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The project involved erecting a fresh stadium in five months, with drop-in pitches transported from Florida by land to New York

Nagraj Gollapudi15-May-2024Eisenhower Park in New York, the first modular stadium in international cricket, is ready for the T20 World Cup. The 34,000-seater venue, about 25 miles east of New York City, was formally launched on Wednesday by Usain Bolt, the world’s fastest man and a World Cup ambassador.The ICC will conduct test events at the new venue in the days leading up to the World Cup, which begins on June 1 and will be played in the West Indies and the USA. New York will host eight of the 16 matches in the USA with Dallas and Texas hosting four each. The first match at Eisenhower Park, located in Nassau County, will be played on June 3 between South Africa and Sri Lanka.Eisenhower Park will also host a warm-up match on June 1, which ESPNcricinfo has learned will feature Bangladesh and India. During the main tournament, India will play three games in New York including the marquee contest against Pakistan on June 9.Related

• New York's beautiful monster: how a cricket venue was created from scratch

• 'Growing the sport in our time zone crucial to our long-term survival'

The project at Eisenhower Park, one of the most ambitious ever undertaken by the ICC, involved erecting a fresh stadium in five months on what in January was just normal park land. A significant part of the challenge involved preparing drop-in pitches in Florida and transporting them by land to New York before installing them both in the main square as well as the practice areas.Four drop-in pitches were put in place in the main square to go with six others for training a short distance from the ground. The pitches have been prepared by Adelaide Oval Turf Solutions, which is headed by Damian Hough, the head curator at Adelaide Oval. The outfield, meanwhile, was built by LandTek Group, a USA-based turf-making business that has prepared playing surfaces for baseball teams New York Yankees and New York Mets, and soccer (football) club Inter Miami.Usain Bolt brings out his trademark pose at Eisenhower Park•ICC/Getty Images

“We’ve turned what was park land and an informal cricket ground into what you’ll agree looks like a world-class cricket stadium that you might find anywhere,” Chris Tetley, ICC’s head of events, said in a media interaction on Tuesday.While the Bangladesh vs India warm-up game will be the first featuring two international teams at Eisenhower Park, Tetley said “community cricket events” would be staged in the last two weeks of May to understand the operational demands and the management of the resources including testing the infrastructure. “There will be proper cricket played there before the first match of the event,” he said.

Tickets still up for grabs for India vs Pakistan

Tetley said that fans could still avail of “limited opportunities” to buy tickets to all eight matches of the T20 World Cup in New York, including the India vs Pakistan match.”There are still limited opportunities for people to buy tickets to any of the matches,” he said. “A few tickets and hospitality to all games have been made available, and will be made available as we get the odd returns back from allocations that have had to be withheld.”So much as I’d like it to be a sellout, right now, not quite. So the last few tickets are available for those that get online quickly.”

India’s lower order came to the party again with Axar scoring 74

Andrew McGlashan18-Feb-20234:19

Was Kohli out or not out? Tait and Chopra divided

India’s formidable lower order, led by Axar Patel, again played a crucial role after Nathan Lyon had taken five wickets to turn what looked like being a significant deficit on a tricky Delhi pitch into a one-innings shootout of a Test with Australia holding the advantage of bowling last.The home side had slipped to 139 for 7, with Lyon doing the majority of the damage in the first two sessions, as Australia’s opening-day 263 took on imposing proportions. But Axar and R Ashwin then added 114 for the eighth wicket to leave the difference just one run.Australia had extended that briskly to 62 by the close. Travis Head, opening in place of the subbed-out David Warner, made a very punchy start although they lost Usman Khawaja to a brilliant catch at leg slip from a paddle-sweep. However, Marnus Labuschagne signalled his, and Australia’s intent, by taking three fours in an over off Ravindra Jadeja.Related

