Kevon Cooper bowled a nerveless last over to give Rajasthan Royals a winning start to the season with a slim five-run victory over Delhi Daredevils

The Report by Andrew Fidel Fernando06-Apr-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsDavid Warner looked ominous, but a brilliant run-out from Brad Hodge helped even the odds, before Kevon Cooper pulled off the heist•BCCI

An electric late rally in the field, completed by a stoic over of pinpoint yorkers from Kevon Cooper, saw Rajasthan Royals begin their IPL campaign with a thrilling five-run win over Delhi Daredevils at the Feroz Shah Kotla. Daredevils were hurtling towards their target after 17 overs, with only 22 runs to get, and a flourishing David Warner at the crease. But Cooper ignited his side with a five-run over in the 18th that ended with a wicket, before a direct hit from acting captain Brad Hodge at cover dismissed Warner in the penultimate over, to give his side hope of a still-unlikely victory.Nine runs were required off Cooper’s final over, but the bowler delivered six yorkers, two of which dismissed panicking Daredevils batsmen, and provided the IPL’s first week with its second nail-biting result. Johan Botha was out lbw, attempting a reverse paddle with seven required from four, before Andre Russell also fell trying to hit the ball fine with six needed from two, only this time Cooper cleaned him up. New man Naman Ojha had to hit a six off the last ball for Daredevils to salvage victory, but could not connect with a wide yorker, sparking ecstatic celebrations from Royals.Daredevils’ death-over meltdown almost mirrored Royals’ returns from the same period of their innings, after the visitors had managed just six runs from their last two overs, and lost four wickets. Royals had arrived in the 18th over at 159 for 3, and were eyeing a 180-plus total that seemed par on a good batting surface. They however lost four batsmen in six balls, including Rahul Dravid, whose immaculately paced 65 off 51 held the team’s innings together.Dravid had arrived at Kusal Perera’s demise in the third over, and aside from a controlled edge to the third man fence first ball, was largely content to collect singles to begin with, despite the fielding restrictions. When the bowlers erred, as Andre Russell did when he served up a wide delivery in the sixth over, Dravid’s placement and timing ensured the desired boundary was achieved.He was dropped twice in the 12th over, when he began to introduce more aggression to his innings, but he was undeterred, and having made only 22 from his first 26 deliveries, he quickly achieved a more laudable strike rate through the middle overs.For Daredevils, Warner was also relatively reticent to begin with, allowing opening partner Unmukt Chand to provide the early innings impetus, and striking at no better than a run a ball until the tenth over of the innings. When he eventually exploded in earnest, with two fours off Rahul Shukla in the 13th over, Daredevils appeared to be executing a measured chase.Warner was dropped early in his innings, and had one more reprieve just after hitting fifty, as he continued to maul some indifferent Royals bowling through the middle overs. Just before Daredevils hit their wall, Warner launched Siddharth Trivedi in the 17th over for 13. After Warner’s demise however, none of the Daredevils batsmen seemed capable of finding the boundary, and Royals achieved revenge for the mighty close defeat they had suffered last year, in the same fixture.

Shakib Al Hasan has been fined 75% of his match fee after pleading guilty to showing serious dissent at the umpire’s decision

ESPNcricinfo staff06-May-2013Shakib Al Hasan, the Bangladesh allrounder, has been fined 75% of his match fee after pleading guilty to showing serious dissent at the umpire’s decision in the second ODI against Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwe team was also fined, for maintaining a slow over rate.Shakib had been adjudged lbw for 34 though the ball seemed heading down the leg side, and there was a hint of an inside-edge as well. Shakib reacted by violently slamming the bat on his pads, accidentally brushing the Zimbabwe wicketkeeper Brendan Taylor’s pad as he ran in to celebrate the wicket. Shakib immediately apologised to Taylor. He later agreed that he had shown dissent at the umpire’s decision.The match referee Chris Broad deemed it to be a Level 2 breach of the ICC Code of Conduct. “This type of a reaction from a senior player and a former captain is unacceptable,” Broad said. “When the umpire’s finger goes up, the batsman must leave the crease without showing his emotions regardless of what he thinks of the decision.”The other fine levied in the match was for Zimbabwe’s slow over rate, deemed to have been one over short in their allotted time. Taylor, the captain, was fined 20% of his match fee, and the rest of the side was penalised 10%.The one-day series is tied 1-1, and will be decided by the final match on May 8.

