Category Uncategorized

Billy Root adds 77 not out in clash between third and fourth-placed sides in Division Two

ECB Reporters Network20-Sep-2022A career-best double-century for Glamorgan captain David Lloyd put his side in the driving seat in this third vs fourth clash.Glamorgan finished the first day on 380 for 3, gaining four batting bonus points, with Lloyd on 203 not out, his second century coming off just 101 balls as Derbyshire’s bowlers toiled.Glamorgan first class debutant Tom Bevan offered good support with 48 in a century partnership which set the platform, while Billy Root made the most of a move up the order to No. 5 by contributing 77 not out in a partnership of 197.Derbyshire needed a win to overtake Glamorgan and stay in contention for promotion going into the final round of fixtures, but now find themselves with their backs against the wall with the Welsh County looking to push on to a huge first-innings total.Glamorgan were without India’s Shubman Gill with a heavy cold, while they also brought in off spinner Andrew Salter for all-rounder Kiran Carlson. Derbyshire gave a debut to South Wales-born paceman Adam Sylvester.Related

• Sean Dickson to join Somerset from Durham

• Matthew Potts, Ben Raine give Durham upper hand against Sussex

• Good day's work for Middlesex as batters share fifties around

• Gareth Roderick, Brett D'Oliveira make Nottinghamshire wait for fulfilment

With a winner between these sides having a chance to challenge second-placed Middlesex in the final round of matches, Lloyd’s day did not start so well when he lost the toss and was asked to bat on a pitch which had a greenish tinge.Three balls later and Derbyshire had lost opening bowler Ben Aitchison with a rolled ankle, which made the decision to bowl seem a little unfortunate. He did return to bowl one more over, and fielded at slip, but his future fitness in the game is doubtful.Anuj Dal took over the rest of that over and also made the first breakthrough, getting opener Ed Byrom caught behind.Bevan made his first class debut having made his breakthrough this season with a century against Hampshire in the Royal London Cup.He was slower than Lloyd at the other end, but also showed enough promise to mark him out as one for the future. While he has helped steer local side St Fagans to the South Wales Premier League title this season, he is likely to be otherwise engaged next year.He would have been disappointed to miss out on a half-century, attempting to get there in style hitting across the line at spinner Alex Thomson and skying the ball instead.Sam Northeast looked comfortable until he was clean bowled out of the blue with Luis Reece getting the ball to move off the seam.While wickets fell at the other end, Lloyd got better and better. Having moved to his half-century just before lunch, he moved to three figures comfortably before tea, no sign of nerves about his first hundred of the season as he smashed the ball aerially through mid on off Thomson to bring up the landmark.His previous highest score this season was 84, his average in the mid 20s with the allrounder having moved to regularly opening the batting.Soon after tea he surpassed his career-best score of 121 and carried on past 150, with Root offering steady support in another century partnership. Root moved to his half-century off 94 balls as the run rate increased with the second new ball.

Tom Lace makes light work of 90-run chase to seal fourth win in five

Andrew Miller08-May-2021Gloucestershire 93 for 3 (Lace 31*) and 273 (Bracey 75) beat Middlesex 210 (White 76*, Payne 5-31) and 152 (Gubbins 52, Payne 6-56) by seven wicketsDavid Payne has been an under-sung asset in Gloucestershire’s ranks for more than a decade now, but he chose quite the stage, and the circumstances, in which to produce the finest performance of his career. With Sky’s commentators looking on for their impromptu feature match at Lord’s, Payne followed up his first-innings five-for with another haul of 6 for 56 – 11 for 87 all told – to cement his side’s table-topping form with a crushing seven-wicket win over Middlesex.It was Gloucestershire’s fourth win in five, with a draw against Hampshire completing the set, and once again, their batters sealed the deal with ease in the fourth innings – the easiest chase of the lot this time, as Tom Lace, the ex-Middlesex man, completed their pursuit of 90 with a fluent unbeaten 31.It would have been with some foreboding that Middlesex assessed the rain radar as the third day dawned to dank skies across London. It is one of the curses of playing their cricket at Lord’s – a venue that has had drainage like a sieve since the outfield was relaid almost two decades ago – that play was inevitable at some stage of the day, even as the rest of the country’s first-class cricketers were able to peep through their curtains and hit the snooze button on their alarms.And so when play resumed after an early lunch at 1.10pm, the challenge for Middlesex was plain. Get a lead, any lead, before an innings that had already been crippled by three wickets late last night caved in completely. Such is the lack of confidence in a line-up that had already been bowled out for less than 150 in all four of its completed matches this season. In that sort of company, their eventual total of 152 was arguably a sign of progress.What credit Middlesex deserved for their signs of life belonged mainly to Nick Gubbins, who gave himself some sighters in Payne’s opening over of the day, before taking it upon himself to climb into the remaining deficit with three fours in his second – a thick outside edge for four followed by two fuller swings of the bat, through point and long-off respectively, as he aped the proactive approach that Gloucestershire, through James Bracey and Ian Cockbain, had taken in tricky conditions on day two.Gloucestershire, though, reasserted themselves immediately. Ryan Higgins extracted Ethan Bamber, the nightwatchman, before he could open his account, and with a new man now in his sights, Payne dealt Robbie White – Middlesex’s first-innings resistor – an early sucker punch. White’s fifth delivery was a pinpoint inswinger on an off-stump line that he could neither leave nor play, and ended up chopping onto his own stumps for 1.Related

