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Athanaze and Hope blasted 75 in the powerplay to put Stubbs’ resilient 76 in the shade

Firdose Moonda23-Aug-2024West Indies 176 for 3 (Pooran 65*, Hope 51, Athanaze 40, Baartman 2-30) beat South Africa 174 for 7 (Stubbs 76, Kruger 44, Forde 3-27, Shamar 2-40) by seven wicketsWest Indies pulled off the highest successful T20 chase at the Brian Lara Academy in Tarouba to go 1-0 up in the three-match series against South Africa.After deciding to bowl first, moments before heavy rain delayed the start of play by an hour, West Indies took control when they had South Africa 42 for 5 after eight overs. South Africa recovered thanks to a sixth-wicket partnership of 71 runs from 50 balls between Patrick Kruger and Tristan Stubbs, before Stubbs and Bjorn Fortuin shared a seventh-wicket stand of 60 off 25 balls to give the innings much needed acceleration. Matthew Forde, playing his third T20I, equalled his career-best figures of 3 for 27.West Indies were always in control of the chase. Shai Hope and Alick Athanaze put on 84 in 49 balls for the opening wicket before Hope and Nicholas Pooran’s 54-run partnership, off 33 balls, broke South Africa’s back. Pooran was particularly severe on an inexperienced South Africa’s attack and scored his fastest T20I fifty – off 20 balls – and finished unbeaten on 65 off 26.Without the core of their attack, especially as Lungi Ngidi was ruled out of the series with a calf strain before the match began, South Africa’s depth was tested. They fielded their youngest-ever debutant, Kwena Maphaka, at 18 years and 137 days, and he picked up his first international wicket when he had West Indies captain Rovman Powell caught at extra cover. By then, West Indies needed just three runs to win and Roston Chase finished things off with a four off the next ball. West Indies won the match with 13 balls to spare.

West Indies’ early triple-strike

Powell’s decision to bowl first paid off almost immediately when, after an impressive three-run opening over from Akeal Hosein, Forde made the first incision: Ryan Rickelton reached to cut a short, wide ball and toe-ended to Pooran. Aiden Markram countered with a strong reverse sweep and pull off Hosein but then hit Forde straight to Gudakesh Motie at mid-on. Two balls later, Reeza Hendricks got a leading edge to Shamar Joseph’s first delivery, which swirled to Hosein at deep third and continued a miserable run for the opener. Hendricks has gone past 20 in only two of his last 11 T20I innings.South Africa struggled through their powerplay and ended on 33 for 3. Rassie van der Dussen was strangled down leg as soon as the fielding restrictions were lifted and Joseph had his second.

Sensational Stubbs

South Africa were in trouble at 42 for 5 after eight overs with all their recognised batters, bar Stubbs, back in the dugout. Stubbs initially played out of character and had just 13 runs off his first 16 balls. His first sign of intent came when he sent Motie over long-on for the biggest six of the innings, but it was only after Kruger’s innings ended that Stubbs took control.Tristan Stubbs accelerated from 25 off 23 balls to finish with 76 off 42 balls•AFP/Getty Images

He took successive fours off full deliveries from Forde either side of the wicket, and then reached fifty off 33 balls when he hit Joseph over cover point. He scored 23 runs off the last six balls he faced, and was going for six more when he holed out to long-on on the penultimate ball of the innings. But with 174 on the board, he had given his bowlers something to defend.

Hope and Athanaze give West Indies dream start

It took ten deliveries before West Indies scored their first boundary, but when they did, the floodgates opened. Athanaze, opening the batting in his second T20I, swept Fortuin over long leg, then Hope deposited Ottneil Baartman over long-off and through deep-backward square-leg, but the real damage was done in the fifth over. Athanaze plundered 20 runs off Nandre Burger, including two sixes over deep square-leg, and a gorgeous late cut that went for four and forced South Africa to turn to a fifth bowler within the powerplay. Aiden Markram bowled himself but was even more expensive as he went for 21. Hope scored 16 of those runs off three balls – two of them down-on-one-knee sixes over long-on and long-off – to help West Indies complete an impressive 75-run powerplay.

