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England ended 24 years of hurt in crushing style at the SCG as they secured an innings-and-83-run victory to take the Ashes series 3-1

The Bulletin by Andrew McGlashan at the SCG07-Jan-2011England 644 (Cook 189, Prior 118, Bell 115) beat Australia 280 (Johnson 53, Anderson 4-66) and 281 (Smith 54*, Anderson 3-61, Tremlett 3-79) by an innings and 83 runs
ScorecardJames Anderson helped seal England’s huge victory by removing Ben Hilfenhaus•Getty Images

England ended 24 years of hurt in crushing style at the SCG as they secured an innings-and-83-run victory to take the Ashes series 3-1. The crowning moment came shortly before noon when Chris Tremlett found Michael Beer’s inside edge to bowl him leg stump. It was the first time in their history that Australia have suffered three innings defeats in a series and left nobody in any doubt where the balance of power now lies.The England players immediately embraced at the striker’s end and savoured their moment in a tight team huddle. This has been a victory fashioned by exemplary planning and hard work where no stone has been left unturned. The defeat in Perth, by 267 runs, which levelled the series for Australia, only inspired the visitors to hit new heights and they proceeded to crush the hosts in Melbourne and Sydney.England were frustrated for a while as showers scudded across the ground to cause a 45-minute suspension and then by an 86-run stand between Steve Smith and Peter Siddle. However, Graeme Swann broke through shortly before the new ball and a short time later Tremlett removed the last obstacle.Smith and Siddle at least showed some fight as they came out and played their shots. Siddle’s batting improvement since his return from injury is one of few bonuses to emerge from a terrible series for the hosts, and it highlights their problems that his run-scoring record is not far off that of Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke.The England bowlers couldn’t quite recapture the intensity of the fourth evening when they claimed the extra half hour to try and wrap up victory. Tremlett appeared a little down on pace after his roaring burst the previous day, but England knew all they had to do was remain patient and their moment would arrive.Swann had bowled well in the innings without reward so when he had Siddle taken at deep midwicket it was deserved success for giving Andrew Strauss control at vital stages. That was Swann’s final bowl, though, as the new ball was taken straight away and Anderson, who will head home for ten days’ rest, found Ben Hilfenhaus’ edge to give the impressive Matt Prior another catch.By now the Barmy Army were in full voice. Smith had time to bash his way to a second Test fifty, but he knew the end was close as he swung from the hip. A single exposed Beer to three balls of Tremlett’s over and he only needed one delivery. England will party the day and night away in Sydney, yet knowing the focus of Strauss and Andy Flower they will soon be back preparing for the next challenge. Next stop: the best team in the world.

