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Damien Wright, the New Zealand bowling coach, will step down from the role at the end of the upcoming World Twenty20

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Aug-2012Damien Wright, the New Zealand bowling coach, will step down from the role at the end of the upcoming World Twenty20. Wright, in a New Zealand Cricket (NZC) release, said his decision to quit the job was influenced by his desire to spend more time with his family.”I have really enjoyed working with the New Zealand team and it was a tough decision to leave the position. The decision is related to time away from my family and a need to be based closer to home,” Wright said. “It has been a privilege to work with current crop of bowlers and I’m proud of the progression they have made over the past year.”Wright was appointed New Zealand bowling coach in mid-2011, after retiring from Australian first-class cricket. He played for Tasmania and then Victoria, and also doubled up as the Bushrangers’ bowling coach in his final season with them.NZC director of cricket John Buchanan said Wright had played a significant role in his short time with New Zealand. “Damien has done a brilliant job since he came on board and will be hard to replace. He brings a huge amount of passion and energy to the team. We have been particularly impressed with the growth and development of the young fast bowlers during his time in the role.”

Surrey lost their 100% record in Group B of the CB40 League when they had a wasted journey to face Durham at Chester-le-Street

17-Jul-2011
Surrey lost their 100% record in Group B of the CB40 League when they had a wasted journey to face Durham at Chester-le-Street. The match was washed out without a ball bowled following heavy rainfall in the north-east over the weekend. Durham began the day in third place with four wins from six matches.

Muttiah Muralitharan has said that retiring after taking his 800th wicket and helping Sri Lanka win his farewell Test, against India in Galle, was one of the greatest moments in his life

Sa'adi Thawfeeq in Galle22-Jul-2010Muttiah Muralitharan has said that retiring after taking his 800th wicket and helping Sri Lanka win his farewell Test, against India in Galle, was one of the greatest moments in his life. Murali’s 800th was the last Indian wicket in the follow-on, after which Sri Lanka chased the target of 95 without losing a wicket.”I am very happy that God has given me everything – eight wickets, a victory, basically everything. This is one of the greatest moments in my life, retiring this way,” Murali said. “I am not emotional in a way, frankly, I am happy that I have done it. I trained really hard. Even last week, I trained hard to play in this Test match and take it very seriously.”Murali had to wait and toil for his 800th wicket, that of Pragyan Ojha, but he said the landmark was just a number and achieving it was not a high priority. “Eight hundred is only a number. We wanted to get the wickets quickly. You never know in Galle, with the weather, winning the match was the important thing,” he said. “At that time I didn’t think about it, but it came in the end. I wouldn’t have minded if it didn’t come. My only scare was when Lasith Malinga had to go off the field.”I told my captain [Kumar Sangakkara] to somehow get the wickets. We knew the situation in Galle and had the match ended in a draw it would have been very sad. I badly wanted to win in my final Test. We all play for a win. At that moment we would have taken even a run out. It was hard work for the spinners. The wicket had something on it yesterday, and Malinga’s magnificent yorkers made the difference.”Murali also said that he had quit Test cricket at the right time, with Sri Lanka having younger spinners rising through the ranks. “I have played for 18 years and I thought that there are three other good spinners in the side,” he said. “They are 24-25 years old and I am 38. I thought it’s better to give them a chance. I have nothing more to achieve and I thought this is the right time.”I chose to finish my career at the end of the first Test because I know my knees are not going to last to bowl 50-60 overs. If I am there it will be four spinners and only two can play. I will be blocking the place of another young spinner.”Murali also had praise for the curator at Galle, Jayananda Warnaweera, and thanked him for helping make his farewell memorable. “Galle is one of my favourite grounds because there is always a result. Warnaweera prepares good wickets and we won the match in four days. He gave me a good farewell and the way he decorated the stadium was unbelievable.”

