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“Legally and constitutionally it’s our right to participate in the tournament and nobody can remove us from it”

Umar Farooq21-Feb-2021Ehsan Mani, the PCB chairman, has said that Pakistan will demand the T20 World Cup to be shifted out of India if Pakistan do not get written assurances from the host country on the safety and visas of every stakeholder. Mani said that the ICC in its contingency plan made UAE a back-up option, if India failed to host the tournament for any reason later this year in.The upcoming T20 World Cup was originally scheduled to be held in Australia but due to the pandemic, the cycle had been revised giving India rights to host the 2021 event while Australia have been asked to host the 2022 edition. Given the strained relationship between India and Pakistan, the ICC has been working together with the boards to obtain assurances for Pakistan’s participation.”Our government has never told us that we can’t play (in India),” Mani told reporters in Lahore. “We have agreed with the ICC that we are going to participate and we can’t contravene that. At the ICC level, I have clearly said we need a written assurance from the India government that not only our team and squad’s visas, we also need visas for fans, journalists and the board officials, but that’s also all written in the ICC host agreement and according to that we have put our demand.”ICC has also been a bit loose on it as they told us that it will be done by Dec 31, 2020, but it didn’t happen. I again raised it in January and in February directly with the ICC chairman, then I talked to ICC management and I told them that I need a clear decision by March. They are saying that by end of March. If it doesn’t come, I will demand the shifting of the event from India to UAE.”Cricketing ties between India and Pakistan have had their ups and downs since the two countries first met in the Delhi Test of 1952. The relationship over the last seven decades has been impaired with neither side touring the other country for a full series since 2007 when Pakistan last visited India. Bilateral ties between the two countries were snapped after the Mumbai terror attacks in 2008 until a limited-overs series was played in 2012-13, though India and Pakistan have faced each other in international tournaments. The sides last met at the 2019 World Cup in England.Mani also brought up how the International Olympic Committee had suspended India in 2019 after Pakistani shooters were not issued visas for the World Cup held in New Delhi in February 2019. That sanction, however, was lifted after the union government promised that all participating athletes would be given a visa, and that it wouldn’t be judged politically. Mani called for this issue to be sorted too, and for cricket to stay out of politics.On a separate outstanding issue, the ICC has told the BCCI that it reserves the right to take away the 2021 men’s T20 World Cup from India after the board failed to secure a tax exemption for the tournament from the government.”It’s already been decided that if India can’t hold the event it will be shifted to UAE,” Mani said. “Legally and constitutionally it’s our right to participate in the tournament and nobody can remove us from the tournament and the ICC chairman does realise this.”Unfortunately, it’s unhealthy that especially cricket in India is being linked with politics. On a personal level, I have no problems with Sourav Ganguly and he is quite open about it, he wants to organise the tournament in India and I have no problems with it too if he can convince every stakeholder. But ICC has backup plans and if they (India) can’t do it, it will be held at an alternative venue.”The 2020 edition of the Asia Cup, which was postponed in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, is also slotted for June this year. The tournament was originally meant to be played in Pakistan but PCB swapped the hosting rights with Sri Lanka’s 2022 edition as the PCB cannot feasibly host a tournament involving India around the growing tension between two countries. It was to feature the four subcontinent sides along with Afghanistan and an Asian qualifier. “The fate of the tournament hinges upon the qualification of India in the ICC Test championship. If they do (qualify) then its impossible this year and then we have to take it to 2023.”

