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Geraint Jones’ innings kept Derbyshire at bay on the first day of a crucial tie in the promotion race at Canterbury

David Lloyd at Canterbury04-Sep-2012
ScorecardGeraint Jones was needed to prevented Kent being blown away•Getty ImagesNo-one, least of all Derbyshire’s long-suffering supporters, expected the last leg of the second division title race to be a stroll in the park. But just in case anyone associated with the county was starting to get even a little giddy as Kent lost half their wickets for only 93 runs, up popped Geraint Jones to dampen down premature excitement.Kent, it must be remembered, are themselves in the thick of a promotion battle that has twisted and turned for most of this season. And in Jones, the former England wicketkeeper, they had an ideal man to transform a sickly-looking innings into something reasonably healthy.Jones is 36 now and in negotiations for a new contract. Well, he may have failed by 20 runs today to record his first Championship century of the season but it was still the sort of knock that should help to convince the Canterbury hierarchy that he is well worth another couple of years.The innings, spanning 136 balls and including nine fours, was timely on two counts. Firstly, it kept third-placed Kent well and truly in this match. And secondly it was a fitting way to mark a fine achievement: by playing today, Jones has totted up 100 consecutive Championship appearances – something only nine other Kent players have managed in the long history of the county.Whether Kent will be playing their four-day cricket in the first division next season is very much undecided. But it will take a horrible “choke” for Derbyshire to miss out on promotion – and on the evidence of what was witnessed today, they look to be made of sterner stuff than that.Kent’s decision to bat first in glorious sunshine seemed straightforward. But the visitors bowled with such discipline that the hosts could not get away to anything like a fluent start.Tony Palladino and Tim Goenewald, with 87 championship wickets between them going into this match, have been an excellent opening pair all season. This time, though, it was first change Mark Turner who achieved the initial breakthrough – removing Rob Key with the help of a stunning leg-side catch by Tom Poynton, who reached a genuine glance after a full length dive.Groenewald then got to work and, before they knew it, Kent had lost half their wickets with fewer than 100 runs on the board. And there were a couple of opportunities for Derbyshire to turn the screw good and tight.Before he had scored, Jones edged Palladino towards second slip where Usman Khawaja appeared to reach but could not hold the chance. Then, on 11, Jones pushed to mid-off and went in search of an extremely risk single – so risky, in fact, that he would almost certainly have been out had Wayne Madsen’s throw hit timber instead of narrowly missing the non-striker’s wicket.From then on, the hosts began to recover with Mike Powell, Matt Coles and Mark Davies all contributing to useful stands with Jones. A couple more opportunities came and went but Derbyshire never looked remotely ragged and duly cleaned up the tail once the second new ball became available.Jones was ninth out, edging Groenewald to the keeper. But Kent were not quite done for the day. With opener Paul Borrington having broken his nose (he is expected to bat on day two) through deflecting a ball into his face while fielding at mid-wicket, Khawaja moved up a place in the batting order. But not for long. He looked aghast to be given out lbw when well forward to Davies.

England will play a four-day warm-up match against Essex as part of their preparations for the 2013 Ashes

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Oct-2012England will play a four-day warm-up match against Essex as part of their preparations for the 2013 Ashes. The arrangement mirrors the three-day fixture played by an England XI against Warwickshire ahead of the Australia series in 2009.The match at Essex’s county ground in Chelmsford will take place from June 30 until July 3, with the first Test against Australia at Trent Bridge due to start a week later, on July 10.Hugh Morris, managing director of England cricket, said: “Our three-day match against Warwickshire at Edgbaston in 2009 provided excellent preparation for the Test squad ahead of the Ashes Test series and we are very grateful to Essex for providing us with a similar warm-up fixture next summer during a period when there is a break in the County Championship schedule.”The ECB has also announced dates and venues for the finals of next summer’s domestic cup competitions. The Friends Life t20 will culminate in Edgbaston hosting finals day on August 17, while the Clydesdale Bank 40 final will take place at Lord’s on September 21.

