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Atherton terms on-field soft signal for outfield catches “nonsense” as TV umpire remains unconvinced about the catch but has to stick with “out” signal

Nagraj Gollapudi, Matt Roller and Varun Shetty18-Mar-20216:14

Does cricket need to rethink the soft-signal rule?

The decision to cut short an enterprising maiden international innings from India batsman Suryakumar Yadav has thrown open the debate about the validity of the on-field umpire’s soft signal for outfield catches, with India captain Virat Kohli suggesting after the match that there’s no realistic way for an on-field umpire to judge low catches from a distance.Off the second ball of the 14th over of the fourth India-England T20I in Ahmedabad, Yadav, on 57, pulled England left-arm seamer Sam Curran into the deep where Dawid Malan initially appeared to have taken a low catch at deep-square leg. England’s fielders celebrated as umpire KN Ananthapadmanabhan gave a soft signal of “out”.That decision sparked instant debate as third umpire Virender Sharma remained unconvinced about whether it was a clean catch, despite reviewing Malan’s pouch multiple times for nearly four minutes. Sharma repeatedly described the evidence as “inconclusive”, and subsequently, as per the rules, was forced to stick to Anathapadmanabhan’s soft-signal ruling.Kohli: Why not an ‘I don’t know’ call for the umpires?
Speaking to broadcaster Star Sports at the post-match presentation, Kohli said that the soft signal during Yadav’s innings cost India some runs during their innings, even if they were happy getting to a total of 180-plus. Kohli called that passage “strange” and said the rules around that part of the game need to be more clear than the “grey areas” that they currently are.According to the ICC’s playing conditions, the soft signal is a “visual communication by the bowler’s end umpire to the third umpire (accompanied by additional information via two-way radio where necessary) of his/her initial on-field decision prior to initiating an Umpire Review”. “Look, there was that instance that happened during the Test series where I was next to Jinks [Ajinkya Rahane] when he clearly caught the ball, but then I wasn’t sure and I asked Jinks, he wasn’t sure,” Kohli said. “And then we went up straightaway. If it’s a half-and-half effort and the fielder’s in doubt, I don’t think the umpire from square leg would see that clearly and, you know, make a conclusive call. So the soft signal becomes that much more important and it’s a tricky one. I don’t know why there cannot be a sort of “I don’t know” call for the umpire as well. Why does it have to be a conclusive one? Because then that [dictates] the whole decision completely. Similar to the argument we have about umpire’s call as well.””I think these are some things that can really, really change the whole course of the game, especially in a big game. We are on the other side [of the result], but there could be another team bearing the brunt of this. So you want these things ironed out as much as possible, keep this game simple, keep it linear, have one set of rules which are not grey areas which we don’t understand sometimes, and sometimes we do. So it’s not ideal, especially in a high-pressure game which has a lot of things riding on it, a lot at stake. It’s important to have a lot of clarity on the field.”Atherton: Soft signal for boundary catches is nonsense
Former England captain Michael Atherton, who is one of the commentators for Sky, the UK broadcaster for the T20I series, was critical of the soft signal for outfield catches, calling it “nonsense”.”The third umpire had a long look at that and the key thing here – and it is a thing I have a slight problem with – is the on-field umpire’s call is out and therefore the third umpire made exactly the right call: he said it is inconclusive, I’ve got to go with the on-field umpire’s call which was out,” Atherton said immediately after Yadav was ruled out. “But how you have a soft signal from the umpire standing in the middle for a boundary catch is beyond me. I don’t how the on-field umpire can see that when the fielder makes a catch on the boundary.” India wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik, doing commentary for Sky, echoed Atherton’s thoughts. “I’m absolutely with Athers on that,” Karthik said. “I don’t understand this: the [on-field] umpire is not sure whether it’s taken or not [cleanly] hence he goes to the third umpire. And then why give a decision [soft signal] at all? Allow the third umpire to take the call. Another grey area of cricket along with the DRS umpire’s call – these are things always up for debate.”Related

