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Ash Herron, the wife of Nottingham Forest and USMNT goalkeeper Matt Turner, has revealed which player broke her nose during a warmup.

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Turner moves to Premier LeagueWife, Ash, breaks nose in warm upShe reveals which player did itGettyWHAT HAPPENED?

Herron has revealed she suffered a broken nose during one of the pre-game warmups while watching her husband in action. Ash is one of many wives set to feature in the new Amazon Prime Video documentary called 'Married to the Game' which will showcase the lives of significant others who are with Premier League footballers.

AdvertisementNottingham Forest TwitterWHAT HERRON SAID

“I’ve got a broken nose right now because I went to a game and got hit in the nose,” Ash Turner told talkSPORT. “It happened during the warm up. It was [Gonzalo] Montiel. I don’t think it’s glitz and glamour.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Turner and his family made the switch from the MLS to the Premier League back in 2022, when he sealed a move to join North London giants Arsenal.

Speaking on the difference between the MLS and the Premier League, Turner's wife added: “I don’t think I was necessarily prepared for the intensity of the Premier League. We came from MLS and obviously that’s not as high profile. This league is just developed in people’s blood and it’s a beautiful thing. The pressure for the players and their families is something I don’t think you can prepare for. You have to just go through the journey and experience it and that’s where you really learn the ins and outs of everything."

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GettyWHAT NEXT FOR TURNER?

Turner and his Forest teammates are looking to get back to winning ways this weekend after suffering a disappointing 3-2 loss to Newcastle United last weekend. Nuno Espirito Santo's men will host West Ham United in their next clash at the City Ground on Saturday.

Half-centuries from Jim Allenby and Craig Overton helped Somerset to a total of 312 on the first day at Trent Bridge.

ECB/PA17-May-2015
ScorecardJim Allenby, seen here for Glamorgan last year, made his highest score for his new county Somerset•PA PhotosHalf-centuries from Jim Allenby and Craig Overton helped Somerset to a total of 312 on the first day at Trent Bridge. The experienced Allenby, short of runs so far this season, made 64, his highest score since moving from Glamorgan in the winter.His efforts laid the foundation for Overton to replace him at the crease and plunder 55 runs from only 31 balls as Somerset collected three batting points. Nottinghamshire replied with 57 for 2 from the closing 24 overs of the day.Vernon Philander enjoyed his best day with the ball for the home side, returning 4 for 56 against the side that he made a handful of appearances for in 2012. The South African pace bowler seemed to relish the opportunity of playing against former team-mates, under cloudy skies, after Chris Read had won the toss and asked the visitors to bat first.Marcus Trescothick has seldom enjoyed his previous visits to this famous old ground, having failed to register a century in 20 first-class matches. His 33rd innings on the ground was typically brief, castled for 0 by a wonderful swinging delivery from Philander.Somerset also lost Tom Abell during the early exchanges but approached lunch in better order before losing three wickets to the final 11 balls of the opening session. Two of those were taken by Steven Mullaney, including Johannes Myburgh for 49, as the bowler enhanced his reputation as a partnership-breaker.That reputation, real or imaginary, prompted Read to turn to him again in mid-afternoon and again the allrounder delivered, bowling Peter Trego to end a stand of 85 in only 15 overs with Allenby. Overton made the most of some wayward bowling to plunder 11 boundaries in a quickfire 50 before being cleaned up by Harry Gurney.Seven of Somerset’s batsmen were bowled as Luke Wood collected two late scalps. The 19-year-old left-arm quick dumped Lewis Gregory on his backside with a well-directed bouncer before bowling him next ball, then wrapped up the innings by yorking Tim Groenewald.When Nottinghamshire batted they lost the wickets of Mullaney, to Gregory for 19, and Greg Smith, on his county debut, who failed to make the most of his opportunity to step in for the absent Alex Hales by falling lbw to Groenewald for 8. Hales’ weekend dash to join the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League went unrewarded when he was left out of their final qualifying match against Sunrisers Hyderabad.Somerset’s Allenby, who scored 64 was pleased with his side’s performance, saying: “Having got 300-odd, we felt that was over par – especially after we’d had a bit of a wobble in our last few games, so it was nice to get it right today in difficult conditions.”While – on his stand of 85 with Trego – he added: “Peter has been done it for years and I’ve found myself in similar situations so we just used our experience to make sure we kept scoring and we kept trying to capitalise whenever Philander wasn’t bowling because it was a bit tricky out there. We dragged it back and obviously to finish up with Craig Overton getting 60 off just 30 balls finished our innings really well.”While Philander was delighted with his four wickets for the hosts, he said: “It’s obviously started pretty well for me this morning but we’d have liked to roll them out for cheaper than that but bowling them out for 300 on day one, we’d have taken that.”On his swinging delivery to bowl Trescothick out, he added: “It’s always good when you’ve played with guys like that to be able to get them out. Myself and Marcus have a good relationship, so it’s always good to get your mates out.”After lunch we bowled a little bit too short and Treego, Allenby and Overton played nicely but getting full bowling points we’d have taken that. We just need to bat well tomorrow.”

