All posts by csb10.top

Leeward Islands moved into a commanding position in their match against Barbados by dismissing the hosts cheaply in their first innings at Crab Hill and taking vital wickets as Barbados followed on. Resuming on 410 for 8 on the second morning, Leeward Island progressed to 439 and Runako Morton also completed his double-century. He was the last man dismissed, for 210, and became Corey Collymore’s fourth wicket. Barbados lost wickets steadily in their first-innings and folded for 241. Kirk Edwards and Dwayne Smith scored half-centuries but they failed to challenge Leeward’s total, as none of the others contributed much. Barbados’ position worsened after they were asked to follow on, 198 runs in the deficit. They lost both their openers within the space of three balls and were reduced to 43 for 2, still 155 runs away from avoiding an innings defeat.Jamaica squandered a solid opening partnership provided to them by Brenton Parchment and Donovan Pagon, who added 89, to collapse to 229 all out against Combined Campuses and Colleges in Kingston, still managing a lead of 58. Spinners Kavesh Kantasingh and Ryan Austin took seven wickets between them as Jamaica lost wickets at frequent intervals with the middle-order offering little resistance. After the openers, none of the batsmen scored more than 22 and the home team faced the threat of being bowled out for under 200 until the last-wicket pair of Odean Brown and Andrew Richardson added 35 to extend the lead. On a rain-affected day – there was no play before lunch – CCC managed to stage a fightback after a disappointing first innings where they were bowled out for 171, and their openers had added 22 before stumps.Ravi Rampaul and Amit Jaggernauth took two wickets each to hand Trinidad and Tobago the edge against Windward Islands in St Vincent. Donwell Hector remained unbeaten on 68, but his team, in reply to T&T’s 361, reached 134 for 4 at stumps, faltering from the outset before managing a slight recovery. T&T began on 238 for 5 overnight, and Sherwin Ganga went on to score 98, while the batsmen who followed chipped in with useful contributions to take their team to a competitive score. Shane Shillingford, the offspinner, took three wickets for Windward but his batsmen face a stern test tomorrow, with 227 runs still to score to get into the lead.

Ray Jennings, the Bangalore Royal Challengers coach, expects Rahul Dravid to play a key role as a leader and a batsman for the second IPL in South Africa. The franchise had replaced Dravid with Kevin Pietersen as captain last month but Jennings said Dravid would still be crucial to the team’s tactical planning in the short period that he is available.Jennings expects Dravid to reach Johannesburg, the team’s training base, on April 12 or 13 and be part of the setup till his return, possibly early in May, to be with his wife who is expecting a child around that time. There has been a considerable amount of speculation on Dravid’s availability for the tournament, especially against the backdrop of his removal from the captaincy, and the kind of role he would play.”He (Dravid) is positively looking forward to the IPL and making sure he makes an impact in the tournament,” Jennings told Cricinfo. “I expect Rahul to play a huge role in the team in the short period of the time he is with the team. I would like to believe that during his time with the team he is into its tactics and thought processes. It is not only one Kevin Pietersen running the show as Kevin has a few international captains around him (Dravid, Kumble, Jacques Kallis and Mark Boucher) and each one of them would like to contribute in a positive way.”Jennings, the former South African coach, said that he would look at slotting Dravid anywhere from No.1 to 6 in the team’s batting order, depending on the situation. Even last year, Dravid batted in almost every position, from opening right down to No. 7.”With our sort of batting order, each one of our top six or seven guys should be able to bat in any role,” he said. “Rahul has played so much cricket that he can adapt to any position. He can open and bat at No. 6. So it depends on the situation he walks in and how he adapts. To be unpredictable is a good thing in any form of cricket.”Dravid has just completed a successful three-Test series against New Zealand, scoring 314 runs at 62.80 with four half-centuries, as India completed a historic 1-0 win on Tuesday. His IPL performance last year, as a batsman was reasonable, coming as it did in the middle of a lean patch – Dravid scored 371 runs in 14 matches – but his captaincy came under the scanner after his team finished seventh.

