'Aussie one-dayers are too soon' – Bond

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Shane Bond appeals during his six-wicket haul against Australia at the 2003 World Cup© Getty Images

Shane Bond will miss the one-day series against Australia because the matches are “two weeks too early” for his return from a career-threatening back injury. Australia play the first of five ODIs against New Zealand at Wellington on Saturday (February 19), and Bond has also ruled himself out of the Test series.”This is my last roll of the dice,” Bond told The Australian. There’s no point pushing it. The one-dayers against Aussie are about two weeks too early.”Bond last bowled for New Zealand in May 2003, but has returned to club cricket over the past five weeks and wants to play for Canterbury, his provincial side, next month. “I’m feeling great and I’m bowling reasonably quick,” Bond said. “If I had to play against the Aussies in a one-day game tomorrow I could get through my 10 overs no problems and I’d be quick. But I want to build a base before playing international cricket again.”Bond had bone chips from his hip placed into the fractured vertebrae in a surgery which took place in August, and said that he will continue to pace his “last chance” slowly. He has been one of the few bowlers to regularly upset Australia – he has 22 ODI wickets at 10.45 – and took career-best figures of 6 for 23 against them during the 2003 World Cup.Damien Martyn told the newspaper that Bond would have ended up one of the greats if he had been fit throughout his career. “I know we’d have to play against him, but it’s a shame to see someone like that get injured.”

The importance of being Gilchrist

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Can anything stifle Adam Gilchrist’s ability on the international stage?© Getty Images

Had he been a cricket writer, Oscar Wilde’s novel might have been renamed . He may not possess Wilde’s poetic ability but even the great playwright could not deny Adam Gilchrist’s ability on the cricketing stage.Glenn McGrath has shown in this match why he is a living legend but, leaving the immortal Sir Donald Bradman on his rightful pedestal, it is hard to imagine there ever being a more important cricketer than Adam Gilchrist. To put his achievements into Trans-Tasman perspective, if he was a New Zealander, his 14 Test centuries would be second to Martin Crowe’s 17.From 201 for 6, Gilchrist, batting at No.8 after Jason Gillespie was used as a night watchman, guided his team through to 413 and away from danger with a blistering 121 from 126 balls. Before Gilchrist’s arrival Simon Katich had given Australia some momentum with a gritty display of attack and defence; after it he proved the perfect foil.If he was a rugby player Katich would be dubbed a utility. Since his Test debut at Leeds in 2001 he’s been both in and out of the side and up and down the batting order. In Sri Lanka he lost his place to Andrew Symonds for two Tests, and in India he was given Ricky Ponting’s No. 3 spot before being dumped again for Darren Lehmann.Katich’s effort today was symbolic of why Australia continues to be so successful. Players given a start take their chances and standards never drop. Gilchrist saw little strike for a period after the second new ball was taken and Katich responded with a flurry of boundaries to move rapidly from 68 to his second Test century. The 86 he scored from 20 fours and one six reflected Katich’s expertise at punishing anything wayward and exceeded Gilchrist’s 84.Had he fallen cheaply his side would have been in deep trouble but Gilchrist amazed again. Two early sixes in one Daniel Vettori over made it clear to all that Gilchrist’s natural game would prevail over the match situation. The pickets were peppered further when Stephen Fleming reintroduced the pace trio of Chris Martin, James Franklin and Iain O’Brien and it was left to Vettori and Nathan Astle to perform a rescue act.Vettori recovered to outfox Gilchrist and wrap up the tail. His arm ball, especially, was spot on, leading to numerous leg-before shouts and the dismissal of Gillespie. Vettori’s analysis of 40.2-13-106-5 continued his outstanding form against Australia: six of his 12 five-wicket bags have been in trans-Tasman Tests.The challenge for New Zealand is to bat Australia out of the game, something they’ve had little success with since John Bracewell became coach. Excluding a stroll-in-the-park victory in Bangladesh in October, when they batted third, New Zealand have avoided losing only once from seven attempts – way back in December 2003 against Pakistan.The 212-run partnership between Katich and Gilchrist was four short of Australia’s record for the seventh wicket against New Zealand, which was made at the same ground in February 1977 by Doug Walters and Gary Gilmour. Perhaps it was appropriate that the record was not broken for the final 80 runs of the Walters-Gilmour stand were made after the pair celebrated Walters’ century the day before by drinking well into the night. Although New Zealand could do with a similar effort in these professional times, it’s unlikely they’ll adopt the same preparation.