Lou Vincent has confirmed he is one of the former New Zealand cricketers under investigation by the ICC’s anti-corruption and security unit

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Dec-20130:00

New Zealand Cricket addresses ACSU match-fixing probe

Three former New Zealand players, including Lou Vincent, are being investigated by the ICC’s anti-corruption and security unit. The news, first reported by , was confirmed by the ICC and New Zealand Cricket – without mentioning names – before Vincent acknowledged he was one of the three under investigation.Chris Cairns, whose name figured in media reports on the issue, released a statement on Thursday saying he had not been contacted by the ICC or NZC in regard to any investigation of alleged fixing.The story emerged from New Zealand on Thursday morning, with the saying the ACSU had been in the country for four months as part of a match and spot-fixing investigation. NZC did, however, confirm that the matches involved were not in New Zealand or under their jurisdiction.Vincent made his involvement public through a brief statement. “I wish to let everyone know that I am cooperating with an ongoing ICC Anti-Corruption investigation that has been made public today,” he said.”This investigation is bound by a number of rules and regulations that mean I am unable to make any further public comment. I will personally talk to the public when I am able to. In the meantime I cannot comment. Please respect me and my family’s privacy until such time.”Cairns’ statement came after he told : “We need to let the investigation by the ICC run its course.”In his second, public, statement, he said: “No representative of the ICC, New Zealand Cricket or the New Zealand Players’ Association has contacted me in regard to any connection by me to an investigation into alleged fixing. I have no information, and was therefore shocked and dismayed to discover the speculation in today’s media.”Twenty months ago, the High Court in England ruled that I’ve done nothing wrong – which is on record for everyone to see. Like you, I will be looking for answers.”His reference to the High Court related to a suit he filed – and won – against former IPL chairman Lalit Modi over a defamatory tweet sent in January 2010, in which Modi referred to Cairns’ alleged involvement in match-fixing as the reason for barring him from the IPL auction.David White, the CEO of New Zealand Cricket, confirmed that he knew the identity of the players involved, but clarified that the players were not currently active and the matches in question had not taken place in New Zealand.”New Zealand Cricket is aware that the International Cricket Council is investigating a small number of New Zealand cricketers,” White said in Dunedin. “We have been aware of this investigation for a number of months and we are shocked and surprised by the allegations. We support the ICC’s investigation as corruption has no place in our our sport.File photo: Lou Vincent stated that he was cooperating with the ACSU’s investigation into allegations of fixing•Getty Images”However, I would like to clarify a number of matters. No current New Zealand players are being investigated, no games played in New Zealand are being investigated and lastly no matches under NZC jurisdiction are being investigated. This is an ongoing ICC investigation and I simply can’t comment further.”When pressed for further details, such as names, timescales and when the matches in question took place, he repeated the “no comment” line.Current fast bowler Tim Southee was asked after the day’s play of the Dunedin Test – where New Zealand were playing West Indies – whether the story had been talked about. “There were a few conversations going around but it is out of our hands, there’s nothing we can do about it,” Southee said. “Once we got to the ground we got our game faces on and concentrated on the job in hand.”An ICC statement, issued after the story broke, read: “Following the publication of an article in a leading New Zealand newspaper earlier today in which it is alleged that a small number of former New Zealand cricketers had engaged in fixing activity in historic cricket matches and were being investigated by the ICC’s anti-corruption and security unit (ACSU), the ICC confirms that it has indeed been working closely over the past few months with its colleagues in the domestic anti-corruption units of member boards to investigate these and related matters.””The ICC and all of its members maintain a zero-tolerance attitude towards corruption in the sport, and the ACSU will continue to collaborate with relevant individuals in order to complete its investigation process.”Naturally, as the investigation remains ongoing and nobody has been charged with any offence, no further comment will be made by the ICC or by NZC.”New Zealand is set to play a central role in world cricket over the next 15 months. It hosts the World Cup Qualifiers in January then is joint-host, alongside Australia, for the 2015 World Cup.

