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Middlesex enjoyed the better of the first day at Southgate in the Frizzell County Championship match featuring two of the top three sides in Division Two. Essex just about held on to prevent Middlesex running away completely, but the home side made full use of winning the toss to reach 376 for six at the close of the first day.They lost their captain, Andrew Strauss, with only seven on the board, but his opening partner Sven Koenig went on to a century and there were solid sixties from Ben Hutton and Owais Shah. Tim Phillips had bowled Essex back into contention by taking three wickets that left Middlesex on 272 for 5 at one stage, but 67 not out from Paul Weekes towards the end of the day put the initiative firmly back with his team.The match marks a return to first-class cricket for James Foster – the Essex and England wicket-keeper who has been out of action with a broken arm. Zimbabwean Andy Flower is playing as a batsman and Foster snared his first victim when Catching Hutton off Justin Bishop. That will have pleased Foster more than the tally of 12 byes. The 20 no balls will not have pleased the Essex coaching staff very much either.

From about 3:30 p.m. yesterday, the party started inside the Beausejour Stadium.Even by then, it was a forgone conclusion the West Indies would trounce New Zealand and take an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the Cable One-Day International series in which two matches remain.The 10,000 Mexican-waving, flag-waving, placard-waving supporters in the stands of the state-of-the-art facility were engulfed in frenzied celebrations.This victory was as convincing as they come, the West Indies winning by seven wickets with as many as ten overs in reserve.After their bowlers restricted the Black Caps to a relatively modest 210, Chris Gayle and Shivnarine Chanderpaul launched the West Indies’ reply with a proliferation of scorching and exquisite boundaries that allowed the other batsmen who followed to bat under no pressure.Ramnaresh Sarwan followed with a couple of meaty boundaries and Brian Lara, still battling with a troublesome elbow, showed a return to some of his old touch with an unbeaten 59 that earned him the Man-Of-The-Match award.When Lara and Sarwan were in, there was a continuous cacophony of noises from one section of the ground where about 100 fans were jumping all over the place to the accompaniment of percussion instruments.On the other side of the ground, where the Piton Party Beer Stand was located, there was music from a host of DJs that triggered violent waist movements among other unprintable stuff.West Indies’ win, their 21st in 32 matches over New Zealand in the shorter form of the game, was achieved as early as 4:40 p.m. in front of excited St Lucians who have waited 18 years for another taste of international cricket.The team as a whole played pretty well. The bowlers did their part, the fielders supported them in the field and the batters came through, said coach Roger Harper.In response to their target, Gayle and Chanderpaul cracked ten boundaries in an opening stand of 63 at better than a run-a-ball before the latter drove a catch to cover and the former was bowled aiming to play slightly to leg.Their partnership was followed by another of 87 off 97 balls between Sarwan (44), who was a joy to watch when he pierced a packed off-side field with some lovely drives through the covers, and Lara, whose innings was his highest score in international matches this season.Lara was adept at guiding the ball behind the wicket on the off-side and as he settled in, he played a few authentic strokes, including a big six over long-off off Chris Harris’ trundlers that have often bemused many batsmen.We’ve been playing very well as a team and my contribution was missing for a while. It is nice to get some runs, some confidence and hopefully I can carry on for the remainder of the One-Day series and the Test series, Lara said.Whatever total we had to get, I was sure we were going to approach in the way we did yesterday (Saturday). Our guys bowled well, fielded well and we were able to restrict New Zealand to a small total.For the third successive match, New Zealand, who have now lost eight striaght One-Dayers, found themselves trying to get out of a deep hole inside the first 20 overs after they chose to bat on winning the toss.I can’t explain. To be honest, it was a disappointing performance. A 250 score would have been handy on that wicket, but 210 just wasn’t enough. Once again, we lost wickets in clumps, said captain Stephen Fleming.The previous day, they managed to post a challenging total, but this time, they could not convert the damage of 74 for four into a potential match-winning score.But they were able to get it up to something that they felt they could defend, principally on a fifth-wicket stand of 90 between Lou Vincent and Chris Harris.It was by no means explosive stuff. It was not complete control, but moreso careful consolidation and they required 