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West Indies women’s captain Stafanie Taylor overwhelmed Pakistan with a powerful performance, making an unbeaten 98 and then taking 3 for 26 to secure a 109-run victory

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Oct-2015
ScorecardStafanie Taylor cuts during her unbeaten 98•WICB Media/Randy Brooks of Brooks LaTouche Photo

West Indies women’s captain Stafanie Taylor overwhelmed Pakistan women with a powerful all-round performance, making an unbeaten 98 and then taking 3 for 26 in ten overs to secure a 109-run victory for her team in St. Lucia.Pakistan had made a promising start after choosing to bowl and had West Indies at 57 for 3 in 10.1 overs. Taylor then put on 130 runs with Merrisa Aguilleira, who was run out for 68. Kyshona Knight’s 45 off 40 balls added the finishing touches as West Indies powered to 281 for 5. Taylor, on 90, had faced the last four balls of the innings but could manage to score only two off each delivery, finishing two runs short of a century.Pakistan’s chase of a challenging target barely got off the ground. Javeria Khan played a sole hand, making an unbeaten 73 at No. 3, but no one else got past 20. Taylor cut through the middle order, taking three successive wickets to reduce Pakistan from 93 for 3 to 125 for 6. They were eventually restricted to 172 for 9 in 50 overs.

The New Zealand cricketers Brendon McCullum, Daniel Vettori and Lou Vincent have been denounced as liars by Chris Cairns’ defence lawyer, Orlando Pownall, QC, during his closing speech at Southwark Crown Court

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Nov-2015Four of the nine key witnesses in the Chris Cairns perjury trial – including Brendon McCullum, Daniel Vettori and their disgraced former team-mate, Lou Vincent – have been denounced as liars by Cairns’ defence lawyer, Orlando Pownall, QC, during his closing speech at Southwark Crown Court.Responding to what the crown prosecutor, Sasha Wass, QC, had described as a “wall of evidence” against Cairns during her own closing speech last week, Pownall dismissed her remarks as the “unrestrained use of hyperbole”. Some of the witnesses, he conceded, may have been telling the truth, but not all of them.”The Crown has said on more than one occasion that Mr Cairns’s case is that nine witnesses are lying,” Pownall told the jury. “That is not the case on behalf of Mr Cairns.”Instead, Pownall asked the jury rhetorically whether McCullum, Vettori, Vincent and Vincent’s ex-wife, Eleanor Riley, had all lied during their spells in the witness box. His response was “yes” on each occasion.McCullum, who took time out of New Zealand’s preparations for the ongoing Test series with Australia to appear in person in court, was taken to task by Mr Pownall for failing to mention the names of two other implicated players, Vincent and Daryl Tuffey, in his initial statements to the ICC about Cairns’ alleged match-fixing.”It’s rather more than a little detail,” Pownall said.Vincent, who was banned for life from cricket last year after admitting taking money to influence matches, was accused by Pownall of “formulating a plan … to give the authorities a big name” so as to avoid “the consequences of his crime”.”It’s not speculation, it’s acknowledgment of reality,” Pownall said. “He’s been successful. He’s never been arrested, or cautioned. He’s never been charged. He’s never had to pay back a penny piece.”Vincent’s prime motivation, he added, was to drum up publicity for a book about Cairns, due for publication in the wake of the trial. “We submit the title won’t be ‘The Truth, The Whole Truth, and Nothing but the Truth’,” said Pownall. “We suggest a more apt title might be ‘The Great Escape’.”He has lied, he has lied on countless occasions, pretending to tell the truth, and more significantly he has lied to you,” Pownall told the jury.He also dismissed Riley, whose fears about Vincent’s activities had allegedly been raised with Cairns in a bar in Manchester in 2008, as a “half-witness”, claiming that her recollection of their conversation had been “in drink”.He also warned the jury not to be influenced by the number of witnesses that the prosecution had succeeded in bringing to the trial.”Don’t be over-impressed by a numbers game – it’s nine-one,” he said. “Resist that temptation, we urge you. The fact that something was said does not make it true.”Cricket’s authorities, Pownall added, were “determined to have the scalp of an innocent man”.”Our case is that the ICC and the ACSU have had a mindset that Mr Cairns was guilty. That over the years and in the course of their examination and investigation they have been affected, with what they did and what they failed to do, by that.”Although the trial is about sporting activity, the trial is not a game and unsportsmanlike observations should not be made.”Cairns denies two counts of perjury and perverting the course of justice, relating to his successful libel action against Lalit Modi in 2012. His co-defendant, Andrew Fitch-Holland, denies one count of perverting the course of justice.The defence will continue its closing statement on Tuesday.

