All posts by csb10.top

Bob Woolmer, the Pakistan coach, has criticised Pakistan’s international schedule, claiming that the team would be too tired before the World Cup in the West Indies begins in March. “Unfortunately, in today’s merry-go-round, I think you can call it, tour itineraries are just nonsensical,” he said.Pakistan’s current tour of South Africa includes three back-to-back Tests and five one-dayers, a cramped schedule compared to India’s tour which preceded this series. “They’ve got to sit down and really think it through. I’m particularly worried that the World Cup comes so soon after a three day Test series and five one-day internationals crammed into just over a month.”The modern coach is going to have to factor in a completely different way of structuring practices and structuring tours in order to cope with this situation. This all makes winning away from home very tough.”Woolmer hoped that all the individual cricket boards take player issues into consideration before drawing up itineraries, especially before important tournaments like the World Cup. With Pakistan’s final one-dayer scheduled for February 14, they have barely three weeks to recuperate before the World Cup warm-up matches get underway. Woolmer had requested that Pakistan play just one Test instead of three, mainly to avoid player fatigue.”I think it could be a bridge too far for a lot of our players and I’m really worried about it,” Woolmer said. “There’s so little time to prepare. In the past, you would have a couple of four-day games; you’d have 10 or 11 days in the nets, and then you’d walk into the first Test match. Now you have to adapt as best you can to the conditions.

Durham have signed Shaun Pollock for the Twenty20 Cup in June. He will play alongside his former South African team-mate Albie Morkel and has joined the county as a Kolpak.Pollock retired from international cricket in February following the series against West Indies and is currently involved in the Indian Premier League for the Mumbai Indians.”When I got the offer from Durham I really jumped at the chance to get on board, they are determined to do well in the Twenty20 Cup and I want to contribute to that success,” said Pollock. “They proved themselves to be a force in the four-day and one-day game last year and I’m keen to help them replicate that success in the Twenty20 Cup.”David Harker, Durham’s chief executive, added: “Shaun is one of the biggest talents in world cricket and we’re delighted that he’s decided to join us. He’s got great experience in all formats of the game and we think he’ll bring a great presence to the team, both on and off the field. We’ve got big aspirations for success in the Twenty20 Cup this season and along with Albie [Morkel] I’m sure that we have recruited players with enough Twenty20 experience to help us progress in the competition.”Pollock has previously played for Warwickshire, where he made a stunning debut back in 1996 by claiming four wickets in four balls against Leicestershire in the Benson and Hedges Cup.

Canada and Bermuda lived up to their pre-tournament favourites’ tag by scoring convincing victories in their Americas Under-19 qualifiers in Toronto on Tuesday. Canada beat Argentina by nine wickets while Bermuda won their second match in a row by beating Cayman Islands by seven wickets.Canada bowled out Argentina for 64 in 28 overs and then raced to victory in 9.5 overs for the loss of one wicket, ending Argentina’s chances of qualifying for the U-19 World Cup. Asif Manjra, Usman Iqubal and Pratik Patel took three wickets each and opener Ruvindu Gunasekera ensured a healthy run-rate by scoring 35 off 33 balls.Bermuda, who had crushed Bahamas by 195 runs on Monday, restricted Cayman Islands to 165 in 48.2 overs after asking them to bat. Cayman Islands captain Ramon Sealy once again top scored with 67 off 126 balls that included five fours. He had scored an unbeaten 76 against Bahamas. Malachi Jones picked up 4 for 38 for Bermuda while Stefan Kelly took 2 for 13.Bermuda reached the target in only 30.4 overs for the loss of three wickets. Jones backed up his excellent bowling performance with an unbeaten 41 from 27 balls with six fours and one six. Jones added 79 for the fourth wicket with captain Rodney Trott (37 not out) after Bermuda were reduced to 87 for 3.The tournament winners qualify for the Under-19 World Cup in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, next February.

