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ESPNcricinfo presents the plays of the day from the opening day in Port Elizabeth

Firdose Moonda at St George's Park11-Jan-2013Drop of the day
Teams around the world should have learnt: don’t drop Hashim Amla. But still, New Zealand did it. Amla was on 48 when he slashed at a short, wide Trent Boult ball, Kane Williamson needed to move his left to take the catch. He reacted too slowly and by the time he got to the ball all Williamson could do get a loose hand to it. He gave Amla a second chance and that was all he needed. Amla brought up his 19th Test century and fourth against New Zealand as the day drew to a close.Aggression of the day
Brendon McCullum asked his bowlers to show more intent and at least one of them listened. With the first ball of his second over, Doug Bracewell opted for the short ball and found some awkward bounce. Graeme Smith took his eyes off the ball and as he turned away, was hit on the back of the head. Smith did not seem rattled at first but soon realised he needed a few minutes to recompose himself. He crouched to his haunches and called for the medical team. There was no blood but he seemed a little woozy. After a few sips of water and a quiet word with the physiotherapist, Smith was ready to carry on. Disbelief of the day
In three overs after lunch, Smith scored four boundaries as he muscled his way to a half-century. He was looking as imperious as he did in Perth last month when he scored at seven runs an over with Amla to bat Australia out of the match. Smith turned the ball fine to beat the legslip in the over before he was dismissed but when he tried to repeat that, he gloved it through to BJ Watling. Smith was furious with himself and it showed. He shook his head all the way from the crease to the edge of the boundary where he slowed down to watch the replay of his own dismissal. On seeing how he was caught down the leg-side, he continued to mutter and mumble in anger.Shots of the day
Jacques Kallis greeted Port Elizabeth with an imperious pull shot off Doug Bracewell to bring up his first runs. It was an uncharacteristically aggressive start for Kallis but it became even more so when he followed up with another pull off the next ball. The second shot was played in absolute anger as Kallis hit the ball hard and kept it along the ground. Those were Kallis’ only scoring shots but they were memorable.Non-review of the day
New Zealand considered reviewing an lbw shout against Smith off Bracewell’s bowling. It would have been in vain because even though the ball was hitting the stumps, Bracewell had overstepped. What they should have reviewed was the caught behind off Faf du Plessis after the second new ball had been taken. Watling, McCullum and Boult who was bowling appealed as the ball looked to have grazed du Plessis’ glove but did not ask for it to go upstairs. What should have tipped them off was the guilty look on du Plessis’ face and the sheepish glance he tried to make in New Zealand’s direction. Hotspot showed a mark on the glove and New Zealand missed out on the chance to end day one on a high.

When you are finally done with the league stages of this tournament, when you are getting yourselves ready for the real exciting parts of the World Cup, please take time to send a note of gratitude to England

Sidharth Monga08-Mar-2011When you are finally done with the league stages of this tournament, when you are getting yourselves ready for the real exciting parts of the World Cup, please take time to send a note of gratitude to England. For it’s England who have made the league stages so eminently watchable, and it’s no wonder that the dead and predictable group is the one that doesn’t have the services of England.So far there have been about four headlines about the World Cup coming alive, and those have all followed matches involving England. England were there when Oranje became popular in the city of oranges. They were there when India mentioned Guinness more often in one day than it has done collectively before. They brought the worst out of India’s bowling attack, and for one Zaheer Khan over their best too. They were also there when the balance between the bat and ball was restored in Chennai.England have been pure entertainment so far, having regained the kind of form from the last two years that had them somehow drawing Test matches with batting stalwarts such as Monty Panesar and Graham Onions hanging in for dear life. Give them Netherlands, they concede 292 and work hard to get there. Give them India, they have a chase of 339 all sorted out before messing it up before their tail hits three crazy sixes to tie the thing. Give them Ireland, their bowlers fail to defend 327 after having the opposition at 111 for 5. Give them South Africa, the same bowlers come back remarkably to defend 171 from 120 for 3. Pinch yourself, because England haven’t often evoked the next four words with their one-day cricket: never a dull moment.It takes some team to adapt themselves so well to the opposition that they end up within inches of both Ireland and South Africa, both Netherlands and India. Nor have England been one-dimensional. They have played the dirty kind of close games where the pitches are so flat the bowlers might feel like slitting their wrists. They have played the actual game of the tournament too, where on a turning beauty in Chennai, every run had to be worked hard for. However, the bowler that played a big part in that win in Chennai, Stuart Broad, is not quite appreciative of the value England have brought to the tournament. He says they have had more close games than they would have liked before conceding that it might prove to be an advantage in terms of having experienced tight situations.”It’s happened to us in this World Cup probably a bit more than we’d like, but it’s all good experience in the group stages as long as you get through the group stage because when it gets to the quarter-finals, it’s obviously knockout, and you want to come out on top when it comes to those pressure situations.”Broad wants his team to get both its wings working at the same time. “After the disappointing performance against Ireland, we came back very strongly against South Africa with the ball,” Broad said. “It’s important we click with both bat and ball in this game. Our aim is to get a bit of a run going, to get a bit of momentum in this World Cup, and that starts on Friday. We know Bangladesh are going to come out hard against us, after their disappointing result against the West Indies. They’re always a difficult side to beat on their home turf. I am sure the atmosphere will be fantastic. Every player is looking forward to the game. We need to make sure we put in a strong performance with both bat and ball in the same game.”It all sounds very good to have everybody perform, to create momentum and all the rest, but it is also a bit banal. Just imagine if England had been doing whatever Broad said, we still would have been waiting for the first headline about World Cup coming alive. Whatever Broad says, don’t change, England. This tournament still needs more thrills.

