All posts by h716a5.icu

A round-up of the Vijay Hazare Trophy matches on November 10, 2014

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Nov-2014North ZoneFile photo: Manish Pandey continued his fine form, slamming 101 off 74 balls against Tamil Nadu•BCCIA five-wicket haul from the medium-pacer Shadab Nazar helped bundle Haryana out for 75, and set up a crushing eight-wicket win for Services in Bilaspur. Haryana, having been inserted, were jolted right from the off, as Nazar (5 for 27) and Suraj Yadav (2 for 24) wrecked the team’s top order, before Narender Singh wiped out their tail. Sunny Singh was Haryana’s top scorer with 19, and their only player to reach double digits, with none of the other batsmen contributing more than 9.Services lost two wickets during the chase, but were never really going to miss out on such a paltry target. Their opener Pratik Desai’s unbeaten 45, which featured eight fours, guided the team home in 16.5 overs for their second win of the tournament.An all-round effort from Raghav Dhawan was the cornerstone behind Himachal Pradesh’s 13-run win against Delhi in Dharamsala. Raghav first slammed 89 to lift Himachal to 244 for 6, and later picked up 3 for 47, including a wicket in the last over, to seal the team’s second win of the tournament.After being inserted, Raghav put up big stands for the first two wickets with Prashant Chopra and Ankit Kalsi to lay a solid foundation. He hit nine fours and two-sixes during his 120-ball knock, and though Raghav was eventually dismissed in the 42nd over, Rishi Dhawan and Bipul Sharma added 73 off just 48 deliveries to produce a late surge.With the likes of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir failing to fire yet again, Delhi were struggling at 112 for 5 in their chase before Milind Kumar (69) and Rajat Bhatia led a recovery with a 61-run partnership. However, the team lacked the desired acceleration, and with the required rate escalating with each over, they lost their last five wickets inside nine overs. Apart from Raghav’s blows, Vikramjeet Malik, Pankaj Jaiswal and Rishi Dhawan each chipped in with two scalps.Mandeep Singh’s unbeaten century helped Punjab gun down 228 against Jammu & Kashmir with seven wickets to spare at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Cricket Stadium. Mandeep blasted 10 fours and a six during his 103 not out, and added 116 for the second wicket with Manan Vohra, who made 52, as Punjab won in 43 overs.Earlier, a three-wicket haul from Navdeep Sidhu wrecked J&K’s top order, pegging them back early in the innings. Adil Reshi’s 67 led a recovery, but he was dismissed in the 33rd over, and no other batsman was able to produce a big enough score that would really trouble Punjab. Amitoze Singh, Deepak Bansal and Gurkeerat Singh Mann all struck at regular intervals, ensuring that J&K were bowled out for a below-par 227 in 49.3 overs.South ZoneManish Pandey continued his fine form in the competition, stroking a rapid century to guide Karnataka to a 104-run victory against Tamil Nadu in Secunderabad. Manish’s unbeaten 74-ball 101, his third 50-plus score in the tournament, included 10 fours and three sixes, and powered Karnataka to a mammoth 313 for 6. Karnataka’s innings had early been given an impetus by Robin Uthappa and KL Rahul’s (67) 50-run opening stand, before Manish added 77 for the fifth wicket with Shishir Bhavane to provide a late surge.Tamil Nadu were pegged back early in their chase, as Abhimanyu Mithun collected 4 for 38 to wipe out their top order. The team was precariously placed at 83 for 5 before Dinesh Karthik (63) and Yo Mahesh (55) counterattacked with a 121-run partnership. However, both batsmen