Lancashire against a Yorkshire side deprived of key personnel will fancy themselves to make it three wins out of three this season

Jon Culley at Aigburth19-May-2011
Scorecard
Lancashire’s popularity here continues. Warmer weather brought out a crowd of around 2,000 and dire police warnings about the fate of cars injudiciously parked along Riversdale Road provided regular employment for the PA announcer.The Lancashire team have no such problems but they enjoy coming here for the results they are securing rather than the parking arrangements. Against a Yorkshire side deprived of key personnel and showing signs of faltering confidence, they will fancy themselves to make it three wins out of three this season.Andrew Gale, the Yorkshire captain, arrived in chipper mood after watching Huddersfield Town secure their place in the League One play-off final but he had less cause for optimism by the end of the day as Lancashire established a lead of 186 that looks good enough to be the foundation for a victory that would reinstate them at the top of the Division One table.Glen Chapple, by contrast, would have been well pleased. He added the milestone of 7,000 first-class runs for Lancashire to the 800 wickets he notched up earlier in the season and played his part in a collective effort from his side’s supporting cast that ensured that Yorkshire’s occasional successes with the ball did not precipitate any major shifts of initiative.Steven Croft’s 41, Farveez Maharoof’s 34 and Luke Procter’s unbeaten 23 added value to a performance built around two solidly patient innings, from Paul Horton and Mark Chilton, that extolled the virtues of patient application that only Joe Sayers, really, had been able to summon when Yorkshire batted.A slow pitch that had proved such a struggle for Yorkshire on the opening day posed generally fewer problems but still demanded the appropriate concentration and good judgement and both Horton and Chilton for the most part won the battle.Horton, whose accent is still demonstrably Australian despite his Merseyside upbringing, set himself for a long occupation after the early loss of overnight partner Karl Brown and rarely looked in difficulty. Brown was leg before on the front foot to Steve Patterson but Yorkshire’s vain efforts to make further inroads before lunch only reminded Gale that Tim Bresnan and Ajmal Shahzad can leave big boots to fill.Scoring runs at was still difficult, certainly compared with the rate of progress at Whitgift School and Worcester in particular, but Horton is a batsman to whom patience comes naturally and he took his scoring chances well, collecting nine boundaries. A century looked his for the taking but after facing 198 balls spread over three and a half hours with rare discomfort he edged a leg break from Adil Rashid with a slightly hesitant push and was caught behind. It left him regretful on 93, knowing he should have done better.Rashid could never find the control that Gary Keedy had applied for Lancashire, nor bowl a consistently good line, and was to some degree upstaged by the rookie Joe Root, who at one stage took two wickets in two balls with his off breaks.He bowled Croft, who chopped on, and had Gareth Cross leg before, the latter falling first ball for the second time in as many innings. When Maharoof decided to sweep the hat-trick ball, Root thought for a moment he might have miscued it, but it ran along the ground to square leg.By then Mark Chilton, another who relishes getting his head down, had built on Horton’s foundations. The pair put on 81 for Lancashire’s third wicket and Chilton then anchored a 90-run partnership with Croft for the fourth. Like Horton, though, he perished to a stroke not in keeping with the tenor of what had gone before, edging loosely to Adam Lyth at slip.Gale did not take the new ball until it was 21 overs overdue, which seemed a curious decision. When Ryan Sidebottom did get his hands on it, he soon bowled Maharoof comprehensively, but by then the Sri Lankan all-rounder had been able to give Lancashire’s progress another surge, leading the way as he and Procter added another 55 potentially valuable runs.Sidebottom claimed Chapple as his second wicket but Lancashire will fancy themselves to stretch their advantage beyond 200 and Yorkshire will need to fight long and hard to avoid a heavy defeat.