Stats highlights from the second day of The Oval Test

S Rajesh10-Aug-2007

Anil Kumble had to wait 151 innings to finally get his first Test century © Getty Images
The story of the day was Anil Kumble’s unbeaten 110. In 117 previous Tests, his highest had been 88, against South Africa at Kolkata in 1996-97. In his 118th match, and his 151st innings, he wasn’t to be denied, though. It’s the most number of Tests any batsman has played to get to his first century. Chaminda Vaas held the earlier record – his unbeaten 100 against Bangladesh in Colombo earlier this year came in his 97th Test, while Jason Gillespie was playing in his 71st Test when he struck that memorable 201 not out against Bangladesh, again, at Chittagong in 2005-06. Kumble had only scored 79 runs in his 11 previous innings, and his innings is also his first 50-plus score overseas. (Click here for Kumble’s innings-by-innings list.) India’s total of 664 is their highest against England, and their fourth-highest against all teams. It’s also only the 11th time – and the fourth for India – that all 11 batsmen made double-digit scores. As at Trent Bridge, India’s top-order batting was characterised by contributions from every batsman. In all there were six 50-plus scores in the innings. Only twice previously have so many Indian batsmen scored so many in a single innings: at Kanpur against New Zealand in 1976-77, India managed 524 for 9 declared with six half-centuries but no hundreds – a total which remains, thanks to Kumble’s hundred, the highest without a century; against Australia at Kolkata in 1997-98, India scored 633 for 5 declared, with the top six all going past 50, and Mohammad Azharuddin scoring an unbeaten 163. So many significant scores from the batsmen meant there were partnerships for almost every wicket. In all India put together an astonishing eight 50-plus stands, which is a record in Test cricket. There are 25 instances of six 50-plus stands, but no team had managed seven in a single innings. The last-wicket stand between Kumble and Sreesanth yielded 73 at a rate of 5.47 per over. It’s the fourth-highest tenth-wicket partnership for India, and their highest against England. The 133 that Sachin Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan added against Bangladesh at Dhaka in 2004-05 remains the highest. Not only did the lower contribute handily, they did so at a brisk pace: India’s last five wickets scored 310 runs in 68.4 overs, a scoring rate of 4.51. Much of that scoring rate was due to the 81-ball blitz by Mahendra Singh Dhoni. His 92 is now the highest by an Indian wicketkeeper in England, going past Farokh Engineer’s 87 at Headingley in 1967. In fact, Dhoni and Engineer share the top five scores by an Indian wicketkeeper in England: Engineer also scored 86 at Lord’s and 64 not out at Edgbaston in 1974, while Dhoni contributed a match-saving unbeaten 76 in the first Test of this series at Lord’s. England had a forgettable day in the field, and it’s hardly surprising that a few of them entered the record books for all the wrong reasons. Matt Prior had a terrible time behind the stumps, dropping a couple of catches and letting through 33 byes, which is the second-highest in a single Test innings. England leaked 37 against Australia at the same ground way back in 1934, but there was a good reason for that: Les Ames, the regular wicketkeeper, was forced to retire hurt while batting in England’s first innings, which forced frank Woolley to keep wicket in Australia second innings. Whereas Ames had conceded four byes in Australia’s first-innings score of 701, Woolley allowed 37 in the second-innings score of 327. Prior joins two other wicketkeepers who have conceded 33 byes: John Murray, against India at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai in 1960-61, and Jim Parks against West Indies at Kingston in 1968. In fact, the five highest number of byes conceded in an innings have all been by England. James Anderson and Monty Panesar became only the second and third England bowlers to concede more than 150 runs in an innings against India. Andrew Caddick was the first, going for exactly 150 in 40.1 overs at Headingley in 2002.