Pooran’s four successive sixes all but finishes off

With 70 runs off 54 balls required for the win, Pooran saw an opportunity to end things quickly when Burger was brought back in the 12th over. After Hope got off strike, Burger tried a slower ball to Pooran, who had more than enough time to hit him straight over long-off for a 77-metre six. Burger’s next ball was also pace-off and ended up being a full toss and Pooran helped it over midwicket and into the stands. The next two balls were faster and still full and Pooran had his eye in. He hit Burger down the ground for two more sixes to take the equation down to 45 off 48 balls. West Indies lost a couple of wickets but reached the target comfortably in the end.

Boehly’s Cain International wins auction with 100% valuation in region of £80 million

Vithushan Ehantharajah and Nagraj Gollapudi11-Feb-2025The Todd Boehly-backed Cain International have succeeded in securing a stake in Hundred side Trent Rockets. The group, led by Chelsea director Jonathan Goldstein and the football club’s joint-owner Boehly, put in the winning bid for a 49% stake in Rockets, valuing 100% of the team at what ESPNcricinfo understands to be around £80 million.The two parties will now finalise their agreement over an eight-week period that begins at the conclusion of the Hundred sale, with Nottinghamshire confirming on Wednesday that they will be retaining their majority 51% stake in the team*.Cain International had been in the running for London Spirit, but pulled out of the bidding early, with a Silicon Valley consortium eventually triumphing in a bidding war with a mammoth £295m valuation of Spirit. This time, Cain International came out on top in a live auction. They are understood to have beaten the owners of Kolkata Knight Riders and Indian investor Amit Jain, who was working in conjunction with Royal Challengers Bangalore.”The experience of Cain and Ares in helping businesses in recreational and leisure sectors to grow, and their focus on delivering long-term benefits, made them an ideal fit for this investment,” Andy Hunt, Nottinghamshire’s chair, said. “The Hundred has been an undoubted success in Nottingham – welcoming a diverse audience, attracting some of the world’s best players and delivering an experience for supporters that is unrivalled on these shores.”This investment, alongside those in other competing teams, will both help to safeguard the future of our 18-county system and elevate The Hundred to ensure it is able to thrive as one of the finest competitions of its kind worldwide.”Goldstein, CEO of Cain International, said: “Cricket has long been a cornerstone of British sport, bringing communities together and creating moments that last a lifetime. Trent Rockets is a team with a strong heritage and an exciting future, and we’re thrilled to be part of that journey. We look forward to working with the team to build on its success and deepen its impact in Nottingham and beyond.”Rockets won the men’s Hundred in 2022, with their women’s team earning their best placing of third in the same season. The men’s team is currently coached by Andy Flower, with Jon Lewis in charge of the women’s set-up.The sale of Rockets had originally been scheduled for February 3 but was subsequently delayed as the ECB sought to keep investors in the process who had failed with earlier bids. Nottinghamshire were understandably wary of their place in the queue, and saw prospective suitors – such as Lucknow Super Giants, who ended up with a 70% stake in Manchester Originals – put their money elsewhere. But the end result, which will see them retain a controlling stake of 51%, is positive.The acquisition sees Boehly expand his sporting portfolio, having established roots in the UK as the leader of a consortium that purchased Chelsea for £4.25 billion in 2022.He is also co-owner of French football team Strasbourg and the LA Dodgers baseball team. Goldstein, a property entrepreneur, co-founded Cain International with Boehly in 2014, and also operates as the investment bank’s CEO. They are set to become one of four non-IPL owners, and the second to have involvement in English football after Knighthead Capital, the co-owners of Birmingham City who won the race for Birmingham Phoenix.The total valuation of the eight franchises is set to exceed £900 million, with Southern Brave, the final team up on the table, sold on Wednesday to GMR Group, co-owners of Delhi Capitals, who bought a majority stake in host county Hampshire last year. It is understood they are keen to partner up with other investors for the 49% portion of the team.*February 12, 1100 GMT – This story was updated following confirmation of Southern Brave’s sale and Nottinghamshire’s equity stake

A urine sample provided by Shohidul contained Clomifene, which is on the WADA’s prohibited list