Seventeen wickets fell for 262 runs on the opening day of the County Championship Division Two game at Chelmsford, where Essex gained the upper hand against leaders Northamptonshire

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Jun-2011
Scorecard
Seventeen wickets fell for 262 runs on the opening day of the County Championship Division Two game at Chelmsford, where Essex gained the upper hand against leaders Northamptonshire. The visitors were reduced to 79 for 7 in reply to an Essex total of 183.Left-arm fast bowler Chaminda Vaas claimed 6 for 46 from 17 overs as Essex struggled to make early progress with the bat, while David Masters took 4 for 23 from 18 overs in Northamptonshire’s reply. Swing was the major weapon for both bowling attacks, although they were helped by a combination of poor strokes and bad judgment.Jaik Mickleburgh and Tim Phillips were both bowled offering no stroke against 37-year-old Vaas who, in a 19-ball spell either side of lunch, snared four wickets at a cost of only seven runs.
Opener Tom Westley (61) contributed exactly a third of the home side’s runs while putting together his third successive half-century.The 22-year-old right-hander laced his innings with 10 boundaries, most of them with fluent drives either side of the wicket, before he was caught behind off the bowling of Vaas. Only three other batsmen managed to reach double figures. Owais Shah made 26 before becoming another Vaas victim, while skipper James Foster (30) and Masters (31) were the others as they gave the total an air of respectability.They shared an eighth-wicket stand of 60 in 13 overs which was broken when Masters edged Lee Daggett to Rob White in the slips. Foster was last out to provide David Lucas with his second success, but Essex quickly hit back when the visitors launched their response.In a magnificent opening spell of seven overs, six of which were maidens, Masters removed Stephen Peters and White, both with the help of smart catches by Mickleburgh at forward short leg. He later returned to get rid of Alex Wakely and Niall O’Brien, and with Matt Walker and Reece Topley also getting among the wickets, Northamptonshire reached the close in dire straits.They found themselves still 104 runs adrift at the end of day one and desperately needing Vaas to show his qualities as an allrounder to get within touching distance of Essex’s total. He will resume with 12 to his name in partnership with Lucas, the pair having so far added a valuable 19 for the eighth wicket.

Alex Hales,a batsman who is beginning to warrant the attention of the England selectors, hauled Nottinghamshire back into the match

Jon Culley at Trent Bridge12-Jul-2011
Scorecard
Steve Kirby made early breakthroughts but Nottinghamshire closed in on Somerset’s total•PA Photos

Stuart Broad did what was necessary to remain the centre of attention here by picking up the 13th five-wicket haul of his career. His performance was rightly put in its place though, as a sub-plot to the bigger story, as Alex Hales, 22, a batsman who is beginning to warrant the attention of the England selectors, hauled Nottinghamshire back into the match with the second century of his first-class career.It was a moment he greeted with a measure of relief as well as pleasure, having developed a tendency to lay the foundations of good scores without making them count. When he reached 50 it was the 14th time he had done so in 46 first-class innings, which is a measure of how often he has been frustrated.There is always the danger, in such circumstances, for mental barriers to emerge, which is probably why he celebrated with a clenched fist rather than any more exuberant display of elation. It signalled determination and the feeling that he had proved something to himself.Then again, a little impetuosity is forgivable in a batsman of relative youth, particularly from a natural stroke-maker, endowed with the advantage of height and strength. And pitches at Trent Bridge in the three seasons since he made his Championship debut have hardly been the ideal surface on which to build confidence.A broken jaw inflicted by a ball from Yorkshire’s Ajmal Shahzad early in May this year, moreover, has hardly been conducive to uninhibited progress. Yet he has scores of fifty or above in six of his last eight first-class innings either side of the injury, and has outshone David Hussey and Adam Voges, Nottinghamshire’s two Australians, in their successful Twenty20 campaign.This innings was not without errors. A leading edge on 59 just eluded the fingertips of Chris Jones at mid-off, while James Hildreth got both hands to a difficult chance at backward point when he was on 68.He went to 50 with a four and celebrated with a six off Murali Kartik, but mindful of having been out six times in the 80s and 90s, he negotiated the last 15 runs of the century with due care, which was just as well given that Steve Kirby was bowling particularly well at the time. But finally he was presented with an opportunity to cut Kartik for four to move to 102.His century followed a fluent 57 from Voges in a stand of 101 for the fourth wicket, which looked to have the legs to go further had the Australian not left a ball from Adam Dibble that cut back and took his off stump. It was young seamer Dibble’s first Championship wicket.Steven Mullaney, dropped at second slip by Marcus Trescothick on 29, played some pleasing shots as he and Hales added 87 for the fifth wicket before Mullaney was caught behind off Kartik, one short of a half-century. Hales is still there on 130, having given Nottinghamshire the substance they needed in response to Somerset’s 386, after Neil Edwards, Riki Wessels and Samit Patel had all gone cheaply.Somerset, who had been 341 for 5 overnight after Broad’s dismissal of Hildreth shortly before stumps, were bowled out for 386, having lost their last six wickets for 48 in a way that emphasised how well Hildreth and Craig Kieswetter had played in their 290-run partnership.Kieswetter passed his previous career-best when he pushed Broad away for two off the back foot to move to 154 in the first over of the day, but Broad claimed his third wicket when his appeal for lbw against Steve Kirby was granted by umpire Neil Mallender to the visible annoyance of the batsman.Kirby’s thumping of the turf with his bat after the finger had gone up will not have pleased Marcus Trescothick, who is already facing a possible ban because of his side’s poor disciplinary record. Trescothick is due to face an ECB tribunal on Friday because five of his players have had disciplinary issues in the last 12 months, which may explain why he has been ‘rested’ from Somerset’s three-day match against India this weekend, in which the England captain, Andrew Strauss, is playing as a guest.Kieswetter fell nibbling a perfect away swinger by Andre Adams, who claimed his fourth wicket when Peter Trego skied one to backward point. Broad, whose bowling so far has probably encouraged national selector Geoff Miller without removing all doubts from his mind, completed the 13th five-wicket haul of his first-class career and his first for a year by dismissing the debutant, Adam Dibble, and Murali Kartik.He has an impressive record for Nottinghamshire, for whom he has taken 53 wickets in only 10 matches. As a press box colleague pointed out, though, his victims here are hardly or the calibre of Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Rahul Dravid.However, his captain, Chris Read, who as wicketkeeper is ideally placed to offer an assessment, was impressed enough to offer only compliments. “From my point of view, he bowled with good pace, moved the ball off the pitch and through the air, and to get five wickets was a fine return,” he said, adding that he did not believe the selectors were about to lose faith in him.”He has been among the leaders of the England attack in the last couple of years. He is still a young bowler who bowls at 90 mph and we all know what he can do with his height and the bounce he can generate.”

