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With three out of the four quarter-finals ending in high-scoring draws, Harbhajan Singh has backed the idea of playing knockout games on neutral venues in the Ranji Trophy

Amol Karhadkar in Jamshedpur10-Jan-2013391 overs. 1133 runs. 13 wickets. The summary of the Ranji Trophy quarter-final
between Jharkhand and Punjab is more than enough to indicate what kind of wicket was
offered for a knock-out game of the premier domestic championship at the Keenan
Stadium in Jamshedpur.And it’s not just about Jamshedpur. The numbers in Rajkot and Mumbai – two of the
other three quarter-final venues – are also similar, if not worse, in terms of
competition between the bat and the ball. This, in a season when the BCCI has issued
a diktat to all the state associations for producing ‘sporting’ tracks.The only quarter-final that saw a result was, not surprisingly, played at a neutral
venue. With England based at the Palam ground in Delhi, Services hosted favourites
Uttar Pradesh at the Holkar Stadium in Indore in what turned out to be a fascinating
contest with David eventually overcoming Goliath.If the four quarter-finals were an indication, isn’t it high time the BCCI returns
to the policy they adopted during the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons? That of playing
all knockout games at neutral venues, thereby negating any home advantage and
reducing the possibility of a flat-bed. Punjab skipper Harbhajan Singh supported the
neutral venue theory despite ending up on the better side.”Yes. Why not? We’re playing the premier domestic competition where all the teams
have got an advantage of playing at home in the league stages. When it comes to
knockout stages, why not have Punjab playing in Mumbai and Mumbai playing in Gujarat
and Haryana,” Harbhajan said, after Punjab progressed to the semi-final on the basis
of the first innings lead against Jharkhand. “It will also be good for the game.
Imagine someone like Sachin Tendulkar going and playing in Haryana or in Delhi,
people will come to watch and it will be a big thing for the game, so why not!”The game in Jamshedpur turned out to be a torrid experience for the bowlers. The
wicket – which neither offered movement or bounce for seamers nor turn for spinners
– surprised Shahbaz Nadeem, the Jharkhand captain. “The two home games we played
here, the wicket was so much better. The ball was coming off the deck much quicker
and the spinners came into the game on the third and the fourth day. Such kind of a
wicket came as a real surprise. It negated all sorts of home advantage we had.”With literally no help from the strip, the bowlers had nothing else to do but “hope”
as Harbhajan said. But he expressed his displeasure with some of the umpiring
decisions that went against him”A few decisions didn’t go my way and for that I have been fined. Otherwise, I could have had three-four wickets in my account,” he said. “I hope that the umpiring standards improve. At least those who are out should be given out. On these kind of wickets, you’re going to get a batsman out only once. And if you’re not given the wickets you’ve earned, then perhaps you have to toil for another 20-odd overs.”If Keenan was bad, Khanderi could be worse for Punjab as they prepare for their
semi-final against Saurashtra. With Rajkot renowned for flat pitches, Punjab could
be in for yet another tough week ahead.”It (the Rajkot pitch) would be more or less similar to this,” Harbhajan said.
“Let’s hope we get a result-oriented wicket. Whether it’s a seaming track or a
spinning track, it should produce a result. That too on the fifth day, not the
sixth. Sixth day will be like… I don’t know. I have never seen it, I have never
played it. If there is no result in six days, then what’s the point. The best thing
is to get a result in five days. It would be better to produce a wicket that
produces a result in five days rather than extending the match by another day.”Over to Rajkot!

After half-empty grounds during the India-England ODIs, the venues in Cuttack and Visakhapatnam had strong crowds for the one-dayers between India and West Indies.

