Yorkshire, powered ahead by David Willey and Adil Rashid, completed a quarter-final clean sweep for the North Group to join Nottinghamshire, Northamptonshire and Durham on NatWest T20 Blast finals day

Jon Culley11-Aug-2016
ScorecardDavid Willey was at his belligerent best with the bat•Getty Images

Yorkshire completed a quarter-final clean sweep for the North Group to join Nottinghamshire, Northamptonshire and Durham on NatWest T20 Blast finals day at Edgbaston a week on Saturday.On a good pitch, they seemed to have left themselves slightly vulnerable when their last eight overs added only 46 to a 12-over score of 134 for 3 but Glamorgan lost five wickets for 34 in the Powerplay, after which Yorkshire’s place in the semi-finals was all but guaranteed.Jacques Rudolph, against his former teammates, offered a brief flurry of shots to keep the Cardiff crowd from going home embarrassingly early but as it was they were dismissed for 90 in just 13 overs, their lowest total of the season.Adil Rashid arrived from The Oval to take four wickets for 26 but the performance of the night belonged to David Willey, whose 79 off 38 deliveries contained six sixes and ultimately underlined the disparity in terms of depth of quality that sets these sides so far apart, the one seeking to win a third County Championship in a row, the other at the bottom of Division Two.Yorkshire have some momentum behind them now across all formats, their Championship campaign gathering pace and their hot streak in this competition continuing. Having offered little evidence that their problems mastering the shortest format were anywhere near being solved in the first half of the Blast season, when they won only one of their first seven matches, they now have seven victories in the last eight.Willey is developing the useful habit of producing his best when it counts for most. A year ago he made 100 off 41 balls to power Northamptonshire into the semi-finals at the expense of Sussex on a thrilling night at Hove, having won the competition almost on his own three years earlier with 60 off 27 balls and 4 for 9 against Surrey in the final at Edgbaston.He was into his stride immediately, driving Graham Wagg down the ground four consecutive fours before going after Michael Hogan with a hook for six, then two more strong hits for four.Shaun Tait’s opening over removed Adam Lyth with a slower ball struck straight to mid-off before Tim van der Gugten’s second over conceded only two singles as Glamorgan responded but then an awful over from Tait, with a no-ball for over-stepping and another for a ridiculously high bouncer, was punished ruthlessly by Alex Lees, who lifted the free hit over the long on boundary as 22 were added.It had been Glamorgan’s most expensive powerplay of the season and it was a while before things got much better. Willey pulled a half-tracker from Craig Meschede for his second six before hitting sending two in a row into the crowd off Hogan to be 58 off 29 balls.Lees, who had come close to matching his partner’s aggression, miscued Wagg to long-off but Willey’s assault continued with two more maximums before Colin Ingram, himself on the end of sixth one, produced a loopy googly that finally ended the butchery. Nonetheless, 134 for 3 off 12 was a handsome position.From that platform, 180 for 8 felt like a disappointment, although still the highest score on this ground this season and perhaps 25 over par. Ingram, bravely giving the ball air and mixing googlies and leg spinners, finished with 4 for 32, his best figures in T20, and Tim van der Gugten kept his nerve too as Yorkshire lost six for 35 in six overs and four balls.Tait recovered well from his mauling by Lees and at the end of the innings the quieter dug-out was the one occupied by Yorkshire.How quickly that changed. Tim Bresnan removed David Lloyd with the first delivery of the new innings as the ball deflected off an inside edge on to the base of the stumps, sparking the crash of wickets that left Glamorgan in a hole from which there was no escape.Mark Wallace drove Bresnan straight to short extra cover, Aneurin Donald missed completely with an ugly heave across the line, Matthew Waite, the 20-year-old seamer making his first appearance of the season, enjoyed the sight of Ingram top-edging a short ball to long leg and Liam Plunkett beat Wagg for pace.Now Rashid, so adept at finishing things off, now moved in for the kill and four of the five remaining wickets were his, Plunkett taking an athletic boundary catch to dismiss Meschede, Andrew Salter succumbing to the googly, van der Gugten and Hogan departing two balls apart in what transpired was the last over. The only one to escape the England spinner was Rudolph, who holed out off Azeem Rafiq.