This was a proper day of Test cricket, which has been a rarity over the last two matches, with a Rahul Dravid masterclass making England dig deeper for their successes

The Report by Andrew McGlashan21-Aug-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsRahul Dravid continued his outstanding innings to finally make England work for their success but he won’t be there on the final day•Getty Images

This was a proper day of Test cricket, which has been a rarity over the last two matches, with a Rahul Dravid masterclass making England dig deeper for their successes. However, his unbeaten 146 wasn’t enough to save the follow-on and India still face a huge task to avoid the whitewash after closing on 129 for 3 although Sachin Tendulkar remained on 35. Graeme Swann made the early inroads, including the scalp of Dravid, during a superb spell on a pitch offering plenty of turn.Dravid’s unbeaten hundred, his third ton of the series, was a magnificent innings, contributing nearly half India’s total (the first time they had reached 300 in the series) during six hours at the crease and 266 balls. He became the third India batsman to carry his bat, after Virender Sehwag and Sunil Gavaskar, and due to Gautam Gambhir’s ongoing problems with concussion was back out 10 minutes later for the follow-on. When he took guard he had 448 runs for the series and India’s next best was MS Dhoni with 217.

Smart stats

• Rahul Dravid’s century is his 35th in Tests and takes him to second on the list of Indian batsmen with the most Test centuries.

• This is the second occasion that Dravid has scored three centuries in a series in England. Among overseas batsmen in England, only Don Bradman has scored three or more centuries in a series twice.

• During his effort, Dravid also became the third Indian batsman to carry his bat through the innings. Gavaskar and Virender Sehwag have done so previously. Dravid is also the seventh batsman to carry his bat through in an innings at the end of which the team has followed-on.

• Dravid’s tally of six centuries in England is third on the list of visiting batsmen with the most centuries in England behind Bradman (11) and Steve Waugh (7).

• The 87-run stand between Dravid and Amit Mishra is the sixth-highest seventh-wicket stand against England in Tests at The Oval. It is also the third-highest for India at the venue.

• The 291-run deficit at the end of the second innings is the sixth-highest deficit margin for India in Tests against England (fielding first). They have lost on four of the five previous occasions when the deficit has been higher.

