All posts by csb10.top

ScorecardFifties from Arindam Das and Abhishek Jhunjhunwala saw Bengal close the second day at Kolkata 90 runs behind Railways’ first-innings 259. Ranadeb Bose was the star performer for Bengal earlier in the day, putting a poor season behind him by bagging a five-wicket haul that saw Railways collapse before lunch. Vineet Saxena top-scored with 65 before he fell leg before to Bose, while Yere Goud pulled his weight for a vital 47. Railways, who were relegated to the Plate Group following a draw with Maharashtra last week, have only pride to play for in this match.
ScorecardSachin Rana led Haryana’s reply to Services’ first-innings 241 with a gritty half-century before Siddharth Verma and Joginder Sharma safely negotiated the final session of play on the second day at Palam. Services, 226 for 5 overnight, were unable to add much to that total as Joginder and Rana ran through the tail following Sarabjit’s run-out for a well-made 89. Following a four-wicket haul with the ball, Rana turned in a credible showing with the bat. Coming to the wicket with Haryana on 77 for 4, Rana shouldered the responsibility of building an innings admirably. Following his dismissal, Verma and Joginder have added 58 runs for the seventh wicket and Haryana will look to the duo to extend that partnership into a sizeable innings lead tomorrow.
ScorecardDelhi, troubled by a crucial spell from Aashish Kapoor, the veteran offspinner, trail Tamil Nadu by 396 runs after Subramaniam Badrinath’s maiden double hundred allowed TN to declare it’s first innings on 481 for 6 at Chennai. Badrinath and Hemang Badani, the former TN captain, added 196 for the third wicket before Badani was dismissed by Chaitanya Nanda six short of a deserved century. Vital contributions from Dinesh Karthik, the wicketkeeper, and Sridharan Sharath aided Badrinath in his marathon innings. Delhi, at the lower half of the Elite Group A points table and with little going their way this season, have their task cut out in the two days remaining in this match.
ScorecardBaroda returned from an indifferent batting display yesterday to completely outclass Hyderabad on the second day at Vadodara, dismissing them for just 131 and then extending their lead to 244 at stumps thanks to Connor Williams’s second fifty of the match. For Hyderabad, it was a poor showing with the bat as nine wickets fell for the addition of just 103 runs. Shekhar Joshi, the medium fast bowler, and Yusuf Pathan, who got Baroda out of trouble with a vital fifty yesterday, shared seven wickets between them. Kiran Powar, who fell for a seven-ball duck in the first innings, was at the wicket unbeaten on 46.
ScorecardUttar Pradesh backed up a fighting lower-order contribution earlier in the day by restricting Andhra to 155 for 6 on the second day at Anantapur. Krishna Singh, Venugopal Rao and Ambati Rayadu all got starts but fritted away the initiative as UP’s bowlers turned in a tight spell in the second half of the day. With UP 217 for 5 at the end of yesterday’s play, Andhra would have been looking to dismiss them for under 300. However, UP’s lower order had other ideas and combined for an invaluable 148 runs in the first two sessions. Gyanendra Pandey extended his overnight score to 88 while P Kumar went on to smash a career-best 78 off 68 deliveries, complete with four sixes. D Kalyankrishna, though often bearing the brunt of the UP innings, collected figures of 5 for 105.
ScorecardFive wickets from Munaf Patel dismissed Mumbai for 175 – despite an unbeaten 78 from Ramesh Powar – as Maharashtra tightened their grip over the opposition on day two at the Wankhede Stadium. Resuming the day on 20 for 2, Mumbai were soon reeling on 47 for 6 as Patel produced a fine opening spell. Vinit Indulkar (40) and Powar resurrected much of the damage in a 94-run stand for the seventh wicket before Patel and Suyash Burkul returned to mop up the lower order. In their second innings, Maharashtra have progressed to 73 for 3 and will hope that Mansigh Nigde – unbeaten on 27 – can carry on the good work on day three.
ScorecardContrasting fifties from Hemal Watekar and Asif Makda gave Gujarat an 84-run lead earlier in the day, but Karnataka had whittled that down to just 16 by stumps at Ahmedabad. With Gujarat precariously placed at 67 for 6, Watekar was forced to put his head down and graft for 226 minutes and 164 balls for an unbeaten 64. His partner in a vital 85-run stand for the eight wicket was Makda, clubbing three sixes in a 49-ball 62, a career-best innings for the Gujarat fast bowler. Karnataka, for their part, have batted with much more composure than in their first innings, and with Robin Uthappa at the wicket as play resumes tomorrow, fireworks are never far away.