Paul Reiffel has thrown his support behind a possible challenge rule, which would allow players to request a review of an umpire’s decision with the assistance of television replays. The ICC is considering trialing such a system, in which the teams would be able to ask for a limited number of referrals.Reiffel, who has regularly stood in first-class matches in Australia after retiring as a player, said the idea had merit. “You want the right decision to be made,” Reiffel told the . “It doesn’t bother me how you get it. If it’s there and available straight away, you [should] look at it.”The ICC trial will probably take place at the Champions Trophy in Pakistan in September. The reviewed decisions will be based solely on replays, not technological tools such as Hawkeye and the Snickometer, which Channel says are not 100% accurate and take too long to configure. However, Reiffel said technology should not be written off altogether.”You don’t want everyone to be waiting and waiting all the time,” Reiffel said. “It’d slow down the game too much. But let’s look to improve the situation and embrace the technology if it means less controversy and contention. The trouble in the past is that the technology hasn’t quite been in place and the players have said they don’t want it.”Umpiring has been in the news after several controversial decisions in the Sydney Test between Australia and India, and Reiffel’s former captain Steve Waugh said abolishing the neutral-umpire rule might be the answer. But Reiffel said the current system was safer. “I know having had 15 years’ experience [playing] with Victoria,” Reiffel said, “that I’m more comfortable standing in games interstate involving teams other than Victoria.”

“This is a greater victory than the World Twenty20,” was captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s reaction after India won their first tri-series in Australia, succeeding at the formidable task of beating the top-ranked side in their own den twice.Dhoni, who has now led India to victory in two prestigious events in the last seven months, attributed the results to a team effort. “The role of the captain was not the only one. The captain is one guy who gathers the pressure and then channels it to the individual player and then it depends on how that individual reacts,” he said. “We didn’t start that well but we improved as the tournament went on and the credit should go to every player.”India’s batting, which has been their biggest weakness throughout the tournament, came into its own during the finals with Sachin Tendulkar hitting top form. Tendulkar followed up his stellar performance at the SCG on Sunday with a vital 91 in Brisbane. Despite ordinary performances early in the tournament, Dhoni never doubted his senior-most batsman. “Performance is one thing, but performing back-to-back is something else. He is the best.”Dhoni was relieved India had wrapped up the series at the Gabba thereby avoiding the trip to Adelaide. Was he desperate that they complete the job in Brisbane? “Yes, because I have not ridden my motorbike for quite a long time,” Dhoni joked but added that a third game would have been taxing for his players, some of whom have been away from home for about three months.After a resounding victory in the first final, India’s decision to bat first in Brisbane paid off with Tendulkar and Robin Uthappa giving them a solid opening stand of 94. While India have shuffled their batting order during the series, Dhoni said Uthappa’s promotion to the opening slot had given the batting a settled look. “Robin changed his game a little bit and reacted to the situation and curbed his aggressive instincts.”Throughout the tournament, like in the ICC World Twenty20, Dhoni surprised many with his team selections and his on-field strategies. For the crucial final over in the World Twenty20 final, he threw the ball to the inexperienced Joginder Sharma, in the first final here he asked Praveen Kumar, another rookie, to take the new ball. That move paid off; Praveen got crucial top-order scalps and did an encore at the Gabba.The other surprise was to play the legspinner Piyush Chawla, who was overlooked during the league phase, in the finals. “We wanted to play Piyush, and wanted him to use as a surprise. He mixed it up really well was consistent in his line and length.”When the squad was picked Dhoni had strongly recommended the presence of youngsters. While that gamble has now proved successful, he said he never doubted that it was the only way ahead. “Even if we had lost this tournament, we should have stuck with the young boys. This will be the team’s core.”

Andhra completely dominated the opening day’s play in the South ZoneCooch Behar Trophy (under-19) tournament match against Kerala at theUkku stadium in Vishakapatnam on Monday. After skittling out Keralafor 56 runs, Andhra replied with 164 for one wicket at stumps.Opting to bat after winning the toss, Kerala struggled for 37 overs tocompile their meagre total. Only NJ John (18) reached double digits.Three batsmen failed to score. Md Faiq was quite unplayable andfinished with the excellent figures of 13-5-15-5. He was wellsupported by Appala Raju (two for 10) and Gnaneswara Rao (two for 9).Kerala had the comfort of an early wicket when D Vinod was out fornine when the total was 27. But for the rest of the day, the otheropener Tahir Hussain (79) and Gnaneswara Rao (61) batted confidentlyto register 137 runs for the unbroken second wicket partnership off38.1 overs. While Hussain faced 175 balls and hit eight of them to theropes, Rao faced 94 balls and hit six fours and a six. Andhraoverhauled the Kerala total in 26.2 overs.