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Jul-2022The ICC has banned Bangladesh fast bowler Shohidul Islam for 10 months for failing a dope test in March. Shohidul, who admitted to breaching Article 2.1 of the ICC Anti-Doping Code and accepted the suspension, will be available from March 28 next year, after his sentence was backdated to May 28, the date of his acceptance of the voluntary provisional suspension.According to the ICC media release, Shohidul had provided a urine sample in an out-of-competition testing programme in Dhaka on March 4. The sample contained Clomifene, which according to the governing body is a specified substance under WADA’s prohibited list and is prohibited both in-competition and out-of-competition.ESPNcricinfo has learned that the prohibited substance was found in a medicine that Shohidul had taken, prescribed by his own doctor, earlier this year.In making the decision, the ICC accepted that Shohidul had “demonstrated no significant fault or negligence, having inadvertently ingested the prohibited substance which was contained in a medicine he had been legitimately prescribed for therapeutic reasons.”The ICC added that Shohidul was able to satisfy that he had “no intention to enhance his sporting performance by using prohibited substances. However, Shohidul accepted that he had failed to satisfy the high levels of personal responsibility incumbent upon him as an international cricketer subject to anti-doping rules.”Shohidul, who made his only T20I appearance against Pakistan last year in Dhaka, has been part of several Bangladesh squads over the last 18 months. He has taken 93 wickets and scored one century from 35 first-class matches, apart from his 69 wickets from 46 T20s. Earlier this year, he was hailed after bowling Comilla Victorians to their third BPL title. Shohidul is considered one of the bright fast-bowling prospects in Bangladesh.

Highlights from the final round of Ranji Trophy season

Shashank Kishore19-Feb-2024From 32 teams, eight of them are left standing as the final round of the Ranji Trophy 2023-24 helped lock in the knockouts line-up. Here are the highlights.

TN’s first knockout appearance in six seasons

They began the season with a crushing away loss to Gujarat and then saw their chances of securing full points against Tripura go up in smoke thanks to the weather. But from having a solitary point after two rounds, Tamil Nadu have been an unstoppable force, securing four wins in their remaining five games to top Group B.Their latest win, against Punjab, may have yet not been enough to seal the top spot had Karnataka won their final group fixture against Chandigarh; Karnataka took the first-innings honours to finish second in the pool. For Tamil Nadu, this will be their first knockout appearance since the Ranji Trophy 2016-17, where they lost to Mumbai in the semi-final.Related

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Their fourth win was set up by B Indrajith and Vijay Shankar who struck centuries in a massive first-innings score of 435, before the left-arm spinning duo of S Ajith Ram and Sai Kishore wheeled away to picked up 15 wickets between them. Set a mere 71, Tamil Nadu got there in just seven overs to secure a nine-wicket win.Punjab’s fight in the second innings was led by Nehal Wadhera, who made a quickfire 107-ball 109 in an otherwise forgettable batting display. Overall, their season of promise – they won the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20s – ended with a solitary win that had them finish sixth in the group.

Veterans Tiwary, Fazal walk into retirement

He un-retired after announcing his decision to walk away from all forms of cricket at the end of Ranji Trophy 2022-23 to be able to realise a long-standing dream of winning the coveted title. There seemed some merit in his decision, too; Bengal had come within sniffing distance twice in the last three years (2019-20 and 2022-23), only to be pipped by Saurashtra. But there was no fairy-tale ending for one of Indian domestic cricket’s great war horses, Manoj Tiwary, as Bengal endured a disappointing end to a campaign that never took off; finishing third, behind eventual qualifiers Mumbai and Andhra in Group B.The gulf between them and Andhra was seven points, which Bengal would have perhaps felt they lost after two of their seven games were severely weather-affected. They, however, signed off on a winning note after handing Bihar defeat by an innings and 204 runs, with fast bowler Mukesh Kumar picking up six wickets.Tiwary, who led Bengal all season, made 30 in his final innings, thereby ending a first-class career in which he made 10,195 runs across 148 matches with 30 hundreds and an impressive average of 47.86. He was fittingly felicitated by the Cricket Association of Bengal in a ceremony on Sunday evening at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.Manoj Tiwary was carried off the field by his team-mates•PTI

Unlike Tiwary, Faiz Fazal bows out with two Ranji Trophy crowns he led Vidarbha to back-to-back in 2017-18 and 2018-19. His final innings in first-class cricket on Sunday ended in a first-ball duck, but Vidarbha managed to secure a 115-run win over Haryana in a winner-takes-all contest in Nagpur. Fazal finishes with 9184 runs in 138 first-class matches with 24 hundred and an average of 41.The win helped Vidarbha top Group A, with Saurashtra, the defending champions, finishing a close second following their convincing two-day win over Manipur in Rajkot, with Cheteshwar Pujara hitting his third hundred of the season and Dharmendrasinh Jadeja, the left-arm spinner, picking up his second straight match haul of ten wickets.