• Gary Ballance, Joe Root raise Yorkshire's hopes against Kent

• Michael Burgess finds new lease of life with century for Warwickshire

• Alastair Cook may rue lean Trent Bridge harvest as Steven Mullaney makes hay

• Dan Douthwaite, Callum Taylor frustrate Lancashire with doughty display for Glamorgan

John Simpson, however, arrived with the right mindset, as he and Gubbins carried Middlesex into credit before doubling down to give their bowlers something to defend in an assertive counterattack.Gubbins climbed into Matt Taylor’s second over of the day with another trio of boundaries, including a blistering drive through extra cover, and as the pair brought up their fifty stand from exactly 50 balls, Gloucestershire’s captain Chris Dent was forced to change tack and bowl dry rather than chasing the magic balls in the helpful conditions.Sure enough, the ploy worked, though with a touch of good fortune. Moments after bringing up an excellent fifty with a flick off the pads, Gubbins was sent on his way for 52 as Payne thudded another swinger into his front pad. It would have been hitting the stumps for sure, but as for the line, DRS would have been in business had Gubbins had recourse to a review. Sadly for him, Sky had only brought their skeleton resources to HQ.At 109 for 6, with a brittle lead of 46, there was only one option left for Middlesex. Simpson sounded the charge with back-to-back fours off Higgins, and Martin Andersson responded by crunching Payne down the ground twice in three balls as he used his reach to cover the movement with a pair of big strides.But when Simpson took the same approach in Payne’s next over, he merely plopped a return catch straight back to the bowler, and three balls later, James Harris had been served his marching orders too, via another perfect full-length inswinger that was far too good for his as-yet static feet. It was Payne’s fifth wicket of the innings and tenth of the match, and the simple but deadly method summed up the consistency of his menace throughout this contest.All that remained was the mopping-up. Andersson attempted to take Payne down before he could get stuck into the tail but flashed a sharp chance to Brathwaite at a solitary slip, who clung on well with a juggle. Thilan Wallalawita then landed some late lusty blows, including a pulled six into the building works that caused a replacement ball to be brought out, but Tim Murtagh couldn’t emulate his young team-mate as he snicked to slip while trying to dump Dan Worrall into the top tier of the new Edrich Stand.Gloucestershire’s reply was as serene as it needed to be in awkward conditions. Dent made the early running before his off-stump was sent cartwheeling by the ever-eager Bamber, while Bracey will perhaps rue an impetuous lofted drive on 13 that plopped into the hands of mid-on – after his excellent 75 on day two, it rather ruined the impression of a man striving for an England berth.Lace, however, didn’t miss a beat. His six boundaries, including a series of sparkling drives, snuffed out any prospect of jitters, as he quickly overhauled a labouring Brathwaite, who barely hit it off the square in a dour 21 from 61 balls. West Indies’ captain, however, seemed to have done enough for a red-inker until Harris slammed an inswinger into his knee-roll, but it mattered not. Gloucestershire are top of the league, and they are looking a very serious outfit right now.

