All posts by h716a5.icu

Midway through a season in which the Warriors have lost 12 of the 17 matches they have played across all formats, head coach Piet Botha has announced he is stepping down with immediate effect

Firdose Moonda10-Dec-2014Midway through a season in which the Warriors have lost 12 of the 17 matches they have played across all formats, head coach Piet Botha has announced he is stepping down with immediate effect. His assistant Malibongwe Maketa will take over for the rest of the 2014-15 summer after which the franchise will advertise the position.”After some serious deliberation and some poor results over the last few months I have decided that I will not re-apply for the position and that it is only fair on the team, support staff, the board and the public that I step aside as head coach at this time,” Botha said. “I believe that the team is in need of a new direction and part of that process is to get a coach with a fresh approach.”The Warriors have endured one of their worst starts to a season primarily because of batting woes. They have lost both the first-class matches they have played in after failing to post a single innings total of over 300, are currently in last position in the one-day points table with four defeats from five games, and finished the twenty-over tournament second from bottom, managing just three wins out of ten matches.Their overseas professional for the shortest format, Craig Kieswetter, told ESPNcricinfo the major problem lay in their inconsistency. “The team is struggling to put games together and end up playing half a game, so to speak,” he said. “There’s definitely talent and skill in the side, it’s just about getting it to work well.”That has been the prevailing issue for the Warriors for the past three seasons, since their last trophy in 2010-11. Then, with current national coach Russell Domingo at the helm, the Warriors won the domestic fifty and twenty-over competitions, qualified for the Champions League T20 and reached the final. Botha was Domingo’s assistant at the time and mentioned that period as being part of the franchise’s “glory days.”Although the Warriors reached the final of the twenty-over competition the following year and played in another Champions League T20, they failed to defend either title and have not reached such heights again. A player drain was partly responsible for that with Johan Botha moving to South Australia, Lonwabo Tsotsobe heading up country to the Lions and the retirements of Nicky Boje, Ashwell Prince and Makhaya Ntini. Sporadic national call-ups for Wayne Parnell and Colin Ingram as well as an injury to Rusty Theron also robbed the Warriors of key players for significant swathes of the past few seasons.Botha has seen all that and more with his involvement in the franchise stretching back a decade. He was part of the coaching structures since 2004, took over as head coach in 2011 and will stay on as a technical advisor to Maketa for the time being. Maketa will likely be the favourite to take over, given his experience at two franchises. He worked as an assistant at the Titans until two seasons ago, when he moved back to his home franchise in the Eastern Cape.Botha is the second coaching casualty of the summer after it was earlier announced the Knights would advertise for Sarel Cilliers’ position next March. Cilliers intends to reapply and after the team reached the final of the domestic twenty-over competition, his chances of another stint would seem fairly strong.

Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard are not part of 15-man West Indies World Cup squad according to Dinanath Ramnarine, though the WICB has not yet announced officially the World Cup squad

