Category Uncategorized

Jen Jacobs, the former Australia Women allrounder, has died aged 60

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Jul-2016Jen Jacobs, the former Australia Women allrounder, has died aged 60.A middle-order batsman and offspinner, Jacobs represented Australia in seven Test matches in which she scored 136 runs, including a best of 48, to go alongside eight wickets. In 13 one-day internationals, Jacobs scored 235 runs and picked up three wickets.Jacobs, who also represented Victoria and South Australia, was part of the Australia Women’s successful tour of India in 1983-84. Australia swept the ODIs 4-0, while all the four Tests were drawn. Jacobs attained her career-best figures in both ODIs (2 for 35) and Tests (4 for 72), as well as her Test highest score of 48 during the tour.James Sutherland, the Cricket Australia chief executive, paid tribute to Jacobs. “We were very sad to learn of Jen’s passing and on behalf of Cricket Australia, I extend our deepest sympathies to her family, friends and former team-mates at this difficult time,” he said. “She will be sadly missed and will forever be remembered as one of the elite few to have played for her country in Test cricket.”

A licence to “go out and have a swing” lay at the heart of England’s remarkable rebirth in the first ODI at Edgbaston, according to Jos Buttler

Andrew Miller10-Jun-20153:46

‘England have never had an ODI batsman like Jos Buttler’

A licence to “go out and have a swing” lay at the heart of England’s remarkable rebirth in the first ODI at Edgbaston, according to Jos Buttler, the Man of the Match who swung harder and more flamboyantly than any of his team-mates.Four months on from their World Cup drubbing at the hands of Brendon McCullum’s New Zealand, and with their one-day fortunes so low that anything other than a full-frontal assault on their previously timid ODI reputation would have been a dereliction of duty, England successfully transplanted the gung-ho attitude that had served them so well in the first Test at Lord’s to rack up both their highest score in ODI history, 408, and their largest margin of victory, 210 runs.And Buttler’s role in that result was not simply limited to the personal glut of runs he recorded, vast though it was. His 129 from 77 balls, including a 66-ball century, means he now owns both of the fastest hundreds in England’s one-day history, following his 61-ball effort against Sri Lanka at Lord’s last year.Every bit as important was Buttler’s refusal to deviate from his natural game after England had slumped from 171 for 2 to 202 for 6 in the 30th over. It was the sort of hiccup that might, only a few months ago, have persuaded the World Cup team to retreat into its shell and bat out their overs.However, Buttler said, not only would that attitude have been pointless against a team as aggressive as New Zealand, he and his team-mates sensed a desire from the cricket-watching public for the players to break their shackles and have a go.Jos Buttler’s century came off just 66 balls – the second fastest by an England batsman•Getty Images

“We couldn’t have had more of a licence to go and get bowled out for 150 in 20 overs today,” Buttler said. “Everybody in this room wanted it, English cricket, the paying public and everybody who watches this sport.”I think that is a big change – everyone has accepted that English cricket can do that and I think if we were bowled out for 200 in 30 overs today, I don’t we would have been criticised that much, either. So we had a real lease of life to go and play that way.”It’s a lease of life, if truth be told, that England’s coming generation has been itching to embark upon for months. The joie de vivre shown by Buttler was set in motion by his fellow centurion, Joe Root, who refused to be cowed by the loss of Jason Roy to the very first ball of the match as he clattered along to his own remarkable slice of a record-breaking performance, 104 from 78 balls.That pair’s approaches won the plaudits, but their attitude echoed down the order. Root’s partner in a tempo-setting second-wicket stand of 50 was Alex Hales, whose Twitter account has, throughout a frustrating year of bench-warming, declared he is a “FOMO sufferer”. However, in the new England culture, he needs no longer to have that Fear Of Missing Out as his forthright methods are sure, finally, to be indulged.Sam Billings, on debut, didn’t quite come off but Adil Rashid – in his first outing for five years – was a revelation with bat and ball, only weeks after he had been overlooked on the tour of the Caribbean on the assumption that he wasn’t yet ready to be trusted. And equally heartening was the thrusting return of Steven Finn, shed of the reticence that allowed McCullum to destroy him at Wellington, and restored to the role of attack leader for which he had been earmarked since the tour of Bangladesh in 2010.England’s efforts were aided, to a degree, by the relentless aggression that has become the hallmark of New Zealand’s captain, McCullum, who challenged England to hit their way out of a corner with attacking fields and the arguable over-use of Trent Boult, in the absence of his fellow spearhead, Tim Southee, at the top end of the innings.But with the horrors of Wellington so fresh in England minds, when Southee’s seven wickets and McCullum’s own 77 from 25 balls condemned them to defeat with more than 37 overs left unbowled, it was hugely to England’s credit that they were able to distance themselves from such raw mental scars.”We don’t want to get carried away at one performance and think like English ODI is fixed and we’re going to win the World Cup,” Buttler said. “But I think just looking round – the two training days were really exciting, watching what some of these guys can do in the nets, the energy they have brought to the group. There’s definitely been an extra buzz.”Everyone has seen in county cricket how guys like Jason Roy and Sam Billings have played innings that make people stand up and take notice. When they do that in international cricket, there will be a wider audience taking note. When we realise the potential of everyone as a group and can all do that at the same time, it will be a really exciting place to be.”But on the day, Buttler was the man who made it all possible, by trusting his talent and his instinct, and picking up where he had left off in a remarkable match-seizing T20 Blast onslaught in the Roses match on Friday.His innings did include a period of consolidation, but not as we have known it from England teams in the past. Buttler took 28 balls to record his first boundary but the upshot of his relative caution was a world-record 177 for the seventh wicket with Rashid that kept the innings motoring along even in apparent adversity.”At 200 for 6 we kept going,” said Buttler. “But I tried to take low-risk options. I wanted to score at a run-a-ball, you always do, that’s what my method is, but hitting the ball on the floor to start with.”I hit a couple through the slips and, if those chances are taken, we could potentially have been all out for 250. But if you scrape up to 250 in 50 overs, that’s not going to win you too many games any more. So you have to be looking at 300-plus at least.”New Zealand were bowled out in 30-odd overs but they had to keep going. There’s no point just knocking the ball around and taking 280. You play to win.”The obvious frustration is that this has all come four months too late to impact on England’s desperate World Cup showing but it would require a heart of stone not to warm to such a no-holds-barred reinvention, especially when it comes replete with the sort of jaw-dropping 360-degree strokeplay that Buttler was able to unfurl in the latter overs of his innings.”It wasn’t through a lack of trying before, it’s not as if we wanted to play that [badly],” Buttler said. “We weren’t playing well enough. If we weren’t going to go out and have a swing when could we?””I’m sure we’ll have some challenges going forward as well, especially in this series against a top side who will come back and keep fighting like the way they do and playing very aggressive cricket,” he added. “So there are some big challenges ahead but today was a great day and one that we should really enjoy.”