23 overs for their workmanlike partnership.Vincent, a century-maker on Test debut against Australia in Perth seven months ago, batted through the last 32.4 overs of the innings for an unbeaten 60 off 85 balls after New Zealand lost the key wickets of Fleming and Craig McMillan in a brisk three-wicket slide.Vincent found the boundary just twice, but unleashed the shot of the innings, which sailed over Corey Collymore’s head and onto the sight-screen for the only six of the New Zealand effort.The balding Harris, the only player in the New Zealand team with more than 200 One-Day appearances, used his vast experience in the shorter version of the game to compile an even 50 off 79 balls before pulling a catch to deep mid-wicket in the 43rd over.It brought in the big-hitting Scott Styris but there was no repeat of his Saturday onslaught. He attracted a perfect leg-cutter from Corey Collymore that hit off-stump after pitching on middle.Collymore, replacing the rested Cameron Cuffy, sent down a tidy opening spell after his fellow Barbadian Pedro Collins was roughed up in his six overs with the new ball at the opposite end from which he successfully operated the previous day.Collymore and Meryn Dillon each took two wickets, but the most economical of the West Indies’ bowlers was Chris Gayle, whose ten overs of off-spin went for 34 runs and included the wickets of Fleming and McMillan.Fleming reached 34 before missing a defensive prod and was lbw, while McMillan skied a catch to mid-on that was well held by Collins.The catch, taken as he ran back about 15 metres, typified the West Indies’ overall effort on the day.

MELBOURNE, June 14 AAP – Australian speed ace Brett Lee defended his one-day cricket tactics here today as he was recalled to the national eleven.Lee was the controversial choice for 12th man two days ago when Australia thrashed Pakistan by seven wickets at Colonial Stadium in the opening match of their three-game series.Opening bowler Jason Gillespie will carry the drinks tomorrow and Lee will take his place.The series was billed as a pace showdown between Lee and Shoaib Akhtar, the two fastest bowlers in the world.Shoaib also missed Wednesday’s match because of a leg injury, but trained fully today and is expected to play tomorrow.”In the past, I have been playing under specific instructions from Steve Waugh and they were to bowl fast and take as many wickets as I can,” Lee said in a statement released this afternoon through the Australian Cricket Board.”Under Ricky (Ponting), my instructions for one-day international cricket have changed a little.”I’m still going to bowl fast, but I have been asked to contain my bowling a little more.”I’m fully supportive of my new game plan and I’m hoping to be an economical bowler and still take as many wickets for Australia in the future.”Captain Ponting said before game one and again today he wanted Lee to concede fewer runs per over.After Wednesday’s match, Ponting conceded Lee and Andy Bichel were borderline selections for the one-day side and had to start stringing together consistent performances.Bichel impressed on Wednesday, taking 3-30 from 10 overs.Ponting said today he wanted all his bowlers to be more miserly, saying it was “fairly unacceptable” Australia had conceded nearly 100 runs in the last 10 overs at times earlier this year against South Africa.Ponting also made it clear today he had no problem with Lee’s attitude, saying they had been working on “a few things” at training this week.”He’s keen to do that, he wants to be a valued member of our side and we know he’s going to do his best to make sure he gets his economy rate on the next few games he plays,” Ponting said.”He still is required to be as economical as the other guys, but it’s nice for him to have that wicket-taking ability as well.”He’s always going to have that because he’s so fast and he can blast guys out.”Ponting added Lee probably had to bowl a little slower in one-dayers, but said he would lose his effectiveness if he went down to medium pace.Ponting had no doubt Pakistan would be much tougher tomorrow night and added he and his team-mates had been surprised “a lot” with the ease of Wednesday’s win.Counterpart Waqar Younis said Pakistan often made a slow start to its Australian trips and would be stronger in game two.The two captains asked for the bowlers’ run-ups and the creases to be dried ahead of tomorrow, because of concerns about players losing their footing.Australia would no doubt prefer Shoaib did not emulate his team-mates on Wednesday and unleash a top-speed “bean ball” because he lost his footing.Australia made a second change for tomorrow, with opening batsman Matthew Hayden returning to Brisbane to be with wife Kellie as they expect their first child and Jimmy Maher taking his place.Pakistan will name its side tomorrow.AUSTRALIA: Ricky Ponting (capt), Andy Bichel, Adam Gilchrist, Brett Lee, Darren Lehmann, Jimmy Maher, Damien Martyn, Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Shane Watson, Jason Gillespie (12th man).

