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Brendan Taylor has said the biggest factor in Bangladesh’s 3-0 win over his Zimbabwe side was in the spin department, terming it a “chalk and cheese” comparison

Mohammad Isam16-Nov-2014Brendan Taylor has said the biggest factor in Bangladesh’s 3-0 win over his Zimbabwe side was in the spin department, terming it a “chalk and cheese” comparison. Zimbabwe went down by 186 runs in the third Test and he said that the 3-0 series loss was hurtful not just to him but the whole team.Zimbabwe lost the first Test in dramatic fashion after a spectacular collapse at the hands of Taijul Islam on the third day in Dhaka. It was followed by big defeats in Khulna and Chittagong. Throughout the series, Bangladesh’s spinners held sway in most of the key moments.Shakib Al Hasan and Taijul were the top two wicket-takers in the series, with 18 and 17 respectively, while Jubair Hossain picked up 11 wickets, including a five-for in the third Test. Shakib’s scalps came at an average of 18.27 while Taijul had Bangladesh’s best bowling figures, 8-39 in the fourth innings of the Dhaka Test.In comparison, Zimbabwe’s Natsai M’shangwe took seven wickets at 62.14 and though Malcolm Waller took six wickets in Khulna, he was pulled up by the umpires for a suspected action and was promptly dropped in Chittagong.Sikandar Raza bowled 82 overs in the series, picking up five wickets, a bonus for a part-time spinner, while specialists Tafadzwa Kamungozi and John Nyumbu were dropped after taking one wicket between them in Dhaka.”I think Bangladesh are a slightly better side in their conditions,” Taylor said. “The difference is in the spin department. Chalk and cheese. The first Test match set the tone. In hindsight had we gotten 20-30 runs [more], it could have been a different result. I think if we managed to pull that first Test off it would have given the side momentum. To lose in the fashion we did is tough. Toss is always important, you cannot control that. But that’s not the reason why we lost the series. We lost the series because Bangladesh have been better than us in the three Tests.”It certainly hurts as an individual. It hurts the team. It is tough to comprehend that, but Bangladesh have played better cricket so we’ve got to give them credit. They made it difficult for us. In all three Test matches, batting first in the last two Tests and getting 450, 500, it’s always tough to try and come back and win from there. So we fought pretty hard but the better team held on in the end and got the results.”Despite the trouble against spin throughout the series, Zimbabwe were actually on equal footing going into the fifth day’s play at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium. They had nine wickets in hand, with Hamilton Masakadza and Sikandar Raza creaming the Bangladesh attack for 19 overs on the fourth evening after being set 449 to win.But rather than being patient and getting on top of the spinners, aggression cost both batsmen in the first hour of play. Masakadza’s reverse-sweep went awry while Raza struck a full-toss down midwicket’s throat. It triggered a slowdown and ultimately the bowling out of Zimbabwe by the end of the second session. Apart from Regis Chakavba, none of the Zimbabwe batsmen or allrounders were able to stand up to spin.Taylor said the batsmen’s approach was correct but they had little experience of playing on such a deteriorating pitch on the fifth day, against a spin attack that was making them play differently. “I think we did show the right approach,” he said. “We don’t really bat on wickets like this on day five when it deteriorates like that. They are very good batting wickets for the first three days then they become really difficult.”When you’ve got a quality spin attack, on day five it is certainly going to be a massive challenge. I think that’s certainly the difference between the two sides. They have got world-class spinners and we are struggling for a couple.”Taylor praised Chakabva for his two fifties and hundred in the series, including his resistance on the fifth day in Chittagong, but otherwise he said an opportunity to show survival instinct was not taken.”[There have been] players who have found a bit of form and have been good for us throughout the series,” he said. “There have been other players, including myself, who haven’t really had the series they would have liked. It was an opportunity for us to step up and bat 90 overs. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case. Regis Chakabva showed a lot of character. But that’s done now; we need to focus on the shorter format.”

