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India captain MS Dhoni has called for his new-ball bowlers to step up after his side was thrashed by 141 runs in the first ODI in Johannesburg

Sidharth Monga at the Wanderers05-Dec-20130:00

Cullinan: Indian batsmen need to use their feet more

MS Dhoni scored a half-century but the task was too great for him to overcome•AFPIndia captain MS Dhoni has called for his new-ball bowlers to step up after his side was thrashed by 141 runs in the first ODI in Johannesburg. The visitors were typically underprepared, having spent only two-and-a-half days in South Africa before going into the match, but Dhoni said the schedule couldn’t be helped.”It is difficult [to play without warm-up games],” Dhoni said, “but at the same time, when you know the schedule, you have to mentally prepare yourself. If you ask some of the experienced players, they will say a lot of cricket is played mentally. We had two to two-and-a-half days, which gave us time to prepare ourselves mentally for the ODI.”Dhoni said he would have loved to have spent much longer in the country before playing the first international match, but said it was not possible in the present day. “What can be done?” he asked. “You’d love to come here, practise for a few days, play a few games, but nowadays the international schedule doesn’t really permit that. We play throughout the year.”If we need to get in those extra days, you don’t know where they will come from. We played West Indies, had two or three days off, and came here. You have to adapt to conditions. Let us not complain about what is not there. Of course it would be lovely to get a few practice games, but at the end of the day what is important is what is in your hand.”When asked if the captain couldn’t try and ensure his team had the right schedules, Dhoni’s response was curt: “You keep talking about the schedule. What schedule is there, you have to follow.”What Dhoni did want his team to do, though, is not ask the batsmen to score 300 every time. “Overall it was a bad performance,” he said. “It started with the bowlers initially. This was not really a 350-plus wicket. We were supposed to bowl it up, and the wicket would have done the rest. We didn’t get the kind of start that was needed. At the same time we should have backed it up with some good batting, but we weren’t able to do it.”0:00

‘Not a 300-plus wicket’ – Dhoni

The difference lay in knowing the conditions. Dale Steyn’s opening spell, during which he seemed to beat the bat with every other delivery, was in stark contrast to India’s bowling performance. “That’s crucial. They know the conditions better than us,” Dhoni said. “They know what lengths to bowl. That is one of the reasons why I want our bowlers to step up, so that you don’t give away 300 runs. That puts pressure on the batsmen because they have to go after the bowling right from the first ball, which was not easy on this wicket against bowlers like Dale Steyn. If you see how he bowled to Rohit, he didn’t move away from the good areas. We will have to step up overall.”Dhoni’s beef was not with the death bowling – though India conceded 100 in the last six overs – but with the new ball, when the bowlers were either too full or too short. “Death bowling – over the world bowlers are going for runs,” Dhoni said. “With the extra fielder inside and the fast bowlers are not able to get reverse-swing. It is the new ball that is important. Conditions will help. Bowl in the right areas, let the batsmen play good shots. Don’t give them a gift.”

West Indies coach Ottis Gibson took heart from the fight shown by his side despite losing the final T20 against New Zealand in Wellington and believes his side would bounce back when they host Ireland and England

