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Kamran Akmal’s 104, the first century of the 2017 Pakistan Super League, to propel Peshawar Zalmi past Karachi Kings by 24 runs and into the final on Sunday in Lahore

The Report by Danyal Rasool03-Mar-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsIn a nutshellA clinical all-round showing by Peshawar Zalmi ensured they would avoid last season’s heartbreak, seeing off Karachi Kings to qualify for the PSL final. In a resounding performance at the Dubai International Stadium – spearheaded by a superlative hundred from Kamran Akmal – Peshawar never really let Karachi within touching distance of the target of 182, starving them of runs in the first six overs, and ensuring not even a stirring Chris Gayle and an explosive Kieron Pollard could rob them of a spot in Lahore.Peshawar looked ready for the occasion from ball one – which Akmal smashed for four – with the openers making up for the horror start in the first playoff loss to Quetta Gladiators. Kamran and Dawid Malan put on a classy 97-run stand to set a solid foundation to push toward a 200 total. Akmal seemed to get better as the innings wore on, no bowler able to subdue the diminutive keeper’s power hitting as sixes flew off his blade and he roared towards the PSL’s first century of 2017 and second in the two-year history of the competition. Accurate death bowling, particularly from Mohammad Amir, meant only 21 runs came off the last three overs, but the 181 that Peshawar put up was more than enough to handle for Karachi.Where the match was wonA chase of 182 on a pitch friendly to the batsmen wasn’t impossible, but a hopeless start for the Kings surely made it so. Leading scorer Babar Azam falling for 1 wasn’t ideal, but Gayle’s mystifying approach would have maddened Karachi fans more than anything else. He scored 2 off his first 15 balls in what could only be called a solipsistic performance: one man’s quest to get his eye in oblivious to the demands of the asking rate.It placed pressure on batsmen at the other end; Kumar Sangakarra and Shoaib Malik fell in the Powerplay attempting to kick on, and by the time Pollard arrived, Karachi found themselves at 34 for 4 in the ninth over. It was a deep hole, and in the end, too deep even for Gayle and Pollard to dig their team out of.The men that won itKamran seems to have found a new lease of life at 35 years of age, and Peshawar have benefitted richly from it this PSL campaign. His form was obvious from the very start, the wicketkeeper batsman guiding the first two balls for two elegant offside boundaries. He picked the bowler’s lengths exceptionally early, and was particularly devastating against the spinners, taking on any full-length deliveries and launching them straight down the ground. He seemed unplayable towards the latter stages of the innings, Ravi Bopara’s medium-pacers coming in for particular punishment.When he ended his innings, Kamran had become the highest scorer of the PSL, and his century in the biggest game of the tournament so far, coupled with the form leading up to it, has made him harder and harder to ignore for the national side. For Peshawar, at the moment, he is simply indispensable.Who’s playing the final?The struggles the PSL has faced in trying to organise the final in Lahore have been well-documented, particularly with regards to the availability of foreign players for the showpiece occasion. Peshawar, however, experienced an ill-timed injury today to one of their biggest domestic stars. On the first ball of the tenth over, Pollard smashed a ball to cover. As Shahid Afridi attempted an improbable catch, it burst through his fingers, splitting the webbing on his right hand.Blood streamed down his index finger as he rushed off the field, and though Peshawar have plenty of reasons to celebrate today, the last thing the PSL needs is the absence of its biggest local superstar and unfortunately that is the case. Afridi was pictured after the match with his hand heavily bandaged and has been ruled out of the final.Moment of the matchIf any player deserved to carry his bat through a T20 innings, it was Kamran today. But what he perhaps deserved more was the overwhelming adulation he received when he was run out in the final over of the innings.A packed Dubai crowd rose as one, his trudge back to the pavilion met with thunderous applause. Even the Karachi players joined in the ovation, most coming up to the Peshawar opener to shake his hand as he made his way off. Kamran, never one as comfortable with stardom as some of his Pakistani teammates, looked genuinely humbled at the respect he got, even if it was no more than he had earned.Where they standThis was a virtual semi-final, and Karachi’s loss eliminates Sangakkara’s men. Peshawar go through to the final, to be played against Quetta Gladiators at the Gaddafi Stadium on Sunday.