Ireland allrounder John Mooney has retired from international cricket with immediate effect

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Dec-2015Ireland allrounder John Mooney has retired from international cricket with immediate effect. Mooney is one of only four Ireland players to have appeared at three World Cups and last represented his country in their Intercontinental Cup win over Namibia in October.Last year Mooney spoke publicly about his battle with depression, but he returned to play a full part in Ireland’s World Cup campaign. Mooney, 33, said that he now wanted to focus on running his gym and personal training business, as well as spend more time with his family.”I’ve decided to call time on what has been a wonderful career in the green of Ireland,” Mooney said. “At this stage of my career, I’m beginning to think about what comes next, especially commitments to my new gym and personal training business. I’ve always given 100% to the team, and it wouldn’t be fair on them to keep going if I’m not fully committed.”I’ve also been playing internationally for 14 years and over the past few seasons have found that the intensity and demands of the modern game have placed a considerable strain on my body. It’s also become increasingly difficult to spend such long periods of time away from my wife and young family.”Mooney was capped 182 times by Ireland, playing in 64 ODIs and 27 T20 internationals, and memorably helped his side to complete a famous win over England in Bangalore at the 2011 World Cup by scoring an unbeaten 33 from 30 balls. That victory, reminiscent of Ireland’s football World Cup giant killing of Italy in 1994, helped ignite a wave of support for the Associate nations and ensured their presence at the 2015 tournament.He was also in the middle to help finish off Ireland’s win over West Indies in Nelson as they narrowly failed to qualify for the quarter-finals this time around.”I’ve some fantastic memories having played in three World Cups – the first of which in 2007 included my elder brother Paul,” he said. “In 2011 I also had what I described as my ‘Ray Houghton moment’ hitting the winning runs against England.”Mooney was a valuable presence in the lower middle order and scored more than 2500 runs for Ireland, including a best of 107 against Netherlands. He took 144 wickets with his bustling medium pace, memorably helping to seal the Intercontinental Cup title in 2013 with 10 for 81 against Afghanistan.Ireland captain William Porterfield said: “There are few players who have worn the Irish jersey with as much pride as John Mooney. His passion, fighting qualities and enthusiasm meant he was always someone I was glad was playing for me rather than in the opposition ranks.”He would always put the team first no matter what you asked him to do, should that be opening the bowling or fourth change he always put the side first. He epitomises what it means to put on the Irish jersey.”Of course he’ll always be remembered for the game against England in Bangalore but for me his bowling display in the Intercontinental Cup win over Afghanistan summed up for me what he was all about. He led the attack after Trent Johnston went off injured and took 10 for 81 on a batting paradise in difficult conditions. I would personally like to thank him for everything that he has done for Irish cricket.”Ireland coach John Bracewell called Mooney “an iconic figure for Irish cricket” and praised his “passionate and talented displays” for Ireland.”His longevity in a 14 year career is testament to both his talent and his consistency – he rarely let his team down and it’s no coincidence that he was involved in so many key moments in Ireland’s triumphs over the years,” Bracewell said. “I’d like to thank him for his efforts over an illustrious career, and wish him and his family all the very best in the future.”

