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Suresh Raina, who is India’s captain for the limited-overs leg of the tour of West Indies, admitted there will be huge expectations from his team despite the absence of some big names, and has said he was looking forward to the challenge

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Jun-2011Suresh Raina, who is India’s captain for the limited-overs leg of the tour of West Indies, has admitted there will be huge expectations from his team despite the absence of some big names.”[Being captain] is a great challenge to me and I’m really looking forward to that,” Raina said on the team’s arrival in the Caribbean. “We have good players who want to do well in this series. They have done well in first-class cricket and the IPL or in the World Cup team.”For the ODIs, India will be without regular captain MS Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar, and Zaheer Khan, who have been rested, while Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh and Virender Sehwag miss out through injury or illness. Dhoni and Zaheer are set to return for the Tests, but the other seniors are set to miss the entire series. The tour will also be Duncan Fletcher’s first assignment with the Indian side.Raina said the senior players “deserved a break” and was hopeful the youngsters in the squad would make the most of the opportunity. “We have a young team here and they are focussed on doing well for India and I am excited to see how they perform over the next few weeks.”West Indies lost their recent ODI series to Pakistan and will once again be without opener Chris Gayle, who was the top run-getter in the IPL, but has been left out for the first two ODIs. When India last played ODIs in the West Indies in 2006, they lost 1-4. The two teams subsequently met in the World Cup earlier this year when India won by 80 runs in Chennai, en route to their tournament triumph. Raina, however, said India would not be complacent. “The West Indies team has been playing good cricket for the past few months and we are not going to take them lightly,” he said.The only Twenty20 game will be played on Saturday at Port of Spain, while the five-match ODI series begins at the same venue on June 6.Meanwhile West Indies beat the High Performance Centre (HPC) team by 11 runs in a practice Twenty20 game in Couva on Thursday. Batting first, West Indies were restricted to 145 in their 20 overs on what appeared to be a good batting pitch. Opener Lendl Simmons carried on his good form from the Pakistan series, top-scoring with a rapid 43, while Danza Hyatt made 22.Uncapped left-arm seamer Krishmar Santokie, who has been picked in the Twenty20 squad, and Christopher Barnwell shared two wickets apiece as HPC were restricted to 134 for 6. Wicketkeeper-batsman Shane Dowrich was their mainstay with 52 off 41 balls.

James Foster has replaced Mark Pettini as Essex captain for the Friends Provident t20 after Pettini struggled in Essex’s first three games of the campaign

Cricinfo staff12-Jun-2010James Foster has replaced Mark Pettini as Essex captain for the Friends Provident t20 after Pettini struggled in Essex’s first three games of the campaign.Pettini took over from Ronnie Irani as Essex captain in the middle of the 2007 season and will continue as club captain in the other formats of the game but Essex have lost two of their three matches so far in the FP t20, with Pettini contributing just four runs.Foster’s form has been more productive, averaging 37.00 after an unbeaten 54 against Glamorgan. His first game in charge will be against local-rivals Middlesex on June 13 at Lord’s.

“We are not ashamed of talking about it – there is nothing to hide and it is not a stigma,” Thorpe’s elder daughter Kitty says

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Aug-2024 • Updated on 13-Aug-2024Former England batter Graham Thorpe died after being struck by a train at Esher railway station, Surrey, the opening of an inquest into his death on Tuesday has heard. On Monday, Thorpe’s family had confirmed the 55-year-old took his own life following a battle with depression and anxiety.Speaking on Tuesday at Surrey Coroner’s Court in Woking, coroner Simon Wickens said Thorpe had suffered “traumatic injuries” after being struck by a train on the morning of August 4. Wickens offered “sincere condolences” to Thorpe’s family and to “all those touched by his life and career”. A date for Thorpe’s full inquest will be fixed at a later time.The coroner had received a referral regarding the incident from British Transport Police (BTP). On August 5, a spokesperson for BTP issued the following statement: “Officers were called to Esher railway station at 8.26 am on 4 August to reports of a casualty on the tracks. Paramedics also attended, however sadly a person was pronounced dead at the scene. The incident is not being treated as suspicious and a report will be prepared for the coroner.”The loss of Thorpe was felt by all throughout the world of cricket, with many former and current players paying their respects to the left-handed batter, who later went into coaching. The Surrey and England man represented his country 182 times, and scored 16 hundreds in 100 Test matches.Thorpe had not worked in cricket since he was removed from his role as one of England’s assistant coaches in the aftermath of their 4-0 defeat in the 2021-22 Ashes. He was due to take over as Afghanistan’s head coach but never did after a previous attempt on his own life in May 2022. At the time, he was described as being “seriously ill” in hospital.Related

