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The Pakistan captain has said the bowler-friendly pitches in the early part of the summer in New Zealand will be one of the biggest challenges for his team

Cricinfo staff15-Nov-2009Pakistan captain Mohammad Yousuf has said the bowler-friendly pitches in the early part of the summer in New Zealand will be one of the biggest challenges for his team during the three Tests, starting November 24. Pakistan set foot in the country having just finished the one-day and Twenty20 leg of the series in in the heat of UAE.”The fact is we are going to New Zealand when the season has not started there properly and the weather will also be cold,” Yousuf told . “I think we are going to encounter seaming wickets and batting on them will be a big challenge for us.”The coach Intikhab Alam concurred with Yousuf and hoped his players will be able to adjust to the conditions. Looking at the composition of the Test squad, Intikhab said the bowlers were capable of taking 20 wickets but the batting needed a bit of attention. A series of batting collapses were primarily responsible for their 2-0 defeat in Sri Lanka in August.”Our batting must click and show improvement because it will be tough to switch from one-day and Twenty20,” Intikhab said. “Our bowling has the capacity to bowl New Zealand out twice but we must put runs on the board first.”He expected Daniel Vettori, the New Zealand captain, to be the biggest threat, especially if the pitches suit spin. Vettori has been the team’s best all-round player in the recent past and has shouldered plenty of responsibility in all departments.”Vettori is a seasoned player and we have to play him well, without giving him too many wickets,” Intikhab said. “But if New Zealand prepares wickets conducive to spin then we too have quality spinners in Saeed Ajmal and Danish Kaneria.”Pakistan were hit by the sudden withdrawal of Younis Khan, who quit the captaincy and opted out of the tour because he wanted a break from the game. Intikhab and Yousuf agreed that Younis’ absence will be felt, despite his run of poor form.”Naturally, Younis is a senior batsman and although he has been in poor batting form, he is a world-class player who can come good any time, but you miss players through injuries as well and Younis’ replacement will have a chance to prove his worth, ” Alam said.The tour begins with a three-day game in Queenstown on Wednesday before the first Test in Dunedin.

Asim Butt, the Scotland left-arm seamer, has died in his sleep aged 42 in Lahore.

Cricinfo staff01-Dec-2009Asim Butt, the Scotland left-arm seamer, has died in his sleep aged 42 in Lahore.He played five ODIs for Scotland in the 1999 World Cup, performing strongly against Australia, the eventual winners, taking 1 for 21 from 10 overs.Butt was born in Pakistan in 1967 and played first-class cricket for Lahore before settling in Scotland in the 1990s. He soon won his first Scottish cap, against Yorkshire at Boghall in May 1998, taking 3 for 42 in the Benson & Hedges Cup, on his way to 106 wickets for Scotland at an average of 24.86.He played in all of Scotland’s World Cup games and remained a consistent performer, taking 6 for 42 in the first innings against MCC at Lord’s in August 2000 and 5 for 47 in the second innings against Ireland four years later.He won the last of his 71 caps in the National League game against Somerset in May 2005.

Peter Siddle is confident the mental scars inflicted on Pakistan after their shattering loss in Sydney will give Australia a distinct advantage for the final Test in Hobart

