All posts by csb10.top

The West Indies `A’ ended the day in an almost unassailable position at Taunton where they were 453 runs ahead with three second innings wickets remaining at close of play.Resuming on 60 without loss, Somerset lost debutant Neil Edwards early on after he had taken his score onto 31. Piran Holloway, Keith Parsons and Arul Suppiah all departed cheaply, and when Matt Wood was out after scoring 51 the Cidermen had slipped to 116 for 6.At this point Wes Durston and Carl Gazzard came together and shared a seventh wicket partnership of 38 before Durston (26) was run out just before lunchtime,going for a second run.Gazzard followed shortly after for 24, and despite an unbeaten 12 from Pete Trego Somerset were all out for 183.Rather than enforce the follow on the West Indies opted to bat for a second time, and at 177 for 4 seemed to be heading for another big score until Suppiah was introduced into the attack in the early evening.The slow left armer put the brakes on the West Indies who by close had moved onto 266 for 7, with Suppiah having the impressive figures of 10 overs 3 wickets for 46 runs.

Both sides batted poorly at The Oval with Surrey, 46-0 overnight, bowled out for 190 and Leicestershire following their self-destructive example in losing five wickets for 94.Surrey’s performance would have been more depressing still but for the batting of Ian Salisbury who came in when the score was 132-7 and top-scored with a resourceful unbeaten 36 which contained six boundaries.Surrey met early reverses when Nadeem Shahid cut Devon Malcolm to gully and Mark Butcher ran himself out seeking an unlikely single to Darren Maddy at cover. Then off spinner Carl Crowe, whose 4-47 was a career best, took a hand.He had Mark Ramprakash lbw shuffling across, bowled Ben Hollioake through the gate, had Adam Hollioake caught at fine leg sweeping and later had the left-handed Tim Murtagh caught at slip off one that turned away from him.Ormond nipped in to bowl Jon Batty, who offered no stroke, and Martin Bicknell, caught at leg slip, and he also dismissed No 11 Ed Giddins with a yorker after the last wicket had added 32 runs.When Leicestershire batted again Bicknell, though the game was dead, produced some high quality fast-medium bowling, his bounce and movement giving him the wickets of Maddy and Iain Sutcliffe, both caught behind, and Ben Smith, fencing to first slip.

The Pakistan Cricket Board has allotted more than Rs 500 million to upgrade the facilities at the three Champions Trophy venues – Rawalpindi, Karachi and Lahore – ahead of September’s Champions Trophy, despite security fears over the tournament.”We are putting our best foot forward,” Mansur Sohail, PCB’s media chief, told the . “Whether its security arrangements or upgrading the facilities, nothing is being left to chance. We are confident of delivering a successful Champions Trophy to the cricket world and all possible steps are being taken to ensure it.”In 2006, Pakistan won the bid to host the Champions Trophy and decided to upgrade and expand the facilities at three of its major cricketing centres for the tournament last year.While the National Stadium in Karachi didn’t need any major changes, a lot of construction and renovation work had to be carried out at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore and the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.A total of Rs 240 million will be spent at Rawalpindi alone. Though a Test venue, it hasn’t staged an international match since December 2006. At the Gaddafi Stadium, the board will spend Rs 210 million. “The Gaddafi Stadium’s seating capacity will be raised by 6500 for the Champions Trophy,” Mansur said.The PCB had given six months to the contractors to finish work at the two venues and is now expecting the facilities to be fully ready at least ten days before the start of the tournament, which runs between September 12 and 28.