Australia and their three debutants fought to the finish against the visitors in front of a raucous crowd at the MCG, but a win offered Sri Lanka the chance to wrap up the series at Kardinia Park on Sunday

The Report by Daniel Brettig17-Feb-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAsela Gunaratne continued his good form in international cricket•Getty Images

Australia’s “best of the Big Bash League” took Sri Lanka to the final ball. The hosts and their three debutants fought to the finish against the visitors in front of a raucous crowd at the MCG, but a win offered Sri Lanka the chance to wrap up the series at Kardinia Park on Sunday.The Perth Scorchers’ Andrew Tye was left with six runs to defend from the final over, and one from the final ball. Chamara Kapugedara surveyed the ring field then punched the winning boundary through the covers to secure the result. His composure ensured Sri Lanka finished in the ascendant after looking the more likely victors throughout their chase, largely due to a boundary count that outstripped the hosts, 21 to 13.None of Australia’s batsmen were able to go on to substantial scores after Upul Tharanga sent them in to bat, as a spongy pitch and disciplined Sri Lankan bowling denied them the ability to find a domineering rhythm. Sri Lanka’s pursuit was then given the desired fast start by Dilshan Munaweera after Tharanga was dismissed in the first over, and Asela Gunaratne’s nimble half-century guided the tourists to within sight of victory in front of 42,511 spectators, many of them barracking for Sri Lanka.Gunaratne also made a brief but notable contribution with the ball, goading the captain Aaron Finch into a skier after he had appeared the man most likely to produce a truly damaging tally for Australia. The dismissal came two balls after Finch had hammered the biggest six of the night, and 10 runs after Michael Klinger’s long delayed international debut was ended.Lasith Malinga, making his own return from a long absence, bowled tidily and scooped a couple of late wickets, while Seekkuge Prasanna gave up a mere 23 runs from four overs that featured 10 dot balls and should have been rewarded with the wicket of Travis Head – dropped badly by Tharanga at point.Tharanga’s night did not improve when he opened the batting, as he received a perfectly pitched ball going across him from Pat Cummins in the first over and offered a thin edge through to Tim Paine behind the stumps. While the Australians celebrated this wicket with some gusto, they were soon haring about the MCG outfield as Munaweera and Niroshan Dickwella went to work.Their partnership ensured the run rate was not going to be much of an issue, compelling Finch and his bowlers to chase wickets and consequentially offer more scoring opportunities. Adam Zampa delivered his usual handy spell and deserved his two wickets, but oddly Finch did not try his other spin options until introducing Ashton Turner with only a modest equation required.Dilshan Munaweera’s six fours in his quick innings rallied Sri Lanka till the halfway mark•Cricket Australia

Turner’s offbreaks were rewarded by a smart Paine stumping to end Gunaratne’s innings just when he appeared to be coasting home, before a debatable lbw verdict against Milinda Siriwardana closed the gap between the teams. In the end, Kapugedara was left needing a single from the final delivery, an assignment he made light work of with a steely drive for four.Klinger, Turner and Billy Stanlake were all named for their first T20 appearances for Australia but there was no room for Ben Dunk and only three specialist batsmen selected – Finch, Head and Klinger. The visitors included the left-arm wristspinner Lakshan Sandakan, who was so effective against Australia in the Test series in Sri Lanka last year.Malinga kicked off the evening with his first ball in a full international since February last year, and also bowled the first ball faced by Klinger in an international match no fewer than 19 years after his state debut. The pitch was a little on the sluggish side, but Klinger and the acting captain Finch made a decent start with a smattering of boundaries and hustling between the wickets.They had 76 on the board by the time Klinger tried to tug a Sandakan googly to the leg side and was pouched by Malinga via the resultant top edge. Finch had his eye on a big score as leader, but after depositing Gunaratne’s first ball well into the Great Southern Stand he tried to repeat the trick two balls later against an offcutter and popped another high catch.From there the innings was a sequence of fits and starts, as Head, Moises Henriques, Turner and James Faulkner all offered cameo contributions. However, Prasanna’s spell was particularly tidy, Sri Lanka did well to keep the boundary count down – only seven fours and four sixes in total – and two wickets in successive balls for Malinga in his final over also served to aid the tourists’ ultimately winning cause.