Left-arm spinner Robin Peterson is set for a return to Test cricket, four years since he last played for South Africa in whites

Firdose Moonda in Perth29-Nov-2012Left-arm spinner Robin Peterson is set for a return to Test cricket, four years since he last played for South Africa in whites. After legspinner Imran Tahir endured a torrid time in Adelaide, where he conceded the most runs in a Test without taking a wicket, Peterson should be in the staring XI after the captain Graeme Smith confirmed South Africa would “most likely go with a spinner.”On the eve of the match, Peterson was training with his Test cap on, and it looked brand new. He has played six Tests, the last against Bangladesh in 2008, but is best remembered for being hit for 28 runs in an over by Brian Lara in Johannesburg. Many years have passed since then and Peterson is likely to perform the holding role in an attack that will probably consist of four quicks to match Australia’s expected quartet.Though Nathan Lyon remained in the Australia’s final 12, the deciding Test could centred around a battle of pace. The WACA curator Cameron Sutherland said the venue’s reputation for having lost its bounce is a myth. “Go and look at some of the old photos. There is a photo of Dennis Lillee bowling and Rod Marsh taking the ball, and he’d be 16 metres back. We had a Twenty20 game two years ago where the keeper was on the 30-yard circle and the slip a metre behind him. How much quicker do you want it? I’m realistic that folklore is folklore and so it was always quicker in the old days.”We’ve had this discussion with Ed Cowan, who said he has played here the last three years and it’s been really quick, it comes on really well. The keepers stand further back, they like to take it on the down. Back in Rod Marsh’s era, they liked to take it hands up. It’s hard to judge but I’ve asked a lot of people about it and some of the honest feedback is that it’s as quick as it ever was.”Sutherland is not promising a green mamba, though. Two days of wind and wet have hampered preparations slightly. “Whether we get that in it tomorrow, I’m pretty confident. The one thing is that we just haven’t had the hot baking sun to set it really hard.”Still, he said a pace barrage would not be misplaced but had a word of advice about the inclusion of a spin option. “Australia have used four quicks before here and it hasn’t hurt them,” Sutherland said. “Last year, it was more obvious that India wouldn’t last the distance so the quicks could have a bite at the cherry.”How South Africa play on this, seeing as it’s familiar conditions to them, might be different. If it goes day four or day five, a spinner might become handy. It’s just whether you think the quicks will get more use out of the wicket before the spinner has an impact on the game. There are good quicks on both sides so it depends how the batters bat. Both sides have got batters that love the ball coming on and the horizontal shots. They are two evenly matched sides that love these conditions.”Michael Clarke said before the Test that recent Shield matches had ended well inside four days, with one lasting two-and-half-days, and that he would not like the toss to play too much of a role. Sutherland is certain that it won’t, though he suspected bowling first could be profitable.”I don’t think it will make or break the game,” Sutherland said. “I’d probably bowl given the conditions. We’ve had cool conditions and the wicket has got no signs of cracking, it should get better for batting as it goes on … and we don’t get the crumbling here.”For Australia, that could mean having two debutants in Josh Hazelwood and John Hastings take the field. For South Africa, it will be a good way to bring Vernon Philander, who has been declared fit, back in.One bowler who will definitely not make use of conditions is Jacques Kallis. While his fitness will be assessed in the morning, he has been ruled out of bowling. If he cannot play at all, South Africa may replace him with allrounder Ryan McLaren, who will bat lower in the order, or Dean Elgar. They will have to revert to a six-batsman strategy to accommodate all four quicks and Peterson, and Jacques Rudolph is the most likely candidate to be dropped.