Amrit Mathur, Delhi Daredevils’ consultant and former India team manager, said that it was impractical for franchises to form a formal body to educate and monitor players in the IPL

ESPNcricinfo staff17-May-2013Amrit Mathur, Delhi Daredevils’ consultant and former India team manager, said that it was impractical for franchises to form a formal body to educate and monitor players in the IPL. In an interview with ESPNcricinfo, Mathur said that the concept of a formal body to control activities like spot-fixing would not be feasible as the franchises had control over players only during the tournament. Moreover, he said that incidents like these could not be completely eradicated but, with appropriate systems, could be controlled and reduced.”There’s no provision at the moment for a formal body. At the same time, there is a practical body in the sense that the teams have the players contracted with them for only 45 days,” Mathur said. “Beyond those 45 days, there is no relationship between the franchise and player. So if it’s the 46th day, and a team has to go to its captain, it’s on request mode. If we’re with a player only for 45 days, there’s nothing we can do beyond that. The players are busy, they have no relationship with you, so what kind of programmes or education or anything can you do? It doesn’t work.”Mathur also said there was very little administrators could do in the spot-fixing situation, but advised that systems governing cricket could always be strengthened. “I don’t think the IPL or the BCCI could have done anything more once it was revealed such a thing happened. The IPL or the BCCI doesn’t have the tools or the ability to monitor or police this beyond a point. So, they have to go by what the investigations throw up in terms of evidence or offence of the individual is concerned.”The systems can be strengthened, there could be better monitoring and provisions to ensure such things don’t happen. It’s not that the IPL is not aware of the importance of keeping the league and tournament corruption-free of informing and warning the players of an act of this nature. Before the season, the anti-corruption unit meets each team separately, it’s a pretty serious exercise.”Mathur also stated that there was now a greater understanding of the problem of match-fixing because such incidents had occurred in India, on the county circuit in England and in Test cricket. “I think there is an understanding across the boards, across the countries, across the ICC, across the member nations that this is a serious issue. It will throw up wrong things from time to time and you have to be vigilant, you have to educate, you have to monitor. And at the same time, after all this, if somebody is caught doing it, there has to be some punishment.”Mathur stressed on the importance of a law in India that could enforce stricter punishments for spot-fixing and other related crimes.”That punishment, in England came through the court of law, not through the ECB. Similarly there has to be some procedure through which it comes to court of law in India,” Mathur said. “Apparently, earlier, there was some uncertainty about which provisions of the law does such an act attract. Ultimately, we were informed yesterday that it is under conspiracy and cheating, which do not attract very serious punishments.  So maybe down the line there could be a special legislation which enforces stricter punishments for spot-fixing or any crime of this nature.”In response to a question on how franchises perceived the threat of spot-fixing, Mathur admitted that while vigilance wasn’t as stringent in the first year, franchises began understanding that controversies like these would affect their business.”I think in year one it was just a mad scramble to get things rolling,” Mathur said. “But very soon the understanding reached everybody that: a) it is sport, you can’t have sport sallied by something like this and b) it’s a commercial venture, you invest huge amounts of money into the team, into the franchise and you’re building a business. And the last thing a business wants is a controversy of this kind. It holds the foundation of a business of any kind, let alone a cricket team or a sporting tournament. So even before the ICC’s anti-corruption unit became a part of the IPL, I know many teams were telling their players the need to be clean, the need to be fair, the need to not do anything that would tarnish the brand.”

Durham gave Geoff Cook nothing to worry about as they took over from visitors Hampshire at the top of Group B in the Yorkshire
Bank 40 League with a six-wicket victory at Chester-le-Street.

