” Franklin concluded.At the start of the day, the prospect of Joe Burns and Paul Sterling getting through the first hour and then adding considerably and stylishly to a Middlesex total that stood at 76 overnight. Both would then be heralded match-winners and cheered through the streets of Uxbridge in a parade that would culminate in front of the driving theory test centre. But that was not to be.

Daryll Mitchell on Moeen Ali

“It’s not been easy, what with our last game over in two days, to get Mo plenty of overs in. But he got a great opportunity to get plenty of overs in here and he’ll be a lot better for that sort of bowl. Hopefully he’ll take that into the international scene.
“I think he’s improving. He’s back to somewhere near where he wants to be. He’s got better and better the more he has bowled. He was seriously undercooked at the beginning of the season and struggled in the West Indies, but he’s got better, particularly with the white ball, he’s been brilliant for us. Come that first Test I think he’ll be where he wants to be.”

Then, when Moeen Ali bowled Paul Stirling through the gate, we were on the cusp of England’s spinner ripping through the rest of the Middlesex line-up, before taking it upon himself to hammer the winnings runs. The critics, for now, would be silenced. This, too, failed to materialise: while he did bowl 28-overs in this innings, more than he has done in any Test or Championship match this summer, he got little assistance from the surface.After a casual hit in the nets with Steve Rhodes yesterday afternoon, he had an even more relaxed hit when he came to the crease in the second over of Worcestershire’s second innings to face some complimentary overs of spin from Ollie Rayner and Stirling.Once they had clawed back the minus-four overrate, Nick Compton came into the attack with some offbreaks and Sam Robson took over from the pavilion end with spin that was more misery than mystery. Having been the recipient of three superb deliveries, Robson contributed 12 rancid ones of his own.But the players were not to blame as this day that promised much turned into an admin exercise. Both teams did what they could to force and scrounge a result. Blame should be cast, with great force, at the pitch (where presumably the life would be sucked out of it). It was the wet-blanket of this affair; the neighbour puncturing your ball, the one who says the gig’s too loud, the person who read BYOB and brought broccoli.There was nothing in the pitch for seamer, spinner or even really batsman. John Simpson showed that even wicketkeeping was tough at times. Who knows, maybe one day cricket will develop that fifth suit that Uxbridge was intended for.Franklin described it as “a tough pitch to play cricket on”, while Worcestershire skipper Daryll Mitchell seemed at a loss to find an appropriate word. He eventually decided on “tough”. His side benefitted most from what movement there was on the first morning when they reduced Middlesex to 51 for 4. All things considered, he was buoyed by the fight from his batting, singling out centurion Tom Fell, while also championing his bowling attack for being so frugal on an outfield so bare.”It was pretty hard-fought, but to go at less than three-an-over was a pretty good effort. James Franklin batted brilliantly but unfortunately we couldn’t knock them over second-time around to give us some sort of chase.”A pair of 103 run stands – the first between Burns and Franklin, the second between Franklin and Harris – saw Middlesex to safety. Burns fell short of his hundred when he directed a bumper from Jack Shantry straight to Joe Leach at deep-square leg. Leach took to the attack with the new ball and got Simpson to play on before trapping Rayner lbw.The 12 points they take back to Worcester sees them jump to seventh, two points ahead of Hampshire and Nottinghamshire. In a match that boiled down to taking the positives, Worcestershire will have the most.

Netherlands opener Stephan Myburgh’s first fifty of the tournament ensured his team cruised to a six-wicket victory against Canada in Edinburgh

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Jul-2015
ScorecardFile photo: Stephan Myburgh blasted six fours and four sixes for his 67•IDI/Getty

Netherlands opener Stephan Myburgh’s first fifty of the tournament ensured his team cruised to a six-wicket victory against Canada in Edinburgh. Set a challenging 173 for the win, Myburgh and his opening partner Wesley Barresi began rapidly, blazing 65 inside five overs. Both players wasted no time in getting going, with Myburgh starting the innings with a six, and Barresi finishing the over with three consecutive fours, off Jeremy Gordon.Barresi was eventually dismissed for a 15-ball 33 after slamming seven fours, but Myburgh carried on to make 67 off 30 balls with six fours and four sixes, including 21 runs off an over from Rizwan Cheema. Nitish Kumar ended the carnage by trapping Myburgh lbw in the ninth over, but by then, most of the damage had been done as Netherlands needed just 64 runs from 70 deliveries. Cecil Pervez offered Canada a glimmer by picking up two wickets in consecutive overs, but Michael Swart’s unbeaten 34 took Netherlands home with 15 balls to spare.Earlier, Canada, having been inserted, rode on a half-century from Ruvindu Gunasekera (51) and late blitzes from Cheema and Hamza Tariq to post 172 for 8. Gunasekera and Hiral Patel began brightly with a 56-run opening stand, but Netherlands fought back with key top-order wickets in quick succession. Canada were precariously placed at 98 for 4 in the 14th over, but Cheema’s 12-ball 28, and Tariq’s 20-ball 40 powered the team past the 170-run mark. Swart was Netherlands’ best bowler, collecting 2 for 24 from four overs.