A desire to preserve the primacy of Championship cricket is likely to see England’s first-class counties opting out of the Champions League and returning to 50-over List A cricket

George Dobell27-Sep-2012A desire to preserve the primacy of Championship cricket is likely to see England’s first-class counties opting out of the Champions League and returning to a 50-over domestic one-day competition.While Yorkshire and Hampshire will shortly depart to participate in this year’s Champions League it is quite possible that it will be the last time that the counties are involved. They have already decided not to participate in 2013 and, while the door is not closed on future involvement, it will require the Champions League to be rescheduled to start a couple of weeks later so as not to clash with the finale of the County Championship.In 2013, in order to avoid a repeat of the earliest starts in history in 2011 and 2012, the county season is likely to commence on April 9 and finish in the third week of September. The Champions League, which has a window in the Future Tours Programme, starts in the second week of September and has, over recent years, caused the entire county season to be altered and abbreviated to cater for it.Talks about the restructuring of the county game have been in progress for some time. The ECB commissioned former ICC and ECB chairman David Morgan to compile a report and make recommendations about the future structure around 18 months ago but his plans for reducing the Championship programme were met with little support.The debate has obliged the counties to define their priorities as never before. A consensus of sorts has now been reached with the majority agreeing that a two-division Championship of 16 games involving promotion and relegation must be a non-negotiable feature of the season. It is also highly likely that, from 2014, the majority of the domestic T20 competition will be staged on Friday nights and Sunday afternoons over much of the season rather than in a ‘high summer’ window.Not only did the rain that bedevilled the 2012 FLt20 silence many of those who feel the competition should be played in a window, but there is an increasing acceptance that the counties are no longer able to attract the best overseas talent even for a short T20 tournament. While all the evidence suggests that the first USA T20 competition, scheduled to be staged in 2013, is going to be a somewhat shambolic affair, the ECB are wary of the long-term effects of the rival event, with agents reporting that many of the leading overseas players will be attracted to the USA rather than the UK with the offer of large salaries.As a compromise for accepting the Championship and T20 structure that many of the counties would like, the England team management are hopeful of persuading the counties to return to 50-over List A cricket from 2014. While there is very little enthusiasm for the format among the counties for commercial reasons, there is a grudging acceptance that the domestic game should mirror the international game and, with the England management having lost the argument over the structure of the Championship, some willingness to compromise.In an ideal world, the counties would like to remain involved in the Champions League, too. Not only does it offer the possibility of large prize money, but players and coaches have spoken of the developmental benefits of playing different players in different conditions. For those county players not on the international radar, it might even represent the highest-quality cricket they experience.The counties’ involvement in the league has been contentious for some time, though. Not only has the scheduling been an issue, but there has been a growing concern that teams are not operating on a level playing field. While several teams from the three countries with a stake in the competition – India, South Africa and Australia – are entered into the main event, teams from other nations are obliged to come through an extra qualifying event for which there is no prize money. Furthermore, while some teams are allowed four overseas players, the counties are allowed just two. In 2011, Mumbai Indians were allowed to register a fifth overseas player.While the prize money on offer for the event is, on the surface, very attractive – the winners receive $2.5m and even teams knocked-out in the group stages get $200,000 – the ECB receive only $1m for the involvement of both counties and there have also been delays in the payment of prize money.The counties meet to agree the format in October with the ECB board expected to ratify the format at the end of November, by which time they will have reviewed the consumer research they conducted this summer. After a process of consultation that has dragged on longer than a county season, there is no desire to seek further dialogue.

Chris Cairns was questioned about his work for a diamond trading company and the large sums of money he received from them prior to the third edition of the ICL

