Mascarenhas hopes for IPL finale

Hampshire's Dimitri Mascarenhas hopes to have one last crack at the Indian Premier League after playing his final game in England.

Mascarenhas ended an 18-year county career on Saturday when Hampshire lost to Glamorgan in their YB40 semi-final.

But he says he is still keen to make another appearance in the IPL.

"I won't count it out, it would only be T20, but if something came up (in the IPL) I would jump at the chance," the 35-year-old told BBC Radio Solent.

"I will put myself in the IPL and you never know it's a toss of coin. If it happens it's brilliant but if not it's not the end of the world."

First-class: 6,495 runs, average 25.07, 8x100, 23x50, 450 wickets, average 28.22, 76 catches List A (50 & 40 over): 4,407 runs, average 24.89, 27x50, 309 wickets, average 26.35, 66 catches T20: 1,332 runs, average 19.30, 3x50, 147 wickets, average 20.31, 28 catches Also played 20 ODIs and 14 T20 games for England Mascarenhas has played for Rajastahan Royals and Kings XI Punjab in the IPL, and has also played overseas T20 cricket in Australia, Bangladesh and New Zealand.

The all-rounder has helped Hampshire win up five domestic trophies during his time with the club, and having reached finals day in the Flt20 and the YB40 semi-finals this summer, he admitted to being disappointed by not adding to that collection.

"I hoped for at least one final," he admitted. "That would have been nice, but we haven't performed in two big semi-finals and it wasn't to be."

Despite bowing out on a losing note, Mascarenhas said he would look back on the past 18 years with fond memories.

"It's been a long time, we've had a lot of success, especially recently and that's been great," he added.

"It took me 10 years to get to Lord's and to play in a couple of Lord's finals and T20 finals day a couple of times has been phenomenal.

"I'm very sad it's all over. I've been here a long time and I still enjoy playing and still feel I'm contributing to the team. It's tough to leave, but nice to go out on my own terms but that doesn't make it any easier."

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Surrey batsman Hashim Amla hits 88 to help his side beat Derbyshire and boost their hopes of survival

Hashim Amla hit a fighting 88 to help Surrey complete a crucial four-wicket win against fellow strugglers Derbyshire which boosts their chances of avoiding relegation from Division One of the LV County Championship.

Set an awkward victory target of 217 in 73 overs, Surrey slipped to four for two against a tenacious Derbyshire bowling attack on a tricky pitch that produced a relatively low-scoring contest.

But South Africa batsman Amla, rated at No 1 in the world rankings for both Test and one-day international cricket, batted for 202 minutes and faced 159 balls, hitting eight fours in just his fourth championship innings as Surrey’s latest overseas player.

The win, Surrey’s first of the championship season, earned them 21 points and puts them on 97, two ahead of Derbyshire at the bottom of the first division. Surrey remain 15 points adrift of seventh-placed Somerset, but with a game in hand.

At the top of the table it is even tighter after Durham completed a seven-wicket victory over Yorkshire at Scarborough on Saturday.

The home side followed on 299 runs behind but reached 419 second time round, leaving Yorkshire to make 121 in 37 overs after tea.

Scott Borthwick reached 65 in 85 balls to see them most of the way home after an early wobble. The victory puts Durham just 5½ points behind Yorkshire at the top.

Sussex kept alive their title hopes but killed off any lingering ambitions Warwickshire had of retaining the title by refusing to declare and batting through a tedious final day at Edgbaston and thus making it a three-way race.

“We have got to play Durham twice and Yorkshire so it’s an exciting end of the season,” Sussex manager Mark Robinson said.

“We are still outside favourites but we have given ourselves a chance.”

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Tennis-Wawrinka carries Swiss hopes in absence of Federer

By Will Swanton

NEW YORK, Sept 3 | Wed Sep 4, 2013 5:42am BST

NEW YORK, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka spared a thought for an absent countryman after he powered through a high-quality match against Czech Tomas Berdych on Tuesday to reach the quarter-finals of the U.S. Open.

The ninth seed beat the fifth seeded Berdych 3-6 6-1 7-6(6) 6-2 in two hours and 47 minutes on Louis Armstrong Stadium.

Wawrinka, the player constantly living in the shadow of 17-time grand slam winner Roger Federer in his homeland, was blown off the court by Berdych in the first set.

But in a match featuring superb ball striking and a combined 68 winners, Wawrinka's consistency proved the difference against the tall Czech.

He closed out the match by breaking Berdych's serve for the sixth time to set up a quarter-final against Britain's defending champion Andy Murray.

It is the first time Wawrinka has progressed further at a major championship that Federer, who was ousted by Spain's Tommy Robredo in the fourth round.

"It's a different situation, for sure," Wawrinka told reporters. "I'm really happy for myself this year, with what I'm doing right now, but I would prefer to have him still playing in the tournament.

"I watched his match yesterday and it was not that good. I was sad for him, because he's a good friend and I like when he's winning grand slam titles. I hope he will come back stronger."

Wawrinka said he was in career-best form ahead of his clash with Murray.

"I think I play my best tennis ever," he said.

"Andy is a really good player. We practice a lot together. We have some really great battles when we play each other. I like to play him. I like his game. I think if I start well, if I stay with him, I have a good chance.

"I need to start well to show him I'm going to be there." (Editing by Patrick Johnston)

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Faisal Iqbal hopes to carve out spot for himself

Russell's sixes, Shakib's 6 for 6

ESPNcricinfo presents the top five moments from the inaugural Caribbean Premier League

Australia's era of decline

Fundamental issues remain with how the game is run in Australia, although the country's sporting problems are not restricted to cricket

Signs of development but much to do

Australia's Ashes performance wasn't far off what was expected: a wholehearted, often impressive, bowling attack but an inconsistent batting order, although there are signs of promise

Light fades on Oval party

It was a celebration of England. A celebration for Test cricket. It was loud. It was fun. It was nonsensical.

