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A round-up of the Premier League Tournament matches that ended on January 19, 2014

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Jan-2014Group ABloomfield Cricket and Athletic Club registered the only win of the opening round of the Premier League Tournament, thumping Panadura Sport Club by nine wickets. The win was set up by new-ball bowler Imran Khan and offspinner Suraj Randiv, who claimed nine wickets between them to bowl Panadura out for 109 on day one. While none of Bloomfield’s batsmen could build on starts, a series of cameos gave them a sizeable lead of 171. Panadura put in an improved performance in their second innings, but still none of their batsmen could get to a fifty. Left-arm spinner Chatura Randunu took 5 for 85 and helped keep Panadura to 224. That left Bloomfield chasing a mere 54, and they knocked the runs off in less than 10 overs.Ragama Cricket Club played out a draw with Sinhalese Sports Club, but they secured the first-innings lead and with it, a handful of points to go second on the Group A table. Ragama’s dominance was set up by centuries from Udara Jayasundera and Ian Daniel; they got to 417 in their first innings, and while SSC did not cave in themselves, they still fell a 104 short of the lead. Ragama then raced to 216 in the second essay, on the back of 68-ball 70 from their captain Sameera de Zoysa, before declaring when nine down. SSC were a bit shaky in the 13 overs they played out before play was called off, losing two wickets for 36. But with time of the essence, they were never really in danger of a defeat.Not even two innings could be completed in the high-scoring draw between Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club and Sri Lanka Ports Authority Cricket Club. Sri Lanka Ports chose to bowl and were made to slave for 111 overs, as Tamil Union piled on 423. Their innings was built around a century from Jeevan Mendis. Sri Lanka Ports more than paid them back in kind, though, batting out 143 overs for the loss of just four wickets, with hundreds from Yohan de Silva (127), Mahela Udawatte (191) and captain Ashan Priyanjan (114 not out).Group BA fighting hundred from Yashodha Lanka (101) and fifties from Sajith Kalumpriya (67) and Lahiru Lakmal (69) helped Sri Lanka Air Force Sports Club draw with Moors Sports Club as they were 338 for 8 while chasing 369 on the last day.A century from Dilhara Lokuhettige (119*) took Moors to 380 in the first innings before they restricted SL Air Force to 229 with the help of five wickets from Janaka Gunaratne to take a lead of 161 runs. Moors scored another 217 for 5 before declaring as Shehan Jayasuriya and Oshada Fernando scored fifties to set SL Air Force a competitive target. Jayasuriya took wickets regularly and got six of the eight that SL Air Force lost on the last day but couldn’t force a win and Moors took home 12.785 points compared to SL Air Force’s 4.335.Colts Cricket Club and Sri Lanka Army Sports Club drew in Colombo with SL Army scoring 130 for 3 in chase of 216 on the last day. The match see-sawed after four wickets from Janith Silva restricted Colts to 192 despite a fighting 72 from Thisara Perera. SL Army took a lead of 169 with a knock of 86 from Mohammad Feshal and other contributions from the lower order. But colts fought back with Roshen Silva’s unbeaten 181 from 195 balls before they declared. SL Army saw fifties from Feshal and Manjula de Zoysa but the there wasn’t any time left in the match and the first-innings lead got them 12.255 points.A tame draw unfolded between Nondescripts Cricket Club and Colombo Cricket Club in Colombo after Nondescripts batted almost the entire day in the end. Nondescripts opted to bat and were rocked by Dilesh Gunaratne’s four wickets to be 124 for 8 before lower-order batsmen Tharindu Kaushal (77*) and Sohan Boralessa (44) took them to 242. A hundred from Chamara Silva (103) and fifties from Hasantha Fernando (99*) and Indika de Saram (65) gave them a lead of 90 runs to get the extra points. Nondescripts displayed a better performance on the last day when Upul Tharanga (97), Farveez Maharoof (56*) and Kosala Kulasekara (50*) scored fifties.