He had every reason in the world not to come out and bowl. Everyrational, pragmatic advisor would have told him to put up his feet,nurse his fractured jaw, thumb the pages of a paperback and watchIndia bowl at West Indies from the cool confines of the pavilion atthe Antigua Recreation Ground. Perhaps even sipping a cool, tall PinaColada. But then, even that might be hard to do with a newly-repairedjaw.God help you if you were one of the kind souls who made any of theabove suggestions to Anil Kumble. He’s the kind of man who iscomposed, thinks intensely about his game and when it comes to crickettakes no prisoners. After waiting patiently by the sidelines, sittingout two Tests, Kumble finally got a crack at the whip. Once he did, hewas not going to be a spectator once more – injury or not.And as they say, beware the anger of a patient man.Before reports filtered through that Kumble was out of action and thathe would be making the Antigua-Barbados-London-Mumbai flight, there hewas, all strapped up and asking Sourav Ganguly for a crack at the WestIndians. Clearly, Brian Lara was surprised to see Kumble coming out tothe middle. Clearly, the batsmen were rattled by the prospect offacing upto a few sliders and top spinners on a wicket that wasbeginning to lose its top.But that’s strategy. That’s for coaches and captains and turbanedexpert analysts in studios. It’s not what made Kumble take the field.”I knew that I had to go back home because of this injury so I thoughtI’ll give it one last try,” Kumble told pressmen at the end of theday’s play. One last try was not the kind of bowling that has causedcritics to bay about his 40-plus bowling average overseas. It was ahigh adrenalin burst. Heavily strapped up, with bands going around hisjaw, over his head and across the back of it, a semi-mummified Kumbleran in and presto, scalped the wicket of Lara.Classic Kumble, ball not turning much, skidding through, trapping thebatsman in front of the stumps.And make no mistake about it. This is not a case of Kumble doing aRick McCosker. Knocked over by a Bob Willis bouncer on day one of theCentenary Test at Melbourne in 1976-77, McCosker came back todo battle later in the game. Strapped up much more heavily than Kumble,McCosker famously came back to bat at No 10 in the second innings,made 25, was involved in a 54-run partnership with Rod Marsh who madea century and helped Australia win. The eventual margin of victory was 45runs, making the last wicket partnership crucial.There’s no such thing at stake here. India have 500-plus on the board,the wicket is less than conducive to bowling sides out and the gameseems to be heading for a draw.So what then was Kumble trying to achieve?Some say his appearance and bowling was simply a case of insecurity -he was booking a place in the squad that will tour England later. Somesay it was a calculated stunt to gain the sympathy of the public andthe media. Andrew Leipus, team physio, made it clear that localdentists had patched up Kumble’s jaw and there was little chance ofworsening the injury by playing. That should be good enough to takethe conspiracy theorists and nay-sayers out of the picture. But thatnever happens. People will believe what they want.There are others who feel this was a defining moment in Kumble’scareer. A testament to the man’s approach to the game. His job is tobowl and take wickets, he thought it was well within him to pushhimself and give his best. “At least I’ll go back home havingthought that I tried my best. If it did work it would be great, but itwas pretty tough. I just wanted to try,” said Kumble. That’s commendable to theextreme. It’s the kind of spirit rarely shown by Indian cricketers.Those are the two sides of the argument. To attribute either motiveunequivocally to Kumble would be a touch unfair and oversimplifyingmatters. Only Kumble himself will ever know why he did what he did -somewhere bang in the middle of the sentimental, pish-tosh attempt tobe a folk hero and the calculating schemer. He’s human after all. Andyet, he’s just turned in a superhuman effort.

