All posts by csb10.top

Of all the roles in international cricket, bowling legspin in one-day games must be one of the most stressful. Stuart MacGill’s ODI career lasted three matches, Cameron White is now a batsman who prefers to stand at slip than at the bowling crease, and even Pakistan’s Danish Kaneria, one of the best exponents of recent years, has been all but written off as a one-day player.It’s into this harsh environment that Steven Smith will step when he makes his ODI debut for Australia against West Indies at the MCG on Friday. The game is a dead rubber and he’s only filling in for the resting Nathan Hauritz so the pressure might be down a notch, but that won’t make him feel any more comfortable when Chris Gayle and Kieron Pollard are staring at him from 22 yards.Questions will race through his mind. Toss it up and try to dismiss them? Bowl quicker and flatter and try to constrain? Will I be dragged if I bowl a long hop? It’s a lot for a 20-year-old to consider. Lucky for this 20-year-old that in December he was a standby player for the Boxing Day Test and spent time with Shane Warne in the MCG nets.”When I was down here working with him I wasn’t bowling too well at the start of the session,” Smith said on the eve of his ODI debut. “By the end of it, the ball was coming out really good, I had good shape on the ball and I was getting a little bit of turn as well.”I can’t thank Shane enough. Since then the ball has been coming out really well and it’s all coming together. I’ve gained a few different things from that. I’ve slowed my run-up down a little bit and I’ve got my shoulder a bit higher. It’s quite hard to explain. It’s a few little minor changes but it’s worked pretty well so far.”Smith certainly didn’t seem fazed by the pressure during his Twenty20 debut against Pakistan at the MCG this month. Michael Clarke handed him the ball at a crucial late stage of the chase and, in front of a big crowd and TV audience, he picked up two key wickets that helped Australia to victory.He said the experience of playing in the Champions League Twenty20 final for New South Wales had helped his confidence and he felt good about where his cricket was heading. Smith is viewed as a potential member of Australia’s squad for this year’s ICC World Twenty20 in the West Indies and he is keen to also push for Test selection in the future, although for now his best bowling results have come in the shorter formats.”In 20-over bowling, my main goal is to sort of miss the middle of the bat,” he said. “If you’re missing the middle of the bat with them going so hard, you’re always a chance of taking wickets. In the 50-over format it’s changing your pace and trying to change your positions on the crease and change things like that as much as possible.”Adding to Smith’s appeal is his power as a batsman. He has made two first-class centuries in 11 games, including one last week, and in his all-round capacity he resembles his Australia team-mate White. Like White at the same age, he is not yet ready to focus on either aspect of his game ahead of the other.”I really enjoy both batting and bowling,” Smith said. “I can’t say I like one better than the other because I really enjoy being involved in the game as much as I can.”

Two senior Pakistani officials, sports minister Aijaz Hussain Jahkrani and PCB chairman Ijaz Butt, have ruled out the participation of cricketers from that country in next year’s IPL and the Champions League Twenty20 tournament later this year, according to media reports. This, the officials say, is a reaction to the boycott of Pakistani players in the IPL auction.”We are the World Twenty20 champions, there is a Twenty20 World Cup this year, and they don’t want us to win again,” Butt was quoted as saying in the . “We will definitely not send any players for the IPL next time. Would you after this treatment?”This is a conspiracy,” Butt said. “They probably don’t want our players from playing in these competitions.”The decision puts a question mark over Shahid Afridi’s participation in the Twenty20 Champions League tournament, as a member of the South Australia Redbacks side. Though it is a global tournament featuring the best domestic Twenty20 sides in the world, the Champions League is an Indian initiative, with IPL chief Lalit Modi officiating as its chairman.Asked whether Afridi would be given clearance to play in the Champions League, Jakhrani said, “At the moment, I cannot say. We’re looking at this matter.” For his part, Champions League commissioner Lalit Modi told Cricinfo it was not an issue at all.Afridi, currently in Australia with Pakistan’s limited-overs side, said he wanted to play in the Champions League but would make his final decision after talking to the minister.”I think [the boycott] is a fact, it is not my decision. I will speak to the Sports Minister and see what he is saying, and then I will make a decision. I want to play in the Champions League,” Afridi said.Later, in a press release that appeared on , Afridi clarified that he was keen to move forward from the auction controversy.”If I was invited to play in India again I would do so happily, they have great fans and great stadiums and I have many friends there,” Afridi said. He also mentioned that sport should be used to build peace between the two nations.Pakistani domestic sides were not part of last year’s inaugural Champions League, which featured top teams from the IPL, Australia, England, West Indies, South Africa, Sri Lanka and New Zealand. However, one Pakistani international, Yasir Arafat, did play as part of the Sussex side.Jakhrani also said that while the IPL and Champions League were off-limits to Pakistan players, they would not boycott tours to India for international matches. “All of this has been designed to isolate us, that is what India wants. We will not be isolated. There is a World Cup in the subcontinent in 2011 to be played in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. What if we make the final against India? We cannot quit, we will play. I think we should continue playing sports with each other,” he said.