The USA Cricket Association has announced a $70 million deal with Global Sports Ventures for the licensing rights to a domestic Twenty20 league

Peter Della Penna30-Sep-2016The USA Cricket Association (USACA) has announced a $70 million deal with Global Sports Ventures, LLC, for the licensing rights to a domestic Twenty20 league. The announcement was made on Thursday by USACA president Gladstone Dainty and GSV president and chief executive Jignesh Pandya at a press conference in New York City.”Global Sports Ventures has entered into a partnership with USACA and it’s a very lucrative one but not lucrative in the sense that it will enrich us but it gives us a chance to survive and to grow,” Dainty said. “What this will do first and foremost, it will ease your pain in the sense that USACA, instead of running you down for dues, dues will be merely something that you will pay just to belong. But every league, every academy etc., USACA will become a resource so that that league or that academy can become a delivery outlet to grow the sport. So basically it can be matching funding, direct funding, facilities development, etc.”Currently, the USACA remains under administrative suspension by the ICC and has no sanctioning authority for cricket in the USA, including the ability to issue and receive no-objection certificates to and from other member boards. As such, any foreign player participating in a T20 league under the auspices of the USACA could run afoul of their respective member guidelines.However, Dainty was confident that USACA’s suspension would be lifted soon. The governing body had been given a deadline extension to December 15 to meet 39 terms and conditions for reinstatement. Without commenting on whether or not the USACA has met those guidelines, Dainty felt the board would be vindicated in the near future.”At this time we feel good in the sense that the CEO of the ICC said that they’ve investigated long and hard, they found nothing and it is our expectation that we will be reinstated without a problem shortly,” Dainty said.The USACA announcement came on the eve of an ICC delegation arriving in New York to have meetings with stakeholders, including Dainty. The delegation, which includes ICC chief executive Dave Richardson and chairman Shashank Manohar, is expected to meet with members of four ICC advisory groups to work towards forming a constitution inclusive of all stakeholders.Pandya stated that he was undeterred by USACA’s current suspension and its status with the ICC when coming to an agreement.”We have done our due diligence and based upon that, the deal has been finalised,” Pandya said “We all have the same goal. USACA, ICC or any other cricketing body throughout the world is to develop and support the game of cricket which we all love in the US and our team completely believes that since everybody has one goal, solutions can be figured out and I’m very confident that everything will go as planned and things will be done right.”This is the third major licensing deal the USACA has announced in the last 10 years, though the prior two fell apart in relatively short time. In 2006, the board came to a licensing agreement with Centrex International for $10 million over 10 years, but by 2008, USACA ceased receiving funding from Centrex and the deal fell apart.In 2010, a deal was announced for a licensing agreement with Cricket Holdings America, LLC, a multi-layered partnership among USACA, New Zealand Cricket, Top Bloom, Neil Maxwell’s Insite and Podar Enterprises. The 10-year deal was agreed with $9 million available over the first three years based on the formation of a franchise T20 league to launch in 2012 as well as the hosting of T20Is using USA as a neutral venue. However, lack of sufficient infrastructure was blamed in part for the delayed launch of the proposed CHA franchise league, and CHA eventually dissolved.One of the biggest promises USACA president Gladstone Dainty made was that the board would be able to provide central contracts to both men’s and women’s players•ICC/Mainoor Islam Manik

The rights to a pair of T20s between New Zealand and West Indies at Lauderhill, Florida, in 2012 were sold for $1, a move Dainty claimed was to prove USA’s hosting viability for more lucrative opportunities later on.However, this time Dainty is ever-more bullish. According to him, the licensing deal with GSV will provide USACA $70 million over 15 years. One of the biggest promises Dainty made at Thursday’s press conference was that the board would be able to provide central contracts to both men’s and women’s players, saying “a lot of the funding we get will be going directly towards that.” While players may not get “rich”, Dainty said the contracts he plans to offer will be enough “certainly to make them live middle class and to provide all the benefits including medical insurance, paid-in social security.””With this agreement, one of our first order of business is to put a process in place to identify and reward our performing players and our emerging players with contracts,” he said. “Not token contracts. They will be given contracts to make them professional players.”We’ll have a pipeline, we’ll have a winning team. We’ll have a team playing at a really world-class level and those are some of the ingredients we need to take this forward. It gives us an opportunity not only to dream but to live our dreams.”As for Global Sports Ventures, a web page lists its headquarters in Feasterville, Pennsylvania, 20 miles northeast of downtown Philadelphia. Separate from GSV, Pandya’s main business operation is as a franchise ownership of multiple Pizza Hut locations in and around southeast Pennsylvania.

Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza has called for an aggressive approach from the team on the eve of the first ODI against Afghanistan

Mohammad Isam in Mirpur24-Sep-2016Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza has called for an aggressive approach from the team on the eve of the first ODI against Afghanistan.”We want to play all-out aggressive cricket,” Mashrafe said. “We want to begin like we had finished last year. We sometimes have to play defensively, but we want to play our best cricket.”Mashrafe, however, was wary of Afghanistan, who had defeated BCB XI by 66 runs in the warm-up match on Friday.”Why shouldn’t we think of this as a tough series? We should keep that in mind when taking the field on Sunday,” he said. “We will do well if we can carry the confidence that we built through training in the last two-and-a-half months.”

We can give Bangladesh a run for their money – Rajput

Afghanistan coach Lalchand Rajput has said that his team can give Bangladesh a hard time, and is banking on the bowling attack to deliver.
“We get the confidence from the win in the practice match, and definitely, we will take the momentum,” Rajput said. “Bangladesh is a Test playing country, who have done well at home. It is not going to be easy, but, definitely, we will give them a run for the money. We have a very well-balanced team. We have good medium-pacers and spinners, who will get assistance in Bangladesh.”
Rajput reserved special praise for right-arm seamer, Karim Janat, who is uncapped at international level. He revved up the pace against BCB XI and was rewarded with the wicket of Imrul Kayes.
“We have a young guy who just came from the U19s, Rajput said. “He really impressed us in the camp in India. We have experience and youth. It will be great if the boys can perform in such a platform.”

Coach Chandika Hathurusingha felt that the long gap between international matches – one day short of six months – was the major problem for his team. He also believed that the first hour of the first ODI would be vital in shaking off the rust.”The main focus is to win the three ODIs against another national team,” he said. “Not playing for a long time is a bit of an Achilles’ heel for us. That is what we are trying to get over, that uncertainty.”The first match is very vital for us. The first hour is vital for us. It is important that we start well, so the focus is all about winning the first game.”Hathurusingha was pleased with the skills of the side, but said that playing in front of a large crowd could be a challenge for the players.’We have no concern over any skill part – batting, bowling or fielding. It is all about the mental side of the game – getting into the game, playing in front of a crowd for your country,” he said. “We played so many practice matches with the top 25 players in the country. You cannot create that atmosphere. Probably, we play a higher level of cricket, but you cannot create that atmosphere of playing another international team.”Bangladesh will be without their best bowler, Mustafizur Rahman, who is undergoing rehabilitation after a shoulder surgery. He is set to miss the home series against England too, but is likely to recover for the New Zealand tour at the end of the year.In the absence of Mustafizur, Mashrafe hoped himself, Taskin Ahmed, Rubel Hossain and Shafiul Islam would step up.”We had the same attack in the 50-over World Cup,” he said. We will miss the Fizz, but the ones who are in the team, they have a chance to prove themselves. I think this is our best possible bowling attack.”The Bangladesh squad includes uncapped batsman Mosaddek Hossain, who has been a prolific run-getter in domestic cricket. He staked claim for a place in the first ODI by top-scoring for BCB XI on Friday.”Mosaddek is in the team on merit,” Hathurusingha said. “He played very well in first-class and the Dhaka Premier League. We played four to five practice matches and we saw him, and yesterday, he obviously put his hand up. He is really putting pressure on the guys who are in the team, so that’s a healthy situation for me and the selectors.”

Lahiru Kumara has been picked in a 15-man squad to tour Zimbabwe to play two Tests from October 29. He made his first-class debut only a few weeks ago

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Oct-2016

SL squad for Zim Tests

Angelo Mathews (capt), Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis, Kaushal Silva, Dimuth Karunaratne, Dhananjaya de Silva, Niroshan Dickwella, Rangana Herath, Dilruwan Perera, Lakshan Sandakan, Kasun Madhushanka, Lahiru Kumara, Lahiru Gamage, Suranga Lakmal, Asela Gunaratne
In: Niroshan Dickwella, Kasun Madhushanka, Lahiru Kumara, Lahiru Gamage, Asela Gunaratne
Out: Dinesh Chandimal, Nuwan Pradeep, Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando and Roshen Silva

