Offspinner Sohag Gazi’s three-for and batsman Mohammad Mithun’s half-century were crucial to Rangpur Riders’ third win in BPL 2016-17

The Report by Mohammad Isam17-Nov-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMohammad Mithun’s 44-ball 62 contained six fours and two sixes•Raton Gomes

Offspinner Sohag Gazi struck twice with the new ball, and defended 19 off a frenetic last over, which included two run-outs and a wicket, to give Rangpur Riders their third win in BPL 2016-17. The result took Rangpur to six points, and helped them draw level with Barisal Bulls and Khulna Titans.The match swung from one end to another, before Gazi sealed the deal. Chasing 176, Barisal lost Dilshan Munaweera off the first ball, and soon became 48 for 3. But Jeevan Mendis and Nadif Chowdhury brought their team back into the game with a 74-run stand for the fourth wicket. Just as they threatened to cut loose, Nadif holed out to deep cover in the 16th over off Shahid Afridi.Mendis, having made 57 in his first BPL appearance this season, fell to the scoreboard pressure in the 18th over. The caught-behind decision was a dubious one, with replays showing no signs of an edge. Thisara Perera, however, gave Barisal hope by blasting Afridi for a huge six over long-on, where he was dropped the previous ball by Rubel Hossain. The equation was reduced to 29 off the last two overs.Rubel’s first ball of the 19th over – a full toss – was dispatched over square leg for a six, but he fought back with the wickets of Rayad Emrit and Abu Hider off successive balls. He ultimately gave away ten runs in that over, leaving Thisara and Kamrul Islam Rabbi needing 20 off the final over.Rabbi was run-out off the first ball, before Taijul Isam slammed Gazi over long-on for a six. But the bowler had him stumped off the next ball, Mohammad Shahzad completing his fifth dismissal, the most by a wicketkeeper in an innings in the BPL. Barisal’s innings ended in the next ball when Arafat Sunny did a Jonty Rhodes, running in and diving into the stumps to run Al-Amin out.Earlier, Gazi had impressed with the new ball too. He took a wicket in his first over for the third match in a row, this time Munaweera getting caught down the leg side for a duck. Gazi then dismissed Shahriar Nafees for 12. When Mushfiqur Rahim was undone by Liam Dawson, Barisal stumbled to 48 for 3. Then Mendis and Nadif joined forces to revive the chase.Nadif, playing his first innings in this season’s BPL, slammed Sachitra Senanayake for three sixes in the 14th over, which eventually yielded 24 runs. Mendis, who was reprieved on 42 by Arafat Sunny at deep square leg, went onto make his second T20 fifty, but it wasn’t enough.Having opted to bowl, Barisal dismissed Rangpur’s openers in five overs. Soumya Sarkar was the first to go, when Mushfiqur effected a cunning stumping, after he had hit Al-Amin Hossain for three consecutive fours. Shahzad did not last too long either, falling to a catch to short third man.Mohammad Mithun, though, hit rhythm with three boundaries in four balls, including a cover drive and a slog sweep. He dominated a 78-run stand for the third wicket with Dawson, who scored 46 off 36 balls, including three fours and a six.Mithun’s sixes came when he whipped Rabi over square leg and then blasted Mendis over cover. His knock ended when he was bowled by Thisara’s slower delivery for 62 in the 15th over. Afridi then smacked two sixes and a four in his 10-ball 22. Once he holed out to point off Thisara at the start of the 18th over, Rangpur added only 16 runs in 2.5 overs, but it didn’t cost them in the end.