Alan Gardner at the Royal Courts of Justice06-Mar-2012Chris Cairns, the retired New Zealand international, has been confronted with allegations of corruption made by former team-mates on the second day of his libel action against the former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi. Cairns, who is suing Modi over a 2010 tweet that claimed the former allrounder was involved in match-fixing during his time in the rival Indian Cricket League (ICL), said that the accusations made him “angry” and “sad”.The High Court in London heard testimony from witness statements of several former players with Chandigarh Lions, the team Cairns captained during his three seasons in the Twenty20 league. The evidence provided in Modi’s defence included a claim that Cairns asked a batsman to score “no more than 5 runs” in an innings, and instructed one bowler to bowl no-balls and another to bowl “loosely”.Cairns was also questioned about his work for a diamond trading company and the large sums of money he received from them prior to the third edition of the ICL. The firm, Vijay Dimon, was run by what Cairns described as family friends and he said he regretted them becoming the focus of public interest.”I didn’t realise how intense this would be,” Cairns said. “Anything that has Modi attached is significant global news. The initial tweet in 2010 started this and now it’s spread like wildfire all over the world. With regards to bringing my friends into this domain, I feel sorry for them.”During his second day on the witness stand – an appearance that ran to almost eight hours in total – Ronald Thwaites QC, representing Modi, accused Cairns of colluding with Dinesh Mongia, a former India international, to “put pressure on younger players to underperform”. Mongia, described as Cairns’ “co-conspirator”, had an unofficial role as vice-captain within the team because of his ability to translate English for the Indian players who didn’t speak the language.The court heard that Rajesh Sharma, a bowler with Chandigarh, said that he had raised concerns about match-fixing during the second edition of the ICL but was told by Cairns and Mongia to keep quiet or he would be removed from the team. Cairns denied such a conversation took place but said that he had spoken to Sharma and two other players about their levels of performance.Another player, Gaurav Gupta, alleged that he had been told by Mongia that Cairns would give him money for fixing matches. He said in one match he had been told to score five runs or less and that Cairns had told him to “get out now” upon joining Gupta, who had scored four runs at the time, in the middle. Cairns responded by saying: “I would never instruct anyone to do that.”Gupta said it was understood a player could earn 10 Lakhs ($20,000) if they agreed to engage in fixing.Two other bowlers were also allegedly pressured by Cairns and Mongia. Amit Uniyal said he was told to “bowl loose balls” in order to keep his place in the side, while Love Ablish was allegedly instructed to bowl a no-ball. Cairns denied the claims.Cairns had his contract terminated after three games of the third edition of the ICL, with his failure to disclose an injury the official reason given. Mongia also left the Chandigarh Lions as the same time.Modi’s defence claims that talk of Cairns’ injury was a cover-up to obscure the corruption allegations that had been made against them. Cairns has denied this but faced further questions from Thwaites about his financial situation in 2008, prior to the start of the third edition of the ICL in October.Bank statements submitted to the court show that Cairns received two separate payments, totalling 600,000 Emirati Dirham ($160,000), into an account in Dubai, where he had set up home with his new wife. The payments, which were made in August and September of 2008, were for Cairns’ involvement with Vijay Dimon. He had a verbal agreement to do promotional and sales work for the India-based diamond trader, which also has offices in Dubai and Antwerp.Thwaites suggested that the transactions were bound to invite scrutiny and questioned the nature of Cairns’ involvement with the diamond trade.”You have drawn suspicion upon yourself,” Thwaites said. “You must be aware that to take large payments immediately before a tournament in a country where match-fixing is rife invites suspicion?”The initial payment, of more than 350,000 AED ($95,000), was for relocation costs, Cairns said, the rest being for appearances at dinners and events. A third payment, bringing the total Cairns received to 900,000 AED ($250,000), was made to the account in 2009, after which his association with Vijay Dimon continued only on an “occasional basis”.However, Thwaites said that the absence of a formal contract with the company “deepens the suspicion you bring upon yourself”.It was also revealed that after Cairns’ departure from the ICL – but before Modi’s January 2010 tweet – that former Australia wicketkeeper Rod Marsh refused to sign a bat to be auctioned for charity that already bore Cairns’ signature, as he did not want to be associated with the allrounder. Cairns accepted this but said he “had it out” with Marsh and that they had resolved their disagreement.Cairns has previously admitted to being made aware of match-fixing allegations during a hotel meeting with ICL officials on October 26, 2008. He said that the reason for his contract being terminated, however, was due to an ankle injury that prevented him from bowling. Despite repeated questioning, Cairns has denied that the ICL’s anti-corruption officer, Howard Beer – who is due to give evidence on Wednesday – was present in the hotel room.Following the meeting, Cairns said he called his lawyer Andrew Fitch-Holland and asked him to “shut down” the rumours about alleged corruption that had begun to circulate. Fitch-Holland is also scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday.

India pulled off a heart-stopping one-wicket victory over Pakistan in Townsville, to seal their place in the semi-finals of the Under-19 World Cup

