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Faruque Ahmed, Bangladesh’s chief selector, has a full plate to deal with ahead of the meeting to pick the squads for the upcoming tour of the West Indies

Mohammad Isam23-Jul-2014Faruque Ahmed, Bangladesh’s chief selector, has a full plate to deal with ahead of the meeting to pick the squads for the upcoming tour of the West Indies. The limited-overs side is likely to be announced in the next few days after he submits it to the BCB, along with the players included in the Test squad.Changing conditions in the Caribbean, Bangladesh’s worrying batting form and bowling resources, and the absence of their top cricketer are among the many factors he will have to consider.Shakib Al Hasan’s six-month suspension means that for the first time Bangladesh will not select him though he is fully fit. “Shakib is a very important player but this is part of cricket,” Faruque said. “Some players get injured, though Shakib has been suspended. We have played without him in the recent past. From the point of view of the chief selector, we have to add an extra player when replacing Shakib. I think we can fill his place by picking an extra batsman or bowler.”When fit, Shakib Al Hasan has always been the first name on Bangladesh’s team sheet•AFPBangladesh won eight out of 21 ODIs that Shakib missed in the last six years; four since March 2013. However, they have lost all their ODIs in 2014. Tamim Iqbal’s form is a major concern, as are Mahmudullah and Nasir Hossain’s lean patches.”Apart from a stray innings or two, our batting in the last few series hasn’t been up to the mark,” Faruque said. “We couldn’t win a low-scoring match in the India series, so the batting department needs our attention. Many of our players have lost rhythm, which we also have to consider. These bilateral series are important ahead of the World Cup. We want to win, and at the same time see these series as preparation.”I am seeing them batting against short-pitched bowling in the indoor nets, so they are training on particular skills. I hope they can turn the corner and get past their shortcomings.Faruque did not explicitly say he is considering Tamim, but he is making arrangements with an eye on the opener’s form. “Tamim is one of our best players. We hope that most of our key players return to form before the World Cup. When they go through a bad patch, we keep an eye whether they are doing the other things properly. He is working hard, trying. But it is not clear when he will return to form. We have options, so we are making a team in that way.”Thirteen players out of the preliminary squad of 25 were part of the ODI series against India in June, with only Ziaur Rahman being cut. There will be talk of Imrul Kayes, who scored a Test hundred and an ODI fifty in his only opportunities this year, while also top scoring for Bangladesh A in their largely unsuccessful tour of the West Indies in May and June. Robiul Islam and Shafiul Islam will also be considered, though Robiul only for Tests.Rubel Hossain could be considered, though he hasn’t played competitive cricket since March, while Arafat Sunny will also be discussed due to Shakib’s absence. Faruque all but ruled out picking an uncapped player for this tour.”We learn a lot about players in these A tours. We sent a combination of senior players and youngsters to West Indies this time. It will have an effect on the team selection. We will keep in mind those who performed there. I thought Mominul, Nasir, Imrul and Shuvo played well.”We always think of adding one or two new boys. I am not saying there won’t be anyone new in the team this time but we are mindful of the conditions and the challenges of playing in West Indies.”Faruque was not sure whether pace or spin would be Bangladesh’s stronger suit in the Caribbean. In the second and third ODIs against India, Mashrafe Mortaza, Al-Amin Hossain and Taskin Ahmed impressed in helpful seaming conditions, but in the last 12 months spinners have taken the most wickets for Bangladesh. However, Abdur Razzak and Sohag Gazi have struggled this year.”We have had to consider recent conditions in the West Indies before we select the team,” Faruque said. “There used to be a lot of bounce in wickets there but it has changed, become a lot more varied. Maybe there is a thought of not taking too many fast bowlers there, but at the same time we must realise West Indies will play to their strength. We have to consider our strength too, whether that is spin or pace.”