“If you get good pace behind the ball and just put it in the right areas, you can create chances”

Daniel Brettig in Brisbane19-Nov-20191:31

‘Totally different, in-form bowlers’ for Tests – Misbah-ul-Haq

Misbah-ul-Haq knows the secret to getting Steven Smith out, and calls it the batsman’s “blind spot”. It isn’t much of a secret at all: simply hit the same spot, hitting at or near the top of the off stump, that troubles every batsman in international cricket.The first trick, of course, is to get the ball to move off the seam from that spot to force errors. As Smith put it in England this year: “There is no doubt in my mind that the seaming ball is the hardest thing to play in the game. You don’t have time to react, so you have to play the line and if it goes in, you are a chance of hitting the stumps and getting lbw, and if it goes away you are a chance of nicking it.”The other trick, even less of a trick than extracting seam movement, is simply to keep hitting that precise spot, ball after ball, over after over, hour after hour, session after session. Misbah, a past master at the pendulum-like rhythm that brings success whether batting or bowling in Test matches, has done his best to ensure that when Smith walks out to bat in the first Test, starting Thursday, Pakistan’s bowlers will find a way to hit the blind spot near enough to every ball.ALSO READ: Waqar Younis warns against getting ‘carried away’ by bounce“As far as Steve Smith goes, there’s a blind spot for every top batsman in the world; as a bowler you’re always interested in pitching the ball there,” Misbah said. “It’s important that we bowl with consistency there. Our bowlers are executing the plans very well right now, and hopefully we’ll be able to build that kind of a pressure, and stay disciplined especially early in the innings. No matter how good a batsman is batting, it’s about consistency and bowling the maximum balls in those areas that build pressure and the batsman respects you, and you force him to make a mistake.”All the batsmen you talk to, any batsman in the world, that’s the area where you have to defend a ball, and that is a six-to-eight-metre spot where you have to play the top of off stump. That’s the area from where if it’s happening then that creates a great chance. Even if it’s not happening, you have less chances to do anything with the ball.”So it’s about consistency, and top players in the world, if you miss those areas, that special length and line, then they are good enough to just cash in on that. So you have to be very, very disciplined, just keep the ball there, and if it’s happening you are already in the game.”Pakistan’s selection choices seem to be geared to finding not only consistency but also movement, with bounce, off the pitch. Mohammad Abbas, Shaheen Afridi, Muhammad Musa and the 16-year-old Naseem Shah have the makings of one of the tougher pace-bowling attacks Australia have faced at home.”At the moment, they are doing it, but obviously we’ll see how it goes in these conditions,” Misbah said, “because these pitches are hard.”But I still believe if you get good pace behind the ball and just put it in the right areas, you can create chances. That’s what we are looking for, and I think they can, the way Naseem is bowling at the moment, Shaheen is very important with the new ball especially, he gets some movement in the air and off the seam also. We hope that they can do it, but you need to be very, very disciplined.”Then it comes to plan B and plan C, if it’s not happening then where you’re going to attack him. Let’s see, there are good signs for us that a young bowling attack like this, they start understanding what they need to do here. It’s big pressure when they just go in a Test match, that’s a big learning for them. If they can replicate that in the game scenario then these fast bowlers will be a great asset for Pakistan. The kind of form he is in, there’s no doubt Steve Smith is a batting genius. We will try our best to execute our plans and dismiss him.”Misbah-ul-Haq catches up with Brad Hogg at the Optus Stadium•Getty Images

Among Pakistan’s batsmen, the way Babar Azam has begun this tour gives the strong impression that he may be on the verge of a major breakthrough into the very front rank, currently occupied by Smith and Virat Kohli, among others. Misbah is hopeful that he has been able to add the requisite ice to Babar’s shotmaking fire, as evidenced by the maturity he showed in compiling a masterful century against Australia A in Perth.”It was a very difficult pitch for our three-day game and they bowled very well. We were playing pretty much the top four bowlers from Australia A,” Misbah said. “Babar Azam did both the things there – he punished the poor deliveries and respected the bowlers when it was required. He batted with a lot of maturity there. It’s not just aggression, aggression and aggression, he has a very balanced approach. He puts the short balls away and even respects the good deliveries whenever he had to. He is ready to play that sort of a long innings in Tests.”He is very important. I think the way he is playing these days, the most important thing for a batsman is how confident you are, especially after South Africa and those were difficult pitches when Pakistan played last series. The way he played good and attacking cricket there, he has changed totally as a batsman. He understands conditions and here the conditions for batting are a lot better.”The way he has been batting these days in the warm-up games, in the T20s, and even in the nets, you can see his confidence and he has improved a lot technically, you can see the surety in him. He will be a key [batsman], especially with his confidence. Hopefully he will do well, it will be very important for Pakistan.”As for the World Test Championship, Pakistan will finally make their entry to the contest with India already having streeted away to a 300-point lead. Misbah mentioned the psychological value of winning in Australia or England, before assuming a typically serene attitude to the title race.”These two Test matches are here, whenever you come to Australia and England, if you perform well in these conditions as a team, especially a young team, that gives you huge confidence,” he said. “Then four Test matches at home, if we can do well here and then go there and perform well, then these things will take care of themselves.”