Brydon Coverdale08-Jan-2010Peter Siddle is confident the mental scars inflicted on Pakistan after their shattering loss in Sydney will give Australia a distinct advantage for the final Test in Hobart. Australia are searching for a 3-0 series victory, which would give them their most wins in a home summer since the 2006-07 Ashes clean-sweep.On the fourth morning at the SCG they looked almost certain to lose, until Siddle and Michael Hussey staged a tail-end fightback and Pakistan crumbled 36 runs short of their small target. Siddle said he had no doubt the incredible turnaround would affect the thinking of the Pakistan players when the third Test begins next Thursday.”Coming from a stage where they were in the first innings 200 runs in front, it’s a big lead and obviously it’s a good opportunity for them to beat a side like Australia,” Siddle said in Melbourne on Friday. “For us to fight back and put a lot of pressure on them, with bat at the end there and obviously with the ball, the way Hauritz and Mitchell Johnson especially attacked them … it’s definitely going to hurt them and definitely going to play on their minds a lot coming in to Hobart.”In the wash-up from Sydney, the PCB expressed its “utmost concern” over the team’s effort and rushed the wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed to Hobart to take the gloves from Kamran Akmal. His performance at the SCG was poor; he dropped four catches and missed a run-out and his spilled opportunities were instrumental in allowing Australia back in the game.Although Pakistan’s slipshod fielding and defensive tactics on the fourth morning contributed to their defeat, their batsmen have also come under fire for falling to overly aggressive shots in their chase of 176. Siddle said the Australian bowlers knew opportunities would come against Pakistan due to their attacking approach.”They’ve done well in the short form of the game with the way they’ve played their cricket,” he said. “I think that’s their downfall in Test cricket, they play a bit aggressively and do come at you. At times it does pay off for them. Umar Akmal has come at us a few times and scored quickly and scored well, so it is something that does help them but is a massive weakness for them as well.”While Pakistan must improve in Hobart, Siddle himself is also keen to lift his output. He has struggled for impact with the ball this summer and has taken six wickets in four Tests at an average of 68.33, which looks especially stark compared to the record of his peers.In the same period, Mitchell Johnson has collected 28 wickets, Doug Bollinger has 24, Nathan Hauritz has 23 and Shane Watson has taken 11. The ongoing absence of Ben Hilfenhaus due to a knee problem has given Siddle some breathing space but he said he did not feel any added pressure in order to keep his place whenever Hilfenhaus returns.”If I keep worrying about the wickets, that’s when they definitely won’t come,” Siddle said. “It’s coming out well. I’m confident that it will turn around. I’ve just got to keep going out there and doing the right things from my end and hopefully in the next game or so it can be my turn to take that bag.”At least he’s in good touch with the bat. Siddle’s three-and-a-half-hour innings of 38 in Sydney was a major factor in Australia’s comeback as he and Hussey put on 123 for the ninth wicket. He said he always enjoyed his batting and relished the chance to spend so long at the crease.”It was good fun the other day, being out there with Mike, just with what we could do and how we could help win that Test match was very pleasing,” he said. “I probably get more nervous going out there to bowl when I should be getting nervous to bat. I enjoy going out there and having a hit around and to get the opportunity to spend that much time out in the middle and to have a lot of fun at the same time, it was a great time.”

Reflecting on his team’s sensational collapse on the fourth day, the Bangladesh captain believes that his side paid the price for relaxing during the Mohammad Ashraful-Shahadat Hossain partnership