The defending champions of the Under-19 World Cup, India, have won all four series they have played since the 2012 tournament in Australia, making them one of the most successful junior teams in the world

Kanishkaa Balachandran07-Feb-2014The defending champions of the Under-19 World Cup, India, have won all four series they have played since the 2012 tournament in Australia, making them one of the most successful junior teams in the world. The coach and captain, Bharat Arun and Vijay Zol respectively, have said that they will draw confidence from those victories ahead of the 2014 World Cup set to begin next week in the UAE.The present squad came together in July last year for the Top End Series in Darwin, beating the hosts, Australia, comprehensively in the final. That was followed by a short bilateral one-day series in Sri Lanka which India won 2-0. India then hosted a quadrangular tournament in Vizag, with South Africa, Australia and Zimbabwe the other participating teams. India trounced South Africa in the final before heading to the UAE for the U-19 Asia Cup. They maintained their reputation of raising the bar in tournament finals, batting Pakistan out of the match.Arun said that while the team has ticked off most boxes as far as preparation is concerned, there is still improvement in certain areas.”The performance of the squad in the last one year says a lot. We have won all four series convincingly,” Arun said in Bangalore ahead of the team’s departure for the UAE. “There is room for us to improve. We would still have to raise the bar. We made a few mistakes along the way. We want to be No. 1 as a fielding unit and we’ve been working on it.”The squad has been training at the National Cricket Academy over the last few weeks and in between headed to Wayanad, Kerala, for a short boot camp. The 2012 unit underwent a similar boot camp and Arun said the focus was on team-building exercises and getting to know one and other better.”We identified roles for each team member and set the processes to achieve those roles,” Arun said. “We did a lot of team-building activities and most of the activities would help you even in a non-cricketing environment and it helps you trust the leader.”We have been together for over a year. They see the other side of the player. We’re going to enjoy playing together, being together, doing things together and we’re going to carry this to the field and that was the focus of the camp.”Arun coached the 2012 batch as well and he said the current unit has responded well to the challenges set to them. While the batting has a couple of known faces in Zol and Sanju Samson, Arun said the bowling boasts of variety.”I don’t think it’s fair to compare any two teams, but I feel that this side has a lot of players of all-round capabilities,” he told ESPNcricinfo before the boot camp. “They have dominated in whichever country they have toured. Kuldeep [Yadav] is unorthodox, Aamir Gani is the classical offspinner, Deepak Hooda is good for the Powerplays, our fast bowling attack looks exciting.”Zol said the conditions in the UAE will suit India’s game more than it did in Australia two years ago. “The pitches in the UAE didn’t have much help for the pacers [during the Asia Cup],” he said. “It was more like a batting paradise.”India begin their campaign against Pakistan on February 15 in Dubai.

An incisive bowling performance from India Women, spearheaded by the medium-pacer Jhulan Goswami and the legspinner Poonam Yadav, helped the team comprehensively beat Bangladesh Women by eight wickets in Cox’s Bazar

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Mar-2014
ScorecardAn incisive bowling performance from India Women, spearheaded by the medium-pacer Jhulan Goswami and the legspinner Poonam Yadav, helped the team comprehensively beat Bangladesh Women by eight wickets in Cox’s Bazar.Bangladesh, batting first, could only muster 65 from their 20 overs, as regular wickets from Goswami (2-15) and Yadav (2-9) rattled their top and middle order. Shikha Pandey also chipped in with one scalp, but Bangladesh weren’t helped by their poor running, as run-outs accounted for four dismissals. Three batters went for ducks, while only four players managed to reach double digits.India made little work of the paltry chase, as Pandey and Madhuri Mehta put up 45 for the first wicket. The pair fell in quick succession of each other, but Goswami and Harmanpreet Kaur took the team home in 12.3 overs.

England seamers Anya Shrubsole and Jenny Gunn pushed India’s campaign in the Women’s World T20 further off course with a resounding five-wicket loss, their second in as many matches

