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England head to Cardiff for the second ODI with a 1-0 lead over Australia

The Preview by Brydon Coverdale23-Jun-2010

Match facts

The Australians must find a way to keep Eoin Morgan quiet•Getty Images

June 24, 2010, Sophia Gardens
Start time 2.30pm (13.30GMT)

Big picture

A strange thing has happened over the past few months: England have become quite good at limited-overs cricket. They took home the World Twenty20, opened the one-day series with a solid victory at the Rose Bowl and have now won their past six ODIs. It’s an unfamiliar feeling for Ricky Ponting, who over the past decade has lost a couple of Ashes series but has always been involved in a one-day team that had the old rivals covered. They’ve met in 35 ODIs in the past ten years, for 25 Australian wins.But despite the result in Southampton, where England chased Australia’s total with four overs to spare, it was for much of the day a tightly contested battle. Eoin Morgan’s unbeaten century was the difference and Australia know that with a few more runs from their senior batsmen, they have a good chance to draw level. Equally, England realise that it’s risky to rely on one man, so they too require more from the likes of Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Strauss.Australia’s attack remains a weakness and it’s strange to think that while they walk out onto Sophia Gardens, one of their most deadly weapons will be watching on. Shaun Tait is in town as part of Glamorgan’s Twenty20 squad and England’s batsmen are no doubt glad not to be facing his toe-crushing 100mph yorkers and nasty short balls. Australia view Tait as a Twenty20 specialist these days, but he would add an x-factor to the bowling group.One thing is certain: defeat in Cardiff will make it extremely difficult for Australia to fight back and win the series. Ponting said after Tuesday that losses often brought out the best in the Australians. Let’s see if he’s right.

Form guide (last five completed matches)

England WWWWW

Australia LWLWW

Watch out for…

As opening batsman and fifth bowler, Shane Watson is arguably the most important man in Australia’s team. He was the only one of the specialists who scored at better than a run a ball in Southampton, although his aggression also brought his downfall. If he makes another quick start, but this time capitalises, it will help to reduce the pressure on Australia’s undermanned attack.Eoin Morgan‘s wonderful match-winning century at the Rose Bowl confirmed him as the danger man in England’s middle order. Ricky Ponting was unhappy with the was his bowlers fed Morgan half-volleys, but it didn’t much matter where they put the ball against a man in that sort of form.

Team news

Australia sprung a surprise by handing Josh Hazlewood a debut in Southampton, where they expected some bounce in the pitch that could be exploited by the tall teenager. His nervy first ball was a full toss that Kevin Pietersen drove to the boundary, but Hazlewood fought back to take 1 for 41 and the captain Ricky Ponting said “he handled himself pretty well”. Clint McKay was unlucky to miss out and might again be sidelined if Hazlewood is retained. There must be a temptation to bring in Steven Smith, who would add power to the lower order. However, their batting is their strength, so they should rely on their solid top six to post a decent score.Australia (possible) 1 Shane Watson, 2 Tim Paine (wk), 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Michael Clarke, 5 Cameron White, 6 Michael Hussey, 7 James Hopes, 8 Nathan Hauritz, 9 Ryan Harris, 10 Josh Hazlewood, 11 Doug Bollinger.England will be reluctant to change a winning side. Michael Yardy’s inclusion in might have surprised some fans but he proved a very useful bowler and should keep his place.England (probable) 1 Andrew Strauss (capt), 2 Craig Kieswetter (wk), 3 Kevin Pietersen, 4 Paul Collingwood, 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Michael Yardy, 7 Luke Wright, 8 Tim Bresnan, 9 Graeme Swann, 10 Stuart Broad, 11 James Anderson.

Pitch and conditions

Rather perversely, Sophia Gardens is more like an Australian home ground than an English one, quite apart from the fact that it’s Welsh. Australia have played three one-day internationals in Cardiff, although they have only won one. England, on the other hand, have never finished an ODI at the venue, with both their matches having been washed out. The forecast for Thursday says there is the chance of an isolated heavy shower, so Duckworth-Lewis calculations might again be on standby.

