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Murali Kartik, the former India spinner, said the ban on his offbreaks is a setback for Sunil Narine but added rushing him back into bowling could be detrimental to Narine and his team Kolkata Knight Riders

Nagraj Gollapudi29-Apr-20150:56

“I feel sorry for Narine” – Hogg

Former India spinner Murali Kartik said the ban on Sunil Narine’s offbreaks was a setback and added rushing him back into bowling could be detrimental to Narine and his team Kolkata Knight Riders.”It is already hurting him [Narine] in terms of physical and emotional pain because just to be called or to be put on the suspect [actions] list is a big thing,” Kartik told ESPNcricinfo. “You can see it is hurting. He is not the Narine we have known because his economy rate has gone up and his wicket-taking ability has gone down.”Narine’s economy rate in five matches this season is 7.35, a noticeable increase from the 5.77 he has managed across three previous seasons. In those five matches, Narine has gone wicketless thrice. In 47 previous IPL matches, he had gone wicketless in only 13 matches.”He needs to have very strong people around him,” Kartik said. “People who need to give him the belief that by changing and remodelling his action he can comeback. And secondly he needs to given a bit of time because it is a scar – not just a mental scar but a scar on your record.”If he is going to be questioned again it is a lots of mental stress for both the team management as well as the player. Are you trying to tell me that if there is no Sunil Narine, there is no team? Unless they feel his other deliveries are going to be as effective and play him.”Kartik said it would be impossible for Narine to refrain from bowling his stock delivery. “You are so used to doing it. (But now that) He has been reported for his offspinner because they have spotted some flex when he bowls it.”Kartik felt the greatest challenge for a bowler asked to remodel his action was to suddenly stop doing something that has been ingrained in them since they started learning his art. He pointed out Saeed Ajmal’s struggles in the on-going Bangladesh series, where the once dangerous Pakistan off spinner was dealt with easily by the opponents. “To unlearn and re-learn something and be as effective as before it does not happen. I have not seen anyone doing that at least in the short term.”

Worcestershire’s promotion drive ran into a road block at Derby when an inspired career-best spell of spin bowling from Wes Durston sent them crashing to a 138-run defeat.

Press Association03-Sep-2014
ScorecardWes Durston ran through Worcestershire on the final afternoon•Getty ImagesWorcestershire’s promotion drive ran into a road block at Derby when an inspired career-best spell of spin bowling from Wes Durston sent them crashing to a 138-run defeat.The Division Two leaders collapsed dramatically after tea in pursuit of a target of 268 and were bowled out for 129 runs to give Derbyshire a third consecutive championship victory for the first time since 2002.Durston took 5 for 19 to condemn Worcestershire to a second consecutive defeat after Derbyshire skipper Wayne Madsen had set his side up with 98 out of 296 with New Zealand seamer Mitchell McClenaghan taking 5 for 78.Madsen, who was dropped by Richard Oliver at square leg of Charlie Morris on 13, moved through the gears in the morning, scoring 76 of Derbyshire’s 123 that gave them a 239-run lead at lunch.Five wickets tumbled for 28 in the afternoon as Derbyshire chased quick runs with Madsen falling two short of what would have been his second Championship hundred of the season when he played on to give McClenaghan his first five wicket haul in England.It left Worcestershire to score at just under five an over on a pitch that had offered something for the bowlers throughout the game and the chase started badly with Oliver recording his first duck in Championship cricket.Mark Footitt’s opening burst was always likely to have a big bearing on the outcome of the match and he removed Oliver for the second time in the game when the opener lobbed back a return catch off a ball that appeared to stop on him.Tom Fell had resisted for close on five hours in the first innings but this time he lasted only 11 balls before Footitt beat him for pace and knocked back his off stump in the fifth over.Alexei Kervezee took three fours from Footitt’s next over but when he whipped Wayne White, who had replaced Tony Palladino after six consecutive maidens, he was brilliantly caught one-handed above his head by Ben Slater at square leg.At tea, Worcestershire required another 209 from 37 overs but their chances of victory vanished in the space of 10 balls from Durston.Mitchell top-edged a sweep and was well caught at deep backward square leg by Footitt for 15 from 71 balls and Tom Kohler-Cadmore edged behind when he lunged forward.Derbyshire scented victory when Durston had Joe Leach caught at slip pushing forward in his next over to leave Worcestershire on the ropes at 89 for 6 with 29 overs remaining.Shaaiq Choudhry became Durston’s fourth victim when he was caught at silly point and Durston held a sharp slip catch in the next over when Ben Cox edged David Wainwright.Jack Shantry and McClenaghan held out for 13.2 overs but Durston switched ends and had Shantry pouched at short leg before Chesney Hughes bowled McClenaghan with 10.2 overs remaining.Worcestershire’s director of cricket Steve Rhodes said: “Derbyshire got the toss right and selection right with two spinners coming into their own as the wicket really turned and bounced and they outplayed us and certainly deserved to win.”If we had held a few catches they wouldn’t have got the score they would have done and we lost our top order within 25 overs and you are really struggling then to survive.”