Sriram Veera in Mirpur27-Jan-2010It was a stunningly candid revelation by Shakib Al Hasan in the press conference. “When Shahadat [Hossain] and [Mohammad] Ashraful were batting we may have got slightly relaxed. They had made batting look easy. We were laughing and chatting in the dressing room and somewhere, at some point, we relaxed and we were not thinking about the game as much as we should have done.” If only the perceptive awareness that this quick post-mortem analysis reveals, had kicked in earlier.Even Zaheer Khan, the wrecker-in-chief, was surprised by the implosion. “It was surprising. Looking at the conditions, it felt they could have fought that phase and made things tough for us.” But it was a strange day. In a Dhaka minute, everything changed.When Shahadat and Ashraful were batting, one smelt fight in the air, felt their sense of purpose, thought about India missing two batsmen, and caught a brief glimpse of the possibility of a memorable fightback. There was not a single moment to relax. Bangladesh did and they lost the match. It wasn’t a surprise that they lost but one was taken aback by how quickly it all happened. And yet, the pleasant sun-lit morning had promised so much.Even India, it seemed, were on the back foot initially. The fielding was getting ragged, overthrows happened, a catch was dropped, the fielders were pushed back, MS Dhoni was forced to make a few bowling changes and the pitch, as it seemingly does in these times, appeared to get flatter. “The pitch got slower and lower”, Zaheer Khan said later. “There was nothing major for spinners and it was the fast bowlers’ responsibility to put their hands up.”Initially, even Zaheer was unable to make a breakthrough. Shahadat and Ashraful had added 50 runs in 13 overs and it wasn’t just the quantity of runs but the manner in which it came that raised the hopes of a lead and a fascinating end-game. What caught the eye was of course Shahadat’s brazen approach, but it was Ashraful’s attitude that gave hope. He wasn’t intent on self-destruction, he wasn’t living on the edge and he wasn’t struggling. In fact he looked almost calm and pushed the ball into gaps and lived off deflections. It was the closest he got to serenity in this series.It’s at this time the players in the dressing room must have relaxed. One can understand why it happened, but it is something that the captain Shakib and coach Jamie Siddons should sort out. The rest of us will shrug it off saying, “That’s Bangladesh cricket for you”.Shahadat had to fall at some point; he had done his job and even Ashraful fell to a good ball – Pragyan Ojha got one to turn and jump to force a hurried prod. It is at this point that everything started to go wrong. Shakib walked in and clouted his first ball over long-on. There was nothing wrong in that as Shakib explained later, “It was there to be hit”. Perhaps it was. However, he soon fell to a fatal shot, trying to create something out of nothing. It was the beginning of the end.Shakib is a busy batsman and likes to play his shots but perhaps this time he got too ahead of himself. His critics will ask if the shot was on, given that there was a man at short-leg. Maybe, the ongoing controversy involving the alleged rebuke from the BCB president, got to him and he felt the urge to make a statement on the field. Perhaps, it was just a brain-freeze resulting from over confidence. Or perhaps it was simply a case of a wrong execution of a shot that he plays so often and has done so well in the past. Who can tell?Shakib tried to answer: “When I got in to bat, my plan was to just bat. The first ball was there to be hit. The sweep shot that I got out to… I just mistimed it.”Was it just an answer for the press or the truth, we wouldn’t know, but it doesn’t reveal much about his state of mind at that juncture. His statement about how team had relaxed offers a better pointer, perhaps.Zaheer sensed an opening when Shakib fell and hit them hard. It was too much for Bangladesh and they were knocked out.Tomorrow’s local papers are going to be filled with passionate anger over the collapse. Shakib must have been stunned by the reaction at the press meet. As soon as he finished his “relaxed” statement, he was staring at several pupils dilated in anger. And angry questions. He seemed to be taken aback by the intensity. It was a sad way to end the series for Shakib, who has been dignity personified through out. He did not react emotionally to Virender Sehwag’s statements, he stood up for his team when he perceived that the BCB president was making unreasonable allegations, he did not wash dirty linen in public and supported his team-mates. In the end he must have felt very alone out there.

A round-up of the action from the fifth day of matches in the 2009-10 Vijay Hazare Trophy