The Report by George Binoy in Townsville20-Aug-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsHarmeet Singh held his nerve to help India edge out Pakistan•ICC/GettyHarmeet Singh and Sandeep Sharma, India’s Nos. 8 and 11, batted with incredible composure for seven overs to score the ten runs they needed to drag a misfiring batting line-up to a one-wicket victory against Pakistan in the quarter-final of the Under-19 World Cup. India were cruising one minute, at 120 for 5 needing 17 more, and were sinking the next, at 127 for 9. Harmeet and Sharma, however, saw to it that their consistent excellence with the ball in this tournament – they dismissed Pakistan so cheaply – was not in vain.It so nearly was, though. Needing only 137 to secure a place in Thursday’s semi-final, India slipped to 8 for 3 in the chase. They needed one batsman to drop anchor and stay the course and their No. 3, Baba Aparajith, did that. He had a partnership of 68 for the fourth wicket with Vijay Zol that put India on course. Aparajith went on to score 51 and, with him batting so fluently, India moved slowly but surely towards their target. The required rate was never an issue; wickets were, but five were in hand.Then Aparajith drove one in the air and was caught at cover, with India 17 short. In no time at all Smit Patel edged Ehsan Adil to the wicketkeeper and Azizullah dismissed two more batsmen in the 41st over. Only one more Indian wicket stood between Pakistan and victory.Harmeet, who missed India’s last two league games because of an illness but replaced Vikas Mishra today, took charge. Sharma batted cautiously, blocking out an entire over from the spinner Zafar Gohar. Harmeet, the more competent batsman, was astute enough to see off Azizullah’s final over, which meant Babar Azam had no more seam options to call on.Runs came at Chinese water-torture pace, but the batsmen were unruffled. Harmeet and Sandeep blocked and blocked, and occasionally they dabbed for a single or two. Every ball survived was cheered by a small but vocal group of Indian supporters. Even when the target was within the reach of one lofted blow and all the fielders were in the circle, Sandeep did not do anything rash. He left it to Harmeet, who eventually chipped over square leg, ran the second run and then ran into 13 team-mates sprinting towards him.As Sharma joined in the celebrations, he could have scarcely believed that it had come to this, especially after the hammer blow he had hit Pakistan with early in the morning. Most teams have preferred to bowl first at Tony Ireland Stadium but Pakistan chose to bat on an overcast and drizzly day in Townsville – a brave approach considering it was their first game here and batting has been hardest in the morning. Their decision backfired.Sharma, who has swung the new ball both ways prodigiously in every game, struck with the first delivery of the match. He bowled a good length and pitched on legstump, drawing the left-hand opener Sami Aslam into the front-foot defence. Sharma got the ball to swing sharply just outside off and hit the edge, giving Aparajith a regulation catch at second slip. Four balls later, the same thing happened to Imam-ul-Haq, another left-hand batsman. Pakistan were 0 for 2.Barely five minutes had passed since the start, so Pakistan’s No. 4 Umar Waheed wasn’t fully padded up. He and the other opener, the captain Babar Azam, had a monumental repair job to do and they began it with composure. But Sharma and India’s other new-ball bowler, Kamal Passi, were there and thereabouts all the time, and Pakistan were 27 for 2 after ten overs.Harmeet came on in the 15th over and caused a stir immediately. His first ball hit Umar Waheed on the pad and the lbw appeal was turned down, after which Waheed could have been run out had Smit Patel hit the stumps. Waheed appeared shaken and Azam went up to him to have a word. The next ball from Harmeet was lofted towards the midwicket boundary.Ravikant had a patchy first four overs, bowling several wides, but began to wreck Pakistan’s innings in his fifth. He got Waheed to edge behind, and in his next over he bowled Saad Ali and had Salman Afridi caught behind as well. Harmeet had Mohammad Nawaz caught at slip soon after. Pakistan had lost 4 for 7 to slip to 62 for 6.Through all this, Azam had batted with concentration, holding his end up as wickets tumbled at the other. He was dropped on 36, though, by Harmeet, soon after a rain interruption. Aparajith ensured that error didn’t cost India too many, having Azam caught at midwicket soon after his half-century. The batsman was distraught, having been dismissed to a tame chip after battling through tougher times.Pakistan were 99 for 8 after a second rain break and Adil hit four sixes to lift them to 136. Two of those were massive blows, clearing the longest boundary at midwicket and then the sight screen. India’s seamers, however, came back to finish the innings off, Sharma picking up the tenth wicket with the first ball of the 46th over.A couple of hours later, Sharma was in the middle again, striving to prevent India’s tenth wicket from falling. The gut-wrenching end was the third such finish between India and Pakistan’s Under-19 teams this year. In an Asia Cup league game, Pakistan had won by one run. The final of that tournament was tied. The third time, it was India that scraped through by the narrowest of margins.

