All posts by h716a5.icu

Firdose Moonda reports on Cape Cobras triumph over Knights in the final of the Ram Slam T20 Challenge

Firdose Moonda12-Dec-2014It was third time lucky for the Cobras as they were crowned champions of South Africa’s domestic 20-over competition, after losing the final in each of the last two seasons, with a 33-run win over Knights in Cape Town.But it was neither of their big name national players, Hashim Amla or Dale Steyn, who put in the performance that mattered. Omphile Ramela’s career-best 54 off 34, four wickets for Dane Paterson and five catches from Justin Ontong sealed the deal for the men from the Cape.The Knights barely turned up for the chance to challenge for the trophy. After holding the Cobras at bay for the first 16 overs of their innings, they came under assault from Ramela and Kieron Pollard and could not recover with the bat in reply. Only two of their batsmen managed scores of over 15 as they started slowly and crumbled later on to hand the Cobras victory.The Cobras were in early trouble when both openers were dismissed in the first nine overs. Richard Levi, who finished the competition as its top-scorer, was run-out for one and Amla was bowled for 26 walking across his stumps to Obus Pienaar.Ramela and Dane Vilas began doing a repair job but the Cobras were still in a shaky position when Vilas was deceived by a Dillon du Preez slower ball and offered a catch to long-on to depart for 29. In the 13th over, the Cobras were stuttering on 72 for 3 and needed an urgent injection of intent.It was up to Pollard to do that. He upped the tempo with Ramela, who allowed Pollard a two-over sighter to find his feet. At the end of the 16th over, the Cobras had only reached 101 for 3, thanks to tight bowling from Shadley van Schalkwyk and du Preez, before Pollard got going.He took ten runs off a Malusi Siboto over, and then combined with Ramela to plunder 16 in the 18th off his countryman, Andre Russell. Ramela scored 11 off the next over, in which he reached his first T20 fifty off 32 balls, before being dismissed which left it up to Pollard to push the Cobras over 150. He smashed 18 runs off the final over, bowled by Russell, to set up a challenging chase.The slow-burn from the Knights blunted that chance early on. They could not get Steyn away and their run-rate did not reach six an over until the final over of the powerplay. That was when Reeza Hendricks took on Paterson but the aggression was shortlived. Pollard dried the runs up at his end before Robin Peterson took the first wicket when he had Gerhardt Abrahams caught by a diving Levi at short cover for 9.The wicket came in the midst of a boundary-less four-over period, broken only when Rilee Rossouw pulled George Linde, the joint highest-wicket-taker of the tournament, to fine leg. Rossouw and Hendricks kept the Knights in the hunt but when both were caught by Ontong, a return catch low in his follow through and a superb effort off Paterson at mid-off respectively, the Knights had raised their white flag.They lost 6 for 17 between overs 14 and 17 and gave Pollard his best figures of the tournament, 3 for 21. With 51 runs needed from the last three overs, there was only one winner and the Newlands crowd rose to their feet to greet the final ball, and the trophy. Both teams qualify for next year’s Champions League T20.

The sight of MS Dhoni jumping triumphantly as James Tredwell failed to connect with the final ball of the match will become etched in the mind just like his iconic six two years back that helped India to World Cup.

Nagraj Gollapudi at Edgbaston23-Jun-2013The sight of MS Dhoni jumping triumphantly as James Tredwell failed to connect with the final ball of the match will become etched in the mind, just like his iconic six two years back that helped India to the World Cup.But even on that April evening in Mumbai, Dhoni had not celebrated in such an exhilarating fashion as he did as India won the Champions Trophy. Dhoni later explained why he let his guard down at the end of a long, long Sunday.”This means a lot because we were playing one of the best sides and also the kind of match that we had won,” Dhoni said. “To beat England in a 130-odd game is very difficult.”Although India entered the final as the only unbeaten team, playing England on home soil against their quality fast bowling attack was a challenge that was altogether different. Add to that the pressure of playing a final of a world tournament.Questions had been asked of Dhoni on Saturday if the Indian middle order, which had not done much batting in the tournament, could stand up to the task if the top order failed. Dhoni responded by saying his batsmen would need to play the situation.Yet the Indian middle order crumbled under pressure only barring some late fire fighting from Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja. The Indian target seemed small. Dhoni agreed that the frequent rain interruptions did act as a distraction.BCCI awards cash prizes for win

