All posts by csb10.top

Torrential rain wreaked havoc with the 2nd Americas Cricket Championship in Buenos Aires, Argentina, for the second consecutive day.It all added up to another sad and rainy day, as in two days, five out of six games have been abandoned without a ball being bowled, while the Argentina v USA clash at Hurlingham somehow managed to find enough respite between the storms to fit in some 35 overs of play, but not enough to somehow manafacture a result one way or another.On top of all the disappointment, a further setback for local organisers is the temporary loss of San Albano as a venue when the area was hit by a freak storm, uprooting trees and unleashing savage winds and heavy rain on the ground and the immediate vicinity.This after the Argentine Cricket Association and dedicated members of the local St.Albans club had succeeded against all odds in a race against time in order to complete the construction of a brand new turf wicket facility, so that this important event could be played only on turf wickets.For the next few days at least, some fixtures will have to be completed on artificial wickets at reserve venues.The unseasonal and severe weather has forced organisers to restructure the entire tournament, which will now consist only of a round-robin group without a final between the top two teams to establish the champion. Instead, the winner of the mini-league, after five consecutive days of matches from Tuesday 12th to Saturday 16th, will be declared Americas Champion.No games will be played on Monday 11th, allowing locals to put various logistical changes into place, as well as to allow the grounds some recovery time from the violent climatic onslaught over the weekend.The fixture schedule sees some changes – matches previously scheduled for Saturday 9th will now be contested on the final day, Saturday 16th, while matches that we due to be completed today, Sunday 10th, will be completed on Thursday 14th. The original fixture schedule for Tuesday 12th, Wednesday 13th and Friday 15th, will remain as previously scheduled, apart from the venues to be confirmed for matches previously scheduled for San Albano.In the only cricket action witnessed thus far, hosts Argentina may take a great deal of confidence into their next game, after reducing the United States to 97 for 5 after 28,2 overs before the first storm intervened. Hero for the home side was medium-pacer Christian Tuon, who completed his 10 overs, taking a fine 4 for 43. Still, even though the Argentines will feel satisfied with that solid effort, of that 97 total, 33 of those runs were gifted by wides and no balls.After heroic efforts by local officials and assistants, the game eventually got underway again at 4.40 pm, with Argentina needing 117 to win in 25 overs after the Duckworth-Lewis adjustment. They looked to be heading towards an historic victory, when (no prizes for guessing) another storm promptly ended the days play with their score poised at 33 for 1 after 7 overs, and a no result conclusion.Summarised scores:
UNITED STATES 97 for 5 (28,2 overs) A.Afzaluddin 23, S.Pathak 16 not out, C.Tuon 4 – 43, L.Paterlini 1 – 17
ARGENTINA 33 for 1 (7 overs) M.Paterlini 16 not out, L.Paterlini 14, D.Blake 1 – 20 ; No Result.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Thursday said it had not invited India to participate in the Golden Jubilee Test. But the establishment neither denied nor explained if the Jubilee Test was not scheduled between Oct 26 and 30 , why it was slotted in Pakistan’s forthcoming international matches.The statement said: “The PCB denies having sent any invitation to India for the Golden Jubilee Test nor does it intend to send one in the near future.”The PCB chairman Lt Gen Tauqir Zia is on record having categorically stated that until cricketing relations between the two countries are normalized, there is no question of inviting an Indian team to Pakistan.”According to ICC’s 10-year calender, India is also scheduled to visit Pakistan from April 7 for three Tests and five One-day Internationals.Meanwhile, the PCB thanked TransWorld International for the help rendered by them during their current partnership. But the board stated that when the current contract expires in April next year, it will call fresh bids from all the leading contenders for the next broadcasting rights.”The matter will be decided in a transparent manner and in favor of the highest bidder of merit. The PCB is looking forward to maximize its resources for meeting its expanding development program.”A spokesman of the TWI had Wednesday expressed his disappointment the way his company was being treated by the PCB. He had said the PCB was undermining his company’s contributions and was set to award next broadcasting rights to Abdul Rehman Bukhatir’s newly launched Ten Sports.