It is likely to be Friday, at the earliest, before a final decision is made on Nathan Astle’s immediate playing future with the TelstraClear Black Caps.Astle returned home from Pakistan at the weekend with a patella tendon injury and surgeon Paul Armour has requested an MRI Scan be taken of Astle’s knee.New Zealand Cricket’s medical co-ordinator Warren Frost said Armour would not make a judgment until all the information was in.Frost said Astle had been struggling with his knees for a couple of seasons and wanted to get things sorted out in order to look ahead and to be better equipped to go ahead in stronger style.”It is a big year ahead and he wants no half measures to get it sorted out,” Frost said.That could mean that Astle misses the tour of the West Indies next month.A report is also being awaited on the side strain injury suffered by Jacob Oram.”They can be a nasty thing and can hang around a while,” Frost said.

Sharjah Cup has assumed great importance after Pakistan’s dismal defeat in the Asian Test Championship. Fortunately the selectors have made amends for their mistakes in the ATC Selection.Waseem Akram and Saqlain Mushtaq have once again been included in the team as dropping them was an unpardonable lapse that Pakistan dearly paid for. Anyway better late than never.The team that the selectors have picked is in my view appropriate barring the inclusion of Misbahul Haq and Faisal Iqbal. In fact there could not have been a better squad. The only shortcoming is the absence of leg-break bowler – left arm or right arm. We have not produced a noteworthy left-arm spinner after Iqbal Qasim. But there is no dearth of talent to fill this gap only if the selectors launch an earnest search. Ofcourse it will take time and sincere effort.As regards the right-arm leg-spinner also called a wrist spinner, we have a talented player in Danesh Kaneria who proved his worth even on the slowest pitches in Bangladesh and Sharjah. The selectors should focus attention on him as he can prove to be an invaluable asset for Pakistan in future, provided he is given ample attention and opportunity. True, he is a poor fielder but I have seen him improving on this count in recent matches.We presently have two spinners – both of whom are off-spinners. While Saqlain is world class Shoaib Malik is ordinary. The selection committee during the tenure of Dr Zafar Altaf had picked Shoaib Malik as Saqlain’s under study for Australian tour. But contrary to expectations he could not improve. Anyway he is a very good fielder and a useful batsman. But he does not actually serve as an off-spinner the burden of which Saqlain has to carry.Misbahul Haq, has however, no place in the team. In my opinion which may not exactly tally with the selectors and the coach, the playing eleven should be as follows: 1. Shahid Afridi, 2. Imran Nazir, 3. Younus Khan, 4. Inzimamul Haq, 5. Yousuf Youhana, 6. Abdul Razzaq, 7. Rashid (WK), 8. Wasim Akram, 9. Saqlain Mushtaq, 10. Waqar Younus (Captain) and 11 Shoaib Akhtar.If the top five batsmen cannot score I think Pakistan doesn’t deserve to win a match. In the past batting posed a problem but we do not have a better line-up. The selectors deserve credit for picking fourteen players on merit. Danesh, as I pointed out earlier, should have been the 15th member if there was room for one. But probably he doesn’t have the same recommendation that Faisal Iqbal has. This lucky lad has had a free trip to Dhaka, Sharjah and the ATC venue.Recently he was given an opening slot in the PIA team against the weakest contestants in the group – Hyderabad and Bahawalpur and when the contest was challenging against Customs – the strongest team after PIA, the batting order was changed to shield him. Who are they trying to fool! He is still a part of the latest outfit perhaps over the heads of Waqar and Mudassar Nazar, the skipper and the coach.When a player monopolises the reserved seat at the expense of others, a front is naturally formed against him – a handicap he has to suffer from all his life. In the past too there are many such examples. If selection depends on relationship and connections what is poor Bazid Khan’s fault when Majid Khan has had special equation with Mudassar, Rameez Raja and Mohsin Kamal. I think the PCB should now float a next of kin XI to put the pressure lobby at rest.I am glad that Waqar will continue as captain till the World Cup. As I have written before he is a good captain and his bowling changes as well as field placing reflected the much-needed cricketing sense. Besides that he enjoys respect among players which is very important. He should not, however, allow his ego to affect his decisions. He has got an excellent team – class fast bowlers, a world class off-spinner and a very competent wicket-keeper in Rashid Latif, a courageous and useful batsman and a fighter to the core.Pakistan team under the leadership of Waqar is no doubt a strong contender for the forthcoming World Cup. Only the in-fighting will have to be controlled. The PCB Chairman who is bent upon building up a high-class outfit and an infrastructure, we have been dreaming about for a long time is capable of fulfilling these ambitions.In Karachi where cement pitches have been dismantled and stadium floodlights are beaming, significant development is in sight. Promotional activities in remote areas are in progress. The whole nation is appreciating these developments. He should continue this commendable effort and give due recognition to merit totally rejecting all pressures to prepare a level field.

