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“I suppose when you look at the gap between Test cricket that we’ve had, that’s a nice thing”

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Dec-2020Kane Williamson recorded his highest Test score of 251 on the second day of the first Test against West Indies, but said that it hadn’t been easy getting there. The bowlers were “making life really difficult” for him, he said after the day’s play, and “trying to stick to my plans for long periods of time” did the trick for him.”Certainly, West Indies’ bowlers kept coming back and bowling heavy into the surface and making life really difficult,” Williamson said at a press interaction. “We couldn’t get much momentum with the bat, but we managed to fight our way through some of those tough periods, which was really pleasing. I suppose when you look at the gap between Test cricket that we’ve had, that’s a nice thing.”

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The gap Williamson referred to was as huge as nine months. New Zealand’s last Test, against India in Christchurch, had ended on March 2 before Covid-19 ensured a long hiatus. That, plus shifting from T20s – he was last in action for the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL – to Tests, and the fact that the West Indies bowlers got decent movement couldn’t have been easy to deal with. But the New Zealand captain made it work.Kane Williamson moved past Ross Taylor as the highest-run scorer in Tests at Seddon Park•ESPNcricinfo

“I suppose when it’s looking like that [green pitch], you are going to expect some movement – and there was [movement] – and you can’t control the surface,” Williamson said. “For me, it was just trying to stick to my plans for long periods of time and hope that when you get good balls, you might miss them or they might perhaps go down rather than to the slips.”I think that was sort of the large part of that [innings] and towards the end of my innings, [I was] playing and missing a little bit. There was a little bit [of movement] there, but the surface was certainly getting a bit better [to bat on] coming into today. But I was just trying to stay disciplined and stick to my plan for as long as I could.”ALSO READ: Stats – Williamson doubles his ten-hour tallyOne of the particularly impressive aspects of Williamson’s innings was how well he executed the pull shot, which he put down to dealing well with “steep bounce and a really thick layer of grass [on the pitch]”.”And also with the movement that was there, I still felt that the ball that brings the pads, the stumps and the slip cordon [into play] is still perhaps the most dangerous,” he said. “So [I was] trying to negate that a little bit. It was nice to build partnerships throughout, especially on a surface like that [where] it was quite difficult to start because of the steep nature of the bounce and with the little bit of movement that was there.”The job with the bat has been done, with 519 for 7 declared on the board, and now it’s over to the bowlers from New Zealand’s point of view. By the end of the second day, West Indies had reached 49 without loss with Kraigg Brathwaite and John Campbell in the middle.”The heavy roller went on it and flattened the grass a little bit more, but I think there’s still enough bounce there and swing as well if we can make sure we build pressure,” Williamson said. “I think there’s enough there, but we know West Indies have come off some Test cricket and they’ve got some number of experienced batters in their side. So it’s not going to easy, but it’s important we focus on what we can control and make sure we bring a lot of energy coming into tomorrow.”

The quick bowler is eager to get back into the Test side for Lord’s where he expects there to be a bit more life in the surface