Thakur back in business as Mumbai march on

Shardul Thakur’s match haul of 10 for 52 helped Mumbai record their fifth win of the season, as Assam were handed a thrashing inside two days. Assam lasted all of 65.1 overs in both innings combined. This was only Thakur’s second first-class outing since playing the Centurion Test in December. Thakur aside, Shivam Dube continued to have a sensational 2024. He hit a counter-attacking unbeaten 121 that lifted Mumbai from a previous 110 for 5 in the first innings. This was Dube’s second first-class hundred of the season.

Quarterfinal line-ups

• Vidarbha vs Karnataka

• Mumbai vs Baroda

• Tamil Nadu vs Saurashtra

• Madhya Pradesh vs Andhra

Delhi end on a high

Three senior players walked away expressing annoyance and hurt at DDCA’s dysfunctional system. The selection panel chief was forced to resign two games in, following a poor start. Yash Dhull, their young captain, was sacked one game in and the threat of relegation loomed halfway into the season. Yet, despite all the off-field rumblings, Delhi managed to hold their own in the back end of the season to finish with three wins, all coming in their last four games, to end third in the pool.Their win in the final round, against Odisha, was led by Dhull’s first-innings 112, his fifth first-class century, that helped open up a slender 11-run lead before Odisha collapsed in the second innings for 133. Eventually, a target of 123 proved too little to defend as Delhi won by seven wickets with Ayush Badoni and Dhull seeing them home.

Railways pull off record heist

Railways pulled off the highest successful chase in Ranji history to end their campaign on a high. The win was all the more special because they conceded a first-innings lead to Tripura that seemed decisive at the time.Railways were bundled out for 105 in response to Tripura’s 149, and then found themselves chasing a mammoth 378 for victory. At 31 for 3, Railways were in deep trouble before Mohammad Saif and Pratham Singh revived their chase with a fourth-innings stand of 175.Saif fell for 106, but Pratham batted on to remain unbeaten on 169. He was ably supported by Upendra Yadav, the captain, who played his part in the match-winning partnership by making 27 not out.In pulling off a sensational win, Railways surpassed Saurashtra’s record for the previous highest chase (372 against Uttar Pradesh in 2018-19). The win wasn’t enough to secure a knockouts berth for Railways as all of Karnataka, TN and Gujarat finished with more points than them in a tight table that was decided on the final day of matches.

In 2022, Suryakumar Yadav scored 1164 runs in 31 T20I innings at a strike rate of 187.43

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Jan-2023Suryakumar Yadav has been named the T20I Cricketer of the Year for 2022 by the ICC in its annual awards.In the 2022 calendar year, Suryakumar scored 1164 runs in 31 T20I innings, with a strike rate of 187.43 and average of 46.56, with two centuries and nine half-centuries. This included a sequence of three back-to-back half-centuries in September-October, in matches against Australia and South Africa.Overall, he has 1578 runs from 43 T20I innings, since making his debut in the format in March 2021, at a strike rate of 180.34 and average of 46.41, with three centuries and 13 half-centuries.Suryakumar became just the second batter to make more than 1000 runs in a calendar year in 2022 and ended the year as the highest run-getter in the format, while also becoming the No. 1 T20I batter in the world when he went past Mohammad Rizwan in early November.In 2022, Suryakumar also hit 68 sixes in T20Is, the most by an individual in a year.The three centuries Suryakumar now has against his name puts him in joint-second place for century-makers in T20Is, behind Rohit Sharma’s four, with Colin Munro and Glenn Maxwell the only other batters from Full-Member teams to score three.The ICC recognition came after Suryakumar was one of three Indians in ICC’s T20I team of the year, alongside Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya. India failed to make the title round at the 2022 T20 World Cup, losing in the semi-final to England by ten wickets, but Suryakumar had an outstanding tournament individually. He finished third on the run-scorers’ chart, with 239 runs in six innings, behind Kohli (296 in six innings) and Max O’Dowd (242 runs in eight innings). Suryakumar scored his runs at a strike rate of 189.68, the best by a specialist batter, and hit three half-centuries.