Tim Murtagh took four wickets as Middlesex finished their final day at Lord’s this season with victory

ECB Reporters Network21-Sep-2018
ScorecardTim Murtagh finished with 4 for 55 as Middlesex ran through the Derbyshire batting to secure a 117-run victory in their final home County Championship match of the season.Murtagh – who passed 750 first-class career wickets in the process – finished the visitors off in the seventh over after tea, despite an unbeaten century from Derbyshire skipper Billy Godleman.Although Godleman carried his bat for 105 from 147 balls at Lord’s, it was not enough to deny his former county a victory that enabled them to leapfrog Derbyshire into fourth place in the Division Two table.Middlesex declared on their overnight total of 199-7, setting the visitors a fourth-day target of 328, and they might easily have made deep inroads during the early overs.Godleman played and missed, as well as surviving three appeals, but he gradually settled down and looked particularly strong on the off-side as he advanced towards his half-century.

Toss rule not working – Malan

Middlesex’s captain Dawid Malan welcomed a calmer Lord’s pitch which allowed his batsmen to set up victory.
“It was probably back to an old-school Lord’s wicket and that suits the way we play,” he said. “It’s nice for guys to play on a wicket where they can trust their defences and get runs.
Middlesex’s batsmen have made only four Championship hundreds all season, despite most of them being pushed at some time or other for England recognition.
“It showed that if we do play as well as we can in conditions that suit us, we can get big scores and win games,” Malan said. “A lot of good players have struggled this year when the conditions were really tough.
“I think we’ve got to make up our minds whether we want to have a heavy roller or a toss rule. The toss rule was brought in to aid spinners and we haven’t played a spinner in several games at Lord’s this year. So if the rule was brought in to help spinners, it isn’t working.”

It was Murtagh who made the breakthrough for Middlesex, tempting Luis Reece (12) into the hook shot and Ethan Bamber held a tricky catch at deep square leg.The home side continued to take wickets at regular intervals, with James Harris trapping Wayne Madsen leg before and Martin Andersson finding the outside edge of Alex Hughes before lunch.Although a brief downpour delayed the resumption, Murtagh struck again with his first ball of the afternoon, having Harvey Hosein caught behind as Derbyshire’s scoring rate slowed dramatically.At the other end, Bamber bowled a tight, consistent spell, and deservedly collected the wicket of first-innings centurion Matt Critchley, pinned in front of his stumps for eight as the visitors slid to 123 for 5.Gary Wilson proved slightly harder to dislodge, sharing a sixth-wicket partnership of exactly 50 with Godleman before Harris sent his off stump flying with the next delivery.With Derbyshire 189 for 6 at tea, every result remained possible heading into the final session – but Middlesex soon cemented their advantage by capturing the remaining four wickets inside half an hour.Murtagh’s first delivery of the session proved lethal once again, with Anuj Dal leg before for 14, and Bamber (3-35) then removed Hardus Viljoen and Tony Palladino in rapid succession.Godleman did manage to complete the 12th century of his Derbyshire career in style, advancing down the wicket to drive Murtagh for a six over long-off.But Derbyshire’s cause was well and truly lost by then and Murtagh sealed the result by bowling last man Lockie Ferguson.