Nagraj Gollapudi08-Jan-2015Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard are not part of 15-man West Indies World Cup squad according to Dinanath Ramnarine, the former West Indies legspinner and former longtime president of West Indies Players Association.”Confirmed Bravo and Pollard are both out of the 2015 WC,” Ramnarine, who was the WIPA CEO and president between 2001 and 2012, said on his personal Twitter account on Thursday afternoon Caribbean time. Ramnarine’s tweet came as a surprise considering the WICB has not yet announced officially the World Cup squad even if there has been a growing speculation about Bravo and Pollard missing out once they were left out of the ODI series in South Africa. Asked the source of his information, Ramnarine said he could not reveal but said it was true.The WICB, when contacted by ESPNcricinfo, did not want to respond to Ramnarine’s statement, saying that they would “neither confirm nor deny” the news and asked to await a formal announcement likely on Saturday if not later Friday once the first Twenty20 between South Africa and West Indies is over.There have been no public comments made by Bravo and Pollard. The two are currently with the West Indies squad for the three-match Twenty20 series.Last month Clive Lloyd’s selection panel dropped the trio of Bravo, Pollard and Darren Sammy from the five-match ODI series against South Africa, starting on January 16. Jason Holder, an inexperienced fast bowler, replaced Bravo as the ODI captain while Sammy was later added back into the squad.The change in the ODI leadership came two months after West Indies pulled out of their tour to India with one ODI, one T20 and three Tests pending, due to a protracted disagreement between the players, the board and the players’ association over the payment structure specified by the players’ revised contracts. Bravo had vocalised the players’ stance in several letters to the WICB and WIPA.According to Ramanarine, the WICB had ignored the advice of its own task force set up to investigate the contracts dispute, which lead to the players pulling out of the India tour. The task force – comprising Michael Gordon, Wes Hall and Richard Cheltenham – said all three parties including WICB, WIPA and the players carried the blame for the debacle. “WICB set up their own Task Force – Task Force findings – WICB wrong, WIPA wrong and Players wrong End result – Pollard & Bravo get dropped,” Ramnarine, who tussled long, hard and frequently with WICB during his WIPA role, said.The WICB has remained silent despite vehement criticism to explain the reasoning behind the dropping of the trio from some eminent former West Indies players like Michael Holding and even St Vincent and Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves.In a guest column on ESPNcricinfo, Holding said the players were being punished by the administrators for no reason. What was appalling for him was how a player like Bravo, who had made it in the ICC ODI Team of 2014, could not find a place in the West Indies squad.In a similar scathing assessment, Gonsalves blamed WICB president Dave Cameron for “dishonouring” the agreement that the players who abandoned the India tour in October would not be victimised.According to Ralph Thorne, the players’ legal counsel, the inclusion of the dropped trio in the Twenty20 leg of the South Africa series was just a “consolation prize” and a deliberate move by the WICB to push aside his clients from participating in the World Cup. “Their retention in the Twenty20 team is not merely a consolation prize, but that inclusion, joined with their exclusion from the ODI team, is a gentle form of ruthlessness that disqualifies them from the most meaningful opportunity to compete for a place in the World Cup squad.”

If West Indies do not believe they can square the series against South Africa, they may as well head back to the airport as far as their manager Richie Richardson is concerned

Firdose Moonda in Cape Town04-Jan-2015If West Indies do not believe they can square the series against South Africa, they may as well head back to the airport as far as their manager Richie Richardson is concerned. Although they have suffered sizable collapses in the series so far – 6 for 39 and 7 for 44 in Centurion, 5 for 15 in Port Elizabeth, and 4 for 30 in the first innings here – Richardson remains confident that if West Indies push on, they could cause a massive upset.”You cant change the past, and you cant compete thinking about the negatives. If we are going to think like that, we may as well pack up and go home tonight,” Richardson said. “It’s important for two of our batsmen to get in and get centuries. South Africa are going to have to bat last on this wicket.”Although the Newlands surface remains suitable for batting, it is getting more difficult and is known to deteriorate on the final two days of a Test. “If you get in, it gets a bit easier. There are some cracks, a couple keep low and the spinner is in the game. There is more than enough for bowlers to work with,” AB de Villiers said, as a positive for his own attack, who will be looking to limit the lead tomorrow.Once it starts to inch towards 200 and if it tips over that, de Villiers predicts things could get tricky for the hosts. “Anything over 200 would be chaseable but tough,” he said.With West Indies four runs behind, with eight wickets in hand and two days left to play, recent form of the two teams aside, it would appear the match is shaping up to be much more competitive than many thought it would be and reflects well on West Indies. “We’ve shown quite a bit of improvement from the first Test match and that’s what we asked for,” Richardson said. “We’ve seen the team playing better and better. We’ve got to learn to dig in as early as possible. We had a bad start but we’re happy with the progress we’ve made.”Throughout the series their batsmen have got starts and as it has developed they have managed start building on them. This is their final opportunity to show that they can convert something small into something substantial, and Richardson hopes they will not squander that chance.”We have to work on turning those 40s and 50s into big hundreds. A lot of the players are young and inexperienced but they have the potential,” he said. “We have coaches, mentors, analysts, we collect data, we assess ourselves, we have a lot of discussion but at the end of the day, it’s up to the individual to go out there and make the decision. To say: ‘I’m going to score 150, I’m going to bat four hours.’ When you look at our batsmen, we’ve scored faster than the South Africans. We have class players, we just have to be a bit more productive.”In the two men at the crease – Leon Johnson and Marlon Samuels – West Indies have a mix of determination and defiance, and in the ones to come, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Denesh Ramdin, they have the experience they want. But they will be up against a South African attack that does not need much prompting to turn it on, although de Villiers gave them – one, in particular – a nudge, just in case.”We know the game will speed up a bit now. We’re hoping we can start really well tomorrow,” de Villiers said. “Simon Harmer will be really important for us. We’ll be looking to him not only to do a holding job but also as a strike bowler.”