ESPNcricinfo previews West Indies’ chances in the 2011 World Cup

Vaneisa Baksh17-Feb-2011In the beginning they were the almighty force, but that was 35 years ago and the current West Indies team doesn’t send out ripples of fear ahead of the tenth edition of the World Cup. With some relatively new faces in the squad, familiarity, either with each other or their public, may not have run its fingers through their hair long enough to give them a distinct style (although it should be remembered that Clive Lloyd’s lustrous team of 1975 was at pretty much the same stage when that tournament began). The West Indies are without Brian Lara, who retired after leading the team four years ago, and Chris Gayle, who was rarely enthusiastic about leading the sides, has been replaced as captain by Darren Sammy, who is loud and proud about his passion for the game and the region.The Test team in the making may not yet be something to shout about, but there are some reassuring saplings sprouting in the ranks. Kemar Roach, named man of the series for the three-Test series versus Sri Lanka, invokes something of Malcolm Marshall. Darren Bravo brings Lara to mind. Brendan Nash carries the dependable aura of Larry Gomes (and Shivnarine Chanderpaul) and Adrian Barath, who made a hundred in the warm-up game against Kenya, might bring something of Rohan Kanhai. Add the potential explosiveness of Gayle, Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo, and the there could be some highly entertaining cricket when they take the field for their opening encounter against South Africa on February 24.World Cup pedigreeThe West Indies were the first two champions in 1975 and 1979 and were the finalists when India won it in 1983. They have slid down the pecking order since then, a solitary semi-final place in 1996 being the highlight of subsequent campaigns.Recent formWest Indies have not had any dramatic shifts in form for more than a decade. In the last few months, their biggest series has been a trip to Sri Lanka under new captain Sammy. The Test series ended damply at 0-0 as rain washed out practically all the matches, but there were encouraging signs as Gayle made a triple hundred in the First Test, Darren Bravo made a string of half-centuries, and Roach was the leading wicket-taker. However, they lost the rescheduled one-day series 2-0, with first game being washed out as rain continued to plague them.PredictionIn the first round of matches, West Indies play South Africa, the Netherlands, Bangladesh, Ireland, England and India. Not to underestimate their opponents (early upsets are part of the World Cup thrill; remember Ireland?), but they should hold their own against half of those teams. That said, with India, South Africa and England amongst the favourites to win the cup, the West Indies will be happy to make it to the knockout stage.WatchabilityThe team is an intriguing blend of potential and power. Gayle can be stupendous when he gets going; Pollard is pure, powerful entertainment and Dwayne Bravo can, some of the time, be all things on a cricket field. Add to that the fresh talent found in Darren Bravo, Barath and Roach, the dependability of Chanderpaul, and the hunger of a recalled Ramnaresh Sarwan, and you have a team worth staying up all night for.Key playersKemar Roach does not have much international experience, but whenever he’s stepped out on the field, he has attracted attention. He made his Test debut in July 2009 in a ramshackle series with Bangladesh marred by a players’ strike, and emerged as the leading wicket-taker of the series, a feat he repeated against Sri Lanka. Roach does many delightful things with the ball and he has demonstrated an aggressiveness that harks back to an Ambrose era. Unfortunately, in the continued absence of Fidel Edwards and Jerome Taylor, he has been hampered by a lack of support at the other end, and the team has not operated at full throttle with its bowlers for some time now,Six years younger than his brother Dwayne, Darren Bravo’s family loves to boast that he is the most talented of the brood. Darren has startled many onlookers by his physical resemblance to his cousin Lara, which was exacerbated by his technique and stance bearing an uncanny likeness as well. A genuine find for the West Indies, Darren is full of form, style, confidence and a sense of the different demands of each phase of play. Despite his youth, has a mature head on his shoulders and will add solidity to the batting along with Chanderpaul.If one had to characterise West Indies cricket over the past 15 years or so, Chris Gayle would be the epitome of its nature. He appears entirely indifferent to discipline and authority, is languid in his movements and not afraid to bare his teeth at anyone who dares to challenge him (especially if it comes from officialdom, like the WICB). Yet he obviously has a zest for life and cricket, and once it is ignited, he can be brilliant, as he showed in making 333 against Sri Lanka. Twenty20 has been his playground for a while, long enough for his name as an entertainment brand to be bigger than a retainer contract with the West Indies board. So he knows what it is like to put on a good show. If he can give the team the kind of starts he is capable of producing, making the knockout stage will become a lot easier.

Daniel Vettori and Kyle Millis will not be playing in New Zealand’s final group match against Sri Lanka on Friday

Nagraj Gollapudi in Mumbai16-Mar-2011Daniel Vettori and Kyle Millis will not be playing in New Zealand’s final group match against Sri Lanka on Friday. It is an important match for New Zealand as a positive result will assure them a top two finish in Group A.But New Zealand are not interested in taking a gamble and want Vettori and Mills to recover from the injuries completely and return fit for the knockout stages. “At this stage we are looking at having Kyle Mills and Daniel Vettori for the quarter-finals. Their injuries are coming along nicely but they are probably not ready for this match,” Ross Taylor, New Zealand’s stand-in captain, said.Vettori hurt his knee while attempting a catch in the win against Pakistan last week while Mills strained his left quadricep in the match against Canada last Sunday. Both players were present the team’s training at the Wankhede stadium, but other than doing a few stretches, they just milled around with team-mates.As a precautionary step, New Zealand have called Dary Tuffey as a cover for Mills. “With Kyle Mills suffering from a quad strain we felt it was important to cover our bases,” New Zealand selector Mark Greatbatch said.”The medical team is working hard to get Kyle fit and we are hopeful he will still play a big part in the World Cup so bringing in Daryl is a precaution. Getting Daryl over to India early gives him the best chance of adjusting to the different time zone and conditions should he become part of the official squad.” Tuffey is currently playing in the New Zealand’s first-class competition, the Plunket Shield, representing Auckland against Northern Districts. He will join the team on Friday.This will be the second match at the renovated Wankhede stadium, which will host the final on April 2. The New Zealand-Canada contest, a day match, saw nearly 600 runs scored on a pitch which had true bounce, but became flatter steadily. It is expected to behave the same on Friday even though the match will be played under lights. Taylor said a settled top order and a host of power hitters in the lower order makes New Zealand a formidable opponent against Sri Lanka, who would be playing their first game away from home.”Our top four or five are fairly settled. The way Martin Guptill and Brendon McCullum have batted have been outstanding in laying a platform. Jesse Ryder has had good form back home. He has not had probably the same opportunities here but he has been striking the ball very well out there. Another strength of ours is the lower batting order and the power hitting that we have,” Taylor said.Giving a hint about the selection, Taylor said the choice for a replacement for Mills would be between a specialist bowler or an allrounder. “Luke Woodcock comes into the 12. I will have to see as far as balance of the side goes whether we go in with an extra bowler or an extra allrounder.” Hamish Bennett, who sat out the Canada match, could be in competition with Woodcock.