Lahiru Kumara, the 19-year-old fast bowler, has received a first call-up to the Sri Lankan Test squad to tour Zimbabwe in October. He made his first-class debut this month, and, two matches in, he is set to travel with the seniors to participate in international cricket.A well-built right-arm seamer from Kandy, Kumara’s selection has come on the back of an 11-wicket haul in a Youth Test in Northampton. His 7 for 82 and 4 for 52 were instrumental in England Under-19s suffering their first loss in four-day matches in six years at home. He was also part of the Sri Lankan team at the Under-19 World Cup in February and graduated to the Sri Lanka A team a few weeks ago, picking up three wickets from two first-class matches against West Indies A.Kumara was among five seam-bowling options that the 15-man squad captained by Angelo Mathews featured, but Suranga Lakmal was the only one with Test-match experience. However, Asela Gunaratne and Lahiru Gamage have played limited-overs cricket for Sri Lanka. The resurfacing of hamstring problems for Nuwan Pradeep and a back injury to Dushmantha Chameera put them out of contention.Dinesh Chandimal was also not part of the touring party, still recovering from surgery to his thumb, which he had injured during a domestic match in September. In his stead, Niroshan Dickwella has been picked. Although he is a wicketkeeper-batsman, it is perhaps Kusal Perera who will take up the gloves, as he did in their most recent series against Australia – whom they whitewashed 3-0.Opening batsman Dimuth Karunaratne has been retained despite a spell of five single-digit scores, including two ducks, from his last six Test innings. The selectors have kept faith in him after he struck 131 and 68 captaining Sri Lanka A against West Indies A this month.Sri Lanka have armed themselves with a strong spin attack led by Rangana Herath and Dilruwan Perera. Left-arm wristspinner Lakshan Sandakan would offer them support on his first tour away from home.The first of two Tests in Zimbabwe – both to be played in Harare – is set to begin on October 29.

Round-up of the CSA T20 Challenge matches on November 25, 2016

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Nov-2016Cameron Delport’s all-round performance and Dolphins‘ top order steered them to a comfortable eight-wicket win against Knights in Bloemfontein, to earn their second win from five matches. Knights, on the other hand, suffered their third defeat in four matches.Knights’ openers Patrick Kruger and Andries Gous scored 28 each, after they opted to bat, but both were removed in Delport’s consecutive overs after the Powerplay. Captain Theunis de Bruyn then led them to a competitive 153 for 8 with an unbeaten 63 off 41. It was his fourth T20 fifty in his first match of the tournament and featured six fours and a six. Delport finished with 3 for 26.Dolphins hardly stuttered in their chase. They reached 50 in 5.1 overs but lost Delport for a 24-ball 36 on the next ball. Morne van Wyk, the other opener, and Cody Chetty combined for a commanding stand of 86 runs in only 11.1 overs to keep them ahead of the asking rate. Van Wyk fell for 56 of 43 in the 17th over and soon Khaya Zondo sealed the chase with a four in the penultimate over. Chetty was unbeaten on 46 off 38.Lions fell to a third loss in four games, with Christiaan Jonker helping Warriors breeze to their target of 153 with 13 balls and six wickets to spare. The win bumped Warriors up to No. 2 on the points table.Lions elected to bat and were off to a decent start, getting to 97 for 1 in the 15th. But none of their middle over could get going, and it was up to No. 3, Mangaliso Mosehle, who struck 49 off 28, to take the total past 150. JJ Smuts was the most effective of the Warriors bowlers: his left-arm spin accounted for both the openers after they were set, and he was miserly in taking 2 for 15 in his four.Smuts and Somila Seyibokwe laid the platform in the chase, before both were out in quick succession, and a couple more quick wickets followed to put the wobbles on Warriors. However, Jonker then launched his counterattack, thumping 49 off 18 with three fours and five sixes to seal the deal for Warriors.Titans v Cape Cobras in Centurion was a no result, with only 11 overs possible across both innings. The teams shared points, taking two each. The match was reduced to ten overs a side, and Cobras got to 115 for 4 in their allotment, with Richard Levi setting up the innings with 45 off 27 before Rory Kleinveldt put on the finishing touches with 28 off eight with four sixes. Titans could manage only one over in their reply, before play was called off.