Kuhnemann took 4 for 67 but Tasmania will resume play on the final day at 41 chasing 429 for victory against South Australia

AAP08-Dec-2024Tasmania hit back with the ball thanks to Matt Kuhnemann’s four-wicket haul but still face a daunting fight for survival on the final day of their Sheffield Shield match against South Australia at Bellerive Oval.The Tigers went to stumps on day three at 41 for 1 chasing 429 for victory, with Jake Weatherald and Tim Ward at the crease. Tasmania lost Nivethan Radhakrishnan early in their run chase when the opener was bowled by Nathan McAndrew.The Tigers have a big mountain to climb to win, or even draw, the match. South Australia took control of the contest by posting 398 for 6 declared in their first innings and skittling Tasmania for 203, with McAndrew, Liam Scott and Henry Thornton each bagging three wickets.Things were looking even more dire for Tasmania as South Australia moved to 117 for 0 and 211 for 3 in their second innings.But the Tigers’ attack hit back hard, sparking a collapse of 6 for 22 before South Australia declared at 233 for 9.Conor McInerney (75 off 73 balls), Henry Hunt (31 off 57) and Jason Sangha (61 off 92) had set an excellent platform for South Australia before Tasmania clicked into gear.Kuhnemann, who has his eyes on a Test recall for the tour of Sri Lanka, was the chief destroyer with 4 for 67.Kuhnemann produced a spectacular one-handed catch off his own bowling to remove Hunt, and bowled Scott and Jake Fraser-McGurk as they attempted to heave him for six.Nathan McAndrew became his fourth scalp, with paceman Gabe Bell the only other multiple wicket-taker for the Tigers.

He is alleged to have attempted to convince players to fix in the 2020 Lanka Premier League

Andrew Fidel Fernando06-Sep-2023Former Sri Lanka offspinner Sachithra Senanayake has been arrested by Sri Lanka Police on Wednesday, on charges related to match-fixing. According to the police’s media division, he is due to be produced in court in the next 24 hours.Senanayake, 38, is alleged to have attempted to convince players to fix in the 2020 Lanka Premier League. Although he was not himself a player in this tournament, and is understood to have been overseas at the time, Senanayake is alleged to have contacted more than one player taking part in the LPL. This information was then allegedly conveyed to the tournament’s anti-corruption officers.The arrest was made under the Prevention of Offences Relating to Sports Act, which was introduced in 2019. Under this law, “any person who solicits, entices, persuades, or instructs any person… to influence the result, progress, conduct … of any sport, commits the offence of corruption in sports”. This is the first arrest made under this act.Last month, a court had also imposed a travel ban on Senanayake, after a probe was launched into the allegations.Senanayake had had something of a storied career before being pulled up on his action in 2014. He’d been a key part of Sri Lanka’s triumphant 2014 T20 World Cup campaign, and had also been bought for USD $625,000 by Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2013 IPL season.Although he made a return in 2014 with a remodeled bowling action, his career declined thereafter. He played the last of his 49 ODIs in December 2015, and the last of his 24 T20Is in 2016. He also played one Test in 2013, but didn’t take any wickets.

Some swing was available in Cuttack on the eve of the match, but Parnell expects conditions to be fairly tough for bowlers

Firdose Moonda11-Jun-20222:58

Do India need to make changes to their bowling attack?

Big picture

The series got off to a blockbuster start in Delhi with India posting their highest T20I score against South Africa, who completed their highest successful chase in response.Given that India are without even more players than they initially planned for after KL Rahul and Kuldeep Yadav were both ruled out on the eve of the first match, the result may not sting too much and there’s more than enough time to make up for it. India can’t ask for more from their batters, but they may want to consider how best to use Hardik Pandya and Dinesh Karthik in the middle order and when to unleash their IPL bowling finds on a South African line-up that is quietly making a habit of winning from tough situations.Related

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Dating back to last year’s T20 World Cup, South Africa have developed a knack of relying less on luck (or lack thereof) and trusting their ability at the death. Their experienced batters are coming into their own but there are still questions about the make-up of the team that they will want to answer. Their all-round options on this tour are both seam bowlers, which creates more room for specialist spinners. We can expect this combination to change as the series progresses but perhaps not until the direction the contest takes is clear.South Africa are 1-0 up but were pushed to their limits in the first match. How much further can they go? India will want to see.

Form guide

(Last five completed matches, most recent first)
India LWWWW
South Africa WWWWWTemba Bavuma and Rassie van der Dussen inspect their bats at training•PTI

In the spotlight

While India’s bowlers were slayed to all parts of the Arun Jaitley stadium on Thursday night, Harshal Patel initially looked the most likely to wrest back some control. He bowled pinch-hitter Dwaine Pretorius with a pin-point slower-ball yorker in a powerplay over that cost only one run but then was only brought back after the halfway stage. David Miller picked him well and Rassie van der Dussen punished his third over for 22 runs but still praised Harshal’s slower ball, which he called “very tough” to hit. Even after van der Dussen’s blitz, Harshal still managed to beat him with an offcutter that dipped under the bat. Taking pace off may be the best way to challenge a line-up that enjoys the ball coming on to the bat and Harshal will have a big role to play as the series goes on.It’s difficult to be too critical of South Africa’s batting after the first match but the contributions of Temba Bavuma could soon come under scrutiny, especially with so many top-order options in the squad. Bavuma has only played 22 T20Is, 14 of them as captain, and his strike rate is the number worth looking at. Overall, it’s 123.13, the third lowest for any South African with more than 500 runs in the format. Since taking over the leadership, it has dipped to 114.91. Given that he usually has Quinton de Kock at the other end and can play a stabilising role, that may not be much of a concern but should South Africa need more explosive starts, it may become more of a talking point.

