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ICC match referee Chris Broad has said there was no evidence to suggest that the condition of the ball had been changed by Australia during the Hobart Test

Andrew Fernando at Bellerive Oval18-Dec-2012ICC match referee Chris Broad has said there was no evidence to suggest that the condition of the ball had been changed by Australia during the Hobart Test, after Sri Lanka had expressed concerns over alleged tampering. Broad said the umpires had reviewed the video footage and will not lay charges.”The umpires frequently inspect the ball during play, and did so again after they had reviewed the video footage in question on Sunday [third day]. They found no evidence to suggest that the condition of the ball had been changed,” Broad said after Australia won the first Test by 137 runs. “During the tea interval on that day, I spoke with Australia coach Mickey Arthur and told him that the umpires will continue to inspect the cricket ball regularly, and monitor the actions of all players.”I subsequently informed the Sri Lanka team management of my discussions with the Australia coach. In the opinion of the umpires, there was no evidence to suggest that the condition of the ball was changed, or that the video or photographic evidence would support a charge under the Code of Conduct, so they will not be laying any charges relating to these incidents.”Sri Lanka’s team management had expressed concerns over footage it believed showed Peter Siddle tampering with the ball in their first innings.They alleged that broadcast cameras might have captured Siddle using his fingernails to raise the seam of the ball in the 88th over of Sri Lanka’s innings, while bowling to Prasanna Jayawardene. According to the team manager Charith Senanayake, their suspicions had been raised in the dressing room as they received the video-feed in real time, in the second session on day three. However, the visitors did not make an official complaint to the match referee.”We have the footage with us,” Senanayake had said. “We recorded the game and it’s there for everybody to see. We saw something illegal and have reacted to that. I have spoken to the match referee informally. It’s up to them to act now, but we will have to pursue it further if nothing happens.”Senanayake had also drawn attention to another incident much earlier in the innings. He alleged the team had noticed tampering soon after Dimuth Karunaratne’s dismissal in the 10th over. “It didn’t just happen in the 88th over, it also happened at the beginning of the innings when our first opener got out … they were picking the seam,” Senanayake told News Ltd. “I went straight into [Broad’s] room when the match was over and asked him if he is watching the same game I am watching. [He] said, ‘Yes, we have seen it’ and I left it at that.”A Cricket Australia spokesman had declined to comment. “This is a matter for Sri Lanka and the ICC,” he said.0730 GMT The story was updated after the ICC issued a statement with match referee Chris Broad’s comments

ESPNcricinfo previews the first one-dayer between India and West Indies in Cuttack

The Preview by Siddarth Ravindran28-Nov-2011

Match facts

Tuesday, November 29
Start time 1430 (0900 GMT)Virender Sehwag and Duncan Fletcher have to guide a relatively youthful Indian side•AFP

Big Picture

India’s previous home one-dayer took place in front of a sparse crowd at the Eden Gardens, reinforcing fears over the quantity of cricket being played, but with Tuesday’s match taking place at the smaller cricketing centre of Cuttack, a jam-packed stadium is expected. Even though the the biggest crowd-pullers like MS Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar are missing, tickets sales at the Barabati Stadium have been brisk, and even the practice sessions drew plenty of spectators.A full-strength India would be expected to roll over West Indies at home, but they are missing at least four of their headliners. In addition, they have lost the most experienced bowler in their squad, Praveen Kumar – he was ruled out of the first three one-dayers with an injury. That means the most seasoned of the quicks is Vinay Kumar, all of 11 one-dayers old, giving the stand-in captain Virender Sehwag something of a challenge.India are also missing two of their finishers, MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh, giving the likes of Rohit Sharma an audition for a permanent place in the hugely competitive middle order.Despite India facing these hurdles, Darren Sammy has no illusions of the task ahead of his team, calling the series a “very, very tough challenge”. Australia are the only team to have won a one-day series in India since April 2005. West Indies are boosted by the arrival of Kieron Pollard, an impact player who can quickly transform matches, and Lendl Simmons, their most consistent one-day batsman of the year. Sunil Narine, the unconventional Trinidad & Tobago offspinner whose variations mystified batsmen in the Champions League T20, could also pose problems in his first outing in international cricket.

