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Misbah-ul Haq and Younis Khan defied Zimbabwe with a century stand but the home side still retained the edge after three days

The Report by Siddarth Ravindran05-Sep-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Younis Khan played another combative innings•AFPAll through this Test match, there’s been a wait for Zimbabwe’s inexperienced team to falter. Sure they bowled well when the pitch was fresh in the first session of the game, but could they do it when the track eased up? They did. Sure they bowled well on the first day, but could their brittle batting stand up to Pakistan’s highly rated bowling? They did.The third day was supposed to be the best day for batting in Harare; would their new-look bowling be able to do the job? They certainly started well, bagging three early wickets to consolidate on the 78-run advantage they had after the first innings, causing plenty of excitement over the possibility of Zimbabwe’s first Test win over a top eight side in 12 years.Then they came up against the seasoned firefighters, Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan, who with some old-fashioned Test batting helped Pakistan erase the deficit. There has been a clamour in Pakistan for inducting more youngsters in the team, but it was Pakistan’s two oldest batsmen who revived the side from a precarious 23 for 3 with a 116-run partnership.Both Younis and Misbah were content with preserving their wicket, not searching for quick runs. They were happy to leave everything they could and put away the flashy shots – the reverse-sweep was brought only to counter a 7-2 leg-side field when offspinner Prosper Utseya was operating round the wicket. The pair neutralised Zimbabwe’s limited attack for more than three hours and though they were plenty of half-chances – stumping appeals, inside-edges and bottom edges – the wicket proved elusive.Younis ended the day unbeaten on 76, a significant innings for a man who had only one 50-plus score in his past 10 Test innings, and was phased out of the ODI side earlier this year. He has made his name as a man who scores when the team is down, a reputation he underlined with another combative innings.Though the favourite adjective to describe Pakistan cricket is ‘mercurial’, there is one near certainty when they play – a Misbah half-century. In 10 of his past 13 international innings, he has passed 50, almost all of them after the top order has combusted. On none of those occasions has he gone on to a hundred, and he didn’t today either.Zimbabwe would have been downcast if Pakistan had gone to stumps with only three wickets down. Instead, soon after Misbah reached his fifty, he pushed a catch to cover. Zimbabwe knew just how big a moment it was. The bowler Shingi Masakadza set off on a celebratory run, before pumping his arms and screaming at the skies. In contrast, Misbah was on one knee, bat on the floor with his arms covering his face.Younis and Shafiq safely negotiated the final 11 overs of the day, taking the lead to 90 and ensuring two specialist batsmen were still in the middle.The rescue operation was needed after some good work from Zimbabwe’s bowlers. As in the first innings, they produced the early breakthroughs not with magic deliveries but by sticking to the basics of line and length.The sixth over of the innings, bowled by Tinashe Panyangara, which produced the wicket of Khurram Manzoor showcased their method of operation – pitching the ball up and constantly attacking the stumps, making the batsman play. With several deliveries swerving away in the over, Manzoor decided to shoulder arms to one, which turned out to be a straight ball that thudded onto his pads. It looked a touch high but the umpire thought otherwise, and for the second time in the game, Manzoor’s innings ended early through a tough decision.Azhar Ali, who played a vital role in rescuing Pakistan after their top-order failed in the first innings, couldn’t do the job this time, as the accurate Panyangara had him trapped lbw for a duck. Neither of the opening bowlers provided any cheap runs, and Panyangara’s figures read 7-4-6-2 at one stage.Mohammad Hafeez has had a forgettable 2013 in Tests, and could have added a golden duck to his string of low scores this year, but his first-ball edge landed short of slips. He didn’t last too long anyway, falling tamely after driving a low catch to short cover. His dismissal for 16 left him with a paltry 64 runs in eight innings this year.That strikes only buoyed a resolute Zimbabwe, whose lower order had hung around for more than an hour in the morning session to fatten what had been a slender overnight lead. Saeed Ajmal’s variations proved too much for them, though, and he wiped out the final three wickets to end up with a seven-for, the second of his career. His threat looms large over Zimbabwe over the next two days as well.

