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A Moeen Ali-less Worcestershire is a lesser team, but it was the early loss of Daryl Mitchell – the country’s leading Championship run-scorer – that was a bigger blow in the context of the game

Vithushan Ehantharajah at New Road08-Jun-2014
ScorecardAlexei Kervezee, picture with team-mate Saeed Ajmal, made an unbeaten half-century•Getty ImagesBeing shorn of Moeen Ali after his selection in the squad for the first Test against Sri Lanka next week was always going to elicit a mixture of pride and worry for Worcestershire supporters. Sitting top of Division Two, their success with the bat has very much been dependent on Moeen and Daryl Mitchell.There was a moment before lunch that seemed to sum it all up quite neatly. With Mitchell already gone, Moeen, in training garb and pads, wandered around the outfield, greeted with applause as he passed each stand on his way to the main pavilion. He is set to be the county’s first Test cricketer since Gareth Batty. In wishing him every success, they are well aware they may see little of him for the rest of the season.With his family present, Moeen took the ovation with good grace, before practising his offspinners on an outer strip. At the time, his county were 85 for 2, having battled through a morning session in which Hampshire’s attack bowled with good lines and patience.A Moeen-less Worcestershire is a lesser team, but it was the early loss of Mitchell – the country’s leading Championship run-scorer – that was a bigger blow in the context of the game. As evidenced this season, his presence has a huge bearing on their success, with his knack of accumulating runs via a sound and thorough game.But David Balcombe, a brute of a bowler with a grunt that would make French Open champion Maria Sharapova blush, forced one to nip away from Mitchell, who had committed to a drive and edged through to Michael Bates. And so it fell to the others to share the burden, or at least try to, as Matt Coles and James Tomlinson, entrusted with attacking fields, operated from over and around the wicket, to good effect.Matt Pardoe, on 4 from 22 balls, was lucky to survive when he nicked the ball between first and second slip, when Coles got one to deck across him. The reprieve, of sorts, loosened him up, as he thrashed behind point for another boundary in Coles’ next over. But, having looked set, he played down the wrong line to Tomlinson and was trapped in front, much to his disappointment.Tom Fell and Ross Whiteley did not fare much better, though the latter was responsible for a ball change when he hit Danny Briggs over midwicket for a big six.It was only really Alexei Kervezee who provided staunch resistance and then a flow of runs to ensure that Hampshire did not claim all the glory on this rain-addled day. As the only member of the XI with a Championship century this season, his assurance compared to his middle-order teammates was apparent in his ability to hit effective release shots. He timed the ball off his pads well, and was the only batsman to show enough conviction to drive Coles through the off side and allow the slick outfield to do the rest.Once he had reached his half-century off 97 balls, he looked to be picking up the pace with a fine charge and drive over the head of Briggs for the day’s second maximum. His partnership with Ben Cox could well be the innings’ last pairing of substance, as they saw out the day thanks to a downpour that cancelled out all but one over of the final session.

A three-wicket burst from Lonwabo Tsotsobe at the death helped Lions win their first Momentum Cup game, against Warriors in Potchefstroom, by 20 runs

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Oct-2014
ScorecardA three-wicket burst from Lonwabo Tsotsobe at the death helped Lions win their first Momentum Cup game, against Warriors in Potchefstroom, by 20 runs. Tsotsobe derailed a threatening Warriors chase and finished with 5 for 44, only his second List A five-wicket haul in 130 games.Half-centuries from JJ Smuts and Colin Ingram had set up Warriors and they progressed to 195 for 2 in the 37th over before the slide began. Ryan Bailey and Somila Seyibokwe fell in successive overs, and Smuts followed soon too, but after Christiaan Jonker hit Aaron Phangiso for two sixes, Warriors needed 52 off 42 balls with five wickets in hand.Tsotsobe then knocked over Jonker and Andrew Birch in the 44th over and Sisanda Magala in the 46th to lift Lions. At the end of Tsotsobe’s spell, Warriors needed 39 off 24 balls and they were eventually dismissed for 271.Lions’ total of 291 for5 was set up by a collective batting performance. Quinton de Kock scored a brisk half-century at the top and Thami Tsolekile finished the innings with 51 off 36 balls. In the middle, Neil McKenzie contributed 73 while the others chipped in with handy cameos. All seven Lions batsmen made double-figure scores.