SYDNEY, Oct 12 AAP – A Law-less Queensland will be out to heal an eight month old scar when it plays defending ING Cup champion NSW in the opening interstate cricket match of the new season at North Sydney Oval tomorrow.Three changes were made to both the teams which contested last season’s final back in February with each side under new leadership.Former Western Australia skipper Simon Katich was immediately installed as NSW captain and came into the side for Mark Higgs, who moved to South Australia.Spinner and last summer’s leading ING wicket taker Stuart MacGill and paceman Don Nash were recalled to the NSW side after missing the final while fast bowler Stuart Clark was unavailable due to injury and batsman Matthew Phelps dropped.One day international batsman Jimmy Maher took over as Queensland skipper from Stuart Law who stood down at the end of last season, and then lost his place in the side to Brendan Nash.Young pacemen Scott Brant and Damien MacKenzie, both of whom made their debuts for the Bulls last season, were also recalled to the side in place of fast bowler Joe Dawes and Nathan Hauritz.All-rounder Andrew Symonds made it clear Queensland was still smarting from its 19 run loss to NSW in last season’s final at the Gabba back in Feburary.”We didn’t play real well, it was just one of those days, they got the better of us. We’ve still got a scar which we want to stitch up and fix and hopefully we can do that on Sunday,” Symonds said.”We’ve had a good preparation, a good camp on Stradbroke Island last week and we’ve got a couple of new faces which should be refreshing for us and hopefully we can lead the way in this competition.”While Law failed to score a single 50 in each of the Bulls’ last two ING campaigns, both of which he only averaged 14 in, his demotion came as a shock to team mates and opponents alike.”He’s obviously been a fantastic player for them and their most successful captain in state history, so he will be a big bit out of their side because he’s a very good one-day cricketer and proven himself over many years,” Katich said.”But I guess that gives an opportunity to one of their younger guys, so it will be interesting to see how they go without him.”NSW all-rounder Shane Lee, who captained the Blues to back-to-back ING titles over the last two seasons said the Bulls would still be very competitive and well organised without Law.”They’ve got plenty of depth, so we definitely have to be on our game. Looking at the teams on paper we probably go in as favourites, but in-one day cricket that doesn’t mean too much,” Lee said.The teams for tomorrow’s match are:NSW: Simon Katich (captain), Corey Richards, Brad Haddin, Michael Bevan, Michael Clarke, Shane Lee, Dominic Thornely, Don Nash, Stuart MacGill, Shawn Bradstreet, Nathan Bracken, Grant Lambert.Qld: Jimmy Maher (capt), Martin Love, Lee Carseldine, Clinton Perren, Andrew Symonds, Brendan Nash, James Hopes, Wade Seccombe, Ashley Noffke, Michael Kasprowicz, Scott Brant, Damien MacKenzie.

Epsom Girls’ Grammar School successfully defended their National Secondary Schools’ tournament title in Palmerston North, but not before suffering a humbling defeat at the hands of Burnside High School.Epsom GGS and Napier Girls High School finished the tournament with two wins each, but because Epsom won the match between the two sides, they won the tournament.Day Two:Burnside High School 155 (Andrea Brown 29, Frances Clark 33 not out; Kelly Winkley two for 26) lost to Napier Girls’ High School 158/4 (Jemma Davies 64 not out, Kelly Tunnicliffe 23, Kelly Winkley 33; Laura Paine two for 17) by six wickets.Epsom Girls’ Grammar School 202/4 (Rosamond Kember 83 not out, Cathryn Bristow 28, Amy Hodgson 33; Ruth Franklin two for 36) beat New Plymouth Girls’ High School 118 (Jessica Haigh 40, Rachel Priest 25; Jessica Ryan two for 18, Cathryn Bristow two for 20) by 84 runs.Today:New Plymouth Girls’ High School 142/8 (Rachel Priest 27; Nikki Tunnicliffe four for 18, Lisa Hayes two for 30) lost to Napier Girls’ High School 144/5 (Nikki Tunnicliffe 45, Kelly Wingley 40) by five wickets.Burnside High School 113 (Kate Saunders 30; Jessica Ryan three for 27, Cathryn Bristow two for 23) beat Epsom Girls’ Grammar School 79 (Sarah Coghlan three for nine, Lizzie Buchanan two for 12) by 34 runs.

