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Jonny Bairstow has been handed his first Test call up after injury ruled Ravi Bopara out of the opening match against West Indies at Lord’s starting on Thursday

Andrew McGlashan13-May-2012Jonny Bairstow has been handed his first Test call up after injury ruled Ravi Bopara out of the opening match against West Indies at Lord’s starting on Thursday. Bopara picked up a thigh injury during Essex’s Championship clash with Kent and has suffered another setback in trying to relaunch his Test career.Bairstow, who is a wicketkeeper-batsman but will not be required to have the gloves in the Test side, had gathered momentum in recent weeks after scoring two hundreds for Yorkshire this season and he struck a confident half-century for England Lions against the West Indians in Northampton. Over a 50-match first-class career he averages 46.37 with a highest score of 205.He has had a taste of international cricket with six ODIs and six Twenty20 internationals, playing a match-winning innings in each format when he hit an unbeaten 41 against India on his ODI debut and then struck 60 during the Twenty20 series against Pakistan in the UAE.Geoff Miller, the national selector, said: “Jonny Bairstow has put in a number of impressive performances both for England Lions and Yorkshire and has been working hard on the England Performance Programme over the last couple of years. He is an exciting young player who now has an opportunity to experience the Test environment.”Bopara will be left to rue the second untimely injury that has stalled his prospects of adding to 12 Test caps. He was in line for a recall against Sri Lanka earlier this year after Eoin Morgan was dropped but picked up a side strain which prevented him from bowling and Samit Patel was preferred with England keen for a fifth-bowling option in hot conditions.This time it appears that bowling has caused the injury after he went off following one over against Kent and although he batted with a runner, making 19 from No. 8, it soon became clear that his chances of making the Test squad were receding.”He’s got this grade one tear. He’s got to rectify that before we can revisit it,” Miller said. “He was very much part of the discussion, but as soon as the injury occurred we had to go somewhere else. He’s got to be fully fit to do himself justice and do a job for the side. On this occasion, this is not the case. He’s got to go away and put himself back in the frame.”Bairstow replaces Samit Patel from the side that levelled the series against Sri Lanka in Colombo in April, which was England’s only Test victory of a disappointing winter to leave them clinging to the No. 1 ranking by a fraction of a point ahead of South Africa, who they play later this season. The batting failed in four out of the five Tests but the top five have been given a vote of confidence ahead of the new campaign.”This is an important period for us following a challenging winter where we learnt some valuable lessons and we are preparing for a highly competitive series against a West Indies side full of quality players,” Miller said. “We have selected a very strong 13-man squad which allows us to consider a number of options before making a decision about Thursday’s side.”Elsewhere, the squad is as expected with Graham Onions earning a place among five quick-bowling options. Onions has not played Test cricket since January 2010 after which he suffered a career-threatening back injury but has been back around the national set-up over the last year following his recovery. He is vying for the third fast-bowling slot along with Tim Bresnan and Steven Finn.Squad: Andrew Strauss (capt), Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Jonny Bairstow, Matt Prior (wk), Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, James Anderson, Steven Finn, Graham OnionsRavi Bopara must be wondering what he has done wrong after injury scuppered his chances of a Test place for the second time in two months. It is now getting to the stage where it feels as though he may never add to his 12 Test caps and that would be harsh given how long he has been on the fringes. The two Tests against India last year did not constitute a proper opportunity and although there is a suggestion he may not quite be good enough he is worthy of one more chance to establish a place.For now, though, that will have to be put to one side and instead Jonny Bairstow has been given centre stage. In choosing Bairstow, instead of a more experienced option such as Michael Carberry, the selectors have looked ahead to the future of England’s middle order. His talent is raw around the edges but the power and timing of his batting has stood out, coupled with a confidence to play his shots.England’s established top order needs to be put under pressure by the group of young batsmen emerging below them. The batting had a torrid winter, until the final Test in Colombo, and while that is being put down as a ‘blip’, competition for places – as is the case in the fast-bowling department – is the best incentive to perform.
Andrew McGlashan

Shahid Afridi rescued Pakistan’s innings from despair and built his team a middling total with a half-century. He then proceeded to tenaciously defend his hard work

The Report by George Binoy03-Jun-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsShahid Afridi followed up his half-century with a high-impact bowling performance•Associated Press

