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Simon Jones took the wickets of Eion Morgan and Adam Voges with consecutive balls as Glamorgan won their rain-affected Yorkshire Bank 40 Group C match against Middlesex by 11 runs in Cardiff

14-Aug-2013
ScorecardSimon Jones showed some of his old spark to claim two key wickets•Getty ImagesSimon Jones took the wickets of Eoin Morgan and Adam Voges with consecutive balls as Glamorgan won their rain-affected Yorkshire Bank 40 Group C match against Middlesex by 11 runs in Cardiff.It was their second win in three games – they beat Somerset on Monday – as they moved up to second place in the group, level on points with leaders Somerset with a game in hand.Glamorgan lost the toss and made 153 for 9 in a match reduced to 25 overs per side, but Middlesex, who will struggle to now make the semi-finals, could only make 142 for nine despite skipper Neil Dexter scoring 54 from 52 balls.Glamorgan made a fortuitous start when Gareth Rees top-edged Steven Finn for six in the first over but Finn got his revenge having Mark Wallace caught at point while at the other end James Harris delivered a tight three overs as the home side reached 31 for 1 after seven overs.That became 38 for 3 after Toby Roland-Jones struck twice to remove Chris Cooke and skipper Marcus North. Jim Allenby’s arrival saw some impetus injected into the Glamorgan innings as he took a four and a six off consecutive balls from Dexter, before Paul Stirling’s part-time offspin claimed two wickets.Allenby holed out on the midwicket boundary before Murray Goodwin top-edged a sweep to short fine leg as the Welsh county found themselves 85 for 5. Harris made that 89 for six as Rees was bowled making 32 from 53 balls.Some much-needed impetus to the Glamorgan innings came with 14 coming off an Ollie Raynor over including a Ben Wright six over long off and 18 from an over from Harris.The start of the batting power play saw Wright holing out to Finn ending a 43-run partnership with Wagg, who helped Glamorgan take 21 runs from the final three overs.Middlesex struggled at the start of their reply. Allenby bowled Dawid Malan with the fifth ball of the Middlesex innings and a good Michael Hogan over saw Joe Denly edge behind to leave Middlesex 14 for 2 at the end of the fourth. Allenby struck again in the seventh over as Paul Stirling drove him straight to mid-off to Middlesex 30 for 3.And Jones turned the game right in Glamorgan’s favour with two wickets in consecutive balls to leave Middlesex 32 for five in the eighth over. He got the prize wicket of Morgan with his third ball helped by a good catch by Cooke diving forward at cover and followed that up by trapping Voges lbw.But Middlesex recovered through John Simpson and Dexter who put on 59 in nine overs until the impressive Simpson was snaffled at mid-wicket off Dean Cosker, who took three wickets from 11 balls as the Panthers found themselves 138 for 8.Dexter, with the only half century in the match, got it down to 20 required from the final over but he holed out to the second ball of the final over.

A slew of late injuries may have thinned Bangladesh’s ranks by the time they landed in Sri Lanka for their month-long tour, but captain Mushfiqur Rahim remained optimistic about his side’s chances

Andrew Fidel Fernando01-Mar-2013A slew of late injuries may have thinned Bangladesh’s ranks by the time they landed in Sri Lanka for their month-long tour, but captain Mushfiqur Rahim remained optimistic about his side’s chances, and backed his young players to fire.Bangladesh arrived in Sri Lanka without allrounder Shakib Al Hasan, whose calf surgery following a stress injury will keep him out for at least six weeks, while batsmen Shahriar Nafees and Naeem Islam, and left-arm spinner Enamul Haque jr will also miss the tour through injury. Their replacements include 21-year-old batsman Mominul Haque and 24-year-old uncapped allrounder Marshall Ayub, but it is likely to be the more established youngsters in the squad who will be called upon to bear more responsibility in the absence of several key seniors.Bangladesh won their last ODI series against West Indies 3-2 in November, with instrumental contributions for 20-year-old batsman Anamul Haque and 21-year-old offspinner Sohag Gazi, and Mushfiqur hoped his players would ride the momentum from that series into the Sri Lanka tour.”We had a couple of injuries in the last series against West Indies, and Shakib was not part of the ODI series – but we still won that series. The couple of young guys who came into the side in his place performed really well. We’ll miss him, but it’s a chance for the younger guys to prove they can do well abroad as well as at home.”Bangladesh last met Sri Lanka in an Asia Cup match in Dhaka, when the hosts defeated Sri Lanka by five wickets to earn a place in the tournament final. They had also beaten India earlier in the tournament, and their ODI record in 2012, when they won more matches than they lost against top-eight opposition, suggests they are an improving side.”There is no secret to our success,” Mushfiqur said. “The boys have really been working hard for the last one or two years. Someone needed to put their hands up and do the basics in the middle, and that’s what we did in the recent series against West Indies and also in the Asia Cup. The youngsters have come good and are performing really well, so hopefully they will continue in the same way.”The Sri Lanka tour begins with Tests however, where Bangladesh have been less impressive. Bangladesh achieved a slim first-innings lead in the first Test against West Indies in November, but could not sustain those standards throughout the Test, as they faltered in the final innings in pursuit of 245. There were encouraging periods in the second Test as well, most notably a maiden ton to debutant Abul Hasan from No. 10, but they were ultimately walloped by 10 wickets.”In the Test match we have to play each session very well and keep doing that over and over. In the last series against West Indies we did really well, but we couldn’t finish well in both the Tests. The young players are coming good, so if they put their hands up and perform, we will have a competitive Test series. “Bangladesh travel to Matara on Friday, to prepare for a three-day warm-up match against a Sri Lanka emerging side, which begins on Sunday. The first Test starts in Galle on March 8. In addition to two Tests, Bangladesh play three ODIs and a Twenty20.

