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Graeme White took four wickets as Northamptonshire saw offGloucestershire to claim their first home win in the Friends Life t20in almost three years.

28-Jun-2013
ScorecardGraeme White, on loan from Notts, took 4 for 14•PA PhotosGraeme White took four wickets as Northamptonshire saw offGloucestershire to claim their first home win in the Friends Life t20in almost three years.After the weather saw the match reduced to 12 overs-a-side, Northantsbatted well in making 124 for 4 with Scotland captain Kyle Coetzertop-scoring by smashing 39 off 25 balls.Gloucestershire never looked like reaching their target as they collapsed to 83for 9 with Nottinghamshire loanee Graeme White taking a brilliant 4 for 14from three overs with Muhammad Azharullah claiming 2 for 23.This was the hosts’ first victory in this competition at Wantage Road sincethey defeated Lancashire in July 2010 and it gets this year’s campaign off to aflyer.Several rain delays meant proceedings eventually began at 8:10pm after thevisitors won the toss and chose to field. Dan Christian then dismissed Richard Levi for 2 in the second over when he chased a wide delivery and was taken by wicketkeeperGareth Roderick.Coetzer departed when he chipped Benny Howell to Gloucester captain MichaelKlinger at extra cover before the same bowler castled Cameron White after he hadclubbed 28 off 20 balls. Alex Wakely bludgeoned 36 off only 19 deliveries beforesmashing David Payne to Ian Cockbain at long-off with the last ball of theinnings.Chasing 125, Gloucestershire lost Hamish Marshall from the second ball whenhe got a leading edge from David Willey to Cameron White at midwicket before Chris Dent dragged Azharullah on to his stumps. The visitors then lost two wickets in consecutive balls in the eighth over, bowled by Graeme White, when Christian picked out Willey at long on. Klinger was taken at long-off by Matthew Spriegel after plundering 27 as thegame slipped away from the Gladiators.Five wickets then tumbled for just three runs as Howell was superbly runout by Willey at long-on before White caught and bowled Alex Gidman with the very next ball. White then bowled James Fuller before Azharullah repeated the doseto Cockbain and Gareth Roderick in the penultimate over to compound thevisitors’ misery.

Rohit Sharma and Dinesh Karthik carried Mumbai Indians to their third win in four games and the top of the table

The Report by Sidharth Monga13-Apr-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Rohit Sharma scored 47 off the last 15 balls he faced•BCCIEven as Ricky Ponting and Sachin Tendulkar take their time to bed in as an opening combination, Rohit Sharma and Dinesh Karthik carried Mumbai Indians to their third win in four games and the top of the table.Tendulkar finally arrived, in particular with four consecutive boundaries off Ashok Dinda, but the openers fell in quick succession, and it needed a flourish of 65 runs in the last four overs for Mumbai to feel comfortable with the target. Dinda was the victim again as he equalled the most expensive IPL figures by going for 63 runs in his four overs. Mitchell Johnson, then, did the exact opposite by swinging his way through the Pune Warriors top order, which all but sealed the win.With a mix of swagger and desperation, Tendulkar finally got going with his 44 off 29, but Ponting continued to struggle and finished with yet another effort at under a run a ball, taking his tournament tally to 48 at an average of 12 and a strike rate of 73. Around him, though, Tendulkar caused mayhem, especially with Dinda, one of the five bowlers used in the first five overs.Left-arm spin, though, worked for Pune: Aaron Finch began the innings with a three-run over, and Yuvraj Singh got Ponting first ball when introduced in the eighth over. Finch accounted for Tendulkar, who holed out at long-on, in the next over, and Mumbai were 60 for 2 in the ninth. They now needed a bit of rebuilding, which Karthik and Rohit did, but without sacrificing the scoring rate.Karthik equalled the highest run-getter of the tournament with a pulled four off Yuvraj in the 12th over, and then claimed the orange cap with an inside-out four next ball. However, just when the two looked set for the final flourish with a 55-run stand, Karthik fell to the first ball after the second timeout. Mitchell Marsh, introduced just then, came up with the perfect offcutter first up.Rohit, just 15 off 16 then, was ready to strike, and Kieron Pollard was the perfect foil. It was Dinda who let them off the hook decisively with a gentle length ball in the 17th over. Rohit smacked it over long-off, and the flood gates opened. The next one was a slower no-ball, and it sailed over long-on. In the next over, Marsh got the treatment: a four and a six from Pollard, followed by a four and a six from Rohit.Angelo Mathews bowled a fine 19th over, for just nine runs, but handed the ball over to Dinda for the 20th, and Rohit feasted with yet another brace of sixes. The first of those brought up his fifty; in all he looted 47 off the last 15 balls he played. Still, on a flat pitch with short boundaries, this was not a safe total. Mumbai could do with a bit of Johnson.And Johnson it was then with a fast, full, spearing delivery to knock Finch’s middle stump back first ball. In his next over, he demolished Robin Uthappa’s off stump. In between the two events, Uthappa had run Ross Taylor out. At 13 for 3 in the third over, there was too much left for the rest to do.

