Category Uncategorized

ScorecardA masterful innings from Phil Jaques provided the platform for New South Wales’ comprehensive victory against South Australia at the Adelaide Oval.Batting first, the Blues’ run-rate was kept in check for much of their innings, thanks to tight bowling from the Redbacks. Jason Gillespie and Paul Rofe were controlled and limited the run-scoring opportunities under overcast skies until Mark Cleary’s introduction brought more adventurous strokeplay.Corey Richards paid the price for a second, overly ambitious attempt at driving Cleary but Jaques found good support in Dominic Thornely (76). The pair put on an unbroken stand of 171 for the fifth wicket, including 114 in the last ten overs. Jaques crashed 11 fours and four sixes in his unbeaten 158 – his second knock exceeding 150 in the competition this season – as New South Wales reached a competitive 4 for 282 from their 50 overs.South Australia were rocked by the early dismissal of Shane Deitz in the first over of their reply, followed by Graham Manou in the third, both falling to Stuart Clark. Stumbling at 4 for 52, Darren Lehmann (43) joined Mark Cosgrove (76) to put on 108 for the fifth wicket, but they represented the Redbacks’ final chance of reaching the Blues’ total. Wickets continued to tumble, with Michael Clarke (3-27) snaffling three cheap ones to take the Blues home by 73 runs.

Glamorgan officials have acted quickly to try and play down suggestions that Simon Jones is on the move following recent comments hinting that he is considering his options.”We spoke to Simon on Friday and we’ll have a big chat with him when he comes back in January,” Mike Fatkin, the county’s chief executive, told the Western Mail. “Any issues he has he can air them then.”On Wednesday, Jones told reporters that there was “a little bit of doubt in my mind” over his plans. He continued: “I cannot be approached by another county because I am not out of contract, but there are options open. I am not saying I am going and I am not saying I am staying. I am just thinking about it and trying to do what is best for me.”Fatkin said that he was “sympathetic about his [Jones’s] position” but added that “he could have worded things a bit differently than he did.”Jones’s main gripe appeared to be that he was not a part of Glamorgan’s one-day side, with just 10 appearances in six seasons. “He obviously wants to play more one-day cricket,” admitted Fatkin, “but there has to be a balance struck between his personal ambitions and the success of the Glamorgan side in one-day cricket. You have to remember that we won the national league without him.”We have to understand Simon’s career development path,” Fatkin told the Western Mail, “but we want him to remain here. He’s Welsh and I’m sure deep down he would prefer to be with us. We would like to sign him for another two years.”

Pakistan will be represented at next week’s women’s tournament in the Netherlands, despite the fact that the Pakistan Cricket Board’s team will not be taking part.One of the messiest situations in world cricket, albeit domestic, has not been resolved despite the best intentions of Pakistan’s judiciary, and cricket administrators on both sides of a bitter row that has broken out in Pakistan over who has the right to run the women’s game in that country. A team chosen by the PCB was refused entry into the Netherlands competition, and would not have been able to compete anyway because it was refused visas to the Netherlands.This was because the International Women’s Cricket Council continues to recognise the Pakistan Women’s Cricket Control Association as the body most representative of women’s cricket in that country and had sent the invitation to compete to them.IWCC president Christine Brierley, who will see her Council vote next week on whether they should be integrated into the International Cricket Council, said the PWCCA team was expected to participate as they, like the other competing countries, had paid their entry fee.”I have received no legal advice at this point of time that says that the legal action brought by the PWCCA against the PCB has been resolved,” Brierley said. “I also have received no official government statement that advises the IWCC that the PWCCA is no longer the recognised body to represent the interests of Pakistan women’s cricket. This is an essential requirement of IWCC membership.”Curiously, the PCB perceived an enquiry from Brierley to them regarding the outcome of legal consultation between the parties in the dispute as a signal that some sort of impasse had been overcome.But Brierley said that both the parties in Pakistan had been told that a report on the dispute was to be discussed at the IWCC’s next meeting on July 24.”We cannot cease or change membership of the IWCC unless it complies with the IWCC rules and the PWCCA membership is assessed according to the criteria of membership. Both the PCB and the PWCCA have a copy of the criteria of membership. It does not assist world cricket and the IWCC to be continually involved in what is essentially a domestic matter for Pakistan cricket,” she said.The Pakistan Cricket Board’s reaction to their side’s exclusion from the tournament has been to demand that the PWCCA side not be allowed to use the word Pakistan to describe themselves at the tournament.Trouble between the two parties has been ongoing since last year when the Pakistan High Court ruled that the PCB was the body best suited to run women’s cricket and asked that the two bodies get together to sort the matter out. However, when the PCB started arranging trial matches an approach to the Court by the PWCCA achieved agreement that the PCB had acted outside of its mandate.The situation flared again recently when the PCB claimed that a resolution had been achieved. However, the PWCCA claimed the PCB was guilty of contempt of court.One of the organisers of the PWCCA, Shaiza Khan, took the PCB to task for what she claimed were “totally wrong and absolutely baseless” comments. She accused the PCB of “intransigence” over its treatment of court orders and said it appeared “to be demonstrating a sense of utter irresponsibility.”A restraining order had been placed on the PCB by the High Court ofMr Sana Ateeq Khan. When the PCB appeared to break that order by claiming differences had been resolved the PWCCA then asked for a contempt of court to be considered.

