Category Uncategorized

Fast bowler undergoes successful surgery to remove glass fragment from his hand

Nagraj Gollapudi31-Mar-2021Jofra Archer is set to return to India to play for the Rajasthan Royals after a period on the sidelines recovering from injury, despite some early doubts over his availability for the 2021 IPL.ESPNcricinfo understands Archer, who had finger surgery on Monday in England, is expected to miss at least the first four matches of the Royals’ schedule.The IPL, which will be played behind closed doors in India, starts on April 9 with the Royals scheduled to play their first match on April 12 in Mumbai against the Punjab Kings.The Royals were awaiting an update from the ECB on a firm date of departure, but it is understood the franchise expects him to be out for at least for the first four matches.On Wednesday, the ECB said Archer had undergone successful surgery to remove a fragment of glass from the middle finger on his right hand and that he would now begin two weeks of rehabilitation. He would be reviewed by a consultant before returning to training and more would be known about the effectiveness of an injection to an ongoing elbow problem, once he was bowling again, the ECB added.In terms of his IPL involvement, the ECB said it was too early to confirm and a decision would be made once he was given the all-clear to return to bowling.Archer suffered a cut to his hand while cleaning at his home in January shortly before flying to India to prepare for their four-Test series. The ECB’s medical team managed the injury throughout the tour, and it did not impact on his availability.Archer returned to England from the India tour immediately after the T20 series in March to have the injuries seen to, the elbow issue having troubled him since the South Africa tour in January 2020.On Tuesday, Ashley Giles, the ECB’s director of cricket, revealed detail of Archer’s finger injury on BBC’s Tuffers & Vaughan show. According to Giles, Archer suffered a cut on the middle finger of his bowling hand in January while at home in Hove after dropping a tropical fish tank in the bath.”They’ve operated and I think they found a small fragment of glass still in attendance. It obviously healed but there was part of the fish tank still in his finger,” Giles said.On April 15 the Royals play against the Delhi Capitals, followed by the Chennai Super Kings on April 19 and then the Royal Challengers Bangalore on April 22.Additional reporting from George Dobell

The second Test will be a step into the unknown at a new ground but Australia know what they want to see

Daniel Brettig11-Dec-20181:06

Laxman: Both bowling units fantastic, the batting will decide series

Australia’s coach Justin Langer will devote himself to efforts to mentally and physically refresh his team for the second of back-to-back Tests, on a fiery Perth Stadium pitch that looms as the hosts’ best chance to catch up to India, before the series turns to the more docile surfaces expected in Melbourne and Sydney.While the BCCI were successful in lobbying to have the first Test of the series played in Adelaide in daylight, the pace, bounce and movement likely to be offered in Perth, due to years of work to try to replicate the former qualities of the WACA pitch with drop-in technology, will likely make the second Test far more of a fire and brimstone affair than the slow burn and tense finish that enthralled spectators and television viewers in Adelaide.For Langer, the principle concern is to ensure that Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins are able to back up and improve upon their displays in the first Test. Starc in particular has some improving to do, but the pace trio remains Australia’s best hope of regaining parity and then forging on to victory in a series where the batting has been enormously weakened by the bans on Steven Smith and David Warner. While Mitchell Marsh and Peter Siddle remain part of the squad, Langer indicated that conditions would be more likely to change than the team’s composition, even when factoring a forecast 36C temperature on Friday’s first day.”On the one hand the youth helps us because they’ll have the physical energy, but it’s mentally very taxing playing Test cricket,” Langer said when asked about how to refresh his troops. “I said that to Marcus Harris this morning, ‘mate when you play 100 Test matches, Test cricket’s really tiring’. It’s something we’re aware of, we’ll work it out over the next few days, training will probably look a lot different at this time of the year than perhaps we’ve seen in the past.ALSO READ: Mitchell Marsh admits omission brings vice-captain uncertainty
“They [the pacemen] have had a couple days off, would’ve had three or four days off, India are in exactly the same situation. It’s probably the one area where we just felt we’re not wearing down the India bowlers enough this Test match. It’s going to be hot on Friday, it’ll be an important toss I would imagine, and there’s always working out that balance, but hopefully on a wicket conducive to a bit of swing and seam, the bowlers will get the job done.”Local expectations for the pitch are that it will produce a fast-moving match, likely to finish early on day five if it gets there at all. “There’s been one four-day game in its history there. I went and watched a bit of the game, New South Wales versus WA,” Langer said. “Certainly there was some pace and bounce. We’ve seen some pace and bounce in it during the one-dayers and T20 game and a fast outfield.There was a good contest between Pat Cummins and KL Rahul•Getty Images

