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Craig McMillan knows a little bit about stratospheric one-day performances but New Zealand’s batting coach was unwilling to predict how much further teams could go

Alan Gardner13-Jun-20151:22

‘Not right to be easier to bowl in T20 than ODI’ – Taylor

Craig McMillan knows a little bit about stratospheric one-day performances but, after seeing more than 760 runs scored in 96 overs at The Oval on Friday night, New Zealand’s batting coach was unwilling to predict how much further teams could go.It is more than eight years since McMillan played a key role in New Zealand overhauling totals of 336 and 346 against Australia in consecutive matches – still two of the five highest successful chases in the format. McMillan’s 67-ball hundred in the third ODI was the fastest by a New Zealander until Corey Anderson and Jesse Ryder both breezed past the mark at the start of 2014.That final match in Hamilton in 2007 saw 696 runs scored, albeit within the bijou dimensions of Seddon Park, and was at the time the second-highest match aggregate in history. It has since been pushed down to 10th, with six of the new entries coming in the last two years. Changes to the ODI playing regulations recommended by the ICC cricket committee may shift the balance once again but McMillan’s suggestion that “400 might well be the new 300″ no longer seems outlandish.”I wouldn’t like to put framework on it, I don’t know,” McMillan said when asked about the expansion of batting horizons. “T20 cricket has changed the perception of one-day cricket and what is possible and what’s not. I would think it’s pretty hard to beat 400 against quality opposition but with some of the grounds you play on, where the boundaries aren’t big and you play on good, true surfaces, anything’s possible, really.””These two sides, we’ve got two attacking batting line-ups that are going pretty hard at one another. I think with the pitches we’re going to face in the remaining three matches, 400 might well be the new 300. It’s also T20 cricket coming to the fore, batsmen play with no fear so chasing seven, eight an over is not a big deal anymore.”After two matches in favourable batting conditions, this series is already beginning to resemble a subcontinental run fest, where bowlers are little more than fodder. At Edgbaston, New Zealand took a wicket with the first ball of the match but ended up conceding 408; this time, Steven Finn got through a maiden before the fireworks began. Even with a target off 399 to back them up, New Zealand’s attack only just held out.A couple of winters ago, India and Australia gave it some relentless pongo during a series that looked to have redefined the game – particularly in the wake of the rule changes that brought such attacking cricket at the World Cup. Then, the overall run rate was 6.64 over six matches (one of which was a no result due to rain); currently, England and New Zealand are trading blows at a rate of 7.72 runs per over.New Zealand’s 398 for 5 at The Oval was the second-highest total in their ODI history – and their best against a fellow Test nation – but there was an ominous sense of control about the way the runs came. Of the top four, only Brendon McCullum scored at significantly more than a run a ball in the first 35 overs, with Ross Taylor opening up towards the end for an unbeaten 119 off 96 and Grant Elliott and Luke Ronchi providing further impetus lower down.Underpinning it all was solid partnership-building, with 50-plus scores for each of the first four wickets – their smallest was 45 for the fifth – leaving McMillan very satisfied.”It was a very professional batting effort, to have partnerships all the way through really set the platform for that big total,” McMillan said. “McCullum and Guptill probably set the tone, then the partnership between Kane and Ross set the platform and it allowed guys like Elliott and Ronchi to come in and play their cameos. In many ways it was close to the perfect batting performance.”English conditions could once be relied on to even the contest between batmen and bowlers, even with the white ball, but the absence of swing so far has neutered a strength of both attacks. Another generous batting surface is expected at the Ageas Bowl, a ground on which New Zealand cracked 359 for 3 in 2013. Records may continue to tumble.”It’s been a difficult series for the bowlers so far, I think they’re looking forward to a pitch with a little bit more help at some stage,” McMillan said. “But it is something we need to keep working on, I think we made improvements from Edgbaston. England came very hard at us last night, harder than at Edgbaston but the boys got the job done.”There’s very little help, you usually see with the new balls a little bit of swing. That’s one of the challenges for them at the moment, when the ball doe\sn’t do anything, what’s your gameplan? You have to be able to adjust and be flexible. It’s a continual discussion among the bowling group, with Dimi Mascarenhas as well. I think we’ve seen from the first two games it’s going to be a tough series for the bowlers.”

The Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) has signed a three-year sponsorship deal worth 15.5 million Nepalese rupees (approx. $155,000) per year with the state-owned telecom giant Nepal Telecom

Bishen Jeswant07-Apr-2015The Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) has signed a three-year sponsorship deal worth 15.5 million Nepalese rupees (approx. $155,000) per year with the state-owned telecom giant Nepal Telecom. The deal is the biggest in the history of Nepalese sport. Nepal’s men’s and women’s national teams will sport the Nepal Telecom logo on their kits, and every national cricketer will be a brand ambassador of Nepal Telecom.”CAN is very pleased to have Nepal Telecom as a sponsor because involvement of big companies such as Nepal Telecom will give confidence to other players in the market to invest in cricket,” Bhawana Ghimire, the CAN CEO, told ESPNCricinfo.”This deal is very important for Nepal cricket because it is validation of the fact that the sport is growing in this country. This is a very promising sign and the game will only grow further, especially with our national team performing as well as they are.”The terms of the deal lay out how the sponsorship amount of NPR 15.5 million will be disbursed each year. Nepal Telecom has agreed to provide the CAN with an annual sum of NPR 8.5 million for the betterment of Nepalese cricket while also keeping in mind the best interests of the cricketers. The terms state that 25% of this amount will be paid directly to the national team players in the form of allowances.The remaining NPR 7 million will be paid towards an annual T20 tournament that is to be organized by the CAN, called the ‘Nepal Telecom Championship Trophy’. This tournament will be played once every year during the sponsorship term and will have a winner’s cheque of NPR 1 million (approx. $10,000). The tournament is set to become Nepal’s most lucrative cricketing event.The Nepal national team has been without a sponsor for around a year now. Ghimire informed ESPNCricinfo that the previous deal, with Pepsi and Standard Chartered, was worth around $30,000 per year.Ghimire also informed ESPNCricinfo that the CAN, in early April, had sold television rights to NTV, Nepal’s oldest and most watched television channel, for a sum of NPR 1.8 million (approx. $18,000) per year, three times the value of the previous television deal that the CAN had signed with NTV.The broadcast rights have been sold for a period of three years, during which time NTV is expected to broadcast domestic and international matches played in Kathmandu.”NTV are under an obligation to telecast at least 4-5 matches per year,” Ghimire said. “Matches played in tournaments such as the Nepal Telecom Championship Trophy will also be broadcast on NTV. If resources permit, they will telecast even more games, possibly even those played outside Kathmandu”.

A round-up of the matches played in Group C of the Ranji Trophy on December 9, 2014

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Dec-2014Group C
ScorecardKrishna Das registered his best first-class figures of 7 for 50•PTI

Assam picked up a bonus point after Krishna Das ran through Tripura’s batting in Guwahati. Starting the third day trailing by 138, Tripura’s second innings folded for 155, with medium-pacer Krishna picking up seven wickets to finish with match figures of 10 for 91. This left Assam chasing a target of 16 runs, and they completed the job without losing a wicket.Tripura were 2 for 0 at the start of the day, and their openers put on 39 before Krishna picked up his first wicket. The top four all got into double figures, and their third-wicket pair of Rajesh Bainik and Rakesh Solanki put on 73 to steer Tripura to a solid 113 for 2, before the wicket of Bainik began a collapse that saw eight wickets fall for 42 runs. All seven batsmen Krishna dismissed were out bowled or lbw.
ScorecardHyderabad took firm control of their clash against Andhra, as three-wicket hauls from Syed Quadri and Ravi Kiran helped the team collect a crucial first-innings lead. In reply to Hyderabad’s 522, Andhra began the day well-placed at 121 for 0, but were dealt an early blow when the opener Srikar Bharat (75) was dismissed in the first over. Bharat’s opening partner Prasanth Kumar carried on, stroking a fourth first-class hundred, but none of the other batsmen were able to make good on their starts and raise a fifty, as Andhra were bowled out for 369. Prasanth hit 17 fours and a six during his 124, while for Hyderabad, Quadri picked up 3 for 54 and Kiran took 3 for 103. With a 153-run lead in hand, Hyderabad enforced the follow-on. Andhra were 24 for 0 at stumps.
ScorecardServices were stung by Himachal Pradesh’s lower order on the third day which resulted in a 253-run deficit for the home team at the Palam Ground in Delhi. They then lost their top three batsmen in the latter half of the day and were left staring at a possible defeat. Services were still 162 short of making Himachal bat again.Resuming from their overnight 255 for 6, Himachal lost their seventh wicket after the addition of 16 runs. But if Services thought they would be able to bat again soon, it was not be. Nikhil Gangta, who has a scored a century in first-class cricket previously, added 55 for the eight wicket with Karnaveer Singh, followed it up with a 77-run partnership along with Vikramjeet Malik (59 off 47 balls), before adding 75 for the last wicket with Pankaj Jaiswal (41 off 46 balls). Gangta fell one short of a century; he was the last wicket to fall. But by that time, the team had scored 224 runs in 49.1 overs.
ScorecardAmit Verma’s ninth first-class century anchored the Kerala innings in their response to Goa’s 367 in Wayanad. Verma was the last batsman to be dismissed on the day – after a 287-ball 129 that included 13 fours and three sixes – but the innings ensured Kerala moved within 68 runs of Goa’s total.Kerala started on 60 for 2 but were jolted in the fifth over of the morning as KB Pawan was caught behind off Saurabh Bandekar. The dismissal brought Sanju Samson to the crease but he could only score 24 from 95 balls before being dismissed by Shadab Jakati. Sachin Baby, the Kerala captain, added 80 for the fifth-wicket with Verma before being caught behind off Jakati for 31. Verma found a solid ally in Nikhilesh Surendran and the two put the best stand of the innings – 86 runs in 30.3 overs – to edge Kerala closer to the target. However, Verma was dismissed four overs before the close of day, leaving both sides with a chance of grabbing the point for first-innings lead on the fourth day.