Swann's swag, and Smiths' success

Also, Bradman's nemesis, most runs in a Test without a century, hundreds in final ODIs, and double-oh partners

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No more Hopes for the DC in IPL

The Chargers did it again they lost to the Kolkatha Knight Riders here at Hyderabad. They were already at the last position in the table and they did it again.

All the cricket experts are completely surprised with this performance by the Deccan Chargers. DC were one among the Hot favorites when IPL started. But now it is in the last position.

The Knight Riders started of well with some good partnership from Ganguly and Chopra later on mike Hussuy took the responsibilty with some grest shots.

The Chargers seemed good with Gilly but after his dismisal there was no hope for the Chargers. Venu Gopal Rao did a good job in the end but was not worth to win the game. He scored 69 from just 42 balls with 5 sixers on the card. He hit the maximum sixers in the match.

It was for the first time in the IPL that a man batting a 6th poistion scored a half century. All the credit goes to Venu Gopal Rao but he was not able to bring the match for the Chargers.

Score Card

Knight Riders

Batting:

Ganguly-91
Hussy-57
Chopra-24

Bowling:

Singh – 1-59
Vijay – 1-21
Vaas – 1-36

Deccan Chargers

Batting:

Rao – 69
Sharma – 33
Gilly – 24

Bowling:

Dinda – 3-33
Ganguly – 2-25
Gul - 1-43

Visit Arly’s Blog for more information on Indian Premier League.

View the original article here

No more Hopes for the DC in IPL

The Chargers did it again they lost to the Kolkatha Knight Riders here at Hyderabad. They were already at the last position in the table and they did it again.

All the cricket experts are completely surprised with this performance by the Deccan Chargers. DC were one among the Hot favorites when IPL started. But now it is in the last position.

The Knight Riders started of well with some good partnership from Ganguly and Chopra later on mike Hussuy took the responsibilty with some grest shots.

The Chargers seemed good with Gilly but after his dismisal there was no hope for the Chargers. Venu Gopal Rao did a good job in the end but was not worth to win the game. He scored 69 from just 42 balls with 5 sixers on the card. He hit the maximum sixers in the match.

It was for the first time in the IPL that a man batting a 6th poistion scored a half century. All the credit goes to Venu Gopal Rao but he was not able to bring the match for the Chargers.

Score Card

Knight Riders

Batting:

Ganguly-91
Hussy-57
Chopra-24

Bowling:

Singh – 1-59
Vijay – 1-21
Vaas – 1-36

Deccan Chargers

Batting:

Rao – 69
Sharma – 33
Gilly – 24

Bowling:

Dinda – 3-33
Ganguly – 2-25
Gul - 1-43

Visit Arly’s Blog for more information on Indian Premier League.

View the original article here

Yankees Insider: Jeter hopes to sprint back from quad

ARLINGTON — Derek Jeter took batting practice and ran a half-dozen sprints on the field before Tuesday’s game, testing his strained right quad harder than he has to this point.

The Captain remains hopeful that he’ll be able to return from the disabled list when he’s eligible to do so Saturday, although he said it remains a day-to-day proposition.

“It’s the first step. It’s not there, which is good,” Jeter said. “That’s the key; you don’t want to feel it. I don’t feel it.”

Joe Girardi called it “a positive sign” that Jeter was able to run, but he made no promises about the weekend.

“We’re not pushing him a whole lot yet, but so far, so good,” Girardi said. “Every step has been better and that’s a good sign.”

Jeter will still have to run the bases this week before being activated, but he expects to increase his workload a little each day.

“I’ll be ready as soon as possible,” Jeter said. “If I could play today, I would be lobbying to play today. I’m sure I’ll lobby to play on Saturday.”

MORE PAIN
Luis Cruz appears to be headed to the disabled list after suffering a right knee injury while making a play in the field during Monday’s game.

Cruz was wearing a brace that covered most of his leg Tuesday night. He’ll undergo an MRI Friday in New York, although he said the medical staff told him he likely suffered an MCL injury.

Assuming the Yankees put Cruz on the DL on Wednesday, David Adams is the likely replacement.

WELCOME MATT
Matt Garza, acquired by the Rangers from the Cubs on Monday, will make his first start for Texas on Wednesday against Andy Pettitte and the Yankees.

Garza faced the Yankees 12 times in his career during his time with the Twins and Rays, 11 of those coming in starts. He’s 1-4 with a 4.48 ERA in those outings, the last of which came in 2010.

“He’s got very good stuff,” Girardi said.

VANISHING ACT
Monday afternoon, a painting of 2011 MVP winners Justin Verlander and Ryan Braun hung in the hallway near the entrance inside the visiting clubhouse at Rangers Ballpark.

Tuesday, that painting was nowhere to be found after Braun accepted a 65-game suspension for his use of performance-enhancing drugs.

PINEDA PITCHES
Michael Pineda threw three scoreless innings and 39 pitches for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday, but was pulled from the game early as the Yankees try to manage his innings total this season while he returns from shoulder surgery... David Phelps allowed two runs on two hits and three walks, striking out six in 3.2 innings of a rehab start for Double-A Trenton on Tuesday... The Yankees-Red Sox game at Fenway Park on Sunday, Aug. 18 was picked up by ESPN. First pitch is now scheduled for 8 p.m. ET.

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