UAE captain Rohan Mustafa became the third player in ODI history to score a century and take five wickets in the same innings as PNG crumbled to a 103-run loss in the series decider in Abu Dhabi

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Apr-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsUAE captain Rohan Mustafa became the third player to score a century and take five wickets in the same ODI•Chris Whiteoak

Rohan Mustafa’s all-round show, a century coupled with a five-for, handed Papua New Guinea a 103-run drubbing in the three-match series decider at Sheikh Zayed Stadium, to give United Arab Emirates a 2-1 series victory.Mustafa, joined the ranks of Viv Richards and Paul Collingwood, by making 109 before running through the visitors’ line-up with returns of five for 25 to clinch the bilateral series for his side.Coming off the back of a loss triggered by a middle-order collapse, Mustafa, the UAE captain, anchored the hosts’ innings with a well-constructed 125-ball knock – studded with seven fours and one six – while laying a solid platform with an opening-wicket partnership of 101 runs with Mohammed Qasim (33). However, the inability of the other batsmen, barring Qasim and Rameez Shahzad (37), to notch up a score in excess of 20, decelerated UAE’s innings.The combined returns of five for 82 from PNG’s Assad Vala and John Reva subsequently accounted for a middle-order collapse – starkly reminiscent of the one in the second ODI – as UAE slumped from 208 for 3 to 226 for 8 in less than five overs, before finishing on 251 for 9.In reply, the openers Tony Ura (40) and Vani Morea (36) got PNG off to a positive start, adding 76 runs for the first wicket. However, following Ura’s dismissal in the 15th over, Mustafa’s offbreaks stifled the opposition’s run-chase, as only two other PNG batsmen managed to get into double figures. Imran Haider, Mohammed Qasim, Ahmed Raza, picked up four wickets between them, before Mustafa completed his maiden five-wicket haul to bowl PNG out for 148 and seal the series for the hosts.

He is not part of Australia’s squad for next month’s Champions Trophy, but Peter Handscomb could hardly be doing any more to ensure he is the first man called upon if Australia need a replacement player

ESPNcricinfo staff10-May-2017He is not part of Australia’s squad for next month’s Champions Trophy, but Peter Handscomb could hardly be doing any more to ensure he is the first man called upon if Australia need a replacement player. On Sunday at Headingley, Handscomb plundered 140 off 112 deliveries for Yorkshire, his maiden one-day century, and in doing so jumped to the top of the Royal London Cup run list.In five innings during the tournament, Handscomb has made 46, 86, 47*, 88 and 140, the kind of form that will appeal to Australia’s selectors should any of their batsman be ruled out of the Champions Trophy, to be held in England, due to injury. Handscomb played the first five ODIs of his career during the southern summer, but after 82 on debut did not reach double figures again.”Any time you get dropped from a team there’s going to be some disappointment, but I was able to see where the selectors were coming from,” Handscomb told radio network . “I only got my opportunity because Chris Lynn got injured during the summer and I was able to come in for him. He’s now fit and ready to go for Champions Trophy, so it makes sense to bring him back in and I completely understand that selection.”Just being in the country, I’m here and ready to go if anything does happen. But the Champions Trophy squad is unbelievably strong. Hopefully for the boys nothing does happen and they can have a great Champions Trophy.”Handscomb has enjoyed a remarkable start to his Test career: it took until his eighth innings before he was dismissed for less than 50, the longest such stretch from debut for any player in Test history. Although life became a little tougher on the tour of India, an unbeaten 72 in the second innings in Ranchi helped Australia grind out a draw and was described by captain Steven Smith as being “worth 150 in my eyes”.Next summer, he faces the challenge of helping Australia regain the Ashes in a home series against England, and he is confident that his winter placement with Yorkshire will help him when the Australian season comes around.”It’s very important. I’ve often found that when I have been able to play cricket matches over the Australian winter, I’ve been able to come back and hit the ground running during the Australian summer,” Handscomb said. “It’s good just to constantly play cricket and that time in the middle is so valuable and so much better than just hitting balls in the nets.”And although Handscomb’s form for the time being is outstanding, he is well aware that the relentless nature of the county season can mean that any dip in productivity can be difficult to remedy.”With the county season, it can be sort of one way or the other,” he said. “If you can get yourself onto a bit of a roll, because there is so much cricket, you can find yourself feeling really good out in the middle and hopefully converting that into runs. But on the flip side, you don’t get a lot of time to practice if you are out of form. If you’re having a tough time out in the middle, you don’t really get any time to work on it.”The job is to make runs every time you go out to bat. Once you start thinking that batting becomes easy, then that complacency sets in, and cricket’s a bit of a fickle game like that, it can really take you down if you do start getting a bit complacent.”