England’s cricketers have capped an Ashes-winning year by being named as Team of the Year in the 2009 BBC Sports Personality Awards.”It is a truly great honour,” said England’s captain, Andrew Strauss, who was one of ten sportspeople nominated for the individual award, which was won by the Manchester United footballer, Ryan Giggs.”It has been a long and arduous 12 months with a lot of ups and downs. What I am most proud about is that we have stuck together in some pretty tough times. That is what got us over the line in the Ashes and this award can act as a spur to achieve more in the future.”England’s year began in extraordinarily acrimonious circumstances, with relevations on New Year’s Eve of the falling-out between the then-captain Kevin Pietersen and the former coach, Peter Moores, which culminated in the removal of both men from office. England went on to lose their first Test of the year by an innings in Jamaica after being bowled out for 51, amid reports of rifts and factions within the camp.But thanks to Strauss’s calm leadership, and aided behind the scenes by the unperturbable coach, Andy Flower, who was himself pipped by Fabio Capello for the BBC’s Coach of the Year award, England regrouped, first by beating West Indies in a one-sided Test and ODI series at home, and then by overcoming Australia in a closely fought Ashes campaign. They have since gone on to beat South Africa for the first time in an away ODI series.England’s cricketers were last voted as Team of the Year back in 2005, when Andrew Flintoff captured the outright title for his starring role in that summer’s Ashes campaign.

Peter Fulton, the New Zealand and Canterbury batsman, has said he was “surprised” to be included in the 13-member squad for the first two Tests against Pakistan. Jesse Ryder’s absence through injury has given Fulton a chance to cement his place in the middle order a day after he helped Canterbury beat Otago in the Plunket Shield.”It’s a nice surprise to get, especially after a game like that,” Fulton told the . “When I missed out on the [New Zealand Invitation] team to play [Pakistan] down in Queenstown, I was obviously pissed off. At the back of your mind, you always sort of know that if you score enough runs you can force your way into contention, and that’s how it’s worked out.”Missing out on Queenstown was obviously an indication that I wasn’t really in the frame last week, but the runs I’ve scored this week has helped push my case.”Fulton made 172 in the first innings against Otago to help Canterbury post 440 and then hit 77 as they declared on 265 for 5 in the second, setting Otago a massive 471 to win. They were bowled out for 355.”I was really pleased with how I batted, actually,” said Fulton. “Just the amount of time I was able to spend at the crease and the tempo that I batted with. It was quite even all the way through.”Fulton, 30, has not played a Test since December 2008 and was eager to improve on improve on a batting average of 24.72 from eight matches. “The last nine to 12 months have obviously been pretty disappointing selection-wise, and missing out on a [New Zealand Cricket] contract,” he said. “I’ve had time to reassess where I’m at, and Test cricket is where I want to be, and I worked pretty hard over the winter.”