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According to Atherton the soft signal should be valid only for rulings on catches in the 30-yard circle, where the on-field umpires have a better view of events. “I can absolutely understand why an on-field umpire gets a good view of the catch inside the inner circle, but when it is out on the boundary, 50 metres away, there’s no way that the standing umpire can see whether Dawid Malan has caught that. So the soft signal for boundary catches is nonsense. You [should] just send it upstairs and let the third umpire make his call. There’s no way that the standing umpire can see that: he has not got X-ray eyes from 50 yards away.”The frequency of the controversial rulings on outfield catches due to soft signals has resulted in the topic being debated at the most recent meeting of the MCC’s World Cricket Committee, on which sit some eminent former international captains including Ricky Ponting, Kumar Sangakkara, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly, and umpire Kumar Dharmasena who stood in the 2019 World Cup final.”The committee felt that the soft-signal system worked well for catches within the 30-yard fielding circle, but that catches near the boundary often left the umpires unsighted,” the MCC said at the time in a media release. “It was proposed that, for such catches, the on-field umpires could give an ‘unsighted’ instruction to the TV umpire, rather than the more explicit soft signal of ‘out’ or ‘not out’.”

Alyssa Healy, Beth Mooney and Ashleigh Gardner also made half-centuries after captain Meg Lanning withdrew pre-game due to back spasms

The Report by Alex Malcolm09-Sep-2019A gritty century from Ellyse Perry in the stifling Antigua heat helped Australia secure the three-match ODI series against West Indies 2-0 with a crushing 151-run win.The simplicity of the scoreline concealed a day of drama. Australia captain Meg Lanning was withdrawn from the match moments before the toss following back spasms, forcing a hasty cap presentation to debutant Erin Burns, while Beth Mooney was forced to retire hurt late in Australia’s innings due to heat exhaustion.But despite Rachael Haynes, the designated vice-captain, taking over the reins, normal service resumed after Australia won the toss. Alyssa Healy continued her sparkling form, clubbing a 33-ball half-century as she put on a 56-run opening stand with Haynes inside the first ten overs before the stand-in captain fell for 13 off the penultimate ball of the Powerplay.Perry, elevated to No. 3, was slow to get going and got a reprieve early before her supreme fitness carried her to an unbeaten 112 from 118 balls, her second ODI century and her fourth for Australia in all formats, to anchor the innings as Australia made their second successive score of 308 [they made 4 for 308 in the first game].”At the start, I was probably a little bit mentally AWOL,” Perry said after the match. “I was probably lucky, to be fair, after getting dropped early, but that seemed to sort of pick me up a little bit.”After Healy holed out off Chinelle Henry for 58, Perry got great support from Mooney and Ashleigh Gardner. Mooney ground out 56 from 81 balls in a 129-run stand with Perry before the heat got the better of her, and she was forced to retire at the end of the 42nd over.It gave Gardner just 48 balls to make an impact and she did more than that, hitting six fours and three sixes in a 23-ball half-century to equal Meg Lanning’s record for the fastest fifty by an Australian woman in ODI cricket. She finished on 57 not out off 25 balls and watched Perry smack the last ball of the innings to the cover-point fence. The pair made 86 runs in the last eight overs of the innings.”Obviously it was a real shame with Meg going down just before the game but I guess that sort of gave other people an opportunity and everyone slid up,” Perry said. “I really enjoyed my time out in the middle today but I think there was some great contributions, Midge (Healy) at the start and for Ash to do what she did, that’s what she’s capable of and what we know she’s capable of, so that really got us up over 300 to get a great total on the board.”Perry took the new ball and made the early breakthrough trapping Stacy-Ann King plumb in the fourth over. West Indies’ under-strength line-up then made virtually no attempt to chase down the total. After being bowled out for 130 inside 38 overs in the first ODI in Coolidge, the home side managed to bat out their 50 overs in the chase on Sunday, but crawled to 8 for 157. Kyshona Knight top-scored with 32 but took an excruciating 81 deliveries to compile them. Sheneta Grimmond was the only batter to strike at better than 54, making a 31 not out from 37 late in the game, at No. 8. Australia used eight bowlers with six of them claiming wickets. Georgia Wareham had the best figures of 2 for 29 although her two wickets came from what were among the worst deliveries of the day.”It’s an interesting situation at the moment,” Perry said. “Obviously they [West Indies] have got a number of their key players missing. I think from a confidence point of view, and match awareness and knowing how to take the game – I think it’s a real challenge. From that point of view, it’s up to us to make them play but also be really meticulous on our standards.”In the first game we bowled way too many extras and probably today we bowled a few too many but all in all I think it’s been great to challenge ourselves to try things to try and execute things.”