Tamil Nadu is grinding Delhi to abject submission, making the Delhi playerstake the field to be in the scorching sun. Tamil Nadu have virtually sealeda place in the Ranji Trophy quarter-finals by taking the first innings leadagainst Delhi in the pre-quarter-final at the IIT-Chemplast Ground,Chennai, on Tuesday. Tamil Nadu are 278/4 at close of play, piling up anoverall lead of 516 runs.Resuming at 354/7, Delhi were bowled out for 365. MR Shrinivas picked upone more wicket in the morning to finish with the figures of 29-5-111-4. SMahesh finished with 3/102 off 29 overs.Robin Singh decided not to enforce the follow on and took the opportunityto get his batsmen some more batting practice. Theopening batsmen did not justify their captain’s good intentionsthough; both Sriram and Badarinath got themselves run out aftermaking just 16 and 21 respectively.It was all S Sharath and Hemanth Kumar for the rest of the day,both the batsmen smashing the ball all over the park. They added207 runs for the third wicket before Hemanth was dismissed at 244.He made a classy 87 (1 six, 6 fours) and was distinctly unlucky tomiss out on his second century of the match. He has had a remarkable startto his first class career scoring a century in his only innings againstKerala on debut and then going on to score a hundred in the first inningsin this match.Sharath who missed out on a big score in the first innings, made itup in the second by belting the ball to the fence with gay abandon, hittingan unbeaten 144 by close of play. He has so far smashed 18 fours and twosixes off 251 balls. S Mahesh is unbeaten on four.Given the fact that Tamil Nadu has a long batting line up, it might well beanother long day in the field on the last day for Delhi.

Essex hopes of recording their second successive victory in the County Championship were finally dented by heavy rain which swept across the ground with 11 statutory overs still remaining.Having set Northamptonshire a target of 314, the home side were given an immediate boost when Ashley Cowan removed Michael Hussey in the third over.Two wickets either side of the lunch interval swung the balance towards the bowling side as the visitors slipped to 57-3 but they were rescued from their tenuous position by Russell Warren and Alec Swann.Playing defiantly, the pair defied the five bowlers used by Ronnie Irani to comprise a fourth wicket partnership of 95 that occupied an invaluable 31 overs.Warren did survive a difficult chance to Stephen Peters in the gully off the bowling of Ricky Anderson when he had scored 10, but thereafter batted resolutely to reach a merited half-century from 111 deliveries that included eight boundaries.Swann was on 47 when he played an indeterminate prod to a delivery from Anderson in the second over after tea to end the partnership. Tony Penberthy continued the fight with Warren but the loss of both batsmen in consecutive overs galvanised the Essex hopes.Andrew McGarry accounted for Warren, 55, who flashed and was caught at second slip, and then Anderson found extra pace to have Penberthy caught at gully off the shoulder of the bat.Essex were unable to obtain a further breakthrough until, with the dark clouds rolling in, Cowan found a ball to remove Graeme Swann minutes before heavy rain swept across the ground to force the abandonment of the match. Consolation for Essex was the news that the eight points they gained took them to the top of the CricInfo Championship table.

You summoned incredible courage once and beat up the school bully back in class five, but it doesn’t help if till then, and thereafter, he has thrashed you every single time. The memory of that one triumph might even start to fade with each successive failure. In 44 meetings, Bangladesh have defeated Pakistan all of once, in the 1999 World Cup. It’s been more than 13 years and 37 losses since that heady Northampton evening. The unfortunate part for Bangladesh is, even a win, unlikely as it seems, may not be enough to keep them in the tournament. Nothing less than a comprehensive victory will do.Mushfiqur Rahim knows what he is up against on Tuesday, but held out a brave front. “It is difficult but not an impossible task,” Mushfiqur said. “It is Twenty20, and England were bowled out last night for 80 [against India]. Who would have thought? Pakistan are good but not unbeatable. If we play our best cricket tomorrow, if everyone puts their hands up and shows guts anything is possible. We know where we have to improve and to how go about it tomorrow.”He also said something which rings true on the other side, considering the kind of rumblings the 1999 loss caused in Pakistan. “There’s pressure in every game. They’d think in the same way. Pakistan don’t want to lose against us, that is for sure. We have to come hard and we will give our best shot.”Bangladesh rely so much on their spinners but the fact that they played on a fresh pitch against New Zealand, and will do the same tomorrow, has forced Mushfiqur to consider playing another quick bowler. “I thought we made a mistake in the first game as the wicket was not that helpful for the left-arm spinners. We thought there would be something in the day. That is why we choose to field. We didn’t bowl well also.”We are looking at a fresh wicket tomorrow and it is also a night game. We have a few seaming all-round and pace bowling options. Probably we will have one more [quick] bowler in place of a spinner. We will come back tomorrow, have a look at the wicket again and see how it goes.”Mushfiqur said Bangladesh are in a tough group, with New Zealand and Pakistan, but said tomorrow was a chance to perform against another top side. “It brings a big challenge for us. They have great strength in their bowling and their batting is also good. It is one more opportunity, a do-or-die game for us. We have nothing to lose. Our boys did not put their hands up in the previous game, hopefully we will learn from our mistakes.”Fresh pitch or not, Mushfiqur knows Saeed Ajmal, Shahid Afridi and Mohammad Hafeez will be a handful. “He’s [Ajmal] a big factor. He will start bowling in the Powerplay when we have to take some risks. We can’t play all their bowlers normally, but attack some. We have players for that, and we are planning in that way.”Bangladesh have Saqlain Mushtaq, the former Pakistan offspinner, travelling with them as spin-bowling consultant. He’s been giving tips to the spinners in the squad and has also bowled to the Bangladesh batsmen during training. “He is telling us how to read Ajmal, Afridi, [Umar] Gul and Hafeez. But the application of it will depend on us.”The last time these two sides met, Bangladesh came within one stroke of winning the Asia Cup in Mirpur in what was ultimately an emotional loss. Mushfiqur said that was a different format and admitted Bangladesh would not have the same kind of confidence they had that night in Mirpur. A more revealing stat is that after beating West Indies in their opening game of the World Twenty20in 2007, Bangladesh have lost nine successive matches in the event. It is almost as distressing as their record against Pakistan. They are up against a lot of history tomorrow.