Tariq Mahmood , the former Pakistan Under-19 offspinner who was in the news nearly three years ago due to a suspect bowling action, has said he is relieved to be playing competitive cricket on a regular basis after making the move from Sialkot to Khan Research Laboratories (KRL).Mahmood is nicknamed “Murali” is Pakistan cricket circles with an action very similar to Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan, who himself has had his action scrutinised several times in his career.”My bowling action was cleared and is still very much like Murali’s,” Mahmood told Pakpassion.net. “It’s just great to be playing again. The KRL boys have really made me feel welcome, they are a great set of lads and Mohammad Wasim is a very supportive captain who is really backing me. KRL have given me a one-year contract and I intend to give 200% effort to their cause.”Mahmood was part of Pakistan’s U-19 World Cup-winning squad in Bangladesh in 2004. His action was reported two years later, after which he was sent to the National Cricket Academy in Lahore for remedial work with 14 other bowlers. He did not get enough opportunities with Sialkot in the first-class circuit, but his domestic career received a timely boost when KRL came calling.”I was playing only the occasional match for Sialkot, they would play me in a match occasionally, and then I wouldn’t play another game for several weeks,” Mahmood said. “Any cricketer will tell you that there is nothing better than playing regular cricket. I felt that the time was now right to move on and take up a new challenge, as I was left playing club cricket for FSC club most of the time, rather than playing first-class cricket.”I received a phone call out of the blue from KRL medium-pace bowler Jaffar Nazir asking me if I was available to play for KRL, as they had lost the services of offspinner Saeed Ajmal to ZTBL (Zarai Tarqiati Bank Limited). I couldn’t say yes quick enough and I couldn’t wait to join up with my new team-mates.”Mahmood took 3 for 45 in KRL’s innings victory against Karachi Whites at the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy match at the National Stadium which concluded on Saturday.

Group A

Scorecard
Tripura retained the advantage in a low-scoring encounter against Rajasthan in Agartala. Twelve wickets fell on the second day. The tone was set by offspinner Madhur Khatri’s 6 for 49, which helped skittle out Tripura for 179. However, contributions of 43 from Wilkin Mota and 45 down the order from Tushar Saha gave Tripura a handy lead of 77. Rajasthan struggled in the second innings, with little support for Gagan Khoda’s 51. Two late wickets by Subal Chowdhury, who bowls leg spin, left Rajasthan reeling at 97 for 5, a lead of just 20.Jharkhand 246 for 6 (Vardhan 63, Rajiv 54, Jangid 2-17) against Vidarbha
Scorecard
Vidarbha held a slight edge at stumps on the second day against Jharkhand in Ranchi. After the first day was washed out, the teams played out a closely-fought second day, as Jharkhand reached 246 for 6. They could have done better, for each of the top five got starts, reaching double-digits. Manish Vardhan top-scored with 63, and at 188 for 3, the hosts were in an excellent position to reach a substantial total. But the next three wickets fell for eight runs before Rajiv Kumar (54 not out) and Varun Aaron (23 not out) forged an unbeaten half-century stand to revive the innings.The second day of the contest between Goa and Assam in Margao, like the first, was washed out due to persistent rain.

Group B

Scorecard
Indore, too, didn’t escape the showers, allowing just 13.4 overs to be bowled on the second day. Madhya Pradesh, without any damage, added a further 38 runs to their overnight score.
Scorecard
On another day marred by rain in Srinagar, only eight overs were possible. Haryana, who were asked to bat, reached 23 for 1 against hosts Jammu and Kashmir.

The Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) has sent a letter to the BCCI president Shashank Manohar regarding the detention of two under-22 Kashmir cricketers by police in Bangalore and also asked the Karnataka government for an apology.”We want an assurance from the BCCI that Kashmiri cricketers won’t be harassed in future and an apology from the Karnataka government for harassing the two,” JKCA general secretary Saleem Khan was quoted as saying in the .The Champions League match between Victoria and Cape Cobras on Saturday got off to a delayed start after police detained Pervez Rasool staying at the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) complex in the Chinnaswamy Stadium in connection with a suspected presence of explosives at the venue. He was later released after questioning.The J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah was also upset about the incident. “I have always told all the states time and again to be careful about Kashmiri boys because the wounds are raw and it adds salt to them”, Omar told NDTV. “Today we got to know that the machine was faulty and unnecessarily Pervez was made the scapegoat.”