Worcestershire have offered to sign up Umar Gul, the Pakistan fast bowler, as their overseas professional for the first part of the 2008 season.”We have talked to Umar’s representative in the United Kingdom and have made an offer. We will continue to talk to see what is possible,” Mark Newton, the club’s chief executive told the , a London-based newspaper. “We would like Umar to be our overseas player for the early part of next season and his likely availability would be from early May to early August.”We are just hoping it [the signing] will all come to fruition and it will be an exciting time if Umar, Simon Jones, Kabir Ali and Matt Mason are all fit and available for next season. Umar is one of the most exciting prospects around and in addition to Test cricket, he has also proved to be economical in Twenty20 cricket.”Gul, 23, was the highest wicket-taker in the ICC World Twenty20 with 13 wickets at a miserly 5.60 runs per over. He has also taken 67 wickets at 31.55 from 16 Tests and 44 wickets at 28.27 from 34 ODIs.But Gul needs clearance from the Pakistan board before joining Worcestershire. If the board gives him permission, it will be his maiden appearance on the county circuit. Gloucestershire had signed him on for the 2007 season but the Pakistan board had refused to release him owing to concerns about his fitness.Worcestershire’s bowling department has been bolstered by the signing of Simon Jones, the England fast bowler, who will be on a two-year contract. Kabir Ali, who has played 14 ODIs and a Test, and Matt Mason would provide support. Mason is undergoing rehabilitation work after missing most of the previous season due to a shoulder injury.

New Zealand will head to India next month armed with a three-pronged spin arsenal after offspinner Nathan McCullum, legspinner Ish Sodhi and left-arm orthodox allrounder Mitchell Santner were included in a 15-man squad for the World T20 announced on Monday. New Zealand had rotated through a series of spinners in their limited-overs squads during the recent pair of home series against Sri Lanka and Pakistan, though McCullum had not played for New Zealand since the tour to South Africa in August.

New Zealand WT20 squad

Kane Williamson (capt), Martin Guptill, Ross Taylor, Henry Nicholls, Grant Elliott, Corey Anderson, Colin Munro, Luke Ronchi (wk), Mitchell Santner, Nathan McCullum, Tim Southee, Trent Boult, Mitchell McClenaghan, Adam Milne, Ish Sodhi

“With the Indian conditions in mind, the plan has always been to take three front-line spinners and all three bring something different,” said New Zealand coach Mike Hesson in a statement at the unveiling of the squad. “It’s great to have Nathan available again and his experience in the foreign conditions will be invaluable. Both he and Mitch Santner have the ability to bowl in the first six overs, which gives Kane a number of options to work with.”Legspinner Todd Astle did not make the cut though after having been included for the three-match T20I series against Pakistan. Astle, who hadn’t played for New Zealand since making his Test debut in 2012 against Sri Lanka, was ineffective in the first two matches of the series. He went wicketless with figures of 0 for 41 spread across four overs in the two games and was left out for the final match of the series.Henry Nicholls, who is uncapped in T20Is for New Zealand, was chosen after impressing with 82 in a Man-of-the-Match performance against Pakistan in the first ODI at Basin Reserve last week. Nicholls will also serve as cover for wicketkeeper Luke Ronchi.”Henry has shown his talent and versatility with the bat this summer and has also been used as a wicketkeeper for New Zealand A,” said Hesson.As for the injured trio of Tim Southee, Mitchell McClenaghan and Ross Taylor, all three were picked and are expected to be fit by the start of the tournament. The return of Southee and McClenaghan meant there was no room for Matt Henry in the squad as Adam Milne was tabbed for the remaining fast bowling slot alongside Trent Boult and allrounders Corey Anderson and Grant Elliott.New Zealand is in a second-round pool alongside Australia, Pakistan, India and the winner of the qualifying pool played among Bangladesh, Ireland, Netherlands and Oman. New Zealand’s first match will be in Nagpur against India on March 15.