Cricinfo staff14-Feb-2010

West Zone

With Rajasthan Royals opting to do without Ravindra Jadeja’s services for the third season of the IPL, the allrounder decided to bring out his best for Saurashtra as they thrashed Baroda by seven wickets at the Sardar Patel Stadium B Ground. Baroda were gritty in their approach, after being put in, and managed to reach 105 for 4 in the 30th over. But Jadeja, along with Jayesh Odedra, had other plans as they ran through the rest of the batting line-up. While Jadeja picked up four wickets with his left-arm spin, Odedra partnered well with 3 for 18, as Baroda were shot out in 40.2 overs. Captain Jaydev Shah’s dismissal during the reply gave Baroda some hope, only for Chirag Pathak (47) and Cheteshwar Pujara’s second-wicket stand of 53 to snuff it out soon. Pujara brought up his fifty, including seven fours and two sixes, and remained unbeaten with Jadeja to complete formalities by the 32nd over. Saurashtra are the only unbeaten team in the West Zone and will no doubt look to extend their supremacy when they play Gujarat on Tuesday.A classy century from captain Wasim Jaffer laid the foundation for Ranji champions Mumbai‘s crushing win against Maharashtra at the Sardar Patel Stadium C Ground. Maharashtra wilted in the 40th over in reply to Mumbai’s imposing 308, with Ramesh Powar and Avishkar Salvi sharing the majority of the spoils. Choosing to bat, Mumbai were given a strong start by opener Sushant Marathe (53), before Jaffer and Rohit Sharma (96) took centrestage. The 172 run-stand for the third wicket had them in pole position early on. Sharma hit five fours and six sixes during his 78-ball stay, while Jaffer smashed eight boundaries during his 128-ball 109. Twin fifties from Sangram Atitkar and Kedar Jadhav were not enough as Maharashtra failed to cope with Powar (4 for 44) and Salvi (3 for 21) during the reply. The negative point they earned added more sorrow to another disappointing campaign.

East Zone

A fascinating high-scorer at the Ravenshaw College Ground went Bengal‘s way as they beat Assam by seven wickets in a match that witnessed over 600 runs being scored. Bengal’s choice to field first looked to have backfired as Assam openers Dheeraj Jadhav and Parvez Aziz took the score to 176 in the 32nd over. Though Aziz departed for 83, Jadhav continued the charge, finishing unbeaten on 148 off 150 balls, comprising 15 fours. Ashok Dinda’s 3 for 57 in the late overs kept Assam to just below 300. It was once again Shreevats Goswami who was the star for Bengal as they maintained a terrific pace during the chase. Goswami hit a breezy 133 off 114 balls, smashing 18 fours and three sixes, and figured in two key partnerships with Sourav Ganguly (64), who returned for this fixture, and Abhishek Jhunjhunwala (83 not out). The fast rate of scoring worked well in Bengal’s favour as Jhunjhunwala and Wriddhiman Saha completed the victory with more than seven overs to go.Middle-order masterclasses were on display as Orissa edged out Jharkhand by 11 runs at the Barabati Stadium. Put in by Jharkhand, the hosts were struggling at 68 for 5, thanks to Varun Aaron’s early strikes, before wicketkeeper-captain Haladhar Das and Rashmi Das combined for a 173-run stand. While Haladhar exercised control during his 98-ball 88, Rashmi was merciless during his hurricane 104, which included 15 fours and two sixes. The target of 279 looked all the more imposing when Jharkhand stuttered to 37 for 3, but Ishank Jaggi led a spirited revival which had Orissa sweating. His fluent 109 from 111 balls though, failed to inspire any of the remaining batsmen. Debasis Mohanty was Orissa’s most successful bowler with 4 for 56, as Jharkhand could manage only 267.

Central Zone

Rashmi Parida and Rajasthan must have fancied their chances getting to 303 after being put in, but Naman Ojha’s sparkling century ensured unbeaten Madhya Pradesh took the honours at the Emerald High School Ground. Rashmi’s run-a-ball 122, comprising 11 fours and a six, along with Robin Bist’s 57 proved to the highlights of Rajasthan’s innings, with the two adding 93 for the third wicket. During the reply, it was the stand of 146 between Ojha and Monish Mishra (83) which lent the initial momentum. Having lost fellow-opener Jalaj Saxena early, it was Ojha who rose to the occasion and tore into the opposition bowling with 12 fours and four sixes, before falling with the score on 216 for 4. But Shadab Khan’s quick unbeaten 40, coming in at No.7, took them home with four balls to spare.Uttar Pradesh made amends for the loss in their opening match with a thumping nine-wicket win against Vidarbha at the Maharani Usharaje Trust Cricket Ground. Choosing to field, Uttar Pradesh were lifted by Sudeep Tyagi, who was recently axed from India’s Test squad to take on South Africa. The right-arm fast bowler finished with a five-for and repeatedly dented the Vidarbha batting line-up to ensure their downfall for 141 in the 38th over. The below-par target was never going to trouble Uttar Pradesh and twin fifties from wicketkeeper Eklavya Dwivedi and Ali Murtaza helped them wrap up the win in 24.4 overs.

