All posts by csb10.top

A resurgence in the size of Test cricketing attendances at its home venues has been among the most notable by-products of the Australian team’s phenomenal run of success over recent years. But, enlivened as it is by the likelihood that it will feature the first official head-to-head battle for world Test cricketing supremacy, comes the prospect of even greater renaissance in 2001-02.In today’s announcement of the itineraries for the twin Test tours by New Zealand and South Africa – complemented by the renewal of airline Ansett Australia’s sponsorship of five-day cricket in Australia for a further five seasons – the Australian Cricket Board has confirmed that it will be Australia’s series against the latter which will assume star billing. The Proteas have been drawn to play the opening game of their three-match series in mid-December in Adelaide and will then take on the home team in the two feature matches of the Test summer: the back-to-back contests in Melbourne and Sydney over the Christmas/New Year period.Under the International Cricket Council’s recently-introduced Test rankings system, the prospect that the two teams will be playing off for the chance to assume Test bragging rights is contingent upon the outcomes of intervening series.Disappointing results in the Australians’ upcoming Ashes contest against England and their tussle against New Zealand could spell an early end to their reign, while the South Africans may lose the chance to challenge Australia for ownership of the number one mantle if they perform poorly in fixtures against Zimbabwe and India in September and October respectively.But the chance of a direct bout for the title of world champion still looms as a genuine possibility.South Africa’s tour will open with the annual festival-style one-day match against the ACB Chairman’s XI at Lilac Hill in Perth on 5 December and will also take in four-day matches against state teams Western Australia and New South Wales as well as the three Tests.For the New Zealanders, meanwhile, their visit during the early part of the Australian summer will again feature Tests in Brisbane, Hobart and Perth. That scheduling continues a well-entrenched pattern that has already seen more than thirteen years pass since they last played in a Test match in Australia outside of any of those three venues – the previous such instance having occurred in 1987-88 when the two teams played out a thrilling draw in front of a captivated crowd in Melbourne.The Black Caps’ 2001-02 tour will open with a match against state team Queensland in Brisbane in the opening week of November and will also include a one-day encounter with the Prime Minister’s XI and a four-day match against South Australia.

Somerset Sabres are back in N.U.L. National League action on Sunday when they travel to New Road where they take on Worcester Royals.After the narrowest of defeats in their opening match of the season in the competition last weekend,the Sabres will be anxious to record their first one day victory of 2002.Somerset will also be keen to make up for the Benson Hedges Cup defeat that the midlanders inflicted upon them on May Day Bank Holiday at the County Ground.The last time that the two sides met in the competition was at New Road in 2000, when the Sabres were victorious by 53 runs, to haul themselves back to the top of the table.At the end of the 2000 season Worcester Royals were relegated, but last season earned a quick return to the top flight by finishing in third place in Division Two. Last weekend Worcester Royals were without a game in the NUL, and will be eager to get their own campaign in the competition off to a good start.Whilst Somerset coach Kevin Shine was pleased with the run chase from his batsmen last weekend he will no doubt be anxious to reduce the number of runs that were conceded when the Sabres fielded.Fast bowler Steffan Jones is still not quite match fit so misses out on the trip to Worcester. The Sabres will rely on the same side thatcompletes the championship match against Leicestershire today with the addition of young all rounder Pete Trego.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board has said it is concerned that Richard Pybus, who took over as the national team’s head coach in May, hasn’t yet signed a contract with the board. The BCB took up the matter on Sunday after it came to the media’s notice.The board’s cricket operations committee, in a meeting, asked the acting CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury to communicate with Pybus, who returned to South Africa last week. He had given the national players a rest before playing in the first-class competition, the National Cricket League, which was supposed to start on October 14 and run till the Eid holidays later this month. But since the NCL’s scheduled start has been delayed, the board now expects Pybus to start the national team’s training programme earlier.”He [Richard Pybus] has been asked to come to Bangladesh and sign the contract as soon as possible as there might be legal complications otherwise,” said Jalal Yunus, chairman of the BCB media committee. “As of now, our main aim is to start the national camp for the players. For that we’ll need Pybus to send us a training programme as soon as possible. Our immediate concern is the West Indies tour.”Meanwhile, the BCB has extended spin bowling consultant Saqlain Mushtaq’s tenure till December. The spinner had initially joined the national team in July on a three month contract. This means that Saqlain will be part of the coaching set-up through the series against West Indies in November.

Rajasthan extended their overall lead to 206 ending the third day at132 for 2 in the Central Zone Ranji Trophy match against Vidarbha atthe Vidarbha Cricket Association ground in Nagpur on Saturday. Earlierresuming at 189 for 2 Vidarbha in their first innings were all out for306, giving Rajasthan a first innings lead of 74 runs.Rajasthan started their second innings on a confident note withopeners Nikhil Doru (54 not out) and Vineet Saxena (27) adding 53 runsin 19.5 overs. Saxena was the first to be dismissed when he was caughtby Dhiraj Sharma off PV Gandhe. RJ Kanwat who replaced Saxena at thecrease partnered Doru till the score reached 116. But at this pointKanwat fell for a catch to Khare off Gandhe.Then Doru and AS Jain (7) saw through the final four overs of the day.Vidarbha who resumed with overnight centurion AV Deshpande (128) andParadkar (56) proceeded to 221 when Paradkar was trapped leg before byAnup Dave. Paradkar during his 176 minute stay at the middle faced 130balls and hit seven fours. Seven balls later, his partner Deshpandejoined him in the pavilion, caught by Gagan Khoda off L Jain. Butthereafter none of the Vidarbha batsmen lasted long enough at thecrease to help Vidarbha take the first innings lead. Anup Dave (3 for75) and L Jain (3 for 36) were the pick of the Rajasthan bowlers.

Wasim Bari, former wicketkeeper and former chief operating officer of the board, has been appointed Director of Education and Training, a post created within the PCB as part of their revised anti-corruption measures in the aftermath of the spot-fixing controversy.The ICC, last month, had praised the PCB for adopting the ICC’s recommendations to curb corruption. In response to an ultimatum issued by the ICC to conduct a thorough far-reaching review of “player-integrity issues” within a 30-day deadline, the PCB has revised its code of conduct for players, made it mandatory for players to have their agents approved, implemented education programmes for cricketers to create awareness about match-fixing and set up an Integrity Committee to look into matters of corruption and doping.Bari’s appointment represents a continuation of the PCB’s response. “Cricket is facing new challenges but as custodian of the game we are committed to fight for its integrity and survival,” Bari said. “Players need to be trained and educated on what problems they may face while playing at international level. Pakistan is among the first boards to start implementing these codes at the domestic level. I am hopeful that with the right kind of awareness we will be able to overcome this global issue of corruption in cricket.”Bari served as the PCB’s chief operating officer for more than a year, stepping down last month. He’s been replaced by Subhan Ahmed, an administrator who’s been part of the board since 1994.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsFile photo: Mohammed Shami dismissed Dean Elgar and JP Duminy in the same over and South Africa A never recovered•Associated Press

Six wickets between the fast bowlers Ishwar Pandey and Mohammed Shami helped India A beat South Africa A by an innings and 13 runs in the first unofficial Test in Rustenburg, as a fighting 65 from Temba Bavuma went in vain.South Africa A resumed their first innings on 312 for 9 and frustrated the Indian bowlers, as Kyle Abbott and Andrew Birch added another 45. Suresh Raina eventually trapped Birch in front to end the innings on 357, 76 short of the follow-on target.Cheteshwar Pujara asked South Africa to bat again and his decision was immediately vindicated, as Pandey, who had claimed 4 for 46 in the first innings, bowled Reeza Hendricks off the third ball of the innings. Shami dismissed both Dean Elgar and first innings top-scorer JP Duminy in the sixth over to leave the hosts on 15 for 3 and staring at a deficit of 210.Rilee Rossouw continued his counterattacking ways, taking three fours off Shami in the 10th over. But as in the first innings, he failed to capitalise on his start as Raina bowled him for 34.South Africa resisted through Bavuma who, having departed for a duck in the first innings, produced a gritty half-century. Justin Ontong and Thami Tsolekile were stopped in their tracks as Shami and Pandey returned for their second spells.Ontong struck two fours off Shami in the 25th over before his stumps were disturbed and Tsolekile lost his to Pandey in the 35th. Wayne Parnell holed out to Shikhar Dhawan at deep midwicket off left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem, to leave South Africa A on 140 for 7.Bavuma soldiered on, collecting two fours off the 44th over from Nadeem to reach his fifty but pulled Rohit Sharma’s first delivery of the innings to midwicket. Rohit also induced the edge from Abbott to the wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha after ten overs of further resistance and finished with 2 for 19 in eight overs, to go with his century from the first innings. Pandey bowled Birch in the 67th over to end with match figures of 7 for 71.Pujara, named the Man of the Match for his 137 in the first innings, lauded the efforts of his bowlers. “If you want to win a Test match you have to get 20 wickets and to do that in two days in these conditions is fantastic,” Pujara said. “Our experience of playing in Indian conditions where you get similar wickets to this one has helped. Normally the wickets are flat and the bowlers are made to work hard for their wickets and that experience shone through today.”South Africa A coach Vincent Barnes said his players had learnt a lot from the match despite the defeat. “I tell the players that these are the type of conditions you are going to play in most of the time and you have to have the game plan and the skills for it,” Barnes said. “That is what international cricket is about, a few of the guys stepped up, some stuck in and batted well to get us into a good position, especially in the first innings.”At the end of the day these tough conditions give me an idea of the character of the players under situations like this,” he said. “If they got 590 and we scored 480 we would walk off learning very little about ourselves and the game. There is a lot that we have learnt, I think the players understood that they are playing against world-class opposition and it was tough.”The teams will square off in Pretoria for the second and final unofficial Test starting on August 24.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsWilliam Porterfield holds the WCL Championship trophy, underlining Ireland’s dominance•ICC/John Boomer

Having already ticked off one major box – qualifying for the 2015 World Cup in July – Ireland secured the World Cricket League Championship trophy after beating Scotland convincingly by seven wickets at Stormont.It was a one-sided encounter after the two sides played out a thriller two days ago, with the hosts winning both games. Ireland’s seamers set it up by bundling out Scotland for 165 and their batsmen, led by Niall O’Brien, needed just 33 overs to chase it down.Scotland chose to bat and lost their first wicket in the fourth over when Freddie Coleman was trapped lbw by Max Sorensen. Hamish Gardiner and Matt Machan added 25 for the second wicket before Gardiner edged to the keeper, giving the seamer Eddie Richardson his first ODI wicket. The Ireland top order failed to put up sizeable stands, and were struggling at 61 for 4 in the 21st over.Calum MacLeod and Richie Berrington then staged the only half-century stand of the innings. The pair struggled to push the scoring initially, at one stage scoring just five runs in as many overs. Berrington broke the drought with two boundaries off Richardson. Scotland took the Powerplay in the 36th over, but failed to capitalise, scoring only 19 runs off it. The partnership ended in the 42nd over, when Berrington chipped a full delivery to wide mid-on, giving Kevin O’Brien his third wicket. MacLeod tried to slog a slower ball by Richardson to cow corner but lost his stumps, leaving Scotland at 145 for 6 in the 45th over. The pressure caused by the lack of runs led to the lower order throwing their bats around and Scotland could only manage a modest 165. Stuart Thompson ended the innings when he bowled Iain Wardlaw in the 50th over.Wardlaw was in action early with the ball when he removed the Ireland openers within seven overs. William Porterfield, who scored a century against England in an ODI earlier in the week, fell for 5 and the visitors had claimed an important wicket. However, Scotland couldn’t sustain the pressure after those breakthroughs. Ed Joyce and Niall O’Brien took the game away from them with a stand of 69, interrupted by rain. Joyce fell in the 19th over when he was bowled by the spinner Majid Haq. An aggressive stand of 75 between Niall O’Brien and Gary Wilson sealed the win for Ireland with 17 overs to spare, a testament to their domination in the tournament in which they dropped just one game out of 14.Scotland needed to win both their weekend fixtures to boost their chances of gaining direct qualification for the World Cup. Having failed to do so, they will have to try their luck in the World Cup Qualifiers in New Zealand next year. Afghanistan, currently third in the points table with 15 points, can finish second and gain qualification, if they can beat Kenya in their two remaining games.

Michael Clarke has said he backed David Warner’s decision to review his dismissal from a thick outside-edge despite telling Warner he thought the ball had made contact with the bat.Australia’s use of the DRS has been poor throughout the series and that continued on the second day at Old Trafford, where Warner brought boos from the crowd when he walked to the crease and further jeers after his ill-judged referral.The edge off Graeme Swann was deflected off Matt Prior and snapped up at slip, not dissimilar to Stuart Broad’s controversial edge and non-walk at Trent Bridge. Clarke was at the non-striker’s end when Jonathan Trott completed the catch to dismiss Warner, who had struck his pad with his bat at the same time as the bat hit the ball, apparently confusing his judgement.”My reaction was, yes, I thought Davey hit it,” Clarke said. “But in fairness to Davey, if you have a look at the replay, he actually hit his pad at the same time so he obviously didn’t feel the ball hit the bat. We had a little discussion in the middle.”Let’s just say we disagreed, but in saying that, I did say to Davey that I would back his judgement 100%. He was confident he didn’t hit it so it was worth a look and I’ve said before I think that’s the way DRS should be used. I think if the batter feels that he didn’t hit the ball then his partner should back his judgement.”Acceding to the review could have been dangerous on Clarke’s part, because it left Australia at 365 for 5 with no referrals left, and a hefty first-innings score was always going to be necessary on a good batting pitch. As it turned out, Australia didn’t need the DRS again, as Clarke compiled 187 – his highest score outside Australia – and Brad Haddin and Mitchell Starc pushed the total to 527 for 7 before the declaration came.It was also Clarke’s first Test century batting at No. 4, a position that he took up in this match after Phillip Hughes was dropped. Despite the success, Clarke said he was unsure if he would remain at second drop in the future or move back to his more usual position at No. 5.”I got a hundred at No. 4, what a miracle,” Clarke joked after play. “I don’t know, we’ll assess in the second innings let alone the next Test match. The number doesn’t bother me. I’ve been saying it for a while. It’s nice though to finally have a hundred batting at No. 4 but I’m not sure.”I didn’t feel that great yesterday or today at the crease. I felt there was enough in the wicket – I played and missed a hell of a lot and had a fair bit of luck. Don’t get me wrong, I love the result. It’s better than getting zero, that’s for sure but I think I’ll be able to assess it more if we win the Test match.”Clarke’s runs, combined with valuable half-centuries from Chris Rogers, Steven Smith, Haddin and Starc, have at least given Australia a chance of the victory they need to retain any hope of winning the Ashes. The bowlers began well, collecting two England wickets after Clarke declared in the final session, but he said it was important they maintained their patience over the next three days.”It’s not the type of wicket you can force too hard,” he said. “You have to build up pressure. The bowlers will have to be exceptionally consistent like they were this afternoon. It is going to take a lot of time to bowl England out. Our bowlers have the discipline. I was pleased with the way Nathan Lyon started today. There was a bit of spin but more importantly there was some bounce there for him as well. He will play a big part in both innings.”The team should be extremely proud of the position we are in. We copped a bit of criticism after not making enough runs in the first two Test matches and rightly so. The way everybody did their job in the first innings is a credit to all the boys. We have worked exceptionally hard in the lead up to this Test match and it was nice to get the result. There is still a lot of work to do.”

ScorecardPhil Hughes, after being promoted to open, managed only 11 runs•PA Photos

Driving to Bristol for a round of pre-Ashes preparatory talks with a strong overnight score in their minds, Australia’s coach Mickey Arthur and the team performance manager Pat Howard could have been forgiven for expecting more encouraging developments on their arrival. Instead the sunshine and good cheer of day one was to be replaced by far grimmer stuff – and not just because the weather in Bristol had turned from balmy to a chill wind and grey sky.Having rounded up the remainder of the Gloucestershire first innings for the addition of only 18 more runs, Australia A folded quite heedlessly for 111 in the second innings after declining to enforce the follow-on. This offered the hosts an unexpected window into the match, one left well and truly open by a stumps score of 162 for 3 in pursuit of 321.Arthur and Howard have a few issues in front of them, but the form of the batsmen to join the Ashes squad in Taunton on Monday is a mounting one. As far as Ashes preparations were concerned, this was a far from satisfactory day. Usman Khawaja and Phillip Hughes were unable to register scores of any note, while the likely first reserve batsman Steve Smith edged the seaming ball to be out for a duck. The trio had been promoted to Nos. 1, 2 and 3 in the batting order in an effort to give them some quality batting time, but none was to be had by anyone.Even Nic Maddinson, so impudent during his first-day 181, was cut down to size, flicking a catch down the leg side to depart first ball. Maddinson was one of four wickets for Will Gidman, who capitalised on the more generous allocation of swing and seam provided by overcast skies and a pitch freshened by overnight moisture.Gloucestershire were also aided by a pair of run-outs, each a direct hit from James Fuller, who roamed the deep and caught, first Khawaja and then Jordan Silk, short of their ground. Such charity from the visitors will not have pleased the bowlers, who soon found themselves defending a smaller advantage than had seemed possible when Smith chose to have another bat.So poor was Australia A’s innings in fact that the top score went to Matthew Wade with 28, his runs scored either side of a painful blow to the groin that forced the wicketkeeper to his haunches for several minutes. Ashton Agar was next best with 27, demonstrating, albeit briefly, that his languid athletic talent is not limited to slow left-arm spin. Nonetheless, a scoreboard reading 88 for 8 and then concluding on “Nelson” does not bode well for numerologists nor Australian Ashes optimists.To be in the field again within 35.1 overs of dismissing Gloucestershire the first time did not appear to agree with several of the Australia A bowlers, who with few exceptions had been much sharper when the day began. Ryan Harris induced an outside edge from Gidman in the first over of the morning, before Fawad Ahmed offered evidence of his legspin’s bite by having Benny Howell pouched at slip, then fizzing his next ball past Tom Smith’s outside edge.Neither Harris nor Ahmed would be quite so compelling in the afternoon, which also provided a lesson for Chadd Sayers, the South Australian seam and swing operative. Having nipped out two wickets in his first over of the day to claim the handsome figures of 5 for 24, Sayers looked considerably short of rhythm and accuracy when he returned. He did improve later on and added the wickets of Chris Dent and Dan Housego, but Gloucestershire were by then growing in confidence.They reached the close with Gareth Roderick accompanied by Dan Christian, who appeared intent on getting the better of his countrymen while sprinting to 40 from 42 balls in the final hour. He took a particular liking to the spin of Ahmed, taking 35 runs from the 31 balls he faced. As they pondered whether to expand the size of the Ashes squad by one or two on Sunday, that was yet another reason for Arthur and Howard’s brows to furrow.

Tim May will be effectively replaced by two men at the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA) with Paul Marsh and Ian Smith set to run the organisation. Marsh has been elected executive chairman, and will take up that role alongside his existing position as chief executive of the Australian Cricketers’ Association, while Smith has been named FICA’s chief operating officer.Smith has been the legal director of the Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA) since 2004 and has assisted May at FICA for the past few years. Smith will be responsible for the day-to-day management of FICA, which represents cricketers’ associations in seven countries, and Marsh will be accountable for the performance of the organisation and will effectively be its figurehead and spokesperson.”The FICA board is excited by the appointments of both Paul Marsh and Ian Smith,” Jimmy Adams, the FICA president, said. “Paul has been at the forefront of player advocacy for 12 years at the ACA, the past eight as CEO. He has proven to be a strong, respected and passionate leader who has also contributed enormously as a member of the FICA board.”Ian has demonstrated his dedication, expertise and passion throughout his time with the PCA and FICA and along with Paul, will ensure our member associations and their players continue to be represented in a strong, unified and tireless manner.”The two men will have big shoes to fill, for May was the major driving force behind FICA during his eight years as its chief executive. May announced his resignation on Wednesday and said he was “tiring of working in a sport that was increasingly at odds with the principles I respect”.”The contribution of Tim May to FICA and cricketers worldwide has been enormous and in many respects he is irreplaceable,” Adams said. “Our game continues to throw up issues of great complexity, and strong player representation through FICA and the individual player associations has never been more important. FICA is committed to continuing Tim’s wonderful legacy by ensuring that the voices of the players always be heard.”