Stats and Trivia

• England’s triumph in Southampton was their sixth consecutive ODI victory. If they win in Cardiff, it will be their best winning streak in ODIs since 1997-98
• Thanks to England’s wash-outs in 2006 and 2008, there hasn’t been an ODI result in Cardiff since Australia’s infamous loss to Bangladesh in 2005
• Ricky Ponting needs 51 runs to reach the milestone of 13,000 in one-day internationals – only Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya have achieved that mark
• At 19 years and 165 days, Josh Hazlewood was Australia’s youngest ever ODI debutant. The previous record holder was Ray Bright, who was 19 years and 260 days old when he walked out in Dunedin in 1974

Quotes

“We’re not getting carried away but it’s good to get the series off to a good start.”

“A loss generally brings the best out of us.”

Ricky Ponting looks on the bright side

Chaminda Vaas starred with bat and ball once again as Northamptonshire Steelbacks claimed an impressive win over Durham Dynamos

26-Jun-2010
ScorecardChaminda Vaas continued his impressive all-round form for Northamptonshire•Getty Images

Chaminda Vaas starred with bat and ball once again as Northamptonshire Steelbacks claimed an impressive win over Durham Dynamos. Vaas smashed a superb 73 off 49 balls – including 11 fours and one six – and shared a second-wicket stand of 91 with Ireland wicketkeeper Niall O’Brien as the Steelbacks posted 164 for 5.He then took three wickets for 23 runs with the ball as the Steelbacks then dismissed the Dynamos for 134 with 10 balls to spare.Northamptonshire won the toss and chose to bat first in humid conditions but they lost David Sales with the very first ball when he edged Albie Morkel to Gareth Breese at slip. However, a quickfire 50 partnership off 30 balls between Vaas and O’Brien put the Steelbacks back on track.The pairing was finally broken when O’Brien (37) sliced Breese to Ian Blackwell at fine leg. Vaas went on to reach 50 off 33 balls as he passed his previous best in Twenty20 cricket of 54, made against Worcestershire two weeks ago.Zimbabwe international Elton Chigumbura was then bowled by former England international Blackwell when he swung at and missed his delivery. Vaas’ superb innings came to an end when he launched Blackwell to Durham captain and wicketkeeper Phil Mustard before Nicky Boje was bowled by Ben Stokes.Alex Wakely and captain Hall then guided the hosts through the last three overs, unbeaten on 12 and eight respectively.Chasing 165, the Dynamos lost Mustard with their first ball when he edged Vaas to his opposite number O’Brien. Ross Taylor then two enormous sixes over the leg-side on his way to 24 before falling by edging Lee Daggett to O’Brien.The visitors then lost two quick wickets when Blackwel sliced Boje to Middlebrook at fine leg before youngster Ben Stokes was stumped by O’Brien off Middlebrook to leave Durham struggling on 52 for 4. Dale Benkenstein made 24 before he was run out by Sales at extra cover when Morkel tried to run a quick single off Boje.Breese was dropped by David Willey at backward point off Vaas in the 15th over, but Chigumbura held on to Morkel at long on when the South African hammered Vaas to him. Middlebrook then bowled Breese as Durham began to wilt and the same fate befell Liam Plunkett when Hall took out his middle stump.Will Smith then smashed Hall to Willey at mid off before, fittingly, Vaas finished the match by trapping Steve Harmison lbw.