His second innings then included both sides of the review system. On 7 he was saved when it was clear there was no bat or glove when he had been given caught short leg off Swann. A run later he had a life when Matt Prior couldn’t hold an edge, although it was signalled four byes which would have likely brought DRS into play again had the chance been held.His eventual dismissal was an overturned decision as Steve Davis, the third umpire, decided there was conclusive evidence to suggest Rod Tucker could change his on-field not-out decision. Hot Spot didn’t appear to show anything clear from the front angle, while the side-on view was obscured by Alastair Cook at short leg but Dravid later admitted to a thin edge.The debate was still bubbling when Swann claimed his second, a wonderful piece of bowling when he drew Sehwag forward and bowled him through the gate. Sehwag, after three innings totalling eight balls, was unusually restrained against the quicks but eager to attack Swann. It was always fraught with danger with big turn from the footmarks which made for a fascinating contest that ultimately went Swann’s way.The battles continued against Tendulkar and VVS Laxman; batsmen brought up on turning pitches against an attacking spinner searching for wickets. England sensed further scalps and came close on a number of occasions. The scorebook will show that Laxman took three fours in a row off Swann, but one was inside edge past leg stump and another a glove that eluded leg slip. Then, on 20, he was dropped at first slip by Andrew Strauss off James Anderson, but six overs before the close he played down the wrong line to Anderson and lost his off stump.Tendulkar survived – although not without a few scares including a potential stumping when England didn’t appear to appeal with his foot in the air for a second – and that offers an enticing prospect for what is expected to be a near full house on the final day. In all probability he will need to secure his 100th hundred if India are to survive.India had started the day on 103 for 5, but the second half of their innings proved harder to extract than the first. Dravid’s progress to three figures during the morning wasn’t without alarm as he offered England two chances to run him out. The closest came on 61, when there was confusion between him and Dhoni following a Ravi Bopara misfielded at cover, but Kevin Pietersen couldn’t hit the stumps. Then Stuart Broad had a shy from mid-off when Dravid sprinted for his 99th run and had to dive.A blow on the bottom hand from Bresnan caused Dravid pain, but two balls later he steered the same bowler towards third man to bring up his century from 168 deliveries. The most enthralling aspect of the innings was his contest with Swann, which went hands down to the batsman. Dravid had moved through the 90s with three boundaries off Swann; a rare slog-sweep, a late cut and a flick through midwicket. His ability to play late off the back foot continued to make it difficult for Swann to find the right length.The one breakthrough of the morning went to Anderson, who was rewarded for some probing outswing when he found Dhoni’s edge. Gambhir dropped further down the order, but Mishra provided Dravid with excellent support in a stand of 87 and showed more gumption that some of the top-order batsmen as he played sensibly with the occasional flourish, including a six off the last ball before lunch.Mishra’s resistance was ended when Ian Bell plucked out a diving catch at short square leg and Gambhir made his appearance at No. 9. He was dropped at short leg on 1, a tough chance to Cook off Swann, and didn’t look comfortable during his stay, although he at least offered Dravid further support. Unsurprisingly, England’s quicks peppered him with the short delivery, and it was an approach that paid off when Broad made one bounce with the new ball and found the edge to gully.RP Singh proved an able replacement for Praveen Kumar’s lower-order hitting, making a 23-ball 25 before he flapped Tim Bresnan to third slip and two balls later Sreesanth drove straight to mid-off. It was a poor piece of cricket from Sreesanth with Dravid still unbeaten, but then it isn’t the first time India’s stand-out performer had been let down in the series. On the final day India need someone else to save them.

Netherlands Women added to their success in the European Championship Twenty20 with a tense two-wicket victory over Ireland Women in the only ODI in Utrecht

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Aug-2011
ScorecardNetherlands Women added to their success in the Women’s European Championship with a tense two-wicket victory over Ireland Women in the only ODI at the Kampong ground in Utrecht. A straightforward win seemed on the cards after Ireland folded for 116 but Netherlands had a collapse of their own to nearly end up losing.The day began poorly for Ireland, losing first the toss and then a wicket off the opening delivery of the match. Three overs later their captain Isobel Joyce was gone, caught behind. Opener Kim Garth and Laura Delany then put on 38, the most substantial partnership of the innings. Regular wickets followed as Ireland lurched from 43 for 2 to 92 for 8.Netherlands’ home advantage in this match was heightened by the fact that no less than five of their players play their club cricket at Kampong. Nevertheless, they also lost one opener early but the other, Helmien Rambaldo, forged two solid partnerships to guide her team to the comfort of 80 for 2. Ireland hit back, picking up five wickets for 12 runs but Netherlands held their nerve. Ireland didn’t help their cause with 35 extras (including 28 wides).