Shaun Marsh is heading to Yorkshire for this season’s NatWest Blast

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Jun-2017Yorkshire Vikings have secured the services of Australian batsman Shaun Marsh as an overseas player for this summer’s NatWest T20 Blast competition.Marsh, a 33-year-old left-hander, has recently completed a 10th successive Indian Premier League campaign, for Kings XI Punjab.Yorkshire had to find a replacement for Travis Head, who stood down after winning an international call-up by Australia A through July and August.”I’ll be looking to bring some experience to the group and obviously some runs would be nice too,” Marsh said. “I’ve played in a lot of T20 competitions now and hopefully I can bring most of what I’ve learned over the years to the group and have a really successful campaign together.”I think we’ve got a really experienced team with a lot of talented players. Hopefully we can get some momentum going early. Having never played at Headingley, I’m really excited by the prospect of that too.”Martyn Moxon, Yorkshire’s director of cricket, said: “It was obviously a bit of a blow to see Travis pull out, but to secure the services of Shaun is a massive coup for us. To get someone of his calibre, with his ability in both formats of the game – in T20 and potentially red ball cricket as well – and at such short notice is fantastic news for us.”Marsh, who has represented Australia in all three forms of the game, has topped the runscorers lists in both the IPL and the BBL in 2008 and 2013 respectively. He averages 39.59 in T20 cricket.”Shaun has had a really good IPL campaign and, with the quality he’s shown throughout his career, he became a really attractive proposition,” Moxon said. “His stats stack up really well and on current form he’s in a really good place. We’re delighted he’s joining and we look forward to him having an enjoyable and successful time with us.”The Western Australia batsman, who was omitted from Australia’s 15-man squad for the Champions Trophy, will be looking to impress throughout the summer as he bids to regain his national team spot.

AB de Villiers is expected to retire from Test cricket as early as August, in a second attempt at hanging up his whites, unless CSA can convince him to stay on again.

AB de Villiers is expected to retire from Test cricket as early as August, in a second

Firdose Moonda26-Jun-2017AB de Villiers is expected to retire from Test cricket as early as August, in a second attempt at hanging up his whites, unless CSA can convince him to stay on again.ESPNcricinfo has learned that de Villiers informed CSA of his decision to give up the longest format late last year, but was instead offered a year out of the game in a bid to get him to reconsider. However, de Villiers is understood to contemplating Test retirement when he meets CSA officials following the appointment of a new coach in August, in an attempt to continue playing white-ball cricket for South Africa until the 2019 World Cup. CSA have declined to comment.Before leaving the UK for a two-month break at home, de Villiers said he and CSA would “make a final decision about what happens for the next few years” when they meet in a few weeks’ time, and indicated that the appointment of the new coach would be key to his future. Incumbent Russell Domingo’s contract is up at the end of the current tour to England and several sources have confirmed he has not reapplied for the post despite the support of the players, including de Villiers.But, insiders have revealed there is more on de Villiers’ mind than the question of who will take charge of the side. Those close to de Villiers say the batsman has wanted to retire from Test cricket since sustaining the elbow injury that kept him out of the New Zealand, Australia and Sri Lanka Tests last season.In a column for Graeme Smith all but confirmed this information when he wrote: “It’s my belief that AB was looking to walk away from the Test game last year at some point, but has been encouraged to carry on by CSA. His personal prerogative is ensuring he does all he can to add as much longevity to his international career as possible, as well as taking in to account the harsh realities of touring such as the amount of travel involved, and the toll that takes on your body.”AB has already made huge sacrifices for South African cricket, over such a long period of time, and with the next ICC World Cup just two years away, it’s likely that he is targeting that tournament as a swansong to his already illustrious career at the top level. What has AB de Villiers got to prove to anyone? He’s a star, and those players are often expected to be available all of the time no matter what the consequences might be personally.”Smith’s advice to de Villiers is to “step away from the captaincy”, and concentrate on maintaining his energy levels for the World Cup. If anyone would know about such things, it’s Smith. He gave up the limited-overs captaincy after the 2011 World Cup, following nine years in charge in all formats but continued playing before an unexpected retirement in 2014.Until yesterday, de Villiers had given no indication he was likely to take that course of action, insisting that he enjoyed leadership, but following South Africa’s defeat in the third T20 in Cardiff, he seemed to change his tune.De Villiers said he would like to be part of the World Cup squad in “one way or another”, and hinted at a change in mood in South African cricket. “There are quite a few things that are changing in South African cricket at the moment, quite a few things we need to wait for. I don’t even think it’s in my hands what is going to happen,” de Villiers said.Those changes include the introduction of a T20 league, to which de Villiers has committed to being a part – he is the marquee player for the Pretoria franchise. He also plays in the IPL and has previously had stints in the CPL. He admitted to being approached by the Big Bash in the past, but turned them down, because of the clash with the South African season. With a growing family, it remains to be seen how much de Villiers still wants to travel abroad, for T20 leagues or for South Africa.

