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Gordon Drummond has been named as captain of the Scotland team that will take on Holland in the four-day ICC Intercontinental Cup fixture in Deventer June 10 to 13, and the solitary ODI in Rotterdam on June 15

Cricinfo staff03-Jun-2010Gordon Drummond has been named as captain of the Scotland team that will take on the Netherlands in the four-day ICC Intercontinental Cup fixture in Deventer June 10 to 13, and the solitary ODI in Rotterdam on June 15. He takes the reins from Gavin Hamilton who is unavailable due to business commitments. Ryan Watson and Omer Hussain also miss out for the same reason, while Dewald Nel is out injured. Freddie Coleman was not considered for selectionOpening batsman Preston Mommsen is the only uncapped player in the side. The 22 year-old has been in fine form recently, scoring an undefeated hundred in the Scotland Lions’ win against Leicestershire second XI, and recently completed his four-year residency after migrating from South Africa.Aberdeen-born Josh Davey will replace Simon Smith in the squad for the solitary ODI that follows the four-day fixture. The 19 year-old Davey has turned out for Middlesex in two CB40 games this season.”Josh is a young cricketer who has been making excellent strides forward this year. He has scored a lot of runs in the Middlesex second team and had a few first-team opportunities. He will be a great addition to our squad,” Peter Steindl, the head-coach, said about the young allrounder.Four-day squad: Gordon Drummond (capt), Douglas Lockhart, Preston Mommsen, Qasim Sheikh, Richie Berrington, Neil McCallum, Gregor Maiden, Majid Haq, Moneeb Iqbal, Matthew Parker, Gordon Goudie, Ross Lyons and Simon Smith.ODI squad: Gordon Drummond (capt), Douglas Lockhart, Preston Mommsen, Qasim Sheikh, Josh Davey, Richie Berrington, Neil McCallum, Gregor Maiden, Majid Haq, Matthew Parker, Gordon Goudie, Moneeb Iqbal and Ross Lyons.

Their unbroken 195-run stand lifted India from 144 for 6 on an unusual day of Test cricket in India

Sidharth Monga19-Sep-20241:39

Why did India’s top order struggle in the first session?

On a day that many rhythms of Test cricket in India were meddled with, one incontrovertible truth of India’s recent dominant era remained steadfast: teams can compete with the India batters but don’t have the depth to outdo their lower-middle order. Who knows if Chennai boy R Ashwin, who turned 38 two days before the Test, will play another Test in Chennai? Or indeed the Chennai Super King Ravindra Jadeja? If it is their last, they started the first day in style, rescuing India from 144 for 6 with an unbroken 195-run partnership.Among the two nearly inseparable spin twins, Ashwin was the better batter on the day as he scored his sixth Test hundred, leaving his fellow Chennai people in awe at the rasping shots whose sound reverberated in the stands. Jadeja wasn’t much behind, though, ending the day unbeaten on 86.The pain of watching an Indian seventh wicket breaking their hearts might not be something new for Bangladesh but the way they got to the seventh wicket was unlike any other Test day in recent memory. For the first time in seven years, a side chose to bowl in a Test in India involving India. Even India said they would have done the same. And not because the preparation of the pitch had been hampered by rain: this slightly green, damp pitch was created by design during a week in which temperature records have been broken in Chennai.The overcast sky only reassured the sides it was worth risking batting last in India. Then a Vernon Philander-like, wobble-seam line-and-length bowler, Hasan Mahmud, wrecked the top order with gentle seam movement. India recovered briefly from 34 for 3, thanks to some ordinary bowling around Mahmud, but Bangladesh came back in the second session to take three more quick wickets.Then Ashwin started driving, and punching and pulling and slogging. Jadeja joined. And a whole new game unfolded. Until then Mahmud controlled India. Even when Taskin Ahmed and tearaway Nahid Rana wasted the new ball by bowling too short or too full, Mahmud was unerring. Rohit Sharma was tested thoroughly with seam movement either way before he edged one to second slip. Shubman Gill feathered one down the leg side, but he never looked at ease in his eight-ball stay. Virat Kohli came out full of intent, but that carries a big risk, which ended in an edge away from the body.2:12

What’s special Mahmud’s opening spell in Chennai?

Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant, playing his first Test in nearly 700 days, then added 62 for the fourth wicket against some indifferent bowling. Jaiswal made this his sixth straight home Test in which he has gone past 50. Pant began to look dangerous and by lunch India had wrested the initiative. After lunch, though, Pant fell to an afterthought of a cut shot, a stroke of luck for the persistent Mahmud.Taskin and Rana then chipped in with a much better session. The ball still seamed around, although not as much as the first session, and they presented a sterner test by bowling the good length. Rana eventually did Jaiswal in with extra pace, nicking him off, and the serene-looking KL Rahul fell to a stunning catch by Zakir Hasan at short leg.While Mehidy Hasan Miraz might have got that big wicket of Rahul, the spinners generally failed to provide any control to the Bangladesh captain Najmul Hasan. In effect, he never had a complete attack to operate with. Mahmud kept them in single-handedly in the first session, and when the other quicks got their act together, they didn’t have spinners keeping them fresh.Related

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It is easy to say all that, but at 144 for 6, it takes some doing to expose this lack of depth. Ashwin began that as soon as he walked to huge cheers; in fact the cheers started as soon as Rahul fell, a treatment reserved only for batters preceding Tendulkar and Kohli. He got a single first ball, and then punched the pace of Rana for a four second ball.There have been many rescue acts carried out by Ashwin and Jadeja, but none so emphatic. There was some flair to how Ashwin batted, staying on the back foot, meeting balls at the top of the bounce, and crashing them through covers and square leg. Jadeja played more of an old-fashioned knock, opening up only after getting himself in, but never missing out on a scoring opportunity. Ashwin, though, batted like he had never been out of Chepauk.As the ball got softer, as the runs began to flow, the field had to spread, and the spinners kept providing easy boundaries. At various points, the two had looking at each other in awe. When Ashwin ramped the pace of Rana over slips for four, Jadeja looked like he was fortunate to have the best seat in the house. Ashwin returned the compliment at one flat slog-sweep from Jadeja. If the edge did arrive, Bangladesh had lost any rights to have enough catchers in place.Six minutes before stumps, Ashwin got to his hundred in just 108 balls to send the home crowd into raptures. Jadeja celebrated it with a drilled boundary back over the bowler in the same over to enter the 80s. Just a gentle reminder that it wasn’t all over, and Bangladesh will have to face them again on day two.

Marcus Harris resists with unbeaten century but visitors prove too strong on final day

ECB Reporters Network21-May-2023 Durham 445 (Clark 100, de Leede 65, Coughlin 59*, Borthwick 53) and 272 for 4 dec (Jones 121*) beat Gloucestershire 292 (Charlesworth 71, Harris 52, Patel 5-113, Potts 3-43) and 300 (Harris 122*, Patel 5-96) by 125 runsAjaz Patel finished with match figures of 10 for 209 as Durham cemented their position as Second Division leaders with a 125-run LV= Insurance County Championship win over Gloucestershire at Bristol.But the visitors were made to wait to complete a comprehensive victory by Marcus Harris, who recorded his 26th first-class century, and Josh Shaw, whose contribution of 44 to a stubborn eighth-wicket stand of 88 was a career-best first-class score.Harris carried his bat to finish unbeaten on 122, off 195 balls, with 15 fours. But it was never going to be enough as New Zealand Test left-arm spinner Patel followed up his five for 113 in the first innings with five for 96.Gloucestershire were bowled out for 300 before lunch on the final day and remain in search of a first win. They took four points from the match, while Durham’s 23 from a fourth victory in six games strengthened their lead at the top of the table.At 181 for six at the start of play, the hosts required an unlikely 245 to win. But Harris was unbeaten on 71 and his team could take some encouragement from clear blue skies and a placid batting surface.Matt Taylor helped Harris add 21 to the total, but with his score on 12, he missed a defensive prod and was pinned lbw by Patel, who bowled the first 11 overs of the day from the Pavilion End.Harris looked to survive a difficult chance off Patel on 90 when he edged a ball at ankle height just out of the reach of slip Matthew Potts.It was all the good fortune the left-handed opener needed to reach three figures off 163 balls, advancing down the pitch to hit Patel over mid-on for the 13th boundary.Shaw provided solid support and gradually grew in confidence, smacking Patel to the long-on boundary and then pulling Ben Raine for another four.A single to square-leg off Bas de Leede took Shaw past his previous best first class score of 42, but he had added only a single when snapped up by Potts at slip off a Patel delivery that turned from outside leg stump.Shaw had hit six fours and a pulled six off Scott Borthwick, but his departure signalled the end of any slim Gloucestershire hopes.Zaman Akhter lasted only four deliveries before being bowled by Potts, who finished with three for 43 from 19.2 overs.Ajeet Dale hit a couple of defiant boundaries before being last man out, caught at cover to give Patel his fifth wicket of the innings and tenth of the match.Harris walked off undefeated, but the Australian’s valiant efforts only served to highlight the batting frailties of team-mates in an injury-hit side.Durham could take plenty of positives from another impressive display, which will take them into the switch to T20 cricket in great heart.