Brett Lee is confident he will be fit for the Ashes after coming through his first game since surgery free of pain. Lee was “over the moon” after the Twenty20 against Pakistan on Thursday and before leaving for the IPL in South Africa he set his sights on the opening Ashes Test on July 8.”I would love to be running in taking that brand-new ball for Australia first-up in Cardiff and getting the ball flying through to ‘Hadds’ [Brad Haddin],” Lee said in the Sydney Morning Herald. “So that’s my aim and that’s what I’ll be working towards.”Lee had foot and ankle surgery at the start of the year and will use the next two weeks in South Africa to prepare for the Twenty20 World Cup. By then he will know whether he is part of the Ashes squad, with the line-up due to be named before the team camp on May 24.”I’m confident with my ankle that I can hopefully do a good job for Australia,” he said. Lee delivered four overs in Dubai on Thursday, taking 1 for 22, and almost had a wicket first ball, but the sharp chance was missed by Marcus North at first slip.”I was just happy to get it on a good length,” he said. “It got nicked and unfortunately it went down but that’s cricket. I was happy with the way I bowled it.”I wasn’t even sure I’d be reaching 140[kph]. Once that first ball was bowled it’s amazing how quickly you get back into the rhythm, and you’ve bowled your first over and you think: ‘Well, I haven’t really been away.”‘Lee would have preferred an Australian victory – they lost by seven wickets – but he was happy with his progress. “The biggest thing I could have got out of this game was to get through the four overs, walk off the field with no pain in the ankle and be happy with the way I bowled,” he told AAP. “Yes, that’s happened, I’m over the moon.”

A bruised heel prompted Zaheer Khan to be rested from India’s victorious World Twenty20 campaign two years ago in South Africa. In this year’s tournament, however, he was simply relieved that lightning hadn’t struck twice, saying his recovery from the shoulder injury he sustained during the IPL had been a “narrow escape”.On Wednesday night at Trent Bridge, Zaheer was in full flight. His opponents may only have been Ireland but he ran in off a full run-up, bowled at a brisk pace and moved the ball both ways. His opening spell squashed any hopes Ireland harboured of upsetting the world champions. Zaheer cut Ireland opener Jeremy Bray in half with an inswinger to the left-hander before shattering the stumps with a yorker next ball. He then had William Porterfield and Andre Botha edging length deliveries to Yusuf Pathan at slip before returning in the penultimate over to induce an edge from Andrew White.”It is good to be a part of the World Cup,” Zaheer said after his performance. “It was unfortunate that I opted out of the last [Twenty20] World Cup. But that was the right decision at that moment and I am happy to be a part of the team this time.”He nearly wasn’t. Zaheer fell hard on his shoulder while fielding during the Mumbai Indians’ match against Royal Challengers in May and missed the rest of the Twenty20 tournament. He sat out the World Twenty20 warm-up matches against New Zealand and Pakistan, and eased back into action in India’s first group match against Bangladesh, taking 1 for 26 in three overs. He was seen nursing his shoulder with ice packs during practice sessions too.”It was a narrow escape for me. It could have been worse,” Zaheer said. “I was lucky to get away with just four weeks [of being out of the game]. When I fell [during the IPL], I was a bit scared until the scan results were out as to whether the injury was serious or not. Once the scan results were out I was pretty confident. The good thing is that there is nothing major, no [damage] to the shoulder which is a good thing.”Zaheer has worked hard to make a comeback, focusing on workouts to strengthen his shoulder and despite saying he “felt 100%” during the mid-innings break, he knew that some more work needed to be done. He finished the night with 4 for 19, a spell that won him the Player-of-the-Match award. “This was the second game for me and it was important that I pick up some wickets. I have definitely gained a lot of confidence from this performance.”Whether the IPL has been a boon or bane for teams heading into the World Twenty20 has been a frequently asked question. Most of the players who participated in the tournament in South Africa rave about its benefits. There are those who disagree. Within the Indian team itself there are examples of the beneficial and detrimental effects of the IPL. The injury to Virender Sehwag has deprived the team of its regular opener, and another nearly cost them their best bowler. However, the tournament also helped India find a replacement for the void created by Sehwag’s absence. “It has definitely helped players,” Zaheer said. “You see someone like Rohit Sharma, the kind of form he is in. It is good that we have been playing the Twenty20 format for the last five weeks. It has definitely helped us.”Zaheer will face a sterner test when India take on West Indies at Lord’s in their first Super Eight game. He has his sights set on knocking over their most dangerous player, Chris Gayle.

