All posts by csb10.top

Two of Australia’s fringe Test bowlers are fighting to get into a pace attack that now looks settled following the troubles in India. Peter Siddle and Doug Bollinger were both in the squad for that tour but have not been given any more opportunities to play.Siddle, who took four wickets on debut in Mohali, was in the 12 for Adelaide before being squeezed out by Shane Watson’s return for the opening Test against South Africa in Perth on Wednesday. But Bollinger, who was also part of the Caribbean visit earlier in the year, has been stuck operating for New South Wales.The openings for both players have become more limited following Australia’s 2-0 win over New Zealand. “The trip to India was good, being around the side for the first two Tests was good,” Siddle said in the Herald Sun. “But I’ve really just got to keep pressing hard, keep performing for Victoria and if the opportunity is there I’ll be ready to go.”Siddle wants more bowling after a quiet start to the season and his next engagement is a Pura Cup game for the Bushrangers against Western Australia in Melbourne on Monday. “Obviously I wish I was still over in Perth with the Australian side for the Test, but I get to play some cricket here with Victoria, which I haven’t played for a while,” he said. “Hopefully I can press my claims some more and see how I go for Melbourne or Sydney.”In India Siddle sneaked into the team ahead of Bollinger. “It would be good to mope around and be a sore loser but you can’t do that,” Bollinger said in the Sydney Morning Herald. “You’ve just got to get on with it and, hopefully, my time will come. I am not thinking about too many things in front of me, that is when I will start to slip.”Bollinger has seven wickets in two first-class games this season and five one-day victims in three matches. He knows what has to happen for a promotion. “All I can do is keep doing what I’m doing, taking wickets,” he said.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Anil Kumble’s 18-year Test career ended without the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in his hands but India still have a strong chance to claim the prize in Nagpur after batting out a draw at the Feroz Shah Kotla. Kumble did get a chance to bowl one final time following his surprise declaration half an hour after tea and there was a tear in his eye as he embarked on his final over.He took the new ball, although he couldn’t add to his 619 Test wickets and his last ball in 132 Tests was a full toss that was driven straight down the ground for four by Matthew Hayden. A better way to remember Kumble might be his final Test wicket; he had closed Australia’s first innings with a running catch off his own bowling that demonstrated his courage as he had 11 stitches in his left hand.The handshakes and pats on the back Kumble received as he left the field for the final time meant an emotional end to a day that had looked as predictable as a Mills and Boon novel after Australia struggled to spark the collapse they needed in the first few hours. They picked up two wickets in the first session and one in the third but India’s resolute middle order, led by VVS Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar, had little trouble on a pitch that had less life than John McCain’s presidential campaign.Laxman added an unbeaten 59 to his first-innings double-century, Tendulkar made a useful 47 and Sourav Ganguly threw in a couple of lusty blows towards the end as the game fizzled out of reach of both teams. Not for the first time this series Australia looked incapable of claiming the 20 wickets typically needed to win a Test – they snared only 12 in this game – but on this occasion the benign surface was more responsible than their bowlers.The day had started with Australia searching for eight wickets, preferably in a hurry, to give themselves a realistic run-chase. India were happy to play for time and, despite losing Gautam Gambhir and Rahul Dravid before lunch, never did they appear in serious danger.In what was effectively a short encore of his unbeaten 200, Laxman flicked deliveries through leg and crunched Michael Clarke’s spin through the off-side for simple but well-executed boundaries. He brought up his half-century with just such a stroke – a four driven through cover when Clarke sent down a full toss.

He combined with Tendulkar for a 52-run partnership that ate up nearly 21 overs and was, by their exquisite standards, remarkably sedate. But that was exactly what India needed and by the time Cameron White picked up Tendulkar for the second time in the series, with an edge to slip from a genuine legbreak, the pair had dead-batted the life out of the match.Tendulkar did provide some enjoyable moments for the Delhi crowd; a couple of excellent back-foot drives for four off Brett Lee early in his innings brought loud cheers. But he eased into an unhurried and cautious mindset once he lost his initial partner Gambhir, who was unfortunate to be judged lbw for 36 to a Johnson inswinger that would have missed leg stump.Unlike Tendulkar and later Laxman, Gambhir seemed to forget entirely about scoring and in an hour and a half he added only 15 to his overnight total. He was clearly keen to build a wall of his own after India’s usual brick barrier, Dravid, played on to a fast Lee inswinger for 11. The two strikes gave Australia a glimmer of hope but the pitch refused to crumble and so did India’s middle order.Despite the inevitable outcome, both teams will take positives to Nagpur. Australia’s top five each passed fifty and the bowlers showed genuine enthusiasm in unhelpful circumstances. India witnessed double-centuries from two class batsmen, although whether Gambhir will play in the final Test is still uncertain as he awaits the result of an appeal against his one-Test ban.In any case, India ensured that they will regain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy unless Australia pinch a series-ending victory. The strange thing is that if they do take possession of the trophy, it won’t be Kumble who first gets his hands on it.