ICC has adjusted playing conditions in an attempt to enable matches to take place as scheduled

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Feb-2022Matches at the Women’s ODI World Cup in New Zealand could go ahead with nine players in a team in order to keep the competition going amid Covid-19.ICC’s head of events Chris Tetley confirmed on Thursday that the playing conditions would allow teams to field a reduced side should they be struck by a Covid outbreak in their squad, supplemented by substitute fielders from within the management and coaching staff.”If it becomes necessary we would allow a team to field nine players as an exception for this environment,” Tetley said. “And if they had female substitutes from within their management team, we would allow two substitutes to play – non-batting, non-bowling – to enable a game to take place.”Related

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Teams had already been permitted to bring up to three travelling reserves with them for the tournament who can be switched in and out of the main 15-player squads if anyone contracts Covid.Tetley added that rescheduling fixtures would be considered if needed, although said there were “logistical constraints” around the tournament.”We’ll be asking teams to show maximum flexibility and we’ll be as flexible as possible if the need arises to fulfil our objective, which is to get the games on,” he said.New Zealand is currently experiencing a steep rise in Covid-19 cases since the Omicron variant got into the community with more than 6000 reported on Thursday.The country is operating under a ‘red’ setting of a traffic light system which severely reduces attendance at sports evenings, but tournament CEO Andrea Nelson said that they were hopeful of being able to have small numbers of spectators at group matches.”Under the red traffic light setting we can currently operate in pods of 100. We are taking it week-by-week as we work our way through, but in the first week it is likely there will be some availability at matches,” she said.”Unfortunately, at some venues we will have to cancel existing ticket holders. That’s not something we want to do, and we are working really hard to see how many people we can get into the stadiums.”The tournament begins on March 4 when hosts New Zealand face West Indies in Mount Maunganui.

Laura Kimmince smashed 40 not out from 17 balls to take Brisbane Heat home, while Annabel Sutherland and Carly Leeson produced career-bests as both Melbourne teams notched wins

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Nov-2020A stunning display of hitting from Laura Kimmince helped the Brisbane Heat steal victory from the Perth Scorchers and put them one step closer to a guaranteed finals berth.The Heat slumped to 5 for 87 in the 15th over chasing the Scorchers’ target of 138. That left the Heat needing 50 from 34 balls with just five wickets in hand. But Kimmince, who delivered a 10-ball 23 in a winning chase against Sydney Sixers on Tuesday, produced another staggering cameo smashing an unbeaten 40 from just 17 balls to see her side home with four balls to spare.Some of her strokeplay was breathtaking. Sarah Glenn had done all the damage for the Scorchers taking three of the first five wickets and was brought on in the 18th over with the Heat still needing 27 to win from 18 balls. Kimmince switch-hit the England spinner over point for six and swept her conventionally behind square for four in consecutive balls.Glenn knocked over Amelia Kerr to finish with 4 for 31 but the damage was done. Kimmince clubbed two more boundaries off Heather Graham at the start of the 19th over to leave just 8 runs to win from 10 balls. Charli Knott hit the winning runs with four balls to spare.Earlier, Kimmince also played her part in the field taking a spectacular one-handed diving catch at backward point to remove the Scorchers stand-in skipper Beth Mooney. The left-hander was cruising on 49 with the Scorchers on track to post a score above 150. But Kimmince’s freakish catch stalled all momentum as Kerr, Jess Jonassen, and Grace Harris squeezed the Scorchers lower order taking five wickets between them. Mathilda Carmichael made 35 from 23 balls to drag the total up to 8 for 137 after five Scorchers batters fell for single-figure scores.Annabel Sutherland lofts over the off side•Getty Images