• Kohli, Axar and an India fightback of two parts

• Lyon shreds match-up theory, aces test against India's right-handers

• Warner subbed out with concussion, replaced by Renshaw

• R Ashwin and the story of a most magical over

• Uncertain Warner cuts contrasting figure to calm Khawaja

The game would likely have already gone from India, though, if it wasn’t for Axar. He produced a magnificent innings during which some of his off-side strokeplay was the highlight, particularly a flat cover-drive six against Todd Murphy, and it needed a reflex catch at mid-on from Pat Cummins to end things when he was looking to cut loose following the departure of R Ashwin.Ashwin had enjoyed milking his promotion to No. 3 as nightwatchman in Nagpur, but neither he nor Axar would look out of place higher up the order. Ashwin took the role of senior player seriously, constantly encouraging Axar although he did not appear to be having many concerns as he backed up the 84 he made in the first Test.Things had looked much different for the first half of the day. Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul had formed a solid opening stand, but once Australia got their first inroad the game took on another complexion.Lyon made the opening incision when he trapped the under-pressure Rahul with one which straightened from around the wicket. He then produced a brilliant piece of bowling to defeat Rohit with a delivery that skidded on into the stumps.Axar Patel goes big during his magnificent 74•Getty Images

Cheteshwar Pujara had been cheered to the crease in his 100th Test but was unsettled throughout a brief stay before he was trapped lbw for a duck by Lyon with a brave DRS call, instigated by Alex Carey, after Australia had burned their first two reviews very early with poor, speculative requests. They had used them all by the 25th over.This time the replays showed that the ball had brushed Pujara’s front pad first, it was smashing halfway up middle and India were 54 for 3.It got better for Australia soon after when Peter Handscomb did remarkably well to keep his composure at short leg and hold a catch as it rebounded off his body from a strong flick by Shreyas Iyer. After a somewhat difficult first Test, albeit where fortune did not favour him, Lyon had four.India then steadied across the next 20 overs as Virat Kohli, looking very secure and judging length brilliantly, formed a solid alliance with Jadeja who played cautiously until he fell lbw to Murphy which led to another flurry wickets.A key moment came when Matt Kuhnemann claimed his maiden Test wicket by gaining a borderline lbw against Kohli. The decision, as Kohli played forward with bat and pad together, was given out on field. Kohli reviewed and it could have been viewed that impact with bat and pad was simultaneous.2:35

Chopra: Head is potentially Australia’s long-term Test opener

However, third umpire Richard Illingworth ruled it was pad first – not having conclusive evidence to go against the on-field call – and it was just clipping leg stump. As Kohli watched replays in the dressing room he was still coming to terms with it.It was a memorable scalp for Kuhnemann, who only arrived in India a week ago, and overall it was a commendable debut outing from the left-arm spinner.When Lyon had KS Bharat caught at slip off a gloved sweep to complete his five-wicket haul, a three-figure – and likely match-deciding lead – was within reach for Australia. But India’s batting was far from finished.Shortly before tea, Axar took on Kuhnemann, sending consecutive balls for four and six to lay down a marker, but it was the assuredness of the defence as much as the attacking strokes that stood out. However, he could have been caught at slip on 28 off Lyon had Steven Smith been able to stay low on his stance and another tough chance scooted past Matt Renshaw at leg slip from Ashwin.Axar brought up his fifty by mowing Kuhnemann over deep midwicket for six and crunching back-to-back boundaries against Cummins registered the century stand.It was becoming a little desperate for Australia but the new ball finally wrapped up the innings, although probably not entirely by design. Ashwin clipped a leg-stump half-volley to square leg where Renshaw plucked it out of the air and Axar could barely believe Cummins was able to cling onto his well-struck drive at mid-on. After two innings, the teams could not be split, but Australia made the early moves in the decisive second half.

Cricket going global as ICC picks 14 hosts for 8 men’s global events in 2024-31 cycle

Nagraj Gollapudi16-Nov-2021Pakistan will be hosting a world tournament for the first time in nearly three decades when the Champions Trophy comes to its shores in 2025. In another first, the USA will also host a global cricket competition – the T20 World Cup in June 2024 – alongside the West Indies.Those two are part of the eight new men’s tournaments that feature in the ICC’s next commercial cycle from 2024-31. That’s two ODI World Cups, four T20 World Cups and two editions of the Champions Trophy, which the ICC had decided to bring back.On Monday, the ICC Board finalised the venues for the eight events based on the recommendations of a working group which shortlisted the hosting countries based on the bids that had been put forward earlier this year. ESPNcricinfo has learned that there were 28 proposals from 17 countries, including the 14 hosts.All the men’s ICC events between 2024-2031•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

