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Debutant Zulfiqar Babar, 34, took 3 for 23 and hit the winning runs off the last ball to take Pakistan home in a thriller against West Indies

The Report by Abhishek Purohit27-Jul-2013Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsZulfiqar Babar, 34, had a dream debut for Pakistan•WICB Media

You get a chance to play international cricket at 34, becoming the second-oldest debutant for your country. You are hit for six second ball. What do you do? You dismiss three key batsmen for just 23 runs. You are then called on to finish the game. With the bat. Understandably, you are tied down. But with six needed off six, you loft over extra cover for four. You think you have more than pulled your weight as a debutant. You have, but it is not over yet. It comes down to the last ball. One run needed. Everyone is in the circle. No sweat. You go big over mid-off, so big that you clear the rope. Zulfiqar Babar, welcome to international cricket.It should not have come down to the last ball the way Shahid Afridi sensibly steered the chase from 86 for 5. After that became 116 for 6, he did it with the tail for company. He made 46 off 27, but barring the 27th delivery, he hardly hit a desperate, reckless stroke. With eight needed off 11 though, he tried to seal it with a straight six, and mishit to long-on.West Indies sensed a chance. Babar played out a few dots. Despite that early boundary in the last over, Saeed Ajmal was run out off the fifth with the scores tied, before Babar roared one final time.The way they bowled and fielded, West Indies were lucky to have taken it down to the last ball. Shannon Gabriel took three wickets, but he crumbled under pressure each time he was called upon to deliver. Umar Amin, who played a blinder on T20 debut, took three fours off Gabriel’s first over, with a flick and two pulls.Amin then took Samuel Badree apart on a turning pitch. Never giving the ball a chance to spin, he repeatedly stepped out to loft Badree down the ground. When the bowler dropped it short, Amin pulled. When he overpitched,
Amin drove. Even as Amin was toying with West Indies, the hosts were striking at the other end.The Pakistan top order fell to miscalculated hits, but Amin’s brilliance meant the asking-rate was always under control. That still didn’t stop Amin from walking out to Samuels and getting stumped to make it 86 for 5.Afridi took over now, striking Samuels first ball for six over long-off and drilling the third to the extra cover rope. Thereafter, he settled down into cruise mode, rotating the strike, picking the odd boundary and also lofting Sunil Narine to become the first man to reach 400 international sixes. He did everything right except the stroke on the ball he got out to, but then, it was to be the debutant’s day in the end.Babar, and the other Pakistan spinners, had shocked West Indies initially on the turner but the hosts recovered and then took apart the fast bowlers to post a challenging total. Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard came together at 42 for 4 and put on 56 before Darren Sammy cracked 30 off 14. Pakistan’s slow bowlers did their job, taking 5 for 74 in 14 overs but the fast bowlers, missing the yorkers too often, disappeared for 1 for 73 in six. Mohammad Hafeez, who opened the bowling and dismissed the openers, gave himself just two overs.Babar squared up and bowled Lendl Simmons with his fourth delivery and in his next over, found himself in the way of a powerful hit from Samuels, but managed to hold on. Samuels had been cutting Mohammad Irfan for boundaries amid all the wickets.Bravo and Pollard, although not always in control, rotated the strike, a refreshing thing coming from a West Indies pair. Bravo was quick to hit with the turn through the off side, and Pollard made sure he put away the rare half-volleys for boundaries. Sammy went after the fast bowlers as he and Pollard looted 53 in four overs. As Sammy said after the game, 152 should have been defended on that pitch, but Babar was to have the perfect debut.