Callum Ferguson has said Michael Clarke taking charge of the Australia team feels like the beginning of a new era

Daniel Brettig in Mirpur12-Apr-2011Callum Ferguson is brimming with enthusiasm for a new era in Australian cricket. His excitement is little wonder, since the team’s first series under Michael Clarke’s captaincy – three one-day matches in Bangladesh – has seen Ferguson squeeze his way back into the Australia limited-overs team at the expense of Cameron White. He replaced White for the second ODI, but did not get a chance to bat since Australia won by nine wickets.”Every time the Australia captain has changed, it’s almost had a bit of a change of era feel about it,” Ferguson said. “There’s no doubt Michael and Shane [Watson] will be looking to make a mark and take us in a new direction.”Obviously it was a big disappointment being knocked out in the World Cup quarter-final and losing the Ashes earlier in the year. So we’re extremely keen to rectify things and turn things around, and the last two games have been a fantastic start to their leadership careers.” Australia have already wrapped up the series against Bangladesh with two easy wins, and will play the final one-dayer on Wednesday.A seemingly permanent fixture in the side in 2009, before a knee injury kept him out of cricket for a year, Ferguson is now hoping for an innings of substance in Wednesday’s match to shore up his spot for Australia’s next overseas tour to Sri Lanka in August. A happy face around the squad, Ferguson has been the model reserve, offering nary a grumble while waiting for his next chance.”Obviously I spent a long time away from the group with the knee injury, so I’m really glad to be a part of it again and really looking forward to the next opportunity I get,” he said. “Whether that be tomorrow [Wednesday] – it might not be, it might be further down the track – but just to be running around with the boys again is fantastic.”Following this series, Ferguson and Tim Paine will play for Pune Warriors in the IPL. His simple goal with the Australia team can be applied just as neatly to the Twenty20 sphere.”Contributing to wins is probably the biggest thing for me at the minute, just making sure I’m playing my role for the team and giving the guys in behind me a chance as well; not leaving it to the next guy. Just making sure that I’m doing absolutely everything I can to get a win on the board.”

Half-centuries from Wayne Madsen and Daniel Redfern gave Derbyshire the edge at the end of a tough first day against Leicestershire