Graeme Swann will captain England in the two-match Twenty20 series against West Indies later this month

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Sep-2011Graeme Swann has said he is “delighted” at the prospect of captaining England in the two-match Twenty20 series against West Indies later this month, in the absence of Stuart Broad and Eoin Morgan.Broad, the regular Twenty20 captain who began his reign earlier this season against Sri Lanka, was ruled out of the remainder of England’s home season, as well as the five-match ODI series in India next month, after sustaining a muscle tear to his right shoulder in the fourth ODI against India at Lord’s. Morgan, Broad’s vice-captain, was earlier ruled out until January with his own shoulder problem.With Kevin Pietersen continuing his rest period, Swann was one of the few viable options within the current Twenty20 set-up. The other route would have been to give the job to Alastair Cook, the ODI captain, but that would have disrupted the top order which Andy Flower is trying to form ahead of England’s defence of their World Twenty20 title in Sri Lanka next September.”I’m obviously delighted,” Swann said. “I’d looked at the [likely] squad and thought: ‘I might have a chance.’ It’s a case of being fairly mature in the changing room, because we’ve got a few young guys who’ve not played before and need to have at least a semi-sensible role model to look up to.”Two uncapped players – Yorkshire’s Jonathan Bairstow and Hampshire’s Danny Briggs – have been included in the 14-man squad. There is also a Twenty20 recall for James Anderson who hasn’t played the shortest format for England since November 2009.”Graeme Swann is a highly respected member of the England side and his experience and leadership qualities will be invaluable when he leads a young England team next week – a role he is very much looking forward to,” Geoff Miller, the national selector, said.Such high praise from the ECB hierarchy would have seemed a world away at the start of Swann’s international career, when his care-free attitude led to him being mistrusted by his first England coach, Duncan Fletcher, and banished from the set-up for seven long years.Since his recall, however, his quick-witted outlook on life has become an integral factor in England’s squad mentality. Though he promised that captaincy would not cramp his exuberant style completely, he admitted that the jokes would “stop to a certain extent”.”I’ve captained every game I’ve played, in my head, throughout my entire career,” he added. “So I’ll just do that a bit more vocally when I’m on the field.”Cook, who admitted his disappointment at once again being overlooked for the Twenty20 squad, backed Swann to lead from the front in his brief opportunity to take command. “The enthusiasm he has for the game will run off on people
completely,” he said. “He just loves it. I think he will do well.”He definitely thinks about the game when he is bowling,” added Cook. “He’s always thinking about what the batsman will do. He’s always thought like a captain when he bowls so I think it’ll be quite easy for him. I don’t know if he’ll be orthodox or adventurous. But that’s his character, so if he’s going to stay natural…”Of the squad in general, Miller said: “We have once again selected a blend of experienced international performers along with exciting young players with a great deal of talent. We have had a successful summer to date and will be looking to continue our form during the Twenty20 series against West Indies and finish the summer with two strong performances.”We have selected ten of the players who were involved in last month’s Twenty20 victory over India while the injuries to Stuart Broad and Eoin Morgan and the continued period of rest for Kevin Pietersen means we bring four players into the squad; James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow, Scott Borthwick and Danny Briggs.”Borthwick made his international debut against Ireland, in Dublin, last month while Bairstow was in that squad but didn’t make the final XI. There are four spinners in the party which is a clear indication that the selectors are using the two matches against West Indies as a chance to look ahead at their options for the World Twenty20.Squad Graeme Swann (capt), James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow, Ravi Bopara, Scott Borthwick, Tim Bresnan, Danny Briggs, Jos Buttler, Jade Dernbach, Steven Finn, Alex Hales, Craig Kieswetter (wk), Samit Patel, Ben Stokes.