Ireland’s woes in the T20 format continued as they were no match for the top-ranked Associate side, meandering to a total of 125 for 6 before Afghanistan coasted to victory

The Report by Peter Della Penna in Abu Dhabi14-Jan-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details1:38

‘We didn’t feel like we were under pressure at any point’ – Rajput

Ireland’s woes in the T20 format continued as they were no match for the top-ranked Associate side, meandering to a total of 125 for 6 before Afghanistan coasted to victory with eight balls to spare.After electing to bat, Ireland got off to a promising start thanks to a typically belligerent Paul Stirling and a travel-weary Stuart Poynter, who arrived at 2am as an injury replacement after Stuart Thompson had a mishap at training on Friday afternoon. As was the case in the early match at Sheikh Zayed Stadium, the wind blowing southeast acted as a temptress which sucked Stirling into giving away his wicket, failing to get enough lift into a heave towards the midwicket rope.Once Stirling fell, Ireland’s middle-order struggled against the three-headed spin attack. The most potent threat among them was legspinner Rashid Khan, who had Kevin O’Brien playing down the wrong line before beating Gary Wilson’s attempted sweep for a pair of lbws. It left a long Ireland tail exposed with more than three overs to bat out and they barely managed to finish with a target of more than a run a ball.Afghanistan cruised through their Powerplay behind Mohammad Shahzad and Najeeb Tarakai but Ireland’s own new legspinning hope Jacob Mulder caused some problems by beating Shahzad in flight after a charge down the pitch before claiming Asghar Stanikzai with a slider two overs later. Tarakai was run out off Mulder’s bowling as pressure built slightly. But Mohammad Nabi ensured the match was never in doubt.Nemesis Nabi
The star allrounder made his impact felt with bat and ball in this contest to give Afghanistan a winning start to the tournament with a man-of-the-match display. With Ireland desperate to build confidence after entering this game, having lost 8 of their last 11 completed T20Is, Nabi broke the ominous opening stand with his second ball, teasing Poynter into playing across the line to a straight ball in the sixth over. He ended the 16th over by ending Greg Thompson’s laborious stay for 3 off 9 balls.With the bat, Nabi entered after Mulder had spooked the top order back into the pavilion at 81 for 3 in the 12th. Afghanistan remained ahead of the run-rate for most of his innings but, just when the slightest bit of pressure built with the rate climbing back over a run a ball in the 17th during Mulder’s last over, Nabi provided a release with a deflating heave over midwicket into the southeast stand for six. He clobbered Boyd Rankin for good measure in the following over for another six over midwicket, before tapping the winning single in the 19th over.Home away from home Afghanistan supporters began filing into the stadium during the second innings of Scotland’s victory over Hong Kong, more than two and a half hours before the first ball had been bowled by Fareed Ahmad to Stirling. By that stage, there were about 1500 inside the ground and, when the first wicket fell, that number had swelled to 4000. By the end of the first innings, almost the entire pavilion stand on the south side was filled.Though the atmosphere wasn’t quite as intense as the three finals played between these two sides at the World T20 Qualifiers in 2010, 2012 or 2013, it was still lively nonetheless. In the field, Rashid showed himself to be a fast-rising crowd favorite, getting arguably the loudest reaction when he first came on to bowl. But Nabi is especially beloved among the Afghan faithful and when he cranked sixes in back-to-back overs off Mulder and Rankin late in the chase, the south stand turned delirious.After the teams exchanged handshakes, the Afghanistan players walked from the east to the west, waving back to the crowd to show their appreciation, setting off a volley of mobile-phone camera flashes. UAE may be the official host side, but there is no disputing who has the true home advantage in this event.

Kane Williamson, the New Zealand captain, has pondered whether day-night Tests may need to be classified as a different format