Graham Thorpe feels the international scheduling is such that he is looking at whether the England Lions are good enough not for a ten-year career at the highest level, but an eight-year one

Ivo Tennant16-Jan-2015Graham Thorpe is ensconced behind the arm at Boland Park, assessing which of the numerous talented Lions batsmen in South Africa are ready to be pitched into Test cricket. He knows from the manner in which his own international career was terminated, one Kevin Pietersen being chosen ahead of him in 2005 when his record against Australia was highly impressive, that such judgements can be desperately difficult to make.England’s lead batting coach is 45. He remains slim, his eyes as darting as they were at the crease. Had he been born a few decades earlier, he might well still be playing, for he had the toughness, and left hander’s ability, of a Brian Close or a John Edrich. Now, though, he feels the international scheduling is such that he is looking at whether his young charges are good enough not for a ten-year career at the highest level, but an eight-year one.”I tell these players that at the end of their careers they must not look back with any regrets,” Thorpe said. “I could not have done any more in the game and have good memories, even when England’s results were not great. We believe that all the batsmen challenging to open with Alastair Cook will have an opportunity for England. Their techniques are good enough, otherwise they would not be here.”I tell them I like simplicity of technique. Ultimately, at the highest level, they have to manage themselves. I am quite big on players being tactically aware – I like them to try different shots in the middle and to be dynamic in the one-day game, in which we probably have some catching up to do. We have to deliver players to three different formats of the game and there are more ball strikers around now.”A young batsman is judged on whether he can defend and attack the short ball, whether he is light on his feet against spin and if he is a good reader of the game. It is about reducing the size of the box bowlers bowl into. If someone is comfortable against the short ball, his front foot play generally takes care of itself. If he pokes and prods on the subcontinent, he is not going to score runs. I want batsmen to get their feet to the spinners.”So which of the batsmen on this short trip is likely to open with Cook in the West Indies? “Sam Robson is the current opener,” Thorpe said. The combination at the top of the order against South Africa A in Paarl this week was Robson and Adam Lyth, with Alex Lees going in next. “Jonathan Trott is capable of opening and would bat anywhere if the opportunity came around.”No one can say that he will definitely play Test cricket again, but maybe he is more relaxed now than he was. Certainly he is in a good place mentally. Some things are private to him. We cannot put live television cameras and 20,000 spectators into the grounds on this trip, but there has been pressure on him because the cricket has been very competitive. The most important thing is that he enjoys it. And it has been great for the younger players to watch him.”He advises these Lions cricketers on contending with sledging, as he had to do when playing against Merv Hughes and Shane Warne. “I hope the game can police itself,” he said. “Because I played a lot of football when I was young, and had to put up with nasty tackles, opponents saying things to me on a cricket pitch did not worry me. I generally felt the umpires stepped in when I played. I always say, be yourself. Do not be someone you are not. Darren Gough, for instance, was the same person off the field as he was on it.”This Lions stage is a bit rougher than county cricket. I want the batsmen to feel pressure because the next step is Test cricket. I want them to feel their tickers going a bit. The biggest changes are the mental side of the game. When I first went to West Indies, I realised I had to become a better player of fast, short-pitched bowling. I had times in my younger days when I had difficulty touring. It has to be approached with a sense of adventure and adversity has to be embraced and dealt with through resilience. The rewards are there.”

A disciplined bowling performance, followed by fifties from Rachael Priest and Amy Satterthwaite, led New Zealand to a nine wicket win over England in the third ODI in Mount Maunganui

