Month: February 2016

Glamorgan have concluded their search for a new head coach with the appointment of former England spinner Robert Croft. Croft, who spent 28 years with the county, has signed a rolling contract at the SSE SWALEC after emerging as the preferred candidate following a recruitment process led by chief executive Hugh Morris. The 45-year-old, who is currently with the England team in South Africa in his capacity as a consultant spin…

Match facts Saturday, February 6, 2016Start time 1000 local (0800 GMT) In his last two ODIs, Chris Jordan has bowled 14.3 overs for 153 runs © Getty Images Big Picture At some point in the second ODI between South Africa and England in Port Elizabeth, the bang of the hammer at the IPL auction is bound to intrude. Jos Buttler, available for the first time, was wise enough to shrug…

The first ODI in Bloemfontein was an indication of the inexperience in England and South Africa’s bowling attacks, according to Faf du Plessis © Getty Images After 649 runs were scored at a rate of 7.77 to the over in the first ODI between South Africa and England in Bloemfontein, few would argue with Faf du Plessis’ assertion that “this series will be a series of the batting line-ups”. But…

Jos Buttler compiled another of his quick-fire, improvised, seemingly effortless ODI hundreds in Bloemfontein to open up a 16-point gap at the top of the ODI Most Valuable Player rankings. His previous ODI innings, lest we forget, was his record-breaking fastest England ODI century against Pakistan in Dubai two months ago. There were some notable similarities: firstly, England’s flexibility after a strong start to promote him up to number four in…

ECB’s NatWest U19 Club T20 has been shortlisted for Community Programme of the Year at the prestigious BT Sport Industry Awards 2016. The Twenty20 competition, which combines fast, entertaining matches with a great social atmosphere for young players, has gone from strength to strength since its inception in 2014. Barbeques, music and coloured kits are the norm at fixtures, and home sides earn points for their “Blast-style” match-day atmosphere – adding…

Karachi Kings 131 for 3 (Simmons 62*, Shakib 51) beat Lahore Qalandars 125 for 8 (Rizwan 37, Amir 3-27) by seven wicketsScorecard and ball-by-ball details File photo: Mohammad Amir dismissed Dwayne Bravo, Zohaib Khan and Kevon Cooper in successive deliveries © Getty Images Fast bowler Mohammad Amir stole the limelight on the second day of the PSL, taking a hat-trick to power Karachi Kings to a seven-wicket victory against Lahore…

Bangladesh v Nepal, Under-19 World Cup, Quarter-final, Mirpur February 5, 2016 Mohammad Isam and Vishal Dikshit There may be many reasons given for Nepal’s exit from the Under-19 World Cup, but they should not overshadow a group of talented cricketers eager for more success Nepal wicketkeeper missed a crucial stumping off Mehedi Hasan to lose the quarter-final, but their campaign has been about a lot more than one slip up…

Madhya Pradesh 348 (Shrivastava 65, Naman 64, Veer Pratap 5-76) and 338 for 5 (Patidar 137, Bundela 72, Naman 52) lead Bengal 121 (Easwaran 48, Ishwar 4-45, Datey 3-30, Sakure 3-38) by 565 runsScorecard Naman Ojha struck his second half-century in the match © PTI Rajat Patidar‘s third century in only his fifth match was the centerpiece of Madhya Pradesh’s batathon that has all but shunted Bengal out of the…

Scotland 140 for 5 (Machan 43, Berrington 42) beat Netherlands 103 (Cooper 32, Watt 5-27) by 37 runsScorecard and ball-by-ball details Mark Watt was taken for 15 runs in his first over but came back to take five wickets © IDI/Getty Images Scotland left-arm spinner Mark Watt‘s maiden T20 five-for bundled Netherlands out for 103, setting up a 37-run win for his side in Dubai. After the first-ball loss of…

Mehedi Hasan – “Zakir told me that we will just play on singles, rotate the strike. We won’t go for fours or sixes. His words worked quite well for us” © ICC When Bangladesh Under-19’s captain Mehedi Hasan and wicketkeeper-batsman Zakir Hasan came together in the 29th over against Nepal Under-19, it was amidst much tension in Mirpur. The home side were 98 for 4 chasing 212 with a place…