were dismissed in successive deliveries from HS Sharath, and Tamil Nadu slipped from 204 for 5 to 209 all out.A 185-run partnership between Kerala’s KB Pawan and Rohan Prem sent Hyderabad spiraling towards their third consecutive defeat of the tournament. Opting to bat, Kerala lost Vishnu Vinod early, but KB Pawan struck nine fours and three sixes to make a run-a-ball 106 for his second century on the trot. He received ample support at the other end from Prem, whose 96 included six fours and four sixes. Though both batsmen were removed by the 40th over, Sachin Baby’s 26-ball 42 and Raiphi Gomez’s 16-ball 26 lifted the total to 321 for 9.Hyderabad responded with a centurion of their own, but Ashish Reddy’s unbeaten 119 was the team’s only noteworthy score, with none of his team-mates hitting more than 27. Eight batsmen were dismissed for single-digit scores, as Hyderabad were bowled out for 188 and lost by 133 runs. Vinod Kumar, Basil Thampi and Fabid Ahmed each snared two wickets apiece for Kerala.A 138-run partnership between Rohit Asnodkar and Saurabh Bandekar helped Goa recover from a shaky start and post a 45-run win against Andhra in Secunderabad. An early burst from Paidikalva Vijaykumar (4 for 25) dragged Goa down to 45 for 5, but Asnodkar and Bandekar’s stand helped the team counterattack and compile a respectable 217. Asnodkar hit 10 fours to score 71, while Bandekar thumped 11 fours and five sixes on his way to 101, his maiden List-A ton.Andhra’s reply was blighted by the loss of wickets at regular intervals, which prevented them from forging a threatening partnership. Prasanth Kumar top-scored with 51, but with the other batsmen failing to convert their starts, the team was dismissed for 172 in 46.1 overs. Darshan Misal was the pick of Goa’s bowlers, taking 5 for 31 from his nine overs.Central ZoneA half-century from Asad Pathan, as well as other handy knocks from Railways’ top and middle order sealed the team’s third consecutive win, against Madhya Pradesh in Nagpur. Chasing 242, Asad provided Railways the ideal start by blasting 63 off 36 balls, with 10 fours and a six. He added 98 for the first wicket with Abhishek Kaushik, and though both batsmen were dismissed in quick succession, Arindam Ghosh (38) and Rongsen Jonathan (26) kept the score ticking with a 57-run partnership. Railways suffered another mini-blip, losing three wickets in the space of seven overs, but Ashish Yadav and Karn Sharma’s unbroken 58-run association guided the team home in 47.4 overs.Earlier, the in-form Naman Ojha had celebrated his call-up to to India’s Test squad for the upcoming tour of Australia with a fifty. Ojha (61) and Jalaj Saxena (58) both raised half-centuries during a 118-run opening partnership, and despite suffering a mid-innings stutter, Anand Bais’ 24-ball 32 took the team close to 250, though it ultimately wasn’t enough. Karn was the pick of Railways’ bowlers, taking 3 for 47.Mukul Dagar’s maiden List-A hundred paved the way for Uttar Pradesh’s 75-run defeat of Rajasthan in Nagpur. Dagar muscled 13 fours during his 122-ball 106, and was in the heart of two big partnerships which propelled Uttar Pradesh to 283 for 8. Dagar first added 74 for the third wicket with Umang Sharma, before combining with Parvinder Singh (60) for a fourth-wicket association which yielded 104 runs. Pankaj Singh was Rajasthan’s best bowler, and he ended with figures of 10-1-52-4.Puneet Yadav (50) and Dishant Yagnik (53*) both struck half-centuries during Rajasthan’s chase, but the rest of the batsmen’s inability to make good on their starts meant that they were restricted to 208 for 8 from their 50 overs. RP Singh took 3 for 33 and Ankit Rajpoot, 2 for 36.