This working group was led by former New Zealand fast bowler Martin Snedden, who is chairman of the NZC and its representative on the ICC Board. Former India captain and current BCCI president Sourav Ganguly, Cricket West Indies’ president Ricky Skerritt and former PCB chairman Ehsan Mani were also part of this working group.The latest global events cycle is in complete contrast to the previous one (2017-23) where the Big Three – India, England and Australia – split a majority of the hosting rights among themselves. It has been seven years since a world tournament has taken place anywhere outside of those three countries. But with the exponential growth of T20 cricket, the ICC wants to take the sport global and that is now reflected in this schedule.Starting with the 2024 T20 World Cup in the USA, several marquee cricket tournaments will be played in non-traditional countries. Namibia will co-host the first men’s World Cup in Africa since 2003, alongside Zimbabwe and South Africa, in 2027. And in 2030, Scotland and Ireland will join England to stage the T20 World Cup.The biggest news though is the 2025 Champions Trophy taking place in Pakistan. It will be the first time the tournament will be played since it was abandoned in 2017. It is also a shot in the arm for the PCB which has worked very hard to bring back international cricket after the disruption caused by the 2009 terrorist attacks.The last time a men’s global tournament was held in a non-Big Three country was the 2014 World T20 in Bangladesh•ICC

“By allocating a major global event to Pakistan, the ICC has expressed complete confidence and faith in our management, and operational capabilities and skills,” PCB chairman Ramiz Raja said soon after the announcement. He added that the 2025 event will be a “boon for millions of home fans” who will watch their “favourite international players from close quarters.”The other significant decision was to appoint the USA as a co-host for the 2024 T20 World Cup. This, it is learned, is part of a strategic move by the ICC, which has identified America as a strong market for growing the game. It also makes plain their keenness to get on the Olympics roster. The experience of hosting a major event in the USA, where the 2028 Games are due to be held, will only help in the push for cricket’s inclusion.The ICC once again acknowledged India as its key commercial driver and allotted three global tournaments to it. They will co-host the 2026 T20 World Cup along with Sri Lanka, then host the 2029 Champions Trophy and then join hands with Bangladesh for the ODI World Cup in October-November 2031.India are also scheduled to host the 2023 ODI World Cup, the last global event in the current FTP cycle. Ten teams will do battle for that trophy but from 2027 onwards the tournament will expand to include 14 and will witness the revival of the Super 6s format, where the top three teams, from two groups of seven, will play each other for a spot in the knockouts.The T20 World Cup, too, will expand to include 20 teams. They will be split into four groups of five with the top two entering the Super Eights stage followed by the knockouts.