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Mar-2014
ScorecardAnya Shrubsole refused to let India Women off the hook•ICCIndia’s campaign in the Women’s World T20 slipped further off course as they suffered a heavy five-wicket loss to England in Sylhet. Anya Shrubsole and Jenny Gunn wrecked the batting line-up, which if not for Mithali Raj’s half-century might have presented a grimmer sight than the eventual 98 for 9.The two England seamers were remarkably effective, accounting for six batsmen and costing only 21 runs from their full quota. The fielders backed them up too, with Lydia Greenway picking up a sharp catch and effecting a difficult run-out early on. Shrubsole was judged Player of the Match for figures of 4-1-6-3.India seemed to have exhausted their stock of good luck after winning the toss as they slumped to 31 for 5 in the ninth over, with all those dismissed failing to reach double-figures. At the other end, the captain Raj struck a doughty 56-ball 57, including eight fours to keep her side afloat. Her dismissal in the 17th over ended all hopes for late acceleration, but India managed to last the 20 overs.Seamer Soniya Dabir orchestrated a minor top-order stutter during England’s chase, but England knew they had enough time to overhaul the target. Opener Sarah Taylor had afforded her side some momentum at the top with a 29-ball 28 and Greenway came in at No. 4 to hold one end up. There was a bit of excitement at the back end when Natalie Sciver was run-out off a direct hit, but by that time England only had 11 more runs left to pocket their first victory of the tournament.

Anton Roux, Netherlands’ interim coach, believes his side can take plenty of encouragement from their performances at the World T20, even though doubt surrounds his own position and the future of Dutch cricket

Alan Gardner in Chittagong30-Mar-2014Anton Roux, Netherlands’ interim coach, believes his side can take plenty of encouragement from their performances at the World T20, even though doubt surrounds his own position and the future of Dutch cricket.Netherlands missed out on qualification for the 2015 World Cup, as well the financial incentives that would have brought, and consequently lost their ODI status, potentially making it harder to arrange fixtures. Roux stepped up to take charge of the team after Peter Drinnen left towards the end of last year and does not yet know about whether he will be asked to do the job permanently. However, ahead of Netherlands’ last World T20 fixture, he was more focussed on the fact that his team had made a positive mark at the tournament.”There’s a lot of uncertainty but coming into this tournament I didn’t want to think too far ahead for myself but more importantly for these guys,” he said. “From a cricketing point of view, this has been one of the best tournaments I’ve been involved with, playing in front of sold-out crowds every night, games going down to the wire, the atmosphere being absolutely amazing and coupled with some extremely good cricket, that’s all you can ask for.”To think about what the future holds, for me personally or the Dutch team, we’ll cross that bridge when we get back home. All we focused on was doing well with the cricket and I think we’ve done that.”Netherlands made history with the fastest T20 chase in the first round to qualify ahead of Ireland as the only Associate in the Super 10 stage, knocking out Zimbabwe in the process. They were then bowled out for 39 by Sri Lanka, this time setting a record low, but then fell narrowly short of beating South Africa before pushing New Zealand hard on Saturday. Those performances have restored confidence after a backlash to being skittled by Sri Lanka.”It’s more the boys wanted to prove a point to themselves than to the public, because the cricketing public back home, after the 39 against Sri Lanka, it was just ridiculous what they were saying,” Roux said. “I think we’ve proved a point to ourselves that we can definitely compete at this level and that to me is just an awesome victory for us, how the boys changed it around and got themselves motivated and fought all the way to the end, that’s huge.”Netherlands have been on the road for five weeks, including a pre-tournament training camp in Dubai, and have experienced the full gamut of emotions during their World T20 campaign. Roux said they began their preparations by watching highlights of the famous 2009 win at Lord’s over England, who they will play in their final Group 1 game on Monday.Both teams have been eliminated from the semi-final equations but Netherlands will be aiming to add to their scrapbook of the 2014 tournament. Even if they lose, Roux will depart with a sense of satisfaction. “One of the things that was discussed was trying to rewrite and do our own memories on this trip,” he said. “The Irish game was a world record on its own, so I think we’ve achieved what we wanted to achieve.”England have endured a long and trying winter themselves and may present a less motivated opponent than Sri Lanka, South Africa and New Zealand. Netherlands underwent a light training session on Sunday morning and Roux said it was important his players were able to relax and focus on their own performances as they look for one last hurrah in Bangladesh before returning home to see the tulips in spring.”I think the challenge is not so much worrying about what England are feeling. There’s also a lot of drained bodies and tired minds in our camp, which is why today’s session was optional, to get our guys refreshed. In this group alone, apart from our game against Sri Lanka, all the games have gone pretty much down to the wire. That’s emotionally taxing, more than anything physical, so [the challenge is] to keep the guys nice and fresh and ready for that big upset again, because I’m sure it won’t be a walk in the park. It’s going to be a fight to the death – so hopefully we’ll be up for it.”