Renaldo Matadeen15-Jan-2014West Indies coach Ottis Gibson took heart from the fight shown by his side despite coming up short in the final T20 against New Zealand in Wellington. The visitors are homeward bound after a dismal tour during which they could only register two wins.”We thought 170 might have been a good score so you could probably argue that we were 10 runs short. [Denesh] Ramdin was outstanding. He played really well tonight for us,” Gibson said. “You can work with 160 in T20 cricket and we tried. But you have to give credit to the way Ross [Taylor] played and then the way [Luke] Ronchi came in and took the game away from us. In the end, it’s a little bit disappointing to lose but I’m pleased with the effort.”They gave us a lesson in how to chase in this format. I think in the first game we played, they got a few too many runs and we didn’t chase properly at all. We panicked and tonight the way Ross played, steadying the ship and then setting it up for somebody to come and play the way Ronchi did, he played a really good innings”West Indies complicated their jobs by failing to convert as many as three opportunities on the field, including a botched attempt at running Taylor out when he was only 5. He added 34 more runs to his tally and was crucial in keeping the chase on track for New Zealand. “We dropped a few catches in the field also but then the guys picked themselves up,” Gibson said. “In the night, the weather turned, the temperature dropped – pretty uncomfortable temperature for us”Gibson believed his team will fare better at home against Ireland and England under familiar conditions after back-to-back disappointments on tours to India and New Zealand.”I don’t think all is lost. We are missing a lot of key players and there are players who will come in and strengthen us in the next couple of weeks,” Gibson said. “I’m looking forward to the mini-series versus Ireland, England next month and of course, the T20 World Cup.”We have lots of cricket to be played still. We’ll see how [Chris] Gayle is doing and there’s [Kemar] Roach and Ravi Rampaul to also come back. I’ll have a look to see how [Kieron] Pollard is doing also and we can look forward from there.”He also referred to Marlon Samuels, Darren Sammy and Darren Bravo as crucial absentees who would reinforce his unit once fit.When asked if the revolving door of players used in the recent trips abroad destabilised his team, Gibson dismissed the notions as well as those suggesting his players were homesick for such a lengthy period of time.”No, I don’t want to get into that sort of stuff. There are some of us who have been here [on tour] longer than others and at the end of the day, this is what you sign up for. We knew it was going to be back-to-back tours and it was going to be tough. You get yourselves up for the big events. We gave guys time off so they can keep their batteries topped up,” Gibson maintained.

The Indian team for Asia Cup and World Twenty20 will be chosen on Tuesday when the national selectors meet in Bangalore, where the Irani Cup is being played between Karnataka and Rest of India

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Feb-2014The Indian team for Asia Cup and World Twenty20 will be chosen on Tuesday when the national selectors meet in Bangalore, where the Irani Cup is being played between Karnataka and Rest of India. India have lost six of their last seven completed ODIs, and with their bowling and the role of a few batsmen under the scanner, it will be an interesting selection in the World Cup year. Having played only five Twenty20 internationals since the last World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka, there is little form to go by when it comes to the selection of the side for the World Twenty20, which, like the Asia Cup, will be played in Bangladesh.In the ODI side, the bowlers remain the perennial problem, but it is the parallel faltering of batting under pressure of high totals conceded by the bowlers that is becoming a new headache. Suresh Raina has scored only one fifty – that too against Zimbabwe – in his last 24 innings, and was dropped midway during the series in New Zealand. His place is likely to be debated after the experiment to send him up to No. 4 also failed earlier in the season. Stuart Binny, who bowled only one international over and didn’t get to bat in the only ODI played in New Zealand, did his chances of going to Asia Cup no harm by smacking 115 not out off 107 balls in the Irani Cup a day before the team selection.Shikhar Dhawan might have signalled possible return to form with a century in the Auckland Test, but the selectors could question the opening combination where Rohit Sharma and he have struggled over the last seven ODIs, all away from Asia. There has been a lot of push from analysts and former players to include Cheteshwar Pujara in the ODI side, and if India are to do that, this might be the right time given the proximity to the World Cup. Pujara himself has said he is keen to represent India at the World Cup. However, his fielding and how much playing ODIs might affect his fitness for Tests will be key factors to the decision. Finding bowlers, though, is a bit of a roulette. India have tried various combinations since the last World Cup with similar and disappointing results.For the T20s, Raina is a shoo-in, and Yuvraj Singh is a key player too. Both have been struggling in the ODIs of late, but are likely to be part of the World T20 side. Bowling will again remain a problem, and it will be interesting to see if India pick Binny, who was considered good enough by Rajasthan Royals to retain.