Andy Flower has challenged Craig Kieswetter to raise his game after a disappointing run of scores during the recent one-day campaign against Australia and Bangladesh

Andrew Miller13-Jul-2010England’s coach, Andy Flower, has challenged Craig Kieswetter to raise his game after a disappointing run of scores during the recent one-day campaign against Australia and Bangladesh, or face the prospect of being dropped for the five ODIs against Pakistan in September that take place after the Test series.Back in February, the South Africa-born Kieswetter was a controversial inclusion in England’s one-day plans, as he was drafted into the squad for the tour of Bangladesh, only days after completing his residency qualification, on the strength of a matchwinning half-century for the England Lions in a warm-up match in Abu Dhabi.He justified that leap of faith by scoring a maiden ODI hundred in his third match, against Bangladesh in Chittagong, and then went on to play a pivotal role in England’s triumphant World Twenty20 campaign in the Caribbean, scoring brisk runs at the top of the order in partnership with Michael Lumb, and sealing the title with a Man-of-the-Match-winning 63 from 49 balls in the final against Australia.Since then, however, his returns have dropped off. Aside from a quickfire 69 against Scotland, he managed 121 runs at 15.12 in eight ODIs against Australia and Bangladesh, and at a tepid strike-rate of 77.07. His highest score in that period was the 38 from 44 balls he scored in the first ODI against the Aussies at the Rose Bowl, while a susceptibility to the moving ball was underlined at Edgbaston on Monday, when he was bowled by Mashrafe Mortaza for a duck, the fourth time his stumps had been rattled in that period.”Craig has had an interesting time of it recently,” said Flower. “He’s gone from scoring a hundred in his third ODI, to getting the Man of the Match award in the Twenty20 World Cup final, and being a World Cup winner, when a lot of English players haven’t [achieved that]. So he’s up there doing that and achieving that, and then he’s had a bit of a hard one-day series. But international cricket can do that to you. It can teach you some lessons and perhaps expose a few doubts.”Given that he is still only 22, Kieswetter’s talent and promise for the future is undisputed, but with a World Cup fast approaching in February next year, Flower is aware of a certain urgency to settle England’s gameplan if they are to emerge as genuine contenders for the title. First and foremost, the onus is on Kieswetter to decide how he wants to craft his innings, and with a two-month hiatus before the one-day squad reassembles in September, Flower has told him that the hard work starts now.”I think in the long run for Craig it might be a very healthy thing to have happened, in that by the time he plays for England again, he’ll need to have made his package stronger,” Flower said. “There are a number of things he can learn from the last nine one-day internationals, and it is his job and responsibility to go away, work hard with Somerset and come back a stronger package.”He’s got to work it out for himself, obviously with some help on the way,” Flower added. “He’s got a good coach at Somerset in Andy Hurry, and some good people to work with like [Marcus] Trescothick, and it’s the same in our set-up, where Graham Gooch has been working with him recently. All those guys might help, but it’s up to Craig to find his method.”His method was pretty uncomplicated at first. Kieswetter was chosen as England’s one-day wicketkeeper ahead of the previous incumbent, Matt Prior, because of his proven ability to pierce the field in the Powerplay overs, particularly with his booming drives up and over the covers. But he’s had less opportunity to display that trait in recent matches, during which time his opening partner Andrew Strauss has shown him that crease occupation is the best means of racking up a score in English conditions.”I don’t really use the word pinch-hitter myself, but he’s an aggressive opening batsman for us, pretty much in the mould of Jayasuriya or Gilchrist,” said Flower. “He’s got the capacity to play that type of game, there’s no doubt about that, because he’s very, very talented, and hits the ball beautifully, as well as I’ve ever seen anyone hit the ball. But he’s got to work out how to score runs. Jayasuriya did it, as an attacking opening bat [and so must he].”Since being dropped from the one-day side, Prior has been scoring runs for fun in county cricket for Sussex, and Flower hinted that a recall to the limited-overs squad would not be out of the question. “There is a difference in English conditions,” he said. “You learn and adjust to the different conditions, that’s one option. The other is that we change our tactics in England, and we’ll make those decisions closer to the Pakistan series.”