UEFA's premier club competition has been the stage for some of the greatest players of all time, but who has played there most?

In order to make over 100 Champions League appearances, you need something special about you.

A relatively small number of footballers have managed to achieve the feat, with only the most talented and physically capable doing so.

So which players have made the most Champions League appearances? Goal takes a look at the most enduring stars in the history of the competition.

Getty1Clarence Seedorf | 125 appearances

Clarence Seedorf won the Champions League with three different clubs: Ajax (1995), Real Madrid (1998) and AC Milan (2003, 2007).

The legendary Netherlands midfielder made his competition debut as a substitute for Ajax in a 2-0 victory against Milan on September 14, 1994 and his last-ever appearance was a 3-1 defeat to Barcelona on April 3, 2012.

AdvertisementGetty Images2Thomas Muller | 126 appearances

Thomas Muller scored on his Champions League debut, when he came on as a second-half substitute for Bastian Schweinsteiger in Bayern Munich's 7-1 demolition of Sporting on March 10, 2009. Since then, he has made over 120 appearances and lifted the trophy twice.

The Germany legend has featured for Bayern Munich in 14 consecutive Champions League seasons and counting.

Getty Images3Sergio Ramos | 129 appearances

When Real Madrid were the dominant force in the Champions League between 2014 and 2018, Sergio Ramos was the beating heart of their efforts. His first taste of the competition came in a 3-0 defeat to Lyon in 2005, but Ramos has gone on to win four Champions League titles, surpassing a century of appearances in the process.

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Getty4Andres Iniesta | 130 appearances

Like his Barcelona partner-in-crime Xavi, Andres Iniesta made all of his 130 Champions League appearances for a single club. The four-time winner made his first appearance in the competition during the 2002-03 season before pulling the curtain down in 2017-18.

In the day between the Supreme Court’s stinging remarks against him and the expiry of the court’s ultimatum to step down, BCCI president N Srinivasan is believed to be exploring his legal options

Nagraj Gollapudi26-Mar-2014If not Srinivasan, then whom?

BCCI’s South Zone vice-president Shivlal Yadav and Andhra Cricket Association president D Subba Rao may be the frontrunners for the post of BCCI president if and when N Srinivasan vacates the post. But they may not be the only ones in the running. According to the BCCI constitution, which was amended in September 2012, “ln case of vacancy occurring in the office of President by reason of death or by him being adjudged insolvent or by him being convicted in a criminal case by a competent Court or by resignation or otherwise, The Hon. Secretary shall within fifteen days convene a Special General Body Meeting to elect the President who shall be nominated by at least one Full Member from the zone which proposed the name of the President whose term was cut short prematurely. Such person who is so elected shall hold office till the next elections.”
The constitution also defines the eligibility of a candidate who can be president: “Past or present Office Bearer or Vice-President of the Board nominated by at least two Full Members from the Zone whose turn is current as per the principle of zonal rotation and (the one) who must have attended two Annual General Meetings representing a Full Member.”
Since the rules also clarify that a person need not be from the same zone that exercises its right of nomination, even all the former board presidents are eligible to contest for the interim president’s post should Srinivasan resign. The term of the interim president, however, will be till the AGM in September.

