Last year it was Chris Gayle for Royal Challengers Bangalore, this year it’s AB de Villiers. Another fiery, match-winning hand from him transformed the game in a matter of two overs

The Report by Siddhartha Talya06-May-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Tillakaratne Dilshan’s 71 put Royal Challengers on track in a big chase•Associated Press

Last year it was Chris Gayle for Royal Challengers Bangalore, this year it’s AB de Villiers. Another fiery, match-winning hand from him transformed the game in a matter of two overs, revived Royal Challengers’ campaign, left Deccan Chargers shell-shocked and entertained the home crowd. Chargers clearly had the upper hand when Tillakaratne Dilshan fell after a half-century, their relatively inexperienced bowling attack punching above its weight. But de Villiers brought them down to earth and reserved special treatment for his South Africa team-mate Dale Steyn in a game-changing 18th over.Dilshan’s 71 had put Royal Challengers on track in a big chase but his wicket, in the 16th over, was one of three in quick succession – a stutter that helped Chargers sneak ahead. But Mayank Agarwal showed plenty of fight, thrashing Veer Pratap Singh and Ashish Reddy, both medium-pacers, for sixes to keep his team in the hunt. De Villiers’ subsequent onslaught snatched the game away from Chargers.The visitors brought back Steyn in the 18th over, with 39 needed, and he erred by dropping short first up, to be dispatched for six over deep midwicket. A slower one was slogged past wide long-on, and an attempt at a yorker went awry as it served up as a full length ball that de Villiers hammered over extra cover for a flat six by making room. If brute power lay behind those shots, the icing was the scoop past short fine. Twenty-three came off that over. With 16 still needed off two overs, five balls was all it took to finish things off. Anand Rajan was thrashed over extra cover and down the ground, before being launched over the deep-midwicket boundary. J Syed Mohammad was given the strike to score the winning runs, and he didn’t waste the chance. It was the only ball he faced in a stand worth 42, off 11 balls.The platform for a successful chase was laid by Dilshan, who was by far the more dominant opening partner and made up for Chris Gayle’s subdued stay at the other end. He played a busy innings, cut the ball well, used the scoop, swept frequently and promptly dealt with long hops. He charged out to Veer Pratap to smash him for six over extra cover and a swept four off Reddy underlined his confidence. The stand grew more threatening for Chargers when Gayle began to open up, swinging Amit Mishra and Rajan for sixes, but his fall in the 11th over triggered a slide.Mishra flighted the ball generously and got what he planned for, thanks to Steyn’s expert catching in the deep that accounted for captain Virat Kohli and Asad Pathan. When Dilshan was bowled, 65 were needed off 28 and Chargers could be spared to think they were in the ascendancy. De Villiers had other ideas, and inflicted a brutal punishment that scarred them further in their disappointing campaign, not allowing them a moment of security in a rarely-reached position of control.That performance consigned Shikhar Dhawan’s third half-century this IPL, opener Daniel Harris’ impressive contribution at the top and Cameron White’s powerful cameo at the end of the innings – each playing an important role in taking Chargers to 181 – to a passing mention in Royal Challengers’ outstanding comeback.

Allen Stanford, the disgraced Texan cricket financier, has been sentenced to 110 years in prison by a US federal judge after being found guilty of a multi-billion dollar fraud.

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Jun-2012Allen Stanford, the disgraced Texan financier who came to embody English cricket’s most embarrassing alliance, has been sentenced to 110 years in jail for one of the biggest frauds in history. He was convicted in March on 13 of 14 charges of defrauding investors of more than $7 billion (£4.5 billion).Stanford was hailed as cricket’s American sugar daddy when he bankrolled an international cricket tournament in Antigua that promised to transform cricket finances in England and West Indies and, in the eyes of ECB executives, provide a rival to the burgeoning Indian Premier League.But his financial empire collapsed under an investigation by United States regulators. Since his arrest in 2009, he has spent three years in jail without bail.Stanford, whose trial was delayed on health grounds after he was beaten up by prison inmates, has always denied his guilt and told the District Judge David Hittner at his sentencing hearing: “I did not defraud anybody”.Stanford’s statement lasted around 40 minutes as he stuck to his claim that he did not run a Ponzi scheme – a fraudulent investment operation that pays returns to its investors from their own money or the money paid by subsequent investors, rather than from profit earned by the individual or organisation – and that his financial affairs only collapsed once investigations into his affairs became known.He told the judge: “I’m not here to ask for sympathy or forgiveness or to throw myself at your mercy. I did not run a Ponzi scheme. I didn’t defraud anybody.”Prosecutors had asked for a 230-year sentence, with defence lawyers arguing for a lenient term of 44 months.It was all a world away from the night in 2008 that England and West Indies fought out a Twenty20 match in Antigua for a winner-takes-all prize of £20m. Stanford socialised in a touchy-feely fashion with England players’ wives, waved to the crowds, entered the dressing rooms at will, and finished the night with what was virtually an impromptu cabaret.The deal had been publicised in ostentatious style as Stanford was allowed to land his private helicopter on the outfield at Lord’s, after which he presented a Perspex box filled with $20 million in prize money in front of smiling ECB officials.Stanford signed a five year deal with the ECB worth $100 million in total, an episode from which some believe English cricket has never entirely recovered. But financial experts have repeatedly suggested that his real victims are the investors, whose estimates suggest have received back about 5% of their investment. Cricket, presenting itself as victims in a highly-complex case, has not returned a penny.In Antigua, where financial regulation was relatively lax, Stanford had a private terminal at the airport, was one of its biggest employers on the island and was said to be worth more than Antigua’s GDP. He was knighted in 2006 but after the extent of his fraud was revealed he was stripped of the title.