Australia is building a support system in place for offspinner Nathan Lyon, to ensure his path of advice is defined

Daniel Brettig in Adelaide21-Nov-2012If Nathan Lyon’s growing confidence was summed up by the back-spinner he unleashed to dismiss Jacques Rudolph in Brisbane, his valued place in Australian cricket can be measured by how carefully the national team is building a support network around him.Ahead of the Adelaide Test match, Lyon was advised on bowling by the former Australian spin bowler Ashley Mallett, but not directly. Instead, Mallett had discussions with the senior coach Mickey Arthur, who passed Mallett’s advice along to Lyon and also Steve Rixon, who has been appointed as the designated spin coach to allow the other specialist bowling coach Ali de Winter time to work purely with the pacemen.As the season began, Lyon had spoken of how difficult he had found sorting through a myriad of advice during his first year as an international bowler, whether it had arrived via friends, the media or other bowlers and coaches simply calling him up at random to state what he was doing wrong. Eager for Lyon to learn but equally keen to ensure he is not overloaded with voices, Arthur, Rixon and South Australia’s coach Darren Berry have worked assiduously to make sure Lyon’s path is consistently defined.”We’re filtering it through the people he knows best,” Arthur told ESPNcricinfo. “Darren Berry and SA have done a really good job with him, Steve Rixon within my support staff is a really experienced coach and has been very good with him as well. They’ve built a good relationship so he’s been monitoring those messages, and I wanted to have a chat with Ashley Mallett because he’s so knowledgeable on spin bowling and he confirmed what we were doing with Nathan. So I opened up a nice little communication channel there.”I just asked Ashley if he had anything he could mention to me. I’ve designated Steve Rixon within our squad as working with Nathan and I’m really happy they’ve got a good relationship going. Our messages are very consistent with the messages of Darren Berry. Everybody is saying exactly the same thing and that’s the message being delivered to Nathan within our team. That to me is really important, that the players are getting the same messages and not a conflicting message.”No one was more delighted to see an Australian spinner benefit from his expanded repertoire than his captain Michael Clarke, who has shown an instinctive feel for leading slow bowlers from the moment he dived to pouch the sharpest of slip catches from Lyon’s first ball in Test cricket, against Sri Lanka in Galle last year. In addition to knowing the value of spin bowling, Clarke also finds a great deal of fun in it, and the twinkle in his eye when he spoke of Lyon’s variation could only have come from someone who has bowled spin for years himself.”Well, we’re calling it a more than a back-spinner,” Clarke said, grinning. “It’s something he’s worked on and it was nice to see him get a wicket with it [in the] last Test match, so hopefully we’ll see him get plenty more wickets for Australia with balls spinning in both directions.”He can contain if he has to and we can dictate that by the fields we have, but then if there’s an opportunity for Nathan to put more pressure on the [batsmen] I think he’s got the skill to be able to do that as well. He’s bowling well, I thought he came back really well in Brisbane and that shows his character.”I know he wants to do well in front of his home crowd, but as I’ve said to Nathan plenty of times he needs to keep doing exactly what he’s doing, don’t change a thing and he’ll continue to have success at the highest level.”South Africa’s batsmen have now tried several times to hit Lyon out of Australia’s attack in the manner they took to Bryce McGain in Cape Town in 2009, but each time the bowler has responded with better subsequent spells and important wickets. The touring captain Graeme Smith noted Lyon’s importance to this match with a good degree of respect.”Nathan has proven to be a solid performer for Australia. That’s exactly how we view him,” Smith said. “We haven’t taken an arrogant view of him, maybe some other people have. We respect what he is capable of and he will play a role in this game.”

English cricket remains “very nervous” about the participation of players in the Bangladesh Premier League and has warned those taking part of the risks