The five-match ODI series against South Africa that begins in Perth on Friday will be the last World Cup audition chance for Australia’s fringe players

Brydon Coverdale11-Nov-20141:52

‘No pressure being World Cup hosts’ – Bailey

If February 14 seems a long way off, you’re clearly not an Australian selector. That is the date that Australia begin their World Cup campaign against England at the MCG and opportunities to assess players ahead of the tournament are fast running out; World Cup squads must be finalised before the time the tri-series with India and England starts on January 16.That means the five-match ODI series against South Africa that begins in Perth on Friday will be the last audition chance for Australia’s fringe players. The batting line-up seems largely settled with David Warner, Aaron Finch, Shane Watson, Michael Clarke, George Bailey, Glenn Maxwell and Steven Smith all part of the squad to play South Africa, and all likely to feature at the World Cup.Kane Richardson, George Bailey and Nathan Coulter-Nile at the launch of the one-day series in Perth•Getty ImagesThere is no shortage of batting backup either, with Phillip Hughes and Cameron White both capable of stepping straight into the side if called up, although neither are in the squad for the first two ODIs. Matthew Wade is expected to keep wicket through the South African series while Brad Haddin recovers from his shoulder injury sustained against Pakistan, but Haddin will be the gloveman at the World Cup.But the bowling group is not quite as clear-cut. World Cup probables James Faulkner and Mitchell Starc were left out of the first two ODIs to allow them some Sheffield Shield time ahead of the Tests against India. There is also no Nathan Lyon, given the first two games are at the WACA. But for men like Nathan Coulter-Nile, Josh Hazlewood and Kane Richardson, this is a big chance to press a World Cup case.”I wouldn’t like to be a selector at the moment, looking at our group and we’ve got a lot of guys around the country playing some good cricket,” vice-captain Bailey said. “There’s this group itself playing good cricket. It’s going to be hard to nut that out. The players are going to have the performances that they themselves need to put on the board in the back of their minds as well as actually playing really well as a team.”Not only are individual performances important over the five-match series, but so is Australia’s team form given they lost the recent tri-series final to South Africa in Zimbabwe. By the end of this month they will have played 16 matches against South Africa across all formats in 2014 and the Australians hope that another series against the world’s No.2-ranked ODI side – Australia are No.3 – will be ideal World Cup preparation.”There’s every chance that they’ll be featuring at the back end of the World Cup, so this will be a really good starting point to find out exactly where we are as a team,” Bailey said. “I think we are two of the stronger teams going around. We’re two teams very much gunning to try and win a World Cup in a couple of months … There’s a lot of bragging rights on the line and the cricket played will reflect that.”It will also provide Clarke the chance to move on from the disappointing tour of the UAE, where his men were humiliated in both Tests against Pakistan, which led to some criticism of Clarke’s captaincy and form. Bailey said he expected Clarke to bounce back strongly back on home soil.”If you look at his record it speaks for itself,” Bailey said. “It’s obviously a position people care a lot about. The Australian cricket team means a lot to a lot of people, so that’s a great thing for cricket. But I’ll back Pup to the hilt in terms of his performance and what he’s done.”If you look at his record as a player, he responds pretty well to pressure and generally goes out and does the one thing, and that’s score big runs. The hard thing to look at is just how different the conditions were they’ve just come from. I’m backing him to respond the one way that we know he does, and that’s with steely determination and big runs. When he’s doing that, that’s a great thing for us to feed off us a group.”