Most of the other major venues have been updated well enough to host international cricket again

Umar Farooq in Rawalpindi15-Dec-2019Day 1: 68 overs of play
Day 2: 17.5 overs
Day 3: 5.2 overs
Day 4: Called off without a ball (teams remained at hotel)
Day 5: Predictable draw
Nine sessions of the Rawalpindi Test were effectively washed out but a full house still turned up for the final day’s play and they were treated to a remarkable innings from Abid Ali. The 32-year old became the first male cricketer to score a century on both his Test and ODI debuts but even his performance couldn’t distract from the fact that the return of Test cricket to Pakistan – the end of 10 years of exile – literally turned into a washout.No ground outside of Rawalpindi and Karachi was considered to host the Sri Lanka Tests, although originally the series itself was expected to take place in October, the best time for cricket in Pakistan.So, over the last four days as rain doused the prospect of an outright result, the PCB has been under the spotlight for their choice of venue. The last 10 Test matches played in northern Punjab in the month of December have all failed to produce a result with an exception of one game against Zimbabwe in 1993. There was one Test in Faisalabad which was abandoned without a ball bowled. Another, in Gujranwala, had weather that was good enough for only 36 overs of cricket.Even so, Rawalpindi was the best option available to the PCB. Multan, Faisalabad and Peshawar have not been upgraded well enough to host international cricket again. Lahore and Karachi do but one city is experiencing heavy smog and the other will host the second Test on Thursday.In the aftermath of the 2009 attacks, logistics – direct flights in and out – and security clearances play a huge part in any match that is played in Pakistan. PCB had prioritised getting Lahore and Karachi ready first and had only recently invited ICC security consultant Reg Dickason to assess the state of affairs in Rawalpindi. Multan is next on the list; it is currently being considered to host four games in PSL 2020. Peshawar is already under renovation. Faisalabad, however, is yet to receive much attention.

It will help with the day-to-day activities of the Competent Authority, which is currently heading up the SLC until fresh elections take place

Madushka Balasuriya12-Nov-2018Sri Lanka’s sports ministry has appointed a five-member advisory committee to assist in Sri Lanka Cricket’s day-to-day operations, until yet-to-be-announced board elections are held. It is expected to share duties with the sports ministry-appointed Competent Authority, which has been heading up SLC since June 1.Comprising president’s counsel Dinal Philips, Samantha Rajapaksa, Mohamed Hisham Jamaldeen, Ranil Pathirana and Lasantha Wickremasinghe, the committee has been mandated with “inculcating corporate and operational efficiency.”An SLC release said: “The new committee will provide guidelines for the SLC management to continue its operations unhindered, whilst it will also focus on inculcating corporate and operational efficiency to SLC operations, going forward”The appointment of this advisory committee – effective November 9 – comes on the heels of three other committee appointments last week, though SLC confirmed that each committee would retain a degree of autonomy and exist independent of each other.”The recently appointed Cricket Advisory Committee, Tournament Committee and the Umpires Committee will co-exist independently and are authorised to take decisions, without interference from any parties on cricket-related matters,” the release concluded.SLC elections have been delayed indefinitely since May 31 after a Court of Appeal found that SLC election protocol had been flouted in the run-up to the elections. While the court subsequently lifted the ban, elections failed to materialise in the months since. The ICC has set a deadline of February 9, 2019 for the SLC to hold its elections.

The West Indies head coach showers praise on his team for dealing with all the negativity so well and turning it around. He also tags Shai Hope a “man of stone”