Sussex cruised to an eight-wicket win over Northamptonshire at Arundel to consolidate their place at the top of group C in the Clydesdale Bank 40

22-Jul-2012
ScorecardSussex cruised to an eight-wicket win over Northamptonshire at Arundel to consolidate their place at the top of group C in the Clydesdale Bank 40.Chris Liddle took 4 for 21 and Scott Styris 2 for 12 as Northamptonshire were bowled out for 129 after James Middlebrook (37) and Rob Keogh (30) had rescued them from 46 for 6 at one stage. Murray Goodwin scored an unbeaten 67 and put on 96 for the third wicket with Ed Joyce as Sussex eased home in the 31st over.Northants arrived having lost all three of their completed games in the competition and were soon in trouble as they slumped on a tricky wicket. They got off to a bad start when Kyle Coetzer was bowled off the second ball of the innings by Amjad Khan.David Willey followed in the next over to give Kirk Wernars a wicket on his debut in the competition to leave Northants on 2 for 2. Wernars picked up a second wicket when David Sales played on and Alex Wakely’s brief cameo of 16 came to an end when he drove a ball from Liddle straight to Joyce at short extra cover.Styris then removed Rob Newton and David Murphy before Keogh and Middlebrook began the recovery with a partnership of 60 for the seventh wicket. Keogh hit 30 from 60 balls before Liddle returned to the attack to have him caught at long-on while Middlebrook was caught on the boundary in the final over for 37.Sussex’s chase did not get off to the best of starts as Chris Nash chipped a catch to mid-on off the bowling of Willey in only the third over. Luke Wright followed trying to break the shackles of some tight Northants bowling as he skied a catch off the bowling of Coetzer.At that stage Sussex were 34 for 2 after 10 overs and a tricky afternoon looked in prospective but Joyce and Goodwin ensured the hosts cruised home with plenty to spare.After playing cautiously to begin with Goodwin cut loose by smashing Middlebrook for the only six of the match and then hitting Coetzer for three consecutive fours to bring up his 50 off 59 balls. He was dropped on 51 by wicketkeeper David Murphy and finished unbeaten on 67 off 74 balls with six fours and a six.

Asghar Stanikzai and Mohammad Nabi played spirited innings but four wickets for Mitchell Starc helped ensure victory for Australia

The Report by Alex Malcolm25-Aug-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball report
Michael Clarke made 75 after promoting himself to No. 3•AFP

