All posts by csb10.top

Scorecard
A captain’s knock from Mithali Raj lifted India to their third successive win of the Asia Cup against Sri Lanka at Jaipur. Set 172 for victory, India rode on Raj’s 108-ball knock, which included four fours, along with handy 30s from Sunetra Paranjpe and Anjum Chopra.Sri Lanka’s total of 171, largely thanks to half-centuries from Dedunu Silva and Eshani Kaushalya, proved to be inadequate. Choosing to bat first, Sri Lanka were done in by tight Indian bowling, with Jhulan Goswami and Thirush Kamini managing two wickets apiece.Only one other batsman managed double figures and Sri Lanka didn’t get the kick in the final overs. Paranjpe began India’s reply confidently, with a stroke-filled 37, before a 70-run stand between Chopra and Raj sealed the deal.

“No!” A spectator at the ground grimaced for the country when Adam Gilchrist swiped a catch to cover. The disappointment was not for the shot, but for his final Test batting act in a career that stole breaths for nine years. Feelings for Gilchrist were still raw after the retirement announcement the previous day and as he emerged from the dressing room the noise grew as quickly as when a teenager has charge of the stereo.Spectators around Australia have roared for Sachin Tendulkar over the past month, but those were whispers compared to this reception. The crowd stood and the India players waited for the batsman, clapping in a show of respect which is magnified by the spate of events that have occurred during the series. Gilchrist is a man even opponents love to love.”I have never seen a retirement bring tears to the eyes of six grown men,” a supporter emailed after hearing the news. “Thank you dearly.”At the ground whistles and shouts came from people on their tip-toes and Gilchrist must have wanted to wipe his eyes. Corporate logos are not the only things he has worn on his sleeves throughout a magical career. Ishant Sharma’s first ball was outside off stump and Gilchrist left it, stepping back to run on the spot and shake off the emotion.A “Gilly, Gilly” chant began on the hill and he drove a ball straight for three. It was crisp despite a short follow through. There was hope for a favourite swot over midwicket, but a handful of singles from cuts were taken to deep point instead. He sprinted for runs even when Andrew Symonds ambled and seemed desperate to impress.There was a fierce reminder of his uncompromising power when he slammed a drive off Irfan Pathan that went low and straight towards Billy Bowden. The umpire dropped and rolled and the ball bulleted to the boundary. Bowden was not the only one whose heart-rate lifted.Hope for more explosions ended three balls later when he swung at a wider Pathan delivery and found Virender Sehwag. Unless two batting collapses occur over the next day he won’t be seen again without wicketkeeping gloves. The sadness was masked by more standing and clapping, the most he has ever received for a 14. Sharma walked across and shook Gilchrist’s hand while the Indians re-joined the tribute.The walk to the dressing room was brisk, but he slowed and turned just before reaching the boundary. A careful wave was aimed at his family in the Bradman Stand before he raised his bat to team-mates and members. After a jog up the stairs he was gone, but for those who saw his deeds he won’t be forgotten.

Six players missed out on the opening day of the Cricket Skills camp for the players selected for the ODI series in Ireland which started in Bangalore at the National Cricket Academy today. Sourav Ganguly, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, RP Singh, Piyush Chawla, Yuvraj Singh, and Ramesh Powar couldn’t join the camp and all are expected to arrive in the city in the night.The players had a three-hour session of bowling, batting and fielding in the afternoon. In the absence of Chandu Borde, the newly appointed manager of the Indian team, Venkatesh Prasad, the bowling coach, and Robin Singh, the fielding coach, are overseeing the camp. Team trainer Gregory King and physio John Gloster were also present. Even during the Bangladesh tour where Ravi Shastri was the cricket manager, Prasad used to take complete charge of the nets. It is learnt that Borde will not attend the camp.The Indian board had conducted a bowlers’ camp at Mysore from June 4-8 and a batsman’s camp in Bangalore which concluded yesterday. Prasad had expressed satisfaction with the progress made in the two camps. “We wanted to keep the players going soon after the Bangladesh tour, which was tough because of the heat and humidity,” Prasad said on June 12th.”These camps were basically for improving fitness but me and Robin wanted to break the monotony and introduced batting and fielding sessions too, but briefly. In Mysore the players tried bowling at one spot and also some variations. In these eight days the players did core training, strengthening of body and built up endurance,’ he said.The players also took time off on Tuesday to interact with physically challenged children from ‘Mathru Foundation’, a charitable organisation, run by special Olympics medalist Malathi Holla.