Vaughn van Jaarsveld, one of South Africa’s brightest batting prospects, is looking to combine playing at home for the Highveld Lions with a Kolpak career with Warwickshire. And his Johannesburg-based employers are not overly pleased with the idea.According to , van Jaarsveld is currently playing for the Warwickshire seconds on trial, “with a view to signing the talented South African left-handed batsman as a Kolpak player for next season”.van Jaarsveld is 22 and has been selected for an emerging players tour of Australia next month as part of South Africa’s high performance program. But after that he may make himself unavailable for national teams if he can get a Kolpak contract for the 2008 English season.Highveld Lions coach Gordon Parsons, the former Leicestershire and Warwickshire seamer, said Van Jaarsveld’s reported intentions were concerning, not just for the player’s future, but South African cricket as a whole.”I know that Leicester were interested in him because they’re looking for someone to bat at No. 4. Their overseas player has gone home or something. But Vaughn has not spoken to me at all about a Kolpak contract and I would be very disappointed if he didn’t speak to me about it. I would advise him not to do it at the moment.”But if he does get a Kolpak contract, that wouldn’t really affect his status with the Highveld Lions. But it would be a disaster for South African cricket because Vaughn’s a quality player. We’re not talking about older players here that are coming to the end of their careers – like a Lance Klusener, but a young player. Someone needs to do something about it because you’ve already got Jacques Rudolph going Kolpak, Ryan McLaren’s over there and now maybe Vaughn’s looking,” Parsons said.

Scorecard

Matthew Elliott just missed out on his second one-day hundred in a week, but his 94 against Queensland in Adelaide helped South Australia make it two wins in five days following their midweek success in Perth. Their seven-wicket win means they are now in second after beginning the week in fifth; an excellent Christmas bonus – and it was Queensland they leapfrogged.Elliott continued in a rich vein of form, his innings making him the leading runscorer in this year’s competition, and he was in super touch with some typical clean hitting. He also paced his innings well and picked the gaps with ease.He was particularly impressive through the on-side, both straight and square, until he holed out at deep midwicket by Clinton Perren off Aaron Nye going for a swept six trying to bring up his hundred and win the match. It wasn’t to be but he left his team-mates with little work to do.Daniel Harris provided an excellent support act in an opening stand of 94, and he made a solid 34 until edging through off stand-in skipper James Hopes. Daniel Christian followed soon after, a soft catch off Michael Kasprowicz to Aaron Nye at short midwicket, but the platform had been set, and Mark Cosgrove’s pacy, unbeaten 27 duly saw them home.The batsmen had been given room to swing following an excellent bowling and fielding display which tied Queensland in knots after Hopes, deputising for the injured Jimmy Maher, chose to bat on a good batting pitch. They slumped to 5 for 67, without Shane Watson, who had a virus, and under pressure from Paul Rofe and Ryan Harris, who each bagged two wickets, and Jason Gillespie, who grabbed one.Their 170 represented a mini-recovery: Ashley Noffke and Nye both helped out with 45, but the total was always going to be well short.Nathan Adcock’s bowling again proved useful and he was on a hat-trick after bowling Carseldine and taking a screaming return catch off Grant Sullivan. His third ball, to Kasprowicz, only just missed off stump. Dan Cullen also found good turn, and a wicket, as all the bowlers impressed.South Australia, then, will take great seasonal cheer from their fielding, too, with Cosgrove taking two lightning catches in the slips and Gillespie’s direct hit removing the unlucky Hopes who had made a good start with 39 until he ran in to Rofe. Noffke, who had begun to lead the recovery, was then also run out, another important wicket.It was unseasonally cold in Adelaide, but the home side’s performance was a heartwarming Christmas present for the Redbacks who have now won five of their last six games. It was Queensland who provided the only blip in among those wins, but that was in a rain-affected encounter at the WACA. On Sunday, however, nothing could stop them and they can already look forward to the new year.