South Africa’s AB de Villiers said the conditions at Kingsmead weren’t that “difficult” to deal with, but losing set batsmen at the wrong time cost the team some runs

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Mar-2013A lot of attention coming into the fourth South Africa-Pakistan ODI in Durban was centred around the pitch and subcontinental-like conditions the venue often proffers. While both captains agreed that the track was a bit slow, South Africa’s AB de Villiers said the conditions weren’t that “difficult” to deal with, rather it was losing set batsmen at the wrong time that cost his team.”The main thing was to adapt quickly and to assess the pitch conditions, it just took us a while and cost us a few wickets,” de Villiers said after the match. “After about three or four overs that I faced, I got used to the pace of the deck and realised that it wasn’t turning much. It only started to turn more after about 30-35 overs, because of which the leading edges were there. There wasn’t a lot of turn and it was quite slow; once we got used to that, we rotated the strike and picked up a few boundaries to get the momentum on our side again.”De Villiers was left to salvage the South African innings with David Miller, who replaced the injured Faf du Plessis, after the top order was carved up by Pakistan’s new-ball pair. Mohammad Irfan and Junaid Khan had the hosts gasping at 38 for 4 in 10 overs, before a 115-run stand between de Villiers and Miller put them back on track. However, both batsmen were dismissed within four overs on either side of the 35-over mark, denying South Africa an ideal finish.While that proved costly for his side, de Villiers pointed out that they were dismissed by the “best bowler in the world”, in Saeed Ajmal, so it was not “the end of the world”. “It was very important to bat till the end. But it’s part of the game, you’re not going to bat 50 overs every game as an individual.”My gameplan was to get to 45 overs, which I didn’t, and I’m sure Dave too wanted to bat longer,” he said. “I thought both of us batted really well, did a massive job for the team to get back into the game and to get a decent total. At one stage we were staring at a low total but we fought back well. Unfortunately I got out at a really bad time. It cost us 20 runs which would have been handy during the end of the bowling session there.”Pakistan’s innings took a similar course, with a clutch of wickets going down at the start, only for captain Misbah-ul-Haq to resurrect the chase in the company of Imran Farhat. Importantly for Pakistan, Farhat stayed till the 48th over, bringing them to the very brink. Misbah had good words for him: “The ball wasn’t coming at an even pace, there was a little bit of extra bounce in the second half, some balls were stopping a little bit, it wasn’t easy to bat on that, but I think at the end Imran batted well. They bowled well, but we showed a little bit of character and we managed to win this game.”It was a game Pakistan had to win to keep the series alive, and their chances of doing that took a blow early on as Mohammad Hafeez was out for a duck in the second over, becoming the first batsman in international cricket to be dismissed obstructing the field under the new laws. While Misbah accepted that the decision ultimately lay with the umpires, he said Hafeez’s reaction suggested he did not wilfully change course while running to get in the way of de Villiers’ throw.”He was just running in line, trying to shorten the length,” Misbah said. “He wasn’t looking behind when AB threw the ball, so he was suggesting it wasn’t intentional because he didn’t know where the ball was thrown [from]. But in the end, it was the umpire’s call.”