The BCCI has announced prizes of Rs 1 crore (USD $167,530 approx.) to each member of the playing squad and Rs 30 lakhs (USD $ 50,265 approx.) for each member of the support staff

“After every few overs our batsmen had to come off,” he said. “People talk about getting set, getting used to the pace and then playing the big shots but that was never the case. Whenever the batsmen felt they were set, they had to come off and we had a break of 15-20 minutes. That never allowed us to gain any kind of momentum or build partnerships which were needed. And that was reflected when the middle order went in to bat. It was the main reason why we ended up scoring less than what we ended up scoring than what we had liked to score.”Before India began their defence, Dhoni pointed out upfront to his players that the only way India could win was by working hard and working to the plans: “Before going in I said, Let us firstly get rid of the feeling that it is a 50-over format. It is a 20-over game. We have seen in IPL that 130-run can be very difficult target to achieve.”He also asked them to not to look for the rain to act a saviour. “God is not coming to save us,” Dhoni told his team in the huddle. “If you want to win this trophy we will have to fight it out. We are the number one-ranked side so let us show it that they will have to fight for these 130-odd runs. So let us not look for any outside help.”The key was not allow England to build the partnerships, hence it was important to see the back of two batsmen, Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott, both classical and highly successful Test batsmen, as quickly as possible.”Trott was a very important wicket,” Dhoni said. “Cook also. They are two batsmen who look to play through the innings and the others rotate around them. That means if they get they get a good partnership going they can play freely.”The fact that he is the only captain to have won all three global limited over tournaments is something Dhoni will admit is a special feeling. According to him there were similarities in the way India won the 2007 World Twenty20 and the Champions Trophy because the players were hungry to succeed and that had helped raise the overall spirit of the squad.”There were also quite a number of players who were making a comeback and wanted to do well desperately and be part of the team,” he said. “There are a few who wanted to do well and have a settled position in the side.”

Visitors Glamorgan appear to be homing in on their second win of the Division Two campaign after making basement side Kent follow-on in Canterbury

14-Jun-2013
ScorecardVisitors Glamorgan appear to be homing in on their second win of the Division Two campaign after making basement side Kent follow-on in Canterbury.Dismissed for 135 to concede a first-innings lead of 243, winless Kent batted marginally better second time around to at least take the game into its final day by reaching 254 for 4 at stumps – a slender match lead of 11.Having been skittled before lunch inside 47 overs, Kent made a better fist of things in a second innings that started with a single over before the lunch interval. After the break, openers Rob Key and Sam Northeast appeared to be in little or no trouble in adding 75 for the first wicket until Northeast (33) drove a return catch to veteran spinner Dean Cosker.Another Kent youngster, Daniel Bell-Drummond, then saw Jim Allenby pull off a stunning reflex catch at slip that sent him packing for 14, bringing together Key and Brendan Nash for a responsible third-wicket partnership that added 95 in 26 overs.Key went past 50 for the fourth time this season, from 112 balls that included five fours, while Nash reached the milestone from 74 balls before both fell in quick succession. Only five deliveries after reaching his half-century and without addition, Nash edged an attempted push drive against Michael Hogan into the gloves of Mark Wallace to leave with his side on 192 for 3.Then, only 15 runs short of a third century of the summer and the 49th of his career, Key’s late decision to kick away a Cosker arm-ball led to his demise leg before wicket after facing 166 balls.Though Ben Harmison and Darren Stevens survived the remaining 26 overs, Kent still face an uphill task to make the game safe on the fourth and final day.The hosts had started the day already deep in trouble at 73 for 4 and were only able to add a further 62 to their tally before losing their six remaining wickets.Allenby caused their early headaches, nipping one back to snare Stevens’ leg before for 10 as he shouldered arms, then having Harmison caught behind for 12 off a lunging defensive push.Geraint Jones, the acting Kent skipper, drove over a full ball from Hogan to lose his off stump before on-loan debutant Mitchell Claydon drove to mid-on and gifted Graham Wagg a second wicket.Calum Haggett made a late, and bad, decision to leave a shooting off-cutter from Michael Reed that plucked out off stump, but at least 10th wicket partners Charlie Shreck and Adam Riley enjoyed themselves in adding 25 – the second best partnership of the innings.Shreck, playing in his 122nd first-class match, was only four short of equalling his career best when Riley nicked behind to see Wallace hold on at the second attempt to end the innings and give Cosker a wicket with his fifth ball of the match.