South Africa’s franchise associations have urged CSA to finalise the itinerary for the upcoming home series against India with the BCCI quickly, with ticket sales at stake

Firdose Moonda03-Sep-2013South Africa’s franchise associations have urged Cricket South Africa to finalise quickly the itinerary for the upcoming home series against India with the BCCI, given that ticket sales are at stake. The Gauteng Cricket Board (GCB), which manages the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg, is concerned it might not get to host the third Test, scheduled from January 15, but has decided to release season tickets despite the uncertainty.”All we know is what we have read (in the press),” Gauteng’s CEO Cassim Docrat said on Monday. “We could be one of the affected parties so we need to know what’s going to happen. We have (asked CSA), but (as of Sunday afternoon) we haven’t had a response from them yet.”We are going to go ahead with our season ticket sales based on the original itinerary. We can always change midstream if we need to – the longer we wait to put them on sale, the longer we keep people in limbo.”The Cape Cobras (Newlands) have already announced their ticket prices for the T20 (November 24), ODI (December 15), the New Year Test (starting January 2) and the Australia Test in March. Kwa Zulu Natal (Kingsmead, Durban), which is scheduled to host the Boxing Day Test, is also expected to release tickets soon. Johannesburg is also due to host a T20 and an ODI.Another franchise official, who did not want to be named, said they would “urge CSA to sort this out very quickly.” They also said it was discussed at last week’s CEOs conference and there were concerns over the status of the upcoming home series, which is bound to generate great interest. CSA, however, appear to be in denial that the schedule may be pruned and hence have remained mum on the issue as far as the franchises are concerned.The BCCI had already objected to the itinerary released in July, saying CSA had announced the schedule without the Indian board’s consent. It is understood that the BCCI is on the verge of giving CSA a revised schedule cutting down what was originally scheduled to be a three-Test, seven-ODI and two-T20 tour to two Tests, three ODIs and two T20s.However, BCCI president N Srinivasan said after the board’s working committee meeting on Sunday that the series is “definitely on.” A CSA official told ESPNcricinfo that the board had not been contacted by the BCCI on the schedule yet, and it would not respond till it receives “a formal proposal”.The status and length of the South Africa tour was in further doubt when on Sunday, the BCCI announced it would be inviting West Indies for at least two Tests in November. This would directly impact the South Africa schedule, as India were originally due to kickstart their tour on November 18.If CSA goes with the reduced series, the next bone of contention would be the Boxing Day Test. CSA had reintroduced the traditional Test while announcing the itinerary for India’s tour in July. However, the BCCI may demand that the Tests be played before limited-overs’ games, thus taking a Boxing Day Test out of equation.

Jaywant Lele, the former BCCI secretary, has died of a heart attack in Baroda on Thursday. Lele was the board secretary when the match-fixing scandal broke out in 2000

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Sep-2013Jaywant Lele, the former BCCI secretary, has died of a heart attack aged 75 in Baroda on Thursday. Lele took over the post in 1996 and it was during his tenure when the match-fixing scandal broke out in 2000.In that period, the board first set up the Justice Chandrachud Commission to probe the match-fixing charges and then asked the CBI to step in after the former South African captain Hansie Cronje admitted to fixing. The investigation led to life bans on the former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin and batsman Ajay Sharma.Lele lost his post as secretary to Niranjan Shah during the 2001 board elections. He was gearing up for a return to cricket administration in the forthcoming Baroda Cricket Association (BCA).A former engineer with Sarabhai Chemicals, Lele became the honorary secretary of the BCA in 1969. In 2003, he was expelled from the BCA, along with two other administrators, for alleged financial irregularities and administrative lapses.The outspoken Lele was never short of a colourful quote. Before India’s tour of Australia in 1999-2000, a journalist overheard a private conversation in which Lele had predicted that India would lose 3-0. India did lose 3-0. Two years ago, he penned a memoir titled .Lele was also a qualified umpire.While BCCI president N Srinivasan stated he was “shocked to hear the sad demise” of Lele, Sachin Tendulkar said he will miss Lele. “He always had
wonderful words of encouragement for me and genuinely wished well for me,” Tendulkar told . “He was a wonderful person and a well-wisher of mine. I can never forget the interactions we have had over the years. I will miss him.”Malcolm Speed, the former chief executive of Cricket Australia and the ICC, said that Lele was “energetic and reliable”. “I thoroughly enjoyed working with him when I was the chief executive of Cricket Australia. He would always make sure that the relationships between various cricket boards remained cordial,” Speed said. “There are so many special memories that I have of him. He was a lively and colourful character who would ensure that he will be fondly remembered as a cricket administrator and a person. I am deeply saddened by his untimely passing away.”