As South Africa’s domestic structures come under scrutiny for their standard of cricket, Stephen Cook has proved that spending sufficient time in the set-up can still be prime players up for success at the top level

Firdose Moonda22-Jan-2016As South Africa’s domestic structures come under scrutiny for their standard of cricket, Stephen Cook has proved that spending sufficient time in the set-up can still be prime players up for success at the top level.Cook became the sixth South Africa batsman to score a century on Test debut with his 115 on the opening day against England in Centurion after making 415 runs in three Sunfoil Series matches this season to continue a strong domestic output.”It’s a good sounding ground,” Cook said. “I think we need to be more patient and not think that after one or two good franchise performances, a guy will step up. A lot of the guys who have done well have come through that system and are hardened cricketers.”Cook is certainly one of them. Since playing Under-19 cricket with Hashim Amla, he waited 15 years to make an international appearance. In that time, he was picked for a South African A side in 2010, a sign that a promotion was imminent but it didn’t come.”As time wore on, I knew it was getting more difficult and less likely,” he said. “But I never gave up hope. If I had given up on that hope, it would be have been difficult to carry on playing domestically. It would have just been retirement.”Instead he carried on believing he could become South Africa’s own Chris Rogers. “There are a couple of guys who have inspired me, even someone like Neil McKenzie whose second coming was at a later age,” Cook said. “I knew that it did happen to other people and it could happen to me.”Perhaps that’s why now that the debut has finally come, everyone else seems a little more surprised than Cook himself. He has handled the call-up with maturity, so much so that he could assess the pitch and the opposition on a day that should have been all about him.”The surface did play a little bit slowly but having played first-class cricket here, it should quicken up a little bit. It’s not a coastal slow, it’s a Highveld slow,” he said. “I think early on, England searched for wickets a little bit more but later they went back into their normal patterns and they were quite patient.”Not nearly as patient as Cook has been has had to be though. With a century already under his belt it would understandable if he let himself ponder the future, but he was not getting carried away,”I always thought to myself that it’s about making your debut and playing for South Africa but it’s about performing and scoring hundreds. I want to contribute to Proteas successes and victories. But I am very much a guy who looks after today. I’ve learnt that getting ahead of myself is the worst thing I can do.”

Fans travelling to India for the World T20 have expressed anger and disappointment over the delay in announcing the fixtures and the ambiguity surrounding the ticketing process