South Africa all-rounder Nadine de Klerk struck a magnificent unbeaten 106 as The Blaze fought back to beat Western Storm by four wickets in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy at Trent Bridge.Chasing 276 for victory, the home side looked to be heading for a fifth defeat in six matches when they slipped to 137 for 6 following Natasha Wraith’s impressive career-best 73 in the Storm innings.But 24-year-old De Klerk turned things around in a superb unbroken 139-run partnership with 21-year-old wicketkeeper Ella Claridge (64 not out), whose half-century was her first in women’s regional cricket, as The Blaze won with 12 balls to spare.Earlier, wicketkeeper-batter Wraith had shared a fourth-wicket partnership of 93 with skipper Sophie Luff (37), who had earlier put on 66 for the second wicket with Fran Wilson (34) before useful lower-order runs from Chloe Skelton (29 not out) helped Storm made light of the absence of England duo Heather Knight and Danielle Gibson to total to 275 in 48.1 overs. Blaze captain Kirstie Gordon took 4 for 40 to lift her wickets tally to 11 for the campaign.England opener Tammy Beaumont, not selected for the forthcoming T20 series against Pakistan Women, hit 41, sharing an opening partnership of 52 with Teresa Graves (24), but The Blaze looked likely to suffer again in the absence of England’s Nat Sciver-Brunt and Scotland internationals Kathryn and Sarah Bryce until De Klerk and Claridge’s heroics won the day.The Blaze had won the toss and Sophie Munro removed Alex Griffiths with the second ball of the match courtesy of an edge to solitary slip Beaumont, but Gordon had to wait until the 14th over to see her decision to bowl first rewarded again, bringing about the breakthrough with her own left-arm spin as Wilson’s sweep flew off a top-edge to short fine leg.Gordon followed up by bowling Smale to leave Storm 70 for 3, after which the Blaze skipper looked to apply the squeeze with spin at both ends.But Wraith and Luff countered by going on the offensive, adding another 50 in just 40 deliveries, Wraith hitting a maximum down the ground off Gordon before knocking leg-spinner Josie Groves out of the attack with three fours in four balls.The fourth-wicket pair plundered more runs against the off-spin of Lucy Higham before Groves, replacing England’s Sarah Glenn in the one change to the Blaze line-up, returned to have Luff caught at long-off thanks to an excellent catch on the run by Munro.Wraith continued unchecked, passing her previous best of 68 when she pulled left-armer Ballinger for her 11th four.She fell in the next over, caught behind off a top edge, and when Gordon then dismissed Katie Jones and Niamh Holland in the space of four deliveries, the home side looked to be wresting back control with Storm 207 for 7.Yet Skelton, who hammered the unfortunate Ballinger for five consecutive fours, led the way as the Storm tail wagged vigorously, the last three wickets adding 68 vital runs, punctuated by a second success each for De Klerk and Munro before Graves ended the innings with her only delivery.In reply, The Blaze were going well until the last over of the opening powerplay, when Smale struck with her first ball as Luff turned to spin for the first time. The left-armer induced the thinnest of tickles as Graves, who had played nicely for her 24, was caught behind on the