In the day between the Supreme Court’s stinging remarks against him and the expiry of the court’s ultimatum to step down, BCCI president N Srinivasan is believed to be exploring his legal options. One option is for Srinivasan – who underwent cataract surgery on Wednesday – to step down, in line with the court’s wishes; the other is for him to brazen it out and, if justices AK Patnaik and Ibrahim Kalifulla do carry out their threat to unseat him, go into appeal.However, going the appeal way – through review or curative petitions – might not prove to be helpful, a senior BCCI official well versed with the legal procedures told ESPNcricinfo. “Generally both avenues are restricted provisions. The review itself is a very, very restrictive jurisdiction. Thereafter, curative petition is far more restrictive.” the BCCI official said. “Normal prudence demands one should comply with the observations.”The first option available to Srinivasan would be to file a review application. A review is not a challenge, the official said. “It is just an opportunity to point out that are some errors on the face of the record that need to be rectified. It is entirely up to the judges to decide whether to admit a review or not.”Filing a review is a two-step process. “If the plea is justified the judges might allow the review application and open it for a new hearing,” the official said. “Suppose the judges feel that grounds in the review application require an open hearing from the counsels. A final call would then be taken on whether the review can be accepted.”If the court dismisses the review, Srinivasan has one more avenue: the curative petition. This application is also heard by the judges in their chambers and it is their discretion whether or not to consider the plea.The official said that Srinivasan, if he does resign and is replaced by an interim BCCI president, can make a comeback at the elections in September provided the inquiry has been concluded and Srinivasan receives a clean chit. He also made it clear that the court ruling would not have any bearing on Srinivasan’s position at the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA), of which he is the president.According to another BCCI insider, Srinivasan’s next move would be to “buy time”. The ideal scenario for Srinivasan would be to ensure that the matter is delayed through legal arguing about his willingness to “stand aside” rather than resigining until the probe is completed. This scenario could lead to a situation where the case is pushed to its next hearing a month later, towards the end of April, just before the Supreme Court’s month-long summer break in May. When the court resumes, a new judge will have to be appointed to the case as Justice Patnaik is due to retire from June 3.

Peter Moores has been confirmed as England’s new head coach five years after he was sacked from the same job

Alan Gardner19-Apr-20142:27

England go back to the future with Moores

Peter Moores has been confirmed as England’s new head coach five years after he was sacked from the same position. He returns after being identified as the “outstanding coach of his generation” by Paul Downton, the ECB’s managing director, during a three-month recruitment process to find Andy Flower’s successor.There was no immediate announcement on whether Paul Farbrace, currently under contract as coach of Sri Lanka, would come in as Moores’ assistant, although Downton said the ECB was in “advanced negotiations” over the role. Moores’ reappointment means that Ashley Giles, England’s limited-overs coach since the start of 2013 and the early favourite to succeed Flower, is out of a job.Downton said that the ECB had interviewed five candidates – Moores, Giles, Mick Newell, Mark Robinson and Trevor Bayliss – and that “one person stood out”. He described Moores and Alastair Cook, England’s Test and ODI captain who was present at the Lord’s unveiling, as “the future of English cricket”. Moores, who previously coached England between 2007 and 2009, once again begins his tenure in the aftermath of a 5-0 Ashes whitewash in Australia. “I think this is his time,” Downton said.Peter Moores has been appointed as England coach for the second time•Getty ImagesMoores admitted it was “great to be back”, expressing pride at being given another opportunity in the job. Since being removed from the England position, after a breakdown in his relationship with the captain at the time, Kevin Pietersen, Moores has rebuilt his reputation with Lancashire, guiding the county to their first Championship in 77 years in 2011.”I think you’ve got to earn the right to have the job,” Moores said, in response to being asked whether he deserved a second chance. “Since being England coach first time I’ve had five years at Lancashire, which I’ve loved – a great club and a great chance for me to reflect and move on and develop. I think I’ve managed to do that and I’m looking forward to bringing that back, working with Alastair over the coming months.”I’d like to be involved with a team that’s connected to the public, that’s connected to the media, it’s open, it commits totally and it’s a team that everybody’s proud of … You do learn from your mistakes, you evolve. I’m proud of some of the things that happened last time as well.”Moores will take charge in all three formats on the recommendation of Flower, who stepped down after England’s disastrous tour of Australia. Pietersen has also been discarded by England since then and there are few certainties about team selection for the summer. England suffered further humiliation at the World T20 in Bangladesh, where they lost to Netherlands, and Moores has a significant restoration job on his hands.”I am very excited about the prospect of returning to a role I have done before and to building a strong relationship with Alastair Cook and the rest of the players and staff,” Moores said. “In any time of change there comes opportunity and this is one I can’t wait to get stuck into.”England’s heavy workload and the experience of splitting the Test and limited-overs coaching roles between Flower and Giles seems to have persuaded the ECB to appoint a senior assistant who is able to step in and deputise for Moores. Robinson, who worked with Moores during their successful period at Sussex, had been tipped for the position but Farbrace is now the favoured candidate – despite SLC expressing its surprise and disappointment at the possibility of losing the man who has been Sri Lanka’s coach for less than three months.Moores’ return, which became more likely after he publicly stated his interest in the job at the start of the month, completes a full-scale restructuring at the ECB, with Downton replacing Hugh Morris and James Whitaker becoming the new National Selector. Downton dismissed the idea that Pietersen’s exclusion was in any way related to the appointment, underlining that it had been the “unanimous conclusion” of the England hierarchy after the disintegration of the Test team in Australia.Downton statement on Moores’ appointment