AB de Villiers has been ruled out of Titans’ Champions League semi-final against Sydney Sixers on Friday. De Villiers has not played a match in the tournament as he recovers from a chronic lower-back condition and did not pass his fitness test on Thursday morning.”He is still getting a recurrence of lower-back pain,” Matthew Maynard, Titans coach, said. The Titans were prepared to go into the match without De Villiers though, and do not see the latest development as upsetting to their plans.What will be a concern, however, is whether De Villiers will be able to bat and keep wicket during South Africa’s three Test tour of Australia, which starts in just over two weeks’ time. De Villiers has been listed as the designated wicketkeeper and was instructed to take a three-week break after the World T20 to ensure he is able to fulfill that role.The time period comes to an end on Friday but he has not been passed match-fit and there is no exact determination of how much more recovery time he needs. National management is keeping a close eye on the situation and expects De Villiers to be able to assume all his duties in Australia. “He will definitely be able to travel to Australia but we will have to take it day by day on tour,” Mohammed Moosajee, team manager said.Moosajee has been monitoring De Villiers’ back condition since he took over the wicketkeeping role from Mark Boucher at the start of the tour of England. He does not expect De Villiers will be able to continue it permanently.”AB has had this back condition for a while and we knew about it. We knew that it would never resolve completely but that he would have times where he would be completely fine and then bouts when it would come back,” Moosajee said. “When his workload increases, it flares up. So in the long term, some strategic decision will have to be made.”The main decision is how long De Villiers will continue as wicketkeeper and who will be selected as the replacement. On the tour of Australia, Moosajee reminded that “we’ve got Thami Tsolekile as back-up so if something happens, he is there.”Tsolekile was nationally contracted in February, an indication that he would be part of the squad, and joined them when Boucher suffered a career-ending injury in England. He only played in the tour matches and De Villiers kept in all three Tests. It is believed that the national administration wants to re-introduce Tsolekile to international cricket at home, in what will be considered a less-challenging series against New Zealand in January rather than have him play against Australia first up.