Firdose Moonda08-Mar-2017Kane Williamson, the New Zealand captain, has suggested day-night Tests may need to be viewed as a different format if conditions vary significantly from the day game as New Zealand prepare to host their first pink-ball international next summer against England at Eden Park.In preparation, New Zealand’s domestic teams are playing the current round of Plunket Shield matches under lights this week – the first floodlit first-class cricket in the country – although poor weather is having a significant impact. Williamson, who was part of the inaugural day-night Test against Australia in Adelaide, is a fan of the concept but remains unsure if the red and pink ball behave too differently.”You can’t help but enjoy day-night Tests. Having played in the first one – it was a very cool thing to be a part of,” Williamson said ahead of the first Test against South Africa in Dunedin. “At the same time, it’s a fine balance with trying to keep the purity and tradition of Test cricket, which I think is very important”And if you are introducing another dynamic to a format that has relatively been untouched then it’s very important that it remains very similar in terms of the day game and the night game within the format. If you are making comparisons and there are ranking systems and a bunch of stats that people enjoy, then if the night format is harder or easier or whatever than the day one then it can be very difficult to make those comparisons with any real substance.”It’s important that they get that right. It’s an exciting space to pursue and they are doing it, which I think is great for the game and a lot of people are watching it, but it is important that they get it very closely linked.”In October, when Australia were preparing to play their second day-night Test against Pakistan, Usman Khawaja suggested day-night Tests should be categorised differently.”I would almost like to make pink-ball, day-night cricket a different sort of format on its own,” he said. “That way the players will start accepting it a bit more too, but right now we mix them together. It sort of blurs the lines for bowlers and batsmen because we really haven’t worked it out yet. But it’s a concept that I believe is really good for the game.”Khawaja went on to score 145 in the Adelaide Test and made no mention of whether he stood by his earlier statements in the aftermath. Now, Williamson has raised the subject again although it is unlikely to have any impact on the status of day-night Tests.Williamson is hopeful the format will continue to improve particularly with regards to the ball, which was first criticised for visibility issues with the seam and the speed at which it deteriorated but has since held up well in Tests in the Dubai, Adelaide and Brisbane. Although there are some concerns at domestic level, Williamson is confident the issues will continue to be addressed.”It will be interesting to hear back, what some of the feedback is from the Plunket Shield. Playing in that first pink-ball Test match, we knew there were a few things that needed to be improved on and one of those being the ball. I think they have made a few adjustments on that,” he said. “It was a great spectacle to be part of and it was a great crowd every day. There’s a lot of room for that innovation in the game.”

A round-up of the Group C games on the opening day of the Vijay Hazare Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Feb-2017Fifties from Aditya Tare and Siddhesh Lad helped Mumbai recover from 85 for 4 and post 273, a total that proved 98 too many for Gujarat at Chepauk. Asked to bat, Mumbai lost wickets at regular intervals before a 117-run fifth-wicket stand between Tare and Lad put them back on course. Tare’s 83 came off 81 balls and included 13 fours, and Lad struck 64 off 60 balls with two fours and five sixes. Chirag Parmar, on List A debut, took 4 for 42. In reply, Gujarat slid after an opening stand of 30 as they were bowled out for 175 in the 42nd over. Shivam Malhotra took three wickets.Shreevats Goswami anchored Bengal‘s successful chase of 226 with a 110-ball 66 against Andhra. Bengal won by four wickets with seven balls remaining. When Goswami was dismissed, Bengal still required 74 off 15 overs. They knocked off the runs with valuable contributions from Anustup Majumdar (46) and captain Monoj Tiwary (38). Bengal’s win, though, was set up by a strong bowling performance, as they restricted Andhra to 225 for 8. Dwaraka Ravi Teja top-scored with 43 off 69. Ashoke Dinda, Pragyan Ojha and Majumdar chipped in with two wickets each.Harpreet Singh’s unbeaten 45 steered Madhya Pradesh’s chase of 213 against Rajasthan. MP chased down the target with three wickets in hand and 60 balls to spare. After being asked to bat, Rajasthan slid to 212 all out as their batsmen could not convert their starts. Opening batsman Ashok Bhudania top-scored with 38, but ate up 87 balls in doing so. Pacers Puneet Datey and Chandrakant Sakure picked up three wickets each, with the former giving away just 25 runs in his 10 overs for his career-best returns. MP lost Mukul Raghav early in the chase, but partnerships of 89 between Rajat Patidar (38) and Naman Ojha (33) for the second wicket, and Harpreet and Anand Bais (20) for the fourth revived them. They lost wickets frequently after the two partnerships, but Harpreet held up his end, and in the company of Datey, saw the team through.