leg side.From 52 without loss, Blaze stumbled badly. Smale picked up the crucial wicket of Beaumont, whose swing and miss ended with her middle stump out of the ground, before leg-spinner Amanda-Jade Wellington removed Marie Kelly with the help of an excellent catch by Griffiths at gully and had Beth Gammon leg before.Gordon perished for 16, adjudged leg before trying to work Skelton’s off-spin through the on side, and Munro was bowled through the gate by seamer Griffiths.Storm were now well on top with Blaze 137 for 6, but there was no shifting De Klerk, who pounced on almost any delivery that was short or wide, completing her second half-century for the East Midlands side off 62 balls with six boundaries.Having lost five partners before that milestone, she at last found one to stick with her in Claridge, who grew in confidence, her fifth boundary, forcefully driven through the covers off Skelton, bringing up a century partnership for the seventh wicket in 17 overs, with 37 needed from the final six overs.De Klerk brought up her hundred from 112 balls with 12 fours before winning the match with a six, slog-swept off Griffiths.

It took Gloucestershire a mere 78 minutes to polish off Glamorgan on the fourth and final day of their LV= Insurance County Championship Division 2 match at Sophia Gardens and head home with 22 points to move into second in the table.The Welsh county resumed on 57 for 6, still 43 runs behind the visitors, and they were obviously intent on not falling to a third successive defeat by an innings. The overnight batsmen, Dan Douthwaite and Andrew Salter, didn’t hang around as they attempted to close the gap and force Gloucestershire to bat again.Salter immediately attacked the star of the previous day, Zafar Gohar, and picked up 10 runs in the opening over. He took six off Ryan Higgins’ next over and seven off Gohar’s second to give his side an impressive start.But his flourish was all too brief and Gohar took his fourth wicket of the innings when he trapped Salter lbw for 19. Just 14 balls later, Ruaidhri Smith became his fifth victim as Glamorgan slumped to 94 for 8.Smith attempted a reverse sweep off the left-arm spinner and found himself bowled around his legs having added only four runs. Now it was just a case of whether the home side’s tail could haul them over the line to prevent another embarrassing innings defeat.Douthwaite was the next to fall, bowled by Higgins as he became the Gloucestershire seamer’s 50th championship victim of the summer, and that left Timm van der Gugten and Michael Hogan needing to score eight runs to make Gloucestershire pad up again.To their credit, they put on 22 for the final wicket, the third-highest partnership of the innings as Glamorgan moved to 124. Gohar finally removed Van der Gugten to end with 6 from 43 from 18 devastating overs, although not before the home batsman had hit him for two big sixes.On one of those he was caught by Higgins as he ran towards the rope, but then failed to stop. When it happened again, Higgins took a wonderful catch and threw it over his shoulder for Graeme van Buuren to complete the dismissal and leave Gloucestershire with a target of 15 runs to win the game.Glamorgan opened with two spinners, Salter and Kiran Carlson, and it took nine balls for skipper Chris Dent and Miles Hammond to complete the triumph at 11.48am.