Sunrisers Hyderabad are faced with the worrying prospect of facing a red-hot Chennai Super Kings machinery that, just like every season, is steam-rolling other teams into submission

The Preview by Devashish Fuloria26-Apr-20143:30

Sunrisers need wickets with the new ball

Match factsApril 27, 2014
Start time 1830 local (1430 GMT, 2000 IST)Amit Mishra is one short of a 100 wickets in the IPL•BCCIBig PictureFirst points are always good. But just a day after registering their first win in this IPL, Sunrisers Hyderabad are faced with the worrying prospect of facing a red-hot Chennai Super Kings machinery that, just like every season, is steam-rolling other teams into submission. Sunrisers’ top three clicked for the first time in the match against Delhi Daredevils, bettering their previous-best total of this season by 51 runs, but life is not likely to be as comfortable against the yellows.Shikhar Dhawan, Aaron Finch and David Warner, all got vital runs to boost their confidence but there were extended periods in the match against Daredevils when they looked short on fluency. The good news for Sunrisers is that they rode those spells as how the three perform against the impressive trio of Super Kings seamers and their steady spinners is going to be critical for them.More important perhaps is going to be how Sunrisers’ bowlers deal with Super Kings’ batsmen. The sight of Dwayne Smith and Brendon McCullum can send sepulchral chill waves among bowlers early, so a lot will depend on if Dale Steyn raises his game a notch. Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been impressive and can draw on the success he had against Smith in the recent World T20 match. Big efforts will also be needed from their stars from last season – legspinners Amit Mishra and Karn Sharma.Super Kings, on the other hand, are a confident bunch. Their batting is firing, their bowling doesn’t have any weaknesses their fielding remains one of the best in the tournament and they have never lost a game to Sunrisers. They just need to ensure no complacency sets in.Watch out forAmit Mishra spun an un-breachable web around batsmen during the recent Asia Cup and in the first round of matches in the World T20, fuelling questions about why he was not regular in the national side in the first place. But after overstepping once during the semi-final against South Africa, something has gone amiss. He is not able to control the flow of runs. He went wicketless against Daredevils and was torn apart in the match before that too. It’s a big game now and Dhawan needs his trump card to find his mojo again.Faf du Plessis is the only Super Kings batsman in top four not to score a half-century till now. But apart from one match – against Rajasthan Royals – the lack of runs from his bat hasn’t really affected the team as the openers have been brilliant. There is no immediate threat to his place in the team – MS Dhoni likes to stick to his XI – but du Plessis needs some runs to fortify the team’s batting further.Stats and trivia Amit Mishra is one short of becoming the only second bowler in the IPL to collect 100 wickets. The only other bowler to do so is Lasith Malinga Chennai Super Kings have picked up 30 wickets, the most this season. Royal Challengers Bangalore are second, with 20 wickets.

Kings XI Punjab warmed up for the playoffs with a demolition of Delhi Daredevils, whose batting failure sent them crashing to a ninth successive defeat