Disappointed at Delhi Daredevils’ performance this season, JP Duminy has said his team will need to look in the mirror, identify their mistakes and improve so they can come back strong next season

PTI25-May-2014Disappointed at Delhi Daredevils’ performance this season, JP Duminy has said his team will need to look in the mirror, identify their mistakes and improve so they can come back strong next season. Daredevils ended their campaign with their ninth defeat in a row as Kings XI Punjab thrashed them by seven wickets.”There are a lot of lessons to be learned,” Duminy said. “No doubt, one of our poor seasons in terms of brand of cricket. So as much we want to forget it, I think we need to really look at ourselves in the mirror, take responsibility, and see where we can improve as players and how we can represent Delhi a lot better in the coming season.”Asked what exactly went wrong for Daredevils, Duminy said, “On the whole we just didn’t put it all together. When we batted well, we never bowled well and when we bowled well we didn’t bat well. At times, we let ourselves down in the field as well.”Our skills needs to be improved dramatically if we want to compete in this tournament and that includes myself. You know, we can all improve in every area of our games.”We are professional cricketers who take pride in our performance, not only as individuals but also as a team. Even though we all come from different countries, when you cross that rope you are playing for the badge that you are wearing. Very disappointing this season has been, but we need to take out lesson from it.”Duminy, however, said there were a few positives Delhi could take out of the tournament, most notably the spirit within the team.”As a team we have connected well. Nobody has blamed each other for dismal performances,” he said. “Throughout the tournament, we stuck together as a team and encouraged each other each and every day. We are probably one of the few teams which is a completely fresh team, nobody was retained.”Obviously there are a lot of different cultures within the group, so creating friendships and creating relationships between each other was obviously a plus.”

City and United account for six of the spots after both teams notched impressive victories against Chelsea and Fulham respectively

Getty Images1Anthony Martial | Manchester UnitedMartial was directly involved in two of Man Utd's three goals against Fulham, scoring one and assisting another.AdvertisementLaurence Griffiths2Sergio Aguero | Manchester CityThe Argentine striker scored with all three of his shots on target against Chelsea, netting his 11th hat-trick in the Premier League.Laurence Griffiths3Raheem Sterling | Manchester CitySterling netted a brace and created two goal-scoring chances in Man City's 6-0 win over Chelsea.ENJOYED THIS STORY?

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Getty4Paul Pogba | Manchester UnitedPogba scored with both of his shots on target against Fulham, netting two of Man Utd's three goals at Craven Cottage.

India A will play two four-day games against Australia A and a limited-overs quadrangular series on its tour to Australia which begins on July 6

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Apr-2014India A will play two four-day games against Australia A and a limited-overs quadrangular series on its tour to Australia which begins on July 6, the BCCI has said. The quadrangular series will also feature South Africa A and Cricket Australia’s National Performance Squad.The India A side will begin their tour with the four-day games in Queensland, scheduled to start on July 6 and July 13 respectively. The team will then play two round-robin stages in the quadrangular, scheduled to start on July 20, before the final on August 2.”This tour is a part of the exchange programme that has been initiated by BCCI along with Cricket Australia and Cricket South Africa to provide increased exposure to our upcoming players and an opportunity to familiarise and compete in overseas conditions,” Sanjay Patel, the BCCI secretary said.The tour will be the first major series for India A in 2014. In 2013, the team had toured South Africa in August and, apart from the four-day games, also participated in a tri-series between South Africa A and Australia A. The side that participated in the A tour, which took place soon after India’s tour to Zimbabwe, included Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma, among others. India A then hosted New Zealand A and West Indies A for first-class and limited-overs matches in September.

Sri Lanka’s cricketers have agreed to sign the board’s annual contracts after SLC decided to award the players a 10% cut of the ICC and ACC-events participation fee for the next five years, bringing the seven-week dispute to a close

