All posts by n8rngtd.top

Pakistan have left out experienced allrounder and former captain Shoaib Malik from the list of 30 probables for the 2011 World Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Jan-2011Pakistan have left out experienced allrounder and former captain Shoaib Malik from the list of 30 probables for the 2011 World Cup. Malik had been under the scanner of the PCB’s integrity committee and ultimately appears to have failed to gain clearance for selection. Wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal, over whom there has been as much speculation, has, however, been selected.The pair, alongside legspinner Danish Kaneria, have been frozen out of recent Pakistan squads. The trio have not participated for Pakistan in any format since the summer tour to England; Kaneria was part of the Test squad for the South Africa series in the UAE but was prevented from travelling by the board at the very last minute. Though not an ODI regular, he also doesn’t find a place in the 30.The PCB hasn’t said so publicly but the trio have been under suspicion in the aftermath of the spot-fixing scandal that has rocked Pakistan’s cricket. Akmal was the subject of an ACSU notice earlier this year but has since asked for and received a written clearance from the ICC. Kaneria’s name featured in a separate spot-fixing scandal at Essex county. Malik has not been linked with any specific incident though he features regularly in the fevered speculation and gossip of Pakistan’s cricket structure.As a result, over the last few weeks the players have appeared three times before the PCB’s integrity committee and handed in various financial documents and statements. They last appeared before the committee last Thursday. The lack of clarity over Akmal and Malik in particular had forced the PCB to ask the ICC for more time in naming their probables. The world body extended the deadline for Pakistan from December 19 to January 5.Elsewhere there is little genuine surprise. Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir, provisionally suspended for their alleged role in the Lord’s spot-fixing scandal, were never in the running for the squad. Mohammad Yousuf, the veteran batsman recently discarded from Pakistan’s Test side, is in the running for a middle-order spot. There will be quibbling over the axing of Fawad Alam, who averages nearly 38 in the limited opportunities he gets, but at least one member of the selection committee has been against his inclusion as a matter of policy. Nasir Jamshed, the left-handed opener, is also included, in place of Imran Farhat.”We are satisfied that we have selected the best squad from amongst the available players,” chief selector Mohsin Khan said. “There is a lot of speculation in the media regarding clearance or otherwise of players by integrity committee of PCB. The integrity committee has given its views on some players to the selection committee which has taken into consideration that input and has selected the 30 players for the World Cup.”The ODI squad for the series against New Zealand will be announced next week.Squad: Mohammad Hafeez, Ahmed Shehzad, Taufiq Umar, Nasir Jamshed, Mohammad Yousuf, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq, Umar Akmal, Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Naveed Yasin, Kamran Akmal, Sarfraz Ahmed, Salman Ahmed, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Yasir Arafat, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, Abdul Rehman, Saeed Ajmal, Yasir Shah, Zulfiqar Babar, Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz, Sohail Tanveer, Tanvir Ahmed, Junaid Khan, Aizaz Cheema, Asad Ali