England bowlers struggle after lunch on rain-affected first day

The Report by Valkerie Baynes05-Aug-2020Babar Azam and Shan Masood lifted Pakistan on a day punctuated by shifting fortunes on the field and above it as the first match in the three-Test series against England began.A moment of silence to remember those who have lost their lives in the Covid-19 pandemic before play began under heavy skies put the match in perspective and emphasised the efforts of both countries to stage this contest behind closed doors at Emirates Old Trafford.Having been in England for a month, preparing in the relative anonymity provided by England’s series against West Indies, Pakistan arrived to their first Test since February as questions swirled over their readiness to face an opposition which has three matches’ worth of competition fitness in them.By the time rain brought about an early tea and delayed the evening session by nearly three hours, it was batsmen Azam and Masood who looked to be in a groove against a bowling attack that seemed to have turned rusty at lunch.After his captain, Azhar Ali, won the toss and elected to bat first – opposite number Joe Root said he would have done the same – Pakistan opener Masood withstood a tricky period against Stuart Broad and James Anderson first up, accompanied by Abid Ali in a partnership that was approaching fifty when Jofra Archer entered the attack.Having rounded off his first over with a couple of steepling bouncers which were evaded well by Abid, Archer struck with the first ball of his second over when he bowled Abid with a beauty through the gate and into off stump, thus ending a patient start by Abid and the partnership on 46.After a brief rain interruption, Masood settled, guiding Archer through the bare gully region with smart, soft hands for four.But then Chris Woakes, who had relieved Anderson after five overs, struck with a full delivery that thwacked Azhar Ali on the pad in line and sent him on his way for a six-ball duck, despite his swift call for a review, which only confirmed the lbw decision.That brought Azam to the crease and he showed his class, somehow escaping a testing first delivery from Woakes that narrowly missed the outside edge and off stump and negotiating the ever-challenging Archer.But it was against Anderson after lunch that Azam settled into his stride, finding the boundary three times in as many overs to bring his spell to a swift end.Anderson even became the first bowler to be called for a front-foot no-ball – a rarity for him – by the third umpire in Tests under the new system being trialled during this series when he over-stepped bowling to Azam in the 31st over.Meanwhile, Masood was enjoying almost as good a time against Broad and, by the time Root turned to Archer and the offspin of Dom Bess, the batsmen were in a decent flow. They had put on 78 runs together and, as Azam brought up his half-century off just 70 balls with a punch into the covers off Bess and then passed it with two runs behind square off Archer, the rain hit.By that stage, Masood had moved to 45 not out, Pakistan had recovered from 43 for 2 to 121 for 2 and the players faced a long stay in the dressing rooms.Manchester was eventually bathed in bright sunshine but, by the end of mopping-up operations, play resumed under lights with the dim skies back overhead.Archer, who had bowled one ball before the lengthy stoppage, finished his over with plenty of short stuff, which meant Root was forced to turn back to spin, bringing himself on with Bess.Masood added just one run, having faced 152 balls – more than any other visiting opener in England since 2016 – for his 46 not out before bad light forced play to be abandoned for the day.In the course of his innings, Masood had two lives, both from Jos Buttler off the bowling of Bess. On 45, he survived an edge through to the keeper, and he hadn’t added to his score when, after the rain break, he charged at Bess, attempted to hit the ball to the leg side but missed, only to be saved when the ball bounced out of Buttler’s gloves. At the other end, Azam had moved to an unbeaten 69 off 100 balls in a third-wicket stand of 96.

The former India captain says India are “lucky” to have bowlers who can take wickets in the middle overs in what he expects to be a high-scoring World Cup

PTI18-May-2019Rahul Dravid has said the presence of wicket-taking bowlers in India’s line-up will greatly benefit them in the middle overs of what is expected to be a high-scoring World Cup.”I believe, having experienced some of the conditions in England last year with the A-team tour, it would be a high-scoring World Cup,” Dravid, the former India captain who now coaches the A team and Under-19s, said. “And in a high-scoring World Cup, having bowlers who can take wickets in the middle will be very important. I think India is lucky in that regard.”He added: “People like (Jasprit) Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal… (India have) got bowlers who can take wickets. Teams that are taking wickets through those middle overs in those high-scoring games have a better better chance of restricting the opposition.”India played their last international on March 13, after which the IPL kicked off. While the loss in that five-match series to Australia at home was unexpected, India have done well in ODIs over the last year, scripting a series win in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.Dravid took into considerations these victories while talking about India’s prospects at the World Cup. “I think we have had a couple of really good years leading to the World Cup. For right reasons, we are No. 2 in the world (in ODIs) and that actually means that we have consistently produced some successful results in the last two and half years. We can be hopeful.”I think it’s going to be a tough World Cup. Every team comes well prepared and wants to compete. Everyone at the World Cup will be putting their best foot forward.”So having said that I would say India is definitely one of the favourites in the tournament and all of us can be hopeful. Hopefully we make the semi-final and from there on there are four very good teams.”Bowling is going to play a very big role in this World Cup and the team that bowls best, probably, will be closer to winning it.”Dravid showered praise on captain Virat Kohli. “Virat, you know he just keeps improving, keeps getting better. He is setting bars and standards that possibly we thought would never be achieved. Sachin (Tendulkar) scored 49-50 [49] hundreds in one-day cricket. People thought that this would take a lot of time to achieve, will it be ever achieved… And now Virat is 10 [eight] away from it or close to it.”One of the things about Virat is that even if he has a bad tour – it is not that he hasn’t had bad tours, he had a disappointing tour of England in 2014, he wasn’t as successful in Australia first time around, but every time he goes back, he goes back as a better player. He sort of reinvents his game to a point where he is constantly improving.”Dravid also had words of praise for World-Cup winning captain MS Dhoni. “The beauty about MS is that he plays these big tournaments and these big matches… he plays them and they mean a lot (but) – I tell the Under-19 boys – he is able to find a way to play it like it doesn’t mean a lot.”Obviously it means a lot (but) he is able to see a bigger picture in it and say I’m not defined by this particular game. It is a hard thing to do.”