Team news

We may have to wait a little longer to see Umran Malik or Arshdeep Singh with India likely to go in with an unchanged XI.India: (possible) 1 Ishan Kishan, 2 Ruturaj Gaikwad, 3 Shreyas Iyer, 4 Rishabh Pant (capt & wk), 5 Hardik Pandya, 6 Dinesh Karthik, 7 Axar Patel, 8 Harshal Patel, 9 Avesh Khan, 10 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 11 Yuzvendra ChahalAiden Markram, who missed the first match after testing positive for Covid-19, has remained in Delhi and will need quarantine for seven days from June 8, which rules him out of at least the first three games. That didn’t affect South Africa too much and after their success in the first match, they may not want to tinker with their combination. If conditions favour seamers, they may consider benching Keshav Maharaj for one of Lungi Ngidi or Marco Jansen.South Africa: (possible) 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Temba Bavuma, 3 Rassie van der Dussen, 4 David Miller, 5 Tristan Stubbs, 6 Dwaine Pretorius, 7 Wayne Parnell, 8 Kagiso Rabada, 9 Lungi Ngidi/Keshav Maharaj, 10 Anrich Nortje, 11 Tabraiz Shamsi1:11

Wayne Parnell – ‘Keeping the guys fresh mentally will be key for us’

Pitch and conditions

The Barabati Stadium has only hosted two T20Is before and in one of them, India were bowled out for their fourth-lowest T20I total – 92 – by South Africa. In the other, Sri Lanka were dismissed for their joint second-lowest total of 87. While both attacks may be eyeing something similar with significant swing through the air available on the eve of the match, Wayne Parnell said he expects it to be fairly tough for bowlers, despite the green-tinged surface. He also anticipates another “sweaty,” encounter. Temperatures will be cooler than in Delhi, with the mercury rising to 37 degrees Celsius, but the 64% humidity may mean it won’t feel too much different.

Stats and trivia

David Miller and Kagiso Rabada are the only two South African players from the XI that beat India by six wickets at this ground seven years ago. Axar Patel and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are the two Indian players from that match.Rabada is one wicket away from 50 T20I wickets. If he gets there in this series, he will be the second-fastest South African to the milestone, after Imran Tahir, who achieved it in 31 matches.

Quotes

There are two things that India does really well: one is cricket and the other one is hospitality. It’s been really awesome being here.”We discussed after the game what went wrong but it was just the first match of the series. Everyone is coming from the IPL and almost everyone who is in the team had a good IPL. So everyone knows what needs to be done in tomorrow’s match and things we can improve upon. So there wasn’t a big discussion because anyone can have an off day. As a bowling unit, we had an off day but that’s okay. We just want to come back [stronger] in the next match.”

Ben McDermott’s outstanding 58-ball 91 goes in vain as Hobart Hurricanes lose by ten runs

Saurabh Somani04-Jan-2021A brilliant innings at the top of the Melbourne Stars order from Marcus Stoinis was matched by an equally astonishing effort from Ben McDermott, but Stoinis’ 55-ball 97* did the job for the Stars in a high-scoring victory over the Hobart Hurricanes.Stoinis batted through the innings for his near-century, while McDermott looked set to also bat through and take the Hurricanes to a barnstorming victory, until he was out for 91 off 58 with six balls to go in the chase. McDermott’s innings ended only because of a superlative catch by Andre Fletcher on the boundary, his second such effort of the evening. Fletcher’s defying of gravity while flying to his right and left was as crucial to securing victory for the Stars as Stoinis’ innings.Related