The Indian Premier League itinerary could undergo a minor tweakfollowing the announcement of the dates for Karnataka’s assembly elections

Amol Karhadkar21-Mar-2013The Indian Premier League itinerary could undergo a minor tweakfollowing the announcement of the dates for Karnataka’s assembly elections.India’s Election Commission announced on Wednesday that polling forthe assembly elections in Karnataka will be held on May 5. Thishas put a question mark over the staging of the Royal ChallengersBangalore’s home game on May 4 and 6, to be played at the M ChinnaswamyStadium.ESPNcricinfo understands that the Royal Challengers franchise has been in touch withsecurity officials and has also indicated to the IPL authorities thepossibility of enforcing a change in the schedule. “We are in touch withthe concerned people and hope that the issue is resolved at the earliest,”an RCB insider said.IPL chief executive Sundar Raman confirmed that the tournament organisers are touch with thestate government’s security officials. “In case the security officialsconvey that it would be difficult for them to provide security, we mayhave to make a minor change to the schedule,” Raman said.The RCB are scheduled to host Kings XI Punjab on May 4 and SunrisersHyderabad on May 6.

Mumbai Police has seized “what appear to be” the belongings of Sreesanth and Jiju Janardhan – both arrested by Delhi police on spot-fixing allegations – from hotel rooms booked in their names at a five-star hotel in Mumbai

ESPNcricinfo staff18-May-2013Mumbai Police has seized “what appear to be” the belongings of Sreesanth and Jiju Janardhan – both arrested by Delhi Police on spot-fixing allegations – from hotel rooms booked in their names at a five-star hotel in Mumbai. The police has received legal permission to take mirror images of the laptop and also CCTV footage from the hotel to further investigate into the whole scandal.Items seized include laptops, iPads, mobile phones, diaries written in English and “what appears to be” Malayalam, and cricket kits. Himanshu Roy, joint commissioner of police (crime) in Mumbai, said they had reason to believe the items belonged to Sreesanth and Janardhan, and that they will be important clues in the ongoing investigations.Sreesanth’s room was not in the hotel where the Rajasthan Royals team stayed for their match against Mumbai Indians. Sreesanth was reportedly told in Jaipur that he was not playing the match, and only a compact group of 13 or 14 players was to travel. “Yesterday we received information that Sreesanth had independently booked himself into a five-star hotel,” Roy said. “I say independent because this is not where his team stayed.”We worked out that information. Yesterday we searched two rooms, which were issued in the names of Sreesanth and Jiju Janardhan. The search of Sreesanth’s room shows that it was lived in, it was inhabited. We have recovered a laptop, which is here before you, an iPad, a mobile phone, cash, a data card, some diaries which appear to be in the handwriting of Sreesanth – some [in] English, some [in] what appears to be Malayalam. We have also recovered some cricket kit, clothing etc.”The search of the other room shows it was lived in. We have recovered an iPad, a mobile phone and some personal belongings.” Roy didn’t rule out asking for the custody of Sreesanth and Janardhan depending on what their investigations further reveal.Roy said the hotel rooms were booked by Tamarind Tours and Travels. “We have tried to recreate events that led to the booking of this room,” Roy said. “We have reason to believe Sreeanth and Jiju checked into the hotel late in the night on the 13th of this month. We are recreating their movements on the 14th and the 15th.”We are also in the process of obtaining CCTV feed to understand who are the visitors, if any, who visited him when he was staying there. What were his movements? We have obtained the permission to take a mirror image of the laptops and phones, so that we can begin the process of analysing these gadgets to further aid our investigation. We believe seizure is important given the direction in which the spot-fixing investigations are headed.”On May 14 – more than a day before the three cricketers were arrested – police also arrested an alleged bookmaker called Ramesh Vyas from Mumbai’s Kalbadevi area. The items seized there, Roy said, led them to names of bookies who are also being investigated by Delhi Police.Roy said 13 of the 92 mobile phones seized from Vyas’ premises “were used by him to facilitate connecting Indian bookies with bookies in Pakistan via conference call”. Roy said the police has arrested two more bookies – named Praveen Bera and Pankaj Shah (alias Lotus, alias Pappu) – subsequent to that first arrest.”The interrogation of Ramesh Vyas revealed that he was in touch with certain bookies whose names had figured in the current IPL fixing issue,” Roy said. “We followed this lead, and we also found that the same bookies not only figure in calls made by Ramesh Vyas, but his account books also have transactions in them that lead to common bookies.”After we arrested Ramesh Vyas, we recovered his accounts book, which showed names of bookies that the Delhi Police is also investigating. Some of those bookies, it is reported, have been in touch with these players.”Cases have been registered under the Gambling Act and Indian Penal Code sections that pertain to cheating and forgery. All charges are non-bailable, Roy said.

