Cricket: International Discussion Thread

[Creag]

I leave my desk to enjoy a chocolate croissant from Fournos, get back and it's all over.

Two-Nil!

Pakistan win by 356 runs. It's their biggest win over any team by a runs margin.

Whoop!

 

[NeonNinja]

Australia's been subdued.

 

[NeonNinja]

Damn...

 

[Creag]

There was never really any doubt they would wrap it up. Smith and Marsh batted well in the morning but there was just too much time left in the match for them to be able to pull off the draw. Once Pakistan got through to the lower order, their spinners just ran through them. Clever captaincy from Misbah to keep them on in tandem with the second new ball. They really made that extra grip and zip count.

Post match comments as incoming from Espncricinfo.

 

[Creag]

Pakistan 570/6d & 293/3d
Australia 261 & 246 (88.3 ov)

Pakistan won by 356 runs

Aussies second innings scores:

Smith 97
Warner 58
Zulfiqar Babar 5/120
Yasir Shah 3/44

 

[Creag]

More...

First up, Michael Clarke: "They played outstanding cricket in both Tests and we have been outplayed. Unfortunately, all three facets [failed]. It's been the track record of Australian cricket [in Asia] for a long time, unfortunately."

Misbah: "It's really an honour for me to lead this side, the way everybody played. Every individual performed and I'm really happy about that. I can't describe my feeling. We were working really hard and playing good cricket but not winning, we just ensured that we would keep on doing the basics. It hurt us the way we lost the [ODI] series and we were determined to come back and it's been remarkable for our side. It's really good to have a youngster like [Yasir]. Playing a side like Australia, for the first time, he's got really good temperament, and in the coming future he can really deliver for us. The way Azhar Ali, Ahmed Shehzad and Asad Shafiq have batted, and Sarfraz is really a find. These guys are going to play for the next 7-8 years and we have a side for the future. Everybody is in form [ahead of the New Zealand series], everyone is full of confidence, and after that the World Cup."

Lots of awards for Pakistan's players, including "most colourful innings" to Azhar Ali. The big ones: Misbah-ul-Haq is the man of the match and Younis Khan is the man of the series.[/B]

 

[Creag]

View attachment 163821

 

[Creag]

Stumps day 1

Bangladesh 193/3 (90.0 ov)
Zimbabwe
Bangladesh won the toss and elected to bat

 

[Creag]

Stumps day 2

Bangladesh 433
Zimbabwe 53/1 (19.0 ov)
Zimbabwe trail by 380 runs with 9 wickets remaining in the 1st innings

Bangladesh will still be the happier team after posting 433, but Zimbabwe's batsmen resisted well in the final hour, losing only Sikandar Raza's wicket in the 19 overs. Brian Chari is looking composed at this level so far - making light of a paltry first-class average - and Hamilton Masakadza kept him company till stumps. A big challenge still on the hands of the visiting batsmen, as there are already signs of variable bounce on this surface.

 

[Creag]

In a game with not many highlights for Zimbabwe, Masakadza gets a ton:

Shakib Al Hasan to Masakadza, 2 runs, and that's his hundred! He went on the back foot to cut the short ball to third man and ran two to get to three figures! Takes his cap off to acknowledge the applause and what a fighting century this has been

 

[Creag]

A long way to go for Zim, but some good news is that Masakadza is still there on 127* (it's new territory for him):

Bangladesh 433
Zimbabwe 272/5 (95.0 ov)
Zimbabwe trail by 161 runs with 5 wickets remaining in the 1st innings

/spits in the ground and casts anti-jinxes all over the place

 

[Creag]

Stumps day 3

Bangladesh 433
Zimbabwe 331/5 (112.0 ov)
Zimbabwe trail by 102 runs with 5 wickets remaining in the 1st innings

Hamilton Masakadza 154*

4.35pm The day ends very well for Zimbabwe, much better than how they started it. They lost one wicket in the first session but were rocked back by three wickets in the second session by Shakib Al Hasan. A gutsy Masakadza survived all of that and reached his hundred. Zimbabwe were trailing by 244 when Chakbava walked out and this massive stand of 142 runs has revived them. Bangladesh saw some good and tight spells from the spinners, but if they had not dropped Masakadza in the day's second over, the scorecard would have looked very different right now. Who will take a lead?