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Feb-2015
ScorecardAmy Satterthwaite took three wickets and scored 76* to sink England•ICCA disciplined bowling performance, followed by fifties from Rachel Priest and Amy Satterthwaite, steered New Zealand to a 2-1 lead, after a nine-wicket win over England in the third ODI in Mount Maunganui.In pursuit of 218, the hosts lost captain Suzie Bates for 39 in the 14th over. However, Priest and Satterwaite combined well to add 150, as New Zealand aced the chase in 48.4 overs. Anya Shrubsole picked up the only wicket to fall.Priest was philosophical about missing out on a maiden ton. “I was just happy to get the win, to be honest,” she said. “Amy was cruising it at the end, and I was just sitting back and watching – it was great. She batted so well, and she did that all the domestic season, too. For her to fight like that and come through at the end was fantastic for her.”Opting to bat, England had a fine start reaching 50 in 13.1 overs. Three overs later, Erin Bermingham broke the opening stand, having Charlotte Edwards caught behind for 40. Heather Knight carried on to register a seventh ODI fifty. The middle-order, though, caved in as England went from 133 for 2 to 159 for 6, Natalie Sciver and Knight perishing in successive overs.Knight made 79 off 119 balls – her career-best score – before becoming Bermingham’s third victim. The legspinner was the best bowler for New Zealand, claiming figures of 10-0-35-2. Satterthwaite picked up three wickets to dismantle the middle order, capping off a productive outing.The lower order rallied briefly through No. 7 Katherine Brunt and No. 9 Anya Shrubsole, as England finished on 217 for 9. However, it was not enough to pose a challenge to New Zealand. The teams will now head to Whangarei for the first two T20Is, before rounding off the series with a third T20I and two more ODIs in Lincoln.

Misbah-ul-Haq, Pakistan’s recently retired ODI captain, believes the PCB will have a “challenge” selecting a new leader for the country’s limited-overs team

Umar Farooq24-Mar-2015’Hurt’ Misbah hits back at critics

Misbah-ul-Haq has hit back at all the local TV critics, including former players, who he felt had been showing a lack of support to Pakistan throughout the World Cup.
Throughout his career as captain, Misbah has been on the receiving end of fierce criticism, and was recently described as being “selfish” and “cowardly” on Pakistani television following the team’s loss to India, forcing him to launch a resolute defense.
“It hurts when it comes from senior players who played with us, they did not learn any morality in any form or from any institute. They use such words that the whole world could have been shocked listening to them.
“When everyone is praising Pakistan, they are still standing on their one-point agenda: The batting has flopped because of Misbah, or the bowling has flopped but let’s put the blame on Misbah. It’s not because of one man. I didn’t attack the Sri Lankan team nor have I finished international cricket in Pakistan,” Misbah sarcastically quipped.
“It’s such problems that we have to face it. It’s not right to put the blame on me. I wasn’t in the team in 2007 or 2003. Somebody should ask them why the team made early exits then. They should give solutions for Pakistan and should think before speaking on television.
“These people are neither supporting Pakistan nor the team. It’s a big loss. There should be some criteria to let someone sit on television. It should be not like if someone is not getting any job, he should be allowed to come on television.”

Misbah-ul-Haq, Pakistan’s recently retired ODI captain, believes the PCB will have a “challenge” selecting a new leader for the country’s limited-overs team. Misbah admitted that his ODI side was rarely ever stable, and that the players had never been “able to match the level” of cricket played by the top teams.For the first time in nearly two years, Misbah appeared relaxed in a press conference. He was outspoken and very frank in his replies to journalists – a rarity during his time as captain. Misbah was in Lahore at the PCB headquarters along with team manager Naved Akram Cheema to meet the board’s chairman Shaharyar Khan following Pakistan’s quarter-final exit at the World Cup.”My one-day career is over and I have played my innings,” Misbah said. “Now the responsibility lies with the youngsters to take Pakistan cricket forward. It indeed will be a challenge for the PCB to pick a new ODI captain.”It’s unfortunate for Pakistan that we are not able to match the level of the top teams around the world for many reasons. Our batting and our fielding is just not there. We have to improve our basic structure. We played the quarter-finals and the credit for that goes to our bowlers who compensated our batting lapses. In batting and fielding, we need a lot of improvement.”You can’t compare Pakistan’s batting line-up with other teams. In most of the matches when I got out early, we couldn’t play the entire 50 overs. When you are under pressure, you tend not to take too many risks and the strike rate goes down. We had an inexperienced batting line-up.”When you get a set platform, you try your best to give at least a run a ball. We can say as a batting unit we are not yet matured and don’t know how to play a big innings. It’s a problem of our batting line-up and we need to look at it in future. Maybe if the batsmen get some exposure of international cricket, they get better. But obviously, it was our problem in the World Cup.”Misbah-ul-Haq – “You can’t compare Pakistan’s batting line-up with other teams. In most of the matches when I got out early, we couldn’t play the entire 50 overs”•Getty ImagesFor the first time since 2011, the PCB is in a dilemma with regards to the next ODI captain as there is no automatic choice to lead the team for their tour of Bangladesh next month. While the board holds the ultimate power to name the next captain, Misbah said he had voiced his suggestions and observations to the PCB. He added that the next leader should be allowed to have a say in team selection.”Our policy is that the selection committee has full and final authority. The captain gives his suggestions, but he doesn’t have the authority. I feel the captain and coach should both have authority as well as some responsibility in the selection committee.”When questioned about his team selections during the World Cup, particularly his persistence with Shahid Afridi, Misbah said the allrounder was an “irreplaceable” member of Pakistan.”Afridi was in good form. We didn’t have any replacement at No. 7 so obviously we played him,” Misbah said. “He is he only genuine allrounder in the team and we were struggling with the bowling line-up as we didn’t have fourth full bowler when we were played with six batsmen. So we had keep in him the line-up as a back-up for our batting. And you have to bank on a player who is a powerhouse. No doubt, he didn’t perform (as expected), but throughout the tournament his batting form was good.”Misbah, 40, led Pakistan in 87 matches, winning 45 and losing 39. In a 13-year ODI career which included three different stints with the team, Misbah scored 5122 runs from 162 ODIs. His average of 44.82 as captain is also the best for any Pakistan player to have led the side in at least 10 matches.