ICC takes over running women's game

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The ICC has finally taken over responsibilities for running the women’s international game, as expected, after the International Women’s Cricket Council (IWCC) ratified the proposed merger at their AGM. The move is set to have a massive impact on a sport which has struggled in administrative and financial terms.The IWCC, which ran for nearly fifty years after being founded in 1958, will be replaced by an ICC advisory committee and its former vice-president, Betty Timmer, will chair the new body. England’s Gill McConway will represent Europe, Joan Edwards will represent South Africa, West Indies’ coach Ann Browne-John and New Zealand’s Catherine Campbell are also on the special committee. Australia’s captain Belinda Clark has been co-opted on to the committee.Timmer recognized the significance of the move: “It’s great and exciting,” she told BBC Sport. “Hopefully we will get in a few years an Under-21 World Cup and more development of women’s cricket. Now we can use all the 94 ICC members in the development programme. I hope we can use the ICC sponsorships and, in selling television rights, women’s cricket can be a part of it.”A media representative for the ECB, Andrea Wiggins, also realizes the potential. “If it follows the model of the ECB, the merger could be massive,” Wiggins told Cricinfo. Significant improvements in the English game have already been seen since the ECB took over from the Women’s Cricket Association as administrators for women’s cricket in England: the international side benefit from Lottery funding, increased sponsorship and personalized coaching.With a view to the merger, the ICC had already appointed a women’s project officer whose principal role is to integrate the bodies.

New Zealand swing the match and series

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

Nathan Astle celebrates – he finished with 3 for 27© AFP

New Zealand’s swing bowlers outwitted Sri Lanka’s batsmen to wrap up an emphatic series-winning, innings-and-38-run victory at the Basin Reserve. Sri Lanka’s hopes of a successful rearguard slowly faded during the fourth day as their middle order melted in the second session. Tillakaratne Dilshan fought back with a sizzling 73 from 99 balls in the evening, but by then it was too late.Farveez Maharoof, the nightwatchman, resisted in the morning with an impressive 36, Kumar Sangakkara collected 45 with a steely glint in his eye, Dilshan threw caution to the wind during a daring counter-assault and Chaminda Vaas stood firm for a while in making 38. But no Sri Lanka batsman was able to construct the big hundred needed to cancel out the 311-run deficit and save the game.James Franklin, bowling with his best rhythm of an otherwise inconsistent series, provided the key breakthroughs, claiming the prize wicket of Marvan Atapattu, one player capable of a long defensive innings, in the first session. He followed lunch with the scalps of Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, and fittingly finished it off with the last wicket as Vaas chopped on.Franklin’s efforts were well supported by Kyle Mills, who rediscovered some rhythm and confidence to make his first real impact with the ball in the series, and Nathan Astle, who bowled gunbarrel-straight and wobbled it around enough to finish with 6 for 62 in the match. New Zealand’s best bowler in the series, Chris Martin, had a quiet day, but his dismissal of Sanath Jayasuriya yesterday started the victory charge.

Tillakaratne Dilshan’s battling 73 is ended© AFP

For New Zealand, the 1-0 series triumph ended a difficult summer on a high. After their confidence-draining pummelling against Australia, they showed considerable fortitude to bounce back so strongly. The magnificent batting of Lou Vincent, an obvious choice as Man of the Match for his 224 that set up the victory, was surely the highlight.Sri Lanka, who were bitterly disappointed afterwards, were left ruing a disastrous wicket-tumbling first morning after losing the toss and being put in to bat. They fought hard in patches to reclaim the lost ground but were never likely to survive when the bad weather cleared, leaving them to bat six straight sessions for survival.They started promisingly in the morning as New Zealand were left frustrated by a wicketless first hour. Mills and Franklin initially lacked menace as the ball refused to swing, and Maharoof and Atapattu added 43. However, with New Zealand’s disappointment starting to mount, Franklin delivered the perfect line-and-length ball to draw Atapattu into one of his signature high-elbowed cover-drives. The ball was sliding across him and he edged straight to Fleming at first slip.Maharoof and Sangakkara then shared a useful stand, adding 48 in an 18-over period. Fleming, however, changed the bowling shortly before the break and Mills suddenly clicked, moving the ball away from the right-hander Maharoof, and eventually created a chance that was swallowed by Astle at second slip. It ended a promising innings from Maharoof, who showcased his obvious long-term potential as he occupied the crease for two hours, sheltering the middle order from the new ball.But Maharoof’s unexpected resistance was wasted during the afternoon as his team-mates crumpled. Soon after lunch Jayawardene (13) tried to leave a short ball from Franklin too late and ended up running a catch to Brendon McCullum off the face of his bat. Sangakkara played himself in watchfully and stroked a few elegant boundaries before his off stump was flattened by a full-length inswinger that found a gap between bat and pad to leave Sri Lanka on 137 for 5.Sri Lanka’s problems escalated in the second hour of the session as Astle was introduced with instant success as he persuaded Thilan Samaraweera (17) to nibble defensively at a gentle outswinger. The ball travelled quickly to Fleming, the only slip, but straight to hand. Shantha Kalavitigoda, under pressure in his first game, was then toppled in the final few minutes before tea by Mills.Dilshan, who was given a thorough working-over with the short ball after an unconvincing display in the first innings, was left with the tail and he decided that Sri Lanka’s only hope was attack. He came out after the break with Vaas, all guns blazing – flashing through point, crashing through the covers and launching one mighty six straight down the ground. Vaas followed his example with some equally meaty blows.But Dilshan was taking unsustainable risks and eventually overboiled, heaving wildly against a straight ball from Astle. It was an ugly and reckless smear that took the gloss off an entertaining innings. His departure hurried the match towards its conclusion as Upul Chandana missed a straight ball and Vaas dragged a wide half-volley on to his stumps.How they were out