Yorkshire have been forced to deny a rift with their legspinner Adil Rashid, with the start of the Championship season only a few hours away

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Apr-2013Yorkshire have been forced to deny a rift with their legspinner Adil Rashid, with the start of the Championship season only a few hours away.Rashid was quoted in the on Tuesday as saying that if his season did not go well he would insist on going to another county on loan – the same route followed by Ajmal Shahzad, whose disenchantment with Yorkshire led him to play out last season with Lancashire before joining Nottinghamshire on a three-year deal.A statement from Yorkshire said that the interview had taken place on January 24 and that Rashid had apologised to the captain, Andrew Gale, for the embarrassment caused.Rashid only took 16 wickets at 41 runs each in 10 Championship matches last season and his batting fared equally badly – 129 runs at 16.12. His reputation as an exciting England legspinner in the making has collapsed, as he has even fallen out of recent Lions squads.”Now is the time to draw the line, and if it happens again I’ll say: ‘OK, I’ll go out on loan somewhere else to play’,” he said in the original interview. “I hope it doesn’t come down to that. I’ve been playing here seven years and I want to stay. But I have a career and I can’t waste another year.”It’s hard to come straight on and hit your length and line with every delivery if you’re hardly bowling and the coaches and people around you don’t give you the backing.”Rashid said that he accepted some of the blame, but it had to be shared with the captains and the coaches. “If a player’s not performing, don’t just all of a sudden disrespect him, or think: ‘Oh, he’s nothing now’ then as soon as he starts playing well: ‘OK, I’ll respect him again now’.”The captain knows what I can do because I’ve got 200-plus first-class wickets. He should have thought: ‘OK, he’s done this in the past, I need to back him.’ If I don’t get that from the captain obviously my confidence is going to go down.”In response, Martyn Moxon, Yorkshire’s director of cricket, said: “It is disappointing and frustrating that this article has been used on the eve of the season. Although an interview was conducted in January, the way Adil has worked and behaved throughout the winter would not suggest to me that we have a problem.”Adil has worked extremely hard and has been a vibrant member of the squad. He is someone who is valued at the club and all the staff here are committed to helping him become a consistent performer and fulfil his obvious potential.”There was also the sound of backtracking from Rashid. “It was an error of judgement to make those comments to the media back in January,” he said. “Yorkshire is a great club and there is a very positive atmosphere within the squad. I just want to concentrate on my game and work hard to be part of Yorkshire’s aim for success in 2013.”

Adam Gilchrist, the Kings XI Punjab captain, believed the team had a defendable total on a sluggish pitch, but credited Eoin Morgan for turning the match in Kolkata Knight Riders’ favour