If he is still alive – and this is a very big if – then CotaRamaswami, who was born on this day in 1896, will easily be,at 104, the oldest living Test cricketer. The doubt remainsbecause he has not been heard of or seen since he walked out ofhis house in Chennai one day in 1985, at the age of 89. A littleover a year before that, I had interviewed him for the sportsmagazine I then represented. He spoke fairly clearly, consideringhis age and except for a hearing aid did not seem to have anyhealth problems. He remembered quite a few things about hisplaying days and could recall a lot about when he was manager ofthe first Indian team to the West Indies in 1953 and when he wasa national selector in the late fifties. On occasions, he falteredwhile trying to remember a person or a particular detail of anevent and had to be prodded. But he was standing tall and erectas I took leave of him and there was certainly no indication ofany kind of problem which would force him to just walk out ofthe house not long after that interview took place.Since that day, some 15 years ago, there has been no word abouthim though his family members tried frantically to find him andsent out police search parties. The unexpected happening wascertainly unfortunate for Ramaswami was quite a character. Talland sturdily built, his appearance was almost magnetic, asbefitting the son of Buchi Babu Naidu, a pioneer of the gamein Madras in the early years of the 20th century. Of coursehis claim to fame on his own was as one of the few double internationals in sport. In the 1920s he had represented Indiain the Davis Cup while studying in England and in 1936 he wasselected to tour England with the Indian cricket team.In his autobiography, `Ramblings of a games addict’ Ramaswamiclaimed modestly that he was convinced he had been chosen `forreasons other than cricket’ as he had become `bulky and slow.’But his performance on the tour suggested otherwise. For not onlydid he score 737 runs (average 30.70) in first class matches healso topped the Test averages, ahead of contemporaries like CKNayudu, Vijay Merchant and Mushtaq Ali. He made his Test debut inthe second Test at Old Trafford at the age of 40 years, 37 years, making him the second oldest Indian cricketer to play in hisfirst Test. But he scored 40 and 60, knocks which helped Indiato draw the Test. This was of course the game in which Merchantand Mushtaq shared their famous first wicket stand of 203 runs.With two more valuable contributions of 29 and 41 not out in thefinal Test at the Oval, Ramaswami finished with 170 runs at theaverage of 56.66. That however remained the extent of his Testcareer but he remained a stalwart for Madras for many more years.In a first class career spanning 25 years, the left handedRamaswami made 2261 runs (28.26) at a time when opportunities werevery limited. A free stroking batsman with a particularlypowerful drive on both sides of the wicket, Ramaswami played forthe Hindus in the Bombay Quadrangular and Pentangular tournaments.In later years, Ramaswami maintained his association with the gameby managing the team to the West Indies in 1953. It proved to beone of the most popular sides to visit the Caribbean. In the late fifties, Ramaswami became a national selector but this tenure wasnot a very happy one and culminated in the fiasco of the 1958-59series against West Indies, when four captains led India in fiveTests and there was much bickering over the team selection and thepoor performance of the home side. He continued to be a popular cricketer in Madras cricket circles till well into his 80s and wasan engaging conversationalist. Since his death has never beenconfirmed, cricket annuals have for the last decade or sogenerally put against his details “missing since 1985, presumed dead.” But just in case he is alive…