The United Arab Emirates won a close low-scoring contest against Afghanistan in the first one-day game

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Oct-2011 by 15 runs
Scorecard
The United Arab Emirates won a close, low-scoring contest against Afghanistan in the first one-day game. Three wicket-hauls from Karim Sadiq and Dawlat Zadran, part of a collective bowling display, helped bowl out UAE for a gettable 198. The pair helped trigger a collapse in which UAE lost eight wickets for 67 runs after being comfortably placed at 131 for 2 in the 24th over. Captain Khurram Khan scored a half-century, supported by Faiman Anwar at No.3, who made 42. But the middle and lower orders fell apart.Khurram, however, starred in an all-round effort. Five of Afghanistan’s middle-order batsmen got starts after the openers had been dismissed cheaply – the highest score among them was Gulbodin Naib’s 43 – but weren’t able to push on. From 146 for 5, they slipped to 166 for 9. Hamid Hassan took them closer with a spunky 22 but he was the last wicket to fall, trapped in front by Khurram, who finished with four wickets, to end the game with nine balls to spare and Afghanistan 15 runs short.

Steve O’Keefe pushed South Australia to the verge of defeat with four wickets – and seven for the day – as they slumped in their follow-on

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Oct-2010

ScorecardSteve O’Keefe grabbed seven wickets on the third day•Getty Images

Steve O’Keefe pushed South Australia to the verge of defeat with four wickets – and seven for the day – as they slumped in their follow-on. New South Wales dismissed their opponents for 255 in the second session before the hosts cruised during an 82-run opening stand, but they quickly lost five for 11.At stumps they were 7 for 176 and need another 98 to make the Blues bat again. O’Keefe, the left-arm spinner who was with the Test squad in England during the winter, finished with 4 for 39 to follow his first-innings 3 for 25.He removed James Smith to a catch behind for 63 after the opener started well with Dan Harris (20), and followed up by removing Aiden Blizzard first ball. Cameron Borgas (13) and Daniel Christian (13) also fell to O’Keefe while Trent Copeland removed Michael Klinger and Graham Manou cheaply.Blizzard, playing his first Sheffield Shield game since moving from Victoria, had been the mainstay of the hosts’ first bat with 96 before he was caught behind off Copeland. Copeland finished with 3 for 78 while Moises Henriques, who did some damage on the second afternoon, collected 4 for 53.

A round-up of the third day’s play of the first-round matches of the Ranji Trophy Super League 2009-10

Cricinfo staff05-Nov-2009Group B

Scorecard
Delhi ended the third day in Vadodara only two wickets away from winning first-innings points against Baroda. The Delhi bowlers reduced the hosts to 319 for 8, still 251 runs away from their massive first-innings total of 591. Baroda’s innings had several useful and solid contributions but it lacked what Delhi’s had – one batsman going on to make a massive score. Shikar Dhawan smashed 224 for Delhi but Pinal Shah’s 63 was Baroda’s best, despite six batsmen passing 30. The Baroda innings had a poor start -they were 70 for 3 – and Delhi’s bowlers didn’t let them recover. Yusuf Pathan tried to rescue his team with a typically belligerent knock, plundering 22 runs off a Sumit Narwal over, but his resistance ended when he was caught behind for a 19-ball 32. Narwal took 3 for 70 while Parvinder Awana took 2 for 64.
Scorecard
Maharashtra’s batsmen played with determination to wipe out a first-innings deficit of 146, reaching 305 for 7 on the third day against Bengal. However, they will need another fighting performance from their tail, followed by a disciplined effort from the bowlers to prevent defeat on the final day. Maharashtra resumed this morning on 46 for no loss and the opener Harshad Khadiwale stayed firm at one end during his third first-class century. The innings wobbled for a period – Maharashtra went from 99 for 0 to 190 for 5 – but Rohit Motwani provided stability with 59. He remained unbeaten but Maharashtra lost Azhar Ansari for 12 just before stumps. They lead by 159 with three wickets in hand.
Scorecard
Uttar Pradesh need to survive the final day in Meerut, chasing an improbable 438, and eke out a draw against Karnataka. The day began with UP’s tail wagging to extend the first-innings total from 214 for 8 to 279, reducing the first-innings deficit of 126 and, more importantly, avoiding the follow-on. Karnataka’s batsmen, however, came out swinging and quickly built on their lead. KP Pawan dropped anchor with a sedate 78 and left the hitting to his partners. Robin Uthappa cracked 56 off 82 balls, Rahul Dravid raced to 51 off 44, and Manish Pandey made 35 off 18 as Karnataka piled on the runs. Even B Akhil contributed 33 for 23 before the declaration came with the score on 311 for 5. Abhmanyu Mithun built on his first-innings success by bowling Tamnay Srivastava for 13 before stumps.Group A