Category Uncategorized

West Indies captain Darren Sammy has said that his side’s inability to capitalise on the “key moments” led to their seven-wicket loss to Pakistan in the second ODI in St Lucia

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Apr-2011West Indies captain Darren Sammy has said that his side’s inability to capitalise on the key moments led to their seven-wicket loss against Pakistan in the second ODI in St Lucia.”We could have tried to squeeze their batsmen more and when we batted we got a good start, but did not capitalise on it,” Sammy said. “We weren’t rolled over today. We kept ourselves in the match right to the finish. There were moments when things could have gone either way, but we didn’t make it happen.”We have to find a way to win those tight situations. We have to win in Barbados to stay alive in the series, so we have to grab our chances.”Lendl Simmons was the only West Indies batsmen to score over 30, or manage a strike-rate in excess of 80. As a result, West Indies finished with a below-par score of 220 that was easily chased down. Even in the first ODI, West Indies’ made just 221, where only Darren Bravo who got past 30.Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi praised the “discipline” shown by his side and said Pakistan were reaping the benefits of sticking to the gameplan. “We made a plan at our team meeting and our guys stuck to it and that was good,” Afridi said.”I think our bowlers are doing a great job, and the fielding has improved because it is a very important area for us. Our batting has shown responsibility and we hope to maintain this discipline right throughout the series.”Pakistan opener Ahmed Shehzad, who was named the Man of the Match, anchored Pakistan’s chase with his second ODI century. “Shehzad is a very talented guy,” Afridi said, “and he showed that he is capable of performing. He took his time, but chasing a small total, he could afford to do that and we won the game.””We tried to keep wickets in hand,” Shehzad said, of the way he paced his innings. “It was not a huge total so I knew that I had to control my strokeplay and not get carried away.”The third ODI will be played on Thursday in Barbados. Pakistan lead the five-match series 2-0.

The decline of West Indies cricket, Hilaire added, was also a reflection of what, according to him, was the virtual irrelevance of the “notion of being West Indian” to the younger players

Cricinfo staff28-May-2010In a scathing criticism of West Indies cricket, Ernest Hilaire, the CEO of the region’s cricket board, has said fans will have to endure more “embarrassment” in the years to come not merely due to the lack of quality cricketers coming through but also because of the overall attitude of players towards the game, with money and fame favoured over excellence. The decline of West Indies cricket, Hilaire added, was also a reflection of what, according to him, was the virtual irrelevance of the “notion of being West Indian” to the younger players.”I listen to our players speak, and they speak of money, that’s all that
matters to them – instant gratification,” Hilaire said during a panel discussion on the topic ‘Nationalism and the Future of West Indies cricket’ at the University of the West Indies in Barbados. “There’s no sense of investing in the future coming from them. We are producing young people in the region that we expect, when they play cricket for the West Indies, to be paragons of virtue. That just won’t happen.”Sometimes when you speak to the players, you feel a sense of emptiness. The whole notion of being a West Indian, and for what they are playing has no meaning at all.”They have not been brought up with a clear understanding of what it means,
and its importance. But do we blame them?”This change in attitude was a product of the wider societal ills in the Caribbean, Hilaire said. “Our cricketers are products of the failure of our Caribbean society, where money and instant gratification are paramount. We as a region have some real issues and problems that are producing young men in particular, that cannot dream of excellence. Excellence for them is about the bling, and the money they have.”There was no shortage of advice for improving the state of affairs in West Indies cricket, Hilaire said, but until there was the right infrastructure, the decline was bound to continue. “Until the High Performance Centre, as a structure of support that has been created now [in Barbados] to prepare the next generation, we will suffer a lot of embarrassments and a lot of awfulness, because our present cricketers are not prepared.”I have listened to many past players, taxi drivers, immigration officers,
and hotel barmen to name a few. All will give you advice on what to do with
West Indies cricket. People ask me, ‘What will you do about this team? They are an
embarrassment’! I tell them you have about three more years of embarrassment
still to witness.”Hilaire said there was little hope even in those who could take over the reins from the existing senior team. “I keep hearing from people, ‘Fire those [current] guys, and bring in new ones!’, but where is the new set coming from? Who are we going to
bring in?”Somebody said to me, ‘Bring in the Under-19s. They came third at the Youth
World Cup’. And I whispered that almost half of the Under-19 team could
barely read or write. The simple fact is that we are producing cricketers who are not capable of being world-beaters in cricket. It’s just a simple fact.”While acknowledging that there was talent coming through, Hilaire said there was a general failure in the transition to succeeding at the highest level. “We can win matches occasionally, but not consistently with what we have,” he said. “It is not that we do not have the talent, but in today’s cricketing world, having talent alone means absolutely nothing.”For the last nine years, we have been chopping and changing. Between 2000
and 2009, the WICB has tried 59 new players in Test match cricket alone. We have put young men in the international arena only to be slaughtered, demoralised, dejected, and the development path they ought to take never really takes place.”

