Tamim Iqbal’s glittering 125 was not enough for Bangladesh to break their duck against England as the visitors completed a professional six-wicket victory to open the one-day series at Mirpur

The Bulletin by Sahil Dutta28-Feb-2010England 229 for 4 (Collingwood 75*, Cook 64) beat Bangladesh 228 (Tamim 125, Swann 3-32) by six wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAlastair Cook connects with a slog-sweep during his brisk innings•Getty Images

Tamim Iqbal’s glittering 125 was not enough for Bangladesh to break their duck against England as the visitors completed a professional six-wicket victory to open the one-day series at Mirpur. Tamim’s third ODI hundred came from 94 balls, but he couldn’t find any support from his team-mates, leaving England’s new captain Alastair Cook, with 64, and Paul Collingwood, who continued his fine form with an unbeaten 75, to ensure no slip-ups chasing a modest 228.England were little more than tidy throughout, muddling their lines with both bat and ball at times, but they proved too strong for a Bangladesh side that continue to gift too many soft runs and wickets. However, Tamim’s innings showed what the side is capable of and certainly put England’s new-ball attack under pressure.He was given a life on 10 when Eoin Morgan spilled a chance at cover and built on his reprieve with imperious strokeplay all round the ground that evoked memories of Saeed Anwar. One monstrous strike off a rare pitched-up ball from Stuart Broad was particularly memorable, disappearing over midwicket for six, but he also showed maturity in milking the bowling.He skipped down the wicket and lashed Kevin Pietersen over midwicket to take him to 99 and clipped the next ball through point to the wild acclaim of a passionate crowd. However, as England recovered their composure, Bangladesh’s lost theirs to a mixture of careless shots and poor running.When England began the chase all eyes were on debutant Craig Kieswetter, but it was Cook, having not played an ODI since November 2008, who found the early boundaries. He timed the ball nicely through the off side and unveiled a number of effective leg-side sweeps against the spinners on his way to a 44-ball fifty.Kieswetter looked nervous throughout his innings, especially after watching Cook farm the first 18 deliveries of the innings. Having been given five lives during his 143 in the first warm-up match he was fortunate again to survive early on. Shakib Al Hasan, Bangladesh’s captain, brought himself on in the fourth over and found an edge immediately, only to see his wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim miss the chance. Two balls later Kieswetter was in trouble again, caught in front by a quicker ball, only for umpire Rod Tucker turn down the appeal.Kieswetter eventually ran past a ball from Naeem Islam to be stumped, and Pietersen’s poor form from the warm-up games continued when he was given out caught at slip off the impressive Shakib, although replays suggest the ball had missed the inside-edge. When Cook fell five overs later, the victim of another dubious umpiring decision, England were in a spot of bother but Collingwood, as ever, anchored the chase.The last few months have revitalised Collingwood’s career with his one-day form having shown a new lease of life since the Champions Trophy. He regularly skipped down the pitch to chip the spinners over midwicket whenever the required rate edged up, as he passed fifty in 64 balls.Morgan made up for his earlier gaffe and despite never looking entirely certain against Bangladesh’s spinners, glided, cut and reverse-swept his way to an important 33. He shared an 88-run stand with Collingwood before drilling Naeem straight to cover. It left Matt Prior, who retained his place in the side despite Kieswetter’s presence, to mop up the remaining runs alongside Collingwood.It should have been a harder chase for England but Tamim couldn’t find any sustained support. After an opening stand of 63 they slipped to 82 for 3 after Pietersen’s direct hit to remove Aftab Ahmed, while Shakib never got going before he was lured down the track by Swann, feathering a faint edge to Prior.England turned the screw further with two wickets from successive balls in the 29th over when Mushfiqur attempted a suicidal single to cover and Mahmudullah clipped his first ball to midwicket. Naeem at least showed some composure in a seventh-wicket stand of 63, but when he drove Luke Wright’s first delivery to cover the innings folded with 26 balls unused.After his frenetic captaincy debut in the Twenty20 against South Africa, at Centurion, Cook was more controlled on this occasion and rotated his bowlers well. He knows England are expected to win every match on this tour which creates pressure of its own, so he’ll be satisfied that this game has gone according to the form book.