Form guide

India WWWWW (Most recent first)
West Indies LWWWW

Watch out for…

Kieron Pollard has long had an uneasy relationship with the West Indies board, and despite his superstar status in the Twenty20 format, West Indies don’t consider him for selection. That leaves the one-day format as his only platform for international cricket. And, worryingly for him, if there’s one thing West Indies cricket have in abundance, it’s medium-pace bowling, big-hitting allrounders. Darren Sammy is, obviously, an automatic pick, Andre Russell has displayed his talent this year, and Dwayne Bravo could also be a contender as and when fit.Ravindra Jadeja was a deeply unpopular figure towards the end of 2010, but has won over some of the critics with his performances in the home-and-away series against England. Two Man of the Match awards and a bagful of wickets have secured his place in the XI for the current series, but he needs to extend that run. If Yuvraj Singh returns for the Australia tour, India could be tempted to go back to their World Cup-winning formula of seven-batsmen and four-bowlers, which could squeeze Jadeja out of the XI.

Pitch and conditions

The last time these two teams faced off at the Barabati Stadium was nearly five years ago, when India managed to defend 189. This time, though, it is expected to be a high-scoring match, as most ODIs in India usually are. “There will be plenty of runs for the batsmen,” the curator Pankaj Patnaik said. “I am not ruling out a total of 300. Bowlers will get good bounce and there will be a little turn for spinners.” Dew is expected to play a role, though a chemical spray will be regularly used to reduce its impact.

Team news

The absence of Dhoni means Parthiv Patel will have to be picked, dimming the chances of Ajinkya Rahane getting a game early in the series. Rohit Sharma, returning after a finger injury sidelined him during the England tour, is likely to get the nod ahead of Manoj Tiwary for a place in the middle order. The injury to Praveen could allow India play both their rookie quick bowlers, Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron.India (probable) 1 Virender Sehwag (capt), 2 Parthiv Patel (wk), 3 Gautam Gambhir, 4 Virat Kohli, 5 Suresh Raina, 6 Rohit Sharma, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Vinay Kumar, 10 Varun Aaron , 11 Umesh YadavWest Indies (probable) 1 Adrian Barath, 2 Lendl Simmons, 3 Marlon Samuels, 4 Darren Bravo, 5 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 6 Kieron Pollard, 7 Andre Russell, 8 Darren Sammy (capt), 9 Ravi Rampaul, 10 Kemar Roach, 11 Sunil Narine

Stats and trivia

• India have won their previous nine one-dayers at home. Their last defeat was against South Africa in the league phase of the World Cup.
• West Indies are tied with Australia as the team with the most ODI wins over India in India.
• Lendl Simmons has one hundred and seven half-centuries in 12 one-day innings in 2011.

Quotes

“Fitness-wise, we are stronger as a team. The batsmen are showing signs that they can bat for long periods. Most of all, we are showing a fighting spirit.”

“They are very good bowlers, youngsters who need to learn a lot. They are on the right track, and with coach Eric Simons they are doing a great job.”