Led by a fiery Mitchell Starc and ably supported by the rest, Royal Challengers Bangalore dismantled the Rajasthan Royals’ batting line-up with precision to set-up an important nine-wicket win in Ahmedabad

The Report by Devashish Fuloria24-Apr-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details4:47

O’Brien: RCB bowlers built pressure really well

The most expensive bowling line-up in this IPL before today finally made a telling turnaround. Royal Challengers Bangalore had leaked runs at 9.55 runs an over in this IPL before today, but led by a fiery Mitchell Starc and ably supported by the rest, they dismantled the Rajasthan Royals’ batting line-up with precision to set-up an important nine-wicket win in Ahmedabad.The result was a boost for Royal Challengers as they broke away from Mumbai Indians at the bottom of the table and joined Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kings XI Punjab in a slightly less-bothersome mid-table stack. But more importantly, it was a bowling reassurance they desperately needed.Keeping Royals to 130 for 9 on a pitch that had seen a high-scoring Super Over thriller three days back demanded a speech from the captain and Virat Kohli obliged immediately at the end of the first innings. He got the team together in a huddle and gave them a quick pep talk. The confidence was visible in the batting as the big three in their batting – Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers and Kohli himself – played with uncluttered minds to finish off the chase in 16.1 overs.That swagger wasn’t there at the start of the game when Royal Challengers had opted to bowl. Ajinkya Rahne, the leading run-getter this IPL, and Shane Watson opened the way they always do – a quiet dab followed by a powerful strike – as they added 30 in the first four overs without a fuss. In absence of swing, Starc’s pace wasn’t really making an impression – he was taken for 16 in his first two overs – but before he would come for his second spell and close the doors on Royals, a lot of work was done by the domestic bowlers.Harshal Patel started it in his first over, beating the inside edge of Rahane’s bat with a clever change of pace and trapping him front. It was followed by Yuzuvendra Chahal, Royal Challengers’ leading wicket-taker, hurrying the dangerous Watson on a pull and getting him caught at the deep midwicket boundary in the next over. Watson had hit four fours and a six in his 26 and helped Royals to 46 in the sixth over, but his departure allowed the bowlers to exert smart control.Steven Smith faced only 17 balls in the following seven overs as Royals lost three more wickets and their run rate plummeted to below seven after being at eight at the end of the Powerplay. In that period, Iqbal Abdulla ran through his overs, giving away just 28 and dismissing Deepak Hooda, Harshal and David Wiese were miserly, and even Kohli rolled his arm over. Royals just couldn’t find a weak link.Still, with Smith, Stuart Binny and James Faulkner remaining Royals would have eyed a late surge. But as Starc returned in the 18th over and got Smith to top edge his first delivery of his second spell before removing Binny in the same over, that hope dissipated quickly. The last two overs, the highlight of which was a fantastic one-handed catch by the wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik to get rid of Faulkner, brought just eight more runs and the score trickled to 130, the second-lowest by any team this IPL.