Ravindra Jadeja led India’s spin attack with four wickets, before Ajinkya Rahane and Shikhar Dhawan’s half-centuries helped them complete a comfortable win against Afghanistan

The Report by Devashish Fuloria05-Mar-2014
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
0:00

Agarkar: India achieved little in win

Afghanistan’s batting, apart from a match-winning partnership against Bangladesh, has been ordinary, particularly against spin. In a dead rubber against India, and in what was also their last chance to make an impression on this trip, Afghanistan’s batsmen collapsed at the first sighting of turn. Ravindra Jadeja picked up two wickets in his first over, and then added two more to run through a middle order that was clueless against India’s spin trio.The three of them – Jadeja, Amit Mishra and R Ashwin – bowled unchanged from the 12th over until the 36th with combined figures of 25-3-73-7 during that period. Was it not for another Samiullah Shenwari riposte, Afghanistan could have folded well inside 50 overs.Batting at No 8, Shenwari brought up his second half-century of the tournament and added 64 runs with the last three batsmen to avoid a capitulation. He farmed the strike, took vital runs off India’s seamers during the Powerplay and despite appearing in trouble against the spinners, he was prepared to attack the loose deliveries. On a day when boundaries were hard to come by, he hit six fours and a six to take Afghanistan past 150.The Indian team management had decided not to tinker with their playing XI, which meant there was still no place for Cheteshwar Pujara or Ishwar Pandey, the only two in the touring party not to get a game. Kohli, at the toss, mentioned it was important to be patient with the team. But contrary to that logic, they asked Ajinkya Rahane to open the innings with Shikhar Dhawan, instead of Rohit Sharma. The captain, though, couldn’t have asked for more as the openers added 121 runs to set up the chase that India completed in the 33rd over.Ravindra Jadeja set the tone with two wickets in his first over•AFPLike most teams, Afghanistan showed they were enjoying the challenge of facing the Indian seamers as they collected 52 runs in the first 11 overs for the loss of one wicket. But facing quality spin on these slow and low pitches is a different challenge altogether. The other day, Afghanistan had scored only 40 runs in 16.4 overs of spin from Sri Lanka and lost five wickets. Today, the story was no different. Kohli introduced Mishra, who had been impressive in the match against Pakistan, in the 12th over and immediately, it became apparent the batsmen were out of their comfort zone. Noor Ali Zadran, who had been impressive again the seamers, survived an lbw appeal against a googly first ball. And the next over derailed the innings.Jadeja’s first delivery – a quick slider that often buys him wickets of batsmen who are slow to come forward – beat Rahmat Shah’s inside edge and thudded on to the pad. His third delivery would have pleased him more; it was slower, loopy, and dipped and then bounced to catch the shoulder of Noor Ali’s bat for Kohli to take a simple catch at slip.Jadeja’s next over worsened Afghanistan’s position as Asghar Stanikzai slapped possibly the only bad delivery the spinner bowled limply to mid-on. Stanikzai left disappointed, because he knew he could have hit the half-tracker anywhere. What followed was a period of play where a wicket never seemed too far. Like Jadeja, Ashwin had a wicket off his first ball, in the 18th over; Najibullah Zadran heaved at a flighted delivery but top edged to mid-on.Mohammad Nabi, the Afghanistan captain, was caught behind for 6 off Jadeja in the 21st over and Mohammad Shahzad, who had been pushed down the batting order, scored 22 runs that were not enough to alter the script. When Shahzad was trapped plumb in front by Ashwin, Afghanistan had slumped to 95 for 7.Mishra, who had figures of 10-1-21-1, was possibly the most impressive of the spinners, beating the bat with metronomic regularity. His legspinners gripped the surface to turn past the outside edge numerous times, while his googlies were unread. After seven overs of bamboozling the batsmen, he too had something to show for his efforts as a googly took Mirwais Ashraf’s inside edge and lobbed to Kohli at slip.However, he still ended with a wicket less than Mohammad Shami, who had dismissed Nawroz Mangal after a wayward start and then trapped Shenwari lbw in the 46th over to end the innings.On a slow pitch that required extra application from the batsmen, Rahane and Dhawan adopted the ideal game: there was no attempt to play fancy shots and the two relied primarily on maneuvering the ball in the gaps. In the nine overs before the 45-minute break, the openers added 34 runs, hitting only two boundaries. They continued in the same vein after the break, nudging singles to lift the total to 76 in 18 overs. Again, only two boundaries came in that period.The tempo changed from the first ball of the 19th as Rahane hit consecutive boundaries off Shenwari. He stepped out first ball and clipped the full delivery over extra cover, a shot to which he can now lay claim as his own just because of the ease with which he pulls it off – he takes it low on the bat and punches it without any follow-through. The second one, a wristy flick against the spin beating mid-on, was even better. Dhawan caught the urgency bug too, hitting consecutive boundaries off Rahmat in the next over, the second bringing the century of the stand, India’s first in 14 ODIs. It was also the first time Afghanistan allowed such an opening partnership, highlighting the strength of their attack.India’s smooth glide momentarily hit turbulence as they lost both openers in quick succession – Rahane played across the line to be lbw and Dhawan was bowled by Nabi. Rohit Sharma, who walked in at No. 3, and Dinesh Karthik added the remaining 37 runs to complete the formality.