The spinner was a leading candidate for the role ever since the franchise signed him for USD 1.1 million at the player auction in January

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Feb-20182:25

Can IPL 2018 revive Ashwin’s limited-overs fortunes?

Kings XI Punjab have announced that R Ashwin will captain them in the 2018 season of the IPL. The India spinner was a leading candidate for the role ever since the franchise signed him for INR 7.6 crores (USD 1.1 million) at the player auction in January. While he has never captained in the IPL before, Ashwin has frequently led his state Tamil Nadu in various domestic competitions.”The best quality in Ashwin is that he is very smart and he understands this T20 format better than anybody else,” Virender Sehwag, Kings XI team director and mentor said. “This year we decided to do something different and I think he is the perfect choice for the captaincy.”Ashwin, 31, played for Chennai Super Kings from 2009 to 2015, before spending the 2016 season with Rising Pune Supergiant following his hometown franchise’s suspension from the tournament. He sat out the entire 2017 season with sports hernia.This season is a new beginning for Ashwin in more than one way. He has expanded his bowling skillset, and has revealed he will bowl legspin as well as his regular offspin. A good IPL season could also push his claims for a recall to India’s limited-overs sides; while he is firmly India’s No. 1 spinner in Tests, he has not played an ODI or T20I since July 2017.This season will also be his first for an IPL team not led by or including MS Dhoni, and is therefore an opportunity for him to show his leadership skills. Ashwin is known to be an innovative captain in domestic cricket, frequently setting unorthodox fields and making imaginative tactical decisions.

A round-up of the fourth round of matches in the WICB Regional 4-Day Tournament

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Dec-2016Jamaica captain, left-arm spinner Nikita Miller, took 9 for 41 in the second innings as his team beat Trinidad & Tobago by 132 runs at Sabina Park in Kingston. Miller had taken nine consecutive wickets, the last of which came in the 55th over, but narrowly missed out on a possible ten-wicket haul when Roshon Primus was trapped in front by Damion Jacobs off the last ball of the 56th.Miller’s effort came after T&T legspinner Imran Khan had run through Jamaica’s lower order earlier in the day. Having resumed the day on 148 for 4, with a lead of 256, Jamaica lost overnight batsman Jermaine Blackwood for 81 in the second over. He was trapped in front by offspinner Jon-Russ Jaggesar who also removed the other overnight batsman, Devon Thomas. Imran then took the last four wickets to complete his second five-wicket haul of the season and bowl Jamaica out for 229.Imran was then promoted to open the batting for T&T, from where he scored 52 and was involved in a brisk stand of 76 with Kyle Hope. But there was to be only one other half-century stand in the innings, a 50-run stand for the fifth wicket between Yannic Cariah and Yannick Ottley; courtesy Miller, T&T had collapses of 4 for 47 and 6 for 32 on either side of that to fold for 205 in their chase of 338.Speaking to the after the match, Miller said he had gone about business as usual. “They got off to a flyer in the chase, but I was not really worried,” he said. “I just tried to put the ball in the right areas. I was not expecting nine wickets, but it worked out well for me and I got my best-ever haul.”Miller had taken three wickets in the first innings, while legspinner Jacobs picked up four, ensuring Jamaica had the comfortable advantage of 108 runs after the teams’ first innings. For T&T, Jason Mohammed was left stranded on 91 not out in that innings, as the team was bowled out for 206 in response to Jamaica’s 314. The hosts’ total was built on half-centuries from Andre McCarthy and Brandon King.Windward Islands captain Liam Sebastien’s Man-of-the-Match performance helped his side defeat Leeward Islands and register their first outright win of the season at Windsor Park in Roseau. The allrounder was at the forefront of an impressive comeback by Windward Islands – they recovered from 48 for 7 on the first day, to win the match by 94 runs.Sebastien had led his team back from that precarious position on the first day with an unbeaten 82, after fast bowlers Gavin Tonge and Alzarri Joseph had torn through the batting following Leeward Islands’ decision to bowl. During his knock, Sebastien forged consecutive fifty-plus partnerships with the last three batsmen – 78, 70 and 97. He played second fiddle in the last two, where No. 10, Delorn Johnson (56 off 44), and No. 11, Mervin Matthew (73 off 53), made career-best scores to lift their total to 293.In response, only two Leeward Islands batsmen made significant contributions – Montcin Hodge with 76, and Jahmar Hamilton with 94 – as Shane Shillingford (5 for 96) combined with Sebastien (4 for 78) to bowl them out for 259 and take the lead. Sebastien wasn’t required to bat in the second innings as Windward Islands scored at over four per over on the back of ninty-somethings from Tyrone Theophile (96) and Sunil Ambris (91) to declare on 333 for 8 and set Leeward 368 to win.Hamilton added to his first-innings 94 with a 134-ball 125 but once again found little in terms of partners. Kieran Powell and Chesney Hughes got out in the forties, and Hodge made another start, but no one else got into double digits as Leeward folded for 273. Sebastien took 4 for 67 to finish with eight in the match.Shivnarine Chanderpaul nicked behind for 100 in the first innings•WICB