Shahid Afridi rescued a limp Pakistan innings from despair and built his team a middling total with an aggressive half-century that was pragmatically constructed. He then proceeded to tenaciously defend his hard work, and by the time he was through with his spell, Sri Lanka had severely depleted resources to complete an arduous task. The upshot was that Pakistan left Hambantota with the series level at 1-1, and Afridi with his seventh Player-of-the-Match award, a Twenty20 record.The second T20 played out in a manner remarkably similar to the first, two days ago, only with roles reversed. On Friday, Sri Lanka had chosen to bat and then collapsed, before a hard-hitting cameo lifted them. Today, it was Pakistan. On Friday, in pursuit of a modest total, Pakistan had been dismissed for less than 100. Today, it was Sri Lanka.Pakistan’s innings was a non-starter until half of it was over, with the Sri Lankan bowlers providing meagre opportunities to score while running through the top order. Nuwan Kulasekara bowled sharp inswingers and struck the first blow; Isuru Udana, playing for his country after nearly three years, started with a maiden; and the legspinner Kaushal Lokuarachchi had success in his first two overs. Sri Lanka, who had rested Mahela Jayawardene and Lasith Malinga, had Pakistan for the taking at 41 for 4 after 10.1 overs.Afridi and Malik started the recovery by rotating strike frequently. When Afridi showed intent by driving the offspinner Sachithra Senanayake to the cover boundary twice, Malik began to play second fiddle, but that did not stop him from taking three consecutive fours off Lokuarachchi in the 15th over. Malik stepped out of his crease to loft the first ball to long-on and drive the second through extra cover. Predicting the bowler would flatten his trajectory, Malik stayed back, and pulled the short ball through midwicket.Their partnership of 68 had a lot of urgent running between the wickets before Afridi began to shift through his gears. He whipped Thisara Perera to the cow-corner boundary, a stroke that had a resemblance to MS Dhoni’s helicopter, and lofted inside out through cover. Afridi was dropped on 42 but Malik was not the very next ball. Afridi ended the 19th over with the innings’ first six, a blow back over the bowler’s – Perera – head. He had begun the over by hitting the ball straight as well, only that went for four. He got to his 50 off 30 balls and dragged Pakistan to 122.Sri Lanka had reached 19 for 0 before Kumar Sangakkara slapped Yasir Arafat, who was playing his first international in two years, to cover point. Kulasekara walked in at No. 3, to the surprise and amusement of Tillakaratne Dilshan waiting in the middle, presumably to pinch-hit. He wasn’t as good against the new ball as he was with it. All Kulasekara did was play three dots before giving Arafat a second wicket in the fourth over, which cost Pakistan only one run. The third over, from the nippy Sohail Tanvir, had cost only one as well.Afridi made his entrance in the eighth over, with Sri Lanka 38 for 2, and what an entrance it was. He had two confident lbw appeals against Chamara Kapugedera and another thunderous shout against Dilshan turned down in his first four balls. All those deliveries were quicker ones going on with the arm. Dilshan tried to cut the fifth. He missed, and Afridi did not need the umpire this time.He and Saeed Ajmal began to squeeze the batsmen; only 25 runs came in the five overs they bowled in tandem. In the last of those overs, the 12th, Kapugedera clubbed Afridi for six over long-on, relieving pressure for Sri Lanka. The next ball was a slider that slid between bat and pad and bowled him. Lahiru Thirimanne once again eased the pressure by taking 10 runs off Mohammad Hafeez’s only over. Afridi heaped it back on by conceding only one run in his last over.Sri Lanka now needed 48 off 36 balls and Afridi could do no more. Tanvir, however, all but shut them out of the game with another miserly over in which he dismissed Dinesh Chandimal. The asking rate was approaching 10 an over and the lower-order batsmen found Mohammad Sami’s pace too quick to score off. Three perished while trying.The game ended when Angelo Mathews, the youngest Sri Lankan captain since Arjuna Ranatunga, mis-hit the ball towards long-off in the final over. The fielder ran in from the boundary and tumbled forward to catch the ball and dismiss the hosts for 99. It was Afridi.