Paul Farbrace has said he has not yet made a commitment to England, and remains conflicted over whether to become England’s assistant coach or remain head coach of Sri Lanka,

Andrew Fidel Fernando21-Apr-2014Paul Farbrace has said that he has not yet made a commitment to England, and remains conflicted over whether to become their assistant coach or remain head coach of Sri Lanka, after talks with SLC yielded no concrete decisions on Monday.He said there had been “nothing untoward” in his tenure with Sri Lanka that would drive him away from his current position, but admitted the prospect of working with England was an alluring one.Soon after arriving in the country on Monday, Farbrace had met with a SLC delegation, which included board members, chief selector Sanath Jayasuriya, and Ranjit Fernando, who had headed the panel that proposed Farbrace as head coach.Farbrace had laid out his position, and SLC had expressed a desire to keep him on board. Further talks are scheduled for Tuesday, when SLC may present incentives for Farbrace to remain in his current position.”It’s just about making sure that we would make the right decision,” Farbrace told ESPNcricinfo. “It’s a hard one because it’s between the country of your birth and where you live and everything else, and yet I’ve had a wonderful time in Sri Lanka, even since the last time I was here. I understand people’s upset and disappointment, but sometimes opportunities come and you have to decide what’s the right one to take.”Farbrace’s tenure has been marked by off-field upheaval, as much as on-field success. The team has lost only one out of 18 matches under his watch, but the players remain locked in a contracts dispute with the board, seven weeks after their previous agreements expired. Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara have also clashed with SLC officials over the announcement of their T20 retirements, but Farbrace said his experience in the role had not been soured by off-field events.”I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time with the Sri Lankan team. I did last time and I thoroughly enjoyed it this time. If I wasn’t enjoying it, it would be a pretty easy decision to make,” he said. “There’s nothing untoward, sometimes an opportunity comes up and you have to give it 100% consideration. That’s the same with any job. There’s no story behind it or anything like that. It’s just a case that since Thursday afternoon there’s been some interest [from ECB], it’s just a case of how far you take the interest.”Farbrace confirmed he had not applied for a role with England, and that it had been the ECB that approached him about the assistant coach role. SLC secretary Nishantha Ranatunga suggested the salary ECB had offered was beyond what SLC could match.”If you look at it from a human point of view, I am sure they are paying him more than a board like us can pay him,” Ranatunga said. “He didn’t demand for anything from us, but said that the ECB had offered an attractive package. We indicated to him that we would like him to stay in the position.”He had just arrived. He came straight to SLC from the airport, so we wanted him to have a rest and come back to us.”SLC’s executive committee has been in discussions over how to take negotiations with Farbrace forward on Tuesday.