A round-up of the second day of the first round of matches in the Super League of the Ranji Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Nov-2010Orissa’s batsmen consolidated the advantage over Baroda provided by the bowlers on the first day at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack. Half-centuries from opener Natraj Behera and 19-year-old debutant Govind Podder pushed Orissa to 182 for 3 by stumps. Orissa sauntered along at less than three an over but still finished the day 34 runs ahead of Baroda’s first-innings effort. Their only moments of concern when 22-year-old medium-pacer Ajitesh Argal, a member of the Under-19 side that won the World Cup in 2008, nipped out two early wickets. A 104-run second-wicket stand between Behera and Podder then put Orissa within touching distance of a lead. In the morning, Baroda’s Rakesh Solanki continued a remarkable solo effort, moving from his overnight 44 to end up unbeaten on 87, dragging Baroda from 99 for 9 to 148. He put on 53 for the final wicket with Bhargav Bhatt, who made 6. The second highest contributor in the Baroda innings was Argal, who made 12, coming in at No. 10.At the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, Tamil Nadu’s strong batting helped tighten their grip over Assam. Opener S Anirudha, son of former Indian captain Kris Srikkanth, compiled an unbeaten 87 and Ranji run-machine S Badrinath made 83 as Tamil Nadu ended the day at 300 for 4, ahead by 116 runs. Anirudha was forced to retire hurt when on 71, with the total at 133 for 2, but he returned at Badrinath’s exit which left Tamil Nadu at 281 for 4. He has a poor conversion rate in first-class cricket, having seven half-centuries and only one hundred, a statistic he will hope to improve when he resumes on Wednesday. The other main contributor was former ICL player R Sathish, who remained unbeaten on 74.Iqbal Abdulla’s career-best score combined with two crucial wickets late in the day from Ramesh Powar put Mumbai in total command at the halfway mark against Saurashtra, who trail by a massive 486 runs at the Bandra-Kurla Complex. Taking advantage of an inexperienced bowling attack along with some overly defensive strategies employed by Saurashtra captain Jaydev Shah, Abdulla helped himself to his maiden century, and, if not for the declaration, was comfortably marching towards a double-century.For more on this match, click here.Delhi seized control over its territory on Tuesday, playing the second day of their Ranji Trophy-opener as if it were the first. Clouds gathered around the Feroz Shah Kotla, their bowlers ran in and made the ball seam, swing and cut. They scythed through the Bengal middle order, and the visitors ended up on with a shrunken 473 all out after starting the day on 313-2. A flashy show of intent from Virat Kohli (51* off 78, 9×4) ensured that Delhi go in at 89-1. After a tepid first day, the game is finally afoot.For more on this match, click here.Uttar Pradesh trailed Punjab by 67 runs with five wickets in hand at the close of play on the second day at the Bhamashah Stadium in Meerut. Punjab were only able to add nine to their overnight score, as Praveen Kumar and RP Singh snapped up the remaining four wickets to keep limit them to 288. Praveen finished with 5 for 72, his 13th first-class five-for. Mohammad Kaif’s painstaking 58 from 176 led UP’s reply, but it was case of missed opportunities for the visitors, as four of their top five batsman got starts, but failed to convert them into big scores. Gujarat piled up 379 against Railways, aided by Siddharth Trivedi’s career best 65, before reducing the home side to 64 for 3 at the Karnail Singh Stadium in Delhi. Trivedi came to the crease with the score 298 for 8, and promptly set about the Railways bowling. His 65 came from just 57 deliveries, and included 11 fours. He added 78 with Sahil Yadav for the ninth-wicket to give Gujarat the momentum in the match. Trivdei followed up his heroics with the bat by snaring Faiz Fazal and Sanjay Bangar as Railways stumbled to 20 for 3. TP Sing and Yere Goud then prevented any further damage with a 44-run stand.Haryana crawled to 316 against Himachal Pradesh at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala. Hemang Badani led the way with 65, an innings that contained nine fours and a six, but it was slow going for the batsman, who faced 183 balls. Six bowlers shared the wickets, with part-time left-arm spinner Mukesh Sharma’s 2 for 8 from six overs the best of the bunch. Sanjay Budhwar reduced HP to 36 for 2, but opener Bhavin Thakkar (58) and captain Paras Dogra (12) made sure there would be no more hiccups.

Yorkshire’s Andrew Gale starred against his own countrymen with a hard-earned 96, but ultimately he was powerless to prevent the England Performance Squad from sweeping to a comprehensive nine-wicket win