New Zealand Cricket appears to have secured two inbound tours from each of the big three, but could have large gaps to fill in their schedule until 2023

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Jul-2014

New Zealand Cricket appears to have secured two inbound tours from each of the big three, but could have large gaps to fill in their schedule, according to the latest version of the FTP, which stretches to 2023. New Zealand are likely to have a busy home schedule each summer, with as many as seven home Tests penciled in for the 2016/17 season, but are yet to find away Test tours in 2017. The 2018 and 2019 schedules could also be light on away cricket during the New Zealand winter.The imbalance may stem from New Zealand’s commercial position in world cricket. While the Big Three nations can make money from almost any tour, home Tests with New Zealand are not lucrative propositions for teams like Sri Lanka, Pakistan, West Indies and South Africa. As such, New Zealand appear in most need of assistance from the “Test Cricket Fund” promised by the revamped ICC in February. However, the setting up of this “Fund” had not been a significant point of discussion during the recent ICC meeting in Melbourne, according to one director in attendance.Among the bilateral agreements fuelling this discrepancy between New Zealand’s home and away schedules is the tie with Sri Lanka. New Zealand are set to host Tests against Sri Lanka twice after 2015, only have one trip scheduled to the island, in 2021. Their arrangement with West Indies is even more imbalanced. West Indies visit New Zealand twice for Tests, in 2017/18 and 2020/21, but there are no tours to the West Indies scheduled between the ongoing tour and 2023. The ongoing series is the reciprocal tour for West Indies’ visit to New Zealand last year.Likewise, Pakistan are set to tour New Zealand thrice for Tests, but New Zealand only have two away Test tours against Pakistan – including the three-Test series later this year. New Zealand also have only one home-and-away arrangement with South Africa, though that may in part be due to clashing home seasons. New Zealand have until October to negotiate more winter Test tours, before the FTP is set to be signed. However, tours can be arranged even beyond that date via mutual agreement between boards.The Big Three nations are likely to play a mix of two and three-Test series with New Zealand. The 2019/20 summer is set to be a bumper for board coffers, with both India and England set to visit and a Test series against Pakistan also scheduled.Several home-and-away limited-overs tours have also been scheduled, ostensibly both to fill up New Zealand’s schedule and to provide additional sources of income. Two home-and-away Test tours with Bangladesh are also in the schedule, as well as one reciprocal arrangement with Zimbabwe.Member nations have been told to sign their bilateral agreements by the next ICC Board meeting in October in order to firmly establish that FTP is both “binding and bankable”.

Squad rotation is a reality that modern football has become well acquainted with. To most counties, their meagre playing resources make that notion an unimaginable luxury. Surrey are different