The 24-year old wicketkeeper batsman understands some of their big players will be leaving soon and he wants to step up

Firdose Moonda14-May-2017Moments after scooping five awards including Cricketer of the Year at CSA’s annual celebration, Quinton de Kock made a curious confession: he would like to make more mistakes. Errors, he believed, were the best way to improve as a cricketer, especially if he could figure out how to overcome them himself.”I feel that I am learning but I don’t know as much as a lot of the other players,” de Kock said. “I’m the type of guy, you can tell me what to do but I need to do it for myself – for me to actually experience it and learn from those mistakes myself. Once that happens I know I’ll grow. I’m a fairly fast learner – well, I think I am – but we’ll see next season.”Among de Kock’s accomplishments in the 2016-17 season were a string of five consecutive scores of fifty or more at the top of the order in ODIs and repeatedly bailing his team out of tough situations from down the order in Tests.”I am really focused on getting my batting ability much higher, better knowing that in the next couple of years the older guys will start falling out and we will have to start replacing them,” he said. “And I’m going to have to start playing more of a senior role in the team. It’s that sort of mindset that’s shifting at the moment for me.”Most noticeably, de Kock seems to have struck a balance between carefree and confident. He has found a way to retain his naturally aggressive style of play, without being reckless, and explained that his next challenge was showing more patience on pitches that lack in pace.”Sometimes I’m quite instinctive but sometimes I try and read what the bowler is doing and I try and play to that situation. Sometimes my technique is not the best for slow decks. It’s about learning to play on them and in those situations,” he said. “I’ve grown up on the Highveld so fast wickets are my game. So I’m still learning to play on slow decks where the ball’s turning excessively.”What may help de Kock in that endeavour is his other skill of keeping wicket. From behind the stumps, where he took 61 catches across all formats last season, de Kock has as close a view as anyone could want to assess how the ball behaves off a particular surface. “The keeping helps me in my batting. I’m in a good position, I can see the wicket, I feel I can adapt quicker to how things will pan out,” he said.De Kock’s all-round ability will be important for South Africa on their next assignment: the Champions Trophy. He will go into the tournament, much like he did the 2015 World Cup, on the back of an injury with massive expectation on both him and the team. De Kock has declared himself fully fit after the finger injury sustained in New Zealand which kept him out of the IPL and also brushed aside the public pressure to break a major tournament drought.”I don’t want to say too much,” he said. “I don’t want to jinx myself or jinx the team. The Proteas have always been seen as favourites when they go into big tournaments. This time we don’t want to be that. We just want to be that team who go there and does our best. We’ll try to win it. We know we’ve got a lot of backing at the moment because of the season we’ve just had. People can say we’re going to win, but we hear that at every ICC tournament. So we’re just going to take it game by game and not get too ahead of ourselves.”Unlike some of his team-mates, de Kock truly does appear unaffected by South Africa’s wretched luck at ICC events, as he was about the handful of trophies he collected on Saturday. All he wants is to get better so that he can help the team do better and he considers anything that comes after that a bonus.”I never feel quite as good when I walk off the field and I haven’t done anything for the team, whether that’s helping out with a run-out or something that could just change the momentum of the game or keep the momentum in our favour. That makes me enjoy the game more. Sure, accolades make you feel good. But when you know you’re doing your bit for the team, that’s what makes you feel good.”