The Perth Scorchers claimed top spot in the BBL table with a 27-run win against Brisbane Heat at the Gabba

The Report by Geoff Lemon11-Jan-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsBrisbane Heat’s asking rate had climbed very high by the time Andrew Tye’s hat-trick came•Getty Images

Brisbane Heat became the first victims of Cricket Australia’s selection policy, choking on a run chase of 157 against Perth Scorchers that their big-hitting opener Chris Lynn would normally have devoured for breakfast.Instead, having created the sensation of this tournament by forming the opening pair known as the Bash Brothers with former New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum, Lynn was a spectator after being picked for Australia’s ODI series against Pakistan.It was a stark reminder of how uncomfortably these two forms of limited-overs cricket currently coexist in the Australian summer schedule. The unstoppable side of recent weeks was bowled out for 129 in the last over, finished off by an Andrew Tye hat-trick as the pace-change specialist finished with 4 for 22.In Lynn’s absence, the Heat could not create a sense of threat at the top of the order. His opening replacement, wicketkeeper Jimmy Peirson, lasted all of three deliveries before left-arm menace Mitchell Johnson slanted a ball across him that took the edge to a well-placed Ashton Turner at slip.Johnson’s next over had Sam Heazlett miscuing a straight hit to Ashton Agar at mid-off, and from this unaccustomed position of disadvantage, McCullum skied a straight hit to mid-on one ball after pulling Jhye Richardson into the square-leg stands.From there the mounting run rate kept the pressure high, and wickets fell regularly. Test opener Joe Burns and former Adelaide Striker Alex Ross put on 43, but when Burns tried to force the pace, Agar grabbed a brilliant catch running back towards long-on.Michael Klinger held another running catch to get rid of Nathan Reardon, giving the microphone-wearing Scorchers captain the chance to chat breathlessly to Australian coach and selector Darren Lehmann as the latter moonlighted in the television commentary box, curious given Klinger is vying for national T20 selection.While Ross attempted to bat through the innings with a 40-ball 39, he got very lucky in the 12th over when his reverse sweep against Agar rolled back solidly into the stumps. Like a home-series umpire, the heavy Zing bail was unmoved.Nonetheless, Agar’s four overs for 18 runs were instrumental in slowing Heat’s chase, which looked over long before Tye could snuff it out.Earlier, Klinger had played to perfection the role Ross was attempting, batting through most of the innings for 81 in a knock that combined consolidation and counterattack.Conditions were trying: opening partner Shaun Marsh slashed a catch to third man, then Sam Whiteman hooked another, two overs after being struck a vicious blow to the head by English speedster Tymal Mills. Under a rare use of the concussion substitute rule, Cameron Bancroft entered the fray to keep wicket when Heat batted.Young legspinner Mitchell Swepson bowled his four overs unchanged for 22 runs, picking up the normally silky Ian Bell at long-on and the destructive Ashton Turner off a top edge.Around that damage, Klinger muscled sixes and fours down the ground and over midwicket, including one that Burns caught but carried over the rope. Klinger was finally out with seven balls left in the innings, and recent Test selection Hilton Cartwright could not ice the innings with 13 from 17.The Scorchers total shouldn’t have been enough, but the Lynn-less Heat were not able to keep up, loosening their hold on top spot with Sydney Sixers level on eight points, and Melbourne Stars on six with a game in hand.Perhaps as significant as the loss, though, was news that McCullum now faces suspension for a slow over rate, a punishment that Heat has indicated an intention to protest. They had better. To lose one Bash Brother may be regarded as misfortune. To lose two begins to look like carelessness.

Aaron Finch will lead the side for the remaining two matches, with Peter Handscomb likely to continue as wicketkeeper

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Feb-2017Matthew Wade, Australia’s stand-in captain for the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy, will return home from New Zealand due to a back injury. Wade will return to Melbourne, where he will undergo treatment in a bid to help him return to full fitness ahead of Australia’s training camp in Dubai in preparation for the Test tour of India later this month.Wade, who was appointed captain for the series in the absence of Steven Smith and David Warner, injured his back during training ahead of the series opener in Auckland, which Australia lost by six runs. Aaron Finch, who stood in for Wade as captain in the first ODI, will take charge in the remaining matches, in Napier ( February 2) and Hamilton (February 5). No replacement has been named, which means Peter Handscomb is likely to continue as wicketkeeper.