Andrew Fidel Fernando23-Apr-2014Sri Lanka’s cricketers have agreed to sign the board’s annual contracts after SLC decided to award the players a 10% cut of the ICC and ACC-events participation fee for the next five years, bringing the seven-week dispute to a close. The players have not yet put pen to paper, but Test and ODI captain Angelo Mathews had struck a deal with the three-member SLC committee appointed to review the issue, after a meeting on Tuesday, an official release said.”After discussions, the committee in consultation with the office bearers of the SLC’s executive committee, offered 10% of the participation fee from the ICC and ACC events to the players which will be applied for the next 5 years and will be non negotiable,” the release said. “The above offer was accepted by the players and they have agreed to sign the annual contracts in due course.”The players will not receive a cut from the 2014 World T20, and will instead get US $1.5 million for their victorious campaign, which amounts to roughly 16.5% of the amount SLC received from the ICC.The news comes one day after the players raised the stakes by attending a national practice session in their own training gear, instead of donning SLC’s uniform, which bears the team sponsors’ logo. The dispute had been fierce at times, with the board even having threatened to send a second-string side to the World T20 in the 24 hours before the team departed for Bangladesh.The three-member committee had been composed of CEO Ashley de Silva, treasurer Nuski Mohamed and vitally, chief selector Sanath Jayasuriya, who had been central to the resolution of 2013’s contracts crisis. Last year, following a 24-hour lockout, the players had agreed to forego their cut of the ICC event fee on the understanding that payment would be reinstated in future years, which promised to be more profitable for SLC. Jayasuriya had brokered that deal and had also fielded the first demand from the players in 2014, when they asked for 20% of the ICC participation fee.The board initially refused to award a percentage cut, proposing an incentive-based bonus scheme for global tournaments instead. But as negotiations progressed, the players lowered their demand to 12%, and the board replied with a 6% offer, before the sides eventually settled at 10%.The players had received 25% of the ICC participation until 2012, after it had first been introduced into central contracts in 2003. That payment is intended to compensate players for their image rights, which are ceded to ICC for commercial purposes, during global tournaments.The agreement restores some semblance of stability to top-flight cricket in the country, a day after head coach Paul Farbrace resigned from his position to take up a role with the ECB. In recent weeks, Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara have also had a public row with members of the board, which has resulted in their comments and actions being reviewed by an SLC disciplinary committee, despite SLC having earlier announced it would take no action on the issue.

A round-up of the Premier League Tournament matches that ended on February 2, 2014