“Again it’s an unprecedented period – the first Test match on a drop-in wicket in Perth at the new stadium. Time will tell what the wicket brings. Hopefully that’s what it is traditionally at the WACA, that’s what we’ve talked about for a long time, pace and bounce. If we can get that, it’d be a great thing for Test cricket.”Reflecting on the opening match of the series, in which Australia claimed four quick India wickets on the first morning before being gradually worn down by Cheteshwar Pujara and a disciplined and varied India bowling attack, Langer said that its winding pathway largely met his expectations, even when Nathan Lyon and Hazlewood got to within 32 runs of victory.ALSO READ: Paine adamant about finger, less sure on DRS
“I was pretty relaxed, I’ve seen a lot of cricket. The game probably played out as I expected,” Langer said. “I knew that it’d get easier to bat on this drop-in wicket in Adelaide. Unfortunately we were losing wickets at crucial moments. We probably missed a trick there.”If we’d have been two or three down overnight it might’ve been a different ball game, it wasn’t the case. India outplayed us, there’s no doubt about that, there was no point in the game where I felt we were on top of India, to their great credit they were more patient than us, they bowled really well. We got close, which shows great fighting spirit. Two out of the last three Tests the team’s shown great fighting spirit to draw in Dubai and we just lost yesterday. We’re getting closer with this young team.”During the game Langer defended his team’s approach with the bat after criticism for being too defensive and again said it was dictated by conditions. “The wicket was really tough to score on. If you look at India, Virat Kohli got 30 in 120 balls or something, that’s telling you something. There was no plan to bat slowly, just how the game went. India bowled well, we bowled equally as well in the first innings and it was hard to bat on with the slow outfield.”Plenty of questions have surrounded the state of the captain Tim Paine’s troubled right index finger, which required treatment and extra strapping on the fifth morning after a blow on the gloves from Mohammed Shami. Paine had offered only a terse “I’m fine” after the match, and Langer maintained the brave face. “Painey is the toughest pretty boy I’ve ever met in my life,” he said. “Even if it was snapped in about four places he’d still be right. He’s absolutely fine. He’s obviously had issues with it before but he is 100% ready to go.”

Jhye Richardson bagged a five-wicket haul after Western Australia’s surprising decision to bowl first

Alex Malcolm16-Nov-2018South Australia captain Travis Head did his first Test chances no harm with a well-compiled 87 on a fluctuating opening day of the Sheffield Shield clash with Western Australia at Adelaide Oval.The Warriors caused a shock at the toss opting to bowl first on what appeared to be a good batting surface having picked four specialist quicks.The decision looked vindicated when the Redbacks slumped to 2 for 13. Jhye Richardson made the early breakthrough having Jake Weatherald caught at slip with an excellent late away swinger before Callum Ferguson was bowled not offering a shot to a gem from Matt Kelly.But Head and Conor McInerney put together a 123-run stand in quick time and made the pitch look placid in the process. Both men reached their half-centuries and looked set for big scores before McInerney dragged an attempted pull shot onto his stumps from Richardson then Head was then adjudged lbw to Cameron Green, despite the ball appearing to pitch outside leg stump.That triggered a collapse with the Redbacks losing 6 for 36. Nick Winter and Daniel Worrell mounted a revival adding 69 for the ninth wicket. Winter made his maiden first-class half-century and finished unbeaten on 53. Richardson picked up the last two wickets to claim a maiden five-wicket haul in Shield cricket.WA’s reply started poorly with a new makeshift opening combination. Josh Philippe fell to Worrall in the first over before Hilton Cartwright, opening for one of the rare times in his first-class career, and Shaun Marsh survived the remaining seven overs to stumps.