Rahul Dravid’s presence in Derby on the eve of the warm-up game against Derbyshire is unlikely to make the game any more intense

Sidharth Monga in Derby30-Jun-2014Just a week ago, Rahul Dravid was a former India captain and a cricket pundit. He was speaking about the need for intense and competitive warm-up games. Although Dravid mentioned only the recent trend of counties putting up their 2nd XIs, it has not helped that India insist on using their whole squad as opposed to picking an XI, robbing these matches of their first-class status. A week later, Dravid is now part of the support staff, a batting consultant in the lead-up to the first Test, which begins in Nottingham on July 9.Dravid’s presence in Derby on the eve of the warm-up game against Derbyshire is unlikely to make the game any more intense. India will play all their 18 players, with only 11 batting and 11 on the field at any given time, and the game is against Derbyshire, who might not need to play a second team to bring the intensity down: they are a place from the bottom of the second division, lost three players last week, and were pummeled by Durham in a Twenty20 on Sunday.Yet there is an incentive for India to get their intensity up. In their previous tour game, against Leicestershire, who are placed bottom of Division Two, their bowlers conceded 349 for 5 in 62 overs. Two of the five wickets were “retired out”. Ishant Sharma and Pankaj Singh were the only two to get wickets. Even as the pressure grows on England after their defeat to Sri Lanka, the focus in the visitors’ camp is squarely on their bowlers.With these quick bowlers, much maligned and missing their bowling captain Zaheer Khan, the intensity was high during India’s only training session between the two tour games, on Monday. The lot of them reported at the ground an hour before the rest of the team, along with Duncan Fletcher-led support staff, Dravid and Cheteshwar Pujara. There were no batsmen to bowl to, but the purpose of coming early was to put them through an endurance test. All of them had to do five laps of the ground, without stopping to catch a breath or walking in between before picking up again. Times were kept, charts prepared for Fletcher to examine properly. Almost all of the bowlers seemed winded by the effort. There was no respite, though: after a break for lunch and a team meeting, they went through a full bowling session at the nets.Mohammed Shami, though, was not part of the endurance test as he worked separately with physio Evan Speechly and strength and conditioning coach Sudarshan VP. His workout was not nearly as intense as the others’, he didn’t bowl much, but there were no injury concerns to report. Shikhar Dhawan, who had taken a blow and retired hurt in Leicester, was back fit too.After this game, India move to Nottingham for their preferred mode of preparation, four days of intense training sessions, before the series begins.

A century from Ed Joyce helped Sussex seize the initiative on the third day of their Championship match against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge

Press Association17-Sep-2014
ScorecardEd Joyce made his eighth first-class century of the season•Getty ImagesA century from Ed Joyce helped Sussex seize the initiative on the third day of their Championship match against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge. The visitors closed on 244 for 3 in their second innings, an overall lead of 222 after they had bowled Notts out for 413 in their first innings.Joyce, five days short of his 36th birthday, stroked his eighth first-class century of the season in making an unbeaten 115, scoring his runs from 117 balls with 12 fours and three maximums.The Sussex captain had made an unbeaten 204 on the same ground last season and combined with Chris Nash to put on 152 for the second wicket. Nash, who made 178 in the first innings, seemed on course for a second century in the match before nicking Luke Fletcher behind for 85.The pair had come together after opener Michael Yardy had fallen cheaply, giving Fletcher his 200th first-class wicket. That was the end of the good news as far as the afternoon session went for Notts as Nash and Joyce rattled along at more than five runs an over in putting on 136 in 22.4 overs before tea.Both batsmen reached their fifties in the same over – the 22nd, bowled by Gary Keedy. Joyce got there from 52 balls, with seven fours and a six and Nash followed two balls later, having faced 61 balls with eight fours. Craig Cachopa then kept Joyce company in a stand of 62 before losing his off stump, in failing light, to Luke Wood.Notts had begun the penultimate day on 310 for 3, trailing by 81 but they lost Riki Wessels to Chris Jordan without adding to his overnight 15. James Taylor, unbeaten on 101 at the start of the day, eventually fell for 126 with his runs coming from 189 balls with 16 fours.Steve Magoffin, who finished with 4 for 72, claimed the wicket of the Taylor, leaving Samit Patel and Chris Read to try and steer the home side towards an overall lead.That they got there owed much to Sussex’s failure to take their chances. Patel, remarkably, was dropped three times in a row off Lewis Hatchett. A regulation nick was put down by Jordan at first slip, wicketkeeper Ben Brown spilt the second and then Joyce, at point, put down his third catch of the innings from the next ball. The third miss enabled a single to be taken to give the home side a narrow lead but Patel’s luck ran out in the next over. With eight needed from it to secure a fifth batting point, he charged towards Ashar Zaidi and was comprehensively stumped for 41.Hatchett’s fortunes changed, bowling Read, via a deflection on to the leg stump to leave Notts with a lead of just seven at lunch. Magoffin picked up his fourth wicket, that of Fletcher, in his first over of the afternoon and Hatchett’s luck continued to improve as he quickly removed both Harry Gurney and Keedy to end with figures of 4 for 99.Seven wickets had gone down for 103 runs by that point but the batsman then prospered in the second part of the day, with Joyce reaching his seventh career century against Notts before deteriorating light brought an early conclusion with 13.3 overs still to be bowled.