It was a historic night for Afghanistan, being just their second taste of elite one-day international cricket, but any hopes of a fairy-tale victory were dashed by the reality as they were eventually outgunned by an Australia side featuring some of the best cricketers in the world.But the key word is eventually, as Afghanistan proved a more than worthy opponent capable of exposing flaws in this Australia side during a spirited run chase.Australia were in control thanks to the contrasting styles of Matthew Wade and Michael Clarke, who each posted 75, and the indefatigable Michael Hussey (49), as they set an impressive total of 273 on a sluggish surface in oppressive conditions, before the pace and swing of Mitchell Starc and James Pattinson ripped through the Afghanistan top order to leave them reeling at 49 for 4.But this team that has ascended from rubble, through lowly ICC division five cricket to the World Twenty20, showed its incredible fighting spirit, exemplified by Asghar Stanikzai and Mohammad Nabi.The pair combined for 86 to send shudders through the Australia camp, mainly because of the momentum gathered along the way. Nabi, having earlier claimed two wickets with his crafty offspin, took a shining to Xavier Doherty and Glenn Maxwell, clubbing three sixes off the two Australia tweakers. Stanikzai chimed in with a slog-sweep of his own and although they did not turn the strike over as a professional side would the scoreboard moved at a very healthy rate.It forced Clarke into a rethink, having to turn back to Starc. His pace again unsettled the Afghanistan pair and saw Stanikzai offer a sharp chance to mid-on where George Bailey could not hang on. From there Nabi and Stanikzai added 40 in just 36 balls before Mitchell Johnson bowled Nabi through the gate from around the wicket.
Nonetheless the partnership left Australia ragged and rattled. Stanikzai progressed to a well deserved half-century as he bravely battled cramp and fatigue.Clarke again called on Starc in the batting Powerplay. The left-arm quick conceded three boundaries to Stanikzai before the captain took a terrific catch at midwicket to end one of the best innings by an Afghan in ODI cricket and effectively end the match. Starc finished with four wickets and was comfortably the pick of the Australia bowlers.Earlier, after one look at a pitch that resembled a strip of shiny concrete in the middle of the Sharjah Association Ground, Clarke did not hesitate in electing to bat first. His assertion that the wicket looked good for batting, if a little slow, proved prophetic as both Australia openers wrestled with their timing early. Wade, re-acquainting himself with opening in the absence of Shane Watson, found timing particularly hard to come by against the accurate and consistent new-ball pairing of Shapoor Zadran and Dawlat Zadran.David Warner found the going a little easier when he was offered some width from Shapoor. He also took the chance to club the left-armer down the ground. But Shapoor was rewarded for his shorter length when Warner edged an attempted cut to a ball a fraction close, to hand Afghanistan their first wicket inside seven overs.Enter the captain at first drop, a familiar sight for Australia fans in years past, but a rare venture for Clarke. It is only the fifth time he has batted at No. 3 since he succeeded Ricky Ponting as the full-time captain.Clarke took his time to assess the surface but his fluency and class were quickly unveiled. An effortless straight-drive for four was a cut-above anything Warner and Wade had played on a surface lacking pace and an outfield lacking speed. Although he only struck three fours and two sixes in his 75, Clarke’s footwork and placement were a feature throughout as he handled the spinners comfortably.Wade was anything but comfortable throughout his 108-ball stay. The suffocating heat of the UAE, with temperatures hovering above 34 degrees Celsius well after sunset, looked to be getting the better of Wade. But he stuck to his task admirably to register his highest ODI score and provide the perfect foil to Clarke as they combined for a 131-run stand.They were undone by Afghanistan’s most experienced spinners in Samiullah Shenwari and Nabi. Shenwari’s wrist spin was particularly good, save for two rank full tosses that were both dispatched by Clarke. He should have claimed both wickets, having had Wade dropped by his captain Nawroz Mangal at midwicket on 32. Wade eventually fell to a sharp return catch by the offspinner Nabi, before Shenwari became only the sixth man in ODIs to spin one past the advancing blade of Clarke to have the Australia captain stumped.Australia’s debutant, Victoria allrounder Glenn Maxwell, was promoted to No. 4 during the batting Powerplay without success. He holed out to long-on for just 2 before the Hussey brothers did what the Hussey brothers do to tick the total beyond 200. But a brilliant piece of fielding from Gulbodin Naib to run out David hindered Australia’s progression momentarily, before Michael showed how valuable he still is to this outfit with a finishing flurry that only he could have compiled.Hussey and Bailey combined for 53 in five overs. The purity of their striking was made even more impressive by the fact that the wicket was getting progressively slower. It was the third time in four innings that this duo have posted 50 or more together.It was a night of firsts all-round. Not only was it the first meeting between these two nations, it was also the first time Australia were involved in a match in which both 50-over innings were completed under moonlight. The Afghanistan players also took prayer breaks at both drinks junctures as well as the innings break, something also foreign to this Australia side.

West Indies’ focus on unity is not difficult to understand, given the dressing room’s recent history