Canada were one game away from making an undefeated run to the ICC Americas T20 title for the second time after breezing to a seven-wicket win over Bermuda

The Report by Peter Della Penna09-May-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsJimmy Hansra was Man of the Match for his match-winning innings•Peter Della Penna

Canada were one game away from making an undefeated run to the ICC Americas T20 title for the second time after breezing to a seven-wicket win over Bermuda at Indianapolis World Sports Park. Bermuda managed just 114 for 7 after winning the toss, and an unbeaten 79-run stand between Jimmy Hansra and Srimantha Wijeratne took Canada home with 10 balls to spare.Bermuda’s batting stumbled early once again and had difficulty recovering: Dion Stovell was lbw playing across the line to fast bowler Cecil Pervez on the first ball of the match. Christian Burgess was out for 5 to make it 15 for 2 on the first ball of the fourth over as Hansra took a superb catch – a skier over extra cover that swirled in the wind off the bowling of Saad Bin Zafar. David Hemp, Bermuda’s leading scorer in Indianapolis, fell for 12, mistiming Satsimranjit Singh to Rizwan Cheema at cover.Bermuda captain Janeiro Tucker top-scored with 34 but survived a run-out chance before he had scored. Zafar had a clear shot at the stumps from short third man with Tucker six yards short and having given up, but the throw was errant. Tucker wound up lasting until the 15th over, adding 47 runs with Tre Manders before he was well caught by wicketkeeper Hamza Tariq off a thick edge while attempting to cut offspinner Nikhil Dutta.As he did against USA in a Man-of-the-Match performance, Pervez returned to produce a superb spell at the death to take a wicket in the 18th and 20th overs. Both times he clipped the top of off stump, getting Delray Rawlins for 24 and Josclyn Pitcher for a duck. Left-arm spinner Farhan Malik claimed Jacobi Robinson for 1 to round off the wicket-takers for Canada with Pervez’s 3 for 17 the best figures on the day.Canada’s chase got off to a slightly rocky start. Just as he did in the first game against Bermuda, Ruvindu Gunasekera pulled to fine leg but once again a straightforward chance was put down, this time in the first over before he had scored. Bermuda kept coming hard though and three balls later Cheema was beaten for pace on an attempted drive and bowled by Pitcher for 1. Gunasekera then fell on the first ball of the second when he was bowled by Jordan DeSilva for 6 to make it 7 for 2. Nitish Kumar entered at three and lasted until the final ball of the eighth, when he lofted Stovell to Manders at long off for 12.Hansra was joined by Wijeratne and the pair chased down the target with relative ease. He brought up his 50 in 46 balls with a single off Tucker to end the 15th before teeing off for a six straight down the ground off Robinson in the 16th. Three overs later, he finished off the match by hitting a towering six that ricocheted off the top of the sightscreen scaffolding on the north side of the ground to finish unbeaten on 68. Wijeratne was not out on 26. Hansra said Canada were not satisfied with being 5-0 and were motivated to go for an undefeated title run by beating USA in the tournament final on Saturday.”It means a lot. What we came here to do, we’re just one game away to accomplish that goal,” Hansra told ESPNcricinfo after the win. “We wanted to win convincingly. I think we’ve done that so far. Bowlers and batters have stepped up when needed. Tomorrow we know we have a good game. USA is going to come hard at us. We just have to keep calm and do the little things right and I think we’ll be fine.”