A round-up of the Central Zone matches of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy that took place on April 5, 2014

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Apr-2014Rajasthan entered the second round of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy thanks to Ankit Lamba, who scored 85 in their three-wicket win over Vidarbha in the final over in Nagpur. Chasing 158, Lamba nearly batted through the innings, and was dismissed in the penultimate over with Rajasthan needing seven off ten balls with three wickets in hand. Deepak Chahar and Pankaj Singh saw them through with five balls to spare.Rajkot, Mumbai to host Super League

The ten teams that have qualified for the Super League stage will be split into two groups, with Rajkot hosting the Group A matches and Mumbai the Group B games. The final on April 14 will be staged in Mumbai.
Group A Haryana, Goa, Jharkhand, Gujarat, UP
Group B Delhi, Kerala, Bengal, Baroda, Rajasthan

Pankaj was in good form with the ball, taking 3 for 29. Vidarbha’s highest stand was 70 for the third wicket between Faiz Fazal and Amol Ubarhande. Ubarhande top-scored with an exact 50 off 39 balls. Fazal made 36 before he was dismissed by Aniket Choudhary, who took 3 for 22. Pankaj took two wickets in the final over as Vidarbha ended on 157 for 7.Lamba was the mainstay of Rajasthan’s chase and their highest stand was 46 for the first wicket between Lamba and Suryaprakash Suwalka. Rajasthan were 113 for 3 in the 15th over but lost two quick wickets for 11 runs. Lamba was run out, after hitting seven fours and five sixes. The eighth-wicket pair ensured his efforts didn’t go to waste.Uttar Pradesh topped the Central Zone table after thumping Railways by 63 runs in Nagpur. It was a collective effort from UP, who made 150 after batting first even though none of their batsmen made 30. Debutants Digvijay Singh and Upendra Yadav got them going, both scoring 26, before Akshdeep Nath and Umang Sharma contributed similarly useful 20s down the order. They lost nine wickets, three of them going to left-arm spinner Ashish Yadav.Railways’ chase was doomed from the start, with seamers Praveen Kumar and Imtiaz Ahmed striking early before the spinners took over. Left-arm orthodox spinner Praveen Gupta, left-arm chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav and legspinner Piyush Chawla took two wickets each as Railways crumbled to 87 all out.

Australia will be rooting for Bangladesh on Sunday, whose defeat can knock Australia out with two games still to go