In 12 months, 17-year-old quick Holly Ferling has gone from playing club cricket with her younger brother to impressing on the biggest stage in the women’s game

Abhishek Purohit in Mumbai18-Feb-2013A couple of hours after Australia had won their sixth Women’s World Cup, three of their players walked onto the outfield of Brabourne Stadium and lay down in the sea of confetti that covered the ground following their celebrations. Seeing that, an excited Holly Ferling raced towards them from the dressing room, her speed matching that of her run-up. She poured still more confetti on a team-mate, clicked photographs and then leaped onto the back of another team-mate who carried her all the way to the dressing room.Seventeen-year-old Ferling, the “baby of the team” in her own words, had been in tears before the start of the final when informed by her idol, Ellyse Perry, who’d missed the Super Sixes stage with injury, that she was replacing her for the big game. Overcoming her disappointment, Ferling had hustled drinks to the middle with all the enthusiasm of the teenager she is, feeling “more nervous” than the batters themselves. She’d hesitated to walk across the TV cameras stationed just outside the boundary rope, stopping to gingerly ask for permission from the cameramen. She’d heard people calling out her name, posed for pictures, and signed autographs, all the while “pinching” herself to confirm all this wasn’t the dream of a “star-struck” girl.A day earlier, Ferling couldn’t stop laughing while speaking. She was sharing space with women such as Perry, Cathryn Fitzpatrick, Lisa Sthalekar. It had been an “unreal” 12 months for Ferling, in which she’d gone from playing club cricket with her younger brother to delighting audiences on the biggest stage with her pace, her bounce, her vivacity and her joyous celebrations.Ferling’s goal this year was to make her state debut for Queensland. Little did she know what was in store. “I will never forget this,” Ferling said with sparkling eyes and a permanent grin on her face. “I was playing age-group stuff. I was playing my grand final for my A-grade team [in club cricket]. I was Queensland Junior Cricketer of the Year [the first woman to win the award]. I went to Sri Lanka [with the World Twenty20 squad], made the Shooting Stars group [the junior national side]. It is an absolute honour … so hard to put into words. This is something you only dream about, to grow from making my state debut to making my international debut in months.”I am really very star-struck to be honest. It was the time I went to Sri Lanka, I had seen some of these girls on television, I hadn’t actually played with any of them. I didn’t know what to expect. I was like, ‘I am training alongside my heroes, sharing a room with them.'”Ferling said all she had been told to do in the tournament was to run in and bowl fast, and credited her use of the bouncer to growing up playing alongside men, especially her brother. “I do love my bouncer. I worked on it playing against the men, having a variation when they are coming at me. I definitely wanted to have it against my brother if he ever annoyed me. He is over six foot now and he is learning to bowl them back at me. It fires me up.”He plays for the same club as me. I was an opening bowler and he was an opening batter. It worked out well until he started getting stronger and older and started hitting me. Now he is bowling even quicker. I have had to improve my batting otherwise I am going to get hit. He likes the short one as well.”Ferling obviously shares a close relationship with her brother, who told people at the pub he works in to go home and watch his sister play for Australia in the World Cup. In the team, Ferling’s guide was the captain Jodie Fields. “She is my club captain and my state captain as well, someone I know really well and trust.”At 17, Ferling had the chance to witness how “fanatical” people are about the game in India. She found it “incredible” they knew her name and wanted her autograph. Fielding in the deep, she would struggle to hear her captain’s instructions amid the crowd’s cries in Cuttack.She relates all this without pausing for breath, with the infectious zest of a teenager who’s having the experience of her life and can’t wait to tell it all to whoever is willing to listen. Holly Ferling, 17, World Cup winner. “Incredible” indeed.