22-Jun-2013
ScorecardPhil Mustard made 92 in the chase•Getty Images

Durham gave Geoff Cook nothing to worry about as they took over from visitors Hampshire at the top of Group B in the Yorkshire
Bank 40 League with a six-wicket victory at Chester-le-Street. With coach Cook still in a critical condition following his heart attack on Thursday, his team romped to their fourth successive win in the competition with 2.4 overs to spare.Despite conceding 93 off the last 10 overs, Durham restricted the holders to
224 for 9 and lost acting captain Mark Stoneman in the first over of their
reply.A brief shower with the score on 55 for 1 in the 13th over reduced the target
to 218 in 38 overs and, by the time Phil Mustard and Scott Borthwick had put on
164 for the second wicket, victory was a formality.Mustard was dropped on 11 at slip by Sean Ervine off Pakistani left-arm paceman
Sohail Tanvir and Borthwick survived a return chance to James Vince on 12. Mustard went on to make 92 off 90 balls and Borthwick registered his maiden
one-day fifty into 80 off 82 deliveries before holing out with 17 needed.Borthwick hit sixes off both left-arm spinners, Danny Briggs and Liam Dawson,
who had combined figures of 0 for 85 in 11 overs.Tanvir took all four wickets to fall, producing excellent deliveries to clean
bowl Stoneman and Ben Stokes. But only three were needed when he nipped one back
off the pitch to breach Stokes’ defence and Paul Collingwood saw Durham home
with an unbeaten 32.Hampshire were not helped by Dimitri Mascarenhas being unable to bowl following
a back spasm, while Michael Carberry went for an X-ray after damaging a thumb.For Durham, Chris Rushworth bowled with great control to take 5 for 42 after
Hampshire were put in and the target looked like being much lower until Dawson
thrashed 69 off 46 balls.The openers put on 23 before Vince drove to mid-off and Carberry was caught at
leg gully, deliberately placed for the miscued pull. Jimmy Adams and Neil McKenzie carefully added 34 in 11 overs before the South
African tried to flip a straight ball from Collingwood to fine leg and was lbw
for 18.There was a second wicket for Collingwood when Adams holed out to Stokes at
deep midwicket after making 32 off 50 balls. That brought in Dawson at 112 for 4 in the 27th over and four overs later he
began the late onslaught by sweeping a six as Collingwood’s final over cost 12
and left him with 2 for 44.The last four overs yielded 46 with Dawson driving two successive balls from
Stokes for six. The first took him to 50 off 37 balls. Stokes’ first four overs were tight but he finished with 1 for 56 on what was
not a good day for either him or Briggs ahead of teaming up with the England
Twenty20 squad this week.

Ramesh Powar, the former India offspinner, has shifted from his home team of Mumbai to Rajasthan, signing a two-year contract

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Aug-2013Ramesh Powar, the former India offspinner, has shifted from his home team of Mumbai to Rajasthan, signing a two-year contract. Powar played five of the 11 matches in Mumbai’s run to the Ranji title last season, but had little success himself, only managing six wickets at 82.16.Powar said that current Rajasthan captain Hrishikesh Kanitkar had convinced him to make the switch to a team that has won the Ranji Trophy twice in the last three seasons.”The presence of Hrishi would add to [my] confidence,” Powar told . “He understands the game well and is composed and focused. He has become a better cricketer after his stint with Rajasthan. I hope I too will benefit from my decision of playing for Rajasthan.”The stocky Powar said he had worked hard on his fitness so that he could deliver for Rajasthan. “It was a challenge for me to lose weight. I have worked hard because I feel playing for Rajasthan ushers in a new innings for me. I want to contribute in all departments and that is why I wanted to be in best shape.”Having made his first-class debut back in the 1999-2000 season, Powar has plenty of experience. “I want to give back to the game. I would be happy if I am able to nurture a few youngsters in Rajasthan during my two-year stint. I always love to impart tips to upcoming spinners.” Among the spinners Powar will get to work with in Rajasthan are offspinner Madhur Khatri and left-arm spinner Gajendra Singh.It has been nearly six years since Powar last represented India, but even at 35, he dreams of returning to the national team. “I still hope to play for the country. A couple of good performances can turn the things your way. You never know. More over there is dearth of quality spinners in country.”