Tim Wigmore at The Oval13-May-2014Surrey 132 and 47 for 0 (Smith 39*) need another 220 runs to beat Gloucestershire 168 and 230
ScorecardKevin O’Brien will be returning to play in Surrey’s colours for the NatWest T20 Blast•Getty ImagesSquad rotation is a reality that modern football has become well acquainted with. To most counties, their meagre playing resources make that notion an unimaginable luxury.Surrey are different. On a day limited to 17 deliveries – Surrey’s quest for a second Championship win since September 2012 will resume on Wednesday – they provided another reminder of their financial strength by signing Ireland’s Kevin O’Brien. It adds lustre to their Twenty20 batting line-up ahead of their tournament opener at Hove on Friday night.But it is in pace bowling that Surrey’s resources are most plentiful and where resting players is a luxury they can afford.While Tom Curran, Matt Dunn, Tim Linley and Chris Tremlett illustrated their contrasting qualities to take 20 Gloucestershire wickets for only 398 in this game, Jade Dernbach and Stuart Meaker were rested with the NatWest Blast in mind. Add in George Edwards and Surrey, for all their plight near the foot of Division Two in the Championship, have seven pace bowlers with strong claims.The club’s approach to managing these talents evokes Claudio “The Tinkerman” Ranieri’s selection policy at Chelsea a decade ago. “You generally try and get your quick bowlers to play between ten and twelve games each, so that when they play they’re fresh and when they’re just lagging a bit you can leave them out and someone else can come in fresh,” Surrey’s director of cricket – and Chelsea fan – Alec Stewart explained after the first day. “That’s how we try and do it with the bowling resources.”Tremlett is among those who should benefit. “That’s the joy of having a big squad,” he said. “I don’t want to put my body under too much stress.”In other positions, the need for rotation is less pressing. Behind the stumps, Gary Wilson, who has deposed Niall O’Brien as Ireland wicketkeeper, will be in no mood to relinquish the responsibilities that he has gained while Steven Davies works on his batting.Stewart warned Davies that, “No one has a divine right to say ‘I’m a keeper therefore I keep’. It’s how the selectors feel.” Wilson strengthened his case with impressive keeping in both innings against Gloucestershire, which was not reflected in a match total of 25 byes.With rain dominating the day, Wilson had the chance to welcome his compatriot Kevin O’Brien. In the spirit of the age, he tweeted a selfie, though one imagines that it resonated rather less far than David Cameron’s attempt at Nelson Mandela’s funeral last year. O’Brien is expected to be available for nine games before he heads to the Caribbean: such is the life of the nomadic cricketer.The lack of regular team-mates is “probably one of the hardest things to get used to” but O’Brien said that it was “easier when you come back and you know the guys in the changing room”. He made a big impression in very little time last season, relishing the short boundaries to the Mound and Tavern stands in scything a 24-ball 54 at Lord’s.That innings was from No. 4, though it is opening – as when smiting a century for Gloucestershire in 2011 – that O’Brien prefers. “It’s the best time to bat in Twenty20,” he said. “You’ve got an opportunity to face the most balls.” It is expected that O’Brien will be used in the middle order, with Graeme Smith, Jason Roy, Steven Davies and – once his IPL commitments are done – Kevin Pietersen at the top.It all promises no shortage of razzmatazz. Surrey’s challenge to win this game is more mundane but, against a Gloucestershire attack who bowled them out for 132 in their first innings, no less challenging for that.

Jackson Bird’s six-wicket haul and an unbeaten 83 from Mark Cosgrove gave Tasmania the edge on the first day of their Sheffield Shield match against South Australia in Hobart

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Mar-2014
ScorecardJackson Bird took 6 for 50 (file photo)•Getty ImagesJackson Bird’s six-wicket haul and an unbeaten 83 from Mark Cosgrove gave Tasmania the edge on the first day of their Sheffield Shield match against South Australia in Hobart. Tasmania cannot make the final but South Australia are fighting for a place in the decider and at stumps they looked likely to concede first-innings points, with the Tigers at 2 for 145, trailing by 67 runs.Cosgrove and Ben Dunk (54 not out) had put on an unbeaten 129 for the third wicket after Ed Cowan and Alex Doolan both fell cheaply to leave Tasmania at 2 for 16. But the South Australia bowlers were unable to have the same impact that Bird managed; he picked up four wickets with the new ball to leave the Redbacks wobbling at 5 for 39 after their stand-in captain Callum Ferguson chose to bat.Andrew McDonald led the South Australian recovery with help from Tim Ludeman (15), Kane Richardson (16) and Trent Lawford, and while they pushed the Redbacks up to a more respectable 212 it remained Tasmania’s day. McDonald missed the chance for a century when he fell to Xavier Doherty for 83 and Lawford finished unbeaten on 46 from 44 deliveries.Bird returned to run through the tail and finished with 6 for 50, showing that time on the sidelines with the Test squad in South Africa has not affected his form. South Australia will need a strong performance over the next few days to give themselves their best chance of a place in the Shield final, with New South Wales, Western Australia and Queensland all vying for two spots.

Services crumbled to the lowest score of the season – 31 all out – as Munaf Patel picked up a career-best 6 for 13 and spearhead Baroda to an innings victory in Vadodara