The Cricket Australia director said that the board may only release the recommendations of the Ethics Centre rather than allow a public examination of the review

Daniel Brettig02-Sep-2018An independent review, set to deliver plenty of harsh truths to Cricket Australia, may yet be closed off from public view, even as the director Mark Taylor admitted that the organisation needed to make substantial changes to win back public trust and prevent the game from stagnating.Taylor, part of the CA subcommittee that elected to hire The Ethics Centre to conduct the review, said that the Board may choose only to release its recommendations rather than allow a public examination of the research conducted by its chief architect Simon Longstaff. Transparency has increasingly been an issue for CA in recent years, summed up on Friday by the revelations of Bob Every’s resignation from the board, in protest at the chairman David Peever’s intention to continue for another three-year term.When it happened, Every’s exit from the board was officially paralleled to Kevin Roberts leaving his directorship to become a senior executive, or Michael Kasprowicz temporarily resigning his post to serve as acting CEO of Queensland Cricket. Every’s resignation letter, and accompanying email to his fellow directors, was blunt in outlining how different this circumstance had been, as he described Peever’s performance as “substandard”.Previous notable reviews of Australian cricket – that of team performance by Don Argus in 2011, and of CA’s governance structure, by David Crawford and Colin Carter in 2012, were released publicly in executive summary form, though specific submissions and observations of interviewees were kept private. More recently, the game endured the difficulties of the coronial inquest into the death of Phillip Hughes being played out publicly, as Hughes’ family sought closure to the matter and answers from its custodians”I suspect there’s going to be some warts and all reporting, it comes from the Ethics Centre, it’s fully independent,” Taylor told . “We are going to get stuff that’s going to dredge up stuff from the players pay dispute from last year, TV rights negotiations, we’ve got a new CEO coming on, it’ll be very juicy. But do we want to go back and have a look at all this stuff from the last 18 months, which has, to be honest, been quite tumultuous?”We won’t censor it. I think we’ve either got to put it out there, or use what is recommended by the Ethics Centre. That’s my opinion: we’ve either got to say, ‘it’s all out there, warts and all’, or put out what he recommended we should do going forward, because to me, that’s the key. It’s about what we can do in the future to make the game better, not necessarily what we’ve done wrong in the past.”In terms of the governing body’s recovery from recent misadventures, Taylor said that changes in behaviour at both playing and administrative levels needed to be clear to all. “[We win the fans back] by making changes. To me, this is a bit of an opportunity,” he said. “No doubt cricket’s gone through the ringer in the last 18 months. We’ve had all sorts of problems, not just with sandpapergate, MoU negotiations, a CEO who’s moving on in the next 12 months, it’s been a very tumultuous time.”People want to see us play and administer the game the right way, and do it better than what we have done, and I agree we have to do it. That’s where I think players and administrators have to start working closely together to get it right for the future.”In the aftermath of the ball-tampering scandal, CA was able to sign a A$1.18 billion broadcast rights deal with and the , giving the administration plenty of money to play with over the next six years. However, this windfall will need to be allied to regaining public trust – a process Taylor said was vital to maintaining cricket’s dominance of the Australian summer months.”We’re very lucky that we’ve got very loyal fans out there and we’ve got a sport that doesn’t have rugby league, AFL and soccer as genuine competition,” Taylor said. “We still own summer, and we’ve got to make sure we make it better and better for the fans.”It’s given us a real moment in time to hang on and reflect that look, we’ve got three good players, two of them outstanding players, who aren’t going to be playing until April next year. That rocks everybody, including people like myself, former players and administrators, rocks us all. No-one’s enjoying what’s happened in the game of cricket to Steve Smith, David Warner and Cam Bancroft, but we’ve got to make sure we learn some lessons from it, not just players but administrators as well.”