Shikhar Dhawan’s career-best 190 and a chanceless, unbeaten 144 led India to a commanding position on day one of the Galle Test

The Report by Karthik Krishnaswamy26-Jul-20174:35

Agarkar: Dhawan flawless against spin

Seldom have Indian Test teams gone on tour and enjoyed a first day this dominant. Batting first at one of the most bat-first grounds in the world, they cruised along at more than four an over while losing only three wickets, one in each session, going to stumps one short of 400.Shikhar Dhawan, back at the top of the order after missing India’s last 11 Tests, scored a century in a session for the second time in his career, rekindling memories of his blazing 187 on debut. Having surpassed that score, he fell three minutes from tea, failing to clear mid-off when he was ten short of a maiden double-hundred.Cheteshwar Pujara, who walked in in the eighth over of the morning, was still batting at stumps, on a serene 144 that was not only chanceless but almost without blemish. According to ESPNcricinfo’s ball-by-ball scorers, he was “not in control” only once while facing 247 deliveries. That statistic reflected how good a grassier-than-normal Galle pitch was to bat on, and how good Sri Lanka’s attack was to bat against, but also how impervious Pujara was to distraction of any kind.Also unbeaten at stumps was Ajinkya Rahane, who added an unbroken 113 with Pujara to shut the door on Sri Lanka after two wickets either side of tea had given them the most fleeting glimmer of hope.One of those wickets was of Dhawan. The other was of Virat Kohli, India’s captain, who was out to the short ball – as he was a couple of times in the ODIs in the West Indies that preceded this tour – tickling an attempted hook to the keeper.Nuwan Pradeep, who returned from the hamstring injury that had kept him out of the Test against Zimbabwe earlier this month, was Sri Lanka’s only wicket-taker. He was no less patchy with his lines and lengths than the rest of Sri Lanka’s attack, but he produced two genuinely wicket-taking deliveries, the bouncer to Kohli and, in the eighth over of the morning, a good-length ball from around the wicket that straightened in the corridor outside off stump. Abhinav Mukund’s front foot hardly come out of his crease, and had just landed on its heel when he jabbed uncertainly in defence and edged behind.Six overs later, Sri Lanka let Dhawan off when he was on 31. Pitching one up outside off, Lahiru Kumara induced Dhawan’s only loose drive of the morning session. Diving to his left from second slip, Asela Gunaratne got both hands to the ball but failed to hold on. Then he went off the field, holding on gingerly to an already heavily strapped left hand. It later emerged that the ball had fractured Gunaratne’s left thumb, and that he was unlikely to play any further part in the match.Insult followed injury. Dhawan made no other mistakes, moving to 64 by lunch. He had only hit eight fours in the first session, while still cruising at a strike rate in the 70s thanks to a proactive pursuit of quick singles, but exploded thereafter, hitting 23 fours, all around the dial, in the second session.Between lunch and his dismissal, Dhawan scored 126 off 90 balls, breaking Polly Umrigar’s India record of 110 in the post-lunch session, made during his innings of 172* in Port-of-Spain in April 1962. Virender Sehwag, who scored 133 in the post-tea session against Sri Lanka at the Brabourne Stadium in 2009, is the only Indian batsman to score more runs in a session.Rangana Herath set defensive fields throughout this onslaught, but Dhawan kept breaching the boundary no matter how many fielders he sent out to protect it. Kumara, who endured the kind of nightmare day that occasionally afflicts young, erratic quicks early in their careers, had a fielder stationed at deep point, and Dhawan beat him twice in one over, slapping the ball once to his right and once to his left.Dilruwan Perera tried bowling over the wicket with a short fine leg and a deep backward square leg in place. Twice in one over, Dhawan swept him between those two fielders. Then, having shown off the flat, square-ish sweep, he went across to a nicely flighted, good-length ball from Herath and lap-swept him fine, before jumping out to his next ball and drilling him fiercely down the ground.The forays down the pitch were frequent, and hugely productive. On India’s last tour of this country, their batsmen had made a conscious decision to step out to the spinners after their initial crease-bound approach had contributed to a first-Test defeat. The emphasis on using their feet had coincided with Herath becoming less of a force in the second and third Tests, which India won.Dhawan and Pujara kept the flame of 2015 burning. Dhawan stepped out 29 times, scoring 36 runs including seven fours, and Pujara danced down 50 times, scoring 39 runs including three fours.Sri Lanka enforced a brief lull in India’s scoring following the wickets of Dhawan and Kohli, with Rahane taking 40 balls to get into double figures. Pujara, though, eased whatever pressure it may have created on his partner, skipping down the track twice in one over to drive Herath to the extra-cover and straight boundaries, and in the next over lashing Kumara through the covers, one ball after he had brought up his 12th Test hundred.