G Vivekanand has been elected president of the Hyderabad Cricket Association, taking over from former offspinner Arshad Ayub; the results of the election were declared on Friday night

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Apr-2017G Vivekanand has been elected president of the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA), taking over from former offspinner Arshad Ayub; the results of the election were declared on Friday night. The HCA is the one of the first state associations to conduct its elections as per the Lodha Committee’s recommendations.*

HCA’s newly-elected office bearers

President: G Vivekanand, secretary: T Seshnarayan, vice-president: Anil Kumar, joint-secretary: Ajmal Asad, treasurer: P Mahender, apex-council member: Hanumanth Reddy

Vivekanand, an industrialist and a former member of parliament, secured 136 votes to defeat his opponent Vidyut Jaisimha, who managed 69. T Seshnarayan was elected secretary unanimously.The elections were held on January 17, but the results were withheld following petitions that challenged the polls. According to the , the Hyderabad High Court dismissed the petitions and upheld the order of a civil court that had directed that the elections be held.The HCA has been under the scanner for a number of irregularities during the organisation of the one-off Test between India and Bangladesh in Hyderabad in February. The absence of transparent tender processes and issues with vendor contracts were among the problems highlighted by the BCCI observer Ratnakar Shetty. The state body was also rapped by the Deloitte audit report on Project Transformation, instituted by former BCCI president Shashank Manohar, for serious financial discrepancies.*13.45GMT, April 1: The article had erroneously stated that the HCA was the first state association to conduct elections as per the Lodha recommendations. This has been changed.

Dale Steyn will miss South Africa’s tour of England, which starts next week and ends in August, as he continues to recover from a shoulder surgery

Firdose Moonda14-May-2017Dale Steyn will miss South Africa’s tour of England, which starts next week and ends in August, as he continues to recover from a shoulder surgery. Steyn, who has been out of action since the Perth Test against Australia last November with a broken bone, was due to play in two four-day games for the South Africa A side in the UK, to put himself in line for Test selection. However, considering he is still undergoing rehabilitation, he has opted to withdraw from those matches.”My recovery is going well but it is taking a little longer than I expected it to,” Steyn said at the CSA Annual Awards Dinner on Saturday. “I am able to do a lot of things, like running, hiking and gym work, but bowling is not one of them, and I won’t be ready in time.”When Steyn was initially diagnosed, it was expected he would need at least six months on the sidelines, which could have put him in contention for the UK tour. Instead, he is now targeting the home series against Bangladesh in September-October to make an international comeback, but understands he will need game time before that if he is to make the squad.”Obviously, one of the reasons for me playing with the A side was so that I could get some match fitness before the Tests. So, before that Bangladesh series, I will need to play a bit,” Steyn said.South Africa A will play in a limited-overs tournament against India A and Australia A late in the winter, which could give Steyn his much-needed game time, but he has also not ruled out the possibility of a short county stint in order to get some overs in. “In a way it could be quite funny – South Africa will be playing a Test series in England and maybe at some ground down the road, Dale Steyn will be playing for another team,” he joked.Steyn could not put a timeline on when he will return to bowling but stated that he was not experiencing any pain in the shoulder when “doing normal things.” He is on an extensive rehabilitation program which runs five days a week and includes activities to strengthen the smaller muscles around the shoulder joint. His plan is to gradually work his way up to being able to return to bowling.”We have to understand that fast bowling is not something normal people do, so it’s going to take time. Normal people do things mostly below the shoulder line; it’s unusual to have something above the line except for things like bowling and tennis. I just have to be patient,” Steyn said.Despite Steyn’s absence, South Africa will still have what he considers a “very strong attack,” which will include the fit-again Morne Morkel, Vernon Philander, Kagiso Rabada, Duanne Olivier and, possibly, Chris Morris or Wayne Parnell – or both, as they had in New Zealand. Philander is the only other injury concern – he sustained a groin injury while playing for Sussex earlier this month – but South Africa are hopeful he will be able to play a full part in the Test series.