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Feb-2014Group BFile photo: Seekuge Prasanna picked up seven wickets in Sri Lanka Army Sports Club’s big win•Getty ImagesSri Lanka Army Sports Club captain Asela Gunaratne’s maiden double-hundred paved the way for the team’s comprehensive innings and 138-run win against Badureliya Sports Club in Maggona.Gunaratne blasted 22 fours and five sixes during his 170-ball 200 not out, and put up big partnerships with Ravindra Palleguruge and Nuwan Liyanapathirana for the last two wickets to lift SL Army to a mammoth 494 and in the process, secured a 315-run first-innings lead.This was because Badureliya had been bowled out for 179 in their first outing. Most of their top order made starts, but no one could produce a fifty, as Shalika Karunanayake, Seekuge Prasanna and Liyanapathirana notched seven wickets between them to run through the team.Badureliya needed at least 315 to make SL Army pad up again, but their batting in the second innings was no better than in their first. Prasanna took four wickets to increase his match tally to seven, and helped skittle Badureliya out for 177 inside 47 overs, as none of the batsmen made more than 39.Chaturanga de Silva’s unbeaten 23-ball 46 helped Moors Sports Club beat Colombo Cricket Club by five wickets to stay unbeaten at the top of Group B. Set a modest 112 to chase, Moors were struggling at 8 for 2 and then 56 for 5 before de Silva’s 56-run partnership with Harsha Cooray took the side to victory in the 16th over.Moors had earlier scored 282 in response to Colombo CC’s first-innings score of 302. The Moors chances of victory, however, were boosted when their bowlers scuttled Colombo for 91. Vimukthi Perera took 3 for 25, while Dilhara Lokuhettige and Janaka Gunaratne took two wickets each.Earlier, Colombo CC had posted a strong 302 based on contributions from Lasith Abeyratne (71), Indika de Saram (57), Hasantha Fernando (49) and Chaturanga Kumar (35). Left-arm spinner Malinda Pushpakumara and Lokuhettige took five and four wickets respectively.Moors responded with 282, although their innings looked promising until Shehan Jayasuriya (108) and Cooray (89) were at the crease. They lost their last six wickets for 50 runs, however, to give Colombo a 20-run lead. Lakshan Rangika was the most successful bowler for Colombo, with first-innings returns of 5 for 53.Colts Cricket Club (CCC) took first-innings points in a draw against Nondescripts Cricket Club (NCC) at the NCC ground. The hosts were put into bat and were given a solid start by their openers Upul Tharanga and Sandun Weerakkody. Weerakkody fell for 66 before NCC stumbled to 173 for 5, with Thisara Perera taking two wickets. A 109-run stand for the sixth wicket between Kosala Kulasekara and Farveez Maharoof revived NCC. Maharoof scored his sixth first-class century and he was the last wicket to fall, at 332. The left-arm spinner Sachith Pathirana cleaned up the lower order to finish with 4 for 67.CCC’s response was shaped by a third-wicket stand of 135 between Milinda Siriwardana and Kusal Perera, who scored 77 and 117 respectively. However, NCC hit back via the seamer Chaminda Vidanapathirana and at 287 for 8, looked good to take an innings lead. However, half-centuries by Kanishka Alvitigala and Akila Dananjaya gave CCC the crucial lead and their 82-run stand took them to 401. Vidanapathirana finished with 6 for 117. A draw seemed the only outcome when NCC took guard for their second innings on the final day. Pawan Wickramasinghe missed a debut first-class century by five runs when he was dismissed by Dananjaya. He smashed six fours and as many sixes in his knock. Both teams stayed at third and fourth respectively in Group B.Group ALeft-arm spinner Upul Indrasiri took a five-for in both innings to help set up Chilaw Marians Cricket Club’s three-wicket win against Panadura Sports Club at the Panadura Esplanade.Indrasiri finished with 5 for 35 to run through Panadura’s line-up in the second innings, and bundled them out for 98, meaning that Chilaw needed 175 for victory. The team overhauled that paltry total in 45 overs for the loss of seven wickets, as Geeth Alwis, Sahan Wijeratne and Vidura Adikari all chipped in with crucial contributions to take the team home.Panadura, electing to bat, had made 263 in their first innings, thanks to a 92 from the opener Sasheen Fernando and a 54 from Supeshala Jayathilake. However, Indrasiri’s 5 for 83 meant that Panadura couldn’t build on that score. Nonetheless, Panadura still managed to wrest a first-innings lead as Chilaw could only muster 187 from their first essay with the bat. Umesh Karunaratne’s 73 was the team’s only major source of runs, as the team holed out in just 53.1 overs.Panadura, however, were unable to build on this advantage and slumped to their third straight defeat of the tournament.Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club captain Jeevan Mendis bowled his team to their first win of the season, claiming a match haul of 9 for 107 with his legspin to see off Bloomfield Cricket and Athletic Club by 76 runs in Colombo. It was a match dominated by the spinners; offspinner Tillakaratne Sampath played the supporting act to Mendis, taking 5 for 38 in the chase, and the pair undid the work of Bloomfield offspinner Suraj Randiv who claimed 10 in the match.Bloomfield chose to bowl and kept Tamil Union to 235. Several Tamil Union batsmen got starts, but none could convert them even as the bowlers shared the wickets around. Only Sampath could get past fifty, while Randiv was the pick with the ball, taking 3 for 46. However, Bloomfield’s batsmen could not do much better, taking only a seven-run lead. Mendis claimed four of their top five on his way to 5 for 60. Randiv was destroyer-in-chief in Tamil Union’s second innings, taking 7 for 76 even as several of his team-mates were taken apart by the batsmen as they looked to get quick runs and declare. The declaration came at 264 for 9, leaving Bloomfield with 258 to get. They fell well short, bowled out for 181, with Sampath and Mendis knocking over nine between them.