Duncan Fletcher has been handed a one-year extension to his term as India coach

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Mar-2013Duncan Fletcher has been handed a one-year extension as India coach. He had taken over after India’s World Cup win in April 2011, signing a two-year contract. Trevor Penney, who joined as the fielding coach in May 2011, also gets a new one-year deal.The decision to keep Fletcher in charge was taken at the BCCI’s working committee meeting in Mumbai. India’s engagements over the next year including a challenging tour of current No. 1 South Africa, a tour of New Zealand, the Champions Trophy in England and the 2014 World Twenty20 in Bangladesh.”The board has decided to extend his contract,” BCCI president N Srinivasan told reporters after the meeting. “But we have to discuss the terms. I can’t tell you the deliberations of the board. All I can tell you is what is the decision. We have decided to extend it.”Fletcher’s extension had a lot to do with continuity during the team’s re-building phase, a board insider said: “He knows all the youngsters, including the fringe players, very well by now, so it was important to keep the same bond going for a developing side. The fact that virtually every youngster respects him a lot also played a part.”It hasn’t been a smooth ride with India for Fletcher. When he was appointed India were at the top of the Test rankings, but they quickly slid down the charts after comprehensive defeats on tours of England and Australia. There were home victories against relatively lightweight opposition in West Indies and New Zealand, but the pressure increased in late 2012 after England won their first series in India since 1984-85.India have fared better in the one-day format, winning five bilateral series under Fletcher and are currently ranked No. 1. However, they recently lost a high-profile ODI series against Pakistan at home.

An all-round performance by offspinner Prosper Utseya helped Mashonaland Eagles beat Matabeleland Tuskers by five runs to win the Pro50 Championship final in Bulawayo, in a match that was repeatedly interrupted by rain

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Jan-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAn all-round performance by offspinner Prosper Utseya helped Mashonaland Eagles beat Matabeleland Tuskers by five runs to win the Pro50 Championship final in Bulawayo, in a match that was repeatedly interrupted by rain. The result was decided via the Duckworth-Lewis method.Tuskers, who won the toss and elected to bowl, kept Eagles’ innings in check with regular breakthroughs. While most of the middle order got starts, Utseya, coming in to bat at No. 7, was the only batsman to reach 50. He was given out obstructing the field as Eagles were kept to 222 in 49.1 overs.Tuskers looked to be in control of the chase, in spite of several rain interruptions, as the opening pair of Gavin Ewing and Brian Chari added 138 runs. They began sedately but solidly, and launched later when the rain seemed like it would be an issue. However, wickets then began to tumble and apart from a late charge from Charles Coventry, none of the other Tuskers batsmen could make substantial contributions. Tuskers needed 23 runs from 18 balls, before rain interrupted their chase yet again and the D/L method came into play.

A Twenty20 all-India university tournament, named the University Cricket Championship (UCC) has been launched and added to the cricket calendar