Northamptonshire are doing their darnedest to not let go of the crown they won so spectacularly last year, securing a first win in seven against Birmingham Bears

Ryan Bailey03-Jul-2014
ScorecardNorthamptonshire rediscovered some of the spirit that took them to last year’s title•Getty ImagesIn the ten-year history of England’s domestic Twenty20 competition, no team has managed to successfully defend the trophy. It is improbable Northamptonshire will break that streak this time around but they are doing their darnedest to not let go of the crown they won so spectacularly last year. For now, the club slogan of “reign, defend, conquer” that is plastered around Wantage Road remains credible.The Steelbacks rediscovered all the traits of their unforeseen triumph in 2013 to end a six game winless run and kept their hopes, although slim, of progression from the North Group alive. David Willey and Steven Crook were to the fore with the ball, Azharullah sent stumps cartwheeling with his unerringly accurate yorkers, they hounded the opposition in the field and an allrounder named White produced a match-winning performance – not Cameron but Graeme.The absence of Australia international White, who gave the side that much-needed balance, has proved more significant than anyone could have imagined. The failure to fill that void has been felt deeply, as their abject Championship form leaked into the shortest format with damning implications. But, this was the Northants of 2013 vintage.White, Graeme that is, typified the exuberance of the hosts as he clubbed a game-turning 34 off just 12 deliveries at the backend of an otherwise feeble batting effort before taking two wickets to derail Birmingham’s run chase. Before his intervention in the 17th over of the game, Northants were sinking into the mire.But White played with the sort of liberty that none of his confidence-stricken team mates could summon to that point. Richard Levi gloved behind the first ball of the game, from Chris Wright, Willey miscued a heave and Crook followed in similar fashion – familiar failings in this campaign. At 89 for 6, they were facing submersion. Three maximums and as many fours changed the complexion of the game and swung the momentum, however – 50 runs were pummelled in the final four overs to lift the hosts up to a defendable total.And so it proved as Birmingham never recovered. Willey bowled with the same vivacity as 12 months ago as he set the tone with the ball and in the field. He has yet to fully recover from the back injury that blighted his winter but there is no doubting his commitment to the cause.Having bowled Varun Chopra with a slower ball, he exhibited all his tenacity in beating William Porterfield in a foot race to run the Ireland captain out and the Bears stumbled thereafter as they struggled to manage the run rate.Shaoib Malik threatened to inflict more woe on the defending champions with a boundary-filled knock of 47 and, along with Jeetan Patel, reduced the scenario to 32 off three overs. But, there was a renewed purpose to Northants. Azharullah returned to combine with Willey to have Malik caught inches inside the boundary; these were the tight margins Northants were edging last year and they managed to rediscover that knack just in the nick of time.Northants had disintegrated in similar fashion but were kept afloat by Kyle Coetzer, who went about the rebuilding process with a watchful 40. He was ably supported by Adam Rossington who had only just completed the paperwork on a loan move from Middlesex. He rode his luck at times – something that has been in short supply at Northants. That a player who had failed to get into double figures in eight innings this season was brought in underlines the extent of Northants’ injury list but Rossington, batting with a numberless shirt, helped ensure there would be a platform for White.

The ICC has confirmed that India and Pakistan are set to play a bilateral series in the UAE in December 2015