The Preview by Sidharth Monga29-Mar-20141:25

Cullinan: India need to guard against complacency

Match factsMarch 30, 2014
Start time 1930 local (1330 GMT)Big pictureHistorically, few teams have been more ruthless in their demolition of the underdogs but, on Sunday, Australia will be rooting for the underdogs. For if Bangladesh don’t beat Pakistan in the afternoon, Australia, who have lost two close matches out of two, will be out of the tournament, rendering their remaining matches inconsequential. It will also take out all the sting from what the organisers would have thought would be a top draw: India v Australia on a Sunday night with qualification implications aplenty.
For India, though, this cannot be a dead rubber even though they have become the first team to qualify for the semi-finals. India will dearly love to keep their unbeaten run intact, and end top of their group so that they face the second-placed team from the other group in the semi-final. Despite whatever is going wrong with their administration, the India cricket team has put up a great show so far. Theirs are the only bowlers, other than Nepal’s, to have not conceded 140 in this tournament. They have got the right bowling mix for these conditions unless a team can take apart their quicker bowlers. They have not even lost a toss yet, which could have at least challenged their bowlers to bowl in the dewy conditions. To be fair to India, though, they haven’t won any of these matches because the opposition had to bowl with the wet ball; dew has hardly been a factor in Mirpur so far.Australia are one side that can dismantle the Indian bowling – they have done so in their last two World Twenty20 meetings with India – but will they struggle for that motivation and that edge if Pakistan have already beaten Bangladesh and thus knocked them out even before George Bailey walks out for the toss?Form guide (most recent first)
Australia LLWWW
India WWWWWWatch out forGeorge Bailey’s captaincy has come in for some criticism over the last two games, especially his failure to take the pace off the ball. When they failed to keep West Indies down in the second game, Shane Watson, who doesn’t provide that much pace, bowled just the two overs for 11 runs. He will be watched closely in the match against India.
India have chased their three sub-par totals with ease, but Shikhar Dhawan’s lack of form will be a bit of a concern for them. In New Zealand, he was allowed to cool his heels for one ODI, and he came back strongly in the Tests. Will India look to do the same now that the semi-final spot is sealed?The sun has almost set on what has otherwise been a stupendous summer for Australia•Getty ImagesTeam newsAustralia might want to play two spinners at the same time, but then again India are hardly the side you want to expose them to.
Australia (probable) 1 Aaron Finch, 2 David Warner, 3 Shane Watson, 4 George Bailey (capt.), 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 Brad Hodge, 7 James Faulkner, 8 Brad Haddin (wk), 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Doug Bollinger, 11 James MuirheadIndia have no pressing reason to make a change except to give Ajinkya Rahane a look-in should he be needed in big matches later.
India (probable) 1 Shikhar Dhawan/ Ajinkya Rahane, 2 Rohit Sharma, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Suresh Raina, 5 Yuvraj Singh/ Ajinkya Rahane, 6 MS Dhoni (capt. & wk), 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Amit Mishra, 10 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 11 Mohammed ShamiStats and trivia MS Dhoni has won 15 of his last 16 international tosses. The one match where he lost the toss was washed out. Every time Australia have scored 175 or more in T20s in Asia, they have lost. If he plays this match, David Warner will become the first Australian with 50 T20I caps.Quotes”I wouldn’t want to swim in a tsunami. I wouldn’t want to challenge conditions. If we win the toss, we’ll again bowl first if that is what is required.”

“[It’s] not a weakness, because certainly spinners didn’t get us out, we got ourselves out. So we’ve got some work to do in that area, but that’s like every area: fast bowling, playing short-pitched bowling.”

Andrew Flintoff’s plans for a remarkable comeback nearly five years after his career seemed over because of injury are moving closer with his secret talks with Lancashire at an “advanced stage”.

David Hopps13-May-2014Andrew Flintoff’s plans for a remarkable comeback nearly five years after his career seemed over because of injury are moving closer with his secret talks with Lancashire now reported by insiders at the county to be at an “advanced stage”.Flintoff’s attempted return would give England’s relaunched NatWest Blast tournament a dash of celebrity but both Lancashire and the player himself are determined he will only return if they both feel he can meet cricketing demands.Flintoff is not only contemplating returning on the field for Lancashire, he has also been offered the opportunity to take on an as yet undefined coaching role during the tournament.Prospects of him playing in the opening game against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge on Friday night or for Lancashire’s first home game against Worcestershire Rapids at Old Trafford 24 hours later seem to have been scuppered by an ankle injury picked up in fielding practice.Flintoff responded tartly on Twitter earlier this week to Notts’ suggestions that he might play at Trent Bridge and suggested they should use the quality of their own players to sell tickets.The injury has also so far prevented him turning out in one of several Lancashire’s 2nd XI T20 fixtures this week – the latest of which is scheduled for Ormskirk today – and he will have to play in at least one such game to confirm that his fitness is robust enough for 1st team cricket.Flintoff’s big-hitting capability is ideally designed for T20 cricket and his enthusiasm for one last heave has been apparent in net sessions. If he does take the field, it would be a huge surprise if he also had a stint with the ball.But both Lancashire and the player are keenly aware of the risks he would take with such a comeback and are determined that it will not be regarded as a charade.