North Zone

Himachal Pradesh picked up their first win of the campaign, an impressive seven-wicket defeat of Delhi at Shah Satnam Ji Stadium in Sirsa. After being put in, Delhi were floundering at 58 for 4, with Virat Kohli and Mithun Manhas dismissed. Rajat Bhatia and Puneet Mehra started a recovery with a 65-run stand, before half-centuries from Puneet Bisht and Joginder Singh pushed Delhi to 234. Himachal were never in trouble during the chase, with opener Sangram Singh making a century and adding 127 runs for the third wicket with captain Paras Dogra. The target was reached with 21 deliveries to spare, Dogra remaining unbeaten on 70.At the Tata Energy Research Institute Oval in Gurgaon, Punjab brushed aside Jammu & Kashmir’s challenge, cruising to a eight-wicket victory with 97 deliveries remaining. Punjab’s new-ball bowlers Jaskaran Singh and Manpreet Gony reduced J&K to 13 for 3, and except for a 53-run stand between Parveez Rassol and Obaid Ahmed for the fifth wicket, it was a steady procession. Rassol held the innings together with an unbeaten 81 but no one else passed 25, and J&K could manage only 170. Punjab captain and opener Karan Goel’s unbeaten century and a 57 from wicketkeeper Uday Kaul made short work of the target, reaching it in the 34th over.A meltdown from the Services’ lower-order handed Haryana a five-run victory in a 49-over-a-side match at Bansi Lal Cricket Stadium in Rohtak. After choosing to bat, Haryana slid to 11 for 2 before a stabilising 118-run partnership between opener Rahul Dewan (76) and Sachin Rana (45). The pair used up more than 33 overs to add those runs, and Haryana needed captain Joginder Sharma’s 29-ball 44 to get them to 209. Services’ chase got off to a similarly dreadful start, but Jasvir Singh’s 78 kept them afloat. With Soomik Chatarjee on a 31-ball 33, and Services on 196 for 6 with 11 balls to go, Haryana’s chances were fading. Chatarjee was then run-out and Services lost two more wickets over the next eight deliveries to end up five short.

South Zone

Defending champions Tamil Nadu pulled off a thrilling two-run win over Karnataka in a high-scoring top-of-the-table clash at the Indian Institute of Technology Chemplast ground in Chennai. The Tamil Nadu top order delivered yet again, this time Abhinav Mukund being the standout performer with a near run-a-ball 89. Saturday’s centurion S Anirudha blitzed a 43 before being run out and No. 4 K Vasudevadas chipped in with 65 to help Tamil Nadu to 316. Karnataka’s chase got off to a poor start when R Jonathan was dismissed for a duck in the first over. Their other opener, Robin Uthappa, though made his first century of the season to drive the reply. He and Manish Pandey (57) put on 120 for the third wicket and at 208 for 2 in the 32nd over, it was Karnataka who were on course for a victory. However, both were dismissed in the space of eight runs and the run-out of a rampaging Vinay Kumar in the 45th over turned the match Tamil Nadu’s way. Karnataka needed 13 off the final over, but Raju Bhatkal could only manage ten in the company of last man KP Appanna. Both teams have already qualified for the next round.In another batsmen-dominated game, at the India Cement Limited Guru Nanak College ground, it was the chasing team that won, Goa picking up their second victory of the weekend. Powered by opener Akshath Reddy’s 121, and half-centuries from Ambati Rayudu and Neeraj Bist, Hyderabad piled on 310 for 7. The cornerstone of Goa’s reply was opener Amit Yadav’s maiden century, assisted by S Sriram’s 32-ball 48. Still, Goa were at 285 for 8 in the 47th over and only made it past the finish line thanks to No. 8 Shadab Jakati’s 19-ball 25.Andhra slumped to their four straight defeat, going down by six wickets to Kerala at the MRF Pachyappas Ground. Their batsmen turned in a decent effort: Y Venugopal Rao made 113 and was supported by Y Gnaneswara Rao’s 67, the pair bailing Andhra out from 22 for 3 and taking the side to a competitive 269. A solid effort from the Kerala top-order, though, dampened Andhra’s chances of a first victory. Opener VA Jagadeesh went on to make a century, and No. 3 Robert Fernandez scored 62 to take Kerala to 193 for 1. It could still have been a close finish had it not been for a hurricane 18-ball 41 from P Prasanth, who ensured the game ended with 14 deliveries remaining.