A round-up of the action from the fourth day of matches in the 2010-11 Vijay Hazare Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Feb-2011West ZoneAn allround performance from Rohit Sharma gave Mumbai a narrow two-wicket win over Saurashtra at the Reliance Stadium in Vadodara, and extended their lead at the top of the West Zone points table. Sharma took 4 middle-order wickets for 28 runs, including the key wicket of Ravindra Jadeja, who top scored with 53, as Saurashtra were bowled out for 205 after opting to bat first. Sharma followed up his effort with the ball by making an unbeaten 96 to shepherd Mumbai to their target with six balls to spare. Mumbai were in danger of losing the game after they collapsed to 45 for 5, but Sharma found valuable allies down the order in Siddharth Chitnis, who made a run-a-ball 53, and Dhawal Kulkarni, who made 23, to see his team home.Baroda got their Vijay Hazare campaign up and running with their first victory, a four-wicket win over Gujarat, at the Alembic ground in Vadodara. Gujarat lost opener Avi Barot early, but Parthiv Patel and Bhavik Thaker kept the scoreboard ticking with a 62-run partnership before Patel was run-out for 46. Thaker was bowled shortly after by Swapnil Singh for 54, and none of the other Gujarat batsmen were able to make more than 30, as Gujarat were bowled out for 232. Opener Jaykishan Kolsawala was the foundation on which Baroda’s successful run-chase was built. He made 93 from 100 balls, with nine fours and two sixes, and though no one else went past 30, it was enough to take Baroda to their target with 7 balls to spareSouth ZoneGoa earned their first win of the tournament, beating Kerala by four wickets at the Fort Maidan in Palakkad. Kerala’s total of 222 was built around half-centuries from Robert Fernandez, who made 88, and VA Jagadeesh, who made 51. The pair put on 95 for the second wicket but received little support from the rest of the line-up, with the last 9 wickets falling for 102 runs. Harshad Gadekar was the pick of the bowlers, with 3 for 26. Goa made a solid start to their chase, with Swapnil Asnodkar and Rohit Asnodkar making 60 and 58 respectively, and Shadab Jakati finished the job with a rapid fire from 35 from 26 balls.A century from Robin Uthappa helped Karnataka complete a six-wicket win over Andhra at the Perintalmanna Cricket Stadium in Malappuram. Andhra posted a total of 293 on the back of 75 from Venugopal Rao and 64 from AG Pradeep, who added 135 for the third wicket. Karnataka lost Ganesh Satish for 2, but Uthappa went after the bowling, making 103 from 70 balls, with 11 fours and five sixes. He was supported by Sunil Raju, who made 73 and Manish Pandey, who made 50, as Karnataka cantered home.Central ZoneMadhya Pradesh cantered to a 105-run win over Railways at Green Park in Kanpur. Naman Ojha and Mohnish Mishra laid the platform for MP’s score of 245 with a 123-run partnership for the second wicket, with Ojha top scoring with 85 and Mishra making 66. Railways were never in the game, quickly slipping to 45 for 4, and then 66 for 6, as they struggled against the MP bowlers. The tail provided some resistance but it was never going to be enough, and they were bundled out for 140. Ankit Sharma finished with 3 for 29 and TP Sudhindra 2 for 16.Uttar Pradesh handed Rajasthan their third straight defeat in the tournament at the Kamla Club Sports Ground in Kanpur. Having chosen to bat, Rajasthan opener Dishant Yagnik made a patient 101, and Vaibhav Deshpande chipped in with 53, but no one else made more than 16, as they finished with 222 for 8. Tanmay Srivastava (89) and Parvinder Singh (84) then made sure of the game, adding 174 for the second wicket, as UP coasted home in less than 40 overs.

Damien Wright, the Victoria fast bowler, has announced his retirement from Australian first-class cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Mar-2011Damien Wright, the Victoria fast bowler, has announced his retirement from Australian first-class cricket. Wright was part of the Australian first-class circuit for 15 years since his debut for Tasmania in 1997-98. He’s been part of three of the last four Sheffield Shield-winning teams, for Tasmania in 2006-07 and twice for Victoria, where he moved to in 2008-09. He joined Worcestershire in January this year and will be part of their domestic season starting April.”I guess I wanted to go out on my own terms whilst feeling satisfied and happy,” said Wright, who picked up 375 wickets in 116 first-class games. Victoria’s final Sheffield Shield game of the season, against Queensland, was also his last. “When our match against Queensland finished, I realised it was my time and the right moment for me to go out. I’ve been really lucky to be a part of several titles and achieve what I have during my career; it’s been an amazing journey and a ride I’ve really enjoyed.”Wright said he was grateful to Greg Shipperd, his coach at Tasmania and Victoria, for his mentoring. “I’ve been very lucky to have Shippy as a coach throughout my career in both Tasmania and now in Victoria,” Wright said. “He’s provided me with many opportunities, he started my first-class career off and now ironically I’ll finish it under him. I’m extremely fortunate to have him as a mentor – he is someone who has played a huge role in my career and I thank him for that.”Apart from his skills as a pace bowler, Wright was also an effective batsman in the lower order. He averaged 24.08 with the bat and among his all-round highlights was his performance for Tasmania in their Sheffield Shield win in 2006-7, where he claimed eight wickets and contributed 67 and 47 with the bat in the final. In 2009-10, he overcame injury after missing Victoria’s first five games to play a significant role with the ball in his team’s eventual success.He’s also Victoria’s bowling coach and hopes to continue that role.