Darren Gough has said he is in talks to join the Indian Premier League next year after finishing his first-class career with Yorkshire.Gough played his final Championship match against Somerset, at Scarborough, before sitting out the last round matches as Yorkshire battled to Division One safety. He had already hinted that he may yet return to the domestic Twenty20 tournament next season, and now a trip to India is looking likely.”The IPL would be a great buzz for me and I need cricket to be a buzz. It’s something I know I could do,” he told BBC Sport. “I would do the [full IPL programme of] six weeks, but realistically it might be a short-term deal as a replacement for someone else. Every single cricketer wants to play in the IPL and there’s not so many places available this year.”If Gough joins he will be just the second English player to take part in the IPL, following Dimitri Mascarenhas’ short stint with eventually champions Rajasthan Royals.However, Lalit Modi, the IPL commissioner, says he expects more England players during the second event which starts next April. “As for the influx of English players I am certain that the Indian Premier League will definitely see the likes of Flintoff and Pietersen playing next year,” he told the .While Gough won’t have an issue making time to take part in the IPL, current internationals like Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen will find it more of a squeeze. England’s one-day series against West Indies doesn’t finish until early April and a two-Test series against Sri Lanka is due to begin on May 7 at Lord’s.”As far as the IPL is concerned, we are continuing to negotiate,” Hugh Morris, the managing director of England cricket, said earlier this month. “We have drafted a document that we are taking forward, saying if players are allowed to go to unauthorised events, then on what conditions they are allowed.”

Kent 225 and 159 for 5 (Thorp 5-61) trail Durham 500 for 8 (Breese 121, Di Venuto 90, Mustard 83, Smith 81) by 253 runs
Scorecard

Durham require five wickets to defeat Kent on the final day at Canterbury – and, if Nottinghamshire fail to beat Hampshire, and assuming Somerset do not bring off an amazing victory over Lancashire, they will be first division champions. Years of frustration following them gaining first-class status in 1992 will culminate in the greatest domestic prize of all. Kent are 116 runs behind Durham, having lost their first five wickets to an inspired spell of quick and accurate fast bowling by Callum Thorp.He and Gareth Breese excelled in particular yesterday. Thorp, who took the five Kent wickets to fall, including their three best batsmen, bowled almost as quickly as Steve Harmison, no less. Earlier in the day, Breese, whose selection and success this season have come mainly in the one day game as opposed to first-class cricket, and whose character and aptitude are regarded highly in the north east, struck his first century of the summer.He and Phil Mustard added 148 in 42 overs, the highest partnership for Durham’s seventh wicket against Kent. Breese finished unbeaten with 121 including 13 fours and a six, batting highly competently against seam and spin alike. Mustard made 83 with 12 fours and a six. This, in addition to Thorp’s spell of 15 overs, was too much for a Kent side who looked with bat and ball as if their fate – relegation – was settled.Thorp, bowling from the Pavilion End on a pitch more conducive to batting than at any previous time in the match, had Rob Key caught for a duck at mid-off as he aimed to drive his the first ball he faced through midwicket. The highly regarded but out of form Joe Denly was held in Thorp’s follow through and Martin van Jaarsveld was caught at short cover from a checked drive. That was 17 for 3 and two further wickets were to fall before Justin Kemp and Ryan McLaren came together.The two South Africans resisted with considerably more gumption than their upper-order colleagues, although by then Thorp, whose figures were 5 for 61, was nearing the end of his spell and Harmison, too, was tiring. The change bowlers provided a more straightforward line of attack. McLaren drove soundly in striking nine fours in his 68-ball innings of 45.

Before they were joined in partnership, Geraint Jones was leg-before playing across a ball that kept low and, when Darren Stevens edged a ball to first slip that lifted and left him, Kent had slumped to 58 for 5. Kemp, who hit six fours and a six in his unbeaten 49, and McLaren put on an unbroken 101, and yet, given they are 116 runs in arrears, something extra will be required to prevent Durham winning by an innings.To compound matters, Key was fined £1250 by the ECB for his outburst at the Riverside over “muppets” earlier this season. He was a dejected captain by the close, head in hands on the pavilion balcony following his dismissal.

England 296 for 7 (Bell 73, Flintoff 78*) beat South Africa 170 (Amla 46, Patel 5-41) by 126 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out – England
How they were out – South Africa