Scott Styris has been overlooked for the series against Bangladesh but new coach Mark Greatbatch, who is also a selector, said it was partly because they wanted to test their bench strength

Cricinfo staff07-Feb-2010Scott Styris, the New Zealand allrounder, has been overlooked for the series against Bangladesh but new coach Mark Greatbatch, who is also a selector, said it was partly because New Zealand wanted to test their bench strength.Styris has not been in the first-choice XI for more than year now but when he got his chances in the three ODIs against Pakistan in UAE, he didn’t make any substantial scores or impress with his bowling.”The reason Scott missed out was that we wanted to look at some others for this series,” Greatbatch told the . “He had an opportunity in Dubai as a batter and he didn’t quite take his opportunities to the full there.”Styris was one of the standout players in the Twenty20 domestic competition, the HRV Cup, scoring 274 runs at a strike-rate of 133 besides chipping in with 12 wickets. There have been media reports attributing Styris’ exclusion from the national side to an attitude problem, but Greatbatch scotched those rumours.”It was disappointing to read the speculation that he missed out because of his attitude and there’s no truth to that whatsoever,” he said. “There was no discussion during our selection meetings for this series about his behaviour.”Despite injuries to several New Zealand players, including allrounder Grant Elliott, Styris was left out, but he was encouraged by a call from Greatbatch. “I hope that I’m a valued member of that side and I think I am judging by the fact a lot of the guys this week have been telling me that’s the case,” he said. “I can only take at face value what the selectors told me. Mark Greatbatch has always been straight with me in the past and I have no reason to think that he’s not being the same now.”

The South Africa coach has outlined consistency as the primary aim for the team, as they prepare for the World Cup in 2011

Cricinfo staff02-Mar-2010South Africa coach Corrie van Zyl has outlined consistency as the primary aim for his team with an eye on the 2011 World Cup. “For me, one of the biggest goals for the team will be consistency,” van Zyl told . “We spoke about it in Ahmedabad and it’s the one thing we must improve if the team is going to get to number one. Our consistency obviously needs to pick up and it is a concern.”He said the ability to handle pressure was one the most important factors in ensuring consistency. “The players have to make sure that when they are under pressure, they win the big moments,” van Zyl said. “They must be calm and able to think clearly so they can execute the game plan under that sort of pressure. Only then will the consistency change, and that is one of the big goals for me.”South Africa’s recent tour of India got off to a rousing start, as they outplayed India by an innings in the first Test in Nagpur. The momentum was with the visitors as they managed 228 for 2 by tea on the first day of the second Test in Kolkata before collapsing to 296, and eventually conceding an innings defeat. More than the manner or the margin of defeat, van Zyl was disappointed with the way his side handed over the initiative in one bad session.”Obviously, after the very good start we had, it was a huge disappointment to lose the second Test, although I thought we played really well on the last two days to try and save the game,” van Zyl said. “But it was especially disappointing on the first day, one session basically cost us and we gave the advantage away.”van Zyl’s appointment as coach for the India tour was an interim one, after Mickey Arthur resigned days before the team’s departure. van Zyl was confirmed as coach soon after, until the next World Cup, a decision that he welcomed.”It was a relief not just for me but also for the team, they also felt the uncertainty and the effect of that cannot be underestimated,” van Zyl said. “Fortunately, it’s no longer something we need to worry about. Going into the [India] tour, it was quite difficult because I didn’t have time for any preparation. The positive now is that I have a much clearer picture of what we need to do to be a force in India for 2011.”van Zyl believes that the tour to India will stand his side in good stead for the 2011 World Cup, to be co-hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. “I’ve been in India now with a lot of guys who will most probably represent South Africa there next year. I’ve picked up a lot about the conditions and the way individuals perform under pressure. We’ve started the first building block.”South Africa conceded the three-match ODI series through a narrow one-run defeat in the first match and a big loss in the second game. They then recovered well to register a thumping win in the dead rubber in Ahmedabad, an effort that pleased the coach. “Before the last match, we spoke some harsh words and the guys responded unbelievably. It was a nice comprehensive win,” van Zyl said.