The opening semi-final of the World Twenty20 gets underway in Nottingham on Thursday with India and New Zealand being the first women’s teams to compete in a double-header ahead of the men in a global competition.Aside from featuring two of the top four teams in women’s cricket – whose men’s teams failed to progress to the semis leaving them sole flag-bearers – the match represents an unprecedented opportunity to showcase the women’s game.But with that opportunity comes intense pressure – to show the game off and to win – and pressure is something New Zealand know about all too well.Although New Zealand impressed all who saw them in the group stages in Taunton and should beat India on current form, they will hope that nerves don’t get the better of them again, as they did against England in the World Cup final in March.A jittery batting display left them light on runs and this time, to add to the occasion, they could be playing in front of a packed house at Trent Bridge. But the side will hope to use the painful lessons from the World Cup final in a positive way.They also have experience of facing Australia in a Twenty20 ahead of the respective men at the SCG last year, while flair batsman Suzie Bates has a further advantage. As an Olympic basketball player, she played in front of sell-out crowds against home team China in Beijing lastyear. “It sent shivers down your spine,” she recalls.New Zealand captain Aimee Watkins is the form batsman, while newcomer Sian Ruck has impressed with her swing. But all-round depth is the most ominous thing about New Zealand.India will hope to draw on the experience of facing packed crowds at home. The side is used to playing all forms of cricket in front of 20,000 spectators – and the crowd atmosphere has been surprisingly electric in the group stages – but nothing will compare to large audiences for a semi-final in a world tournament.Now that their men are knocked out, India have an even greater expectation to do well but they have not enjoyed the best of tournaments to date. They opened with a ten-wicket loss to favourites England and had batting slips against Pakistan and Sri Lanka, both of whom were outsiders.Their bowling has been consistent, at least, but they have been guilty of too many fielding errors, while the batting has been ordinary at best as they rely on individual performances from the old hands of Mithali Raj and Anjum Chopra.On the evidence from Taunton, India – who have played the least Twenty20 internationals of the big four – are still warming up but their famously mercurial side know they can rise to the occasion.They twice beat home side Australia in the World Cup, while Twenty20 can be something of a lottery and they will fancy their chances of causing an upset against New Zealand. While they lack a big power-hitter to take advantage of the first six overs, India’s batsmen are adept at taking the ones and twos. New Zealand’s batting line-up, however, is also good in this department.Although New Zealand are the out-and-out favourites on paper, India have every chance of ripping up the book. Either way, it’s important that the sides play eye-catching cricket in front of new faces.While one side will definitely win a place in the final at Lord’s, if both teams can rise to the occasion with their best cricket then they are bound to impress new fans – which, ultimately, could be an ever bigger win for women’s cricket.

Scorecard
South Africa Emerging Players continued their unbeaten run in the tournament, clinching a high-scoring thriller at the Albury Oval against the Australian Institute of Sports (AIS). Farhaan Behardien, who hit a sparkling century, seemed to have taken South Africa through to a memorable win, but he fell in the penultimate over, with still four to get. It was the last-wicket pair of Thandi Tshabalala and Lonwabo Tsotsobe who held their nerve as they overhauled the target with two balls to spare.AIS were given the perfect start by Rob Quiney at the top, after being put in. His quickfire 71 off 63 balls was just the platform the hosts needed as captain Steven Smith and Tom Cooper joined in the act. It was Craig Alexander and Juan Theron who managed to put the brakes on the scoring for some time, with each picking up three wickets. But Jon Holland’s late cameo of 33 ensured AIS went past the 300-mark.It was a steady start from the South Africans during the chase, but apart from Dean Elgar none of the top five could convert their starts to big scores. Enter Behardien. Almost single-handedly he turned the tide South Africa’s way, blasting 105 off just 60 balls. His innings was studded with 11 fours and four sixes as he put on 82 for the fifth wicket with Elgar. Another 50-plus partnership with CJD de Villiers followed as South Africa closed in on victory. But there was more drama to follow.
Scorecard
India Emerging Players brushed off the disappointment of consecutive losses by thrashing New Zealand by seven wickets at the WEP Harris Oval. India made regular inroads after fielding first and were led by Pradeen Sangwan, the left-arm seamer, who picked up five wickets as New Zealand were restricted to 9 for 228. Peter Fulton’s crucial century from No. 3 was put in the shade by an unbeaten 115 from Virat Kohli and India knocked off their target in the 42nd over.Fulton, the New Zealand captain, led the resistance with 122 from 143 balls and Kane Williamson (40 from 60) made a start after Sangwan nipped out the openers. But then Abhishek Nayar struck twice with his slow medium-pacers to hurt New Zealand’s middler order before Sangwan took out three more to finish with 5 for 40.India themselves lost two quick wickets but Kohli and the opener Ajinkya Rahane forged a match-winning partnership that flummoxed New Zealand. Rahane missed a century by just five runs, stumped off Nick Beard at victory’s doorstep, and Kohli remained not out to seal a crushing victory.