England’s decision to deploy him at No. 4 “a compliment” from team management, Bairstow says

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Jun-2024Jonny Bairstow has described England’s decision to deploy him at No. 4 for their T20 World Cup defence as “a compliment”, acknowledging his versatility. Bairstow missed England’s 2022 triumph in Australia after suffering a career-threatening ankle break and has only played six T20Is since, but it set to play a key role in England’s middle order.Bairstow had been earmarked to open the batting at the last T20 World Cup, before an injury sustained on the golf course ruled him out. He opened in four T20Is against New Zealand last summer, a role he also performs for his IPL franchise, Punjab Kings; but the irresistible rise of Phil Salt, who scored back-to-back hundreds as opener in the Caribbean over the winter and played a big role in Kolkata Knight Riders’ IPL 2024 title win, means Bairstow will slot in lower down.The 34-year-old has plenty of experience at No. 4, the spot where he has batted most frequently outside of opening, and scored a career-best 90 against South Africa two summers ago.Related

• Buttler: 'Bairstow has the experience and game to play at No. 4'

• Bairstow bests Narine as Punjab Kings pull off record T20 chase

• How Bairstow – and Punjab Kings – got out of a rut with a batting show for the ages

• Rashid the spark for England before Buttler, Salt dismantle chase

• Livingstone 'enjoying playing cricket' again after struggling with knee problem

“I’ve batted all over,” Bairstow said after England’s victory over Pakistan at The Oval on Thursday. “It doesn’t really matter to me where I bat. It’s actually a compliment that Jos [Buttler] and Motty [Matthew Mott] think I’ve got the skillset to bat at four. I’ve done it a lot. Whether it’s opening the batting or batting at four, to be able to recall your skills even in Test cricket is exactly what you have to do through the middle.”Bairstow made 21 off 18 at Edgbaston, in the first of two outings during the rain-affected series with Pakistan, before helping finish off England’s chase at The Oval with an unbroken stand of 46 off 27 balls alongside Harry Brook. How the two Yorkshiremen dovetail in the middle order could be key for England in the Caribbean.”It’s important to get into the rhythm of finishing games off,” Bairstow said. “Harry and I are batting four and five at the moment and we want to see games through till the end. It’s about carrying on with the style that we want to keep playing in. We took the right options and it worked out.”Bairstow heads into the T20 World Cup after a gruelling winter programme, during which he was the only England player to feature in the 50-over World Cup, the Test tour of India and the IPL. He achieved two significant milestones, playing both his 100th ODI and 100th Test in Dharamsala, but endured mixed form as England surrendered their ODI title and then went down 4-1 in the Tests.However, after being dropped by Punjab Kings partway through the IPL, he roared back into form with a scintillating 108 not out from 48 balls, helping his side to pull off the highest successful chase in T20 history. He finished the tournament with 298 runs at a strike rate of 152.82.”I was happy with the IPL,” he said. “We were at a new ground. It was a good experience playing against world-class players all the time. You’re under pressure all the time to perform and that’s how you want to play your cricket because when the pressure overs are on, you’re able to go back to those days when you might have got 20 off 15 but you got over the line. Or you’re playing against Jasprit Bumrah or the guys that we’re going to come up against the World Cup. It’s then about going back on those experiences, which hopefully carry you over the line.”He also played down the significance of England’s failed World Cup campaign in India last year, where a side led by Buttler and featuring a number of the same players crashed out ignominiously during the round-robin group stage.”Completely different format. Different conditions. Different group. So yeah, we’re going to the T20 World Cup very hopeful of putting on a good performance”

He put up a 125-run stand with Faheem Ashraf, ambushing Kings in a game they had been dominating from the start