Vishal Dikshit17-Jan-2013A new Twenty20 all-India university tournament, backed by the BCCI and the Indian government’s Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD), has been added to the Indian cricket calendar. The tournament, named the University Cricket Championship (UCC), is an extension of the annual all-India inter-zone university Rohinton Baria Tournament.The tournament was launched at a high-profile event – attended by among others, the actor Shah Rukh Khan, who was named its brand ambassador – in Mumbai by Indian news channel NDTV, along with the co-sponsors Toyota. It is also supported by the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), which already holds the Rohinton Baria Tournament.The inaugural tournament will be played next month between the top eight teams from the Rohinton Baria – two from each of the four regional zones – who will be split into two groups of four each. The top four will qualify for the semi-finals. The matches will be telecast live, and the co-partner NDTV is also expected to do extensive programming for the championship.N Srinivasan, the BCCI president, said the board had always been supportive of such tournaments and the UCC would be another platform for university players. “The idea was recently approved by the BCCI’s Working Committee,” he said. “It will give more opportunities to university players and the viewership will make a big difference as it will enable people to see university cricket close at hand.”Minister of State, HRD, Shashi Tharoor, said the initiative would attract attention as it has sponsors and will be played in the T20 format. “There used to be decent crowds for university matches during my university days but the interest has dwindled over the years,” he said. “Right now, many teams don’t care if they don’t make it to the finals of the Rohinton Baria. This tournament is going to be a game-changer and university cricket will get a big boost from this initiative.”SN Puri, President of the AIU, also seemed excited by the idea of the new tournament. “The Rohinton Baria tournament was losing its shine,” Puri told ESPNcricinfo. “This new format is becoming popular, so young people should come forward. University students find it hard to take out time for both Vizzy Trophy and Rohinton Baria as both have three-day matches. This new T20 tournament will save them time and will provide exposure to the format too.”Shah Rukh Khan accounted for the event’s glamour quotient but his ties with cricket are well-known – he is the co-owner of the IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders. He also represented his university team in cricket, football and hockey.

Nottinghamshire remained unbeaten as a record Lancashire opening stand between Stephen Moore and Tom Smith proved in vain in a rain-affected eight-wicket Friends Life t20 win.

03-Jul-2012
ScorecardNottinghamshire remained unbeaten as a record Lancashire opening stand between Stephen Moore and Tom Smith proved in vain in a rain-affected eight-wicket Friends Life t20 win.Moore (80) and Smith (56) smashed 119 from the first 14 overs before acting skipper Steven Croft (31 not out) added late impetus to carry Lancashire to an imposing 178 for 4.A lengthy rain delay with Nottinghamshire 7 for 0 after just one over of their reply left the hosts chasing 42 runs from four overs to reach a revised victory target of 49.And once Yasir Arafat’s over went for 18 – Riki Wessels (21 not out) striking three fours in four deliveries -Nottinghamshire were always going to get home, especially after Michael Lumb (22) had rattled the scoreboard along.It was rough justice on Lancashire who had batted so well and showed why home skipper Adam Voges’ decision to bowl first with bad weather forecast proved a prudent one.After a start delayed by 35 minutes Nottinghamshire – who went top of the North group with victory – bucked their usual trend of batting first and took to the field under floodlights.The ball moved around early on for Harry Gurney and Smith was fortunate to escape when on eight when Hales dropped a skier off the left-armer’s bowling.Smith slog-swept Samit Patel for a maximum and also picked the same bowler up over mid-wicket to go with six boundaries from 41 balls until Steven Mullaney finally bowled him.After Moore survived a botched stumping chance on 47, he took up the attack as he was joined by Croft, who added a further 41 in four overs that seemed likely to take Lancashire past 200.But after paddling Andy Carter for his eighth boundary, the opener tried to repeat the trick and found the hands of Gurney at short fine leg, before Croft hit 10 off the final five balls.After Ajmal Shahzad delivered the first over of the Nottinghamshire innings prior to the rain break, Stephen Parry dismissed Alex Hales (four) and conceded nine runs off the second.But Arafat was too wayward and punished by Lumb and Wessels so that even the former’s exit, after he had thumped Tom Smith for a straight six, could not halt Nottinghamshire’s momentum.An eight-wicket win under the Duckworth/Lewis method was wrapped up with two balls to spare by Wessels who drove Oliver Newby over the top for his fifth boundary.