• Joe Root dedicates record-equalling 33rd Test century to Graham Thorpe

• England to pay tribute to Graham Thorpe during Old Trafford Test

• The sadness is Thorpe will never know how much he was loved

• A fighter whose honesty endeared him to England fans

“For the past couple of years, Graham had been suffering from major depression and anxiety,” Amanda, Thorpe’s wife, told the . “This led him to make a serious attempt on his life in May 2022, which resulted in a prolonged stay in an intensive care unit. Despite glimpses of hope and of the old Graham, he continued to suffer from depression and anxiety, which at times got very severe. We supported him as a family and he tried many, many treatments but unfortunately none of them really seemed to work.”Graham was renowned as someone who was very mentally strong on the field and he was in good physical health. But mental illness is a real disease and can affect anyone. Despite having a wife and two daughters whom he loved and who loved him, he did not get better. He was so unwell in recent times and he really did believe that we would be better off without him and we are devastated that he acted on that and took his own life.”She described Thorpe as “a free spirit” and said that he had been well enough to attend a dinner at The Oval in late 2022. “He had his own mind and his own way of going about things,” Amanda said. “My favourite memory of him is in Barbados, which he loved, enjoying a rum punch and listening to his favourite reggae after a swim… He was funny and he made us all laugh so much.”Thorpe’s elder daughter, Kitty, said, “We are not ashamed of talking about it. There is nothing to hide and it is not a stigma. We were trying to help him get better before and trying to protect him, which is why we said nothing. This is the time now to share the news, however horrible it is. We’ve wanted to be able to talk and share and we’d now like to raise awareness, too.”He had loved life and he loved us but he just couldn’t see a way out. It was heartbreaking to see how withdrawn he had become. He was not the same person. It was strange to see this person trapped in the body of dad. That’s why we’ve been so happy that the many reflections have been about his life before this illness took over. I’m glad that’s how everyone does remember him, rightly so, as the complete character he was.”

Surrey go back to the top of Division One after Middlesex fail to put up a fight on day four

