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There was an understanding that given his run of low scores, Tamim shouldn’t have played the warm-up match in Fatullah and he made just nine. Yet Tamim struck back on Friday with his fifth ODI hundred.

Mohammad Isam in Mirpur17-Apr-2015Mushfiqur Rahim was surprised to get the Man-of-the-Match award after Friday’s first ODI against Pakistan. He had scored a century, that too the third fastest by a Bangladeshi batsman in an ODI, and taken a catch. He was also involved in Bangladesh’s highest ODI partnership for any wicket with Tamim Iqbal. Still, Mushfiqur felt that it was Tamim’s 132 which had more impact on Bangladesh’s highest-ever score in an ODI of 329 for 6. However, the judges thought differently.”I tried to remind him of one thing,” Mushfiqur said of Tamim after Bangladesh’s 79-run win on Friday. “He used to get out in the 50s, 60s and 70s. I told him he cannot go for the shots until the last five overs because a new batsman can’t come and start hitting from the onset. He took calculative risks. I was very surprised to get the Man-of-the-Match award. He deserved it.”This was Tamim’s first ODI hundred in two years. He had broken his Test century hoodoo in the series against Zimbabwe last year, after which he looked relieved. A knee injury hampered his World Cup preparation and he made one significant score in the tournament, ending it with 155 runs at an average of 25.66. Every low score was greeted by derision on social media. Internet trolls and memes vilified Tamim, while there was always the odd question through traditional media about his place in the team.There was an understanding that given his run of low scores, he shouldn’t have played the warm-up match in Fatullah. He made just nine, further denting his confidence on the eve of the match.Yet Tamim struck back on Friday with his fifth ODI hundred, a match-winning one at that. The duo of Mushfiqur and Tamim added 178 runs in just 21.4 overs, completely changing the course of the game as Bangladesh were 67 for two when Mahmudullah fell at the end of the 20th over. By the time Tamim got out, Bangladesh were looking towards a 300-run score.Tamim didn’t come to the post-match press conference so Mushfiqur and Shakib Al Hasan had to field many questions related to Tamim. Shakib praised Tamim’s effort and said that it was one of the best innings he had seen of the batsman.”It was an extraordinary innings,” Shakib said. “To be honest, he was under some pressure but his batting didn’t show any nerve. It is definitely one of his best innings. The way him and Mushfiqur batted, it was the turning point in the game. I think Tamim played the way he usually plays.”Mushfiqur said that he enjoyed Tamim’s celebration which included a gesture towards the stands for the amount of talk on him. He said that patience should be shown with Tamim, because even though he has been going through a lean trot Tamim’s last big innings wasn’t too long ago.’I think it was easy to understand [his celebration],” Mushfiqur said. “There was a lot of talk about him in the last 4-5 months. I believe there are very few accomplished batsman in Bangladesh. He got out to good balls in the last few games. People get out to bad balls. A batsman can go through a bad time.”There were many batsmen in the World Cup who didn’t score more than 200 runs. He had one very important score in the World Cup. We couldn’t have won that game against Scotland had he not done well in that game. If we lost that game, we probably wouldn’t have made it to the quarterfinals. It is not entirely the media’s fault. There will always be criticism. We don’t need support in a good time, rather we need it in bad time. I think his celebration was great. I liked it. I hope Tamim will play more big innings in the future.”

Iran boss Carlos Queiroz has named a 25-man team for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar

Iran will head into their third consecutive World Cup and will be aiming to make it out of the group stages for the first time in their history.

Carlos Queiroz's men put in an encouraging performance in Russia four years ago, finishing third in a group that held European giants Spain and Portugal as well as African representatives Morocco.

They were paired with England, Wales and USA in Group B this time around and will be quietly optimistic following their opponents' underwhelming form heading into the tournament.

Here are the 25 players who will represent Iran in Qatar.

ALSO READ: World Cup 2022 Group B: Fixtures, results, standings, squads & full details

Getty ImagesGOALKEEPERS

Alireza Beiranvand is set to be the firm first-choice goalkeeper for Iran.