Cricinfo staff03-Dec-2009
ScorecardYorkshire’s Andrew Gale starred against his own countrymen with a hard-earned 96, but ultimately he was powerless to prevent the England Performance Squad from sweeping to a comprehensive nine-wicket win on the final day of their four-day fixture against Gauteng in Pretoria.Gale batted at No. 3 for Gauteng after being loaned to the team from the Performance Squad, and faced 242 deliveries after coming to the crease after nine balls of the second innings. He was eventually the ninth wicket to fall, unluckily run out as he sought to keep the strike with only the tail for company and his century within sight.Instead, it was another Yorkshireman, David Wainwright, who stole the limelight with his left-arm spin, returning outstanding figures of 5 for 28 in 15 overs. His first act was to break a burgeoning third-wicket stand of 82 between Gale and Dane Vilas, whom he trapped lbw for 52, and at 155 for 3, the spine of the innings had been broken.Wainwright followed up with the first-ball wicket of the captain, Shane Burger, and added four more in a seven-over spell, before his fellow Yorkshire spinner Adil Rashid swept up the tail. Left with a meagre target of 58, the EPP raced to victory in 10.2 overs, with Alastair Cook adding 46 for the first wicket with Stephen Moore, before Ian Bell claimed the winning runs.

Just 21 wickets in four days at Trent Bridge as spinners struggle to exploit hybrid pitch

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay 25-Jun-2025Pocketing 12 points for a draw was enough to keep Nottinghamshire top of the Rothesay County Championship table with eight of 14 matches played, although they now find defending champions Surrey breathing down their necks after the match against Yorkshire at Trent Bridge ended in stalemate.Nottinghamshire led Division One by 10 points going into this round but Surrey’s victory over Worcestershire at New Road has closed the gap to two ahead of next week’s second batch of fixtures with the Kookaburra ball, when Surrey meet Durham at the Kia Oval and Nottinghamshire travel to Somerset.Matthew Revis supplemented Finlay Bean’s superb double-hundred for with an unbeaten 93 but with Yorkshire’s first innings stretching to lunch on day four before Nottinghamshire could bowl them out for 510 on a generally benign pitch, the chances of a positive outcome were almost non-existent.Part-time off-spinner Freddie McCann finished with a career-best three for 53 before Nottinghamshire, who had made 487 in their first innings, reached 148 for one in their second innings, opener Ben Slater passing fifty for the sixth consecutive innings – four of them against Yorkshire – in making an unbeaten 74. The players shook hands on a draw at ten to five.All-rounder Liam Patterson-White, who was three for 129 from 52 overs of left-arm spin overnight, could not add to his wickets tally in Yorkshire’s first innings, but the additional 10 overs in his final analysis of three for 146 puts him 10th in Nottinghamshire’s table of bowling marathons.Not since 1929, when off-spinner Sam Staples sent down 408 deliveries – also against Yorkshire – to claim fourth spot in that list, has any bowler exceeded Patterson-White’s 372 bowled in a single first-class innings for the county.Farhan Ahmed, the 17-year-old off-spinner, bowled 50 overs for his one for 126, although it is not the first time he has hit that milestone despite this being only his 13th match. In the draw against Surrey here last year – also played with the Kookaburra ball – when he broke all manner of records in taking his career-best seven for 140 on his Championship debut, he was in his 51st over when he took his final wicket.With little help for the seam bowlers in using the Kookaburra ball, Nottinghamshire had hoped that a used, hybrid pitch in the prevailing dry conditions might provide significant assistance to the spinners. Yet though two thirds of the Yorkshire innings was against spin, there was never enough turn to unsettle the more capable batters hugely.McCann found some turn, bowling George Hill (30) and Jack White – the former via an inside edge – and having Dom Bess (26) stumped, but by then the Yorkshire innings was beginning to peter out. Will O’Rourke departed in a somewhat farcical run-out.Yorkshire’s left-armer, Dan Moriarty, bowled Haseeb Hameed, but Nottinghamshire were otherwise untroubled through the 48 overs that remained in the match – even when Yorkshire skipper Jonny Bairstow, having handed the wicketkeeping gloves to Bean for the final session, brought himself on to bowl in what turned out to be the last over of the match.His over of what appeared to be off-spin was only his second in professional cricket, the other – also wicketless – having been against Durham in 2014.