“Peter has a great reputation around the world as an outstanding coach and he will return to the role as England head coach with a great deal more experience and understanding of the challenges that the role presents. There is no doubt that he is the leading English coach of his generation and I believe that this is his time.
“His domestic credentials are beyond reproach having won the County Championship at Sussex and then repeating the feat at Lancashire, whose 2011 triumph was their first for 77 years. He was also the lead at the National Cricket Performance Centre at Loughborough between 2005 and his appointment as England coach in 2007.
“In his time with England he gave Test debuts to Stuart Broad, Matt Prior and Graeme Swann as well as helping to further the international careers of players like the current England captain Alastair Cook and James Anderson. He also brought Andy Flower into the England set-up as well as influential individuals like Mushtaq Ahmed as spin bowling coach. I was hugely impressed by his vision for the future of the England team and I am looking forward to working with him in the years to come.
“I would personally like to thank Ashley Giles for the job he did with the limited-overs squads in the last 18 months. It was a really difficult decision to make as we had an outstanding field but the panel were unanimous in the choice of Peter and I know that support will be echoed around the counties.”

Cook said it was a relief to “finally get to a day where we’ve got a new coach and we can start planning for the future”. He and Moores will begin to plot the way forward immediately, with less than three weeks until England’s first ODI of the summer, before Test series against Sri Lanka and India. Moores also gave a hint that he may attempt to overhaul the pragmatic approach favoured by England under Flower by referring to the team playing “a style of cricket that’s really worth watching”.Downton said the opportunity had come too early for Giles, who was brought in as part of a split coaching brief at the end of 2012. Giles, who rarely had a first-choice squad to work with, guided England to the final of the Champions Trophy but experienced defeat in seven limited-overs series before the disappointment of their World T20 campaign.”In all honesty, I think it has just come slightly too early for Ashley,” Downton said. “He’s been a coach since 2007 and you compare that to Peter, who has coached for 16 years. What I said to Ashley is that this is by no means the end, he and the other guys that applied for the job are the spine and backbone of English cricket coaches going forward. I’d be surprised if Ashley doesn’t come back and maybe in the future he will be England coach.”David Collier, the ECB’s chief executive, added: “Paul Downton conducted a thorough and far-reaching recruitment process. He has canvassed opinion worldwide resulting in the recommendation of Peter Moores. The board unanimously endorsed the recommendation and have every confidence in the choice of Peter. We wish him every success in the future. I would like to thank all the other candidates who made up what was an extremely impressive shortlist and in particular I would like to acknowledge the work of Ashley Giles, who has made a major contribution to cricket in England and Wales.”The manner in which Moores’ stint ended is what it is largely remembered for the rupture with Pietersen but he laid the foundations for several years of success under Flower and has continued to enhance his standing in the county game. Having led Sussex to the Championship title in 2003, Moores won his second pennant with Lancashire and although relegation followed a season later they were promoted straight back in 2013. Before discharging his duties with Lancashire, he will oversee their Division One fixture against Warwickshire, which begins at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Zaheer Khan has said that dismissing New Zealand for 105 was one of the best collective Indian bowling efforts he has been part of