The Champions League Twenty20 (CLT20), the most lucrative club cricket tournament in the world, could possibly be moved to South Africa

Firdose Moonda31-May-2012The Champions League Twenty20 (CLT20), the most lucrative club cricket tournament in the world, could possibly be moved to South Africa. Cricket South Africa acting CEO Jacques Faul told ESPNcricinfo, “It could be a possibility [that SA will host] but we will only know later in June. There are problems with the IPL qualifiers venues for the CLT20 but there has been no final decision yet.” Faul has returned from a CLT20 governing council meeting in India which was held in Chennai after the end of the IPL.Faul is one of the members of the CLT20 governing council, replacing the previous CEO Gerald Majola, who is suspended pending disciplinary action. Following the governing council meeting, there has been no formal announcement of the 2012 CLT20 other than the two on Twitter by Sundar Raman, a member of the CLT20 technical committee. The first Tweet said Sialkot Stallions of Pakistan would be invited to take part in the IPL, the first time a Pakistani team would be competing in the event. The second said the dates for the tournament would only be released by the end of June.ESPNcricinfo understands that talks of moving the CLT20 to South Africa were driven by several reasons, including the Indian monsoons and a five-day festival in the east of the country. Late last week, had reported that the tournament would take place in India from October 10-28 over five venues: Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and New Delhi. Kolkata had lost out on hosting matches during the latter half of the tournament as the entire state of West Bengal would shut down for the Durga Puja holiday from October 20 to 25.In the 2011 CLT20, a six-team qualifier leg was held for the first time with the fourth-place finisher from the IPL, the national T20 champions from New Zealand and West Indies, a team from Sri Lanka and two teams from England competing for three qualifying spots. The total prize money on offer was $6m with the winner earning $2.5m. The event was won by Mumbai Indians.

Pakistan put one foot in the final of the Asia Cup with a six-wicket win over a tired Sri Lankan outfit, which didn’t have enough steam needed to defend a modest 188

The Report by Kanishkaa Balachandran15-Mar-2012 by six wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAizaz Cheema came back well to pick up four wickets after getting pasted in his first two overs•Associated PressPakistan put one foot in the final of the Asia Cup with a six-wicket win over a tired Sri Lankan outfit, which did not have enough steam to defend a modest 188. Pakistan’s bowlers set up the win with a disciplined effort, and Misbah-ul-Haq and Umar Akmal compiled positive half-centuries to arrest a top-order wobble. Their eagerly anticipated clash with India on Sunday may not carry much context for them if India beat Bangladesh tomorrow, but Sri Lanka’s second consecutive defeat makes an India-Pakistan final likely.The defeat left a few important questions for Sri Lanka to answer after a long, strenuous season away from home, where they have had mixed results. Their shot-selection for one, starting from the seniors at the top, has been exposed, leaving plenty for the lower middle-order to do. With Upul Tharanga scoring another half-century at No.6, it strengthens his case for being reinstated as an opener, meaning that Mahela Jayawardene would have to move back down the order.The presence of Dilshan and Jayawardene at the top was aimed at giving Sri Lanka a strong start in a must-win game. They started aggressively today, but in their quest lost quick wickets. It was an underwhelming performance from a team that bats deep but did not have the application to match their talent.Jayawardene fell trying to drive past extra cover. Dilshan, after some crunching drives through the off side, fell off a miscued pull. The wicket was nicely set up by Aizaz Cheema, who peppered him with short deliveries and challenged him to target the on side, with a fielder in the deep. Two more soft dismissals, those of the young Dinesh Chandimal and Lahiru Thirimanne, put a lot of pressure on Kumar Sangakkara and Tharanga.They suffered in the bowling Powerplay, scoring only 11 runs. Their stand of 96 featured several singles, 61 of them, and five boundaries. Tharanga was comfortable against the spinners, picking up boundaries through the off side via deft cuts. Sangakkara, who began with a clipped boundary past midwicket, pounced on a short delivery from Mohammad Hafeez to bring up the fifty stand.Smart stats

The 152-run stand between Misbah-ul-Haq and Umar Akmal is the highest fourth-wicket stand for Pakistan against Sri Lanka. It is also the joint second-highest partnership for the fourth wicket in ODIs in Mirpur.

Umar Gul became the tenth Pakistani bowler to reach the 150-wicket mark in ODIs. His average of 27.24 is bettered by five other bowlers on the list.

Aizaz Cheema equalled his best bowling figures in ODIs (4 for 43). It is also the best bowling performance by a Pakistan bowler in ODIs against Sri Lanka played in Bangladesh.

The 61 balls remaining at the end is third on the list of most deliveries remaining in a Pakistan win over Sri Lanka.