David Warner’s reinvention as a middle-order batsman received a tremendous boost as the left-hander amassed 193 runs against South Africa A in Pretoria

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Jul-2013
ScorecardDavid Warner was in prime form, striking 29 fours and a six in an innings of 193•Getty Images

David Warner’s reinvention as a middle-order batsman received a tremendous boost as the left-hander amassed 193 against South Africa A in Pretoria. The visitors finished one run short of 400 on the opening day as Glenn Maxwell celebrated his maiden first-class century as well.Warner was suspended from the Australian side after an altercation with England batsman Joe Root during the Champions Trophy and could not participate in the warm-up matches for the Ashes. Subsequently he was not picked to play the first Test and with coach Darren Lehmann confirming Chris Rogers and Shane Watson as Australia’s openers, Warner’s future in the side demanded that he adjust to the role of a middle-order batsman. He was sent to Africa with the A side to prepare him for the role; a role he was keen to perform, expressing a wish to fill the shoes of Michael Hussey.Having failed in his only outing in Zimbabwe, Warner stepped into a delicate situation with Australia A two down, both wickets going to Kyle Abbott, by the 13th over. A 73-run partnership for the third wicket between Warner and captain Aaron Finch, who scored a half-century, revived Australia A. Marchant de Lange accounted for Finch, but Warner, having already surged to a run-a-ball, fifty spearheaded a 76-run stand with Moises Henriques to put Australia A in the driver’s seat.Henriques’ fall brought Maxwell to the crease and misery to South Africa A as the duo piled on 204 runs off 229 balls with Maxwell reaching his century with his 13th four. Warner’s wicket, bowled by de Lange, signalled the end of day one, but not before Warner had lasted 226 balls, and hit 30 boundaries, including one six.Maxwell was very pleased with his innings. “It’s always nice to get the century out of the way on the first day,” he said. “I’m very happy with my performance; this is probably the best I’ve batted in a long time. It was good to bat with Dave Warner. He was taking a lot of the pressure off me by scoring pretty quickly.”Justin Ontong, the South Africa A captain, was disappointed with his side’s performance. “It was quite a hard day for us. The wicket was good to bat on but we should have bowled a little better in the first hour,” he said. “We bowled on both sides of the wicket which made it very difficult for me to set fields. And if you bowl [like that] to good batsmen like Warner, they’ll punish you.”We need to pick up five more wickets. We are going to have a good chat now and come back strongly tomorrow. Still it will be hard work for our batters but they need to apply themselves and show patience and get themselves in a position like David Warner got.”

Yorkshire’s dominance of the second day at Trent Bridge will have been watched with unease at Lord’s, Hove and Chester-le-Street

Jon Culley at Trent Bridge22-Aug-2013
>ScorecardSteve Patterson, Yorkshire’s unsung pace bowler, took five wickets in a Nottinghamshire collapse at Trent Bridge•Getty Images