Abhishek Purohit in Auckland08-Feb-20140:00

‘Brilliant slip catches made the difference’ – Zaheer Khan

Zaheer Khan said the events of the third day had left the momentum of the Test with India•Getty ImagesZaheer Khan has said that dismissing New Zealand for 105 was one of the best collective Indian bowling efforts he has been part of. The performance brought India back from a first-innings deficit of 301, and Zaheer said the visitors had gained the advantage, having ended the day on 87 for 1 in their pursuit of 407.”Definitely one of the top spells we have bowled as a unit,” Zaheer said. “Brilliant performance by the bowlers. As a bowling unit we clicked. It was a collective effort. That is what is crucial when we get teams out for low totals. Last time I remember was in Trinidad in 2001, (when) we had a similar kind of innings where all the bowlers chipped with three wickets. That was a collective effort.”Ishant Sharma was the most successful of the Indian bowlers with a match haul of nine wickets, and Zaheer said it was good to see him convert his experience of 54 Tests into results. “He has come a long way. It is important that he picks up wickets. He has been around for a while. Definitely has the potential to create that impact at this level and happy that he is among the wickets.”Backing up the bowlers were Ravindra Jadeja and Ajinkya Rahane, whose sharp catches accounted for the key wickets of Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor. India had dropped a few in the first innings, and Zaheer said it was crucial they held them this time. “Important thing was brilliant catching as well in the slip cordon. We held our catches and that really made a difference.”India’s lengths were also different to the ones they bowled in the first innings. Their fast bowlers had overdone the short ball as New Zealand racked up 503 but the lengths were fuller in the second innings. Zaheer said different strategies were at work both times. “That was the plan in the first innings. We wanted to be aggressive as a bowling unit,” he said. “Bowling bouncers was one of our plans. In the second innings we went in with the approach that we have to focus on bowling areas and that really worked for us.”Zaheer said the pressure created by the Indian attack, and not the Eden Park pitch, was the reason for New Zealand’s capitulation. “Pitch is looking good. What really got to them was the pressure I guess and some disciplined bowling by our bowlers. I don’t think the pitch has changed a great deal. In fact, it has got better, if at all.”The pitch did not offer much as the ball got older. It was the new ball that produced wickets in the first three innings, and Zaheer said it was crucial to make it count. “With the Kookaburra ball, it is important to get those early breakthroughs and with the new ball there is always a bit more help. It is good that we have seen off the new ball today and tomorrow hopefully will be a better day for us.”India survived the new ball for the loss of only M Vijay and Zaheer said they were in front now. “Definitely. The momentum is with us and we will look to capitalise on that. It was important that we have a good start, which we got today. So it’s important to start well tomorrow morning.”

The WICB president Whycliffe Cameron has said the governance, finance and fixtures restructuring of the ICC would leave West Indies cricket well placed monetarily to safeguard the development of the sport in the region