A preview of the first India-Pakistan T20 in Bangalore

The Preview by Abhishek Purohit24-Dec-2012Match facts December 25, 2012
Start time 1900 (1330 GMT)India v Pakistan? Time to go to the ground•Associated PressBig Picture Just the plain fact that this tour is actually happening is a gargantuan achievement for the Pakistan Cricket Board and its chairman Zaka Ashraf. How many diplomatic and political channels must have been traversed, how many meetings arranged and attended, how many people cajoled and persuaded, and how many prayers said in the hope that nothing goes wrong at the last moment. Well, Pakistan are finally here, on Indian soil, for their first bilateral tour in five years. It does not matter that it is apologetically short, it does not matter that it is barely squeezed between the two legs of England’s India visit. Thank heavens to Christmas then, for ensuring a gap existed in the first place for the two Twenty20 internationals and three ODIs to be sneaked in.The rivalry needs no introduction. In the earlier part of the previous decade, the historic Indian tour of Pakistan in 2003-04 – after another five-year break in ties – heralded a surfeit of bilateral series to the extent the rivalry began to feel a bit jaded. Since 2007, or more pertinently, since the Mumbai attacks of 2008, fans have had to rely on crumbs – a Champions Trophy game in 2009, a couple of Asia Cup matches, a World Cup semi-final in 2011, and a World Twenty20 clash in 2012.MS Dhoni might say it is just another series but it isn’t. Privately for the players, and openly for the fans, India v Pakistan will always be a coming together of shared history, culture, language, fear, hopes, love, hatred. India v Pakistan will always convert a neutral venue into a sea of flags of the two countries. India v Pakistan will always do strange things to players; it will drain flair out of those who have it, and it will inject flair into those who haven’t had it till then, and won’t have it thereafter. India v Pakistan will always make temporary fans out of people who run away from cricket otherwise.Too much cricket? Underperforming Indian team? No Sachin Tendulkar? All valid concerns and worries. But come the first ball in Bangalore on Tuesday evening, few will be able to resist watching.Form guide (Completed games, most recent first) India LWWWL
Pakistan LWLWWIn the spotlight The last time these sides met, in the World Twenty20 in Colombo, a hesitant Mohammad Hafeez set the stage for a dull performance from Pakistan. The captain, having chosen to bat, made a 28-ball 15, defending and defending without intent. Hafeez’s approach continued when Pakistan fielded, diffidence replacing his usual pro-active, snappy self. It had to be the pressure of an India-Pakistan game, for in their next match against Australia, Pakistan were back to playing aggressive, stirring cricket. How will Hafeez cope this time?Virat Kohli is one young Indian batsman many Pakistani fans admire and despise in equal measure. The man is brash, but he gets the runs. He swears, but he is dependable. He’s played a couple of match-winning innings against them already, including the outstanding 183 in the Asia Cup earlier this year in Dhaka.Stats and Trivia This will be the first T20 to be played between the two sides in India. Pakistan have played four bilateral limited-overs series in India, and have won two.Quotes “We want him to stay at the peak. We don’t want to put too much pressure on him. At the same time, other bowlers also have to take wickets to give confidence to him.”
“T20 is slightly different. You have to be a bit unorthodox and try a few different things. It is different from the longer format. So I think a few games will give us time to get into the groove.”

Suresh Raina has admitted that he would like the opportunity to bat further up the order for India

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Jan-2013Suresh Raina, whose unbeaten 89 in the fourth ODI against England in Mohali sealed a series win for India, has admitted that he would like the opportunity to bat further up the order. Raina has spent the majority of his 158-match ODI career coming in at Nos. 5 or 6, and it was from a position of three wickets down that he scored his 27th half-century on Wednesday.”Definitely, I would like to bat higher up the order,” he said, ahead of the fifth ODI. “If I am given a chance, I would like to give 100% as it will also give me an opportunity to play more overs. I have enjoyed batting at five, six, seven, where you need to bat till the finish.”Yuvraj Singh has occupied the No. 4 spot for India in recent years, although Raina has an impressive record batting there – albeit in just nine innings – averaging 58.85, with four fifties and his best ODI score of 116 not out. Raina has, however, been in good form in his current slot in the line-up, scoring half-centuries in each of his three innings against England so far to make him the leading run-scorer on either side.Raina, 26, also said he hoped being able to bat for longer periods and building an innings would aid his chances of returning to the Test team. Raina’s average from 17 Tests is just 28.44 and he has made six single-figure scores – including three ducks – in his last eight innings. After a year out of the side, he played in India’s two Tests against New Zealand in August, scoring 3, 55 and 0 before being dropped in favour of the returning Yuvraj. “If you talk about my Test performance, I scored a fifty in one of my last three innings,” he said. “I believe that I can make a comeback in Tests.”An impressive performance in the Irani Cup – a one-off Indian first-class match featuring the Ranji Trophy winners and a Rest of India side – which will begin on February 6, could push him back into the selectors’ thoughts ahead of the arrival of Australia later in the month. But Raina was keen not to look too far ahead and hoped to help India secure another win over England in Dharamsala.”Yes, Irani Trophy will be very important, but at this point I want to focus on doing well in tomorrow’s match,” Raina said. “Although, we have won the series, it would be nice if we can finish with a 4-1 margin.”Preventing that from happening is the priority for the tourists and Joe Root, a rare recent success story for England’s one-day team in India, said the players were pulling in the same direction and eager to finish on a high. “We’re obviously very disappointed as a team with the way the series has gone,” he said. “It has been nice for me to score some runs and put in a few performances, but it always feels better when you’re winning.”