A career-best 72 from Annabel Sutherland led the Melbourne Stars to an easy win over Hobart Hurricanes at Hurstville Oval.Sutherland was promoted up the order to bat at No.3 and took full advantage making her maiden half-century in the WBBL.Sutherland and Elyse Villani combined for a 120-run stand that began in the sixth over after the fall of Meg Lanning and ran all the way until the 20th over. Villani produced her second half-century of the tournament, making 56 from 47 balls with three fours and two sixes. But she played second fiddle to Sutherland. The 19-year-old cracked five fours and two sixes. Both Villani and Sutherland fell to Belinda Vakarewa in the final over with Vakarewa finishing with tidy figures of 2 for 28.The Hurricanes never got close in the chase with only two of the top six, Rachel Priest and Chloe Tryon, striking at the required rate. Katherine Brunt took 2 for 12 from her four overs while Sophie Day picked up 2 for 24. The pair combined for the unusual dismissal of Tryon. Brunt took the catch on the deep midwicket rope but not without drama. The ball initially burst through her and split her lip open, yet she somehow clung onto the rebound before heading off for some minor treatment. Sutherland also took a wicket to claim the Player-of-the-Match honours.The win ensured the Stars will finish on top of the WBBL table, with two games still to play, while the Hurricanes will almost certainly miss the finals.Sophie Molineux drives on the up•Getty Images

Three wickets to Carly Leeson and a half-century from Sophie Molineux helped the Melbourne Renegades to a comfortable seven-wicket win at the Sydney Showgrounds, delivering a huge blow to the Adelaide Strikers’ finals hopes in the process.The Renegades had won just two games coming in and the Strikers needed a win to maintain a spot in the top four but a dismal batting display saw the Strikers crawl to just 7 for 122. Leeson produced career-best bowling figures as she strangled the Strikers and removed two of their best players in Laura Wolvaardt and Stafanie Taylor. Wolvaardt produced some stunning strokes in her 36 but did struggle for fluency as she chewed 40 balls. Madeline Penna, fresh off a dazzling match-winning half-century on Tuesday, only faced 13 balls and she smacked two sixes and two fours to make 26 not out but it wasn’t enough.The Renegades made light work of the chase. Molineux and Lizelle Lee cruised to a 77-run opening stand with Lee making 48. Molineux kicked on to a classy half-century but fell with just 13 runs needed. The Renegades won with 16 balls to spare and seven wickets in hand to move off the bottom of the table.Alyssa Healy brings out the big hits•Getty Images

The Sydney Sixers ended a five-match losing streak to stay in the qualification race, clinching a nail-biting four-run win against the Sydney Thunder at the Sydney Showground Stadium. Alyssa Healy had provided the batting firepower up front, and the Sixers were well on top when a stunning counter-attack by Phoebe Litchfield took the game till the final ball, but offspinner Erin Burns ensured there wouldn’t be a miracle win for the Thunder.Put in to bat, the Sixers were driven by Healy’s attacking 22-ball 44 at the top of the order. Healy did almost all the scoring in a 55-run opening stand with captain Ellyse Perry (28 off 26). Dane van Niekerk (45 off 39) and Perry kept the scoring healthy after Healy fell, but a collapse in the death overs meant the Sixers finished short of where they might have expected to. They were 2 for 129 with four overs to go, but ended up on 7 for 147.Sammy Jo-Johnson did most of the damage with her 3 for 25, while Shabnim Ismail had struck the key blows earlier, having got both openers.The Thunder’s chase lacked momentum at the start, with regular wickets keeping the scoring in check. At 5 for 81, with 67 needed off 36, the game seemed to have slipped out of their grasp. Litchfield, on 11 off 18 at that point, then found her range as she went on to smash 35 off her next 18 balls.It came down to Burns, who had already taken two wickets, bowling the last over with 18 to get. The first two balls yielded only one run, but Litchfield then hit three successive fours to bring the equation to five needed off the final ball. Burns had the final say as Litchfield was castled last ball, for 46 off 36, giving the Sixers a thrilling win.