Arun Venugopal26-Feb-2016Fans travelling from abroad for the World T20 in India have expressed anger and disappointment over the delay in announcing the tournament’s schedule and the ambiguity surrounding the ticketing process. While the fixtures were announced on December 11 – about three months before the event – the first phase of ticket sales, for matches in Bangalore, Chennai, Dharamsala, Kolkata and Mohali, began only on February 24. The second phase of ticket sales, for matches in Mumbai, Delhi and Nagpur, had begun at 12 pm IST on February 26, less than two weeks before the tournament. Tickets for seven “high-priority” games – four India matches, the semi-finals and final – have been put up online through a lottery system, though the results of that process won’t be known for a while yet.There were sharp reactions from overseas fans on social media; for many, the uncertainty over the fixtures was the starting point of a series of problems. “The fixtures were announced on December 11 but there was no lead in,” Paul Smith, 58, from Weymouth in England, wrote in an email to ESPNcricinfo. “We didn’t know when the fixtures would be announced so right back in September we were checking daily. [For] six months we have had to check if there have been updates or changes, our plans all in limbo.”For fans like Smith, the lack of clarity in the ticketing process has hampered plans for the semi-finals and finals. “Now we know that tickets are going to be in high demand for the big seven [games], but because we didn’t know what the system was going to be some have booked [flight tickets] to go to semi[finals] and final.”Obviously we have to get some kind of assurances that we can get to see the games after spending two-three thousand pounds on flights and hotels. But no one can understand why Delhi was chosen when issues [in DDCA] go back months, even years. To put such a large travelling country such as England there [England play two games], and even worse a semi-final was hard to comprehend.”It wasn’t until February 9 that the decks were cleared for Delhi to host matches in the World T20; the BCCI had earlier given DDCA a deadline of January 31 to get its affairs in order before it was extended to February 8. The organising committee official admitted the uncertainty over Delhi’s status as a host had resulted in “considerable time” being lost, and that it could have been avoided. A top BCCI official had earlier told ESPNcricinfo that matches had to be staged in Delhi because it “is our national capital.”Shamim Syed, a Pakistani citizen, said his plans to watch the India- Pakistan match in Dharamsala were upset as much by the issues in procuring a visa as the delayed announcement. “Watching a cricket match between India and Pakistan at the most picturesque ground in the world would have been dream come true,” he wrote in an email. “But, with this late availability of tickets even if I applied for the visa, by the time it’s processed the World Cup will be long done and dusted.”What complicated matters further is that the ICC website’s FAQ guide on the ticketing process initially stated that the lottery system for the high-priority games would not be open to overseas customers and that a portion of tickets would be allocated to them on a first-come, first-serve basis. But, a member of the tournament organising committee admitted it was a mistake on the ICC site, and that fans from overseas could access the lottery system. He also said there was no specific number of tickets allocated for them for the high-priority games.”The lottery system is open for both Indian and overseas fans,” the official told ESPNcricinfo on Thursday. “The confusion was in the initial one hour. When it was corrected we put out in the [FAQ] PDF also. There was a small mistake in the document ICC put up but that has been corrected and put up. So there is access for everyone, and if the foreign fans have registered they also stand to win the random lottery.”However, when ESPNcricinfo verified the PDF on the ICC site on February 25 the mistake had not been rectified. When contacted the ICC’s response was that the FAQ on the website “clarifies the sales process.” It was subsequently corrected only on February 26, two days after the sale of tickets had begun. The ICC refused to be drawn into any discussion on the ticketing process, and said it was under the purview of the BCCI.Chirag Thakkar, a London-based fan, said the registration window for the lottery was too long, and that tickets could have been sold in batches. “Why there is no transparency in terms of number of tickets available for each match under this draw?” he asked.
“You can always release tickets in phases: if 5000 tickets are available for a match then release 2000 in phase one of sale, then another 2000 and 1000 in last phase. If this practice was started in November 2015 with the last phase in January 16 then overseas fans and Indian public both would have got a fair chance to buy.”While BCCI and ICC have policies and code of conduct, isn’t there a policy of ticket timelines for any international event. I have never seen such delays, lack of transparency [and] huge chunk of tickets reserved for sponsors.”Are you facing difficulties in planning your travel for the World T20 in India?

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Australia need only a draw to become the world’ No. 1 ranked Test team, but they must contend with overseas inconsistency, a green pitch, and a Brendon McCullum farewell

The Preview by Daniel Brettig19-Feb-2016

Match facts

February 20-24, 2016
Start time 10.30 local (21.30 GMT)5:58

‘New Zealand need to put external pressures behind them’

Big Picture

Australia need only a draw to become the world’s No. 1 Test team. Easier said than done, for a few reasons. First, it has been an awful long time since Australia have been consistent away from home. Australia won consecutive Tests in the Caribbean against the woeful West Indies in early 2015, but the previous time they managed that was in New Zealand as far back as 2010. Plenty of times – think England 2009, Pakistan (in England) 2010, South Africa 2014, England 2015 – an Australian touring team have followed resounding victory with abject defeat. Well as Steven Smith’s team played in Wellington, they have this mental hurdle to negotiate over the next five days.Secondly, it is an essential part of this Australian team’s DNA to play for a win. Thoughts of absorbing New Zealand’s efforts to force a win through self-preserving tactical decisions are unlikely to enter the minds of Smith and the coach Darren Lehmann. Instead they will be going for victory and a 2-0 margin, on a pitch likely to favour the seam bowlers for even longer than the Basin Reserve did. New Zealand’s coach Mike Hesson made no secret of his desire to see the Hagley Oval surface prepared to be as lively as possible, so the ball seams around for more than the first morning. Such an outcome may lessen the importance of the toss, but it should also cut the draw out of the equation, making Australia’s chance of a successful series closer to 50/50 than 66/33.Lastly, this is of course Brendon McCullum’s final match for New Zealand, an occasion weighty with emotion for every player in the home side and every spectator expected to turn up at a sold out Hagley Oval. The Australians know from personal experience that retirements don’t always inspire great Test match performances, but there remains the chance of an exceptionally steely New Zealand display not only for McCullum, but to try to keep intact the team’s proud record of not having lost a series at home since 2012. In replacing the injured Doug Bracewell with Matt Henry, they also have the added benefit of including a bowler who was critical to the ODI series win – his duel with Smith will be particularly bracing.