Wasim Akram, former India bowling coach Eric Simons and former India fast bowler TA Sekhar all think Zaheer Khan still has a role to play for India

Nagraj Gollapudi20-Feb-2014Even as the whispers have started to get louder over Zaheer Khan’s future in the Indian side, Wasim Akram, the former Pakistan fast bowling great, and former India bowling coach Eric Simons believe the left-arm quick still has a big role to play.In the four Tests since returning to the side in the South Africa tour, Zaheer has taken 16 wickets including a five-for in the second Test against New Zealand. However both South Africa and New Zealand batsmen raised big totals, capitalising on the inconsistency of the Indian bowling which lacked the intensity and importantly a bowling leader.”It is very rare that you make a comeback having played 90 Tests. So it is just not your bowling but also your reputation at stake,” Akram told ESPNcricinfo. “But in the time left before he finally retires, Zaheer has the opportunity to contribute a lot still. Like Imran [Khan] did with myself and Waqar [Younis], Zak can stand at mid-on and mid-off and teach other bowlers skills like reverse swing, have a word with the young fast bowlers when things are not going well.”Shortening his run-up, how and when to use reverse swing, how to use angles and yorkers were some of the things Akram said Imran taught him during his formative years. “Talking, explaining fast bowling is an art. Just because one is a fast bowler does not always mean he can teach easily to others. So the more Zaheer talks to the others, he will learn and teach more. I used to just ask Imran ” for the first three years. And that is how I learned.”Akram cited the example of the Wellington Test last week where Ishant Sharma went wicketless in the second innings – a match that Brendon McCullum turned on its head with a triple-century. “Dhoni cannot speak from behind the wickets. Ishant no doubt bowled well during the series, but no wicket for 160-odd runs it means he had some psychological issues. So it is for Zak to take the initiative to figure out what Ishant’s plan was and talk to him accordingly. If the pitch is flat, wickets are not coming, then how does one stop the runs are things that have to be spoken about. Other than taking wickets Zaheer’s responsibility should help make one or two good fast bowlers before he exits cricket.”Rahul Dravid, former India captain, told ESPNcricinfo earlier this week Zaheer’s struggles were evident in both South Africa and New Zealand and the bowler needed to ask himself some tough questions. “I would hate to see Zaheer Khan end his career bowling 120-125 kph and limp away from international cricket,” Dravid said.However Simons, who was the bowling coach when fellow South African Gary Kirsten was the Indian coach, pointed out that speed has never really been Zaheer’s strength. “Zaheer is not a very physical bowler,” Simons said. “Zaheer is lot more tactical in his approach, lot more skillful in the sense he has relied more on the swinging the ball and using the variations to be successful. And he will just end up relying more and more on those skills as time goes along.”Simons also said that India could not afford to carry a fast-bowling pack who were more medium than fast. “The important thing in any bowling attack is the balance so you can’t have three or four guys just bowling at 120-125 kph and try and swing the ball around. If he (Zaheer) is used more to complement the other chaps, who are bowling quicker then he becomes more effective. That will naturally become his role in future. Even Richard Hadlee became very effective in such a role.”Simons is clear that the best way India can extract the best out of Zaheer was by playing him not as a “strike” bowler but as a “skillful” bowler. “The one thing about Zak is he is a person thrives on lots of bowling. I remember when he came to South Africa he had not bowled as much as he had perhaps in the past. I certainly sensed he was slow to get his rhythm. He needs to be used in a manner that allows him to be the skillful bowler that he is; may be not as the strike bowler. May be he bowls a few overs upfront with the new ball while it is swinging because he is one of the best exponents of that art and then later on in the game where he can bring to the fore the different variations he has.”Simons admitted that considering Zaheer is now 35 he cannot escape such critical assessment especially since he is a fast bowler. “You can’t play him too far in the future. You have to be realistic.”Although Zaheer had worked hard to get back to fitness last year Dravid said that he was not entirely confident about him featuring during the five-Test series in England later this summer. TA Sekhar, former India fast bowler and selector, however pointed out that Zaheer was crucial for the development of the inexperienced Indian bowling attack.”I would rather play Zaheer abroad even if he has become slower,” Sekhar said. “He is one guy who knows when to bowl fast and when to bowl within himself. 124kph you read and wonder what is he doing. But that is not his real speed. Perhaps he is trying to conserve his energy. He is also using a lot of change of pace now. So he deserves to there especially now when the bowling group is developing.”