Scorecard
Charl Langeveldt produced the second-best bowling figures in the history of Standard Bank Pro20 cricket as the Cobras made sure of a home semi-final with a nail-biting one-wicket victory over Diamond Eagles in their table- topping clash at Newlands on Friday.Langeveldt finished with 5 for 16 as he helped the Cobras to restrict the Eagles to 127 for 7. He was also at the non- striker’s end as the last man in as Ryan Canning smashed a four and single off the first two balls of the final over of the match from Roger Telemachus to give the Cobras a one-wicket win with four balls remaining.They would have been the competition’s best bowling figures but for the fact that Elton Chigumbura took 5 for 13 for Zimbabwe against the Titans at the same time.Langeveldt turned the game in the Cobras’ favour in the 19th over after his team had asked the Eagles to bat. Top scorers Morné van Wyk (43) and Dean Elgar (33) had blasted Vernon Philander for 20 in the previous over when Langeveldt was brought back into the attack.The pair fell in successive balls as Elgar top-edged to mid-on and Van Wyk edged to the keeper. Roger Telemachus’s attempt to restart the innings ended following a single when he lost his off-stump to the unstoppable Langeveldt who dismissed Adrian McLaren lbw with his very next ball.Dillon du Preez smashed 15 in the final over to lift the Eagles to a semi-respectable total but Langeveldt’s four wickets – to add to the wicket of Riley Rossouw at the top of the innings – prevented the Eagles soaring towards the 150 mark.A 53-run third-wicket partnership between Herschelle Gibbs (21) and the top-scorer Stiaan van Zyl (30) put the Cobras in sight of victory at 75 for 2 before the spinner Thandi Tshabalala introduced a serious mid- innings wobble. He took three wickets in the space of 11 balls to plunge the Cobras into crisis at 100 for 5, dismissing both Gibbs and van Wyk as well as the dangerous Tyron Henderson (21).Henderson fell as he went for a third six off Tshabalala over long-on but the impetus he gave the innings allowed the tail to nudge and scamper their way to the 28 they needed off the final six overs.The Cobras’ thrilling victory – their fifth in six matches with one game rained out – means they have the inside straight or the play- offs and of grabbing one of the two South African places in an international Pro20 shoot-out for a US$1 million prize.
Scorecard
Dolphins seamer Johann Louw has the look of an accountant rather than a demon bowler, but he gave the Lions nightmares in Johannesburg on Friday with figures of 4 for 28. Louw claimed all his scalps in the space of eight deliveries to send the Lions limping to a total of 104 for 9.The Dolphins might have coasted to victory with their eyes closed and their minds in neutral. Instead, they wobbled to a five-wicket win, which was achieved with 17 balls to spare. A late flurry of three wickets for two runs in six balls meant they weren’t able to claim the bonus point.Louw did his damage when he removed Alviro Petersen (2), Dumisa Makalima (0), Blake Snijman (18) and Justin Ontong (4) to reduce the Lions to 27 for 5 in the sixth over.Grant Rowley (46) and Imraan Khan (28) put the Dolphins securely on track for victory with their second-wicket stand of 57.
Scorecard
Elton Chigumbura’s medium-pace ran through the Titans as Zimbabwe registered a surprise 12-run win in Centurion. Chigumbura took 5 for 13 as the Titans, chasing 152, crashed to 5 for 10 in the first five overs. Chigumbura’s astonishing performance set a new record for the best bowling figures in Standard Bank Pro20 history. Charl Langeveldt, who took 5 for 16 for the Cobras against the Diamond Eagles, barely had his feet up in the Newlands change room for an hour when the record was snatched away from him.After such a rampant start, it should have been a cruise for Zimbabwe, but young Roelof van der Merwe nearly ruined the party for them. In a performance almost as amazing as Chigumbura’s, he refused to believe the Titans were dead and buried and smashed an unbeaten 70 off 49 balls.But van der Merwe’s performance did mask the fact that the Titans top order is in terrible shape and the MTN Domestic Championships winners are in real danger of missing out on the semi-finals of the Pro20. Their match against the Highveld Lions at SuperSport Park on Sunday is now a local derby and a knockout encounter.van der Merwe also had a good outing with the ball as he took 3 for 18 in his four overs, including two wickets in the final over of the innings, as Zimbabwe scored 151 for 6 after winning the toss. Stuart Matsikenyeri provided the showpiece innings for Zimbabwe with his 51 off 30 balls, a sparkling knock of some class. The opener Brendan Taylor played a valuable role as a foundation for the innings with his 38 off 35 balls, while Keith Dabengwa scored 25, including one knockout punch, heaving a massive six off Ethy Mbhalati over the chalets and into the practice nets.Chamu Chibhabha provided some urgency at the death with his 22 off 18 balls.Andre Nel and the more languid Albie Morkel also shone with the ball for the Titans, but with no reward. The real damage was done a little later when a far less fiery bowler got hold of the new ball, with Chigumbura writing himself into the record books.