Form guide

New Zealand: LWWLD (last five completed matches, most recent first)


Australia: WDWWW

In the spotlight

In Australia last year, Kane Williamson was close to impassable. This time around, Smith’s team have found him somewhat less difficult to dislodge, as disciplined plans to keep Williamson pinned down around the off stump have been rewarded consistently. Equally, Williamson’s eagerness to get off to a firm start by capitalising on full deliveries down the ground was penalised by the early seaming conditions at the Basin Reserve. In the final match before he likely takes over the mantle of all-format leadership from McCullum, Williamson will be hoping to set the batting example for his team – substance is required, and he is the best man to deliver it.Amid the batting feast in Wellington, David Warner sat and watched, doubtless wondering what might have been without his early slash at a Tim Southee delivery angled across him. Such dismissals have seldom been glimpsed when Warner has batted at home over the past three seasons, but they have become increasingly prevalent abroad. Not since Pakistan in October 2014 has he made an overseas Test hundred – in Australia over that period he’s made two at the SCG alone. As vice-captain, Warner’s enormous ability needs to be melded with responsibility, and to make a century in Christchurch, thus helping Australia to global supremacy, would be a strong step in that direction.

Team news

Doug Bracewell’s injury absence will open up a chance for Matt Henry, while the hosts are still mulling over the possible inclusion of Neil Wagner in place of Mark Craig.New Zealand (possible) 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Tom Latham, 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Henry Nicholls, 5 Brendon McCullum (capt), 6 Corey Anderson, 7 BJ Watling (wk), 8 Mark Craig/Neil Wagner, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Matt Henry, 11 Trent BoultJames Pattinson will come into the Australian side in place of the injured Peter Siddle.Australia 1 David Warner, 2 Joe Burns, 3 Usman Khawaja, 4 Steven Smith (capt), 5 Adam Voges, 6 Mitchell Marsh, 7 Peter Nevill (wk), 8 James Pattinson, 9 Josh Hazlewood, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Jackson Bird

Pitch and conditions

Hagley Oval’s pitch looks similarly green to that of Basin Reserve, and both teams are curious as to how it will play. “I think it actually looks pretty similar to the last wicket the day before the game,” Smith said. “It’s quite hard to tell how it’s going to play until you get out there on the morning of the game when they’ve given it a roll and you see it for the last time.”

Stats and trivia

• Australia will become the world’s No. 1 ranked Test team with a win or draw in Christchurch
• New Zealand have twice come back from 1-0 down to tie a Test series with Australia, at home in 1993 and away in 2011
• New Zealand won the only previous Test played at Hagley Oval, against Sri Lanka in December 2014

Quotes

“The goal of this team is to be No. 1 in all formats of the game, and if we win this week, we tick off two of those formats. But for me it is about making sure we are improving and being better.”

India’s captain MS Dhoni has said that the plan for the last ball was to hit a back of a length, instead of bowling a yorker, in the hosts’ one-run win against Bangladesh