Delhi Daredevils fought in the field after a meek showing with the bat, but Sunrisers Hyderabad prevailed in a low-scorer at the Feroz Shah Kotla, as Dale Steyn hit the winning runs with four balls to spare

The Report by Andrew Fidel Fernando12-Apr-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAmit Mishra made an impact with bat and ball for Sunrisers•BCCIDelhi Daredevils fought in the field after a meek showing with the bat, but Sunrisers Hyderabad prevailed in a low-scorer at the Feroz Shah Kotla, as Dale Steyn hit the winning runs with four balls to spare, after having been the Daredevils’ chief antagonist during their innings. The hosts’ spinners brought their side into the game by making regular breakthroughs in a tight middle spell, but in the end Daredevils’ 114 proved to be too few, despite the pitch having slowed considerably since their time in the middle.Steyn’s outstanding opening spell was the catalyst for Daredevils’ collapse, even if Ishant Sharma finished with more wickets from the early overs. Steyn cramped David Warner for space with three fast, swinging, good length balls in the first over, before Warner attempted to break the shackles by going over mid-on, only to mistime the ball and offer a simple catch to the fielder there. While Steyn proved difficult to get away at one end, Mahela Jayawardene and Virender Sehwag targeted Sharma’s overs in order to establish some impetus, and they perished in consecutive balls in the fifth over, both attempting expansive strokes.The three big, early wickets worked to slow Daredevils’ progress, and the middle order batted tentatively, though often not safely. When Johan Botha cut one straight to point at the end of the 9th over, Daredevils were crawling at less than five an over, and they could not surge far beyond five an over at any stage in their innings.Amit Mishra bowled his four overs for 15 runs and took one wicket, and Thisara Perera broke the longest partnership of the innings – a 30-run stand between Irfan Pathan and Kedar Jadhav – before it could do his side much harm, but it was Steyn who returned to sting Daredevils at the death, and he finished with deserved figures of 2 for 11 from his full quota.Sunrisers had a solid enough base at the top of the chase, and the 44-run second-wicket stand between Parthiv Patel and Kumar Sangakkara proved invaluable, given the wobble that followed. Reasoning that only an aggressive approach would see him defend such a paltry score, Jayawardene maintained a slip throughout the innings, and brought men into the circles in the middle overs to cut off the singles as well as function as catching fielders. The ploy worked through the middle overs, as they claimed four wickets for 25 runs, in 40 deliveries. Parthiv first offered a simple leading edge to bowler Shahbaz Nadeem, misjudging one that stopped on the pitch, before Sangakkara, who had played some sublime strokes in the early overs, edged to slip attempting a late cut. Cameron White then charged Nadeem in the 14th over, and missed the ball by a distance, to find himself stumped, before Hanuma Vihari stroked Morne Morkel to mid-off, attempting to clear the tight infield.But their target was so low, Sunrisers only needed busy mini-partnerships to near it, and they kept their heads above water with runs that came in spurts. Ashish Reddy hit 16 from 9, and Mishra remained unbeaten on 16, to guide the chase home, with three wickets remaining. The Daredevils slid to their fourth-straight defeat, still waiting to open their account in the tournament.