Shaun Marsh’s lingering back injury has given Michael Hussey a chance to gatecrash the World Twenty20 after he was called into Australia’s squad

Cricinfo staff23-Feb-2010Shaun Marsh’s lingering back problem has given Michael Hussey a chance to gatecrash the World Twenty20 after he was called into Australia’s squad for the opening two games of the New Zealand tour. Hussey’s Twenty20 prospects seemed bleak when he was left out of the original unit and he has not been required since the team was knocked out in the first round of last year’s global event in England.Andrew Hilditch, the chairman of selectors, said Hussey had a chance to push for a spot in the World Twenty20 squad for the event in the Caribbean in April and May. “Hussey has shown excellent form throughout this Australian summer, is well equipped for Twenty20 cricket and thoroughly deserves this opportunity,” he said.Hussey, who remains a key figure in the 50-over team, has played 18 Twenty20 internationals and scored 226 runs at a strike-rate of 134.52. The first match of the tour is in Wellington on Friday and is followed by the game in Christchurch on Sunday.Marsh, the opener, hurt his back in the warm-up before the third ODI against West Indies two weeks ago and has been hampered ever since. “While he continues to improve there are still some signs of the injury,” Alex Kountouris, Australia’s physio, said. “He will continue to be monitored before a decision is made on his availability for the one-day component of the tour to New Zealand.”

Cricinfo presents the Plays of the first day of the first Test between Australia and New Zealand

Brydon Coverdale in Wellington19-Mar-2010Another unwelcome Kat call
One of the enduring images from the Australian summer was the sight of Simon Katich looking over his shoulder to see Shane Watson standing behind him, a horrible mix-up having left Watson run out at the other end. This time, Katich made the mistake of running out his captain, which can sometimes be a career-threatening move. Katich nudged the ball to the off side and called for a single, Ponting ran, hesitated, ran and gave up the race, to see BJ Watling’s underarm throw clip the stumps. Ponting wasn’t even in the TV frame. Not surprisingly, Katich didn’t turn around to meet the eyes of Ponting, who fumed off the field after making a confident 41.Harris comes in at No. 413
Ryan Harris has played only one Sheffield Shield match this season but his one-day form has been outstanding enough to win him a Test debut. Harris battled a side problem during the week but was passed fit on the morning of the game and became Australia’s 413th Test cricketer. He was presented his baggy green cap by Ponting but didn’t get an immediate opportunity to show his bowling skills after Ponting won the toss and decided to bat.Arnel the unknown
Brent Arnel is not a name widely recognised in the cricket world. A late bloomer, he had 32 first-class matches under his belt when he arrived at the Basin Reserve this morning to make his Test debut at the age of 31. Still, you’d expect the New Zealanders to know him pretty well. But the official team-sheet from New Zealand Cricket had him listed as Brent Arnell, giving him an extra letter. Arnel did all he could to put his name front and centre, taking a wicket in his first Test over when Phillip Hughes, whose name coincidentally is sometimes misspelled with one L, cut straight to slip.Leaky Basin security
Pitch invaders don’t usually appear until late in the day, when the beer has been flowing and inhibitions fade. It was a surprise to see a streaker – a proper, naked streaker – enter the arena before lunch on the first day. The man, who had ‘Nana said not 2!’ painted on his back, sprinted right across the ground and evaded a security officer with a magnificent sidestep that hinted at a rugby background. He bravely hurdled the fence no hands when he reached the other side, weaved through the crowd and out of view behind the nets at the back of the ground. Police said the man, who is believed to have created a Facebook page in the lead-up to support his planned streak, was not apprehended.What a tosser
When Ponting called correctly, it made it seven consecutive tosses that he has won, dating back to the final ODI against West Indies at the MCG. He has not lost a toss on the tour of New Zealand.