Andrew Fernando in Pallakele28-Sep-2012″One goal, one people, one team” has been West Indies’ motto at the World Twenty20, and the focus on unity is not difficult to understand, given the dressing room’s recent history. The side’s biggest star, Chris Gayle, has recently returned following a row with the board, while other members of the team have also spent time away, plying their trade in the IPL and elsewhere at the expense of turning out for West Indies.Darren Sammy, the captain, has one of the most unique challenges in world cricket and has presented a united front as the team ignited their World Twenty20 campaign with a solid 16-run victory over England in the Super Eights. “I just keep everybody cool,” Sammy said. “We have a lot of cool guys so when you’re out there you need to have someone in charge.”When I’m out there I try to get all the senior players involved in decision-making so everyone feels a part of the team. That’s the important thing for us, that everyone in the squad feels a part of it. It’s easy to do that. My character allows me to involve everyone.”Early in his tenure as captain, Sammy expressed a desire to “make West Indies cricket great again” and said the team draws inspiration from their fans in their pursuit of that goal. Tagged one of the tournament favourites because of their batting firepower, an experienced battery of T20 players and the spin of Sunil Narine, West Indies will take a major step towards qualifying for the semi-finals if they are able to defeat Sri Lanka on Saturday.”When we left the Caribbean, winning the tournament for the fans was the most important thing in our minds,” he said. “The last decade has been tough for us. We last won silverware in 2004 [the Champions Trophy]. It is a good opportunity for us to do that here. We’ve been playing well as a team and we have to take it one game at a time.”Sammy used part-time bowlers Gayle and Marlon Samuels in addition to Sunil Narine and Samuel Badree to make up 15 overs of spin in their victory against England. Frontline seamer Andre Russell did not bowl at all, nor did allrounder Kieron Pollard, while Sammy himself bowled just one over. Sammy hinted the West Indies attack would not be so spin-heavy against Sri Lanka, who are good players of spin, but said it was helpful to have the bowling options the allrounders and part-timers provide.”Everyone wants to bowl, so it’s good to have that in your armoury,” Sammy said. “In the last two games Chris has done well for us though he didn’t bowl in five or six matches leading up to the tournament. Pollard has not bowled a ball in this tournament. It’s good to have the back up. We know we have three bowlers who will definitely bowl four overs and we make up the rest with the other guys.”Sammy expected Sri Lanka’s senior batsmen to be key to their chances. Sri Lanka relied on Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara and Tillakaratne Dilshan for over 80% of their runs in their Super Over victory over New Zealand on Thursday.”The senior players always turn up for them and they have a good mix in the squad,” he said. “You just can’t count them out at home. Playing them is a big challenge, but it’s one we’re ready for.”

Martin Guptill is an unsung performer for New Zealand but he is the type of player that England are missing from the top of the order

David Hopps28-Sep-2012Martin Guptill is a fine Twenty20 cricketer but he must have been a little surprised to be feted by the British media ahead of New Zealand’s Super Eights tie against England on Saturday as a sage of World Twenty20.But then these are straitened times. Andy Flower, England’s coach, has little enthusiasm for airing his views in public even at the best of times and the same went for his predecessor, Duncan Fletcher, who is now even more elusive in his role as coach of India. Neither likes to waste words, especially on journalists.Stuart Broad fulfils his captaincy duties impressively when it comes to his media obligations, and hints regularly at his disappointment with England’s top order, but there is little else to bring daily sustenance to the scribes and if things get much worse the view of a Pallakele gateman could soon be given surprising prominence.For Guptill to be capable of the power of speech at all was impressive after his part in New Zealand’s loss against Sri Lanka in a Super Over at Pallakele the previous night. It was his shot that was caught by Tillakaratne Dilshan at long off, leaving New Zealand needing eight off the final ball. New Zealand players have variously described the blow as short by a few inches or half a metre, but whether they measured it in imperial or metric it was still hard to take.With both New Zealand and England losing their first matches, the side that is beaten at Pallakele on Saturday could end the night eliminated – although that also depends upon the result of the other match in the group between Sri Lanka and West Indies. England would be favoured by a West Indies win; New Zealand by victory to Sri Lanka.Guptill was a convenient symbol of what England lack in World Twenty20: a top-order batsman with a proven track record. Instead, England field in their top three Alex Hales, who considering his inexperience is doing all that could be fairly expected of him, and two high-tempo batsman, Craig Kieswetter and Luke Wright, at least one of whom would be better in the middle order.At 25, Guptill has established excellent T20 stats for New Zealand, averaging more than 30, but he remains largely unsung. There are not many openers at the World Twenty20, for instance, who would have been asked “what did you learn at Derbyshire?” even allowing for the fact that Derbyshire are back in Division One of the County Championship.As England lost Kieswetter and Wright within the first three balls against West Indies, and their attempts to regroup were initially racked with caution, Guptill was asked, if he found himself at the crease with New Zealand 0 for 2 on a belter, as England had, how much would he reassess or trust his own ability?”A bit of both,” he said. “Losing two early wickets is a major setback. You have to do a bit of rebuilding but you also have to trust your game and back yourself. You have done it many times before and if you get away from your game you’re not going to do the team justice. You have to back yourself and play your game that is tried and trusted in the past.”It’s a nice wicket at Pallakele, it allows you to play your shots and hit sixes. But it is always harder to score in the closing overs than up front. You have the field up, a new white ball and it comes off the bat a lot easier. At the end the field is out and the ball is a bit older and softer. We played on a fresh pitch last night which was good with the new ball, it skidded on a bit, and then it started to hold up a bit towards the end.”The temptation for England will be to make a change in the top three. Ravi Bopara is only in the squad because England picked it before they realised how badly his form had collapsed after relationship issues and it would be a bold gamble to turn to him now. Michael Lumb is the other option, but apart from one T20 against South Africa at Edgbaston earlier this month, he has not played for England for more than a year so he would hardly bring much certainty. Quite why Alastair Cook or Ian Bell is not in this squad as an option is beyond belief.One option that can be discounted is a move up the order for Eoin Morgan; indeed, against West Indies, Morgan, who possesses most of the England hundreds in this top six, dropped down a place to No. 5.Broad explained the logic. “Morgs’ game is suited to finding the boundary when the fielders are back,” he said. “It is an amazing skill which not everyone has. He is not overly suited to piercing the infield when the fielders are in so the risk/reward for someone so valuable for our team might be too high for him to play that role.”If you lose Morgs in that first six overs, and go three down, then you are in big trouble. So it was decided his skills would be best used in those middle overs. He showed how dangerous he could be. We just didn’t quite set it up for him. What we want to avoid is what happened against India when he was bowled in the sixth over.”His frustrations with batting life before Morgan appears, though, was evident. “The No 3 has been in in the first couple of overs in every game we’ve played which is not good enough,” he said. “That can really hurt you. Last night you watched the best striker in the world in Chris Gayle: he never goes from ball one does he? He has a little look, assesses the wicket then explodes.”I think we haven’t got that quite right yet but it is important we do. We need to take a bit more responsibility and protect the wickets especially in that first over. Some of the batting decisions in that first over have been pretty poor.”