Angelo Mathews, the Sri Lanka allrounder, will miss the upcoming IPL as he will be out of action for eight weeks due to the injury that also caused him to miss the World Cup final against India

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Apr-2011Angelo Mathews, the Sri Lanka allrounder, will miss the upcoming IPL because of the leg injury that also caused him to miss the World Cup final against India in Mumbai. He is expected to be out of action for eight weeks. Mathews has a $950,000 contract with Pune Warriors, having played for Kolkata Knight Riders in previous seasons of the IPL.”I have pulled a muscle,” Mathews said in Colombo after the Sri Lankan team returned from India. “I am finding it difficult to walk, it will take about eight weeks to heal.”Mathews left the field during the semi-final against New Zealand with a minor quadriceps muscle injury, and his movement was hampered when he came out to bat with a runner. He played a crucial role in Sri Lanka’s campaign, as back-up seamer and middle-order batsman, and Sri Lanka missed his all-round skills in the final, which they lost by six wickets. His place in the squad was taken by offspinner Suraj Randiv.Mathews will now aim to be fit in time for Sri Lanka’s tour of England from May to July, which includes three Tests and five one-day games.

Bangladesh officials have assured the West Indies team ‘state-level’ security during their World Cup quarter-final clash against Pakistan in Mirpur on March 23

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Mar-2011Bangladesh officials have assured the West Indies team ‘state-level’ security during their World Cup quarter-final clash against Pakistan in Mirpur on March 23. The extra precaution is an effort to avoid a repeat of the embarrassing incident on March 4, when angry locals pelted stones at the West Indies team bus following their thumping win against the home side at the same venue.”The West Indies are our valued guests and we will ensure the highest state-level security to them,” Dhaka police commissioner Benazir Ahmed told AFP. “They can be assured of fool-proof security. It’s a state-level commitment. We shall make sure that there is no crowd along the key parts of the road to the stadium.”Ahmed said the same security arrangement was provided to the South African team when they took on Bangladesh at the Shere Bangla Stadium on Saturday. Bangladesh slumped to another huge defeat in that game, bringing an end to their World Cup campaign ahead of the knockouts. This time, however, there was no angry reaction from the fans.Bangladesh’s early exit could have an impact on the attendance at the Shere Bangla Stadium, which will also host the quarter-final clash between New Zealand and South Africa on March 25.

Sri Lanka Cricket have confirmed the dates for the first edition of the Sri Lanka Premier League will be from July 19 to August 4, 2011

ESPNcricinfo staff12-May-2011Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) have confirmed the dates for the first edition of the Sri Lanka Premier League will be from July 19 to August 4, 2011. The seven provinces will play 24 matches over the 18 days, all of which will be telecast live globally. That suggests a format in which all the teams will play each other once in a league stage, before two semi-finals and a final.Each team will only be allowed five overseas players in their squad, of which only four can be named in the XI. Several foreign players including Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Shahid Afridi and Herschelle Gibbs have already been signed for the tournament.SLC also unveiled the team names for the provinces. The seven teams will be: Basnahira Bears, Kandurata Kites, Nagenahira Nagas, Ruhuna Rhinos, Uthura Oryxes, Uva Unicorns and Wayamba Wolves. The board plans to add two more provinces to the tournament within three years.