Paul Edwards15-Apr-2018
ScorecardA moody sky at Old Trafford•AFP

The cricketers almost always console you; they invariably bring you peace. That, at any rate, was the curious feeling one had even on this grey Sunday at Emirates Old Trafford as one watched Nottinghamshire’s batsmen build a lead of 64 runs and then Liam Livingstone’s batsmen reduce it to just six before persistent rain prevented any play after tea.Behind Stretford Town Hall a football match rumbled away but inside the home of Lancashire cricket the County Championship has settled in, even in this benightedly wet April. And, it had to be remarked as the day progressed, this Old Trafford was probably the more content.None of which will console either Haseeb Hameed or Alex Davies this bedraggled Sabbath evening. Hameed had put on 49 with Keaton Jennings and had looked in little trouble until he played forward and didn’t quite miss a ball from Harry Gurney. That, at least, was the judgement of Graham Lloyd. Hameed looked at the umpire for a moment and trudged off with 19 runs against his name. No one missed the point that an opportunity to impress the selectors had gone a-begging.Five minutes later Davies attempted to get off the mark by pulling his fifth delivery backward of square. The ball went through to Tom Moores who joined the slips and Gurney in a full-throated appeal. Again Lloyd’s finger was raised. Davies stood his ground and gazed at the official for a couple of long Steinbeckian seconds. One imagines that not since the age of the basilisks has there been such a glance.But there was nothing Davies could do about things except follow Hameed to the pavilion. Jennings, whose straight drive off Samit Patel had been one of the shots of the day, came in to tea unbeaten on 27. Then the rain set in with growing vengeance. Quite soon it was raining at all the County Championship venues except Lord’s, where the game was over, and Headingley, where it hadn’t started.The first third of this day at Old Trafford had been taken up with Nottinghamshire carefully constructing their lead of 64, an advantage which may have been beyond their avarice on the Saturday evening. Riki Wessels’ 44 was the largest contribution but one’s eye was taken by young Tom Moores, a batsman who will never let a bowler settle if he can help it. The heir to Chris Read’s gauntlets, Moores is, like his predecessor, every inch a cricketer and his 143-minute 38 is the longest innings of the match to date.Lancashire’s bowling was willing enough but the home side never looked like taking wickets until the last three fell in as many overs, two of them to Liam Livingstone. The Lancashire skipper had earlier produced a fine off-spinner to remove Wessels but the grey morning session was also illumined by Moores’ cover-driving and his picked-up six off Keaton Jennings, a shot plucked straight from a steamy July evening at Trent Bridge and the pressing needs of T20 cricket.Moores was the only Nottinghamshire batsman not to be dismissed by Livingstone on this third day. He was bowled by Joe Mennie when attempting to make room to pull the ball to leg but he managed to do no more than deflect it onto his leg stump. A few minutes’ later Jake Ball’s heave saw him stumped by Davies and the Lancashire openers dashed off to prepare for their innings.

England have Alex Hales, Jason Roy and Chris Jordan fit to select from as they get started in the tri-series following Australia’s emphatic opening win

The Preview by Alan Gardner06-Feb-20182:22

Farrell: Stanlake the talk of the build-up for England T20

Big Picture

The tri-series began with something of a whimper, though Australia certainly roared to victory in between the Sydney showers. A team packed with Big Bash talent pinned New Zealand to the ropes, keeping them to just 9 for 117 from their 20 overs, before Chris Lynn and Glenn Maxwell applied the finishing blows with the bat.Standout among a clutch of impressive performances was that of the skyscraping Billy Stanlake, whose speeds pushed above 150kph (90mph) during an opening three-wicket burst that effectively scuppered New Zealand’s chances of a more competitive total. Australia’s T20 form has been indifferent – arguably since their World T20 final appearance in 2010 – but with Stanlake, AJ Tye and Ashton Agar impressing alongside contributions from the more experienced Lynn and Maxwell, this was an exciting glimpse into a possible future.David Warner, the stand-in captain, does remain in a rut with the bat against the white ball, but he marshalled Australia well in the field, bringing his IPL experience to bear and energetically celebrating his team’s success. A chance to exact some revenge after their drubbing by England in the ODI series should add to Australia’s motivation.For England, this extended spell of T20 is an opportunity to rediscover some focus, two years after they came within the width of Carlos Brathwaite’s bat of lifting the trophy in Kolkata. Their record reads P9 W4 L5 since then, as they have taken the opportunity to experiment with the line-up and blood new players. To an extent, without Joe Root, Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali, that will again be the case – but the tri-series provides a window to further embed England’s aggressive white-ball approach, with Sam Curran (brother of Tom) the newest potential inductee.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)
Australia WWLWL
England LWLWL