Virender Sehwag has said he is hopeful of figuring in the list of India’s World Cup probables and possibly, playing the tournament

Amol Karhadkar02-Dec-20141:17

Sehwag picks his World Cup semi-finalists

Sehwag’s top four: Australia, SA, India, NZ

When asked to predict the semi-finalists at the World Cup, Virender Sehwag joked that he would have to “study astrology”, before going on to pick India, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand as the top four teams.
“All teams are good. Recently, New Zealand played well against Pakistan in Tests and they will be playing in home conditions at the World Cup. The other teams like Australia and South Africa, they recently played in Australia. In every match, the score was around the 300-run mark and they were close games,” he said. “So it is difficult to say which teams would make the last four but I would still say that it would be Australia, South Africa, India and New Zealand.”

Virender Sehwag last played for India in March 2013. Barring an odd big knock in the IPL, he has failed to impress with the bat during this period. Still, retirement is not on his mind and he is hopeful of featuring in India’s list of World Cup probables and possibly, playing the tournament.”I am still hopeful that my name will figure in the 30 probables for the World Cup,” Sehwag said at an ICC promotional event in Mumbai. “Every player who represents the country dreams of playing in the World Cup and I also still dream of playing in it.”Last month, Sehwag made himself unavailable for the Deodhar Trophy, reportedly to offer more opportunities to youngsters from the North Zone. Still, he stressed he was hoping to break into the national side. “I am playing first-class cricket and looking to score as many runs as I can. Last year, I scored around 250 runs and hopefully this year I can score more. I hope that I can score runs and get back into the [national] side.”Sehwag was also optimistic about India’s chances in the 2015 World Cup. “I think without hopes, nothing happens,” he said. “We won the World Cup in 2011 and I believe we are capable of defending the title in 2015. Our team is very good and is playing well in ODIs. I am sure we can retain the World Cup.”The biggest challenge India could face are the pace-friendly conditions in Australia and New Zealand. Indian teams in the past have struggled to adapt to conditions different from those in the subcontinent. This time, though, the Indian team will spend more than two months in Australia before the World Cup and Sehwag is confident the acclimatisation will help India immensely.”Australia is the best place to play cricket. You get good wickets with bounce, fast wickets, and the ball comes nicely on to the bat,” he said. “You will enjoy batting in Australia and you will also enjoy bowling in Australia. I think all the players who will go to the World Cup, they have already played in Australia and they will be playing in the triangular series before the World Cup so they will get used to the conditions.”The wickets are similar, they are not different. In the World Cup, you will get good wickets to bat and bowl on. You will get true wickets for the game. I don’t think there will be any problem for any team or any problem to adjust. If you have the talent and if you have a strong mindset, you can perform anywhere in the world. A lot of our players have performed in Australia, South Africa, England and everywhere. So we have the team and hopefully we will do well in the World Cup.”

It was a relief for Scotland and Canada finally to get a cricket match, after their 4-day Inter Continental Cup match at Uddingston last week was completely washed out, and the two one-day internationals suffered a switch of venue.