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Apr-2013Adam Gilchrist, the Kings XI Punjab captain, believed the team had a defendable total on a sluggish pitch, but credited Eoin Morgan for turning the match in Kolkata Knight Riders’ favour. Kings XI picked up the wickets of Gautam Gambhir and Yusuf Pathan early in the innings, but Manvider Bisla and Jacques Kallis built a 66-run stand, before Morgan smashed a quickfire 42 off 26 balls to help Knight Riders complete the chase with 10 balls to spare.”Great breakthroughs early and we were right in the hunt all the way through,” Gilchrist said. “Jacques and Manvinder Bisla did very well to steady the ship. Bisla took his early let-off and played a nice and controlled innings. Morgan was the difference in the end in their batting and obviously Jacques had a great game with both bat and ball. I must say if I were to believe you guys [media], Jacques wasn’t even turning up today.””I thought 150 was pretty competitive,” he added. “If you get greedy, you might get 10 more. In the end, it wouldn’t have mattered with the way Morgan played.”Kings XI got an ideal start when Azhar Mahmood struck twice off consecutive balls in his first over, but the bowlers struggled to pick up wickets after that. Harmeet Singh, who had picked up three wickets against Delhi Daredevils, was introduced in the 11th over and immediately picked up Kallis’ wicket, but made no impact after that.”He bowled beautifully in Delhi the other night,” Gilchrist said. “He started well early today, but he would be disappointed with how he executed a couple of deliveries. But it was very sweaty and moist out there. He relies on those variations, the back spinners, the leg spinners. It was, in his defense, difficult to grip. But he is a welcome addition.”Gilchrist said he was satisfied with his form too after scoring 27, his best innings this year, and hoped to continue improvement in his game.”I did more practice leading into this tournament than any other ones. Nice to get some from the middle of the bat. Obviously, the trouble is you fail fail fail, then you get 20-odd, and start to feel good, then you get disappointed and frustrated that you get out. So you are never really happy as a batsman. I have got to keep trying to lift my game and contributing.”Eveything felt really good today up until I played that shot (the one that got him out). It was just slow off the wicket a little bit. I am not hitting the balls that I used to hit in the prime of my career. I understand that and I am not shattered by that. I am thrilled to be playing and enjoying it. It is not life and death. The great thing about knowledge and maturity is that there are more serious things going out there.”Kings XI are placed fifth in the table after four wins in eight matches.

For Jonathan Trott to mark his return to representative cricket with an unbeaten 176, batting for nine hours, was some achievement

Ivo Tennant in Paarl13-Jan-2015
ScorecardJonathan Trott made his first hundred in an England shirt since 2013 (file photo)•Getty ImagesIt was not the cauldron of Brisbane, the pitch was shorn of pace, the attack, ultimately, devoid of energy, and the smattering of spectators were not remotely inimical towards him. Yet for Jonathan Trott to mark his return to representative cricket with an unbeaten 176, batting for nine hours, was some achievement. No matter that too many balls were directed at his pads, feeding his favourite clip through midwicket, for these were prominent runs.Trott was never sated, not even in temperatures which were well above 30 degrees. He collected his runs just about everywhere, off all manner of bowling, adding century partnerships with James Vince, Jonny Bairstow and Adil Rashid. There was no indication of emotion when he reached three figures, just a tug on the buckles of a pad and a brief kiss of his England helmet. No ostentatious fist pumping or imitation of the high jump.Apart from having been dropped the previous day when on 7, Trott gave no chance. Once, he cut Ryan McLaren uppishly past a wide slip, but otherwise there was a lovely flick through the leg side to the midwicket boundary and a controlled, cover-driven four, both off Dane Piedt’s offspin, that were masterly shots. In fact just about everything about this innings, including his emotions and his judgement of a run, was thoroughly controlled.Trott had resumed on 57 and was briefly outscored by Vince, who reached his half-century off 108 balls with eight fours, despatching Beuran Hendricks through the leg side and, in cutting Chris Morris for four, bringing up their century partnership off 290 balls. The South Africa A attack once again was dependant on Northampton-bound Rory Kleinveldt, whose medium pace looks to have come on since he had an unremarkable summer with Hampshire in 2008.’Never doubted Trott could come back’

Vincent Barnes, the South Africa A coach, said that Jonathan Trott, whom he coached as a young man in Cape Town, had told him a month ago he was ready to return to international cricket. “He said he thought he was over his stress-related illness and could come back again. I never had a doubt he could do so. When I coached him, I thought he would become one of the best players in the world.”
Nonetheless, Trott would not be drawn on when he might be ready. “This is part of the process towards the goal of coming back to Test cricket, but I feel no nearer or farther away from that after this innings,” Trott said. He praised James Vince, of whom he said: “He was always ear-marked for England. He struck the ball very fluently – I thought when I first saw him that he was a fantastic player.”