In the spotlight

David Warner spoke passionately about turning around Australia’s T20 fortunes before the start of the series and his captaincy was central to orchestrating their impressive victory at the SCG. His limited-overs form continues to be a concern, however, with a tentative 6 off 11 balls following five ODI innings against England in which he tallied 73 runs. It is almost two years since Warner made so much as 30 in a T20I (although he has only batted nine times in that period) and a reminder of his abilities in this format seems long overdue.His ODI role has become more one of providing squad support but David Willey remains a key asset for England in T20. His ability to swing the new ball for a couple of overs while the opposition are looking to go hard and then return to deliver his variations later in the innings gives his bowling a sharper focus, while the knock of 79 off 36 at opener that saw him hit Nathan Lyon for 6-6-6-6-6-4 in the warm-up match in Canberra suggested England could do worse than throw him up the order as a pinch-slogger.

Team news

Australia got off to a flying start against New Zealand on Saturday and there may be a temptation to stick with the same XI. Travis Head, fresh from leading Adelaide Strikers to the BBL title, is an option to bolster the batting.Australia (possible): 1 David Warner (capt), 2 D’Arcy Short, 3 Chris Lynn, 4 Glenn Maxwell, 5 Marcus Stoinis, 6 Alex Carey (wk), 7 Ashton Agar, 8 Andrew Tye, 9 Kane Richardson, 10 Adam Zampa, 11 Billy StanlakeAlex Hales, Jason Roy and Chris Jordan are all expected to be fit after injury but Liam Plunkett is still working his way back from a hamstring strain suffered during the ODIs. England’s main dilemma is how to best deploy their resources: Sam Billings would strengthen the batting (and fielding), Tom Curran the bowling, while the uncapped Sam Curran offers a bit of both.England (possible): 1 Jason Roy, 2 Alex Hales, 3 Dawid Malan, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 Jos Buttler (wk), 6 Sam Billings/Tom Curran/Sam Curran, 7 Liam Dawson, 8 David Willey, 9 Adil Rashid, 10 Chris Jordan, 11 Mark Wood

Pitch and conditions

Hobart traditionally offers something for seam bowlers, though a T20 track is likely to be much flatter; Morgan said the pitch “looked completely different” on Tuesday to Monday and would likely change again come the start of the match, with a warm forecast for the day. The long straight boundaries may also encourage spin bowling.

Stats and trivia

• Morgan is set to captain England for the 28th time in T20s, taking him past Stuart Broad into second behind Paul Collingwood (30).
• Chris Lynn’s 44 against New Zealand was his best score in six international innings for Australia.
• Australia beat England by 13 runs in their most recent T20I at Bellerive Oval, in 2014, a match in which Lynn made his debut.
• England have only won one of their six T20s in Australia, at Adelaide Oval in 2011.

Quotes

“I’m still trying to adjust to international cricket but I definitely have confidence in what I’ve done out here throughout the last couple of weeks.”
“In a tournament basis you have the carrot of a final at the end, so I’m all for them. If we could play more, we would but I don’t think it’s viable with travel schedules around the world.”

Harbhajan Singh, the India offspinner, has been named Punjab’s captain for the upcoming Ranji season

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Oct-2012

Replacements for North Zone Duleep trophy squad

• Virender Sehwag (ankle injury) – ID Singh (J&K)

• Yuvraj Singh (not cleared for four-day cricket by NCA) – Bipul Sharma (Punjab)

• Virat Kohli (asked for rest) – Uday Kaul

• Gautam Gambhir (Champions League) – Rahul Dewan (Haryana)

• Harbhajan Singh (Champions League) – Gurvinder Singh (Himachal Pradesh)

• Rajat Bhatia (Champions League) – Sunny Singh (Haryana)

• Amit Mishra, who had originally been deemed unfit, has now been cleared, and will travel with the squad as the 16th member.