Sri Lanka threw their wickets away through reckless shots, conceded 17 runs through wides and about 10 through misfields, but still won by 37 runs

The Report by Sidharth Monga01-Jun-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Angelo Mathews stood out with figures of 2 for 8•AFPSri Lanka threw their wickets away through reckless shots, conceded 17 runs through wides and about 10 through misfields, but thanks to the Josephian Mafia – a moniker Thisara Perera and Angelo Mathews have earned from the school they shared – still won by a whopping 37 runs. It was an unremarkable night of cricket with most of the wickets owing neither to the bowling nor the pitch, but many will argue it’s a trait that can be attributed to Twenty20 cricket in general because of the devaluation of a wicket.Perera and Mathews, though, stood out. Perera first scored a two-a-ball 32 to give Sri Lanka a fighting chance from 89 for 7. Mathews then bowled a testing spell of outswing for eight runs and two wickets. The two came together when Perera flew at third man to catch Shoaib Malik off the bowling of Mathews. Perera and Mathews were the highlight of the night, which featured a lot of inexplicable cricket otherwise.At the top of the innings, having won the toss, three Sri Lankan batsmen used to Twenty20 cricket of late in the IPL, got themselves out in Sohail Tanvir’s first three overs. Jayawardene got a leading edge before judging the pace of the pitch, Dilshan picked out fine leg, and Sangakkara dragged a full and wide delivery on. On another day all three could have gone for boundaries, and the bowler and the pitch would have had just as much to do with it.The remaining batsmen struggled to find balance between rebuilding and keeping the rate up. Both Dinesh Chandimal and Angelo Mathews survived run-out chances before slogging and connecting with thin air.Thirty-three-year-old debutant wicketkeeper Shakeel Ansar then missed a chance to stump Lahiru Thirimanne. The batsman proceeded to add 22 to his eight then. Ansar made a comeback, though, when he broke 24-run partnership between Thirimanne and another debutant Kaushal Lokuarachchi with a direct flick. Thirimanne followed it up with a reverse-sweep straight down short-third man’s throat. At 89 for 7 in the 17th over, Sri Lanka threatened to not even bat out their allocation.Perera, though, turned the momentum a little with some clean hitting. Most of it came off the bowling of Umar Gul, whose last two overs went for 30. Still, going into the break, Pakistan were the favourites. Only for two balls. Two inexplicable deliveries when first-time captain Mohammad Hafeez and Ansar indulged in a spot-the-point-fielder contest. Nuwan Kulasekara laughed his way to two wickets with short and wide deliveries. Last checked, Hafeez and Ansar were watching replays and arguing as to who found Dilshan better.The others didn’t find fluency at all as Pakistan confounded all by not sending Umar Akmal in before No. 6. Ahmed Shehzad played a long innings, but his strike-rate of under 100 could have worked if other batsmen had hung around. Mathews got Khalid Latif and Malik, and at 46 for 4 in the 10th over, Akmal felt obliged to hit out. Except it’s not easy when Malinga is bowling. A top edge ended it for Akmal, and it was all over bar Shahid Afridi.That lasted two deliveries as Afridi heaved at offspinner Sachitra Senanayake, and edged him to third man. The formalities were finished soon, with Perera fittingly taking the last wicket.

An unbeaten fifth-wicket partnership of 146 between Mithun Manhas and Manan Sharma helped Delhi to 195 for 4 against Gujarat at the end of day two

Devashish Fuloria in Surat08-Nov-2013
ScorecardFile photo: Gautam Gambhir was dismissed for 31•Associated PressThe failures of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir had left Delhi in a precarious position in Surat but Mithun Manhas and Manan Sharma thwarted Gujarat’s probing bowling on a testing pitch. Their unbroken 146-run stand gave Delhi a chance to pull close to Gujarat’s first-innings total of 320 after they had been reduced to 49 for 4 in the 30th over.The morning session had been all about the anticipation to see Sehwag bat, as several people leaned on the railings in the stands to see who was opening, but were disappointed as soon as they realised it was Unmukt Chand with Gambhir.Less than an hour later, they leaned again to see if it was Sehwag walking up to the middle after Chand’s off stump was pegged back by Akshar Patel, but it was Puneet Bisht instead who took to the field.Sehwag did however come in to bat soon, as Delhi lost Bisht 15 minutes before lunch. The stand behind the dressing room reverberated with the chants of “Viru Viru”, and was accompanied by claps, whistles and cameras, but for the business-oriented populace of Surat, that was one investment that was about to go sour.Sehwag didn’t show the patience to wait till lunch, and charged offspinner Jesal Karia in the fourth delivery he faced, aiming for the long-on boundary. The mishit, though, went only as far as mid-on, where Akshar nervously wobbled under the skier for a few seconds, before sending the whole Gujarat team into frenzy. With that, any hopes that Sehwag may have harboured of making a comeback into the Test team, were further shrouded in thick mist.Gambhir was prepared to show more respect to the bowlers on a pitch that displayed enough mood swings. It was a typically western Indian red-soil pitch that afforded good bounce to the seamers, but with a number of deliveries misbehaving from time to time, the batsmen had to stay watchful all day.Gambhir survived against a couple that stayed low, but was dismissed with one that bounced a touch extra and caught the inside edge on its way to the short-leg fielder.The Gujarat bowlers, on their part, used the conditions to their advantage by bowling on the stumps. Akshar, who came into bowl as early as the sixth over, hardly erred in line or length, bowling a miserly spell of 27-14-24-3. “I was told by the captain about not to worry about the batsmen and bowl accurately,” Akshar said. “Had I tried too many things, it would have helped the batsmen. The pitch had enough, so I just stuck to my lines.”Wth Delhi’s seemingly powerful top-order all flattering to deceive, It was left to the old pro Mithun Manhas and the young Manan Sharma to drop down the anchor. Manhas, a veteran with more than 8000 first-class runs, tackled the spinners by using his feet, playing late, and by doing what he has always done in the absence of Delhi’s stars for the past few seasons – solidly defend.The seamers troubled him – he was twice struck on the box – but he hung on to score his 44th half-century. There were plenty of deft touches and back-foot punches, as he hit 11 fours in his innings. He also smashed two sixes by driving one over long-on, and the other over long-off.Manan followed a similar template by waiting for the odd loose ball to score, eventually hitting a six to arrive at his first half-century in first-class cricket. Manhas praised the resolve the young batsmen showed. “Manan is a rookie, he doesn’t think about the pitch or the spin,” Manhas said. “His head is clear; if there is a ball to be hit, he hits it.”The two fought together for 46.4 overs to slowly push Delhi towards 200.