Pakistan’s captain, Misbah-ul-Haq, is not getting ahead of himself despite his side’s powerful position in the second Test against West Indies

ESPNcricinfo staff24-May-2011Pakistan’s captain, Misbah-ul-Haq, is not getting ahead of himself despite his side’s powerful position in the second Test against West Indies. Pakistan need only five more wickets to beat West Indies and level the series 1-1, while the hosts require 297 runs for an unlikely victory, or to bat all day to salvage a draw.”Until the time you’ve taken the last wicket, the match is still not finished,” Misbah said after stumps on the fourth day in St Kitts. “It’s a game of cricket and you have to finish the game otherwise it’s really half the job done.”Pakistan had Misbah to thank for giving them an excellent chance at victory, after he and Taufeeq Umar both made centuries in the second innings. It was Misbah’s third Test hundred and he was unbeaten on 102 when he declared with a lead of 426, a fine effort for a 36-year-old in his sixth Test as captain.”It’s really, really good to have a hundred, especially when you are captain,” Misbah said. “For your own confidence and for the sake of the team, it’s really important that the captain chips in and perform at all stages in the game.”West Indies made a poor start to their chase, with two of the top four out for ducks, and by stumps they were 130 for 5 and relying heavily on the vice-captain Brendan Nash (30 not out) to salvage something on the final day. Abdur Rehman caused the biggest problems with three wickets, all of which came soon after the tea break and shattered West Indies’ hopes of ending the day in a reasonable position.”At tea, my coach [Waqar Younis] and my captain came to me and said, ‘Go back there and go back to your normal bowling,” Rehman said. “Don’t give them flight, just tight, tight, contain and you’ll get the wickets’.”To rescue West Indies, Nash will need not only a major innings himself but also help from the lower order, including Carlton Baugh (7 not out) and the next man in, the captain Darren Sammy. West Indies won the first Test in the two-match series.

The ICC will look for sponsors for the DRS to overcome the financial hurdles that less wealthy cricket boards will face in implementing the cost-intensive referral system

Sharda Ugra in Hong Kong30-Jun-2011The ICC will look for sponsors for the DRS to overcome the financial hurdles that less wealthy cricket boards will face in implementing the cost-intensive referral system now mandatory in international cricket.”There is the possibility that we could raise a sponsor to cover the cost of the DRS,” ICC CEO, Haroon Lorgat, told ESPNcricinfo. The chief executives’ committee agreed on Monday to make a modified version of DRS mandatory in all internationals, with the use of the ball-tracking technology made optional, and Lorgat said he could see a situation “where we may well cover all costs of the technology”.The cost of the DRS is currently estimated at $5000 per day, with broadcasters, technology providers and home boards in a constant debate about who should bear the cost.The minimum requirements for the tweaked DRS are the expensive infra-red cameras and the audio tracking devices, and Lorgat said the resulting uniformity – which doesn’t exist in ball-tracking technology – was adequate to seek commercial support for the system. “It is still sufficient to be able to commercialise it and find a sponsor that would be interested.”The uneven acceptance of the DRS in the past, with the BCCI resisting its implementation in bilateral series involving India, had made financial backing for the system difficult, Lorgat said. “You cannot sell a product if there’s uncertainty around its use and that was a stumbling block in the past.”Lorgat said he did not believe that the new ruling, which omitted the ball-tracker technology from the list of mandatory requirements, would make the system inconsistent. The ICC, he said, had worked its way through a process that had begun with differences over an aspect of the review system and was keen to address the concerns of its doubters, in this case the BCCI. “It is incumbent on all of us who are trying to implement (it) and trying to find agreement to work towards getting there … if that means we have to convince certain people who are unconvinced about the accuracy and the reliability of the ball-tracking technology, that’s what we have agreed to do. But where we have got absolute agreement, we’ve all agreed to install that.”The question of using only one part of the ball-tracker technology, like the pitch mat to check where the ball had landed, was not raised, Lorgat said, “There wasn’t complete satisfaction with the use of the ball-tracking technology and we’ve just left that out.”The use of the ball-tracker based on bilateral agreements between boards, Lorgat said, would let those who believed in its veracity use the system. Over the next few months, he said the ICC would carry out an independent assessment to provide the back-up of the ball tracker’s accuracy and reliability. “I think we must just be patient for the next few months until we’ve done that exercise and hopefully we come to a point where everybody is satisfied with its accuracy.”The assessment, he said, would be thorough, because “if there are people who are happy or unhappy about the technology, we have got to disprove that and so I’m not keen to take (only) elements of it (the ball tracker) before we come up with a scientific evaluation.” He said there was no time-frame for this assessment of the ball tracker.