Australia did very little wrong on the opening day of the Test series in Wellington, taking advantage of the earlier moisture in the pitch with the ball to dismiss New Zealand for 183

The Report by Daniel Brettig11-Feb-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details2:00

Farrell: Australia spoil McCullum’s party

With a grim determination to right a few of last year’s Ashes wrongs, Australia took command of the first Test against New Zealand to rain on Brendon McCullum’s 100th Test parade and subdue a packed house at the Basin Reserve.Starting with Steven Smith’s correct call at the toss, the visitors did very little wrong on the opening day of the series, taking advantage of the earlier moisture in the pitch with the ball, then settling in at the crease after Tim Southee claimed Joe Burns and David Warner.Smith was out just before the close, but Usman Khawaja remained in ominous touch as he maintains his ascent to truly rarified batting territory. He will be joined on the second morning by Adam Voges, who shouldered arms in the last over to Doug Bracewell and was bowled, only to be reprieved by Richard Illingworth’s no-ball call. Replays indicated Bracewell may not have overstepped – a likely source of tension after the Mitchell Marsh episode in Hamilton.Day one was always going to be an important time to set a marker for a contest spanning only two Tests, and it was Australia’s seam attack that did the job. In doing so they put on the sort of bowling display that was too seldom seen in England despite helpful conditions. They have already gone some distance towards claiming the game’s No. 1 ranking.While Jackson Bird struggled on his return to Test cricket after a three-year absence, Josh Hazlewood and Peter Siddle bowled exemplary lengths to probe for the outside and inside edges of the bat. Peter Nevill claimed four catches, the second a stunner when Siddle found Kane Williamson’s inside edge. Nathan Lyon chimed in usefully after lunch to help round up the tail.McCullum had enjoyed a proud morning, receiving a commemorative 100th Test cap, but he could only last a handful of balls before squeezing Hazlewood to the slip cordon. His bowlers were then unable to capitalise on the opening offered by Burns and Warner on a surface that eased for batting with every afternoon over.The inclusions of Bird and Siddle indicated Australia’s opinion of the pitch, and there was unmistakable relief on Smith’s face when he sent McCullum in. Tom Latham and Martin Guptill began in a positive vein, but Hazlewood was extracting seam movement in both directions and it was a ball zipping away that coaxed a feather-edge from the left-hander – DRS was required to confirm it.Hazlewood found an even better delivery for Guptill, who did little wrong in statuesque defence but could do nothing about the subtle seam movement that delivered a catch at head height to Smith. Bird was withdrawn from the attack after his first three overs cost 25, and Williamson punched his first ball down the ground.But Siddle was not dissuaded from pursuing a full length, and second ball Williamson played slightly outside the line to snick past the stumps. Nevill re-transferred his weight and timed his lunge to perfection, the ball plopping softly into his left glove in a catch every wicketkeeper would be proud to claim.The Australians, now surging, had another source of joy when McCullum could do nothing about a Hazlewood ball that seamed back and lobbed off bat and pad to David Warner. Henry Nicholls was drawn into pushing at Siddle and presented Nevill with his third catch of the morning on the stroke of drinks.Corey Anderson and BJ Watling thus had a moment to compose themselves, and resolved to dig in. They managed to do so for the remainder of the session, Watling surviving a couple of close calls when he miscued a Mitchell Marsh delivery close to his own body, and when an LBW appeal and referral by Bird was found to have struck him marginally around the line of the off stump.Watling could only last until the second over of the afternoon, done in by a Hazlewood delivery that bounced on a tight line and provided Nevill with another catch. Anderson’s stern occupation was ended with an uncharacteristically half-hearted attempt to loft Lyon, before Southee sliced an attempted slog.Mark Craig and Trent Boult added some pesky runs, but Khawaja completed a neat step-over routine near the boundary to dismiss the latter. There was some rum luck for Burns fourth ball of the innings, when his glove grazed a Southee delivery down the leg side and he was given out on referral, but Warner had only himself to blame for an intemperate swish in the bowler’s next over.It was telling for both sides that these wickets arrived as the result of misjudgments rather than unplayable deliveries. Southee and Doug Bracewell found a modicum of swing but there was no curve for Boult, who was unable to threaten in the way he would have wished despite the pace and bounce on offer.Khawaja looked comfortable immediately, but Smith took some time to find the right rhythm for the occasion after a surfeit of limited-overs fixtures. Boundaries flowed regularly but there was also the occasional miscue – Smith skied one hook shot out of reach of the fielders, and was fortunate again when Craig grassed a low chance in the slips.The runs, however, flowed steadily and the batsmen’s security grew, allowing the partnership to develop into a significant one for the match. Craig made amends for his drop with a teasing spell in the final hour, beating Khawaja in flight and having the No. 3 edge past the stumps and Watling, before he claimed a low return catch from Smith. But if Australia’s captain walked off annoyed at his dismissal, he could be more than satisfied with the day’s work.