Amir Abedzadeh and Hossein Hosseini are able back-ups and will also be hopeful of getting the nod.

Name

Club

Alireza Beiranvand

Persepolis

Payam Niazmand

Sepahan

Amir Abedzadeh

Ponferradina

Hossein Hosseini

Esteghlal

Advertisement(C)Getty ImagesDEFENDERS

Ehsan Hajsafi, who plays for AEK Athens, remains Iran's most experienced player at the back, with over 100 caps for his country.

The likes of Shojae Khalilzadeh and Milad Mohammadi will also compete to be part of Iran's defence at the World Cup.

Name

Club

Sadegh Moharrami

Dinamo Zagreb

Ehsan Hajsafi

AEK Aethens

Shojae Khalilzadeh

Al Ahli

Milad Mohammadi

AEK Aethens

Morteza Pouraliganji

Persepolis

Majid Hosseini

Kayserispor

Abolfazl Jalali

Esteghlal

Ramin Rezaeian

Sepahan

Hossein Kanaani

Al Ahli

GettyMIDFIELDERS

Brentford midfielder Saman Ghoddos, Persepolis' Vahid Amiri and Al Wakrah's Ahmad Nourollahi were unsurprisingly given a place in the 26-man squad.

Saeid Ezatolahi has been clocking regular minutes for the national team and will be hopeful of playing at the 2022 World Cup as well.

Name

Club

Saeid Ezatolahi

Vejle

Vahid Amiri

Persepolis

Saman Ghoddos

Brentford

Ahmad Nourollahi

Shabab Al Ahli

Ali Karimi

Kayserispor

Rouzbeh Cheshmi

Esteghlal

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Getty ImagesATTACKERS

Iran have a strong forward line featuring Sardar Azmoun, Mehdi Taremi, Alireza Jahanbakhsh and Karim Ansarifard, who have all been amongst the goals for their national team.

Name

Club

Alireza Jahanbakhsh

Feyenoord

Mehdi Taremi

Porto

Karim Ansarifard

Omonia

Mehdi Torabi

Persepolis

Ali Gholizadeh

Charleroi

Sardar Azmoun

Bayer Leverkusen

Tom Lockyer showed off his "battle wound" and explained how the fitted defibrillator could save his life if his heart ever stopped again.

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Lockyer collapsed on the field twice in just seven months Has an Implanted Cardiac Device (ICD) fitted to his chestCould be life-saving in case of another setback on the fieldWHAT HAPPENED?

Lockyer experienced a mid-game cardiac arrest earlier in the season, during a match against Bournemouth in December, marking the second time Lockyer collapsed on the pitch within seven months, after having previously endured atrial fibrillation during the Championship play-off final at Wembley in May. He has now been fitted with an Implanted Cardiac Device (ICD) in his chest which would shock his heart into action should it stop, eliminating the need for external defibrillation and potentially saving his life.

AdvertisementWATCH THE CLIPWHAT LOCKYER SAID

Speaking to Lockyer said: "So that's my battle wound. My defibrillator sits in there, as you can see there's a wire that runs across and up to the heart in case it ever needs to go off.

"So that's constantly monitoring my heart rate and if it goes outside certain parameters then it's designed to give me a shock. That's the wire – the battery lasts about 10 years so only needs changing every 10 years and hopefully I'm never going to need it but it's there as a precaution."

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THE BIGGER PICTURE

Lockyer recounted the December incident in vivid detail and insisted that he knew that the second emergency was distinctively different from the first one.

"I was running up to the halfway line and went really light-headed, thinking would be OK in a second. I wasn't and woke up with paramedics everywhere," he revealed.

"It happened in May but I knew instantly this time was different, the last time I woke up almost like from a dream and this time woke up from nothingness.

'I could see straight away, paramedics, physios, club doctors, there was more panic, I couldn't speak, couldn't move, trying to work out what was happening. While that was going on I remember thinking, 'I could be dying here'.

"It's a surreal thought to have been thinking that and not being able to move or respond, and you could see panic going on. Once I came around it was a relief I was alive and fortunate it happened where it happened, I was living it and my family almost had it worse than I have. After what happened in May I have a recording device, and two minutes 40 seconds I was out for, and had to have a defib to shock me back."