Andrew Flintoff starred with bat and ball, Ian Bell played arguably the most fluent one-day innings of his career and Samit Patel capped a sparky allround performance with a maiden five-wicket haul, as England’s cricketers surged to an unassailable 3-0 series lead in Kevin Pietersen’s first series as captain. With two games to come at Lord’s and Cardiff, England could even climb to No. 2 in the world rankings if they maintain the same intensity that has left their South African opponents counting down the days until they can fly home to Johannesburg.It was another crushingly professional performance from England. On Tuesday they bowled South Africa out for 83 at Trent Bridge en route to a ten-wicket win, and though the margin today was less emphatic, their impact was identical. Bell and Matt Prior signalled England’s intent with a century stand in the first 15 overs of the innings, and though they did suffer a mid-innings wobble when four wickets fell for 38 in ten overs, Flintoff prevented any meltdown with a mature 78 not out from 77 balls.England’s total of 296 for 7 was arguably 20 runs short of their potential, but it never came close to being challenged. Without the drive and inspiration of Graeme Smith at the top of the order, South Africa were a flaky unit when their turn came to bat. Hashim Amla, playing in only his fourth ODI, top-scored with a battling 46, but the experienced pair of Herschelle Gibbs and Jacques Kallis mustered 21 runs between them, while AB de Villiers – the other remaining star of this one-day line-up – crassly ran himself out for 12 while taking on Steve Harmison’s tracer-like arm at fine-leg.At 82 for 4 in the 21st over, South Africa’s challenge was effectively over, but Patel ensured that there would be no unlikely revival. Operating from the Vauxhall End with a tidy line and good variation, he nibbled away at the lower-middle order and tempted a variety of indiscretions. Mark Boucher made room for a cut but was beaten by the arm ball, Albie Morkel slammed two vast sixes in three balls before chipping a low return catch from the very next delivery, and Patel then corralled the tail with the minimum of fuss – tossing the ball up temptingly, he claimed the last three wickets for four runs in 13 balls, to become the first England spinner to take five wickets in a one-day innings since Ashley Giles in Delhi in 2001-02.The excellence of England’s team performances in the first two games had forced Patel to wait for his opportunity to take centre stage, but once it was given to him he did not disappoint. In addition to his wickets, he might have dismissed Gibbs with a squeakingly tight direct-hit shy that was turned down on referral, and he also sprinted 30-yards from mid-on to complete a cool catch over his shoulder as Kallis top-edged a pull off Flintoff. But arguably Patel’s most crucial role of the day came with the bat, when he entered the fray for the first time, with England in a spot of bother on 182 for 5. Unperturbed, he pulled Morkel firmly through midwicket to register his first boundary in international cricket, and then spanked Makhaya Ntini gloriously on the up and through the covers, en route to 31 from 33 balls in a vital stand of 74 with Flintoff.Flintoff’s innings was cool, collected and undeniably brave. On 39, he was struck a fearsome blow over the right eye by Morkel, a blow that required treatment on the field as well as a spell in the dressing-room at the start of the South African innings. But he batted well within himself, grinding his way through the gears to finish unbeaten on 78 for the second innings in a row – his first back-to-back ODI fifties since 2004. When he went for his shots they came off handsomely, in particular a blasted six off Steyn that was dropped in the crowd at long-on, but he was equally happy to time the ball to the boundary, never better exemplified by a back-foot steer past point in the same Steyn over.If one man epitomised South Africa’s lack of belief it was Ntini, who endured a nightmarish day in the field. In his second over he lost his run-up completely, serving up consecutive no-balls – one of which was top-edged for four – before following up with an awful wide, delivered from level with the stumps. With the free hit carried over for a third delivery in a row, Prior opened his shoulders to clobber a length ball over long-on for six. Steyn was scarcely any more economical, drifting onto the pads with alarming regularity as Bell clipped him exquisitely through the leg side for three fours in two overs, as he hurtled to his half-century from 36 balls – his first ODI fifty at better than a run-a-ball.Kallis, in a continuation of his peculiar form on this tour, once again proved to be South Africa’s star with the ball. He didn’t bring himself on until the 26th over, but then struck with his very first delivery as Owais Shah was beaten by a big offcutter and bowled off the inside-edge. He added a crucial second one over later when Kevin Pietersen hopped across his stumps to be pinned lbw for 5, and, with Bell already gone for 73, Paul Collingwood then became Johan Botha’s second victim when he looped a leg-side catch off his pad and into the hands of Mark Boucher for 14.That mini-collapse, however, was as troublesome as England’s day would get. From Bell’s early blitz to Patel’s perfect denouement, everything else they attempted came off with spectacular success. As they shuffled off the field to the safety of the dressing-room, South Africa’s defeated cricketers were left to wonder how they will ever get the better of the former countryman who is now captaining their opponents with such aplomb.