Tariq Engineer05-Dec-2011After half-empty grounds in Hyderabad, Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata during the India-England ODIs, the venues in Cuttack and Visakhapatnam had strong crowds for the one-dayers between India and West Indies. According to local cricket association officials, the contrasting crowd response was because of the surfeit of major matches in the bigger cities, while smaller centres were starved of games featuring India.”In a big city a World Cup happens, the IPL happens. In Orissa, in two or three years, we get one [international] match,” Ashirbad Behera, the Orissa Cricket Association (OCA) secretary told ESPNcricinfo. “Our Orissa Premier League happened and the stadiums were jam packed. We are asking the BCCI to change the schedule, to switch matches from big cities to smaller cities.”The Barabati Stadium in Cuttack, which seats 45,000, was full for the first ODI against West Indies, whereas Eden Gardens was half-empty in October.The stadium in Visakhapatnam, which has a capacity of 20,000, also had a full house for the ODI between India and West Indies. It was the second ODI held there in just over 12 months. Before the Australia ODI in October 2010, Visakhapatnam had to wait nearly four years for an India game. It has had only four international matches since the new stadium staged its first ODI in April 2005.Indore, the venue for India’s fourth ODI against West Indies, will stage its first day-night match at the Holkar Cricket Stadium, where only two one-dayers have been held so far, in 2005 and in 2008. Before 2005, ODIs were played at the local government owned Nehru Stadium, which staged nine matches between 1983 and 2001.Narendra Menon, the secretary of the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association, said that all tickets available online for the Indore game – about 30% of the total – had been sold out. The association began selling the remaining 70% through local banks this morning. The capacity of the stadium is 26,000.”This match is [taking place] after three years. The last [international] match was in 2008. People are naturally waiting to have one-day match,” Menon said. “[In the bigger venues], if you include IPL matches, they have 25 matches like this. How can you expect all the time, houseful? You can’t.”Since December 2008 the Feroz Shah Kotla hosted eight ODIs and two Tests (it was also banned for a year by the ICC for a poor pitch); the Wankhede in Mumbai held the 2011 World Cup final, three other ODIs and a Test, while the Brabourne Stadium also hosted a Test; and Eden Gardens staged five ODIs, two Tests and a Twenty20 game. All three cities also have IPL teams, which play seven home games each season.Orissa has written to the BCCI asking to host Test matches and Menon said they would like to hold Test matches in Indore as well. “Definitely. Our ground and wicket is absolutely as good as all other grounds in India.” Unlike Orissa though, MP has not yet officially asked to host a Test but the plan on doing so in the near future. “We are going to have Duleep Trophy final this year, so I am just waiting for that match to be organised properly. We have never had any five-day match at this ground. If the Dileep Trophy match goes up to five days, we will see the behaviour of then wicket, and then we will ask.”When the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack was renovated to add 6000 seats to its previously existing 39,000, organisers said they improved facilities for spectators by adding more toilets and drinking water outlets, and arranged to have local music played in the stadium. And when they were unable to accomodate the demand for tickets, the OCA put up 10 giant screens outside the ground. Behara said, “Outside the stadium 25,000 people were standing.”At a time when a jaded audience and an overdose of cricket is emptying grounds in major urban centres, Indian cricket’s smaller, less glamourous venues are making a strong case to stage the big games.

Michael Hussey will return to open if asked, but believes Shane Watson is currently the best man for the top spot

Cricinfo staff13-Dec-2009The under-pressure Michael Hussey will return to open if asked, but believes Shane Watson is currently the best man for the top spot. Shane Warne has joined the critics who believe Hussey is on his last legs, with him saying the batsman should have shifted places to fit Watson into the middle order.Hussey has scored reasonably well in the first two Tests against West Indies, with 66, 41 and 29, but has been scratchy, especially at the start of his innings. While he is happy to move around, he said it wasn’t his role to ask the selectors or Ricky Ponting for a switch in the batting order.”They haven’t approached me and at this stage they see Shane as the best option to open – and he has responded affirmatively – with me at No. 4,” Hussey said in the Sunday Telegraph. “I would happily open the batting for Australia. But Shane Watson proved in the Adelaide Test that he has the technique and temperament to be a very good opener for Australia. Shane can obviously handle the workload as an allrounder.”Marcus North is a state and national team-mate of Hussey and was “pretty shocked” by the criticism. “There’s been a bit of debate about his position, but his form over in India in one-day cricket has been outstanding, he finished the last Test match in England with a fine hundred and he’s walked into Brisbane and Adelaide in great form,” North told AAP. ”He would have liked to turn some of those starts into three figures, but he is hitting the ball as well as anyone in the Australian batting line-up and hopefully this week once he gets going the three figures will be coming Huss’ way.”Mark Taylor, the former Test captain, has called for Michael Clarke to move up a spot to No. 4, which is Hussey’s current place. Clarke has been the team’s form batsman in 2009, scoring 941 runs at 58.81, and held the innings together as Australia scrapped a draw in Adelaide last week.”There’s no doubt Ricky Ponting has been our best in the last five to 10 years but I’d certainly talk about Michael in the same breath now,” Taylor said in the Sunday Mail. “He’s in that elite category. I think he’s ready to go up the order. He should move up to No.4 any time from now on.”He’s the sort of player who can play any type of innings now. He can put pressure on the bowlers and score quickly or, as he showed the other day, he can hold up the other end and tough it out.”