Daniel Brettig in Worcester09-Aug-2019Josh Hazlewood has effectively dared England to prepare green, seaming pitches for the remaining four Ashes Tests, arguing that the balance of the visiting 2019 squad – featuring Pat Cummins, James Pattinson, Mitchell Starc, Peter Siddle, Michael Neser and himself – is far better than the combination chosen four years ago.In 2015, Hazlewood was part of a squad that toured England with a surfeit of fast men, featuring Mitchell Johnson, Starc and Cummins in addition to himself, following the forced retirement of Ryan Harris. But the bombing raid approach only worked for one of the five Tests at Lord’s, as slower, seam-and-swing friendly surfaces did not suit the attack elsewhere, leading finally to a belated recall for Siddle.Having taken 3 for 34 against Worcestershire at New Road, Hazlewood indicated that the bowlers were both content to be used as a flexible squad and confident the right combinations would be found irrespective of what surfaces are prepared at Lord’s, Headingley, Old Trafford and The Oval. The success of Siddle, Cummins and Pattinson in Birmingham, on a pitch that started out as seam-friendly but swiftly dried out into a haven for Nathan Lyon, will force England to look at other options for their pitches.”We’ve got three guys with proper air speed and we’ve got three guys who seam and swing it a little bit, so I think that’s what they’ve got six quicks for, to have all bases covered. And I guess it’s just who’s bowling the best at that particular time and who gets the nod,” Hazlewood said when asked if the balance of bowlers meant England would not be able to prepare pitches unsuited to the Australian bowlers this time around. “I think every quick really feels the pressure of the other five or vice versa, and it’s great competition to have within the squad.”It depends on what the wicket dishes up. If it’s a dry wicket that reverse swing might come into play [on] or very flat, then someone like Mitch Starc can come in to play. If it’s nice and green and seaming around, then it’s myself and Sidds. It just depends on what conditions are, to be honest. They’ve definitely gone a different way to 2015 and I think that’s because of how tight [together] the Tests are, that’s why we’ve got six here, and anyone can do a different job on a different day. It’s getting that balance in the attack.”I think there’ll be a little bit more in it [at Lord’s], but in saying that, probably their best exponent, Jimmy [James Anderson], is not going to play. So that might weigh up different options, but I think there’ll be more in it, maybe just to try to get [Steven] Smithy out. But him batting on those sort of tracks is very hard work. I think it suits us as much as them if there is more in the wicket, so we’ll weigh it up.”At Edgbaston, Hazlewood and Starc had the unusual experience of being left out of a Test match in which both would have been fit to play, something the former admitted he had not experienced since a combination of niggling injuries and declining performance saw him replaced by Siddle for the aforementioned Oval Test in 2015.”Yeah it would be, especially for a Test match – probably last time here I think at The Oval, maybe four years ago. So a while ago,” Hazlewood said. “Coming back from a pretty serious back injury, back-to-back stress fractures, it can take a while to get back in the swing of things, and I feel I’m getting better and better each bowl and last night and today felt really good, so if I can keep improving there and keep putting my hand up every time I get the chance then that’s all you can do.”Sidds has obviously been playing a lot of cricket and I think the other guys picked themselves. Jimmy [Pattinson] has been bowling fantastic for Nottinghamshire and on the Australia A tour and in Southampton as well bowled incredibly. So it’s pretty stiff competition at the moment, and we’ve got Mitch Starc and Michael Neser as well. It’s a great group of guys, we all want everyone else to do really well as a group, and try and win the Ashes as a group of six not just us and them playing.”Lord’s four years ago was arguably Hazlewood’s best match of the series, as he found better control with the Dukes ball and claimed key wickets in each innings in concert with Starc, Johnson and Mitchell Marsh. He is understandably eager for a recall at the home of the game.”I’ve just played the one Test there but thought I got used to the slope pretty quickly and felt pretty comfortable there,” he said. “I think the conditions have been quite bowler friendly there the last few Test matches, so I’d love an opportunity. Obviously I was quite young or inexperienced the first time I played there in a Test match, and it probably passed me by pretty quickly, but just playing at Lord’s in an Ashes Test it doesn’t get much better to be honest and I’m looking forward.”

Rohit Sharma is not being consumed by regret over being dropped for the Afghanistan Test – or not making it big in Test cricket. Instead, he just wants to enjoy the time he has left in the game