Callum Stewart12-Jul-2012
ScorecardAlasdair Evans was the pick of the opening bowlers•ICC/Ian JacobsCalum MacLeod missed the chance of a hundred in bizarre circumstances but found joy all the same in his unbeaten 99 as Scotland took a step closer to World Cup qualification with a four-wicket defeat of Canada in Ayr.Scotland chased them a target of 177 in 42.1 overs, and took a step closer to the World Cup by overtaking UAE and moving into the second qualification spot.MacLeod would have had a chance for his century, was it not for an errant overthrow from a Canadian fieldsman, when the wicket keeper thought the game was already over.He said afterwards: “I was delighted with the team performance out there, and I’ve been fortunate to contribute in both ODIs, T20s and CB40s. Qualifying for the World Cup is the main goal, and it’s been a terrific job by the Ayr groundstaff this week to get the pitch playable.”This was no ordinary praise for the groundstaff. It was a relief for both teams to finally to get a cricket match underway after the four-day Inter Continental Cup match at Uddingston last week was completely washed out, and the two one-day internationals suffered a switch of venue and cancellation on three occasions.On the last possible day of play the sun was shining at Cambusdoon in Ayr. The ground staff had been working full time here for over a week just to make this game possible. Understandably, Scotland chose to field in the sunny, but damp conditions.Canada staggered to 177 all out in the last over, with Ruvindu Gunasekera providing the only real resistance with 53 before cheaply giving his wicket away.Canada’s opener Hiral Patel was trapped lbw early on by Alisdair Evans who was the pick of the opening bowlers. The gangly figure of Gunasekera produced some big if unorthodox shots and was the only Canadian batsmen to reach fifty, making 53 from 75 balls before he was stumped off the off-break bowler Majid Haq.It was a youthful Canada batting line-up. Nitish Kumar, 18, in at No 3, failed to live up to his reputation and was caught behind off the bowling of Josh Davey for just 9. Zeeshan Siddiqi steadied the ship, but was in danger of grinding Canada to a halt, as he stole most of the bowling at a strike rate of less than 50.Along with Damodar Deasrath he stopped the flow of wickets but allowed the Scottish bowlers to take control. Canada struggled to rotate the strike with the arrival of spinners Haq and Preston Mommsen who managed to pin down the run rate.Canada’s frustration eventually told. Siddiqi played a handful of erratic shots before trying to make room to cut the ball and chopping on, to the delight of the Scottish fielders. This was followed by a succession of three run outs, each due to miscommunication from the batsmen who could not decide whether they wanted a single or two, and then found themselves stranded in the middle.It all led to Scotland’s wicketkeeper Craig Wallace being involved in five wickets, with Haq bowling his allocated 10 overs for just 19 runs and taking two wickets.Scotland’s chase did not get off to an ideal start. They lost Northants’ batsman Kyle Coetzer in the second over when he played a flashing cut to a short ball, only to be taken by a great catch from Usman Limbada at backward point. This brought Davey to the crease at No 3 and he nudged and pushed the singles and rotated the strike along with MacLeod who despatched the ball to all corners from an early stage.MacLeod was the anchor of the Scottish innings as his team-mates came and went around him. It really was a solo performance as no other Scottish batsmen managed to get over 25.The pace bowling of Durand Soraine was expensive but yielded two key wickets. But Canada’s batting performance did not give their bowlers much to defend, and as such they were chasing wickets from an early stage. Scotland were always ahead of the run rate.

Pakistan’s interim coach, Mohsin Khan, has admitted that he ticked off Asad Shafiq for an irresponsible dismissal just before the second new ball was available to England in Abu Dhabi

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Jan-2012Mohsin Khan, Pakistan’s interim coach, said he criticised Asad Shafiq “in a loving way” for an irresponsible dismissal just before the second new ball that enabled England to take control of the second Test in Abu Dhabi.Shafiq fell to an ambitious slog-sweep at Graeme Swann with the new ball only one over away; the first of three late wickets for England that allowed them to repair the damage caused by a century stand between Shafiq and Misbah-ul-Haq for the fifth wicket and leave Pakistan 256 for 7 at the close.”I had a go at him – but in a loving way,” Mohsin said. “We were hoping for 300 for three or four by the close. Shafiq was playing wonderfully well and after he got out the pressure came back on us and the team suffered. If someone is playing for their country they must understand their responsibilities.”Pakistan failed to make good use of winning the toss, losing four wickets for 103. “We knew that the pitch would play a few tricks in the first session but we wanted to capitalise on it later,” Mohsin said. “Misbah has played a tremendous innings for us so far.”