Ben Cutting, the Queensland fast bowler, has become the third paceman to withdraw from Australia A’s tour of England due to injury

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Jul-2012Ben Cutting, the Queensland fast bowler, has become the third paceman to withdraw from Australia A’s tour of England due to injury, flying home following the conclusion of the tourists’ opening match against Derbyshire.Cutting, 25, had not been selected in the XI for the match, and was diagnosed with a back problem that necessitated his return home.In departing early from the tour, Cutting joined Pat Cummins and James Pattinson as fast bowlers unable to gain valuable experience in English climes on the tour due to injury.Cummins did not make the start of the tour, picking up a side strain during the preceding ODI tour by the senior team and heading home to Sydney.Pattinson played in the final two matches of that series before complaining of an abdominal strain and being sent home as Australia A prepared for their tour with a training camp in Southampton.Alister McDermott and Nathan Coulter-Nile were called into the squad in place of Cummins and Pattinson, and Cutting’s injury has enhanced their chances of taking part in the next match of the tour, against Durham from Wednesday.

Andy Flower has said the successful blooding of a new generation of cricketers in the recent one-day series against India will provide an extra incentive for his senior players in the Test team to keep up the good work

Andrew Miller18-Sep-2011Andy Flower, the England coach, has said the successful blooding of a new generation of cricketers in the recent one-day series against India will provide an extra incentive for his senior players in the Test team to build on the high standards they produced in their rise to the top of the world rankings.Speaking in the aftermath of England’s impressive six-wicket win in the fifth and final ODI in Cardiff – a result which handed them a comprehensive 3-0 scoreline – Flower reflected that the international season “couldn’t have gone much better”. Nevertheless, he warned of the dangers of self-satisfaction creeping into the squad’s mentality, and said any player who dared to rest on his laurels risked paying for that attitude with his place.”I am delighted with the way the summer has gone, but at the risk of repeating ourselves we don’t just want to put our feet up and say, ‘Gee, it’s a lovely little time we have had together’,” said Flower. “If people aren’t hungry enough then I don’t think they will keep up with the side. They will drop out or be dropped out.”The hunger is very important because it drives you to train harder, it drives you to get out of bed early in the morning to go training. It drives you to do the extra work and to do your skills practice. To keep the weight off your body. It drives you to be inquisitive about maximising your potential.”If there is any self-satisfaction or too much contentment it can take you into a dangerous place. Our philosophy is to look forward and at the challenges ahead as opposed to those behind us. If you do look behind you, you are not planning properly for the future.”The dramatic arrival of the 21-year-old Yorkshire batsman Jonny Bairstow is a case in point. His nerveless debut innings of 41 not out from 21 balls not only secured a notable victory in a stiff run-chase in Cardiff, it served notice of the talent challenging for regular places in the England team, and reminded those players currently on the sidelines – Eoin Morgan and Kevin Pietersen among them – that competition is healthy.”I can’t remember a debut like that,” said Flower. “It was very clean and impressive hitting. Not many people can strike it as cleanly as that. Not many people are that talented. He should be very proud of his performance and it is great to make an impact in international cricket straightaway, but let’s all keep level heads about it. Talk is cheap, but he did it with his actions, and he will continually be asked questions to repeat his performances