Vithushan Ehantharajah14-May-2023Surrey 380 (Smith 97, Burns 88) and 73 for 1 beat Middlesex 209 (Robson 76, Malan 66, Worrall 5-48) and 240 (Holden 43, Clark 4-25) by nine wicketsIt bodes well for Surrey and not for the rest of Division One that while they did not perform to their best against Middlesex, they still won convincingly. Not just by nine wickets in the end, but with 46 overs to spare on day four. Considering the amount of time lost to rain, that last number reinforces the difference between them and their London rivals.From 128 for 3 overnight, Middlesex were rolled for 240, with three to Jordan Clark who finished with 4 for 25 from his nine overs. That he came on third change says all you need to know of the depth of talent at the 2022 champions’ disposal. A target of 70 took just 16.4 overs to polish off, with Ryan Patel taking charge at the end with a flurry of boundaries to pocket some decent red ink.Could there have been more tension? No doubt. Certainly, if Rory Burns’ dismissal had been followed up by that of Dom Sibley four deliveries later. The opener edged Toby Roland-Jones just wide of third slip after Tim Murtagh had forced Burns to find first. Perhaps at 17 for 2, panic might have ensued. In the end, Sibley and Patel made light work of the remaining runs, a half-century stand coming up in 60 balls, before Patel heaved the part-time offspin of Mark Stoneman to the midwicket fence to confirm victory by 3.05pm .A day that offered Middlesex the opportunity of pulling off something special or frustrating Surrey fell away quickly. The morning loss of three middle-order batters for just 55 runs dented hopes of the remarkable and the defiant.Make no mistake, the visitors conceded this match on day one, certainly hopes of winning it, with their last nine first-innings wickets falling for just 43 runs. A position of 166 for 1 relinquished would always be hard to make up. That they made Surrey bat again was a small, small victory.Even so, Thursday’s capitulation did mean the prospect of losing seven second-innings wickets before making up 43 runs felt very plausible. Three runs and 3.3 overs into the day, Kemar Roach got the first. The quick kill, perhaps even an innings victory, was on.A big one, too, in Max Holden. A patchy start to the summer punctuated by a half-century in the successful chase against Nottinghamshire looked like being joined by a second.Patience had got him to 42 overnight, but he could only add a single when Roach did what he does to left-handers: around the wicket, tempting a push, leaving them for dead. Surrey (and Roach) had gone to bed cursing Holden’s presence after Will Jacks dropped an easy catch at second slip when he had just 18.The second to fall was via a spectacular bit of work from Ben Foakes. Sean Abbott rasped one across John Simpson around the wicket, who helped the ball on its way down the leg side. Even before contact, Foakes was on his way, and a dive got him all the way across to pouch the ball with his right hand.Poetic, in a way, considering Simpson’s own exemplary keeping on day three had started with the wicket of Foakes while stood up to the stumps. Though it’ll probably take a bit of time before the Middlesex gloveman appreciates it as such.Out walked Pieter Malan, pushed down the order after suffering with some unspecified stiffness, accompanied by Mark Stoneman as his runner. His movements were clearly inhibited, though the trio of boundaries struck by Ryan Higgins to bring the scores level were simply the allrounder being his usually punchy self rather than shouldering extra burden.A lead of 10 was established before Gus Atkinson struck with his third legitimate delivery, getting Malan to push a little too far forward for a catch to Patel at backward point.Just eight deliveries later, Clark served up a passable Roach impression with a worldie from around the wicket that left Hollman driving at thin air – all but the edge – as Foakes leapt across first slept to take another smart catch.It should have in fact been three wickets in 11 deliveries, but Sibley palmed up a firm edge from Higgins, on 28, off Atkinson, and not even Foakes in this form could nab the rebound.Sibley would get the chance to make amends, albeit for Clark’s benefit, when Roland-Jones advanced and flinched at a delivery pulled back of a length for a bread-basket grab at first slip.With two wickets remaining and the lead only 27, Higgins decided now was the time to pick his team up over his shoulder and carry them once more. Middlesex’s leading runscorer possess the kind of attitude and skill to suggest you’d not go too badly with XI of him. Unspectacular yet effective, average height with above-average demeanour, particularly in this world of cruiserweight-boxer shaped allrounders.One of the latter – Clark – struck him on the arm, snarling at Higgins as he returned to the umpire to retrieve his cap. Having ascertained Higgins was not in great strife, Clark walked away satisfied he had inflicted pain. Out came the Middlesex physio to tend to his left wrist, which had worn a bouncer as he attempted to advance down the track for a second boundary of the over.The physio was back on again the next over, tending to Ethan Bamber’s top hand after the bowler failed to hook a well-directed bouncer from Atkinson. Bamber had better luck as Dan Worrall took over from Clark at the Pavilion End. A well-executed swish to deep square leg got him off the mark, even forcing Burns to move the fielder back to the fence.A second boundary came at the end of the over, gloved just beyond the reach of a diving Foakes. Another half-chance from Bamber came with the lead on 52, as Jamie Smith failed to reach a pop-up at short leg.By lunchtime, Bamber was looking steady on 20, walking off to the break after keeping out a yorker from Worrall. Higgins had grown to trust his junior partner, and even with the hosts managing five wickets in the session, a lead of 63 was a handy jumping-off point for a dart at some quick runs on a glorious Sunday afternoon.That’s certainly what Higgins was about. The eighth ball after lunch, he pulled Clark to the square leg fence – but Roach was lurking, moving to his right to take a catch a couple of feet in from the boundary. Out Tim Murtagh came and soon back he went, bowled by Abbott, though not before Bamber had struck another boundary.It would never be enough, and a run of consecutive victories now ends for Middlesex. At the very least, they leave this game having showcased some positives from the victories over Nottinghamshire and Kent, even if errors and the opposition’s superiority overhwelmed them.For Surrey, this third victory out of five – they remain unbeaten – lifted them back to the top of Division One after Warwickshire held the position for 24 hours. Surrey are home again next week for the visit of Kent, with a great opportunity to go into the international break well set to defend their crown.