In his latest exclusive diary entry for CricInfo, Alec Stewart confirms his availability for the rest of the present series, and adds his voice to calls for Australia to take the original Ashes urn home.Any series that I take part in, or game that I play in – whether it’s for England, Surrey or whoever, I want to win, and look forward to winning. It’s the sixth time I’ve played in an Ashes series, and the sixth time I haven’t won the Ashes. Two things have really disappointed me this time. Firstly, we haven’t been able to pick our strongest side; that’s not an excuse, it’s a fact. More disappointingly, we haven’t played to the level that I know we’re capable of reaching, which brought us success in the five series leading up to the Ashes.As to the Trent Bridge game itself, the talk in the papers was about bad decisions, but they happen. Throughout the game’s history, umpires’ decisions, shots played by batsmen, balls delivered by bowlers, haven’t always been right.Once we lost Michael Atherton on Friday it was extraordinary how quickly the wickets went down. We’d had a good partnership going and then lost four wickets, which put a massive dent in our chances of posting a winning total of 250-plus. They had a bit of a scare at 80 for 3 with Steve Waugh getting injured, but Mark Waugh and Damien Martyn dashed our hopes of victory with a positive display of batting.As always when we lose the Ashes, which is currently every other year, the media and others look to re-build English cricket. “Everything’s wrong with it, no one can play, get rid of all this lot and start again.” If you sit down and look at what’s happened, and how we move forward, my name will crop up as the oldest cricketer in the England side. But I think it was Linford Christie who said that age is just a number – you should always be picking players on ability. At the same time, you should be looking to improve the side and have an eye on the future. I’m still very much available to play in the next two Test matches. I’ve had a chat with David Graveney this morning about that, and will be meeting him again soon to talk about the future. Thoughts of retirement are not in my mind at present.In the short term, it would be nice if the selectors were able to pick from the strongest available squad for Headingley. That’s obviously subject to Hussain, Thorpe, Vaughan and Hoggard all being available. We can then see how we compete against them. I don’t want people saying the series is dead. Both Australian and England players are on record as saying that any Test match they play is just as important, whether the series is dead or alive. As to the wider picture, we should bring in players here and there, but not go for a wholesale upheaval. We’ve all talked about the huge gulf between county and Test cricket. The jump from county cricket to a Test match against Australia is the biggest, so for any new player it’s going to be hard. We need to keep looking for the players with the potential to make the step up.Personally I believe that Australia should now take the original Ashes urn back home. They deserve it, and the Australian public should have the chance to see exactly what their team’s been winning, possibly on display in the ACB offices.