out there in the middle when the pressure is on.”As Flower suggested, Bairstow’s “innocence” at international level may have helped him to shrug off the pressures of the match situation, and play each of his 21 balls on its merits. Though he wouldn’t be drawn on specific matters of selection ahead of the tour of India next month, Flower used an analogy from his own playing days with Zimbabwe to highlight the situation that England have now reached, with so many candidates pressing their claims for places in England’s various teams.”What it does re-emphasise to me is that opportunity is very important,” said Flower. “When we were given Test status, I was a little skeptical that we deserved it as a Test-playing nation, but I thought, ‘wow, what an opportunity’. I never thought I’d play international cricket. You’ve been given a chance, try to do something with it. These young guys have been given a chance and it’s very interesting to see how they’ve done against similar opposition. I think that’s been very informative for everyone and very exciting for the future of English cricket.”England’s one-day campaign hasn’t just been about Bairstow’s performance. Steven Finn filled the void left by James Anderson and Stuart Broad in Cardiff with his best spell to date in one-day cricket, while Jade Dernbach has shown the potential to become a truly innovative bowler, even if he hasn’t quite learned when to use his many slower-ball variations. Ravi Bopara overcame a torrid start to the series to produce key innings in each of the last three games, and Flower was delighted with the overall direction of his team.”The guys have been grabbing their opportunities, which is outstanding,” said Flower. “We have got a little bit of exposure into Ben Stokes – it has been exciting working with him – he is an exciting young player and a really good young man. Dernbach has got more exposure and experience against a really good one-day side, so a lot of good things have happened.”I have only been doing this job two-and-a-half years and a lot has happened – it is amazing how quickly things happen.”•Getty Images”We’ve won in difficult situations – it has been a really good series in that regard,” added Flower. “We rested KP, we played Bell at No. 4, then through injuries other people have got chances. Finn, in the two chances we have given him, has been outstanding. His figures don’t suggest so but he looked really exciting as a fast bowler and he is going to be an integral part of the England attack over the next few years. Bairstow last night got his one chance and grabbed it with both hands, and it was nice for Ravi to see it right through to the end last night.”On a personal note, Flower was adamant that his own hunger for the England job matches that which he expects of his charges, not least having witnessed the sort of potential that has been displayed in the past fortnight.”I am excited,” he said. “I have only been doing this job two-and-a-half years and a lot has happened – it is amazing how quickly things happen. When I was given the job I said I wanted to make a difference and I still hope that can occur in the next couple of years. I am very proud of the way the guys are performing and it is interesting to see how the three captains [approach] pans out.”I am sure most coaches are the same – coaches or captains – you shouldn’t need motivation to play for your country. There are plenty of reasons to be motivated. It is more about channeling that energy and making sure it is organised and making sure, as far as possible, individuals are maximising their potential. I don’t think it is so much motivation – it is more how we manage that.”The side is going to vary along the way but English cricket has good resources – both financial and human. There are proud cricketing nations out there that are just as hungry as us so it is going to be a good battle. We can achieve very good things. That was a very young side we had out there – Swann I assume was the oldest – so that is a very young side to beat India.”