Ned Eckersley again made New Road a stage for his batting talent as Leicestershire blunted Worcestershire’s hopes of pressing for a win

10-May-2013
ScorecardNed Eckersley made his first Championship century of the season•Getty ImagesNed Eckersley again made New Road a stage for his batting talent as Leicestershire blunted Worcestershire’s hopes of pressing for a win with their spinners in their rain-hit clash.The home side set out their stall by declaring at 320 for 7 after a maiden Championship century for Thilan Samaraweera, but Eckersley’s undefeated 108 took Leicestershire to 229 for 2. They were still 91 behind when the third day closed because of bad light.The 23-year-old’s third first-class century, a well crafted innings with 14 fours from 186 balls balls, was completely different from an explosive performance when he last appeared on this ground in August last year. Hitting seven sixes in an unbeaten 72 from 44 balls he turned impending defeat into a memorable 40-over victory.A return visit offered a new challenge in facing Shaaiq Choudhry and Moeen Ali in helpful conditions for the spin pair. Slow left-armer Choudhry, appearing in a home Championship match for the first time, made a breakthrough by bowling Michael Thornely after an opening partnership of 51 with Niall O’Brien.In general, however, Leicestershire played the slow bowlers well and O’Brien, although restricted to a couple of fours, featured in a stand of 55 with Eckersley before he was bowled for 46. That was Moeen’s 100th first-class wicket and soon afterwards he might have had another when Ramnaresh Sarwan was dropped at short midwicket.That proved to be costly for Worcestershire as the West Indies batsman – he will be playing in the Champions Trophy next month – reached 46 not out and helped Eckersley through to his hundred. Their stand was worth 123 at the close but the overall tempo for the match has been stuck at a fraction under three runs an over.Samaraweera’s first innings for Worcestershire at New Road was technically proficient but rarely eye-catching. After passing 50 he went through more than 30 overs without scoring a boundary and the clip off his legs that brought up the hundred was only his ninth four in over five hours.Worcestershire resumed on 294 for 7 and claimed a third batting bonus point with Choudhry making 32 not out in an unbroken stand of 63 with Samaraweera.

After his successful Bangladesh Premier League debut for the Dhaka Gladiators, Owais Shah said it is too early to judge just where this Twenty20 league stands, though he felt comfortable playing for his new team.