An accomplished century by Sean Ervine has given Hampshire a scent of their first victory of the season. The Zimbabwean allrounder struck a near-flawless 102 to first steer his side out of trouble and then turn the pressure on to the home team.

Press Association21-Apr-2015
ScorecardMichael Carberry set up Hampshire’s second innings•Getty Images

An accomplished century by Sean Ervine has given Hampshire a scent of their first victory of the season, against Warwickshire at Edgbaston. The Zimbabwean allrounder struck a near-flawless 102, his 17th first-class century, to first steer his side out of trouble and then turn the pressure on to the home team.Hampshire were all out for 339 in their second innings, leaving Warwickshire a target of 379, which would be the biggest score of the match, in a day and 11 overs. The Bears negotiated those 11 overs without loss and will begin the last day with all results remain possible on a pitch which is flattening out, but on which wickets have fallen in flurries.The third day followed the pattern of an enthralling tussle which has ebbed and flowed throughout. In the morning, the home side were well on top after Hampshire slumped to 108 for 5, only 147 ahead. Rikki Clarke removed Liam Dawson and James Vince with successive balls and Jeetan Patel had Will Smith stumped and Adam Wheater brilliantly caught at slip by Clarke when the ball looped up off an inside-edged reverse-sweep.Hampshire were in trouble but Michael Carberry stayed firm and found an equally resilient partner in Ervine. Batting positively against Patel, they each hit the New Zealander for six and added 86 in 29 overs before Carberry, having completed his tenth score of 50-plus against Warwickshire in first-class cricket, played on to Clarke for 81.Ervine continued to play with power and purpose and found further productive partners in Gareth Berg and Danny Briggs with whom he added 60 and 61. Berg struck a forceful 36 before slicing Keith Barker’s first ball after tea to William Porterfield at gully. Briggs added a breezy 33 to his first-innings 48 before skying Chris Wright to mid-off.Ervine perished next ball to a fine tumbling catch by Tim Ambrose, but even then Hampshire’s last pair Andre Adams and James Tomlinson added 24 – a frustrating little stand for Warwickshire which might just have lifted the target out of their reach.Warwickshire’s openers weathered a testing burst from Tomlinson to survive intact and trim the target by 47, Ian Westwood moving sweetly to 37 from 39 balls, and send a fine match into its final day wide open.Rikki Clarke was pleased with his early-season rhythm with the ball as his 3 for 63 pegged Hampshire back at Edgbaston. But the Warwickshire allrounder knows his team will have to bat well tomorrow to win the game.”It’s evenly poised,” he said. “We will have to bat well. It will be a tough chase, but Division One cricket is tough. It is good that we came through unscathed tonight and now we have just got to bat well tomorrow and get the job done.”Batting has been tricky at times but less so at others on a slowish pitch. The new ball has a bit of carry but after about 25 overs it becomes quite a difficult wicket to get people out on. There are a few little cracks there that may produce a bit of a problem but we just have to bat well on it.”Clarke was the pick of the Warwickshire attack, dismissing Hampshire’s top three – Liam Dawson and James Vince with successive balls and then Michael Carberry. “I felt in both innings that I bowled well and on a different day could bowl a lot worse and get more wickets,” he said. “I am happy with how it is coming out at the minute and hopefully that rhythm and consistency will stick with me throughout the season.”