Misbah has now scored 19 half-centuries in ODIs. In 13 matches against Sri Lanka, Misbah has scored five half-centuries and averages 48.00.

Akmal’s 77 is his fifth fifty-plus score against Sri Lanka and his 14th half-century in ODIs. Against Sri Lanka, Akmal has scored 470 runs at 52.22 with one century and four fifties.

The 96-run stand between Kumar Sangakkara and Upul Tharanga is the fourth-highest fifth-wicket stand for Sri Lanka against Pakistan and is also fourth on the list of highest fifth-wicket stands in Mirpur.

Sri Lanka once again succumbed to a familiar weakness – the batting Powerplay. As it happened against India, they lost their foothold in the first over of the field restrictions. Saeed Ajmal was taken off after the bowling Powerplay but Misbah brought him back at the start of the 36th over. He struck by bowling Tharanga with the doosra, before inducing a poor shot from Farveez Maharoof. Sangakkara tried to force the pace by charging Cheema but ended up dragging the ball onto the stumps. His reaction after being dismissed, swishing the air with his bat, summed up Sri Lanka’s problems.Pakistan picked up the last six wickets for just 27 runs and it was largely due to Sri Lanka’s inability to read Ajmal’s doosra. Cheema went on to take four wickets while Ajmal took three. It was an especially satisfying display by Cheema, who got a pasting early on but backed himself to bowl fast and attack the batsmen.A timid start by Pakistan, which included the loss of three wickets, gave Sri Lanka hope of defending a modest 188. Jayawardene, maintaining a stony expression, had plenty to expect from his beefed-up bowling attack, and they responded by trying to make life tough for the top order by bowling tight lines. Some committed ground fielding, especially by Dilshan, and catching lifted the spirits of the bowlers.Jayawardene stuck to his tactic of constantly shuffling fielders in various close catching positions to create chances. The openers, Nasir Jamshed and Mohammad Hafeez, started watchfully but succumbed to tame dismissals, not very different in character to their counterparts. Jamshed holed out to mid-on before Hafeez scooped the legspinner Seekkuge Prasanna to point.Younis Khan gifted Suranga Lakmal his second wicket with an exaggerated whip to Farveez Maharoof at mid-on, who timed his dive and caught the ball inches off the ground. At 33 for 3, Sri Lanka were in the game but three boundaries by Akmal off a Lasith Malinga over in the bowling Powerplay – all risk-free – calmed the nerves for Pakistan. Misbah was prepared to wait for the bad deliveries, driving Prasanna past the covers before launching him for a six over long-on.The calmness of Misbah and exuberance of Akmal combined well to ensure that Pakistan crossed the finish line before the 40th over, which gained them a bonus point. Akmal was strong behind square on the on side, sweeping the spinners and paddling them away with the fine leg up. As the target shrunk, Sri Lanka appeared to throw in the towel. The fast bowlers failed to control the scoring, as Pakistan found the gaps with ease during the batting Powerplay.Sri Lanka have a very slim chance of making the final, provided they beat Bangladesh convincingly, and India lose both their remaining games. A back-door entry, however, would not leave them satisfied.Edited by Dustin Silgardo

A round up of the fifth day of matches of the European Championship Division One Twenty20