 

[Creag]

/spits in the ground and casts anti-jinxes all over the place

Taijul Islam to Chakabva, 1 run, that's his hundred, what a fighting innings with the tail from Chakabva, his maiden hundred! the ball was outside off, he cut it past gully in the gap behind square to bring up the hundred

Only his seventh Test, he crossed fifty also only for he second time and converted it into a hundred

 

[Creag]

Taijul Islam to Chakabva, OUT, loud appeal for lbw as Chakabva reverse sweeps, misses the ball and the ball struck him right in front of off stump. Billy Bowden gives him out but Chakabva obviously reviews it. HawkEye says it was hitting middle stump, no doubt about that
RW Chakabva lbw b Taijul Islam 101 (285m 226b 13x4 0x6) SR: 44.69

Bangladesh 433
Zimbabwe 368 (135.1 ov)
Zimbabwe trail by 65 runs with 0 wickets remaining in the 1st innings

 

[Creag]

Stumps - Day 4

Bangladesh 433 & 201/5 (64.0 ov)
Zimbabwe 368

Bangladesh lead by 266 runs with 5 wickets remaining

 

[Creag]

Bangladesh 433 & 248/9d
Zimbabwe 368 & 151 (51.1 ov)
Bangladesh won by 162 runs

Time for the presentation:

Brendan Taylor: It was disappointing. You work hard for 4.5 days and get blown away like that, it's a hard thing to swallow but Bangladesh were the better side. Credit to them and to Masakadza and Waller for playing well. Our bowlers held their own to restrict Bangladesh and we should have scored bigger in the first innings. They've got some pretty good spinners, especially on the last day. We need to have a look at some of our dismissals. There's still a Test match to go and we'll try and improve.

Mushfiqur Rahim: We needed the win and knew it was not going to be easy, the credit goes to all the boys. Shakib is a very special player. There was a big improvement in our batting from Tamim and Shakib. There are areas to improve, especially in our batting and we'll think about our tactics and work on them. It's obvious both teams dropped many catches and we need to work on that. The team that misses less catches wins. We know why Shakib is special - with bat, ball and in the field - and all the young guys are inspired him. I'm happy for the whole team and hopefully it will continue. Couple of areas where we need to improve and we want to win 3-0.

Shakib Al Hasan is the Man of the Match: I thought it was a very good team effort, especially the stand between Mominul and Mahmudullah, and Shuvagata' fifty later on. Taijul bowled very well and I did my part too. One journalist told me couple of weeks earlier about the record and I had my eye on taking 10 wickets and scoring a hundred. I was lucky, and thanks to almighty as well. The pitch was a very good batting track, it wasn't easy to score runs and difficult to get out too once you settled in. It was turning a lot on the last day. I put the ball in the right areas and it worked. It's a great feeling to lead a series 2-0 and hopeful we'll keep on doing this in the future series as well.

 

[Creag]

Pakistan vs New Zealand | First Test | Day 2 | Abu Dhabi, Nov 9-13, 2014

Anderson to Ahmed Shehzad, OUT, That's the second wicket finally, but Shehzad's in a lot of pain. It's another bouncer, he goes for the hook and he's through his shot too quickly. It his the side of his helmet, which jars into his head. He falls down and drops his bat, which hits the stumps. He's still down, and the physios have come onto the field. He looks a little dazed, but there's no visible external damage. He's holding his jaw as he walks off the field, to an enthusiastic ovation from the crowd.

Ahmed Shehzad hit wicket b Anderson 176 (371b 17x4 1x6) SR: 47.43

Terrible way to give up the fight!

http://www.espncricinfo.com/pakistan-v-new-zealand-2014/engine/match/742611.html

 

[Creag]

Lunch | Day 2

Pakistan 347/2 (116.0 ov)
New Zealand
Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat

 

[Creag]

Pakistan 566/3d
New Zealand
Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat

Hafeez 96
Shehzad 176
Azhar 87
Younis 100*
Misbah 102*

4.23pm If they had run two, Misbah would have had three successive scores of 101. As it happens, he has three centuries in a row, Younis has four in five innings, and Pakistan have declared in four successive innings, the first time that has happened. Tells you what a dominant performance this has been. Records have tumbled again, and Pakistan's batting card could have had five centurions if Hafeez and Azhar had scored four and 13 more runs respectively. New Zealand's bowling figures aren't a pretty picture. It's still a good pitch to bat on, but there are signs of much sharper turn than yesterday, and the odd ball is keeping low as well. New Zealand will have to come out and bat for seven overs.

4.33pm Out come McCullum and Latham. How tired must they be? And how mentally prepared must they be to bat, after so much time on the field?

 

[Creag]

Stumps | Day Two

Pakistan 566/3d
New Zealand 15/0 (7.0 ov)
New Zealand trail by 551 runs with 10 wickets remaining in the 1st innings

5.05pm A handshake between the two captains, and that is stumps. New Zealand's openers have survived seven nervy overs, but their job has barely begun. They will begin day three trailing by 551 runs, and the rest of this match, from a New Zealand perspective, looks like a steep climb without too much oxygen in the tank. Babar already looks menacing, and he will examine the batsmen's techniques remorselessly tomorrow. The seamers have also begun well, and Yasir Shah is yet to bowl.