PTI29-May-2018India’s limited-overs run-machine Rohit Sharma says there is no point fretting over his start-stop Test career as “half” of his playing days are over. Rohit now just wants to enjoy the remainder of his playing career.”There’s limited time you have as a player and I have finished almost half of it. There’s no point in spending the remaining half thinking whether I’ll be picked or not. I am going forward with the theory of ‘whatever time I have, make it count’,” Rohit told PTI, referring to his below-par record in international red-ball cricket.Despite possessing an impressive record in limited-overs cricket, including three ODI double-hundreds, Rohit has failed to click in the longest format of the game, scoring just 1479 runs at an average of 39.97 from the 25 Tests he has played. Following an inconsistent show in South Africa at the start of 2018, Rohit was left out of India’s squad for the one-off Test against Afghanistan in Bengaluru, starting June 14. He doesn’t have any complaints, saying he is at a stage of his career where he can’t think about selection.”For me, I am not at a stage to worry about whether I’ll be picked or not. I need to enjoy my game. The first five-six years of my career, it was all about ‘oh, will I be picked? Will I play?’ Now it’s all about enjoying the game. These things keeps adding pressure on you. Instead it’s best to enjoy yourself in what you do and give your best.”I got into the national team when I was 20 and I made my Test debut when I was 26. I had an opportunity to make my debut in 2010, but I missed that [due to a freak injury while warming up on the morning of the match]. After that, it made me realise that the more you want, your attitude changes. I have realised there’s a time for everything.”There has to be time and a slot available for it. The seniors – Sachin [Tendulkar], Rahul [Dravid], VVS [Laxman] and Sourav [Ganguly] – were all playing then, so we had to wait. After a point, I realised there’s no point thinking about it. No point in thinking about what the selectors are doing and all.”Asked whether he was surprised by his axing from the Test squad for the Afghanistan match, he replied: “I was not. As I said, I can only keep enjoying my game. There’s no time to regret anything. I’ve had enough time to regret in the past. We have got big events coming up, so best to focus on it.”Rohit also didn’t have the best IPL this season while leading Mumbai Indians, failing to take his side to the playoffs.And the flamboyant right-hander admitted that he failed to live up to his own expectations with the bat.”A disappointing campaign without a doubt. I said many a times during the season that this team was much, much better. I think we had a much better squad than most of the other teams who went on to qualify also. But again, we have ourselves to blame for it. We made too many mistakes,” he said.”And personally for me, it was not a great season. I expected a lot from the standards I have set for myself and the kind of performance I have had lately. I gave myself full chance to go out there and do what I could. I started off well with a few innings and then towards the end when it was needed the most, it didn’t happen, so that was disappointing,” he said.He was particularly critical about his shot selection.”Shot selection,” said Rohit when asked about his area of concern with his batting in the IPL. “But again, shot selection is something that will be talked about when the results are not going your way. But those shots when I play in the first over of the match and it goes out of the stadium, it gets you that momentum the team is looking for.”You have to back yourself to do that. I backed myself but it didn’t come off. When it comes off, you win games; when it doesn’t, you lose. I have been in that situation too often,” he added.Rohit refused to buy the theory that he is a white-ball specialist.”By no means. As a child, all I dreamt of was to play Test cricket and that dream will never be over. Nobody can take away my game or what I think about the game,” Rohit said.”Selectors can do what is best in their control, players will do what is in their control. It’s important to keep focus. When I started playing cricket, there was no white ball cricket. We used to play in school, in age-group cricket with red ball. White ball came much later. As a child, you only saw red ball cricket.”Rohit termed Mumbai Indians’ performance this season as “inconsistent” and said it’s time to reflect upon the year and come out stronger in the next edition.”I thought we were a little inconsistent in whatever we did as a team. We should have put out hands up when needed, including myself, but that didn’t happen, so that was disappointing,” he said. “But again, these things can happen and all you can do is to learn from it and be better at when you are thrown into that situation again.”

Kolkata Knight Riders gunned down a target of 184 without losing a single wicket – a world record in T20 cricket

The Report by Alagappan Muthu07-Apr-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details5:30