Andrew McGlashan20-Dec-2012English cricket remains “very nervous” about the participation of players in the Bangladesh Premier League and has warned those taking part of the risks. The head of the players’ union does not believe any significant improvements have been made since last year’s controversial debut edition.Alex Hales, Luke Wright and Ravi Bopara are the highest-profile English players to have been bought by franchises although a host of other county cricketers have been snapped up. Michael Lumb and James Taylor, who both play for Nottinghamshire alongside Hales, withdrew from the auction. All the players who earned deals on Thursday are understood to have been granted No-Objection Certificates by their counties but not without concerns.”We remain very nervous about the competition,” Angus Porter, the chief executive of the Professional Cricketers’ Association, told ESPNcricinfo. “I don’t see any evidence that the competition is going to be better off or better organised than it was last year. I’m not sure anyone involved in the game is very comfortable with this event.”We haven’t yet seen any final contracts, we are uncomfortable with the proposed payment schedule for players. We brought all the issues we can to the attention of players but at the end of the day it is their decision whether they go. From a financial and organisational point of view, we still think the tournament has a lot to prove.”Following the first edition of the BPL last year players suffered from delayed payments and the PCA had to get heavily involved to ensure money was delivered. Although those issues have now been resolved some of the coaches and backroom staff from the 2012 tournament are still without fees.A new payment structure is in place for this year’s tournament with players receiving 25% before the tournament, another quarter before it finishes then the remaining 50% within six months but Porter does not believe this system is any more secure.”The proposed payment schedule for this year is actually worse than last year,” he said. “The players will get to the end of the tournament with only 25% of the fee in their pocket if it goes to plan and of that a chuck is having to go to an agent proposed by the BPL. They won’t have an awful lot of money even if the schedules are met until a considerable time after the tournament. That is far from satisfactory, given the events of last year.”The other significant area of concern was the policing of corruption. Porter has spoken to a number of the players involved in the auction to outline the risks and the PCA’s concerns, but he also understands why some continue to pursue an opportunity.”A number of players I’ve spoken to have said they want to go for the experience and boost their talents,” he said. “They are aware of the risk they are taking. I am concerned though that the tournament is sending a signal to organisers of tournaments that you can mess with players and not deliver an event that has the governance you want to have.”

Michael Clarke faces more headaches to rebuild his team and iron out problems, after the retirements of Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey

Daniel Brettig at the SCG06-Jan-2013Australia have shored up a place at No. 3 on the ICC’s Test rankings as a result of a 3-0 sweep of Sri Lanka. The difficulty their captain Michael Clarke now faces is the team that took them there will not be the one he leads first to India, and then to the Ashes beyond.Losing Michael Hussey and Ricky Ponting in the space of a single summer, while at the same time grooving a policy of fast-bowler management has made it a draining six Tests for Clarke, and in the wake of the five-wicket victory at the SCG he acknowledged the size of the task ahead. He also admitted to the difficulty of guiding the team while shedding such an enormous amount of experience.If Clarke was more emotional at the time of Ponting’s exit in Perth, he was clearer headed about what Hussey’s retirement meant for the tours of India and England – increased difficulty. “Another man down unfortunately,” Clarke said. “It’s been a tough summer to be honest. It’s been nice to have some guys come in and make their debut but it’s been tough to see two fantastic players in Ricky Ponting and Mike Hussey leave the game.”We certainly have a tough year ahead, that’s for sure. I think on our good days we’re very good and can cut it with the best, like the No. 1 team in the world South Africa, but on our poor days there’s a lot of areas we need to improve, both individually and as a team. I think what you’ve seen of the Australian team this summer probably sums up where we’re at. We’re fighting to get better every day, that’s the positive.”Australia’s performance in Sydney rather summed up the patchiness of their summer. Making an indifferent start after eminently debatable decisions both in team selection and at the coin toss, Clarke’s men wrested back an advantage via the counter-punching of Matthew Wade and then pressured Sri Lanka’s batsmen into a series of grievous errors on the third afternoon that ultimately determined the outcome of the match.”The days we aren’t performing as well as we can, whether that be with the ball or with the bat, we’re letting ourselves down,” Clarke said. “At the moment there’s a bit of a gap between very good and not so good but we’ve got a team that’s working very hard. Every day we get out of bed we’re trying to get better.”I certainly can’t have a go at the boys. I think the commitment throughout the whole summer has been outstanding – the way we’ve trained and prepared, the role the support staff have played … We know we’ve got some work to do but we’re up for the challenge.”While Jackson Bird’s emergence as a commendably reliable paceman against Sri Lanka was arguably the most significant find of the Tests, Clarke and his fellow selectors will have some other revelations to consider ahead of India. One of the least convenient was the struggle of several batsmen against spin, notably the opener Ed Cowan, and another was the top order’s lack of precision when running between the wickets. Shane Watson’s future, and the team’s balance, is clouded by his reluctance to continue bowling.Clarke said the spectre of slow bowling on turning Indian pitches was something that would take plenty of skill and application to overcome, particularly now that Hussey has left the scene. “It will be really tough, especially in the second innings on the subcontinent is generally very tough to play spin bowling. I think we’re improving,” Clarke said. “There are areas we need to continually get better at. Spin bowling is one of those areas. In a couple of months, we’re going to be faced with conditions that spin a lot, so there’s no better place to get better than on the subcontinent.”I’m really impressed with the way we finished this summer in the Test format. I was really proud of the way we fought it out against the No.1 Test team in the world. I think we have taken a lot from that series and I think we’ve shown improvement throughout this series.”The ODI team will be led by George Bailey for the first two matches of the series against Sri Lanka, as Clarke rests a tender hamstring, but he felt sure he would be fit and refreshed in time to return for game three in Brisbane. It will be the next phase of a year in which Clarke has now become more pivotal than ever.