Australia squad for last two ODIs:

Aaron Finch (capt), Pat Cummins, James Faulkner, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Sam Heazlett, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa

“With Matthew not being fit for Thursday’s game in Napier it has been decided to send him home for an assessment and treatment in Melbourne, with a view to him being fit for the tour of India and the training camp in Dubai that precedes it,” John Orchard, Cricket Australia’s chief medical officer, said. “We are hopeful this injury will settle down relatively quickly and that he will be able to participate in that tour without any issues.”Wade, too, clarified that the nature of injury wasn’t serious and the decision to return home was precautionary. “It’s not a major injury but with the short turnaround between matches and the four-and-a-half-hour journey by bus to Hamilton for the next match, it’s been decided it’s best for me to go home and get some treatment in Melbourne,” he said. “With Dubai and then India I’d say I’d definitely be right for that. I’ll get that bit of treatment in Melbourne and we’re hopeful it’ll be fine by Sunday or Monday, and I can be on a flight to Dubai and start training pretty much as soon as I hit the ground there.”Wade said the lower back injury that he picked up while diving during a routine fielding drill had flared up previously, and the subsequent recovery had been swift. “It’s happened to me once before, in Ireland a couple of years ago. I did it the day before the game then and was right to go the next day. This one’s just taken a little bit more time and there’s no reason why that’s happened. Sometimes you recover really quickly and at other times it’s a little slower.”It’s heartbreaking I couldn’t take the field as captain but it’s been a real honour to have been appointed captain and to be able to lead the group in the time I’ve been here in New Zealand. And after all, it’s all about the team, it’s not about me. Hopefully we can win the next two games and win the series.”

Alex Hales sustained a fractured hand in the defeat in Cuttack and England have called up Jonny Bairstow to replace him in the T20 squad

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Jan-20172:08

‘Haven’t produced near our best this series’ – Morgan

Alex Hales has been ruled out of the rest of England’s tour of India after scans revealed he had sustained a fractured hand in the defeat in Cuttack.The opener travelled with the rest of the squad to Kolkata but will return to England on Saturday and may require surgery. Jonny Bairstow, who was due to leave India after the third ODI, has been asked to stay back and be part of the squad for the three T20Is.*Hales injured his right hand when diving to attempt a catch off MS Dhoni in the second ODI, which India won to take the series. He opened the innings as planned although could be seen taking his hand off the bat on occasions before being dismissed for 14 as England fell short of chasing 382.Bairstow could also be in the running to break into the one-day XI but England might prefer Sam Billings at Eden Gardens considering he opened against Bangladesh, in Chittagong, in October, when Jason Roy was injured, and made a career-best 62. He also scored 93 in the first of England’s warm-up matches in Mumbai earlier this month.Meanwhile, England have been fined for a slow over-rate in the Cuttack ODI. They were ruled to be one over short as India piled up 381 for 6. Captain Eoin Morgan, who pleaded guilty, has been fined 20% of his match fee, while the rest of the players have received 10% fines.*0720 GMT+1 day – This story was updated with the inclusion of Jonny Bairstow into the T20 squad

In a repeat of last year’s knockout match, Quetta Gladiators beat Peshawar Zalmi by one run to make their second successive PSL final

The Report by Danyal Rasool28-Feb-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details3:45

Highlights – Gladiators grab unlikely victory

In a nutshell
This was nothing like Quetta Gladiators’ one-run win over Peshawar Zalmi at the same stage last year. Boundaries flowed seemingly on demand, and ten an over was par for the course. And yet what was the result? Quetta beat Peshawar by one run to qualify for the PSL final on March 5 in Lahore.The scale of run-scoring and power of ball-striking was on a different level to what had been seen in their clash last year, but there was always a hint of déjà vu. After an early blip, Peshawar took control of a chase of 201 with Mohammad Hafeez and Dawid Malan putting on one of the partnerships of the tournament. Their 139 runs from 72 balls wrenched the momentum back from Quetta, whose bowlers were hamstrung by the heavy dew on the Sharjah outfield.When Shahid Afridi arrived, and looked in his absolute six-hitting best, the target was brought to almost a run a ball. The wheels turned, however, with his dismissal. With Peshawar needing seven off six, left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz, who had gone for 46 in his first three overs, triggered three wickets to fall in the last three balls to seal the game.Quetta had done most of their damage with the bat in the first 10 overs. Ahmed Shehzad and Kevin Pietersen ransacked 90 runs in only 42 balls for the second wicket to take the score to 121 for 1, prompting Peshawar to take a time out. Darren Sammy rallied his troops and they responded beautifully, with only two boundaries coming off the next eight overs. However, Quetta had gained such a sizeable advantage in terms of run-rate in the first half of the innings that they still made 200 with simple rotation of strike and some streaky fours in the end.Where the match was won
After a couple of games where Quetta appeared too timid to take charge of the big moments, their aggressive intent from ball one was a pleasant change.With one of the best in this regard, Viv Richards, watching from their corner, Shehzad and Luke Wright set up a rapid start, and when Pietersen came to the crease, Quetta surged into top gear, showcasing some of the cleanest hitting of the PSL this year. Seventy-seven runs were scored between the fifth and tenth overs and however well Peshawar did to pull them back after that, Sarfraz’s men had given themselves enough of a cushion.File photo: Ahmed Shehzad made 71 off a mere 38 balls•Chris Whiteoak