Karl Brown and Steven Croft, two products of the Lancashire academy, sealed the Championship in 2011 but it is already clear that if the Division Two title is to be won this year, the achievement will not be solely, or even largely, the work of homegrown

Paul Edwards at Southport25-May-2015
ScorecardAshwell Prince closed unbeaten with a big century•PA Photos

One of the most famous photographs in Lancashire’s recent history captures the moment when the 2011 County Championship was won. It shows two graduates of the Old Trafford’s Academy, Karl Brown and Steven Croft, embracing on the Taunton square in the moment of triumph.But it is already clear that if the Division Two title is to be won this year, the achievement will not be solely, or even largely, the work of homegrown talent. Some diehards object to this. Then again, if supporters are treated to deeply professional batsmanship of the type exhibited by Ashwell Prince and Alviro Petersen in their record breaking 258-run third-wicket stand on the second day of this game at Southport, they may not mind if their title-winners come from Port Elizabeth rather than Preston.Prince joined Petersen at the crease at 12.10pm just after Karl Brown had been caught at the wicket playing a rather limp shot to the Derbyshire seamer Tom Taylor. Lancashire were 18 for 2, having lost Paul Horton three overs previously when the in-form opener was beaten by a good ball from Mark Footitt and nicked a catch to Chesney Hughes.The home side’s predicament was compounded by the 28 runs Mark Critchley had carved and clipped through the first half-hour of the day in making 41. Derbyshire’s total of 370 looked a decent effort, especially on a wicket that is gradually taking more spin. With both of Steven Croft’s openers back in the hutch, it looked even bigger.But Petersen and Prince are used to such apparent crises and the next five hours or so belonged to them. First they neutralised the threat of the new ball; then they attacked judiciously, taking especially heavy toll of Derbyshire’s three spinners, David Wainwright, Scott Elstone and Critchley.Lancashire were 69 for 2 at lunch with the immediate emergency averted. By tea the home side had got to 210 without further loss and the afternoon had been bejewelled with excellent batting. At times it looked a little like a Staff v Boys game with the masters intent on brutal revenge. Then again, since Prince is 38 years old and Matt Critchley is 18, the comparison is not absurd. So the master hit the apprentice for a big six and a four, forcing Billy Godleman to bring back Wainwright.Petersen then straight drove the offspinner to bring up his fifty off 82 balls, his compatriot having reached the same mark off 18 balls fewer. Prince then played a sublime shot, cover driving one of Shiv Thakor’s medium pacers to the Late Cut bar boundary; Godleman trotted after the ball but it was more an act of obeisance than pursuit.Prince cut Footitt twice in the same over, first square, then late, both for four. So it continued, deep into the afternoon. The crowd felt the warmth of the sun more fully and one could sense their pleasure. The bars did good business and there was a babble of happinessAt tea, Prince was unbeaten on 99 and reached his century immediately after the resumption. It had taken 138 balls and had included 15 fours and a six. Petersen reached the same landmark soon afterwards off 18 more balls, not that it mattered a brass bean. Indeed, it seemed that the pair were intent on building something to send the statisticians into major raptures when, having made 113, Petersen was beautifully pouched by Harvey Hosein, standing up to the stumps off the ever willing Taylor. The stand had established a new record for first-class matches on the ground and for Championship games between Lancashire and Derbyshire.”With them getting over 300 runs we were under pressure so Ashwell and I knew we had to get a partnership together,” Petersen said. “We communicated, we knew which bowlers to put under pressure and which areas to score in. We have played a lot of cricket together and we understand each other. It all came together and, more importantly, it puts the team in a good position.”Ashwell is playing good cricket. It is his last season and sometimes that means there is no pressure on you and you can just go out and express yourself. He is like a good red wine, the older he gets the better he gets.”Still the entertainment was not at an end. Steven Croft came in and hit both Wainwright and Critchley for sixes so huge and powerful that they severed tree branches and sent them tumbling onto the railway line and a Harrod Drive garden. Taylor responded by having Croft leg before for 22 but the batsman seemed to think he had hit the ball. A dressing room door slammed as the Lancashire skipper continued his War on Wood.Prince and Alex Davies guided their team to the close, thus preparing the ground for a further assault. One barely noticed that Davies, all cuts and punches, had made 28 not out when the players came into the pavilion. Prince was 156 not out, his runs made off 229 balls.Godleman was quietly spoken and generous at the end of what had been a difficult day for him and his bowlers. “I had a few more decisions to make today but I really enjoyed the experience,” he said”We did well to take a couple of wickets with the new ball and then I think we saw two fine hundreds from two outstanding international players. They put the bad ball away and the way they rotated the strike on a pitch which is starting to turn a little more was high quality.”Yes, it was, you know. These are the days we wait for through the lukewarm soup of an English winter.