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Mar-20162:33

‘Pandya executed the plan well’ – Dhoni

India’s captain MS Dhoni has lauded allrounder Hardik Pandya’s “fantastic execution” of the last ball, which led to Mustafizur Rahman being run out by Dhoni in a mad-cap final over. Having been cracked for fours off his second and third balls in the defence of 10 runs, Pandya had Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah holing out off the next two balls. The equation ultimately boiled down to two needed off the last ball.After a lengthy chat with Dhoni and Ashish Nehra, Pandya sent down a back-of-a-length ball outside off, which Shuvagata Hom could not reach. He attempted a bye, and Mustafizur responded, but Dhoni was too quick for him. He sprinted and broke the stumps as India edged Bangladesh.At the post-match presentation, Dhoni said that the plan to stick to a back-of-a-length delivery, instead of the yorker, but not too wide outside off, which was what Pandya delivered.”One thing was sure. We don’t want to bowl a yorker,” Dhoni said. “It had to be a back-of-a-length delivery, but how much back of the length is the question. You don’t want to bowl a wide and by the time it travels to the keeper, the batsman has the opportunity to take one more run.”So we were deciding what’s a good field and what’s the length to bowl. I think he executed really well. You can always plan a hundred things and unless the execution is good, it doesn’t look good on the field. I feel the execution of the last delivery was fantastic.”Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza admitted that his team lost it under pressure, in the last three balls. “I think the last three balls actually, we lost three wickets and needed only two runs,” he said.Pandya is not a particularly good exponent of the yorker, and when he attempted one off the penultimate ball, it ended up as a full toss. Mahmudullah slogged, but Jadeja came up with an incredible, running catch at deep midwicket. Pandya, however, can hit the deck hard, and muscle back-of-a-length or short-ish balls. Dhoni said that Pandya’s strengths were discussed before the last ball.”The decision was what line to bowl, what length to bowl,” Dhoni said. “Also keeping in mind what the strength of the bowler is. That was the kind of stuff going. And also I knew once the 20th over starts, you can take as much time as possible. You can’t get fined for it.”There were other senior members of the team who felt the short ball was the way to go in the final over. R Ashwin, who found grip and turn to return figures of 2 for 20, told that the short ball was the “toughest” for a lower-order batsman.Dhoni also credited fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah, who regrouped admirably, after fumbling a four off the first ball of the 147 chase, and then dropping Tamim Iqbal on 15. Bumrah nailed his yorkers in the penultimate over and conceded only six runs, which gave Pandya some cushion. It was just enough for India to pull off the coup.

Rising Pune Supergiants, with one win from four games, will have to put a lot of things together to give stiff competition to table-toppers Kolkata Knight Riders

The Preview by Nagraj Gollapudi23-Apr-2016

Match facts

Sunday, April 24, 2016
Start time 2000 local (1430 GMT)3:47

Cullinan: Opportunity for KKR to show their batting depth

Big picture

Kolkata Knight Riders can chase. They can also continue their streak at the top of the table with another win. A four-day break between travels was spent by mixing work with fun. On Friday evening, the squad attended a special screening of their co-owner Shah Rukh Khan’s latest release ‘Fan’.The only fun MS Dhoni’s Rising Pune Supergiants have had was at the tournament opener, when they marched to a nine-wicket win over defending champions Mumbai Indians. Since then, they have failed to defend twice. On Friday, they stumbled to their third loss, against Royal Challengers Bangalore, even though the lower-order pairing of Thisara Perera and Rajat Bhatia pushed for a late dash.With Kevin Pietersen’s calf injury, Steven Smith would need to step up in the middle overs, where Supergiants have slowed down despite solid starts from Ajinkya Rahane and Faf du Plessis.On the other hand, Knight Riders’ opening combination of Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa has set up all three wins so far. If the Supergiants bowlers can get past Gambhir and Uthappa, they can test the mettle of Knight Riders’ middle and lower order. But do Supergiants have the right combinations and the right mindset? Can captain MS Dhoni produce that out of his players?This contest is about a team in the ascendancy against a team still finding its footing. The only question for Knight Riders is how can they keep improving? The questions for Dhoni’s Supergiants are piling up by the day.

Form guide

Rising Pune Supergiants LLLW (most recent matches first)
Kolkata Knight Riders WWLW

In the spotlight

Being the lead fast bowler, Ishant Sharma needs to man the frontline but he has failed so far. In this IPL, his economy rate in Powerplays is 8.36, the second-worst among all who have bowled five or more overs. In the death overs, Ishant’s figures are mournful: even though he has bowled just three overs, he has been caned for 48 runs. Ishant’s overall economy of 9.86 is the second-worst among 27 bowlers who have bowled 10 or more overs so till Friday.