A round-up of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy South Zone matches played on April 2, 2014

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Apr-2014Goa moved to the top of the South Zone table with their second win in two matches, beating Kerala by two runs in Visakhapatnam. Sent in to bat, Goa’s openers impressed for the second match in a row. Sagun Kamat made his second half-century of the tournament, scoring a 44-ball 55, while Swapnil Asnodkar made a 44-ball 64, an innings that included five fours and three sixes.No one else contributed much to the score, though, and Goa lost seven wickets for 59 runs to go from 90 for no loss to finish at 149 for 7. Kerala used nine bowlers, giving everyone a go apart from Jafar Jamal and their wicketkeeper Sanju Samson.Kerala lost wickets regularly in their chase, but opener VA Jagadeesh kept them going with a 43-ball 42 before Padmanabhan Prasanth, coming in at No. 8, smashed an unbeaten 22-ball 43, with two fours and four sixes, to bring Kerala to within three runs of victory with two wickets in hand. Medium-pacer Harshad Gadekar was Goa’s most successful bowler, with figures of 3 for 16 in four overs.Unbeaten half-centuries from Akshath Reddy and Hanuma Vihari propelled Hyderabad to a nine-wicket win over Karnataka in Visakhapatnam. Chasing 141, Hyderabad lost Dwaraka Ravi Teja in the third over of their innings, but didn’t lose a wicket after that as Akshath and Vihari put on an unbroken 122 to seal the win with 15 balls remaining. Akshath was unbeaten on 69 off 48 balls, with seven fours and two sixes, and Vihari on 64 off 49, with nine fours.Batting first after winning the toss, Karnataka were bowled out for 140. They got that much thanks primarily to Robin Uthappa, who scored a 45-ball 64 even as wickets kept falling around him. When Uthappa was out in the 15th over, Karnataka were 92 for 6. From there, their captain Vinay Kumar ensured they set a challenging target, striking 34 from 16 balls, with the help of two fours and three sixes. Medium-pacer Ashish Reddy and part-time offspinner Vihari took two wickets each.A four-wicket haul from left-arm spinner Rahil Shah gave Tamil Nadu a 32-run win, by the V Jayadevan method, over Andhra in Vizianagaram. Shah opened the bowling and took the first three Andhra wickets as they slipped to 19 for 3 chasing a revised target of 159 in 17 overs. Opener Koripalli Sreekanth made a 28-ball 42, but no one else made a sizeable contribution as Andhra were shot out for 126 with 10 balls remaining.Sent in to bat, Tamil Nadu had moved to 39 for 1 after six overs when rain stopped play. The match was then reduced to 17 overs a side. After play resumed, opener M Vijay scored a 40-ball 54 and extended his second-wicket partnership with B Aparajith to 97 from 59 balls. Aparajith made a 33-ball 41. Both fell in the space of five balls, before Dinesh Karthik struck 27 off 10 balls, with a four and three sixes, to power Tamil Nadu to 157 for 7. Seamer D Shivkumar was Andhra’s most successful bowler, with figures of 3 for 26.

South Africa fast bowler Vernon Philander believes the key to succeeding in Sri Lankan conditions lies in picking up early wickets while the ball is still new