ESPNcricinfo previews the second ODI between South Africa and Australia in Centurion

The Preview by Daniel Brettig22-Oct-2011

Match facts

South Africa v Australia, October 23, Port Elizabeth
Start time 1300 (1100 GMT, 2200 EDT, 2130 CDT, 1900 WST)JP Duminy has been Pat Cummins’ victim in three innings out of three•Getty Images

Big Picture

Rain did not help, but South Africa were caught very much on the hop by Australia in the first ODI at Centurion. After Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke stood up to some strong early bowling in a manner that allowed Duckworth-Lewis to work heavily in the tourists’ favour, Doug Bollinger, Mitchell Johnson, Pat Cummins and Xavier Doherty had their way with the ball against some indifferent batting in greasy conditions.Having had a six-month break from international cricket, South Africa will be better for the run and will not be making too many changes to the team. However they must win at St George’s Park in order to stay in the series, being played over a tightly-squeezed three fixtures much as the Test series was chopped back to two matches by the financial weight of the Champions League Twenty20.Australia, by contrast, will simply want to keep up the impressive momentum built first in Sri Lanka then added to in Pretoria. Clarke is marshalling a unit that gathers confidence with each match, so much so that the visitors did not seem too badly off without the injured duo of Shaun Marsh and Shane Watson in the first match. Their returns would only strengthen a team that has also been enthused by the rapid progress of the teenagers Pat Cummins and Mitchell Marsh.

Form guide

South Africa: LLWWW
Australia: WLWLW

In the spotlight

JP Duminy was commonly described as the next great international batsman after demonstrating enormous composure and neat technique in Australia in 2008-09. He has struggled to live up to that billing ever since, and so far in the T20s and first ODI has found himself dismissed each time by the rampant young Cummins, whose speed and bounce has twice found an outside edge to the slips. As a link between the hard-bitten top three of Graeme Smith, Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis, and the inexperience of David Miller and Faf du Plessis, Duminy must do more.The sight of Mitchell Johnson swinging the new ball would have brought the odd curse from the South African dressing room at Centurion, as it suggests he can be as much a threat this time around as he was in 2009. Johnson likes to build his confidence with plenty of overs and wickets, which in turn may help to re-ignite a batting talent that has sat largely dormant in recent matches. The only possible criticism of Johnson in the first match was that he did not bowl enough deliveries of full length when he was swinging them, probing for the early bowled or lbw that he managed so often two and a half years ago.

Pitch and conditions

Port Elizabeth can have plenty of runs in it while also providing some incentives for bowlers. Breezy and mild weather is forecast and there is little prospect of the rain that so disrupted proceedings in Pretoria.

Team news

South Africa will again deliberate over the possible inclusion of the legspinner Imran Tahir. It is the only change the hosts may make after the selectors chose to release Robin Peterson and Wayne Parnell for domestic duties.South Africa (probable) 1 Graeme Smith, 2 Hashim Amla (capt), 3 Jacques Kallis, 4 Jean-Paul Duminy, 5 David Miller, 6 Faf du Plessis, 7 Mark Boucher (wk), 8 Johan Botha, 9 Dale Steyn, 10 Morne Morkel, 11 Lonwabo Tsotsobe.Shane Watson and Shaun Marsh are back in training after minor injuries but the tourists may elect to ease the duo in one at a time, with Steve Smith the man most likely to make way.Australia (probable) 1 Shaun Marsh, 2 David Warner, 3 Ricky Ponting, 4 Michael Clarke (capt), 5 Michael Hussey, 6 Mitchell Marsh, 7 Brad Haddin (wk), 8 Mitchell Johnson, 9 Pat Cummins, 10 Xavier Doherty, 11 Doug Bollinger.

Stats & trivia

• An Australian victory would hand the tourists a limited overs series victory in South Africa for the third time, but the first since 2002. The Proteas won series in 2006 and 2009.
• The first ODI between these sides at St George’s Park in 1994 saw a memorable cameo by Allan Border, who blazed 40 from 17 balls including three sixes on his final international tour. Australia’s total was 281 for 6, considered an enormous tally at the time, and South Africa never got close.

Quotes

“St George’s Park generally offers the spinners something, but if you hit the wicket hard enough there is something in it for the seamers. So whether you play two spinners or one spinner it’s not going to make a massive difference.”

“We’re here to win all three one-day games so our mindset is very clear. We’re very focussed on the job at hand. We want to win the game, we’ll worry about what that means later.”