A second match in 24 hours was a step too far for Leicestershire as their NatWest T20 Blast challenge took a blow with a six-wicket defeat by Worcestershire at New Road.

ECB/PA29-May-2015
ScorecardDaryl Mitchell shook off a nasty blow to play the match-winning innings•Getty Images

A second match in 24 hours was a step too far for Leicestershire as their NatWest T20 Blast challenge took a blow with a six-wicket defeat by Worcestershire at New Road.Daryl Mitchell was the home side’s wounded matchwinner, accelerating to the only half-century of the evening after taking a fearful crack on his right arm early in the reply to Leicestershire’s total of 147 for 6.Early in his innings Worcestershire’s captain was unable to dodge a thunderous straight drive by his partner, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, but with his elbow strapped up, he was able to lead a well-paced victory charge with 58 from 47 balls.Three of his six fours came after Worcestershire had gone through almost eight overs without a boundary and when he was dismissed by Rob Taylor, thin edging a cut behind the wicket, Ben Cox and Ross Whiteley wrapped up a first T20 Blast win of the season with 14 balls to spare.

Insights

Daryl Mitchell demonstrated the immense value of experience guiding Worcestershire to victory. Between the end of the Powerplay, which Worcestershire exited 50 for 2 and the third ball of the thirteenth over, a period of 45 balls, Worcestershire didn’t hit a single boundary and the required run rate climbed from 7 to 8.85.
A younger player may have panicked, but Mitchell with 98 T20 appearances, kept his head, and he only fell after striking three fours in eight balls to bring the required run rate back to seven. An explosive cameo from Ross Whiteley finished the job.
Freddie Wilde

Ben Cox justified his promotion up the order with an unbeaten 30 from 26 deliveries and Ross Whiteley was simply brutal in finishing it off a four and two sixes off Ben Raine. The former Derbyshire batsman needed only 11 balls to make 26 not out.From Leicestershire’s point of view, the finish was abrupt and probably unexpected after their bowlers apparently held the upper hand.There were wickets for Taylor, Raine and Nigar Jaik as the boundaries dried up after Colin Munro had hit a six off the first ball he faced in his first competitive innings in 66 days. However the New Zealand allrounder was soon stumped for 11.A string of heavy showers blew away and gave away to a sunny evening as Leicestershire posted what would have been seen as a reasonably competitive score on a sluggish surface.After losing the toss, it was became a struggle for anyone to play a truly dominant innings. Mark Cosgrove, with 27 from 24 balls, and Grant Elliott, with 33 from 32, were as comfortable as anyone and Tom Wells got them close to 150 with an unbeaten 26 from 14, including a pull for six in the final over from Joe Leach.Ned Eckersley was the only player among the top seven to miss out on double figures when caught at mid-wicket in Jack Shantry’s second over but Leicestershire took 56 off the power play for the loss of only one more wicket, Kevin O’Brien falling leg-before to England Under-19 allrounder Ed Barnard.Worcestershire’s spinners then dragged the rate back for a while. Raine holed out at midwicket from D’Oliveira’s first ball and Sachithra Senanayake claimed the big prize when Cosgrove gave a catch to short cover from the Sri Lankan’s second delivery.The Australian’s departure was followed by the one substantial partnership as Elliott and Niall O’Brien put on 50 in 7.5 overs before they were pegged back in quick succession.After making 26 from 25 balls, O’Brien was caught at deep square leg in a good containing spell by Mitchell and Elliott steered Barnard to short third man.