Alagappan Muthu16-Dec-2013
ScorecardFile photo: Munaf Patel grabbed 6 for 13 in the second innings•AFPServices crumbled to the lowest score of the season – 31 all out – as Munaf Patel grabbed a career-best 6 for 13 and spearheaded Baroda to an innings victory in Vadodara.Services began at 2 for 1, and still 176 behind. Only two runs were added in the first five overs of the morning when seamer Gagandeep Singh struck. With the opening made, Munaf burst through to leave Services dangling at 5 for 5 in the 11th over. Only two batsmen – none of them from the top order – scored more than 2 and Vishnu Tiwari was the only one to get into double figures with 14, as Services folded in the 20th over and slumped to their second innings-defeat of the season.”He [Munaf] was bowling sharp and was extracting some good bounce,” the Baroda coach Sanath Kumar told ESPNcricinfo. “The pitch suited our bowlers who tend to hit the deck. Going into the day, we were looking to restrict them to around 150, but we never expected something like this to happen.”Kumar said the Services collapse wasn’t due to any gremlins in the track. “It was a superb pitch,” Kumar said. “There was a lot of bounce, which is normal at the Reliance ground. We expected a little turn for the spinners but there wasn’t much, but they were getting good bounce as well. They [Services] did play a couple of poor shots, but we bowled really well.”Notorious for his susceptibility to injury, Munaf returned to first-class cricket after a two-year gap this year and was used rather sparingly. He has played three of Baroda’s six games so far, an improvement over a record of 11 Ranji Trophy games in the last six years.”We save him for the right games,” Kumar said. “He is coming out of injury so we have to use him the right way so that when he is picked, he can give it his all. He wasn’t doing anything different [today]. He just bowled normally and was excellent for us and was ably supported by Gagandeep Singh”Deepak Bhaskar, the Services manager, hoped the manner of their defeat was a one-off. “We batted poorly and Munaf did very well by keeping it in the right areas. There were no devils in the pitch. It was a positive wicket,” he said. “It is just one of those things that happen in cricket. The batsmen just failed to click.”Baroda’s victory was all the more sweet as Irfan Pathan made his first appearance for the season, but he was still “not fit enough to bowl”, said Kumar. “He’s bowling 20-30 balls a day but will need a couple of weeks [to be fully fit].”Dhiren Mistry was another positive for the home side as the 22-year old opener converted his third successive fifty-plus score into his maiden first-class century. His hundred in the first innings served as the backbone of Baroda’s 369. “It was a very mature innings, especially with the other batsmen being a bit out of touch. He used to go for too many shots and was a little flashy last season, but he’s become more compact.”The seven points from the innings win doubled Baroda’s tally, reviving a sagging campaign ahead of two away matches to round out the league phase.

New South Wales strolled to a win in the Ryobi One Day Cup, beating Western Australia by five wickets. The star of their win was captain Steven Smith, who scored his second fifty in three games

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Oct-2013
ScorecardNew South Wales strolled to their second victory in the Ryobi One Day Cup, beating Western Australia by five wickets. The star was their captain Steven Smith, who scored his second fifty in three games to help NSW reach their 234-run target 48.5 overs.Western Australia opted to bat and had a solid start but they lost wickets in clusters to be restricted to 8 for 233. Cameron Bancroft and Marcus Harris added 46 runs in their opening stand, and Marcus North and John Rogers added 51 but the side didn’t have any other substantial stands. Gurinder Sandhu was the most successful NSW bowler, picking 3 for 66, and Josh Hazlewood returned tidy figures of 1 for 25 off 10 overs.In reply Smith, leading NSW for the second time in the tournament, anchored the side’s chase, scoring 73 off 108 balls at No. 3. He came in to bat in the 12th over and stayed till the end, adding useful partnerships with Nic Maddinson and Sean Abbott. Maddinson, who joined the team shortly after arriving from the T20 international in India, struck a 38-ball 32 and added 53 runs with Smith, while Abbott was involved in an unbeaten 85 run-stand that secured the win for NSW.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsCanada’s bowlers, spearheaded by pacer Jeremy Gordon, gave the hosts an early advantage against UAE in the four-day Intercontinental Cup match in King City.After rain had completely washed out play on the opening day, the players had to wait for much of day two for the ground to be fit enough to play on. Eventually it began, and Canada, opting to field, got an early breakthrough as UAE opener Haroon Ifthikar edged a delivery from Gordon back to the keeper Hamza Tariq. Paceman Henry Osinde dismissed the other opener Arshad Ali for two in the ninth over to leave the visitors struggling at 11 for 2.However, Swapnil Patil kept the innings afloat. Patil struck five fours during his innings of 43, and added 37 for the third wicket with left-hand batsman Khurram Khan.But Canada struck again later on, as Gordon removed Khurram for 21, and left-arm spinner Parth Desai got the wicket of Shaiman Anwar in the 24th over, to leave UAE precariously placed at 73 for 4 at the end of day two.