Tried to cover-drive but edged to first slip
Nicked good ball for comfortable take at second slip
Decided to leave too late and feathered catch behind
Missed full-length inswinger that knocked back his off peg
Prodded forward defensively and edged to first slip
Brilliant one-handed catch after nicking outswinger
Bowled after ugly leg-side slog
Missed straight ball
Dragged on while trying to carve through the covers

Ponting aims to hit England early

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Ricky Ponting: ‘There’s going to be a lot more pressure on everyone during this series just because it’s England’ © Getty Images

Ricky Ponting wants to dent England’s morale early and said the two one-day series would be crucial to gain a mental advantage ahead of the Ashes in July. Speaking ahead of the team’s departure from Brisbane, Ponting said it was crucial that the Australians dominated the one-dayers and created a few doubts in the minds of the Englishmen before the Test series.”It’s important that we get off to a good start in the one-day series,” Ponting said. “I’m not a big believer in taking momentum from a one-day series into a Test series, but if we can create some doubts in a couple of individuals’ minds then that’ll be good for us. Those guys obviously haven’t played much against Australia and I’ve heard different things that they think that could be a good thing for them.”Ponting acknowledged England’s fantastic run over the last year, but said some of their players might still have some apprehensions coming into the series. “The other thing is that they haven’t been successful against the best side in the world,” he said. “They’ll always have a few doubts in the back of their mind if they actually can compete against us.”He added that England wouldn’t gain too much out of their current two-Test series against Bangladesh. “It’s good for those guys to be playing some Test cricket at the moment but by the time we get there it’s coming towards the end of their summer, which will be a good time for us to play as well,” he said. “So they won’t take a lot out of that and we won’t take too much notice of what happens.”Ponting spoke of the hype surrounding the forthcoming series, but said the side was used to handling the pressures. “If our batsmen play as well as we can that’s going to be the key for us,” he said. “It’s up to us. There’s going to be a lot more pressure on everyone during this series just because it’s England. There’s no doubt about that, but the great thing about it from our side is that there’s been expectations on this team for five or six years. We go into every single series as favourite and this one’s going to be no different.”John Buchanan, the Australia coach, believed the offerings from the players taking part in the English County Championship – such as Shane Warne and Simon Katich – could prove crucial. “In terms of tactically preparing, and certainly preparing against some players that we may not have come up against regularly then the input of Shane or Simon or Michael Hussey, who have been over there, is always good,” he said. “Any little bit of information we can get is always valuable.”Australia begin their tour with a one-off Twenty20 match on June 13 before squaring off against England and Bangladesh in a triangular series. They play England three more times after that series in the lead-up to the opening Test at Lord’s that begins on July 21.

Will the ICC hold firm on US cricket dispute?