The USA Cricket Association may be on the road back to court after a California sports lawyer has filed a request for arbitration on behalf of the family of a junior cricketer claiming “unfairness and lack of transparency in the USACA U-19 selection proce

Peter Della Penna25-Jun-2015After fighting off legal action from a dismissed board member and contested election results in recent years, the USA Cricket Association may be on the road back to court, after a California sports lawyer has filed a request for arbitration on behalf of the family of a junior cricketer claiming “unfairness and lack of transparency in the USACA U-19 selection process” held from May 23-25 in Los Angeles.Jeremy Evans, the lawyer representing Shyam Patnam whose son Aravind was not selected in the final 14-man squad due to travel to Bermuda next month for the ICC Americas U-19 Division One tournament, states that Mr. Patnam personally requested an arbitration hearing with USACA and filed the paperwork within the two-week deadline laid out in the USACA Constitution but that USACA’s failure to respond is a violation of due process. Multiple USACA administrators who were contacted by ESPNcricinfo about Evans’ legal notice declined to comment. Evans has requested an expedited hearing due to the USA U-19 team’s scheduled departure for Bermuda on July 4 for a tournament whose winner will advance to the ICC U-19 World Cup next year in Bangladesh.”Mr. Patnam does not wish to challenge whether his son is a bad or great cricket player,” Evans wrote in his notice to USACA dated June 8. “He wishes that his son would have had a fair shot to make the team where, among other reasons, clearly several players did not try out yet made the team thus raising serious questions as to the selection process.”Mr. Patnam also sent a letter on June 1 to USACA to demand not just an arbitration hearing, but that a total of seven players included in the 14-man squad be removed for various reasons. Three players selected did not attend trials while Patnam claims the other four underperformed but benefited from nepotism by being the sons or close friends of current or former USACA administrators. Patnam requested that their spots in the USA U-19 squad be filled by his son Aravind, former USA U-15 player Anirudh Srinivas, and five other players “who performed well during the trials.””The whole ordeal and the unfair process, which we think has been unethical, has caused our children severe agony and depression,” Patnam wrote. “They have seen that it helps to be the child of a selector or a USACA official, or an ex-official, with no need for any talent of significance to be on the US team. The agony they are going through right now is severe and indescribable.”

Paras Mhambrey has been roped in to assist Rahul Dravid as the bowling coach of the India A team

Amol Karhadkar14-Jul-2015Paras Mhambrey has been roped in to assist Rahul Dravid as the bowling coach of the India A team. The former India medium-pacer, who is also the Vidarbha coach, will join the India A squad in Chennai ahead of the first four-day game against Australia A from July 18.According to a BCCI insider, Dravid recommended Mhambrey for the role. The BCCI then formally approached Mhambrey, who accepted their offer after assuring the Vidarbha Cricket Association that he wouldn’t leave them in the lurch.”I am happy to work with Rahul. It feels really nice when someone of his pedigree takes so much interest in the appointment of support staff,” Mhambrey told ESPNcricinfo. “Working with the India A lot is an exciting prospect. There is a lot of potential in this India A group and I am looking forward to helping them maximise it.”The VCA was happy to release him despite his contract running till the end of the season. Mhambrey will thus skip the KSCA Shafi Darashah tournament since the pre-season tournament clashes with the India A series.”We are delighted to see Paras getting such an opportunity,” the VCA president Prakash Dixit said. “He assured us that he will join us as soon as the series is over and knowing him, we are sure he will keep in touch with our players regularly.”Mhambrey has gained plenty of coaching experience since leading Mumbai to a Ranji Trophy triumph as a player. Over the last last twelve years, he has coached Maharashtra, Bengal, Baroda and Vidarbha. He was also a part of the Mumbai Indians coaching staff for four years.

Angelo Mathews scored his sixth Test century and dominated a wicketless first session but Sri Lanka lost their way thereafter, losing their last seven wickets for 65 runs as India ran to a dominant position at the end of day three

The Report by Karthik Krishnaswamy22-Aug-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsLahiru Thirimanne and Angelo Mathews added 127 for the fourth wicket•AFP

Angelo Mathews scored his sixth Test century and dominated a wicketless first session but Sri Lanka lost their way thereafter, losing their last seven wickets for 65 runs as India ran to a dominant position at the end of day three. Mathews and Lahiru Thirimanne resisted the steady drip of pressure exerted by India’s bowlers, adding 127 for the fourth wicket, but the rest of Sri Lanka’s batting couldn’t cope with it. Having secured a first-innings lead of 87, India extended it to 157 for the loss of just one wicket.