An unbeaten century from Tillakaratne Dilshan and 91 from Kumar Sangakkara carried Sri Lanka to a series win over South Africa with one match to play

The Report by Firdose Moonda28-Jul-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsTillakaratne Dilshan smashed 16 boundaries in his unbeaten century•Associated Press

An unbeaten century from Tillakaratne Dilshan and 91 from Kumar Sangakkara carried Sri Lanka to a series win over South Africa with one match to play. The pair ensured the hosts achieved the highest successful run chase at Pallekele with six overs to spare to underline some of South Africa’s most pressing issues as they attempt to rebuild their one-day side.At first glance, it would seem the bowlers are to blame but South Africa’s middle-order are the real culprits in their defeat. Hashim Amla and JP Duminy shared a second-wicket stand of 101 to set a strong base for the team but the batsmen who followed squandered the advantage.From 118 for 1, South Africa were 238 all out, losing nine wickets for 120 runs. By contrast, Dilshan and Sangakkara shared a partnership of 184 – Sri Lanka’s highest against South Africa – to maintain their strong record at home against South Africa.South Africa have only won two ODIs in Sri Lanka and their inability to adapt to conditions was exposed again. The absence of quality spinners and senior players to take responsibility in the batting line-up cost them dearly and they will now return to Colombo with only pride to play for.South Africa began to make some amends for their failings with the bat and Hashim Amla’s return was central to that. Amla, who missed the first and third match with injury and could not bat in the second, recovered in time to form one half of South Africa’s fourth opening pair in as many matches.While Quinton de Kock’s inexperience was exposed against Lasith Malinga, when he was yorked for 8, Amla had the Sri Lankan attack erring. The seamers continually offered him too much width and he pulled and cut at will.Amla and JP Duminy, who has looked good without producing results in the series so far, settled in and took the batting powerplay after 15 overs. That proved a tactical mistake. Sri Lanka’s slew of spinners limited run-scoring opportunities and only 22 were scored in the five-over period.The pair succeeded in planting a platform but Amla did not stick around to help the launch from it. He was lbw to Dilshan, who went around the wicket to trap him on the back foot, and even a review could not save him.AB de Villiers’ lean run continued as he was caught behind trying to paddle-sweep. Faf du Plessis also did not contribute, offering a chance to Angelo Mathews in his follow-through and eventually being stumped.Ajantha Mendis foxed the less-experienced players, who have not learnt to pick him. David Miller was bowled by the legbreak and Farhaan Behardien clipped him straight to short leg.The fall of wickets forced Duminy to continue a quiet vigil and his strike rate remained in the 60s, until the last four overs, when he finally decided to launch against Malinga. Duminy managed to improvise, turning would-be yorkers into low full-tosses, but Malinga’s change of pace accounted for the tail.Still, South Africa would have thought they had enough with 198 the previous-best successful chase in Pallekele. Their bowlers started well against a changed Sri Lankan top order – with Mahela Jayawardene replacing Upula Tharanga – as Morne Morkel and Lonwabo Tsotsobe extracted extra bounce and got movement, but ill-discipline infected them again. South Africa sent down 17 wides, taking their series total to 58, and indicating an obvious problem with line.Jayawardene was frustrated by the early squeeze and when he tried to steer Tsotsobe to third man, he was caught by a diving Amla at gully. That was the last success South Africa saw until it was too late. Dilshan showed a willingness to ride out the pressure and looked for singles with Sangakkara instead of going for big shots to thwart the bowlers.But South Africa still had their chances. Sangakkara was on three when he edged Kleinveldt but Amla could not pull off the half chance, and on 33, when Duminy appealed for an lbw against him. South Africa had a review in hand but de Villiers chose not to use it. Afterwards, he said neither Duminy nor de Kock, who was keeping, were convinced, Replays, though, showed Sangakkara was out.His flirtation with fortune over, Sangakkara matches Dilshan blow for blow thereafter. Dilshan was strong square of the wicket and on the pull and brought out his trademark scoop off Tsotsobe. His century came off 119 balls with a swivel down to fine leg.Sangakkara peppered the on-side, with 52 of his runs coming in that area. After Dilshan crossed the century mark, Sangakkara was racing against the remaining runs to get there. He smacked Morkel for two fours to get into the nineties, but fell on his sword when he top-edged to mid-off.Dilshan finished things off to leave South Africa with plenty to think about. Foremost in their minds will be their poor effort in the field, and their decision-making under pressure, both of which need work before Wednesday.