The volcanic ash cloud which continues to close UK and much of European airspace is threatening to have a major impact on the World Twenty20

Andrew McGlashan17-Apr-2010The volcanic ash cloud which continues to close UK and much of European airspace is threatening to have a major impact on the World Twenty20 in West Indies because London is a transit point for many teams through to the Caribbean.Ireland and Zimbabwe are already located in the region, but Afghanistan’s journey has been disrupted and the longer the restrictions are in place the greater the chance of chaos to the travel plans of the other competing nations.Robert Bryan, the tournament director, said he still expected Afghanistan to arrive in the next few days despite the disruption. “We expect that Afghanistan will arrive here, notwithstanding the volcano dust in Europe, over this weekend.”England could be the most severely impacted side. An ECB spokesman told Cricinfo they are monitoring the situation and will make a decision in a few days time as to the arrangements for the team – who are due to leave next weekend – although there seem precious few alternatives with the nearby European airports such as Paris and Frankfurt also closed. The other issue is that a number of players are currently in India at the IPL and won’t be able to return to the UK until the airspace is reopened.India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh are teams who will be likely to travel through London to West Indies next week, but the latest reports suggest the skies won’t clear for at least a couple more days. One option for them could be to fly via the Middle East and then the United States so that they skirt the problem areas in Europe.Australia and New Zealand will probably be able to avoid the problems by flying via the United States if the issue persists, while South Africa may also be able to use the US or fly direct to the Caribbean.The advance team from ICC were forced to change their travel plans to West Indies this weekend, while ICC President David Morgan and ECB chairman Giles Clarke will take part in the board meeting via video conference having been unable to travel to Dubai from London.Tino Best, who has signed as an overseas player with Yorkshire, could have his debut delayed as he is unable to fly from the Caribbean to England. UK airspace is closed until at least 0100BST (0000GMT) on Monday.

The opening game of the Bangladeshi tour of England petered out into a chilly and predictable draw in SE11 where helicopter traffic over No10 Downing Street captured the attention as much as the cricket

Mark Pennell at The Oval11-May-2010Surrey XI 318 for 7 and 313 for 3 drew with Bangladeshis 372 for 6