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Jul-2014South Africa fast bowler Vernon Philander believes the key to succeeding in Sri Lankan conditions lies in picking up wickets while the ball is still new. Philander, on his first Test tour of Sri Lanka, feels that seam bowlers can fetch wickets in spin-friendly surfaces by maintaining a simple off-stump line and making the batsmen play.”The more damage you can do with the new ball the better,” Philander said on Monday in Galle two days before the first Test. “You want batsmen five, six and seven batting against a newish nut. In these conditions you want to be striking with the new ball, our lines upfront need to get the batsmen to play.”I wouldn’t really say that lengths change, its more the line of attack. You need to sit on that off-stump line, and make sure you get the lbw into the game, the wider ball becomes the nick-off. Hopefully we can adjust really quickly and assess conditions accordingly.”Philander said he had recovered from the viral infection that ruled him out of the third ODI in Hambantota on Saturday. If he makes the starting XI, it will be his first Test in the subcontinent. Since his Test debut in 2011, Philander has played the majority of his 23 Tests at home in South Africa and toured England, Australia and New Zealand. He played two Tests in the UAE last year – his first Test series in Asia – where he picked up six wickets in two games.Spinners have performed well in Galle but Philander was hopeful of getting some swing, given the occasional showers.”There is a bit of moisture and overhead conditions around which will favour the swing bowlers,” he said. “We have to wait and see what the deck looks like tomorrow and on the morning of the Test.”Philander was also confident his team would be able to negate the threat of Sri Lanka’s lead spinner Rangana Herath, who has 48 wickets at this ground, the second-highest behind Muttiah Muralitharan (111).”Spin is always a factor when you come to the subcontinent. That’s why they prepare wickets to suit their bowlers,” Philander said. “He (Herath) is going to be a big threat, but our batsmen played him quite well in the last one-dayer in Hambantota, so hopefully we can continue to do so. I’d like to see our guys stepping up against the spinners and playing them to the best of their abilities.”

Virat Kohli said he was left with no good reason to respect Mitchell Johnson and some of the other Australia players after verbals flew “throughout the day” at the MCG