South Africa face an injury crisis as they prepare for the first ICC Champions Trophy semi-final against either India or England on September 25.Veteran fast bowler Allan Donald (ankle), Shaun Pollock’s new-ball partnerAlan Dawson (calf) and left-arm spinner Nicky Boje (finger) are all struggling to be fit for the crucial match.After permission from the ICC, the selectors have called up veteran fast bowler Steve Elworthy and Eastern Province spinning all-rounder Robin Peterson as cover, swelling the squad to 16.Elworthy, 37, is an experienced campaigner, having played 38 ODIs taking 42wickets at 28.81. Peterson, 23, would be making his debut if selected.Donald is suffering from a long-term ankle injury, which has traditionallybeen managed by six-monthly cortisone injections, and could still play inthe semi-final with painkillers.Dawson tweaked his calf during at a practice and then aggravated the injuryduring South Africa’s final pool game against Kenya.Coach Eric Simons said, “Dawsy is a fast healer, and we are still hopefulthat he could play, but it is far from certain that he will.”Boje is doubtful too, having sustained a hairline finger fracture whilst fielding off his own bowling during South Africa’s opening game against West Indies.

India are down and almost out and even their most ardent supporters have acknowledged that the fat lady is rehearsing her song.Faced with a first innings deficit of 292, India were staring defeat in the face at stumps at 169 for four, with their two leading batsmen Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid back in the pavilion and two days still left in this crucial third Test at Kensington Oval.Software engineer, Suvankar, an Indian supporter in the Garfield Sobers Stand, admits it’s only a matter of time before the West Indies wrap up the match and square the series 1-1.It’s a four-day match. There is no-way out. We really needed to do much better on the first day, he said.Biggest sportAtul Shrivastava, who hails from the central Indian city of Bhopal, screamed himself hoarse when India reached 100 with just one wicket down, but his shoulders drooped when the West Indies prised out Dravid and Tendulkar.Now, we need a miracle. Those wickets of Dravid and Tendulkar were big ones and really hurt.Cricket is by far, the biggest sport in India and for us, this is heart-breaking. It is shattering, he said.Tendulkar, the son of a professor, is a cricketing icon in India and there was a hush in the Hall & Griffith Stand among the Indian posse when Merv Dillon removed the 29-year-old master batsman for his third straight low score.When Dillon completed the over and took his place on the boundary line in front of the Three Ws Stand, he was warmly greeted by exuberant Trinidadian compatriots, unable to contain their delight.Dillon was not the only one to have West Indian fans cheering yesterday. Carl Hooper finally collected his first Test hundred in Barbados to the delight of his legion of fans here while Chanderpaul reached his fourth Test ton, all made on Caribbean soil.Its really great to see Hooper make a Test hundred here. I have waited many years for this. I enjoy seeing him bat, remarked one female fan.It was only Hooper’s 12th Test hundred in his 95th Test and marked the first time he has scored 400 runs in a series.

Hampshire and Warwickshire completed their second draw with each other in the space of a fortnight, when the home side held out with seven wickets down in their second innings.Jamie Troughton continued to add to his maiden first-class century to set up a tough target for Hampshire to chase when Warwickshire declared after an hours batting in the morning.He completed his 131 not out with 19 fours and a six, lasting just 184 balls as he single-handled took the visitors past the 300 lead barrier.Hampshire were set 303 in a minimum of 80 overs. But just as Hampshire set off on their task, the rain came to thwart them, taking 12 overs away and any real hope the home side would have had in successfully chasing.On the restart, Hampshire lost early wickets with openers Derek Kenway and Will Kendall being dismissed cheaply and in quick succession.A 48-run partnership from John Crawley and skipper Robin Smith looked like bringing the game towards a 5.30pm finish and a drawn match.However, four wickets then fell for 30 runs as the Warwickshire seamers took advantage of the overcast conditions to put the hosts within reach of an unexpected defeat, as they tottered to 115-6. This time the weather took another eight overs off the day to Hampshire’s advantage.They lost their seventh wicket with five overs remaining, but Giles White stood firm, scoring 10 runs from 58 deliveries in unison with Shaun Udal, who kept him company to hold for the draw.