Mohammad Isam18-Jan-2013Owais Shah has appeared in 11 Twenty20 line-ups over the past decade; this experience gives him the right to judge which tournaments can be categorised as good, and which are sub-standard. After his successful Bangladesh Premier League debut for the Dhaka Gladiators, Shah said it is too early to judge just where this Twenty20 league stands, though he felt comfortable playing for his new team.”There is a lot of stuff [that counts]. Like organisation, the way the grounds are maintained, the facilities provided for the players to practice, and also how the entire tournament progresses over the four or five weeks,” Shah said. “I think everything seems to be in place here. It is organised and it seems good, so hopefully that will go on for the whole month.”Shah has had stints with Cape Cobras, Delhi Daredevils, Essex, Hobart Hurricanes, Kochi Tuskers Kerala, Kolkata Knight Riders, Middlesex, Rajasthan Royals, Wellington and, now, Dhaka Gladiators, which have given him an understanding of bowling attacks, pitches and the general pace of Twenty20 cricket. The pressure to perform for a franchise was different to that which comes when playing for your country, he said: “There is pressure on me to perform because the financial rewards are good. When you make the decision to play in T20 leagues around the world, you need to perform.”The Bangladesh Cricket Board has announced that the players will be paid 25% of their fees before the tournament, 25% during the tournament and the rest within 150 days of the tournament ending. Given his experience, despite the BPL’s previous financial issues, Shah can expect to be paid on time”We were told by the Professional Cricketers’ Association in England that there have been problems with payments, but this year the way the tournament has been structured, we should be getting paid by the board in the next day or so,” he said. “We have put our trust in the Bangladesh Cricket Board and they shouldn’t let us down.”Shah’s next assignment will be the T20 Domestic Challenge in South Africa, where he will play for Cape Cobras. “I am supposed to go to Cape Town to play in their T20 tournament [from February 17]. So I had a month with no cricket on and when this opportunity came, I was excited to be a part of the Dhaka Gladiators.”

Virgil van Dijk thought he had broken the deadlock for Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final, only for a hugely controversial VAR call to rule it out.

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Dutch defender powered home headerWild celebrations among Reds at WembleyEffort eventually chalked off after reviewWHAT HAPPENED?

The Netherlands international defender had the ball in the back of the net at Wembley, with wild celebrations sparked among those of a Reds persuasion. Van Dijk outmuscled Chelsea skipper Ben Chilwell before guiding a powerful effort beyond Djordje Petrovic.

AdvertisementGettyTHE EXPLANATION

Van Dijk’s joy was short-lived as it quickly emerged that a VAR review was taking place. Those at Stockley Park noticed that Wataru Endo was stood in an offside position when the free-kick from Andy Robertson was floated in. As he ended up blocking Levi Colwill, the Japanese midfielder was interfering with play.

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Chelsea also had an effort chalked off in the first half of a keenly-contested cup final, with Nicolas Jackson straying narrowly offside when racing away from the Liverpool backline and squaring for Raheem Sterling to fire home.

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Questions have been asked of whether the right call was made with Van Dijk, as forward players act as blockers at just about every set-piece. Colwill was unlikely to get near the Liverpool centre-half as he nodded in, but there is no doubting that his path was blocked by Endo and that he was prevented from making any kind of play for the ball.

South Africa have picked legspinner Imran Tahir in their A squad for the two unofficial Tests against Sri Lanka A in July

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Jun-2012South Africa have picked legspinner Imran Tahir in their A squad for the two unofficial Tests against Sri Lanka A in July. The games will give Tahir practice ahead of the senior team’s tour of England this summer. Faf du Plessis was named captain of South Africa A.Apart from Tahir and du Plessis, the other A team players with international experience are wicketkeeper Thami Tsolekile, Farhaan Behardien, Justin Ontong, Wayne Parnell, Ryan McLaren and Rory Kleinveldt.Both games will be played in Durban, the first between June 30 and July 3 and the second from July 6 to 9.South Africa A: Faf du Plessis, Temba Bavuma, Farhaan Behardien, Dean Elgar, Simon Harmer, Reeza Hendricks, Imran Tahir, Rory Kleinveldt, Pumelela Matshikwe, Ryan McLaren, Justin Ontong, Wayne Parnell, Rilee Rossouw, Thami Tsolekile, Stiaan van Zyl.

Steve Harmison’s initial appearance as an honorary Yorkshireman is not one he will particularly relish