Sidharth Monga at the MCG28-Dec-20142:53

‘They were calling me a spoilt brat’ – Kohli

After scoring his third Test hundred of the tour, Virat Kohli brought his attacking form to the press conference too, saying he was left with no good reason to respect Mitchell Johnson and some of the other Australia players after verbals flew “throughout the day” at the MCG.The squabbling reached its peak when Johnson fielded in his follow-through and threw back at the striker’s stumps. Unlike with Mohammed Shami and Steven Smith on day one, there was a genuine case for Johnson trying to run Kohli out, and the throw was headed for the stumps when it hit Kohli, who was trying to get back into his crease. Kohli believed it was an attempt to hit him and an argument ensued, which needed the intervention of the umpires.”I was really annoyed with him hitting me with the ball, and I told him that’s not on,” Kohli said. “‘Try and hit the stumps next time, not my body.’ You have got to send the right message across. I am not there to take to some unnecessary words or chats from someone. I am going there to play cricket, back myself. There’s no good reason that I should respect unnecessarily some people when they are not respecting me.”Kohli said this attitude from Australia helped him play better, which he said might be one of the reasons why five of his nine hundreds have come against them. “It was going on throughout the day,” Kohli said. “They were calling me a spoilt brat, and I said, ‘Maybe that’s the way I am. You guys hate me, and I like that.’ I don’t mind having a chat on the field, and it worked in my favour I guess. I like playing against Australia because it is very hard for them to stay calm, and I don’t mind an argument on the field, and it really excites me and brings the best out of me. So they don’t seem to be learning the lesson.”When he comes up against a team that does stay calm, unlike Australia, Kohli said he can still make do. “You always have a few who can’t keep calm in every team. So I have my targets,” Kohli said with a cheeky grin.It was the grin of a man who had scored a superlative century. According to Kohli, Australia have been saying things about India’s habit of crumbling under pressure only because they are up in the series. “Good for them,” Kohli said when told of Smith’s comments about the Indian team before the match. “Some words coming out of their mouth. They have the right to talk I guess. They are two-nil up right now. Would have been interesting if it had been 1-1, and the same sort of sentences or words had come through from them.”It is funny. When you are on top you can sort of say anything you want. It’s when the chips are down that you have got to stand up. Say what you have to say and then go out there and prove it. When we played in India there weren’t so many words coming back from them. Which was surprising. We are two-nil down, we still took them on today, and showed what we can do with the bat, which is the character of this Indian team.”At the suggestion India might have done something similar to Johnson – fire him up into a match-winning performance – in Brisbane, Kohli said: “There he was batting, and there was no pressure on him as a batsman. That’s not his job. His job is to take wickets and he was going at 4.7 an over today. Didn’t get a wicket throughout the day, and I backed myself to take him on even if I keep talking to him. You cannot then back off after saying a few words and then not show it with your skill. I decided whenever he comes on to bowl I will back myself and take him on. I don’t mind having a word back neither does he, so we kept going on.”Mitchell Johnson apologises after hitting Virat Kohli while he was aiming for the stumps•Getty ImagesBefore Kohli eventually fell to what turned out to be the last ball of the day, he had scored 68 runs off 72 Johnson deliveries. Kohli gave part of credit to fellow centurion Ajinkya Rahane for being the calming influence when things got too heated, and also taking Johnson on.”I was confident of my batting but I can go through with that phase,” Kohli said about whether he wanted to take a pause and reassess when words were flying. “But Jinks helped us as well from the other end. He kept taking him [Johnson] on, didn’t let him settle into a rhythm, which was very important for us with the new ball especially. That’s how you play Test cricket, that’s how your partner helps you and vice versa. If he is in a spot of bother, I keep taking on the bowler. It was good to bat out there with Jinks today. I am glad he kept taking on the bowlers when I had a chat with them.”Kohli said he still had respect for some of the Australian players but Johnson wasn’t one of them. “I respect quite a few of them, but someone who doesn’t respect me I have no reason to respect him,” Kohli said. “There were words in Adelaide as well where they said, ‘No unnecessary respect for him.’ I said, ‘I don’t need it. I am out here to play cricket, not to hear anyone’s respect. As long as I am scoring runs, I am happy with it. If you like it, good. If you don’t, I am not bothered.’ I don’t really need to care about what they think as far as respecting me or me respecting them is concerned. I have got a nice friendship with a few of them. Friendly chats, but someone who is not backing off, someone who is saying anything that comes to mouth I have no reason to respect him.”Ryan Harris, who took four wickets in India’s first innings and whose strikes in the final session pulled back a rampaging batting line-up, was taken aback by Kohli’s comments. He was at loss for words, before he said: “We all respect him. He’s a pretty good player so I don’t know where he gets that from. I respect him, and I know all the boys in the change room respect him because he has come out and his bat does the talking. Where he gets that from I am not sure. There’s a bit of banter on the field, but if that doesn’t stay out there and comes up here, he needs to have a look at that.”Harris was of the view Johnson was going for a genuine run-out when Kohli was hit. Kohli was outside the crease when Johnson threw. “There were a few things out there today that were said,” Harris said. “I think the thing that fired him up the most was when Mitch threw the ball at the stumps and he was in the way.”When pressed further, Harris suggested Kohli did go looking for trouble. “We try not to say too much to him, but sometimes he brings it on himself, I guess, when he starts it. It’s never personal, it’s always a bit of fun.”It’s interesting to hear him say [all] that. It’s probably a good thing. Because he’s probably worried about that. We need him to worry about that instead of batting. If he’s worrying about stuff like that, hopefully his batting goes downhill. That’s probably the way we think.”

Two county academy players, Gavin Main and Andrew Umeed, have been selected in Scotland’s squad for the Under-19 World Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Jan-2014Two county academy players, Gavin Main and Andrew Umeed, have been selected in Scotland’s squad for the Under-19 World Cup. Fast bowler Main, who recently signed for Durham, and Warwickshire batsman Umeed were among the 15-man squad, which will be led by Ross McLean and also includes 16-year-old spinner Ryan Brown.McLean, Main and Umeed, along with Nick Farrar, will all be playing in their second U-19 World Cup. Scotland are the only European Associate featuring in the UAE, having beaten Ireland in the final of the qualifier, and will look to improve on their best U-19 World Cup finish of 12th in 2012.Glamorgan’s Ruaidhri Smith, who was controversially ruled ineligible for Scotland’s regional qualifying campaign last year despite having played at the previous Under-19 World Cup, has not been included due to university commitments.The Scotland squad are due to take part in a week-long training camp in Sri Lanka, as well as warm-up matches against Afghanistan and England, ahead of the start of the tournament on February 14. They will face India, Pakistan and Papua New Guinea in Group A.”The players have earned the right to test themselves against the best players in the world at their age group,” Scotland’s U-19 head coach, Craig Wright, said. “They performed with impressive consistency in the qualifying tournament last year and now have a fantastic opportunity to show what they are capable of on the World stage.”McLean said: “We definitely believe Scotland can cause an upset. We have players in the squad who played in the last World Cup, so have a better understanding of what to expect and will be drawing on that experience.”Scotland U19 World Cup squad: Ross McLean (capt), Alex Baum (wk), Ryan Brown, Will Edwards, Michael English, Nick Farrar, Chayank Gosain, Gavin Main, Zander Muir, Abdul Sabri, Chris Sole, Kyle Stirling, Andrew Umeed, Mark Watt, Stuart Whittingham