After a rapid opening stand the home side’s chase fell away then collapsed after Nic Maddinson’s run out

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Feb-2022Sam Truloff enjoyed a memorable one-day debut as he top-scored for Queensland and produced a brilliant run out in a convincing 92-run victory over Victoria in the Marsh Cup.Truloff’s 80 helped lift Queensland from an uncertain 4 for 126 in the 28th over in a 102-run stand with captain Jimmy Peirson who struck three sixes in his 56 off 47 balls.Victoria raced out of the blocks in the chase as MacKenzie Harvey and Jake Fraser-McGurk added 58 in less than nine overs but from there things fell away.Glenn Maxwell, playing his first game for Victoria since October 2019, was bowled by a superb delivery from Gurinder Sandhu which nipped back between bat and pad then he had Jonathan Merlo caught behind two balls later.The in-form Nic Maddinson became key to Victoria’s hopes and he added 55 in 10 overs alongside Sam Harper before a final collapse decided the game. It started when Maddinson was caught short by Truloff’s direct hit from backward point and three wickets would fall with the score on 157 before Sandhu went on to finish with four.The day had not started well for Queensland when Max Bryant was caught behind in the first over. Matt Renshaw, who is a standby player for the upcoming Pakistan tour, anchored the early part of the innings with 57 off 76 balls before he was caught behind off Henry Thornton.Truloff and Peirson initially took their time before accelerating. Truloff’s fifty came from 63 balls while Peirson skipped to his from 45. James Bazley’s rapid 28 helped add the finishing touches as the final ten overs brought 95 runs.

Ishant Sharma recovering well from injury, and should play Test series in Australia, BCCI president says

PTI03-Nov-2020Sourav Ganguly, the BCCI president, wants injured opener Rohit Sharma to be cautious when deciding whether or not to compete for the Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2020 playoffs, as he risks aggravating the hamstring tear that led to his exclusion from the Australia-bound India squad. At the same time, Ganguly sounded a positive note on Ishant Sharma, who is also out injured, saying that the quick’s side strain should heal in time for the Test series in Australia.”Rohit is injured at the moment. Otherwise, why would we leave out a player like him? He is the vice-captain of the national (limited-overs) team,” Ganguly said. “We will have to assess him. I don’t know (when he can come back). He hasn’t played so far since the time he has got injured. We want him to recover.”It’s the BCCI’s job to get their best players on the park. If he recovers, he plays.”Rohit has been out of action since playing against Kings XI Punjab on October 18 because of a left hamstring tear, and Ganguly stressed that the board would do everything possible to get an “asset like Rohit” back in action.When asked about the videos put out by the Mumbai Indians – who are playing the last league game of IPL 2020, against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, today – where Rohit is seen batting in the nets, Ganguly said, “Yeah, you don’t want him to get injured again. He has a hamstring tear and it will get ruptured again. It will then get longer for him to come back. But yes, there are people working with him.”The Mumbai Indians physio is working with him. The Indian physio [Nitin Patel] is there. Rohit himself knows that he has got a long career ahead and it’s not just this IPL or next series for him. I am sure he is mature enough to do what is best for him.”I can tell you that things you do easily at the practice might be a bit of struggle during a match situation. The muscles react differently to pressure situations.”ALSO READ: Rohit ‘in danger of injuring himself again if not careful’ – Shastri

Ganguly on the Ranji Trophy

“We have zeroed in on venues where we can create a bio-bubble for Ranji Trophy but we will not make an announcement till we discuss with the state associations. There are 38 state units and some of the members have offered to host as they all have multiple grounds in their main cities. We will create what’s the best secure environment for the players.”