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The two opposing openers’ efforts mirrored each other. Both began slowly, and then exploded in a cascade of boundaries in the second half of their innings. Both were the lynchpins of their teams’ totals, outscoring all the rest combined. Their pace was the tone-setter for their teams, too, with both sides going sedately at the start and clattering boundaries at the finish.Stoinis moved from 32 off 31 to 97 off 55, hitting 65 runs in the last ten overs from just 24 balls after having gone at just about a run-a-ball before that. McDermott’s acceleration was equally stark: he was on just 26 off 28 after eight overs, and went on to smash 65 off his next 30 balls.A wobbly start for the StarsIt began with a frenetic first over from the pacy Riley Meredith. The first and third balls went to the boundary off outside and inside edges, the second ball was a yorker that almost had Fletcher falling over, and the batsman was given out caught behind off the fourth legal ball. He was driving away from body and the ball was an outswinger that curved away, but on replays it appeared more bat hitting ground than ball.The Hurricanes’ bowlers, led by Meredith, chipped away and the Stars were 49 for 3 in the eighth over, the in-form captain Glenn Maxwell the last wicket to fall at that stage.Stoinis takes chargeThe first ball Stoinis faced was in the second over, and he disdainfully slog-swept Johan Botha for six, hitting it so well that the ball had to be replaced. The wickets at the top and tight bowling early on meant he became more watchful than aggressive, but that was only till he was well set. Stoinis’ step-up was remarkable for how smoothly it was done. He brought out the big shots, punishing seam and spin with an equal hand.The Stars were well served by successive partnerships for the fourth and fifth wickets. Nicholas Pooran joined Stoinis to add 60 runs in six overs, jump-starting the innings after the sedate start. Hilton Cartwright then ensured the momentum wasn’t lost with a sparkling cameo of 36 off 24 balls, taking the lead in a 56-run stand that came off just 5.3 overs.The Hurricanes might have entertained hopes of finishing well when Nathan Ellis got Cartwright and Seb Gotch off successive balls to end the penultimate over, but Stoinis finished with a flourish, hitting four boundaries in the final over as Scott Boland conceded 18.Stoinis had begun the final over needing 21 to get to a century, and his clean hitting almost took him there.He’s got the moves – Andre Fletcher pulled off two gravity-defying catches that were match turning•Getty Images

No Bash Boost for the HurricanesThe Hurricanes looked to follow the template the Stars had set, relying on a conservative start and wickets in hand to aim for a big finish. However, they were even more sedate than the Stars had been with fewer wickets lost. They couldn’t get the Bash Boost point either, being 60 for 1 in ten overs: the Stars had been 63 for 3.McDermott turns on the heatMcDermott hadn’t been exactly fluent at the start, a lot of his forcing shots not finding either the middle or the gaps, or both. The floodgates burst in the 12th over, bowled by Cartwright, which yielded 17 runs. In Colin Ingram, McDermott had a partner who could score quickly at the other end and the steeply climbing asking rate – it was over 12 after 11 overs – meant both had to hit out. They did, and started connecting sweetly too. The stand was broken by the first of Fletcher’s superman efforts. Ingram had carved the ball powerfully over extra cover, and Fletcher ran in a bit too hard but then adjusted and pivoted to dive to his right, horizontal to the ground, to pluck the ball.McDermott still threatened to take the game away, while captain Peter Handscomb also began with a rush of boundaries, until Fletcher’s second effort ended McDermott’s stay. He had thumped a full toss over cover and this time Fletcher ran to his left and dived full length, once again emerging with the ball clutched in his hands.McDermott fell on the last ball of the 19th over, and without him, 21 off the last over was too much to get for the Hurricanes.

Spitfires make it six wins from seven games in thrilling four-wicket victory with just one ball to spare