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According to West Ham insider ExWHUemployee on Twitter, Middlesbrough are keen to make West Ham striker Jordan Hugill’s stay at the Riverside Stadium permanent, with the fee believed to be between £6m-£7m.

The former Preston North End hitman joined the Hammers last January but played just 22 minutes of Premier League football, according to Transfermarkt, before securing a loan move to Boro in the summer – things are looking up for the 26-year-old now, though, as he finds his shooting boots again in the Championship.

With seven goals and an assist to his name in all competitions, the local boy is proving a good signing for Tony Pulis’ side but, with Lucas Perez having moved to the London Stadium in the summer and a deal for Maxi Gomez reportedly almost complete, as per Sky Sports, Hugill’s career in claret and blue may already be over.

Having commanded a fee of £10m a year ago, according to the BBC, West Ham stand to lose out on the centre-forward if the mentioned price is deemed good enough, however they have a plethora of striking options available so it makes sense to lighten the wage bill if possible.

Here’s how Irons fans reacted to the news on Twitter – it’s fair to say they wouldn’t feel too aggrieved by the departure…

Who is West Ham’s worst ever signing? Check out the video above for a pretty strong candidate for the dubious honour…

Unless Zimbabwe put one across India on Sunday, this series may fade from memory faster than it normally would

The Preview by Kanishkaa Balachandran27-Jul-2013Match factsSunday, July 28, 2013
Start time 0900 (0700 GMT)Zimbabwe need to win to stay alive in the series•Associated PressBig PictureWhen India sent an inexperienced side to Zimbabwe for the second time in three years, there must have been a glimmer of hope that the hosts would seal a win or two, just like they did in the tri-series in 2010. Two games later, the series has lacked the competitiveness the home fans were expecting, as India proved themselves equally adept at defending and chasing targets. The toss was a factor on Friday, as India limped to 65 for 4, but then Zimbabwe had themselves to blame, dropping catches which released the stranglehold on the batsmen. Better fielding would have kept the target to something more achievable than 295. Zimbabwe had their moments in both innings where they stretched India, but matches are rarely won by teams that fumble in the field.The biggest positive for India was that they managed to weather the storm after a top-order collapse. Shikhar Dhawan, dropped twice and caught off a no-ball, made the most of those lapses and had an equally positive partner in Dinesh Karthik to take India to a winning total. Batting first in seaming conditions – aided by two new balls – may not have been the worst thing to happen for India, for it was an education for the top order, which will face tougher examinations for prolonged periods in South Africa later on.The positive for Zimbabwe was that they batted out 50 overs, instead of surrendering meekly. At 133 for 6, a humiliation loomed, before Elton Chigumbura and Prosper Utseya showed some resistance. Aside from the dropped catches, the no-show from the middle order was another concern. Zimbabwe are one defeat away from conceding the series. Unless they put one across India on Sunday, this series may fade from memory faster than it normally would, given its lack of context in a packed calendar.Form guide India WWWWW (most recent first, last five completed games)
Zimbabwe LLWWLIn the spotlightThough Suresh Raina came in to bat with India moments from victory in the first game, he had an opportunity in the second to build an innings but failed to step up as the senior. He was caught tickling one down the leg side for 4, leaving India in trouble at 69 for 4. His ODI average outside the subcontinent is 25.82 with two fifties, a climbdown from his overall figures of 35.69. The seamers will look to target his weakness against the short ball.One of Vusi Sibanda’s biggest problems has been his consistency, but in the last six games, he has delivered better, with a century and two fifties at an average of 66.60. Had he batted through the bulk of the innings on Friday, Zimbabwe would have been in with a fighting chance. His dismissal in the 21st over, caught at midwicket, was untimely.Team newsCheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Mohit Sharma and Parvez Rasool are yet to get a game, but it’s uncertain if India will change its winning combination yet.India (probable): 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 Rohit Sharma, 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 Ambati Rayudu, 5 Suresh Raina, 6 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Amit Mishra, 9 Vinay Kumar, 10 Jaydev Unadkat, 11 Mohammed ShamiRay Price is in the squad and Zimbabwe could use his experience as the second spinner.Zimbabwe (probable): 1 Vusi Sibanda, 2 Sikandar Raza, 3 Hamilton Masakadza, 4 Brendan Taylor (capt & wk), 5 Malcolm Waller, 6 Sean Williams, 7 Elton Chigumbura, 8 Prosper Utseya, 9 Brian Vitori, 10 and 11 Kyle Jarvis/Tendai Chatara/Ray PriceStats and trivia India have recorded the most ODI wins (42) among all countries since the start of the 2011 World Cup. Zimbabwe have eight Rohit Sharma averages 56.20 in ODIs in Zimbabwe, with two centuriesQuotes”What’s quite frustrating is we should be learning from the opposition. We look at guys like Kohli bat, they don’t play too many rash shots, they just keep it simple and we should be learning from that. We’re not, and we’ve got to start doing that, otherwise we’re going to find it difficult.”
“You need a lot of match practice – that’s what I feel. That way you learn how to take the pressure and how to play in different situations. I feel that works for us.”