27-Apr-2011
ScorecardHalf-centuries from Wayne Madsen and Daniel Redfern gave Derbyshire the edge at
the end of a tough first day in their County Championship clash with Leicestershire at Grace Road.Derbyshire, who beat their East Midlands neighbours by an innings and 32 runs
just two weeks ago, were 238 for 5 at stumps despite a superb spell of bowling from Leicestershire veteran Claude Henderson. The left-arm spinner finished the day with figures of 3 for 69 from 33 overs. At one stage Derbyshire looked in real trouble at 174 for 5, but recovered courtesy of an unbroken partnership of 64 between Redfern and Luke Sutton.Having won the toss it proved hard work for Derbyshire’s batsmen throughout the
morning session with the variable bounce on a slow pitch causing plenty of
problems. The conditions certainly favoured the bowlers and Leicestershire would have
been disappointed to claim only one wicket by lunch.Madsen should have been out on 14 when he edged a delivery from Matthew Hoggard
that reared outside the off stump only for Jacques Du Toit to put down the catch
at slip.The introduction of Nadeem Malik brought Leicestershire the breakthrough in the
15th over with the total at 44. Malik produced a fine delivery that swung in and
found the inside edge of Wesley Durston’s bat and this time wicket keeper Tom
New took the catch.Usman Khawaja, who made his Australia Test debut against England in the winter,
signalled his intentions with four crisp boundaries off Wayne White and
Derbyshire looked in a sound position on 82 for 1 at lunch.But the game then swung Leicestershire’s way as Henderson produced an
outstanding exhibition of spin bowling claiming three wickets for 60 runs during
an unbroken spell of 30 overs. It was Hoggard who struck first however, having Khawaja caught behind for 35 in his third over after lunch. An edged four off Nathan Buck brought Madsen his half century off 142 balls, before he was trapped lbw trying to force a shot through leg side off a quicker ball from Henderson.Chesney Hughes, who had been dropped at slip by Will Jefferson off Henderson’s
bowling, then slashed a catch to point off the spinner. And when Henderson clipped the top of Greg Smith’s off-stump with another cleverly flighted delivery shortly after tea, Derbyshire looked in some trouble.But a battling sixth-wicket stand between Redfern and Sutton restored Derbyshire’s grip on the game. Sutton, however, was given a life when he was dropped at slip by Jefferson off
the bowling of Malik when he had made 20.But Redfern, showing great discipline and concentration, reached his 50 off 151 balls, with six fours, and was still there at the close on 58 with Sutton keeping him company on 21.

Niall O’Brien’s 10th first-class century dug Northamptonshire out of a hole on the opening day of the County Championship match against Gloucestershire at Bristol

11-May-2011
Scorecard
Niall O’Brien’s 10th first-class century dug Northamptonshire out of a hole on the opening day of the County Championship match against Gloucestershire at Bristol.The visitors had been reduced to 125 for 5 after winning the toss when O’Brien and Andrew Hall (90) came together for a sixth-wicket stand of 182. O’Brien ended the day unbeaten on 123 in a Northamptonshire total of 381 for six, achieved against a home attack featuring 16-year-old Craig Miles – the fourth youngest player to have made his first-class debut for Gloucestershire.Swindon-born Miles took 1 for 51 from 13 overs with his seamers, his maiden Championship wicket coming when Alex Wakely drove a catch to cover.Northamptonshire looked to be in for a tough day when, with the total on 18, opener Stephen Peters edged a defensive shot off Jon Lewis to Alex Gidman at first slip. Without addition to the score, Gidman pouched another catch in the same position to dismiss Mal Loye, with left-armer David Payne this time the successful bowler.Rob White was dropped on 25 by Kane Williamson in the slips off Ian Saxelby and survived to be 48 not out at lunch, which was taken at 97 for 2. But, in the over after the interval, White fell leg before wicket trying to work a ball from Will Gidman through the leg side.It was 115 for four when Wakely (32) was caught low down by Chris Taylor and 125 for five when David Sales drove a return catch to Saxelby, having made only 10. Gloucestershire were on top, but began to concede too many boundaries as O’Brien and Hall counter-attacked. Hall hit eight fours in reaching his half-century first off 75 balls.The tea score was 228 for 5 and the sixth-wicket partnership continued to flourish at the start of the final session, left-hander O’Brien posting his fifty off 68 deliveries, with eight fours.Hall looked set for a ton when the second new ball was taken with the total 292 for five. But in the second over with it he got a leading edge to Saxelby and lobbed a simple catch to Taylor at cover. The South African had faced 128 balls and extended his boundary tally to a dozen.O’Brien continued his chanceless knock and reached three figures against the county his younger brother Kevin will join later this week for the remainder of the season. He had faced 124 balls and hit 14 fours in an innings full of meaty drives and cuts.But nothing could spoil a memorable day for Miles, whose debut came at the age of 16 years 295 days. WWF Pullen holds the record as the youngest ever Gloucestershire player to appear in a first-class match. He was 15 years and 346 days when he played against Middlesex at Lord’s in 1882.