Harbhajan Singh, the India offspinner, has been named Punjab’s captain for the upcoming Ranji season. He has been out of the Indian Test side for more than a year, but returned to the Twenty20 squad for the World T20 last month.Harbhajan flew back home after sustaining an injury during the tour of England last year. He led Mumbai Indians to the Champions League trophy, proof of his ability to perform in T20, but picked up a shin injury around the time he was omitted from India’s squad for Australia.That injury also curtailed his Ranji season to three matches, when as Punjab captain he only took two wickets for 204 runs. He also led Punjab in the one-day Vijay Hazare tournament and the Twenty20 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.This year, he signed a county contract with Essex, where he played steadily if not spectacularly (13 first-class wickets at 33).His presence in the side will be a boost to Punjab, who are without a head coach after Vikram Rathour vacated the post to become a national selector.Punjab Ranji squad: Harbhajan singh (capt), Mandeep Singh (vice-capt), Karan Goel, Jeevanjot Singh, Yuvraj Singh, Uday Kaul, Mayank Sidhana, Amitoze Singh, Rahul Sharma, Siddarth Kaul, Manpreet Gony, Sandeep Sharma, Gurkirat Mann, Bipul Sharma and Rajwinder Singh

Holland stretched their lead at the top of Group A with a 43-run victory over Leicestershire at Grace Road.

04-Jun-2012
ScorecardHolland stretched their lead at the top of Group A with a 43-run victory over Leicestershire at Grace Road. Put in to bat, Netherlands posted their competition-best total of 304 for 3, with Michael Swart making a maiden one-day century and sharing a record second-wicket stand of 152 with Tom Cooper.Despite a brilliant 115 from Ramnaresh Sarwan, bottom-of-the-table Leicestershire were unable to end their dismal run in the competition, finishing on 261 for 9 to slump to their fourth defeat in five games. For Netherlands it was their fifth win in seven matches having already beaten Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, Lancashire and Essex. Swart followed up his century by taking 3 for 55.Stephan Myburgh gave the visitors a flying start, hitting a massive six off the fourth ball of the innings from Alex Wyatt. Another followed off Nathan Buck as Myburgh raced to 37 off 27 balls before being brilliantly run out by Josh Cobb – he made a great diving stop off his own bowling, and then whipped the ball back to wicketkeeper Ned Eckersley before Myburgh could regain his ground having set off for a single.But Myburgh’s quick-fire knock set the tone and the partnership between Swart and Cooper took the innings to another level as Leicestershire were left chasing the ball to all parts.Swart survived a difficult chance to Michael Thornely at cover and reached his 50 off 63 balls with three boundaries.Then he began to cut loose, hitting three sixes off Claude Henderson as the stand surpassed the previous best of 132 against Worcestershire at Kidderminster. Cooper was no slouch either, pulling Nathan Buck to the ropes to reach 50 off 53 balls.The next landmark was Swart’s century, reached off 96 balls with three sixes and five other boundaries. But he was out two runs later, skying a catch to long on off Wayne White. Cooper followed at 229 giving a return catch to Cobb having scored 68 off 67 balls.But Cameron Borgas, with an unbeaten 61 off 33 balls, and Mudassar Bukhari kept the runs flowing, 74 coming off the last six overs as Holland posted their biggest score against county opposition.Thanks to Sarwan, Leicestershire made a brave effort to chase down the target but once he had gone for 115 off 89 balls with nine fours and a six they had little hope. Jacques du Toit was the next highest scorer with 48 and White hit an aggressive 32 but Holland deservedly chalked up their third win in a row.

A round-up of the fifth match day of the Faysal Bank Super Eight T20 Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Jun-2011Karachi Dolphins moved into the semi-finals of the Faysal Bank super Eight T20 tournament with the biggest win in Pakistan’s domestic Twenty20 history, thrashing Faisalabad Wolves by 124 runs at the Iqbal Stadium. Opener Shahzaib Hasan was the chief destroyer, muscling 69 off just 28 balls to power Karachi to a massive 231. In reply, Faisalabad were rolled over for 107, bowled out in the 14th over with fast bowler Sohail Khan and offspinner Haaris Ayaz taking three wickets each.The carnage began in the third over after Karachi chose to bat, with Shahzaib slamming Mohammad Talha for 26 runs. Shahzaib reached his fifty as early as the fifth over, and Karachi’s 100 came up in the eighth. Khalid Latif took over once Shahzaib was dismissed in the seventh over, clubbing five sixes in a 26-ball 46. Faisalabad hit back with four wickets in two overs, but cameos from Mohammad Sami and Ayaz pushed Karachi to the biggest total of the tournament.Faisalabad’s chase was rocked early as the openers were dismissed in the second over, and the big names, Mohammad Hafeez and Misbah-ul-Haq, also perished cheaply. They moved to 84 for 4 in the eighth over before the challenge petered out, the final six wickets going down for 23 runs.