Considering Afghanistan’s reputation as a formidable T20I unit, Carlos Brathwaite’s men will look to bring on their A-game to contend with the tourists

The Preview by Danyal Rasool01-Jun-2017

Match facts

June 2, 2017
Start time 19:30 local (23:30 GMT)Afghanistan will hope to extend their 11-match winning streak in T20Is•Associated Press

Big picture

For the West Indies, this series stacks up as Plan B, a convenient arrangement facilitated by their board considering they failed to make the cut for the ongoing Champions Trophy, a tournament to which only the top eight ODI teams were invited. A side that won the tournament when it was held in England 13 years ago, and reached the final of the following edition, West Indies found themselves locked out of the competition altogether, the first time one of the traditional top eight teams failed to qualify for an ICC world event.For Afghanistan, however, series don’t come much bigger than this. This is the first bilateral series they are playing against a Full Member that isn’t Pakistan, Bangladesh or Zimbabwe. They get the opportunity to tour a part of the world that will always be remembered for producing a cricketing generation that could stand up to the greatest sides in history. And, anyway, never mind nostalgia, for Afghanistan are playing a T20I series against the reigning world champions in the shortest format of the game.A sombre backdrop marks the beginning of the series for Afghanistan. The players will still be recovering emotionally from the horrific news of a bomb blast in Kabul that killed nearly 100 people and injured almost 500 more. This series might feel much less important back home than it did just a couple of days ago. However, cricket has been a welcome distraction for the Afghan fans ever since their side burst on to the scene, and in that role, this unique tale still has a role to play, and a void to fill.

Form guide

West Indies LWLLL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Afghanistan WWWWW

In the spotlight

Carlos Brathwaite and Kieron Pollard might view this series as an opportunity to play themselves back into form. Considering how imposing the Afghanistan outfit can be in this format, both Brathwaite and Pollard will look to bring on their A-game. Furthermore, with the fifth edition of the Caribbean Premier League coming up, they hardly need extra motivation.Rashid Khan is arguably Afghanistan’s most valuable long-term asset. Still only 18, he has already played 50 limited-overs internationals, and his consistency earned him a contract with Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL, where he played all his side’s matches and picked up 17 wickets from 14 games. He was also instrumental in Afghanistan’s most famous win, a victory over West Indies in the World T20 in 2016, taking 2 for 26 in four overs. Off the only ball he faced, he smashed a six, and how many runs did Afghanistan win by? Six, of course. Given the enormity of his credentials in the shortest format, he could squeeze into most T20 sides in the world.

Team news

West Indies have included the 24-year old uncapped fast bowler from Guyana, Ronsford Beaton, in their 13-man squad. Beaton, who has scalped 31 wickets in 36 T20s, could be expected to feature in the playing XI at some stage in the series. Jason Holder, the ODI captain, has been rested.West Indies (possible) 1 Evin Lewis, 2 Chadwick Walton (wk), 3 Marlon Samuels, 4 Lendl Simmons, 5 Keiron Pollard, 6 Jason Mohammed, 7 Carlos Brathwaite (capt), 8 Sunil Narine, 9 Rovman Powell, 10 Samuel Badree, 11 Kesrick WilliamsAfghanistan’s squad is a mix of experience and youth, and one of their key objectives in this series will be to gauge the performance of the younger crop of players as pioneers like Mohammad Nabi and Asghar Stanikzai begin to transition into the latter stages of their careers.Afghanistan squad 1 Asghar Stanikzai (capt), 2 Amir Hamza, 3 Dawlat Zadran, 4 Fareed Ahmad, 5 Gulbadin Naib, 6 Javed Ahmadi, 7 Karim Janat, 8 Mohammad Nabi, 9 Najibullah Zadran, 10 Noor Ali Zadran, 11 Rashid Khan, 12 Samiullah Shenwari, 13 Shafiqullah (wk), 14 Shapoor Zadran, 15 Usman Ghani, 16 Afsar Zazai, 17 Naveen-ul-Haq, 18 Sharafuddin Ashraf

Pitch and conditions

Warner Park has been used sparingly for international cricket since it was inaugurated in 2006; it has hosted only 22 men’s international games. The pitch is expected to take turn, which should play to both sides’ strengths. There is a small chance of rain, but a full game is expected.