The South Africans enjoyed a productive outing at New Road, with four batsmen registering half-centuries as England Lions managed just three wickets on another shortened day.

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Jun-2017
ScorecardHeino Kuhn made 80 before retiring in his warm-up for a Test debut•Getty Images

The South Africans enjoyed a productive outing at New Road, with four batsmen registering half-centuries as England Lions managed just three wickets on another shortened day.Heino Kuhn, who is expected to make his Test debut at Lord’s next week, and Hashim Amla retired in sight of hundreds, while Temba Bavuma was unbeaten on 85 when an early close arrived due to bad light. Quinton de Kock added a brisk 51 as the South Africans scored 324 from the 77.3 overs possible.George Garton added a second wicket, after Kuhn’s retirement, when he dismissed JP Duminy for 25 and Liam Plunkett dismissed Theunis de Bruyn – the potential deputy for Faf du Plessis if South Africa’s captain does not make at back in time after the birth of his child.De Kock then added 82 in less than 20 overs with Bavuma during the afternoon before before falling to the back-up seam of hid former U-19s team-mate Keaton Jennings.Kuhn, who won a call-up after making an unbeaten 200 in a pink-ball game against Hampshire and then a century against the Lions for South Africa A, continued his good form by scoring 80 off 126 balls before retiring.Amla was similarly assured, with 91 from 148, while Bavuma batted for more than three hours, putting on an unbroken 68 with Chris Morris to give South Africa a satisfying day ahead of the four-Test series, which starts on Thursday.

The club’s T20 captain has returned home to New Zealand and a decision is yet to be taken over his availability for the quarter-finals

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Aug-2017Sussex Sharks have lost their captain Ross Taylor, who has had to return home to New Zealand due to family reasons.Taylor had led the team in all 13 of their games in the NatWest T20 Blast this season, securing four wins and fourth place in the South Group points table. If they slip any lower they will lose out on the race to the quarter-finals.Wicketkeeper Ben Brown, who captains the Championship side, will take the reins for their one remaining game in the group stage, against Essex at Hove on Friday night.”It’s a blow to us to lose Ross,” Sussex head coach Mark Davis said. “However, that gives somebody else an opportunity to represent the club in a very important game on Friday night. We wish Ross and his family all the best”Taylor, who had been in Hove in 2016 as well, has not been in the best form this season though with only 177 runs from 12 innings at an average of 19 and a strike-rate of 112.A press release from the club said, “a decision has not yet been taken on whether Ross will return should the side qualify for next week’s Blast quarter-finals”.