ScorecardThe opening game of the Bangladeshi tour of England petered out into a chilly and predictable draw in SE11 where helicopter traffic over No10 Downing Street captured the attention as much as the cricket.While rolling news channels fought for airspace in the hope of catching Gordon Brown sneaking out the back door of the prime minister’s residence with suitcase in hand, so Surrey’s young side exchanged playful blows with an equally young touring team – indeed both sides boasted an average age of 23.On a docile pitch that offered little encouragement for spinners or seamers alike, it came as no surprise that the most experienced player on display, 32-year-old Usman Afzaal, showed the Surrey’s Lions cubs how it should be done.The former England left-hander marched in with his side on 61 for 2 – a slender overall lead in the match of seven runs – following the overnight declaration of the tourists and the early loss of Arun Harinath (20) and Tom Lancefield (11) to shots they would rather care to forget.For the record, Harinath went down one knee to chase and edge a wide one to the keeper while Lancefield blotted his copybook by pulling a long hop into the hands of the substitute fielder at mid-wicket. That brought together rookie Laurie Evans and Afzaal for a third- wicket stand worth 225 in 44 overs that made Surrey hearts swell with pride.Afzaal made his intentions clear. Spanking his first ball for four over backward point, while the second was pulled over the fielder at mid-wicket for another boundary. Evans, with only one first-class hundred to his name, had an equally obvious game plan – to score another century and but for sheer bad luck the nugget right-hander would have achieved his aim.In bitterly cold temperatures the Bangladesh attack looked all at sea, indeed their frustrated coach, Jamie Siddons said: “I thought our bowlers bowled a bit too short. We talked about pitching it up, but they still want to bang it in and try and get a wicket that way rather than be patient and wait for them to make a mistake.”Accordingly, Afzaal and Evans cashed in. The senior pro moved to his century with panache clubbing a back-foot force through backward point for four against the part-time spin of Mohammad Ashraful. The next three also deliveries disappeared to the boundary as Usman celebrated his first ton of the summer.Evans was more watchful, content to play second fiddle. After four-and- a-half hours at the crease he had mustered nine fours and was within a couple of his hundred when, in backing up at the non-striker’s end, he was run out when Mahmudullah Riyad finger-tipped an Afzaal drive onto the stumps.The game limped toward a slow death thereafter and even the famous urban fox that inhabits the Oval appeared bored. At one point he trotted onto the playing area, sniffed the Bangladesh drinks’ carrier that had been left on the outfield by the 12th man, and duly cocked a leg to mark his territory.The game ended soon after with Afzaal making a more acceptable mark on the game, unbeaten on 159 it was the ninth score in excess of 150 in his career. By then, Surrey were 259 ahead and event the fox had gone home.

Steffan Jones earned career-best bowling figures as Derbyshire launched their Twenty2 cup bid with an 11-run win over Leicestershire

Cricinfo staff02-Jun-2010
Scorecard
Steffan Jones earned career-best bowling figures as Derbyshire launched their Twenty2 cup bid with an 11-run win over Leicestershire. The 36-year-old Welsh seamer took 3 for 20 in his four overs to restrict Leicestershire to 154 for 8 as they failed to chase down a victory target of 166 at Grace Road.Jones’s victims included Australian allrounder Andrew McDonald, who hit a blistering 67
off 50 balls to keep Leicestershire in the chase after they had lost early wickets. Fellow Australian Brad Hodge, signed by the county as their second overseas player for the competition, went in the second over and then the home side collapsed from 41 for 1 to 64 for 4 in the space of four overs.McDonald was in tremendous form reaching his half century off 37 balls with seven sweetly-struck boundaries and by the time he skied a catch to long on off the bowling of Jones, had reached a career-best score in Twenty20 cricket.But his effort was not enough to give Leicestershire a winning start with a tough run of three successive away matches now to follow. Only Paul Nixon provided any real assistance to McDonald, scoring 24 before being caught off his trademark reverse sweep.Derbyshire also struggled in the early part of their innings with only 23 runs coming off 10 scoring shots in the first six overs. Left-arm seamer Harry Gurney conceded only one run in his first two overs and in all there were a total of 25 dot balls.But Derbyshire’s innings gained momentum as Loots Bosman smashed 16 in an over off McDonald and Greg Smith hit a six off Claude Henderson. When Bosman cleared the ropes for a second time at the expense of Hodge the visitors had more than made up for their slow start.Although Hodge gained his revenge by bowling Bosman for 39 the rest of the Derbyshire batsmen maintained the run rate and 101 runs were scored off the last 10 overs to post a challenging total which proved out of the home side’s reach.