Md Sobuj’s three-for crushed Nepal’s middle order, before an unbeaten 70 from Bangladesh opener Zawad Abrar sealed their seven-wicket thumping, with 151 balls to spare. It took Bangladesh to the top of Group B with a healthy net run rate of 1.56.After being put into bat, Nepal got off to a good start, thanks to a 40-run opening stand between Sahil Patel and Niraj Kumar Yadav. Opening bowler Saad Islam made the initial breakthrough, getting Patel for 18. Sobuj then took over with with three wickets in quick succession.First to fall was Niraj – caught behind – while Nischal Kshetri was bowled for a golden duck. Cibrin Shrestha was out caught and bowled as Nepal slipped from 60 for 2 to 61 for 5.Aashish Luhar’s handy 23 and Abhisekh Tiwari’s 30 carried Nepal forward, but a second flurry of wickets ensured the rebuilding effort did not last for long. After a 38-run seventh wicket stand between Tiwari and Luhar, Azizul Hakim and Shahriar Ahmed made short work of the tail – Nepal went from 119 for 6 to 130 all out.The only downside for Bangladesh was the 17 wides they conceded, which formed an extras tally of 23.Abrar was the rock of the chase with his 68-ball 70*, including seven fours and three sixes. The only moments of concern in the innings came in the fourth over, when opener Rifat Beg was bowled for 5, followed by captain Azizul Hakim being run out the very next ball for 1.Abrar and Kalam Siddiki added 92 for 115 balls for the third wicket. By the time Siddiki fell, Bangladesh were ten runs away from victory. Rizan Hossan finished the game with a six.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Torrential rain limited the first day of India’s warm-up match against Victoria to one session, in which Sourav Ganguly survived some early wobbles to score a half-century and Rahul Dravid settled into the opening role. The rest of India’s top order struggled against Victoria’s fringe fast bowler Allan Wise before the Junction Oval was flooded by a sudden downpour that started as the players left the ground for tea.The rain was so heavy that the ground began to resemble a rice paddy, then as the showers became heavier it was more like a small lake. The groundstaff will face a major battle to have the field ready for play on Friday and, with further thunderstorms predicted for the next two days, India will have limited preparation in their only practice match ahead of the Boxing Day Test.At the close the Indians were 3 for 110 with Dravid grafting a typically determined 33 and Ganguly on 51. The pair added an unbeaten 72 for the fourth wicket in the two-and-a-half hour post-lunch period after the first session had also been lost to rain.Wise, Victoria’s tall left-arm fast bowler, did the damage with all three wickets, continuing his strong record against visiting international teams. Wise collected 5 for 25 in a one-day warm-up game against Sri Lanka in 2005-06, but has been overlooked for all but two of Victoria’s Pura Cup matches this season.He frustrated the vocal contingent of Melbourne-based Indian fans that dominated the crowd by removing Sachin Tendulkar, who hinted at a special innings but delivered only a cameo. A couple of well-timed drives against Peter Siddle failed to reach the boundary due to the slow outfield before Tendulkar gently leaned on a cover drive that went for four off Wise.The highlight was when the 200-centimetre Wise banged in a shortish ball that might have tickled the ribcage of a lesser batsman, but Tendulkar quickly positioned himself to lift it high over midwicket for six. Wise’s revenge came as Tendulkar tried to cut and inside-edged the ball – it should have been called a no-ball for over-stepping – onto his stumps for 19.That was the major reward for Wise in an effective opening spell that netted 3 for 20. In Wise’s first over, Wasim Jaffer miscued an attempted pull and was caught at mid-off for 0 by Victoria’s debutant Aaron Finch. Wise extracted some good seam movement and in his next over had VVS Laxman caught behind down the leg side for 1.India were 3 for 38 and it could have been 4 for 39 when Ganguly got a thick edge off Siddle that flew marginally wide of the gully fielder. Ganguly was tentative early but gradually adjusted to the conditions and struck consecutive fours off Bryce McGain’s legspin, the first lifted over midwicket and the second cut hard forward of square.Ganguly reached his half-century from 86 balls just before tea. Dravid was watchful early as his partners struggled, cutting and cover driving his only two boundaries off Siddle, who bowled a mixed spell.India’s innings did not begin swimmingly but their players nearly ended up swimming, as the rain bucketed down on the Junction Oval with Melbourne enduring a heavy thunderstorm in the morning. The start was delayed by two-and-a-half hours and when Mahendra Singh Dhoni went out for the late toss it became apparent India had sprung a surprise.For all the talk of Australia perhaps using a four-man pace attack in the first Test, it was India who decided to leave out their spinners for the warm-up game. Anil Kumble was rested and Dhoni duly won the toss and chose to bat when the umpires eventually determined play could get under way. The second day is scheduled to begin half an hour early, if the weather turns favourable.