Zimbabwe’s new domestic season finally gets underway on Saturday, with Greg Lamb and Barney Rogers both expected to appear for Eagles.The new season was due to start in August, but not all the franchises had managed to sign their players in time.Under the new set-up, Zimbabwe Cricket will continue to administer the sport in schools and provincial club leagues, but the franchises themselves will be in control of their own operations at domestic level. Zimbabwe cricket have, though, suspended Central, resulting in a mass of players joining other clubs.Adding to the general level of excitement about the forthcoming season, the chief executive of Eagles, Hugo Ribatika, was pleased with his team’s preparations.”There have been a few changes in this area with Zimbabwe international Elton Chigumbura retaining his captaincy while Douglas Hondo has been roped in as assistant coach,” Rubatika told . “Practice commenced last Tuesday for our first encounter here at home against the Mountaineers but the administrative staff have been working since the beginning of June to ensure that we have minimal hiccups.”Lamb, who was released by Hampshire at the end of last season, looks set to play for Eagles alongside Rogers, a so-called “rebel” who walked out on Zimbabwe five years ago.

West Indies cricket has been thrown into further disarray after the Trinidad & Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB) decided to stay away from the West Indies board’s annual general meeting of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) in Antigua starting Sunday.TTCB president Deryck Murray said the local board wanted to send a signal to the WICB that this was not a time for “business as usual”.”I want to be clear,” Murray said. “This is not a threat to the unity of West Indies cricket … In this time of crisis, we cannot afford to sit back and keep doing the same things over and over again. That is not doing anything for our cricket. Our hope is that this move could be the catalyst for the change of West Indies cricket at the top.”They must understand that we the board and the people of Trinidad & Tobago expect and demand that things be done differently from here on in.”This coincides with the latest in the long-running dispute over contracts between the WICB and the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) that led to the withdrawal of the leading players from the recent series against Bangladesh and that is now before former Commonwealth secretary-general Sir Shridath Ramphal for mediation.As one of the six constituent members of the WICB – along with Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, Leeward Islands and Windward Islands – the TTCB has two directors on the executive and two representatives on the board.It is understood that among their grievances is the WICB’s failure to act on the main recommendations of the report into their governance by a committee headed by former Jamaica prime minister PJ Patterson.The report, commissioned by the WICB under former president Ken Gordon and presented in 2006, proposed the complete restructuring of the board that is now made up of the president, vice-president, two directors from each of the territorial members and three ex-officio directors. It is understood the TTCB letter emphasised that they had no intention of quitting the WICB or intending to go on their own. It simply stated their frustrations at not being able to influence changes within the organisation.It would have been further aggravated by the announcement that president Julian Hunte and vice-president Dave Cameron are both to be returned to their positions unopposed. It was earlier stated that Murray, the former West Indies vice-captain, would challenge Hunte and that Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) president Joel Garner would go against Cameron. But both eventually declined the nominations.Hunte, 69, has served on the board, on and off, since 1973. He took over as president from Gordon in 2007. Since then, the WICB has been embroiled by one controversy after another, culminating in the latest that left West Indies with a decimated team that lost both Tests and all three one-day internationals against Bangladesh.The TTCB are also locked in a similar contracts dispute with the WIPA for a squad of 33 in preparation for the Trinidad and Tobago team’s participation in the Champions League in India in October that features winning teams from domestic Twenty20 competitionsIt is not the first time the TTCB have been at odds with the WICB. In 1994, they issued a statement in which they expressed their “grave concern over what is perceived to be an organised and calculated plot by a privileged few to deny Trinidad and Tobago and its cricketers their just due”.

ScorecardAn unbeaten partnership of 131 between Sunil Dhaniram (63) and Qaiser Ali (60) restored Canada’s hopes at Rotterdam, leaving the visitors on 206 for 3 at the end of the second day.Netherlands’ bowling attack struggled to find a decent length and any sort of consistency, allowing Canada to recover from their shaky start of 84 for 3. They finished with a lead of 163 and still have seven wickets in hand.Ali brought up his 50 in style with a hefty slog sweep for six, clearing the boundary with ease off Daan van Bunge. In an equally impressive manner, Dhaniram cracked a cover drive for four to produce his half century off Pieter Seelaar.Earlier in the day, Netherlands were bowled out for 229 – an advantage of 52 – with Nick Statham being the only man to produce a significant innings with 57, before being run out by Rizwan Cheema. Tom de Grooth was looking solid, but his innings was cut short at 36 by a handy stumping from Ashif Mulla off Umar Bhatti.The pick of the bowlers were Sandeep Jyoti, taking 3 for 59 with some impressive offspin, and Zameer Zahir who took 2 for 31 from 17 overs.