AB de Villiers has dropped another hint that he is willing to stay on as South Africa’s long-term Test captain, after his new-look team completed an impressive 280-run victory in the fourth and final Test at Centurion.De Villiers, who himself made a pair in the match and has averaged just 9.00 in his two Tests since taking over from Hashim Amla as captain in the aftermath of the second Test at Cape Town, praised the character shown by his players s they secured their first Test victory in ten matches since January 2015.”The guys were very fired up for this Test match,” de Villiers said during the post-match presentations. “It’s been a while since we won a Test match so we are obviously very excited about that and we will enjoy the celebrations afterwards now.”South Africa’s side featured five changes from the seven-wicket defeat in Johannesburg, in which they conceded an insurmountable 2-0 series deficit, and de Villiers singled out one of the new faces, debutant opener Stephen Cook, for particular praise, following his maiden century in the first innings. However, the star of the show was unequivocally Kagiso Rabada, whose match figures of 13 for 144 were the second-best in South Africa’s Test history.”We are very excited about some of the guys coming through and taking their opportunities with both hands,” de Villiers said. “Obviously Kagiso had a fantastic Test match, it doesn’t come around every day that you take 13 wickets in a Test so we are very proud of him, and obviously Temba [Bavuma] and Cooky have played their roles in this Test match, and Temba obviously in the whole series.”It’s a great team performance, coming back from 2-0 against a very solid England team, and we showed a lot of character and hopefully we can build on this now and in the future.”Asked about his own future in Test cricket, amid series-long speculation about his workload, de Villiers implied that he was ready to commit to the leadership, with South Africa’s next Test engagement coming at home against New Zealand in August.”Yeah, I’ve really enjoyed it,” he said. “I’m keen to move forward and the team is in a really good space, with a few guys coming through and enjoying their cricket. It’s a good place to be in, and it’s a bright future for us.”We’ve got a long way to go, it’s a bit of a rebuilding phase, we’ve lost quite a few players in the last few years, but the guys who’ve come through have shown a lot of character and shown us that they can take the team forward. I think there’s a bright future and we are looking forward to everything that’s going to come our way, and all the challenges.”Rabada followed up his first-innings figures of 7 for 112 with 6 for 32 second time around, including a destructive final-morning spell of 4 for 4 in 21 balls to bundle England out before the drinks break, and was deservedly named Man of the Match.”It was a bit up and down so the key was to hit the deck, bowl in a relatively good area and believe that you’d get your rewards,” he said. “It’s great to be in this environment, it’s what I’ve always wanted to do, and it’s great to play against a quality cricket team.””To take seven wickets this morning in the time that we did probably wasn’t part of my thinking in bed last night,” de Villiers admitted. “We were prepared to go to 5.30pm today and guts it out. They have a few match-winners in their team so we were wary of that, it wasn’t an impossible run-chase.”Alastair Cook, England’s captain, conceded his side had been second-best throughout the match.”It’s been a disappointing five days, we haven’t quite been on it, pretty much the whole five days,” he said. “We’ve hung in there without ever being able to get on top of South Africa. Credit to them, they played well, but we weren’t quite at the races.”Trevor [Bayliss, the coach] just described it as a limp batting performance, which probably sums it up perfectly.”

Cuba will not be playing in the 2008 Stanford 20/20 because of a political embargo, the competition’s board of directors has announced.The United States embargo against Cuba means that organisations and American citizens such as Allen Stanford have to make application to, and receive special permission from the US Government to conduct any type of activity with Cuba. Stanford’s application was denied but now he plans to ask the US government to reconsider for future tournaments.”We have been anxious to include the entire Caribbean in the Stanford 20/20 Cricket Tournament and I am extremely disappointed that Cuba will not be able to play,” said Stanford. “Stanford 20/20 is requesting that the denial from the United States Government be reconsidered and we are exploring every option to secure their future participation.”The news disappointed Cuba, who have been training intensely for what was to be their first official tournament outside their country. Cuba was scheduled to play in the first match against St. Maarten on Friday, January 25 but their opposition will now get a bye.