Six years ago England were denied by West Indies’ last-wicket pair in Antigua but in 2015 it was an outstanding maiden first-class hundred from Jason Holder which earned the hosts a draw

The Report by Andrew McGlashan17-Apr-2015England 399 (Bell 143, Root 83, Stokes 79, Roach 4-94) and 333 for 7 dec (Ballance 122, Buttler 59*, Root 59) drew with West Indies 294 (Blackwood 112*, Tredwell 4-47) and 350 for 7 (Holder 103*, Smith 65, Ramdin 57)
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details1:25

Dobell: Holder played a top-class innings

Same island, different ground, same result. Six years ago West Indies defied England nine down at the Recreation Ground in Antigua, after the Test was shifted due to the dangerous outfield at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, with Daren Powell and Fidel Edwards surviving 10 tension-filled overs on the historic ground. This time the last-wicket pair were not needed as Jason Holder, a 23-year-old on whom so much rests for the future of West Indies cricket, produced an outstanding display of maturity in scoring a maiden first-class hundred in an innings spanning 216 minutes and 149 balls, and with help from Denesh Ramdin and Kemar Roach hauled the team to safety.James Anderson prized out the seventh wicket shortly before the start of the final hour, finding Ramdin’s edge to first slip with a classical leg-cutter, to make him England’s leading Test wicket-taker, overtaking Ian Botham’s 383 scalps having gone level with Botham during the morning session when Marlon Samuels edged to gully. It broke a stand of 105, leaving England 18 overs to take the final three wickets, but they could not get past the sturdy defence and big hearts of Holder and Roach.With two overs remaining, Holder went to his hundred with a brace of lofted drives off James Tredwell in three balls, becoming the eighth West Indies batsman to score a Test century at No. 8, then Roach negotiated four balls of the last over from Anderson to prompt Alastair Cook to offer his hand to the undefeated West Indies batsmen meaning England have still had not won overseas since November 2012 in Kolkata.There were a couple of near misses in the closing stages. With six overs left, Holder hammered a drive into silly point’s ankle that rebounded towards Tredwell who could not quite hold on diving forward and to his left. Then, with 17 balls remaining, Roach edged Anderson in front of Cook at first slip and later in the same over England used a futile review in the faint hope Roach had edged a full delivery to Buttler.England removed three wickets before lunch – Tredwell and Joe Root claiming one apiece – to seemingly put themselves on course for a 1-0 series lead and when Jermaine Blackwood departed moments before the second new ball West Indies were 189 for 6 with 51 overs remaining in the day. But they could only claim one in the second session as Ramdin and Holder began their resistance, firstly by negotiating the second new ball and then blunting England on a surface that offered little encouragement.The trueness of the surface – and it was certainly not as flat as those seen at the Rec so many times – should not diminish Holder’s effort in the slightness. It was an innings of immense character and fortitude from a player who has a vast part to play in West Indies’ future. This was another example of why some judges believe batting could surpass bowling as his major asset.Jason Holder was the hero for West Indies with a maiden first-class hundred•Getty ImagesEarly in his innings against Stuart Broad he pulled short of Jonathan Trott at deep square leg, but his upright defence and classic strokeplay withstood everything England could throw at him. His shot selection should certainly have been a lesson to Blackwood and Devon Smith who threw their wickets away with horrid strokes when there was a Test match to save.The opening seven overs of the day brought one run when Smith and Samuels resumed, with any notion of West Indies aiming to chase down the runs clearly not on the agenda. Tredwell provided the opening breakthrough, his only wicket of the final day, when Smith gave away 174-balls of concentration by picking out mid-on as he all of a sudden tried to come out of his shell and advanced at the bowler.Tredwell continued to vary his pace and flight skilfully – twice responding to sixes by Samuels by troubling him with turn and bounce, the second chance producing a tough stumping opportunity – and helping to compensate for the fact that he is not a huge turner of the ball. A 13-over spell was ended 20 minutes before lunch when Root was given another chance to be a partnership breaker. Once again, the move paid off handsomely.In the second over of his spell Root slid one into the pads of Shivnarine Chanderpaul that would have crashed into middle and leg stump – the first lbw of the match. Chanderpaul, a man very capable of batting out two sessions, reviewed in hope rather than expectation and was walking off the ground before the decision was confirmed.As he did in the first innings, Blackwood mixed caution with aggression until, in the last over before the new ball was due, inexplicably charging at Chris Jordan, swinging across the line, and getting a bottom edge which was well held by Jos Buttler. It was the type of stroke that appeared to signal a white flag, but not for the first time in the match West Indies showed their resolve and left Antigua as elated as England were deflated.