Team news

Dhoni has said that Pietersen’s injury allows him the option of playing one of Mitchell Marsh or Albie Morkel. Marsh, who played for Pune Warriors, might be preferred. In swinging conditions, Dhoni may even be tempted to play Irfan Pathan or RP Singh ahead of the legspinner M Ashwin. RP Singh could even replace the out-of-form Ishant.Rising Pune Supergiants (probable): 1 Faf du Plessis, 2 Ajinkya Rahane, 3 Steven Smith, 4 MS Dhoni (cast & wk), 5 Mitchell Marsh, 6 Thisara Perera, 7 Rajat Bhatia, 8 R Ashwin, 9 M Ashwin/Irfan Pathan, 10 Ankit Sharma, 11 Ishant Sharma/RP SinghManish Pandey has been ruled out for a few matches with chicken pox. Suryakumar Yadav may be be promoted to No. 3.Kolkata Knight Riders (probable): 1 Gautam Gambhir (capt), 2 Robin Uthappa, 3 Sheldon Jackson, 4 Suryakumar Yadav, 5 Yusuf Pathan, 6 Andre Russell, 7 Shakib Al Hasan, 8 Piyush Chawla, 9 Sunil Narine, 10 Umesh Yadav, 11 Morne Morkel

Pitch and conditions

If it is the same pitch as Friday, the ball could hold up in the surface, but will it benefit the slower bowlers?

Stats and trivia

• Gambhir and Uthappa have scored 66.79% of Knight Riders’s runs so far in the tournament. The pair has three fifty-plus partnerships in their three wins
• Knight Riders have the best averages so far in the IPL. Their batting average is 47.75 while their bowling average is 19.51

Jason Roy battled against his natural instincts but his dismissal summed up Middlesex’s domination in the London derby

Vithushan Ehantharajah at Kia Oval16-May-2016
ScorecardJason Roy battled against the grain•Getty Images

There was a moment in the evening session, when the working men and women made use of free entry after tea, as the sun seemed to prop itself on top of the OCS stand, that summed up where the honours lay at the Oval.Jason Roy, home favourite, T20 stud, was in the middle of a stern examination from Toby Roland-Jones – a bowler built to hit a deck hard enough to strike oil. This is a Surrey side with a young core against a Middlesex side that have been playing Division One cricket since 2012. Here was south London’s jewel against north London’s piston.Roy, in the middle of playing out a maiden, defended the ball back to Roland-Jones, whose follow through always takes him to within chirping distance of the batsman. Roland-Jones said a few words. Roy kept schtum.The Roy of old might have said a few words back. Middlesex were on top, Surrey were 72 for 4 after they had been thrashed before lunch for the icing on the visitors total of 395. This was a time for resistance rather than words, and Roy knew it.The Roy of old might have also looked over to the short boundary towards the Archbishop Tenison’s School and seen sixes beyond his wildest dreams. During mid-pitch discussions with Ben Foakes, with whom he gritted out a 60-run fifth-wicket stand from 144 balls, he might have even wondered if could spit further than the boundary’s edge. This was a time for patience rather than power. And Roy knew it.He remained diligent, played patiently and, having taken a few blows, decided to help Surrey fight their way out of the corner. Having timed his first ball through midwicket for four, he waited 27 more balls before hitting a second.There were three more in the next 13, including a checked straight drive that is so his that there’d be no need to trademark it because so few others could copy it. But having made it to 47, ticking, he worked a tame leg spinner from Dawid Malan into the hands of Sam Robson at short leg. His walk off was slow but never once did he look back.Middlesex bossed a lot of today and excelled in the moments that mattered. Their 10th wicket stand of 68 between Toby Roland-Jones (44*) and Tim Murtagh (24) took them well beyond par, after excellent bowling from Tom Curran and Gareth Batty upset the stumps of James Harris and James Franklin, respectively. Only 29 had been added to the overnight score when Murtagh began accompanying Roland-Jones, who struck four fours and three sixes – only one of which utilised the shorter side.It wasn’t quite the way Middlesex had intended on pushing for 400 after getting to 166 for one in the 43rd over. Like a kebab in the small hours of the morning, a last stand is not something to be relied upon for sustenance and is certainly not appealing to the senses. But, every now and again, it does the job.So, too, by his own humble sentiments, does Ollie Rayner. After collecting 15-wickets here in 2013 when these two last faced off, Rayner returned to haunt Surrey with the first three wickets to fall. Conditions from the Pavilion End rewarded his use of the foot marks made by the quicks at the Vauxhall End to good effect. “I can’t complain about being used just holding up an end or bringing back the over-rate and then not do a job when conditions are in my favour,” he observed wryly at stumps.The first two came in the same over – one which nearly included the prized scalp of Kumar Sangakkara. For a moment, it looked like Rayner had him first ball. Burns was caught at mid off via a leading edge, bringing the Sri Lanka superstar to the crease. On the money, Rayner drifted one in that beat the left-hander on the inside edge and hit pad. Not out. “I was spewing,” said a smiling Rayner at stumps. “That would have been a nice one for the collection – Sangakkara, first pill.”The wicket of Harinath, lbw, arrived two balls later. He had to wait a bit longer to snare the scalp he coveted: a bit of drift and turn saw a skewed drive finish in the hands of Murtagh diving forward a backward point. He celebrated accordingly.It is now 29 wickets for Rayner against Surrey – his next best opponents are Somerset, against whom he has 18. His contract is up at the end of the summer – “Middlesex are dragging their feet,” he proclaimed, tongue firmly in cheek – and, when asked if he’d like to call the Oval, a more spin-friendly track, home, he laughed off the suggestion. His heart for now belongs north of the river.There were signs of variable bounce today and, with Surrey 111 away from the follow-on target with just four wickets left. Whether that is enforced will depend on the weather, with rumblings of rain on day four. Even so, Middlesex are sniffing a first Championship win of the season.