The good form of Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq in the middle order, individually and in partnership, has been one of the significant factors in Pakistan’s winning starts in Group A. They made two fifties each against Kenya and Sri Lanka, putting on a quick 45 in Hambantota and a platform-setting 108 against the co-hosts at the R Premadasa.Their partnerships have been doubly important given the pre-tournament concerns that batting Younis and Misbah at No. 4 and No. 5 would rob Pakistan of impetus in the middle overs. Instead, the pair has brought stability and momentum. In recent years, Younis has been the regular one down, but the arrival of Ahmed Shehzad pushed Kamran Akmal to that spot, pushing Younis down one further. The two fifties have been his first in World Cup cricket, having failed to perform in 2003 and 2007.”My job is that wherever there is a need, I play there,” Younis said at the P Sara Oval in Colombo after a practice session. “I played at No. 3 before and now we need me at No. 4, so whatever the situation is for the team or in the match, I will do. Misbah and I are the seniors and we talk about our roles. We’ve made a couple of good partnerships so we want to keep that going. In both of the games I have missed hundreds but I am happy that I have scored fifties.”Younis and Misbah, at 33 and 36, are very much the senior members of the squad, and along with another old pro Shoaib Akhtar (35), were involved in the moments that won the Sri Lanka game. Younis and Misbah have also been involved in leading the fielding performances of the side which, though it faltered towards the end of Saturday’s game, has shown signs of improvement over the last few months and series.Senior players, including Umar Gul, got together before the World Cup and decided they would take the lead. “The seniors got together and decided that we have to make an extra effort with juniors,” Gul said. “Whatever is in the junior’s workload, we should also take that on so that we can be role models roles for them. That is our target, that we should take the load and fulfill as much responsibility as we can ourselves.”Pakistan’s second win puts them in a good position to not only qualify for the quarter-finals but also to be in a good position in the group, as two of their four remaining games are against Canada and Zimbabwe, which they would expect to win comfortably.”It is getting easier now because by winning every match we make it easier to get to the quarter-finals,” Younis said. “We want to keep playing like this and win every match. We all know that it’s a big tournament, so senior or junior, the goal is that we give our best and contribute to every game.”Pakistan’s win has put them on the radar as far as serious contenders in the tournament are concerned. Shahid Afridi has already said he wants, at the least, a semi-final berth, but Younis was more cautious about where he saw Pakistan reaching. “I have said this before, right now these are round matches. In knockouts, if it is your day, if someone bats well or bowls well or has a lucky day, then the match turns. First we want to reach the quarter-finals.”

Trinidad & Tobago Red Steel captain Dwayne Bravo placed faith in Delorn Johnson, who had bowled only one over till then, to defend 19 off the final six balls in a rain-curtailed match, and it paid off as they beat Antigua Hawksbills by one run to record their second win in five matches in the Caribbean Premier League.Johnson, the left-arm seamer, was given the ball ahead of fast bowler Fidel Edwards and Bravo himself, the latter having picked up two wickets as well.”I think it was a tactical judgment on my behalf to let the slower bowler, the one with more variations, bowl the last over,” Bravo said. “In our last two games he [Johnson] was our best bowler and he has a lot of variations and different balls in terms of slower ball, short balls, he can bowl full, wide and yorkers and then Edwards bowls fast-paced yorkers, so with an Australian [Ben Rohrer] at the wicket, I believed he would have been more comfortable facing Edwards in terms of using his pace.”Johnson Charles’ rapid 46 off 28 balls, with four fours and four sixes allowed Rohrer, who had been at the crease since the sixth over, to settle and his 28 off 23 balls ensured Antigua were always in with a chance. He hoisted Sulieman Benn for a straight six in the 13th over and sent Kevon Cooper to the point boundary in the next to reduce the equation to 19 off the last over – the 15th, which began with Sheldon Cotterrell slamming Johnson straight over his head.”When the first ball went for six, I did not panic,” Bravo said. “Two balls and eight runs, I told him that this ball, the fifth ball was the most important ball. I asked him to bowl a wide yorker which he did and hence the reason why I had so much faith in him because he has so many variations and I trust that under pressure situations, he can deliver.”Bravo was confident the win was the beginning of a turnaround for his side, with his batsmen also beginning to find form. Bravo had top-scored with a 25-ball 46, which included four sixes, while his brother Darren and opener Adrian Barath had identical scores of 38. Despite the victory, T&T have to win both their remaining matches, against St Lucia Zouks and Jamaica Tallawahs, to qualify for the semi-finals.”Our last two games were pressure games and it was like finals for us and for the guy to come out and perform after three losses it shows that the team has a lot of character and fight and that the guys are hungry for success,” Bravo said.