Now, he had Vince, who that year was still in Hampshire’s academy, caught at slip, cutting without moving his feet. So ended a partnership, a match-saving one, of 165 from 53 overs. Vince has benefited through coaching from both Andy Flower and Graham Thorpe on this trip, the upshot being 78 with 12 fours from 171 balls. Very few of his runs are ever scratchy.Piedt, who is a cousin of Hendricks – they are both from the northern suburbs of Cape Town – should have had Bairstow stumped on 22, having beaten him through the air. Rudi Second, who dropped Trott on Monday, a difficult chance, should have snaffled this opportunity. A further three-figure partnership followed, the Yorkshireman lofting Piedt for six to long-on and reaching 63 from 75 balls before Kleinveldt brought one back into him and beat his checked drive. His innings included nine fours.Rashid became the third batsman to bring up a century stand with Trott, his 78 from 105 balls carrying less significance than Vince’s innings but full of wristy uppercuts and drives nonetheless. It made up for his rather expensive bowling and was a counterpoint, more than useful at this stage of the innings, to Trott’s remorselessness on the ground on which he represented Boland when straight out of school. “Like a machine,” said Mark Robinson, the Lions coach, and indeed he was.Trott, having reached his 37th first-class century shortly after lunch, simply ground on, making his 176 runs from 350 balls with 14 fours. He was fit enough to manage an all-run four in the final over, when the Lions took the lead. His last first-class century in England colours (or, more accurately, helmet) was against a Western Australia Chairman’s XI at the start of the 2013-14 tour of Australia. By now, even Kleinveldt, who has known Trott since boyhood and who had tried everything from short-pitched bowling to men out for the hook and still more men to close off his scoring through midwicket, could not come up with anything innovative.

Waqar Younis, the former captain and coach of Pakistan, has been interviewed for the position of Australian bowling coach, as Cricket Australia intensifies its search for the man to replace Craig McDermott

Daniel Brettig05-Jun-2012Waqar Younis, the former captain and coach of Pakistan, has been interviewed for the position of Australian bowling coach, as Cricket Australia intensifies its search for the man to replace Craig McDermott.Based in Sydney after he concluded a two-year stint as coach of Pakistan in 2011, Waqar is understood to have spoken to CA’s team performance manager Pat Howard about taking on a role that was unexpectedly vacated by McDermott at the conclusion of the Australian tour of the West Indies.Australia’s search for a new bowling coach is taking place at a time when many of the best candidates are already tied to other national teams or unwilling to commit to the travel pressures of the job. David Saker, Allan Donald, Joe Dawes and Damien Wright are all employed at international level, while the likes of Andy Bichel and Damien Fleming have said they are unwilling to devote as much time to the job as required by CA.Another possible candidate, Jason Gillespie, is in his first season as the coach of Yorkshire, while Ali de Winter, who ran McDermott close for the position in 2011, is thought to be enjoying his expanded role in Tasmania as assistant coach of the Tigers and head coach of the Hobart Hurricanes Twenty20 team.As a part-time member of the selection panel, Bichel saw the improvement McDermott brought to the team, and has said his preference would be for a mentor with proven international pedigree. ”With so many young guys coming through the system, I think you need someone who has played international cricket and who can teach them the stuff in the middle more than the technical stuff, how to get people out,” Bichel told the last month. ”That was one of the great bonuses with Craig.”Waqar has been refreshed by 10 months off cricket’s global caravan. He cited personal and health reasons – both for himself and his wife – when he exited the Pakistan coaching job, but has actively sought a return to coaching with Australia.Were he to be employed as bowling coach, Waqar would bring valuable knowledge to the Australian dressing room, particularly pertaining to reverse swing, an art the team have struggled to make best use of down the years. Under McDermott, Australia’s fast bowlers demonstrated an excellent command of the basics, bowling full, straight and moving the ball conventionally, while also showing tremendous discipline in unhelpful conditions in Sri Lanka and the West Indies.They will now be looking to build on those gains, and Waqar’s mastery of reverse swing, as demonstrated across a celebrated Test match career in which he claimed 373 wickets, would be a useful addition to the team’s database of knowledge. His coaching history has included numerous short-term consultancy roles, including with the ECB academy on a tour to India, while he has worked with New South Wales since first moving with his family to Sydney in 2005.Back then, Waqar had pointed out how much Australia needed a bowling coach, having watched Ricky Ponting’s team struggle to match England’s results in the 2005 Ashes series. He may now be in line to mentor a highly promising battery of young pacemen over a critical two-year stretch that cultimnates in back-to-back Ashes series in England and Australia in 2012-13.