India hardly looked a side playing their first match in four months as their batsmen pounded Sri Lanka for a 300-plus total and their bowling, led by Irfan Pathan, ensured the total was a winning one

The Report by Abhishek Purohit21-Jul-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Virat Kohli’s century was his fourth in five innings•AFP

India hardly looked a side playing their first match in four months. Their batsmen pounded Sri Lanka for a 300-plus total; their bowling, for once, did not fall apart and led by Irfan Pathan, ensured the total was a winning one. Virat Kohli, now easily one of the best ODI batsmen in the world, cracked his third consecutive century against Sri Lanka, his fourth in five innings, and his fifth successive fifty-plus score, equalling the Indian record. Virender Sehwag resembled a man playing his first international game in nearly five months only briefly, before scattering the field with a 97-ball 96. Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni made sure India recovered from a slight wobble, adding 79 in nine overs towards the finish.Kumar Sangakkara responded with his third century in four international games, also only his second ODI hundred at home, but by the time he got credible support at the other end from No. 8 Thisara Perera, the match had slipped too far out of Sri Lanka’s grasp. Perera did give India a scare, smacking 44 off 28 deliveries, but the departure of Sangakkara in the 48th over ended a stand of 78 off 53, and also Sri Lanka’s hopes.India had looked rusty initially, as Sehwag played-and-missed three successive times in Nuwan Kulasekara’s opening over. In the second over, he sliced Lasith Malinga straight to point, where Tillakaratne Dilshan put the catch down. In the third over, Gautam Gambhir was almost run-out when he was caught in a big mix-up with Sehwag. It was Dilshan, again, who missed the direct hit from point. Gambhir departed next ball though, bowled round his legs off a straight ball from Kulasekara. Soon enough though, India settled in, Sehwag and Kohli putting the powerful line-up on its way to another big total.Kohli’s arrival immediately brought stability to the middle. He likes to get forward, and did so to defend solidly. One such push even earned him three runs past extra cover. He slashed his third ball for four past point, and Sehwag soon took over.A Malinga length ball was driven on the up past extra cover, Kulasekara was slammed down the ground. Mahela Jayawardene took out fine leg and put in deep point inside the first Powerplay. Sehwag’s response was to drill Angelo Mathews over cover for four more. In the eleventh over, Sehwag, on 24, tried to loft Perera over extra cover but mistimed the stroke. Kulasekara ran in from mid-off and dived forward to take the ball but Sehwag escaped as replays proved inconclusive, as they usually do in such cases. Kulasekara also injured his groin during the attempt, and bowled only five overs. Two balls later, it was Kohli’s turn to escape as Perera failed to hold on to a tough return chance to his left. Kohli was on 16 then.By the time Sri Lanka separated the pair in the 32nd over, they had added 173 at almost a run a ball. It was a furious Sehwag who departed, four short of what would have been his 16th ODI ton, run out by Perera after being sent back by Kohli while attempting a single.

Smart stats

• India’s 314 is their 16th 300-plus score against Sri Lanka and their third such score against Sri Lanka in 2012. It is also the most number of 300-plus scores India have made against any team.

• Virat Kohli’s century is his 12th in ODIs and fourth against Sri Lanka. However, it is his first century in Sri Lanka. No batsman has scored more hundreds than Kohli in 2012.

• Virender Sehwag’s dismissal was the ninth instance of an Indian batsman being dismissed run out in the nineties. Sourav Ganguly is the only Indian batsman to be dismissed run out twice in the nineties.

• The 173-run stand between Sehwag and Kohli is the fifth-highest second-wicket stand for India against Sri Lanka. It is, however, India’s second-highest such stand in Sri Lanka.

• Kumar Sangakkara’s 133 is the fourth-highest score by a Sri Lankan batsman in an ODI defeat. While Tillakaratne Dilshan has made the highest such score twice (160), Sangakkara has also made 138 in the loss to India in Jaipur in 2005.

• Sri Lanka’s score of 293 is their fifth-highest in an unsuccessful chase and the second-highest score in a failed chase in home ODIs. The highest remains 411 against India in Rajkot in 2009.