The BCCI has retained a base price of Rs 2 crore (approx. $320,000) per international match while inviting bids for a series-title sponsor for all the major matches played in India

Amol Karhadkar19-Sep-2013The BCCI has retained a base price of Rs 2 crore (approx. $320,000) per international match while inviting bids for a series-title sponsor for all the major matches played in India, in place of Bharti Airtel, the telecommunication company that decided not to renew its contract for the same.The board decided to float a tender for the period beginning October 1 to March 31, 2014, which includes at least 13 international matches. The winning bidder, though, will then get the first right to extend the agreement till March 31, 2018.After Bharti Airtel decided not to extend their contract, the BCCI’s marketing committee, which was presided over by president N Srinivasan in the absence of its chairman Farooq Abdullah, finalised the invitation to tender (ITT) document. The ITT will be available to “only corporate entities with a turnover of Rs 100 crore, for performance deposit of Rs 3 crore” at Rs 2 lakh. The bids will be opened in the presence of all the bidders on October 3.While the media statement issued by BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel didn’t specify the base price, a summary of the ITT document that was finalised at the meeting, accessed by ESPNcricinfo, recommended “to have the same base price of Rs 2 crore as the tender done in 2010”.While barring agents from representing corporate houses, the BCCI decided to allow consortia bids. “It is recommended that the consortia is allowed to bid for the title sponsor with consortia members nominating the title sponsor and other associate sponsor during the time of the bid,” the marketing committee suggested.Besides being awarded the title sponsorship of all the senior domestic tournaments barring the Challenger Trophy, which will be played in September, and the domestic Twenty20, the winning bidder will also be able to avail 28 other rights. Some of the prominent ones include: “Integration into the event logo and the use of all official marks; right to put up to 12 advertising boards of standard size (approx. 3ft x 20ft) in the stadium at all matches and the right to nominate the positioning of these 12 boards; exclusive branding on the stumps; and non-exclusive branding on the BCCI’s website”.The marketing committee also took into consideration the current title sponsorship deals of Cricket South Africa, Cricket Australia and the ECB. It noted that CA awards Test sponsorship for $2.4mn and ODI sponsorship for $0.8mn, the ECB awards Tests for $1.07mn and ODIs and T20s for $0.25mn, and CSA’s sponsorship is priced at $0.45mn per Test, $0.5mn per ODI and $0.3mn per T20.

Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq has admitted he “misread the pitch” at the Harare Sports Club in their seven-wicket loss to Zimbabwe in the first ODI