MELBOURNE, Nov 1 AAP – Victorian captain Shane Warne boldly declared tonight his side couldn’t lose this Pura Cup cricket match against Tasmania.Tasmania started its chase of 365 for the outright win well late on day three at the MCG, reaching none for 50.Victoria lost left-arm quick Matthew Inness early in the innings for the next two to three weeks with a hamstring injury.But Warne was confident he and his fellow bowlers, plus the vagaries of the pitch, had the Tigers on the back foot.”I’d much rather be in our situation than their’s. There’s a few little tricks,” he said of the pitch.”It’s probably playing a little bit better than it did at the start of the game, but there are some massive footmarks and there’s some variable bounce for the quicks.”I don’t think Tasmania think they can win. It’s a matter of them saving the game.”If we bowl well, we should win – as simple as that.”Michael Di Venuto ended the day on 32 and fellow opener Jamie Cox was on 15.Inness pulled up sore in his second over and left the field immediately.Warne said the outright win was crucial for Victoria, with himself and as many as three other players lost to national teams in the next few weeks.”All-in-all, I couldn’t be happier. It’s a big game for us – if we win this, we go to the top of the table,” he said.”It will be a good, testing day for everyone tomorrow.”Victoria set up Tasmania’s run chase with a solid 2 (dec)-236 off 56 overs.Opener Jason Arnberger, who top-scored in the first innings with 172no, again starred with an unbeaten 102 and leads the Cup averages with 334 runs so far this season at an average of 167.While Arnberger laboured in the first innings, needing 499 minutes and 391 balls for his score, the corresponding figures in his second dig were 213 and 159.Arnberger and fellow opener Matthew Elliott made light of talk over the last few days about the pitch playing progressively worse.They had little trouble putting on 168 for the first wicket and Elliott also should have had a ton, hitting a square cut down the throat of Michael Dighton at deep point for 80.Tasmania resumed its first innings at 7-146 this morning and looked to be at Victoria’s mercy when the ninth wicket went for 166.But No.11 Shane Jurgensen made a mockery of his side’s plight and his lowly spot in the order.His 45 off 42 balls featured eight boundaries, three of them in a row off Victorian captain Shane Warne, and was the second-highest score of the innings .Jurgensen’s 58-run stand with Damien Wright (31no) took Tasmania past the follow-on and boosted the score to 224.Shane Harwood, yesterday’s hat-trick hero, finished with 5-55.

Meeting in Mumbai, the national selectors announced on Thursday a 16-member Test squad for the tour of the West Indies in April-June. The tour will consist of five Tests and five one-day internationals.Prominent among the new faces is Dinesh Mongia, who recently got the Man of the Series award in the five-match one-day series against Zimbabwe. Also joining Mongia from that one-day squad is Ajay Ratra, who has been selected as wicket-keeper.It is worthwhile to note that the selectors have gone in for two wicket-keepers; Deep Dasgupta, whose batting has not concealed the fact that his stump-work is somewhat awry, has also been picked for the tour.If his wicket-keeping deteriorates further during the tour, his opening slot may fall to Wasim Jaffer, who is in the midst of a fine run of form in the Duleep Trophy. Jaffer, who made his Test debut against South Africa in 1999-00, played only the two Tests of that series before being dropped.Only two spinners in Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble have been picked. The pace attack consists of Javagal Srinath, Tinu Yohannan, Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra, with all-rounder Sanjay Bangar chipping in with his medium-pace.Mongia’s elevation to the Test level will mean that he will be unavailable to captain the India ‘A’ side in South Africa. Yuvraj Singh will take his place in the side, while Jacob Martin, previously named vice-captain, will lead the squad in Mongia’s absence.Squad to the West Indies:Sourav Ganguly (captain), Rahul Dravid (vice-captain), Shiv Sunder Das, Deep Dasgupta (wicket-keeper), Wasim Jaffer, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Dinesh Mongia, Ajay Ratra (wicket-keeper), Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Javagal Srinath, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Tinu Yohannan, Sanjay Bangar