ECB Reporters Network04-Aug-2019Adam Milne was the star with bat and ball as South Group leaders Kent Spitfires made it six wins from seven games in the Vitality Blast with a thrilling four-wicket victory, with just one ball to spare, in a tense, low-scoring contest against Hampshire at Beckenham.When Heino Kuhn hit a Kyle Abbott full toss straight to extra cover from the first ball of the final over, with Kent needing 10 runs to overhaul Hampshire’s 135 all out, it seemed as if the visitors were favourites to complete a fourth successive win of their own and a third in four days.But New Zealand fast bowler Milne, who had earlier taken 3 for 21 to help to restrict Hampshire’s total to manageable proportions on a sluggish surface, strode in to loft his first ball for two to the leg side, strike his second ball over extra cover for four and then complete another two for a drive to long on.Adding to the drama was the sight of non-striker Grant Stewart pulling a hamstring as he raced back for two and dived for the crease at the bowler’s end, and then having to be helped from the field in clear distress.But, with only two runs now being required off the last two balls, and Milne crucially retaining the strike due to Stewart’s bravery, he top-edged a pull at Abbott’s penultimate delivery over short third man for another four to finish on 12 not out from only four balls faced.As a mark of how hard stroke play was, Kuhn top-scored for Kent with a well-judged 41 from 33 balls while James Vince’s 44 for Hampshire took him 47 balls, with only two fours.Milne was one of four Kent bowlers to record outstanding figures, which offset their fifth bowler going for a total of 56 runs from four overs. He helped to reduce Hampshire to 29 for 3 early on and also claimed two late wickets while Hardus Viljeon took 3 for 15, Stewart 2 for 23 and Mohammad Nabi 1 for 17 in his four skilful overs of off spin.Kent’s reply began with five quality boundaries from Daniel Bell-Drummond but he skied the last ball of the third over to depart for 21 and Ollie Robinson was smartly stumped for five by Lewis McManus when he drove over a near-yorker from off spinner Brad Taylor.Taylor then brilliantly ran out Zak Crawley for 22, hitting the bowler’s stumps on the turn after sprinting across the pitch to field when Kuhn turned down a short single into the legside off his own bowling and Crawley could not regain his ground.Nabi made 14 before carving Abbott to deep cover in the 15th over, and Kuhn and Alex Blake added 32 before the left-handed Blake, on 18 and having pulled Liam Dawson for six, lofted Chris Wood to long on from the first ball of the 19th over. But Kuhn, and particularly Milne, were equal to an equation of 17 runs being needed from the last 11 balls when Blake fell.After Hampshire had been asked to bat first, Rilee Rossouw hit the first two balls of the third over, from left arm seamer Fred Klaassen, for leg side sixes but saw Aneurin Donald sky to mid off later in the over to go for 7. Then, in the next over, Rossouw himself mishit to mid off when Viljeon replaced Milne.Sam Northeast’s latest return to bat on his native Kentish soil was not a happy one, as he edged the pacy Milne to keeper Robinson on one, and Dawson struggled for fluency in partnership with Vince as Hampshire’s fourth-wicket pair could only add 33 in seven overs before Dawson pulled Stewart straight to deep square leg to go for 12.At the halfway mark Hampshire were 58 for 3, and – despite sixes from Chris Morris off Klaassen and Stewart – they continued to find Kent’s bowlers difficult to attack.Morris fell to Stewart for 17, caught at long on, but then came an extraordinary 15th over in which Klaassen bowled two high full tosses – the second of which meant he was withdrawn from the attack. A first free hit had only cost Kent a single but now a second free hit, with Bell-Drummond employing his own medium pace to complete the over after himself starting with a no ball full toss, being struck for six over deep mid wicket by James Fuller.Fuller also clubbed Bell-Drummond for four and, in all, 24 runs came from a nine-ball over and, suddenly, with five overs remaining, Hampshire had 110 on the board.Milne and Nabi, however, restored order after Viljeon had removed Fuller for 17, caught upper-cutting to third man, with Nabi’s off spin accounting for McManus and Milne bowling both Taylor and Vince, who was ninth out.In the end, Hampshire could not bat through their 20 overs, with Wood skying to long on off Viljeon with four balls of the innings remaining unused.

The former India captain says there are “better options than Raina”, and wants Dhoni to bat more aggressively

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Jul-2018The Indian team management may be grappling with questions over their ideal No. 4 in ODIs, but Sourav Ganguly has picked “KL Rahul, eyes closed.” The former India captain felt playing Rahul in that position that would ease the pressure on MS Dhoni, who he pointed out was “struggling” and needed to start “hitting” at No. 6.Virat Kohli the India captain, admitted that an unsettled middle order was one of the concerns for the side as they prepare for next year’s World Cup. Ganguly believed the team management “isn’t looking after their best batsmen properly” and isn’t sending out the right message with the constant chopping and changing.”Your top four have to be the best players; you have to persist with them. Go and speak to KL Rahul and say I’ll give you 15 games, just go and play,” Ganguly told . “India need a No. 4. MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina and Dinesh Karthik are very good at five, six and seven. But a top class player has to be at four.”Ganguly was making a case for that batsman being Ajinkya Rahane or Rahul, who was left out of the series-deciding final ODI in Headingley. Rahul, who started the tour with a scintillating century in the Manchester T20I, managed only 9 not out and 0 in the first two ODIs.”Two of your best batsmen aren’t being looked after properly,” Ganguly said. “I’m not saying it’s deliberate, maybe it’s a mistake, maybe you look at it differently from the other side. From this side, I feel those two have to play at four, else it’s too much of pressure on Rohit Sharma or Virat Kohli. In South Africa, you won, Kohli got three hundreds in six games. If Kohli doesn’t get a hundred, you will find it difficult to win matches.”Getty Images