Thirimanne fined for dissent

Sri Lanka batsman Lahiru Thirimanne has been fined 30% of his match fee after he was found to have breached Article 2.1.5 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to “showing dissent at an umpire’s decision during an International Match”.
The incident in question occurred in the 85th over of Sri Lanka’s innings, when Thirimanne stood his ground after being adjudged caught behind, and eventually left the field shaking his head.
The charge was laid by on-field umpires Bruce Oxenford and Rod Tucker, and third umpire Ruchira Palliyaguruge.
Thirimanne admitted the offence and accepted the sanction proposed by Andy Pycroft of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees, meaning there was no need for a formal hearing.

India lost KL Rahul in the first over of their second innings, bowled off the inside edge by a Dhammika Prasad inducker, before Vijay and Rahane saw them through to stumps. They did this without too many alarms, though Rangana Herath troubled both batsmen with his straighter one, having two strong lbw appeals turned down. Rod Tucker made the right decision each time, with one striking the inside edge and two seeming to be missing leg.Just as they had done on day two, India’s bowlers probed away with discipline on a pitch offering them just enough to keep asking questions, but Mathews and Thirimanne were more than equal to the task. In all, it was riveting Test cricket, with Mathews using his nous and Thirimanne showing impressive patience to strengthen Sri Lanka’s position and leave them the happier of the two sides at lunch.India seemed to be letting the initiative slide even further when, in the second over after lunch, Ishant Sharma went around the wicket to try and bombard Mathews with bouncers. He had long leg and deep square leg in place, but the deliveries he sent down were so lacking in venom that Mathews still managed to pull and glance him for three successive fours. Wisely, India shelved the short-ball tactic.The round-the-wicket angle, however, brought Ishant reward in his next over, though it was Thirimanne who succumbed, nicking behind while trying to drive one that straightened from a fullish length. He looked displeased with the umpire’s decision, but replays were inconclusive.A short rain interruption followed, after which Ishant struck again to remove Dinesh Chandimal, who pressed forward and pushed away from his body at one that seamed away. During his spell, Ishant’s use of the bouncer became less predictable and harder to play, and he struck Chandimal’s helmet and Jehan Mubarak’s glove while they ducked with their eyes off the ball.Mathews moved to his hundred – his sixth in Tests – with the most audacious shot of his innings, reverse-sweeping R Ashwin against the turn, off a ball that straightened from middle stump, and finding the gap to the left of point. But he was gone three balls later, poking at a good-length ball outside off – a shot he may not have played had he not been batting on three figures – to give Stuart Binny his first Test wicket. The frenetic action continued in the next over, when Mishra bowled a legbreak laden with overspin and bounce to force Dhammika Prasad to pop a simple catch to slip.Ishant Sharma exults after taking the wicket of Lahiru Thirimanne•AFP

Five overs into the post-tea session, Sri Lanka were all out. Mishra picked up two of the last three wickets, and bowled the ball of the day to ensnare Mubarak. The left-hander pressed forward to defend, not realising that late drift away from him had subtly changed the line of the ball; it pitched on off stump, rather than off and middle, and straightened past his outside edge to clip off stump. It had taken India only 22.1 overs to pick up the last seven wickets. Sri Lanka’s situation had been utterly transformed from the calmness of the first session.There was a sense of opportunism about the way Mathews batted, using the angles to create run-scoring opportunities, particularly through the leg side. In the sixth over of the morning, Mathews flicked Umesh Yadav square of midwicket, from an off-stump line, to pick up a boundary. The last ball of the over wasn’t quite as full, and he delayed the moment when he closed the bat face to work it wide of mid-on for a single. First ball of the next over, he repeated the same shot against Ishant Sharma. Three fairly good balls, six runs scored.But above all, the innings showcased Mathews’ ability to make his game work for him. His technique isn’t flawless – his front-foot stride isn’t the longest, and his bottom hand often dominates – but while the odd ball leaves him looking uncomfortable, he finds ways to minimise any damage it may cause.Late on day two, Umesh had opened him up three times with his outswinger. But he made sure he didn’t edge any of them, refusing to follow the ball with his hands. It happened again when Umesh was re-introduced to the attack ten minutes before lunch on day three. Again, Mathews played with bat close to body, happy for the ball to beat his edge by a fair distance. In between, Amit Mishra frequently puzzled him with his flight and dip, but he adjusted and played the second line, with soft hands.Thirimanne, usually easy on the eye but prone to errors, followed Mathews’ example beautifully. There was an early period of discomfort against Ishant, who angled it across the left-hander from a tight, off-stump line and found bounce and occasional seam movement, but he grew increasingly solid as the day progressed.Thirimanne was happy enough to defend ball after ball, and waited for the delivery he could cut: that shot brought him all three of his fours in a morning session that saw him advance his score by 29 runs, off 74 balls. In the process, he showed a glimpse of what he could offer Sri Lanka if he marries grit to his natural ability on a more frequent basis.