Stats and trivia

• Afghanistan were the only side to beat West Indies at the 2016 World T20 in India, where Darren Sammy’s team went on to win the tournament.
• Warner Park has hosted only one completed T20 international, with West Indies beating Bangladesh by five wickets in 2009. Another T20I, between the same sides five years later, was washed out after 4.4 overs.

Recklessness was the charge laid against England after their double collapse at Trent Bridge, but rarely, if ever, has such an accusation been levelled against Alastair Cook

The Report by David Hopps27-Jul-2017Recklessness was the charge laid against England after their double collapse at Trent Bridge invited South Africa back into the series, but rarely, if ever, has such an accusation been levelled against Alastair Cook. England presented him as the chief witness for the defence at the start of the third Test at The Oval – and defence is what he diligently delivered.On a crabby day frequently taunted by heavy showers, England finished four down, 171 to the good. Two of their three debutants perished as did a third batsman, Keaton Jennings, who at this level – in fact, at all levels – also remains comparatively wet behind the ears.At such times, Cook’s calming presence has often offered England succour – nigh on 12,000 Test runs amassed without excess, and as if oblivious to the tribulations around him. He just about held South Africa at bay, a workmanlike 82 not out fashioned by the time players left the field for the final time around six o’clock.South of the Thames, life is supposedly relaxed and informal, especially with a 100th Test for The Oval to celebrate, but not for England, who knew that restraint was expected of them, but who struggled to prosper after Joe Root’s marginal decision to bat.An unbroken stand of 51 between Cook and Ben Stokes as the rain became more frequent brought a different complexion after they had slipped to 120 for 4. Stokes, who had taken offence at the questioning of England’s dedication after their Trent Bridge defeat, again playing with utmost deliberation. It was perhaps safest not to mention it.England’s task to put Nottingham behind them was far from straightforward. There was swing and, surprisingly at The Oval, some seam movement on offer for South Africa’s attack on a green-tinged pitch. England had cause to be grateful that Vernon Philander had to retreat from the fray for periods of the day with a stomach upset. Once again, he was excellent throughout.The shot that got Cook to fifty – a rare wide one from Philander which he flashed through gully – was uncharacteristic of a patient innings in which he left well and prospered off his pads. It was his first Test fifty in the first innings for more than a year. His focus, though, will be forward – and the potential for a 31st Test hundred.He was grateful, on 28, to survive an lbw appeal from Chris Morris, the ball angling in towards leg stump but Ultra Edge spotting a nick on to his pad after South Africa reviewed.South Africa followed up the wicket of Jennings in the fourth over of the day with three more in the afternoon. Tom Westley looked comfortable enough in making 24 by lunch, but he fell four balls after the resumption, edging an outswinger from Chris Morris to second slip. As with any international newcomer, analysis will immediately begin – and with Westley it will doubtless emphasise his penchant for the leg side – but it was a decent delivery.John Crawley at Lord’s in 1994 was the last time England fielded a debutant No. 3 at home and there were similarities in Westley’s game, notably in a fluent manner and a strong leg-side game. A first-class average below 38 was hardly eye-catching, but he had a dapper air at the crease and, at 28, many believe him to be a late developer. England certainly need one.Dawid Malan couldn’t keep out Kagiso Rabada’s fantastic delivery•Getty Images