Victoria rebounded impressively from the two innings defeats which started their season

AAP29-Oct-2023New South Wales slumped to a 15th-straight match without a Sheffield Shield win after going down to Victoria by 205 runs at the MCG.They were rolled for 173 midway through the first session of day four to extend the proud cricket state’s painful run in the historic competition.NSW fought harder than they had for most of the match after beginning play on Sunday at 124 for 8, still well behind the victory target of 379.Related

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Nathan Lyon dug in with Jason Sangha in his first-class return after tearing his calf during this year’s Ashes series in England.Lyon, unbeaten on 17, was the last man standing as Sangha attempted to lift the run-rate and was caught off the bowling of Todd Murphy.Jackson Bird, who top-scored in NSW’s dismal first-innings total of 102, lasted just 11 balls and was the last batter out.NSW are without a victory since February 2022, with this current streak considerably worse than their previous low of 10 winless matches.

New South Wales’ struggles

Victoria, MCG: lost by 205 runs
South Australia, Adelaide Oval: lost by 186 runs
Queensland, Cricket Central: match drawn
South Australia, Karen Rolton Oval: match drawn
Victoria, Albury: lost by 10 wickets
Queensland, Gabba: lost by five wickets
Tasmania, SCG: match drawn
Victoria, Junction Oval: lost by 69 runs
Western Australia, SCG: lost by 133 runs
Tasmania, Hobart: match drawn
South Australia, Wollongong: match drawn
Queensland, Drummoyne Oval: match drawn
Western Australia, WACA: lost by eight wickets
South Australia, Adelaide Oval: lost by five wickets
Western Australia, Bankstown: match drawn

“We’re going to have to look deep and have a bit of an analyse and learn; see what we’re doing and see what the best are doing,” NSW captain Moises Henriques said. “They’re the age-old cricket questions but unfortunately we’re just not doing it very well at the moment.”The result brought sweet relief for Victoria after they started the season with thumping defeats to Western Australia and Queensland.They were in some trouble at 131 for 6 in their second innings, but led by Peter Handscomb’s 90 they added 153 for the final four wickets to take complete control of the match.Tailender Fergus O’Neill was dangerous on his way to an unbeaten 70 as he combined in a 58-run final-wicket stand with Scott Boland.”[Handscomb] might have got a little clip from the coach after [how he was out in] the first innings,” Victoria captain Will Sutherland said. “The way he responded, they were incredibly valuable runs.”We knew it was going to be pretty much impossible for them to chase that total down thanks to him, which takes a big burden off the bowlers’ shoulders.”Victoria will be back in action next Saturday when they host Tasmania at the Junction Oval in Melbourne, while NSW face the ultimate test against reigning champions WA at the SCG.

Chris Green produced a player of the match performance on a losing side adding 38 not out to his nine wickets, as NSW were bowled out for 134 in the second innings

AAP24-Nov-2022Eight wickets to offspinner Corey Rocchiccioli helped Western Australia extend their sizeable lead at the top of the Sheffield Shield table after a 133-run win over cellar dwellers New South Wales.Not even a player of the match performance from NSW spinner Chris Green on first-class debut could prevent WA from claiming their fourth win of the season leaving the embattled Blues bottom of the table, with pressure mounting on coach Phil Jaques as he enters contract negotiation season.Green, 29, claimed nine wickets for the match, including 5 for 41 in the second innings, and played a lone hand with the bat on the final day, topscoring with 38 not out as NSW crumbled to be all out for 134.Set a target of 268, the hosts were skittled on day three after they could only manage 93 in their first innings.With cracks lengthening on the lively wicket, NSW’s batters faced another tough day at the office. It took all of 10 minutes for paceman Matt Kelly to pick up his first victim of the day. Coming around the wicket to left-hander Kurtis Patterson, Kelly drew the opener’s edge as Patterson wafted clumsily outside off stump.Three wickets for Rocchiccioli, and one apiece for D’Arcy Short and debutant Charlie Stobo, sent the hapless Blues into lunch at 6 for 85. Rocchiccioli and quick David Moody mopped up the tail after the break.NSW and WA were both bowled out on an eventful second day that saw 20 wickets fall. On a pitch that has favoured the bowlers, WA’s modest first-innings 233 proved the difference.The loss sees NSW remain in last place after South Australia salvaged a draw against Queensland on Wednesday.Speaking to Sky Sports Radio on Thursday, Cricket NSW CEO Lee Germon said Jaques’ contract is set to go under review when the competition goes on break for the BBL.”It’s been made public that Phil is in the last season of his existing contract,” Germon said.”He’s as aware as anyone that, with the legacy and the history of the Blues, as a coach you have to get results and develop players.
“It was always planned that there’ll be a review.”NSW are yet to win a game after five matches, their worst start to a Shield season since 2008-09.