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Aug-2014The International Cricket Council has confirmed that India and Pakistan are set to play a bilateral series in December 2015. This will be the first of six series scheduled between the two countries during the eight-year future tours programme cycle from 2015 to 2023.According to the provisional FTP cycle, India and Pakistan are scheduled to play 12 Tests, 30 ODIs and 11 Twenty20s spread over six series. The first of these, likely to be a home series for Pakistan, could be played in the UAE and is expected to comprise two Tests, five ODIs and two T20s.”There has been a proposal to resume bilateral cricket ties between India and Pakistan. As I understand, there has been an agreement that the two teams will play each other soon,” ICC chairman N Srinivasan told the .Even though the BCCI has agreed to host Pakistan twice during the period, ESPNcricinfo understands that due to the sensitive political relationship between the neighbouring countries, the Indian board has added a clause in the MoU that all the six series will be played “subject to government clearance”. The FTP is likely to be converted into a binding agreement on the sidelines of the next ICC board meeting in October.The last bilateral series between the two countries was played in December 2012 and January 2013 when Pakistan toured India for three ODIs and two T20s. Bilateral cricketing ties between the two countries were snapped after the Mumbai terror attacks in 2008 until the series in 2012-13, although India and Pakistan have played each other in the World Cup, Champions Trophy, Asia Cup and the World T20.

Cuttack awaits the mouth-watering prospect of a Kings XI Punjab batting show as they take on a struggling Kolkata Knight Riders

The Preview by Devashish Fuloria10-May-20142:56

Hattangadi: Kings XI playing free cricket

Match factsSunday, May 11, 2014
Start time 1600 (1030 GMT)With 256 runs, Robin Uthappa is the leading Indian batsman in the IPL•BCCIBig PictureOdisha may be one of the worst-hit states in India when it comes to tropical cyclones, but there is one storm they wouldn’t mind hosting again and again. By some strange IPL scheduling, they have landed two Kings XI Punjab home games despite being almost 1900 km away from Chandigarh, the capital of Punjab. And they won’t be complaining after what happened few days back when Glenn Maxwell made a mockery of the bigger boundaries to lead the team to 231, the highest total this year. A similar mouth-watering prospect awaits the Cuttack crowd, now surely behind the Kings XI team just as the rest of the country, as Maxwell and Co prepare to take on Kolkata Knight Riders’ Narine and Co.Although they are faced with a daunting task, Knight Riders can take solace in a few facts. Firstly, their bowling has been the only one which has tasted success against Kings XI batting this year. Secondly, they have a settled top order that has, for now, mitigated some of their batting problems. Both Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa have been among runs in the team’s last two outings and now the team just needs their middle order to wake up. Thirdly, a loss to Kings XI may not hurt their chances much – everyone’s losing to them – but a win could be a huge bonus. Lastly, it’s a chance to get used to the conditions in Cuttack as their next match, against Mumbai Indians, has been rescheduled to the venue.Form guideKings XI Punjab WWLWW
Kolkata Knight Riders WLLLLWhere they standKings XI: First, with seven wins in eight games
Knight Riders: Fifth, with three wins in eight gamesPlayers to watchVirender Sehwag’s year in domestic cricket hasn’t been too different from Yuvraj Singh’s – both have been reduced to a shadow of what they once were. However, Sehwag is still managing to make a difference to Kings XI. He is third behind Maxwell and David Miller in the list of top run-scorers for the team despite a highest of 37. In six games out of eight, he has set the stage up for an onslaught, without appearing overtly-aggressive or mindlessly cowed. A Sehwag sticking to his supporting role seamlessly has worked wonders for Kings XI.The Knight Riders openers were critical in them reaching 160 in their last two matches, a welcome change from their inconsistent run this season. Quietly, Uthappa has crept up the batting charts – he is the top run-getter in the tournament among the Indian batsmen. Gambhir, after a horror start, is also back in form with two consecutive fifties. The two will need to fire again if Knight Riders are to challenge the intimidating Kings XI batting.Previous encounterThere has been only one blot in Kings XI batting’s otherwise almost faultless run this season. Maxwell was bowled for 15 off 12, Miller could only manage 14 and Sehwag was the top-scorer in a total of 132 for 9 with just 37 when they met Knight Riders earlier in Abu Dhabi. They tripped up against the spin duo of Sunil Narine and Piyush Chawla, who shared three wickets apiece. But their seamers dished out an even rougher treatment to Knight Riders’ batsmen, trampling them for 109 all out.Stats and trivia Kolkata Knight Riders are the most economical team when it comes to the last five overs. They give away 8.30 runs per over at the death Virender Sehwag has hit as many fours as David Miller – 23. But when it comes to sixes, Miller has 11 more than Sehwag’s five. With 11, Gautam Gambhir has most run-out dismissals among IPL batsmenQuotes”The next few matches are crucial for us, especially now that we are back in Indian conditions, and we are confident that the two potent spinners will get us back into the reckoning by giving us the results we are looking for.”
“Hats off to our coach Sanjay Bangar. I was a bit tentative about playing as much spin here as it’s a small ground and Sanjay saw the wicket and felt like it was going to turn and he was spot on. He [Shivam] backed him up; he bowled beautifully.”