India slipped from 180 for 1 to 228 for 4. Rohit Sharma was late on one that nipped back a bit and lost his off bail, before Kohli fell for 106, also a victim of Perera, caught sharply by substitute Sachithra Senanayake at extra cover in the 40th.It looked as though Sri Lanka might keep things tidy in the final 10, with Raina and Dhoni picking off only one boundary in four overs. But then they launched, taking 64 off the final six overs – Raina got to a fifty off 44 balls, while Dhoni unleashed his signature helicopter shots – to make sure India got easily past the 300-run mark.India’s opening bowling pair of Zaheer Khan and Irfan generated enough movement in the first Powerplay to keep Sri Lanka to 41 for 1. R Ashwin took over and ensured Sri Lanka did not get away; he even bowled a wicket-maiden in the bowling Powerplay.As the night grew darker in the forest surrounding the stadium, Sri Lanka’s chances began to appear tougher. Sangakkara and Upul Tharanga did add 77 for the second wicket, but the stand ate up 105 balls and by the time the latter fell to Ashwin, the asking rate was approaching seven-and-a-half.This was after Tillakaratne Dilshan had failed to capitalise, like Virender Sehwag had, on a dropped catch early in his innings. In Zaheer’s opening over, Dilshan cracked his first ball for four, edged the second to slip only for Sehwag to clang it, and was out leg-before to his sixth, off Irfan, as he missed an attempted whip.Sangakkara could have gone second ball, on 0, when he edged an away-going Irfan delivery just past second slip. He should have gone off Umesh Yadav’s second ball, in the eleventh over, when he slashed between MS Dhoni and wide slip, but the wicketkeeper did not go for the catch.Sangakkara struggled to accelerate during the middle of his innings, but he kept Sri Lanka going, even as his team-mates kept falling. No one from No. 1 to No. 7, barring Sangakkara, managed more than 28, falling to the pressure of the asking rate.Sangakkara’s century gave the crowd on the twin grass banks an opportunity to blow their horns louder, but even as he and Perera tried, the game had already blown away from Sri Lanka. To reach 293 from 191 for 6 in the 39th over was, in the end, quite an achievement.

Australia have topped Group A at the Under-19 World Cup emphatically. Yet, their coach Stuart Law recognises there are disciplines his team needs to improve on during Sunday’s quarterfinal against Bangladesh

George Binoy in Townsville18-Aug-2012Australia have topped Group A at the Under-19 World Cup emphatically. They beat England by six wickets and 15 overs to spare, Nepal by 212 runs, and Ireland by six wickets and 57 balls left. Yet, their coach Stuart Law recognises there are disciplines his team needs to improve on during Sunday’s quarterfinal against Bangladesh, and says having won so comprehensively despite not being at their best highlighted the depth of talent within the squad.”We have got through, won three out of three, but I still feel there are some areas for improvement, which is pretty good if you’re winning games and still not playing your best cricket,” Law said. “It doesn’t make you very complacent.”Australia’s bowlers have conceded 25 wides in three games, only one batsman has scored a hundred and some have been getting out in the same fashion, and they haven’t run out a batsman yet. These were the areas Law felt needed attention.”There have been some great areas for us, but there are just those little one per-centers,” Law said. “We bowled a lot of wides with the new ball. Batsmen have got to learn that once you get out a certain way, you shouldn’t be getting out like that time and time again. We haven’t got many run outs in this competition, we’re a better fielding side than what we’re showing. They may not mean much in the whole scheme of things but in big games coming up, if we can get one run out, take a great catch, don’t bowl five wides, it makes it easier to win the game.”While Australia’s captain William Bosisto said he was “rapt” to have won all three games so far, he too wasn’t thrilled with the performance in the last group game against Ireland. “I suppose, with attacking cricket, you can sometimes come unstuck, it’s not going to come off all the time,” Bosisto said. “It’s a learning experience, but I think if we try and be as positive as we can and learn from our mistakes that’s the only way to improve.”What Australia have done during the group stages is manage to give all 15 players in their squad a game, which means no one will have to take the field during the knock-out without match practice. Even the two replacement players they called into the squad because of injuries, seam bowler Alex Gregory and legspinner Shane Cassel, have had success. “Coming into the group stage, we wanted to win all three games but we also wanted to get as many players into form as possible and I think we’ve achieved that so far,” Bosisto said.Australia have two significant advantages going into the quarterfinal against Bangladesh in Townsville. They’ve played at Endeavour Park, in this tournament and during a quadrangular series earlier this year, and know what to expect from the conditions. Bangladesh have been based in Brisbane and will have to adjust to their new environment on the go. Australia have not played this Under-19 Bangladesh side before, but they have Law, who was Bangladesh coach until recently and knows some of their key players. Bangladesh don’t have similar insights.”I’ve spoken to the players a little bit about it [the Bangladesh team],” Law said. “You don’t try and give them too much, if you give them too much information you can lead to paralysing them mentally and you don’t want to do that. You just want them to go out and play good, carefree cricket with discipline.”What Law wants, however, is for the batsmen who get set to play substantial innings when they get the opportunity to. Cameron Bancroft showed that appetite against Nepal, when he scored 125, but some others have failed to score a century or see the chase home because of an error of judgment rather than being dismissed by a good ball.”It’s good to have a sounding board like Greg Chappell in the dressing room. We look at each other and say, ‘These guys don’t like scoring hundreds.’ We tell these players that 20s aren’t going to be enough to put your name up in lights. If you’re 50 not out at the end of an innings, great … but if you get the opportunity, you’ve got to go big. If you’re getting 40 and 50 all the time, it’s okay, but it’s not going to get you far.”Having said that, Law was pleased with the balance in Australia’s line-up. Bancroft and Bosisto are the steady batsmen who have shown the temperament to battle through tough periods, while Jimmy Peirson, Kurtis Patterson and Travis Head have been more aggressive during the group games. “We’ve looked at different combinations, we’ve looked at who’s got the power game, who can constantly hit gaps,” Law said. “It is a good balance, it’s something Greg and I, we’re pretty conscious of keeping that balance going through the next three games. Don’t have too many changes now, everyone knows their role.”Australia will be expected to get past Bangladesh, and they’ll want to do so in a manner that shows improvement from their already impressive performances during this tournament.