The Report by Abhishek Purohit25-May-20144:39

Isa Guha: Pietersen honest in assessment of Delhi

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsKings XI never looked back after Parvinder Awana’s double-wicket maiden•BCCIKings XI Punjab warmed up for the playoffs with a demolition of Delhi Daredevils, whose batting failure sent them crashing to a ninth successive defeat. Kevin Pietersen made his only fifty of the season, but he had next to no support as Daredevils were dismissed for 115 with nearly two overs remaining in their innings. Glenn Maxwell got his first duck of the tournament in the chase, but for a side that had made 190-plus six times this season, this target was easy meat. They took 13.5 overs to register their 11th win in 14 games.It was the bowling that Kings XI would have wanted to fire ahead of the qualifier against Kolkata Knight Riders. The attack did not disappoint George Bailey, and all his five bowlers chipped in with wickets. Daredevils did have a promising partnership, between Pietersen and Dinesh Karthik, and the duo took them to 44 for 1 in the sixth over with a flurry of boundaries.The promise was cut short by Parvinder Awana, whose double-wicket maiden stalled Daredevils’ progress. Karthik tried to turn one from off to leg, and the leading edge was snapped up at point. Kedar Jadhav tried to prevent the maiden with a charge down the pitch, but failed to clear mid-off.Pietersen kept soldiering on at the other end. He struggled to find his timing initially, but soon did, and started piercing the off-side infield frequently. Twice in an over, he opened the face to pick the gap with cover drives against Mitchell Johnson’s pace.Speaking to the on-air commentators from the dugout after his dismissal, Karthik said it was a good batting pitch, but the rest of the Daredevils batsmen kept coming and going. Manoj Tiwary was run out after a mix-up with his captain, and JP Duminy mishit a slog-sweep off the legspinner Karanveer Singh.Pietersen was the sixth man to fall for 58 off 41, to a marginal leg-before decision off Rishi Dhawan, with the ball arguably going down the leg side.The seventh wicket summed it up for Daredevils. Karanveer bowled a wide half-tracker, and Jimmy Neesham sliced a cut to backward point. The tail fell apart in no time to the left-arm spinner Akshar Patel.Mohammed Shami and Jaydev Unadkat worked up some pace and bounce, and reduced Kings XI to 16 for 2, the second wicket falling when Maxwell mishit a slog to Pietersen at mid-off. That was to be it for Daredevils as Manan Vohra and David Miller added 96 in ten overs to finish the match.Vohra impressed with his uninhibited hitting again on his way to 47 off 38, and Miller went slightly quicker to end on an unbeaten 47 off 34. The match was played in overcast and very windy conditions, and the drizzle became heavier just as Vohra fell four runs short of victory. Daredevils’ hopes had been washed away long before that.

David Miller and Ryan McLaren, key men in South Africa’s middle order, hope to take the series in the second ODI in Pallekele

Firdose Moonda08-Jul-2014There’s not much that Dale Steyn gets whimsical about but the green hills and the cool mountain air of Kandy was enough bring out his softer side. “Gotta say this place is majestic! So beautiful! Blessed to see this part of the world!” Steyn tweeted.South Africa’s angry man has never played in Pallekele before, which Sri Lanka would hope works to their advantage in what is a must-win match for the hosts. South Africa have fond memories of Pallekele, though, because it is the only ground where they recorded a victory on the tour they would rather forget. After going 0-2 down in the series and appearing out of their depth with the bat, South Africa defended 223 in the third match, albeit their fightback was short-lived on the whole.”We did the right things, gave ourselves a chance at the end, put runs on the board and managed to bowl them out, so we are really excited about this game coming up,” said David Miller, who scored 85 in that match to inject authority into an otherwise limp South African innings. He had acted as an anchor that day and relished being able to spend more time at the crease than he usually does as a finisher.Now that South Africa’s top order has sorted itself out, Miller is back to his end-of-innings role and he seems to have become more confident. In the first ODI, he led the charge as South Africa took 53 runs off the last five overs.The most impressive aspect of Miller’s knock was the way he dealt with Sri Lanka’s death specialist Lasith Malinga, whom he kept out and punished when the length allowed it. “Taking performances from the past into the present gives me a sense of belief that I have done it before,” Miller said. “I’ve got to watch the ball as closely as I can. Malinga is one of the best death bowlers in the world. But the more you face someone who has an unusual action, the more comfortable you will feel.”Having a competent partner with whom you have a good understanding is also important at the end of an innings, and Miller has found that in Ryan McLaren, who was with him in Pallekele in 2013 and again in the first ODI in Colombo. McLaren scored 22 off 18 balls on Sunday to provide the support Miller needed.McLaren’s all-round contribution – 22 runs and two wickets – was one of the unsung performances of the game and it outshone that of Jacques Kallis. While it is too early to start questioning Kallis’ role in the team, McLaren’s performances are worth noting because he was expected to miss out when Kallis recommitted himself to the ODI team.McLaren has played in all but two of South Africa’s last 16 ODIs, dating back to the series against Sri Lanka last July, and alongside Kallis in three of them. While Kallis has been used as a batting allrounder, McLaren’s role is that of a bowling allrounder, but his consistent run in the side has been beneficial for McLaren’s batting. He has averaged 31.85 over the past year – compared to an overall average of 21.60 – with seven not-outs, which come with the territory of finishing an innings.His bowling numbers have also improved marginally – 21 wickets at 26.85 apiece in the last 12 months – and there have only been two occasions when he has not bowled at least six overs in the innings. “The advantage for allrounders is that you are always going to have the opportunity to contribute,” McLaren said. “There are going to be times when you don’t do well in one discipline, but then you can contribute in the other.”McLaren is fast becoming an integral part of South Africa’s ODI XI and is pleased with how the team is developing, especially from the last Sri Lankan tour to this one. “They came at us hard in the beginning and we showed a lot of character and finished the game clinically,” McLaren said of the first ODI. “That’s the most pleasing aspect – we’re starting to show some character when it starts getting tough, and it doesn’t get much tougher than playing in Sri Lankan conditions. This is one of the building blocks to the World Cup next year, and every game in that process is important.”When Steyn can peel himself away from the views, he would probably agree.