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Recent developments behind the scenes in American cricket are making many wonder if the International Cricket Council is retreating from its position that the current administration of the United States Cricket Association (USACA) is seriously dysfunctional in its management of US cricket. There are worrying signs that the ICC is backing down over a number of key issues in the face of determined resistance by the old USACA executive, led by Gladstone Dainty.The ICC’s strong position was first stated in a series of letters to Dainty, the USACA president, citing a series of failures on the part of the association, and that culminated in the cancellation of Project USA.Subsequently, acting on a series of pleas from American cricketers, the ICC suspended all their payments to the USACA until the internal disputes were resolved. A key fact was that the ICC recommended arbitration between the warring factions, adding that the USA would not be allowed to participate in the ICC Trophy if the situation were not resolved.But Dainty’s executive refused arbitration, unless it was subject to New York state law, a condition which was never likely to be acceptable either to their opponents or the ICC. Sure enough, the ICC reported that Dainty had declined arbitration and withdrew the offer.The selection of the USA squad for the ICC Trophy was also a major bone of contention. Dainty’s board named a controversial side which was essentially the same group which performed so dismally in the Champions Trophy in England last September. Opponents claimed that this side was in no way representative, and again the ICC suggested a neutral selection committee, headed by Sir Julian Hunte. Under Sir Julian’s urging, a conference call was arranged for representatives of all parties to see if a deal could be brokered. But it became clear there was going to be no agreement.Talks soon broke down when the only offer on the table was for the Dainty squad to be sent to Ireland on the understanding that talks be held at a later date to address the issues at the heart of the dispute. But when opponents again raised the fundamental issues behind their refusal to acknowledge the squad as it stood, it is claimed that Dainty broke off the talks.Throughout this process, it seemed to observers that the ICC was backing down at every step. In fairness, the ICC could not get directly involved, but after offering more than once to provide the mechanism to find a solution, it has been repeatedly snubbed.So the main question now is whether the ICC is going to wash its hands of the whole matter and allow the Dainty-selected team to play in the ICC Trophy. That would represent a major blow to opponents of the Dainty-led board, but would also leave the ICC facing some very difficult questions.

Sri Lanka turn to former fitness trainer

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Alex Kontouri returns to whip the men in blue back into shape

Sri Lanka have called in the services of their former fitness guru, Alex Kountouri, to help them recover from a spate of injuries that has hampered their preparations for the forthcoming Test series against West Indies.Kountouri was the national team’s physio for eight years from 1995 before he packed up his bags and left for Australia where he is now the second in line to Australian team physio Errol Alcott.During Kountouri’s tenure Sri Lankan cricketers underwent the least number of injuries in their history, and his time was capped by their World Cup victory in 1996. In recognition of his wonderful contribution to Sri Lanka cricket, the gym at SLC headquarters was named after him.SLC acting CEO Bandula Warnapura said that Kountouri is expected in Sri Lanka during the week, when he will be analyzing why the national players are suffering from so many injuries.When Marvan Atapattu, Sri Lanka’s captain, was suffering from a nagging back injury he went to Kountouri for treatment in Australia early this month. Warnapura said that Atapattu had responded well to treatment and would be fit for the upcoming Tests against West Indies and the one-day triangular against West Indies and India.Other than Atapattu, fast bowler Nuwan Zoysa (knee) and batsman Shantha Kalavitigoda (shoulder) have just recovered from injuries. Some of the other national players who are carrying injuries are Farveez Maharoof (knee), Tillakaratne Dilshan (shoulder), Nuwan Kulasekera (back) and Prabath Nissanka (knee).