Alan Gardner30-Aug-2017Having given a steadfast defence of his players in the build-up to the Headingley Test, West Indies head coach Stuart Law has stoked the embers of the criticism aimed at the tourists from all quarters last week and said it would only help fire them up for the series decider at Lord’s.West Indies lost the first Test against England at Edgbaston by an innings and 209 runs, but hit back in Leeds to claim a famous win. Speaking afterwards to Australian radio station , Law said his team had been unfairly written off, but relished their status as underdogs and would be readying themselves to bite England “on the backside” once again when the third Test begins on September 7.”We weren’t given a chance to beat England, since we landed here,” Law said. “We’ve heard it from every part of the media, the written press, , all the ex-cricketers – we weren’t given a chance, mate, so that actually provided us with a lot of fire, a lot of fuel to produce what we’ve done over the last five days.”I know there’s a lot of people eating humble pie, they’re saying nice things about us, but deep down, they don’t believe in us – which is great for us. We’re going to Lord’s, we’ll still be the underdog… I know Aussies love an underdog, I love being an underdog as well, because you can sneak up and bite your opponent on the backside.”We’re going to celebrate this one long and hard, and so we should. But come tomorrow, we start planning and getting ourselves ready for that showdown at Lord’s.”After West Indies lost 19 wickets on the third day at Edgbaston, they met with a fiercely negative reaction. Curtly Ambrose, a West Indies legend who was previously the team’s bowling coach, called their performance “embarrassing”, while former England opener Geoffrey Boycott described Jason Holder’s side as the worst he had seen in 50 years of playing and commentating.Law, who took over as West Indies head coach at the start of the year, said his main focus has been on convincing an inexperienced group that they were good enough to compete.”Credit to the boys, to put up with the amount of criticism that they copped, not just from opposition fans but also their home fans, to come out and turn it around and produce a performance over the last five days was an outstanding effort.”If you get told you’re rubbish nine times out of ten, you’re going to start believing it pretty soon. These guys have copped it every time they’ve taken on the national duties, so for me, it was just a job of instilling that belief and getting people to understand they’re good enough to play at this level. They’ve got the skills, they’ve got the determination, they’ve got the work ethic. Something’s just got to click out in the middle, you’ve got to believe and trust your own game – that was the conversation we had with the batsmen, particularly.”Our bowling’s been pretty good, our fielding’s still not there – we dropped eight chances, so, theoretically, we should have finished the game some time mid-morning yesterday, but that wasn’t the case. Just their belief in their own abilities. Once they believe in themselves, they can play cricket, these kids. I believe that they’re as talented as any other player going around on the planet.”Stuart Law reserved special praise for Shai Hope and likened his strokemaking to Mark Waugh’s•Getty Images

When asked about 23-year old Shai Hope, who hit the winning runs and created history by becoming the first man to score twin centuries in a first-class match at Headingley, Law compared him to former Australia team-mate Mark Waugh, adding that Hope was a “man of stone” who England had been unable to crack.”He’s had a pretty torrid time in international cricket since his introduction. But he has got the talent, and when he gets going, he’s one of the nicest guys to watch. He plays some beautiful drives, cuts and the whip work off his pads – a bit like Mark Waugh. He put it all together, he’s got determination beyond belief, he’s a man of stone. You talk to him, try and crack a joke and he just stonewalls you. I can’t crack him, England haven’t been able to crack him, hopefully that remains the same at Lord’s.”Although West Indies have a chance to win a Test series in England for the first time since 1988, Law was keen not to put additional pressure on the team. He said that the management was in the process of trying to “create a different culture” that would put West Indies on an upward trajectory during his time in the job – initially on a two-year contract.”Improvement for me isn’t necessarily winning the series,” he said. “It means we go out and give a really good account of ourselves at Lord’s again. And if we don’t capitulate and lose in three days, like we did at Edgbaston, I think we’ve improved out of sight and that’s a great step forward for this group.”So far, the signs are looking good. We’re trying to break the culture and create a different culture, which sometimes can take two years. These guys are embracing it, the hard work is now starting to pay off for them… I don’t want to put them under that much pressure. I want them a) to play with a smile on their face, and b) just go out and express themselves. I’m here give them a bit of guidance, a bit of support, a bit of love, and hopefully, they go out and achieve what they want to achieve.”

When it’s the bold brush strokes of a flamboyant dasher like Herschelle Gibbs, watching the paint dry isn’t quite as boring as it’s made out to be