Ivo Tennant at West End14-Jul-2012
ScorecardSteve Harmison wants to finish his career wearing the Durham kit•Getty ImagesSteve Harmison’s initial appearance as an honorary Yorkshireman is not one he will particularly relish. Endless coach journeys, endless rain and, when he did finally have a bowl well into the third day of this weather-ruined fixture, inactivity and a lack of match practice were responsible for an opening over of wild misdirection. His first ball was a wide, as was his third and then his fourth. Another followed in his next over.His five overs went for 25 runs and further rain on the final day ensured he would not bowl again. Harmison, with just six first-class wickets to his name this season, has begun a month’s loan to Yorkshire unless he is recalled in the event of injuries or Test calls. He has been recommended by Durham’s members for a benefit next year and, even if at 33 he is clearly not the fast bowler he was, still intends to play on for two or three more years. Preferably for Durham.”I still want to play for Durham. I still have the burning desire to play cricket for my home county.” In reference to joining Yorkshire on loan, he said: “I feel like I’m a proud man and an honest person so if I’m representing a side that has given me the chance to play, I’ll do everything I possibly can. The most important thing is for Yorkshire to get back into the first division. If I can play any small part in that, I’ll be delighted.”I’ve not played cricket for two years properly and it’s frightening how much I have missed it. I’ve probably got two to three years left in the game, maybe a bit more, maybe a bit less. The only thing I’ve ever been able to do is play cricket. It’s one thing being frustrated not playing when you’re injured like I have been over the last few years, but when I’m not playing cricket because of the weather or through not being picked, it’s doubly frustrating.”The Yorkshire coaching hierarchy of Martyn Moxon and Jason Gillespie, an old foe of Harmison’s during Ashes encounters, were not particularly influential in him joining Yorkshire. He had had enough of second XI cricket and inactivity during the t20 period and felt he had to play in the first-class game, not least because of better facilities.”I would have gone anywhere. It was a case of who needed a bowler – and that county was Yorkshire owing to Ryan Sidebottom being injured. I have nothing against second team cricket but I have enjoyed every minute since I began practising with them at the start of the week.”Harmison’s next appearance for Yorkshire will be against Derbyshire at Chesterfield next week. Pitches of old on that attractive ground had the trampoline bounce he desired, whereas too often this summer, one in which he has played just three Championship matches, they have been dampened and dulled by the rain. No-one wants to see his career peter out or for him to play on too long through not knowing what to do next, but there is clearly a possibility of both occurring. He has not been so in need of a few wickets since, well, he was about to open England’s bowling at Gillespie and company in 2005.

Luke Wells defied Surrey’s bowlers for more than five hours but Sussex were still a long way from securing an unlikely victory at the close of day three

George Dobell at The Oval07-Apr-2012
ScorecardPerhaps Luke Wells felt he had some wrongs to right for, on the ground where his father’s Test career started and ended in a flash, Wells junior produced an impressive display of defiance to take this game into a fourth day.It was at The Oval in 1995 that Alan Wells, then a veteran of Sussex and the county game, was called-up for a long overdue Test debut. Confronted with Curtly Ambrose at his best, Wells was unfortunate that the first ball he received was a brute of a delivery that reared up to his throat. There was little he could do other than parry a catch to short leg. While he made an unbeaten 3 in the second innings, the England selectors never called again.Luke Wells was only four at the time. But, on his first senior appearance on this ground, he has produced a performance that should have exorcised a few ghosts. When Sussex slipped to 173 for 7 in pursuit of an unlikely victory target of 342, it appeared Surrey’s first win in the top division of the Championship since 2007 was imminent. But Wells, with some steadfast support from the Sussex tail, produced an innings that should have put the profligacy of more senior players on both sides to shame.The 21-year-old left-hander got off the mark with an elegant cover drive to the boundary. But it was not so much his strokeplay that impressed – there are at least two dozen highly talented young English batsmen who can put bat to ball in attractive fashion – but the way he defended and the way he left the ball. Few of his contemporaries have the ability – or the inclination – to bat all day but Wells, who has already resisted for more than five hours in this innings, has shown there is substance behind his style.He is already a man on the radar of the England selectors. He was part of the ECB’s Performance Programme over the winter and spent some time in Sri Lanka playing first-class cricket. His modest results there suggest there is still work to be done against spin bowling but he has the skill and the character to progress a long way.Some of his colleagues could learn from such restraint. Joe Gatting had helped add 52 for the fourth wicket when, inexplicably, he lofted a catch directly to the fielder on the long-on boundary, while Amjad Khan spoiled his hour of resistance by mistiming a slog to mid-off. It was hard to avoid a conclusion that both strokes demonstrated a lack of application.The top order were less culpable. An outstanding spell of fast bowling from Stuart Meaker skimmed the cream of the Sussex batting away within a few overs. To defeat batsmen as accomplished as Ed Joyce and Murray Goodwin for pace – both they and Ben Brown fell victim to fast, full balls that may have nipped back a fraction – says much for Meaker’s ability and he was comfortably the pick of Surrey’s seamers.It was odd, then, that Surrey’s bowlers spent so much of the day thumping the ball into the middle of the pitch. Jade Dernbach eventually had Naved Arif taken at leg gully, but generally he and Chris Jordan bowled far too short.Jon Lewis enjoyed a memorably day, though. The wicket of Chris Nash, chopping on to his stumps as he attempted a repeat of a backfoot drive that had just brought him two delightful boundaries, provided the 36-year-old seamer’s 800th first-class victim. While 771 of them came for Gloucestershire – the first way back in 1995 – Lewis’ skill, discipline and experience should prove invaluable in an attack that possesses a great deal of talent, but not so much nous.Earlier Lewis and Meaker also played their role with the bat. The pair extended their ninth-wicket stand to 57 before James Anyon claimed the wicket that secured a much-deserved fourth five-wicket haul of his career.Barring a minor miracle, Surrey will not be denied on the fourth day. Sussex still require 102 and there is precious little batting to come. But had Lewis and Meaker not added those runs and had Wells had just a little more support, things might have been markedly different.Edited by Alan Gardner