A round-up of the third day’s play of Group B’s second round matches from the Ranji Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Nov-2013
ScorecardFile photo: Aniket Choudhary took a maiden five-wicket haul in first-class cricket against Bengal•ESPNcricinfo LtdBengal started the third day on 172 for 3 needing to surpass Rajasthan’s first innings total of 224. Wriddhiman Saha, the captain, and Subhomoy Das added 50 for the fourth wicket before Das was trapped in front by Aniket Choudhary. Laxmi Shukla followed soon after as Saha and Sandipan Das had to consolidate with a 56-run partnership for the sixth wicket. Sandipan’s vigil ended on 43, while Saha was bowled by Pankaj Singh on 78. Bengal crept to 326, with Choudhary’s maiden five-wicket haul, along with Pankaj’s four, being the stand out performances for Rajasthan.Facing a deficit of 82 runs, it was important Rajasthan’s openers saw the side to a good start. This didn’t go to plan though as Sourabh Chouhan was bowled by Manojit Ghosh with the score on 13. Vineet Saxena and Robin Bist then held on for the long haul as 49 runs were added over the course of 28 overs, with Bengal’s bowlers keeping a tight lid on proceedings. Rajasthan finished the day on 62 for 1, still trailing by 20 runs as they looked to the fourth day.
ScorecardAfter finishing yesterday on 532 for 8, Tamil Nadu declared their innings straightaway as Madhya Pradesh’s openers faced the music early on the third day morning. Jalaj Saxena was first to go with the score on 28, followed by his partner, Satyam Choudhary, in the 19th over. Despite Naman Ojha (41) and Devendra Bundela, who remained not out on 64, the rest of the batsmen failed to put up a significant fight as the efforts of R Aushik Srinivas and L Balaji kept MP humble. In a day where 85 overs were bowled, MP could only get to 221 for 7 when stumps was called. R Aushik Srinivas finished the day with figures of 3 for 38.
ScorecardResuming overnight on 61 for 4, Nitin Bhille and captain Mahesh Rawat waged on till the score was on 84, when Bhille was bowled by Abhishek Bhatt. Wickets continued to fall regularly as Railways failed to sustain meaningful partnerships. Aside from Rawat (62) and Murali Kartik (43), the rest of the batsmen failed to offer any resistance, as Railways slumped to 175, with Jaidev Unadkat leading the way for Saurashtra’s bowlers with 5 for 53, while Bhatt chipped in with 3 for 77.With a slender lead of just 10 runs, the Saurashtra openers got past the point without any inherent difficulty. However, opener Chirag Pathak would fall with the score on 20. This brought wicketkeeper Sagar Jogiyani to the crease, and together with opener Bhushan Chauhan, the pair resisted for close to 24 overs before Jogiyani fell to seamer Anureet Singh with the score on 51 after 31 overs. Only three runs were added in the next eight overs as Saurashtra finished the day on 54 for 2.
ScorecardIndia Test discards Suresh Raina and RP Singh struck telling blows with bat and ball respectively for the second time in the match as Uttar Pradesh took control against Baroda in Moti Bagh. On a deteriorating pitch, UP built on their first-innings lead of 74 to extend it to 368 before declaring. Raina scored 65 but the innings was built around the opener Tanmay Srivastava who finished unbeaten on 125.Read the full report here.

Pakistan struck thrice in the morning but New Zealand’s lower order resisted in the afternoon to push the score past 400

The Report by Abhishek Purohit18-Nov-2014
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details1:22

Sodhi and Craig contribute with both bat and ball

Smart Stats

156 Overs played by New Zealand in the first innings – the fourth time they have batted 150-plus overs in a Test innings this year. The only year they had played 150-plus overs more times was in 1972 – five innings.

30 Number of years since New Zealand posted four 50-plus partnerships in an away Test innings against Pakistan. The last time was in at Karachi in 1984.