MS Dhoni said that the series was decided by the gulf in class between the middle orders of India and New Zealand

Abhishek Purohit in Wellington 31-Jan-20140:00

Dhoni on where India went wrong

MS Dhoni has said that the series was decided by the gulf in class between the middle orders of India and New Zealand. Indeed, while Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor piled on the runs for the hosts, Dhoni and Virat Kohli were regularly left with too much ground to regain after the other Indian batsmen had disappointed time and again.”More often than not we were chasing big scores. You know you can’t rely on a couple of batsmen,” Dhoni said. “What we have seen is that apart from one game, most of the times we have been behind, we have only been doing the catching-up work. And the run-rate goes too high. The last 25 overs, you can’t really look to chase eight or nine an over. That was a setback to some extent.”India’s problems began at the top where the openers could not build on their starts, and also ended up consuming more overs than usual. A more positive approach from his batting colleagues instead of caution would have helped, Dhoni added.Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni were often left fighting a losing battle all by themselves•AFP”At times people start to think too much. Yes they bowled really well. But at the same time we need to back ourselves to play the shots or the kind of cricket that we are known to play. To some extent we got bogged down. We didn’t try a different thing. You may lose a few games but it’s also important to see the kind of attitude that you bring into the game and try to play aggressive cricket. If you get out, you get out. At the end of the day if you lose too many wickets you are just hoping to save wickets. It has to be a real mix. It’s not like this is the formula that will solve the problem.”What is important is to have a positive intent right from the start and positive intent doesn’t always mean looking for the big shots. Positive intention when it comes to defending a ball or looking for a single. So that’s a change that we’ll have to do.”In complete contrast to their Indian counterparts, Williamson and Taylor had three century partnerships in the series to go with a fifty stand, and Dhoni said not being able to strike in the middle overs was what eventually pulled India down.”The main difference in the two sides was the middle order batting. They batted really well. They rotated the strike well. Kept wickets in hand and last few (overs) they went for the big shots. That has been the case throughout. If it wasn’t Ross, Guptill played a brilliant innings. If it was not Kane, then it was somebody else.”It was the middle overs that were very crucial and that’s where they really dominated. That’s the time when we are losing wickets and we are only doing the catching up.”

Former India captain Anil Kumble believes that Bangladesh have not done justice to the level of support they receive at home

Mohammad Isam25-Mar-2014Former India captain Anil Kumble believes that Bangladesh have not done justice to the level of support they receive at home. The World Twenty20 hosts lost to two Associate nations this month, first to Afghanistan in the Asia Cup and then to Hong Kong in the first round of the World T20 last weekend. On Tuesday, they begin their Super 10s campaign with a game against defending champions West Indies.”They’ve played at the highest level for a good number of years but the worrying thing for me is they have yet to arrive as a top-class international team,” Kumble wrote in his column. “It is bewildering when you consider the immense passion for the game in the country. The game is played at a reasonable level throughout the country but the national team is still to repay the faith of its adoring public.”Having played nine international matches in Bangladesh between 1998 and 2007, Kumble has seen the home side’s wide following first-hand. He believes that if Bangladesh were to beat West Indies, despite West Indies’ own shaky form, it would be considered a shock result. “They are in their own backyard with the conditions more than suited to their players. Yet there is that unfortunate feeling one gets that should the Windies stumble, it would be seen more as an upset win for the hosts rather than a victory which shouldn’t raise any eyebrows,” he said.Kumble compared the team to Sri Lanka in their early days, but said Bangladesh are still to arrive as a major force.Recently, Bangladesh whitewashed New Zealand in a home ODI series for the second time in three years, while also beating West Indies in ODIs in 2012. They have defeated each Test-playing nation at least once in ODIs, though they haven’t beaten Pakistan since 1999. In Test cricket, Bangladesh recently drew a series against New Zealand and a Test against Sri Lanka. But since that draw in Chittagong in early February, they lost two T20s and seven ODIs in a row, before beating Afghanistan and Nepal in the World T20’s opening round. Then, they lost to Hong Kong.”They [Bangladesh] have scored some good wins in the ODI version but not consistently enough to be taken seriously for a big team,” Kumble said. “With a tournament of this stature having arrived at their doorstep, it’s a fantastic opportunity for Bangladesh to make people look at them in a different light.”