Justin Langer has been confirmed as Western Australia’s new coach, leaving his role as an assistant with the national team to try to improve the state side’s fortunes

Daniel Brettig14-Nov-2012Justin Langer has been confirmed as Western Australia’s new coach, leaving his role as an assistant with the national team to try to improve the state side’s fortunes after almost a decade without a domestic trophy and widely known cultural problems.The announcement, which also has Langer taking up the job as coach of the Perth Scorchers in the BBL, arrived the day after Australia drew the first Test with South Africa in Brisbane. Langer will be in place as coach of the Warriors in time for Saturday’s domestic limited overs match against South Australia in Perth.He has been contracted until the end of the 2015-16 season, offering Langer the chance to work with and improve the the team’s results over a lengthy term.Noted for his heavy emphasis on team-work and the mental side of the game, Langer has the job ahead of him to build a WA side in his own determined and dedicated image, following a dire start to the season that included widely publicised disciplinary problems at the T20 Champions League in South Africa and three outright losses to start the Sheffield Shield.”I am really thrilled to be taking up the position as Warriors and Scorchers Head Coach and feel that the energy for my work will be doubled now that I am back home around my family, my cricket friends and my personal friends,” Langer said.”I have two main objectives. The first is to bring cricket back to life in Western Australia, and the second is to help these boys become men on and off the cricket field.”I was very fortunate to serve an apprenticeship with the Australian team and I can’t wait to roll up my sleeves and get started on this new challenge at what promises to be an exciting time in WA cricket.”Dennis Lillee, the WACA president, said Langer’s fortunes would be dictated as much by the ability of the players and support staff to work hard with him as it would be the coach’s responsibility alone.”Some issues relating to the underlying culture within the Warriors and Scorchers have been identified recently and Justin’s appointment is the first step we are taking to bring back a strong culture to the WACA,” Lillee said.”We must go forward and no one needs to be reminded of Justin’s outstanding credentials. He is a steely, dedicated man of cricket with a no-nonsense approach and is exactly what we need to turn this talented Western Australian side into a committed team using all of its natural talent.”However it can’t just be the coach that turns things around. We need players to put up their hands to be positive and tough leaders within this group going forward.”Having retired from a decorated international career at the conclusion of the 2006-07 Ashes series in Australia, Langer returned to the national set-up as batting coach in November 2009. Since then he has applied for various coaching jobs, including WA’s, and was also a candidate for the senior Australian coaching job when Mickey Arthur replaced Tim Nielsen in 2011.In replacing Langer, Cricket Australia will employ the Centre of Excellence coach Stuart Law as a batting assistant this summer, and may then look further afield for a longer term replacement. Pat Howard, the team performance manager, described Law’s tenure as a “try before you buy” scenario for the national team.”Stuart was there all week, we obviously knew this a little bit prior [to the announcement], and so he’s had a full week of training with the Test team all last week,” Howard said.”Stuart’s a really solid individual and has made a real impact. The fact he’s got experience not only in Australia but on the subcontinent and England to help deal with players of the future, and he’s got an impact now to work over the next couple of weeks with the players of now.