Gloucestershire have signed James Fuller, a 20-year-old pace bowler from New Zealand, on a three-year contact

Cricinfo staff26-Aug-2010Gloucestershire have signed James Fuller, a 20-year-old pace bowler from New Zealand, on a three-year contact.Fuller plays for Otago but was born in South Africa and holds a British passport which means he doesn’t qualify as an overseas player. He has also been part of the New Zealand Under-19 team and joined a full training squad in 2010. John Bracewell, the former New Zealand player and coach, is currently in charge at Gloucestershire and links between the two are strong.”The opportunity of playing cricket for Gloucestershire under John Bracewell, on so many famous grounds, and amongst such great players is truly the chance of a lifetime,” Fuller said. “I am extremely grateful to Gloucestershire for having faith in me, and look forward to repaying that through my pace bowling, and allrounder ability”.James Franklin and Hamish Marshall are part of the current Gloucestershire side and Bracewell was looking forward to his latest New Zealand recruit. “It is great news to have signed James as he has enormous potential as a pace bowler and ball striker,” he said. “He is a genuine athlete who has chosen cricket as his profession and Gloucestershire will reap the benefit.”

A round-up of matches from the third day of the BCCI Corporate Trophy

Cricinfo staff03-Sep-2010Group A
India Cements marched into the semi-finals with their second successive bonus-point win, trouncing All India Electricity Board by seven wickets with 22 overs to spare in Vishakapatnam. AIEB were tormented by pace and spin alike after being invited to bat, and eventually stuttered to an inadequate 128 in 41.2 overs. Manoj Tiwary was the only batsman to come to terms with the situation, scoring 43, but there was no support forthcoming from his colleagues. R Ashwin and Shadab Jakati spun their way to combined figures of 6 for 47 in 18.2 overs, while seamer M Raja chipped in with 2 for 29.India Cements’ reply ran into rough weather early with Tiwary scalping three big wickets under the lights to reduce them to 25 for 3 in the 11th over. However, their hopes of an unlikely win were scuppered by contrasting fifties from Abhinav Mukund and Dinesh Karthik. The pair added 109 in 17.1 overs to ensure there was no twist in the tale. Karthik was unbeaten on 62 off 57 with two sixes and five fours, while Mukund had 58 when the winning runs were scored.Group B
Indian Oil Corporation‘s middle order lost their nerve in a tight chase as Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited emerged victorious in a contest that was reduced to 21 overs a side in Chennai. Despite the defeat, IOC edged ahead of BPCL at the top of the table on the basis of net run-rate and qualified for the semi-finals.Chasing 135 for victory, Ravikant Shukla and Rohit Sharma put IOC on course, after early impetus from Wasim Jaffer, by adding 56 in 10.4 overs. With 27 runs needed from 25 balls, Rohit was bowled by Avishkar Salvi and thereafter panic set in. Four wickets fell in quick succession, three of them run out as IOC lost the plot under pressure. Shitanshu Kotak bowled a nerveless couple of overs in the death, including the last over of the match. IOC needed three off the last two balls, but lost wickets off both to fall short.Earlier Rajesh Pawar and Vikrant Yeligati led a strong comeback in the second half of BPCL’s innings, to reduce them from 95 for 2 in the 13th over to a final score of 134 for 9. However, IOC’s batsmen were unable to make their efforts count.Group C