A round-up of the second round of the inaugural Bangladesh Cricket League

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Jan-2013
ScorecardSohag Gazi’s maiden first-class ten-wicket haul ended up being the difference in South Zone’s tight win against East Zone in Mirpur. Needing 137 runs to win on the final day with eight wickets in hand, East Zone were in a comfortable position. But their day started disastrously as from 154 for 2, they slipped to 171 for 8 in a matter of six overs, with Gazi picking up four of the six wickets to complete his second five-for of the match. There was a brief resistance before East Zone collapsed to hand over the win to the South.East Zone, after putting South into bat, had struck regularly to reduce them to 196 for 9 with only Anamul Haque getting past 50. But a last-wicket stand 52 runs helped South pull ahead. In response, East made a solid start with Nafees Iqbal and Mominul Haque scoring half-centuries, but a lower-order collapse triggered by Gazi and Abdur Razzak meant that East ended 12 runs behind South.South responded with a century stand for the second wicket between Soumya Sarkar and Anamul and although Nabil Samad picked up six wickets, South again managed 248 in the second innings, setting up a tough fourth-innings chase.
ScorecardA rapid century by Nasir Hossain lit up the last day of the match between North Zone and Central Zone before it ended in a draw. North had already wiped off the 75-run deficit and with a result unlikely, Nasir played attacking cricket to bring up his century of 89 balls with six fours and three sixes. Farhad Reza and Maisuqur Rahman also scored half-centuries in an innings where all eleven of Central’s players were used for bowling.Nasir’s ton overcame his failure in the first innings in which only North’s top-order had contributed to help the team to 361 with Mushfiqur Rahim unbeaten on 76. In response, Central had stumbled to 88 for 4 at one stage, but a 228-run stand between Mohammad Ashraful, who scored 133, and Mehrab Hossain jnr, who scored 131, set the platform for the team to take a first innings lead and take three points from the match.

Adam Hollioake is unsure whether he will continue his cage-fighting career after his professional debut ended in a draw on Saturday

Peter English05-May-2012Adam Hollioake, the former England one-day captain, is unsure whether he will continue his cage-fighting career after his professional debut ended in a draw on Saturday.Hollioake, who played four Tests and 35 ODIs, was buzzing after his three-round mixed martial arts bout in Australia, claiming the high was greater than any moment in his 17-year cricket journey.However, he was left wishing he was fitter after running out of stamina towards the end of the nine-minute contest with Queensland’s Joel Miller.”In hindsight I would have taken a bit longer to prepare for this,” he said. “I made a silly mistake in the first round and that cost me. I won the second round and the third round was a non-event really.”The next combat steps depend on Hollioake’s wife Sherryn, who had a cage-side seat and wasn’t comfortable with the spectacle.”I’ll do what she says,” he said when asked if he’ll fight again.

India slipped to another defeat in the Women’s Quadrangular series, this time to New Zealand by 25 runs at the Clifton College Close Ground

25-Jun-2011
Scorecard
Liz Perry top scored for New Zealand with an unbeaten 48•ICC

India slipped to another defeat in the Women’s Quadrangular series, this time to New Zealand by 25 runs at the Clifton College Close Ground in Bristol.After choosing to field, Jhulan Goswami (2 for 18) struck early blows for India as New Zealand slipped to 5 for 3 before stumbling further to 28 for 4. Player of the Match, Liz Perry, turned the innings around with her knock of 48 off 41 balls with four boundaries. Katey Martin (29) and Nicola Browne (22) played crucial knocks as New Zealand closed on a competitive 125 for 5.India’s chase never took off as wickets fell at regular intervals. Browne ended with figures of 2 for 17 as India ended on 100 for 7 off 20 overs. Only Mithali Raj (24) and Amita Sharma (26) played handy knocks.With this defeat, India’s chances of making the final have all but evaporated. They will play England on Sunday, while New Zealand take on Australia in the final league match before the play-offs on Monday.”It was a chaseable total, no doubt about that,” said a disappointed Goswami. “We lost early wickets in the first six overs and got bogged down. We could not capitalise on the field restrictions and the asking-rate kept mounting. I will offer no excuses, but we could have batted better. The wicket was good and there was only a slight movement in the morning, but in the second half it was very good.”We have the one-day internationals coming up next and we need to be in good shape for that. England is the best Twenty20 team in the world, so it will not be easy for us. We will need to sort it out before that match.”We need a little bit more from each and everyone of us. We cannot make the final barring extraordinary circumstances. But we can still build on the fact that bowling did well to restrict New Zealand. We need to create more pressure.”Perry was thrilled with her effort with the bat. “I had to do a repair job when I walked in,” she said. “It was good that I could put my hand up and play some positive cricket. It was quite a true pitch and the Indians bowled good lines to us. We just did not play that great early on. If anything, the pitch got better to bat on later.”Perry was also upbeat about her team’s chances of beating Australia and making it to the finals of the competition. “Australia are a hard side to beat. If we put up a good performance there is no reason why we cannot make the final on Monday. We have to carry on with the momentum.”