Guyana conceded the top spot to Jamaica after playing out a draw with Barbados at the Providence. Barbados are placed third, just 0.8 behind Guyana.Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s 72nd first-class hundred – 100 off 141 balls including 13 fours – was instrumental in handing Guyana the first-innings advantage. His first ton of the season took Guyana to 311 on the first day.Having opted to bat, the hosts lost Rajendra Chandrika and captain Leon Johnson early, but Shimron Hetmyer (60) and Vishaul Singh (40) gave Chanderpaul a decent platform. Chanderpaul then batted for 245 minutes, before he was the ninth batsman to dismissed. Gudakesh Motie, the No. 10, contributed 36 off 89 balls.In reply, Barbados lost both their openers within five overs. Shai Hope and Roston Chase then perked up the side with half-centuries, but the loss of the last six wickets for 78 runs meant they conceded a 23-run lead.Guyana then subsided to 137 all-out in 35.2 overs, with Hetmyer contributing almost half of the total. Offspinning allrounder Chase did the bulk of the damage, claiming figures of 5 for 41. Left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican supported him with three wickets. Chasing 161, Barbados were reduced to 11 for 3 in 3.2 overs, but Chase and Shamarh Brooks hung onto secure a draw and 9.8 points for their team.

Imrul Kayes was playing his first ODI after a forgettable World Cup, and he put in a match-defining performance after getting some handy pre-match advice from his captain