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Aug-2013Misbah-ul-Haq has admitted he “misread the pitch” at the Harare Sports Club in their seven-wicket loss to Zimbabwe in the first ODI. Misbah had won the toss and elected to bat on what he thought would be a good pitch for the team batting first.Even though they were cruising at just under five-runs per over till the 38th over with eight wickets in hand, they only managed 244. Pakistan won both Twenty20s last week on the same ground after batting first after they lost the toss on both the occasions.”We misread the pitch. It was looking like it was going to be slow in the second innings, but I think it was slow in the first innings and played better in the second,” Misbah said.Misbah gave Zimbabwe the credit for chasing a competitive target of 245 with 10 balls to spare. Their top order scored nearly three-fourths of the runs and handled Pakistan’s spinners deftly as Mohammad Hafeez and Shahid Afridi went wicketless.”I think Zimbabwe really deserved it,” Misbah said. “They played really well and played better than us. Specially the way their openers batted, there was no panic in their batting line-up and they did it comfortably. The way they bowled and batted, they really took the game away from us. They are a much improved side, especially in home conditions, they are a better side. I think we have to go back and think where we went wrong to really improve our batting, bowling and fielding.”Misbah stated that their total of 244 was not enough and that their bowling and fielding let them down. Pakistan fielded five bowlers, but their bowling struggled as they failed to break Zimbabwe’s opening partnership.”I don’t think it [244] was enough, you can’t say it was a fighting total on this pitch,” he said. “Maybe we fell 30 runs short. Still, you need to bowl and field very well but we were missing something in the bowling line-up, especially with the new ball and our fielding wasn’t up to the standards.”Opening bowlers are our strength – both of them [Junaid Khan and Mohammad Irfan] give us breakthroughs in the first 10 overs with the new ball, but we were struggling and not getting wickets at the top so that is where we are missing [something]. I think it is really important to get wickets at the top to put the opposition under pressure.”Pakistan are not playing a second-string side on this tour, the way India did earlier this month when they were led by Virat Kohli, even though they play South Africa and Sri Lanka later this year. Misbah defended the selectors’ decision of naming a full-strength squad for the current tour instead of giving youngsters a chance.”In Pakistan people feel that we should win these matches and a lot of people were saying that you should try youngsters and this and that,” he said. “Almost 60% of the players are already new in this team, they are just making their way into international cricket, they are playing regularly at the moment. This team is already relatively new and we played with our full strength. We got the team here, we played with our full strength and we lost.”I think we have to change this psyche because in international cricket all the teams are good enough. And specially if you are playing in their own conditions, you need to be 100% focused and you need to be 100%. Otherwise, if you give them just a little bit of chance, they can do these sort of upsets. We need to just come back strongly and play our A game, our best game then you can really win these games.”The remaining two ODIs of the series will be played on Thursday and Saturday on the same ground before the two-Test series starts next month.

Lisa Pursehouse has become the first female chief executive at a first-class county after being confirmed as the new CEO of Nottinghamshire

George Dobell14-Mar-2012Lisa Pursehouse has become the first female chief executive at a first-class county after being confirmed as the new CEO of Nottinghamshire.Pursehouse, who has worked at Trent Bridge since 2000, served most recently as deputy chief executive and succeeds Derek Brewer who will vacate the role on April 27 to take up his new role in charge of the MCC.Brewer and Pursehouse are seen as prime movers in Nottinghamshire’s emergence as one of the top international cricket venues in the UK and have also overseen a period of stability and financial success which has enabled them to compete strongly on the pitch.Nottinghamshire have won the County Championship twice in the last six seasons and recently beat stiff opposition to win the right to host an Ashes Test in 2013 and 2015 as well as a Test against India in 2014. Crucially, Nottinghamshire have also completed their redevelopment without incurring the substantial debts suffered by many of their competitions.Nottinghamshire’s chairman, Peter Wright, said: “Her knowledge of the commercial needs and operational demands of our business is exceptional and she will now have the opportunity to stamp her mark on this great club. I am delighted that she has accepted this opportunity and the challenges that it will involve.”Pursehouse joined Yorkshire in 1995 before moving to Trent Bridge in 2000 with a brief to develop the commercial activity of the club. Her promotion to deputy chief executive in 2005 saw her take responsibility for the commercial and operational aspects of the business and she has sat on multiple ECB working parties designed to enhance relations between the governing body and the first-class counties.”We are rightfully proud of the things we have achieved at Trent Bridge in recent years but there is no complacency here and we are certainly not immune from the significant challenges that lie ahead,” Pursehouse said. “This role is the greatest honour and the biggest challenge that I have ever faced but I have a clear vision and I am relishing the road ahead. I look forward to leading the next chapter at Trent Bridge.”Brewer, the outgoing chief executive, was quick to praise her contribution. “Lisa was my greatest ally during my tenure and I am delighted that the committee has seen fit to install her as my successor,” he said. “Her knowledge base is an incredible asset to the club and I wish her every success.”