Andre Fletcher has been fined EC $2000 (740.75 USD) for possession of ammunition after appearing before a magistrate in Dominica

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Jun-2015Andre Fletcher, the West Indies and Windward Islands wicketkeeper-batsman, has been fined EC $2000 (USD 740.75) for possession of ammunition after he appeared before a magistrate in Dominica. He had been arrested last week at the Douglas Charles airport in Dominica.Windwards Islands manager, Lockhart Sebastian, told that the levied fine was paid and that attempts were being made to have Fletcher leave Dominica to get some rest.He said Fletcher was unaware of his possessions while entering the airport. “There was no intention of criminal activities,” Sebastian said. “He did not realise he had the ammunition. It could happen to anybody.”Fletcher has played 15 ODIs and 22 Twenty20 internationals for West Indies; his most recent appearance being in a T20 game against South Africa in Durban in January this year. He has played 60 first-class matches and was a regular in the Windwards Islands side during the 2014-15 season.

Sudhir Gautam, the India fan who paints himself in the tri-color and follows the team, has been given police protection for the third ODI against Bangladesh in Mirpur because he felt “threatened” after an incident outside the Shere Bangla National Stadium

Alagappan Muthu in Mirpur24-Jun-20151:35

Don’t know what would have happened without the police – Sudhir Gautam

Sudhir Gautam, the India fan who paints himself in the tri-colour and follows the team, has been given security cover for the third ODI against Bangladesh in Mirpur because he felt “threatened” after an incident outside the Shere Bangla National Stadium on Sunday. When India lost the series that day, Gautam alleged that he was accosted by people and required the help of the police to get to his hotel safely. A BCB spokesperson, however, said there were no official complaints filed and stressed that any incident that happened was not intentional.”The Mirpur Police said there had been eye-witnesses,” the spokesperson said. “And considering the case has escalated, something might have happened. But it is not like someone was trying to make a statement. It was perhaps a case of being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Sudhir has been here many times and he knows a lot of people in the BCB. He is well-liked.”Nevertheless, Gautam gets protection to and from the ground on Wednesday, as he did when he attended India’s training on Tuesday.The Mirpur crowd has been especially on edge as a result of the recent events between the two teams. The no-ball incident at the World Cup quarter-final has not been forgotten and the collision between MS Dhoni and Mustafizur Rahman in the first ODI added to that. A few send-offs have also been seen.But most of all, the crowd has taken offence to the advertisement that was aired during the World Cup, taking the mickey out of the oppositions India faced and subsequently the ad promoting this series by calling Bangladesh the little kid that is not so little any more.The crowd has been vociferous in throwing both of them back at the Indian team. At most presentations, Dhoni has walked up with an aggressive chorus of in the background and when Bangladesh won the series, the soundtrack was run after which the PA stated, “We are not kids. We are tigers.”Gautam said he was caught in the middle of that revelry as he attempted to exit the stadium on Sunday. “When Bangladesh won, I was pushed around in the stadium, but I was okay. I just ran to gate No. 2, but it was very crowded and the public was booing India and singing . I ran from there to gate No. 1 where I had kept my bag, and exited the ground. By the time I reached the salon, the whole public jumped on me, and the salon had to pull the shutters down for 10 minutes.”When they opened the shop 10 minutes later, two policemen came, and in their shelter we went straight to gate No. 2. But on the way people snatched my flag, tugged at my pants, my ponytail, basically behaved indecently. The policemen sat me in the auto, but when we reached the hotel, the auto driver asked me for BDT 700, which I didn’t have. Angry, he dropped me back at gate No. 3 of the ground, from where I hitched a ride on a motorcycle.”I would like to thank the Bangladesh police because without them who knows if I would have been here still. They got me an auto, the deputy commissioner and station in-charge of Mirpur Police came and checked on me, and they have given me security to come here today. Tomorrow also there will be policemen with me and after the match is over they only will drop me at the hotel.”