Philander, who had been limited to four overs with the new ball before lunch, returned in mid-afternoon and removed Joe Root during his second over back. Root was drawn into a work to leg by a slightly back-of-a-length delivery of impeccable line, it left him a fraction and Quinton de Kock changed direction in time to take a fine, one-handed catch to his right.Dawid Malan, on debut at five, is no stodge: selections like this further underline that England are not about to block out the rest of the summer. He was preferred to Liam Dawson as England sought refuge in an extra batsman, but managed only a single before his 17th delivery proved to be his last, a high-class yorker from Kagiso Rabada, which swung late to hit middle and leg and which left the left-handed Malan falling to the floor as it did so, evidence of a closed-off stance.The sum of England’s morning was 62 in 22.1 overs for the loss of Jennings, who made a duck and who is looking increasingly unlikely to survive his first Test summer. Influential figures, Andy Flower among them, like his character, but increasingly England will be disturbed by his batting average.In three Tests, Jennings’ technique has been well and truly filleted. South Africa are experts at it, especially against someone who they regard as one of their own. He has looked increasingly statuesque; as if afraid every move might be his last. Three debutants at The Oval might not preclude a fourth in Manchester.Not for the first time this series, he was skilfully worked over by Philander, his footwork tentative and bat searching blindly as if unsure which way the ball was moving. He deflected a delivery into his pads, not too far short of square leg, and then pushed blindly at the next. Philander then got him at third slip as he dangled his bat without conviction.Jennings’ departure paved the way for an Essex alliance between Cook and Westley, Westley heartened no doubt, in his first Test innings, to have the presence at the crease of a county colleague he holds in such high regard.The Oval is traditionally the ground for England debutants, but that owes much to its regular place in the English calendar as the last Test of the summer. To find three of them, all a little squeamish with nerves, searching for dressing room pegs in only the third Test of the summer, was a sign of England’s problems.Three debutants a few months before the start of an Ashes series is hardly ideal for England. Consolation, though, is easy to find because South Africa caused the same fallout in the last Australian summer. Tough and uncompromising, they are adept at uncovering weaknesses. Westley’s first four scoring shots in Test cricket were all boundaries, the first of them a signature shot as he whipped Morne Morkel to the square leg boundary.He was fortunate to get a thin edge on an lbw appeal from Morkel before taking two more boundaries off the first over from Keshav Maharaj, the left-arm spinner. An aerial drive was too close to short extra cover for comfort; a further boundary off his pads possessed more aplomb.Neither Morkel nor Rabada were at the top of their game before lunch. Morkel was too short, going for 28 in his first six, while Rabada, despite putting himself through a heavy workload in the nets during his one-Test suspension under the totting up procedure, took a while to slip into gear.Both stepped it up after lunch. Morkel was particularly impressive during a demanding afternoon spell of fuller length. Cook and Root were forced to tough it out. The former captain survived; his replacement didn’t. Root slumped back in a dressing room chair, disconsolate and, like many before him, watched Cook dig England out of a hole.

The accident reportedly took place when he was travelling from Khulna with his family

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Jun-2017Bangladesh left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak has suffered a car accident in Gopalganj, according to . Razzak has been reported to be ‘out of danger’ after receiving preliminary treatment. The accident took place when he was travelling from Khulna with his family. The local police came to their rescue after they suffered minor injuries.Razzak is the third-highest wicket-taker for Bangladesh in ODIs with 207 wickets in 153 matches. He last played international cricket in August 2014.

Calvin Dickinson scored a sublime 24-ball 51 to upstage his Kent counterpart Sam Billings and set up Hampshire’s six-wicket NatWest T20 Blast win