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Jul-2011Denmark emerged triumphant against Guernsey in the battle of the group-toppers in the semi-final in St Clement. In a combined batting effort, that included a knock of 40 from opener Shehzad Ahmed and useful contributions from the rest, Denmark posted 136. Rizwan Mahmood made an unbeaten 22 and Shehzad was involved in an opening stand of 55 with Freddie Klokker. Guernsey were spineless in their reply, bowled out for 78 after capitulating to offspinner Bashir Shah, who took 4 for 23. Opener Tim Ravenscroft made 24, but the others simply didn’t step up.Italy sealed their place in the tournament final, overcoming Jersey by 14 runs in St Martin. The backbone of their innings was a half-century from Damian Crowly, who made 55 in 44 balls with two fours and three sixes. Wicketkeeper Hayden Patrizi assisted him with an innings of 28, and Italy managed a competitive 133. In their response, Jersey were on track at 97 for 3 in the 16th over, with captain Peter Gough and Tony Carlyon adding 41 for the fourth wicket. But Crowley removed both batsmen in the same over and the rest of the batting failed to measure up, reaching only 119 in the end.France beat Austria by five runs in St Saviour to qualify for the fifth-place final in the European Championship Division One Twenty20. Arun Ayyavooraju made a run-a-ball 48 and was supported by Usman Khan’s 25 in France’s score of 113. It was a gettable target but none of the Austria batsmen got going. Opener Aman Deep fell for 25, Syed Qamar made 18 and only two others got to double-figures. Legspinner Zika Ali took 4 for 12 and his spell proved decisive in keeping Austria to 108.In the other fifth-place play-off semi-final, Norway beat Belgium in a last-over thriller in St Brelade. For Belgium, wicketkeeper Ali Raza top-scored with 31 and was supported by contributions of 24 from captain Simon Newport and 15 from Shaival Mehta. Though Norway lost wickets at regular intervals in the chase, their batsmen managed enough to seal victory with four balls to spare. Zaheer Ashiq and captain Zeeshan Ali made 26 and 21 respectively, pacing their innings well, and Iftikhar Hussain scored at better than a run-a-ball for his unbeaten 31, which made the difference in the end.Germany thrashed Croatia in the ninth-place play-off semi-final in St Helier. Captain Asif Khan smashed 56 in 25 balls and was aided by quickfire cameos from Kashif Mahmood (39 in 20) and an unbeaten 37 in 16 balls from Kashif Haider. Germany notched up an imposing 222 and Croatia, not helped by the fact that there was only one batsman who captialised on starts – Nikola Davidovic made 47 in 30 balls – only mustered up 132.Gibraltar defeated Israel in the other nine-place play-off semi-final in St Brelade. Josh Evans and Herschel Gutman picked up three wickets each to restrict Gibraltar to 110. In an innings that lacked big contributions, opener David Coram top-scored with 32. However, the score proved more than enough. Only one Israeli batsman – Itamar Kehimkar – reached double-figures, as Gibraltar, led by Ross Harkins’ 3 for 6, eased home by 43 runs.

Brad Hodge and Andrew McDonald buried Sydney Sixers in an avalanche of big hits to set up Melbourne Renegades’ second successive win, moving them into the top half of the Big Bash League table for the first time

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Jan-2012
ScorecardAndrew McDonald hit seven sixes and no fours in his 60•Getty ImagesBrad Hodge and Andrew McDonald buried Sydney Sixers in an avalanche of big hits to set up Melbourne Renegades’ second successive win, moving them into the top half of the Big Bash League table for the first time.Chasing a challenging 162 to win, the Renegades were given a power-packed start by Aaron Finch who clubbed Brett Lee for a six over square leg in the first over, en route to 25 off 15 balls. Glenn Maxwell failed at No. 3, bringing McDonald to the crease in the fifth over, and thereafter the innings steadied itself before taking off in style.No boundaries were scored in the six overs following Maxwell’s exit, as the asking-rate mounted to leave the Renegades needing 97 off the last 10 overs. McDonald had nudged his way to 10 off 18 balls by then, while Hodge was on 25 off 24. The scene rapidly changed colours thereafter, with McDonald signalling the end of the cease-fire by launching Stuart MacGill over long-on for two sixes in the 11th over.A six each came in the next two overs, before Hodge plundered Lee for three fours in the 14th over, reducing the equation to 51 off six overs. Hodge proceeded to thump Dominic Thornely for two more sixes in the next over, before McDonald turned his guns on Steve Smith, slugging him for three sixes. The ferocity of the assault meant that Renegades were home with 14 balls to spare. In all, McDonald hit seven sixesin 60 off 37 balls, while Hodge cleared the ropes three times in his 72.The Sixers would have expected a closer contest after hustling their way to 161 in the first half of the game. Dwayne Bravo’s early exit was overcome by a chirpy 46-run stand between Michael Lumb and Nic Maddinson. As is his wont, Shahid Afridi produced the breach, getting Maddinson stumped for 29. Smith kept the momentum going, but Shane Harwood removed him just as he began to look dangerous. The closing flourish came from Moises Henriques, who hit three fours and a six in 40 off 31 balls, but his fireworks fizzled in front of the fusillade that was to follow.