John Wright has been appointed Mumbai Indians’ head coach ahead of the sixth season of the Indian Premier League

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Jan-2013Former New Zealand batsman John Wright has been appointed Mumbai Indians’ head coach ahead of the sixth season of the Indian Premier League, while Robin Singh will continue to provide his services to the team.The news came days after Anil Kumble was named the chief mentor of Mumbai Indians, and a week before the IPL auction, scheduled for February 3 in Chennai.Nita Ambani, the owner of the Mumbai Indians franchise, said she was pleased to have a coach like Wright associated with the team. “It’s a great pleasure to have John on board with Mumbai Indians. John is immensely respected and I am sure his cricketing knowledge and experience will be of enormous help.”Wright was the coach of the New Zealand team from 2010 to 2012. Under him, the team reached the semi-final of the 2011 World Cup but a year later, he decided not to renew his contract with the team, citing differences with New Zealand’s director of cricket, John Buchanan.Prior to that, he was the coach of the Indian team from 2000 to 2005. During this tenure, India won a Test series against Australia at home in 2001, drew a Test series in Australia in 2003-04, reached the 2003 World Cup final, and won a Test and ODI series in Pakistan in 2004.Wright played 82 Tests and 149 ODIs for New Zealand before he retired in 1993.

John Hastings and Darren Pattinson held their nerve to steer Victoria to a tense two-wicket victory over South Australia that confirmed their place in the Ryobi Cup final

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Feb-2013
ScorecardCallum Ferguson’s century went in vain•Getty ImagesJohn Hastings and Darren Pattinson held their nerve to steer Victoria to a tense two-wicket victory over South Australia that confirmed their place in the Ryobi Cup final. Callum Ferguson scored his first one-day hundred of the summer to push the Redbacks to 7 for 255 but his efforts went in vain, as did a five-wicket haul from Kane Richardson, as David Hussey and then Hastings anchored a chase that went down to the last over.Both teams knew that victory would secure them a place in the final and when Hussey was bowled by Richardson for 87 off 86 balls and then Will Sheridan was caught behind next ball, Victoria were 7 for 187 and the Redbacks appeared all but home. However, Hastings and Scott Boland put on 31 for the eighth wicket and then Pattinson joined Hastings for an unbeaten 38-run stand that got the Victorians to their goal.The Man of the Match, Hastings, was the key with an unbeaten 69 from 57 balls, including three sixes, but Pattinson was the unlikely batting hero in the final over, bowled by Daniel Christian. The Bushrangers needed eight from the last six balls and instead of worrying about giving the strike to Hastings, Pattinson thumped the first ball over long-on for six and the remaining two runs then came easily.It was a remarkable recovery after Richardson (5 for 61) demolished the top order and reduced Victoria to 4 for 60 and then 5 for 124. At that stage, South Australia’s total appeared more than enough, set up as it was by Ferguson and Michael Klinger in a 162-run second-wicket stand. Klinger fell short of a hundred, trapped on 87 by a wrong’un from the legspinner Fawad Ahmed, who was playing his first Ryobi Cup game.Ahmed was very impressive in collecting 3 for 47 from 13 overs, finding plenty of turn and beating several batsmen with his googly. But Ferguson’s solid innings of 110 from 125 balls, including seven fours and two sixes, kept the Redbacks moving along, although the captain Johan Botha (24) was the only other batsman to reach double figures.Although the result was disappointing for South Australia they still have a strong chance of making the final, needing only one win from their remaining two matches to lock in a spot and prevent the third-placed Queensland from advancing.