Mohammad Azharullah took advantage of perfect conditions for swing bowling to take 6 for 68 and give Northamptonshire control on the first day of their Specsavers Championship match against Sussex at Arundel

ECB Reporters Network22-Jun-2016
ScorecardMohammad Azharullah revelled in a humid Arundel day•Getty Images

Mohammad Azharullah took advantage of perfect conditions for swing bowling to take 6 for 68 and give Northamptonshire control on the first day of their Specsavers Championship match against Sussex at Arundel.The 32-year-old from Pakistan, who took ten wickets against the same opponents in 2014, helped dismiss Sussex for 178 despite 75 from opener Chris Nash. Northants then reached 43 for 1 in reply when play ended at 7.57pm with six overs of the day’s allocation not bowled because of bad light.Azharullah benefitted from bowling a full length and letting the overcast, humid conditions do the rest, although he was also helped by indifferent shot selection by some of Sussex’s batsmen.Mark David, Sussex’s coach, said: “It has been very wet for the last few days and although the groundstaff worked tremendously hard the wicket wasn’t as dry as they would have liked and that, combined with the overhead conditions, made it very hard for batting.”Nash and Ed Joyce put on 42 in ten overs without alarm but Sussex’s troubles began when Azharullah bowled Joyce (10) off his pads and he then struck with successive balls in his next over. Luke Wells (5) drove loosely to become the first of five victims for wicketkeeper David Murphy and Harry Finch was lbw to a ball which swung back in.Nash reached 50 from just 53 balls and the ease with which he stroked the ball through his strong off-side areas was in vivid contrast to the struggles of his team-mates.Luke Wright, leading Sussex in the Championship for the first time, looked understandably rusty and Azharullah picked him up for 14 when he switched to the Castle End.Matt Machan was dropped at slip by skipper Alex Wakely on five and helped put on 46 either side of tea before four more wickets fell in 33 deliveries.Azharullah collected the first two with Machan (30) caught behind driving before Ben Brown (3) became his sixth victim, courtesy of a fine low diving catch in front of slip by Murphy.Ollie Robinson was then foxed by Ben Sanderson’s slower ball, which he drove to extra cover where debutant Shaun Terry took the catch on the day he became the 500th player to play first-class cricket for Northamptonshire.Nash, who had made 75 from 119 balls with ten fours, was eighth out when he was surprised by extra bounce from Richard Gleeson and edged behind.The persevering Ben Sanderson removed Steve Magoffin (5). Ajmal Shahzad and Stuart Whittingham added 23 for the last wicket before Shahzad was caught at deep mid-wicket off off-spinner Richard Keogh.Northants began their reply at 6.50pm and opener Rob Newton lost his off stump to Ollie Robinson for a 24-ball duck but Ben Duckett and Wakely saw them safely through to the belated close.

