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.

Adam Lyth narrowly missed out on a second hundred of the match as Yorkshire and Hampshire played out a turgid final day’s play at the Rose Bowl

27-May-2010

ScorecardAdam Lyth narrowly missed out on a second hundred of the match as Yorkshire and Hampshire played out a turgid final day’s play at the Rose Bowl.Resuming on 152 for 1 after a 16-over delay for rain in the morning session, quick Yorkshire runs were the order of the day if a sparse crowd was to see anything other than a predictable draw.But their progress was pitifully slow, captain Andrew Gale clearly content with mere bonus points and a tepid stalemate as his side added just 28 runs in an hour, for the loss of Anthony McGrath for the addition of just four to his overnight 60.Even the arrival of Jacques Rudolph at the crease could not lift Yorkshire’s scoring rate above a dismal three per over, as the former South African man limped to 28 from 85 balls before being dismissed by Rangana Herath with the first ball of the afternoon session.The only point of interest for the travelling White Rose fans was whether Lyth, imperious all game, could add a second-innings hundred to his marvellous 133 in the first. But even that scant moment of potential jubilation was dashed as Lyth snicked David Balcombe to Neil McKenzie at second slip for a patient 98.The tea interval did not change things as the Tykes continued to bat with dour intentions. Such was the respect shown to Hampshire’s bowlers that even Michael Carberry’s looping part-time off-spin was rendered dangerous enough for the England hopeful to dismiss Andrew Gale for 12.Finally, after reaching 292 for the loss of five second-innings wickets and with James Vince replacing Nic Pothas behind the Hampshire stumps as Pothas threatened to have a bowl himself, the declaration came – to sarcastic applause.Gale’s lack of a killer instinct frustrated a pocket of Yorkshire fans, who felt a demoralised Hampshire were there for the taking. But as the dreary fare continued on the south coast, even the staunchest White Rose fan drifted into indifference.All that was left was for Hampshire’s openers to dully block out the remaining 14 overs – bowled by Adil Rashid and part-time spinners Joe Sayers, Lyth and Rudolph – as both sides finished with nine points on a day which was a dismally poor advert for the competitiveness of county cricket.

India have suffered an injury scare with opener Virender Sehwag pulling his hamstring during his team’s chase against Pakistan in Dambulla

Cricinfo staff20-Jun-2010India have suffered a setback ahead of the Asia Cup final against Sri Lanka, as Virender Sehwag, the opener, has been ruled out of the tournament due to a strained hamstring.Sehwag sustained the injury during India’s chase against Pakistan in Dambulla and has been advised 10 days rest. Dinesh Karthik, the wicketkeeper batsman, has been called in as his replacement. Sehwag also missed the team’s practice session on Monday morning and will fly back to India on Tuesday.In an uncharacteristic innings where he laboured to 10 off 32 balls, Sehwag appeared to be in pain and sought the assistance of the physio. He eventually had to rely on the services of Suresh Raina as runner before being dismissed.Sehwag had also missed the World Twenty20 this year in the Caribbean due to a shoulder injury, and was rested for the subsequent tour of Zimbabwe. Similarly, in 2009, he hurt his shoulder during the IPL in South Africa, missing out on a place in India’s squad for the World Twenty20 in England.India take on Sri Lanka in a dead rubber on June 22, before the final on June 24.

Here’s something that might surprise you. Simon Katich is statistically Australia’s most successful Test opener of all time. Not Matthew Hayden, not Bill Ponsford. Simon Katich

Brydon Coverdale at Lord's13-Jul-2010Here’s something that might surprise you. Simon Katich is statistically Australia’s most successful Test opener of all time. Not Matthew Hayden, not Bill Ponsford. Simon Katich. As Katich shuffled off to the Lord’s pavilion having been caught behind for 80, he sat atop the list of averages for Australians who have opened in at least 20 Test innings.Loping out to the crease to replace Katich was Marcus North. The Australians were hoping Katich’s consistency would rub off on North, who stalls on start-up more often than a learner driver. Three balls later, he was heading back from whence he came, bowled for a duck by a high-class inswinger from Mohammad Asif.How North must envy Katich at the moment. The bookends of Australia’s top six share much in common – they are unfashionable left-handers, they learnt their trade on the bouncy WACA pitch and they’ve each scored four hundreds since the beginning of last year – but consistency isn’t one of those traits.While it’s been a feast-or-famine year for North, Katich has been dining out on opposition attacks and scoffing down every last scrap of a score he can find. Australia’s opener has been so dependable that when he slashed a typical Katich boundary, an uppish cut through gully to reach his half-century, it meant he’d passed fifty in nine consecutive Tests, stretching back to The Oval last year.The innings was pure Katich: barely a memorable shot until he’d reached a half-century, then a few boundaries crunched off loose balls, especially against Shahid Afridi. As he crab-walked across his stumps he was opening himself up to a Pakistan attack hooping balls around corners, but aside from a lucky let-off when he should have been trapped on 2, he was Australia’s rock on a difficult day.”There’s no doubt that it was a tough day all the way through, given the conditions,” Katich said after Australia reached 229 for 9. “At no stage did the clouds break and the sun came through. We knew that it was going to be a hard day out there with the ball swinging around consistently. It would have been nice to get more but at the same time we’ve got nearly 230 runs in the bank.”None of those runs came from the No. 6. Undoubtedly, North deserves his place in the team after rescuing his career with a century and a 90 in New Zealand, but in addition to his four Test centuries, he has been dismissed for 10 or less in more than half of his Test innings.His high backlift makes him especially vulnerable to full, swinging deliveries and that’s precisely what Asif served up. North was lucky to avoid a golden duck, when he could have been lbw had Pakistan noticed the ball hit pad before bat, and two deliveries later his stumps were shattered by a peach of an inswinger. It was that sort of day for the Australians – get your eye in rapidly or get out even quicker.”If you get in, it can certainly be a great place to bat because the outfield is quick,” Katich said. “Once you get used to the pace you can really get set. But vice-versa, there’s always enough happening on days like today where it can be hard for the new guy. I don’t think we saw too many poor shots or anything like that.”It’s true that North was done in by superb bowling, and his position is rightly not in danger on this tour. However, he is the man with the most to lose if Steven Smith performs with the bat in his debut series. Should Smith convince the selectors that he is a viable top-six option – and with a first-class average of more than 50, it’s possible – they will be tempted to push him up and enjoy the luxury of an extra specialist bowler.Fortunately for North, there were no such signs on Smith’s first day of Test cricket. Smith was lbw for 1, one of six Australians who failed to reach double figures. They all needed a little of Katich’s consistency to rub off.