Xavier Doherty has said Shane Warne’s words of advice helped both him and Glenn Maxwell keep their confidence up as they struggled for impact

Brydon Coverdale 04-Mar-2013Xavier Doherty has said Shane Warne’s words of advice helped both him and Glenn Maxwell keep their confidence up as they struggled for impact on the difficult second day in Hyderabad. Doherty and Maxwell eventually earned some rewards after toiling through a 370-run stand between Cheteshwar Pujara and M Vijay, the third-highest Test partnership ever compiled against Australia for any wicket by any country.Maxwell broke the stand when he had Vijay caught tucking a ball to leg slip and it started a more pleasant period for the team in which they collected 9 for 116. Maxwell finished with 4 for 127 and Doherty picked up 3 for 131. After the day’s play, Doherty said the 20-minute meeting Warne had with the players after the loss in Chennai had reminded them that even the best foreign spinners have found India a tough assignment.”We knew it was going to be hard. They’re very good players of spin,” Doherty said. “Warnie came down and spoke to the spinning group post first Test and he said he averaged 45 over here, Murali averaged 47 or something like that – I’m not sure if they’re accurate but that’s what he said. So some of the best bowlers in the world do battle over here.”We knew it was going to be tough but it’s just about grinding away. They weren’t just going to walk off. You’ve got to keep going and really try to apply some pressure and move your field and just try little things, which is what we did. Maxi got that breakthrough and after that it got a little bit easier. I was prepared. The two Tests I’ve played previously were that tough. I know how tough it can be.”Doherty turned a few balls past the bat and had a very close lbw shout turned down when Pujara was on 174 but eventually claimed his first wicket when R Ashwin edged to second slip. Before that delivery, Doherty’s Test bowling average had crept up to 143.33, but by the end of the innings his three wickets had brought it down to 72.83. He conceded that until the edge from Ashwin, it felt like a breakthrough just wasn’t going to come.”It was starting to look that way, particularly with that close lbw which I thought was pretty good,” Doherty said. “Things just didn’t seem to be going my way. I was trying to work out my Test bowling average there at one stage because I came into the game at a hundred. In the last five or six overs, it was just more pleasing how the ball started to come out. It did take a while for it to take a bit of rhythm. To get a couple of wickets was nice as well.”Doherty knows that his place in the team is far from secure and that offspinner Nathan Lyon will be in contention for a recall for the third Test in Mohali. A phlegmatic type of player who takes criticism in his stride and knows his game well, Doherty said he was not fussed by the debate around his place in the team, including comments from Stuart MacGill last week that he “is not a Test bowler”.”I am well aware there are people that want me in the team and people that don’t want me in the team,” he said, “but that is the nature of being at this level.”

Preview of the 18th game of IPL 2013 between Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab

The Preview by Rachna Shetty13-Apr-2013Match factsSunday, April 14, 2013
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)The fast-paced Jaipur wicket should suit Kings XI Punjab’s host of seamers•BCCIBig PictureWith fitness concerns to key players and a controversy dredged up from the past, Rajasthan Royals have a lot on their plate as they take on Kings XI Punjab on Sunday. Both teams were beaten convincingly in their last game and while they may seem evenly matched, Kings XI hold a slender advantage over Royals.If their dismal bowling against Pune Warriors is anything to go by, Royals missed Rahul Shukla and Shaun Tait and, on a home track that had pace and carry in its first game, the absence will be more acute. James Faulkner bowled well against Warriors but it is Sreesanth’s inconsistency that will worry Royals. Moreover, the fast-paced wicket in Jaipur will favour the Kings XI bowlers, with their line-up of Praveen Kumar, Ryan Harris, Azhar Mahmood and Parvinder Awana. They stifled Warriors in the first game and on a responsive pitch, with their varying styles, can be an effective attack.Their collapse in the last game aside, Royals have a relatively settled look to their batting line-up. Rahul Dravid, Ajinkya Rahane, Brad Hodge and Stuart Binny have been among the runs, making up for the absence of a big-hitter. Their most significant weaknesses are the opening combination – in three games, their highest opening stand is 22, between Rahane and Kusal Perera – and the tendency to lose wickets in clusters towards the end, as was evident against Warriors. With two important bowlers missing from their ranks and Shane Watson injured – though Owais Shah said on the eve of the game that they should have a fully-fit squad to pick from come match day* – they will need to post a substantial total to challenge the Kings XI batsmen Adam Gilchrist, David Hussey, Mandeep Singh and Manan Vohra.Players to watchWith of string of scores in the 30s, Ajinkya Rahane seems to have found his groove in IPL 2013. He’s been losing his wicket after getting a start and against an opposition that has a challenging pace attack, the Royals will bank on Rahane to play a big innings.In spite of a career riddled with injuries, there are few who doubt Ryan Harris’s skill or commitment to the game. He took 19 wickets in three first-class matches for Queensland in the Sheffield Shield this year and with a pace that skids on to the batsman, he can be a handful for the Royals’ batsman.Stats and trivia Praveen Kumar shares the record for the most number of maiden overs bowled in the IPL (9) Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals have beaten by 10 wickets twice in the IPL. Siddarth Trivedi is the most successful bowler for Rajasthan Royals against Kings XI Punjab with nine wickets in seven matches. Quotes”Shane Watson was not fit in the last match but at the moment, as far as we have been told, everyone is fit to play. And the coaches and captain will pick [the XI] from a fit squad.”
“We have a lot of youngsters and will take time to settle down in the tournament.”
*06.30GMT, April 14: The preview has been updated after pre-match press conference quotes arrived