Scorecard1st day

Although Bradman had revealed dazzling form in an inter-state match, his six innings against English bowling had been 3, 10, 36, 13, 18 and 23. It was obvious that, against the fast leg-side attack, he lacked his normal confidence. Bradman seemed jaded mentally – a condition to which a contributing factor was the stress of efforts to have his press contract sanctioned by the Board of Control. The result was that two doctors, who examined him on the eve of the Test, pronounced him not in a fit condition to play, although organically sound. Neither of the slow right-hand bowlers, Brown nor Mitchell, was included in the English XI, and the other four omitted were Tate, Duckworth, Bowes and Paynter. Magnificent bowling by Larwood, who dominated the attack, put England on top early. Several Australian batsmen wore chest-pads as well as thigh-pads, and there was an outcry about leg tactics, although Worrall, the former international, who is probably the soundest critic in Australia, wrote: “Larwood opened with an orthodox field and although later this was changed and he bowled outside the leg stump, it was legitimate fast bowling as far as he was concerned. Voce’s half-pitched slingers on the body-line provided about the poorest attempt at what should be Test bowling it is possible to conceive. Even Larwood bowled ten on the leg to one on the wicket, and Voce did not bowl half a dozen balls on the wicket in 24 overs.” Woodfull won the toss and although Ponsford made a determined stand until after lunch, Australia’s first four wickets fell for 87. Attempting an on stroke against one of Larwood’s straight balls, Ponsford moved too far across and left his leg stump open. In the next two hours, Richardson and McCabe carried on to 216. As the sting of the attack lessened, McCabe began to score freely with strong on strokes, cuts behind point, and good drives.Richardson was rather unluckily out at 216, for he hit a ball beautifully to square leg where Hammond brought off a fine catch. Oldfield never settled down, but Grimmett managed to stay, and when stumps were drawn the total was 290 for six, McCabe not out 127 and Grimmett not out 17.2nd day
When the game was resumed the English bowlers quickly met with success, but with Wall as his partner, McCabe by “death or glory ” methods scored with delightful freedom and hit up 60 in less than an hour before the innings closed. Wall’s share of the last wicket stand of 55 was only 4. McCabe batted four hours and hit 25 boundaries. The best batting he had shown on a good wicket was produced by Sutcliffe in an excellent opening partnership of 112 with Wyatt, who was confident with all the bowlers but Grimmett. When 43 Sutcliffe had a very narrow escape as he played a ball from O’Reilly onto his stumps without disturbing the bails, but at the drawing of stumps he was 116 not out, Hammond 87 not out, and the total 252 for one. Hammond was in his best form, his footwork against Grimmett being perfect and his driving most powerful. He reached his 50 in 57 minutes.3rd day
The wicket was still good when Sutcliffe and Hammond continued their partnership, which was not broken until 300 had been reached.Their stand of 188 for England’s second wicket surpassed the previous record of 152 by W. Gunn and Shrewsbury in 1893 at Lord’s. There were 15 boundary strokes in Hammond’s 112, and 13 in Sutcliffe’s 194, which occupied 7 hours and was the Yorkshireman’s individual record against Australia. The way for a colossal total was paved when the board showed 423 for 2, but Wall summoned up a great effort and when stumps were drawn the score was 479 for 6, Pataudi not out 80.4th day
Emulating Ranjitsinhji and Duleepsinhji, Pataudi gained the distinction of scoring a century in his first Test against Australia. Neat in his footwork, he was extremely cautious, and scored most of his runs behind the wicket. Australia’s hopes of making a fight were dashed by a disastrous opening in their second innings. McCabe and Richardson fell to successive balls from Hammond, and a stubborn 40 by Fingleton was to score. An innings defeat seemed likely, but Wall helped Nagel in a tail-end stand and 164 for 9 was reached at the close of play. Ames missed stumping Nagel and thus caused the game to last until the fifth day.5th day
After Allen had bowled a maiden to Nagel, Voce dismissed O’Reilly with his third ball with no addition to the score. Larwood was the outstanding figure of the England attack. His 49 overs for 10 wickets was a herculean effort. He stuck to his heavy duty with great heart, although troubled by a strained left side in the second innings. At one stage he had only two fieldsmen on the off side, and his control was as impressive as his pace. It was clear that the Notts fast bowler would be a match-winning factor for as long as he continued in this form. Australia’s steady and persistent bowling was better equipped with spin types, but contained nothing approaching the dynamic influence of a Larwood. To ensure that his energy would he conserved, he was not called on to bowl again until the second Test. In one spell Larwood bowled 10 overs for 17 runs and four wickets.