A round-up of the North Zone matches of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy that took place on April 3, 2014

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Apr-2014Virender Sehwag blasted a 35-ball 67 and Gautam Gambhir hit 40 off 25 as Delhi hunted down 175 against Punjab with six wickets to spare. It was Delhi’s third win in a row and took them to 12 points, level with Haryana at the top of North Zone, eight points ahead of the rest.Punjab themselves had a flying start as their openers Manan Vohra and Mandeep Singh put on 59 in 5.3 overs. Though they kept losing wickets regularly after that, cameos from Gurkeerat Singh and Himanshu Chawla took them to a strong total.It didn’t prove that challenging a total once Gambhir and Sehwag got going. Sehwag hit form in the first-class game for MCC in Abu Dhabi last month, and had made a key contribution in the opening game against Himachal Pradesh, though this was his most explosive innings in a while. He hit 13 fours and by the time he was dismissed in the 13th over, Delhi were 142 for 2. Sumit Narwal joined the fun, with a 23-ball 42 to complete the chase.Haryana kept pace at the top of the table with Delhi after a seven-wicket win over Jammu & Kashmir in Chandigarh. J&K had no clue against medium-pacer Joginder Sharma, who ripped through the top order to finish with figures of 4-1-14-4. Joginder began with two wickets in the first over, and added two more as he bowled out his four overs at the start of the innings itself.Parvez Rasool’s 35 helped J&K scrape to 122, a total which Haryana overhauled with an over to spare. The opener Avi Barot anchored the chase with a run-a-ball half-century, with the other opener Rahul Dewan providing the early impetus with four fours in his 22. No. 4 Sachin.Rana chipped in with 30 as Haryana lost only three wickets in completing the victory.In Mohali, Paras Dogra smashed 93 off 60 balls as Himachal Pradesh ran out winners against Services by 26 runs. What made Dogra’s innings stand out even more was that he came in with Himachal at 12 for 2, and none of his team-mates made more than 26. He clubbed five sixes and five fours as he made his highest T20 score and took Himachal to a challenging 175.In the chase, Services opener Nakul Verma and No. 3 Anshul Gupta scored at a strike-rate over 140 and reached 84 for 1 in the 10th over before Gupta was dismissed for 39. Left-arm spinner Bipul Sharma’s double-strike in the 13th over sparked a collapse, however, and Services went from 114 for 2 to 136 for 8. Verma was the sixth wicket to fall, dismissed for 62, and the game was soon beyond Services.

Two days into their first Ranji Trophy semi-final in 17 years, they were further ahead of Bengal than they would have thought it decent to dream

The Report by Karthik Krishnaswamy in Indore19-Jan-2014
ScorecardSangram Atitkar became the fifth Maharashtra batsman to cross 500 runs this season•MPCA’Have to take more initiative at No. 6 or 7′