Chris Rogers has conceded that team doctor Peter Brukner was right to rule him out of both Tests in the West Indies after he suffered concussion when he was struck on the helmet at training

Brydon Coverdale12-Jun-2015Chris Rogers has conceded that team doctor Peter Brukner was right to rule him out of both Tests in the West Indies after he suffered concussion when he was struck on the helmet at training. Rogers said he had had “some pretty bad days” since the incident in the lead-up to the first Test, but he was hopeful that he was on the way to recovery after facing throwdowns in the nets on Thursday.Rogers initially thought the incident was innocuous but he has suffered from headaches and dizziness since then, and admitted he would not have been fit for the ongoing second Test in Jamaica. He said he had been surprised by how long his symptoms had persisted since being struck on May 31, and while it was a concern he had been assured by Brukner he would recover.”I got hit on the head when I was just a bit early on a pull shot,” Rogers said. “Then I was actually hit on the box and that’s when I walked away and was a little bit annoyed. To be honest, I didn’t think much of the hit on the head. I’ve been hit on the head quite a few times. I thought it was just another one.”But then I just didn’t start to feel great. I spoke to the doc and didn’t expect him to rule me out of the Test, but he did. I was a little bit surprised at the time but since then I still haven’t quite recovered. I’ve had some pretty bad days so I think the doc was right. He made the right call.”You never want to miss a Test, especially for something I thought was fairly insignificant. I guess nowadays any knock to the head can make a difference. I just didn’t really think I’d have the headaches and the dizziness that have come with it. It’s been surprising but that’s what has happened.”Rogers said at the time he had not worried about the hit from a bowler who “wasn’t even that quick”. He was not aware of having been concussed previously in his career, and said it was hard to watch on from the sidelines but having felt ill after attempting some training he knew that he needed to be ruled out of the Jamaica Test as well as the first in Dominica.”As an opening batsman and a small one, you tend to cop your fair share on the helmet,” Rogers said. “But I’ve never really had symptoms like this, I must admit. Even just running and taking a few catches and then feeling terrible for the rest of the day. It’s been a bit of a wake-up call.”Shaun Marsh has filled Rogers’ position at the top of the order in the West Indies and Adam Voges slotted in at No.5 and scored a hundred on debut in Dominica. That will mean a decision for the selectors ahead of the Ashes next month; Rogers’ experience in English conditions will make him a desired member of the side if he is fully fit.”I had a hit today and that was a good sign,” Rogers said on Thursday. “I haven’t felt any side-effects from that so I think I’m on the road to recovery now … After a while you want to be back in it and you feel a little bit left out when you’re not part of the team. But that’s natural and you just have to wait your turn.”

While the visiting Englishmen played their third warm-up game of the India tour in Ahmedabad, India’s Test side eased into its three-day preparatory camp in Mumbai ahead of the upcoming series

Abhishek Purohit in Mumbai09-Nov-2012While the visiting Englishmen played their third warm-up game of the India tour in Ahmedabad, India’s Test side eased into its three-day preparatory camp for the upcoming series with a short practice session at the Cricket Club of India (CCI) in south Mumbai. All members of the squad, barring Harbhajan Singh, whose flight was delayed, arrived at the CCI in the afternoon, along with coach Duncan Fletcher, and batted and bowled for a little more than an hour after a short game of football. With the World Twenty20 and Champions League T20 having consumed most of September and October, this was the first outing for India’s Test side in nine weeks, the first after the New Zealand series at home.The fitness of Zaheer Khan, who had lasted all of 13.3 overs on India’s tour of England last year, was again in focus. Zaheer had pulled up sore, pointing towards his groin, on the third day of Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy opener against Railways last week, and had walked off the field. He didn’t bowl or field on the fourth and final day, but Mumbai captain Ajit Agarkar had said Zaheer’s problem was just cramp. Today, while the other quick bowlers in the India squad, Umesh Yadav and Ishant Sharma, bowled through the mini-session, Zaheer spent the majority of his time on the massage table. He eventually did bowl for a while but was clearly not extending himself. On the other hand, Ishant and Umesh, especially, bowled with pace and rhythm.The batsmen took to the nets as per the batting order in batches of four, with Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Cheteshwar Pujara and Sachin Tendulkar starting off. Pujara looked in fine touch, defending and attacking confidently, though the bowling was below par at times. With various age-group matches going on in Mumbai at the moment, it was difficult to assemble decent young net bowlers. Two of those bowlers, though, managed to hit Tendulkar’s stumps once each with the batsman appearing a touch tentative. Tendulkar did loft R Ashwin crisply a few times and soon left the nets to receive a few throwdowns.Next in were Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Ajinkya Rahane and MS Dhoni. Gambhir and M Vijay, the reserve opener, continued to bat into the fading light after the rest were done. After Gambhir walked off eventually, Vijay hit a few more for a while against the local spinners and was the last player to leave the nets. The squad will have a full training session tomorrow.