Yorkshire’s dominance of the second day at Trent Bridge will have been watched with unease at Lord’s, Hove and Chester-le-Street. For those who still doubted as much, it amplified the fact that they are the team to beat for anyone with title aspirations.At some point on day three, barring unexpected defiance from a Nottinghamshire side that has thus far offered little, Yorkshire will add 23 points to their total and open up a 33-point gap between themselves and Sussex, who began the week in second place.That, in turn, will put pressure on Middlesex, who may struggle to save a draw at Derby, and Durham, who will need to beat Surrey to stay in touch, given that they travel to meet the leaders at Scarborough next week without their most potent fast-bowling threat, Graham Onions.Yorkshire need six wickets to secure an innings victory in what has been a performance befitting champions-elect. They have batted and bowled better than Nottinghamshire by a considerable margin and might have been heading back to Leeds already but for Andre Adams and one of their former players, Ajmal Shahzad, delaying the follow-on.Their top-order comprehensively demolished by Ryan Sidebottom and Steve Patterson, Nottinghamshire were 65-8 and threatened with the embarrassment of their lowest all-out total since Yorkshire dismissed them for 59 here in 2010 before the two bowlers began to out bat to ball, aided by a sloppy four-over spell from Liam Plunkett.Plunkett, the former Durham and England fast bowler has enjoyed an upturn in fortunes following his winter move to Headingley but not every day can go his way. Either side of a brief downpour, he bowled four overs for 46, teeing the ball up nicely for Adams to swing the bat, at which point Shahzad decided to do likewise.Adams hit three sixes — one of them caught, but out of bounds, by Adil Rashid — in his 39 off 17 balls. Between them, they propelled Nottinghamshire to 150 all out, which was still 257 runs fewer than Yorkshire had achieved but which at least was less embarrassing.Sidebottom, who knows the terrain here as well as anyone, took the key wickets, dismissing both Alex Hales and Michael Lumb without scoring and setting a trap into which Samit Patel obligingly fell when he chipped a catch to one of two short mid-wickets, taken above his head by Phil Jaques.Patterson, as ever the unsung workhorse in the Yorkshire attack, finished with a career-best 5 for 43. With 43 wickets at 19.6, he is the county’s leading wicket-taker in the Championship.Nottinghamshire did a little better following on, although the England trio of Hales, Lumb and Patel have already been and gone. Hales, who still cannot match his one-day-form with anything resembling progress in the red-ball game, was caught behind for the second time in the day, and Lumb somewhat tamely gave Plunkett a return catch. Patel might be counted as slightly unlucky, having fallen victim to a brilliant one-handed catch, falling backwards on the boundary, by substitute fielder Richard Pyrah when he hooked Plunkett.Sidebottom accounted for Steven Mullaney with a ball that the makeshift opener played all round and needs only one more wicket to equal the career first-class aggregate of 596 achieved by his father, Arnie.If they were lame with the bat, Nottinghamshire had also performed fairly dismally with the ball in the morning, when Jonny Bairstow risked following his omission by England with a cheap dismissal here but was rewarded for his boldness.His 62 from 80 deliveries, supported manfully by Patterson with the bat, steered Yorkshire to a fourth batting point. Indeed, they were not far from snatching a fifth, which would have been no mean feat for a side invited to bat first on one of the most taxing squares in the land.

Division Two champions Lancashire look set to finish the County Championship season unbeaten after strengthening their grip on their final match against Kent

25-Sep-2013
ScorecardRob Key made his fifth Championship century of the season to rescue Kent•PA Photos

Division Two champions Lancashire look set to finish the County Championship season unbeaten after strengthening their grip on their final match against Kent at Canterbury. Lancashire reached the mid-point of the clash on 75 without loss in their second innings – an overall lead of 99.Having dismissed Kent for 260 to claim a narrow first-innings advantage of 24, Red Rose openers Paul Horton and Luis Reece survived 21 overs through to stumps to dent Kent’s hopes of notching a first home Championship win of the season.Having started the day brightly by taking Lancashire’s final two wickets for the addition of just 15 runs – Ashwell Prince failing to add to his overnight 134 – Kent’s first-innings batting was again found wanting until their former captain Rob Key dug in for his fifth Championship century of the campaign.Responding to Lancashire’s 284, Kent suffered a miserable start and at 7 for 3 the follow-on looked a real possibility until Key saved face with a 118-ball century.The hosts lost opener Sam Northeast for a duck after only 13 deliveries when the right-hander clipped firmly into the hands of midwicket against Kyle Jarvis. Eight balls later and with only a single to his name, Daniel Bell-Drummond then allowed one from Oliver Newby to squeeze through bat and pad and pluck out off stump.Brendan Nash lasted three deliveries before he sparred outside off against Newby to be caught at the second attempt by Tom Smith at third slip as the procession back to the changing rooms continued.However, Key then found a willing ally in fourth-wicket partner Ben Harmison as the pair batted on either side of lunch to add 158 in 35.1 overs – the highest partnership of the game by far. Harmison posted his fifth half-century of an improving campaign from 103 balls while Key looked comfortable throughout as he eased 10 fours and a six during his three-hour ton.Harmison celebrated his fifty with a six off Newby but the bowler enjoyed revenge soon after by trapping the left-hander leg before for 59. The slide continued when Darren Stevens went in similar fashion to the lively Jarvis as Kent’s last five wickets mustered only 41 runs.Sam Billings was superbly caught one-handed at second slip by Andrea Agathangelou, Adam Ball also went leg-before and James Tredwell shouldered arms against Tom Smith to lose his off stump. Key then went for 134, snared by spinner Stephen Parry, who also bowled Kent’s last man Matt Hunn to give Lancashire a narrow lead.At the start of the day Kent required barely half-an-hour to polish off the Lancashire first innings. Debutant Hunn had Prince pocketed at second slip to give the rookie from Suffolk figures of 2 for 51, then Stevens bagged his 200th first-class wicket by having Parry caught in the cordon to deny Lancashire their third batting bonus point.