David Wainwright took his third five-wicket haul of the season as Essex were dismissed for 182 after choosing to bat

Alex Winter at Chelmsford23-May-2012
ScorecardDerbyshire spinner David Wainwright has had remarkable success since making the move from Yorkshire•Getty ImagesWhat a difference a spinner makes. Last season Derbyshire had no specialist spinner to call on and won five matches; this season, after six games, they have won three. The contribution of slow left-armer David Wainwright in all three results has been significant. Here, his third five-wicket haul of the season has already set up the chance of a fourth victory.His impact was, by Wainwright’s own admission, unexpected. The pitch looked a well-mannered first-day surface but when Wainwright was handed the ball for the 26th over, his first delivery bounced and turned sharply on Owais Shah, who got a thin edge to Tom Poynton. A cracker.Umpire Martin Bodenham said Shah did very well to nick it, which seemed like a flawed compliment. This was Shah’s first innings of the season for Essex after playing for Rajasthan in the IPL, where he would have encountered high quality spin but perhaps played it in an entirely different manner. He probably didn’t practise simply trying to keep out such a vicious delivery.There were glimpses of IPL mode from Shah. He went at the ball very hard – a tactic that wouldn’t have worked for long a few weeks ago but, in the sunshine against minimal sideways movement, proved adequate. But no matter where anyone had been playing, Wainwright’s ball was too good.That delivery was the start of spell which dismissed Essex for a below-par score. There was movement to deal with, nervy moments, unplayable balls and the wicket of Paul Borrington for Derbyshire as they faced 15 overs before the close but they will expect plenty of runs from this pitch on this small ground. They would have also batted first given the option but it was Essex that wanted to make first use of the wicket and Essex who succumbed to a bowler reborn.Wainwright spent eight seasons at Yorkshire and got wound into fear: of being behind Adil Rashid; of rarely being picked; of going for runs when he did play. His move down the M1 in the winter lifted him away from those clouds which were preventing his talent being displayed: talent which has already helped Derbyshire to the top of Division Two. On debut, his second-innings 6 for 33 was his career-best return and bowled Derbyshire to victory against Northamptonshire. Last week against Glamorgan, 5 for 51 was the match-winning haul. Between his bowling successes came 51 not out in the reverse fixture against Glamorgan – an innings which set a target Derbyshire defended.”I’ve bowled more overs than I’ve ever bowled in a season already,” Wainwright said. “I got myself in a bubble at Yorkshire. Year after year I’d turn up to games and if it was cloudy, they’d only play one spinner and I’d miss out again. The move has given me a new outlook on the game. There’s less pressure. It’s a relief to turn up to a game and think I’ll be playing today.”I looked at the pitch and it looked good, I was gearing myself up for third, fourth day. But the first ball bounced and spun and I didn’t look back. I try to be on it from ball one, I give it a bit of a rip and see what happens.”What happened was Shah’s dismissal, part of a remarkable set of four new spells, three of which brought wickets with the first ball. His second spell saw Ben Foakes edge another spinning, bouncing ball behind. Three balls later, James Foster was edging a forward push to slip. Before tea, in the same spell, Greg Smith was superbly held low at short leg and after tea, another change of ends brought Mark Pettini’s wicket – driving back to Wainwright after an valuable 132-ball half-century.The changing of ends was out of necessity – the seamers held sway. “I was just the middle man,” Wainwright said. “I said I’ll bowl wherever – that’s generally what happens, the spinner doesn’t get a say until the second innings.” His preference may have been ignored but he benefitted from the changes, finding more spin from the Hayes Close End, where he first bowled, and more bounce from the River End, where three of his wickets came.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shami Ahmed and Amit Mishra have been picked for the ODIs against Pakistan

Amol Karhadkar23-Dec-2012India made six changes to India’s ODI squad that had toured Sri Lanka in July and August this year, for the three-match ODI series against Pakistan, starting December 30. Virender Sehwag survived the axe on a day Sachin Tendulkar retired from ODI cricket but Zaheer Khan was not considered for the high-profile series.The selectors, who met captain MS Dhoni and coach Duncan Fletcher at the BCCI headquarters, replaced allrounder Irfan Pathan, fast bowler Umesh Yadav and middle-order batsman Manoj Tiwary, who are all nursing injuries. The selection committee headed by Sandeep Patil also decided to leave out Zaheer and the spin duo of Pragyan Ojha and Rahul Sharma. The six men who have come in their place are Yuvraj Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Shami Ahmed and Amit Mishra.While Yuvraj, Jadeja and Ishant’s inclusion was expected, Bhuvneshwar, the Uttar Pradesh allrounder and Shami, the Bengal seamer, have been rewarded for their consistent performances on the domestic circuit and India A tours. Legspinner Mishra’s inclusion in the ODIs was a big surprise. Though there is not much to choose between Mishra and Piyush Chawla when it comes to leg-spin bowling, Mishra’s fielding has been a big weakness. Besides, he has had a prolonged problem of overstepping while bowling.There are doubts over whether Sehwag will play in the 2015 World Cup. He was dropped for the Asia Cup in March following a poor CB Series in Australia. However, he showed glimpses of regaining his form. Still, Sehwag averages only 23.66 from his previous nine games, with just one 50-plus score, since scoring a world-record 219 against West Indies last December.In Zaheer’s case, it was a mutual understanding between the bowler, the team management and the selectors that he would concentrate on being in shape for the Australia Test series in February. However, if Zaheer improves on his fitness and his domestic team Mumbai are unable to make it to the Ranji Trophy knockouts, it won’t be surprising if he plays a part during the ODI series against England, starting January 11.The selectors did not make any changes to the T20 squad that played England in a just-concluded two-match series. The T20 series against Pakistan starts on December 25 in Bangalore.T20 squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Capt), Gautam Gambhir, Ajinkya Rahane, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Ashok Dinda, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Parvinder Awana, Piyush Chawla, Ambati Rayudu.ODI squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Capt), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Ashok Dinda, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shami Ahmed, Amit Mishra.