Chennai Super Kings have more match-turning batsmen than any other side in the tournament, and that was on display yet again as they hunted down 186

The Report by Siddarth Ravindran22-Apr-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Michael Hussey, yet again, adapted his game to the match situation, smashing 88 off 51 deliveries•BCCIChennai Super Kings have more match-turning batsmen than any other side in the tournament, and that was on display yet again as they hunted down 186 against Rajasthan Royals. Michael Hussey, who made the slowest 40-plus score in the IPL in the previous match, showed off his versatility with a boundary-filled 88, the out-of-form Suresh Raina powered his way to a half-century, MS Dhoni narrowed the gap to the target though he couldn’t close out the game this time. It was left to Dwayne Bravo to pound a final-over six and deliver victory, before breaking out into a joyous dance.The endless depth in Super Kings’ batting meant that Shane Watson’s typically power-packed century, the first hundred of the season, and James Faulkner’s pinpoint death bowling was not enough for the perennial underdogs Rajasthan Royals to pull off another upset.Royals have won all 15 matches in which they have had to defend more than 162, but once the Super Kings chase began, Royals never looked outright favourites. Ajit Chandila continued to have success with his seemingly harmless and variation-less offspin bowling, dismissing M Vijay cheaply, but Hussey began with a barrage of boundaries, including a six over midwicket to ensure Super Kings kept pace. It was a shot he used often and effectively as he shed his usual role of anchor, and turned into an aggressor.Raina was no slouch either, playing two of his trademark strokes – the slog over midwicket and the inside-out lofted hit over extra cover – as the pair, helped by some erratic bowling, powered Super Kings past 100 in the 10th over.Faulkner gave Royals some hope by getting Raina lbw, but with Cooper bowling too many wide deliveries that were easily guided by Hussey to behind backward point for four, and the finishing expert, Dhoni, in the middle, Super Kings were still ahead.A spot-on direct-hit from Dravid to send back Hussey renewed Royals’ fight, before Faulkner bowled two superb death overs, getting rid of Ravindra Jadeja for a duck, and then dismissing Dhoni caught at wide long-on. It was down to Bravo to score 11 off the final over, off Watson who has only recently re-started bowling. Watson missed the length on one and was drilled over sweeper cover for six to virtually kill off the contest.It was a bittersweet match for Watson, who had been in imperious touch earlier. The carnage started in earnest from the third over, as he coolly launched Mohit Sharma’s first delivery over the bowler’s head for six. Chris Morris was helped over deep backward square leg for six, the giant West Indian fast bowler Jason Holder proved ineffective on debut and by the end of the seventh, Royals had whooshed to 71.The over which defined the innings was the 17th, bowled by Jadeja. The first ball was a hit-me full toss that was clobbered over long-on for six. Jadeja, already taken for 27 in his first two overs, was flustered by the big hitting, and sprayed the next ball miles outside off stump. It was followed up by another full toss that was deposited for six, and another shocking wide, several metres outside off.Watson ended that over on 99, and brought up the first hundred of the season with a gentle nudge behind square leg in the next over. With Stuart Binny regularly scything the ball over the off side, Royals ran up what seemed a terrific total of 185. Not against Super Kings.