Rawalpindi Rams joined Karachi in the semi-finals by cruising to a seven-wicket victory over Multan Tigers in the final league match of Group B. Left-arm spinner Raza Hasan ran through the Multan middle order to set up the win.Multan began what was virtually a quarter-final match steadily, if not spectacularly, reaching 51 for 0 in the seventh over. It was mostly downhill for Multan after that; first they lost both openers in the space of five deliveries as they slid to 54 for 3. Naved Yasin and Zeeshan Ashraf crafted a patient recovery before another collapse. This time the damage was 7 for 26 as Raza struck four times.That left Rawalpindi needing only 129 to make the semi-finals. They had a bit of a stutter as their openers departed after a bright start. It was easy for Rawalpindi after that, losing only one more wicket before Jamal Anwar and Sohail Tanvir put on 73 to confirm Multan’s exit.

A round-up of the latest action from the MetBank Pro40 Championship in Zimbabwe, with wins for Southern Rocks and Mashonaland Eagles

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Jan-2011With Zimbabwe well into its rainy season, both games in the latest round of the MetBank Pro40 Championship were shortened due to the inclement weather. Masvingo Sports Club has a reputation as a batting paradise and that certainly seemed to be the case in the midst of Sikandar Raza and Chamu Chibhabha 161-run opening stand that helped set up a massive total of 253 for 6 in just 32 overs for Southern Rocks. Matabeleland Tuskers’ batsmen failed to build any notable partnerships in reply as the visitors fell 45 runs short.Chibhabha and Raza, both of whom have been included in Zimbabwe’s preliminary World Cup squad, have put together several useful opening partnerships for Rocks in Twenty20 cricket, and they appeared to be operating in a similar mode as they rocketed along at close to eight an over after being put in to bat by Tuskers. Raza was the quicker of the two, sprinting past fifty and reaching a career-best 80 – including five fours and four sixes – before he was trapped lbw by Keith Dabengwa’s left-arm spin.Chibhabha and Elton Chigumbura took their team past 200, and though wickets fell regularly after they were dismissed Rocks still managed to reach a formidable total. Despite enterprising innings from captain Gavin Ewing and Paul Horton, Tuskers stumbled through the early stages of their reply and slipped to 63 for 4 in the ninth over. Offspinner Hilary Matanga ensured there would be no fightback, taking a career-best 4 for 30 as Tuskers closed on 208 for 8.The rain was even more extensive up north, and Mashonaland Eagles’ match against Mid West Rhinos at Harare Sports Club was reduced to a 25-overs-a-side affair. A disciplined performance from Eagles’ new-ball bowlers, Douglas Hondo and Chad Keegan, with competent back-up from Andrew Hall and Ray Price kept Rhinos to 120 for 7. After Cephas Zhuwawo’s boundary-laden 34 launched the innings, Regis Chakabva’s unbeaten 47 guided Eagles home to a seven-wicket win in the 21st over.Eagles captain Forster Mutizwa opted to field after winning the toss and the move soon paid off as the home attack proved a handful in the damp conditions. Hondo removed both openers, including Gary Ballance for a four-ball duck, and when Price had Malcolm Waller caught by Innocent Chinyoka for his second wicket Rhinos were 52 for 5 in the 13th over. That they eventually scored as many runs as they did was almost entirely due to Riki Wessels’ unbeaten 43.Rhinos threatened to fight back with the ball when both Eagles openers were removed in the space of five balls with the score only just past 40, but Chakabva couldn’t be tied down and found helpful support from Mutizwa and Greg Lamb to seal the win.It was a sorely needed result for Eagles, who remain at the bottom of the Points table despite their win after losing five of their first six games. Rocks’ victory takes them to second position, edging ahead of Tusker by virtue of their superior net run-rate.