Ireland bounced back from their nine-wicket defeat against Trinidad and Tobago two days ago by handing out the same result on the home side in the rematch

Cricinfo staff24-Apr-2010
ScorecardIreland bounced back from their nine-wicket defeat against Trinidad and Tobago two days ago by handing out the same result on the home side in the rematch. Paul Stirling powered them towards the target of 105 with a rapid 57 from 41 balls after the bowling attack had put in a much improved performance.Boyd Rankin, who was dispatched for 40 in two overs earlier in the week, removed the dangerous William Perkins and conceded just 12 runs in three overs. George Dockrell also took two important scalps in his first spell as the home side floundered having opted to bat first.Trent Johnston produced an economical four-over spell to keep the pressure on while the Ireland fielders created two run outs in a professional display. Dockrell returned to claim his three wicket and Peter Connell closed out the innings with a ball remaining.The asking rate was never an issue for Ireland but they didn’t hang around in the chase. Stirling played his shots as William Porterfield opted for the anchor role in an opening stand of 100 in 14 overs which took Ireland to the brink of victory. Stirling was the one man to fall, stumped off a wide as he charged Sherwin Ganga.The gloss was taken off the victory, though, by the news that Alex Cusack has been diagnosed with shin splints and his bowling role is uncertain for the World Twenty20.

Chris Gayle was docked 40% of his match fees, and the rest of the team 20% of theirs, after match referee Jeff Crowe ruled that the home side were two overs behind schedule

Cricinfo staff08-May-2010West Indies have been fined for a slow over-rate during their 14-run victory over India at the Kensington Oval on Sunday. Chris Gayle was docked 40% of his match fees, and the rest of the team 20% of theirs, after match referee Jeff Crowe ruled that the home side were two overs behind schedule.The ICC Code of Conduct regulations stipulates that players will be fined 10% of their match fees for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time, with the captain fined double that amount.Gayle will be suspended for one match if, when he is captain, West Indies are tardy with their over-rate in Twenty20s twice more within a year. Of more pressing concern for Gayle & Co will be the Tuesday’s final round of matches, where West Indies are likely to need a win over the tournament’s most impressive side, Australia, to qualify for the semi-finals.

Pakistan allrounder and Twenty20 captain Shahid Afridi has announced he is ready to return to Tests, nearly four years after he last played the game’s longest format

Cricinfo staff22-May-2010Pakistan allrounder and Twenty20 captain Shahid Afridi has announced he is ready to return to Tests, nearly four years after he last played the game’s longest format. Afridi said the forthcoming ‘home’ series against England and Australia, all in England, prompted his decision to return.”I am ready to play Test cricket because I feel that my country needs me and in this time of need I would not let my team and the country down,” Afridi told . “My father was ill and my family wanted more attention from me so I was mainly focusing on the shorter forms of the game, but now we have to play six Tests in England and my team needs me, so I am available.”Afridi, who has scored 1683 runs in 26 Tests, announced a surprise ‘temporary retirement’ from Tests in 2006 as he couldn’t withstand the pressures of being an international cricketer. He added he wanted to concentrate on the game’s shortest formats, but changed his mind less than a fortnight later after the then PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan and coach Bob Woolmer persuaded him to reverse his decision. However, the tour of England that summer was his last Test outing with Pakistan.He was appointed Twenty20 captain after Younis Khan announced his retirement from the format following Pakistan’s triumph the ICC World Twenty20 in England last year. Back then, he was rather reluctant to return to the Test side. He could be in the running for the ODI captaincy for the Asia Cup, but the PCB has announced they will announce the captain on May 25.The indefinite bans imposed on Mohammad Yousuf and Younis, and the one-year ban on Shoaib Malik, has left the team with a dearth of senior players, and Afridi has stepped in to add experience to the side. Although better known for his batting, the allrounder plans to devote more attention to his bowling this time around. “I will focus more on my bowling as I think I can contribute more in this department than batting in the longer version of the game.”