Hogg: Bamboozled by Lynn’s six-hitting

Kolkata Knight Riders took down a target of 184 without losing a single wicket – a world record in T20 cricket – and the man that did the heavy lifting was Chris Lynn.Promoted to open the batting for only the second time in 86 T20s, he equalled the franchise’s second-fastest fifty – off 19 balls – put on the IPL’s highest opening partnership – 184* – with Gautam Gambhir and finally secured victory with 5.1 overs to spare.The result – as emphatic as it was – highlighted Gujarat Lions’ weak bowling attack and the mistake they made by choosing four opening batsmen as their overseas players.Lynnsanity – 93 not out off 41 balls, eight sixes, six foursMaking Lynn bat as high as possible makes sense. He smacks fast bowling at an average of 43.10 and at a run-rate of 10.19 an over. At his most recent T20 tournament – the Big Bash – he hit a boundary every four balls.Brendon McCullum, his captain at the Brisbane Heat, told the commentators that the idea of bowling a good length to Lynn was a non-starter. The very length that makes Praveen Kumar and Dhawal Kulkarni potent. As a result, Gujarat Lions’ best bowlers were used for only three out of the first six overs.Left-arm wristspinner Shivil Kaushik, in only his second season of the IPL, and Manpreet Gony, playing in the tournament for the first time since 2013, were asked to pick up the slack in the fielding restrictions. It led to a Knight Riders record as they made their highest score in the Powerplay – 73 runs.Gambhir’s rage – 76 not out off 48 balls, 12 foursGambhir actually outscored Lynn at the start, so much that he made his best score after six overs in the IPL. Of the 40 runs he made in this period, 16 came in a single over off Kaushik, whose unorthodox bowling action tends to affect his control.Kaushik was perhaps introduced into the attack to mess with Lynn’s timing, but Gambhir, being an excellent player of spin, took charge. The head-to-head on the night read 23 runs off 13 balls with five fours.With both ends leaking runs, Lions were simply unsure of what to do. And that was all dandy for the Knight Riders captain, who racked up his 32nd IPL fifty, two short of David Warner’s record.Lions’ bowling woesChasing teams had won four out of five IPL matches in Rajkot before Friday, but Lions would have fancied their chances, all the way up to the point where five of their six bowlers conceded economy rates of 10 and more. Kulkarni was smashed for 42 in 2.5 overs, Gony 32 in two, Kaushik 40 in four , Dwayne Smith 23 in one and Shadab Jakati 30 in three.Two of their first-choice picks – Dwayne Bravo and Ravindra Jadeja – are injured. Their eight overs were sorely missed. Considering the team management would have known that going into the game, it was a surprise that James Faulkner and Andrew Tye were ignored. Their ability to change the pace and bowl yorkers would have been useful in throwing off Lynn and Gambhir, who were basically pressing forward, lining the balls up, and golf-swinging them for six.Whens Lions had it goodFifty three runs in the final four overs. That’s the high Lions were brought down from. Their batsmen had done well to not buckle under pressure through the middle overs. Not even when they made only 39 runs in six overs between the 10th and 16th.Suresh Raina had never made a fifty in his first match of an IPL season. He corrected that with an innings that wasn’t always perfect but pretty useful. If people wanted to point out his four mis-hits fell between fielders, two dropped catches and the missing of an easy run-out chance, he can point to the scoreboard and say he made 68 off 51 balls.Dinesh Karthik was the other batting mastermind. He hit 11.28 runs per over – his second-highest in an innings of 25 balls or more. His 47 was the cameo Lions needed especially after their openers fell after helping put on 52 runs inside the Powerplay.Brendon McCullum smashed Kuldeep Yadav for a six and four before hitting across the line and falling lbw. It was the 21st time he has fallen to left-arm spin in the IPL and now averages 17.80 against it. Jason Roy was undone by Piyush Chawla, which brought his tally against legspin in T20s to 48 runs off 47 balls and five dismissals.

Rubel Hossain, who was a key member of Bangadesh’s pace attack during the 2015 World Cup, has been left out of the BCB’s list of contracted players for 2016

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Feb-2016Rubel Hossain, who was a key member of Bangadesh’s pace attack during the 2015 World Cup, has been left out of the BCB’s list of contracted players for 2016. Rubel has been troubled by injuries in recent months, and has not played for Bangladesh in any format since July 2015.Apart from Rubel, the BCB also omitted opening batsman Anamul Haque and fast bowler Shafiul Islam from its list of contracted players.In place of these three, the BCB awarded contracts to Soumya Sarkar, Sabbir Rahman and Mustafizur Rahman. All three have made big strides in international cricket over the past year, with Sarkar and Sabbir establishing themselves as opener and finisher in Bangladesh’s limited-overs batting line-ups and Mustafizur enjoying a dream debut season that culminated in his selection in the ICC ODI team of the year.List of contracted players for 2016: Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Mominul Haque, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah, Nasir Hossain, Arafat Sunny, Taijul Islam, Mashrafe Mortaza, Al-Amin Hossain, Soumya Sarkar, Sabbir Rahman, Mustafizur Rahman.