The phrase “quietly confident” captures New Zealand’s approach to almost any international assignment but on the surface, this time there is perhaps no reason to be so quiet about it

Andrew Fidel Fernando08-Jun-2013The phrase “quietly confident” captures New Zealand’s approach to almost any international assignment, and Brendon McCullum used it again ahead of their Champions Trophy opener.On the surface, there is perhaps no reason to be so quiet about it. They have just felled the hosts, England, in a three-match series, have an opener in incredible form, and even without Daniel Vettori – who is doubtful for the match – possess an attack capable of troubling any top order.Only they are up against an opposition that has mauled them almost without relent, in the last five years. In the last 11 completed ODI matches between the two sides, Sri Lanka have won 10. From Hamilton to Hambantota, Mumbai to Kingston, most matches haven’t even been close. New Zealand might take some solace that the only victory in that lot came in the previous Champions Trophy, on a fast Johannesburg pitch, but both captains expect spin to play a major role in the match, and in that regard, Sri Lanka hold the advantage.”Sri Lanka has obviously dominated us in recent history,” McCullum said. “But the wickets that we played on back in Sri Lanka in the last series will be a lot different than what we’re expecting over here. They’ve got some mystery spinners and some obvious quirks about their bowling line up. They’ve also got some experienced batters and are a tough proposition. Our approach is very much on making sure that we play as well as what we have in the last few games in this form of the game.”Sachithra Senanayake is likely to be Sri Lanka’s frontline spinner, though, and despite Senanayake’s relative freshness at the top level, McCullum knows more about him than most. Senanayake was a big buy for McCullum’s Kolkata Knight Riders IPL franchise in 2013, and the New Zealand captain suggested that insider-knowledge might give his side the edge.”Sachi, he’s a different proposition to Murali,” McCullum said. “His bowling is definitely one of the mystery spinners that come around, and he’s got a good variety of different balls which he bowls as well, If we give him a sniff or show some frailty to such spinners such as Sachi, he could quite easily expose us. But I hope we play him with some freedom, and hopefully we’ve got enough knowledge and preparation from various sources, that we’ll be able to be successful against him.”Batting was New Zealand’s downfall in most of New Zealand’s recent matches against Sri Lanka, but the top order do not seem likely to fail again, with two key batsmen in form. Martin Guptill’s sublime hundreds overshadowed Ross Taylor’s efforts, but Taylor hit a fifty in each of the three matches against England, and has in the past been the most effective of New Zealand’s batsmen against Sri Lanka’s attack.”Martin Guptill’s batting has been world class the last week or so in this form of the game. We talked a lot recently about his batsmanship through some key stages in the game, and it’s been outstanding. We’re confident that Martin will continue that form, and also Ross Taylor as well. I think his performance has been very sound for us. Then some other guys have chipped in too.”While virtually all of Sri Lanka’s first XI were still at the IPL three weeks ago, New Zealand have been in England for well over a month. McCullum suggested their lead-up into the tournament might also hand New Zealand a slight advantage in the match.”We think we’ve got some match winners among our lineup, and we’ve had to become battle-hardened in English conditions over the last week or so. We are confident that it will give us some sort of assistance. We think we are a good one-day unit, with experienced players and a feel of the style of play which suits us.”