Rohit Sharma’s fifth ton in this World Cup has put him on another level – and he has helped KL Rahul click, too

Nagraj Gollapudi in Leeds06-Jul-2019Dhananjaya de Silva tossed an offbreak on fourth stump. The ball was in the slot. Rohit Sharma stood his ground and hit an inside-out six high over extra cover. Effortlessly. It was a full-blooded stroke as the ball banged the advertising board and rolled back on to the playing turf. Two balls later Rohit charged Dhananjaya, without even bothering about the line of attack, disposing the ball high over the sightscreen at the Kirkstall Lane end. The ball hit the railings on the second tier and bounced back on to the turf.In those two massive hits, Rohit destroyed Dhananjaya’s plans and confidence. Sri Lanka had elected to bat thinking the pitch would become far slower in the afternoon and take turn, thus bringing the spinner into play. In a matter of minutes, Rohit threw Dhananjaya out of the equation.The sound of ball hitting Rohit’s bat is sweet. It does not reverberate possibly the same way as the sound of the ball hitting Virat Kohli’s bat. Kohli’s batting looks definitive due to his electric body language. It’s preciseness. It’s compactness. It can be robotic.Rohit’s languid body movements make his strokes flow. You admire the quality of Kohli’s strokeplay. Rohit’s strokes give a realisation that his artistry is simple but unattainable. Yet, there is this instant delight they bring, along with an instant affection for Rohit.WATCH on Hotstar – Rohit’s fifth ton of the World Cup (India only)Ten runs short of becoming the first batsman to make five hundreds in a World Cup edition, Rohit lined up to face Lasith Malinga, playing his final World Cup match. Malinga flung a low, straight full-toss, wide of off stump. Rohit was static. Having read the line, he calmly brought the bat down, opened the blade and punched a square drive that beat the three-man net cast exactly to block such a stroke. The only thing the three fielders – two points and the short cover – could do was stare in disbelief. The only thing you, as a fan, can do is exclaim: “Shot.”The man has six centuries in World Cup history, the same now as the great Sachin Tendulkar, who played half a dozen editions to achieve that incredible feat. This is Rohit’s second World Cup, having sorely missed India’s triumph at home in 2011. He does not want to lament or regret anymore what might have happened. What matters, he says, is being a good head space, something his good friend Yuvraj Singh advised him before this World Cup.Rohit Sharma became the leading scorer at this year’s World Cup during the course of his hundred•Getty Images

Before the 2011 edition of the tournament, Yuvraj was not scoring fluently and was worried. This IPL, Rohit, too, was not striking fluently and the big scores were absent. But by being in a “good space”, Rohit has managed to get over his insecurities and doubts. Being in a good space has allowed him to create a good energy in the dressing room. It has allowed him to help his new-found opening partner KL Rahul settle down.Both men were brought together in the needle contest against Pakistan for the first time. Rahul scored a half-century, Rohit a century, the pair setting up the highest opening stand in India-Pakistan contests in the World Cup. Then against Afghanistan, in the following match, they barely managed to get double digits in the first half of the first Powerplay segment. Their lack of intent forced even Tendulkar to question their approach. Against Bangladesh, Rohit and Rahul scored 69 runs in the first Powerplay, India’s best start. Against Sri Lanka was their second-best, as India made 59 in the first 10 overs.Rahul maintained an even tempo as he constructed his maiden World Cup century. It took him a lot of belief, a lot of frustration, a lot of patience. He did it eventually. His reaction – just like Rohit’s – upon reaching the century, was solemn: a wave to the dressing room and the fans. The start-stop-stutter routine prevalent in his previous innings was not repeated.WATCH on Hotstar – KL Rahul’s 118-ball 111 (India only)Rahul was thankful to Rohit, when he spoke to former India batsman VVS Laxman during the post-match chat with Star India. The beauty of his senior opening partner’s success was in the “ease” with which he has been able to score the runs. “The way he has been able to change his gears, the way he has been able to manoeuvre and hit gaps is just outstanding to see. It just takes the pressure off me.”The vulnerability of the lower order must have been on the Rohit’s mind, considering he did not accelerate as fluidly as in the past, where he would end up with massive scores. Against England, where India chased for the second time, Rohit scored a century, but it lacked the oomph and the command. Worse, he could not carry on till the end.But in the last two matches, both openers have finally established the chemistry that openers need. Both Rohit and Rahul have alternated to pile pressure on the opposition. The runs have flowed. The middle order worries have not vanished, but subsided. Amazingly, the openers’ success – including Shikhar Dhawan, who scored a half-century and a ton in the two innings he played before injury ruled him out – has not allowed Kohli to get enough batting time on several occasions. Kohli will not lose sleep as long as his men are performing their roles.Rohit and Rahul were clinical in the chase as they flattened Sri Lanka. Even Malinga, magical against England, was rendered ineffective. As Rohit said later, it was important India keep ticking all the boxes they wanted to before the semi-finals where they could not afford many mistakes.At a personal level, the biggest success for Rohit this World Cup has been his discipline. His hunger.Talking to Sanjay Manjrekar during a post-match chat with the host broadcaster, Rohit described that hunger nicely. “I come out thinking that I have not played any ODIs,” he said. “I have not got any hundreds in the tournament. It is just the first game in the tournament.”Chris Gayle keeps telling the world he is the Universe Boss. He once was. Rohit Sharma is the true Universe Boss in ODI cricket. And when he bosses around, India boss around.