A round-up of the action from the fourth match-day of the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier in Bangladesh

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Nov-2011USA Women beat Zimbabwe Women in a thrilling encounter in Mirpur, prevailing by just one run. A contribution of 72 off 89 balls from wicketkeeper Shebani Bhaskar was the backbone of USA’s score of 188. Bhaskar was the seventh wicket to fall with the score on 144, but Anahita Arora and Sara Farooq added a further 44 to lend some respectability to the total.USA didn’t do themselves any favours by bowling too many extras in the chase but made up for that by picking up wickets. The highest score in the Zimbabwe response was an unbeaten 28 from Christabel Chatonzwa; six batsmen in all reached double-figures. There were 33 extras in all, but the wickets fell in quick succession at the same time. At 172 for 7 in the 46th over, it was still Zimbabwe’s game but seamer Triholder Marshall and a couple of run-outs at the death clinched the game for USA. Marshall picked up three wickets, was involved in a run-out in the 48th over of the game while Bhaskar sealed the win with a run-out, catching Sharyce Saili short with two needed for victory. Zimbabwe will rue the fact that they lost the game with seven balls to spare with a set batsman at one end.Ireland Women slipped to their third defeat of the competition, losing to Bangladesh Women by 95 runs in Savar. They managed to restrict Bangladesh to 209 for 7 in an innings that included five run-outs. Opener Suktara Rahaman made 47 while captain Salma Khatun led the way with 73. As it turned out, the score proved more than sufficient. Ireland were in a good position at 68 for 1 in the 17th over but the innings soon fell apart. Offspinner Khadiza tul Kubra dismissed top-scorer Cecilia Joyce for 44 and finished with six wickets as the rest of the Ireland line-up failed to offer any significant resistance. They were bowled out for 114.West Indies Women preserved their position at the top of Group B by thrashing Japan Women by 10 wickets in Fatullah. Stafanie Taylor starred with the ball this time, taking 5 for 13 as Japan were bowled out for 71. In response, the win was sealed in 16.3 overs, the openers Kycia Knight (24*) and Britney Cooper (36*) seeing West Indies through. Japan bowled 15 wides.South Africa Women‘s new-ball pair of Shabnim Ismail and Moseline Daniels demolished Netherlands Women for 36 to help their side to a whopping 233-run win in Savar.South Africa chose to bat and all their top and middle order got into double figures to set-up a competitive total of 269 for 5. Mignon du Preez and Cri-Zelda Brits top scored with 65 and 63 respectively. Offspinner Esther de Lange was the pick of the Netherlands’ bowlers, with figures of 10-1-45-3. Netherlands got nowhere close in their reply. Ismail struck in the first over, and went on to claim a career-best 6 for 10. Daniels also put on a career-best performance, picking up the other four wickets for 25 runs. Just one of the Netherlands batsmen managed to get into double figures: No. 5 Esther Lanser remained unbeaten on 11 as her team crumbled around her.

Yuvraj Singh, the India batsman who is recovering from a non-malignant lung tumour, is targetting a comeback during the limited-overs matches in Australia

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Dec-2011Yuvraj Singh, the India batsman who is recovering from a non-malignant lung tumour, is targetting a comeback during the limited-overs matches in Australia in February 2012. Yuvraj said he had resumed training and would be able to start “practising like normal” after a week.”I will be ready for the one-dayers in Australia,” Yuvraj told the . “I just can’t wait to have that India logo on my shirt again. I want to wear that India cap again.”It has been a year of highs and lows for Yuvraj. He was the Player of the Tournament during India’s 2011 World Cup victory and that performance raised hopes of a Test comeback. An injury kept him out of the tour of the West Indies, though, and his series in England was cut short by a finger injury sustained during the Nottingham Test. Yuvraj was then left out of the Test squad for the final match of the home series against West Indies in November. He asked the BCCI to not consider him for selection for the home ODIs against West Indies because he wanted time to regain fitness.Yuvraj said he had been troubled by bouts of coughing and vomiting since the World Cup but had ignored the problem during the tournament, “assuming it was due to stress.” Subsequent tests revealed “a golf-ball sized” growth on his left lung and Yuvraj was told it could be malignant.”I was living my biggest dream, winning the World Cup and taking the Man-of-the-Tournament trophy too; and then I got to know that I had a tumour in my lung,” he said. “I just couldn’t understand how life could serve me both at virtually the same time … 2010 had already been bad for me. I had to fight one injury after another. And this [the tumour] came.”Yuvraj still went on India’s disastrous tour of England but said he found it difficult to focus. “The non-playing days were tough. But once I was on the field, I forgot everything. The pain, the fear vanished.” The finger injury ended Yuvraj’s tour but he said his body needed a break by that time. “I needed rest. That’s when I realised the big truth: I can’t fight time. I can’t fight my own body.”Yuvraj went through several rounds of medical procedures in order to ascertain the exact nature of the tumour, which was found to be non-malignant. “For the first time in a long while, I had a big smile on my face … it feels different, it’s like a new life for me. It’s almost like I am starting all over again.”Enjoy all its [life’s] small successes and sweet moments. I also realized that health is the most important thing. Money, fame, cars, and adulation … they all count for nothing. I just want to be 100% fit.”