Ryan Sidebottom may be 36 and by the end of a steamy second day at North Marine Road he was feeling all of those years after bowling 17 overs in strength-sapping conditions

Jon Culley at North Marine Road20-Jul-2014
ScorecardNo sign of slowing down: Ryan Sidebottom ran through Yorkshire, either side of one major stand•Getty ImagesRyan Sidebottom may be 36 and by the end of a steamy second day at North Marine Road he was feeling all of those years after bowling 17 overs in strength-sapping conditions, but he had also demonstrated his enduring class with a masterful display of left-arm swing bowling that ultimately regained the initiative for Yorkshire on a day of oscillating fortunes.He finished with 7 for 44, his best figures since he took a career-best 7 for 37 against Somerset at Headingley in 2011. The holiday crowd of around 2,800 were willing him to claim an eighth and were baffled as Andrew Gale, the Yorkshire captain, took him off after Tim Murtagh had become his fourth victim in the space of 30 deliveries in a superb third spell of the day.By then, well into the final session, the temperature was probably higher than it had been all day and Sidebottom looked visibly shattered as he wandered down to fine leg. In the words of Martyn Moxon, Yorkshire’s director of cricket, he was, quite simply, “shot”.What he had done to leave himself craving an ice bath perhaps as never before had been invaluable, ensuring that the partnership between John Simpson and Dawid Malan that rescued Middlesex from a calamitous start did not become the basis for a first-innings advantage in a match Yorkshire dearly want to win in order that the hiatus in the Championship programme that follows this week’s games ends with them in front, rather than Nottinghamshire.In reply to Yorkshire’s 253, Simpson and Malan added 168 for the fifth wicket, transforming their side’s position after an awful start that saw them in disarray at 11 for 4 and fortunate not to be 11 for 5, Malan getting a life on 7.This was largely down to Sidebottom, whose willingness to push himself seems never to diminish, particularly when there is something in the conditions that he can exploit. That had been clear enough when Middlesex took the second new ball five overs into the morning session, delayed by 30 minutes because of overnight rain. It prompted the last four Yorkshire wickets to fall in the space of six overs, two of them taken by Steven Finn, who finished with 4 for 81 for a season’s tally of 44.Let loose on the Middlesex top order for three overs before lunch, Sidebottom delivered the first instalment in his masterclass with a classic dismissal of the left-handed Chris Rogers, caught behind without scoring as the ball, bowled full, drew the batsman to defend but swung away to take the edge, Jonny Bairstow taking the catch.Steve Patterson, interestingly introduced for one over before lunch after Jack Brooks had begun with two overs bowled largely short at the Trafalgar Square End, struck the second blow when Nick Gubbins was leg before.Two down for four at the interval, Sidebottom took up where he had left off as the afternoon began by dismissing Eoin Morgan, who also failed to score, in almost identical fashion to Rogers. Seven for 3 became 11 for 4 as Paul Stirling became victim number three for the maestro, deflecting a catch to third slip, where Kane Williamson took it well low down.But it should have been 11 for 4 the over before, which contained the moment that would have changed the course of the day had it gone in Yorkshire’s favour, rather than against. Brooks, back on at the Trafalgar Square End, had Malan nibbling outside off stump and was about to set off on his looping celebratory run as Bairstow moved to his right to take the catch. But it was grounded.Had it stuck, then maybe Stirling’s dismissal would have made it 11 for 5, a position, you would have thought, that might have been beyond Middlesex’s redemption.As it was, some of Yorkshire’s momentum disappeared as the afternoon unfolded, and Malan, with Simpson settling after almost playing on with an inside edge off Brooks that went for four, began to play in the manner that had brought him centuries in each of his last two Championship matches.It took Yorkshire another 43 overs, into the evening session, to take another wicket, although when it came it marked the start of another brilliant spell from Sidebottom, who at last had Malan caught at second slip for 78.In the space of 30 more deliveries he had taken three more, trapping Ollie Rayner leg before with an inswinger, and having Toby Roland-Jones and Tim Murtagh caught by Lyth again at second slip – the latter parried first by third slip – either side of a splendid throw from Adil Rashid at cover to enable Bairstow to run out Simpson, whose fine innings contained 17 fours and a six and was as important to Middlesex as Lyth’s had been for Yorkshire.Yorkshire did not benefit from Lyth’s 117 as much as they might have, losing their last seven wickets for 49 runs. Lyth perished for only 9 second time around, but Yorkshire have a lead they can build on.