Opening batsmen Michael Lumb and Jimmy Adams led Hampshire to a resounding six-wicket win over Durham at the Rose Bowl with 31 balls to spare. Lumb signalled his return to form after a poor first half to the season by making 75, while Adams top-scored wit

08-Aug-2010

ScorecardOpening batsmen Michael Lumb and Jimmy Adams led Hampshire to a resounding six-wicket win over Durham at the Rose Bowl with 31 balls to spare. Lumb signalled his return to form after a poor first half to the season by making 75, while Adams top-scored with 86.Chasing Durham’s 205 for 8 from their 40 overs, a total which never looked like being enough, Hampshire got home in the 35th over. Lumb and Adams put on 150 for the first wicket in 24.1 overs and the rest of the task was easy for the batsmen who followed.Durham captain Phil Mustard chose to bat first and was the first to go in the sixth over with the score on 39, but none of the Durham batsmen could make the best of bright starts. Eight of them reached double figures but were unable to build a big innings.Michael Di Venuto was top scorer with 37 and there was a stand of 36 for the third wicket between Ben Harmison and Dale Benkenstein. Ben Stokes and Gareth Breese added a defiant 38 for the seventh wicket but Hampshire’s bowlers were always on top.Left-arm pace prospect Chris Wood took two wickets for 25 from his eight overs and there was a first competition appearance for former England fast bowler Simon Jones. Jones had the satisfaction of removing Di Venuto when the score was 55 and finished with figures of 1 for 41 as further evidence of his rehabilitation from long-term knee injuries.When Hampshire batted Lumb and Adams quickly went on the attack before Adams was the first to go, the first of three victims for Benkenstein’s medium pace, after hitting 86 from 84 balls with six fours and two sixes.Benkenstein struck again when he removed James Vince and Lumb went within sight of victory when spinner Ian Blackwell found a gap in his defences. Lumb hit six fours and a six in his 79-ball innings and although Neil McKenzie followed soon afterwards, Hampshire’s task was completed.Michael Carberry and Dan Christian finished off the job with Benkenstein emerging as the most successful of the Durham bowlers with figures of 3 for 27. Former England fast bowler Steve Harmison bowled only three overs without success.

Iain O’Brien, the former New Zealander seamer, faces an uncertain future at Middlesex after Australian opener Chris Rogers’ recent move from Derbyshire to Lord’s

Cricinfo staff10-Sep-2010Iain O’Brien, the former New Zealander seamer, faces an uncertain future at Middlesex after Australian opener Chris Rogers’ recent move from Derbyshire to Lord’s.O’Brien signed a three-year contract with Middlesex before the season started but there is a clause that states if he can’t qualify as a domestic player in years two and three the deal can be withdrawn.Unless O’Brien can persuade the ECB to class him as a domestic player – because he is married to a English woman – Rogers’ move means O’Brien will be unlikely to stay at Lord’s.”In the contract was a clause that gave Middlesex CCC an option to terminate the agreement should the club’s requirements change and if Iain’s attempts to qualify as a local player failed,” Middlesex chief executive Vinny Codrington said on the club’s website.”To date, ours and Iain’s attempts to sign him as a locally registered player for 2011 and 2012 have proven problematic, leaving him in an extremely difficult position contractually. We have spoken at length with Iain, and support him in his quest to challenge this decision and to gain registration in England as a domestic player.”After a largely injury-free career, O’Brien has been hampered by injury at Middlesex this season. He has played only seven of the 16 first-class matches, taking 23 wickets at an average of 27.30 with a best of 8 for 105.

Malachi Jones, Bermuda’s fiery young fast bowler, has run into further disciplinary issues after being sent to his hotel room by national coach David Moore

Cricinfo staff15-Sep-2010Malachi Jones, Bermuda’s fiery young fast bowler, has run into further disciplinary issues after being sent to his hotel room by national coach David Moore following an angry show of petulance during the team’s eight-wicket defeat to a West Indies High Performance Cricket XI in Canada on Saturday.Jones was previously removed from Bermuda’s squad in May after breaching the protocol that prohibited national players from playing for their domestic club on a scheduled rest day. But Moore dismissed Jones’s latest indiscretion as nothing to worry about and said it would be dealt with internally.Jones’s tantrum was sparked in his second over on Saturday when a wayward delivery was flicked towards the fine-leg boundary by Rajindra Chandrika, only for Kevin Tucker’s fumble on the rope to allow the ball to go for four.Jones angrily kicked the pitch, conceded two more fours in the over, and then marched back to his fielding position on the boundary where he stayed for the remainder of the game. It was his attitude during this period, when he did not walk in or back up and generally appeared to be sulking, that angered former West Indies coach Moore.”I’ve got nothing to say about that,” said Moore. “It’s a minor personal issue that Malachi Jones has to deal with and we gave to him time to do so. It’s an internal team matter, and we’ll deal with it amongst ourselves.”