During the batting camp, Australia’s batsmen returned to the basics of how to handle swing bowling, specifically the angles of Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma

Brydon Coverdale in Melbourne23-Dec-2011Batting camp: batsmen sitting around a bonfire telling stories of bowlers they’ve faced, hundreds they’ve made, bonding, pledging their allegiance to the group ethos. Not quite. The reality is that Australia’s batsmen have simply spent a few extra days in the nets, although there has been a back-to-school element as they returned to the basics of how to handle swing bowling, specifically the angles of Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma.As a former teacher, Michael Hussey probably enjoyed the sessions more than anyone. This is a man who, years ago, decided he needed six hours of practice a day and duly took his batting coach Ian Kevan to the nets one weekend. He trained in the nets with time out for lunch and tea. During one of the breaks, Kevan fell asleep, exhausted. Hussey went for a run.The tune-up at the MCG over the past few days might be just what he needed. Hussey, 36, is in a strange position, bracketed together with Ricky Ponting as the two old, out-of-form men of the middle order, playing for their positions. And it is true that Hussey has made fewer runs in his past two series, against South Africa and New Zealand, than in any of the other 20 Test series in which he has played.But his previous two series, last summer’s Ashes and the tour of Sri Lanka, were the most productive of his Test career. He was Man of the Match in all three Tests in Sri Lanka. It is a turn of events that Hussey himself cannot explain, other than to put the sudden slump down to difficult pitches and a lack of good fortune.”I feel like I’m in a good place mentally,” Hussey said. “I feel like I’m batting well in the nets. Sometimes you just need a little bit of luck early in your innings and you can go on and get a big score. I’m hoping to get a little bit of luck early in the innings and I can go on and get a good start to the series.”We had some tough conditions for batting in South Africa, so you needed a little bit of luck to get through there. The first couple of pitches out here in Australia [against New Zealand], it’s been hard work for the batters as well. I haven’t been able to get through that initial period.”That’s definitely been the focus for me, to work hard early in my innings and my training has been all about being really tight and tough early in my net sessions. If you can just get through that initial period it gets easier after that.”At No.6, Hussey should at least be coming in when the ball has stopped swinging, but Australia’s top-order struggles have meant that hasn’t always been the case in recent times. Against India, left-arm pace has been a problem for Hussey in the past, with RP Singh dismissing him four times from four Tests, and Zaheer three times.Part of the curriculum at batting camp was to replicate as closely as possible the lines of Zaheer and Ishant, the two key men in India’s attack. Zaheer has an especially strong record against left-hand batsmen – 10 of the 14 batsmen he has dismissed most in Test cricket are lefties – and Australia have four of them in their top six, including Hussey.”We did focus a little bit on [Zaheer] in the batting camp,” he said. “We had the bowling machines cranked up and Justin Langer was getting the ball to swing around a lot. We did a little bit of work there. I think in our previous tours the bowlers have had two-piece balls, so they can swing a little bit more as well.”We have faced Zaheer in the past. We’ve watched a lot of footage on him as well, seeing what he likes to do and which way he likes to swing. He’s a class bowler and a very good exponent of bowling with the new ball, and probably more particularly with the old ball.”The Australians will also face a challenge from India’s two spinners, R Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha, and Hussey said he expected the slow men to do plenty of work for India.”We haven’t seen a lot of Ashwin,” he said. “I’ve been lucky enough to play with him at Chennai Super Kings, so I’ve seen a little bit of him. Certainly it’s going to take our batsmen a little bit of time to get to know his variations and his subtleties. I’m confident that our guys will play their spinners very well.”