Stuart Law has said that his love for influencing a young player’s technique has brought him to Bangladesh for a second time

Mohammad Isam25-Aug-2015Stuart Law has said that his love for influencing a young player’s technique has brought him to Bangladesh for a second time. On this occasion he will work as the technical advisor to the Bangladesh Under-19 team who are preparing for the World Cup in early next year.Appointed earlier this month, Law will be with the programme for a total of 16 weeks, which he will complete in three phases. He arrived in Dhaka on Monday evening and will accompany the team for the first phase of training from August 29 to September 10 and will stay on for a duration of four weeks. The team will play some practice matches but the focus will be more on training at the Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium.Law was the head coach of Bangladesh’s senior side for nine months from June 2011 to the end of March 2012. He also worked with Sri Lanka and Australia, and also had stints with Australia’s Under-19 side after leaving the Bangladesh job.”I loved working with Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Australia national teams,” Law said. “It is a different challenge to get a player who is around 16 to 19, offer them advice, see them take it on board and put it into practice. It gives me more of a buzz than I used to get hundreds. Bangladesh Under-19 is my team. I don’t like losing, so I want to see them be the best I can be. If by chance, with good hard work and some luck, we can lift the trophy at the end of February, I will be very happy.”Since leaving Bangladesh, I worked with Australia’s burgeoning young players. They aren’t as physically matured. You have to take a different approach. You need to be having fun to play the best cricket. It seems some of these young guys have worked that out already. I am not here to change anything. I am here to help the system the way it is at the moment. They have got the plan in place. I am just here to add value to the plan.”The age-group side has been doing well since the last World Cup that was held in January 2014 in the UAE. Under the coaching of Mizanur Rahman Babul, the Bangladesh Under-19s have won three one-day series against Sri Lanka and South Africa. They recently beat South Africa 5-2 in South Africa. The results prompted the BCB into appointing Law as the technical advisor, but he believes that the pressure of playing the World Cup at home can be contained by doing the basics well.”There is always pressure when you are playing at home,” Law said. “They have to learn to deal with the pressure if they choose to play cricket as their profession. It is nothing compared to the pressure they have to face in international cricket. It is nice that the Bangladesh public expect the Bangladeshi teams to do really well. It is a credit to the team that they have done well in the recent past. We have to forget about winning the thing and worry about the basics.”Bangladesh have won the Plate championship in the Under-19 World Cup in 1998, 2004, 2010 and 2014 but have never reached the semifinals of the Cup phase. Expectations this time around, especially playing at home, will be of them to lift the main title for the first time.Law said that it can’t be done overnight but the progress of the current team has been encouraging enough for him to not change anything. “To make a champion team is a difficult challenge. It is not all down to one person either. As long as the players continue to work hard and coaches continue to nurture the talent and not try to make it too difficult and try not to change too many things.”There’s no magic formula that can be used to make a world champion team. It all comes down to good, honest hard work and performing well on each day. The game is not about winning. It is about turning up and doing your best every day.”

England completed their final warm-up match ahead of the Test series with an increasingly farcical day of batting against Pakistan A in Sharjah

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Oct-2015
ScorecardEngland completed their final warm-up match ahead of the Test series with an increasingly farcical day of batting against Pakistan A in Sharjah. Moeen Ali and Jos Buttler batted twice in pursuit of time in the middle and England called things off after 78 overs, having officially lost ten wickets to go with the retirements of Ian Bell and James Taylor.Moeen had begun the day auditioning to be Alastair Cook’s opening partner alongside Alex Hales. Both fell for single-figure scores and the sight of Moeen coming out again for a slightly more lengthy stay either side of tea was perhaps confirmation of his elevation for the Abu Dhabi Test.Buttler also fared better second time around, adding an unbeaten 32 to the 8 he made during the afternoon session. Jonny Bairstow, a potential alternative with the gloves, made a golden duck and could find his position at No. 5 come under threat after Taylor, having retired not out on 45, returned to top-score in the innings.Ben Stokes and Adil Rashid also failed to trouble the soon-to-be-overworked scorers as England lost 5 for 14 and the innings went down a similar route to that of Pakistan A. Mir Hamza, who collected 4 for 34, was the chief beneficiary.When Moeen and Hales strode out to bat, England would have been hoping for at least one of them to stay at the crease for most of the day. Instead, the openers were dismissed to slip catches inside four overs and it was left to Bell, who recorded a half-century, and Taylor to take England through to lunch with a century stand.Both then retired and the innings descended into something of a procession, as Stokes was bowled playing back to Iftikhar Ahmed’s offspin, Buttler and Bairstow fell to successive deliveries from Hamza, and Rashid was stumped off the bowling of left-arm spinner Zafar Gohar. Liam Plunkett fell in the same manner before Moeen trooped back out to join Samit Patel.When Patel gloved Junaid Khan through to the keeper after a 41-ball stay, Buttler also returned for another go in the middle. Moeen fell for a second time, lbw to Hamza after tea, allowing Taylor the opportunity to complete his half-century; his dismissal for 61 signalled the end of the innings with 12 overs theoretically left to bowl. Four days ahead of the start of the first Test, England had seen enough.