I’ll have a maximum for breakfast: Herschelle Gibbs did it at 33 whereas James Wilby did it at less than half that age; pillorying a hapless youngster for six sixes in an over. The schoolboy Wilby, 16 and playing for Diss U-17s in the Carter Cup, utilised short leg-side boundaries and some half-trackers to make his way into the record books before apologising to the unfortunate U-13 star he had professionally ridiculed. “I’ve never hit two consecutive sixes, never mind six. I felt a little bit of pressure because there were people I know standing at the boundary saying to go for it. When it happened I was over the moon.” Lucky for the bowler, it wasn’t a World Cup match being shown live on TV.And a maximum for lunch please: Staying with perfection, Paul Grennan became only the fourth bowler in the history of the Sussex Invitation League to take every wicket in an innings. With a return of 10 for 64 at Scaynes Hill, the 25-year-old swept the club-record of 9 for 12 set seven years ago. Tired from his remarkable achievement in the hot conditions, Grennan was first carried off the field by his team-mates and then had to swap ball for the bat in order to save the game for Southwick by blocking out the last 12 overs.Bollywood invasion: Imagine Saif Ali Khan with Jay Sean, Mohammad Azharuddin and Devon Malcolm on a Bollywood set. Disaster, right? It probably will be. But when the combo appears on a cricket pitch accompanied by other actors, cricketers and even MPs, and that too in Leeds, it could provide humour, fun and vital cash for a charity. There were national flags, screaming fans, Mexican waves being formed to Asian tunes and a certain individual called Dickie Bird over-looking the ‘set’ as Bolly XI defeated a star-studded Yorkshire XI in the recreational Twenty20. Oh and birthday girl Shilpa Shetty availed another opportunity to be in the news.A young warrior: Speaking of Indian presence on foreign soil, a 20-year-old from Chandigarh made his debut for Leicestershire second XI after coming through the ranks, albeit on a talent show in India. Sukhvir Singh saw off 25,000 competitors for that winning prize in Cricket Star, a TV program created by Simon Hughes to give players from underprivileged backgrounds a chance to show their skills. Capturing three wickets on debut, Singh was deeply grateful to the people who voted for him in India.

An unexpected prize: Another successful international tour came to an end as Ugandan players held their heads up high after beating Argentina in the World Cricket League division three final. However, the heads were sunk in shame as two of their players “decided to miss the flight back home” from Australia. Patrick Ochan and Jimmy Okello were nowhere to be seen as the team boarded the plane and are still missing. “They have valid visas until August 24 so they are still legally here,” said an immigration spokesman. Tired from their run of success and wanting and extended break, perhaps? It seems the Ugandan authorities don’t sound too bothered as there is speculation that the pair may have opted for the lucrative shore rather than heading home.I’m out of cash, mate: Spending US$ 317 million for a losing cause and coming home with no pride intact – that’s the story of the dauntless Barmy Army after the Ashes whitewash. According to a study commissioned by Cricket Australia, the series attracted 37,000 international tourists while creating 793 jobs and contributing a staggering US$ 54 million to the country’s gross domestic product. It confirms that it wasn’t only the cricketers who came back with heavy losses. The Barmy Army, however, did get some back by taunting their Australian counterparts about the relative strength of the pound to the Australian dollar and thus over-taking their professional men-in-whites by a distance in the list of achievements on the tour. “Cricket is simply marvellous for jobs and tourism.” Aptly worded by Fran Baily, Tourism Minister.A pleasant ray of light: Afghanistan finally had something to cheer about since the eviction of Russian forces and the removal of Taliban as Hamid Hassan stepped onto Lords’ outfield to represent MCC XI. The first Afghan to do so, Hassan starred alongside Chris Cairns with Mike Gatting branding him a “huge potential”, it was a fairy-tale for the 20-year-old. “To walk out at such a prestigious ground alongside such fantastic cricketers is an honour.” With Pakistan taking a penchant for early World Cup exits, maybe it’s time Afghanistan carries the Asian pride next time round, especially with the tournament being held next door.

West Indies allrounder Marlon Samuels has been banned from bowling in international cricket for 12 months after his action was found to be illegal for a second time since December 2013. The offspinner’s action can be reassessed by the ICC only after this period is complete.Samuels, who was prohibited from bowling quicker deliveries in 2013, was reported for a suspect action in October, during the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle. Samuels underwent an independent assessment in Brisbane which revealed that his elbow extension exceeded the permitted 15-degree limit. Incidentally, the ICC had allowed Samuels to bowl in an ODI in November, after the 14-day grace period for reported bowlers had expired, on the grounds that the West Indies team was “incorrectly advised” about his eligibility.”As this report constitutes the player’s second suspension within a two-year period, he is now automatically suspended from bowling in international cricket for a 12-month period,” an ICC release stated. “Samuels is entitled to appeal any procedural aspect of the Independent Assessment that has led to this automatic suspension. However, only after the expiry of this one-year period will he be entitled to approach the ICC for a re-assessment of his bowling action.”Samuels was reported for the third time in his career in October. In 2008, he was called for a suspect faster ball after the third Test against South Africa in Durban. He was later suspended from bowling in international cricket but after remedial work on his action, was permitted to bowl in September 2011.He was reported once again at the end of the second day of the second Test against India in Mumbai in November 2013. He was subsequently allowed to bowl the offbreak delivery but not his quicker ball.Samuels is the third bowler to be banned from bowling in international cricket by the ICC in 2015. Sunil Narine was suspended in November due to an illegal action. Like Samuels, Pakistan’s Mohammad Hafeez was handed a 12-month ban by the ICC in July, after his action was found to be illegal for a second time since November 2014.