The Indian team management has denied a report that they had pulled up the host broadcaster during the Centurion ODI for showing a clip of Virat Kohli getting injured during the first ODI with a caption that said, “Kohli – softened up”

Sidharth Monga 13-Dec-2013The Indian team management has denied a report that they had pulled up the host broadcaster during the Centurion ODI for showing a clip of Virat Kohli getting injured during the first ODI with a caption that said, “Kohli – softened up”. A report in on Thursday said, “SuperSport’s director was summoned to the Indian changing room during the innings interval and an explanation [was] demanded. His argument for ‘editorial relevance’ was countered with angry accusations of ‘inappropriate behaviour’, disrespect, and a suggestion that he ‘sticks to the cricket’ in future.”An Indian team official said he was not aware of what had happened. An official communication 10 minutes later said, “Once rain stopped play we did meet the producer of SuperSport but it was for discussing something else and not about the clip shown of Virat.”A SuperSport representative confirmed that “discussions” had taken place without going into details. A spokesperson said, “SuperSport is aware that discussions took place between a member of its production staff and members of the Indian touring party at SuperSport Park on 11 December. SuperSport will continue to produce the matches during the current tour to world-class specifications and with regard to editorial context.”During the Wanderers ODI, Kohli was hit in the rib area by a Morne Morkel short ball. While he did not flinch or show pain on the field, he later applied an ice pack on the bruise. The clip being referred to in this incident showed the whole sequence: first his getting hit, then him with an ice pack, and then practising a pull. One of the TV commentators said the clip was shown on the request of the commentary team on air at the time because they were discussing facing fast bowling and coming back from getting hit.Members of the SuperSport commentary team said they had not been informed of any developments and were not given any instructions.

Chennai Super Kings have retained MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Dwayne Bravo ahead of the IPL 2014 auction. This will leave the franchise with one right-to-match card at the auction on February 12

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Jan-2014Chennai Super Kings have retained MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Dwayne Bravo ahead of the IPL 2014 auction. The tournament rules allow for five players to be retained, of whom only four can be capped India players. This will leave the franchise with one right-to-match card at the auction on February 12.Super Kings have been the most successful of the IPL franchises, making the final five times out of six, and winning on two occasions – in 2010 and 2011. In 2010, they did the double of winning the IPL and the Champions League T20. They have also been one of the most settled franchises, with the core of the team remaining the same over the seasons. So it comes as no surprise that they have retained as many players as possible here.Among the players staying with Super Kings, captain Dhoni, batsman Raina and offspinner Ashwin have never played for another IPL franchise. Dhoni, India’s captain and arguably the best finisher in limited-overs cricket, was the most expensive buy of the inaugural IPL auction back in 2008. Raina, the tournament’s leading run-getter overall, is yet to miss a single match for Super Kings. Ashwin has been one of many players who adds local flavour to the team, and until the recently-concluded series against South Africa, was India’s first-choice spinner.On Boxing Day, in Durban, Ashwin – perhaps temporarily – lost that title to Jadeja. Super Kings had bought allrounder Jadeja at the 2012 auction, paying more than US$2 million for him after his bidding went into a secret tie-breaker with the now-defunct Deccan Chargers. West Indies allrounder Bravo, who in 2013 set a new record for the most wickets in an IPL season, completes the list.January 10 is the deadline for the IPL franchises to announce their list of retained players, ahead of the auction on February 12. Aside from retained players, franchises can buy back additional members of their squads at the auction via right-to-match cards. The number of right-to-match cards available to each franchise will depend on the number of players already retained. Since Super Kings have retained five players, they will have one right-to-match card at the auction.A fixed amount will be deducted from Super Kings’ auction purse of Rs 600 million (approx. US$ 9.6 million, at the current exchange rate) for each player retained: Rs 125 million for player one, Rs 95 million for player two, Rs 75 million for player three, Rs 55 million for player four and Rs 40 million for player five. That will leave the franchise with Rs 210 million to spend at the auction. This season, each squad must include no less than 16 and no more than 27 players, with a maximum of nine overseas players.The amount deducted from the auction purse is not necessarily the IPL fee agreed to between the franchise and the retained player.In 2011, apart from Dhoni and Raina, Super Kings had retained India batsman M Vijay and South Africa allrounder Albie Morkel. The pair missed out this time, along with former Australia batsman Michael Hussey, who was IPL 2013’s leading run-getter. Super Kings tweeted confirmation of their list of retained players late on Thursday night.