Will Smeed sets tempo for visitors but Kent captain anchors 198-run chase

ECB Reporters Network07-Jun-2024Kent 198 for 6 (Billings 106*) beat Somerset 197 for 6 (Smeed 68, Kohler-Cadmore 42) by four wicketsA superb century by Sam Billings helped the Kent Spitfires to a four-wicket win over Somerset with four balls to spare, in a Vitality Blast thriller at Canterbury.Kent were reeling on 37 for four in the fifth over but they were rescued a sensational innings by Billings, who hit a career best 106 from 66 balls, with 14 fours and two sixes.The Spitfires’ skipper fell in the 19th, but with Kent needing just six from the last six balls, Joey Evison hit the winning runs to complete a brilliant comeback for the hosts, who closed on 198 for six.Earlier Will Smeed blasted 68 from 30 balls as Somerset posted 197 for six, while Tom Kohler-Cadmore was the next highest scorer with 42. Having shipped 95 in eight overs for the opening wicket, Kent reined the visitors in slightly as Matt Parkinson took two for 36 and Zak Crawley took four catches, equalling Kent’s Blast record.Somerset were asked to bat and Smeed rode his luck at times, but he creamed Evison for 18 in the eighth over, only to hit the final delivery to Tawanda Muyeye on the boundary.Tom Banton went three balls later for 26, when Marcus O’Riordan saw him charge down the wicket and had him stumped off a wide. Parkinson then got Tom Abell for 12 when Crawley covered 40 yards to reel him in at deep midwicket.Sean Dickson made 26 from 18 before he skyed Parkinson to Crawley, who then took his third catch when Kohler-Cadmore miscued a full toss from Beyers Swanepoel.Lewis Gregory went for 12 when he hit Bartlett’s penultimate ball of the innings to Crawley on the cow corner boundary, but Crawley then hit the first ball of the Kent reply, from Overton, straight to Roelof van der Merwe.Overton then bowled Daniel Bell-Drummond for three and took a brilliant diving catch off Sonny Baker to remove Muyeye for 15 before O’Riordan went for 14, when he hit Jake Ball straight to Smeed at fly slip.Billings and Denly dragged Kent back into it with an exhilarating stand of 109, before the latter went for 32 when he tried to ramp Ball and was caught by Baker.The 18th over proved pivotal. Billings smeared Gregory through cover to reach his century and he celebrated by leaping in the air before doing a baby-rocking motion. Evison then hit successive fours to leave Kent needing just 10 from the last two.When Billings was caught by Dickson on the boundary Kent still needed six off the last over, but Evison cut van der Merwe’s first ball for four and scrambled two off the next ball to complete a stunning win.

The opener made 131 but no one else reached 20 for Australia A

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Sep-2023New Zealand A made it back-to-back victories in the four-day series despite a defiant century from Australia A opener Caleb Jewell on the final day of the pink-ball game in Mackay.Jewell made a brilliant 131 before he was last-man out, but the next-highest score in the chase was 19 as the home side struggled to combat the New Zealand A pace attack on tricky conditions.Over the course of four A-team first-class matches played between the teams in April and this series, New Zealand A have won three of them with the other drawn.Having been set 302, following Tom Bruce’s unbeaten century, Australia A made a solid start during an overcast first session until Cameron Bancroft was caught at second slip. They had then reached 80 for 1 when, moments before rain stopped play, Tim Ward was caught behind.When play resumed, captain Nathan McSweeney edged to slip against the impressive William O’Rourke. Campbell Kellaway survived a huge appeal for caught behind only to top edge to square leg moments later, but Jewell continued to score freely as he dominated the innings.He went to a 120-ball century, his fifth in first-class cricket, and while he was at the crease Australia A had a good chance of chasing down the runs. However, he could not find anyone to stay with him long enough.Josh Philippe, who made a superb hundred in the first innings, drove to mid-off and Mitchell Perry was brilliantly caught at backward point by Adithya Askok.Nathan McAndrew did not appear convinced by his caught-behind decision and there was too much left for the bowlers to do. An injured Ben Dwarshuis came out at No. 11 but did not have to face a ball with Jewell clubbing to deep square leg.The teams now meet in three one-day games on September 10, 13 and 15.

Both batters hit fifties in a 149-run stand to put India in a strong position before a couple of late strikes kept the hosts in the contest

Hemant Brar14-Dec-20222:35

Jaffer: A typical Pujara innings where he soaks up all the pressure

India 278 for 6 (Pujara 90, Iyer 82*, Taijul 3-84, Mehidy 2-71) vs BangladeshHalf-centuries from Cheteshwar Pujara and Shreyas Iyer gave India the advantage on the opening day of the first Test in Chattogram, but two late wickets meant the door is still open for Bangladesh to script a comeback.At one point, India were struggling at 48 for 3 but first Pujara and Rishabh Pant, and then Pujara and Iyer stitched together crucial partnerships to help them reach 278 for 6 at stumps. Pujara fell ten short of what would have been his first Test hundred since January 2019, while Iyer finished the day unbeaten on 82.Related