The New Zealand fast bowler arrived and trained with the squad ahead of their match against Delhi Daredevils

Vishal Dikshit14-Apr-2018Mumbai Indians have brought in New Zealand fast bowler Adam Milne as a replacement for the injured Pat Cummins, who was ruled out of the season and did not arrive in India. Milne will join Jasprit Bumrah, Mustafizur Rahman and former New Zealand team-mate Mitchell McClenaghan in Mumbai’s pace attack.Though neither the IPL nor the franchise had announced Milne having joined the team, he has already linked up with the Mumbai squad and trained ahead of the side’s third game, against Delhi Daredevils, at Wankhede Stadium on Saturday. Milne had played five IPL matches across two previous seasons – 2016 and 2017 – for Royal Challengers Bangalore.At Mumbai, Milne will also be working under bowling coach Shane Bond, his idol while growing up and with whom he had worked with when Bond was New Zealand’s bowling coach. Milne has played 70 T20s so far and taken 83 wickets with economy rate of 7.77; he’s also had good form for Central Districts on the domestic circuit in New Zealand.He is Mumbai’s second replacement fast bowler after McClenaghan was drafted in for Australia’s Jason Behrendorff, who was also ruled out with an injury.

Daniel Marsh has been ousted as Tasmania coach, effective immediately, following an extended run of under-performance by the Tigers in the Sheffield Shield

Daniel Brettig16-Feb-2017Daniel Marsh has been ousted as Tasmania coach, effective immediately, following an extended run of under-performance by the Tigers in the Sheffield Shield. He was fired less than a year after signing a new two-year contract with the state.The decision to remove Marsh is the third major change at Cricket Tasmania in little more than a month, after the Sydney Thunder general manager Nick Cummins was appointed as the association’s new chief executive in January. The Hobart Hurricanes had also announced they would not be renewing the contract of their coach, Damien Wright, following the BBL.”The players are the ones who perform on the field, but the Head Coach has ultimate responsibility for results and performance,” Andrew Gaggin, the Cricket Tasmania chairman, said. “On behalf of the Cricket Tasmania Board, management, staff, members and fans generally I would like to thank Dan for his period as coach and service to Tasmanian cricket.”While Cummins does not officially begin until April, Marsh’s sacking is the signal for a significant change in direction at Bellerive Oval as the Tigers seek to regain the lofty perch they had ascended to in recent seasons, winning the Shield twice and contending on multiple other occasions.Marsh had been captain of the state’s inaugural Shield title-winning team in 2007 and was assistant coach to Tim Coyle when the Tigers won their second six years later. However the Tigers have finished no better than fifth out of six teams in each Shield season since, and are presently comfortably bottom of the table after two losses on the resumption of the competition post-BBL.The state has fared no better in the domestic limited-overs competition, failing to qualify for the finals during the same period. Sporadic appearances by George Bailey, the state captain, due to Australian commitments have been cited as a problem for the Tigers, in addition to the loss of a core of experienced players including Mark Cosgrove, Luke Butterworth, Ed Cowan and Ben Hilfenhaus.