Luke Butterworth’s first ten-wicket match in first-class cricket ensured a crushing innings victory for Tasmania over South Australia, whose batsmen again failed at Adelaide Oval

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Oct-2012
Scorecard
Luke Butterworth finished with match figures of 10 for 89•Getty Images

Luke Butterworth’s first ten-wicket match in first-class cricket ensured a crushing innings victory for Tasmania over South Australia, whose batsmen again failed at Adelaide Oval. Butterworth picked up four wickets in the second innings to add to his six from the first and ended up with match figures of 10 for 89 as the Tigers wrapped up their victory by an innings and 30 runs on the fourth day.Most of the damage had been done in the previous three days but the Redbacks still had the slim hope of hanging on for a draw, having started the morning at 6 for 103, needing another 76 runs to make the Tigers bat again. However, Butterworth had other plans and trapped Daniel Christian lbw for 14 and removed Nathan Lyon for a golden duck next ball to take Tasmania two wickets from victory.He missed the hat-trick but it wasn’t long before his team-mates Jackson Bird and Adam Maher claimed the final two wickets to dismiss South Australia for 149. The loss has extended South Australia’s drought to no wins from their past 18 Sheffield Shield matches, while Tasmania have opened their campaign with one win and one draw.Most worrying for South Australia has been their batting. The opener Phillip Hughes, who joined the squad from New South Wales during the off-season, has top scored in three of their four innings and he is the only specialist batsman in the team to have made a Sheffield Shield half-century so far this summer. Their only other fifties have come from the wicketkeeper Tim Ludeman and the bowling allrounder Joe Mennie.”We could easily change a couple of batsmen,” Johan Botha said after his first match as captain of the Redbacks. “Guys just haven’t done it in the last four innings. Strong words were spoken in there [after the match] and said that that could be it, there could be a few guys out. I’m not sure at this stage.”We’ve played seven days and we’ve lost seven days [in the Shield this season], we haven’t even been close. Maybe we should just start winning a day and take it from there.”The South Australia coach Darren Berry was even moved to write an apology to the state’s fans after the loss, which was posted to South Australia’s website. “As coach of the West End Redbacks, I can only apologise for our efforts this week,” Berry wrote. “It was unacceptable and there have been many frank discussions in the change rooms. Our players know it is not good enough. Our coaching staff knows it is not good enough. And as fans, you know it is absolutely not good enough.”We are only two matches into the season, but this is not the start we wanted. Our pre-season was spot-on. We played some very good cricket and all the signs were positive. So to start with two big losses is not only disappointing, it is frustrating and unacceptable for me. I want to assure you, our fans and supporters of South Australian cricket, that this team is better than what they have shown out there this week.”