As for Ishant, Ganguly said his recovery has been going well, and he should be available for the Tests, starting mid-December.”Yes, we are expecting Ishant to be back for the Test matches,” Ganguly said. “He has already started bowling from shorter run-ups and short spells. He has bowled at NCA. But as there is a BCCI protocol for fast bowlers, Ishant will be playing the two first-class games in Australia.”There have been a few injuries in the ongoing IPL, including to Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Ganguly said that it was bound to happen after such a long break – because of the Covid-19 pandemic.”Injuries are a part of sport and it will happen. The lesser you play, the more injured you will get. The more you keep playing, your body gets fitter, stronger and you will get less injured,” he said. “All of them came back after seven months of being locked at home with literally no activity. I don’t think injuries should be looked at like ‘Oh god, something is not right’.”That’s what sport is all about. High intensity part of life and you will have injuries.”Ganguly also backed Rishabh Pant, whose batting returns have tailed off after a reasonable start in IPL 2020, and who has been left out of the white-ball squads in Australia, to come good sooner rather than later.”Don’t worry. His bat swing will come back. He is a young guy, and all of us need to guide him. He’s got tremendous talent,” Ganguly said. “Rishabh will be fine. He and Wriddhiman Saha are our two best wicketkeeper-batsmen in the country.”After returning from Australia in the new year, India are expected to play England at home, and there have been doubts about India’s preparedness to host the series, given the situation with the pandemic in the country.”We will have the England series in India. I can assure that there are no apprehensions from the England side,” Ganguly said, adding that IPL 2021 could also happen in India, and not the UAE: “IPL is a tournament for India, we want it to happen in India. There’s still six months. We will keep assessing.”

Rushworth claims ten wickets for the match despite resistance from Ben Cox, Ed Barnard

ECB Reporters Network16-Jul-2019Durham continued their impressive run of form in the Specsavers County Championship Division Two by defeating Worcestershire by 109 runs at Emirates Riverside.The home side had laid the groundwork for their triumph on day three with a solid batting performance followed by a late onslaught by Chris Rushworth. He returned to notch third five-wicket haul of the campaign on the final day, claiming 10 wickets in the match with figures of 10 for 67.Ben Cox and Ed Barnard did offer resistance with a sixth-wicket partnership of 96, but it was in vain as Worcestershire slipped to their second defeat on the bounce in the Championship. Durham extended their unbeaten run to six matches, securing their fourth victory of the season to move into fourth place in the table, one point behind Northamptonshire in the final promotion spot.The visitors resumed on day four on 31 for 3, but Rushworth was to continue his charge from the previous evening. He had an lbw appeal turned down against Ross Whiteley, although the veteran seamer returned to remove the Worcestershire batsman’s off stump for 18. Rushworth claimed his fifth wicket of the innings after probing away at Callum Ferguson. He eventually found the edge and Graham Clark took the catch at first slip to reduce the visitors to 56 for 5.Worcestershire were in dire need of a partnership to stem the tide. Barnard and Cox were able to come to the fore to provide a semblance of resistance. The two deployed a positive approach and brought a much-needed fifty partnership before the lunch break, reaching the milestone in 65 balls.Barnard and Cox continued to frustrate the Durham bowlers after lunch, working their way towards a century stand. However, their excellent partnership was broken when Nathan Rimmington trapped Barnard lbw for 43. Cox was able to work his way to a deserved half-century – his third of the campaign – from 87 deliveries.Brydon Carse got the vital breakthrough for the hosts, using his pace to hurry Cox on his glance to the legside that found the edge and allowed Ryan Pringle to claim the catch at cover. Carse then notched his second wicket courtesy of a fine diving catch from Ned Eckersley behind the stumps to remove Joe Leach. Durham closed in on the victory as Dillon Pennington played a loose drive at a Rimmington delivery, resulting in a good low claim by Clark at first slip from the edge.Brett D’Oliveira and Charlie Morris put on 43 for the final wicket, but Rushworth returned to earn his sixth wicket of the innings and 10th in the match by bowling Morris to secure the win for the hosts.

The hosts have been over-reliant on Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers for their runs. Will one of them do the job again against CSK?