Anand Vasu27-May-2016When it’s the bold brush strokes of a flamboyant dasher like Herschelle Gibbs, watching the paint dry isn’t quite as boring as it’s made out to be. An emphatic display from the South Africans saw them reach the victory target of 109 in just 12 overs to collect four more easy points from their mis-match against Bangladesh at Bloemfontein.With debate raging over the omission of ace paceman Allan Donald, South Africa could not afford to slip up when the match got underway. Well, they didn’t as Bangladesh never really gave the home side a chance to make a mistake. With Monde Zondeki coming in for Donald, Andrew Hall taking Graeme Smith’s place and Robin Peterson getting an outing in place of Nicky Boje, South Africa had no hesitation in putting Bangladesh in when they won the toss.There was no joy whatsoever for the Bangladeshis who are fast becoming the whipping boys of this tournament. Having lost even to Canada, there was little way for Bangladesh to heap fresh disgrace on themselves.Al-Sahariar set the Proteas fast bowlers on their way, losing his wicket before he could get off the mark.Makhaya Ntini then struck, having Mohammad Ashraful (6) caught behind. Next, Pollock accounted for Ehsanul Haq and Bangladesh were down in the dumps at 21/3.Andrew Hall coming into the playing eleven for the first time in this tournament proved his utility straightaway, picking up a wicket with his second delivery. Bowling a good line, Hall tempted batsmen to drive and just a touch of movement was enough to induce edges. Sanwar Hossain, who looked promising for 11 that included one boundary, fell to Hall’s tidy bowling, edging to Jacques Kallis.The constant fall of wickets did nothing to help the Bangladeshi cause. The arrival of fresh legs in the form of Monde Zondeki encouraged the home side. Despite being a bit wayward, Zondeki’s whippy action helped beat the batsmen for pace. If he had bowled a fuller length, the youngster playing in just his second ODI would certainly have better results to show for his effort. In any case, Zondeki removed the dangerous Alok Kapali, caught well by Boeta Dippenaar in the slips and Bangladesh had slipped further towards ruin at 33/5.Eventually, Bangladesh were shot out for a mere 108 in 35.1 overs. The hard hitting of Khaled Mashud and Khaled Mahmud helped Bangladesh avert utter humiliation but was not enough to take them to a respectable total.Skipper Khaled Mashud struck three boundaries in his 67-ball stay at the wicket that earned him 29 runs. Mashud was the top-scorer of the Bangladesh innings.The shot of the Bangladesh innings, however, came from the free-stroking Mahmud, who lofted Robin Peterson over long on for the only six of the innings. In 35 balls, Mahmud contributed 23.With no other batsman reaching 20, extras was the next highest scorer on 20.
For South Africa, Makhaya Ntini was the most successful bowler, picking up 4/24 from 7.1 overs of intense medium-pace bowling.With just 109 needed for an amble to victory, South Africa got off to a brisk start.Nine overs were possible before the scheduled lunch break was taken. In those 54 balls, the South African opening pair of Gibbs and Gary Kirsten clattered 75 runs at a run-rate of 8.33. The openers in their contrasting styles and strengths achieved the same results, scoring 34 each with seven boundaries apiece.Just 34 more runs were required after the resumption of play and there were no frights at all. Only three more overs were required, and no more wickets lost, as South Africa breezed to victory with 38 overs to spare.In putting up an opening partnership of 109, the Gibbs-Kirsten pair became the third most prolific in the game with nine century opening stands. They are now behind the Sachin Tendulkar-Sourav Ganguly (17 century stands) pairing and the legendary pair of Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes, who managed to reach three figures together on 12 occasions.Gibbs (49 not out) and Kirsten (52 not out) barely broke into a sweat in the process.But then again, which of the South Africans were made to sweat in this one-sided game?

Bermuda batsman David Hemp feels that the team’s thumping win over Suriname may be the spark that launches the team to victory in their rematch against USA on Thursday

Peter Della Penna in Indianapolis07-May-2015Bermuda batsman David Hemp has said the thumping win over Suriname may be the spark that launches the team to victory in their rematch against USA on Thursday to keep alive hopes of finishing in the top two at the ICC Americas Division One T20 in Indianapolis. Bermuda came close to beating USA on the opening day before Fahad Babar stole the match with a thrilling assault in the 19th over, but Hemp says the team is prepared for the rematch.”For us we look at USA and we came close, so that’s a game that we feel … well we feel we can win all three,” Hemp told ESPNcricinfo. “Obviously we’ve got to play well to do that but if we don’t believe we can do that we might as well not rock up in a day’s time. We believe we can go forward from here and build on that but we still are going to have to play well and that’s the key to it all.””We felt a little bit hard done by in the first game. We felt we did enough to win that against the USA but one of their players played exceptionally well to bat through and pinch the game at the end. I mean that’s Twenty20. So that was a little bit disappointing.”Bermuda were in a hole following losses to USA and Canada in the first two days of the competition but turned things around on Tuesday with an 87-run win over Suriname. Hemp scored an unbeaten 72 before Bermuda bowled out their opponents for 55. Though Bermuda remained two points behind USA in the standings, the margin of victory over Suriname lifted Bermuda’s net run rate ahead of USA’s.If they can beat USA on Thursday, the teams would be equal on points but Bermuda would hold an edge over USA toward finishing second due to the net run rate tiebreaker. Despite starting the tournament at 0-2, Hemp says the team is not feeling any added pressure to pull off three wins.”For me, Twenty20, the nature of the game is that any side is in it. If you look at past World Cups, your top international sides have lost to Associate countries and that’s similar here. You’ve got to keep believing that you can turn situations around and the game of Twenty20 cricket can change in an over. That’s why you’re never out of the game. Just like the USA game with us, 30 off three and winning it within two overs, so the game can change.”Bermuda have never beaten USA in an ICC T20 tournament match. The closest they came was their very first encounter during the 2010 ICC Americas championship in Bermuda, which USA won by two wickets off the last ball chasing a target of 138. After Sunday’s result, USA held a 6-0 record in the format against Bermuda.