After the Table-Mountain high of the opening day, it was a case of themorning after for most of the Indians. A promising position was squanderedwith the bat, and an erratic bowling performance then allowed Graeme Smithand Hashim Amla to build up some real momentum in the closing stages ofplay.Dinesh Karthik played his part behind the stumps, and will certainly havea bigger role to play once Anil Kumble settles in on a pitch that alreadyhas significant rough patches. For the moment though, he can reflect onhis opening-day display, a doughty four-hour innings that spanned 170balls and realised 63 runs. A poor decision ended it, but by then, Karthikand Wasim Jaffer had already added 153 for the first wicket, the bestopening stand by any team against South Africa in more than two years.”It was very challenging opening the innings and playing great bowlerslike Shaun Pollock and Makhaya Ntini,” said Karthik, speaking after thesecond day’s play at Newlands. “To get off to a good start boosted myconfidence and my self-esteem.”Though the pitch bore more resemblance to the ones that he left behindback home, opening was still a stiff test of Karthik’s technique,especially when it came to choosing which balls to play. “As an opener,it’s important that you trust your technique because if you feel there’s aproblem, you might not be able to handle good balls,” he said. “You’ve gotto trust your technique if you want to bat out a session. It’s not an easything to do but hopefully, I’ll keep getting better.”

When the series began, the prospect of opening in Cape Town would havebeen far from his mind, given that there were three specialist openers inthe squad. But with Virender Sehwag’s poor form forcing him down theorder, and Gautam Gambhir short of match practice, it was left to Karthikto face the new-ball flak with Jaffer. “The night before the game, RahulDravid told me to be prepared, saying: ‘You might be asked to open’. So,when he told me the next morning that I’d be opening, I was prepared.”According to Karthik, there had been no doubts in his mind when he wasasked to do the job, nor was there a feeling that he was being made asacrificial lamb. “It’s important to be a team man,” he said. “At the endof the day, you have to do what the team wants you to do. That’s how wehave been brought up; not to play selfish cricket.”For a man playing his first Test in over 15 months, he certainly camethrough the ordeal with reputation enhanced. The hard work starts now. Thefirst step can often be fuelled by adrenaline, but an encore needs farmore strength of character.

ScorecardT

he yo-yo effect at the top of the Standard Bank table continued as the Eagles soared back into the lead after a four-wicket win over the Dolphins at Durban.Having won the toss and batted first the Dolphins made heavy weather ofa difficult pitch, getting only 182 in their allotted 45 overs. At 88 for 5 in the 26th over things did notlook too bright for them but Ahmed Amla, scoring 71 not out, andDuncan Brown, scoring an unbeaten 41, put together a 94-run unbroken sixth-wicket partnership, of which 40 runs came off the final five overs, allowing the Dolphins to reach a reasonable score. As it turned out, it proved to be 15 to 20 runs short in the end.The Eagles also struggled at the top of their innings, losing fivewickets in the first 20 overs with only 62 on the board. Ryan McLarenand Ryan Bailey, both scoring 40, then put on 86 runs for the sixthwicket as the Eagles clawed their way back into the match, allowingJohan van der Wath the freedom to hit 23 runs off 24 balls to take theEagles to victory with five balls to spare.The Dolphins gave away 27 extras, 14 of which were no-ballsand wides, and will have to bowl with far more discipline if they are to be a contender for the trophy.

The Indian team has landed in Dhaka under moderately heightened security following the death threat from an Islamic militant group. They arrived without fanfare or scares, but to a throng of curious locals who were waiting in the hundreds outside the Zia International Airport. They emerged first from the aircraft and were taken to a VIP room, where the necessary paperwork and formalities were completed. They then boarded a bus through a private exit, and, with police escort, were driven to their hotel.While the security arrangements were slightly more elaborate than those in India, it was not quite to the dramatic scale of India’s recent tour to Pakistan. There, the streets were cleared each time the team ventured from their hotel. In Pakistan the motorcade was an imposing one, with motorcycle outriders, police jeeps and army rangers with mounted submachine guns flanking the team bus. Here, a couple of simple escort vehicles sufficed, and at no point was the normal flow of traffic interrupted by the local police.Sourav Ganguly spent a quick few minutes on arrival, answering questions. “We have just landed and we have no idea about the security situation. We are here to play the game,” he said, when asked what he thought of the security situation.Ganguly also dismissed suggestions that this series would be merely preparation for India’s home series against Pakistan in the beginning of next year. “We have to play to our potential and take it series by series. [Pakistan’s visit] is still a long way off. We have a lot of time to think about it.” This is India’s first full series in Bangladesh, and he added that his team would have no trouble motivating itself even against a relatively weak team like Bangladesh. “Test cricket itself is a motivation for everybody.”