New South Wales defeated South Australia by 156 runs in their Matador Cup match at North Sydney Oval. Steven Smith top scored with 72 and Mitchell Starc collected four wickets

Daniel Brettig at North Sydney Oval08-Oct-2015
ScorecardMitchell Starc picked up 4 for 27 in the New South Wales victory•Getty Images

Much had been made of New South Wales fielding a team of 11 internationals against a South Australia side with two, but this contest effectively came down to one duel and one ball. Mitchell Starc, the world’s most feared limited-overs bowler, versus Travis Head, the precocious South Australia captain and an international batsman of the future.On Monday, Head’s 202 had rushed the Redbacks to a chase of 351 to beat Western Australia, about the same time as Starc’s left-arm rockets were razing the Cricket Australia XI. This time around SA were chasing only 266 after an energetic stint in the field that gleaned three Blues run-outs and left plenty of furrowed brows under the NSW awning at North Sydney Oval.Seeking to take up where he left off against the Warriors, Head opened the batting and boldly took Starc’s first over. In response, Starc followed a first-up wide with an away swinging yorker that flicked the outside of Head’s off stump – a left-hander’s version of the ball that confounded Brendon McCullum in the World Cup final. SA never really recovered from that moment, as the stronger NSW combination rumbled to victory.Starc was aided in his quest for wickets by uniformly strong bowling displays from the rest of the Blues’ attack. Gurinder Sandhu struck his typically awkward length, Steve O’Keefe landed the ball on a sixpence and pinned Sam Raphael in front of the stumps, while Sean Abbott accounted for the potentially dangerous Tom Cooper. Nathan Lyon got numerous balls to spin and jump on a pitch that was slow, tacky and intermittently untrustworthy.The Redbacks had fancied their chances of reeling in the Blues after taking regular wickets throughout the morning and thereby frustrating the home captain Steven Smith’s efforts to build partnerships. Raphael, Zampa and Head were all quicksilver in the field, causing indecision in the Blues’ running between the wickets while also holding several challenging catches.Most striking of these was Zampa’s one-handed plucking of a mistimed Smith flick at midwicket, both feet well off the ground to reach it. Equally memorable was Raphael’s dive to stop a forcing shot from Smith, swiftly followed by a recovery to throw down the stumps from side on and leave Peter Nevill stranded.Much of the credit for restricting the Blues had to go to the SA spin pair of Zampa and Tom Andrews, who bowled with notable control and subtle changes of pace to upset the rhythm of the batsmen. Moises Henriques had threatened to take the innings into more free-flowing territory in making 35 at near enough to a run a ball, but Andrews tempted him into a skied drive down the ground that was well held by Cooper a matter of centimetres inside the boundary rope.The fielding performance was further vindication of SA’s heavy pre-season fitness program under the guidance of the former Adelaide and Gold Coast AFL fitness trainer Stephen Schwerdt, but as Head was to discover, all the training in the world is insufficient to prepare for a swinging Starc yorker when a batsman is still getting his bearings. On that ball swung the match.