Amit Bhandari, the Delhi seamer, has announced him retirement from first-class cricket at the age of 32

ESPNcricinfo staff31-May-2011Amit Bhandari, the Delhi seamer, has announced his retirement from first-class cricket at the age of 32. Bhandari, who played two one-day internationals for India, has not been picked in the Delhi squad since being dropped in 2008.Bhandari, who made his first-class debut in the 1997-98 season, played in 95 first-class matches for Delhi, and became only the second Delhi bowler after Madan Lal to go past 300 wickets. He was called up to the national team in 2000 but got smashed for 75 runs in his 10 overs in his debut one-day international. He didn’t play for the national side after that till 2004, when he took 3 for 31 against Zimbabwe, and still rues the fact he didn’t play more international cricket.”I sat on the bench for 32 matches,” Bhandari said. “None of the coaches or captains ever told me that why I didn’t play enough despite taking lots of wickets. They talked about my lack of pace but then how many in India are tearaway fast bowlers?”Though opportunities at the India level weren’t too forthcoming, Bhandari enjoyed a successful career with Delhi and also played under Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir. “Amit was a bowler any captain could count on for making the breakthroughs,” Sehwag said of Bhandari. “He could bowl with precision and was easily one of the best I had seen. Seam was his strong point and he could adapt to conditions easily He was a superb fielder too, inside and outside the circle. It is sad he could not play more than two matches for India.” Gambhir, who captained Bhandari in Delhi’s successful Ranji Trophy campaign in 2008, said he used Bhadari’s inputs regularly. “His experience was priceless for the team in that season. He was an asset,” Gambhir said.Bhandari now wants to get involved in coaching and believes he can contribute to developing young Indian fast bowlers. “I would like to do all the NCA level coaching starting from this year. I would definitely like to get involved in active coaching. There are lot of subtle things about pace bowling that I still don’t know. Getting involved in active coaching would give me a chance to pass on some knowledge to the younger generations.”

Sussex Sharks offspinner Ollie Rayner took 5 for 18, the third best Twenty20 bowling figures in the county’s history

14-Jun-2011
ScorecardSussex Sharks offspinner Ollie Rayner took 5 for 18, the third best Twenty20 bowling figures in the county’s history, to help them move into second place in the Friends Life t20 South Group after a four-wicket win over Somerset at Hove on Tuesday night.Rayner owed his place to the absence of skipper Mike Yardy, who is taking a break as he continues to battle with depression. He had only taken nine wickets in 17 previous Twenty20 games but he bulldozed Somerset’s top order, twice taking two wickets in an over. They were the second-best figures in the competition this season, behind only team-mate Rana Naved-ul-Hasan’s 5 for 17 against Essex.Rayner opened the bowling and his fourth ball was swept into the pavilion by Marcus Trescothick for six. But he snared the Somerset captain when he returned to the attack in the seventh over courtesy of a superbly judged catch by Luke Wright at long-off. Trescothick top scored with 33 off 23 balls, with three sixes and two fours, and his departure sparked a horrible collapse which saw six wickets fall for 14 runs in 26 balls.James Hildreth was caught behind trying to angle his first ball off the face and in his next over Rayner had Roloef van der Merwe caught on the boundary off a slog-sweep. Left-hander Arul Suppiah was stumped coming down the track to a delivery which turned sharply and Rayner had his fifth wicket with a return catch off Jos Buttler’s mis-timed drive.Sussex’s seamers backed up Rayner despite losing South African Wayne Parnell to a hamstring injury early on. Left-armer Chris Liddle started with a maiden and then had Craig Kieswetter caught off a skier before Peter Trego was caught behind for a second-ball duck later in the fourth over.The last three wickets added 34 runs to give their total a semblance of respectability, with Rana taking his competition aggregate to 11 wickets with 2 for 14 at the end as Somerset were dismissed in 17.2 overs.Sussex found it just as hard to score quickly on a two-paced pitch. Chris Nash and Joe Gatting fell to the new ball and the in-form Luke Wright was superbly caught behind by Kieswetter off Gemaal Hussain to leave the Sharks 23 for 3.But skipper Murray Goodwin used all his experience to see his side to victory, adding 32 with Lou Vincent (16) and 22 for the fifth wicket with Andrew Hodd before the latter was magnificently caught by Van der Merwe.Goodwin was eventually caught behind in the 17th over for 27, trying to cut Van der Merwe, but Sussex only needed five runs to win and Rayner fittingly sealed it with a boundary to get his side home with 15 balls to spare.