The clash between two teams battling to avoid Championship relegation produced a rollercoaster opening day which swung back Durham’s way via an unbroken ninth-wicket stand of 126 between Phil Mustard and Paul Coughlin

Press Association15-Jun-2014
ScorecardKyle Hogg’s five-for kept Durham in check•PA PhotosThe clash between two teams battling to avoid Championship relegation produced a rollercoaster opening day which swung back Durham’s way via an unbroken ninth-wicket stand of 126 between Phil Mustard and Paul Coughlin.Making his Championship debut because of injuries to Graham Onions, Mark Wood and Jamie Harrison, 21-year-old Coughlin fearlessly rode some early luck to make an unbeaten 71 against Lancashire, with Durham ending on 310 for 8. Mustard, dropped down to No. 8, showed unusual restraint in reaching 64. Prior to his arrival the balance had tipped Lancashire’s way through a five-wicket haul for Kyle Hogg.After the start was delayed for 15 minutes by rain Durham were inserted in overcast conditions and raced to 70 for 1 after 13 overs. They then took a further 37 overs to double the score while losing five more wickets before Gordon Muchall and Mustard put on 57.Muchall departed for 35 when a sweetly timed clip off Hogg flew straight to midwicket and the bowler completed his haul when John Hastings pushed forward and edged behind.National selector James Whitaker was present to watch Ben Stokes after surprisingly leaving him out of the squad for the first Test. But the allrounder made only 21 before he was bowled by a ball from Kabir Ali which kept low.Whitaker would also have been interested in Lancashire’s left-arm spinner Simon Kerrigan, but in conditions much more suited to the seamers he had none for 31 in nine overs. Australia Test batsman Usman Khawaja was making his debut for Lancashire.Glen Chapple’s decision to insert on an overcast morning made more sense than when Middlesex chose to field in sunny conditions in the last match here and proceeded to bowl poorly in conceding a total of 568 for 9. But Lancashire did not bowl badly early on and with conditions in their favour they always looked as though they should be taking wickets. The Durham openers rode their luck with thick edges contributing to Kabir conceding 27 of the 28 runs which came off the first six overs.Hogg was always threatening, as much through the extra bounce he occasionally extracted as from the modicum of sideways movement. It was the bounce which accounted for Paul Collingwood, caught at gully. But although he finished with five wickets, he bowled no better than the wicketless Chapple, who played a key role in strangling the innings after its rapid start.He kept a firm lid on Stokes, who diligently survived some probing bowling after lunch then straight drove the first ball of Kabir’s second spell for four, only to be bowled by the next.Conditions eased in the evening and although Coughlin enjoyed some luck none of the seamers could do anything to unsettle him.

Stuart Broad has become the latest England player to bemoan the lack of home advantage after his side conceded a tenth-wicket stand of 111 to India on the second day of the Investec Test series at Trent Bridge