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Feb-2014The WICB president Whycliffe Cameron has said the governance, finance and fixtures restructuring of the ICC, proposed by BCCI, CA and ECB, would leave West Indies cricket well placed monetarily to safeguard the development of the sport in the region. The WICB was one of eight boards that supported the proposed changes at the ICC meeting in Singapore, and Cameron said West Indies’ Full Member status would be unaffected after the transition.”The WICB projects an increase of more than 100% in ICC revenue for the upcoming eight-year cycle of international matches based on the proposals when compared to the previous eight-year cycle,” Cameron said.The present FTP, according to Cameron, was unfavourable to the WICB and a cause for their financial problems. Under the new system of bilateral negotiations to determine fixtures, he said West Indies could ensure they played more profitable series.”Currently, West Indies have the most unfavourable allocation of matches of all the Full Members of the ICC, based on the current FTP schedule, and this is largely the reason the WICB is set to have a major deficit at the end of the financial year, September 30, 2014,” Cameron said. “Based on the proposed bilateral structure, the WICB will be able to negotiate fees when the West Indies team plays in away series, as was the case prior to the establishment of the FTP.”As the West Indies team continues to regain strength, the WICB will be able to negotiate more for our brand, which is a most significant consideration. Also, where the WICB hosts unprofitable tours, we will now be able to access the newly proposed Test Match Fund to help offset costs. We can inform you now that the WICB has already secured commitments from the major boards to play an increased number of matches and series during the next eight-year cycle.”Cameron said the WICB had no need to worry about a two-tier Test system because he felt West Indies were unlikely to sink to 10th in the rankings. “The risk of ‘relegation’ is only realistic for the 10th-ranked team. West Indies is currently ranked seventh and is in no realistic position to be ranked 10th in the foreseeable future.”With the increased revenue and a fortified development programme, the WICB is determined to ensure that the West Indies team is nowhere near being ranked 10th in the world, allowing us to continue to play all formats of the game in full – and put us in a strong position to negotiate with every other Full Member for participation in home and away tours.”Despite the restructuring giving greater power to the boards of India, England and Australia, Cameron said the WICB’s role in the ICC would not diminish. “We want to make it abundantly clear: The WICB has not relinquished any powers as a Full Member of the ICC. The WICB remains a Full Member of the ICC with full voting rights on all matters.”The WICB will be eligible for membership to all committees, chairmanship of all committees, and the presidency and chairmanship of the ICC. As such, I am a member of the Financial & Commercial Affairs Committee and will retain that position following the organizational transition. The WICB is extremely confident it will not be hurt by the organisational transition of the ICC and the world governing body will be stronger outfit as a result.”

Allrounder Saurasish Lahiri made full use of a lifeless track, scoring a century which propelled Bengal to a respectable first innings score of 431 in 166.2 overs against Services, in the Group B encounter in Palam

Amit Shetty29-Nov-2013
ScorecardFile photo: Saurasish Lahiri (right) was the star with the bat for Bengal•ESPNcricinfo LtdAllrounder Saurasish Lahiri made full use of a lifeless track, scoring a century which propelled Bengal to a respectable first innings score of 431 in 166.2 overs against Services, in the Group B encounter in Palam.Lahiri, who struck his second first-class century, made 108 off 212 balls with 10 fours as Bengal managed their first 400-plus score of the season. Overnight centurion Arindam Das was out for 165 today, while captain Laxmi Shukla made a promising start before being dismissed for 28.Offspinner T Koteswar Rao bowled 49 overs to finish with 4 for 123, while left-arm spinner Rahul Kanojia took 2 for 91. At stumps, Services reached 39 without loss in 11 overs. Openers Nakul Verma and Pratik Desai didn’t face any trouble in the last hour of play.If Lahiri was the batting hero of the day for Bengal, the inability of their batsmen to force the pace scoring runs – they finished with a run rate of 2.59 – definitely hurt their chances of closing in on 500. While the morning session yielded more than 100 runs, courtesy both Arindam and Lahiri, the proceedings slowed down in the post-lunch session when some of the middle-order batsmen wasted too many deliveries despite having the cushion of runs on the board.Arindam and Lahiri added 55 runs for the fourth wicket before the veteran opener played for turn to a straighter one from Rao and was bowled. Arindam faced 306 balls, hitting 14 fours and a six.Lahiri however looked confident at the other end, finding gaps with ease. He looked confident against the spin trio of legspinner Desai, offspinner Rao and left-arm spinner Kanojia, using his feet well. Most of his boundaries came from cover drives, although he hit a good-looking straight drive off pacer Irfan Khan.Lahiri was lucky when on 96, when Kanojia dropped a sitter at the deep midwicket boundary off Rao’s bowling. He completed his century with a push towards short cover off Kanojia’s bowling.Captain Shukla showed some intent but two other specialist batsmen Anushtup Majumdar (8 off 45) and Sandipan Das (9 off 45) consumed 15 overs between them, which produced only 17 runs. If Bengal fell short by at least 50 runs, the slow batting of these two and opener Rohan Banerjee (42 off 169 balls) was the prime reason. Even Iresh Saxena (8 off 52) was seen patting long hops back to the bowler, as crucial time was wasted.Services need another 393 runs in 180 overs over the next two days to get three points, but Bengal will expect that their spinners Lahiri and Saxena make use of the low and slow nature of the track in order to manage three points from this game.