The men that won it
Nawaz’s figures today might be some of the more forgettable ones of his career, but what 4-0-51-3 doesn’t reveal is his work in the final over. He was having a bad night but against all logic Sarfraz trusted him to bowl under the highest pressure. Sammy, one of the fiercest strikers in T20 cricket, was on strike. The ball was so soaked with dew that it was hard to grip.Yet the 22-year old left-arm spinner managed to hit his lengths more often than not and, by refusing to let the batsman get leverage to hit him over those inviting short boundaries in Sharjah, pulled off a memorable heist. Nawaz also held on to a steepling catch in the 19th over to dismiss Afridi for 34 off 13 balls.Quetta were perhaps helped by Sammy’s refusing to take a single off the first ball of the over though his partner Chris Jordan is a decent lower-order batsman. Peshawar eventually lost by one run.Moment of the match
Riling Pietersen up when he has the bat in hand is not a very good move for a bowler and Wahab Riaz found that out on Tuesday. In the sixth over of the match, Wahab bumped into Pietersen while he was trying to sneak a single and then hit the batsman with a throw aimed at the non-strikers’ end. As if that wasn’t enough, he appealed to the umpire for an obstructing-the-field dismissal, which was turned down.Two balls later, Pietersen launched Wahab for a six that flew out of the stadium and landed on the side of the street outside the stadium.Where they stand
Quetta secure their place in the final of the PSL with this win. Peshawar will now have to beat either Karachi Kings or Islamabad United in the eliminator on Friday for a shot at the trophy.

Peter Siddle has withdrawn from his Nottinghamshire contract for 2017 due to a persistent back injury

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Mar-2017Peter Siddle has withdrawn from his Nottinghamshire contract for 2017 due to a persistent back injury. Siddle, 32, has not played since the Hobart Test against South Africa in November, during which he suffered a recurrence of the back problem that had kept him out for much of the previous year.Notts have been linked with potentially signing Siddle’s Victoria team-mate and fellow Australia international James Pattinson, with Mick Newell, the club’s director of cricket, hopeful of “quickly securing a replacement”.Siddle, who played for Notts in 2014 and Lancashire the following season, had signed a two-year deal to return to Trent Bridge but was unable to appear in 2016 due to stress fractures in his back. He made a comeback at the start of the 2016-17 season with Victoria and won a Test recall against South Africa before being sidelined once again.”I guess the years of playing cricket, you always have little setbacks with injury and missing cricket at different stages,” Siddle said. “It makes it a little bit easier to take in when you get older. So, I’ve been able to stay pretty level.”I don’t think I’ve played this little cricket in an 18-month window since I was an 11-year-old kid and was just starting out. That’s the most frustrating thing, not playing the game that you love and your profession. But mentally I’m pretty good. I’m in a good place and I’ve got some good people around me who give me good support.”Notts have already signed another Australian, Dan Christian, for the NatWest Blast but the arrival of James Pattinson – whose older brother, Darren, played for the county between 2008 and 2012 – would be a significant coup. Pattinson has taken 70 wickets in 17 Tests but missed out on a call-up to Australia’s tour of India after Mitchell Starc was ruled out by injury, despite taking a five-wicket haul last week to help put Victoria in the Sheffield Shield final.Newell said: “I feel for Peter in particular because he’s had absolutely no luck in recent years when it comes to injuries. We certainly didn’t imagine, when we signed him on a two-year contract for 2016 and 2017, that he wouldn’t play a single game for us during that time. It’s disappointing because his competitive character and proven ability would have been a real asset for us.”We never stop monitoring the situation overseas. We’re always looking at who is available and who has the kind of quality we need, so we’re confident of quickly securing a replacement.”