A dogged half-century from captain Rob Key and a contrasting unbeaten 80, from 83 balls, by Darren Stevens underpinned Kent’s shaky second-day reply to Nottinghamshire’s 462

05-Jun-2010

ScorecardA dogged half-century from captain Rob Key and a contrasting unbeaten 80, from 83 balls, by Darren Stevens underpinned Kent’s shaky second-day reply to Nottinghamshire’s 462 in their County Championship encounter at a humid Tunbridge Wells. The hosts had reached 274 for 5 in their first innings by the close and will go into the third day still trailing by 188 runs and requiring a further 39 to avoid following on.Kent, batting by 12.25pm having mopped up the last two Nottinghamshire wickets for an additional 69 runs, made a dismal start to their pursuit by losing Joe Denly to the first ball but fought hard thereafter on a dry, slow pitch to garner two batting bonus points by stumps.
Denly, who scored nought and 149 here in 2008 and nought and 123 in the Royal Spa Town last season, continued the unwanted trend when he fenced at a Darren Pattinson leg-cutter to be caught by David Hussey at second slip.Key and Geraint Jones (37) added 53 either side of the lunch break before Jones nicked a drive to Hussey off the bowling of Andre Adams. Then, moments before tea, Martin van Jaarsveld (44) edged an attempted cut off Adams to be caught behind by Read. Two overs after the resumption Adams rushed one through Sam Northeast’s back-foot defensive push to send him packing for 12 and then, having agonised for over three hours for his 56 from 156 balls, Key fell to make it 176 for 5.Sweeping against slow left-armer Samit Patel, the bowler’s initial shout for leg before was turned down but, once the ball ballooned via pad and bat to Hussey at a wide slip, umpire Jeff Evans upheld a secondary appeal for the catch. Stevens, Kent’s leading run-scorer with over 600 championship runs to his name so far this season, steadied the ship with a fluent 62-ball half-century which included 11 fours.It was the sixth time he has passed 50 in four-day cricket this summer and by the close the former Leicestershire man had taken his boundary count on to 15, having added 98 runs for the sixth wicket with James Tredwell (35 not out).Nottinghamshire’s first innings had lasted a further 21 overs into the second day, allowing skipper Read to complete his second ton of the championship season from 177 balls and with nine fours and a six.

Durham County Cricket Club has posted profits of almost £200,000 for the last financial year