Mahela Jayawardene is set to join the Trinidad & Tobago Red Steel in the ongoing Caribbean Premier League

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Aug-2013Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lanka batsman, is set to join the Trinidad & Tobago Red Steel in the ongoing Caribbean Premier League. He tweeted on Thursday morning that he had received a call-up from the franchise. The Sri Lanka batsman will replace South Africa’s Davy Jacobs, who was ruled out following an injury.Jayawardene is expected to fly out to the Caribbean on Thursday afternoon, ahead of T&T’s game against the St Lucia Zouks in Kingston on Saturday. “It’s going to be a long trip to get over there, but I am looking forward to meeting up with the guys as soon as possible and hopefully helping us secure a berth in the CPL semi-finals this coming weekend,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “I’ve always loved playing cricket in the Caribbean, so I am really looking forward to a short stint with T&T Red Steel.”He will be the second Sri Lanka player to feature in the CPL, with Muttiah Muralitharan turning out for the Jamaica Tallawahs. Jawayardene joins Ross Taylor and Kevin O’Brien as one of the franchise’s overseas players. Australian batsman Aaron Finch had earlier withdrawn from the squad to lead Australia A on their tour of South Africa and Zimbabwe.T&T, usually the powerhouse of regional T20 cricket in the Caribbean, suffered a poor start to the franchise-based CPL, losing three consecutive games before producing two wins. With two games to go in the league phase of the tournament, they sit fifth out of six teams on the points table. Their remaining matches are this weekend, against St Lucia – the only team below them on the points table – on Saturday and the Jamaica Tallawahs on Sunday.

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.

Chris Taylor made an unbeaten 192 as Gloucestershire moved into a commanding position in their Division Two game with Kent

21-Jul-2011Gloucestershire 486 for 7 v Kent 205
ScorecardChris Taylor made an unbeaten 192 as Gloucestershire moved into a commanding position in their Division Two game with Kent. The long-serving batsman shared in a fifth-wicket stand of 160 with skipper Alex Gidman (79) as Gloucestershire reached 486 for 7 at Cheltenham in reply to Kent’s 205.Taylor is just four short of his highest score of 196, made against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge in 2001, and has struck 23 fours and a six in his 246-ball innings. David Balcombe was Kent’s most successful bowler with 3 for 92, but it was an off-day for fellow paceman Robbie Joseph, who could only return 1 for 110 in 19 overs.The promotion-chasing home side started the day on 107 for 3 and an eventful first over from Balcombe brought nine runs and the dismissal of nightwatchman David Payne, caught at second slip by Martin van Jaarsveld. Only another four overs were possible before rain brought a 40-minute interruption to play. After the resumption, Taylor and Alex Gidman took full advantage of the short boundaries square of the wicket at the College Ground to keep the scoring rate above four an over.Taylor took three successive boundaries off Simon Cook, all driven through the off-side, on his way to a 61-ball half-century, which he reached just before the lunch interval with Gloucestershire on 204 for 4. Alex Gidman reached his 74-ball half-century with the second of three boundaries he took from a Darren Stevens over, and soon after hit James Tredwell
for a straight six for the second time in his innings.The pair had put on 160 in 35 overs when Alex Gidman played across the line at Joseph and was trapped leg before wicket. His 115-ball innings contained nine fours as well as two sixes.
Ian Cockbain put on 77 for the sixth wicket with Taylor, who hurried to his second century of the summer by taking 14 runs off a Tredwell over.He cover-drove the offspinner for a boundary, hit the next delivery for six over long-on and then struck him for a four through extra cover to reach a 125-ball hundred. Cockbain departed for 19 when he gave a low return catch to Balcombe, but there was no respite for Kent as Will Gidman and Taylor continued to score briskly and bat with few problems on an easy-paced pitch.Will Gidman had contributed 35 to a partnership of 91 when he was caught at slip by Van Jaarsveld off Tredwell. But Van Jaarsveld dropped Taylor on 185, also off Tredwell, and he had added another seven runs when more rain ended play with 14 overs of the day remaining.