A round-up of the sixth day of matches in the ICC Africa Region Division One Twenty20 2011

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Jul-2011Uganda crushed Kenya by eight wickets at the Kyambogo Cricket Ground, registering their sixth win of the ICC Africa Division One Twenty20 2011, to set up a final with table-toppers Namibia. Choosing to bat, Kenya limped to 74 for 9 in their 20 overs – just three of their batsmen managed to get into double figures with Kennedy Ochieng top scoring with 26. Deusdedit Muhumuza and Davis Arinaitwe picked up two wickets each, and three run-outs were effected in the innings.Despite losing opener Arthur Kyobe off the second ball of the chase, Uganda faced no real threat, with Abdulah Lubega and Arthur Ziraba putting on 69 for the second wicket and effectively sealing the match. The winning runs came in the 15th over with Lubega unbeaten on 36.Nigeria beat Ghana by a convincing six-wicket margin at the Lugogo Cricket Oval, to finish third in the points table. Choosing to bat, Ghana were off to an impressive start with a 44-run opening partnership, but the rest of the line-up failed to capitalise. Francis Bakiweyem fell soon after reaching his half-century, edging Kunle Adegbola to the keeper, but his knock was key to Ghana reaching 127 for 9 in their 20.Nigeria were solid in their reply. There were handy contributions from four of their top five batsmen with No. 4 Ramit Gill top-scoring with a run-a-ball 35. Adegbola, who had picked up three wickets, was unbeaten on 28 off 25 balls, as Nigeria finished the game with 15 balls to spare. While Ghana’s one win from eight games puts them at the bottom of the table, Nigeria have qualified for Friday’s third-place playoff in which they will play Kenya.

Surrey remained on course to win their County Championship Division Two
match at Northamptonshire going into the final day after centuries from Steven
Davies and Zander de Bruyn
at Wantage Road

02-Sep-2011
Scorecard
Surrey remained on course to win their County Championship Division Two
match at Northamptonshire going into the final day after centuries from Steven
Davies and Zander de Bruyn.Davies reached 156, his best score for Surrey, and also passed 1,000
first-class runs for the season in a 216-run stand for the fourth wicket with De
Bruyn, who finished unbeaten on 108. The visitors set Northamptonshire a daunting 486 to win after declaring on 410 for 6, and the hosts ended day three on 103 for 4.Surrey resumed this morning on 115 for three, with a healthy lead of 190, and
looking to carry forward the momentum seized on day two. A flurry of boundaries in the early overs saw the visitors strengthen their grip on the match, with opener Davies reaching his ton with a single off the bowling of Northamptonshire captain Andrew Hall just before lunch.At the other end, De Bruyn also found quick runs easy to come by and the pair
added 124 runs to their overnight total during the morning session. They continued well into the afternoon session, punishing the hosts, before their partnership was broken with the team score on 321.Davies was finally out off the bowling of Chaminda Vaas, top-edging an
attempted pull shot that went straight up and was gloved by wicketkeeper Niall
O’Brien behind the stumps. Tom Maynard made 34 before he was run out following a direct throw at the stumps by Rob Newton from deep mid-wicket, before De Bruyn completed his hundred
just before tea.In the last over before tea, Jason Roy was caught behind on nine by O’Brien off
the bowling of Hall, which prompted a Surrey declaration. With Stephen Peters still nursing a back injury, Newton and Kyle Coetzer opened the batting.Although they started positively, Northamptonshire lost Newton in the fifth
over for 14, guiding the ball to Mark Ramprakash at gully off the bowling of Tim
Linley. The home side’s realistic hopes of saving the game received further blows
before the close as they lost Alex Wakely for 22, bowled by Pragyan Ojha, and
David Sales for five, caught by Roy at short leg off the same bowler.Coetzer’s resistance ended in the penultimate over of the day, playing a poor
cut shot to be caught by wicketkeeper Davies for 54 off the bowling of Stuart
Meaker. Nightwatchman Lee Daggett (4no) and captain Hall (2no) will resume in the
morning, facing an uphill battle to save the match.