Patrick Cummins, Australia’s 19-year-old fast bowler, was credited with putting his team in a winning position after their victory in the opening T20 against South Africa at Newlands

Firdose Moonda at Newlands13-Oct-2011Patrick Cummins, Australia’s 18-year-old fast bowler, was credited with putting his team in a winning position after their victory in the opening T20 against South Africa at Newlands. His captain, Cameron White, said Cummins’ three wickets on debut in the 19th over swung the advantage Australia’s way.”It was the difference between chasing 160 and what we did chase [147],” White said. “It doesn’t seem like much but when the game is getting close those few runs make a difference.” White added that Cummins, who was Australia’s second youngest debutant, bowled like “a seasoned pro” and his performance in his first match gave further evidence of a bright future.The Man of the Match, Shane Watson, who is also Cummins’ team-mate at New South Wales, was another full of praise. After talking Cummins up earlier in the week, Watson believed that he had lived up to his billing and that he will be careful to nurture his skills and not let any ego get it the way.”There’s no way he will let it get to his head,” Watson said. “Deep down he knows that it’s a really special gift that he’s got, to bowl that fast at such a young age.”While Cummins grabbed the biggest haul, Australia’s bowling was an all-round effort and White said the conditions had something to do with it. “They probably really appreciated the conditions. It was nice to see the ball swinging and bouncing.”One of the other debutants, Doug Bollinger, who was, somewhat surprisingly, playing in his first international T20 despite his success at the IPL, also impressed as he swung the new ball and was economical. “Doug has been doing well in Twenty20s for the last couple of years,” Watson said. “He has been consistent and bowled with good pace, bounce and swing. When he is bowling well, it’s hard to line him up more than anything,”He claimed the scalp of Graeme Smith, lending weight to the theory that Smith has not dealt with his technical issues against left-armers although Watson wasn’t reading too much into Smith’s duck. “I think it’s just luck. Whether you’re right-handed or left-handed batsmen, you don’t come across too many left handed bowlers,” he said. “Left-armers have given batsmen a lot of trouble, not just Graeme, but having two left-armers does give us an advantage.”Watson also played his part with the ball but it was his swashbuckling 52 that took the game away from South Africa. After a lean run in the Champions League, Watson felt he was due some runs. “I had been feeling good in the nets so I knew I was not far away,” he said. He was dropped on 2, by Smith in at first slip, and admitted that he needed a bit of luck but was pleased to capitalise on it.South Africa didn’t help themselves by the lapses in the field and had been put on the back foot early when Smith fell in the first over and Amla was run out coming back for a third. Colin Ingram and JP Duminy put them back on track with a third-wicket partnership of 58 and although it didn’t prove to be matchwinning stand, Amla said it was one of the biggest positives of their defeat.”That’s what the selectors were hoping for, that the young batsmen would perform,” he said. “JP’s innings was a serious highlight for us. Some of his shots were unbelievable.”With the pair at the crease, South Africa looked on track to reach an above-par total but White said he never felt as though the score was getting beyond his control. “I didn’t think it was drifting away from us,” he said. “They always had to push on towards the back end and then we got a breakthrough and were really able to restrict them. The run rate was always around six.”While White said winning was a good start he added “it will be better to win the next one.” Amla, meanwhile, was looking for aspects he can build on as South Africa attempt to level the series in Johannesburg. “In the batting department, we should look to score a bit more so that it gives the guys at the bottom a little more leeway,” he said. “And, in the field we did show signs of not being at 100%.”