Pat Cummins will finally make his long-awaited return to Australian domestic cricket for Perth Scorchers against Adelaide Strikers at the WACA on Thursday after Cricket Australia cleared the injury-prone fast bowler

Alex Malcolm14-Jan-2014Pat Cummins will finally make his long-awaited return to Australian domestic cricket, for Perth Scorchers against Adelaide Strikers at the WACA on Thursday, after Cricket Australia cleared the injury-prone fast bowler.The Scorchers wanted Cummins to play against his former franchise Sydney Sixers last Friday but CA decided that he needed another grade fixture before returning to the professional ranks.Cummins’ body has been a source of consternation for CA since he made his Test debut as an 18-year old against South Africa, at the Wanderers, in 2011. He has broken down repeatedly with stress injuries to his back, feet, and ribs.He has not played a T20 since the 2012 Champions League in South Africa where he helped the Sixers to the title. Cummins played two first-class fixtures and one 50-over match for Australia A in South Africa during August before again breaking down again with rib and back injuries.”It’s been a long time coming,” Cummins said. “Hopefully on Thursday I get a run and it will be good to be back for the boys.”Cummins has played grade cricket in both Sydney and Perth this summer. He appeared as a batsman only before Christmas in Sydney, scoring a century for Penrith against Sutherland.Since joining the Scorchers for the BBL season Cummins has represented Perth Cricket Club in the WACA first grade competition. He made 75 and bowled five overs in his first appearance. Last Saturday he returned the figures of 6-3-8-0 in another 50-over fixture.”Playing grade games were really important for me and playing them, particularly the second one, I do feel a lot more confident going into the game,” Cummins said. “The first week was a little bit scratchy and then really happy with how I went on the weekend.”Outside of that I have been bowling in the nets every couple of days for the last five or six weeks. I feel really confident with where my body is at and I feel like it’s coming out okay so hopefully I will let loose in the game.”Cummins has been working back to full pace over a carefully managed six-week period. Both Cummins and the Scorchers were keen to expedite his return but after discussions with CA they decided to stay the course given the fragility he has shown in the past.”We mapped out a plan about six months ago and that plan had me coming back for this game,” Cummins said. “So it was four, five, six weeks bowling in the nets, a couple of grade games.”Everything was feeling good, so we asked a couple of questions, but in the end, we all decided it was best to stick to the plan.”His inclusion is a huge boost for the Scorchers who sit second on the table following their Super Over win against the Sixers.