Mohammad Isam at Mirpur09-Nov-2015″My boss really inspired me today. He said, ‘You are not dying. Life is not going to be over if you score zero. It doesn’t matter. But when you play badly, you get out of the team. So think normally.’ After talking to him, my pressure got released.”This was Imrul Kayes, talking about how Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza, his “boss”, helped him deal with a sudden attack of nerves just before the second ODI against Zimbabwe in Mirpur. This was Kayes’ first ODI since the World Cup, where he did quite badly. He had replaced Anamul Haque midway through the showpiece tournament and, to be fair, it was like airlifting someone from Kathmandu to the top of Mount Everest, so poor was his preparation for the matches in Australia and New Zealand.Here, too, he had been a late replacement. First in the squad for the injured Soumya Sarkar and the later on Sunday night, when Shakib Al Hasan left Dhaka to be with his new born daughter in the USA. Between his last ODI fifty, in March 2014, and this one, he had scores of 9, 1, 1, 5, 2, 2 and 5. But one can’t forget that in between the World Cup woes and this comeback, he had been Bangladesh’s highest scorer in Tests and the most improved batsmen in the format.Mashrafe noticed the nervous Kayes, while the rest of the team were walking around and chatting with each other. “I told him that he thought too much during the World Cup, so ‘you didn’t get the runs. So don’t think this time.’ Sometimes it is good not to think too hard. I wanted him to play freely like he does in domestic cricket,” Mashrafe said.And it worked. Kayes was named Man of the Match for his 76 off 89 balls with six fours and four sixes in an innings that features a relaxed and attacking approach, which is rare with Kayes. He said he was eager for this opportunity and happy that he grabbed it, but rued getting out when he did – in the 32nd over, leaving a lot to do for Sabbir Rahman and Nasir Hossain at the back end. Bangladesh eventually added only 90 runs in the 18.3 overs they batted after him.”I think every comeback is important for me,” Kayes said. “I felt bad after playing poorly in the World Cup. I told myself if I get an opportunity, I will try to make the most of it. Luckily I got the chance and it worked out for me. I did get out at a bad time. There was pressure on the team. I think the next time if I get an opportunity, I will go for a century, definitely.”When I had scored 30-40 runs, then I got confidence – the way I play domestic cricket, I started playing like that… I was a bit low on confidence before 30, but after that I played normally.”Mashrafe agreed that while Imrul should be relieved with his knock, he should have batted longer. “There weren’t any batsmen apart from Nasir and Sabbir after he got out,” Mashrafe said. “I hope he will not let it go next time.”

Gloucestershire’s makeshift attack, led by 18-year-old Craig Miles, took control before a Hampshire fightback

Alex Winter in Bristol08-May-2013
ScorecardCraig Miles took the wickets of George Bailey, James Vince and Sean Ervine in his opening spell•Getty Images

Gloucestershire’s bowling attack is reflected in the state of Nevil Road at the moment – being in a state of repair. Cranes are swinging around the ground and the physiotherapist’s arms are equally as busy in the dressing room. But the bowlers Gloucestershire got on the field proved their worth on the opening day at Bristol.Around £10 million is being spent to upgrade the ground to keep Bristol as an international venue and, while only fractions of that sum are available for the playing staff, they earned every penny with a disciplined bowling display that ran through a far richer Hampshire batting order, save for Jimmy Adams’ loneliest of lone hands.The bowler who enjoyed most success must be one of the lowest paid professional cricketers in the country. Craig Miles, 18, signed a two-year deal last September when Gloucestershire’s financial pressure almost reached breaking point as they tried, and eventually succeeded on appeal, to get their development plans off the ground.Miles has potential to earn a few more quid from the game. He and all of Gloucestershire’s bowlers are capable of moving the ball either in the air or off the pitch but maintaining a consistent line and creating pressure has proved a major difficulty. They have leaked far too many runs too quickly.
But here there was control not seen since Jon Lewis left the club two years ago. There were few four balls, they put together successive maidens and created sufficient pressure to force several loose strokes.The opening 10 overs was a textbook period of cricket with the new ball. Overs five, six, seven and eight yielded just one run and with the first ball of the ninth, Michael Roberts, an ersatz Michael Carberry, who is away with England Lions, followed a length ball from Will Gidman that nibbled away. He edged it behind and walked off with 9 on his Championship debut.Liam Dawson was drawn into driving to third slip in Gidman’s next over and a run out chance a delivery later encapsulated the pressure that Gloucestershire had developed.Hampshire bullied Leicestershire and Worcestershire in their opening two games but their mental capacity was found wanting last time out at Chelmsford and here they were guilty of being impatient. George Bailey attempted a second lavish cover drive in three balls and was bowled,Sean Ervine mistimed a drive and chipped to point, Chris Wood popped a catch up to mid-on and Adam Wheater swung across the line to be lbw to Jack Taylor. Indiscipline with the bat it may have been but Gloucestershire deserved much of their success. Miles’ second wicket of his three was a good delivery, nipping back to have James Vince lbw.Miles, born in Swindon, is one of a number of academy products creeping into the first XI out of necessity. A lack of available finance for the playing staff and a bad injury situation has given several Gloucestershire youngsters opportunities that might not have existed five years ago.He was called up last week against Leicestershire as the last fit bowler available. Currently Ian Saxelby, James Fuller, Liam Norwell and Paul Muchall are sidelined. You can therefore imagine the fear of the home supporters when Gidman left the field after tumbling in his follow-through. But it was a precautionary rest, described as an “ankle twinge” which Gloucestershire are not too concerned about.Before his early departure Gidman had bowled a fine opening spell – 8-2-10-2 – which in partnership with David Payne gave very little away. Miles then replaced Gidman to do the majority of the damage before rain, and Adams, prevented Gloucestershire closing out the Hampshire first innings on day one.