Cricinfo staff28-Jun-2010Durham County Cricket Club has posted profits of almost £200,000 for the last financial year. With the club having secured an Ashes Test in 2013, and a landmark six-year sponsorship deal with Emirates Airlines signed, the underlying financial picture at Durham is encouraging.Their position is in stark contrast to a county like Essex, which recorded a loss of £216,000 for 2009. With Surrey – who have a long-term match staging deal with the ECB – having announced a profit of £752,000 for the same year, it is evident that a split is starting to appear in the county game – largely between those with Test grounds and the other, smaller, venues.”Revenue from international cricket is, in the medium term, essential to all of the Category A venues of which the recently renamed Emirates Durham International Cricket Ground is one,” said David Harker, Durham’s chief executive.”We are now seeing a recurring pattern where even the bigger, major city centre venues are losing between £500,000 and £1,000,000 in years without midsummer Test Matches. This situation is only sustainable if clubs are able to retain sufficient income from Test Matches in order to fund the costs of running such major venues in the lean years.”Chester -le-Street hosted a Test match against West Indies in May 2009 – the second time the team has played a Test there in three years – but due to the early season start and poor weather, the event yielded lower than expected income.However, the match still returned a small profit for the club, as did the well-attended one-day international against Australia in September of that year. Before the Ashes Test in 2013, Durham will host other international fixtures, including an ODI between England and Pakistan later this year.”Durham, with a commercial debt of £3.5m, does not have the debt levels of many other venues, which for a number of clubs is reportedly between £8m and £19m. I am pleased however that the ECB recognises the problem and that there is currently a lot of work going on within the game to address the issue of major match allocation.”The current ECB process is that grounds that aren’t given long-term staging agreements have to bid against each other to host Tests, one-dayers and Twenty20s. In order to secure big matches, many counties are engaged in re-development projects. Lancashire announced a record loss of £546,000 after Old Trafford didn’t host a Test in 2009 and began their extensive redevelopment plans to try and ensure they earn an Ashes contest in 2013.In accordance with the requirements of the ECB, additional improvements to Durham’s infrastructure, funded by grant and ongoing equity investment, have also taken shape during the last 12 months. Currently the permanent capacity of The Riverside is being increased from 8,000 to 9,500, with further undercover facilities to be provided for supporters as well as an enhanced ECB Hospitality Area capable of hosting 200 people on a match day.”We are fortunate that with, for example, the hotel and Gateway Building we have a number of long term income generating opportunities to underpin our cricketing ambitions,” added Harker.”Durham CCC is an ambitious club and although we have already achieved many milestones, we must continue to develop our infrastructure and international profile,” said Clive Leach CBE, Durham’s chairman.”Improvements such as the media centre, additional seating capacity and the new hotel development will reinforce the ground’s status on the world stage and should help us to secure more profitable international cricket and other major events for Durham.”That in turn will allow us to maintain investment in the academy and the squad, so that we can continue to enjoy excellent domestic cricket and teams that consistently challenge for honours.”

Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi has said he will retire from Test cricket following the second Test against Australia at Headingley starting next Wednesday

Cricinfo staff16-Jul-2010Shahid Afridi made the decision that seemed inevitable from the day he took over as Test captain, by announcing his Test retirement immediately after leading his side to a 150-run loss against Australia at Lord’s.Afridi has been a reluctant Test player over the years and this Test was his first in four years. A poor personal performance, capped by a four-ball 2 on the last day – out slogging to deep midwicket – didn’t help matters and the second Test against Australia at Headingley, starting on Wednesday, will now be his last. Afridi’s participation at Headingley, however, will depend on whether he passes a fitness test for a side strain in the days leading up to the match.Salman Butt, the vice-captain, is likely to take over the leadership for the England series though that is not set in stone until the PCB makes a final decision. Whoever does take over will be Pakistan’s fifth Test captain since the start of 2009.”With my temperament I can’t play Test cricket,” Afridi said. “It is better a youngster comes in my place, probably a genuine batsman or even a genuine bowler. I picked up a side injury during the Asia Cup and unless you are 100 percent fit you can’t perform in Test cricket.”I wasn’t interested in playing Test cricket but the board asked me to go and take a look as they didn’t have a choice. So I took up the responsibility. They asked me to take a chance and may be I would enjoy it. But I wasn’t really enjoying Test cricket but I tried. I wasn’t good enough. A captain should lead by example which I did not. And if I played the way I played in this match it is better to leave.”If Afridi’s side injury rules him out of the second Test at Headingley his final shot in the five-day game will be the slog-sweep that picked out Mike Hussey and Afridi was honest enough to admit he just couldn’t hold back. “You are right,” he said. “I am coming back to Test cricket after four years and in the interim I’d played a lot of ODI and Twenty20 cricket so I came in with the same [attacking] temperament. I was in two minds. You can say I was not strong mentally.”Yawar Saeed, Pakistan’s manager, confirmed Afridi’s decision to Cricinfo, though he insisted he wouldn’t call it a retirement. “Afridi had a side strain and felt that he shouldn’t keep a specialist out of the side. Temperamentally he feels not comfortable with the format so Leeds will be his last Test,” he said.Saeed said that Butt is likely to take over, but that any decision would have to be made in consultation with the board. Ijaz Butt, chairman PCB, is in England currently. “Salman Butt was appointed vice-captain for the tour and he will take over unless the PCB meets and decides otherwise. But as per procedure, he will take over,” Saeed said.”Salman is the vice captain and he should ideally be the man,” Afridi added. “The way he has shown the maturity he is good enough to carry forward the responsibility.”The development will bring into sharp focus the PCB’s decision to appoint Afridi as Test captain in the first place. He had already retired from the format once before, in 2006, only to return, ironically, for the tour to England that summer. He played a couple of Tests before pulling himself out of the format again.Since his appointment recently, his hesitancy towards the format has surfaced repeatedly. In an interview to before the series began, Afridi hinted he might not play Tests for long. “I’m confident I am fine fitness-wise,” he said then. “But I came back to Tests because I am doing it for the team only. If I think I am fit to do it, I will continue playing Tests. Otherwise I will not burden the side.”In a more recent interview to Cricinfo, Afridi said, “If down the line I become aware that I am not a good captain, or not a successful one, and the team is unable to make any use of me as a captain, I will not chase it. If I don’t have the ability then I will leave it on my own … I did not ask anyone forcibly to give me the captaincy, nor will I forcibly captain the team. If I am good I will prove it through my performance. If I am not good I will say khuda hafeez [God be with you].”

Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara admitted that poor batting yesterday cost his team the third and final Test against India at the P Sara Oval

Sa'adi Thawfeeq at the P Sara Oval07-Aug-2010Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara has admitted that poor batting on the fourth day cost his team the third and final Test against India at the P Sara Oval.”On the fourth morning I thought in the first session if we had just tried to bat till lunch the ball would have got softer and we could have scored a lot more runs. But unfortunately, we played some poor strokes,” Sangakkara said. “We were a bit too tentative at times and the batting in the second innings by the seven batsmen, except for Thilan (Samaraweera) was probably the main cause for us getting only 267. Otherwise we could have batted out the day and put the heavy roller on today and declared.”We had a couple of chances today with Sachin (Tendulkar) and Suresh Raina. That would have made the match a lot more interesting. But the way they batted was excellent. They played positively and kept scoring runs. Unfortunately, apart from Suraj (Randiv) and Lasith (Malinga) we weren’t able to exert pressure from the other end, either to take wickets or cut down the runs.”Sangakkara stated he would have liked to have got close to 300 but added that, “given the situation we were in, it was a great effort by Ajantha (Mendis) and Thilan to get us to 267. Again you know a few chances went begging, which would have allowed us to get another 50 runs lead in the first innings.”Unfortunately, it’s been like that in the last two Tests. A few chances here and there and they ended up crucial.”Sangakkara pointed out the dropped catch by Tillakaratne Dilshan off Sachin Tendulkar as one of those key chances.”It would have been nice to get Sachin out with something like 110 runs to play with, 120 runs at that time. Those things happen in cricket, no one wants to miss a catch at this level when you are playing with so much at stake. The chances we put down in this Test and the last one, proved to be crucial and costly. We have to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” he said.As far the bowlers were concerned, he praised the bowling effort of Randiv who took five wickets in the Indian second innings and nine in the match.”Suraj’s greatest asset has been his confidence and self belief. He’s got great bounce and he will have to improve on his control a bit more to ensure he keeps building the pressure with dot balls and wicket-taking balls. Once he gets that done, I think he will be even better than what we see him now as.”Sangakkara denied that the defeat had given India a moral victory. “Not really, one all is one all. It’s neither here nor there. I thought right throughout the Test we took more wickets and scored more runs. We created a lot more opportunities as well. But converting those opportunities in these two Tests wasn’t there. It was the only window India had to come back into this series.”