Adam Gilchrist is leading a player push for Twenty20 to be included in the 2020 Olympics, believing it is an essential step in securing the game’s global future. With the start of the Beijing event less than a week away, Gilchrist says the cricket “pipedream” is a “potential reality” following the success of the new format and the Indian Premier League.”It doesn’t matter where the 2020 Olympic Games are held, but many of us who’ve experienced international Twenty20 cricket and the IPL are convinced that cricket should bid to become an Olympic sport in time for the Games,” Gilchrist wrote in the Deccan Chronicle. Cricket was part of the 1900 Olympics before being cut, but last year it gained “recognition status” from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for two years.”We have a responsibility to grow our game in new territories and amongst the women of the world,” Gilchrist wrote. “I believe the Olympic Games is the vehicle the sport should use to aggressively sell the message of our sport to all 202 competing Olympic nations, so our sport is strong and robust in countries where it is currently played, and exciting and ground-breaking in countries who haven’t yet caught the ‘cricket-bug’.”To receive “programme status” at the 2020 Olympics, cricket would need to be approved by the IOC at a meeting seven years before the event. Twenty-six sports are part of the Beijing schedule and there are currently two vacancies for future Games. Golf, karate, baseball, softball, rugby sevens and roller sports are among the disciplines currently competing for the right to be involved in 2016.Gilchrist believes it is time to start serious lobbying. “Between 2009 and 2013 cricket would promote itself to the IOC as a prospective sport and, if we get it right, cricket will be invited to the Olympic party in 2020,” he said.Each Full Member cricket board has been asked by the ICC to have two national men and women players complete Olympic questionnaires. The responses in Australia have been favourable and Gilchrist, a key performer in the IPL, has also sounded out excited colleagues from Australia, South Africa and England.Gilchrist experienced the surge of interest in Twenty20 during his time with the Deccan Chargers earlier this year and is convinced the IPL revolution has “changed cricket forever”. Now he wants the BCCI’s officials to work with the ICC to help take it to the Olympics.”They would be investing in the future of the sport because by having a men’s and women’s competition at the Olympic Games many more countries would be drawn to cricket,” he said. “It wouldn’t surprise me if countries like the USA, China, Italy, France and Japan become competitive very quickly in Twenty20, especially in women’s Twenty20. I believe that in time the success of cricket at the Olympic Games will lead to more Test-playing nations, something that the sport will need in the coming century.”Gilchrist feels the aim is realistic. “The Olympic movement knows it needs to increase its presence in the Asian subcontinent as India, Pakistan and Bangladesh contribute nearly 22% of the world’s population. In theory, this is a win-win for the Olympic movement and the ICC and its members.”India collected only a silver medal in Athens in 2004 while Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh failed to finish in the top three of any event. Cricket would dramatically increase each of the nations’ chances of reaching the podium while lifting interest in the subcontinent.Next year’s Twenty20 World Championship in England will be held over 16 days, one day shorter than the Olympic programme. Supporters of cricket’s push believe the length of the tournament – and its high-energy matches – is another valid reason for its inclusion.

JP Duminy could get a chance to make his Test debut if Neil McKenzie doesn’t recover from his groin strain in time for the start of the second Test against England in Headingley on Friday.Mickey Arthur, the South African coach, said McKenzie’s injury was not serious but the short three-day gap between the first and second Tests meant there wasn’t enough time to recover. “I think it was prodding forward to Monty [Panesar] for nine hours that did it,” Arthur said.”I’m optimistic – I think he’ll play. He had some ultrasound this morning and is going to do some strength and muscle activation this afternoon. He’ll bat on Thursday and will do some training again tomorrow afternoon – and we’ll put him through a fitness test on Friday morning.”However Arthur confirmed that if McKenzie didn’t play, Duminy would open the innings with Graeme Smith and AB de Villiers would remain at No. 6. “Anything else would be two swaps for one, and I don’t want to make two changes for one position. It will just be a straight swap.”McKenzie’s absence could be a great blow to South Africa who are looking to gain a series lead after drawing the Lord’s Test. Since his return to the South African Test side this year, McKenzie has averaged 79 from seven Tests, scoring two hundreds and a double-century. His opening partnership with Smith in those Tests gave their side a solid platform to build on – the two averaged 99.27 from 11 innings, with three hundred-run partnerships and four half-century stands.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball commentary
How they were out