Former Australia allrounder James Faulkner feels disrespected and shattered following a contract saga that has led to his departure from Hobart Hurricanes.Faulkner, 31, will not play for Hurricanes this year, and appears very unlikely to play in the BBL altogether, after turning down a one-year contract offer that he claims was “pretty embarrassing”.Faulkner made the comments on , in an interview with close friend and Australia Test captain Tim Paine who was co-hosting the show.”I found it pretty hard to take when I first heard it on the phone,” Faulkner said. “I found it pretty disrespectful for what I’ve sort of given to Tasmanian cricket. I’ve put my heart and soul into it and to hear their initial offer, and that is what it all comes down to, it cut pretty deep.”I know what I’m worth. I’ve signed enough contracts around the world for different teams. I didn’t want more. I just wanted what was fair and what I thought I was worth and even maybe a little bit less. But it just comes back to that first offer. I didn’t feel respected as a player or a person or a Tasmanian athlete. I’m just shattered how it has all played out.”Faulkner, who last played international cricket for Australia in 2017, joined Hurricanes in his home state of Tasmania ahead of the 2018-19 BBL season after seven years at Melbourne Stars on a three-year deal that finished at the end of last season.Related

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He has been plagued by a series of injuries since his international career ended and played just 12 of 29 matches in the last two BBL seasons. Last season he suffered a serious hamstring injury which ended his tournament in December. Faulkner said it was unfair for his injuries to be used against him in the negotiations.”They just used injury the whole time against me, really,” he said. “Last season I had an eight-week hamstring I did at the Gabba and tried to come back in three-and-a-half weeks and put my body on the line to come back so we had a shot at making finals and we weren’t really in the mix at that stage, which I’m happy to do and I’ll always do that. But for the coach to use that against me, I felt was wrong.”He also took aim at head coach Adam Griffith following comments he made at a press conference last week.”When you watch the news, and you see who I thought was one of my mates, as well as the head coach, say the bowling group and the team have performed well without me, first of all, and then secondly saying, we need to move on and that he didn’t really care – that cuts deep,” Faulkner said. “That’s like sticking a knife straight in my back. That’s not called for.Faulkner also claimed the lengthy BBL embargo period on contract signings had left him in limbo.”I’ve had teams make contact but the issue we have is the fact there was an embargo period with Cricket Australia and obviously you can’t speak throughout that,” Faulkner said.”And obviously because the contract negotiation went on for so long teams obviously want to sign their list. So I was sort of left stranded six months down the line. Other lists were full and that’s the big thing that hurts.”I wouldn’t have wanted to play for any other franchise anyway. The whole reason I came to the Hurricanes was to finish here and play in front of my family and friends and play with some of my best teammates that I have great memories with and for that not to happen it’s bloody disappointing.”However, teams, players, and agents are allowed to talk informally during the embargo period and often do. The embargo only applies to binding agreements meaning no contracts can be formally signed.Faulkner will now ply his trade in various leagues around the world. He performed well in this year’s PSL for Lahore Qalandars taking 13 wickets in six matches at an economy rate of 6.50. He will also look to play in the Abu Dhabi T10 and the Lanka Premier League.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details3:54

Agarkar: Something has to be done for the bowlers

Remember the time chasing was hard in ODIs? A second match of this series assumed heart-stopping proportions as a flat track, a fast outfield, short boundaries and batsmen with self-belief the size of a small planet came together. India put up 381, fuelled by a career-best 150 from Yuvraj Singh and a 10th hundred from MS Dhoni. But they only just came away the victors of the match, and the series, as Eoin Morgan responded with one of the great innings by a batsman in England colours.

England fined for slow over rate

Having fallen one over short of their target, England’s players were fined 10% of their match fees and their captain Eoin Morgan twice that amount.
Match referee Andy Pycroft handed out the punishment after the concern was raised by the four umpires in the match. Morgan pleaded guilty but, should his team commit another minor over rate offence in ODIs within a 12-month period from now, he could end up facing suspension.