Naman Ohja, the captain, led from the front as a clinical Air India side comprehensively outplayed State Bank of Mysore in Hyderabad. The win gave Air India a clean sweep of their three group matches and put them in the semi-finals.Ohja pummelled 84 from 58 balls, with nine fours and five sixes, as Air India raced to their target of 145 in less than 20 overs, losing one wicket along the way. Ohja and Chandan Madan put on 125 for the first wicket, off 14 overs, and were particularly harsh on Sreenath Aravind, whose four overs went for 54. Madan remained unbeaten on 54.State Bank of Mysore were bowled out for 144 in 39.2 overs, with Air India’s bowlers sharing the wickets around. Left-arm spinner Ankeet Chavan was the pick of them, taking 3 for 30, while seamer Dhawal Kulkarni finished with 3 for 44.M Vijay’s century and Rajagopal Sathish’s late-overs heroics helped Chemplast chase down a target of 289 with relative ease and consign Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited to a five-wicket defeat in Hyderabad. The result had no impact at the top of Group C, with Air India qualifying after winning all their three games.Chemplast’s decision to field came unstuck immediately as Monish Mishra launched into their attack with gay abandon in his 63-ball 80. Arindam Das was more sedate at the other end, scoring 43 off 60 balls in a stand worth 97. After the early damage, Chemplast checked BSNL in the middle overs through the trio of Piyush Chawla, R Jesuraj and Syed Mohammad, who accounted for seven wickets in all. Kuldeep Diwan lashed around for 26 off 11 balls to lift the score to 288.Chemplast’s chase was a perfect example of how to go after tall targets, with the batting line-up supporting Vijay, who ensured he scored a century. Most of the bowlers took some tap, barring Salil Yadav, who picked up 3 for 40, the third of his scalps being Vijay for 112 off 114 balls. With 81 required off 11 overs, BSNL sensed a chance to snatch victory, but Sathish had plans of his own. He smashed four sixes and nine fours in a dazzling display of strokeplay that ended the game with 25 balls to spare.Group DIncome Tax (India) qualified for the semi-finals of the tournament with a comprehensive six-wicket win over MRF in Bangalore. Set a target of 284, Income Tax got a flying start from openers Hiken Shah and Ameya Shrikhande, and raced to victory in under 36 overs, to finish top of the group and qualify for the semi-finals.The opening pair put on 78 in less than eight overs, with Shah making 50 off 28 balls with eight fours and two sixes. His dismissal did not slow Income Tax’s progress, with Shrikhande and Amol Ubarhande adding a further 76 in 7.2 overs. Ubarhande was eventually out for 76, the top score of the innings.MRF’s innings was built around a solid 82 from Venugopal Rao, who put on 96 with Umashankar Sushul for the fourth wicket. Sridharan Sriram chipped in with 58. Parag Khanpurkar was the best of the Income Tax bowlers with 2 for 48.Oil & Natural Gas Corporation bowed out of the tournament with a six-wicket win against State Bank of Patiala, with 27.3 overs to spare, in Bangalore. ONGC’s bowlers stuck to their task after winning the toss, striking at regular intervals to ensure SBP never got going. Munaf Patel began the slide, dismissing openers Ravi Inder Singh and R Rehni in his opening spell. Praveen Kumar kept the pressure on at the other end with a nagging spell before Sumit Narwal and Amit Mishra scythed through the middle order. Late resistance from Sarabjit Ladda took SBP past 100, but it was nowhere near sufficient to trouble ONGC.Despite the early losses of Virat Kohli and Sandeep Sharma, the chase stayed on course thanks to Tanmay Srivastava and Gagan Khoda who struck forties take their side to the brink of victory. Ladda picked two wickets towards the end, but by then the result was in no doubt.Semi-final line-up
Air India v India Cements on September 5
Income Tax (India) v Indian Oil Corporation on September 6