24 Number of years since New Zealand have had a bigger seventh-wicket stand in an away Test against Pakistan. BJ Watling and Mark Craig posted 68 for the seventh wicket – the fourth highest in the list.

18 Number of runs Ish Sodhi needed to score to become the first player to make three 50-plus scores in Tests while batting at No. 10 or 11. Sodhi was unbeaten on 32 when New Zealand were bowled out for 403 in their first innings.

30 Years since New Zealand made a 400-plus score in an away Test against Pakistan. The last time was at Karachi in 1984. During this period, they have made 400-plus three times in India, and four times each against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Pakistan struck thrice in the morning but New Zealand’s lower order resisted in the afternoon to push the score past 400. They also kept Pakistan on the field for more than five sessions, something Misbah-ul-Haq’s men hadn’t endured during their three successive previous wins in the UAE, over Australia and New Zealand.The hosts’ batsmen were then at the receiving end of spin for once in the 19 overs they had to negotiate till stumps. There was no swing for the new-ball pair of Trent Boult and Tim Southee but Mark Craig and Ish Sodhi took out the fresh pair of openers. Sodhi spun a flighted legbreak through the gate to hit Shan Masood’s middle stump and Craig had Taufeeq Umar stumped as he failed to drag his back foot in after missing on a forward push.The late strikes capped a proper scrap of a day for New Zealand after they had lost their overnight batsmen within the first three overs. Corey Anderson gifted his wicket to Ehsan Adil, and Rahat Ali removed Tom Latham on his overnight score of 137. Jimmy Neesham fell to Yasir Shah after an hour of resistance, and had Rahat not dropped Craig off the same bowler, New Zealand would have lost four before lunch.Anderson had managed to scrap and survive against the second new ball on the first evening but he tried to drive his fourth delivery of the second morning and only spooned it to cover. Latham, meanwhile, had carried on in his calm manner, leaving assuredly, and defending solidly off either foot, when Rahat produced a beauty. He made Latham play with one pitched up on off, the opener ensured he pushed straight, but his feet did not move much for once, and the slight away movement took the nick through to the wicketkeeper.The spinners set about the new batsmen BJ Watling and Neesham with slightly more help from the surface compared to day one. The first ball from Zulfiqar Babar turned and bounced past Watling’s forward push, and the last ball of the same over squared him up and went over the stumps.Neesham was troubled by the legspinner Yasir with men at forward short leg and leg slip. The occasional straighter ones outside off were another challenge, beating the left-hander. Watling was content to block and awkwardly block some more, but Neesham, eager to break the stranglehold, walked out to Yasir, failed to reach the pitch, and chipped a catch to midwicket.Craig swung Yasir cleanly over midwicket but skied a slog in the same over on 9, only for Rahat to overrun the ball running in from the deep, even as Asad Shafiq looked on from nearby at square leg.It was back to attrition for New Zealand till lunch. They had managed 24 runs in 14 overs in the first hour, 28 in 15 in the second, and had still not reached 300.Pakistan reprieved Craig, on 13, again after the interval. Adil induced an edge in the first over upon resumption but the keeper Sarfraz Ahmed did not go for the ball a couple of feet away to his left. In Adil’s next over, Craig punched just short of a diving Shafiq at gully. Craig was beaten several times outside off stump, especially by Adil’s excellent lines, but he hung on.Watling and Craig went through five successive maidens and it was only off his 78th delivery that Watling picked up his first boundary with a cut off Yasir. The fifty of the partnership came in the 24th over when Craig pulled and Watling cut Rahat for fours.Misbah-ul-Haq turned to the part-time legspin of Azhar Ali, and off his third ball, Watling failed to keep a cut down on 39. It was Azhar’s second Test wicket after he had dismissed Kumar Sangakkara leg-before for 211 in October 2011 in Abu Dhabi.In the next over, Craig missed a pull off Babar to depart leg-before for 43. Ish Sodhi batted very competently once more and remained unbeaten on 32, and Tim Southee hit a couple of big ones before Babar ended the innings in the 156th over to finish with figures of 45-8-137-4.The most overs Pakistan had bowled in the previous six innings was 103.1. Their batsmen had posted 450-plus totals in each of their three previous first innings. Reaching that mark this innings will be a challenge.