Beyond the runs Morgan made [102 off 81], beyond his ball-striking and the weird areas he exploited with those whiplash wrists – his composure under pressure was unreal. There were over 40, 000 people in Cuttack bellowing against him. The Indian spinners had done well despite the dew to complicate matters. The required run-rate had nudged over 10 at the end of the 36th over but, since England had lost half their side by then, Morgan had to wait. He was the set batsman – 46 off 48 balls – and his team needed him to last till the end. To that effect, he would defend his way through an R Ashwin over because after that it would be him against the Indian quicks. Morgan was gambling, and it was even paying off for a while.In the end, a match that featured 747 runs, 19 sixes and 81 fours went down to the penultimate over when Jasprit Bumrah held his nerve to run Morgan out while he was backing up to get back on strike.To get to that stage took a huge effort from Bhuvneshwar Kumar, playing his first ODI in a year. He began his second spell in the 42nd over, conceding just eight runs. He could have had a wicket, too, had Ravindra Jadeja been able to take a skier from Moeen Ali at long-on. In his next over, he gave away only three singles and bowled Moeen, who had hammered back-to-back fours to reach a half-century mere minutes ago. The wicket was the result of a little sleight of hand. With the required rate – two runs a ball – suffocating him, the batsman never saw the offcutter coming. As a result, instead of two well-set hitters at the crease, India had the comfort of aiming at England’s lower order.The other big play came in the middle overs, when Jadeja bowled the dangerous Jason Roy for 82 and Ashwin took care of Joe Root for 54. The offspinner then befuddled both Ben Stokes for 1 and Jos Buttler for 10 to rob England of a majority of their firepower, with the side 176 runs adrift of the target and nearly 20 overs left in the chase. Jadeja was remarkable. In a game where runs were scored at more than seven runs an over, he kept an economy rate of 4.5 by bowling wicket-to-wicket. And Ashwin went back to his old ways of deceiving batsmen in flight – Root top-edged a sweep, probably thinking the trajectory was flatter than it was. That broke a partnership of 100 between him and Roy at over run-a-ball. The crowd at Barabati stadium breathed easier.They had spent the first innings in pure nostalgia with each ball that Yuvraj and Dhoni sent their way during a partnership of 256 in 230 balls. At one end, there were flowing drives with scintillating timing and from the other came brutal swats. No one was safe. Not Stokes, who was winded when Dhoni whacked a ball back at his chest. Not Alex Hales, who was wringing his fingers after trying to get under a pull from Dhoni. Not even the Spidercam was spared damage.Yuvraj wasn’t quite as murderous, or maybe he was and was just a little bit kinder to things both living and non-living on the ground. He came in at the end of the third over, enjoyed England trying to bounce him out on a pitch that barely had any in the first place, and bedded in to make his first hundred since the 2011 World Cup. It came off his 98th delivery and the celebrations made it clear how much the innings meant to him. He looked skyward, with his hands aloft. Then the bat handle thumped into his chest and he may even have become misty-eyed. At 35 years, having spent three years nowhere near the ODI team, wondering what would become of his career, coming back with his highest score had to be sweet.There was no place for such emotion with Dhoni. He was what the situation made him. When he came in at the fall of Shikhar Dhawan’s wicket in the fifth over, he blocked 14 straight deliveries from Chris Woakes, who was the sole reason India were 25 for 3. The next time those two faced each other, the ball was muscled over the midwicket boundary. Dhoni finished on 134 off 122 balls – having been 6 off 22 once – and became the first Indian to hit 200 sixes in ODIs. The shot that took him there – eerily similar to the one that won India the World Cup in 2011 – hit the top tier behind long-on. There was another reminder of that night in Mumbai; the final was the last time Yuvraj and Dhoni had put on 50 runs or more together.But the clear-headed England that made all the early breakthroughs happen by bowling full and keeping a tight line on off stump fell into a trap. They bowled too short at Yuvraj, who eventually realised there was nothing in the pitch to make him fear such a line of attack. It is true that extreme pace has unsettled him regardless of conditions but he didn’t have to face any on Thursday. A one-bounce pull for four got him going, drives through mid-off and cover showcased his timing and a pristine punch down the ground told the crowd they were in for something special. With Dhoni concentrating on staying at the crease to such a point that he barely even thought about runs early in his innings, and a severe lack of wickets, the middle overs became party time.India hammered 94 runs in the 10 overs between the 30th and the 40th and finished with 73 off the last five. Also responsible for the late flourish were Kedar Jadhav, who belted three fours and a six in 10 balls, Hardik Pandya ,who began his innings with a four and six, and Jadeja, who helped take 14 runs off the final over.