Nathan Lyon and Mitchell Starc struck during the final session to keep the home side on top

Tristan Lavalette15-Dec-2023New captain Shan Masood batted positively but fell late on day two to dent Pakistan’s rearguard as Australia remained in control of the first Test at Optus Stadium.Pakistan lost opener Abdullah Shafique and Masood in the final session and still face an uphill battle in avoiding a 15th straight Test defeat in Australia.After spending 113.2 overs in the field, Shafique and Imam-ul-Haq had withstood torrid bowling from Australia’s pace attack with a 74-run slow burn of a partnership.Masood had promised a continuation of Pakistan’s proactive batting approach from their successful tour of Sri Lanka in July. But Shafique and Imam were watchful through 20 overs in the second session as they effectively blunted Australia’s accurate pace bowlers.Left-arm quick Mitchell Starc immediately nudged 145kph in a speed considerably higher than any Pakistan paceman. Pacemen Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins, whose first seven overs cost just four runs, were relentless in targeting a dangerous short of a length.While Imam, who made just two runs off his first 31 deliveries faced, entirely focused on stonewalling, Shafique looked impressive technically as he presented a straight bat in defence. Unlike Imam, he was able to make the scoreboard tick over with the occasional elegant boundary.He was engaged in a cagey battle with returning offspinner Nathan Lyon, who almost removed Shafique with his second delivery after an edge flew past Steve Smith at slip. Shafique countered by using his feet superbly to whack Lyon down the ground for a boundary.But Lyon had the last laugh when he had Shafique miscuing to leg slip where David Warner held onto a fine catch. In his comeback from a calf injury that cut short his Ashes campaign, Lyon is now just three away from 500 Test wickets. After coming on in the 10th over, he conjured spin and bounce to finish with 1 for 40 from 13 overs.Masood took it upon himself to lead from the front and play aggressively as he smashed Lyon for a boundary on his second delivery faced. He soon after hit a gorgeous boundary off Hazlewood to race to 19 off 13 balls.Masood quickly caught up to Imam, but he fell on 30 just 10 minutes before stumps when he was caught behind off Starc in a decision overturned on review.Khurram Shahzad survived through to stumps as the nightwatchman with Imam finishing on 38 from 136 balls.4:47

‘Marsh has become the player Australia always wanted him to be’

Masood’s wicket dented Pakistan’s fightback after a forgettable performance in the field. They lacked discipline with the ball and fielded raggedly as Australia batted at over four runs an over to post a formidable first innings total of 487.Australia’s innings was dominated by Warner’s 164 on the opening day as he launched his Test cricket swansong in style. After starting day two on 346 for 5, Australia’s position strengthened through allrounder Mitchell Marsh’s 90 off 107 balls.Marsh took charge in the first session and relished playing his first Test match at Optus Stadium having dominated on his home ground for Perth Scorchers in the BBL. He also justified the faith of selectors who stuck with him over Western Australia team-mate Cameron Green.Having been watchful early against the second new ball, Marsh unfurled his muscular batting with powerful strokes around the wicket as he raced to his half-century off 66 balls.He took a liking to innocuous short-pitched deliveries that were being served up by an uninspiring Pakistan attack. Pakistan’s goal of bowling Australia out an hour into the day’s play quickly eroded with spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi unable to consistently threaten with the second new ball.Debutant seamer Shahzad could not replicate his energetic performance from day one where he hit the mid-130kph mark. He bowled considerably slower at the start of day two and his pedestrian pace was easily handled by Marsh.Marsh eyed a century before lunch as he launched debutant quick Aamer Jamal for six over midwicket. But Jamal countered by reverting to a short-pitched tactic with fielders spread out on the boundary. Marsh resisted the bait through to lunch and was made to wait for his century.But it never eventuated with Marsh falling short of his fourth Test ton after being clean bowled by Shahzad on the first ball after the resumption. Jamal ripped through the tail to finish with 6 for 111 from 20.2 overs in the sixth-best figures for a Pakistan player on debut.Jamal sparked a fightback for Pakistan, whose sedate approach with the bat left a crowd of 17,666 fans often inventing ways to keep entertained in the terraces. But the late wickets of Shafique and Masood had Australia firmly on top.