Caleb Jewell and Beau Webster put Tasmania in a strong position

AAP14-Mar-2023

Queensland’s decision to send Tasmania in to bat at Bellerive Oval failed to pay dividends thanks to half-centuries from Caleb Jewell and Beau Webster.The in-form Jewell seemed set for a third century is as many outings for Tasmania, only to fall for 98 after a 228-ball innings.Webster ended the day unbeaten on 91, having struck 11 boundaries in a 157-ball knock. He was joined at the crease by Tim Paine, on 41 not out.Queensland, who are in a tense battle with Victoria for a spot in next week’s Shield final, commenced the day disastrously with the loss of strike bowler Michael Neser.The Test paceman was ruled out minutes before the start after suffering an ankle injury during the warm-up, with Liam Guthrie coming into the side in his place. To compounded Queensland’s woes, Mark Steketee could only manage 10 overs before limping off with a hip problem.Jewell, having hit three figures in his last Shield and One-Day Cup outings, fell to the new ball after edging a Guthrie delivery to Joe Burns at first slip.The 25-year-old left-hander had shared in two century partnerships, putting on 104 with Jake Doran (58) for the second wicket, and then 120 with Webster for the fifth.Left-armer Guthrie made the most of his eleventh-hour inclusion and made a double breakthrough after lunch, with two wickets in three balls knocking over Mac Wright and captain Jordan Silk for a duck.Steketee, the Shield’s second-highest wicket-taker after Neser, struck in just the third over removing Tim Ward for 2, but had little further joy despite the green-tinged wicket.Second-placed Queensland must at least equal Victoria’s result against Western Australia in Perth if they are to secure a spot in the season decider.

According to Fabrizio Romano, several clubs are showing interest in the Mexico captain.

Not part of Graham Potter’s plansPlayed 73 matches with the HammersValued at $29 millionFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱AFPWHAT HAPPENED?

Mexico national team captain Edson Álvarez is reportedly expected to depart West Ham before the current transfer window shuts, according to Fabrizio Romano. 

joined the Hammers from Ajax in 2023 and made 73 appearances during his spell in East London. Romano reports that the 26-year-old is already in talks with multiple suitors. 

AdvertisementGetty Images SportTHE BIGGER PICTURE

A move within the Premier League could be a strong step for Álvarez’s career. Since Graham Potter replaced Julen Lopetegui as manager, the Mexican has seen his role diminish compared to the regular starting spot he held under David Moyes. As things stand, he does not feature in Potter’s plans for the upcoming season, which kicks off this weekend in England.

Getty Images SportDID YOU KNOW?

The most expensive outgoing transfer in Liga MX history came in 2019, when Edson Álvarez joined Ajax for $15.6 million from América. Now, the midfielder is seeking a fresh start where he can regain valuable minutes ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

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Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT FOR ÁLVAREZ AND MEXICO NATIONAL TEAM?

Mexico will face Japan on Sept. 6 and South Korea on Sept. 9, with both friendlies taking place in the United States.

Hosts recover from 15 for 4 through England pair, then seamers put Worcestershire to sword