Sri Lanka’s prospects of winning their first away series since 1999-00 (excluding those in Bangladesh and Zimbabwe) improved significantly after Angelo Mathews and Dilruwan Perera batted vast periods of time on the second day

The Report by George Binoy17-Jan-20140:00

Fernando: Mathews’ batting was incredibly restrained

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsDilruwan Perera was picked for his bowling but made a telling contribution with the bat•AFPSri Lanka’s prospects of winning their first away series since 1999-00 (excluding those in Bangladesh and Zimbabwe) improved significantly after their captain Angelo Mathews and debutant Dilruwan Perera, picked primarily for his offspin, batted vast periods of time on the second day in Sharjah. Both batsmen were dismissed in the 90s, and because of their slow run rate Sri Lanka scored only 428 despite batting nearly two days, but Pakistan’s inability to take ten wickets deprived them of precious time in a Test they need to win to level the series.Having resumed on 220 for 5, Sri Lanka continued at snail’s pace. They scored 82 runs in 35 overs for the loss of Prasanna Jayawardene during an extended first session, and 57 runs in 29 overs for the loss of two wickets in the second. They were quicker in the third – 69 in 18 overs – but Sri Lanka’s last two wickets added those runs. Pakistan had not bowled so many overs in an innings – 172 – since the Rawalpindi Test against India in 2004. They were able to keep their sense of humour, though, and several players shook Saeed Ajmal’s hand after he bowled his 50th over.The day’s centrepiece was the seventh-wicket stand between Mathews and Perera that spanned 53.2 overs and produced 112 runs. But their resistance would not have reached such proportions if Pakistan had better luck. They had been on the wrong end of four reviews on the first day – three umpire’s-call decisions went Sri Lanka’s way – and the trend continued.In Abdur Rehman’s first over, the day’s fifth, Mathews was struck low on the front pad while pushing forward to defend, but umpire Richard Kettleborough said not out. On review, replays indicated the ball would have hit a sizeable portion of leg stump, but the on-field umpire’s call remained. Pakistan’s count of unsuccessful reviews in this series was now 14 out of 15, and Mathews went on from 34 to score 91 off 256 balls.The partnership between Mathews and Perera was only 20 when Ajmal pitched a doosra in line with the stumps from round the wicket and hit Perera’s pad, but umpire S Ravi denied the appeal. Pakistan had exhausted their reviews and were frustrated as replays indicated Perera was plumb. He made 95 off 247 balls.The day had begun with the Pakistan players examining the rough on the pitch, but its appearance proved deceptive because the surface did not misbehave. There was no pace, seam and swing, and the turn was slow. The ball after Mathews survived the review, though, Prasanna hooked a bouncer from Mohammad Talha straight to long leg to end Sri Lanka’s sixth-wicket partnership on 73. It was perhaps the only delivery to hurry a batsman.Smart Stats

Dilruwan Perera became only the second Sri Lanka batsman to be dismissed in the nineties on debut after Chamara Dunusinghe, who was dismissed 91 against New Zealand in Napier in 1995. Click here for a list of batsmen to be dismissed in the nineties on Test debut.

Perera is only the second batsman to get out in the nineties on debut, batting at No. 8 or lower. The first such instance was Ashton Agar’s 98 at Trent Bridge last year.

Sri Lanka’s run rate of 2.48 in their innings was the second lowest by a team with a score of 300 or more in a Test innings in the UAE. Two of the top three instances in this list came in this Test, also involving Pakistan and Sri Lanka, at the same venue in 2011.

Pakistan bowled 172 overs in Sri Lanka’s first innings in this Test. This is the highest they have bowled in an innings since the 177.2 overs they bowled against India in Rawalpindi in 2004. The last instance of them bowling more overs in the first innings of a Test came in 2000, when they bowled 196 overs against England in Lahore.