The Preview by Sruthi Ravindranath24-Apr-20183:42

Agarkar: RCB over-reliant on Kohli, de Villiers

Big picture

Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. The two usual suspects have been the ones making the runs for Royal Challengers Bangalore, with the rest struggling to find any kind of form. While Kohli’s efforts have come in defeats, de Villiers bailed RCB out in two tense situations – smashing an unbeaten 90 in their previous match and a 57 against Kings XI Punjab.Their opponents at M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday, however, have had different match-winners in their four wins so far. Without being heavily dependent on an individual, Chennai Super Kings had at least one batsman step up in each victory. What looked like a bowling-heavy team with eight bowlers during their first game, is now a well-rounded side with eight batsmen, including a number of finishers to do the job.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Form guide (most recent match first)

Royal Challengers Bangalore: defeated Delhi Daredevils by six wickets, lost to Mumbai Indians by 46 runs, lost to Rajasthan Royals by 19 runs, defeated Kings XI Punjab by four wickets
Chennai Super Kings: defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by four runs, defeated Rajasthan Royals by 64 runs, lost to Kings XI Punjab by four runs, defeated Kolkata Knight Riders by five wickets

Both RCB and CSK seem to unleash their best and the worst in the death overs. They are the best batting sides and the least effective bowling units in this critical period. While CSK have scored at 12.12 and conceded at 10.89, RCB’s numbers are 11.24 and 12.86 respectively. In the match against Delhi Daredevils, RCB let them score 57 runs in the last four overs after having kept the run-rate to 7.31 until then.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Bowling woes aside, RCB also have a batting line-up to be concerned about. They have tried three opening combinations in five games – Quinton de Kock being the only constant – and have had just one 30-plus partnership for the first wicket. Their opening stand lasts 10.6 balls on average, which indicates they have not survived even two overs on an average this season. None of the RCB batsmen apart from Kohli and de Villiers have made a 50-plus score: Mandeep Singh’s 47 is the best of the rest.

In the news

CSK legspinner Imran Tahir, who missed the previous match because of illness, said on Twitter that he was feeling well and was “all set” for the game.

The likely XIs

Royal Challengers Bangalore: 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Manan Vohra 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 AB de Villiers, 5 Mandeep Singh, 6 Corey Anderson/Colin de Grandhomme, 7 Washington Sundar, 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Umesh Yadav, 10 Mohammed Siraj/Kulwant Khejroliya, 11 Yuzvendra ChahalChennai Super Kings: 1 Shane Watson, 2 Faf du Plessis, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 Ambati Rayudu, 5 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 6 Sam Billings, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Dwayne Bravo, 9 Harbhajan Singh, 10 Deepak Chahar, 10 Karn Sharma, 11 Shardul Thakur

Strategy punt

CSK could save Shane Watson to stop de Villiers. In T20s, Watson has dismissed de Villiers two times, giving away 55 runs in 49 balls.RCB could use the legspinner Yuzvendra Chahal against the in-form Suresh Raina. Against Chahal in the IPL, Raina has been dismissed four times in eight matches. He has scored just 79 runs in 57 balls.Both the teams are likely to field unchanged XIs. CSK’s strategy to play Ambati Rayudu at No. 4 had paid off; Tahir, although up for selection, might be left out considering he has had a middling tournament so far.

Stats that matter

• While MS Dhoni boasts an average of 61.8 at the Chinnaswamy, Raina has scored only 156 runs there in nine innings.
• Kohli’s tally of 706 runs against CSK is his highest against any team. While he is only 18 short of 2000 runs at the venue, Kohli needs 10 runs to overtake Raina as the top run-scorer in the IPL over 11 seasons.
• Although the record between these two sides in Bengaluru is tied at 3-3, the last two encounters did not go well for RCB – they scored 154 both times and lost.

Fantasy picks

No doubts about this: Kohli and de Villiers would be obvious picks, considering their records at home. Kohli has three centuries and de Villiers has 11 50-plus scores in Bengaluru.Deepak Chahar has the best economy rate during Powerplay for Super Kings this season: 7.50. He has conceded just 98 runs in 13 overs in this period, and also took three wickets at an economy of 3.75 to deny Sunrisers Hyderabad a win on Sunday.

Quote

“It feels like a dream. Even when I was with RPS and when Dhoni wasn’t the captain, he supported me a lot. I was thinking if he’d pick me in the squad for CSK. He’s a very different person. When a person like him gives you confidence then then it’s obviously good for me.” –

Victoria wicketkeeper Sam Harper was hospitalised with a heavy concussion after being hit on the head by Jake Lehmann’s bat in the Sheffield Shield match at Adelaide

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Feb-2017
ScorecardFile photo – Aaron Finch struck a brisk 58 to push Victoria’s lead past 200•PA Photos