In the space of a week, AB de Villiers has gone from captaining a team for the first time at any level, to winning an international series with two matches to spare

Firdose Moonda18-Jan-2012In the space of a week, AB de Villiers has gone from captaining a team for the first time at any level, to winning an international series with two matches to spare. He’d be forgiven for thinking leadership is one of the easiest things he has been asked to do. But he doesn’t.Of all the players in the South African side over the past year, de Villiers developed the most. From a rough and tumble, schoolboy-style youngster as recently as during the 2011 World Cup, he has become a reasoning, sensible man whom anyone would want to call their captain. He also showed the ability to motivate, guide, think creatively and strategise, which are essential qualities for a leader of men.”I am very proud of the boys. We took it one game at a time. I would like to think we will keep playing this kind of cricket,” de Villiers said after the victory in Bloemfontein, which gave South Africa a 3-0 lead in the series against Sri Lanka. “We showed a lot of maturity, and a lot of young guys that came in showed experience. We didn’t expect it to be 3-nil but we are very happy that it is.”South Africa managed to stay one step ahead of Sri Lanka even as the visitors took large strides towards improvement. The closest South Africa came to being caught was in Bloemfontein, but de Villiers lead the charge in a pressure situation to win despite wet weather. “The game was in the balance a little bit but I’m glad we got there in the end,” he said.One of South Africa’s successful tactics was the rotation of the No. 4 position between de Villiers, JP Duminy and Faf du Plessis. In the third ODI, du Plessis came up the order and made his highest ODI score, 72, and de Villiers said they would keep the position fluid. “I warned you guys that we are going to mix it up a little bit,” he joked. “I needed to bat down the order because it was important to get partnerships in the front.”du Plessis said he was “grateful” to get the opportunity to spend more time in the middle. “In the previous two games, I got two or three overs at the end so it was nice to go out and express myself.” He also expressed himself in the field, where he effected a run-out to dismiss Kumar Sangakkara and saved lots of runs at point.de Villiers also lauded a “much better” fielding effort by South Africa. Although they dropped four chances and missed five run-out opportunities, they caught four batsmen and ran out three others. de Villiers, however, said they had to improve and were not “a perfect team”.With the series won, de Villiers said the focus would be on “4-nil first” in Kimberley on Friday, because thoughts turn to a whitewash. It will also provide an opportunity to test new combinations, something South Africa started in Bloemfontein but can apply with more freedom in the remaining two fixtures.”We could have one or two bowlers coming in but the batting will stay more or less the same,” de Villiers said. South Africa had a new-look top three in Bloemfontein and de Villiers said they were likely to stick with that for the next two matches. “Colin [Ingram] deserves another chance at No. 3.”de Villiers also indicated that out-of-form batsman Graeme Smith would stay in the side, despite mounting criticism. Smith’s last ODI hundred was during the Champions Tophy in 2009 and he has managed only one half-century in his previous 15 matches. With Alviro Petersen in good form, talk is rife that Smith will dropped once Hashim Amla returns from paternity leave.”His [Smith’s] confidence is not very high at the moment but I am expecting runs very soon,” de Villiers said. “We know he is under pressure and we have to remember that no-one is invincible. Poor form is around the corner for all of us. But he is one of those big match players and he is old enough and experienced enough to know what to do. All we can do is support him.”Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Lonwabo Tsotsobe served South Africa well but two of them may make way for Vernon Philander and Wayne Parnell in the remaining games against Sri Lanka. Philander was brought into the squad after an injury to Rory Kleinveldt, but Parnell has been part of the group from the outset but has yet to get a look in.