When Sangram Atitkar went in to bat, Maharashtra were only 50 ahead of Bengal. Another wicket would have exposed their lower order on a pitch that retained its morning freshness. Atitkar saw out the early period alongside a well-set Ankit Bawne, and eventually scored 168 to help swell Maharashtra’s first-innings lead to 341.
“I went in thinking the ball is seaming a bit, so I have to play with the bat close to the body on this pitch,” Atitkar said. “If it you hang the bat out, you can lose your wicket, so I kept it close. Ankit was also playing well and we built a good partnership. Because of the partnership, it was easier.”
It was apparent that all of Maharashtra’s batsmen were looking to get in a big frontfoot stride to the full-length ball. Atitkar said it helped them narrow the seam movement.
“The thing is, when the wicket is seaming, if you take a big stride out, it’s good,” he said. “You minimise the chances of seam movement that way. You should play that way on this kind of pitch, with that big stride forward.”
For most of his career, Atitkar has batted at No. 3 for Maharashtra. More often than not this season, he has batted down the order at No. 6 or 7. This, he said, had forced him to take a more proactive approach.
“I have to take more initiative now,” he said, “because after me there are only bowlers most of the time. You have to carry them along with you while playing and take that initiative.”
Atitkar pulled Bengal’s bowlers with authority each time they dropped it short. In one over against Ashok Dinda, when the fast bowler went round the wicket and stationed three fielders on the leg-side boundary, the shot fetched him two fours.
“No, not really,” Atitkar said, when asked if the pull had always been such a productive shot for him. “The ball was not coming on quickly off the pitch, which is why I got more time.”

Koushik Ghosh could have done nothing about the ball from Samad Fallah that brought about his first dismissal in first-class cricket, in Bengal’s first innings, on Saturday. When he walked out to begin Bengal’s second innings, on Sunday, he might have assumed conditions were now much easier to bat in.Maharashtra had scored 455 and taken a 341-run lead. Sangram Atitkar, their top-scorer, had scored 168 at a 70-plus strike rate, with 116 of his runs coming in boundaries. Their No. 9, Anupam Sanklecha, had tonked four sixes in scoring 52. Surely, the Holkar Stadium pitch was now a beauty to bat on.Two imperious drives for four through cover point, off Sanklecha, might have sealed that notion for the left-handed Ghosh. But facing up to what was supposed to be the penultimate ball of the day, a nasty surprise awaited him. Fallah, angling the ball into Ghosh’s body from left-arm over, dug it in just back of a length. Ghosh opened up, and shaped to play the ball to mid-on. Most left-hand batsmen, in his situation, would have offered the same response.The ball straightened and took his outside edge. At second slip, Chirag Khurana turned towards his dressing room and raised the ball aloft. Maharashtra could do no wrong. Two days into their first Ranji Trophy semi-final in 17 years, they were further ahead of Bengal than they would have thought it decent to dream.Maharashtra had started the day in front, but not by that much. A clump of wickets could have brought Bengal back into contention. They must have known there would be life in the pitch initially, and Ashok Dinda and Laxmi Shukla confirmed this over the course of disciplined morning spells. When Shukla bent one in to strike the left-handed Rohit Motwani’s pads in front of the stumps, Maharashtra hadn’t added a run to their overnight total, despite having faced 15 balls.In walked Atitkar, to join Ankit Bawne, who was on 37 at that point. Of all the Maharashtra batsmen, Bawne had looked the least troubled. He had left well outside off stump, and his front-foot stride had narrowed the angle of the movement that Bengal’s seamers were still extracting off the pitch. Whenever they bowled too straight, he had leaned over the ball and turned his wrists to find the boundary wide of mid-on. He continued batting in this manner, and soon brought up 50 with a single pushed to cover.Atitkar, at the other end, seemed just as conscious of the need for a big front-foot stride, but did not look quite as comfortable executing it. He was much more certain on the back-foot, though, cutting and slashing whenever he had the chance. Dinda dug one in soon after he had come in to bat; it rose head-high, but Atitkar hooked it comfortably for four.Having looked at the pitch before the match, Bengal had replaced Writtick Chatterjee, a specialist batsman, with Sandipan Das, a seam-bowling allrounder. It took them till the 68th over of Maharashtra’s innings to give him the ball. Bawne, who had batted unhurriedly till that point, ran down the pitch to his first delivery and creamed it back past the bowler for four. Next ball, he went down on one knee and swatted a six into the second tier of the stands behind deep midwicket. The umpires called for a replacement ball.In the next over, Bawne punched Sourav Sarkar in front of point for four; he sent the ball racing in the same direction in Sandipan’s next over, this time with a horizontal bat. Bawne was showing the full range of his strokeplay. Just when he looked set for a century, though, he poked outside off stump for the first time in his innings, and edged Dinda to second slip.It was now left to Atitkar to bat with the lower order. There was an immediate change of gear. A punishing drive down the ground off Sarkar brought up his century. A flat-batted cover drive a few overs later – after the fall of Akshay Darekar’s wicket with Maharashtra 214 ahead – brought up the same milestone for Sarkar.Post-tea, the left-handed Sanklecha joined in the fun, clouting offspinner Saurasish Lahiri and legspinner Abhimanyu Easwaran merrily over long-on. Atitkar then drilled Lahiri to reach 150.Dinda now went around the wicket, and set his field elaborately: a squarish fine leg on the boundary, a deepish midwicket, a deepish square leg. He bowled two bouncers over the course of this over; Atitkar pulled both for four.Atitkar was out soon after, though, bowled by Shib Paul. By that time, he had reached 628 runs for the season. It put him in 15th place among the season’s highest run-getters. It meant that one-fifth of the top 15 – in a 27-team tournament – were Maharashtra batsmen. It meant that five Maharashtra batsmen had crossed the 500 mark. Those numbers have put their team on the cusp of something truly remarkable.