With the focus firmly on how the Australians would front up to Test cricket following Phillip Hughes’ demise, David Warner scattered whatever nerves or doubts there may have been with a blazing start to the first Test

The Report by Abhishek Purohit08-Dec-2014
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
2:00

Emotional start to the series

David Warner scattered whatever nerves or doubts there may have been ahead of Australia’s resumption of the international season following Phillip Hughes’ death with a blazing start to the first Test. Warner hit seven of his first 15 deliveries for four on the way to his fifth century in seven Tests in 2014 after Michael Clarke chose to bat on an easy-paced Adelaide Oval pitch. Clarke motored to 60 before he retired hurt, and Steven Smith breezed to an unbeaten 72. India regained some ground with the second new ball producing three late strikes.The day belonged to Warner, as he shredded India’s attack for 145 off 163 deliveries before mis-hitting the debutant legspinner Karn Sharma to deep midwicket. India’s new-ball pair of Mohammed Shami and Varun Aaron were taken for 178 in 34.2 overs, and the visitors would have suffered more had it not been for Ishant Sharma’s discipline.Far more worrying for Australia than India’s attack was what seemed to be a relapse of Clarke’s chronic back problem. Clarke’s partnership with Warner had grown to 118 when he grimaced as soon as he avoided a short ball in the 44th over, and had to leave the field after some doing stretching and talking to the team physio. Barring the odd play-and-miss and some edged boundaries, Clarke had batted with assurance.India stuck to their strategy of bowling round the wicket to Warner throughout the first session, even though it had proved expensive enough already. They may have probably wanted to deny Warner width, but still ended up providing plenty of room, particularly at the start, and the opener punished them. He was especially severe on Aaron who went for three fours in his opening over, driven first ball through extra cover and flayed backward of point twice. Shami got the same treatment in his second over.Apart from a probing first over from Shami to Rogers, India’s fast bowlers could not find much swing or seam and the ball came on nicely for Warner to hit on the up freely. The first bouncer the Indians tried was in the fourth over when Aaron made Warner crouch. The batsman’s response was to play an upper cut the next ball, another bouncer, for four.Warner was already on 37 off 20 when Ishant came on and bowled a maiden to the opener. In his next over, he slanted one across to have Chris Rogers nicking a drive to second slip for 9. Shane Watson eased himself to a start in his first Test since March, before chasing a wide one from Aaron on 14 and slashing to second slip, where Shikhar Dhawan made no mistake again.Warner pulled Aaron for successive fours to reach his fifty off 45 balls and moved to 100 off 105, Virat Kohli allowing an easy single with mid-off pushed to the deep. Warner looked up to the skies with emotion each time, something he also did on reaching 63, the score Hughes was batting on when he was felled by a bouncer.Clarke was welcomed by a sharp bouncer from Aaron, as Watson had been by Ishant. Even as Clarke gradually settled down, Warner kept drilling the fast bowlers through the off side.Shami began from over the wicket to Warner after lunch but wasn’t disciplined for long enough and leaked runs to Clarke. He did start the session with three successive dot balls to Warner, who pushed the fourth in the air, but Kohli had placed point too deep for it to be a chance.Karn made little impact with his largely flattish trajectory and up-and-down lengths and Warner slog-swept and reverse-swept him for boundaries. Apart from Warner’s ever-increasing score, India’s over-rate was also a concern for Kohli in his first Test as captain as they managed 50 in the first two sessions.Warner’s failed attempt to clear the field soon after tea took care of Kohli’s first worry, and M Vijay’s introduction lifted the over-rate. It also allowed a cautious Mitchell Marsh to bat himself in against harmless part-time offspin as Kohli used his slow bowlers for 13 successive overs.Smith was in superb touch, using his feet regularly to spin and driving and clipping the fast bowlers elegantly. Marsh developed enough confidence to step out and drive Karn against the turn through midwicket.Vijay was used for as many as 12 overs as India waited for the second new ball. Ishant Sharma deservingly took it as soon as it was available, but offered Smith a couple of freebies on the pads, the second of which took the batsman to 63, bringing another emotional acknowledgment.With Australia having reached 345 for 3, India appeared to be wasting the second new ball too when out of nowhere, Aaron got one to kick from a tight line and a surprised Marsh edged to gully on 41. Shami too found some control to go with his pace. The nightwatchman Nathan Lyon could not make it to stumps, and neither could Brad Haddin, edging Shami behind off what turned out to be the last ball of the day.