Having rekindled Ashes memories with their draw at Centurion, followed by Stuart Broad’s and Graeme Swann’s second-innings demolition of South Africa at Durban, England are now hoping to avoid a repeat of what happened against Australia

Andrew McGlashan in Cape Town02-Jan-2010Having rekindled Ashes memories with their draw at Centurion, followed by Stuart Broad’s and Graeme Swann’s second-innings demolition of South Africa in Durban, England are now hoping to avoid a repeat of what happened against Australia. Leading the series 1-0, with a chance to take an unassailable lead at Headingley, they imploded in little more than seven sessions.At Newlands a similar chance awaits and this time they want to make it count. As the Ashes showed, England are not at their most comfortable when ahead in a contest. Being favourites, as they now are in many people’s eyes for this series, doesn’t sit naturally with a team that prefer to be classed as underdogs. They need show that they can respond to the pressure of expectation and Andrew Strauss wants his team to prove they can stay ahead.”You want to be ruthless and just as desperate to win when you’re up,” said Strauss. “Sometimes there’s a thing in the back of your mind that you can pat yourselves on the back a little bit and think ‘we’ve got some breathing space’.”But as soon as you think like that, you’re going to get beaten pretty quickly. It’s important to learn how to win when you’re up and be just as clinical and not give the opposition a sniff. We hope we can do that this week”History doesn’t bode well for them, though, and not only because of the Headingley experience last year. Their three most recent visits to Cape Town have resulted in defeats by 10 wickets, an innings and 37 runs and 196 runs. There will also be the expectation from thousands of England fans – many arriving just for this Test – who will want a repeat of the performance at Kingsmead.”You don’t win a Test match on day one. But it’s very, very important that you start the Test match well – so that the opposition don’t get on top of you,” said Strauss. “It’s very much a case of keeping our feet on the ground. I’ve seen enough instances of teams losing one week and then coming back to win the next to know that nothing is guaranteed.”If we’re slightly off our game we’ll get a pretty rude surprise. In a lot of ways that is the kind of lesson we learned from Headingley in the Ashes when we started talking about ‘we could finish it this week; let’s realise our dreams’, and all that sort of stuff.”We should have been talking about just winning the first hour. That’s very much been the talk in the dressing room so far – right back to square one again, work hard to contest every over and hope, if we do that well enough, we’ll get into a position to win the game later on in the week.”It has been noticeable in the days since the victory in Durban how measured the noises from the England camp have been. Andy Flower, as is his style, was very restrained on Friday and kept reiterating that the series is only half-way through and Strauss is singing from the same hymn sheet.”There have been a lot of people telling us how great we were. It’s important we don’t read too much into that,” he said. “It’s very much a case of being desperate to win again and I like the feeling in the dressing room at the moment.”England’s trump card could again be Graeme Swann. He already has 14 wickets in the series and the Newlands pitch can assist spinners later in the game. Last year Paul Harris claimed six wickets in the second innings, and nine in the match against Australia, so South Africa are going to have to combat the spin threat.Strauss will hope he can name an unchanged side for the third match running and the chances of that increased with a positive report on Paul Collingwood’s dislocated finger. He had a lengthy net against pace bowling and also tested his injury with some slip catching, although he may have to be protected in the field.”At this stage, everything looks fine. He was batting without any real discomfort,” Strauss said. “We’re very hopeful, barring any last-minute incidents.” He’s obviously contributed a huge amount, both this series and previously and is an experienced player as well so it would have been a shame if he missed out.”