Fifties for Ben Charlesworth, Ollie Price and Miles Hammond push lead to 341 on third day

ECB Reporters Network07-Sep-2022Gloucestershire 343 and 246 for 5 (Charlesworth 64, O. Price 53, Hammond 53) lead Somerset 248 (Imam-ul-Haq 90, Rew 44*, T. Price 5-75) by 341 runsHalf-centuries from Ben Charlesworth, Ollie Price and Miles Hammond left Gloucestershire poised for a challenging declaration on the third day of the LV= Insurance County Championship match with Somerset at Taunton.The visitors began the day by bowling out their arch-rivals for 248, from an overnight 209 for 8, Tom Price completing figures of 5 for 75.That gave Gloucestershire a first-innings lead of 95, which they cemented by scoring 246 for 5 in their second innings, Charlesworth contributing 64, Price 52 and Hammond 53.A deficit of 341 will mean a testing final day for Somerset’s fragile batting line-up if the thunderstorms that have been forecast throughout the game continue to stay away.After the start of play had been delayed by ten minutes following rain, the hosts added only four to their overnight score before Sajid Khan was caught behind looking to guide a short ball from David Payne over the slips.The Pakistan off-spinner made it clear he did not agree with the decision, repeatedly pointing to his shoulder as the contact point.James Rew, unbeaten on 35 at the start, and Jack Brooks added 35 for the last wicket, the latter top-edging a six off Price before falling for 21 to the next delivery, caught at third slip.Teenager Rew finished unbeaten on 44 after nearly four hours of intense concentration. But Somerset fell two runs short of a second batting point and soon their seamers were again struggling to find any assistance from the Cooper Associates County Ground pitch.Charlesworth and Marcus Harris took the Gloucestershire second-innings score to 35 before Harris was bowled off stump by a good delivery from Josh Davey.By lunch, the score had progressed to 49 for 1 and the visitors led by 144. Soon Charlesworth and Ollie Price were building on it comfortably in the afternoon sunshine.Price went to his second half-century of the match, off 97 balls, with nine fours, before becoming a first Somerset victim for Sajid, caught at slip attempting a reverse sweep.Sajid bowled tightly from the River End until Hammond launched him for a straight six and had figures of 1 for 39 from 17 overs at tea, which was taken with Gloucestershire 143 for 2.The lead was 238 and Charlesworth was four short of fifty. The tall left-hander remained patient at the start of the final session and reached the landmark off 179 balls, with 4 fours.Sajid continued to show excellent control and there was no urgency to Gloucestershire’s batting, with Charlesworth and Hammond content to accumulate steadily.The floodlights were turned on with 18 overs still left in the day’s play. Tom Lammonby supported Sajid with a tight spell of left-arm seam and claimed the wicket of Charlesworth, caught at slip driving with the score on 192.The stand with Hammond had added 68, but occupied 32.2 overs at a time when their team might have pressed for a declaration before the close.With Gloucestershire’s innings becalmed, Somerset opted not to take the second new ball at 196 for 3. Brooks replaced Lammonby, who had conceded just 14 runs from ten overs.The stranglehold was broken as Brooks’ first two overs cost 14. James Bracey survived a stumping chance off Sajid in a bid to further lift the tempo.Hammond moved to a watchful half-century off 137 balls, with 3 fours and 2 sixes, before Bracey fell to a stunning Kasey Aldridge catch off his own bowling, the tall seamer diving to his right to take the ball an inch off the ground.At 218 for 4, Gloucestershire led by 313. Skipper Graeme van Buuren wasted no time extending the advantage with a six over long-on off Sajid.Hammond was caught at slip to give Sajid a second wicket and Somerset could take some comfort from having restricted their neighbours to a run rate of just 2.67 an over.

All the updates, colour and analysis with ESPNcricinfo’s match-day blog

Sidharth Monga01-May-2021Tonight it’s Rohit Sharma’s Mumbai Indians facing off against MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings in Delhi. We’ll see the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard take on the likes of Moeen Ali, Deepak Chahar, Faf du Plessis, Ravindra Jadeja and others. Click here for our ball-by-ball commentary.