Dale Steyn has said some of the Indian batsmen were frightened in the first ODI, and that their bowling needs an injection of pace if they are to bother South Africa

Sidharth Monga in Durban07-Dec-20130:00

‘India have a weakness in the middle order’ – Steyn

Dale Steyn has carried on from where he left off in Johannesburg. This time, though, with words. After bowling a sensational spell of seam and swing against India in the series opener, Steyn has said some of the Indian batsmen were frightened, and that their bowling needs an injection of pace if they are to bother South Africa. India were thrashed by 141 runs at the Wanderers on Thursday, a spicy pitch awaits them at Kingsmead, and Steyn feels there might already be scars that will go beyond the first ODI.”I would say so,” Steyn said when asked if South Africa’s bowlers might have frightened the Indian batsmen enough to last them through the remainder of the tour. “I would definitely say so. I didn’t see many of our guys walking off the field with bloody fingers or ice packs on ribs, so it definitely was a wake-up call for the Indians. It’s not Mumbai where the ball doesn’t get higher than the stumps. It’s going to be hard to play here.”But they are not the No. 1 ODI side in the world for no reason. As MS [Dhoni] said in his pre-match [press conference], they have toured the world and have come to South Africa a couple of times, so maybe give them a week or two, one or two more games and they will start getting used to it before the Test matches. But [it was] definitely an eye-opener for them. Because it didn’t look like that when they were bowling to us.”While Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli toughed it out against Steyn and the new balls, Steyn was not quite impressed with what followed in the middle order. “I think our intensity the other night really blew them away,” Steyn said after the mandatory disclaimer that he expected the visiting batsmen to come back hard. “I think we also showed them that they have a weakness in the middle order. [Suresh] Raina, [R] Ashwin, Yuvraj [Singh], other batters in the end, they didn’t really look like they wanted to get in line. So hopefully we can exploit that a little bit more. But they have batters who can play and score. Shikhar’s [Dhawan] another guy who can really bat. So we are prepared for that too. Everyone is a target, to be honest with you.”Steyn’s summation of Indian bowling wasn’t flattering either. When asked what advice he would give to the Indians, he said, “I am really not going to give them any advice, you know. I think they are doing fine.”If you really want to look at it though, with the ball they lack someone who can really bowl with pace up there. They need that one guy there bowling so. They have got Ishant [Sharma] sitting on the sides, he is the one guy that can bowl over 140kmph. And we have got really good batters like [Jacques] Kallis, [Hashim] Amla, [Quinton] de Kock, [AB] de Villiers in some good space now. I think you need guys who can spin the ball a mile or can bowl quickly.”Wanderers didn’t offer the turn the other night that Ashwin and [Ravindra] Jadeja could have got, but it did offer something off the deck and pace, and they didn’t have that the other night. We did have it so we kind of blew them away with that. Morne [Morkel] bowled really quickly, [Ryan] McLaren bowled with good pace, and in good areas, backed up by Wayne [Parnell], myself and Lonwabo [Tsotsobe]. So if you don’t have that then you will be struggling in South Africa.”Conditions underfoot promise much of the same. Steyn said he couldn’t tell the pitch from the outfield when he had a look at it from the balcony. However, there might be some respite for India because Kingsmead has lost a bit of its pace over the years. “Conditions are always different here in Durban,” Steyn said. “Especially different from Johannesburg. Bit more bounce in Jo’burg. This wicket has seemed to have got a little bit flatter, a bit slower over the years.”Steyn, though, was a little circumspect about what lay overhead – it has been overcast in Durban since the teams arrived on Friday. “Hopefully we can get a game because there is a lot of rain around here in Durban,” Steyn said. “We discussed it in the morning. We could go out there for 20 overs each, which is a bare minimum and still constitutes as a one-day international. So if there is a bit of rain around, we have to be prepared to face whatever comes.”