Canada allrounder Nikhil Dutta has been named in a 14-man ICC Americas U19 squad that will take part in the WICB Regional U19 50-over competition in Guyana next month

Peter Della Penna26-Jul-2014Canada allrounder Nikhil Dutta has been named as part of a 14-man ICC Americas U19 squad that will take part in the West Indies Cricket Board Regional U19 50-over competition which takes place in Guyana from August 4-15. This will be the third time an ICC Americas composite team featuring players from Canada, Bermuda and the USA will be taking part in the WICB U19 tournament.Dutta was part of the ICC Americas U19 team in 2012 but was omitted in 2013, despite sweeping honors for Best Batsman, Best Bowler and Tournament MVP of the 2013 ICC Americas U19 championship, in order to be available for selection for the Canada senior team’s WCL Championship and Intercontinental Cup contests last August. He made his ODI debut in March 2013 against Kenya in the UAE. Dutta is one of six Canada players in the ICC Americas squad, including three others who return from the 2013 ICC Americas team: Abraash Khan, Farhan Malik and Armaan Kapoor.Bermuda’s Tre Manders and Delray Rawlins are also returning to the ICC Americas U19 team from last year and are two of four players chosen from the island. Manders and Rawlins have been promising prospects for the last several years. Manders made his senior team debut as an 18-year-old for Bermuda at the ICC Americas Division One T20 championship in Florida in March 2013. He scored 64 at number three in his 50-over debut in a win over Italy two months later at ICC WCL Division Three in Bermuda and opened the batting in November at the 2013 World T20 Qualifier in the UAE.Left-arm orthodox spinner Rawlins played against USA in a series of warm-up matches in March 2013 before making his official senior team debut that May at age 15 against USA at ICC WCL Division Three in Bermuda. He took 1 for 39 in a solid performance that was part of a five-wicket win, Bermuda’s first over USA in a live contest since 2005.Like Bermuda, USA also have four representatives in the squad. Among them is Keifer Phill, the 2014 Wingate Award winner as the most outstanding senior in the New York PSAL (Public Schools Athletic League) high school cricket competition. The selection is a homecoming of sorts for Phill and fellow USA player Trevis Ross. Both are originally from Guyana and developed much of their cricket there before migrating to New York City.The coaching staff will be led by ICC Americas High Performance Consultant Tom Evans. An Australian native, Evans joined the ICC Americas Office last year after spending three years as the ICC East Asia-Pacific Regional Development Officer and has previous experience with Cricket Victoria. One coach each from the three countries will also be part of the coaching staff: Canada’s Errol Barrow, Bermuda’s Allan Douglas and USA’s Linden Fraser.”This is very much a coach development initiative as it is a player one,” Evans told ESPNcricinfo. The squad will arrive in Georgetown on August 1 before attending WICB development seminars on August 2 and a training session on August 3 before the team’s first match against Trinidad & Tobago U19 at Demerara Cricket Club on August 4. ICC Americas will play a total of six group games. Last year’s ICC Americas U19 squad had a respectable showing in the WICB U19 tournament, defeating Leeward Islands by three wickets and scoring 209 in a chase against Windward Islands that ended in a tie.ICC Americas U19 squad: Nikhil Dutta, Aniket Joshi, Armaan Kapoor, Abraash Khan, Farham Malik, Arjun Parikh (Canada); Onias Bascome, Tre Manders, Delray Rawlins, Micah Simons (Bermuda); Vibhav Altekar, Arsh Buch, Keifer Phill, Trevis Ross (USA).