England Women romped to victory in the first of five Twenty20 internationals against West Indies Women, taking just 9.4 overs to chase 72

The Report by Alan Gardner08-Sep-2012
ScorecardLaura Marsh hit a rapid 31 after taking 1 for 11 with her offspin to win Player of the Match•Getty Images

England Women romped to victory in the first of five Twenty20 internationals against West Indies Women, taking just 9.4 overs to chase down a target of 72 and complete their 16th consecutive win in the format. Though the pitches in Sri Lanka will not be quite the same as that at Chester-le-Street, the success of England’s spinners augurs well for the upcoming Women’s World Twenty20 and the chances of the team reclaiming the title they lost to Australia in 2010.England openers, Charlotte Edwards and Laura Marsh, rattled along at almost ten an over, tickling the ball to all parts of the ground. Two strokes from Marsh showcased a combination of power and precision, as she lofted Tremayne Smartt down the pitch for four in the second over and later stepped away to thread a drive through the covers against Shanel Daley.”It was great to start the series off like that,” Marsh, the player of the match, said. “We’re really pleased with our performance today, the opening bowlers bowled brilliantly and the spinners backed them up. We followed up well with the bat to get the job done. We’re all looking forward to carrying this momentum forwards to Old Trafford on Monday.”Marsh put on a 58-run opening stand with Edwards, who was was strong square on both side of the wicket, as the on-looking members of the England men’s side, including Ravi Bopara and Craig Kieswetter, were given a lesson in how to bat on the pitch ahead of their T20 international against South Africa. Although Marsh was stumped trying to slog down the ground and Sarah Taylor chipped to mid-off with six required, Edwards steered the winning single to third man without the need for even a halfway drink.West Indies, missing star allrounder Stafanie Taylor, who was last month nominated for the ICC’s Cricketer of the Year award alongside the likes of Saeed Ajmla and Alastair Cook, decided to bat after winning the toss. They got off to an abysmal start, however, as the ball swung from Katherine Brunt’s very first delivery. Juliana Nero fiddled across the line second ball to be lbw and the left-handed Kycia Knight was also trapped in front by the last delivery, which snaked back in a manner reminiscent of a Vernon Philander inswinger.Worse was to come when Deandra Dottin, holder of the record for the fastest hundred in T20 international cricket (male or female), pushed forward to her third delivery from Anya Shrubsole and was hit on the front pad as the ball again curved in seductively.Captain Merissa Aguilleira lofted Brunt’s slower ball over midwicket for the first four of the West Indies innings, putting on 28 with Shemaine Campbelle, but England’s spinners found turn and bounce to stifle the scoring. After a string of overs that saw seven runs conceded from 21 balls, Campbelle was bowled round her legs by Holly Colvin as she shuffled across her stumps and, after finding Marsh almost impossible to score off, Aguilleira miscued an attacking stroke straight to mid-off.England were tigerish, if occasionally wayward, in the field and Edwards demonstrated the effects of working with specialist coach Cookie Patel this year with a one-handed pick-up and throw from short fine leg to run out Britney Cooper with a direct hit. Taylor’s hands then flashed quicksilver behind the stumps to have Stacy-Ann King stumped first ball before Shanel Daley skewed to point trying to hit across the line against Wyatt.Smartt’s run-a-ball 14 from No. 9 was liveliest knock of the innings as West Indies added 17 from the last three overs to avoid setting a new lowest score in the format. Though that was probably scant consolation.