England’s outgoing bowling coach David Saker has been appointed coach of Victoria for the next three seasons

ESPNcricinfo staff15-May-2015England’s outgoing bowling coach David Saker has been appointed coach of Victoria for the next three seasons. Saker has replaced the long-serving Greg Shipperd, who had led the Bushrangers since the death of then coach David Hookes in January 2004 but was moved on at the end of this summer despite Victoria winning the Sheffield Shield.A former fast bowler, Saker played 49 first-class matches for Victoria and also represented Tasmania. It was reported in March that Saker would leave his position as England’s bowling coach – a job he had held for five years – to take the reins at the Melbourne Renegades, and the state coaching job has now been added to his remit.Cricket Victoria CEO Tony Dodemaide said: “There were many high quality applicants for the role but with David’s growing reputation as a world-class coach, built through his previous assistant role with Victoria and advanced during his time on the world stage with the England team, the board had no hesitation in endorsing the appointment.””We look forward to David building on the success we had in the Sheffield Shield this season, as well as producing players for Australian squads. We would also like to thank the England and Wales Cricket Board, who have allowed David to end his contract with them earlier to enable him to take up this career progression opportunity and start his tenure with Victoria at the end of the month.”The state’s coaching department will also feature David Hussey, who has been named as the batting coach, along with bowling coach Mick Lewis. Saker is due to begin his new role when he arrives from England in two weeks.

Middlesex have signed New Zealand left-armer Mitchell McCleneghan as a mid-season replacement for Kyle Abbott in the NatWest Blast

ESPNcricinfo staff19-May-2015Middlesex have signed New Zealand’s left arm paceman Mitchell McClenaghan, as an overseas replacement for Kyle Abbott in this season’s NatWest T20 Blast campaign after Abbott’s spell with the club expires at the end of June.McClenaghan is currently playing for the Mumbai Indians at the Indian Premier League, where he is among the leading wicket takers in the competition, with 14 at an average of 22.50.He will be in contention to make his NatWest T20 Blast debut for Middlesex against the Sussex Sharks at Lord’s on July 2 and will be available for the final six group matches of Middlesex’s NatWest T20 Blast campaign.McClenaghan did not have an impressive stint at Lancashire in T20, but his stock has risen on the back of some skilful, wholehearted displays with Mumbai Indians and his figures have given Middlesex additional confidence that he can answer their needs.Middlesex’s managing director of cricket, Angus Fraser, commented: “Replacing one high quality overseas fast bowler with another was not easy but we have managed to do this with the signing of McClenaghan.”Mitchell’s style, left arm fast, gives him a point of difference and his skill has allowed him to take wickets wherever he has played. We look forward to welcoming him to Lord’s at the start of July, for what we hope will be six important and exciting games.”