The umpire referral system, due to be implemented in October, cannot come fast enough. After four days of controversy at Lord’s, in which Rudi Koertzen and Billy Doctrove have lurched from one crisis to another, players and spectators were left to ponder just how “challenges” might have averted a series of situations that left two nations frustrated and a match disrupted.The Ashes will be the penultimate Test series to be played under the old system, and more is the pity. Access to television replays would have gone far to sparing the blushes of the umpires and the ire of Australians after Simon Katich, Phillip Hughes and Michael Hussey were ruled out to decisions that ranged from dubious to incorrect on Sunday.Katich’s dismissal to an Andrew Flintoff no-ball might have been difficult for the batting team to detect and challenge, but the controversy surrounding Hughes’ departure could have been avoided. Hughes’ was ruled out to an Andrew Strauss catch in which fingers, ball and turf were in close proximity to one another. A challenge would have sent the adjudication process the way of the third umpire, who presumably would have found the replays to be inconclusive – as per the universal opinion of non-partisan commentators and scribes – and offered the benefit of the doubt to the batsman.As it transpired, Koertzen and Doctrove stood accused of double standards, having declined to refer Hughes’ dismissal to Nigel Llong, the third umpire, a day after sending Nathan Hauritz’s claimed catch at mid-on upstairs. Replays of Hauritz’s effort were similarly inconclusive, and Ravi Bopara was allowed to continue his innings.Tim Nielsen, the Australian coach, refused to be dragged into an umpiring controversy, but admitted concern that Koertzen and Doctrove had not referred Strauss’s catch to Llong. “I would have liked to see it go to the third umpire from a consistency point of view, there’s no doubt about that,” he said. “In the end, we’ve all seen the replays. People will make their decisions. At the moment the scorebook says that Phillip Hughes is sitting up with me. There’s nothing much we can do about it now. Let’s play on and look forward to tomorrow.”We couldn’t afford to get angry. We were in the middle of a game. We had to be conscious of the guy who was going in next. Once the decision was made, that batsman’s impact on the game was finished. So we had to be aware of the environment we created for the next guy and the guys after him and the guy after him. You can’t afford to be angry. You’ve just got to get on with it and make sure the next bloke has the chance to play as well as he can.”Graeme Swann, for his part, said England were not upset that Hughes, under orders from Ricky Ponting at the non-strikers’ end, had stood his ground after Strauss claimed the catch. The incident prompted Koertzen to consult with Doctrove at square-leg for the third time in the match, the previous two of which have resulted in referrals to Llong.”I think it’s just accepted these days that the batsmen have a right to stand and ask if it carried,” Swann said. “The umpire saw it and said it carried, and I was at third slip and thought it carried. As far as we were concerned, there was no problem with that catch. It went straight in. Fifty years ago, it would have been down to the word of the fielder, but these days, with all the technology, I don’t think you can blame anyone for standing around.”Swann was himself party to a contentious decision when Doctrove ruled Hussey to have edged one of his deliveries to first slip. Replays showed that Hussey’s bat had struck the ground, not the ball. Had the batsman the right of appeal, the ensuing controversy would almost certainly have been avoided.”I was surprised,” Swann said of the dismissal. “As far as I was concerned it pitched, it turned, there was a big nick and it went straight to slip. If it didn’t nick his edge I feel sorry for Michael because he’s a mate of mine and I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. But there were no qualms from anyone in the middle. As far as we were concerned it was a regulation nick to slip. These things sometimes happen.”