Danyal Rasool03-Mar-2023A remarkable counter-attacking knock from Azam Khan ambushed Karachi Kings, snatching a win away from them in a game they had been dominating from the start. Islamabad United’s middle order batter smashed an unbeaten 72 off 41, putting up a 125-run stand with Faheem Ashraf and helping seal a six-wicket win. The loss put Kings on the brink of elimination.United had never chased a target in excess of 200 before, so when Kings put up 201, thanks in large part to another outstanding knock from their captain Imad Wasim, their batters were up against it. They started brightly, as United always do, but Mohammad Amir struck early to remove Colin Munro, and despite a cameo from Alex Hales, Aamer Yamin cleaned him up with the last ball of the powerplay. Rassie van der Dussen saw one stay low against him from Tabraiz Shamsi, and all of a sudden, United were three down at the halfway stage, and the asking rate had crept above 12.But Azam had decimated Quetta Gladiators a week earlier, and while he was at the crease, United were in it. He slapped Imad Wasim for a four and a six in the 11th over – there had been no boundaries scored in the previous four. It got United up and running again. A pair of sixes off Shamsi in the next saw the asking rate creep under 12.Faheem provided support, if not too many runs, from the other end, but Karachi were growing desperate for a breakthrough. That showed, in particular, in the face of Amir, who appealed incessantly for far-fetched lbw calls, and burned both Karachi reviews with reckless abandon. The muddled thinking was obvious when, having run out of reviews, Amir frantically signalled for another one on yet another unrealistic shout, only to be reminded that wasn’t an option.But there was nothing clouding Azam’s judgment now. He came and went past 50 with a huge six off Yamin, and boundaries came in every over from the 11th to the last. When Faheem finally did join the party with a six in the penultimate over, United looked to have secured the points, before a six and a four from Asif Ali made it official.That meant this was yet another game that saw Imad amass runs in a match-losing cause. United had put Karachi on the back foot after an enterprising powerplay where Adam Rossington and Tayyab Tahir combined for 61 in the first six. Rumman Raees, Tom Curran and Hasan Ali each picked up a wicket early on, and Faheem joined in soon after to leave the lower middle order needing to salvage a tricky situation once more.It was Imad who answered the call of his team once more, a heroic one-man stand for a team that has come to rely on them. He helped Kings plunder 82 from the final six almost single-handedly, deploying an outstanding array of shots he never quite seemed to possess before this league, and certainly never strung together in such short order. The reverse sweeps off pace, the hooks and aerial drives were all incredibly productive, and the bowlers watched as Imad lay waste to what United thought was an encouraging first ten.There was even unselfishness towards the end as he refused to farm the strike in pursuit of a hundred, content to finish with an unbeaten 92. But, in what has become a familiar refrain this season, Imad might not have deserved to lose, but not enough of his team-mates deserved to win.

Cricket Australia is toying with the idea of a hub in Melbourne to complete the BBL season as multiple clubs deal with Covid-19 infections

AAP03-Jan-2022Anxiety is running high across the BBL as multiple Covid-19 outbreaks leave a hub in Melbourne as a serious option to continue the tournament.In an unprecedented crisis for the BBL, Cricket Australia is trying to figure out how to complete the season and also keep players and staff safe. An announcement on the future of this season could be made as soon as Tuesday.Twelve Melbourne Stars players have contracted Covid-19, forcing them to call-up Victorian club cricketers just to field a team for their last two games.Stars allrounder Hilton Cartwright admitted it was tough to forget about the Covid-19 situation and prepare for Monday night’s clash with the Melbourne Renegades.The former Australia Test player had talks with the Stars’ wellbeing staff following opening batters Joe Clarke and Tom Rogers being forced out of the Melbourne derby at the MCG.Gun players such as Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa and Nathan Coulter-Nile were already in isolation due to COVID-19.”I’ve never felt more vulnerable to a virus in my entire life and I never realised how much it was going to affect my mental state,” Cartwright said.”I’ve always had form slumps and this ranks right up there with how I actually feel about going about my business day-to-day.”Myself and my wife have basically been locked up in our room, not sure if we should catch the lift in case someone in there might have caught (Covid-19).”Constantly it’s on your mind and then you’ve got to walk out there and perform one of the biggest pressure stages.”I was really battling that throughout the day but once it got to about 4pm, all I was doing was trying to focus on the game.”But I can’t see things getting worse than what it’s already been because the guys are meant to be coming out of their isolation period in the next couple of days.”Renegades quick Kane Richardson felt sorry for what the Stars have had to endure.”If we were in that position with 12 guys out, I don’t know how we would put a team out on the park, so hats off to them, but it doesn’t quite feel right,” Richardson said.”As players, we’re all a bit unsure at the moment, and we’re trying our best not to get the virus, but if we do, we don’t know what the go is.”It would just be nice to know (if the hub is going to happen), there’s obviously talk of it.”I think everyone would know that’s a good thing if it keeps the competition going.”

All the buzz from the IPL 2020 game between the Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals, in Abu Dhabi

Matt Roller06-Oct-2020