West Indies will be without Kieron Pollard in their World Twenty20 defence after he was ruled out due to a knee injury

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Feb-2014West Indies will be without Kieron Pollard in their World Twenty20 defence after he was ruled out due to his ongoing recovery from a knee injury. All 13 men named for the Twenty20s against Ireland this month were included in the World Twenty20 squad, along with the batsman Johnson Charles and fast bowler Sheldon Cottrell, while there was no room for Tino Best.Cottrell, 24, has played one Test against India in Kolkata last year but is yet to make his debut in either of the shorter formats for West Indies. A left-arm fast bowler from Jamaica, he played for the Antigua Hawksbills at the Caribbean Premier League last year and collected eight wickets at 21.75 and an economy rate of 6.44.Charles was also included after missing out on the Ireland games; he struggled on the recent limited-overs tour of New Zealand but has the potential to be a matchwinner at the top of the order. However, West Indies will be hurt by the absence of another clean striker, with Pollard still recovering from a knee injury he sustained last year.Pollard injured his knee while playing in a charity football match and he said last month that he was holding out some hope of being available for the World T20, but his recovery did not prove quick enough to allow him to be considered for selection. West Indies are the reigning World T20 champions after beating hosts Sri Lanka in the final in Colombo in October 2012.West Indies squad Darren Sammy (capt), Samuel Badree, Dwayne Bravo, Johnson Charles, Sheldon Cottrell, Andre Fletcher, Chris Gayle, Sunil Narine, Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul, Andre Russell, Marlon Samuels, Krishmar Santokie, Lendl Simmons, Dwayne Smith.