Yuvraj Singh has received the Arjuna Award, an Indian government honour to recognise outstanding achievement in sport, from Indian president Pranab Mukherjee

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Aug-2012Yuvraj Singh has received the Arjuna Award, an Indian government honour to recognise outstanding achievement in sport, from Indian president Pranab Mukherjee in Delhi. Yuvraj is currently preparing to make a comeback to international cricket after recovering from a rare germ-cell cancer.”It’s a special award for me,” Yuvraj said. “I had been nominated few times but finally I got it this time. It’s a proud moment for me and my family. The award will give me a lot of confidence to make a comeback and perform well.”Yuvraj hasn’t played any top-flight cricket since last November but has been picked for the Twenty20s against New Zealand next month and the World Twenty20 as well. He brushed aside doubts over whether he is fit enough for the rigours of top-flight cricket.”Experts are not watching me. They don’t know about my fitness. It’s me who knows what’s going on. It’s me who is feeling it from inside,” Yuvraj said. “I know myself better and I am confident enough to do well in the World Cup in Sri Lanka.”Following chemotherapy in February and March, Yuvraj began training in June. “I am practising hard at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore,” he said. “The experts over there are watching my fitness level. I know what I am doing and I just want to concentrate on my return and playing cricket.”If you look at the last three months, I am really training hard and peaking well. I am looking forward to play my first game after a year.”Yuvraj also insisted that he had enough practice to be ready for the World Twenty20. “I had played three practice games at NCA. I will get some serious match practice in the two matches against New Zealand scheduled September 8 and 11. Then, I would be playing two more practice matches. So, you see, I will be having seven games before the World Cup. I will be having enough match practice.”

Newly crowned champions Warwickshire bowled out Nottinghamshire for 155 before their own batsmen also endured a difficult day

11-Sep-2012
ScorecardChris Wright took his tally of Championship wickets this season to 62•Getty Images