Alexei Kervezee, the Netherlands batsman, has signed a two-year contract extension with Worcestershire and will stay with the county until the end of the 2012 season.It makes a pleasant change for the club who are losing players at an alarming rate with Steve Davies having joined Surrey and Gareth Batty expected to follow him. Stephen Moore, the opener, is also expected to move on after this season, while Simon Jones was released due to his injury problems.”I am delighted that Alexei has come to us and asked to commit his future to the county,” Steve Rhodes, Worcestershire’s director of cricket, said. “He is a very dedicated and talented cricketer and has developed tremendously over the last two years to the extent that he is ready for first eleven cricket on a regular basis.”He scored his maiden one-day hundred this year for Holland and his first Championship half-century earlier in the season. I am really looking forward to seeing his career flourish in the near future.”Kervezee came to Worcestershire when he was 17 in 2007 and also plays for Bromsgrove in the Birmingham League.

With both teams desperate for the win to keep their semi-final hopes alive, it was the Belagavi Panthers, who rose to the occasion and thrashed Shamanoor Davangere Diamonds by eight wickets. Having picked up the two points, it will be an agonising wait for Belagavi as the outcome of the Mysore Maharaajas-Bangalore Provident (Rural) clash will only be known tomorrow. If Mysore win, it could boil down to the net run-rate for the final semis spot. For Davangere, it will have to be the next season.However, Belagavi captain J Arunkumar needed to win the game first, and he invited Davangere to bat. It was a disappointing start for Davangere, as Man of the Match R Madhusudan rocked them early on. Just when a 41-run stand between K Bipin and captain Sunil Joshi looked to have got them back in contention, Madhusudan send back Bipin. When Joshi departed, the score was 98 for 7, and it was wicketkeeper Muralidharen Gautam’s cameo 22 that helped them end on 119.Opener Manish Pandey played the lead role during the chase, scoring a fluent unbeaten fifty. He combined well with Shyam Ponnappa, and the two put on 84 for the second wicket to bat Davangere out of the match. Pandey was more aggressive, smashing two boundaries and three sixes during his 43-ball 55, while Ponnappa hit 44 off 40 balls, comprising one four and three sixes.A poor batting performance from Bangalore Provident (Rural) against Malnad Gladiators cost them the opportunity of drawing level with Bangalore Brigadiers on top of the league. They struggled to 108 for 9 after choosing to bat in Mysore, a target which Malnad chased with eight wickets in hand and 16 balls to spare. Sunil Kumar Jain scored a run-a-ball 57 for Bangalore but none of the other batsmen made more than 11 and the last six were dismissed for single figures. Ryan Ninan was Malnad’s best bowler, claiming 4 for 19 in four overs. Malnad lost their openers early during the chase – Ganesh Satish was hit wicket to Rangnath Darshan – but Kunal Kapoor hit a 51-ball 62 to secure victory. Malnad are currently sixth in the points table after winning only two of their seven games. Bangalore are No. 2 with eight points and have a game in hand.

Uganda’s coach at the recent ICC Under-19 World Cup Qualifiers has said the ICC needs to look at where events are staged if players are to be discouraged from jumping ship and seeking political asylum.Sam Walusimbi was speaking following the disappearance of six of the Uganda squad who remained behind in Toronto when the remainder of the team flew back home. There whereabouts remains unknown, as does that of five of the Afghanistan squad who also went into hiding.”The ICC may have to re-think where such qualifiers are hosted,” Walusimbi told Uganda’s Observer newspaper. “When we went to Sri-Lanka, no players disappeared. I guess qualifiers should be in less developed countries.”Earlier this week an ICC spokesman told Cricinfo: “[It] is the responsibility of each of those members. It is also the responsibility of those members to have knowledge of each of their players and their likely behaviour.”He also said the onus was on the board to pick players who were less likely to use a tournament as an excuse to seek political asylum. “If you are to assess the players that didn’t return with us as planned, they’ve all dropped out of school if I’m not mistaken. They looked at Canada as a lifetime opportunity to improve their lives, which I think they didn’t envision here. They had nothing to lose if they stayed abroad but all to gain. That’s my feeling but I guess the players are in better position to explain their move.”One lesson we’ve learned is the kind of players we have to pick in the future teams; the kind we are sure have a stake here at home to protect and so can’t run away.”He admitted the loss of the six was a major blow to future plans. “The sudden loss of players is never good. It affects your plans and as far as I am concerned, I thought some of these lads were going to graduate to the senior team. It’s difficult to develop a player in cricket. Nevertheless, although it’s a big blow, we’ll build other players, I guarantee.”