“The anticipation in the public only builds up closer to the event, but if the tickets are made available well in advance, those asking for complimentary passes make your life difficult,” says a BCCI official

Sidharth Monga and Nagraj Gollapudi18-Jan-2016The tickets for the World Twenty20 are likely to go up for sale by the end of this week, with the BCCI saying it doesn’t think it is too late for the tickets to be made available.The first qualifier starts on March 8, but the Indian board is happy to have the tickets up for grabs a little under two months from the first match of the “main” tournament on March 15. However, when the schedule of the World Twenty20 was announced, the ICC insisted that the qualifying part of the tournament be called the first round of the tournament.At any rate, India have set the record for putting the tickets up for sale with least amount of planning time available for the fans when it comes to world events.For the World Cup co-hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in February-March 2011, tickets went up for sale on June 1, 2010. In 2012, Sri Lanka offered World T0 tickets six months before the event. The West Indies provided a five-and-a-month notice for the World T20 in 2010. Bangladesh, who hosted the World T20 in March 2014, started the sale of tickets on November 7, 2013. Even South Africa, who hosted the first World T20, put up tickets for sale three months in advance.The ticketing process is always the host board’s responsibility. In an emailed response, the ICC has refused to be drawn into any criticism of the ticketing process. “It will be inappropriate to compare the ICC WT20 India 2016 with any previous event as the preparation for every event is different,” the ICC said.However, a source in the ICC, closely involved with the organising part of the event, told ESPNcricinfo that everything from announcing venues to making tickets available has been handled in the usual ad-hoc manner. “The BCCI pays no heed or provides reasons for delays,” the source said.That the venues were announced only three months before the event were already a source of frustration for the travelling fan who usually looks for bargains by booking air tickets and accommodation well in advance. The fans looking to travel to India will be left even more frustrated because the tickets are not readily available, especially for an event in India, and you ideally don’t want to make travel plans before securing tickets for the matches you wish to attend.The BCCI, though, doesn’t feel it is late. A BCCI official said the dynamics of hosting an event in India were different, and it shouldn’t even be compared with the 2011 World Cup, which was co-hosted by three nations. “There is still two months to go,” he said, “The first match of the main tournament is on March 15. And it works differently in India anyway. The anticipation in the public only builds up closer to the event, but if the tickets are made available well in advance, those asking for complimentary passes make your life difficult.”Tickets in India generally go up for sale less than a week before international bilaterals or smaller tournaments. A huge chunk of the tickets is anyway not put up for sale with local associations handing them out for free to their members and influential people in their constituencies.

Phil Mustard hammered Durham’s highest individual Twenty20 score of 91 in a
76-run home victory against Yorkshire at Chester-le-Street.

12-Jul-2013
ScorecardPhil Mustard struck 11 fours and three sixes•Getty Images

Phil Mustard hammered Durham’s highest individual Twenty20 score of 91 in a
76-run home victory against Yorkshire at Chester-le-Street.Mustard struck 11 fours and three sixes in scoring his runs off 52
balls as Durham amassed 215 for 6, their joint second highest T20 total.Without their England men and injured skipper Andrew Gale, Yorkshire quickly
slipped to 22 for 3 in reply and finished on 139 for 8. Gary Ballance made 68 and the second-highest scorer was acting captain Azeem
Rafiq with 15 not out.Durham completed the double over Yorkshire but have lost their other
three games and both teams are struggling to progress in the competition.Durham’s previous best was 83 not out, scored by Herschelle Gibbs against
Derbyshire last year, and their first century looked certain until Mustard tried
to run Rich Pyrah to third man and chopped the ball into his stumps in the 14th
over.Rafiq put Durham in and after they took only 18 off the first three overs
Mustard hammered 27 off the fourth, with the help of a no-ball from Jack
Brooks. Sixes over long-on and midwicket were followed by fours to fine leg, long-on
and backward point.The score had reached 62 in the sixth over when Mark Stoneman clipped Pyrah to
short fine leg to depart for 12.Liam Plunkett proved hard to get away in his first two overs until Mustard
hooked his 12th ball behind square for his eighth four to reach 50 off 26
balls. Scott Borthwick helped to maintain the tempo, hitting Rafiq over midwicket for
six and the stand was worth 83 in eight overs when Mustard was out.Borthwick holed out for 35, off 18 balls, then Ben Stokes hit four successive
balls from Plunkett to the boundary. He fell for 23, but Gordon Muchall kept the runs flowing, his unbeaten 27
coming off 16 balls after 17 came off the final over from Plunkett.Yorkshire’s top three totalled five between them as Chris Rushworth persuaded
Phil Jacques to clip to midwicket and Dan Hodgson to drive to mid-off, while
Joe Sayers was bowled by Stokes.Ballance reached 50 off 31 balls but finally skied a catch to extra cover off
Gareth Breese and Yorkshire could do little more than play out the overs.