This was only the second instance in Tests when two batsman batting at No. 6 or lower got out in the nineties in an innings. The first instance came when South Africa played Sri Lanka in Cape Town in 2001, and Mark Boucher and Lance Klusener both got out in the nineties.

This was only the second time that two Sri Lanka batsmen got out in the nineties in a Test innings. The other such instance came against Zimbabwe in Colombo in 2001, when the batsmen were Sanath Jayasuriya and Hashan Tillakaratne.

With runs coming relatively easily against the fast bowlers, Misbah-ul-Haq brought Rehman on and he dried one end up. And after Ajmal was introduced in the 12th over of the day, Sri Lanka slowed to a crawl. Perera had cut his first ball in Test cricket – off Talha – to the boundary and then proved he had both patience and solid defensive technique.It was soon after Ajmal’s first appeal against Perera was turned down that Sri Lanka’s pace picked up. Perera swept the offspinner for four and then charged Rehman to clear the long-on boundary. In between those shots, Junaid Khan had returned for his second spell and Mathews pulled him for four. He later reached his half-century off 157 balls.Mathews also brought up the 100-run stand by pulling Rehman for four, and then had a chat with Perera after Ajmal began to trouble the batsman. Perera was on 43 when Ajmal struck his pads and appealed for another lbw. It wasn’t as close as the previous ones but on another day, another umpire might have given it out and few would have complained. Umpire Ravi did not, and Ajmal’s rage was on full display. Perera inside edged the next ball from Ajmal past his stumps to the boundary.Like Sangakkara on the first day, Mathews’ wicket was sudden. Junaid bowled a wide one and Mathews slashed to hole out to deep point when a century was there for the taking. Rangana Herath lasted just one ball, with Junaid doing what the spinners had strived to all day – earn an lbw.There was no more relief for Pakistan, though. Perera began to open up, and brought up his 50-run stand with Shaminda Eranga off only 77 balls with a flurry of shots against Ajmal. He moved to 95 with an on-the-up drive off Talha, but hooked the next ball in the air and was caught at fine leg. Perera missed becoming the fourth Sri Lankan batsman to score a Test century on debut, but his innings ensured Sri Lanka were on their way to a series win.

A lethal spell of swing bowling from Mitchell Starc led the Sydney Sixers to a 17-run win in a rain-affected game over cross-town rivals Sydney Thunder at Stadium Australia

Andrew Fuss08-Jan-201216 overs
ScorecardA lethal spell of swing bowling from Mitchell Starc led the Sydney Sixers to a 17-run win in a rain-affected game over cross-town rivals Sydney Thunder at Stadium Australia.Starc, who has been added to the Australian Test squad for Perth next week against India, showed why he’s rated so highly, by destroying the Thunder’s top order, narrowly missing out on a hat-trick on his way to 3 for 17.Brett Lee bowled brilliantly in tandem with Starc, the veteran quick claiming the vital wicket of Chris Gayle for a duck.With five overs required to constitute a match, the early stages of the Thunder’s chase was always going to be vital and the par score was well above the 4 for 29 they finished on when the match was called off.Earlier, Fidel Edwards used the moist conditions to his advantage, swinging and seaming his way through a dangerous four-over spell to start the match. The Sixers middle order then collapsed, losing 4 for 6 in the space of just two overs, including a rare diamond duck to Dominic Thornely.Ben Rohrer led a lower order fightback, smashing four boundaries and a six before the allrounder Sean Abbott claimed him for 38 (off 24 balls). Edwards was the pick of the bowlers, claiming 1 for 21 off his four overs while fellow West Indian Gayle was miserly, conceding just 18 runs off his three overs.The Sixers move into the top four with a key away clash against the Adelaide Strikers on Tuesday to determine their finals’ fate. The Thunders host Perth Scorchers on Wednesday in a must-win game if they are to make the finals.