The BBL’s oldest player, spinner Brad Hogg, has joined the Melbourne Renegades for the 2016-17 season

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Jul-2016The BBL’s oldest player, spinner Brad Hogg, has joined the Melbourne Renegades for the 2016-17 season. Hogg, 45, has spent the past five seasons as something of a cult figure with the Perth Scorchers and is their all-time leading BBL wicket taker, and second on the wicket tally for all teams since the tournament began in 2011-12.However, Hogg has decided against remaining in his home state, much to the disappointment of Scorchers coach Justin Langer. “I have been a very fortunate man in every respect and had five great seasons with the Scorchers,” Hogg said on Monday. “It was simply time for me to move on.”I had been rejecting other BBL offers for years, but this year I realised the end is coming closer – hopefully it’s still a few years away yet – but I know this is the time to grab those opportunities and experience everything I possibly can. The competition between the two Melbourne teams is a fierce rivalry and I want to be a part of that intensity over the BBL season.”Melbourne is the sporting hub of the country so I see it as a great honour to play there. It’s also a great team, and the fever pitch of a two-team rivalry, within the competition will be brilliant. Coming from Perth, the only time we get a taste of that is in AFL with the Dockers and Eagles. It’s electrifying.”The Renegades and Stars games will offer an intense rivalry within the competition itself. It adds an element to the game that I haven’t experienced. The Renegades can win this league and I cannot wait to get out there and feel the roar of that competition.”Hogg played in successful back-to-back BBL campaigns with the Scorchers in 2013-14 and 2014-15, and became Australia’s oldest T20 international player at the age of 43. This year, at 45, he became the oldest man ever to play in the IPL.”It’s just amazing when you consider that Brad’s still fit, got the fire and more to the point in-demand around the world,” Renegades coach David Saker said. “I don’t think there are many recent summers where we haven’t stood there and applauded his BBL performances”His experience goes without saying. He’ll be great for the guys in the group to learn from and you can’t teach the energy and enthusiasm he brings to the club. He loves the battle on the field and we can’t wait to see his competitive side come out in red.”