Hampshire surpassed their highest score of the season, and their biggest innings total in matches against Derbyshire. Needing a massive 373 to avoid the follow on, Derbyshire advanced to 188-2 by the close, just half way towards their task.Prittipaul lost his wicket early in the day, when Derbyshire took the new ball, however, some big hitting from Dimitri Mascarenhas and Shane Warne game the home side maximum batting points for the first time this season.Simon Lacey with 4-98 was the pick of the Derbyshire bowlers.Mascarenhas hit a huge six off Lacey and with 10 fours splayed the Derbyshire attack. Warne was equally belligerent as he sent two sixes into the adjoining flats.When Hampshire was finally out at 1:40, the visitors set about recovering. Makeshift opener Luke Sutton and Steve Stubbins put together 85 runs, before Shane Warne bowled the latter leg stump. Australian Michael Di Venuto then joined Sutton. Both reached their 50s, Sutton in a patient 145 balls, Di Venuto in a quick fire 63.The Australian attempted a cover drive off Mascarenhas, the catch being gobbled up by White, but Sutton who has only opened twice before this season was still unbeaten at the close.With the wicket showing signs of turn, Hampshire will be looking to their own Australian – Warne, and off-spinner Shaun Udal to force Derbyshire to follow on and give them an extreme outside chance of survival in Division One.At the end of the day, both teams joined members in a barbecue at the County Ground to celebrate its pending closure.

Points table

Uganda and Cayman Islands booked their places in the semi-finals of the World Cricket League Division Three as ball dominated bat on the second day of the tournament in Darwin. Both teams made short work of their opponents, comfortably winning low-scoring games in the first session.The wins gave Uganda and Cayman Islands maximum points from two games in Group B and left Tanzania and Hong Kong winless with just one match remaining. Despite Italy’s second successive win, Group B remains wide open as PNG and Argentina have one win from two games. After Tuesday’s rest day, PNG will meet Italy at Nightcliff while Argentina meet Fiji at Kahlin Oval in the last group matches.

Argentina bounced back from a thrilling one-wicket defeat to Italy on the opening day by recording a five-wicket victory over pre-tournament favourites Papua New Guinea at Gardens. Skipper Estaban MacDermott inspired the Argentineans with a match-winning spell of 4 for 22 as PNG were bowled out for 91. Argentina achieved the target for the loss of five wickets with Donald Forrester remaining unbeaten on 44. MacDermott described the victory as the biggest in Argentina’s cricket history. “All the effort that was put in is now paying off,” he said. “By defeating PNG, we have shown that we can compete at this level.”Italy recorded their second victory in the competition by overpowering Fiji by 37 runs. Batting first, Italy scored 186 for 9 with Nicholas Northcote top scoring with 37. Fiji were bowled out for 149.

Uganda defeated Tanzania by four wickets at Power Park with Charles Waiswa taking 3 for 7 as the Tanzanians were dismissed for 64. Although Benson Mwita made Uganda work hard for their victory by taking 4 for 23, his efforts were not enough to stop Uganda stumbling to a four-wicket win.Cayman Islands’ experience of playing in the Stanford Twenty20 tournament and the Intercontinental Cup was on display for the second successive day when they recorded a straightforward eight-wicket victory over Hong Kong at Nightcliff. Franklin Hinds was the star for Cayman Islands when he took 4 for 22 as Hong Kong were skittled for 67.

To compound Bermuda’s blushes following a 3-0 series defeat by Kenya, their allrounder, Lionel Cann, has been banned for two ODIs. Cann was found guilty of breaching the ICC Code of Conduct during his team’s three-wicket defeat to Kenya in Nairobi on Saturday in which he showed ‘serious dissent’.Cann stood his ground when the umpire, Ian Howell, gave him out lbw and only left the field when forced to do so by his captain, Irving Romaine. Cann then kicked over a dustbin after crossing the boundary rope and could be heard venting his anger from the dressing room.”This ban should serve as a message to players that this type of behaviour is not allowed,” Mike Proctor, the match referee said. “Such acts are completely unacceptable and on that basis I found the player guilty of the Level 2 offence.”Cricket is a sport which teaches us discipline and respect for an umpire’s decision. Anyone associated with this game has to respect its values and Laws and anyone being disrespectful has to be penalised.”

.