Holland claim $500,000 prize

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Holland claimed the final qualifying place at the 2007 World Cup, and with it $500,000 of funding and ODI status, by beating United Arab Emirates by 145 runs in the ICC Trophy fifth-place play-off at Clontarf. They join the four teams who have already qualified from the event – Bermuda, Canada, Ireland and Scotland.Having narrowly missed out on automatic qualification during the group stage, Holland bounced back with two emphatic victories to seal the final place in the Caribbean. They beat Denmark by 89 runs on Saturday to reach today’s play-off and proved far too strong for UAE under a cloudless sky to claim a victory that will see them compete in a second consecutive World Cup and third in total.The key to Holland’s victory was the composure under pressure of their batsmen. After being put in to bat, the swinging white ball made the opening overs a struggle for the top order. Luuk van Troost and Dan van Bunge were both back in the pavilion with only 15 runs on the board.But Bas Zuiderent, Holland’s outstanding batsman of the tournament, took responsibility for anchoring the innings. In tandem with Tim de Leede, he set about steering the Dutch into the ascendancy. By the time that de Leede was out for 65 Holland had a solid platform so in the final overs Zuiderent and Ryan ten Doeschate were able to play without inhibition to push the score to 287 for four in 50 overs.Ten Doeschate finished on 65 not out while Zuiderent was unbeaten on 116. It was Zuiderent’s third century for his country, all of which have come in this tournamentUAE chased a bigger total than this to beat Holland in the ICC Six Nations Challenge, on home soil in 2004, but never came close to emulating that feat today. They took an attacking approach from the start, which kept them in touch with the run-rate, but at the expense of valuable wickets as too many players took chances against the disciplined Dutch pace attack.Five different bowlers picked up wickets as Holland rattled through the UAE batting line-up. The game was wrapped up when Ali Asad Abbas was clean bowled by Billy Stelling with the third ball of the 32nd over to leave UAE all out for 142.Canada v BermudaCanada claimed third place with a comfortable five-wicket victory over Bermuda. Though both countries had already qualified for the World Cup, victory in the third/fourth play-off puts Canada into a group with England, New Zealand and Kenya for 2007 while Bermuda faces the prospect of India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.Bermuda elected to bat after winning the toss at Malahide but found the going tough against a Canada side determined to demonstrate regional superiority. After losing two wickets for three runs at the start of the innings a series of batsmen failed to capitalise on solid starts. Irving Romaine was alone in making an impression but without significant support his 71 runs were only enough to lift Bermuda to 195 all out in 48.5 overs.Canada has the most explosive top order in the tournament with captain John Davison charged with leading the line. The early dismissal of Davison for 5 had little impact as Desmond Chumney and Zubin Surkari put on 95 for the second wicket. Both men fell just short of their half-centuries but, with wickets and overs in hand, Canada completed the victory for the loss of three further wickets with nine overs to spare.Playoffs for 7 – 12Namibia ended the tournament on a high with an emphatic 103-run victory over Denmark to finish in seventh place. But the most thrilling cricket of the day came in the matches that decided the rankings of the sides from ninth to twelfth.The final positions of teams in this tournament will have qualification implications for future events and Oman captured the crucial ninth place with a spectacular victory over USA.USA’s medium-paced bowling attack has struggled to contain sides in this event but they must have felt confident of defending a total of 345 for 6 against Oman. It seemed to be going America’s way when Oman were reduced to 82 for 4 and then 211 for 7 but an astonishing eighth-wicket partnership turned the match on its head.Azhar Syed contributed an essential 44 runs but the match-winner was Farhan Khan who smashed 94 not out from 47 balls in an innings which included four fours and an incredible nine sixes as Oman won by two wickets with five balls to spare.Khan’s heroics overshadowed a tense climax in the final play-off between Papua New Guinea and Uganda. After labouring to 203 all out from 49.5 overs, PNG managed to restrict Uganda to 202 for 9 in their allotted 50 overs to claim eleventh place by a single run. Uganda’s batsmen have struggled to come to terms with the Irish conditions but their bowling and fielding indicate great promise for the future.

'Tendulkar has begun using light bat' – Gloster

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Sachin Tendulkar: on the road to recovery © Getty Images

John Gloster, the Indian team’s physio, is confident that Sachin Tendulkar would return to international cricket as scheduled in September. Gloster said that Tendulkar, who is currently recovering from elbow surgery, had started to practice with a light bat and was making satisfactory progress.”He is on course, there is little doubt,” Gloster told when asked about Tendulkar’s path to full fitness. “I speak to him every day and we are constantly monitoring his progress, it is on schedule.” Tendulkar isn’t expected to be fit before India’s tour to Zimbabwe, starting later this month, but Gloster was hoping he could return for Sri Lanka’s series in India in October.”The thing with tennis elbow is that if you keep treating it from outside, or from occasional injections, it would not go away in a hurry. But Sachin was operated upon in England which is the foolproof method of getting rid of tennis elbow. It takes away the weeds and wasted part of muscles and then over a period of time and structured process, the elbow would be back to normal.”Tendulkar has been dogged by tennis-elbow injury for nearly a year and it forced him to miss one-day tournaments in Holland and England apart from two Tests against Australia. After the home series against Pakistan last season, Tendulkar decided to get his elbow operated.

Mashonaland just shade honours

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ScorecardUnder cloudless blue skies, but with a breeze to temper the heat, Mashonaland and Midlands fought closely throughout the day at Kwekwe Sports Club. Good bowling from Ed Rainsford, who took 4 for 36, was matched by a determined 73 from Tatenda Taibu, Mashonaland’s captain, whose side looked in the stronger position at the close after capturing four Midlands wickets for 82 in response to their first-innings total of 277.Alester Maregwede, Midlands’ captain, put Mashonaland, the defending Logan Cup champions, in to bat after winning the toss, hoping that recent rain would leave the pitch damp underneath and help his seamers during the first hour. The ball did move, but there was no early breakthrough while Brendan Taylor held together the top order with a canny half-century. Barney Rogers, a returned rebel, looked in good form with 30 before running himself out, while the allrounder Cham Chibhabha scored 48 before hitting his own wicket.Douglas Hondo bowled well to take two of the four wickets to fall before the close. He trapped Maregwede leg-before with the final ball of the day, and this tilted the balance of an otherwise even match towards Mashonaland.