A round-up of the first day of the second round of matches in Division 2 of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Oct-2010Former Test opener Ali Naqvi hit his 13th first-class hundred as Khan Research Laboratories scored 261 for 7 against hosts Hyderabad at the Niaz Stadium. While Naqvi was assured at one end, Hyderabad managed to stay in the game by making frequent breakthroughs from the other. The 80-run stand between Naqvi and captain Mohammad Wasim, who has also played for Pakistan, was the highest alliance of the day as the middle order frittered away starts. Naqvi’s 116 came in over five hours and included 10 fours and two sixes. Kashif Bhatti and Zahid Mahmood were the main wicket takers, finishing with three apiece on a day when neither side could take a clear advantage.Abbottabad‘s captain Wajid Ali struck a boundary-filled 92 but could not rescue his side from stuttering to 246, before his opening bowler Ahmed Jamal picked up two late wickets to leave Lahore Shalimar gasping on an eventful opening day at Abbottabad Cricket Stadium. Shalimar chose to field and had the hosts in trouble immediately, Zia-ul-Haq perishing to the first ball of the day. Wajid walked out at 19 for 2, which quickly became 28 for 3, before repairing the innings through a substantial stand in the company of Riaz Kail. The pair added 161, Kail hitting 12 fours in his 68, to lift their side to a position of dominance. Seamers Aamer Hayat and Arsalan Mir, however, sparked a collapse as Abbottabad’s lower order crumbled to lose 7 for 57 and with it, the initiative. Shalimar were set to take the honours for the day, but with stumps in sight, Jamal dismissed Ali Haider and Rana Adnan off successive balls to leave the game evenly poised.Middle-order batsman Wajiuddin struck an unbeaten ton, while his team-mate Asif Zakir fell six short of one, as Karachi Whites batted themselves into a strong position against Quetta at the National Stadium. Quetta’s decision to field came apart against the hosts who accumulated diligently through the day. The openers added 45 to see away the new ball before Wajiuddin and Zakir eased into a 183-run stand for the third wicket. The pair struck 23 fours between each other, while Wajiuddin also managed to clear the ropes once. Zakir’s wicket was Quetta’s only other success of the day as the hosts surged to 282 for 3 by stumps.Lahore Ravi skittled Pakistan Television for 155, and finished at 40 for 1 to take the upper hand at the Lahore City Cricket Association Ground. The hosts’ effort was spearheaded by seamer Asif Raza who picked up four wickets. The rest of the bowlers supported him well as PTV failed to get going. Junaid Nadir, the No. 10, was the highest scorer with 33 before the innings ended in the 40th over. Lahore had only one blemish on the day, losing opener Farooq Saleem for a duck. Mohammad Saad and Fahad-ul-Haq, however, batted with determination to ensure there were no further losses.State Bank of Pakistan continued to impress on their comeback to the domestic fold, as the middle-order firm of Rameez Alam and Adnan Raees propelled them to a score of 283 for 4 against Peshawar in Mardan. Peshawar claimed an early wicket after choosing to field, but things went steadily downhill for them from there. Shoaib Khan jnr and Mohtashim Ali steadied the ship with a 55-run stand, before Alam and Raees took control. Alam was the aggressor initially, dominating the stand of 104 with his 72 runs coming in just over two hours. Raees took over after his exit, adding an unbroken 98 with Afsar Nawaz. He struck 12 fours and a six in his innings that came off 172 balls and was six short of a ton at stumps.

Yuvraj Singh has signalled his return to form with a blistering double-century for Rest of India against Mumbai on the fourth day of the Irani Cup in Jaipur

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Oct-2010Yuvraj Singh has signalled his return to form with a blistering double-century for Rest of India against Mumbai on the fourth day of the Irani Cup in Jaipur. Yuvraj, who has lost his place in the Test side to Suresh Raina, missed out in the first innings when six of his team-mates made scores of 72 or more.His unbeaten 204 virtually shut Mumbai out of the game, setting them the gargantuan target of 782. Yuvraj was particularly pleased with his knock as it come on the back of a period of injuries and bad form – and 12 months without an international century – which he has termed his “toughest year”.”I wanted to be back in form after long lay-off due to injury. I am happy that I did it,” Yuvraj said at the end of the day’s play. “I was just trying to play straight in the initial phase and had resolved to post a big score. I was trying to play on the merit of the ball. The pitch was nice and the ball was coming nicely onto the bat.”Rest of India had gained a 394-run first-innings lead but Yuvraj had decided not to enforce the follow-on, a decision which has been criticised by former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar, who felt the move was an indicator that teams on the domestic circuit don’t push hard enough for wins.Yuvraj, though, defended his decision. “The pitch is flat and I feel it was very difficult to get opponents out twice on such a surface,” he said. “Our bowlers were too tired so I thought of giving them a bit of a rest and that is why we decided to bat again instead of forcing a follow-on.”Mumbai finished the day on 79 for 0, needing an outlandish 703 more to win the Irani Cup for the first time in more than 12 years.