ESPNcricinfo’s preview of the second ODI between Australia and Sri Lanka in Adelaide

Daniel Brettig12-Jan-2013Match factsAjantha Mendis will hope to have greater influence on the contest in Adelaide•Getty ImagesJanuary 13, Adelaide Oval
Start time 1350 (0320 GMT)Big PictureUnjustly labelled a B-team ahead of the series opener in Melbourne, George Bailey’s Australian side demonstrated plenty of hunger and no little skill in dispatching Sri Lanka by 107 runs at the MCG. The emphatic nature of the result, and the composure shown by the team in achieving it, reflected handsomely on the national selectors’ decision to refresh the squad following six Tests, allowing Phillip Hughes and Bailey in particular to enhance their reputations as limited overs batsmen.A calf injury to Mitchell Starc should mean further opportunity for the bowlers in the squad, as one of Ben Cutting or Kane Richardson will get the chance to charge in at the Sri Lankans in Adelaide. Ahead of the looming returns of the captain Michael Clarke, David Warner and Matthew Wade to the squad, Bailey’s team will be doubly keen to push on to another victory in game two, in order to give the selection panel further welcome headaches about their options. Not everyone excelled in Melbourne of course, with Aaron Finch and Usman Khawaja especially enthused about the chance to make significant scores before they return to the reserves bench.Sri Lanka’s display in game one reflected the difficulties experienced by the Test team on harder, bouncier surfaces than they are used to at home. Also perplexing was the lack of impact provided by Lasith Malinga and Ajantha Mendis. The likely loss of Dinesh Chandimal to a hamstring strain is a further source of consternation for the visitors, who must win or otherwise be only a game away from forfeiting the series.Form guide(Most recent first)
Australia WWLWW
Sri Lanka LWWWLIn the spotlightUntil he fashioned a direct hit run out from mid off as Sri Lanka’s chase stalled badly in Melbourne, Usman Khawaja had not enjoyed the best of ODI debuts. With the likes of David Warner and Michael Clarke expected to come back into the squad for the third match in Brisbane and Phillip Hughes already staking his claim for a more permanent place with a century in Melbourne, Khawaja will want to argue his own case more forcefully with a substantial score in Adelaide, the scene of some of his most fruitful innings for New South Wales before his move to Queensland.When Ajantha Mendis was called into the ODI side for Melbourne, leaving Rangana Herath to sit on the sidelines, figures of 1 for 62 from 10 overs were not the sorts of returns he was after. Though Mendis did not have much difficulty getting past Aaron Finch, he struggled for impact against the rest, as the Australians quickly found that the MCG pitch did not offer enough spin for the bowler’s variations to be truly dangerous. Adelaide may be a somewhat different case however, as the surface generally offers a little more lateral deviation for slow bowlers.Team newsBen Cutting for the injured Mitchell Starc is the most likely change to Australia’s line-up, though the call-up of Kane Richardson as cover fro Starc will tempt the selectors to play the 21-year-old South Australian on his home ground.Australia (possible) 1 Phillip Hughes, 2 Aaron Finch, 3 Usman Khawaja, 4 George Bailey (capt), 5 David Hussey, 6 Glenn Maxwell, 7 Brad Haddin (wk), 8 Mitchell Johnson, 9 Ben Cutting, 10 Clint McKay, 11 Xavier Doherty.Dinesh Chandimal’s strained hamstring is Sri Lanka’s major concern, with the uncapped Kushal Perera poised to come into the team for him in Adelaide. Rangana Herath may also be in line for a call-up.Sri Lanka (possible) 1 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 2 Upul Tharanga, 3 Mahela Jayawardene (capt), 4 Lahiru Thirimanne, 5 Angelo Mathews, 6 Kushal Perera (wk), 7 Jeevan Mendis, 8 Thisara Perera, 9 Nuwan Kulasekara, 10 Lasith Malinga, 11 Ajantha Mendis.Pitch and conditionsAdelaide’s forecast is for a mild and overcast day, while the pitch can be expected to be dry, even and potentially offering a little more turn to the spin bowlers as the game goes on.Stats and trivia Australia have won seven of nine encounters with Sri Lanka in Adelaide, though the visitors have been victorious in two of the past three matches Kushal Perera will be the fourth Sri Lankan to don the wicketkeeping gloves on this tour should he debut in Adelaide Mahela Jayawardene needs 29 runs to go past Adam Gilchrist and move into third on the list of alltime ODI run scorers in matches between Australia and Sri LankaQuotes “The confidence is quite high. I’ve never played an international game at Adelaide Oval, so it’s something I’m really looking forward to. I really can’t wait to get there on Sunday and hopefully score another big one and set up hopefully another win.”