Alastair Cook – 5
Provided important ballast in both innings of the Wellington win, but was subdued for the rest of the series, as New Zealand’s seamers probed a familiar failing outside off stump. His catching at Hamilton, however, was a revelation – particularly the screeching swipe at point that dismissed Stephen Fleming in the first innings. At Wellington, he became the youngest England cricketer to register 2000 Test runs, so there’s plenty time to iron out his technical glitches.Michael Vaughan – 5
A series tally of 123 runs at 20.50 will be seriously troubling to England’s captain, who never really looked out of form but somehow succumbed to more than his fair share of aberrations. His departure triggered or intensified collapses in each of the three Tests, never more drastically than on the first morning at Napier, when England slumped to 4 for 3 on a blameless pitch. As a leader, however, he re-established his credentials thanks to England’s come-from-behind victory, in particular through the ruthless sacking of his senior bowlers, Steve Harmison and Matthew Hoggard.Andrew Strauss – 6
Saved his career at the last ditch in Napier, an achievement which speaks volumes about the hidden resolve that lurks within such a phlegmatic character. Yet another of the top six who was there or thereabouts all series – a pair of pretty 40s kept his pot boiling in the first two Tests, but were hardly the returns to justify his reinstatement ahead of Owais Shah. A lifetime-best 177 was much more the ticket. He’s still not quite as compact as in his 2004 heyday, but the confidence that comes with such success cannot be underestimated.Kevin Pietersen – 7
Produced the most domineering innings of the series, just when England most desperately needed it, and in so doing, ended the most worrying slump of his short and spectacular career. He’d gone ten innings without so much as a half-century until he climbed into a counter-offensive at Napier, and turned the tide of the Test. Prior to that, Pietersen’s fortunes had bottomed out in the second innings at Wellington, where he was run out for 17 via a deflection off the bowler’s fingertips. After that sort of misfortune, someone was doubtless going to pay.Ian Bell – 6
The fluency of his second-innings hundred at Napier took the breath away, and once again begged the question, why can’t he back himself to play with such freedom when the pressure is really on? According to Cricinfo’s scorers, he laid bat on ball for each of his first 99 deliveries of the innings, and middled the majority of them, particularly when driving through the covers or down the ground. He did much the same for his only other half-century of the trip – a carefree 54 not out at Hamilton while the contest crumbled around him. England have invested a lot of faith in his development, and rightly so. But he needs to start setting the agenda soon, rather than following the leader.

Paul Collingwood – 6
Faultlessly middle-of-the-road throughout the tour. He wasn’t best pleased to be demoted to the No. 6 position, only a year after recording an Ashes double-century, but responded with three half-centuries in his first four innings of the series, including the anchor role in the pivotal partnership of the tour, with Tim Ambrose at Wellington. Hasn’t reached three figures since the Durham Test in June, ten matches ago, which will bother him. He had a hit-and-miss time in the slip cordon, not least when Ross Taylor edged onto his calf in the second Test, but he’s still among the safest of England’s new breed of catchers.Tim Ambrose – 8
Without his fearless counterattacking century at Wellington, England would have been dead and buried before the halfway point of the series. It was a hugely influential performance from a man in the most scrutinised position in the team, and he responded as if he didn’t have a nervous bone in his body. His wicketkeeping was also sound – if a shade on the silent side – and though he had a couple of wobbles at Wellington, in particular a missed stumping off Jacob Oram, he looks set for a long and prosperous stint in the side. Mind you, much the same was said of Geraint Jones and Matt Prior after their early-career hundreds. An impressive start, but when you’re the England wicketkeeper, there’s no place to hide.Stuart Broad – 8
A ballsy performance from a cricketer of immense talent and promise. As an up-and-coming fast bowler, Broad’s game has an ugly streak that belies his angelic features, and that trait proved invaluable in inhospitable conditions on the penultimate day at Napier, when he more or less carried his tiring pace-bowling colleagues. His selection ahead of Harmison was a punt that paid off handsomely for England, and his abilities as a No. 8 batsman cannot be underestimated either. Without his gritty 42 in the first innings at Napier, Pietersen might not have had the faith and patience to haul England back into the game.Ryan Sidebottom – 9
The player of the series by a country mile. Sidebottom excelled himself in each and every Test – a hat-trick at Hamilton, closely followed by his maiden ten-wicket haul. Another vital five-for to wrap up the Wellington Test, and then his defining spell at Napier, when he bowled unchanged between lunch and tea on the second day, taking five wickets in the session and seven in the innings – yet another career-best performance. He has surged past 50 wickets in his first full year of international cricket, and is hungry to make up for his six years in the wilderness. His batting at No. 9 was not to be under-estimated either. England have unearthed a very complete cricketer.

James Anderson – 7
His recall for the second Test, at the expense of Hoggard, was controversial, but when Anderson responded with a wonderful spell of hostile, fast, full-length swing bowling, England must have wondered how they had coped without him in the five years since his debut. It all went a bit flat thereafter, sadly. An untimely ankle injury, sustained while playing football, reduced his effectiveness and at Napier, he was cannon fodder even for the desperate Matthew Bell. When it swings, Anderson makes it sing, but all too often he has no Plan B.Monty Panesar – 6
Capped his series with a seventh five-wicket haul, but Monty’s belated success couldn’t quite gloss over a disappointing tour. He was unlucky with dropped catches at Wellington, but didn’t exactly earn the right to complain with the shoddiness of his own fielding, which regressed horribly after a season of notable improvement. Nevertheless, he is closing in on 100 Test victims, and he’s only just completed two years in the team. It’s not a bad return at all, and compares very favourably with his counterpart, Vettori, the closest thing to a role model on the international circuit.Steve Harmison – 2
Loose and listless in his solitary outing, it was no surprise when Harmison was singled out as a scapegoat for England’s first-Test defeat. England have been unable to shake him from his torpor, and when Vaughan offered him a meagre four overs in the second innings in Hamilton, the graffiti was all over the dressing-room wall. Harmy, go home.Matthew Hoggard – 4
Not quite as culpable as his colleague, but he still paid the price for his worst Test performance since the tour of Sri Lanka four years ago. Down on pace, and wayward as well, he looked like a man who needed more overs under his belt. County cricket will offer him the chance for redemption next summer, but such is the success that Sidebottom is currently enjoying in that crucial holding role, it’s hard to see how he’ll force his way back without a spate of injuries.

Usually by the end of March Ashley Noffke knows what is happening with his off-season plans. Previous winters have involved stints in England or business duties, family time and fishing trips, but this one threatens to include the tour of the West Indies in May.Noffke’s outstanding first-class collection of 51 wickets at 19.03 and 741 runs at 46.31 – he became the third Australian behind George Giffen and Greg Matthews to capture the 50-wicket, 500-run season double – has him hoping to be part of his second Caribbean adventure with the national team. After such a strong campaign the expectation is he will be in the squad when it is named this week, possibly as early as Wednesday.While picking up a host of trophies at the Queensland awards dinner on Saturday, including the Player-of-the-Year prize, Noffke made it clear he was ready to add to the one-day and Twenty20 debuts that came in 2007-08. “Throughout the year I was thinking, ‘how am I going to get into the Test team?’ Halfway through I came to the conclusion Test cricket wasn’t going to happen this summer.”I love playing one-day cricket and I love playing Twenty20, but I want to play a Test and I want to show my wares over the long game. Whether or not I get an opportunity for that soon, or if I’ve got to wait another season, I don’t feel age is a barrier.” Noffke turns 31 in April but is not concerned when he looks at players such as Stuart Clark and Michael Hussey, who received later-in-life-opportunities.A remodelled bowling action and extra attention on his always-productive batting has turned Noffke into a major force. Even Simon Katich, who struck a record-breaking 1506 Pura Cup runs, could not feel more upset than Noffke if he is omitted from what will probably be a 15-man touring party.If Noffke is picked it will be his third trip with the squad after being a late call-up for the 2001 Ashes tour and completing the 2003 visit to the Caribbean. Injuries over the next few years intervened and led to the technical overhauls.Noffke returned to the international set-up for the Twenty20 against New Zealand in December, taking 3 for 18, and hit back from a poor opening in his ODI debut on his home ground in February. “The first two and a half overs were some of the most regrettable bowling I’ve bowled,” he said. “It’s funny how body and mind can let you down at times. I’d worked so hard over a long time to achieve that specific moment.”Brett Lee and Ricky Ponting offered support, but it was Adam Gilchrist’s advice that was memorable after Noffke let 19 runs escape in 12 balls. “Gilly ran up to me and said: ‘If you took a wicket in your first couple of overs we would have thought you were a big head.'”The good-natured teasing was successful. “It calmed me down a little bit,” Noffke said. “I was thinking, ‘if I don’t pull my socks up and start bowling like I know I can, I’m not going to get another opportunity’. After those couple of overs I settled down and bowled as well as I’d done throughout the year.” He finished with 1 for 46 off nine, but was squeezed from the side when Clark came back.The rest of the season was spent trying to revive Queensland without squad success, but his individual results remained strong. While some of his team-mates considered deals with the Indian Premier League, Noffke hid himself from the talk and did not register for the second auction. “At end of the day I didn’t want to let myself know too much about it,” he said. “I just want to play cricket for Australia at the moment.”Another season with the English county Middlesex is a possibility, but that depends on the events of the next week. “I’m waiting to see what’s happening with the tour,” he said. “I’m still contemplating going to Middlesex as long as they want me, but that’s if I’m not selected for the West Indies – I’d be pretty disappointed if I didn’t go.”