Hardus Viljoen took the first eight wickets to give Derbyshire a rare victory and leave Sussex’s outside hopes of promotion in tatters

ECB Reporters Network15-Sep-2017A magnificent display of fast bowling by burly South African Hardus Viljoen inspired Derbyshire to only their second championship victory of the season against Sussex at Hove.Viloen took the first eight wickets to have a chance of all-10 before Harry Podmore nipped in for the last two to complete Derbyshire’s win and end Sussex’s promotion hopes in the processViljoen, 28, followed up his first innings return of seven for 80 to take 8 for 90 to finish with career best match figures of 15 for 170 as Sussex, bowled out for 344, were beaten by 45 runs. It was the fifth best match return by a Derbyshire bowler.This was the fifth time Viljoen had taken ten or more wickets in an match – but it’s the first time he has achieved it for Derbyshire, who must regret that he has been injured for most of the season.At the start of the day it looked as though Derbyshire had been stingy with their declaration. By declaring their innings closed at their overnight score of 322 for 8 they set Sussex a formidable 390 for victory.But Sussex had to go for the win to keep their promotion hopes alive. And Derbyshire knew that that would give them their best chance of victory.Viljoen, who is a genuine fast bowler, started his demolition job in his second over of the day, when he had Angus Robson caught at third slip. The fielder, Matt Critchley, took the ball with his hands high above his head.But by lunchtime Sussex had put themselves in with a chance of pulling off a stunning victory. They were 110 for 1, and needed another 280.Luke Wells and Stiaan van Zyl had set the platform for an unlikely win by the home side, van Zyl bringing up the 100 partnership just before lunch when he straight drove Luis Reece for four.After the break, Wells hit Viljoen for three successive fours but was then lbw looking for a fourth. And when Chris Nash was caught in the slips for just nine in Viljoen’s next over Sussex were 147 for 3 and Derbyshire were back in the match.But the match turned towards Sussex once again as even Viljoen struggled against van Zyl and the more pugnacious Luke Wright as the pair put on 120 for the fourth wicket. At tea, when Sussex were 236 for 3, needing another 154 from 36 overs, they were clear favourites to win the match.But then Viljoen turned the game towards Derbyshire once again. He had van Zyl caught at third man for 85 and then dismissed the Sussex captain Ben Brown, caught at slip. Then, when he plucked out Wright’s middle stump for 80 with a yorker Sussex were struggling at 276 for 6.Ollie Robinson and Jofra Archer continued to encourage the Sussex supporters with a seventh wicket stand of 31. But then Viljoen took out Robinson’s off stump for 15 before having Archer caught at slip for 25.Podmore finished the job for Derbyshire with the final two wickets, thanks to fine catches by Hamidullah Qadri and Ben Slater. But Viljoen was the great hero of the day.

Ambati Rayudu made his first half-century since returning to his home team of Hyderabad, leading them to 272 for 3 against Railways

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Nov-2017
ScorecardPTI

Group A table-toppers Karnataka continued their impressive showing this season with an emphatic bowling display – led by Vinay Kumar’s six-for – as they successfully countered a brisk century from Maharashtra’s Rahul Tripathi.Vinay, the Karnataka captain, backed up his decision to bowl in Pune, chipping away at opposition line-up to leave them at 28 for 5 by the 13th over. But even as he backed up match hauls worth six and eight wickets from the previous two rounds with figures of 6 for 59, Tripathi, the No. 7 batsman, launched a counter-attack, stitching together 147 runs for the sixth wicket with Naushad Shaikh.While Shaikh was dismissed for a dogged 69, Tripathi, who had fallen short of a ton by nine runs in the previous game against Uttar Pradesh, waltzed to his fourth first-class hundred, smashing 13 fours and three sixes. On the back of his 120 off 117 balls, Maharashtra put up a comparatively decent total of 245.In response, R Samarth (47) and Mayank Agarwal (50) got Karnataka off to a solid start with unbeaten opening stand of 117 in 31 overs.
ScorecardAmbati Rayudu struck his first half-century – an unbeaten 88 – since his return to Hyderabad, and put up an unbroken stand of 139 with B Sandeep as the visitors posted 272 for 3 against Railways in Delhi.The foundation was laid by openers Tanmay Agarwal (41) and Akshath Reddy (69) who put on 93 after Railways had put them in. They lost two quick wickets on either side of lunch, and soon slipped to 131 for 3 before Rayudu and the promoted Sandeep (64*) took them through to tea, and then batted out the entire last session together. Of Railways’ four-pronged pace attack, only Manish Rao (2-49) and Karan Thakur (1-53) found any success.