Newly crowned champions Warwickshire bowled out Nottinghamshire for 155 before their own batsmen also endured a difficult day. A week after playing a key role in the win that secured the Championship title, seamer Chris Wright claimed 4 for 28 as the weakened hosts, missing four first-choice batsmen for the final game of the season, were dismissed in just 49.4 overs.Only Paul Franks offered any resistance of note in making 44 before he became Wright’s third victim. But Notts hit back with Andy Carter taking three wickets in 10 balls to leave Warwickshire on 139 for 6 at the close, still 16 behind.Warwickshire captain Jim Troughton chose to bowl first after winning the toss, with the Notts batting line-up missing Alex Hales, Michael Lumb and Samit Patel thanks to England Twenty20 call-ups, while overseas batsman Adam Voges had also returned home to Australia for a state training camp.The decision paid off with the third ball of the day as Chris Woakes bowled England Under-19 international Sam Kelsall, with the diminutive right-hander playing on for a duck on his home debut. The more experienced pair of Neil Edwards and Riki Wessels were lbw in successive overs to leave Notts 18 for 4, and Steven Mullaney was then caught at first slip off Keith Barker.Captain Chris Read, so often the Notts man for a crisis, was bowled by Wright, with James Taylor lbw to Rikki Clarke and Graeme White offering a simple chance to Clarke at slip off Jeetan Patel. That left Notts to chew over a miserable lunch at 92 for 7, though Franks and Ben Phillips then put on 38 for the eighth wicket before veteran Phillips was caught behind off Wright for 13.Franks then chopped a cut shot onto his stumps and tailender Carter fended a throat ball from Wright to short leg. The batting performance was indicative of a team who have completely run out of steam in the last month of the season, although the bowlers showed some determination to keep Notts in the game.Phillips had Ian Westwood plumb lbw in the fifth over and then accounted for Varun Chopra, another batsman to drag the ball onto his stumps. Troughton was caught behind after tea before Carter’s second spell and left the champions reeling.Darren Maddy chose to leave a straight delivery that removed his off-stump for 41, while Richard Johnson played on in the next over and Chris Woakes drove at a wide delivery to be caught behind. Clarke (21 not out) and Ian Blackwell (28 not out) steadied the ship with an unbroken 49 and Warwickshire will be confident that a lead in excess of 50 could be enough to end the season in style.

Western Province claimed the Supersport Series title with a convincing
innings and 26-run win over the Border Bears at Newlands on Saturday

Craig Ray – MWP22-Oct-2012Western Province claimed the Supersport Series title with a convincing
innings and 26-run win over the Border Bears at Newlands on Saturday.It was the 21st time the province has won South Africa’s first-class title
and sadly for Border the third consecutive year that they have lost in the
final.It was a match that was dominated by the hosts, who lost the toss but still
managed to dismiss Border for 252. On the Newlands pitch, that was at least
100-runs shy of what they required and so it proved as Western Province
piled on the runs in their reply.They amassed 469 with Graeme Smith scoring a brilliant 183, which earned him
the man of the match award.Play resumed on Saturday – the fourth day – with the hosts on 446 for seven.
Border off spinner Geoff Love captured the three remaining wickets to finish
with career-best figures of seven for 116.But by scoring 469, Western Province led by 217-runs and from that position
only something out of India might have tilted the match back the way of the
Bears.As it was, opener Laden Gamiet fought a lone battle against Western Province
as wickets tumbled around him at frequent intervals.Gamiet top-scored with 80 but besides a 52-run second wicket stand with
Steven Pope, none of his teammates was able to support him. Gamiet’s
innings ended with a rash shot at the slow left-arm of Claude Henderson,
which was caught at backward point by Andrew Puttick.Henderson finished with five for 65 from 19 overs, while the seamers Charl
Willoughby, Alan Dawson and Roger Telemachus took the other five between
them.With the light beginning to fade, Border were unable to hold on and were
dismissed for 191 in the 66th over to hand victory to the favourites.What made the win more impressive was that Western Province finished bottom
of the Supersport Series log last season. The turnaround has been nothing
short of phenomenal.

Former USA Cricket Association executive secretary Kenwyn Williams has launched legal action for damages against the board

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Nov-2012Former USA Cricket Association executive secretary Kenwyn Williams has launched legal action for damages against the board, seeking in excess of $1.5 million for what he claims is action which exposed him to “public contempt, ridicule, aversion and disgrace”.The papers, published by Williams himself, say the defendants – which include various USACA officials as well as the board’s legal representatives, McGuire Woods – “individually, collectively, wrongly, maliciously and scandalously [acted] to injure Plaintiff’s sterling reputation and good name”.Williams was suspended by the USACA board, and subsequently dismissed, for a series of posts on USACA branded sites on Facebook and Twitter operated by him which attracted widespread media comment and ridicule. He is also accused of leaking confidential information and of acting in a way McGuire Woods told him was “recklessly [putting] USACA, its board, staff and yourself in contempt of court”.Williams continues to challenge the legality of the board’s decision.