A round-up of the Logan cup matches that finished on December 12, 2013

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Dec-2013
ScorecardFile photo: Brendan Taylor struck hundreds in both innings against Mashonaland Eagles•AFPBrendan Taylor struck centuries in both innings and Regis Chakabva scored a career-best 240 as Mid West Rhinos and Mashonaland Eagles collected two points each in the opening match of the Logan Cup in Harare. Even though Eagles took a massive 249-run lead in the first innings, the Rhinos fought back through an unbeaten 150 from Taylor to draw the match.Rhinos had been dismissed for 296 in the first innings after they had only one strong partnership – between Taylor and Malcolm Waller (74) – of 151. No other batsman passed 30 as Brian Vitori claimed 4 for 67. The Eagles replied with a double-hundred from Chakabva and strong contributions from Mark Vermeulen (99), Sikandar Raza (73) and Elton Chigumbura (55) before declaring on 545 for 7.The Rhinos were in trouble at 21 for 2 in the second innings but another hundred from Taylor saved them from a defeat on the last day, as they ended on 280 for 5.
ScorecardMatabeleland Tuskers and Southern Rocks picked up two points each from a drab draw in Masvingo. Six batsmen scored fifties and 24 wickets fell over three days after the Tuskers chose to bat. Only two balls were possible on a final day marred by rain.The Tuskers got a strong start from openers Brian Chari (63) and Bornaparte Mujuru (54) but the rest of the batsmen failed to capitalise. From 79 for 0 they slipped to 178 for 6 before No. 7 Godwill Mamhiyo rescued them with a 62 to take them to 284.The Rocks were jolted early and were reeling at 25 for 3. Middle-order batsmen Prince Masvaure (37) Richmond Mutumbami (52) revived them with a stand of 49 and Mutumbami then put on 45 with Ryan Bezuidenhout before they became 135 for 6. No. 8 Tinashe Panyangara’s career-best 89 took Rocks close to 250 but Tawanda Mupariwa took 5 for 46 to restrict them to 246.The Tuskers were 131 for 4 with the help of a fifty from Keith Dabengwa when the match ended in a draw.

UP were undefeated in the group stages last season, and then fell at the first knockout hurdle

Vishal Dikshit06-Nov-2013Where they finished last time Uttar Pradesh topped Group B last year without losing a match. Their successful run was ended by Services in the quarter-finals.RP Singh has played only one first-class match in nearly two years•Associated PressBig PictureUP started the 2012-13 season with a bang, beating Delhi, who featured all the big stars – Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Virat Kohli, Ashish Nehra and Ishant Sharma. Two draws later, they handed Baroda a 10-wicket loss and after another two draws, thrashed Tamil Nadu by 195 runs.But they fell in the first knockout, to a spirited Services side. Much of their success came courtesy Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who took 27 wickets in six games at an average of 20. This year it is likely they will have to cope without him for long periods, when he is away on India duty.Openers Tanmay Srivastava and Mukul Dagar had prolific seasons but the middle order couldn’t always build on their platforms. Parvinder Singh righted some of that imbalance when he started scoring in the second half of the season. His recent hundred in the draw against the touring West Indians will give him and the team confidence, along with the wickets taken by RP Singh and Piyush Chawla.RP Singh missed the previous Ranji season with injury but looks “extremely fit” this year, coach Venkatesh Prasad said. Praveen Kumar, though, is out for a couple of months with a shoulder injury. While the pace attack has other promising options such as Imtiaz Ahmed and Ankit Rajpoot, UP’s spin hopes will rest with Chawla and left-arm spinner Ali Murtaza, who didn’t enjoy much success last season.Players to watchThe team will be led by Suresh Raina, who has frequently reiterated his desire to play Test cricket. For that, though, he is not making the kind of impact he should in long-format matches. He averaged 33.77 from 10 innings last Ranji season. With India soon heading off on overseas tours in tough conditions, he’ll need a truckload of runs for UP to get the selector’s attention. The retirement of Sachin Tendulkar will open up a spot in the middle order, but can Raina put himself in contention?In the absence of Bhuvneshwar and Praveen Kumar, and RP Singh having played only one first-class match in nearly two years, there will be plenty of expectations on UP’s relatively unheralded pair of quicks, Imtiaz Ahmed and Ankit Rajpoot. While Imtiaz was their most impressive bowler through the season, Rajpoot made headlines in only seven outings with 31 wickets at an average of 18.80.Click here for the full squad.