ECB Reporters Network17-May-2024A fifth-wicket stand of 148 between Dan Lawrence and Ollie Pope, a superb new ball spell by Dan Worrall and Kemar Roach’s late double-strike put Surrey in control against Worcestershire despite themselves being bowled out for 213 on a frenetic 17-wicket opening day at the Kia Oval.When the dust settled on the high-octane action Worcestershire were 112 for 7 in their own first innings, still 101 runs in arrears, after Worrall’s 3 for 16 from seven overs, Roach’s two wickets in three balls and scalps too for Sean Abbott and Jordan Clark backed up Lawrence’s 84 and Pope’s 63.Put in on a well-grassed surface, Surrey were soon in all sorts of trouble at 15 for 4 as Joe Leach took 3 for 24 in seven overs in a new-ball spell that threatened to embarrass the county champions.But Lawrence then joined Pope to pull the innings around in a counterattacking partnership of great quality that looked even better once Surrey’s lower order had failed to build substantially on it and Worcestershire’s top order had been cut down by Worrall and his fellow pacemen.Worrall first had Gareth Roderick caught at fourth slip for 15, pushing out at an away-swinger, before bowling Jake Libby for 1 with a magnificent delivery that nipped back to beat the opener’s attempted off drive.Kashif Ali, after a couple of promising boundaries took him to 15, flashed leaden-footed at Worrall and edged to keeper Ben Foakes and, when Abbott replaced Worrall at the Vauxhall End, Adam Hose – facing only his fourth ball – went needlessly after his loosener and carved it into the cordon to depart for 4.Worcestershire were 53 for 5 when Clark angled one into Rob Jones’s pads and had him leg-before for 14, but at least Matthew Waite helped his skipper, Brett D’Oliveira, put on 58 in a fighting sixth-wicket stand before Roach made sure the day belonged to Surrey.Swinging the ball back into the right-handers, Roach won two leg-before decisions to end Waite’s 42-ball 35 and also send back Nathan Smith for nought just before bad light stopped play at 6.26pm, with seven overs of the day’s scheduled allocation remaining unbowled. D’Oliveira was unbeaten on 22.Rory Burns, Dom Sibley, Jamie Smith and Foakes were the early casualties when Surrey batted, with New Zealand overseas Smith striking first in the fourth over to have Burns lbw for eight as aimed to clip to leg.Sibley drove at a ball too wide for the stroke to edge Leach behind and, later in the over, Smith was bowled for a fourth-ball duck by an absolute beauty that clipped the top of his off stump.Foakes, beaten off the pitch, edged to second slip on 1, but Lawrence and Pope took the attack back to Worcestershire and, with just a little bit of good fortune early in their stand, turned the tide of the innings.Lawrence, who had got off the mark with a skewed lofted drive that just cleared mid-off running back, then skipped down the pitch to swing debutant seamer Yadvinder Singh for six over wide midwicket, while Pope bedded in confidently at the other end.They rallied Surrey to 110 for 4 by lunch and continued on merrily enough afterwards until their 33-over alliance was broken by Smith, who had Pope caught behind one ball after seeing him missed in the slips. Pope had faced 110 balls, hitting six fours.Frustratingly for Surrey, Lawrence then departed in the very next over, throwing his bat at an outswinger from medium-pacer Waite and edging behind after a punchy 102-ball innings that featured two sixes – the second driven high and straight off Leach – and 11 fours.Abbott top-edged a pull at Waite to long leg and the same bowler trapped Gus Atkinson leg-before for a fourth-ball duck to finish with the creditable figures of 12-4-19-3.Clark, hitting Smith for four consecutive fours at one stage, and also lofting him straight for six in a 36-ball 42 not out, tried his best to revive Surrey again but Roach fell for four, edging Ben Gibbon behind, and Worrall was run out at the bowler’s end for nought after initially failing to respond to Clark’s call for a bye to the keeper.

The WPL final is scheduled for March 17 in Delhi, two days before England’s first T20I against NZ in Dunedin

Matt Roller02-Feb-2024The ECB has made an unsuccessful request to New Zealand Cricket (NZC) to move the dates of England’s upcoming women’s tour, with four players deemed unavailable for the first three T20Is as a result of their Women’s Premier League (WPL) commitments in India and two others pulling out of their franchise contracts.NZC confirmed the fixtures in July for the tour, which comprises five T20Is and three ODIs between March 19 and April 6. The BCCI had only publicly announced the window for the WPL last Wednesday, with the final scheduled for March 17 in Delhi – two days before the opening T20I in Dunedin.ESPNcricinfo understands that the ECB asked NZC to consider shifting the series back but were told it would not be possible. “We explored every option available to us to make sure all our players were available during the New Zealand series, but that didn’t quite work out as we would have liked,” Jon Lewis, England’s coach, said.”Yes, there are things that other boards could have done, but they’re things that are totally out of our control to be honest. We’ve had to react to the situation as best we can… it’s quite a unique situation. It’s quite complex… we talk to everyone as individuals and work out what we think is the best plan for them.”Lewis blamed the late release of the WPL’s schedule, which was decided several months after NZC had confirmed the dates of England’s tour. “[The series] was in our diary for a very long period of time,” he said. “The WPL dates came out very late. Moving forward, all the boards around the world will create a window for the WPL similar to the men’s game.”Related

Nat Sciver-Brunt: 'I'd be lying if I said money wasn't a factor'