There was no brotherly love for Michael Hussey as he and Marcus North both failed to secure their Ashes berths at the MCG

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Nov-2010Western Australia 6 for 319 (Voges 91*, Johnson 82*, Robinson 78) v Victoria

ScorecardMichael Hussey departs without scoring after being caught by his brother•Getty Images

There was no brotherly love for Michael Hussey as he and Marcus North both failed to secure their Ashes berths at the MCG. Instead of Hussey, who was caught for 0 by his sibling David, and North (17) setting up Western Australia, they relied on half-centuries to Wes Robinson, Adam Voges and Mitchell Johnson to take them to 6 for 319 against Victoria.Pressure is building on the incumbents after the naming of a 17-man squad for the first Test and Hussey and North did nothing to ease the scrutiny. The only good thing for them was the failure of the young batting specialists in Hobart.Hussey lasted 18 balls before pushing at the medium pace of Andrew McDonald and seeing the ball go to his brother at second slip. At least North managed some time in the middle, staying for 51 deliveries and hitting two fours, before David Hussey dived for his nick off Darren Pattinson.Robinson started slowly after the Warriors were sent in but grew more comfortable during his 78 while Voges took over after tea. Voges finished with 91 and Johnson gained some much-needed confidence ahead of the Test with 82 off 88 balls, including 12 fours and a six. Will Sheridan picked up the lbws of Mitchell Marsh and Luke Ronchi to finish with 2 for 55.

They said he couldn’t perform in international cricket. They said he was just good for IPL and domestic cricket. He proved them wrong tonight

The Bulletin by Sriram Veera07-Dec-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Yusuf Pathan was at his destructive best on a wet evening in Bangalore•AFP

They said he couldn’t perform in international cricket. They said he was good only for IPL and domestic cricket. He proved them wrong tonight. Yusuf Pathan engineered an improbable win for India with a violent hundred, his first in ODIs, and perhaps sealed a World Cup berth for himself. It looked grim for India when they were tottering at 188 for 5 in the 34th over, after the fall of Rohit Sharma, but Pathan pulled off a heist. One game doesn’t guarantee a successful future of course, especially considering that this New Zealand attack wasn’t potent enough to provide a stern test of his weakness against short balls, but Pathan left his past behind with a potentially career-changing innings on a drizzly Bangalore night.  His century overshadowed a superbly-crafted 98 from James Franklin that had allowed New Zealand to reach a daunting total.Pathan declared his intent with two brutal shots. The first came in the 37th over, when play resumed after a one-hour rain break that didn’t reduce any overs and left India needing 113 runs from 14. Yusuf launched a Daniel Vettori delivery into screaming fans beyond long-on and clubbed a length delivery from Kyle Mills over the roof at cow corner. Those two imperious hits gave a feeling, then, that he could pull off a special win.A couple of quiet overs followed but Pathan roused himself in a violent 43rd over: he smashed Mills for three fours – a lofted hit overs cover and two flicks past short fine-leg – before crashing a length delivery for six over midwicket. And when he brought up his maiden hundred with a pulled six, off Andy McKay in the next over, the game was all but over. He found support in Saurabh Tiwary, who intelligently rotated the strike, and the pair gave India a 4-0 lead in the series.It was an incredible effort considering India had lagged behind for a major part of the chase. McKay’s twin strikes to remove Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli in the 10th over and Nathan McCullum’s double-strike to dismiss Yuvraj Singh and Parthiv Patel, who hit his maiden fifty, had pushed India on the back foot. And when Tim Southee had Rohit Sharma hitting straight to mid-off, New Zealand would have been thinking about the win, but Yusuf crushed their hopes with a blinder.As good as their batting was in the end overs, their death bowling nearly lost India the game. Franklin’s knock provided the perfect climax to New Zealand’s spirited approach; the openers attacked to take them to 91 for 2 in the 14th over and the middle-order adapted to the fall of wickets – rebuilding at a slower pace before Franklin’s final flourish.Franklin looted 22 runs in the final over, bowled by Nehra, with some wickedly entertaining big hits: he smashed the second delivery to the straight boundary, the third over long-off, the fourth to midwicket, and the fifth to the wide long-off boundary. It was not, however, a knock of such fury and adrenalin from the start. He had built his innings with conventional shots, such as the one in 47th over, when he was batting with the tail and was under some pressure. He sashayed down the track to Yusuf Pathan, who had just picked up two wickets, and nonchalantly flicked him wide of the deep midwicket fielder. No manic rush or desperation, he simply carried on with his style, sweeping the spinners and flicking and square-driving the seamers to get to his fifty. Only in the final two overs did he explode. It seemed he had done enough to win the game for his team, especially after India’s top-order had collapsed, but Yusuf seized the day.