A round-up of the first day’s play of Group C’s sixth-round matches in the Ranji Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Dec-2013
ScorecardAn unbeaten 90 from Jamaluddin Syed Mohammad – his third first-class fifty – helped Assam overcome a shaky start and lift the team to 236 for 8 against Goa in Guwhati.That total had seemed unlikely when the Goa medium-pacer Harshad Hanumant Gadekar – whose second-innings five-for had helped his team seal last round’s match against Tripura – had run through Assam’s top order in the morning to leave them at 68 for 5 in the 31st over. Then Jamaluddin and Gokul Sharma stage a recovery with a sixth-wicket stand of 101. The pair batted out more than 43 overs before Gokul was eventually caught by Amogh Sunil Desai off his own bowling for 46.Jamaluddin however carried on, hitting a total of 14 fours on the day, and added a further 67 runs with the lower order to take Assam into a decent position heading into the second day.
ScorecardManisankar Murasingh’s maiden first-class ton capped off an extremely productive day for Tripura, as they finished strongly at 285 for 2 against Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Uppal.Murasingh struck 13 fours and four sixes during his unbeaten 140, and together with Yogesh Takawale, who made 65, added 188 for the third wicket. Takawale hit six fours during his knock, as the pair batted out almost 52 overs to build on the solid starts provided by their openers Samrat Singha and KB Pawan.Hyderabad captain Akshath Reddy shuffled his pack to try and make a breakthrough, introducing as many as nine bowlers, but only Ravi Kiran and Amol Shinde ended with scalps, in a frustrating day’s play for the hosts.
ScorecardMedium-pacers Samad Fallah and Shrikant Mundhe picked up seven wickets between them to skittle Jammu & Kashmir out for 85, before a fifty from Harshad Khadiwale helped Maharashtra take firm control of the match in Pune.J&K, put in to bat, failed to get going in their innings, as only four batsmen managed to reach double digits. Ram Dayal, with 18, was the team’s top-scorer at No.9, as Fallah and Mundhe ran through their line-up in less than 30 overs. Fallah finished with 4 for 32, while Mundhe took 3 for 21.Maharashtra lost Vijay Zol for 23 in the 14th over, but recovered with a 119-run partnership for the second wicket between Khadiwale and Sangram Dilp Atitkar, who chipped in with 62. Atitkar looked to be heading towards his fourth first-class hundred, but was caught off Samiullah Beigh in the 49th over.Nonetheless, Khadiwale carried on and made his way to an unbeaten 79, as the hosts ended at 185 for 2, with a lead of 100 to carry into day two.
ScorecardVishal Bhatia, the left-arm spinner, took a five-wicket haul to restrict Kerala to a small total before Bipul Sharma struck a spirited half-century to help Himachal Pradesh score some vital psychological points at the end of an eventful first day in Kannur. Although Himachal still trail by 50 with five wickets down, they would believe they now hold the edge on a tailor-made pitch for the spinners.Click here to read the full report.