South Africa’s sports ministry will establish a committee to look into CSA’s handling of the bonus dispute

Firdose Moonda16-Oct-2011South Africa’s sports ministry will establish a committee to look into Cricket South Africa’s (CSA) handling of the bonus dispute. The issue was thought to be closed yesterday after former president Mtutuzeli Nyoka was removed by a vote of no-confidence, supposedly ending a 16-month long spat with chief executive Gerald Majola.However, the government has decided to intervene after CSA chose not to make public the findings of the forensic audit into bonus payments conducted by KPMG, and ignored subsequent legal advice by advocate Azhar Bham. The ministry called Nyoka’s removal a “decisive action of the board,” but is displeased with CSA’s overall handling of the saga.”Nothing has been resolved,” Fikile Mbalula, the sports minister, told reporters in Johannesburg. “Our cricket is diminishing, we don’t have sponsors, we don’t have a program of action in terms of what needs to be done, all because of a board of people who differ among themselves. We are intervening.”Mbalula said the ministry would act in accordance with the Sports and Recreation Act to appoint a committee under a retired judge, whose name has yet to be announced. The terms of reference will be announced next week and he hopes the matter will be concluded “before Christmas.” He said the ministry is choosing to intervene because they feel they have given CSA “a chance to resolve their issues within a reasonable period of time.”The differences pertain to the payment of R4.7 million (US$ 671.428) in bonuses to 40 CSA staff members, including Majola, for hosting the 2009 IPL and Champions Trophy. However, those payments were not authorised through CSA’s remunerations committee (REMCO) and were picked up as irregularities. Nyoka had repeatedly pushed for an external audit and had already lost one vote of no-confidence and had to win a court battle to be reinstated.KPMG were eventually tasked with looking into CSA’s financial affairs and found that Majola may have breached the Companies’ Act on four counts. They recommended legal advice which resulted in a severe reprimand for Majola. However, the spat between Majola and Nyoka had not cooled, as Nyoka struggled to gain access to various documents. Nyoka was then removed for a second time on Saturday, with CSA claiming he had breached media protocol and the Companies’ Act by taking his honorarium in advance.Although the KMPG report and Bham opinion have not been released to the public, Mbalula said he has viewed both documents. “Bham endorsed the fact that sections 234 and 235 of the Companies’ Act were breached by Majola and this constitutes serious contraventions of the Act. CSA has possibly not applied its mind properly to the relative seriousness of the findings,” he said. Another advocate, Paul Pretorius, also presented opinion to CSA, which concurred with Bham’s findings. Mbalula indicated that the ministry did not feel CSA took the advice seriously enough, both in their own internal inquiry under acting president AK Khan and when presented with outside, expert opinion.”That commission never came with its recommendations that there are irregularities of payment of bonuses,” he said. “KPMG says there are irregularities, the board goes and takes another decision.” He also implied that the personal spat between Majola and Nyoka may have played its part in the board’s thought processes.”It’s quite interesting that the board can decide to dismiss somebody [Nyoka] but they can’t take action on allegations of corruption. It can take a decision about somebody who is challenging its own decision, run to provinces but it can’t act to protect good governance within its own body. It just says that people should be reprimanded.”

“We must be decisive against corruption. I am prepared to leave my job but I will not turn a blind eye to it. If you have done well, you must get a bonus, but it can’t be done against corporate governance.”