Gloucestershire has lost the services of William Porterfield, the Ireland opening batsman

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Oct-2010William Porterfield, the Ireland opening batsman, has left Gloucestershire after signing a three-year deal with Warwickshire. Gloucester have also lost medium-pacer Gemaal Hussain who too is likely to move up to Division One if he joins county champions Nottinghamshire.Gloucester had a disappointing 2009 season, being placed fifth in Division Two after losing nine and winning only six of their matches. Porterfield and Hussain’s departures come in the wake of Steve Kirby and Anthony Ireland’s exits from the county.The county were unhappy with Hussain’s decision but the bowler said he had to make the move if he wanted to improve his chances of playing for England. “I feel I need to challenge myself by playing Division One cricket,” Hussain told the county’s website. Tom Richardson, Gloucestershire’s chief executive, said he didn’t agree with Hussain’s view. “It’s very disappointing as you’ve got this guy who came to us last year from nowhere,” Richardson told . Hussain was the division’s leading wicket-taker with 67 at 22.34 from 15 matches.Porterfield will join his Ireland team-mate Boyd Rankin at Warwickshire. Ashley Giles, Warwickshire’s director of cricket, was pleased with the season’s signings which include Pakistan batsman Younis Khan. “Will has proved his potential at international and domestic level and I believe he has a great deal more to offer.”

Imran Farhat, who contributed an obdurate 98-ball 32 to a solid start, did not entirely believe Pakistan had been shut out of the contest at 161 for 6

Cricinfo staff03-Dec-2009At the end of a truncated first day’s play, which began over two hours late due to a wet outfield and closed early owing to bad light, Pakistan were in an uncomfortable position. There were no hidden demons in the pitch, and a slow yet steady opening stand of 60 in 194 deliveries seemingly had Pakistan – who were put in to bat – on the route to stability.The opener Imran Farhat, who contributed an obdurate 98-ball 32 to that start, did not entirely believe Pakistan had been shut out of the contest at 161 for 6. “The score at the moment is not bad, if you look at the conditions. If we score another 100 runs it will be good, because our bowling is very good,” he said. “A score of 250 won’t be a bad score. We still believe and we’re still fighting. [Mohammad] Asif, Umar Gul and [Mohammed] Aamer are in form, we’ve got Danish Kaneria playing too, we expect a lot from him here.”Mohammad Yousuf, Pakistan’s captain, said he would have opted to field as well. The pitch did not appear to do too much, and Pakistan had four silly dismissals to blame for their predicament. Salman Butt took on a short ball, Farhat tried to run Vettori past slip, Shoaib Malik pushed uppishly to mid-off, and Misbah-ul-Haq, on his return to the side, fell slog-sweeping Vettori.Farhat credited New Zealand’s tidy attack for putting pressure on Pakistan. “We didn’t have any such plan, we were just looking to be positive, be it batting or bowling” he said. “We started well but suddenly we lost a wicket, and then a couple, and we came under pressure. We survived well, and on this pitch you’ve got to concentrate. The weather keeps changing a bit, it was windy and there was a bit of moisture in the track on the first day. They bowled very well, put the ball in the right areas, and at the end of the day we didn’t have many partnerships.”Umar Akmal had a memorable debut in Dunedin, following a century with a polished 75 in the second innings batting at No. 5, but here he was promoted to No. 3. There have been reports in claiming that no batsman was willing to bat at one-down, and that Umar was thrust into the position. The decision, said Farhat, was taken to accommodate Misbah two spots lower.”Misbah-ul-Haq came back, and he’s an experienced player who has batted at No. 5,” he said. “The management knows that Umar Akmal can play at No.3, so it’s a collective decision. It’s about who is comfortable. He played very well. It’s not a bad decision. He’s willing and in good touch.”