While India seem to have only the security situation to worry about,Bangladesh under no illusions that the Indians have arrived with plenty to achieve. Anil Kumble, equal with Kapil Dev at 434 Test wickets, is certain to make the record his own. Sachin Tendulkar is one century away from drawing level with Sunil Gavaskar, on 34 Test tons. But, as Habibul Bashar, the Bangladesh captain, said recently, Bangladesh have a few kinks to iron out. “[Our] batting is the main worry. The top order have not put up scores when they should have,” he said. “Also, Harbhajan [Singh] and [Anil] Kumble take plenty of wickets in every Test.”This left Bangladesh with a tricky dilemma when it came to the type of pitch they wanted. Mohammad Rafique and Manjural Islam, the two left-arm spinners, have been the most penetrative of Bangladesh’s bowlers. But, with Kumble and Harbhajan in such fine form in the recent past, the Bangladeshis were wary of preparing a track that would turn. To complicate matters further, their batting has struggled so much against swing and seam movement that it would be disastrous to prepare a strip that assisted the seamers. Hence, as local sources suggest, it seems inevitable that the pitch will be a flat, batting beauty.With the Indian team safely tucked away at its hotel, the Bangabandhu stadium wore a desolate look. Groundstaff pottered about attending to the pitch and outfield, and other officials sorted out advertising hoardings, facilities for players and the media, and similar last-minute details. There was no evidence of the massive security presence recently reported in sections of the media.The first Test is scheduled to start at Dhaka on Friday, a day behind the original date.

Former Hampshire wicketkeeper Adrian Aymes cracked 128 – but finished on the losing Hursley Park side as Sparsholt chased 276 to win by eight wickets at The Quarters.Aymes, who captains Hursley, shared a century opening partnership with Raman Prendergast (58) and another sizeable stand with Paul Edwards (33) as his side powered to 276-5.But it wasn’t enough !Tim Richings led the Sparsholt response in style, enjoying century stands with Ollie Kelly (28) and Jerry Frith as the visitors sped towards a second consecutive victory.Frith, who earlier took 3-56, hit 80 not out and Nick Boxall an unbeaten 42 as Sparsholt reached 277-2 with eight balls to spare.Easton & Martyr Worthy have moved into a challeging third place after beating Lymington by 56 runs. It all went horribly wrong for the Larks, who put Easton into bat at the Sports Ground – and chased a massive 278-9 around the field !With Glyn Treagus missing, Dan Peacock had to play despite breaking a little finger the previous weekend. But his inability to bowl left Lymington woefully short of options – and Easton cashed in.After two early setbacks, Shaun Green (56), Francis Gill (54), Kevin Neave (56) and Steve Green (30) ran amok for Easton, who closed at 278-9.Ian Young (46) held the Lymington top order together after Mark Stone (4-31) had claimed four scalps.Lymington dipped to 108-5 before Matt Malloy (49), Peacock (42) and Christian Pain (33) took their reply to 222 all out.Leaders Old Tauntonians & Romsey, who visit St Cross Symondians next Saturday, had it all too easy at United Services and won by five wickets.US dipped from a promising 67-0 (Sam Lavery 44) to 166-9 (Raj Naik 3-44) – a total OTR polished off in 36.5 overs, with Charles Forward hammering 84.Purbrook, last season’s Division 3 champions, look set for a prompt return to their former abode after crashing to a fourth successive defeat.They were skittled for 111 (Cleeve 60) by Gosport Borough, who posed 216-8, with Andrew Watkins (52) and Mike Rees (41) prominent at the top of the order.Borough have suspended opening batsman Lee Wateridge for two matches following an incident in the previous week’s defeat by Hursley Park.