George Dobell at Trent Bridge10-Jul-2014Stuart Broad has become the latest England player to bemoan the lack of home advantage after his side conceded a tenth-wicket stand of 111 to India on the second day of the Investec Test series at Trent Bridge.Broad had called for a pitch offering pace and bounce in the lead-up to the game, but was instead presented with a surface that he claimed was slower than those found in India.While Broad welcomed the apology made by the Nottinghamshire groundsman, Steve Birks, at the end of day one, he did appeal for quicker surfaces for the remainder of the series.”It’s certainly not what England would have asked for and not what Trent Bridge would have hoped for,” Broad, who plays his county cricket at the ground, said. “I think the best thing that’s happened is Trent Bridge have come out and said ‘Look, our mistake’, and apologised for the pitch.”Trent Bridge is renowned for exciting cricket. You come here to see nicks carry, dropped catches, good runs, exciting shots and quick bowling. We’ve not really seen a lot of that. I just hope that other grounds don’t follow suit.”Despite the stand between Mohammad Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Broad felt England had bowled well in difficult circumstances and kept India to a total no better than par. He also felt that England would have a good chance of repaying the punishment as their own innings progresses.”The two batsmen played very well,” Broad said. “But once the ball is soft, there’s no help for length bowling. We tried everything but they kept the ball out.”But in the middle session we claimed four wickets for 90 runs, which was out best session of the day, so it’s hard to be too down on ourselves.”460 is a decent score. It’s not a 600 which could easily have happened on that wicket. If you can’t bowl a bouncer at a lower-order player, it takes out a lot of the threat. Batsmen can get forward and protect their stumps, and then thrive off any width, so we will be hoping to do the same.”We’ve got one job: to bat as big as we possibly can. We have to make use of days three and four and try to put the Indians under pressure on the last day.”If we can get a good start and build, I’m sure the Indian bowlers won’t be looking forward to bowling at Ben Stokes coming in at No. 8 when they’re a bit tired. We can certainly get a big score if we get our heads down.”Broad also backed Alastair Cook to recover his batting form and, while admitting the England captain – who has now gone 25 innings without a Test century – was in “a rut” insisted poor fortune was a primary reason for the lack of runs.”When you’re in a bit of a rut and you’ve not scored runs for a while, things go against you,” Broad said. “I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve seen the ball canon off the thigh pad on to the stumps. They generally go to fine leg for one.”He is just in one of those places at the minute. It will turn. It just takes a cover drive or a dropped catch to change the momentum. We’ve certainly got enough cricket in the next five weeks for it to change.”He was fine afterwards. When you get out like that there’s not a lot you can do. If he had drilled one to extra cover he would have been annoyed. But he was chatting away, he was chirpy. He was disappointed not to make a big contribution but those sort of dismissals are so rare you can’t do much about it.”

Led by a hundred from captain Ashan Priyanjan, Sri Lanka A’s top order produced a powerful display at Stormont which was more than enough to overpower Ireland.

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Jul-2014
ScorecardAshan Priyanjan scored a stylish hundred•AFPLed by a hundred from captain Ashan Priyanjan, Sri Lanka A’s top order produced a powerful display at Stormont which was more than enough to overpower Ireland.Priyanjan, who is part of Sri Lanka’s ODI side, hit 111 off 70 balls as the visitors piled up 329 for 8 with a late charge from Chaturanga de Silva who hammered 60 off 27 deliveries. Then figures of 5 for 50 by legspinner Seekkuge Prasanna undermined Ireland’s chase from the outset and they finished with 222 all out.The platform was laid by the openers as Danushka Gunathilaka and Mahela Udawatte added 104 in 25 overs. Although both fell shortly after completing fifties, the innings then gained momentum as Priyanjan began to cut loose during a third-wicket stand of 94 in 11 overs with Bhanuka Rajapaksa.Priyanjan reached his fifty off 40 balls with his next 61 runs requiring just 30 deliveries. He was particularly severe on Andy McBrine whose ninth over cost 19, including three consecutive fours and a six, and his century arrived the ball after he deposited Peter Chase for his third six.The last 10 overs of Sri Lanka A’s innings brought 107 runs – with de Silva’s hitting playing its part – although it may have been even more if it had not been for a late flurry of wickets which meant the last three overs cost just 10. Craig Young could hold his head high with figures of 4 for 44 as could Andrew White with 1 for 29 off his full allocation.Ireland were immediately in trouble during the chase as both openers departed inside three overs to Prasanna who took the new ball – Stuart Poynter getting a leading edge first ball and Andy Balbirnie lbw sweeping – and by the 18th over they had lost half their side for 77.The middle order responded with some defiance as Stuart Thompson hit a run-a-ball 51 but the target was always miles away. Prasanna returned to remove White and completed his five-wicket haul with two wickets in three balls in the 41st over.