With no one currently heading the IPL, an influential section of the BCCI is likely to propose a special committee, to be led by interim president Jagmohan Dalmiya, to look into and review the daily affairs of the league. After Rajiv Shukla resigned as chairman of the IPL, no replacement was appointed as the BCCI was busy sorting out the mess created by the alleged corruption scandals. The proposal is likely to come up for discussion at the BCCI working committee meeting to be held in Kolkata on Sunday.Although the IPL governing council, a BCCI sub-committee, still remains the body to look after the league, some board members feel there is room to accommodate a separate committee that could review the IPL. It is understood that Dalmiya has consulted Arun Jaitley, one of the the BCCI vice-presidents, on the matter and has got the nod. It is also learned that Dalmiya has spoken to a few former Indian cricketers, seeking their opinion about how best to run the IPL.Immediately after he took over as the interim BCCI president, Dalmiya had initiated “operation clean up” for the IPL, wherein he announced proposals to enforce a “stricter code of conduct” for players and match officials, as well as putting an end to the “sleaze” element in the form of entertainment and after-hours parties.Dalmiya took charge on June 2 after N Srinivasan “temporarily” stepped aside pending inquiry into allegations of corruption and spot-fixing during the sixth season of the IPL. Dalmiya recently attended the ICC annual conference as the Indian representative, even though Srinivasan participated in influential meetings such finance and commercial affairs via video conference.It is understood that Srinivasan will not attend Sunday’s meeting, which is also likely to discuss the tour itineraries for India’s tour of South Africa, and their scheduled visit to New Zealand early next year.It is also learned that the working committee will not discuss the findings of the two probe panels investigating the corruption scandals of IPL 2013. Ravi Sawani, the BCCI’s anti-corruption head, has not yet concluded his probe into the alleged spot-fixing by three Rajasthan Royals players. Although Sawani has finished speaking to Sreesanth and Ankeet Chavan, he has yet to meet Ajit Chandila, who is still in judicial custody.The inquiry commission appointed by the BCCI, made up of two retired judges, has not yet finished its work. The commission was appointed to investigate charges against Gurunath Meiyappan and Raj Kundra, respectively part of Chennai Super Kings and Royals, who according to Mumbai and Delhi Police, had admitted to betting during IPL matches.

Andy Flower has praised the “resolve and resilience” of his team after England’s narrow victory in the first Investec Ashes Test at Trent Bridge.Flower, the England team director, also defended the DRS despite some controversial dismissals during the Test and expressed the belief that such an entertaining start to the series would prove beneficial to the game as a whole.”It was a sensational game,” Flower said. “I’m very proud of our team, obviously, for the resolve and the resilience they showed. They held their nerves under pressure. It was a tense game for five days. It’s obviously great to come out on top and we can go to Lord’s with real confidence. But I must say both teams provided an outstanding game of Test match cricket.”We’re in the business of winning, so to win is outstanding. They can take a lot of confidence from the way they held themselves, especially as our lead was whittled away. They were good in breaks, they were good in the middle.”Alastair Cook led them well; he showed his strength and calmness as a captain again, not to mention his catching ability. Jimmy Anderson, particularly, with the ball showed again his skill and class. I must also make mention of Ian Bell’s innings. He obviously showed real skill, but also, I think more importantly, a real determination and courage out there in the middle to bat like he did.”It’s not only meaningful for the players. We had full crowds here every day and I’m sure they’ll be like that through the rest of the series. For those people to create such a great atmosphere for the competitors to play in, but also for everyone on TV and radio hearing what was an amazing game of cricket and a special atmosphere, it’s really great for the game of cricket that we have games of this type.”While there were some issues with umpiring decisions during the game – Flower approached the match referee, Ranjan Madugalle, for clarification of ICC protocols after Aleem Dar’s not out decision for an leg before appeal against Jonathan Trott was overruled by the TV umpire, Marais Erasmus, despite a user error denying him use of the side-on Hot Spot image – Flower defended the system and insisted it helped the officials “get more decisions right than wrong.””I think that using the review system is the correct way for international cricket to go, because we get more decisions right using it,” Flower said. “I think that’s very simple and very clear. The protocol for making those decisions must be adhered to. Of course, we will never get everything right but at least using the system we get more decisions right than wrong.”Flower also defended Stuart Broad, who chose not to walk despite a thick edge that the umpire Aleem Dar did not see. “Stuart Broad, like every other batsman in international cricket, has the right to wait for the umpire to make his decision,” Flower said. “The umpire’s job is to make those decisions.”Accepting that the first Test would have drained the players of both sides, Flower expressed his confidence in the “fitness” and “resilience” of his players and his belief that those qualities would serve them well with the scheduling of back-to-back Tests allowing them little time to rest and recover from their exertions.”It was a Test match full of tension, but it was great fun to be involved in as well. I think the players from both sides will reflect on a sensational match to have been involved in, but yes, it will have taken something out of all the players involved. That’s why our guys work so hard on their fitness and they are mentally resilient – they have shown that. Over a number of our Test match campaigns, they have come out on top because of that resilience and I expect them to show that resilience at Lord’s in the second Test.”What I must say is we never for a moment thought that this match or the series would be a walkover. I know we hear the odd thing in the media predicting some funny results, but we always knew this would be a tough battle. This is a really good example of a tough battle and I’m sure it will be a tough fight for the remainder of the series.”