When Ganguly was asked why India didn’t have a settled look a year on from the World Cup, he said: “Because they don’t give enough opportunities. KL Rahul got a magnificent hundred in Manchester. In the other two T20Is, he was out to one brilliant catch in Bristol. He was not out in Nottingham, missed out at Lord’s and then he’s dropped. You won’t be able to produce players like that.”According to Ganguly, the No. 4 debate isn’t the only worry for India. He also felt a “struggling MS Dhoni” needed to be told to play more aggressively, while they need to move on from Suresh Raina, who had returned to ODI cricket after nearly three years. Raina top-scored with 46 in India’s loss in the Lord’s ODI, but had little else to show for in the remaining two matches, looking completely out of depth, both against spin and the short ball.”I think there are better players around, with all due respect he’s [Raina] played for long periods of time, got runs in ODIs, but not much overseas. But you need to move on,” Ganguly said. “If Dhoni’s got to play, he has to get into positions where he has to keep hitting. If he has 24-25 overs to play, you’ve got to build an innings and he’s struggling at the moment.”He may turn it around, you don’t know what’s in store for great players – he’s been a great player for India in the shorter formats – but at the present moment he’s not been turning it around and it’s been that way for a year, year-and-a-half or probably more. So they need a good player at four and five, and then if they think MS Dhoni is the way forward, him at six and Pandya at seven.”

After scoring his maiden T20 century to help Delhi Daredevils record their biggest win in the IPL, Sanju Samson was very pleased he was able to do “something special”

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Apr-2017Sanju Samson came into Indian cricket with the reputation that he could become the next big thing. He was 16 when he made his T20 debut for Kerala, and in little over a year, was part of an IPL franchise. The teenager’s temperament stood out, to the point that he made a half-century batting at No. 3 in only his second game for Rajasthan Royals. Eventually though, the surprise factor faded, and the pressure got to him. Two middling IPL seasons followed in 2015 and 2016 but, on Tuesday, he took a step towards putting those memories behind him with a maiden T20 hundred that set up Delhi Daredevils’ biggest ever win.”I am very happy about this day. It’s one of the special days of my life,” Samson said at the post-match press conference. “Every cricketer here in India, his dream is to play for Indian team, which is the world’s best cricket team. So if you want to get into it, you have to be something special, you have to do something special. So I’m happy that I played one innings but there’s a long way to go.”He was bought by the Daredevils in 2016, and despite playing all 14 matches that year, he was dismissed for less than 20 seven times and finished with an unimpressive strike-rate of 112. Now, after his team had begun the new season by losing a game they should have won, Samson walked out to bat in the second over and was 35 off 19 balls with six fours by the end of the Powerplay. Then after seeing off the Rising Pune Supergiant spinners, Imran Tahir, the No. 1-ranked bowler in limited-overs cricket, among them, he made 41 off 16 balls to help push the total to 205. There were times in the past when quality bowling would force Samson into choosing the wrong shot, but he was able to keep that weakness in check and later praised the Daredevils support staff for backing him.”I think Rahul Dravid, Zubin Bharucha, Paddy Upton and each member of the team who has supported me throughout,” Samson told . “Last IPL season was not a great season for me, but they supported me throughout and I dedicate this knock to them.”I was 17 when I was with the Rajasthan Royals and since then I have been working with Dravid and feel very blessed to be learning under his guidance. Not too many people get this chance and I feel I am extremely lucky to have him around and guide me.”This success came on the back of a disappointing first-class season for Samson. Besides the lack of runs – he averaged 30.36 from 11 innings for Kerala – he was pulled up for disciplinary issues by the state association. It was alleged that he had left the team in the middle of a match, after being dismissed for a duck, and did not return until 8 or 9 pm. This led to an in-house inquiry and a KCA panel let Samson off with a warning. On Tuesday night, he said lows like that helped shape the person he was.”You need to have bad times to learn what life is about, I think. If you keep on achieving success, I think, you do not learn. If you do mistakes in cricket, or if you do mistakes in life, you learn from it and you become a better person. I think my past has helped me become a better cricketer and a better human being.”