ECB Reporters Network11-Aug-2017Durban-born keeper-batsman Calvin Dickinson scored a sublime 24-ball 51 to upstage his Kent counterpart Sam Billings and set up Hampshire’s six-wicket NatWest T20 Blast win over the Spitfires in Canterbury.In only his second appearance in the short-form game, the diminutive Dickinson cracked eight fours and two sixes to get Hampshire off to a flying start in their pursuit of Kent’s par-for-the-course total of 167 for 7.Following Dickenson’s pyrotechnics, Hampshire skipper James Vince played a typically level-headed innings of 57 off 36-balls to earn his side’s seventh south group win with 16 deliveries to spare.Dickinson said: “It’s been a brilliant couple of days and really nice to get out there and play some first team cricket. Kent were biting at
our heels going into this game, so this was a vital win for us tonight.”We’ve probably done enough to qualify now but it’d be great to get a home quarter final. We needed impetus from the start and James Vince and I spoke about one of us going hard at the top. In the 2nd team I’ve looked to be positive and when it’s your day you just have to make the most of it.”Batting first after losing the toss, Kent recovered from a disastrous start courtesy of Sam Northeast’s 17th T20 half-century.Spitfires had lost opener Joe Denly without a run on the board. Aiming to late cut left-arm spinner Liam Dawson’s third delivery of the night Denly miscued into the hands of Kyle Abbott at backward point.The hosts finally opened their boundary account in the fourth over from Gareth Berg when Northeast clipped consecutive balls to the
leg-side ropes to take 11 off the over.Left-arm paceman Chris Wood also conceded a brace of boundaries in his first over but Kent could still only muster 40 from their six
powerplay overs.Hampshire, who selected three front-line spinners compared to Kent’s one, introduced leg-spinner Mason Crane to good effect, but it was
Abbott who struck next, plucking out Daniel Bell-Drummond’s off stump as the right-hander advanced aiming a lofted drive.Spitfires raised their 50 in the ninth over when Crane conceded his first boundary of the night to a Northeast square cut, but at their
innings mid-point Kent had limped to 61 for 2.Sam Billings appeared unusually subdued when Shahid Afridi came on at the Pavilion End. Content to rotate the strike and let Northeast go
for his big shots, Billings finally unfurled an impudent sweep off paceman Wood to pick up three through fine leg.Crane returned only to be bullied into the top deck of the tier of the Woolley Stand by Billings for the night’s first six as 18 came from the over.Northeast’s late cut for four against Afridi raised his 37-ball 50 with seven fours and posted Kent’s 100 in the 14th over but, with 59 to his name, Northeast chipped one from Dawson to George Bailey at long-on.With his skipper gone, Billings stepped up to the plate by smashing Dawson for a maximum, yet the spinner still finished with excellent
figures of two for 25.Wood ended Billings’ 25-ball stay for 40 with a perfect yorker, but Stevens lifted the Kentish gloom with an extraordinary sliced six over
extra cover against the same bowler.All-rounder Jimmy Neesham blotted his copybook by running out crowd-favourite Stevens (15) after calling for a risky second run to
Crane at deep cover, then Neesham’s back-foot force against Abbott was caught at extra cover by a diving Vince.Kent’s demise continued as Matt Coles (4) miscued to Afridi to give Gareth Berg one for 29, then Abbott wrapped up his first-rate spell
with two for 25 as Kent set Hampshire an asking rate of 8.4 an over for victory.Neesham’s dismal night continued when he conceded 15 off his first over as Hampshire sprinted out of the blocks in their pursuit of 168.Dickenson refused to let rookie left-arm spinner Imran Qayyum settle, taking 14 off his first over, then the impish 20-year-old plundered 16
off Coles to post Hampshire’s 50 after only four overs.Kent’s decision to drop their hugely experienced spinner James Tredwell in favour of Qayyum came into question when the 24-year-old
conceded a brace of sixes to James Vince, while, at the other end, Dickinson cantered to his maiden 50 in the Blast.Dickinson, who caught Hampshire’s eye last season when playing for Oxford MCCU, departed after a miscued drive to mid-on against Mitch
Claydon, but his innings ensured Hampshire had raced to 79 for 1 come the end of their powerplay.Vince and left-hander Tom Alsop took up the attack thereafter, cantering along at almost 10-an-over by simply punishing Kent’s poor deliveries and sloppy fielding.Vince moved to a 31-ball 50 with his third six off Qayyum whose torrid night improved slightly by having Alsop (34) stumped to end a second-wicket stand of 79. The bowler finished with figures of 1 for 48.Shahid Afridi departed after missing a leg-side lap to be bowled by Stevens and top-scorer Vince missed a straight one from Claydon to go
for 57, but Kent still tasted a fourth T20 defeat of the season from their five games at The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence.