All posts by h716a5.icu

Allan Donald, the South Africa bowling coach, has refuted claims linking him to the Bangladesh coaching job

Firdose Moonda06-May-2012Allan Donald, the South Africa bowling coach, has denied claims linking him to the Bangladesh coaching job. Donald, along with Mick Newell and Dermot Reeve, was understood to be on the BCB’s wishlist but said he will not consider the offer if he is approached.”I have not had any approach but I would not be interested,” Donald told ESPNcricinfo. “I am doing a job I always wanted to be involved in and I have no inclination to make a move. My interest is with South Africa and I won’t give that up at all.”Donald was named South Africa’s bowling coach in June last year, when the national team management underwent a complete change of guard. Gary Kirsten replaced Corrie van Zyl as coach and headhunted his former team-mate Donald.At the time, Donald was in the process of finalising an agreement with New Zealand, where he had worked as bowling coach. Donald was part of the New Zealand management when they defeated South Africa in the 2011 World Cup quarterfinals and was on the verge of signing for a full-time role when Kirsten came calling. Donald immediately cancelled his deal with New Zealand to take up a position which he said he “always wanted to do.”Donald had previously had roles as England bowling consultant and had done work in Zimbabwe but had not coached in South Africa, even at domestic level. He had often expressed his desire to work in the country he had played for, but opportunities were few. Only when Kirsten chose to involve him did Donald get a taste of coaching in South Africa.Donald has also been allowed to explore other options while with South Africa. He is currently in India for the IPL, where he is working as Pune Warriors’ bowling coach.Donald is the second South African bowling coach to catch the BCB’s eye. They also targeted Vincent Barnes, who was South Africa’s bowling coach for eight years from 2003, when Jamie Siddons resigned mid-2011. Barnes turned down the Bangladesh job and opted for a role at South Africa’s High Performance Centre instead.

Rohit Sharma, the India batsman, has said that Australia have a weakness against swing bowling that India will seek to exploit

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Dec-2011Rohit Sharma, the India batsman, has said that Australia have a weakness against swing bowling that India will seek to exploit during the upcoming Test series.”I heard they’re having some problems against swing bowling, so we are very much putting all our thoughts together,” Rohit said. “We will try and come hard at them where swing is concerned. We have a very good bowling unit which can put pressure on the Australians.”Rohit’s comments echoed those of Zaheer Khan, who said on Thursday that India’s bowlers will be aiming to exploit Australia’s problems against the moving ball.Australia were dismissed for less than 150 five times over the last two years, and collapsed for 47 against South Africa and 136 against New Zealand in their last two Test series. But Rohit said India were focussed on their own preparations rather than their opponent’s struggles.”We’re not really concerned about what’s going on their side. We want to focus on our preparation. It’s a good sign they are having a batting camp, so we know their weaknesses and what they’ve gone through the last couple of weeks. We have all kept that in mind going into the first Test match. We will walk out there and we need to put pressure on them rather than taking the pressure on us.”India drew their two-day game against CA Chairman’s XI, making 6 for 320 in reply to CA’s 6 for 398. Rohit scored an unbeaten 56, while Sachin Tendulkar made 92 and VVS Laxman 57 before both retired to give others a chance to bat.”It was a good preparation. We just wanted to get into the groove first. There’s another practice match as well. [There wasn’t] much for the bowlers on a flat track and the batsmen also got the runs, so I think we should be very happy with the way things have gone for batters and bowlers.”There was some concern for India when Ishant Sharma left the field after bowling only 5.3 overs on the first day, but Rohit said it was “just some discomfort” and that Ishant had seen a doctor and should be ready for the Boxing Day Test.India have never won a Test series in Australia and Rohit admitted it was something that they think about, but “we would like to take one Test match at a time and see how it goes”.The first Test is at the MCG, where Tendulkar will resume his quest for his 100th international hundred. “Me and my team-mates, all of us and all the Indians, we don’t want him to wait for too long now,” Rohit said. “It’s been a while, but I hope he gets the 100th century in the first game.”

A round-up of the matches on the seventh match-day of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2011-12

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Oct-2011A tight performance in the field and a well-paced innings from Ishank Jaggi gave Jharkhand a comfortable win against Orissa in Jamshedpur, their first of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy after their first two matches were abandoned due to rain. Orissa had three run-outs in their innings and got a low total of 103 for 9. Jaggi scored an unbeaten 37 as Jharkhand knocked off the total in 18.3 overs for the loss of four wickets. Orissa’s innings had no momentum at the top, with opener Sumitosh Praharaj getting his 40 at a strike-rate of 80.00. They did manage to lay a base, though, and got to 74 for 2 in the 15th over, but the late onslaught never came. Instead, wickets fell consistently and the total was never going to be competitive. Jharkhand started the chase cautiously but Jaggi picked up the pace and got his 37 off as many balls. Captain Saurabh Tiwary contributed 21 as Orissa were handed their first defeat of the tournament.Bengal’s bowlers limited Tripura to only 95 for 9 to set up a comfortable chase for their batsmen in Jamshedpur. Tripura lost their captain Rajib Saha and were soon reduced to 35 for 3. They then had their largest partnership of the match – 41 – between Kaushal Acharjee and Bappa Das. At 76 for 3 in the 15th over, Bengal began to wreck Tripura, taking four wickets for three runs. Ashok Dinda finished with 2 for 29 and Shami Ahmed 2 for 14. Bengal lost opening batsman Shreevats Goswami for a duck during their chase but Abhishek Jhunjhunwala and Wriddhiman Saha scored 30 and 35 to help Bengal score 98 for 4 in the 19th over. Tushar Saha took 2 for 15 in four overs for Tripura.

Ryan ten Doeschate produced a scintillating 119 from 110 balls, and followed up with the brilliant bowling figures of 2 for 47 in ten overs, to give England one of the biggest frights of their international lives

The Bulletin by Andrew Miller22-Feb-2011England 296 for 4 (Strauss 88, Trott 62) beat Netherlands 292 for 6 (ten Doeschate 119*, Cooper 47) by six wickets
ScorecardRyan ten Doeschate produced a breathtaking century to lift Netherlands to a massive total•Getty ImagesRyan ten Doeschate produced a scintillating 119 from 110 balls, and followed up with the brilliant bowling figures of 2 for 47 in ten overs, to give England one of the biggest frights of their international lives. However, his very best efforts were not quite enough to propel the Netherlands to an incredible victory in their World Cup opener at Nagpur.Faced with a massive target of 293, and humiliation on an even greater scale than they suffered at Lord’s two years ago, England responded with a determined batting performance under the floodlights, and thanks to composed half-centuries from Andrew Strauss and Jonathan Trott, they eventually reached safety with six wickets and eight balls to spare. However, the final margin of victory did no justice to the journey they were forced to undertake. Had England stumbled, it would surely have gone down as the greatest upset in World Cup history.The final overs were fraught with possibility, as England battled with a run-rate that barely dipped below seven an over, against a pumped-up team of performers who could mainline their adrenalin straight from that opening fixture of the World Twenty20. With 69 needed from the final ten overs, Trott was exquisitely stumped off a leg-side wide by Wesley Barresi, who had earlier launched the Dutch innings with a sparky cameo of 29 from 25 balls, and when the in-form Ian Bell was bowled middle stump by the final ball of ten Doeschate’s spell, Nagpur really was living up to its reputation as the City of Orange.That dismissal left England’s fate in the hands of Paul Collingwood, who has barely been able to buy an international run all winter, and Ravi Bopara, whose inclusion at the expense of the second spinner Michael Yardy contributed to their problems in the field, but for which he ultimately atoned with a vital 30 not out from 20 balls, including a soothing six over long-off from the first ball off the 49th over – the first of England’s innings.It was Collingwood who proved the key, however. He was England’s captain when they lost in 2009, and ten years earlier he had also been on the receiving end of a NatWest Trophy beating while playing for Durham in Amstelveen. The threat of a triple dose of humiliation compelled him to rediscover his fighting spirit, and he restored faith in both himself and his team with an unbeaten 30 from 23.It was all extraordinarily fraught. Whereas previous shocks have revolved around batting collapses in helpful conditions – think Ireland in Jamaica four years ago, or West Indies against Kenya in 1996 – this performance was all about the weight of runs that the derided Dutchmen were able to pile onto England’s shoulders. With Associate cricket in the spotlight like never before, following the decision to reduce the 2015 World Cup to 10 teams, and in light of the recent capitulations by Canada and Kenya in Group A, this was a performance that showed the sport’s second tier in the best and most timely light imaginable.ten Doeschate’s prowess in limited-overs cricket is hardly a secret – he averaged 54 in the CB40 last season, and weighed in with nine wickets, as Essex advanced to the semi-finals – but England had no answers to his watertight technique and a shot selection that started out composed before exploding in the closing overs with 52 runs coming from his last 26 deliveries. He came to the crease in the 12th over and though he took 12 balls to get off the mark, the value in gauging the pace of the wicket paid off handsomely.All told, ten Doeschate struck nine fours and three sixes in a 110-ball stay, the first of which came off a gentle full-toss from Kevin Pietersen, whose two overs were dispatched for 19 and highlighted England’s folly in omitting Yardy – Bopara’s medium-pace was not called upon. Swann, on his return to the team following the birth of his son Wilfred, was the pick of England’s bowlers with 2 for 35 in ten tidy overs, while Stuart Broad was menacing if a touch expensive in his first full international since the Adelaide Test in December. But ten Doeschate treated the rest of England’s attack with disdain, as he powered through to his fourth and highest century in 28 appearances for the Netherlands.After calling for the Powerplay in the 43rd over, ten Doeschate lost his fifth-wicket partner Tom de Grooth, the hero of Lord’s 2009, who was bowled by a Broad yorker for 28. But undeterred, he picked off consecutive boundaries from Tim Bresnan to move through the nineties, before reaching his first World Cup hundred from 98 balls and in remarkable fashion, as a sharp single to short fine leg turned into five overthrows when Trott’s shy ricocheted off the stumps and away to the ropes.On a night that belonged to the Dutchmen in spite of the final result, the nadir of England’s performance was reached in the final six overs of their bowling effort. Only last summer, England’s attack was touted as their likeliest route to World Cup glory, given how intricately each member of the attack knew their roles, and how quickly they were able to react to changing circumstances. However, the closing overs were a total shambles that would have disgraced a club side, given the breadth and variety of the errors that were committed.A foretaste of the chaos came in Swann’s seventh over, when ten Doeschate, on 47, launched a drive into no-man’s land behind the bowler’s arm, where James Anderson and Kevin Pietersen converged from mid-off and mid-on respectively, but stopped dead as the ball plugged harmlessly between them.Anderson’s day then went from bad to worse when he returned to the attack in the 46th over. His attempt at blockhole bowling resulted in two awful waist-high full-tosses, the second of which swung away down the leg side for four. Both were called as no-balls, and Anderson was very fortunate not to be withdrawn from the attack by the umpires. Or not as it happens, because the Dutch captain Peter Borren was delighted he remained. He belted three consecutive boundaries in a listless ninth over, to finish unbeaten on 35 from 24 balls.England’s embarrassment didn’t end there. Though Broad showed some fight to end ten Doeschate’s stay via a catch in the deep in the 49th over, he was denied the wicket of Borren in the same over when Collingwood at midwicket failed to take his required position inside the fielding circle. A no-ball was signalled, Borren was recalled, and there was still time for one more howler, as Swann shelled a sitter at third man to reprieve Mudassar Bukhari.Netherlands’ final total of 292 for 6 was their highest against a full-member nation, and the second highest by any Associate, beating the 230 they scored against England on this very day 15 years ago, at the 1996 World Cup. The hero that day was the 18-year-old Bas Zuiderent, who was the only Dutchman to miss out this time around, as he made 1 from 10 balls before becoming Swann’s second victim. It was scant consolation for England on a day that they could not allow to get any worse.The new opening pairing of Strauss and Pietersen went some way towards atoning for England’s earlier errors with a 105-run stand in 17.4 overs. They started with clear intent as Strauss snaffled three fours in the first over, from Mudassar Bukhari – two clips off the toes and a fortuitous under-edged cut past off stump, en route to 88 from 83 balls, while Pietersen’s first shot was a sweetly timed drive to a Berend Westdijk outswinger.On a slow deck, Pietersen’s instinct was to advance onto the front foot at every opportunity, and his timing seemed in fine fettle even though he kept picking out the fielders in a well-drilled Netherlands outfit. Strauss meanwhile hung back in his crease and took advantage of the Dutch inexperience to nudge and pull eight of his first nine boundaries behind square on the leg-side.However, as the hardness went out of the new ball and Barresi came up to the stumps to restrict Pietersen’s footwork, his returns tailed off appreciably. Having scored 29 from his first 31 balls, he made just 10 from his next 30, before Pieter Seelaar added his name to the list of left-arm spinners to have captured one of the more notable scalps in world cricket. A tempting delivery was tossed up outside off stump, and Pietersen failed to get his feet to the pitch as he poked an uppish drive to short cover.In the end humiliation was avoided, and given the lop-sided format of the World Cup, England have already made a significant stride towards the quarter-finals. But with the in-form Indians looming in Bangalore on Sunday, there is no room for another performance this poor. The world is watching and the likes of Virender Sehwag won’t be losing sleep.Match Timeline

A career-best 106 from 109 balls from Surrey’s rookie batsman Jason Roy could not make up for the loss of 71 overs to rain yesterday as a high-scoring County Championship Division Two tussle with Glamorgan ended in stalemate at The Oval

27-May-2011
ScorecardA career-best 106 from 109 balls from Surrey’s rookie batsman Jason Roy could not make up for the loss of 71 overs to rain yesterday as a high-scoring County Championship Division Two tussle with Glamorgan ended in stalemate at The Oval.Resuming at the start of the fourth and final day on 46 without loss, Glamorgan lost Will Bragg when he was bowled by Tim Linley, only for Gareth Rees and Mike Powell to canter along at four runs an over through to lunch and extend their side’s lead to 320 runs.Rees posted a 117-ball half-century with a six over long-on off Chris Schofield and nine overs later Powell progressed to his 50 off 75 deliveries, with a dabbed four to third man off Batty. Glamorgan’s batsmen showed even greater intent in the afternoon session but were overly cautious with their declaration.Rees reverse-swept the first ball of the session for four and lifted a delivery from Rory Hamilton-Brown over midwicket for six on his way to a 162-ball hundred. His stand with Powell added 185 in less than 34 overs, a new record for Glamorgan’s second wicket against Surrey, before he holed out to long-on.Roy, primarily a wicketkeeper but deployed as a declaration bowler, then made further breakthroughs with his maiden scalps in first-class cricket. Ben Wright became his first victim when he edged to Rory Burns then two overs later Mark Wallace drilled to Jade Dernbach at mid-off, leaving Powell unbeaten on 67 and Surrey with a target of 395 off a minimum of 50 overs.Roy and Hamilton-Brown evoked memories of great Brown Cap run-chases in raising a century stand in 15 overs as Roy raced to a 38-ball 50 with 10 fours. Hamilton-Brown was slightly more conservative, reaching his half-century in 52 deliveries.Surrey went into the final session requiring 266 off 31 overs but Hamilton-Brown was stumped for 68 having just brought up the 150 stand with a six over long-on off the bowling of Robert Croft.Nine overs later, Roy dispatched Dean Cosker into the pavilion to reach his maiden first-class hundred off 89 balls – but by then Surrey required 11 an over and had resigned themselves to a drawing the match. The hosts finished with 10 points to Glamorgan’s seven.

Surrey moved to fourth in the Friends Life t20 South Group and inflicted an 11th defeat on basement side Middlesex after clinching a nine-run success at Lord’s

08-Jul-2011
Scorecard
Surrey moved to fourth in the Friends Life t20 South Group and inflicted an 11th defeat on basement side Middlesex after clinching a nine-run success at Lord’s.A St John’s Wood crowd of around 16,000 were left subdued for much of an encounter that Surrey edged from the moment their captain Rory Hamilton-Brown won the toss and went on to play a cameo role in his side’s impressive total of 182 for 3.Visiting openers Jason Roy and Steven Davies gave the Lions a roaring start by posting 92 for the first wicket, including 64 in their six powerplay overs. They were assisted by some slack Panthers fielding and wayward Middlesex bowling from all bar Steven Finn, whose four overs cost 26.Steven Cook sent down three wides and conceded 35 in his only three overs, while replacement Ryan McLaren leaked 19 from his opening over, including the first six of the night by Roy over long-on.Middlesex skipper Neil Dexter temporarily stemmed the flow of boundaries with his medium-pacers from the Pavilion End, but left-arm spinner Tom Smith proved expensive at the Nursery End as Roy plundered another straight six on his way to a 35-ball half-century.But two deliveries later Roy drilled the first ball of the night from off-spinner Jamie Dalrymple into the hands of Chris Rogers at wide long-off to make it 99 for one at the innings mid-point. Left-handed Davies lofted a cover drive to the ropes to post the second half-century of the match from 25 balls and with eight fours, only to fall to Dalrymple’s next delivery. Drawn down the pitch, he edged his drive to keeper John Simpson, who whipped off the bails for good measure.Simpson stumped Hamilton-Brown off Smith, but blotted his copy book by dropping Tom Maynard when on 17 as Finn returned to complete his tidy four-over allocation and keep Surrey below 200.Chasing at a rate of 9.15 an over, Middlesex were in trouble in the opening over when Paul Stirling saw Stuart Meaker hold a swirling, high chance on the run at long-on. Three balls later Scott Newman, aiming to pull a short one from Chris Tremlett, gloved one leg-side to the keeper Davies to make it 10 for two only seven deliveries into the home reply.Rogers went for 18 after playing inside a leg-cutter from left- armer Dirk Nannes that clipped off stump, but Dexter and Dalrymple salvaged home pride in a stand of 74. Even so Panthers’ asking rate continued to escalate and, with pressure mounting Dexter sallied down the pitch to be stumped by a yard against leg-spinner Chris Schofield and go for 49 off 36 balls.Dalrymple deposited a full one from Gareth Batty into the Grandstand for six and carved four through backward point in Meaker’s next over, only to lose Simpson when he splayed a Nannes full-toss to deep cover.Dalrymple miscued to mid-wicket to go for 48 off 35 balls then McLaren and Cook followed in successive balls to give Nannes his maiden five-wicket haul in t20 cricket and help Surrey to their sixth win of the campaign.

After a glut of one-sided snooze-fests, the IPL produced the kind of upset the Twenty20 format is made for, with the tenth-placed Kings XI Punjab producing a strong performance to trounce the table-toppers, Mumbai Indians

The Bulletin by Nitin Sundar10-May-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsSachin Tendulkar’s dismissal was the beginning of a spectacular collapse•Associated PressAfter a glut of predictable snooze-fests, the IPL produced the kind of upset the Twenty20 format is made for, with Kings XI Punjab, placed tenth at the start of the game, producing a strong performance to trounce the table-toppers, Mumbai Indians. Punjab came out determined against Mumbai’s gun bowlers – Lasith Malinga and Harbhajan Singh – and scrapped their way towards a solid base, before Munaf Patel’s five-for kept them to 163. In reply, Mumbai combusted in a rash of ridiculous shots to concede two points on a platter, keeping Punjab’s campaign alive.It was the kind of score Punjab would have taken at the toss, given how badly out of form their batting had been in recent games. It gave them the rare luxury of something to bowl at, and they responded with purpose and vigour. Aiden Blizzard produced three edgy boundaries in the first over from Praveen Kumar, but things went rapidly downhill from there for Mumbai’s batsmen. Sachin Tendulkar guided an innocuous delivery from Praveen straight to backward point in the third over, before Adam Gilchrist pulled off an alert stumping to send Rohit Sharma on his way. When Blizzard was adjudged out nicking a leg-side ball from Praveen in the fifth over, Mumbai had slumped to 27 for 3, and there was no middle-order counter-attack to put them back on track.Even a couple of dropped chances and a missed run-out did not spark a revival, and the exit of Andrew Symonds, Ambati Rayudu and T Suman in successive overs set up a happy evening for the Mohali faithfuls.Punjab’s defiance was captured earlier in the day, in the way Gilchrist fronted up to Lasith Malinga. The bowler of the tournament screamed in for the second over of Punjab’s innings, and delivered it full and wide of off stump. The out-of-form Gilchrist rolled back the years by moving across and slicing it through point. The next ball was hit even more fiercely, but it found the fielder. Buoyed by the confidence of having middled two balls, Gilchrist took guard outside the crease for the next delivery. It was a yorker, followed by a bouncer that clattered Gilchrist on the back of his helmet. He was stunned for a moment and floored for a minute, but he got a new helmet and carried on. Punjab were not going to flinch today.Paul Valthaty did his bit to kick-start the innings before perishing in Munaf’s first over, pulling him straight to deep midwicket. Gilchrist carried on though he was clearly not at his best, struggling to pick Harbhajan’s straighter ones, and to adapt to the drop in pace once Malinga exited the attack. Symonds let him off on one of those indiscretions, when Gilchrist drove Dhawal Kulkarni uppishly into the covers. Gilchrist celebrated by launching Rohit Sharma for a straight six, while Shaun Marsh checked in by creaming Kulkarni twice through the off side.Malinga returned and produced the breakthrough, hurling down another pacy bouncer which Gilchrist feathered behind. Marsh had found his range by then, and seamlessly took charge of the innings along with Dinesh Karthik. Blizzard made things easier for Punjab, dropping Karthik when he top-edged Kieron Pollard. Karthik capitalised by sweeping and reverse-sweeping Suman for successive fours in the 14th over, as Punjab coiled for the final assault. It was the cue for the Munaf show to begin.Marsh welcomed Munaf to the crease by crashing the first ball of his second spell through the covers, before imparting a violent thump to another half-tracker, to send it sailing along towards the deep midwicket fence. Pollard had his own ideas, though, running at full tilt, diving to his right and intercepting the ball with both hands, to pull off one of the best catches of the tournament. That sparked Mumbai’s best phase in the game, as Munaf used clever changes in length and pace to cut through the lower order. He dismissed David Hussey for a duck, before foxing Karthik and Ryan Harris into scooping catches into the outfield. Munaf’s efforts had restricted Punjab to just 39 off the last five overs, but Mumbai’s spectacular batting collapse meant it counted for nothing.

A round-up of the third round of Castle Logan Cup matches

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Oct-2010
Scorecard
Terry Duffin’s 193 set up Tuskers victory•Zimbabwe CricketMatabeleland Tuskers posted their first win of the season, overcoming Southern Rocks by six wickets in Bulawayo, to move into second spot in the Logan Cup standings. The defeat leaves Rocks at the bottom of the table, with zero points after three matches.Two of the architects of the victory were 22-year-old medium-pacer Keegan Meth, who took seven wickets in the match, and former international opener Terry Duffin, whose 193 was nearly half of Tuskers’ total in the first innings. The finishing touches to the win was provided by an unbroken 98-run stand for the fifth wicket between Steven Trenchard and Adam Wheater.Rocks were in trouble after choosing to bat, new-ball bowlers Meth and Njabulo Ncube slicing through the batting to leave them at 12 for 3 and later 124 for 6. It was 24-year-old Pakistan-born batsman Sikandar Raza who hauled them to a respectable total, making his maiden first-class century and forging substantial partnerships with Tendai Chisoro (50) and Blessing Mahwire (45) for the seventh and eighth wickets.Tuskers’ innings was a reversal, with the top half contributing and the lower order collapsing. Duffin made 193, his highest first-class score, and Gavin Ewing chipped in with 81 as Tuskers marched to 319 for 3 before offspinner Keith Kulinga and Mahwire rolled over the rest of the side. Kulinga’s 5-114 was his first five-wicket haul.The Rocks’ top order didn’t impress in the second innings as well, and it was again left to Raza to rescue them again, this time with an unbeaten 60 that lifted them to 225. Faced with the fairly small target of 176, Tuskers nearly made a mess of it, losing their top four for 78 before Trenchard and Wheater secured the victory.
Scorecard
Mashonaland Eagles had to fight hard to secure the first-innings lead and with that one point against Mid West Rhinos in Kwekwe. Former South African allrounder Andrew Hall’s unbeaten century from No. 6 helped Eagles fight back from 193 for 6 and clamber past Rhinos’ competitive first-innings score of 351.Sent in to bat, Rhinos slid to 98 for 5, before they were also bolstered by a lower middle-order century – from 23-year-old Remembrance Nyati, whose 118 and Solomon Mire’s 52 pushed Rhinos beyond 300. Eagles’ opener Simbarashe Gupo posted a half-century and captain Forster Mutizwa made 42 at No. 3 but they soon found themselves at 144 for 5, in danger of conceding a big lead before Hall intervened. At 270 for 7, either side could still have grabbed that lead, but No. 10 Trevor Garwe stood firm with a 41 to assist Hall in guiding Eagles past the Rhinos’ total.In the second innings, Rhinos’ top order was in top form: Gary Ballance made a century, his opening partner, Friday Kasteni, made 56 and captain Vusi Sibanda contributed a brisk 57. Rhinos declared at 294 for 4, leaving Eagles a target of 292. Mutizwa blasted 84 at nearly a run-a-ball but there weren’t enough overs for Eagles to get near the target, finishing on 187 for 5 in 52 overs.

Steve Tikolo, the Kenya batsman, bowled out of international cricket on a disappointing note as his team exited the 2011 World Cup without a win to its name

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Mar-2011Steve Tikolo, the Kenya batsman, bowed out of international cricket on a disappointing note as his team exited the 2011 World Cup without a win to its name. Kenya were comprehensively beaten by Zimbabwe in their last game, and Tikolo managed only 10 in response to an imposing 308. Zimbabwe and Canada were opponents Kenya would have had a realistic expectation of beating at the start of the tournament, but they found themselves at the receiving end of defeats in each of those games.”I’m very disappointed as this was our last game of the tournament and we wanted to put in a good performance,” Tikolo said at the end of the game. “We know we didn’t do that, especially with the ball up front. And in our batting we lost wickets at regular intervals and we weren’t able to build any meaningful partnerships.”Tikolo led Kenya in the match following an injury to regular captain Jimmy Kamande. He was trapped in front by Ray Price and walked back to the pavilion to applause from the Zimbabwe players and the smattering of spectators across the sprawling Eden Gardens. It was an emotional exit for Tikolo, who in a recent interview with ESPNcricinfo had admitted that Kenyan cricket was “at its lowest ebb” at the moment.Tikolo represented Kenya in 134 ODIs and was their captain in the 2003 World Cup when they qualified for the semi-finals, beating Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe along the way. He was also part of one of Kenyan cricket’s finest moments, when the national team beat West Indies in Pune in the 1996 World Cup.Steve Tikolo ended a 15-year career with Kenya•Thota Sreenivas”There have been ups and downs but I’ve enjoyed every moment,” Tikolo said of his career. “I represented my country with a lot of pride and that was the case whenever I went out to play.”If the younger players move forward from this World Cup, take the positives and work on the negatives, that will be a good thing.”The lack of exposure against the top teams has cost Kenya, Tikolo said. “In 2003, we had a team that had been together since 1996. We gelled well as players and had been playing good cricket all along, and had fought well against top teams.”Things changed after 2003 as we hardly played top teams. I think we last played Pakistan in 2004 and Australia in 2003. When you meet them in big tournaments it does not do your confidence any good.”He added that Kenyan cricket’s domestic structure had to change to make the country’s cricketers more competitive. “Back at home, we need to revamp the local structure. Youngsters need to play three-day and four-day cricket.”

Steven Smith has called Michael Clarke a “very, very good captain of spin” and believes he stands to benefit from Clarke’s close relationship with Shane Warne

ESPNcricinfo staff28-May-2011Steven Smith, the Australia legspinning allrounder, has called Michael Clarke a “very, very good captain of spin” and believes he stands to benefit from Clarke’s close relationship with Shane Warne. Smith is currently recovering from ankle surgery but hopes to start running next week and bowling within a month. If all goes well, Smith should get his first chance to play Test cricket under Clarke during the away series against Sri Lanka in August and September. The pair has already developed a solid working relationship in the limited-overs formats of the game.”He’s helped me out a lot,” Smith told the . “He’s a big believer in giving a bit of protection when you start off and when you get into your spell bring your men in. Warnie was a big believer in that as well. He thought if you had your men out and brought them in you were attacking. If you had to push men out it felt like you were retreating and the batsmen were on top.”I think that’s something Michael’s got from Shane by being good friends with him and that will help me out a lot with my bowling.”There is expected to be limited competition for the spinner’s spot in the playing XI. Offspinner Nathan Hauritz is still recovering from shoulder surgery, while left-arm spinner Michael Beer and offspinner Jason Krejza will be part of next month’s Australia A tour to Zimbabwe.Smith has also benefitted from the late Terry Jenner’s expertise, if not quite to the same extent that Warne did. “He [Jenner] is an absolute genius at what he does,” Smith said. “The sessions I had with him I learned a lot from and continue to learn a lot. There were a few things like tactics and trying to work out a batsman, looking at them even when you’re not bowling to them.”Looking at the way they’re doing things. See if you can pick up anything. It’s pretty tough coming on to bowl and trying to figure out what they’re doing. He also slowed down my run-up and made sure I was more composed at the crease. He got my bowling shoulder up a little bit higher to allow me to get over the ball a little bit more and help me with drift.”