The #Super5 is here! #whistlepodu pic.twitter.com/R1us92KhyD

— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) January 9, 2014

Glamorgan rounded off the County Championship season with a convincing eight-wicket win over Gloucestershire on the final day of their Division Two encounter at Cardiff.

27-Sep-2013Glamorgan 306 (Allenby 85, Cooke 50, Gidman 4-64) and 102 for 2 (Goodwin 50*) beat Gloucestershire 275 (Dent 84) and 132 (Allenby 4-16) by eight wickets
ScorecardMurray Goodwin’s unbeaten 50 guided the run chase to cap a successful first season with Glamorgan•Getty ImagesGlamorgan rounded off the County Championship season with a convincing eight-wicket win over Gloucestershire on the final day of their Division Two encounter at Cardiff.With only 102 required for victory, Murray Goodwin helped to guide Glamorgan home with an unbeaten 50 a day when 12 wickets fell. That was after Gloucestershire had been skittled for only 132 in their second innings.Jim Allenby claimed 4 for 16 to go with his 85 in the first innings as Glamorgan, who took 22 points to Gloucestershire’s five, registered their third fourth-day win of the campaign.After day three had been a complete washout, Glamorgan had resumed their first innings on 271 for 9 – four runs behind Gloucestershire. But last pair Michael Hogan and Dean Cosker ended up putting on 62 for the final wicket to leave Glamorgan 306 all out – a lead of 31.Any hopes of Gloucestershire saving the game, however, evaporated as they were bowled out in their second innings in 44.3 overs. The visitors managed to wipe out the arrears but then lost their first wicket with the score on 35 when Chris Dent edged Hogan.Gloucestershire accelerated to 73 for 1 but then came a dramatic pre-lunch collapse when they lost 4 for 5 in 13 balls, with Ruaidhri Smith and Allenby doing the damage. It started when Graham Wagg took a good catch at extra cover to dismiss Gareth Roderick from Allenby.Smith took two wickets in an over. He bowled Alex Gidman and then had Ian Cockbain caught behind. And in the next over Allenby trapped Will Gidman leg before. It left Gloucestershire reeling at 78 for 5 at lunch – just 47 runs ahead.After the interval, Cameron Herring was caught behind, and, while Hamish Marshall completed 1,000 runs for the season, he lost Benny Howell, who was bowled by Hogan. Allenby made further inroads when he had Smith caught behind as Gloucestershire lost their eighth wicket on 118.Wagg found Marshall’s edge with the busy Allenby holding onto the catch at slip to leave Gloucestershire on 122 for 9. Graeme McCarter was last man out, caught and bowled by Allenby shortly before tea.In reply, Glamorgan lost Gareth Rees to the second ball of the innings and then Ben Wright for 17 in the 11th over. But Goodwin, 50 from 106 balls, and Chris Cooke steered Glamorgan to the winning post with 11.3 overs to spare.