Mbalula also said he received telephone calls on Saturday evening from influential people asking him not to intervene. “I got calls last night from people saying, ‘What are you going to say, get out of it, don’t be involved,'” he said. “But I was in the police, nobody can touch me. I am not going to be threatened.”Known for his heavy handed discipline, Mbalula said that arguments that bonuses have been paid in this way at CSA for years, did not sway him. “If a minister in the past ignored that they were paying bonuses irregularly, two wrongs don’t make a right,” he said. “I can’t ignore it now.” Insiders claimed that the reason CSA paid bonuses without the approval or knowledge of their remunerations committee was because of precedents set in both the 2003 World Cup and the 2007 World T20.”What are we going to say to the next federation that gobbles money?” Mbalula asked. “We must be decisive against corruption. I am prepared to leave my job but I will not turn a blind eye to it. If you have done well, you must get a bonus, but it can’t be done against corporate governance. Corporate governance means the board must meet and decide.”He asked for sponsors to “hold their breath” and be patient while the issue is sorted out. CSA have not been able to secure backers with for the T20 series against Australia, do not have ODI or Test event sponsors and two of the three domestic competitions are without sponsors. Corporates have said they do not want to associate with the body until a line has been drawn under the ongoing scandal.CSA may have thought that the line was drawn with the ousting of their biggest critic, Nyoka, and the appointment of Khan, but they appear to have been wrong. Mbalula refrained from lauding Khan’s appointment, saying that it would not be appropriate in the current context “You only congratulate somebody who has been elected in a democratic process not out of crisis.”CSA has stated it will cooperate fully with the ministry’s investigation into the board’s handling of the independent audit. “I can promise the Minister our full co-operation,” Khan said in a statement. “We will be studying his full statement once we have received it and I look forward to discussing the matter further with the Minister when we meet this afternoon.”

Shaun Marsh showed little signs of his back trouble as he smashed an unbeaten 99 off 52 balls in Perth Scorchers’ emphatic eight-wicket win, in pursuit of Melbourne Renegades’ imposing total of 3 for 188

The Report by Alex Malcolm22-Dec-2011
Scorecard Shaun Marsh and Luke Ronchi celebrate victory•Getty ImagesShaun Marsh showed little signs of his back trouble as he smashed an unbeaten 99 off 52 balls in Perth Scorchers’ emphatic eight-wicket win, in pursuit of Melbourne Renegades’ imposing total of 3 for 188. The innings should state his case for a Test return against India on Boxing Day.Marsh hit nine fours and five sixes to help the visitors home with four balls to spare, in the tightest game of the tournament so far.The attention was on Marsh to prove he was Test ready, though he was playing a Twenty20 game. He spent all 39.2 overs in the field, fielding without any trouble, before playing one of the best innings of the tournament to date.At times, he was starved of the strike as Herschelle Gibbs peeled off a majestic 57 in their opening stand of 95. Marsh sprinted between the wickets with purpose. His running with his younger brother Mitchell stood out. But most importantly, he handled the raw pace of both Shaun Tait and Shane Harwood, and the penetrative leg-spin of Shahid Afridi, with equal aplomb. Marsh ended the night with a straight six off Abdul Razzaq to seal the match.The Renegades did not help their cause with some sloppy fielding and strange tactics in their defence of what seemed a winning total.The captain Andrew McDonald dropped Gibbs on 14 in the third over, and substitute Meyrick Buchanan spilled Marsh on 39. Buchanan made matters worse by parrying the ball over the rope for six. McDonald’s field settings were questionable though. Gibbs’ strong off-side play is well known, but the Renegades strangely played to his strengths as he hit 18 off a Razzaq over.McDonald got a lucky break when Gibbs holed out to the only man at the cover rope when the South African was in total command. Mitchell Marsh joined his brother and the pair took on the fielders with some audacious running. The younger Marsh should have been run out in the twelfth over but Graham Manou failed to handle a strong return from long-on cleanly.McDonald also neglected to bowl the left-arm spinner Aaron Heal. The decision was strange enough given Heal’s impressive record in this format, but even stranger given the Scorchers’ two most successful bowlers in the match were the left-arm duo of Michael Beer, and Brad Hogg. The pair collected 3 for 50 from their combined eight overs when their team-mates all conceded more than nine-an-over.The Renegades would have thought they were in a strong position after winning the toss and setting 188. The openers, McDonald and Aaron Finch blasted 91 from 64 balls. Finch was sent to hospital with a suspected broken rib after being struck by Ben Edmondson, but he still managed 49 from 40. McDonald’s 50 from 33 was an innings of great class. Glenn Maxwell, Nathan Reardon, and Razzaq clubbed six sixes between them to progress to an imposing total. Maxwell launched three in a row off Marcus North’s offspinners.But in the end Shaun Marsh stole the show, proving why he is regarded in some circles as Australia’s best batsman in all formats.