AB de Villiers offered no excuses after South Africa were bundled out for 131 in their first innings against India in Durban

Firdose Moonda at Kingsmead27-Dec-2010AB de Villiers offered no excuses for South Africa being bundled out for 131 in their first innings against India in Durban. “We batted extremely poorly. There were quite a few soft wickets, but they also bowled well,” he said at the end-of-day press conference.It was as simple as that for the South African number four, who fell to the best delivery Sreesanth bowled all day, a leg-cutter that had him edging to the keeper without scoring. Sreesanth, along with Ishant Sharma, were much better bowlers with the return of India spearhead Zaheer Khan, who made a noticeable impact. “He put us under pressure from the word go,” de Villiers said.de Villiers admitted that India were a more threatening attack than they were in Centurion, where they were unable to dismiss South Africa once. “Their lengths and lines were spot on. They bowled a bit wide to us so we had to leave a few more.” The Indian fight back may have been surprising to some, but de Villiers said that South Africa were bracing for some form of revival from the world’s top ranked Test side. “You expect the No. 1 team to bounce back after a poor performance. They caught us offside today.”Instead of blaming the Durban pitch, known for its bounce and swing, for a third team total in the 130s in three Tests for South Africa, de Villiers said the inept performance made the pitch look more dangerous that what it was. “18 wickets in the day is not a true reflection of how the wicket is playing. It’s playing better than that.” He felt that the batsmen simply needed to push on once they got starts. “When you get to 30 or 40 it gets easier. You get used to the pace, bounce and swing. You can set yourself a nice platform and do nicely.”The discomfort the batsmen felt was evident, however, as only Alviro Petersen and Hashim Amla managed more than 20 runs. With India batting again, VVS Laxman is primed to be the man who settles in and makes that big score. South Africa are aware that he has the ability to take the game away from them and urge the batsmen around him to do the same. “We’ve seen him play big knocks for India before under pressure,” de Villiers said. “He manages the player at the other end well, who is a youngster at the moment. He is definitely a danger man at the moment.”It’s capturing early wickets that South Africa are targeting to prevent Laxman from making himself too comfortable. de Villiers thinks that the bowlers continue to hold advantage as the match goes on, particularly the tweakers. “There’s always going to be something in it for the bowlers, even a little bit of spin Harris and Harbhajan both bowled well, getting a bit of bounce and turn. We’re just going to have to come out here and get a few early wickets and restrict them to 250, which is very chase-able.”We would like to chase something in between 240 and 260. After a very poor performance today, we’d like to come out and prove ourselves and play well again. Even if we have to chase 300, we’ll give it a good go.”