Roy Dias, the former Sri Lanka batsman, has confirmed he will take over as Oman’s coach

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Aug-2011Roy Dias, the former Sri Lanka batsman, has confirmed he will take over as Oman’s coach. Dias, who played 20 Tests and 58 ODIs in the eighties, has plenty of experience supervising upcoming nations, having spent the past decade in charge of the Nepal team.”I am eagerly waiting to take charge of the Oman national team. The exact terms [of the agreement with Oman Cricket] are being worked out. But as of now, my immediate assignment is to get the team ready for the ACC Twenty20 Cup, which will be played in Nepal in December,” Dias told . “Once I take charge, I would like to get the boys to undergo a proper camp in Nepal in the build-up to the ACC tournament.”Oman won the ACC Twenty20 Cup in 2007, and progressed enough to make it to the qualifying tournament for the 2011 World Cup. However, they fared poorly in that event, finishing 11th to be relegated to the third division of the ICC’s World Cricket League.Dias, 58, said he was familiar with Oman cricket since he had watched the team in various competitions during his time as Nepal coach. “Coaching in Nepal is quite different from coaching in Oman, I am well aware of it. But I will focus on the system that I work in – training the national team while working on building a solid supply line.”I focus a lot on junior cricket, that’s where you get good cricketers from, who you can groom. I tried this method in Nepal. I focused on age-group cricket, and over the years the country began shining in tournaments.”Oman Cricket is expected to formally announce Dias’ appointment next month.

Colin Ingram has been called up to South Africa’s side for the two limited-overs series against Zimbabwe and Pakistan

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Sep-2010Colin Ingram has been called up to South Africa’s side for the two limited-overs series against Zimbabwe and Pakistan, while fast bowler Wayne Parnell has been named in all three squads after recovering from injury. Wicketkeeper Heino Kuhn has taken the injured AB de Villiers’ place for the Twenty20 series against Zimbabwe.Allrounder Jacques Kallis and fast bowler Dale Steyn have both been rested for the two Twenty20 series against Zimbabwe and Pakistan. Kallis recently picked up a neck injury and withdrew from the 2010 Champions League Twenty20 on the advice of Cricket South Africa’s medical team.”They are two key players for the ICC World Cup next year and we need to manage them carefully,” selection convener Andrew Hudson said. “The next ICC World Twenty20 is 18 months away and this also provides us the opportunity to look at several younger players.”Hudson said Ingram, currently playing for the Warriors in the Champions League, deserves his chance at international level after playing “outstanding cricket in both MTN40 and Standard Bank Pro20 domestic competitions.”Ingram topped the 2009/10 MTN40 scoring chart with 600 runs at an average of 60, with one century and five half-centuries, and a strike-rate of 103.62. He followed that up by topping the 2010 Pro20 scoring chart as well, making 283 runs at 47.16 and a strike-rate of 144.38. The Warriors won both tournaments.Fast bowler Rusty Theron and left-arm spinner Robin Peterson both found places in the Twenty20 squads but not the ODI teams. Theron was part South Africa side that played in the 2010 World Twenty20 in the West Indies, but did not get a game.”We only have a relatively small number of ODIs before the World Cup and it is our intention to go in with our strongest combination in all these matches,” Hudson said.Parnell has been cleared to begin playing again next month after needing surgery to fix an injury he suffered while warming up for an IPL match in March. Ryan McLaren misses out on a place in the Test team as a result. De Villiers meanwhile should be fit in time for the ODI series against Zimbabwe, which begins on October 15.Test squad (to play Pakistan): Graeme Smith (capt), Hashim Amla, Johan Botha, Mark Boucher (wk), AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Paul Harris, Jacques Kallis, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Alviro Petersen, Ashwell Prince, Dale Steyn, Lonwabo TsotsobeODI squad (to play Zimbabwe and Pakistan): Graeme Smith (capt), Hashim Amla, Johan Botha, AB de Villiers (wk), JP Duminy, Colin Ingram, Jacques Kallis, Charl Langeveldt, David Miller, Albie Morkel, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Robin Peterson, Dale Steyn, Lonwabo TsotsobeTwenty20 squad (to play Zimbabwe): Johan Botha (capt), Loots Bosman, JP Duminy, Colin Ingram, Heino Kuhn (wk), David Miller, Albie Morkel, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Robin Peterson, Graeme Smith, Rusty Theron, Lonwabo TsotsobeTwenty20 squad (to play Pakistan): Johan Botha (capt), Loots Bosman, AB de Villiers (wk), JP Duminy, Colin Ingram, David Miller, Albie Morkel, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Robin Peterson, Graeme Smith, Rusty Theron, Lonwabo Tsotsobe