A round-up of the fifth round of Ranji Trophy’s Group A matches on December 11, 2012

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Dec-2012
Scorecard
Ankeet Chavan’s nine-wicket haul was the third best in Ranji history•Fotocorp

On a manic day at the Wankhede Stadium in which 19 wickets went down, Punjab secured the first-innings lead well after lunch but were still in danger of losing outright to Mumbai. Left-arm spinner Ankeet Chavan had figures of 9 for 23, the third-best bowling analysis in Ranji history, to skittle Punjab, the most dominant batting outfit this season, for 59. That left Mumbai with an improbable chase of 155 in 11 overs. They began with gusto but gave up the hunt at 62 for 2 after six overs.In the morning, Mumbai had looked on course for a first-innings lead, as Rohit Sharma made a double-century and guided his side to 427 for 4 with the help of the consistent Abhishek Nayar, in reply to Punjab’s massive 580. His run-out for 203, however, sparked a collapse that resulted in five wickets going down for four runs as Manpreet Gony sliced through the Mumbai tail. Nayar and the No. 11 Balwinder Sandhu put on 54 for the final wicket before Harbhajan Singh ended the innings by dismissing Nayar.With Punjab batting after taking the first-innings lead, a drab finish seemed on the cards, as is the case in so many Ranji matches, but Chavan and Mumbai provided plenty of excitement. Despite the late scare, though, Punjab remain runaway leaders on 32 points, with more than double the points of the second-placed team.
Scorecard
After five draws in a row, Gujarat got their first win of the season thanks to left-arm spinner Rakesh Dhurv’s 8 for 31 that demolished the Rajasthan batting. Dhurv had already taken six wickets in the first innings, giving him match figures of 14 for 96, the best-ever by a Gujarat bowler. It had been a tense first-innings battle on the third day, that Gujarat just about managed to win and the game was expected to peter out on the final day. Instead, Dhurv ripped through the inconsistent Rajasthan batting and shot them out for 119. Gujarat were left with a target of 102, which they knocked off comfortably. The win lifts them to 15 points, jointly in second place with Saurashtra. Defending champions Rajasthan remain rooted to the bottom of the table, with only five points from five matches.
ScorecardBengal collapsed to Saurashtra’s spin duo of Ravindra Jadeja and Nayan Doshi to suffer a 270-run loss – their third in six games – in Rajkot. Resuming at 65 for 3, Abhishek Jhunjhunwala departed within the first ten overs of the morning session, after which wickets fell regularly. Laxmi Shukla struck three sixes and four boundaries to push the score, but he didn’t last long. At 150 for 5, opener Rohan Banerjee fell to Jadeja for 47, and the innings lasted another 3.2 overs. Bengal were handicapped by the absence of their captain Manoj Tiwary, who was out of the game due to a back injury.For Saurashtra, the seeds of victory had been laid on the third day, when they had reduced Bengal to 65 for 3 after setting them a target of 431. Sheldon Jackson had scored an unbeaten century as Saurashtra consolidated a 97-run first-innings lead with an impressive batting performance. Jadeja celebrated his Test call-up with 138 runs and eight wickets in the match.
Scorecard
When the final day began, Railways seemed set to lose – they were at 54 for 5 in the second innings, still trailing by over a hundred runs against Madhya Pradesh. A fighting century from Mahesh Rawat and his dour 148-run partnership with PM Madkaikar, however, helped Railways salvage a draw, and MP had to contend with three points. As important as the runs the pair added were the overs they consumed, batting out nearly half the day. Though both were dismissed late in the third session, they had done enough to secure the draw. MP are now in fourth spot with 14 points, two spots ahead of Railways who only have seven.

Allrounder Ryan McLaren has been called in as a replacement for the injured Wayne Parnell for South Africa’s Twenty20 series against New Zealand

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Dec-2012Allrounder Ryan McLaren has been called in as a replacement for Wayne Parnell in South Africa’s Twenty20 squad that will play New Zealand in a three-match series starting December 21. Parnell has suffered a wrist injury that has ruled him out for two weeks.McLaren will have the chance to play his first Twenty20 international since October 2010. He has had a productive domestic season so far, taking 15 wickets in six games at an average of 15.06, and scoring 179 runs at 44.75 in the recently concluded Momentum one-day competition. In his only first-class game this season, he took six wickets.He was also called up as a reserve during South Africa’s Test series against Australia, for the injured Jacques Kallis.A bowling allrounder, Parnell has had his share of injury woes before. In 2010, he had picked up a groin injury that stalled his international career and gave him little game-time, something he gained in the IPL next year. He has not had the most fruitful of careers since then – in the 14 limited-overs internationals he has played since, he has taken only seven wickets and scored 121 runs at 24.20.