Former India coach Greg Chappell has praised Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s captaincy and said the Indian team is shaping up well under him. Chappell quit as coach after the World Cup earlier this year, ending a two-year tenure with the team.Though his stint was mired in controversy, Dhoni was one of the successes and Chappell said he had seen a lot of potential in him. Dhoni led an inexperienced team to victory in the ICC World Twenty20 in South Africa, his debut series as captain.”I had foreseen a great future for Dhoni,” Chappell told . “He has proved his potential and has been most impressive as a leader. The Indians are lucky to have a leader like him.”Chappell, currently in India as a consultant for the Future Cricket Academy of the Rajasthan Cricket Association, based in Jaipur, acknowledged India’s recent success.”The Indian team is now doing well,” he said. “When I was the coach, whatever I did stood them in good stead. It is up to the others to judge. They have a few exciting players and have already won the ICC World Twenty20.”The good thing about Indian cricket is that it has a varied environment in which players are groomed differently. The players, like those from far-flung areas, are an example of that.”The current one-day series between India and Australia, Chappell said, would be a close contest, despite a few senior Australian players retiring from the game in recent months.”The Australian team is in a transition phase. There is no [Glenn] McGrath or Shane Warne. But they are well prepared for the series. They have been working hard and they have to keep intact their supremacy. I believe it will be a hard fought series.”His work at the academy, Chappell said, would not necessarily replicate training methods used at the Centre of Excellence in Brisbane. He inaugurated the academy with Ian Frazer, the bio-mechanics expert who also assisted him when Chappell was with the Indian team.”It is not right to compare it to Centre of Excellence because that has been running for years now. People like Allan Border [the former Australian captain] work and evolve new techniques for the trainees there. But I assure you that it will be different. We wish to make it one of the most reputed training centres of the world.”Twenty20’s growing popularity, Chappell felt, would be a challenge for coaches in adapting to different forms of the game. He did not, though, believe it would ruin a batsman’s technique. “There is no question of spoiling the technique. It has brought about a few changes which 50-over cricket too brought along. Now players use heavy bats, footwork is changing and they are hitting much harder than in my day.”

Having saved the St Lucia Test with his marvellous 120, Brian Lara told the press after the fifth day’s play that he had been inspired by the Soca Warriors. Rahul Dravid, meanwhile, admitted that luck had gone against his side, with a day rained out, but said that he was happy that they’d excelled in whatever was in their hands.Listen in!Brian Lara’s press conference
Download MP3 (right click and select “save target as”)
Streaming Audio: Real :: WMARahul Dravid’s press conference
Download MP3 (right click and select “save target as”)
Streaming Audio: Real :: WMA

Steve Harmison, the England fast bowler, will make a surprising return to cricket just three weeks after a hernia operation. Harmison had only expected to be available for Durham’s Championship match against Surrey on August 13 at the very earliest – and that was even with his recovery going well.But he has been named Durham captain for their three-day match against Sri Lanka A which starts on Wednesday. He started running in the week following the operation and was given the all-clear at the end of July to resume more strenuous exercise.In his absence, and that of Matthew Hoggard, England’s attack has lacked an incisive edge. But Chris Tremlett showed great promise in the first two Tests against India, with 10 wickets at 19.60, and has received praise from Harmison himself.If Harmison’s comeback goes well, he could be available for Durham’s Friends Provident Trophy final at Lord’s on August 18.

Thirty probables for the Cricket World Cup and a team for India’s first two one-dayers against the West Indies will be selected at Rajkot on January 12.The probables’ names will be sent to the International Cricket Council by January 13, the deadline to submit the list, and it would be further pruned to 14 members a month before the start of the mega event in the Carribean on March 11.The first of the four-match ODI home series against the West Indies will be played on January 21 at Nagpur and the second will be a day-night affair on January 24 at Cuttack.”The selection committe meeting will be held at Rajkot because captain Rahul Dravid would be playing for Karnataka in their Ranji Trophy four-day match against Saurashtra from January 10-13,” BCCI Secretary Niranjan Shah told PTI.The Indian team will return after the three-Test series against South Africa, presently poised at 1-1, which ends with the Cape Town match from January 2 to 6.

A statement issued by Clive Field, chief executive of the Zimbabwe Professional Cricketers’ AssociationDespite a number of recent attempts to find a way forward with ZC regarding the various issues outstanding in the negotiations between ZPCA and ZC, I have not been able to provide ZPCA with any progress.ZPCA have thus instructed me to issue the following public statement on their behalf:1. ZPCA fail to comprehend how ZC can close its offices early and at short notice for its annual shutdown, when important operational issues still remain outstanding between ZPCA and ZC. To recap briefly on these:Contractual issues