Ed Joyce’s 89-ball century kept Sussex on course for a Clydesdale Bank 40
semi-final spot with an eight-wicket win against Group A strugglers
Worcestershire at New Road

24-Jul-2011
Scorecard
Ed Joyce’s 89-ball century kept Sussex on course for a Clydesdale Bank 40
semi-final spot with an eight-wicket win against Group A strugglers
Worcestershire at New Road.A two-month break since their last match in the competition proved to be no
handicap as Sussex chalked up a fifth straight victory to edge past Middlesex at
the top of the section.Although Worcestershire’s total of 217 for 7 was the best in three 40-over
matches on the ground this season, it proved hopelessly inadequate when Ed Joyce
and Chris Nash responded in a stand of 153. Nash was dropped at mid-on off Jack Shantry before he had reached double figures and the Royals were made to pay a high price as they slumped to a comprehensive defeat, their fifth in six completed CB40 games this summer.Sussex’s openers reached their fifties at better than a run a ball and it was
almost a surprise when Nash got himself out for 61, failing to clear mid-on off
Daryl Mitchell.The next over brought another wicket with Lou Vincent bowled by Saeed Ajmal
after taking two boundaries from the first three balls he faced, but Joyce
carried on much as he pleased with 10 fours and a six in a clinical exhibition.Murray Goodwin chipped in with an unbeaten 39 before a spanking off-drive took
Joyce to 101 not out and won the match with more than 10 overs to spare. Worcestershire also benefited from a good start as Vikram Solanki (51) and Jack Manuel, with a competition-best 48 from 44 balls, put on 97 for the second wicket, but Sussex were able to apply the brakes thanks to their trio of slow bowlers.Monty Panesar, Chris Nash and Michael Yardy shared four wickets in bowling 22
overs for 102 runs. Until then Worcestershire had scored freely against the seamers after losing
Moeen Ali to Naved Arif in the third over of the innings.Rana Naved-ul-Hasan felt the pressure in conceding 16 runs in an over and then
reacted with some petulance when umpire Jeff Evans turned down his agitated
appeal for a catch behind the wicket off Manuel.Left-hander Manuel and Solanki were both caught by Goodwin at midwicket and the
batting errors continued as Alexei Kervezee and Gareth Andrew perished in their
efforts to disturb Yardy’s control.Rana was easily the most expensive bowler with his eight overs costing 57 runs,
but there was belated compensation when he bowled James Cameron (33) and
Mitchell.

Glamorgan’s bid to keep in touch with the Clydesdale Bank 40 Group C was dashed by the rain at Cardiff

17-Jul-2011
Scorecard
Glamorgan’s bid to keep in touch with the Clydesdale Bank 40 Group C was dashed by the rain at Cardiff. Put into bat by their opponents the Unicorns, Glamorgan had reached 45 for 2 from 11.1 overs when a third rain interruption proved terminal with the umpires – Mark Benson and Neil Mallender – abandoning the match shortly before 5.30pm. Glamorgan and the Unicorns take a point each from the contest.The home side had an early scare when Gareth Rees was trapped lbw to the second ball of the match from Neil Saker. Glamorgan were in further trouble when Jim Allenby played a rash shot which saw him caught behind off Glen Querl for 16. Two short rain breaks reduced the game to 38 overs per side and then 37. But just as captain Alviro Petersen and Stewart Walters seemed to be launching a recovery the rain arrived for a third time.