The ECB told the eight England players with WPL contracts that to be considered for selection in the first three T20Is, they would need to leave India before the knockout stages. Jonathan Finch, the director of England women’s cricket, said: “All players participating in the WPL were given our backing to remain in India for the duration of the tournament.”Lauren Bell (UP Warriorz) and Heather Knight (Royal Challengers Bangalore) both pulled out of their deals last week. “They withdrew once they learnt that the WPL regulations don’t allow for replacements mid-tournament, not wanting their respective WPL teams to be disadvantaged by their early departure,” Finch said.Lewis himself will leave the WPL after UP Warriorz’s final group game on March 11, with assistant coach Ashley Noffke likely to deputise if they reach the knockout stages. “I had good discussions with the franchise,” Lewis said. “Hopefully, we’re in a really strong position. We’ve got a lot of cover in the coaching department and UP have been really accommodating.”Jon Lewis: “Moving forward, all boards around the world will create a window for the WPL similar to the men’s game”•ICC via Getty Images

England named two separate T20I squads on Friday, one for the first three matches and another for the final two. Hollie Armitage and Linsey Smith will be replaced by Alice Capsey (Delhi Capitals), Sophie Ecclestone (UP Warriorz), Nat Sciver-Brunt (Mumbai Indains) and Danni Wyatt (UP Warriorz) ahead of the fourth T20I. Kate Cross (RCB) will arrive for the ODIs, while Issy Wong (MI) was not selected for either format.”We tried to make sure that all the players that are in New Zealand with us will get a really fair crack, rather than worrying about Nat Sciver-Brunt getting knocked out [of the WPL] on one day, flying in three days later and taking their position in the team,” Lewis said, framing the clash as “a brilliant opportunity” to test England’s depth ahead of the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh later this year.With Wyatt in India for the full WPL, Tammy Beaumont looks set to open the batting in the first three T20Is and will win her 100th cap in the format. A pedestrian strike rate meant she has spent two years out of the side since her 99th, but she has since shown her dynamism in domestic cricket. “We asked her to go away and improve in certain areas,” Lewis said. “She went away and she did that.”Mahika Gaur, who has played in England’s last two T20I series, is unavailable as she continues to study for her A-Levels, while Freya Kemp has been picked as a specialist batter for the parallel England A tour to New Zealand after a recurrence of a back injury. Kirstie Gordon (T20s) and Grace Scrivens (ODIs) will captain the secondary tour, while Tash Farrant and Emma Lamb both feature after back injuries.England T20I squad vs New Zealand: Hollie Armitage*, Tammy Beaumont, Lauren Bell, Maia Bouchier, Alice Capsey+, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone+, Lauren Filer, Danielle Gibson, Sarah Glenn, Bess Heath, Amy Jones, Heather Knight (captain), Nat Sciver-Brunt+, Linsey Smith*, Danni Wyatt+ ()England ODI squad vs New Zealand: Tammy Beaumont, Lauren Bell, Maia Bouchier, Alice Capsey, Kate Cross, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Lauren Filer, Danielle Gibson, Sarah Glenn, Bess Heath, Amy Jones, Heather Knight (capt), Nat Sciver-Brunt, Danni WyattEngland A squad vs New Zealand: Georgia Adams, Hannah Baker, Alice Davidson-Richards, Tash Farrant, Kirstie Gordon (T20 captain), Freya Kemp, Emma Lamb, Ryana MacDonald-Gay, Sophie Munro, Grace Potts, Paige Scholfield, Grace Scrivens (ODI captain), Seren Smale, Rhianna Southby, Mady Villiers

The allrounder had suffered an ankle injury while bowling against Bangladesh

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Nov-20233:46

Kumble: Prasidh will be suited for venues where India go next

India allrounder Hardik Pandya has been ruled out of the ODI World Cup due to the ankle injury he suffered against Bangladesh on October 19. Fast bowler Prasidh Krishna has replaced him in India’s squad.Pandya had injured himself last month when he appeared to twist his left ankle while trying to stop a shot in his follow-through during his first over against Bangladesh. He played no further part in that match and was taken for scans. ESPNcricinfo understands he suffered ligament damage and has been undergoing rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru.Related

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Prasidh, who has 29 wickets in 17 ODIs, last played for India in two ODIs against Australia during the series just before the World Cup. He took three wickets in those games and also took five wickets in as many matches for Karnataka in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.Prasidh had marked his return from a long layoff due to a stress fracture of the back when India toured Ireland in August and was also part of the Asia Cup squad, though he was largely on the bench and only played one game against Bangladesh.

Tough to digest the fact that I will miss out on the remaining part of the World Cup. I'll be with the team, in spirit, cheering them on every ball of every game. Thanks for all the wishes, the love, and the support has been incredible. This team is special and I'm sure we'll… pic.twitter.com/b05BKW0FgL

— hardik pandya (@hardikpandya7) November 4, 2023