Victoria wicketkeeper Sam Harper was taken to hospital with a heavy concussion after he was inadvertently struck on the helmet by the bat of Jake Lehmann on day two of the Sheffield Shield match at Adelaide Oval.Lehmann was facing the spin of Jon Holland shortly before lunch when he tried to swat a short ball to the leg side and struck Harper as his bat followed through.Harper fell to the ground and was in considerable distress as he was treated by medical staff on the field of play. An early lunch break was called after he was assisted from the field and the resumption was delayed as several players were notably upset by the sight of Harper’s struggles, included dry-retching and issues with balance.”Harper was examined at Adelaide Oval by medical staff before being transferred to hospital for further assessment and treatment,” a Cricket Victoria spokesman said. “Harper underwent scans this afternoon which have not identified any bleeding or bone damage, but he will remain in hospital overnight for observation.”Under the Sheffield Shield playing conditions, replacement players are not permitted. In the event that a player is replaced, the match risks forfeiting First-Class status. Harper has been ruled out of the remainder of the match and Victorian Seb Gotch will travel to Adelaide to act as a substitute fielder.”Harper is the second Victoria player to be ruled out with concussion in as many matches, after the debutant Will Pucovski was struck by the ball during the previous fixture against New South Wales at the MCG. Pucovski, who has a history of concussion, is yet to resume training.Victoria, meanwhile, dominated day two despite Lehmann’s innings of 92, bowling the Redbacks out for 178 in reply to 184 before the visitors built their lead in the evening session. An unbeaten 58 from Aaron Finch carried Victoria to 4 for 198 at stumps, a lead of 204.

Dane Piedt, who was released from South Africa’s Test squad, took four wickets in each innings, Simon Harmer claimed nine scalps in the match, but Rory Kleinveldt had a bigger say in Cape Cobras’ 148 run win over Warriors

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Jan-2016
ScorecardFile photo – Rory Kleinveldt finished with a match haul of nine wickets•Getty Images

Dane Piedt, who was released from South Africa’s Test squad, took four wickets in each innings, Simon Harmer claimed nine scalps in the match, but Rory Kleinveldt had a bigger say in Cape Cobras’ 148 run win over Warriors, their first victory of the season.Kleinveldt claimed a match haul of nine wickets, including a five-for in the last innings. He nipped out the Warriors’ openers early in the chase of 327 before coming back to wrap up the tail and secure the big win.Colin Ackermann mounted some resistance with 82 off 140 deliveries, before he was last man dismissed. Piedt proved an able foil for Kleinveldt as Warriors were bowled out for 178.They had fared worse in their first innings. Kleinveldt rocked the top order, striking twice in his first over. The slide seeped into the middle order as well as Warriors were reduced to 18 for 5 and then 63 for 8. Ayabulela Gqamane, coming in at No.10, hit 37 off 53 balls and spared his side the ignominy of getting rolled over for a double-digit score.Cobras endured a similar collapse in their second innings as they were bowled out for 130, but they had the cushion of a strong first-innings batting effort. Andrew Puttick (33) and Omphile Ramela (32) gave Cobras a good platform. Justin Ontong then built on it with 98 off 189 balls, including 10 fours and one six. Piedt chipped in with a patient 62 to push Cobras to 325. They eventually walked away with 17.74 points.
ScorecardKnights fell apart in what seemed like a relatively simple chase of 138, as the team lost by 45 runs to Lions in Kimberley. Despite securing an innings lead, Lions looked to be heading towards defeat after folding for 94 in their second dig, thanks to a career-best 7 for 44 from medium-pacer Malusi Siboto.Knights, however, fared even worse in their second innings, losing wickets right from the off and failed to string together even a single meaningful stand. Only three batsmen reached double figures, as Dwaine Pretorious (3 for 37), Pumelela Matshikwe (2 for 19) and Eddie Leie (2 for 7) routed Knights for 92 in 44.5 overs.Earlier, Lions, opting to bat, posted a first-innings score of 264 on the back of fifties from the captain Stephen Cook (76) and Dominic Hendricks (80). Tumi Masekela was the pick of the Knights bowlers, collecting 7 for 38. In reply, Knights could only manage 221, as despite several starts from their middle-order batsmen, no one was able to compile a much-needed half-century. Pretorious and Sean Jamison shared three scalps apiece for Lions.