On a day of tricky moments for their stand-in captain, Varun Chopra, Warwickshire played themselves into a position from which they can reinforce their conviction that a successful defence of their 2012 title is not yet beyond them

Jon Culley at Edgbaston17-Jul-2013
ScorecardJeetan Patel helped bring about the Notts collapse•Getty ImagesOn a day of tricky moments for their stand-in captain, Varun Chopra, Warwickshire played themselves into a position from which they can reinforce their conviction that a successful defence of their 2012 title is not yet beyond them, despite winning only once in the first half of the season.If Chopra’s decision not to enforce the follow-on was met with puzzlement among some Warwickshire supporters inclined towards conventional thinking, it looked like the right thing to do by the close.After Chris Woakes and Rikki Clarke had blazed away at a run-a-ball in a sixth-wicket stand that added 104, Chopra called a halt with a lead of 426, exposing Nottinghamshire to an uncomfortable 11 overs in which they came through unscathed, just. Alex Hales, on 8, was put down by Clarke at second slip off Keith Barker; a difficult chance high to his right, but not beyond his scope.They need a further 389 to win or more realistically to avoid losing 10 wickets, otherwise Warwickshire will be take 22 points from a second win from as many games so far in the second half of the season. The gap between themselves and leaders Sussex stood at 50 points going into this match.Earlier, Nottinghamshire had been bowled out for 217, which may look like a fairly feeble performance from 131 for 2 overnight given Warwickshire’s formidable first-innings total but interpreted in that way would not do justice to some fine bowling, particularly by Barker, the left-arm seamer whose progress in the last three seasons has been so impressive.Barker took 3 for 44 from 16 overs, the wickets all coming in the space of 16 deliveries in which he produced three jaffas, essentially, to dismiss Samit Patel, forced to play and caught at first slip, James Taylor and Chris Read, both caught behind. Taylor was looking very comfortable, closing in on a third Championship century of the season, when Barker produced a ball that squared him up but then left him late to take the edge.Had he not taken so much out of himself last season, when he and Chris Wright bowled themselves into the ground to win Warwickshire the title, and then missed five matches through injury this year, Barker would surely have been in the England Lions squad at least.Barker is developing a wide set of skills, although not all of them appreciated by every opponent. Ajmal Shahzad, for instance, was not impressed by seeing Barker stick out his left hand, as if he were signalling a turn on a bicycle, as he ran in to bowl and twice stepped away from his crease, complaining he was distracted.It was this that prompted Chopra’s other tricky moment as a spat threatened to develop, with Shahzad and Clarke — standing at second slip and presumably offering an opinion — involved in a verbal exchange. Umpires Trevor Jesty and Richard Illingworth in turn spoke to Chopra before calm resumed. Shahzad was drawing attention to himself anyway by walking off towards square leg between every delivery he faced – and not just a couple of strides; more like four pitch widths. Clarke appeared to have a view on that practice, as well.One way or another, Nottinghamshire’s morning did not go well, with four wickets lost for 69 runs added, beginning with a sharp return catch held by Jeetan Patel off a leading edge offered by Michael Lumb. Patel, the offspinner later had David Hussey caught at short midwicket and bowled Luke Fletcher. Warwickshire will look to him mainly on the last day.It was Clarke who saw off Shahzad in the end while Boyd Rankin belatedly got among the wickets by bowling Andre Adams, whose absence with a sickness bug when Nottinghamshire were asked to bowl again, did not appear too much of a hindrance as Warwickshire, who had Ian Westwood caught at second slip before they had added a run, slipped to 75 for 5. Laurie Evans, their first-innings champion, perished for 2 this time, running into a good ball from Shahzad that clipped his off stump.But they had the comfort of a big lead and between them Clarke and Woakes comprehensively took the game away from Nottinghamshire, were they not already out of it.