The clash between the two most impressive teams in the tournament proved to be a one-sided affair as Kolkata Knight Riders cruised to a six-wicket victory

The Report by Siddarth Ravindran07-May-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Jacques Kallis was Man of the Match for his all-round performance•AFP

The clash between the two most impressive teams in the tournament proved to be a one-sided affair as Kolkata Knight Riders cruised to a six-wicket victory at a packed Feroz Shah Kotla, displacing Delhi Daredevils from the top spot they had held virtually from the start of the tournament.Jacques Kallis made two big early breakthroughs, Sunil Narine continued to confound batsmen and Rajat Bhatia quietly continued to prove an important cog in Knight Riders’ bowling as they stifled Daredevils’ formidable batting. The chase of 154 proved straightforward, the only real moment of concern for Knight Riders coming when Brendon McCullum brutally pulled a delivery straight at their dug-out in the 15th over.Daredevils’ two most productive batsmen this season have been Virender Sehwag and Kevin Pietersen, and their consistency had so far shielded the rest of the team’s batting from too much scrutiny. With Sehwag finally failing after a record five half-centuries in a row and Pietersen back home, the rest of the line-up couldn’t quite deliver.Brett Lee began with a maiden to David Warner, who was playing his first game of the tournament, but Sehwag and Warner slammed 34 off the next two to provide Daredevils a flying start. Kallis nipped that stand early by slipping in a length delivery after a couple of shorter ones to trap Sehwag lbw. Warner also didn’t last long, nicking behind in Kallis’ next over.That over ended with an angry confrontation between Mahela Jayawardene and Gautam Gambhir after Jayawardene survived a loud and confident shout for caught-behind. In the next Kallis over, there was less doubt about whether Jayawardene edged the ball but he was lucky as wicketkeeper McCullum spilled a tough chance to his right. He couldn’t capitalise on the lives though, as he was run-out attempting a suicidal single. Gambhir under-armed a direct hit and spiritedly celebrated the wicket.Bhatia and Narine choked the batsmen, conceding only 25 runs in a five-over stretch in the middle of the innings. The biggest struggle was for the out-of-form Ross Taylor, who scratched around for 16 off 27 deliveries, potentially putting his place in jeopardy. A cameo from Irfan Pathan, who again showed off his clean hitting, lifted Daredevils beyond 150 despite four wickets in the final over from Narine.That total didn’t prove too much of a challenge for Knight Riders, particularly as the Daredevils bowlers provided plenty of freebies down the leg side. Gambhir and McCullum put on their fourth fifty-plus stand in six innings to demoralise Daredevils as they raced to 60 for 0 by the end of the Powerplay. Gambhir was the more fluent of the openers, extending his prolific run this season with a quick 36 before being bowled by fast bowler Varun Aaron, playing his first match in five months.McCullum tried to muscle the bowling early on but couldn’t time it too well, though he gradually grew in confidence and was reverse-sweeping Irfan Pathan by the time he was nearing his half-century. As Gambhir’s striking had reduced the asking rate, Kallis didn’t need to try anything fancy, sticking to conventional strokes as he and McCullum added 60 before they were dismissed off consecutive deliveries by Umesh Yadav, who regularly reached 150kph.Those strikes weren’t enough, though, for Daredevils to hang on to the No. 1 spot, as Knight Riders coasted to victory with eight deliveries to spare.